Note: Hello and welcome to another chapter of SAO: The Devil Inside. I'll be honest; I got a little carried away while writing this chapter since writing this chapter was pretty fun. So what am I talking about, you may be asking? Well, you'll have to read this chapter to find out what I'm talking about.
Also, I would like to thank Alvin D-Rod and Axel Emiya for helping me put this chapter/story together. So go check out their stories after you are finished reading this chapter.
Also, there is a poll on my profile. Simply click on my name and it will take you to the poll so that you can cast your vote
Anyways, with no further ado, let's get started on this chapter.
Chapter Three:
October 26th, 2023:
"So, we finally got out of that hell after so many months, now what?"
"We find the man who betrayed us. Track him down, then kill him."
"But he can be anywhere. The second floor has most likely been cleared by now since we've been trapped in that hell hole. There's a lot of stuff that we missed out on."
"Well then, we're just going to need someone to catch us up on everything that's been going on lately."
"And that person is going to be?"
"During our brief stay at this end, I've heard talk about info brokers. Apparently, they know a great deal about this game loot areas everything. If we can somehow contact one of them, we should be able to be caught up on everything that we've missed."
"And how are we going to contact one of them?"
"I don't know yet. I might have to play around with the menu, see what I can find."
Name: Xyaqom
Level: 100
Weapon Of Choice: Corruptor & Demise
Known Skills: Master Searcher, Master Sneak, One-Handed Sword Wielder: 750/1000
It's been the next day since Xyaqom escaped from the Laughing Coffin and took them out. Ever since then, Xyaqom has been staying at an inn on the second floor, catching his bearings while drinking a bottle of beer. During this time, Xyaqom was pointing in some unregistered skill points for new skills.
"I swear, where the fuck is that woman. I contacted her like an hour ago," said Xyaqom in a frustrated tone. It turns out that Xyaqom contacted someone to catch him up on what's going on since his captivity, but they are yet to show up, "I hope she didn't take my money and run."
Xyaqom was going to take a sip of his coffee until...
"We must save my family!" Said a teen boy.
Xyaqom didn't understand the meaning of that. Why would someone randomly say that? Xyaqom simply shakes his head and attempts to take a sip from his coffee when...
"We must save my family!" Said the same teen boy.
Xyaqom growls out of frustration since the teen boy was starting to get on his nerves. That very same boy then walks up to Xyaqom; Xyaqom it's about to take another drink of his coffee until...
"We must save my family!"
This startles Xyaqom, making him spill his coffee, and punches the team boy in the face in retaliation. The teen boy falls to the ground on his butt. The boy who kept saying, "We need to save my family," was 5'3 feet tall and weighed 120 pounds. He had blond hair and blue eyes; he wore a Shelby hat and wore a dark yellow cloak with light metal and black fingerless block. The weapon of choice was a dagger.
"You little mother fucker!" Said Xyaqom, now pissed off and about to take out his blades.
"Wait, stop!" Said a girl, protecting the boy. The girl had light blue hair down to her shoulders and blue eyes. She was a petite girl who was 5'2 and weighed 100 pounds. She wore a purple tunic with a grey chest guard, a knee-length skirt, and greyish boots. The weapon of her choice was a dagger.
"Wait, please don't hurt Gary!" Said the girl.
"Who the fuck is Gary?!" Asked Xyaqom.
"Excuse me, my good sir," Xyaqom turns around and sees a man walking towards him. The man was 5'5 and weighed 125 pounds. He had short black hair and light gray eyes and was dressed in light brown clothing with a metal chest guard, metal shoulder armor on both his shoulders metal bracers on both his arms. He also wore black fingerless gloves that extended to his forearm and dark boots, and his trousers are dark purple. His weapon of choice was his two-handed blade, "Hi, my name Charles; I would like to apologize to our partner, Gary, for disturbing you. I swear, you take your eye off him for a second, and he wanders off; this here is Lora (Meaning the girl who stopped Xyaqom from killing Gary). Her job is to keep an eye on Gary and make sure he doesn't wander off," said Charles.
"I'm very sorry that Gary was bothering you. I hope he didn't give you too much trouble," said Lora.
"Oh, well, other than him having me have steaming hot coffee splashing on my face, I'm just peachy, so what's the deal with this Gary kid anyway. Does he have a mind of a two-year-old?" Asked Xyaqom.
"Not exactly," said Charles.
"We must save my family!" Said Gary.
"Is that the only thing he's capable of saying?!" Asked Xyaqom, starting to get mildly annoyed.
"Actually, Gary is an NPC that we picked up for our guild," said Charles.
"Wait, you can recruit NPCs into your parties?" Asked Xyaqom.
"Well... Not exactly," said Lora.
"What do you mean?" Asked Xyaqom.
"We must save my family!" Said Gary, annoying Xyaqom.
"Well, to be honest, we picked Gary up when we accepted to do his quest. Apparently, his family is being attacked by many wolves, and we must go to his village to save his family from the wolves. And until we go to that said village and save his family, he's going to be our follower. So Lora and I..."
"It was actually Charles alone," said Lora.
"Chose not to finish his quest; that way, he will be our follower for life," said Charles in a proud tone.
Xyaqom was caught aloof at this idea from Charles.
"So, you're basically holding this NPC against his will," said Xyaqom.
"Don't be silly buddy, NPCs don't have a conscience; they can't even think for themselves. It's not kidnapping if they don't think it's kidnapping," said Charles.
"Okay, so let me see if I am reading this correctly; you met Gary on the second floor, you accepted to do his quest to save his family from a pack of wolves. But when you accepted his quest, you noticed that he became a temporary follower for you, and when you realize this, you chose not to finish his quest so that he can be your follower for life. Did I miss anything out?" Asked Xyaqom.
"Nope, you pretty much nailed it, although the downside to that idea is he won't shut up about us needing to save his family every five seconds," said Charles.
"We must save my family!" Said Gary, annoying Xyaqom further.
"Okay, but you do realize that, unlike us players, NPCs don't level up in this game, right? That means he will become more of a burden to you when you get up to higher levels, and he will stay on the level that he was programmed to be when you first met him, and monsters will be able to kill him with just one strike, you guys did realize that when you decided not to finish his quest, right?" Asked Xyaqom.
"Um, true, we understood the risks that came with recruiting NPCs and that they don't level up with us, but at the rate of growth that Lora and I are currently going through, our NPC partners aren't going to be a burden to us anytime soon," said Charles with pride.
"Wait, did you just say NPC partnerS?! As in, more than one?!" Asked Xyaqom in shock.
"Yep, they're sitting right there," said Charles showing Xyaqom where two more of his NPC partners were sitting.
"Remember, we must find red berries, not blue," said one NPC follower.
"I CAN SEE INTO THE FUTURE!" Shouted one NPC.
"We must save my family!" Said Gary, annoying Xyaqom further.
"Oh good lord, it's worse than I thought," said Xyaqom, in disbelief at what he was seeing.
"So far, we are a party of five, and we need one more player to make it a full party. What about you, big guy? Do you want to join us?" Asked Charles.
"You can't be serious," said Xyaqom.
"Sure, why not? You look like you can handle yourself. And besides, it would be nice to have another human playing at our party, someone that doesn't repeat the same thing every five seconds, said Lora.
"Remember, we must find red berries, not blue," said one NPC follower.
"I CAN SEE INTO THE FUTURE!" Shouted one NPC.
"We must save my family!" Said Gary, annoying Xyaqom further.
"Seriously, is there a mute button on those three?!" Asked Xyaqom, now getting really annoyed.
"Sadly, no, but you get used to it after a while," said Lora.
"HOW LONG IS A WHILE?!" Asked Xyaqom.
"That's not important right now; what is important is you look like you would be a great recruit for our party. Tell us, what level are you?" Asked Charles.
"Probably a lot higher than yours," said Xyaqom.
"Well, that's great; with your help, we can finally move on to the next floor and finally leave floor two behind," said Charles.
"Wait, you guys have been stuck on floor two since it's been unlocked?! How?!" Asked Xyaqom.
"Well, yeah, we kind of stopped grinding when we bumped into tougher monsters on floor two, so we have been staying on the floor and hoping that we would bump into someone with a much higher level than us so that we can recruit him, and that person is you," said Charles.
"And let me guess, the next three quests that you need to complete to get level-ups are all the quests involving those NPCs, but because you don't want to lose them, you have chosen not to complete their said quests," said Xyaqom.
"Remember, we must find red berries, not blue," said one NPC follower.
"I CAN SEE INTO THE FUTURE!" Shouted one NPC.
"We must save my family!" Said Gary, annoying Xyaqom further.
"Yeah, you got that spot on. So how about it, big guy, want to join us?" Asked Charles.
"Yeah, no!" Said Xyaqom.
"Perfect, great to hear, welcome to the..." He then realized that he just said no, "Wait, no?!" Asked Charles in shock.
"Yeah, you heard me; I said no!" Said Xyaqom.
"But... But why?" Asked Charles.
"Hmm, let's see, reason one, I'm a solo player, I travel by myself. I am my own boss. Reason two, knowing how low of a level you two are, You two will only weigh me down and become an annoyance factor for me. Plus, I don't need you guys to go into a trapped room where we cannot use teleport crystals, and you guys get yourself killed against monsters that are thirty levels above you, and I start blaming myself for your deaths. And reason three, I don't need to have "Family Guy, over there (Meaning Gary) telling me that we need to save his fucking family every five fucking seconds. Hearing him say that over and over again in the short time that I've had the displeasure of speaking with you guys is already bad enough, but hearing him say that with you for a long period of time while also hear him say that over and over would make me go crazy and would make me want to fucking kill you all. You guys are a bunch of low-level players, where most of your party members are NPC'S from quests that you chose not to complete. Hell, you guys can't even defeat a teenage ogre, which is only level ten. So unless you guys have a sword that is stronger than my own in your inventory, keep me the fuck out of this!" Shouted Xyaqom.
The inn went quiet; there was nothing but a long pause of awkward silence; Charles and Lora were shocked and baffled at Xyaqom's outburst. Gary, standing there and smiling the whole time, looks at Charles, then Lora, looks at Xyaqom.
"We must save my family!" Said Gary.
"THAT'S IT!" Screamed Xyaqom.
This was the last straw; Xyaqom finally snaps and starts pulling his blades out to strike Gary down for getting on his nerves. Lora quickly grabs Gary and backs away from Xyaqom.
"Okay, we get the picture. We're sorry to disturb you; let's go, everyone," said Lora in a panic.
Lora and Charles took their NPC followers and began leaving the inn.
"Remember, we must find red berries, not blue," said one NPC follower.
"I CAN SEE INTO THE FUTURE!" Shouted one NPC.
"We must save my family!" Said Gary.
Xyaqom would go after them, but when he saw the door close behind him after they left, he began to calm down and sat back down.
"Barkeep, another cup of coffee, please," said Xyaqom; he needed another cup to calm his nerves, "Fuck, now I have a headache."
A few minutes later, someone else enters the inn. This person looked to be a girl since she had a feminine structure. She looked like she was 5'6 feet tall, but we couldn't tell what the rest of her looks like since she wore a dark yellow cloak over her head and body and looks. When the girl steps into the light, we see she has light blue eyes. The girl looks around and sees Xyaqom at his table, drinking his coffee. When she saw Xyaqom, she became shocked. She couldn't believe she was seeing Xyaqom. It was like she was seeing an old friend again. Why was this the case? We don't really know.
The girl regains her composure and walks towards Xyaqom.
"Um, excuse me," said the girl, "Are you Xyaqom by chance?
"If you want me to join your party, I'm not interested," said Xyaqom, not even looking at the girl.
"What? No, I'm the Information Broker that you hired a while ago," said the girl.
Xyaqom's ears perk up when he hears this, and he looks at the girl, "Well, it's about damn time you got here. What took you so damn long?" Asked Xyaqom.
"My apologies, I was on the 40th floor when you contacted me, so I had to make my way down here," said the girl.
"Couldn't you just use a teleport crystal to bring you here?" Asked Xyaqom in a mildly annoyed tone.
"That's not how to teleport crystals work," said the girl.
"Come again?" Asked Xyaqom.
"Well, when you use a teleport crystal, you actually teleport to the safe zone on the floor that you're on. For example, I was on the 40th floor when you contacted me. So even if I were to use a teleport crystal, it would only take me to the nearest safe zone on the 40th floor, not on the second floor. Because of this setback, I had to make my way down here manually. I'm really sorry about the delay," said the girl.
"Well, as they say, it's better late than never. Plus, I guess it's a blessing in disguise that you came here when you did; you just missed the biggest cluster fuck this game had to offer," said Xyaqom.
"What do you mean by that?" Asked the girl.
"Never mind. Now that you're here, you can explain to me what's been going on around here," said Xyaqom; he takes a sip of his coffee and sees the girl was still standing, "What? Do you need an invitation? Take a seat already, your feet must be killing you," said Xyaqom.
"Oh, right, sorry," said the girl and sat on the chair across from Xyaqom, "So, what do you want to know?" Asked the girl.
"Everything. I want to know what's been going on since late December of 2022 until today," said Xyaqom.
The girl began to explain how a lot has changed over the last ten months and how forty-one floors have been cleared so far.
"I see, so almost under half the game has been cleared so far," said Xyaqom.
"That's right." The girl responds to him.
"So, who's the MVP here?" Asked Xyaqom.
"That would be the Blood Oath Knights; they are the main Guild that has been taking on the labyrinth to beat this game. Of course, there was a boy who went by the name Kirito who was also an MVP. He fought in the front lines alongside the Knights of the Blood Oath. But after June the 22nd, 2023, he... He kind of fell out of the map," said the girl.
"Fell out of the map? Was there a glitch in the game that made him fall through the floor and into the abyss?" Asked Xyaqom.
"Um, no, that's not what I meant. I mean, he just suddenly disappeared, without a trace," said the girl.
"He just randomly disappeared? Was he killed?" Asked Xyaqom.
"That's just the thing we don't know. Even my friend, Argo, doesn't know, and she's a better Information Broker than me," said the girl.
"I see, anyways, has the 41st-floor boss been discovered yet?" Asked Xyaqom.
"Yes, it has. The Knights of the Blood Oath are currently putting together a strategic plan to take it down," said the girl.
"Well, that's great. Did you discover the boss and tell them?" Asked Xyaqom.
"Um, actually no. I didn't. The thing is, The Knights Of The Blood Oath give us Information Brokers a bad rep," said the girl.
"They give you a bad rep? Why is that?" Asked Xyaqom.
"They consider us cheat codes," said the girl.
"Cheat codes, you mean codes that will give you unlimited HP and unlimited items?" Asked Xyaqom.
"The very same," said the girl.
"That's ridiculous. You aren't cheating codes," Xyaqom responds to the girl with a firm tone, "I mean, giving players cheat codes are one thing, but giving players information on things that they need to know is another," said Xyaqom.
"It's good to see that someone gets it. But apparently, the Knights Of The Blood Oath don't see it that way. They feel that all players need to figure out information on their own and that they do not need any players telling them about special events that are going to happen. For a time, the Knights Of The Blood Oath outlawed us. This caused a public outcry to all the other players, and a war between The Blood Oath Knights and all the other guilds almost happened. To prevent an all-out war from happening, Heathcliff, the Blood Oath Knight commander, restored our rights. However, although we are no longer outlaws anymore, the Blood Oath Knights still look down at us," said the girl.
"So, in other words, The Blood Oath Knights are treating you like drug dealers, but instead of dealing with drugs, you're dealing with information with players," said Xyaqom.
"Yes, that's right. Since you know the truth, does it make you hate or want to leave me alone now?" The girl asks Xyaqom with a firm tone, which she was used to it.
"Don't make me laugh; we just met, and you think I already hate you? You're going to have to try really hard to make me want to hate you," said Xyaqom; the girl was surprised by Xyaqom's words, "I mean seriously, trying to outlaw you and your kind just because you're Information Brokers? That's kind of ridiculous if you ask me. Selling cheat codes and drugs is one thing, but selling information? That's kind of ridiculous," said Xyaqom.
The girl grabs Xyaqom's hands with her own as her lips form a warm smile to see it. "So what would you like to know?" The girl asks him with a firm tone as she pulls away.
"Well, I was going to ask you where the floor boss was, but I guess you can explain to me how The Blood Oath Knights got so much power over this game, like making laws and all that stuff," said Xyaqom.
"They are the top guild of SAO, and they are lead by a strong player named Heathcliff," The girl tells Xyaqom.
"Heathcliff, huh? Is he the one who started The Blood Oath Knights?" Asked Xyaqom.
"Yes, he did. At the beginning of the year, he started putting the guild together. And before we all knew it, they were the top Guild in SAO, locating and defeating the bosses. No Guild has ever come close to as powerful or popular as the Knights Of The Blood Oath are. They are quite the extraordinary Guild," said the girl.
"Praising the very guild that tried to outlaw you and your kind, I see," said Xyaqom grinning.
"Don't get me wrong; I hate them with a passion for what they've tried to do to us. But I can't help but respect what they've done for all the players in this game. If it weren't for them, law & order would not exist. Every player would be killing each other over the dumbest thing. They are basically the police officers of this game; without them, SAO wouldn't be nothing more than Armageddon," said the girl.
"I see. I guess we shouldn't ignore that," said Xyaqom.
"Hey, how about we become friends then." the girl asks the girl with a gentle tone.
"Us, friends?" Asked Xyaqom.
"Sure, you're the first person in a long time who hasn't sped on me just because I'm an Information Broker," said the girl.
"I... I don't know," said Xyaqom, unsure of her request.
"I'll do anything to become your friend!" The girl tells Xyaqom with a gentle tone. "Besides, during the life that I've been through these last ten months, I need a friend myself," said the girl.
"Is it because of your life as an Information Broker?" Asked Xyaqom.
"Well, not entirely. I wasn't always an Information Broker. I became one shortly after the party that I was in were wiped out," said the girl.
"Oh, really? You were part of a party? What were you guys called?" Asked Xyaqom.
"I really don't want to say it!" The girl responds to Xyaqom as her breasts bounce lightly.
"I see; well, if you don't want to tell me, I won't make you. Anyways," He stands up, "I think it's about time I stop sitting on my ass and start pulling my weight around here; I don't want The Knights Of The Blood Oath to have all the fun of wiping out all the bosses," said Xyaqom.
"Wait, you're not planning on taking on the boss by yourself, are you?" Asked the girl.
"That's the idea," said Xyaqom, now heading towards the exit.
"That's insane; you can't take on a floor boss by yourself. You need an entire guild to do that," said the girl.
"Well, I guess they just haven't been working hard enough then. Besides, after being out of commission for almost ten months, I need something to stretch my legs, and that floor boss sounds like a good warm-up," grinned Xyaqom.
"A warm-up?! More like suicide! You can't take on the boss by yourself!" Said the girl.
"Watch me," said Xyaqom and left the inn.
The girl sighs and races back to Xyaqom as she was not going to leave Xyaqom's side.
"Hey, wait up!" Said the girl.
Xyaqom stops walking and looks at the girl, "Look, I've already made up my mind; there's nothing you can say or do that will make me change my mind about fighting the boss," said Xyaqom.
"Well, if that's the case, at least let me come with you!" Said the girl.
"What?" Asked Xyaqom.
"Before you left, you said that you've been out of commission for the last ten months. So I'm assuming that you haven't left floor two since it was unlocked. Plus, I doubt that you even know where the 41st-floor boss is, let alone how to get to floor three, or all the other above floors," grinned the girl, making Xyaqom groan, "Face it, you need me; without me, you'll just be walking around in circles in floor two, desperately trying to find the stairway leading to floor three. Don't forget; I'm an Information Broker; I know everything that this game has to offer up to the 41st floor. Without me, you'll never find the 41st-floor boss. So, you still want to play solo?" Grinned the girl.
Xyaqom groans, knowing that the girl had a point, "Fine, you can show me the way to the 41st-floor boss, but after that, we're parting ways, understand?" Asked Xyaqom.
"Yay!" Cheered the girl.
Xyaqom and the Information Broker girl began heading out.
"So, now that we're going to be traveling together, we may as well get to know each other a little better," said the girl.
"I wouldn't be getting too comfortable if I were you," said Xyaqom and a slightly annoyed tone.
"Then we should at least tell each other our names," said the girl.
"You already know my name, which is Xyaqom, and I already know yours; we can skip the introductions," said Xyaqom.
"Oh, really? Okay, Mr. Smarty Pants, what's my name then?" Asked the girl.
"Your name is Reina, right?" Asked Xyaqom.
The girl was shocked that Xyaqom knew her name. How did he do it? Did he read her mind? Or... Did he remember who she is?
"How... How did you know?" Asked the girl, who we now know is named Reina.
"Your name was on the list of Information Brokers when I was scrolling through the list of who I wanted to hire. I would have to be a complete idiot not to notice your name when I was hiring you," said Xyaqom. Reina was now feeling a mix of emotions; she was sad that he didn't remember her and embarrassed that she would ask him such a stupid question, "Hey, are we heading out or what?" Asked Xyaqom.
Reina steps over and nods at Xyaqom with a gentle smile, "Let's head out," said Reina.
Meanwhile, on the 40th, a knight from the Blood Oath is seen walking to two massive sets of doors. The knight knocks on the door.
"Sir, permission to enter," Knight speaks through the large door.
"Granted," said a voice from the other end.
The knight enters the doors and sees two people, a grown man who looked to be in his early thirties and a teenage girl who was fifteen or sixteen years old; these two talked to each other in the large board room when the knight entered.
The man was known as Heathcliff, the commander of the Blood Oath Knights. Heathcliff is a muscular, tall, and physically strong man, with sharp scholarly features and steel-gray hair that had a strand hanging over his forehead. He 6'1 feet tall and weighed 245 pounds, well build. He was wearing the Knights of the Blood colors, though the background and foreground colors were reversed.
The girl who he was talking to was the second in command of the Knights was named Asuna. Asuna was 5'6 feet tall and weighed 120 pounds. Asuna has long, orange-brownish chestnut hair and hazel eyes. She wore a red and white uniform that all Knights Of The Blood Oath members wear, called the Bloody Cloth. Her armor gave her a boost to attack, defense, strength, vitality, dexterity, and evasion. Her bracers were called Bloody Cross Bracers, which boosted defense, strength, accuracy, and made her enemies bleed for ten damage per second. Her boots were called the White & Red Boots, which gave her a boost to defense, agility, accuracy, and gave her the ability to poison her enemies for ten points of damage per second, and able to make her enemies bleed for ten damage per second, and able to paralysis her enemies for ten seconds. She also wore a pendant around her neck that gave her a small boost in defense and accuracy. In addition, she wore a golden ring that gave her a boost to defense; her belt gave her a small boost to defense and Evasion. And lastly, her cape gave her a boost to her defense. Her weapon of choice was called the Dignitas Rapier, which gave her a small boost to accuracy and did 240 damage per hit.
Name: Heathcliff
Level: N/A
Known Skills: N/A
Name: Asuna
Level: 53
Perks: Thanks to her Poison Charm item, Asuna can poison her enemies for ten points of damage per second, able to make her enemies bleed for twenty damage per second thanks to her armor, able to paralysis her enemies for ten seconds.
Weapon Of Choice: Dignitas Rapier
Known Skills: Parry: 880/1000, Two-Handed Lance: 300/1000 Rapier: 800/1000 Light Metal Equipment: 800/1000 Heavy Metal Equipment: 478/1000
Battle Healing: 677/1000 First Aid: 768/1000 Acrobatics: 709/1000 Sprint: 652/1000 Cooking: 850/1000
Once the knight entered the board room, he bowed before Heathcliff and Asuna.
"I apologize for interrupting your conversation Commander Heathcliff and lady Asuna, but I have dire information that I need to speak to you about," said the knight.
"Speak then, Knight," Heathcliff responds to his Knight.
"My lord, we just found the hidden lair to the infamous Laughing Coffin Guild," said the knight.
"That's terrific news; where is their hideout?" Asked Asuna.
"It's on floor two, my lady," said the knight.
"Oh? And how did you find it?" Asked Heathcliff.
While I was doing my daily Patrol on floor two, I noticed a man wearing leather clothing step out of a cave," said the knight.
"That could be anybody, I could be anybody," said Asuna.
"Yes, what makes you so certain that this particular man is from Laughing Coffin, and the cave that he stepped out was their hideout?" Asked Heathcliff.
"The man was a red player; he had a red Crystal above his head, meaning he has murdered people. Plus, I noticed their signature tattoo on his right hand. Although it was a different shade of black than all the others, regardless, that confirmed that he is a member of Laughing Coffin," said the knight.
"Hmm, I see. Did you get this man's name by chance?" Asked Heathcliff.
"Even if the players know this, they are willing to take the risk. Unfortunately for them, we have ways to find out who hired them for their businesses," he then turns to the knight, "Who was this player who hired an Information Broker?" Asked Heathcliff to the knight.
"He goes by the name, Xyaqom," The Knight speaks with a serious tone.
"Xyaqom?" Asked Asuna.
"Yes, that's right," Knight responds to them with a firm tone.
"That's a name I've never heard of, have you, commander?" Asked Asuna.
"I can't say I have; this is news to me," said Heathcliff.
"Do you think he's a new player who just got in the game?" Asked the knight.
"I doubt it; I believe by now, everyone in the real world knows how dangerous this game is. I don't think this kid's parents would allow him to buy the game and Nerve Gear, knowing the risk. I believe this Xyaqom fellow has always been in the game since launch day and is deciding now to show himself," said Heathcliff, and began to think about how Xyaqom got into the game in the first place. He continues, "I believe we will have to send a warrant for his arrest. Asuna, get a squad of men together, track down Xyaqom and the Information Broker that he was talking to, and arrest them. If they refuse to come quietly, use lethal force," said Heathcliff.
"Yes, commander." Asuna responds to Heathcliff with a serious tone and looks at the knight, "Where was this Xyaqom guy's last known location?" Asked Asuna.
"His last known location was on floor two, heading to floor three. If we hurry, we might meet him on floor five," said Knight.
"Very well, then. I'll get a squad together, and we'll meet outside the HQ in thirty minutes," said Asuna, and she leaves the Knight and Commander in the room.
"You're dismissed," said Heathcliff.
The knight bows before Heathcliff and leaves the room, leaving Heathcliff alone to his thoughts.
"Xyaqom, that's a name I've never heard. I've memorized all the players' names in this game, and Xyaqom wasn't one of them. I'm going to have to look more into this," said Heathcliff in his thoughts.
To Be Continued...