AN: There was supposed to be another section here but upon reflection I decided to try and make it it's own grouping. I'm not sure if it'll be its own chapter or if it'll be posted as a whole different story.

In regards to the editing of older chapters, I was surprised by how much I miss during my read throughs. Perhaps I'm better off using a read back program or something alongside my standard mental reviews.

My IRL schedule's changed now so I'm not sure what my update patterns are going to be like. For the time being I'm going to do a two week schedule though it may change to a three week with that extra one being using for editing old chapters and personal stuff.

"Some of my happiest memories from that time were just sitting around meal times and sharing stories with everybody. Hey, did I ever tell you about the time I watched my squad have a dodgeball match with ping pong balls? That shit stung, and I was just acting as a ref."

[1st Floor, Black Iron City. December 28th, 2022; Mid-morning]

"I really do wish there was more I could do for you, Asasaki."

"Think nothing of it." I sipped at my tea, basking in the focusing bitterness of the Slumbering Lily leaves. "Not enough people are paying attention to the state of our society like you are. I can gather items on my own and I know how to ration out my supplies; parting with some cor to help maintain the shelter is essentially a tax I'm more than happy to pay."

"I only wish more of those on the front line shared your thoughts. Too many of them come by here offering the children promises of a better quality of life." Sasha's grip on her cup tightened. "After the first dozen were convinced away I managed to teach the kids better but even so."

"It's okay. You did what you could. It was still early on and none of us could have expected the situation to turn out the way it did." I reached over and laid a hand over hers. Every single visit had had this conversation appear in one form or another. Truth be told, one of the of the black marks against the majority of the guilds and clearing groups was their abductions disguised as recruitment drives.

In the early days death tolls were the result of misinformation and overconfidence. The second wave of deaths that only numbered in the lower hundreds instead of the initial two thousand or so resulted from guilds trying to power level their premier members. With only one or two experienced players in a party, they set out to the third and fourth floors to amass levels, proper combat experience being nothing more than a mere afterthought.

'There's safety in numbers!' they all cried. 'Don't worry, us Front Liners will protect you!'. For the first few days everything went as expected. But once that confidence became misplaced, one in every four newcomers became slated for death in the ensuing week. It was written off as training accidents and the survivors were hailed as 'heroes' but the original front liners knew better. "They aren't still trying to convince the kids, right?"

"No. Not as dramatically as before." The former university student's gaze turned to the window, her expression becoming more somber. "I don't dare send the few that still visit away. The children look up to them far too much. I know they're being nice and looking for a place to unwind, but I-" her breathing hitched. "I just keep expecting to find a bed empty one night and when I look to the Memorial Stone the next I'll find their name crossed out."

"Sasha," I stared into my cup, composing my thoughts. "It's wrong of me to say this, and I truly am sorry, but perhaps you should consider asking them to teach the willing children." My hand twitched, ready to forestall a protest that never came. "We've already been here a good three months and we're not even up to floor ten, the very floor that had been reached in a single floor of the month long beta. How long should we expect this to take? A year? Two? Three?"

I shook my head, throwing off the minute sense of depression that came from the thought of being trapped that long. "What I'm trying to say is, keeping teaching them all you can, but you should also consider learning the basics of combat yourself or having people you trust teach the kids that express interest in actually playing this 'game' we're stuck in how to survive." I steepled my hands, expression darkening at the idea of more child soldiers. "I hate that as much as you, but they're still kids. Kids without much in the way of distractions. They know that they could play at being fighters and that's a really enticing prospect."

"Asasaki, I hear your proposal and I must respectfully decline. At least for now. I'll," the woman paused, indecision splattered across her face. "I'll keep an eye on the kids like you said. Perhaps in a year's time or so if the situation changes, where more people are willing to watch over them where I can't, I'll start asking for helpers. But for now, it's far too soon."

I smiled softly. "That's all I ask. We can't shelter them forever. Innocence has to be broken at some point. Better under controlled circumstances than in a situation we don't know about like from a dare." I downed the remainder of my drink before standing, materializing a few extra sacks of food I had gathered and pushing them towards Sasha. "Beef and fish from the upper floors. I'm sure constant pork is getting kind of tiring for you guys."

"We're getting some chicken too from travellers that come back from Tolbana. And there's also the mushrooms and other plants that come from the nearby forests. A shame that nobody really goes into the eastern swamplands. I hear the food you can acquire from there is quite delicious."

"The problem with that place is there's some monsters that will steal items right off your person. If you don't kill them in time you lose the items entirely. On top of that, most people here are still city folk." I gave a one shoulder shrug. "Maneuvering around a swamp isn't exactly in most people's interests if they could instead run around woods or rolling plains."

The moment Sasha opened the door to the courtyard a chorus of laughter and conversation greeted me. While too expensive purchase, the rental the former school teacher had on the church had allowed her several options, the least of which included sound proofing the building when everything was closed.

"Ms. Sasha, Ms. Sasha! Look!" A young girl in her early teens I had seen from time to time ran up to us, proudly holding a crown of flowers in her hands.

"That's such a beautiful crown, Silica!" Sasha smiled and knelt down slightly, taking the offered ornament in her hands. After a moment she handed it back, the mirth and delight from the two resonating within me and causing a smile of my own to appear. "Why don't you give that to our guest? I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

The so called Silica furled her brow at me, an adorably cute pout failing to show any sign of consternation. "Here you go, Miss. I made it all on my own!" I took the woven yellow and pink flowers, an airy laugh escaping through my lips.

"Thank you. It's wonderful." I set it on my head, adjusting it slightly so it would work more as a tiara than a crown. Without another word the girl ran off, joining two boys in a game of tag. After a moment I gave an annoyed tisk, simply giving Sasha a vague measurement of my height versus the girl's by way of a level hand. Amidst the brunette's giggles, "How'd she manage this anyway? I thought this world didn't allow for that sort of thing. Just about everything had to be done by menus instead of by hand."

"Only certain things." The woman stepped closer to me and plucked a single flower out, turning it in her fingers briefly before tucking it into her hair. "All the kids past the age of twelve have a small dagger that they use for training whenever visitors decide to teach something. The plants they gather around here are like the fruits that you can collect around the town, though once cut their durability makes it so they fade within an hour or two at best." Sasha folded her hands in front of her, her appearance making me long for a phone or camera to record the rather relaxing scene.

"Klein was extremely surprised the first time I opened a door by hand instead of by menu," I mused. "I think I'll be heading out now. Send me a message if you ever need anything, alright? I travel through the area enough that it's no skin off my back to lend a hand."

"I will. Now go. There are adults that need stern words of teaching that only you can give."

"And there are children that need gentle words of guidance." I gave a two finger salute as I stepped away, commiting the sounds of laughter to memory.

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[3rd Floor, Forest Elf Base Camp. December 28th, 2022; Evening]

"Knock, knock! Anybody home?" I lifted the flap into the goblin's assigned tent slightly, only moving in when I heard the beckoning grunts of the one the goblins."Hey! Tuukaan, right?" I shot the lightly armored goblin finger guns, hoping that they didn't take offense to either the gesture or my obvious glance at the sling at his waist. "How have you guys been? We don't really get to spend all that much time together.

"This Tuukaan has been doing well." The goblin rose from his bed and gave a partial bow, right hand sliding up and crossing over his chest.

"Your speech has been improving," I noted. "Still a little archaic, but the others have been doing great in helping you modernize."

"Swordsmen Klein and his companions have been helping This Ol'dekhaan learn both tactics and language of Honored Swordsmen. This Tuukaan is grateful for their help."

I cleared my throat, wondering how it was that despite everything I've gone through I was faltering at a simple absolution. "Listen, about our first meeting a couple days ago,"

Oh, stop mucking about and just do it.

"I sincerely apologize for how I treated you. My mindset was a misaligned at the time and it was wrong of me to be that violent."

The battle scarred goblin in the back of the tent suddenly rose to a sitting position, his left fist casually digging into the ground. "This Rhaagaar thinks Swordsmen Asasaki have no reason to apologize. Ol'dekhaan Tuukaan was enemy at time. This Ol'dekhaan would expect no less in combat."

"Ol'dekhaan Rhaagaar is right. Swordsmen Asasaki is Fighter, Swordsmen Asasaki was protecting Tribe. This Tuukaan already forgive."

Wow. There's a burst of emotions I haven't felt in a while. I coughed and straightened my back, putting on a practiced smile that showed none of the joyous tears internally falling. "Thank you, Tuukaan, Rhaagaar." I gave a fairly low bow, holding it for a second before rising. "If there's ever anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to let me know."

"Swordsman Dynamm say you have special training."

I jumped slightly, snapping my head to the side and staring at the lithe goblin that had snuck up behind me. "Something like that, compared to the others anyway."

"This Tarthuul thinks you should teach us. Swordsmen Asasaki fights differently from others. Instincts much stronger, too."

I stared at Tarthuul for a few seconds, slowly removing my hand from a holstered weapon that wasn't there. "When we get a chance, sure." They're friends, calm down. "But do me a favor and don't sneak up on me like that again? It makes me too jumpy."

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[3rd Floor, impromptu camp north of Zumfut. December 29th, 2022; Evening]

"Is this your first time seeing death, Swordsmen Klein?" The leader of our humans allies looked up from the fire, his arm finally ceasing the repetitive motions of sharpening a sword that was more destroying the edge than repairing it.

"Yes. No." His face formed a myriad of expressions, finally hiding them with a sigh that said everything he couldn't voice. "Only a few times before." Slowly, as if testing every word that came out before committing, he continued. "The first few times I guess you could say were directly our fault. No, that's wrong." He shook his head, sheathing the probably damaged blade and squirreling away the sharpening stone to whatever space the so called 'inventory' spell used.

"We were still new at the time. Dozens if not hundreds of Swordsmen were going places they shouldn't have been going and our group wanted to do what we could to save them from their mistakes." He shrugged clinically. "The next time was fairly recent. Maybe a month ago at most. Around fifty or so swordsmen, our group included, went to challenge the commander hiding away in the First Floor Tow- er, Pillar. A handful of people were almost lost but we had enough support that they could step back and take a breather until they were ready again."

The man took a deep breath, holding it until he seemed comically ready to explode from the sheer exertion. "Pwah! Right at the end though, our leader at the time took point for the next charge. The information we had was incorrect, and he paid the price. Since then, we've had a lot of close calls, mainly from Asasaki, but today was the worst."

I stilled my tongue. All of the swordsmen that had accompanied us were formidable in their own rights, but except for that woman they were naught but children playing pretend. They could act and scream all they wanted, but they were still trainees. Going onto the field in such a state was the same as resting in the den of a wild beast; pointless and suicidal.

"There were just- just so many bodies." The man shivered, rubbing his arms before consciously folding them in his lap. "You know normally they just disappear into the air, but this time- this time so many of them lingered. Just slowly fading away in a perversion of the normal route." He laughed brokenly, combing his fingers through his bandana restrained hair. "What kind of gods would play such a cruel joke? Forcing us to see something so against the natural order."

My lips pressed tightly. I dared not voice my agreement, but for the past handful of decades I had harbored the same thoughts. Day in and day out, stuck in a land separated from our kin, a false sky holding a false sun. What gods could play such a cruel joke, treating us as mere playthings, like ants under a polished lens?

"I'm sorry, Iseyer. That's incredibly insensitive of me. How about you? How are you holding up?"

"I shall be fine within a year. Tonight though, I grieve within my heart. By the morrow, the thoughts shall only surface when I have time. For now, I must train and plan. I am an elf after all. Unlike you humans who live so shortly, I have many centuries before me to take revenge."

"That's too true, Iseyer." The man nodded like a sage pleased by his disciple. "Just don't be like our Little Princess and bottle everything up too much, alright? I know we're still strangers, but we fought together. That makes us comrades. And comrades need to stick together. So if it's just a meal, a chat, or even a drink, don't feel like you have to shoulder everything yourself. We're all survivors of the same event."

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[5th Floor, Karluin Castle Ruins. December 30th, 2022; Late Evening]

"Choryu, I mean this more as a warning about Argo than anything, but make sure you think twice about anything you say to her. She's an information broker with fairly loose morals. Even if you pay her not to give away a piece of information she'll let people know who might be interested that there's information somebody tried to keep silent, and from there she'll turn it into a bidding war until somebody folds earning cor every time somebody ups the price."

The former office worker stared at me wide eyed, composing himself with a forced cough. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind then. Essentially we're speaking with somebody from management who we have to pay lip service to."

"Worse." I shivered, recalling one of the few times Asasaki had dragged me along to the player run markets. "We're dealing with a store keeper of thirty years in a region where haggling is allowed." I cleared my throat, making sure to enunciate after the last incident of several embarrassing repetitions. "Teleport: Karluin." The warp gate recognized my voice command and flashed a light shade of blue, the so called containment ring rotating around without pause. "I'm really not joking. It might be for the best if you let me do most of the talking. Argo's a little friendly to me, but I'm pretty sure that it's more in a 'lost puppy' kind of way."

Were it still daytime, the ruins of the fifth floor would have looked as if they belonged in a movie or game where the area was bathed in an eternal twilight caused by a curse of some kind. Luckily for us, the only supernatural stuff was various undead in the surrounding regions. As it was, the only light we had this evening was the campfires and torches around the city, the simulated moon on the ceiling providing only a thin sliver of light.

"This better be good, KleiN. I'm dipping into my beauty sleep for thiS."

My foot shifted beside my right, my body instinctively moving into Asasaki's 'Attention' position at the Rat's irked tone. "How does a full map of the «Forest of Wavering Mist» among other things sound?"

"It sounds like you're getting a deduction in payment for keeping me uP." Argo turned around, all but her face hidden behind the hooded full body coat she wore. "You're a good customer, KleiN. What else are you packinG?"

I brought out the selection of pages from Choryu's bestiary, waving them around like a dog treat. "Detailed information from a handful of monsters on the third floor, specifically the main forest, the northern region of the floor, the Tower itself, and a dungeon that was recently discovered northwest of Zumfut itself." I handed the papers over, watching her carefully for a reaction about the last eighth of the notes.

"You know I don't approve of personal notes on the papers, KleiN." Argo stepped away from the railing and motioned for us to follow, her tan coat billowing behind her. "I don't suppose either of you have AcrobaticS?" When both of us denied so, the broker scoffed and led us around the edge of the courtyard and through a series of halls and stairways. "Can you still function as one of my providerS?"

"I- what?"

"Can you still function as one of my providerS?" She repeated. "I told you I don't approve of personal notes on official papers, yet you hand me several sheets with an English message on theM." It was hard to tell in the dim lighting, but if Asasaki's usual changes in posture meant anything then Argo was narrowing her eyes. "I'll ask again, and no lying to mE. I can tell when people are doing thaT. Can you still function as one of my providerS?"

"We can, Miss Argo." Choryu stepped forward, a confidence he only ever showed on the battlefield or when talking about his hobbies.

"GooD. You're providing a valuable service, both to those that come after us and when you go to the front lineS. Making sure you're operating with a good state of mind is important, no matter how stupid Lind actS." The discussion soon turned to business, the three of us haggling over the pricing. Normally I would have settled for whatever base price Argo gave me, but considering how much effort we had to put in for the information regarding the Fallen Elves I felt no shame in trying to finesse some extra cor.

"About those Elves," I finalized the trade, satisfied with the extra 12% we had gotten. "This information is completely up to you as to whether or not you want to publicize it, but there's another quest line going on. One that's turning this game from a 15 and up rating to a full out 18 and over."

"I'm going to need extra copies of those sullied sheets, KleiN." Argo didn't look at us as she spoke, instead staring out at the ruined stone and brick buildings. "Consider the information private for noW. Yours is the only situation we've heard about, barring Kirito and Asuna's adventures with the elf KizmeL."

Choryu began finding the relevant pages, working his interface while I continued. "I really don't know what's the trigger for this questline. The only thing that comes to mind is the Contract skill we have but that makes no sense for such an obscure thing to be the reason."

Argo merely coughed and held out a hand palm up, giving me an unapologetic grin.

"Alright, what is it that you're asking for this time?"

"This 'Contract' skilL. Is this something you're looking to hide or shall I put this on the market freelY?"

"If you really want to try and sell this out, I guess you could." I shook my head, wondering why I even expected her to play nice. "Look, the issue here is is that we really don't know what's going on with this skill. As far as we know, we're the only people who have it and we've been getting access to things that have been trying for lack of a better word." I looked away, the white lie feeling distasteful as it slipped through my teeth.

"If that's how you feel about it, I suppose I could hold back on sharing thiS. You boys have been doing me a lot of service with your information gatherinG." Argo folded her hands behind her back in an astonishingly familiar manner, the action completed by the joking lilt in her voice only tarnished by her usual nasal inflection. "But I expect to have regular updates on thiS! Every day the beta testers are reporting more and more material that they've never seen beforE. What you boys are discovering might just be a heads up for anything in the futurE."

"You think what we're coming across is just a tutorial then?" Choryu folded his arms, his face scrunching up slightly like Harry and I had just put him on the spot for a battle plan.

"Mm, tutorial might be too forgiving of a worD. Perhaps teasing would better serve our purposeS." The brunette turned away from the plant covered railing, her expression shadowed by the length of her hood. "All of you need to be much more careful, especially in regards to AsasakI. I've no doubt you can handle yourselves, but what you're getting into," Argo slapped the back of her hand against the leaflets. "This isn't a gamE. More so than usuaL." Without another word the information broker slinked off, her form disappearing into the night.

"I expected much worse."

I moved towards the railing overlooking the eastern portion of the city, wondering why my gut was telling me that I had just missed something important. "It might just be because you were with me. Like I said, I have a bit of a good relation with Argo. I basically bugged her every day when this whole thing first started out and I'm pretty sure that every single description she uses for her 'Don't be like Idiot' in her guidebooks is supposed to be a reference towards me. From what I hear from the others, she's a lot less lenient and more probing in her conversations." I took in a deep breath, holding it for some four seconds before expelling it slowly. "This place is pretty nice looking. I'm sure Asahi and the goblins will love this region once we get up here."

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[1st Floor, Forests North of Tolbana. January 1st, 2023; Early Morning]

"I am pleased to see you've been keeping up with your skills. We shall make a fine shinobi from you yet."

I snorted, grabbing onto a branch and swinging myself forward. "Please, this? This isn't some kind of ninjitsu or whatever. This is just skill and training. You're free to call it whatever you want, but I'm just going to call it my arsenal." A cold tinted tingle coursed through my body, the helmetless set of Frostborn armor granting me bonuses to my Sprint and Acrobatics.

"It's ninjitsu! You were taught these by ninjas and thus they are ninjitsu!"

I flipped mid leap and stuck my tongue out at Shen's nephew, the childish teen returning the gesture with a comically angered expression. "And you're stuck in middle school! It's time to grow up, kid!" A loud snap rung out beside me. I looked to my side and laughed, ducking beneath Kotaru's usual half hourly, mostly half hearted attempt at striking my head.

"Peace, Sora. Miss Asasaki is free to do with our teachings as she wishes. She is our friend, after all."

"Hear that, Runt? I'm his friend. That means I get to hang out with him while he goes drinking and talk about our past exploits while you're stuck at home playing games with the rest of your shrimpy little mates." I cackled and whirled through a gap between branches, landing in a roll and launching myself through the air once again.

"You have picked up our teachings surprisingly well, Lady Asasaki." Taro moved beside me, a respectable distance maintained between the two of us.

"Using «Sprint» has a full body tingle that's surprisingly similar to that of «Acrobatics». The starting pose is a little weird, but now that I've made the connection it's a lot easier. I guess it's like," I yelped as a root I thought I'd be able to clear snagged my foot, quickly recovering and straining past the essential light jog we were using to catch up. "It's like roller skating your whole childhood and then being introduced to ice skating. The concepts are almost the same, but there's still a transitional period."

"Admirable recover, Miss Asasaki. Though you must improve your situational awareness if you intend to utilize these abilities in standard combat."

I held back my retort and merely snorted, respecting the old man far too much to let my usual snark be voiced. "Don't have to tell me twice. It's going to take at least a week for me to get completely used to these sensations."

A part of me felt bad for forcing everybody to my pace. The saying 'a unit is only as strong as their weakest unit' held true for us; with my being the newest user of the Sprint ability, the Fūma nin weren't able to utilize the full bursts of speed they were capable of, interspacing the downtime between each practicing allotment with normal running. It was a somewhat mentally taxing exercise, but only in the sense that you had to be aware of your own unique speed as well as keeping in mind the limits of everyone around you.

From his usual spot at Shen's right, Taro suddenly spoke up. "Keep practicing this on your own. I know your guild of Fūrinkazan are more front liners than our own brand of subtlety but having a metaphorical ace in the hole would be beneficial for them."

The thirteen of us stopped at crest of the eastern hill looking over Tolbana, the just rising sun breaching above the horizon and chasing away the chill of the night. "Mind if I ask you guys a question?"

"Do remember that we are not required to answer. We may have a good relation with each other, but we are still a guild."

I blinked at Shen's rather stiff response, unsure whether he was reminding me that we were not of the same group or if it was nothing more than a casual admonition. "Fair enough, I suppose. But anyway, I've been hearing some stuff about you guys poaching monsters from players across the various floors. What's that all about? I thought you guys were better than that."

"Like how you were stealing monsters from us when you met us in the forest?"

"Kotaru, enough! You have known Asasaki for far too long to continue this grudge. Let it go." I coughed quietly and glanced away, feeling a bit of second hand embarrassment at the scolding. "As for the poaching, I am ashamed to admit we did do that. It does not excuse our actions, but we did it for the resources."

"If you are referring to our current actions, then it's because we're being paid for it." The strategan of Fūmaningun looked over at Shen for approval to continue. "Some of the information brokers are paying us in materials and cor for patrolling the more common farming areas to keep the players safe from unforeseen circumstances to and head off any arguments."

"It is as Taro says. Where once we were nothing more than common bandits, now we are acting as true shinobi." Shen gave me a meaningful look, tapping the blade strapped along his waist meaningfully. "There are other things we are being paid for as well, but I can assure you they are meant only to help the players as a whole."

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Shen. "It's 2023 now, isn't it? The year, I mean. Not the time." I pushed off the tree, straining to take note of the eight others still habitually training their «Hide» skill in the branches.

"It is. The dawn marks the beginning of our third month in this world. Does it scare you, Miss Asasaki?"

"Just a little," I replied. "Not so much for myself as it is for the thousands of other players whose lives have suddenly been stopped from progressing."

"Then let us hope that this year will be a prosperous one for us, and for those that wish to return back to our birth world."

I closed my eyes, mulling the leader of Fūmaningun's words around. "And let us hope that our bonds will let us see the next year arrive. Happy New Year, Shen, Taro." The moment my well wishing was returned, the twelve ninja shot off across the field, their forms disappearing among the rolling hills. "Guess now I have a proper reason to fight in this world then."

You always knew it. Helpings others is an intrinsic value of yours, even if you try to be selfish.

"Do you have to be such an ass about telling me things I refuse to acknowledge? Jeeze." I ran my fingers through my hair, a beaming grin blossoming on my face. "Alright then, Kayaba. It's a new year, and we're all learning what makes this world tick. So come on, show us what you've got."

Next chapter expected to be out May 18th or 25th. If it comes out the 25th hopefully I'll have finished my revising of Chapter 1 and can get that out in that time frame.