The following scenes were changed to better reflect the timeline: Opening (changed from doing some quests to gain access to the Portal Town to observing the Arena in the center); Conversation with Klein (as the second highest floor, the presence of Clearers is still there, but not as prevalent); Business with Isuke (to bring mention of his scene from Interlude 3).

"You know all things considered, for my first winter here in Japan I'm actually fairly

well off. I'm boarding with a friend who's helping me find a place of my own now that I've got another job lined up, and my sister's still in the city and is going to come with me to the party this Christmas. It's all very comforting. As far as things go, I'm doing just fine."

The gentle wind of the seventh floor blew once more, delivering another breath of the forest. Below in the center of the arena, combatants moved to a rhythm all their own, light red droplets of energy splashing out from every hit and disappearing into the sand and gravel.

"You look like you belong in a harem manga, Lady Asasaki."

Tensed muscles (or at least the memory of them) were carefully unwound, the thought of what Shen might do to me if I knocked his nephew off the wall keeping me in check. "And you need to work on your compliments some, Runt." Then again, he might just pass silent judgement on the kid if he managed to get caught.

Sora gave an offended moan, joining me at the edge all the same. "What brings you up here? I figured you of all people would be down there fighting."

"Fūrinkazan just got back from an excursion in the woods. We're enjoying some R&R right now." I winced at a particularly nasty strike. A figure I swore was Vector of guild World Market had jammed his axe into somebody, the trailing particles of a sword skill visible from here guiding the poor bastard through a perfect parabola into the ground. A window illegible from here stating who the victor was promptly appeared.

"That's always nice." Sora followed my gaze back towards the center, laughing a little at what I assumed was another fight. "By the way, if you ever get bored, you should don our gear and run with us. Fūmaningun's been patrolling the floor while we train on monsters. Helping people out of binds, acting as tour guides, keeping high level monsters under control. I'm sure it'd get us a lot more popularity if they saw you around. You know you still have a bit of fame, right?"

Blandly, "Sora, I do have a guild."

"I know." The teen stared straight ahead, his posture oddly concerning. "But I think you make a much better shinobi than you do samurai."

I shook my head. "I made my decision, Runt. Please respect it."

The kid laughed awkwardly. "Sorry. I just think it'd be really cool if you joined us. There aren't exactly many girls in the guild. I'm sure if you joined up a lot more would follow after you."

Did he just-? "I'm telling Shen about this conversation."

His face paled dramatically. "Please don't."

"Tough luck, kid." I stood up and moved to the outside part of the wall, giving a warning before I began dropping down arch by arch. "You better start working on your excuse now, before Gramps catches you." Nobody better tell that kid about the Morality setting.

{ } - { } - { } - { } - { } - { } - { } - { } - { } - { }

Even if it was no longer the front line, Awass Town was still very much active, undoubtedly thanks to the nearly unlimited amount of safe experience that could be gained by dueling NPC's and Players alike in the arena. The bustle I'd come to expect for each new floor wasn't here, but the pace its current inhabitants maintained was energizing all the same.

Partway into my lackadaisical stroll around the town, I came upon a large group blocking all traffic. A quick visual scan of the buildings and a Sprint brought me well on my way to passing them, errant comments making me reconsider my plan.

"Hey, NPC! Give me a quest!"

"Mitsui, right? Is there anything I can do for you?"

I plastered on my customer service expression with all the force of a jilted lover, my breaths coming out a little harsh despite the mantras I was screaming in my mind.

"I'm sorry, right now I'm not in need of anything. Maybe another day?" Mitsui must have been wearing a similar expression, though I wasn't quite sure if the emotions she had were the same.

Another scan. Tingling legs carried me back up the side of the building. A kick sent me soaring over their heads, neatly depositing me in the small clearing around Mitsui. In an instant she rushed over and buried herself in my arms, trembling from the panic. "Hey, back off!" The bodies surrounding us drowned out my voice, the closest of them yelling at me for cutting in line.

Alright. Full force of an angry squad leader after inspection day, let's go. I took a deep breath, all my irritations channeled into the single word. "QUIET!" Silence descended upon us. Another breath. "Oi, break it up! My client has somewhere to be and all of you are in my way!" At last, some movement. "If you want to receive a quest from Mitsui, you have to clear the quests from Hibiki and Yamaguchi first! I've already done that, so she has no troubles working with me. Now tell me, which of you lot have done that?!" No one raised a hand. "Do any of you even know where those two are?" Again, nothing. "Well then, you have your goal. So get to it!" The crowd slowly shambled off, more than a few people sending me laughable attempts at glares.

I huffed, idly realizing that I had been holding Mitsui rather intimately. "Don't tell Hibiki," I muttered when traffic began resembling its former state. "Yamaguchi I'm sure will be more than ecstatic in his stoic way about the influx of swordsmen wanting to improve themselves, but I just know Hibiki will somehow botch my next meal with the wrong spice or something."

The inheritor of the trading guild slowly stepped away and giggled, following after me to the side of the road. "I'm sure Yamaguchi will find areas for him to work in if he doesn't do that himself. You swordsmen can be rather rather surprising." The redhead glanced away, looking rather embarrassed. "But thank you. It's a bit frustrating that I freeze up when dealing with a large crowd when my goal is supposed to unite all the branches of the guild. I ought to be able to take care of stuff like this on my own."

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. You'll get over it eventually. Besides, you've grown up in an isolated region holding a hundred people, maybe three hundred at most in any settlement you've been to. These past few months have been a drastic contrast to that. You've talked to village leaders, captains, sergeants, fought haunted trees and a damn near eight foot- uh, two and a half meter tall bipedal oxman." Pun not intended. "All this," I gestured around us, the action more random flailing than meaningful pointing. "It's one big learning experience. People aren't born amazing, Mitsui. Maybe disposed towards certain things, sure, but nobody starts out as a perfect leader. My sister once told me one of her Professors would always say 'Experience is how you learn not to do certain things. Mistakes are how you gain experience.'"

Testing the word out, "Your sister's 'professor' must be a very wise man."

"He was in his fifties if not sixties, I think. He might have been a little set in his ways, but he definitely took more than a few trips around the block." Crap, how do I explain this one? "Knew his way around a smithie. Er, anvil? Kitchen?" I let out a puff of air. "He was experienced." Another giggle. This one gave me the sense of amusement at my expense. "Hey, do you wanna go grab something to snack on? I know it's a little early, but I haven't eaten anything since this morning."

"I wouldn't mind getting myself some candied fruits," she confessed. "I saw a stall that was selling some near the main west road."

I frowned. More statement of fact than question, "That's a bit of a trip from the main food part of the merchant's district, isn't it?"

In response, "A little walk never hurt anyone."

"Mitsui, I just got back from a little walk. Done with one, even." Contrary to my complaints I still pulled out my map and Argo's Guidebook for the floor, charting out the best course for us. "I'd rather not do any more walking if I have to."

The merchant pouted. "Oh come on, Asasaki. It's not that much of a distance from-"

"Got the route. C'mon, it's this way." I gently tugged Asuka along, her hand clasping around mine after the first few steps. "So how have your deals been going along?"

"They're doing pretty well!" She chirped. "The representatives of Mistcrest and Stonemire were already escorted back to their homes, but the other four village elders were more than willing to meet with me." Her smile faltered a little. "Even if they weren't exactly open to any kind of trade."

"Didn't have any interest in what you had to offer?"

She looked around furtively before speaking again. "I didn't exactly take out my prized hens during those meetings. There's six different villages here; there might be some differences between their cultures, but in the end they're probably similar, right? So, I'm having some of Fūrinkazan do some searching around for me during their down time. Ask around a little about each of the villages and what they value." She coughed lightly into a fist. "The tournament they hold every couple years to decide who gets to be in charge of everything just ended, but if I can grab the attention of somebody who has the most to offer with something like say the bags full of weapon plans and fighting styles I have, I'm certain I can seal a deal."

I sniffed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and squeezing tightly amidst her attempts to rebuff me. "Aw, look at you! Using that big ol' head of yours to be smart and stuff." I laughed and let her go, the woman batting my shoulder one last time for good measure. "I'm serious though. That's something really smart you're doing. People new to your line of work might have just offered everybody the same deal, but you're keeping some cards close to your chest and trying to figure out what would give the best return."

Her head turned towards the ground. Meekly, "It's what some of the journals from my predecessors said. Both as an employee of the trading guild and as one of its leaders, we have a duty to make sure that the transactions we make are what's best for us. If we just take the first option we see instead of shopping around, it's a tremendous failure."

"Sounds like your predecessors were very wise," I parroted.

"Yeah, they really were, weren't they?" She gave me a small smile.

For a moment, I could see the weight on her shoulders; a fear that she would never live up to the legacy she was to uphold. "Hey, come on. The candy store's right over there." I pointed towards the stall in question, several strips of what looked to be dried mangoes twirling from the breeze. "Why don't you go show me that amazing merchant ability of yours? I've seen how you are during a negotiation, but a simple purchase like this isn't really something I've seen from you."

"Asasaki," Mitsui stared at me, far too amused than she had a right to. "Bartering isn't something done in this region. Their history, that of criminals and other outcasts, meant that if they needed things they learned to make set pricings instead of trying to take advantage of others. If they couldn't trust the person they were making an exchange with, how could they trust them while out in the field?"

"Ah." So very articulate, aren't you, Dawn? "I guess your meetings are a different story then?"

"Indeed." The Tolbanian went up to the store owner all the same, purchasing a few sacks of various fruits. Most of them were vaguely familiar to me, but the similarities ended only at color. Even then, I didn't doubt that what I thought looked to be some kind of pear would end up tasting like a durian.

Afterwards, the two of us lolled through the merchant district, eventually passing through the proper food section. Of the delicacies available, the only thing that caught my eye was a stall offering homemade rations comprised of the local deer and various berries. The safest option, really.

We were well within the Player's section of the district when Mitsui shifted from pleasure to business. "By the way, the next time I send you to Tolbana can you stop by a candied fruit store along the southern path to the Guild? Eating this made me long for some of our local delicacies again."

"The one with the glass windows instead of open air?" I asked. "I think I actually stopped there early on. They were pretty good, if a little expensive."

"Oh please," the redette's exaggerating dismissal replete with body movement stole my attention away from my browsing, her hair sliding around her back to rest on her shoulder. "I've seen the quality of materials you guys bring back after your trips into the wilds. Money is not a problem."

"When I said it was expensive, I meant that was still the first floor and we weren't used to everything yet. Besides, even if we have a full rainy day fund now doesn't mean we should be frivolous with our current income." I rolled my eyes at Asuka's continued needling, chalking her desire for higher quality items to her upbringing. "I suppose I could stop by and pick up a few bags of your hometown specialties though. Want me to grab a few bottles too?"

The moment Asuka opened her mouth after some thinking, a stranger suddenly slid between us, laying an arm around our shoulders. "If it's specialties you're after, I have just the thing."

The youthful voice jarred a memory aside. "Wait, don't I-"

"Yes, ma'am, at Agil's World Market we have everything you could possibly hope for. From armors to weapons, materials, and yes my lovely ladies, even food." The bright eyed and wild haired Siegfried pushed us along to a rather garish stall, the somehow completely contrasting colors of the banners and other materials reminiscent of modern art. "Feel free to look at our wares. Buy or merely look, we are fine with both." Spiel given, the teen slipped away, leaving us with the leader of World Market.

"So," I started.

"So," Agil repeated in English. "What brings the little ninja of Fūrinkazan to my humble stall? I would have imagined that one so esteemed such as yourself would never dare appear in such a boorish place."

"Eloquence does not suit you, Agil." I sniffed and gave him a once over. "Not dressed like a common Adventurer, anyway. Maybe if you threw on something significantly more smarter I'd give you a pass, but right now, eh."

His face fell, all pretenses gone. "Asasaki, please. I have a wife."

"And mama's window shopping, am I not allowed to appreciate the goods?" I gestured at him, snorting when he rolled his eyes.

"Hi, yes." Asuka leaned over slightly and thrust out an open hand between us. "My name is Mitsui and I am, what I believe the saying is, 'out of the loop'?"

I cleared my throat and collected myself. "Mitsui, this is Agil. He's a friend. We met here in Aincrad but as it turns out he's from America as well. As for the language we were speaking, it's called English. Sorry for leaving you out like that, but we don't get to speak in our native tongue that often, so it's become habit for us to do that."

"Oh, and so you're fine to be 'eloquent'," Agil suddenly said, "dressed up like you're some shinto priest?"

"What? Where did that even-? It's nowhere near the traditional outfit that a miko would wear!"

"It's the way it looks, Asasaki! Your color scheme might be the colors of Fūrinkazan but you still look like a cosplayer!"

I most certainly pretended not to notice Asuka's tasting of the word. "You take that back, I will not suffer this indignity!"

"Woman, you wore a damn santa suit! You are a cosplayer!"

"Oh, is that how it is?" I placed my fists on my hip, an indignant expression on my face as I stared up at the man. "Well then, see if I don't take my business elsewhere." I managed all of two steps before Agil's response broke over the quieting din of the marketplace.

"You watch me send Jun and Siegfried after you! Squirt might not have recognized you in that get up, but the two of them have been yammering every other day to me about when's the next time 'Grandma Asasaki' will swing by. I'll have them dog your every step if you don't get your pint sized ass back here!"

Oh he did not just call me that. I scoffed and turned around, letting my jaw hang in only partially acted astonishment. "Hey, you wanna speak a little louder? I can't hear you from up there."

Agil motioned towards a fully armored form who was undoubtedly Kinboshi, the man taking the place of Agil who vaulted over the stall front. Slowly, the two handed axe wielder strode over to me, staring me down with an equally taunting (if minorly hesitant) look on his face. "Pint. Sized. Ass."

"Uh, guys-"

In Japanese, our semi-heated English having worried more than a few people, "Go ahead and stand behind the stall with Kinboshi over there," Agil said. "This won't take but a minute."

"Yeah, because you can't even last that long." Even as our jabs and ribs continued flying, our hands never stopped moving. By the time our final barbs were shared, the timer for the duel was just hitting zero.

Dust flew up in my wake, my blade poised to strike at Agil's torso. Oh right, he knows how to fight. I spun to the side, dodging a knee that would have clocked me right in the chin. My rising slash clinked against the haft of his axe, a countering pommel strike rushing through the space I had just evacuated.

"Having trouble keeping up? Don't worry about it too much. Us here on the front lines are a different breed than you city folk staying where its safe." Agil flourished his weapon, slowly advancing towards me. Purely for show of course. Our antics had gathered a rather sizable crowd after all.

"I'm just afraid keeping it up is a problem you're trying to compensate for. Such a large weapon you have, is that how you maintain your masculinity?"

"Oh that's a low bl-"

The moment his stance dipped in shock I shot in with a Sprint aided Reaver, having done the move enough times that I'd memorized the moment I could recover to face my point of origin. "You mean these strikes? Why yes, of course they're going to be low blows." How did that line go again? Of course it's a kick. My next approach was nothing more than a simple Sprint pushed to its limit, weapon held in position for a Reaver. Agil's block went wasted, his entire form treated like bar used for pole vaulting. Three streaks of light lanced out as I arced over. A rotating axe kick glancing off the front of his exposed shoulder letting me face properly for a repulsing side kick. That's what makes the punch magic. "Five Oh, Goliath. Looks like David wins again."

Agil's focused face barreled towards me, my attempt to dodge subverted by the head of his axe reeling me in like a cane in a cartoon.

My head met his knee twice. Despite my blurred vision, my HUD was completely perfect. The Stun icon continued ticking down as Agil's axe swung towards me in triplicate, the angry red glow of his axes slamming into my body like I was nothing more than a golf ball. My health plummeted forty percent, an additional three bleeding out as I rolled along the ground. Things I am grateful for: pain in this world is represented by the absence of sensation.

Around two and a half Reaver's away from me, Agil gave a victorious pose, riling up the crowd with a few gestures. Hey, me, can we get serious please? Literally one more hit and we lose this duel and I am not looking forward to that. "Ah, of course, me. Just please, go closer to the scary man with the double sided axe who can three shot you," I grumbled. "I'm sure that won't go wrong at all." I jogged back towards Agil, the leader of World Market entering a ready stance. Oh who am I kidding. We'll just wing this. Approximately double his reach I suddenly stopped and entered a sword stance, the pose differing from Comet Canon only by a closed fist. He's grinning. But can he tell the difference?

A wave of power shot out from my slash. Agil stumbled back from the strike. In the opening created by «Downburst» I unleashed a rush of attacks, each slash and stab retaining a sense of awkwardness from their knife based origins.

Idly, I wondered what we must have looked like to the onlookers, a tiny woman of five two going up against a behemoth of a man standing at six seven. Each of his attempts to grab or attack me were either dodged or used to swing around to another point of attack like the tetherballs of my Elementary years.

A set of flipping kicks after another chain bought me away some distance. As I rotated back towards the ground I let my arms splay, the system latching on and registering my position. When my feet were once again under me I let go of the mental pressure, twin strikes lashing out parallel to the ground and scoring two more hits on Agil's form. Please don't counter, please don't counter! A single beat. Spurred on by tingles in my legs, the system danced me forward one final time. The final horizontal strike of «Crosswinds» struck true, the still vibrant line of red going across the axe wielder's stomach glowing brighter. Yes! Now I just need one more chain and- My eyes widened. Facial twitches were easily done but in my excitement I had forgotten the fatal flaw of combining Sword Skills with Martial Arts: the Post Motion from each ability would stack until you stopped moving.

Agil took three steps forward before leaping into the air, axe sliding in his hands for the mother of all hatchings. God fuck me and my- The last thing I saw before I ate dirt was the minute adjustment of his grip, the flat of his weapon obscuring the sky. Cheers erupted around me, Agil's victorious roar breaking through the cries. The celebrations continued on for several moments before I bothered to roll onto my back. Alright, so. I wasn't really trying to win, honest. I just wanted to have fun. Which I accomplished. So all this irritation? Totally not justified. "Yup, just keep on lying to yourself. I'm sure that won't cause any problems."

"You okay there, Asasaki? You've been laying down there for a while." Asuka leaned over me, a significantly larger shadow joining her a moment later.

"Just replaying the fight in my mind." Should have stuck with more basic attacks. Being fancy is how you get punished.

"I'm sure there's better places to do that than on the floor," Agil commented. "Come on, I know a place we can eat. On you of course."

I accepted his hand, flying into the air slightly but managing to stick the landing. "There better be sweets. Not for me though, for Mitsui. I'm not exactly a fan of the stuff."

Agil looked over at the red haired woman. "Now why do I feel like I should know that name?"

I grinned slyly at the woman in question. "She's been getting a bit of fame recently, though I'm sure she'd call it notoriety."

As hyped as they were after our battle, Agil had no problems getting us through the crowd. His confident gait parted the people like the bow of a ship. Those that followed after us were masterfully fielded towards his stall, promises of a secondary currency for repeat customers causing many a interested glint.

After the umpeenth unique phrasing of his guild's line of credit, Asuka crinkled her nose and asked me about it.

"I can answer that," the man in question interjected, sending off the rest of our following with a tact I could never have hoped to achieve. "The guild and I keep recordings of who sells stuff to us and what kind of things those are. If we ever get a rare or decent item in stock, we notify players who we think might be interested in them that we have something that could be useful." The moment I opened my mouth to ask say something, "Kinboshi was the one that suggested it. Apparently in one of the games he used to play there was a guild that did that. It was a lot of work, but they ended up getting a monopoly on all major trade."

"You think you can handle that, Agil?" I crossed my arms and stared up at my fellow foreigner, occasionally glancing at the road in front of me to make sure I didn't crash into anybody.

"I'm pretty sure as things go along and more players actually find out about us we'll have a more difficult time, but," Agil lowered his voice, "I've been talking to The Rat over the past few days. We've been discussing bringing World Market into the fold of her unofficial guild as part of the merchant division."

In English, "She has a guild?"

Agil barked, not bothering to switch over. "Unofficially. Her and just about every other person involved with it demands we refer to it as 'The Information Network' but guild is a lot easier." When we arrived at the restaurant he gestured at the of chairs and tables. "Got any preference for where you want to sit? I prefer the closest to the exit myself."

Not caring much for seating arrangements, especially considering assassinations were impossible, I took Agil's disposition in mind and gestured towards one of the empty spots along the outer edge of the terrace, a sizable wood and stone building with a few smoke chimneys rising into the air on the opposing side. A snicker found its way out of my mouth when Agil rushed to pull out the chairs for Asuka and me.

Whatever the bald axe user was going to say next was interrupted by somebody stepping up to us, the unashamed staring I did allowing me to see the NPC indicator above his head. "Hi, welcome to the Bleating Wolf." The boy handed a clay tablet to each of us with a smile, the slates having the menu inscribed into them. Tapping on them brought up the menu of course but it was a rather large thrill to be reading something physical for once.

"Does that happen often?" Agil asked when the boy left.

"First time it's happened for me without specifically asking for it," I said, eyeing the Tolbanian suspiciously.

"Does the staff not do that with you?" Asuka responded at the same time as me.

The woman met my gaze, raised a brow, then went back to looking over her menu. I had a feeling her perusal was more for something new rather than familiarizing herself with what this place offered.

#So what is she?#

#That's kind of rude, don't you think?# I returned to Agil's message.

#She's an NPC.#

#But also a friend.# I gave Asuka an apologetic smile, recalling the handful of times she'd reprimanded me for not focusing on our conversation. #Please don't make it awkward. I'm still coming to terms with it myself. It's one of those things that's easier to not acknowledge or label.#

#Well if you're alright with it.# Hands no longer busy interfacing with his window, "I guess I'll order when he comes back then. Would be a nice change of pace, having a proper interaction instead of only using the menu."

Asuka suddenly gained a predatory appearance and stared at me, her smile reminding me of a short term supervisor who had a fascination for getting people in trouble. "So then what would you consider Hibiki making us meals?"

"Him either following orders or pursuing his hobby?" I answered. "I'm not quite sure what you're- oh." I straightened at the realization. Provided I wasn't off on my own, it had become habit for Asuka and I to share a snack or meal at some point during the day, the food having been prepared by Hibiki with whatever materials we had. Having never approached the conversation of Asuka and the others being nothing more than constructs of 1's and 0's, it was easy for me to slip into the mindset of truly being a visitor to another world rather than a victim of a madman's cruel design.

"I know there's a difference between what you're used to in your world and what you consider normal in this one, but I'm certain most things can still be done the way you're used to," she directed towards Agil. Partially towards me, in what felt like a gentle scolding, "You don't need to rely on swordsman magic alone, as I'm sure Captain Yamaguchi and Sergeant Hibiki have demonstrated."

"Wait you're-!" Agil quickly composed himself, lowering his voice back down to a conversational, if still very excited, level. "You're the same Mitsui that people were talking about you had to beat those two First Floor NPC's in order to get a quest from?"

My eyes widened slightly at the usage of the term. Asuka had obviously heard the term before, both when she was accidentally giving out quests and earlier today, but I'd never really talked to her about what it meant. I knew one day I'd have to approach Asuka about her status of merely being a program, but this season was not that season.

"My, news certainly travels fast. Yes, I am that same Mitsui." She rose and gave a quick curtsey. "Mitsui, Asuka of the Mitsui Trading Guild, Headquarters location in Tolbana of the Black Iron Kingdom. A pleasure, Mister Agil. I hope that in the future we might become good business partners. But today, we deal in pleasure."

And there it is. That sunny smile of hers. I bet if players saw this side of her more often she'd become something of a figurehead in the game. Might have even become a flagship character on future cover art if this whole mess hadn't happened. I let out a deep sigh, slowly tuning back into the conversation. As our meal ('alcoholic' drinks graciously purchased for us by Agil) wound down, I couldn't but notice the Dragon knights huddled in their own private little sector, those closest to them having scooted their tables away as much as possible. "So what's the story with those guys?" I asked from behind my cup.

"Which ones- oh, those. You don't know?" Agil grunted in remembrance. "Klein mentioned you were a little out of touch with things."

Raised brows were the only response I gave.

"Lind's practices and the way he's been telling the rest of his guild to behave gathered quite a bit of hatred towards them. Among the front liners, they're being ostracized for their readiness towards kill stealing and trying to game the system for any loot they roll for. The surprising thing is: Kibaou's become a lot more mellow than how he used to be. I mean sure, the guy's still as stubborn as ever, but his guild's downright pleasant compared to the DKB and some of the newer members of the ALS actually do business with me so they're not all bad."

Terrible people can still be nice to certain people they choose, you know. "By the way, is a guild called 'Fūmaningun' operating up here?" I asked after a while, curious about their reputation.

"You mean those ninja role players? Yeah, they're something of a novelty. Most of their higher leveled members have already gone up to the eighth floor, but they still have a decent presence here. You don't see them too much in the public eye, but every morning a slightly updated copy of Argo's Guidebook is available, on all the floors they're on. I guess they work during the night or something."

"Hm." I flicked open my inventory. The dark green clothing from Shen I'd since dyed an equally dark blue sat in my inventory, the long outdated armor associated with it placed beneath the set. "It's good to hear they're maintaining a positive presence among the others. I've worked with them before and while they're a little eccentric, their teamwork is on point."

"So says everybody they bail out." Agil gulped down another swig of his drink. "You know, if they didn't require that every member who joins up be wearing their uniform at almost all times they'd probably have a hell of a lot more people in their guild. Most of the newer members are still leveling a good floor or three below us, but it's going to be interesting to see Fūmaningun become a major guild." His free hand moved to tap something open, the man letting out a groan of annoyance at whatever came up. "Sorry, I got to head back. Looks like somebody got mad at Siegfried for being too forceful again. That's the second time this week. I swear I'm going to have a long talk with that kid."

"Have fun with that," I drawled out. "If you ever need somebody to smack some sense into him, feel free to hit me up. I can kill multiple birds in one stone with a training session."

"I'll keep that in mind. If you'll excuse me, ladies." Agil gave a short but flourished bow, his hulking form alone parting the way through the crowd.

"I don't know if I'll ever get over your swordsmen magic," Asuka said enviously.

I shrugged, unsure what prompted that sentiment. "It really is just convenience. We've done without it in the other world, so if we lost the ability to utilize it I wouldn't mind too much. Would suck if everything I was carrying just exploded out though." After a little bit longer, just shortly before noon, I escorted Asuka back to the inn we were staying at located in the south-most district. It was a little more expensive as a result of of its proximity to the entrance and comparative luxurity, but was still within the budget we'd created.

"Make sure you grab everything for me before tonight alright? Including a few bottles from my storage. There's some reports I need to write up and having something to drink would be amazing." The merchant repeated her request, using a few key words as well as adjusting her state of mind to turn the favor into a proper quest. Being a simple run for supplies from the first floor, the rewards were rather minimal. A paltry twenty five experience; less than a fourth of a single monsters we could fight up here on the seventh floor. "If you're lucky and I'm feeling generous I might just share some with you."

"I'll keep that in mind." With that we parted our separate ways. Asuka to run errands with Asahi and one of the other Explorers when they finished their training and myself to the room we shared (ladies only).

I leapt onto the straw filled mattress with a flumph, the material crinkling under my weight. Were my pillow covered in a softer material I would have been nuzzling into it instead of simply clutching it to my chest. What else do I have to do? My breathing leveled out, each respiration lasting who knew how long. Is there really nothing else? Our next excursion around the floor wasn't until sometime tomorrow noon. We'd set aside a few hours before that hard grinding the local monsters to level up if at all possible but other than that we were entirely free. I guess I'll just head to Tolbana whenever I wake up then. It won't be a problem if I Sprint. Plan decided, I settled in for a nap, meditating to the din of civilization floating through the shuttered windows.

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It was well past lunch when I woke back up and made my way down the stairs. Asuka had come in at some point apparently, her combat gear from the morning laying neatly on her bed. The pangs of hunger weren't really bothering me at the moment and considering that I was going to pick up some snacks in Tolbana I felt no need to eat something now. It just as I reached for the door that Issin called my name.

"Asasaki, come here real quick, we've got a question for ya."

I moved over to the table Klein and Issin had commandeered for themselves, my instinctive fears of a heavy topic dissipating at their mostly jovial looks. "What's up?"

Klein coughed into a fist, putting on a business-like appearance. "Who is Isuke and should we be concerned about his obsession towards you?"

"We checked out the rumors of a new player blacksmith on the floor. When he realized we were in Fūrinkazan he refused to help us, not unless we brought you along." Issin explained.

"Ehh." I tucked a length of hair behind my ear. Damn. Forgot to clip that down. "I don't know if I'd call it obsession so much as acceptance. The man desires to work with all things 'Ninja'. I was only able to get a by with him because Shen was speaking for me-"

"Wait, you know Shen?" Issin asked, to which I responded affirmatively. "The leader of Fūmaningun?" Another yes. The two took a moment to process that.

"So what did Isuke say he wanted with me, if anything?"

Klein recovered first, dispelling his thoughts with a shake of his head. "He said something about wanting to thank you in person for 'that special thing' you did for him."

"Creep," Issin muttered under his breath.

"Oh, that?" I gave in to the feral grin. Entertaining Isuke's questions was always a little concerning and part of me couldn't help but feel more than a little wary with some of his mannerisms, but fears aside he'd never done anything physical and the results he gave were more than worth the discomfort. "Yeah, whatever he's got in store for me ought to be a big one. He has odd tastes, but doing those favors is always worth it." The worried looks they gave each other was lost on me, but I'd long since learned to tune their nonverbal communications out.

"Alright, we're going with you," Issin declared.

"Um?"

"This guy seems like a major weirdo," he continued. "We're going to go with you to make sure nothing strange's going on."

"You two do remember I'm older than you, right?"

"'Things can seem mightily different from an outsider's perspective' is what you told us once," Klein responded.

"And from our perspective, things seems awfully wrong," his partner in crime added.

"So just do us all a favor and say yes," they proclaimed in unison.

I shook my head in disbelief. "Look, I'm sure you guys are just blowing this all out of proportion, but if this is what you need to feel better, by all means." I chuckled. "Maybe I can get Isuke to give you guys a discount or something." Nah. Knowing him, he might jack up their prices just because they're 'samurai'.

Isuke, I'd find out, had arrived on this floor the day before we'd arrived. On top of taking a break from the training he'd subjecting himself to, he'd also gotten the highest level equipment for smithing. Where he got the money I couldn't say for certain, but I had a sneaking suspicion that Fūmaningun had donated a fair bit towards their client. "How is he, anyway? I'd message him if I had him added, but."

"You don't have him added?" Insert query from unrequited love interest.

"Nope," I popped. "Never really had a reason to. If I ever needed his services I'd drop by his place and see what we could hash out. If he wasn't there, I'd either come back another day or find somebody else to do the work for me. It's worked out so far, even if he always got mad at me for 'letting someone else sully his goods'."

"The more you talk about this guy the less I like him," Klein groused. "You sure you're okay associating with this guy? You're not being forced into this, are you?"

"Of course not." A flash of color caught my attention, the brief glimpse I was able to get of the outfit reminding me of Ashley's unique designs. "Look guys, I'm really appreciative of this concern and all, but I'm a grown adult! I can handle myself." And others. Especially others. Following a quick stop to ask a player merchant for directions (Klein and Issin having gotten lost amongst all the stalls) we arrived at Isuke's in the northwest, the man obviously but quietly muttering to himself while he worked a portable forge. The man being serviced seemed to be harboring reservations of his own but was more than able to keep them private.

"Alright. Your sword's done." He said dully. The moment he caught sight of me the rest of the transaction went by with the traditional service professionalism you'd expect, and when the man left, "AsasakI! There's my favorite woman." I returned his embrace, the man's weak but enthused patting reminding me of some of my uncles when they got drunk. "And what can I do for you today?"

"Equipment repairs for one, and then I'm sure my companions might want some work done as well." I pulled out both «Barbed Sabre» and «Sillicatite Dao», handing them over for inspection. "Oh, and can you take a look at the item requirements for their next upgrades? I'm pretty sure I have what's needed for at least a few things." As I spoke I began handing over the rest of my current equipment. Isuke wasn't able to perform armor upgrades, not for light metal, but repairs was something easily taken care of.

"Seems like the Barbed Sabre can be upgraded with materials from this floor. For the next attempt I'll need twenty Rosodian Thorns, ten Greenwing Quills, and then at least level twenty five materials for whatever affinity you want to enhance. You'll have an easier time getting those from the eighth floor." The flat haired noiret studied the next window before speaking. "As for the Sillicatite Dao, you're going to need ingots made from level twenty and up weapons. That's a trip to the northwest, unfortunately. All the monsters here only drop armor pieces or raw materials, unless you go to the caves where the monsters there are rock and metal based. Do yourself a favor and tag along with a blacksmith if they're hunting for levels and materials; The Information Network recently confirmed that a blacksmith in a party greatly increases the material drops related to their skills. "

"Great," I mumbled. "There went my plans for the evening." When my two boys stepped forward to inquire about conducting business, Isuke made it no secret that he was only willing because I was part of their guild. Once the transaction was nearly completed, I spoke up. "Mitsui wants me to grab some stuff for her before dinner. I'm going to go head out to that village before dropping in at Tolbana."

"Okay. Be careful, alright?" Issin nodded fervently beside Klein. "This is still a new floor, not all monsters have been discovered yet."

"Make sure you stay potted up on those preventatives, Miss Asasaki," Isuke added. "The group I traveled with to and from Stonemire Village had to deal with a few spore based monsters. We ended up having to wait out the status effects once we reached the village. Oh, by the way. I'm giving you a long term IOU. As I am right now I can't offer you anything near worth compensation, but once I finish my training I'll give you the best blade you'll ever see."

Somehow I don't doubt that. "Just let me know when you're ready then. See you guys."

This chapter has been updated on March 26, 2019