Sword Art Online Version Vongola

by Nain Tarlow

11 year old Sawada Tsunayoshi was one of the ten thousand players who logged into Sword Art Online. He found freedom in this virtual word far away from anything associated with Dame-Tsuna. Now, as the Death Game begins, watch as the swordsman Natsu takes his first steps into this world and grow into the leader he was meant to be.

6. Level 6

We almost ended at 10k words again...and when I started I thought that around 3-4k words per chapter would be challenging enough. I guess this is a good sign.

Thank you, everyone, for the continued support, hope you continue to enjoy the story.

This chapter is somewhat of a milestone for me because this is the end of the prologue or the start of the journey arc of the story as I call it in my mind. The next chapter will be a filler of sort with a time skip, then we will start on the first half of the main arc of the two years spent in the game. You guys probably know what and who will be involved, I wasn't even trying to be subtle.

And I found a nickname for Natsu, which I think is honestly ridiculous so it suits him well. I hope you like it along with the official guild name.

Level 6 The birth of a swordsman

"I feel so nervous."

Natsu was adjusting the sword on his back for the ninth time since they arrived in Dokut. The relatively small city was full of various players, unlike the last time they were here. But the atmosphere was far from light. Everyone wore grim expressions, some looked nervous, some eager, but everyone was in full fighting gear. They were the best of the ten thousand players, those who risked every day at the front lines. The Assault Team.

The five of them walking through the city with purpose, Buzz leading them on the crowded streets. Natsu was a few steps behind him, with Ken and Basil, Agil taking the position of the rear guard. For a strange moment, Natsu thought it looked ed like he was some kind of royalty surrounded by guards.

"Why? It isn't the first time you take part in the boss meeting.." asked Buzz from the front, his lazy demeanor was quite a contrast to Natsu's nerves.

"It's different. This is the first time we come as a guild, the first battle as the Keepers of the Seven Rings." he insisted stubbornly.

After a long while, they were able to choose a suitable name thanks to Basil. He remembered a tale from Natsu's dad, and it still threw the boy for a loop that Basil knew his father much more than him, about an ancestor of his who formed a vigilante group in Italy. He was said to have seven special rings that identified him and his friends who formed the core of the group. Hence, they were named the Keepers of the Seven Rings, especially because Agil talked with Biggs and Wedge who also decided to join the new guild, thus making their group a full seven.

As much as it meant to them to have a guild, Natsu also was right in that it would alter their perceptions in the eyes of the other members of the assault team. With the need to organized and the human need of forming groups, the guilds garnered more and more importance especially with the steadily increasing number of players who wanted to take part. Solo players or small groups not in a guild were given less and less voice on the decisions as they slowly but surely fell behind the players in guilds. The obvious exception being the infamous black swordsman.

Already, there were three guilds that taken a center position. One was the MMO today, led by the writer of the news programmer of the same name. They had a large collection of veteran players who also took care of a lot of lower-level players who wanted to join the frontlines.

The second was the Aincrad Liberation Force, led by that jerk Kibaou. He still harbored a grudge against the beta players, especially Kirito and unfortunately he got quite a crowd to listen to his idiocy. Buzz said not to worry about him, if all the idiots gather to him, at least they would be easier to keep track of. Natsu didn't really understand that, but if nothing else it could be said about Kibaou's guild that it consisted of an impressive fighting force. Of course, they jealously guarded information and farming spots, much like what Kibaou accused the former beta testers of doing.

The third major guild was the Kaiser Dragons, the strongest guild in terms of average player level. They were a ferocious and aggressive guild, the best example was their leader, Lind. He was a stubborn man who couldn't deal with not being one to call the shots, thus creating a lot of unnecessary tension on boss meetings. He was also very antagonistic towards Kirito but left the rest of the betas alone.

"Well then, I guess we better impress all of them." joked Ken with a carefree grin. Natsu gave a small in return and began to talk with the curved-sword user. From behind them, Agil smiled at the two little kids, happy they were distracted.

-0-

"Guys, little boss. Glad you could make it." Wedge greeted them cheerily when they made it to the square where most of the Assault team were meeting. There were around eighty people gathered here, thankfully their fighting force was getting stronger and stronger thanks to new players joining and the fact that no cleaner died in boss battle up until now.

Biggs was, as usual, standing beside his brother, smiling kindly at the group. Both of them were sporting new equipment, geared for battle. They were standing next to a group of players wearing red, samurai-like armor that looked familiar. As they neared them, a red-haired man with a bandana stepped out of the group, greeting them with an easygoing smile.

"Look who turned up. It's the NaBaKen squad." Klein joked much to Natsu's dismay.

Inwardly groaning, because Ken simply couldn't be trusted with naming things, Natsu hurried forward to greet his friends with Ken and Basil following just as excitedly.

"Hey, Biggs, Wedge." he greeted his guildmates with a big smile, before turning. "Klein-san, please don't ever utter that name again." he pleaded the older man. He simply chuckled at the young boy, Dale, and Dynamn joining him.

"Don't call me 'san' and we have a deal. It makes me feel old." he wisely ignored Dale coughing and telling him that he is old. "Anyway, these guys also from our guild, old buddies who I came here to play." he gestured to the other 3 players wearing red armor, before turning to them."These guys are Natsu, Ken, and Basil, they were the ones who we teamed up a few days ago."

"Nice to meet you." the three boys greeted them.

"So this is the famous fuurinkazan that I have been hearing about?" asked Agil with a small smile as he walked next to them. "Thanks for looking after these kids when they went over their heads." he nodded in gratitude towards Klein. Natsu felt the urge to pout, Agil to this day wouldn't let him forget that he didn't approve of their latest adventure.

"Nah, these fellas saved our hides just as much, we're pretty even." answered Klein, before his eyes wandered over the sword on Natsu's back."How's the sword treating you?"

"The very best. I love this sword." Natsu even patted a sword a little, as if making sure it was still on him.

„That's an understatement if I heard one." snorted Buzz, who had a few words with Wedge before joining the conversation."I wouldn't be surprised if he slept with the thing."

"That's not true." Natsu cried out in protest, much to the amusement of the others around him.

"But we needed to remind him a few times to unequip it." said Ken with a sly smile, causing Natsu to blush in embarrassment and the others to burst out laughing.

Even as they teased him about his sword for a little while, he couldn't find it himself to be angry. Looking around most of the players still looked grim, but at least those closer to them looked a lot relaxed. It was something he appreciated about Klein, his ability to remain positive. Buzz told him before it could be detrimental to be too focused on something, just as much as being uncaring and before a boss battle they could use a little lightheartedness.

While the others talked with each other, Natsu looked around and soon found a familiar swordsman wearing black standing alone a little away from everyone else. When Kirito caught his eyes, the older boy gave him a simple nod, before closing his eyes and began napping from the look of it.

"That Kirito, looks like he's too cool to join us." Klein's quiet voice sounded next to him amused. Looking up Natsu was the samurai was looking in the same direction where Kirito was, before turning back and talking with Ken and Wedge.

Soon conversations died when the guild leaders of the three biggest guilds arrived and led the representatives to a smaller room. Because it was problematic to form a strategy with so many people trying to give input since the 3rd floor each guild sent their representatives to form a small war council. Large guilds like the Kaiser Dragons or the Aincrad Liberation Force had 3 representatives each, giving them a larger voice in the proceedings. Most guilds could only send two, and a small like theirs or Klein's guild was permitted only one. Still, it was much better, than the solo players who could also have one representative and if they couldn't come to an agreement in time about who to send, then even that was forfeited.

Even though in the registry Natsu was named leader of their guild, for some reason neither Agil nor Buzz objected to Ken's idea, they decided to send in Buzz, who was the most knowledgable regarding bosses. From Fuurinkazan, Klein was one to leave and he even saw Argo slip in quietly, no doubt there wouldn't be anyone who would object to her presence.

They sit down around each other, talking softly and waiting for the meeting to end.

"This is so boring. Why do we need to wait out here?" complained Ken after twenty minutes passed and no sign came that their wait was over.

"Can't be helped. It will happen sooner or later, as we grew more and more in number. Figuring things out with a smaller group is much easier. Bear with it." said Wedge, who looked the most patient out of all of them, save for Agil.

"But it's sure is strange." said Dynamn who sat a little away from them." Next thing we know we will have politicians next. I mean, the hierarchy among the guilds are already forming. If we have to vote for a president, soon I wouldn't be able to which is the real world, this or the one where our bodies are." he scratched his head sheepishly as others gave him strange looks.

Natsu looked down to his feet, feeling a little bit saddened at the topic.

"The real word..." he murmured so softly only those who sat near him heard it."There are some days when I don't even think about it while farming and searching for the boss room. I feel like that any day now, I wake up forgetting the real world completely.

He looked up when Agil patted his head, a gentle smile on his face.

"Humans adapt. We adapt to face these challenges without anything disturbing our focus. And when we will go back home, we will surely find our place in our old lives." he finished with a small laugh. Reassured Natsu smiled back at him.

"Well as lifelike as this game is, there are still a lot of things I miss from the outside." said Wedge with a big grin."First of all, that horrible male-female ratio. I need to get out of here before the sight of so many dudes becomes ingrained in my memory." Of course, at that everyone began to laugh loudly and began to tell each other what they miss the most.

"The taste of a juicy steak. The game's engine just can't properly recreate something like that." said Dale, nodding to himself to reaffirm his point.

„There's no baseball here." added Ken lost in thought.

"No other games to play if you get bored of this one." added one other member of Fuurinkazan, laughing to himself.

"Mom's cooking." added softly Natsu, thinking of how his mother was fairing.

"The feeling of holding and reading a real book." said Dynamn wistfully, shrugging when others looked at him in question.

"The smell of flowers." said Biggs to the surprise of many."What? I like their smell."

They talked for a few more minutes when without warning the doors leading to the meeting room opened up and the representatives stepped out, most of them wearing a frown on their faces. Buzz and Klein went towards them, neither looking particularly pleased. Argo was following them a few steps behind and though her hood concealed her face, Natsu got the feeling that she was also not in the greatest of moods.

"What happened?" he blurted out when they reached them. In response, Buzz shook his head.

"Let's get out of here first." he said and began to lead them out. Klein signaled his guildmates to get going down and the two guilds left together accompanied by Argo.

-0-

"This is ridiculous." complained Klein as he slumped down to his chair.

They were seating in a large inn, occupying the two largest tables that were next to each other, with Fuurinkazan at one and the Keepers of Seven Rings plus Argo at the other. Natsu was sitting between Ken and Argo, who has yet to tease him. If that was not a worrying sign, nothing would be.

"What is ridiculous?" asked Agil after seeing that similarly to Klein, Buzz, and Argo were fuming too much, albeit silently, to elaborate without being prompted.

"The strategy for the fifth boss battle, that's what." answered gruffly Buzz, before exhaling sharply, trying to calm down."Since this floor gave us so much trouble, they are being cautious about the approach of the boss. It wouldn't be a problem if they didn't decide to do it the way they did."

"You probably know from the beta book, that the floor boss is Fucus, the Vacant Colossus." Argo took over the exclaiming, a frown prominent even through her cowl."It wasn't overly hard to defeat even in beta, but there is one big complication. In the beta some of its special attacks literally opened up the floor of the boss room, letting small rivers of lava pour in, that was instant kill for any player who couldn't get out of them in five seconds." she finished grimly, causing a few others to pale. Going out in a river of lava, not the way anyone wanted to end their journey."We also had to factor in the fact, that every boss up until now had a slightly different behavior or attack pattern compared to beta."

"Then it seems logical to be cautious, isn't it? What's the problem?" asked Basil not understanding their frustration.

"The problem is they are basically using us as pawns!" roared out Klein, angrily punching his hand into the table.

"Since almost half of the assault team belongs to one of the three biggest guilds," explained Argo," it was them deciding without much input from the others. They decided that half of the raiding party will consist of their men, 8 from each guild and the other 24 will consist of smaller guilds and a couple of solo players."

"Out of the smaller guilds, we and the fuurinkazan are the ones with the highest average level, we were asked to participate. Along with Kirito." told them Buzz, who finally calmed down.

"Still not seeing the problem. I mean it sucks that they are telling us who could go to a raid, but it was like this since the 3rd floor." added his thoughts Wedge, still looking confused.

"Their battle strategy is to send the small guilds and solos to fight the boss and held back the other half of the raid until they learn more about the boss' pattern." answered Klein, silently glowering at the table.

"But that's insane." cried out Natsu in shock. Holding back half of the raid party is just asking for unnecessary danger and casualties.

"That's what we told them, but they didn't listen." said the red-haired samurai.

"I can't imagine MMO Today going along with it. The other two, no surprise." said Agil with furrowed brows.

"Thinker tried to protest it," told them Buzz, then added when caught Ken and Basil sharing a confused look." he is the leader of MMO Today. But Lind and Kibaou pressured him into agreeing. Unfortunately, while MMO Today is quite a large guild, it is not solely focused on the frontlines like the other two. As much as he tries to stonewall their more radical ideas, even he has to give in sometimes. It' just one of those times." explained Buzz, leaving the two tables in silence.

Argo opened up a window in front of her and from the looks of it, she was messaging with somebody when Natsu spoke up feeling a little uncertain.

"Then what do we do?" he asked, mostly the older members. At first, everyone was silent before Wedge took it upon himself to speak up.

"We go and defeat the boss, isn't that right?" as the others looked at him a little surprised, with a sigh, he explained himself."The situation is simple. Whether we go or not, they will go through that suicidal idea, only then it will not be us who will be on the line of fire. And we have the best chance out of all smaller guilds to make it out alive.

"He is not wrong." chimed in Argo, with a barely noticeable smile."You guys have the best levels and equipment from the Assault team not counting the three big guilds and even then it's not that much of a gap between you and them. You also work well as a guild and from what I have seen just now, you will be able to work well even as a bigger group." she told them, eying every one of them seriously."If we want to avoid casualties resulting from that idiotic plan, you guys are the best chance we got."

No one spoke for a while, each of them trying to digest what they heard. In the end, it was Klein who broke the silence after he shared a significant look with each of his guildmates.

"We are in." he told Argo simply who nodded with a small smile. All members of the keepers of seven rings looked at Natsu who blinked in bewilderment.

"What?" he asked simply.

"You are the guild leader. It should be your choice." said Agil, silently chuckling to himself at the look on the young boy's face.

"That's right, little boss. Just say the word and we will follow you." added Wedge.

"But I can't decide something that affects all of us. It's too important." protested Natsu, a little freaked out at so much pressure on himself.

"Either we go or we won't. We are fine either way." said Basil, causing the young boy to look over him. He gave a small, understanding smile."We will follow you, Natsu-dono."

"You have yet to lead us astray." Ken told him, as he reassuringly patted his shoulder."We trust you."

Natsu felt overwhelmed a little by the faith they had in him, and a few tears gathered in his eyes. He quickly rubbed his eyes and seriously looked at his guildmates. He remembered all the adventures, all the good times he had with them. The first days, with Agil and Buzz. Meeting Ken and helping him to find hope. The first floor battle with Biggs and Wedge. Their latest adventure for his sword and meet Klein and his friends.

He couldn't back down. Not now when they came so far when they became so much stronger together. He once again surveyed his friends' faces before looking at Argo and giving a firm nod.

"We are in." the others applauded joined by Klein and his friends at the news, while Argo just smiled and quickly wrote a message to someone. From across the table, he saw Buzz give him an approving nod.

"Guess we better get some more potions. Can't be too careful." thought out Ken aloud, the others nodding in agreement.

"We should also check our equipment that it's in the best shape." added Basil, casing Natsu to chuckle sheepishly.

"Guess a trip to Lis-chan in order?" he asked. Suddenly a pair of arms snaked around his neck and he felt the weight of a light body on top of him.

"Lis-chan? Don't tell me Na-kun already has a girlfriend." wailed Argo in mock-sadness as she draped her body on him. "But I thought what we had was really special. How could you do this to a poor maiden's heart, Na-kun?" Natsu looked at the others for help, especially when Argo began to cry loudly into his neck, but found everyone laughing merrily at the rat's antics or his own helplessness. But no one, not even Ken and Basil moved to help him out. The traitors.

"Didn't know that Natsu was that much of a Casanova." joked Klein, causing a new round of laughter from the two guilds.

Natsu could only try to get free from the clutches of Argo to no avail, asking himself a very relevant question 'Why me?'.

-0-

"How does it look?" asked Natsu as he stepped towards the others, clad in his new armor.

In preparation for today's boss battle, the day before along with a few last upgrades on his weapons and potions, Natsu went and spent the last of his money on an armor set that caught his eye a while ago. The Young Lion armor was a lightweight armor that offered much more defense than his previous armor and even gave a bonus in agility, rounding out his stats nicely and not slowing him down in the slightest.

The armor consisted of an orange 'lion' hide under clothes, coupled with a steel chest plate, arm, and shin braces and two also had an orange fur collar and a similarly orange half-cape hanging from his left shoulder. To make the armor more distinctive, the left pauldron was also slightly larger and had the motif of a lion on orange on it.

"It looks very good on you, Natsu-dono." answered Basil earnestly. He also wore new armor, his closer to the typical armor of a knight save for the lack of helmet. The others instead of buying new gear decided to spend their money more on strengthening what they already had, so only he and Basil was wearing 'fresh' armor.

"I just noticed right now," spoke up Ken who was checking his menu."But this the 31st today. This is the last day of this year." Natsu gained a solemn look on his face as he thought about the implications.

"Almost two months since the game began." he murmured.

"Looks like it would be a cool way to celebrate the new year with beating the upcoming boss." joked Wedge lightheartedly, causing the younger members to smile and nod in agreement.

"Everyone ready?" asked Agil, as he seriously looked at each of his comrades. Seeing the resolute look on all of their faces, he nodded with a small smile. "Then, time to face the 5th-floor boss." with quiet agreements, the Keepers of the Seven Rings left their lodging.

On the way to the central square of the town where the raiding party gathered, they meet up with Fuurinkazaan. Klein and his five friends only nodded in greeting, before falling into step beside them. After the short walk they arrived, most of the others already there. Lind was standing tall surrounded by the members of the three guilds, looking completely stoic and unapproachable. It was 'decided' that he would lead to the assault, much to Buzz's annoyance. He said that Lind was an arrogant fool who knew about tactics as much as a newborn.

"Well, I'm off. Don't die." said Buzz as he slowly walked away. Because a group could only consist of up to six players, Buzz decided he will join Kirito and a few other former beta testers to help coordinate.

They waited around in silence until everyone arrived, but Natsu was getting bored. He considered trying to find Kirito to ask about the boss when he spied Argo walking towards them.

"Argo-s...Argo-chan," he added seeing the warning look she gave him as she stopped before them."What are you doing here?"

"Just seeing off my favorite customers," she told him with a smile, but he could see the small hint of worry on what little of her face showed beneath the hood.

"Thanks, but no need. We got this in the bag. We have our leader here with us after all." laughed loudly Ken, throwing an arm around Natsu. It seems like he was not the only one to pick up on Argo's mood.

"Good to know. Then, I can write about your heroics without any worry." responded Argo with a toothy smile, causing Natsu to stop squirming under Ken's arm.

"Write? What are you talking about?" he wondered curiously.

Argo straightened herself out, and with wildly dramatic motions she announced her newest project.

"I decided to write something of a newspaper about the frontline, starting with this boss battle. This way lower-level players or those who haven't even left the City of Beginning could get informed about how we are doing." Natsu frowned a little as he heard this. It was not a bad idea, but he couldn't see what the profit-oriented Rat could gain from all of this."Of course, only the basic info and a little teaser would be free. Anybody who wants more would have to come to me, with my generous prices on the information of all kinds." that explained the situation perfectly.

"Well, where would be our cut in this, if you make money out of us?" asked Klein, grinning widely at the mention of money. Argo just crossed her arms unimpressed through the corner of her mouse was curling upward.

"I could just ban you from all the information you need?" challenged the information broker, causing Klein to immediately back down with a quiet „I'm good."

"Is everything about money with you?" Natsu couldn't help but ask, the in hindsight quite rude question.

In response Argo only grabbed him by the front of his armor and pulled him towards her, causing his head to land on the top of her cleavage, much to his embarrassment. Before he could escape, her arms closed around his head trapping his head in a quite interesting position. The others behind her laughed or wolf-whistled seeing him like this, none louder than Klein.

"Of course not. There are a lot of other things I value. After all, I can't have my Na-kun seduced by anyone other than me." she teased him with a wide smile before she released him and gave a kiss to his cheek. Imitating a tomato, Natsu could only watch as she sauntered away victoriously. The others tried to tease him for a while, but apparently, his brain was fried and he became nonresponsive.

The next thing he became aware of, Lind had enough of waiting around and the raiding party started their march towards the dungeon through the dark, narrow tunnels of the floor. Their group was in the back, walking calmly and looking out for any trouble. Unlike when they went to the first boss' room, they didn't have to worry about monsters very much. With their increased numbers, they were able to form a scouting party of those who didn't make it into the raid party, they were sent a little before them, to ensure safe passage to the boss room.

Natsu looked around and saw Kirito walking not far from them, along with the rapier user Asuna who he worked together in the battle against Ilfang. She was a girl a few years older than him, with long chestnut hair and a slightly regal look to her. From what he heard most of the players already called her one of the prettiest girls in Aincrad and was very popular because of it. He heard from Argo that despite the whole lone-wolf attitude he had, the black swordsman had teamed up with somebody and he wasn't surprised it was someone he already had some experience with. With a few hurried steps, he walked up to them, greeting them with a smile.

"Hello Kirito-san, Asuna-san. How are you?" the beater only nodded in response to the greeting while Asuna responded in kind with a small smile.

"We are fine, thank you. And you, Natsu-kun?" she trailed off a little, looking unsure. It was no surprise they never been introduced. After the first floor battle, during the commotion they didn't have a chance to speak, and afterward the few times he talked with Kirito, the older boy was by himself.

They chatted for a while, Natsu finding her kind and fun company. She didn't seem to look down on him because of his age and similarly, he didn't find anything wrong with her being female. He, after all, saw Lis shatter monsters with her hammer and Argo, well that one was self-explanatory. As they finished speaking, he remembered the original reason he walked up to them and turned towards Kirito.

"Kirito-san?" he called out and the swordsman turned his head towards him. No doubt he ignored their earlier chatter and only decided to focus when he was spoken to."What can you tell about the boss? The guide has a little on him, but I would like to know what was it like when you faced it down in the beta." at that Asuna also turned towards the black-haired boy, interested in what he knew.

Kirito was silent for a second, trying to think about what to say, before turning towards his audience.

"The boss is very tall, so we can mostly target his legs until he loses his balance or kneels down in his last phase. Avoid his stumps, if you see his leg raised get away quickly. Avoid the lava streams, through in the beta the small cracks his attacks produced were pretty good indicators. Also, watch out for the knockdown effect." He seemed deep in thought for a minute, before looking intently at the two of them, delivering a piece of final advice. "The head is its weak point. If you can get in even one sword skill you could take down a whole bar of its health. You can climb up through his body if you have good enough agility and strength overall, but I advise against it. During the beta, a few players tried and any who failed and fell down died instantly. It was acceptable in the beta, but not here. Don't take any unnecessary risks." he finished staring straight at Natsu, as if he could see the young boy doing this. Thinking back to his stunt at the first boss battle, Natsu wasn't really surprised.

"I'll be careful." he promised, Kriito nodding in response.

Sensing the conversation was over, he went back to his group. He took his position beside Basil, while quietly telling the others what he learned from Kirito. It was not much, but every little thing counts in this death game.

They didn't have to walk for long, the labyrinth came into view. And thanks to the scouting group they only had to fight a few monsters on the way to the boss room, which was no challenge. As they stepped into a larger room, they came face to face with the door leading to the boss and if even the door is something intimidating then Natsu had to wonder how tough the boss will be. The door was so dark that it was a little hard to make out the details on it in the dimly lit room, but it was enormous. Natsu had to raise his head to be able to the upper part of the door. It was surrounded on two sides by two figures carved into the wall, seemingly struggling to keep the gate closed. Before the door, looking like ants compared to it, stood twelve players, the scouting party.

As they neared them a player stepped away from the others, approaching the arriving raid party. He was a huge, older man with thick, shaggy orange-brown curls and a small beard on his chin, wearing heavy armor and a two-handed sword on his back. Natsu heard about him, though he never spoke with him. His name was Godfree, a member of MMO Today. He was an easy-going man, but a force to be reckoned with in a fight. Natsu remembered that Godfree was the one who led the offense to take the 3rd-floor boss's attention when its sudden change in attack pattern caused severe injuries on a few players.

When he reached them he straightened his posture in an almost military fashion and gave his report.

"Everything looks clear. Good luck in there." he said as he stepped aside along with his party to make way for them.

Lind only gave a nod in acknowledgment before leading the others to the door. Stopping before it, he turned towards the gathered players, giving an impersonal speech about what lay before them and what the plan was to handle the boss. Natsu tuned out the man, one meeting with him was enough to know the man loved the sound of his voice and instead turned to share a few words with his friends before the fighting began.

"Stay safe, all of you." he whispered slowly, causing Wedge to chuckle lightly.

"We should be the ones to say that to you, little boss." said the older teen, causing Natsu to maturely stuck out his tongue at him.

"We got this in the bag. Don't worry so much." said Ken with a smile, lightly slapping his back. Though the black-haired boy seemed relaxed, Natsu knew him well enough by now, that he was just as worried as the rest of them, but he hid it better.

"-and we will be closer to our freedom!" roared Lind at the end of his speech and those who hadn't tuned him out completely roared back in enthusiasm. Their group only shared a last smile before they took their place in the formation as the door's leading to the boss slowly opened. Per the battle plan, the four groups containing the smaller guild and solos went in first, followed by the larger guilds' groups.

Klein's guild and the group containing Kirito, Asuna, and Buzz took the central position, while Natsu's group got the left-wing, the other group the right-wing. As the battle progressed they have to be careful not to completely surround the boss, nowadays it became common knowledge among the cleaners of the danger a boss' AOE skill could pose when it is surrounded. With one last look shared between each other, the first wave of the raid part began to advance stepping into the boss room.

The room they stepped into was enormous, likely three times as large as the one that housed Ilfang, the Kobold King. Like most of the floor it was a huge cave but if other caves were dark, stone caves, it was more like they found themselves in the middle of a volcano. The ground was black, volcanic rock and small cracks littered the walls, glowing hot red, lava probably. It was also extremely hot in here, Natsu already felt like he had to wipe the sweat off his forehead after a few steps into the room, even though their virtual bodies did not sweat.

Looking up, they could not see the ceiling, it was lost in the darkness. Most probably the room went up into the next floor. The far end of the room was shrouded in darkness, where the door leading to the next floor should be. No monster and more importantly no boss was in sight.

The four groups slowly inched forward cautiously, reacted to the slightest of sound, not wanting to be taken by surprise by the boss. As they neared the center of the rooming, they all heard a loud sound, the sound of rocks crashing with other rocks. Slowly a dark shape began to move from the direction of the darkened part of the room, with huge steps that caused the ground to ever so slightly tremble.

As Fucus stepped into view Natsu felt a moment of uncertainty. Sure, they knew the boss was big, but not that big. If he stood on Agil's shoulders maybe he would be on eye level with its knee, it was that big. Fucus' body was the same black rock that made this room, with red lines crossing the body, even giving some kind of grotesque face. As soon as it stepped into view four health bars appeared next to it and gave a deep roar signaling the beginning of the fight.

For a moment Natsu wanted to run away, away from this monster. They never had to fight something like this before, it was natural to feel frightened by something like this. Before he could do anything he felt a hand reassuringly grip his shoulder. Looking to the side he was met with Ken's confident grin. It calmed him down enough that he was able to shake off the fear the boss created. Natsu gave his friend a confident nod before facing the colossus.

Their group forced two lines, with Agil, Biggs, and Basil in front, who could easily shrug off a larger amount of damage, and Natsu, Ken, and Wedge behind them ready to deal as much as damage as they could the moment an opening was presented.

With a battle cry, Klein led his group into the battle, the other three groups quickly following his lead.

Thankfully the first part of the fight went very well. Fucus didn't have a complicated attack pattern, he only was able to stomp with his legs and swipe with his arms, he was also very slow so they only had to look out and react in time to avoid its attacks. Also after each attack, he was frozen for a few seconds, giving ample time for the cleaners to damage him. Because of its natural armor and the large amount of health it had, it was slow-going but they were getting there.

They were holding out well, though it would have been better if 48 people were fighting instead of 24. When he pulled back after he landed a powerful combination of sword skills, Natsu risked a look towards the waiting players. The two groups stayed in their place by the gate, though some of them looked impatient and ready to join them. But their leader –Lind- held them back even now.

As they slowly chipped away the first health bar, Fucus with a roar stomped down so hard that several cracks were created on the ground. Seeing a red crack appear just where they were standing, Natsu thankfully remembered his talk with Kritio earlier.

"Look out for the cracks!" he cried out both to his team and others who were near similar cracks."That's where the lava comes from."

They reacted swiftly, gaining some distance from them just in time. A few moments later the cracks they were standing on and similar others widened and began to slowly spill out lava. They got away, but they were also separated, with Biggs, Ken, and Basil on one side and him along Agil and Wedge on the other.

Agil surveyed the field before yelling at Ken's part of the group.

"Go, join Klein's group, we will be fine on our own." with a nod they went to join Klein and his friends who were the closest and were not cut off by a lava river, while Natsu, Agil, and Wedge took a little detour and soon found themselves fighting next to the group that was initially opposite of them.

Repeated stomps from the boss reopened and closed various rivers of lava, making finding a proper footing a nightmare. But thankfully they remained vigilant and were able to avoid them. Still, it worried Natsu that they were already becoming tired and the other half of the party still haven't joined into the fight.

Frightened cries caught his attention, causing him to look over the other side of the colossus. A swipe from the boss found a few players unaware, throwing them away, knocking them down. He spied a few of Klein's men amongst them, trying to stand up and get away as the boss focused on them. Natsu wanted to run to them, or attack the boss to focus it's attention elsewhere, but he was able to do neither. He was too far away from the other group and thanks to a new river opened in front of him, he couldn't reach Fuvus in time.

That's when the furious yells of an advancing group reached his ears. He first thought it was Klein, trying to reach his friend, but from the corner of his eye, he saw a group split off from the withheld forces and began to run towards the colossus. Their armor was not uniform, everyone had different, but high-quality gear. It confirmed that the ones who left the formation were the players from MMO Today. Unlike the other two, this big guild did not have a uniform, not interested in posturing like the other two.

Still, them defying Lind and joining them had a profound effect. The boss turned it's attention to the newcomers and allowed those caught in its previous attack to recover, also it gave those already fighting a much-needed morale boost.

They were able to bring down the second health bar of Fucus when finally Lind and the remaining players of the raiding party joined them. Natsu only noticed them when with a loud rumble several players charged through the small gaps their groups left to be able to maneuver. Their big, shiny armor tagged them as members of the Kaiser Dragons. Buzz, who ended up next to him, laughed quietly to himself.

"Well, finally they join. Better later than never, I suppose, but I would have preferred sooner." he commented.

Natsu turned to him with a big smile on his face.

"We better not let them have all the fun." he said as he also charged towards the boss, his spirits renewed. Ken and Basil were on his heels, their little group reunited at last, following his lead. Behind his back, he heard Buzz mutter something about reckless brats, before with a cry he and a few other solo players also went after the boss.

With the addition of fresh warriors, they quickly chipped away the armor of the colossus, erasing the third health bar and taking a good chunk out of the last. Of course, as they learned, the tables tended to turn easily as the boss's last health bar reached the red zone.

Fucus, the Vacant Colossus roared out in defiance before falling to its knees. creating an earthquake that almost caused several players to lose their balance. Before the cleaners could regroup, the colossus began to hit the floor repeatedly, causing various lava rivers to come to life. The raid party scrambled to get out of the way of lava that meant instant death, though thankfully they were able to avoid anyone taking a lava bath.

As the ground stopped trembling Natsu looked around the battlefield and couldn't help but worry at what he saw. Though they avoided casualties, they ended up in a petty bad situation crisscrossing rivers took over most of the room, creating small isles surrounded by lava, trapping players who ended up there. Worst of all, those small islands seemed to become smaller and smaller as the lava slowly began to took over. Aside from around ten players who ended up in close vicinity of the boss, everybody else was cut off from a direct approach. And from the width of most of those rivers, jumping was out of the question.

It's safe to say the situation was bad.

Natsu and the few others who were next to the colossus didn't move for a second, too stunned at what happened, when a familiar voice rang out.

"Concentrate on the boss. The lava should disappear the moment we take it out." yelled Kirito as he charged the boss, ushering the others to do the same.

Natsu and Wedge, who ended up next to him also charged the boss and began to attack it relentlessly. But it was too slow-going with only ten players. Meanwhile, the trapped players who had less and less ground under their feet by the minutes tried to hurry them.

"Hurry!"

"Please help!"

"You can do it, give it everything you got."

Natsu had to retreat to avoid a swipe from Fucus when he spotted numerous dents in the colossus' armor mainly on its legs, back, and chest. He widened his eyes as he remembered what Kirito told him about the weak point this boss possessed.

"I'm so gonna get scolded for this." he murmured to himself as an insane plan taken form in his head.

"What are you talking about?" asked Wedge who heard him, but a moment later he got his answer as an orange blur bolted from next to him towards the boss.

Natsu heard others call out to him, but he ignored all of them. He ignored the nerves in his stomach, every logical part of him that told him what he was doing was insane. Instead, he put his trust into his stats and more importantly his instincts. Using his speed he quickly began to scale up the colossus, sword in his left, not slowing down for a moment. it felt as if he knew where the small dents that he could use to propel himself up were, long before his eyes saw them.

It may have been a moment, while for Natsu it felt an eternity, but his feet found solid footing on the giant's left shoulder. The boss noticed him and his right hand was already closing on his position. 'It's now or never' thought Natsu as he charged towards the head, his sword lightning up with the orange color of sword skill."Disappear!" he didn't intend to, but his mouth opened and he gave his battle cry as he unleashed his strongest combo, Sharp nail directly at the boss head.

The sword skill connected and encountered no resistance. By the time the gigantic right hand that tried to swat him away came close, Natsu witnessed the last health bar of Fuvus deplete to zero and the Colossus stood still for a small moment. After that Fucus, the Vacant Colossus gave a mournful cry before bursting into polygons.

For a small moment, Natsu could easily see the aftermath from his high vantage point. The red lines of lava turned black, causing numerous players to cheer in relief. Then the moment was over and gravity took over him as there was no longer anything under a frightened yell, Natsu began to pick up speed as the ground came closer and closer.

He closed his eyes, preparing for a very painful landing. He was not sure if he could survive the fall after all the boss was not standing, but kneeling, so could have fallen from much higher. Still, if he did die, Natsu could not find it in himself the regret it. He felt he did the right thing and was ready for the consequences. He was read-

His thoughts came to a halt when a body collided with him from the side as he was falling. Whoever ran into him also curled their body into him to soften his fall, rolling along the ground after a not so gentle fall. When they finally stopped and he was released he simply rolled down from atop of whoever caught him, feeling nauseous. Something he did not ever felt in this virtual world before.

"Damn brat. You really want me to die of a heart attack?" a gruff voice sounded next to him. Finally having the strength lift his head, Natsu spied the sprawled form of Buzz next to him breathing heavily.

"Buzz?" he asked a bit dumbly, the thought that he survived still not quite reached him. As his head cleared he began to hear the cheers from various players and the worried cries of his friends as they ran towards the two of them.

"Kid, of all the idiotic things you could do..." mumbled the older man, not finding the strength to even sit up."Still, good job." he said lowly, chuckling to himself.

It was over, they won. They passed the 5th floor.

-0-

"Cheers!"

Everyone was in high spirits as they were celebrating their recent success in the largest inn on the newly opened 6th floor. There were most of the members of the victorious raid party, a large part of the Assault team, and many players from the town of beginnings who came to marvel at the new floor.

"Quite the achievement. We beat the 5th boss before the end of the year and we haven't lost anyone. That should help to keep the morale high." commented Buzz. He was sitting in the corner a little away from the center of the celebration. The Keepers of Seven Rings, Fuurinkazan, Kirito, and Asuna sat together, celebrating in their own way. The spear wielder glared at Natsu who sat not far from him. "Though that will be the last bonehead stunt you will do if I can have anything to say to this."

Natsu could do nothing but look down in guilt. He wasn't feeling guilty about what he did, but that he worried his friends. It was quite a contradiction. Most of the people congratulated him, but also told him off for being reckless.

Deciding it would be wiser to stay silent, Natsu decided to simply drink from the cup placed before him. Its contests looked suspiciously like beer, though it was well-known that you couldn't get drunk in this world. As he slowly drank from it and frowned a little at the taste. From the background, he could hear Agil admonishing Klein about giving alcohol to minors.

"Cut him slack." tried to divert the attention from Wedge, who was sitting lazily on his seat."After all, if it wasn't for the little boss, things would have been much worse."

"That's not the point!" shot him down Asuna, who looked even madder than Buzz and Agil combined. While she seemed a little unsure and shy at first, as soon as she relaxed in their group she became so much more talkative and outspoken. And bossier, in the whispered words of Wedge. Before Natsu could feel himself in the clear, the chestnut-haired girl looked at him pointedly."You have to think before you act! No matter how lucky you are, sooner or later your luck will run out. And then, you will be causing everyone pain with your thoughtless actions. Remember this, before you do something like that again." she scolded him.

She certainly looked like a mother scolding her child with her arms crossed like that. It also felt like that, though his mother never scolded him before, Natsu looked down, his face red and ashamed. He tried to look around the table for someone to help him and it seemed Kirito, who was seating next to Asuna took pity because he spoke up.

"Calm down Asuna. It was dangerous sure, but still a viable tactic. And Natsu probably learned from this and will think before trying something like this again." he tried to placate her. Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say because now Asuna rounded on him.

"Don' talk about this as if you didn't have a hand in this." she jabbed her finger at his chest accusingly, causing the black swordsman to nervously shield himself with his arms. "He wouldn't have thought of doing this if you didn't tell him first. What were you thinking? Telling a young boy about a dangerous stunt like that..." she rambled on, but at least she forgot about Natsu for the moment.

The others meanwhile enjoyed the occurring drama.

"100 cols on the two of them getting together in the next year." commented a laughing Dale as he watched the two of them.

"Nah, Kirito is dense as a rock. Double that for the year after that." said Klein who was finally able to get away from the judging gaze of Agil. Soon the guys began to bet amongst themselves when Kirito and Asuna would get together. Curiously no one bet on them not getting together.

Natsu was silently enjoying the festivities that didn't seem to stop anytime soon when suddenly a hand clasped on his back causing him to almost spill the drink he was holding. Looking to the side he was met with Ken's smiling face.

"How do you always end up in the most dangerous positions?" he teased him, through the young boy could see the worry he tried to hide.

"Please don't ever do something like that Natsu-doon. My heart wouldn't be able to take it." sighed Basil from his other side, causing Natsu to look at his friend sympathetically.

"Sorry guys. I try to avoid any more stunts like that." he promised solemnly.

"Well, as long you come back alive, it won't really matter." said Ken, causing Basil to sigh once again. He seemed to remember something, looking curiously at Natsu."You get the last attack bonus right?" he asked, the brown-haired boy nodding in confirmation."What was it?"

"Helmet of the Colossus, a stone helm with quite good defensive stats but nothing else." He turned to Basil, who listened in."Want it? It has an agility penalty, so it would be next to useless to me."

"I would be honored Natsu-dono." said Basil, Natsu internally groaning at the formality before trading the item.

They were silent for a few minutes before Natsu was caught off-guard as arms circled around his neck and a body draped over his back with very recognizable giggling.

"How's my favorite celebrity doing?" she breathed into his ear, causing the poor boy to imitate a tomato perfectly.

"Argo-sa-Argo-chan?" Natsu hastily collected as he could feel her brief glare at not addressing her the correct way. The others around him ignored them, save for Klein who seeing Argo hanging on him sent a subtle thumbs up. He squirmed a little, trying to get away, before giving up and focusing on her words."What do you mean by a celebrity?"

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Argo leaned back and one arm left his neck and for a moment Natsu dared to hope that he could get away. But before the thought could properly form in his mind a paper was out in front of him and Argo took back her previous place snuggling to him even more. His already red face probably caught on fire as something soft pressed into the back of his head."I did say I would run a newspaper about the boss battle and it was an instant hit."

Trying to ignore the person perched on his back, Natsu turned towards the paper. The title was simply Frontline in a little fancy script. There were a few paragraphs recounting information about past bosses and a few tidbits about the current state of the clearers. He blanched when he noticed a screenshot showing him on the colossus's shoulder, cape billowing behind him, Benevolent raised and already shining in orange light. The words next to it made him even more embarrassed.

"The Orange Blaze saves the day." Argo read out loud for him when he didn't speak. Hearing it out loud didn't help, it sounded as bad as it looked."See Na-kun, now you have a moniker just like Ki-bou's black swordsman. And a lot less menacing too. People described you like an orange force of nature that basically one-shot the boss." she giggled to herself before adding a bit more seriously."You saved a lot of players today, and with my paper, inspired quite a lot of them to have the courage to step forward. Quite an accomplishment."

"The name was my idea." chimed in Ken causing Natsu to groan, swearing to never let Ken have any saying how to name something.

Still, no matter how embarrassing it was, Natsu couldn't help but smile as he spent time with his friends. They celebrated well into the night before going to sleep, starting the next year with newfound enthusiasm. Not knowing later how significant this day would be.

-0-

Ayano Keiko, known as Silica in this world, was staring in amazement at the paper in her hands. Her hair was light brown and tied into two tails by red ribbons and her eyes were red. She wore a yellow robe with a dagger and pouch strapped to her waist at the back.

She was sitting in a big church in the town of beginnings amongst many young children. They were all the young kids who somehow ended up trapped in this death game and were taken into the care of a young woman, Sasha. They didn't have the will to fight or even step out of this city, trying to simply wait out this nightmare's end.

She was here for almost two months and day after day she felt the hope that she could ever escape slowly die. Yet, she was seeing a boy her age, defeating a boss and bringing them closer to being able to go home.

'Maybe even I' she thought as she watched almost mesmerized as her newest hero stood defiantly, sword raised in the picture.'Maybe even I can find the courage to move forward.'

Not even a week later Silica was already fighting against the first monster she faced since the death game was announced, after a tearful goodbye from Miss Sasha, leaving behind the town of beginnings for good.

-0-

But not every change was welcome. Far away from the celebrating cleaners, sinister plans formed and gave birth to something that would plague this world for a long time.

On the 5th floor in a dark cave hidden away from prying eyes a meeting took place. Ten players stood around, uneasily glancing at each other. There were men and a few women of various ages, at first glance nothing common between them save for the orange cursor above their heads. But they were all invited by some mysterious benefactor who offered them 'true freedom'.

"Is that guy gonna show up?" asked a thin man with an uneven tangle of long hair, thin cheeks covered by a stubby beard, as he played around with his dagger, looking calculatingly at a few people. "I'm getting bored here. I know," he leaned forward with a sadistic smile on his face." who wants to play a little game?"

Before anything could happen he was interrupted by PoH stepping into view from the darkness, covered by a dark, hooded poncho. No one noticed his eyes shining with faint violet light.

"There would be more than enough time for enjoying ourselves, Mr, Black. Now, if I could have your attention." said PoH smoothly, causing every player to focus on him."My name is PoH and I gathered you here because you are men and women free of shackles that the outside world tries to force on us. You are those few who knew the true nature of this place and not fear to enjoy it to the fullest." he spread his arms in a theatrical gesture, slightly bowing befoe his audience."I welcome you, to Laughing Coffin."