Chapter IX: Rising


7th January 2023—Aincrad. Floor 5, Karluin

Light. Inexistent. Featherweight. Her body was a phantasmal, weightless thing that left her all too uncertain, all too nervous as she awaited the familiar sensation of having ground beneath her feet to welcome her once more to normalcy.

Teleportation was such an odd feeling, and one that Lisbeth doubted she'd very well get used to. It was, by no means, a necessarily bad sensation, but it warped her body in a way that it ceased to exist in the material plane, only to then be reconstructed in an entirely new location in the same manner. It felt odd.

Pink eyes were screwed tight as the light of the warp gate flashed bright, her body feeling light for just a split second before she felt herself becoming vertically realigned. She allowed herself to open her eyes, light entering them as she beheld the sight before her, and gasped. Karluin! It was… was…

"The place looks abandoned."

"You could say that again."

She looked from one building to the next, taking note of their uniform architecture and the little details that gave them that 'ancient energy'; moss and vines crept along the walls of the building, occupying the few cracks in-between. Grey stone looked dull and dark from the aftereffects of rain. The residents of the city were bustling about, all in their typical haste to sell things and get by with life.

A rather typical, if mundane city. And from the old fortress-styled buildings, walls and stone, it really was an old city.

"Obviously, it would be a more breath-taking sight if you walked from the boss room's exit all the way here, but it's kind of far, so here we are," he spread his arms wide. "Welcome to Karluin."

He'd meant it sincerely, though the moment he said that, the sign of a fruit shop promptly detached from the wall it had been hung to, crashing atop a wagon of fruit and bread and crushing everything beneath it. Astonished, the stallion beside the wagon neighed in shock and proceeded to rush away, the click of its hooves merging with the people's screams of fear and confusion filling the air, everyone beginning to run around in the chaos.

Everyone sweat-dropped but chose to ignore that spectacle.

One might wonder how a blacksmith on Floor 1 ended up on Floor 5 alongside her best friend, whom she met sometime during the tail end of the first month—the younger girl needed a place to stay, and she technically needed a helper. And look at that! Things worked out well.

Anyways, they'd been working together ever since, keeping up with the demands and challenges of actually working in-game. Lisbeth had to admit, though, that she was surprised that things were going just as good as they are for her. She'd thought that, being a female player, it might have made players question her capability, but everyone had treated her as fairly as any other person. Talk about gamer respect.

Oh yeah. Back to the topic. The group had shown up a few days ago requesting her to make them new weapons for the next few floors, though Lisbeth didn't really have much materials to work with. What Silica could get just wouldn't compare much to the weapons they already have, let alone Kirito's enhanced Annealed Blade or Kizmel's impressive elven weapon.

So, for that reason, the Dark Elf recommended they go together to Castle Galey. The territory owned by Lord Galeliah was rich in minerals, so perhaps they could negotiate with him for some ores.

Then again, with how it'd recently been attacked, ensuring the safety of the Forest Elves was more important than ever.

It all sounded good and amazing, and Lisbeth's respect for her friends only grew after hearing the entire explanation. But she'd found no reason to tag along, considering how she and Silica weren't all that strong, but Asuna had been really insisted. And, well… she couldn't afford to say 'no' to her friend.

"Huh. Okay, good news. I've just received a report from one of my scouts, and they're finishing up the mapping of the dungeons as we speak. They'll send someone from my special group I told y'all once to meet up with us sometime in the afternoon, mostly because they need to give me something face-to-face," Argo had said all of that with a shrug and a simple smile on her face.

"Your scouts really are efficient, Argo-san," she agreed with Asuna.

There was nary a player who knew not of The Rat; the infamous yet efficient information broker who delivered on her end, when it came to wanting info on just about anything—a person of interest, quest, monsters. For just the right price, she was willing to get you anything. Perhaps she was already busy journeying with her friends, but that was where her network of spies came in.

All honesty, though? They were the real deal. Full stop. How'd she managed to get together a group of devoted players in a span of weeks (or days, she thought with terrified awe) was questionable, but their work thus far have been nothing but beneficial.

"Nya ha ha! Don't underestimate your one and only, Aa-chan. I've got a reputation to uphold, and that includes being the best at my job," she answered with a wink. " 'Course, I can't do it all on my own, but with help? Anything you need to know, just roger us, and we'll get you your info."

"Effective, and admittedly scary," shuddered Kirito. "Seriously. I don't even want to know how you guys get your information. I think the method will scar me."

It was exaggeration on his part, although the part about them being good was nothing but true. At this point, Argo's word was fact, and she was their in-game reporter / bulletin. It was a weird thought, but that was how it was.

"So we'll be meeting up with your scout later this afternoon. Guess we'll just have to chill around here in the meantime," Kirito said, arms crossed behind his back. "Or perhaps we could try and help you two level up a bit. Just to be on the safe side."

Immediately, all attention shifted towards herself and her friend, both of whom flinched from the sudden spotlight placed over them.

"Indeed. We will need to traverse Floor 6, and the path to Castle Galey is riddled with many an enemy," nodded Kizmel, a serious expression on her face. "Shadows, more notably, if what we've heard was right."

Shadows… She'd read about them in Argo's report once. Apparently, they're a special group of enemies that are capable of using magic to attack. It sounded insane, yet in the presence of the very people who've fought them, she had very reason to doubt their claims. Not when the nonchalant boy actually had the power to summon one such entity.

She cringed at the thought. Shadows don't necessarily sound too hard to fight, but it would be pretty difficult to travel the floors and not get attacked by them. Kirito has his Persona, but the other players wouldn't be so lucky.

In fact, a few of the players who have had encounters with the Shadows had professed to being lucky enough to avoid getting killed.

Yeah, levelling up made sense. And better equipment too, which made their travel to Castle Galey all the more necessary. She could just get started on forging their equipment immediately there and then pass it out to everyone. And she supposed she could use some better gear too…

"Pssh, it's fiiine! I mean, we've got a guy who could summon a monster to help us in our fight," Argo promptly ignored his offended 'Hey!', possibly because she called his Persona a monster and not a demon. "And Vabel-chan's, our encyclopaedia on all that Shadow business. Nothing could possibly go wro—Eep! The heck, Kii-bou?!"

"You were going to jinx us. And knowing my awful luck, it's going to happen anyways," he deadpanned, drawing his finger away from where he'd just poked her in the side of her ribs. "Seriously, all we can do now is try and make sure it doesn't get worse."

She'd thought he was just being comedic for the sake of being comedic, but the utter seriousness in his tone practically cemented the fact that he genuinely believed it. And, judging by the look on everyone else's faces, they believed the same.


The higher they went up, the more dangerous the mobs would get. It was a perfectly reasonable logic that provided a challenge to the players, to make sure that it wasn't too easy for them to complete the game.

For the weak players, though, it was a must that they meet the challenge and level up to be able to survive. Such was all the more necessary now, considering the circumstances that they're in.

So Silica, not having travelled outside of the first floor much and having avoided battle as much as she had before, was actually happy when she'd been roped into a training session with the rest of her friends. And she had to say, things went pretty great!

"Lvl 12… Not bad! And you, Silica?"

"Lvl 11!"

Sure, it wasn't anything compared to Kirito's Lvl 17, or any of his friends, but it would be enough he said. It was still a big jump from her previous level, still! So that was good!

She hummed, looking around herself as bright light provided no shadow upon any part of the floor. The outskirts of Karluin was practically wide and open, so getting lost was literally an impossibility; Karluin was literally right there. And, though the plains do tend to get a lot of mobs, most of them were relative low-levelled and safe to engage in combat.

And hey! They had their friends around to keep them safe, so everything went fine anyways.

"Seriously, I still can't believe it," she heard the only boy of the group mutter, his eyes wide and facial expression that of awe. "I mean, yeah, we've proven it already, but I didn't know that's how the levelling system works…"

"But it's legitimate and it works!" Koharu cheered back. "Admittedly, the Exp. system of the game isn't one that other games actually use, but it isn't too difficult to grasp. When slaying a mob, you're expected to gain experience points, but you can technically increase the amount by finishing multiple mobs in one blow."

"Right? Killing five Little Nepentheses one-by-one just wouldn't be as effective as taking all of them out with a «Horizontal»," at her nod, Asuna hummed with a thoughtful look. "I wonder why Kayaba intended to put in such a system."

"Hey, I'm not the one who made the game. I just make observations, test out everything and keep them in my memory. Probably to give players help, as little as it may be," she shrugged. "But yes, that's how it works. I'd experienced this phenomenon once while I was fighting in the forest on Floor 1. I'd managed to level up quicker than I expected, and I'd tried it a few days later. It checks out."

"Incredible… I'm a Beta Tester too, and I never knew. You're a genius, girl," the other Beta Tester said in awe, genuine praise turning her red. "But by how much does it get amplified, though? Is there a criteria for how many mobs you'd need to slay to get that Exp. boost?"

"N-No criteria. And as for the bonus… well, if Kirito here killed one Frenzy Boar, he'd get 24 Exp., right? So if he were to kill five in one, same blow, use the formula, 'x + x(n/l). 'x' being the Exp. you earn from the mobs, 'n' for number of mobs you've slain in one hit and 'l' for your level."

W-What in the world..? S-She'd figured out all of that on accident?

She went cross-eyed trying to figure out the math of that, and even Kizmel looked sick, muttering something about 'human calculations being too complicated'. She agreed one-hundred percent.

She looked to Lisbeth, wanting to ask her about aaaand she looked like she wanted to faint.

She felt a little insulted when Koharu said it was 'basic' algebra.

"So, if I just started out as Lvl 1, killed five Frenzy Boars in one go… Hmm, 24 Exp. plus 24 Exp. multiplied by 5, level one considered…" Doing the quick maths in his head, the boy's eyes promptly went wide. "Damn, that's 144 Exp. You'd jump straight to Lvl 3. Not a big leap, but still…"

"Right? It's pretty cool!" How she could be so proud on what was essentially headache-inducing as that was… well, good on her. "Of course, that would make it even more useless the higher-levelled you are, unless you could somehow kill a lot of mobs. But it's still that amount of Exp. and more. Pretty sweet, if I do say so myself."

"Yes, that is lovely," Kizmel's smile was so wide it had to be forced. "Now then, let us return to Karluin to meet with Argo's scout."

Silica sighed. She didn't expect to learn Maths in a videogame, although she supposed she really didn't have the right to complain. It was kind of helpful, though just as Koharu pointed out, they'd really need to kill a lot just to make it work, or else even the multiplier would just be useless.

She shook away the complicated equation (and one day, once she really thought hard about it, she'd come to realize just how simple it really was… and Lisbeth would proceed to try and strangle the daylights out of Kirito, just because he could probably take it and in no way would she ever hurt Koharu) and focused on the weight of the knife in her hand.

Originally Lvl 8, she'd pushed herself a lot to the level that she could hold her own in a fight, if it came down to it. Of course, she wasn't satisfied, but she was at least confident that this was a good level.

So that was how things had been for the two hours or so. As they utilized Koharu's idea to keep respawning mobs through some complicated method she'd chosen to tune out because she couldn't handle any more smart talk. Grind on some enemies to get her level up. Not a bad strategy. Everyone uses it, for crying out loud.

It'd been sometime around two in the afternoon when they'd eventually stopped—they'd taken breaks in-between, of course. Her avatar not too exhausted as she might expect her real body to be if she did this IRL. With such a lithe figure and a use of the knife, she'd made more acrobatic flips than she would have liked to believe.

Kirito, though? From a backflip to a spinning kick to a handstand—he's amazing!

While she'd been levelling up, she knew that the others were training with one another as well. Kizmel, in particular, seemed determined to do something, facing off against Kirito and Arsene (wow… seeing him up close sends shivers down her spine) on her own, while the others attempted to build team moves and cooperative strategies.

It was pretty impressive, not gonna' lie. All of them worked incredibly well with one another—as she watched Asuna and Vabel move onto the offensive against Argo and Kizmel, she felt nothing but complete awe, watching how Kizmel managed to move her arm fast enough to block each hit, allowing Argo to dish out her own hit-and-run attacks.

'I want to be able to do that too,' she decided to herself, sharing a nod with Lisbeth as they trained. 'We certainly will!'

That was a few hours ago, and now, they were returning to the city to grab a quick brunch with the Cor they'd earned from the day. And wow, she'd actually made a lot!

Finally entering city grounds, she skipped alongside her teammates with a cheery tune, occasionally joining the conversations—and how about that? Despite how much younger she was from everyone else here, everything was still pretty comfortable. She liked how none of them treated any differently or awkwardly, which was great!

It was kind of funny how brazenly open Kirito was with her, only for Asuna to scold him for his lack of tact. She kind of liked it, actually! No need to hold back on her account just because she was younger.

Nonetheless, Silica was most certainly looking forward to getting something to eat. Hunger may not really be a thing in this game, but it still does tend to replicate a lot of things, so she supposed the NerveGear is telling her brain to tell her in-game avatar that she's experiencing hunger, thus a reminder for her to eat up.

She'd been grateful enough that Koharu was more than okay with simplifying everything, and not go full-on complicated.

" 'Blink & Brink' is a tavern here, with an inn upstairs, although I wouldn't really suggest the place. Being a tavern, they mostly sell watered-down alcohol and mushy food," he made a vomiting noise. "Nope. Instead, we're going to go get our food from 'Old Tastes'. Not a bad restaurant, if I do say so myself."

Her pink-haired friend nodded. "Anything's fine with us. Lead the way!"

It was an outdoor restaurant, really. The cooks worked in the building they'd rented while several tables and umbrellas were set up outside—thankfully, the umbrellas were colourful, or else the shop wouldn't have stood out, since the building was as grey as everything else. Really, was Karluin's official name 'Karluin, The City of Grey' or something?

Putting aside the thought, she joined Vabel, Kizmel and Asuna at one table while Kirito sat with Lisbeth, Argo and Koharu. A waiter arrived at Kirito's table first, listening to them make their orders before he moved to them next.

"A good morning to all of you. May I take your orders?" He brought out a notebook, acting in what was certainly a pre-scripted behaviour, if how unnatural he seemed to be meant anything.

It was her first time coming her, so she wasn't sure what their menu included, although it seemed that they focused more on bowl dishes like noodles, soups and stews. She'd ordered herself a simple meat stew, if only because she really wasn't sure what else to buy.

Silica hummed, looking around. Karluin wasn't what one would call attractive, when compared to the Town of Beginnings or even Zumfut, but it did have its own charms. Otherwise, why would these people live here? Sure, they're NPC's, but still!

Asuna pulled her into a casual conversation to get to know her better, and Silica was more than happy to indulge her. She'd gotten to learn a lot about the others too, from how Kirito first gained his power, to Kizmel's duty, to knowing a bit more about Argo and Vabel, and the rest. When the food arrived, she'd happily resumed talking even as they ate.

Aah… Talk about a relaxing day.

It's funny how the group that literally are pulled into every stressful situation somehow manage to keep their spirits high. She felt awed, and was just glad that hope could really stay strong, no matter what. With them around things will never go wrong.

Peace gets interrupted in a lot of ways, and this one was bizarre.

"Laaaady Argo~! Fairest maiden of them all! The star amongst the stars! I have come to deliver my—urhga!"

"Ignore him. I don't know the guy."

It was one thing to watch as her friend got approached by some random red-haired guy who was admittedly good-looking though a little over-the-top in his flair. It was also another thing entirely to watch as she threw a throwing pick right between his eyes without even sparing him a glance.

"Lady Argo, why'd you do that?!" Screamed the young man as he pulled out the object from his face, a small red dot on the bridge of his nose. "You almost hit my eye!"

"Wished I went for the throat instead," murmured the information broker, which made her shudder. She wasn't serious, was she? "Urgh. At least you're here... Everyone, this is Lueur, one of my scouts. A bit of a flirt as he is, and an admittedly talented interrogator and navigator."

She'd gritted her teeth when she used the word 'talented'. Silica looked to the man known as Lueur, who recovered quickly enough when she kind of complimented him. Huh. He was… eccentric. Is everyone working for Argo like him?

"Indeed I am! Lueur, a member of Lady Argo's 'Kingsman', devoted to the cause and talented in aplenty," he chuckled a little, while she perked up at the name. Is he part of that special group Argo mentioned once? "I came up with the name myself, really, but we are a truly skilled bunch. Unique from the rest of Lady Argo's men and women. No one better than us, as far as I can tell you."

"To business. How'd it go?" She asked.

"Quite well, milady. I'd say it was perfect," said the redhead, pulling a chair over to their table. His flirtatious smile hadn't gone away, an amber eye winking once towards Lisbeth—she'd immediately turned away her head to make a retching sound. "The dungeons were spacious, so it had taken a wee bit of time to map everything out, though we'd managed to find the boss room quickly enough after. We've had no encounters with any enemy, suffered no injuries and have mapped out the entire place, although…"

"Something bad?" Her question weakened his smile until it turned into a soft frown. "Well, Lueur? Spill it."

"Shadows," the mention of such has her tensing, and everyone around the tables practically tensed up as well. Gone was his smile. "While you've warned us that they've started spawning more occasionally in dungeons and the wild areas, these ones… acted strangely. See, we intended to sneak into the room using Lady Koharu's strategy to get some info on the boss, but three Shadows were guarding the entrance to the boss room, preventing us from coming any closer."

What? But… that doesn't make any sense. Don't Shadows just roam the wilds? They'd come across one or two earlier during their training, though they'd been so weak that there was just no need to worry about them.

That there were Shadows protecting the entrance to a boss room… Why is that?

He shook his head, sounding disappointed. "And I wish we could have gone in to fight them ourselves, but you'd taught us well, Lady Argo. And we knew that they were too strong for us to handle on our own. Even our best fighters like Liten and Sanya would have not measured up to them."

"It's good that you retreated, then. Don't need any unnecessary casualties on our end," she'd tried to sound casual, but everyone could tell that she was immensely glad, if how her tone got softer was any indication. "Could you describe us these Shadows?"

"I can do you one better. Bless Stilla. She'd managed to draw sketches of the Shadows rather quickly for your reference," he pulled out a book and set it on the table.

Three humanoid figures, two of them wielding naginata-like weapons while the last one possessed a far more intimidating look compared to the other two. Shadows really varied a lot in terms of looks, and she could only imagine what their powers were.

Vabel barely needed much time to recall the names of the Shadows drawn upon the paper, her eyes narrowed. "Kin-Ki, Sui-Ki, and Fuu-Ki. They are focused on physical attacks, ice and wind respectively, and Kin-Ki possesses an innate resistance to physical attacks. These are the identities of the Shadows, and they are indeed especially powerful."

"My, my. A resistance to physical attacks, you say? That severely puts us at a disadvantage," sighed the man. "In a world such as ours, where we fight with swords and bows, to know that they're naturally resistant to such means of attack is rather disappointing."

"Then again, the monsters in Aincrad have these sort of resistances too," Kirito piped in. "Think of Lizardman Lords, which resist all weapons but are weak to those capable of piercing, like spears, rapiers and bows. Slime and insect-type enemies are weak to swords, and golems are weak to maces and axes. But I guess in this instance, if the enemy can resist all of that, then it really does put us at a huge disadvantage."

No one disagreed. The concept of elements was just something that the players didn't have access to, unlike monsters and bosses. Sure, there were specific items that could indeed inflict some amount of magical damage, but those items dealt very little damage, and purchasing enough to defeat a Shadow or boss would get too expensive.

They could craft such items, but it wasn't like the materials were readily supplied. She'd once attempted to make a fire bomb (works similarly to a Molotov, really), but she'd quickly realized that the materials necessary had to be procured in some areas that were swarming with powerful mobs, so she'd naturally given up.

But now, they did indeed have one way.

"Sir Kirito, you possess a Persona, if I'm not mistaken. You are able to work around this situation, yes?" Lueur asked, receiving a nod.

"I can. Arsene has access to «Curse» magic, so I could technically still injure them well enough," answered the boy. Right. She'd seen him casting spells before, and they were so cool!

The answer seemed to satisfy the older player, who smiled once more. "That is good to hear. The Shadows were incredibly powerful, and though I've no doubt that you will succeed in your battle against them, I can only offer my prayers and no more. I myself am not much of a fighter, really, compared to my other allies… I can flirt, though, so I can give you some tips if you—gak..!"

An elbow into his ribs promptly cut him off, everyone sweat-dropping at that sudden trivia. They certainly didn't need to know that.

Argo certainly didn't look amused, even as her spy just said things like how he was just joking around.

He looked like he had more to say, but a message notification stole his attention. His eyes drifted quickly across the words before he eventually closed it, nodding. "Well, it seems that I'm needed back at the headquarters. Wouldn't do well to leave the Kingsman unattended. We'll await any further instructions from you, Lady Argo. Take care of yourselves, everyone. If you'll excuse me."

He bowed, a sharp 90 degrees that exuded charisma. Gentlemanly. A little too much, and his flair might have been a little overwhelming, but she could tell he was a relatively nice guy. He genuinely cared for Argo, after all, and she must trust him enough to make him a member of this… Kingsman, whatever it is.

"Shadows, huh..? Jeez, talk about the game being a massive pain," groaned the boy, bumping his head onto the table. "I mean, I bet if the system could do something about it, it would have probably removed the anomaly, so I'm just going to assume this is some real heavy glitch. A real crappy one."

"And again, if it could remove Shadows, it could remove your Persona powers, so we might as well accept things for how they are," Argo said, drawing out a second groan.

A small hum has everyone looking to Kizmel, who seemed oddly focused as she looked at the Shadows. It was only when Lisbeth gave her a small tap on the shoulder did she seem to snap out of her stupor, looking sheepish. "Ah. Forgive me for blanking out. It was not my intention to do so."

"No problem, but something seems to be bothering you. What's up?" He asked in turn.

"I… This Shadow, in particular," she tapped on the picture of Kin-Ki. "It feels… familiar. As if I've met it once before, but I can't just seem to recall where."

Kizmel had escaped from floor nine before, after fighting her way through so many Shadows, so there was a good possibility that she'd met Kin-Ki there once. But the chance of it being here? That was an odd one.

"And I suppose… the thought of fighting Shadows is an incredibly terrifying one, I have to admit," she sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose. "I've barely managed to get away from them the other time, and Her Majesty… I trust she is well, but I fear she may be… No, she's not dead, that just can't be it."

Denial. Or perhaps hope. Kizmel's words were filled with dread, somehow afraid of what the truth might be.

"Kizmel-chan, it's okay," Asuna whispered, holding her shoulder in a supportive way. "I'm sure the queen is fine. There were others too at the time, right? So she must have escaped with the rest of them, I'm sure."

Doubt flashed in her eyes for a brief second before she nodded. "Right. I just need to have hope. I'm sure she's okay, because if she isn't…"

"She will be," Silica said with conviction, trusting Asuna's words. "She must be waiting for you right now, in fact! She's probably waiting to reunite with you again."

"That's… Yes, I believe so too," chuckled the Dark Elf, feeling a lot better. "Thank you, everyone, for worrying me. That at least settles one doubt of mine."

"Hey, no worries. We look out after one another," he said this as he looked from one person to the next, nodding. "We're a team, after all. We fight together, we protect one another. My awful attempt at inspiration aside, you've got another question?"

She nodded, tilting her head in curiosity. "I was just wondering. What is it that you meant by this 'system'? I'm a bit in the lost."

Uh-oh! That's right, Kizmel wasn't a human player like the rest of them! She couldn't possibly understood what Kirito was talking about!

The nice peace from earlier dropped into a bucket and was promptly kicked into the abyss as she began sweating, and a quick look at everyone else told her that she wasn't the only one nervous—except Vabel, strangely enough. T-This was bad! She wanted to know about the operating system that handled 'Sword Art Online', and she didn't know what to tell her!

What were they supposed to say? Sure, she'd accepted the whole 'kidnapped by a madman' shtick, but there was no way they could just tell her that this world was created by said madman and this world wasn't real, and that they were in virtual bodies whereas their real bodies were in their real world. She wasn't willing to give her existential crisis!

"Oh yeah, we forgot to explain that to you," Silica gawked. No! He couldn't be serious! He couldn't be, right? Yet his calm expression betrayed nothing. "Well, it's nothing too difficult to explain. Kayaba, the same douchebag who put us in here using magic, also birthed a powerful creature that we'll call the 'System' whose sole purpose is to ensure the 'order' and 'stability' of Aincrad."

She could practically hear the relief in everyone's sighs. That was… accurate, actually, and described in a fantasy sort of manner that was actually plausible in this world.

"As it is, 10,000 humans were placed onto the castle. So, one of the system's jobs is making sure no one else can enter. It does this by using a number of powerful spells to prevent or seal up any possible cracks in its walls, essentially preventing us from getting any backup, let alone know what's going on in our own world," he finished off with a shrug, seemingly oblivious to all the awed and shocked looks he was getting. "So yeah, the system is one hell of an entity that can do just about anything. That's why, technically, one of its jobs is to prevent these Shadows… although, if that were the case, then we shouldn't be having Personae in the first place."

Understanding reflected in her onyx eyes as she digested all the information, and Silica had to admit that it was impressive. To think that he'd manage to basically sell the story in that way… she was still trying to cope with the fact that it worked.

But yeah, that was all true. Whatever this system was really called, it really did manage the resources of 'Sword Art Online'; from its monsters to its quests, and maintaining the balance, it was a really vital part of 'SAO'.

It was likely both their benefactor and their enemy all at the same time.

"I see… It truly does seem like a curse, and yet a benefit all the same. A trade-off; for power, an equal amount of challenge," it made him nod, although Silica felt a little annoyed at how the Shadows seemed a little too difficult. "Makes you wonder how everything would be like if you and I never received Personae, and Shadows never existed."

"It would be weird, because I'm kind of used to having this guy accompany us," the moment he said that, Arsene was summoned with a burst of blue flames, chuckling.

"I am pleased to know that my company is quite appreciated," spoke the demon.

"Of course! You've helped us a lot, Arsene. We're happy to have you with us," smiled Asuna, and he laughed once more.

"Of course, milady. The Hero fights for justice, and it would dishonourable if I were not to lend my strength," red eyes stared down to the host in question, who perked a brow in return. "After all, your desire to save your friends have admittedly touched me, and I intend to see your journey to the end."

The Hero. It sounded like a rather grandiose title for a seemingly regular person, and perhaps a little arrogant in the minds of others, yet Silica could tell that it was wholly fitting.

Maybe he wasn't the quintessential hero with the perfect redeeming qualities, but he was still human. And as he shot his Persona a grin and returned his words with a 'You got it', she knew that there was no other hero they'd rather place their faith in.


Everyone continued on with brunch, talking amongst one another while Asuna left with Lisbeth to go stock up on potions. Argo was messaging her kingsman about things, and Kizmel promised to return later tonight as she had departed for Yofel Castle to speak with Lord Yofilis.

He sighed. Shadows protecting the boss room had already changed the plan quite a bit; they'd planned to raid the dungeon tomorrow, but there was no way that would be possible. Not if they'd have to face off against powerful Shadows that were capable of freezing and blowing their ranks away. Oh, and that last one can just wreck them apart with strong blows.

He would have preferred a whole wave of Pixie's, Jack-o'-Lanterns and Koropokguru's for a hack-and-slash, for as lame as that sounded, to three powerful mini-bosses to be honest.

Kirito stared down at the message in his interface, deleting a word or two, and then sending the message. He'd sent one earlier to Klein to explain things, and he'd only just sent one such message, albeit a more formal one, to Lind.

He received a reply almost instantly, and that was a surprise. He pressed a few buttons and read the responses.

Lind: I see. Thank you for informing us. The raid groups have already been prepared, and we'll be on standby until the battle. We'll await your signal.

Klein: Yeah, you got it, K-dog. We'll join you for the fight. You can count on us then, bro!

Well, yet another surprise. Lind and Kibaou managed to put aside their hatred for one another and somehow got the people to work together again? He wasn't sure whether to praise the players who were still willing to follow them or call them idiots.

Then again, he supposed it was a good thing. Neither of them wanted a repeat of the performance with Wythege, so they'd put aside their differences for until after the battle. And he swore, if they started arguing in the middle of the fight again, he would kick their asses.

The second message made him feel a little relieved, though. Getting to see Klein again meant that he really was okay, and he kind of missed the guy.

…Somehow, he had a feeling that Klein was positively going to kill him because all his friends and teammates are girls, but to heck with him.

He closed his interface with a wave of the hand. 'Our plan of leaving tomorrow's been changed. We'll deal with the Shadows first, and then join the raid groups and the elven army to tackle the floor bosses the day after.'

He'd sent Kizmel off to Castle Yofel to deliver the news earlier to the Lion Viscount, and perhaps recruit their help once more. Additional help would really be nice—quality than quantity, many said, but quantity was its own boon all the same. And he did say that he would be willing to help out before this.

Afterwards, his group and the elven army will march for Castle Galey. The human army could then catch a break. There was no reason to believe that the Forest Elves survived the assault, though they'll do whatever they can to help the survivors and reclaim the stronghold.

Heh… And to think, back during the Beta Test, he wouldn't have hesitated to kill the Forest Elves—he'd sided with the Dark Elves, after all, and it had automatically registered him as an enemy in their eyes. He'd accepted that, and he'd technically been planning to choose the Dark Elves again when he came here.

And now, here he was, thinking about saving both races just because there was a third party of demons that were ruining everything.

'I'm seriously wondering who to lay the blame on. I seriously want to strangle them,' an eye twitched, his lips a smile. Heh, that would be something.

It wasn't much later before Asuna and Lisbeth returned, a few potions bought and some better weapons that they could get their hands on. They sat together before the fencer spoke up. "So, how was it?"

"Lind and Kibaou already got the players together for the raid battle. Not sure when, but probably a long time ago already, and Klein gave the green signal. Everyone's ready. Now we just need to wait for Kizmel," he said.

"I have returned," well, speak about the elf. She sat beside him, a nod before she resumed. "Lord Yofilis has his army at the ready. He will join us for the battle against the floor boss."

"That's good," really, he wasn't expecting it to turn out perfectly, but hope was a pretty strong thing. Might just be the thing he'd need to give his bad luck a kick in the shins. "So, we've technically prepped out enough, and our weapons and armour should last well enough into the fight. Anything else that we need to take into account?"

"Nothin' so far, save for strategy," Argo brought out the book with the sketches from earlier (she told them she'd return it to Lueur later, so he'll trust her to that), flipping to the pages with the three humanoids.

"Right. Just as Vabel told us, Kin-Ki will be—God damn, it's hard to take him seriously when his name sounds like 'kinky'. Anyways," he refuses to meet anyone in the eyes, especially when a good number of them were blushing. "Kin-Ki is resistant to physical hits, so leave him to me. The rest of you will focus on Sui-Ki and Fuu-Ki. Keep moving and don't let them hit you; they're capable of magic, after all, and they seem to possess weapons. There's a chance that they might be capable of using «Sword Skills», so you need to be extra careful with them."

Magic was already a great weapon for the Shadows. If they could the use the «Sword Skills» of this world?

It seemed ridiculous, but don't forget that Illfang and the bull bosses from floor 2 had been able to do so, plus a few of the basic mobs like the Lizardman Lord. He genuinely prayed that things wouldn't be too bad.

Silica rose her hand, catching his attention. "Are you sure you want Liz and I in the fight? We aren't exactly strong, though…"

"Not strong, but you're fast, and Lisbeth is still strong enough to handle her own. I'm certain that the both of you are fully capable," besides, he'd watch them during their training, and he was confident they'll be fine. "If, on the off-chance that Kin-Ki goes for any of you, prioritize defense or getting away, and leave him to me. Focus on the other two Shadows. Understood?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Now that everything's over, let's move out tonight. Any last prep work, get it over with now."

Night washed over the skies of the castle like a blanket of pure black, dotted with a myriad of stars that gave nothing away. A beautiful sight within this virtual world, one that was determined to kill them no matter the cost.

Koharu put away her weapon and rechecked her inventory. Good. She had potions, some backup potions, and a couple of Teleport Crystals. Her weapon wasn't, by any means, good enough to last her next few floors—it would probably break after the battle with the Shadows, but at least they could get some new gear once they get to Castle Galey.

Once she was certain that she had everything accounted for, she strapped on her dagger and stepped out of the inn that they'd rented for the few nights they've been here. Out into the cold night, she breathed out through her nose, watching as a small cloud of dense vapour fade away into the air.

'Sword Art Online's server ran on the Japan Standard Time, so it was technically night time right about now; the country known as the Land of the Rising Sun was now asleep, or at least most of its residents are—some people were probably still up watching football, studying for their entrance exams or fighting monsters in a godforsaken dungeon.

You'd think that last bit was a joke, yet that's exactly what they were going to be doing after this. They had work to do.

"Koharu," she blinked, her fellow Beta Tester watching her with a worried look. "You alright with those clothes? Wear an extra layer or something. It's cold tonight."

"O-Oh! No need to worry about me, really," where was this coming from? That was sudden of him. Enough that she'd become flustered. "The dungeons won't be cold too, after all, so—"

"I wouldn't count on that," he drew out a coat from his inventory, placing it in her arms. "Here, wear this. It'll offer some heat, so you don't freeze to death. Knowing how advanced this game, I'm certain that might just be possible."

"O-Oh. Thank you," she drew the cloak around herself. Fur-lined around the collar and thicker than what she was already wearing, she felt instantly better.

"You can take it off later once we start fighting. For now, focus on getting yourself warm," he nodded at her, then turned to the rest of the girls, whom had just gotten out as well. "Ready to move out?"

Everyone nodded at his question. Yeah, they'd spent the entire time getting everything ready. There was nothing more to do but to march on.

"I don't suppose you'd mind if I sat back and watched ta' fight, ey?" Argo cheekily asked with a small pat to his back.

"Oi, everyone has to carry their own weight around. I'm not gonna' let you do nothing while we risk our necks against them," he'd somehow ended up laughing rather than sounding too serious, which was fine. Not like being serious all the time would help anyone. "So, everyone good to move out? Last chance to get anything we'd need."

"Nope. We've got everything we need," chirped Lisbeth.

"No other humans, as far as I'm concerned, have entered the dungeons, so it will only be us," Kizmel said. "That said, our battle with the Shadows is bound to be chaotic, so we should proceed carefully."

Everyone nodded. The environment was an enemy now, and it would take all that they have to win this one unscathed. She'd just hoped it didn't mean anything bad.

From there, it was an entire trip by foot. There were no horses to borrow, and additional Exp. gained on the way to the dungeons was something that everyone could make do with. Away from stone, civilization and lights, and into tested wilderness. Past the woods and all the monuments.

A massive tower that connected the floor to the underside of the next one. They'd reached their destination, though it was still many miles away, so the journey had been a rather tiring one. But she knew that there was no helping it.

And then, they stood before the dungeons, ready to find the Shadows and brave its challenges.

No one told them how crazy everything would turn out.