[Recipient cannot be reached.]

Just couldn't wait, could you?

That particular system message was cause for great concern for Argo the Rat, who was now sprinting as fast as she could through the 2nd floor wilds. The fact that she received that system message meant that the person she was trying to contact was somewhere underground, like a labyrinth. Argo grimaced as she ran through the clearing where ((The Bullbous Bow)) once resided, cursing to herself that she'd not been quicker in completing the quest she'd finished not five minutes ago.

See, the quest Argo had just finished gave her a crucial piece of information regarding the 2nd floor boss fight. Back in the beta, the 2nd floor boss fight included one major boss and one minor boss, both minotaurs that were capable of inflicting stun and paralysis. What Argo had discovered, however, was that now since the official release of SAO that those two bosses were minor bosses to a third boss named Asterius the Taurus King. Asterius had the skill set of its subordinates, plus a devastating lightning breath.

This was, unfortunately, information that the clearers did not have at this time. Undoubtedly they were engaged with the bosses even as Argo neared the labyrinth entrance. It didn't take a genius to realize that an unprepared raid plus new information equaled the potential for disaster and death.

Argo was also privy to another rather important piece of information that was utterly useless right now. Asterius and its lackeys were weak to attacks to their crown and horns, respectively. Given that the only feasible way to reach said weak points was the use of ranged weapons, this was particularly frustrating for the Rat. There was nothing worse than information that could not be properly used. And the coup de gras about this whole situation was that the only two known and capable ranged weapon users were in the boss room right now, rendering the information worthless yet again until Argo could reach the clearing group herself.

I don't get paid enough for this.

Kayaba, would it kill you to make these things not taste like crap?

Leonn stepped back to drink a health potion, grimacing as its unpleasant bitter flavor slid down his tongue. Tasting like an amalgamation between cough syrup, seltzer water, and unripe fruit, these health potions time and again proved to be the difference between life and death, so he couldn't complain too much. Finishing the potion, Leonn tossed it to the side and watched it shatter and dissolve into pixels. The effects of a health potion were not instantaneous, so Leonn was forced to stay back and recover while his friends, his comrades, were putting their lives on the line.

He took the opportunity to reassess the current state of the battlefield. The two bosses were currently being engaged by the raid group, and all was going well so far. Lind and the Dragon Knight Brigade were engaged with ((Nato the Colonel Taurus)), with Kibaou and the Aincrad Liberation Squad acting as reserve switch-ins. Leonn and the rest of Kirito's group had just swapped out with The Legend Braves, who were now engaged with ((Baran the General Taurus). The groups focusing on Baran were being supported by a motley crew of solo players, who either acted as support or simply snuck in strikes where they could without getting in the way. Both bosses were massive minotaurs, with the head of a bull and the body of a man, but in sheer size dwarfing both creatures from which it had been born. According to the guidebook, Baran was the main floor boss, with Nato acting as a sub-boss. Fortunately, there were no trash mobs acting as adds for the fight, so the entirety of the raid group was able to focus solely on each boss.

Leonn chuckled with mild amusement and relief that there had been no other adds to worry about. Asuna had made such a fuss about these shirtless minotaurs and their "sexual harassment" that Leonn wasn't sure he'd be able to fight effectively while laughing had there been more offending minotaurs on the field.

He glanced over at the rest of his team. Kirito, Asuna, and Agil had all already healed to full, and Sinon had never been touched once; now that she had a bow, she could safely stand back and harry the boss with a litany of arrows. The same could actually be said of Nezha of The Legend Braves. He'd only met the former blacksmith once, but the boy seemed to have already mastered the chakram with deadly accuracy and efficiency, and was standing in the back with Sinon to provide ranged damage.

He shook his head. This wasn't the time to let the mind wander too much. If there had been anything he'd learned in the fight with Illfang, it was that inattention to detail could be lethal. The reveal of the nodachi and the subsequent death of Diavel was proof enough of that. He refocused on the fight before him, tracing out the boss's attack patterns in his head. For Leonn, memorizing the timing of boss attacks was crucial; as the only maul-wielding front liner, his attacks were significantly slower than somebody like Kirito or even Agil. If his timing on his attacks was off by as little as a half-second, it could potentially open him up to a counterattack. Sure, he had ((Blockade)) to cancel and interrupt his own sword skills if need be, but doing so was in his mind a last resort; that attack had its own cooldown period as well.

Despite his high vitality stat, taking a direct hit to the face was still something he wanted to avoid.

"Braves, switch out!" Lind called out. "Kirito, you and your team get in there!"

"Roger!" Both groups called out. Deflecting one last hit from Baran, The Legend Braves rotated out to recover and heal. Meanwhile, Kirito's group rotated in seamlessly; their battle alongside the Braves had helped acquaint them with their rhythm in battle. Leonn and Agil took Baran's attention and were acting as tanks, Kirito and Asuna were flanking it and cycling through their own rhythmic attacks, and Sinon was safely turning the boss into a pincushion from afar.

Baran let out a bellow and raised its hammer, signaling the boss skill called ((Numbing Impact)). Swinging his maul upwards, Leonn's weapon collided with the boss's with a *CLANG* that resounded through the room. Unfortunately, this was one of those instances where Leonn's maul didn't outweigh his opponent's, and so his own swing was thrust backward. However it did seem to lessen the impact and resulting area stun once Baran's hammer made contact with the ground.

Leonn felt his muscles tense up as the ((Stunned)) status took hold of his body. It wasn't full paralysis, fortunately, but those three seconds of inaction felt like an eternity to the maul wielder. As he stared at his health bar and status icons, part of him winced at the amount of health he'd lost from that clash; he estimated he'd lost 15% in total from the collision and taking the hammer strike directly afterward.

Looks like direct parries are not going to work here. Damn.

About halfway through the duration of the stun, Leonn's field of vision flashed bright for a moment as something white and red zoomed past, slamming into Baran. Right behind it was a black blur, seeking to take advantage of the minotaur's cooldown from ((Numbing Impact)). A dance of black and white swirled around the boss's right flank, carving several red gashes before the two familiar figures retreated.

Shaking off the stun, Leonn took a few steps back to reorient himself. "Nice, you two! Agil, I don't think we're gonna be able to parry his hammer!"

"Yeah, you think?!" Agil quipped back as he ducked under an incoming hammer swing. "We're going to have to dodge his attacks, man!"

Right. Have the slow STR/AGI build try dodging. That'll go well.

With the new tactic in mind, Leonn dove in again. Together with Agil, he was able to keep the boss occupied. Some time later after swapping with The Legend Braves, he saw Kirito jog over to Lind and say something. He couldn't tell what, but whatever it was, the raid leader seemed to be considering it.

Until Kibaou showed up, that is. Fortunately, the cactus-haired sub-leader was very easily heard over the sounds of battle.

"Why would we retreat?! We're winning!" Kibaou shouted before shooting Kirito a smug look. The black-haired swordsman shook his head and rejoined his group.

"What was that about?" Leonn asked Kirito, watching Baran clash with Beowulf and Cuchulainn's shield wall.

Kirito had to shout a little for his voice to be heard. "This is going too well! I haven't seen any attack pattern changes! I asked Lind if he wanted to regroup in case we needed to retreat!"

He was right. As far as Leonn could tell, neither boss had changed their attack patterns. Despite how hard each minotaur hit, this was going too easily. Something was bound to happen, and regrouping would have been the prudent precaution to take.

"Be careful of changes!" Kirito shouted to his half of the raid. The Legend Braves simply nodded, given the fact that they were currently engaged with Baran. His own group gave various nods or verbal acknowledgements of the warning.

About five minutes later, Kirito's group and The Legend Braves were still fighting Baran when they heard a very angry bellow come from Nato, the boss that the other half of the raid were engaged with. Its eyes flared with seething red rage as its attacks quickened. The Dragon Knights Brigade, who were the ones currently engaged with the enraged minotaur, struggled to fend off the hastened attacks. A few tanks were sent flying back from the flurry of blows.

Ok, an enrage effect? That's not so bad.

Leonn would later reflect on that moment and kick himself for tempting fate like that. Murphy's Law had the absolute worst timing.

The chamber suddenly rumbled.

*THUD*

The raid grew quiet at the sound of that, the only breaks in the silence coming from the bosses themselves and the rattling of weapons and armor.

*THUD*

This time, the rumbling shook the entire room. The tanks who'd been sent flying earlier tripped as they tried to get back on their feet.

*THUD*

"That… cannot possibly be good." Leonn quipped, looking around the room to identify the source of the commotion.

A large, almost astral looking humanoid form began to manifest at the far end of the chamber. As it took slow, exaggerated steps forward with its cloven hooves, the starry appearance began to give way to blackened hair and skin. Within seconds, what had started as a starry bull-man had now morphed into a very real, very imposing, crowned minotaur that had its eyes set on the raid group before it. It lifted its enormous warhammer over its head and gave a bellow. As its deep battle cry reverberated through the room, four health bars manifested near its name, which read ((Asterius the Taurus King)).

I hate being right.

"We've got this!" Kibaou shouted, rallying his Aincrad Liberation Squad as they charged the new boss. A cacophony of battle cries rang forth as the ALS collided with Asterius.

As it turns out, they did not have it.

Rearing its crowned head back for but a moment, the gargantuan minotaur lurched forward and opened its mouth, spewing a torrent of crackling electricity on the unsuspecting raiders. Asterius's lightning breath enveloped a large portion of the room, catching the entirety of the ALS and half of the Dragon Knights Brigade in its massive cone. Each unfortunate soul to get hit by the breath attack fell to the floor, stunned.

Chaos erupted among the raid as both Lind and Kibaou lay on the floor, trying their hardest to shout commands, to no avail. Lind and Kibaou locked eyes with Kirito, but where the latter held only malice and contempt in his gaze, the former silently pleaded with Kirito.

"His crown! Hit his crown!" A new feminine, albeit nasally, voice rang out.

All eyes - or rather, those that could actually move and look - swiveled to find Argo the Rat sprinting into the boss chamber, screaming her late warning at the top of her lungs.

Kirito launched into action. "Nezha! Sinon! Hit his crown! Braves, keep Baran occupied! DKB, keep Nato locked down! Everyone else, grab the stunned and get them out of the way!"

Nezha and Sinon immediately shifted targets, launching a barrage of arrows and chakram strikes at the crown of the Taurus King, interrupting his attacks and causing the behemoth to stagger back with every successful strike. Agil, Leonn, Asuna, and the solo players all started carting stunned players to the backline. Agil and Leonn were able to haul two players at a time, but Asuna easily made up for her lack of strength by outpacing both men. The Legend Braves and what remained of the Dragon Knights Brigade went on the defensive, looking to buy the time necessary for the raid to recover from that devastating lightning breath. Kirito, on the other hand, had taken control of the devastated raid party with surprising efficiency, calling out attack patterns and keeping an eye on the stun-locked floor boss.

Five minutes later, Kirito's group and the solo players had everyone on their feet again. Noticing the situation was under control, at least to some degree, Lind and Kibaou set to healing and reorganizing their group members. Once everyone not currently engaged with the bosses looked in good shape, Kirito walked up to Lind.

"We should kill the smaller bosses first before taking on Asterius. Nezha and Sinon can keep him locked down for now." Kirito suggested.

Lind nodded before turning to the raid group. "Same plan as before! Nezha and Sinon will keep Asterius occupied while we finish off Baran and Nato! Braves and DKB, switch out!"

With that, the Aincrad Liberation Squad and Kirito's group swapped in to deal with Nato and Baran, respectively. Having been restored back to fighting condition by the break afforded them, the ALS finished off Nato and switched over to reinforce Kirito's group, albeit with some reluctance by some of the ALS members.

"I'm running out of arrows!" Sinon shouted out.

Damn! We have to wrap this up quickly.

Kirito seemed to pick up on this too. "Quickly! Once she runs out, Nezha's not going to be able to keep Asterius stun-locked by himself! How much longer, Sinon?"

Sinon reached over her shoulder and felt around the mouth of her quiver, taking a moment to count the number remaining. "Maybe a dozen more shots!"

Now reinforced by the ALS, Leonn could afford to be a bit more reckless with his attacks. Pivoting to the side, Leonn slammed Baran with his shoulder, using his ((Blockade)) skill to throw the boss off-balance while it was swinging its hammer down. Despite the size difference, it seemed to succeed in throwing the minotaur's aim off, narrowly missing Asuna as its hammer crashed down inches from where she stood. He followed quickly, using his momentum to spin and land a horizontal swing, catching the minotaur in the back and dropping its health low enough to trigger its enrage effect.

"ALS and DKB! Break off and engage Asterius!" Lind shouted.

Not the call I would have made, but whatever. Leonn frowned and redoubled his efforts to bring the minotaur down, aiming his maul strikes at the legs and ankles to throw off its balance further.

"I'm out of arrows!" Sinon shouted, stowing her bow and bringing out her dagger. In a matter of seconds, Sinon had slipped behind Baran and was sneaking in cheap shots on the minotaur's exposed flank.

Never mind. That was probably a good call, Lind. Leonn gave Lind a nod of approval, not that the raid leader saw or cared. He glanced up to see that Baran was near death, only to hear a warcry come from behind him as Kirito zoomed in, Asuna hot on his heels as they both dealt the final blow on the sub-boss. Baran froze for a moment, then shattered.

Leonn took a moment to recover while most of his party rushed in, each being far more agile than the lumbering maul wielder. He felt a hand clap on his back.

"You doing alright, man?" Agil asked him as the large man drank a health potion. His face twisted for a moment at the bitter taste before he shook it off.

Leonn chuckled. "Apart from the god-awful taste of these potions, yeah. I'm good."

Their brief conversation was suddenly interrupted when they heard Lind shout something.

"Lightning Breath! Move!"

Nezha had been doing his best to interrupt the breath attacks, but it was inevitable that one would slip past his abilities. Leonn watched him hurriedly throw his chakram at Asterius's crown in a desperate bid to cancel the attack.

He was too late.

As Leonn looked at the boss, he understood why. The ALS and DKB had managed to bring Asterius to his last health bar, triggering the enrage ability. With the time between his attacks reduced, Asterius was able to launch off his lightning breath quicker than Nezha had expected. Yellow, crackling lightning enveloped most of the raid group, including Kirito, Asuna, and Kibaou. A couple dozen bodies hit the floor, afflicted with the ((Stunned)) condition. To make matters worse, Asterius raised his hammer above his head with both hands and Leonn could see yellow lightning begin to coalesce around the hammer's head.

"Numbing Impact! Move!" Lind shouted.

They couldn't, though. Still stunned and unable to move, they could only watch as the Taurus King brought the hammer down, aiming directly at Kibaou and Kirito.

"They can't!" Leonn shouted, already running towards his friends. Brandishing his maul, he swung at the boss's hammer, which was easily twice the size of his own weapon. A head-on collision would never work, Leonn realized, if his parry against Baran's hammer was anything to go off of. What he could do, though, was hit the hammer from the side and divert its trajectory away from Kirito and Kibaou. Swinging his hammer into a horizontal sword skill, the glowing head of Leonn's maul made thunderous contact with Asterius's hammer, throwing the swing off course just enough to miss its intended targets.

The crowned minotaur didn't seem to care for that interruption, so it reared his hammer back again. Having seen his strategy work once already, Leonn was ready. Swinging his maul again, this time in the opposite direction, he slammed his maul into the other side of the hammer as it came down, again throwing it off course. Then something happened that Leonn didn't expect, something he wished he'd thought about sooner.

Leonn's weapon shattered.

Clearly Leonn hadn't been paying attention to the durability of his maul during the fight, because that last hit brought its durability to zero. Several pairs of eyes, stunned or otherwise, glanced over at the cloud of pixels that used to be Leonn's weapon. One of those pairs of eyes belonged to Asterius, who almost seemed to grin as it brought up its hammer one more time, seeking to finish off Kirito and Kibaou. This struck Leonn as odd; apparently the two stunned players had done enough damage to it previously to warrant prioritizing them as its targets.

Taking a step back, Leonn waited for the hammer to come down, bracing himself for the oncoming collision. Without a weapon to parry with, Leonn did the only thing he could do with what little he had. Charging forward with a ((Blockade)), Leonn rammed his shoulder into the side of the hammer, yet again shifting it to the side at the last minute and subsequently missing Kirito and Kibaou, but not without cost. He winced as he saw his health plummet by 30%, bringing him well into the yellow.

I can't believe that worked.

Still recovering from the cooldown from ((Blockade)), Leonn felt a firm hand yank him away from the boss. Looking over, he saw Kirito and Asuna pulling him forward and out of harm's way. The rest of the stunned players had gotten back on their feet and were engaging the boss once again.

"That was stupid!" Both of his friends practically shouted in unison.

Leonn gave an awkward smile as he pulled out a health potion. "Yeah, but it worked, right?" His expression quickly twisted at the unpleasant taste of the potion he drank before he looked at Kirito and Asuna again.

"I can't believe you pulled that off!" Agil exclaimed, giving Leonn a pat on the shoulder before running in to engage the boss.

"Yeah, that makes two of us." Leonn said before turning back towards the boss. "Let's finish this guy off, huh?"

Kirito and Asuna were way ahead of him in that respect. The two had already engaged Asterius, harrying him with a flurry of sword slashes and rapier thrusts. Leonn himself broke into a run as he charged towards the boss. Even if he didn't have his maul anymore, he still had those ((Martial Arts)) skills, so he wouldn't be completely useless.

Asterius, sensing his existence was coming to its end soon, lashed out in a flurry against all of the players nearby. Swinging his massive hammer around, he caught a few unfortunate players with it, sending them flying backward. Beowulf and Cuchulainn were among those turned into projectiles as they were flung into some nearby pillars. Some of the players in reserve rushed over to administer whatever aid they could to those catapulted to the side.

Leonn slowed as he came to the front of the boss. Without the reach of a maul, getting into the fray was too risky. Even with Nezha intermittently staggering the boss, it was just too dangerous to get that close.

Then an idea struck.

"Guys!" Leonn shouted in the direction of his comrades. Kirito, Asuna, and Sinon leapt out of the way and turned towards their unarmed friend. "Want a boost?!"

A brief moment passed as all three began to understand what he meant by that question. Within seconds, the trio had repositioned themselves behind Leonn, who was crouched and had his hands clasped low, ready to boost and launch them towards the boss. With his high strength score, tossing his friends at the boss would not be difficult at all. Asuna was first, running and stepping on Leonn's clasped hands as he launched her into the air behind him towards the boss. Sinon followed, then Kirito came at the rear.

Lind and Kibaou watched in awe and confusion as three people who they felt no kinship toward were thrown into the air, slamming into Asterius's crown in to deliver three consecutive attacks, staggering the minotaur back with every blow and bringing his health closer and closer to oblivion. Leonn took the opportunity while the boss was stunned to run forward and deliver a powerful ((Uppercut)) punch to the stunned monster, sending its head up and backward and causing it to rear back from the impact.

Then it froze, head reared back in an ominous pose that had spelled doom to the raid before.

"Lightning Breath Incom - " Lind started before trailing off.

Small glowing cracks began to develop across Asterius's blackened fur and skin, starting at its head and rippling through its entire body. Just as the cracks reached every limb, Asterius shattered in an explosion of pixels and polygons.

Stunned silence filled the room as all of the raiders assembled stared at where the boss once stood. Several of their number wheeled around, weapons at the ready for any more surprises that might come their way. They'd been expecting two bosses in this fight when a third showed, so many looked ready to fight a fourth if it came down to it.

What seemed an eternity passed before a message appeared above them.

[Congratulations!]

Everyone cheered at the message that spelled their victory. So caught up in their celebration, even members of the ALS and DKB were congratulating each other and giving high fives. The Legend Braves had already made their way over to Kirito's party to join in on the celebration.

"Great job!"

"That was tough, man!"

"At least it's over!"

Leonn smiled as he regrouped with his friends. Argo herself, having up until now relegated herself as support for the injured backline fighters, joined them.

"You are one reckless hammerhead, Leo-bou." She said, giving Leonn a light smack on the arm. "People are going to be talking about this battle for days."

Asuna turned to Argo. "You think this battle was broadcast too?"

"Aa-chan, if there's one thing Kayaba's good for, it's showing off." The Rat continued, raising a finger. "These boss battles are only ever defeated once, so there's no way he wouldn't show it off. Otherwise, only the raiders ever get to see his work."

"That makes sense, I guess." Sinon said thoughtfully.

Just then, three windows popped up in front of three different players, signalling they'd scored the last attack on the bosses. The first was Kibaou, who'd apparently landed the last attack on Nato. He received a horned helmet called ((The Colonel's Horns)), which gave him a boost to his defense. With its large protruding horns on either side of the helmet, it somehow looked simultaneously intimidating and absolutely ridiculous.

The second was Enkidu, who'd finished off Baran. He received ((Gold Bull-pattern Boxers)), a piece of unflattering under armour that gave a decent boost to his movement speed and carry capacity. Enkidu was not about to equip those right now to show off, much to his own embarrassment and the laughter of those around him.

The last, much to the surprise of many, was Leonn, whose uppercut had apparently killed Asterius. Opening his menu pop-up, he manifested a large maul reminiscent of Asterius's massive weapon. Resembling an enormous meat tenderizer with an oversized blackened head the size of a large watermelon, the ((Hammer of the Taurus King)) was easily as tall as Leonn was and looked comically heavy. However, he was able to wield it just fine and with no difficulty, giving it a few sample swings to test its weight and reach.

"Oh yeah. I can work with this." Leonn said, looking at his new maul with a mixture of wonder and excitement. Everyone around him, which included a number of people who'd approached to admire the new weapon, laughed at the almost reverent reaction.

Kirito was likewise looking over his friend's new weapon when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Orlando and Nezha.

"Hey, would you mind going ahead and unlocking the next floor? We… have some apologies to make to everyone. About the 'work' Nezha's been doing for us." He glanced over at Nezha, who looked rather guilty.

"Are you sure you want to do that? I don't think they know anything yet." Kirito asked.

"Yeah. It's going to come out sooner or later and if we fess up to it now, maybe the backlash won't be so bad." Nezha explained.

Orlando elaborated. "Everyone's happy right now, so maybe we can ride that good feeling and people might feel a little more forgiving, especially with how Nezha helped stun-lock the boss."

Kirito shrugged before nodding. "It's your call, but for what it's worth I think it's the right one."

Orlando and Nezha smiled. "Thanks. Mind if we add you to our friends lists? It'll be nice to have friends to turn to on the upper floors if things get rough."

Kirito waved at his party to join him. "Yeah. I think we'd like that."

Friend requests were exchanged by both Kirito's party and the Legend Braves before Kirito's motley crew snuck off to the next floor. As they walked up the stairs, they could see Orlando and Nezha approach Kibaou and Lind, whose happy expressions somewhat lessened after a few words were exchanged.

As the group of six - Argo had decided to tag along to see the next floor and town herself - ascended the stairs, Leonn looked at his companions. Kirito and Asuna were deep in their own conversation, as were Sinon and Agil. Argo was busy writing something, probably any number of messages to her various contacts. Not willing to barge into an existing conversation, he pulled out his new weapon and smiled.

I can't wait to get this enhanced. I wonder if that smith we saw is still around.

"That. Was. Amazing!"

Geeou smiled at the young girl sitting next to him as she shouted with excitement. Light brown hair tied up into two pigtails by red cloth, and wearing a similarly red adventurer's robe, she looked the pinnacle of innocence. Geeou guessed she couldn't have been any older than 12 years old, despite the recommended age for players being 13 years of age.

I feel sorry for her family. They're probably filled with guilt at letting their daughter log into this Death Game.

However, she'd already proven herself more than capable of handling herself, if her dagger skills were any indication of that. He'd been traveling with Silica for a few days now as they both worked to increase their levels and fighting ability.

In anticipation of the clearing of the 2nd floor boss, they'd parked themselves in the Town of Beginnings to spectate the broadcast. There was no guarantee that there would even be a broadcast, but Geeou and Silica had hoped there would be. Fortunately, their expectations as well as the expectations of thousands of others had been met as everyone bore witness to the defeat of ((Asterius the Taurus King)). Now that the broadcast was over, people were starting to file out of the main plaza to get back to their daily lives.

"It really was!" Geeou exclaimed, having been impressed as well by the battle they'd both watched with bated breath.

"Do you think we'll ever get there, Geeou?" Silica asked, excitement giving way momentarily to curiosity at what her older party member thought.

"To the second floor? Of course!" Geeou replied.

"No, I mean us catching up and joining the clearers." Silica clarified.

Geeou took a moment to think. The two of them had already made great progress leveling up in the three days they'd worked together. Already they were level 6. At this rate, they would reach level 10 in a week and would be ready to start questing on the 2nd floor. The two of them worked well together with their swift and rapid strikes, so their teamwork definitely wasn't an issue. That said, having watched both broadcasts told Geeou that impatience would only get them killed. They needed to be careful, and chances are they would need to find others to group up with, either now or when they caught up to the clearers.

"I think so. We should probably start making friends and building up our party though." Geeou replied. "The clearers look like they're already starting to group up, so we'll either need to make a group of our own or join one of theirs when we catch up."

Silica smiled. "I think we'll get there someday too!"

Geeou smiled in return. This girl was innocent but determined. It was that kind of relentlessness that pushed the clearing group forward, it seemed. While his determination wasn't quite of the same flavor, Geeou felt the same pull to help and contribute that Silica undoubtedly did. Being her senior, though, he felt it was his responsibility to keep her safe and her enthusiasm controlled.

"Well…" Geeou started as he stood up from his seat. "... we're not going to get there just sitting around. You ready?"

Silica stared at Geeou with a fierceness in her eyes that inspired him just as much as frightened him.

"Let's go!"