Maple, Klein, and the rest of the guild decided to celebrate by sharing the closest thing to beer in this world. Klein was the one who got the final hit in on the 10th floor Boss, and decided to use a portion of the extra gold he received to buy drinks for his whole guild!

That's when Maple saw a notice appear in front of her. A Christmas Event was taking place soon, where the one who defeats this event boss would receive a "special item". Maple grinned from ear to ear and then saw Klein's expression. He was ecstatic! A chance to get a one-of-a-kind item from an event was not something he was ready to give up.

So, Fuurinkazan continued to grow in strength. They grinded, trained, and leveled up their weapon skills (and shield skills in Maple's Case). This continued until, eventually, Klein thought they were ready. Through scouting, one of the guild members found roughly where the boss would spawn, and set up a destination with a bunch of teleport crystals to head there so they would be the first to the quest.

Then, the guild teleported to the location. Maple, Klein, and everybody else appeared, and saw Kirito in front of them! After initial greetings, Klein offered to have the guild help Kirito obtain this item, as it was rumored to be an item that could revive players. Kirito refused, and that's when behind Fuurinkazan, the guild known as "The Divine Dragon Alliance" appeared.

Klein thought on what he would do next, eventually deciding the best option was to help Kirito get himself the item. He told Kirito to go fight the boss, and Kirito ran in, reluctantly leaving behind his first two friends of this game…

Within seconds, mass warfare ensues. The Holy Dragon alliance had the obvious advantage of numbers, and by a large amount too. Regardless, as several soldiers ran down Dale and Dynamm, Maple jumped in front of them and took the blow with her large shield. Her HP didn't even budge!

Dale and Dynamm jumped out from behind their friend and slashed at two of the HDA Soldiers, which worked well until they were ready to fight back. Quickly the two hid behind Maple again. With a sigh to her friend's admitted ignorance, she bounced away the blades of these two enemies, and used a Shield Attack on them. In an instant, they shattered into blue and green crystal shards…

Maple's eyes widened. This was the first time she'd killed a player. Her mind began to race as she realized what that all meant. She was especially panic-stricken when she saw the mortified expressions of the other soldiers who were fighting alongside the ones she killed. She could feel her heart beating out of her chest, to the point she could barely hear or notice anything.

Even the sensation of their swords slashing right through Maple's body didn't seem to phase her dazed state… it took Dale shaking her by her shoulders to come back to reality. That's when she saw Dynamm was about to face an overhead strike. She was about to run to save him, only for her 0 in agility to catch up with her. So, as she watched the sword plummet down towards Dynamm, with not even a second to spare, she could only say one… simple… word…

"Cover!"

Just like that, Maple vanished and reappeared between Dynamm and the HDA Soldier. She blocked the blow, and counter attacked with her dagger to send him staggering backwards. She held her shield firm, and briefly glanced at Dynamm. "Sorry… I'm here now! You okay, Dynamm?" She asked him. He nodded with a nervous 'Uh-huh' and a few beads of sweat dripping down his face. "Good. Now, get out of here! I'll hold them off as long as possible!

Dynamm and Dale didn't need telling twice. They scrambled backwards, pulling their teleport crystals out and vanishing into the cool night breeze in a blue pillar of light. Klein, Harry, and Issin were fighting off several HDA Soldiers, only for Harry and Issin to take severe damage. Maple swiftly pulled out two healing crystals, used them on her two friends, and joined Klein in the push!

Several HDA Soldiers fell in the struggle, one even dying from a combination of Klein's high strength and Maple's Shield Attack. Maple still blamed that one on herself. The Holy Dragon Alliance quickly retreated themselves as they realized how powerful Maple and Klein really were! As each one that didn't fall victim vanished with teleport crystals, Maple began to feel sick. She wasn't inflicted with a poison condition… she wasn't even injured. She felt sick because this was the first time she'd killed a player, knowing what would happen when you die in this sick, twisted game.

Maple didn't have much time to mourn however, as Kirito then appeared from the boss fight. Before Klein could really get a conversation going, Kirito tossed Maple a small orb of an item. "It revives players, just like the rumor said… only, within 10 seconds of death, that is."

Maple wanted to comfort Kirito, but he was already walking away. He couldn't bring himself to speak to anyone right now. It was the only way he could bring back this girl named Sachi from his guild, but they're gone now. Forever.

After the events of tonight, Maple had to do a lot of thinking. A difficult decision had to be made. She didn't want to admit it, but Kirito's newfound refusal to join Guilds was justified, and Maple started to wonder if she should start doing the same… after all, they are two of the strongest players in the game…

"YOU'RE WHAT?!" Klein exclaimed in surprise. He couldn't believe his ears. Nobody else in Fuurinkazan could understand what was just said…

"I said I'm leaving the Guild… I'm sorry, but you guys look like you'll do fine without me. Plus, I don't know what I would do if any of you died out there tonight." Maple explained calmly.

At first Klein was going to protest, but he backed down… "I understand… just stay safe, and keep us in mind…" he told her. Maple nodded with a smile, and went through the menu to find the "Leave Guild" button. She pressed it, and spoke.

"Teleport, Taft"

*one month later*

Maple let out a scream as she narrowly avoided a blast of purple ooze. Curiosity had gotten the better of her. She saw a cave and decided she wanted to check it out. Unfortunately it contained a boss level monster. Even worse, by entering the room she started the boss fight. This caused a barrier to form within the entrance/exit of the cave, making escape impossible. The only way out would be to defeat the boss.

She was then shot with another jet of poisonous liquid. Thankfully it didn't do too much damage, but it still managed a decent amount. That's when another menu popped up…

Poison Resist: Moderate

That's when Maple had an idea. With the loads of Healing Crystals she owned, she was going to take shot after shot of poison, and heal herself so she could gain an immunity. As the poison resist increases kept coming, Maple used her last crystal.

Eventually, as she saw her health enter the red, and she began to realize how foolish of a plan this was… she stopped taking damage… she opened her eyes.

Poison Immunity: Aquired!

Like that, she began to use her Shield Attack on the dragon, and it went down with ease… she then noticed a chest appear, and a notification. Because she was the first person to beat this boss solo, she got a special reward in the form of new Black Rose Armor and a shield called Replica of the Dark Night, as well as a new short sword called the New Moon. She happily equipped her new spoils, and left the cave, using a teleport crystal to return to Taft…

As she appeared, she started to walk away from the teleport center. She was a few feet away when somebody else teleported in not far behind her.

"K-Kaede?"

Maple quickly turned around. She couldn't remember the voice who said it, but she couldn't think of anybody in this game that knew her real name. Just as she turned to face the person who said it, she was tackled to the floor, arms completely wrapped around her in a vice-like grip. Tears cascading down the attacker's face and rolling off the shiny new armor…

"I thought I'd never find you… I'm so glad you're safe…" the person said. That's when Maple realized…

"Risa?!"