Chen looked around as she tried to understand what had happened and she remembered entering the room that Rafael had told her about, then she remembered the giant Kangaroo person.
Ch'enplaced her hand on her forehead. she had lost, the moment that the test began was the moment that she lost, but how was that possible wasn't this supposed to be a place for beginners.
"Hungry." Asuna said to her as she held a plate of food in one hand.
"No." Ch'en answerd Asuna .
"So how did you lose, it's easier if you talk about it, trust me I know." Asuna said to her.
"I entered the room where the Kangaroo is in." Ch'en answered Asuna who immediately smirked.
"What?" Ch'en said to Asuna.
"I bet you thought, hey this is the first floor so the guy protecting the entrance to the second floor must be a weakling right?" Asuna asked her and Ch'en nodded.
"Well, I hate to break it to you but you're wrong, I mean he's the guy that intruders have to fight if they want o get to the next floor so he's a lot stronger than people think." Asuna said to her.
Ch'en just placed her head in her hands, of course, the guy was stronger than he looked, it didn't make any sense to put a weakling in charge of security.
"Waite so then why is he, fighting a bunch of beginners?" Ch'en as Asuna.
"Oh that, he just doesn't want to see people get hurt so he fights everyone with just a little more strength than they have."
"You're a part of Rafaels group right?" Asuna said to her as she pointed at something that was pinned to her shirt.
"Everyone will figure out if they're capable of being players after fighting him, so if they give up well they give up." Asuna answered her but Ch'en only looked at her with a confused expression.
Asuna placed the plate of food on a nearby table and sat next to her, then she snapped her fingers.
"Do you know why female armor hs skirts instead of pants, or why your shorts are so small compared to men?" Asuna asked her.
"Isn't that because it's easier for us to move in." Ch'en answered Asuna but Asuna just shook her head.
"The higher a Player or adventurer goes in the castle the fewer and fewer rules there are to keep them safe, so as a woman what's something most men will want from you?" Asuna said to Ch'en and watched as her face turned red as she understood what she was hinting at.
'That's right your shorts and skirts tell men I'm a girl I can be useful, I don't care how strong you are you will eventually be at the mercy of someone."
Ch'en listened to Asuna's words and she was about to argue that she had never been in that situation or heard of any operator that had experienced it, but then she noticed Asuna's eyes and how they looked at something that wasn't there.
"Look it's starting." Asuna said to her but Ch'en couldn't see anything and after a moment she saw a cloud of smoke rising, someone was fighting something strong.
Ch'en stood up and was about to run towards the direction where the cloud of dust was but Asuna grabbed her hand.
"Mind your own business, outside of the towns anything goes except killing other players and attacking civilians, there's no reason for anyone to interfere." Asuna said to her but Ch'en just pulled her hand away and ran to see who was in trouble.
As she ran she began to see adults and children fighting with animals or different people she hadn't seen before.
She watched a lizard man bite into an old man's shoulder, the man screamed as his blood began to run down his side even as the lizard man piked him u, then the man was gone.
Ch'en stopped running and stared at the lizardmen, for a moment she was confused, one moment the lizardman was biting into an old man's shoulder, then the man's body vanished.
"Get a grip girl." the lizard man said to her.
'Why did you kill him?" she said to the lizard man.
"Because he was here, look around you the weak are being separated from the strong, now unless you want to fight get out of my sight." the lizard man said to her before he leaned on a nearby tree and closed his eyes.
Ch'en wanted to cut the guy down, but she remembered that on this floor no one died they were just teleported into the town, so she decided to leave him alone for now.
She soon found Rafael and his group again, only that this time Rafael was holding someone from Lungmen by their legs.
The person he holding by the leg was a dragon just like her but she had never met him before, nonetheless, he was someone from Lungmen and that meant she needed to help him.
"Now for your next lesson, please for the love of God don't heal you, enemy." Rafael said to his group before he slammed the man onto the ground, with enough force to make him vanish the moment his head made contact with the dirt.
Chen drew her sword and pointed it at Rafael, you, you're an instructor and you're doing this." Ch'en said to Rafael as she prepared to attack him.
Rafael let out a breath and looked at his help screen. "Your name is Ch'en and your the niece of the guy that rules Lungmen."
"Look I'll overlook this but put your sword down because if you don't I'll be forced to accept your challenge." Rafael said to her, but Ch'en didn't listen to the man, what he had done wasn't right no matter what rank he was.
'The castle has something called the First Blood rule, if you're a woman and you fight a man if you win then you can do whatever you want to that man."
"The same goes if you're a man and you're fighting a woman, this rule doesn't apply to beginners but neither of us is a beginner, now are we? "
"And the rule is absolute, so put the sword down before I have you on my bed screaming my name." Rafel said to her.
Ch'en didn't want to believe the man but he sounded so confident that he would win that she slowly lowered her sword and looked at everyone that was looking at her with eyes filled with pitty.
"Good, since you're here that means you lost. I guess now you will listen to what I have to say." Rafael said to her.
'Everyone else I have nothing else to teach you good luck, if you decide to be player's look for me I'll make you members of my guild and that means you'll be under my protection." Rafael said to his group before they all nodded and broke apart.
Ch'en didn't move and she watched as Rafael walked past her. 'Wait." she said to him
'What?" Rafael answered her
"Arent you supposed to teach me?" Ch'en said to him.
"I did, you didn't want to listen and the lessons are over."
"Now you have to learn the rules just like everyone else who didn't get the chance to learn from someone more experienced than them." Rafael answered her.
Ch'en didn't say anything she was beginning to understand what the purpose of this first floor was, it wasn't just a place for people to fight in, it was a place that tested everyone in everything.
So she stopped acting for a moment and tried to think, maybe there was something she didn't see or thought of before.
"Instructor Rafael, I was arrogant before please teach me what I need to learn." Ch'en said to Rafael who only stared at her.
"Don't ever draw your sword on anyone again, like I said earlier I overlooked it once I won't do it again."
"Ch'en the reason I separated that group was to help them, help you."
"There are no laws stopping anyone from torturing you, raping you, or doing whatever they want to you." Rafael said to her and Ch'en felt even more disgusted with the way that the city did things.
"Let me ask you a question, outside of your city's how are things done? do the rules you love mean anything or is it survival of the fittest?"
"These floors make everyone learn to defend themselves so they can protect their families," Rafael said to Ch'en before he began to walk again, Ch'en didn't say anything but followed the man to wherever he was going.
'Why are you following me?" Rafael asked her.
Ch'en didn't answer she just followed Rafael until they reached the town of beginnings again and she wasn't surprised to see that everyone that was in his group was already in the town by the time they arrived.
The man had said the truth he had separated his group so that he could help them, so maybe she would stick close to him for now.
Ch'en sat close to some girls that were from Ursus and she watched as they tried to use the holographic screen that the players constantly had with them.
A loud clap caught her attention and she found Asuna standing in the center of town.
"Everyone that died congratulations you are no longer infected, if you want to stay or leave that's up to you, but if you somehow become infected again, I'm afraid that the castle's systems won't cure you again."
"I mean it did, then people would just abuse the system, and they would come to get cured without ever repaying the castle." Asuna said to everyone before she teleported out of the town.
Ch'en listened to Asuna's words and they sounded like a trap, it sounded as if everyone that came here could get cured and leave whenever they wanted, but if they ever got infected again then they would have to stay inside the city.
A loud bell rang announcing that the test had ended and Ch'en found herself looking at the help screen she had seen the nurses girls playing with earlier.
She found a picture of herself, and next to it was her name along with all of her personal information.
'Congratulations on surviving do you want to be an adventurer\ player?" was the question that appeared in front of her and next to it were the yes and no options.
Ch'en was about to press the yes option when all of a sudden the options vanished and were replaced with the words Operater\ Mercenary.
Ch'en didn't say anything but operators and mercenaries were too separate things even if they seemed as if they worked the same way.
"Huh, I guess you don't have a choice," Rafael said to her as he looked at her help screen.
Out of pure instinct, Ch'en punched Rafael for being so close to her without her permission and she heard a loud smack when her fist connected with his face.
"That twice." Rafael said to her as he stood up straight.
"I accept your challenge," Rafael said to her as he drew his sword.
Ch'en bowed her head and apologies the guy had warned her not to d things like that and if he was looking at her help screen it must have been for a reason.
"No, I warned you, and if I win you're mine!" Rafael said to her loud enough for everyone around them to hear.
"Rafel what's going on?" Heathcliff asked him and Aincrad immediately showed Heathcliff all of the interactions that Ch'en and Rafael have had.
Heathcliff just let out a frustrated groan and stepped aside.
"The first person to land a hit wins, is that okay with the two of you?' Heathcliff asked them and both Ch'en and Rafael nodded in agreement.
Ch'en drew her sword and prepared was about to attack when all of a sudden she felt a massive amount of pressure on her entire body.
She began to look around and she found that everyone except for the players were kneeling from the pressure, she began to gather her strength as quickly as possible but before she knew it someone grabbed her head and gently made t hit the ground.
Ch'en didn't know what had happened was it some kind of ability? was no it was the man's presence that had overwhelmed her.
"I still have work to do, I'll tell you when you can come over." Rafael said to her.
Ch'en tried to stand up but her body wouldn't answer her.
The pressure was quickly vanishing and Ch'en began to hear the sound of the drones flying over her showing the world everything that was happening inside of Aincrad.