Chapter 3- Starless Night

December 3, 2022

It's been about a month since this death game began. Kirito and his two friends have gotten a bit a stronger and have even managed to update some of their equipment. Marth opted for a simple gray overcoat as it gave him some decent stats for his strength and speed. Kisara had switched her starting pants with a blue miniskirt to compliment her purple tunic, revealing her rather slender legs. She was initially reluctant to show off more skin, but soon conceded due to the skirt's better stats. As for Kirito, he was now wearing a black overcoat that matched his gloves. The dark coloring would help augment his Hiding skill now that he has it, so that was the main reason why he bought it. None of them opted to wear proper metal armor since the Anneal Blades were too heavy to do so and such a style would not work with a rapier. Other than those changes, their equipment was about the same.

The trio were currently exploring the labyrinth of Floor 1, their objective being to locate the boss room, which has still remained undiscovered despite the amount of time that has passed. As former beta testers, both Kirito and Marth had a general idea of where the boss room was, however the labyrinth's structure seems to have changed between the beta and the full release, so they were essentially going in blind. This wasn't really surprising and in fact, they expected that this would be the case. It just goes to show that having experience within SAO's beta only goes so far, and perhaps dangerous if they tackled things the same way as the beta.

There was some small comfort in the enemies though. Just like in the beta, the monsters that spawn here were mostly kobolds. They weren't particularly strong, but since Sword Art Online was now a death game, Kirito and his teammates couldn't afford to get cocky as one small slipup could potentially cost them their lives, both in the virtual and real worlds. Thankfully they had somewhat of a safety net since they were in a party, meaning that they could cover for one another if things get too hairy, but they still had to be careful since there was no telling what could happen in a fight.

"Raah!" Marth bellowed as he unleashed Vertical to parry away a kobold's axe. "Now, Kisara!"

"I'm on it!" Kirito watched as the whitette charged forward, rapier in hand. Before he could even blink, Kisara used the basic Linear skill, the initial Sword Skill of the Rapier line, to pierce the kobold's heart, the sudden attack taking out the rest of its HP and shattering it into blue polygons.

He couldn't help but smile in pride seeing just how far the purple-clad fencer has come in these short few weeks. Despite being a new player, Kisara has easily adjusted to fighting in a virtual world and absorbed her friends' teachings like a sponge sucking up water. There was no doubt in his mind that she will become one of SAO's strongest players. Now if only that could help her with her self-esteem, especially around strangers.

"Well done, Kisara," he praised with pride. "That was an excellent Switch maneuver. At this rate, you'll totally surpass me and Marth."

The Switch maneuver wasn't a system built into SAO, but rather an exploit. You see, whenever players or monsters use Sword Skills, their bodies will become rigid for a few seconds after the skill has concluded, leaving them vulnerable to a counterattack, thus creating a risk-and-reward combat system. However, if there are at least two players present, there are ways to take advantage of this weakness. If one player was to use a Sword Skill to repel an enemy's Sword Skill, the target will be left completely open for the second player to unleash a powerful follow-up attack. Both Marth and Kirito loved using this exploit during the beta, as it made fighting strong monsters a lot easier. They actually expected that Kayaba and Shiraki would patch it out during the full release, but the two creators kept it in, likely because of the game's deadly stakes. Whatever the reason, they sure weren't gonna complain about it.

Kisara scratched her cheek sheepishly, which looked rather adorable. "Th-thanks," she said slowly. "But I've only gotten this far because I had you and my brother as my teachers. I could have never progressed this much on my own."

Marth simply shook his head. "Nonsense. You've got a real talent with a rapier. Your movements are so quick and elegant, it's almost like watching a dance. It's like you were meant to fight with that weapon. As your elder brother, I couldn't be prouder of you."

That only seemed to embarrass her even further given that her cheeks were now reddening. As the two siblings went further into their discussion, Kirito took the opportunity to check on his map. They've managed to make a good amount of progress, probably somewhere around the midway point. Maybe they could find the boss room if they keep pushing further? He had to wonder how much the Floor 1 boss has changed since the beta. Did it have the same attack patterns like he remembered, or has that been altered in the full release?

Suddenly Kirito's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of fighting in the distance. Marth and Kisara also noticed as they fell quiet to hear the clashing blades. The monsters of SAO don't tend to fight each other, so that only meant that there was another player here, a rare sight given SAO's stakes.

Normally they would try to avoid interacting with other players given their history and their focus on protecting themselves, but Kirito found himself drawn to the sound. He had to see who was fighting. Without saying a word, he dashed towards the battle, prompting Marth and Kisara to hurry in pursuit. After just half a minute of sprinting, Kirito came to a stop where he witnessed a beautiful sight.

It was a shooting star! Well, not really. It was actually the flashing of a Sword Skill, the movement being so quick, the weapon was practically a blur. It was Linear, the same attack Kisara just performed, its user being a fencer covered in a red cloak. The cloak made it impossible to identify if the fencer was male or female. Even their clothes didn't really give away their gender.

The fencer was currently fighting a Kobold Trooper, which is the toughest monster in the Floor 1 labyrinth, easily evading the monster's attacks before responding with Linear, with each thrust sending a chill down Kirito's spine. It was clear this fighter didn't need any help. After the third Linear, the kobold's form shattered like glass, signaling its death. At the same time, the unnamed fencer stumbled backward, as though they were pushed by an invisible force. They slid down the wall before taking a seat on the floor, breathing heavily as exhaustion kicked in, still not noticing the trio's presence.

Puzzled as to whether they should reveal themselves, Kirito turned to his partner expectantly. Rather than respond with words, Marth just simply shrugged, signaling that he didn't really care, thus leaving it up to the black-garbed swordsman's discretion. Taking that as permission, Kirito trotted over to the unnamed player.

The player's figure was skinny, wearing a bronze breastplate over a red leather tunic, tight-fitting leather pants and knee-high boots. Their face was still concealed under their cloak, which fell towards the waist. All in all, it was a similar setup for Kirito's avatar, another nimble swordfighter.

The fencer flinched as they heard Kirito's footsteps, but made no attempt to move away. However, their lowered head by their upturned knees was a signal that they wanted Kirito to just leave, but instead he simply stopped a few feet away.

"That was a little overkill if you want my opinion."

The fencer's slender shoulders simply shrugged. The hood shifted back slightly, allowing Kirito to see a pair of sharp brown eyes underneath. After a few seconds of glaring, they shook their head slightly to the side. That single act gave the impression that they didn't know what he meant.

Internally, he sighed in resignation. He could have just ignored them and his party could continue their solitary life, but there was something about this fencer that he couldn't ignore. Their Linear was chillingly perfect. Not only were the pre- and post-motions extremely brief, but the attack itself was faster than what Kirito could see. Such speed and beauty was easily on par with Kisara's, perhaps even surpassing her.

Was this fencer a beta tester? Such incredible speed could have come from having prior experience in this world before it turned into this game of death. However, the second Linear caused him to doubt that initial thought. Despite their flawless attack, their battle flow was outright reckless. Yes, evading enemy attacks with a minimum of movements led to quicker counterstrikes rather than simply blocking or parrying, thus saving wear and tear on equipment. However, the consequences of using such a strategy were far too great to recommend. If the enemy managed to land a counterattack that had a brief stun effect, than that would mean death for a solo fighter.

Something just didn't add up. Why would such an excellent swordfighter rely on such a dangerous strategy? That was why Kirito wanted to talk to them, suggesting that it might be overkill, but the fencer didn't even understand that basic online term. Even Kisara knew what it meant, and she didn't play online games nearly as often as the boys. That meant that this player hadn't played an MMO game before SAO.

"Talk about a hell of a game to start with," Kirito thought to himself before taking a breath. "Overkill is a term used when you do way too much damage for the amount of health the monster has left. That kobold was nearly dead after your second Linear. You could have easily finished it off with a regular attack rather than using a full sword skill."

It took about ten seconds for the fencer to mutter out a reply. "Is there a problem with doing too much damage?"

Well, at least he knows what gender this player was. They were in fact, a woman, which is a rarity to say the least. In other MMOs, players would be focusing on reaching the max level and exploring the world, but here in SAO, the best players were around level 10, with no one knowing what the level cap is. Not to mention that barely any part of Aincrad has been mapped out.

Because of Kayaba and Shiraki's actions, SAO has become a prison, practically an alternate world where death was a real thing. It wasn't surprising that a lot of players didn't want to risk fighting dungeon monsters or encounter traps. Then there is the rather skewed gender ratio. Most of the playerbase were males, meaning that female players were actually a rarity. Kirito could count on one hand how many times he's encountered women here in the labyrinth, and they were traveling with other parties. He couldn't have predicted that this lone fighter was also a woman.

Briefly he considered making an apology and leaving right then, as he was certainly not wanting to appear like a guy eager to speak to women. If she had been more forceful and said that she didn't want to talk with him, he would have respected her wishes and left, but instead she asked an honest question. It would be rude to leave her hanging like that.

"Well…there's not really a penalty for it, but it's kinda inefficient. Sword skills take a lot of concentration to do, so the more you use them, the more exhausted you get. It's important to make sure you have enough energy to get back home."

"Get back home?" she asked. Her voice sounded rather pretty, but Kirito made sure not to comment on it aloud, else he would give off the wrong impression. Instead, he decided to elaborate.

"Yeah. It'll take an hour to get out of the labyrinth from here, and another thirty minutes to reach the closest town. You make more mistakes when you're tired, and mistakes can easily turn fatal for solo players like you."

"In that case, there's nothing to worry about. I'm not going home."

"What? But what about refilling potions, repairing your equipment, and getting some sleep?"

The unnamed girl simply shrugged. "Don't need potions if I don't take damage, and I bought five of the same sword. If I need to sleep, I'll just go to a nearby safe area," she said hoarsely.

Kirito found it hard to respond. Safe areas were small rooms in dungeons where monsters can't spawn in. You can easily identify them thanks to their colored torches located in each corner of the room. They were good for footholds when hunting or mapping dungeons, but to actually sleep in them was too much. There are no beds in them, only the hard stone floors, and the open doorways made it impossible to drown out the sounds of monsters roaming the corridors. There's no way anyone can get a decent amount of sleep in those conditions.

"Talk about idiotic," Marth suddenly spoke up as he and his sister joined their friend, the latter staying behind him. "Dare I even ask how long you've been in here?"

The girl let out a slow exhale. "Three or four days maybe. Are you guys done? The next monster's going to spawn in soon, so I need to get moving."

She put a fragile, gloved hand against the dungeon wall and unsteadily climbed to her feet. Her rapier dangled in her hand, looking as heavy as a two-handed sword. Upon closer inspection, Kirito noticed all the tears in her cloak. It was a miracle it was still intact. Perhaps there was some merit to her strategy, emphasis on "some".

Surprisingly, Kisara was the one to speak up next.

"If you keep this up, you're going to die," she said, her voice layered with concern.

The fencer stopped in her tracks and turned to face the trio once more, her hazel eyes looking ice cold.

"We're all gonna die anyway," she said hoarsely, her words bringing a chill to the air. "Two thousand people have died so far, and the first floor still hasn't been cleared. There's no way to beat this game. The only difference is when and where you die, sooner…or later…"

No one said anything as her words hung in the air. Suddenly without any warning, the silently crashed to the floor, as if she was hit by paralysis.

Asuna Yuuki couldn't bring herself to care that she was passing out in a monster-filled labyrinth. After being trapped in this world for nearly a month, nothing seemed to matter anymore. She didn't even care that she would die here if she passed out. Sure, there were those three players, but there was no way they would risk their lives to help a stranger.

A player's weight was controlled by the game system. Anything from potions to emergency supplies would weigh them down. It would be crazy to try carrying someone with all that to factor in.

And yet…

There was no familiar feeling of the cold stone floor. Instead she felt something soft and gentle against her back. There was also a warmth, followed by a gentle breeze.

She woke with a start, her eyes snapping open. She was no longer in that dark dungeon, but rather in a small clearing inside a forest, surrounded by ancient trees covered in golden moss. What she had been sleeping in was a bed of grass. But how did she get here?

"Are you alright?" a gentle voice questioned.

The answer came to her in that instant. Turning around ninety degrees, she saw the same trio of players behind her, gathered at the foot of a massive tree. The boy in black was cradling a large sword with both hands, using its scabbard to rest his head. The girl, whose white hair seemed to radiate in the sunlight, was kneeling directly behind Asuna, as if to watch over her. As for the boy in gray, he was leaning against the trunk of the tree, arms folded over his chest. There was no emotion on his face, but his bloodred eyes seemed to be analyzing her.

"You shouldn't have bothered," Asuna growled out.

From the moment she got trapped in this world, she asked herself the same questions. Why did she decide to play this brand-new gaming console when it wasn't even hers? Why did she put that stupid helmet on, relax and say the start-up command?

She wasn't even the one who bought the NerveGear she was using, or the copy for Sword Art Online. It was actually her much older brother, Kouichirou who got them. Granted, he wasn't much of a gamer himself, but as the son of the representative director of RCT, which is one of the biggest electronics manufacturers in the country, he went through every kind of education necessary to become a worthy successor, eliminating everything from his life that wasn't necessary for that duty. As for how SAO and the NerveGear fell under that category, well not even Asuna could answer that question.

Kouichirou never even got a chance to play SAO on launch day as he had been sent on a business trip overseas. He tried laughing it off the night before, but it was clear he was disappointed. Now Asuna's life wasn't as rigid as her elder brother's, but she barely had any experience with games save for ones on her phone. She knew of online games, but never had the motivation to play them.

So that raised the question. Why did she decide to put on that NerveGear and dive into the world's first VRMMO? Honestly, even she had no clue. The only thing that she could clearly say was that everything changed that fateful day in November. For the first two weeks, she spent her days locked inside an inn room in the Town of Beginnings, waiting for this ordeal to end, but when it became clear that no rescue was going to happen from the outside, as well as the fact that the first dungeon has yet to be cleared, she realized that this game was unbeatable.

The only thing she could do was decide how to die. Will she spend months wallowing away within the safety of the city, or leave and risk death, sword in hand? Obviously, she chose the latter. For the last two weeks, she survived using her skills and instincts. If somehow she were to meet her end on the battlefield, at least she'll die with no regrets.

Her life should have ended this day when she passed out in the unbeatable labyrinth, her name crossed out from the Monument of Life within the Blackiron Palace. It should have ended there, and yet it didn't.

"You shouldn't have," Asuna repeated.

"You know it never hurts to say thank you when someone helps you out," the swordsman in gray said cynically. "Personally, I couldn't care less if you died in that labyrinth, but my sister asked me to help you, so I did. It also doesn't hurt doing so also saved your map data. I'm sure you've got a good chunk filled out after spending four days in there."

She sucked in a breath as she processed the logic of his reasoning. She had expected any of them to say something about the importance of life or that everyone needs to band together nonsense. She had prepared to retort against it, but that boy's answer caught her off-guard. Now that she thought about, something about this trio feels familiar. Could she have met them before?

Dismissing the thought, she opened up her menu. "…Fine. Here." She had finally gotten used to the menu system, allowing her to make a copy of her map data and materialize it, the map appearing as scroll of parchment. She then promptly tossed it at the young man's feet. "You've got what you wanted. Now, goodbye."

She put a hand on the grass to get to her feet, but her legs wouldn't keep steady. According to her clock, she's been asleep for almost seven hours, but she still hadn't shaken off her exhaustion. But she still had three more rapiers, though. She had been planning to only return to town after the last one's durability was below half.

Not to mention that she was curious about this group. They were obviously in a party and possibly friends, with the girl and gray swordsman being siblings despite only sharing only bloodred eyes as a physical similarity.

The white-haired girl grabbed her shoulders quickly, trying to hold Asuna steady. "Take it easy," she said hastily. "It's obvious you have not been getting enough sleep in that labyrinth. You need to sleep in a real bed in an inn to properly recover. You're no use to anyone if you keep fighting half-dead!"

"But I don't care what happens to me!" Asuna retorted. "If I die, then I die. At least then I'll be free from this prison."

Her cold tone caught the whitette off-guard, rendering her speechless. Rather than form a response, she turned to her brother with pleading eyes.

The swordsman in gray let out a reluctant sigh, the fingers of his right hand running through his shoulder-length black hair. "If you're so determined to die, then how about you channel it into something useful, like beating this game. How about you come to the meeting?"

"Meeting?" Asuna wondered aloud. It was the swordsman in black that answered next.

"There's going to be a meeting later today in Tolbana, the town that's near the tower. The people there are going to plan out how to beat the Floor 1 boss."

Kisara slouched with exhaustion the moment she stepped foot into town. She turned towards the mysterious fencer, who didn't seem to falter the same way. It had to be a front. There's no way she could have shook off three days of constant fighting with just a few hours of sleep.

Kirito told the girl that the meeting will be held in the town square at 4. She only nodded in acknowledgement before walking off. For some reason, Kisara felt a little sad to see the girl go, but there was nothing she could do. They were total strangers, so why should that fencer stay with them any longer than necessary?

"What a strange girl," a new voice commented from behind. The trio turned around promptly turned around to see that they were not alone. "She seems to be on death's door, but never seems to die. Obviously she's a newbie, but her moves are razor sharp. Wonder who she is?"

The source of the voice belonged to a player that was a head shorter than her. Like her party, this female player was wearing only cloth and leather armor. Her weapons of choice a small claw and throwing needles hanging from her waist. They didn't seem like weapons that would be useful to get out of dangerous situations, but this person's most dangerous weapon didn't have an edge to it.

"You know that fencer?" Kirito asked automatically, but immediately grimaced in response, already knowing her answer.

"I'll make it cheap. Five hundred col."

If there was one distinct feature about this girl, it was the three lines of whiskers that were drawn on her cheeks from a cosmetic item. Combine that with her short mousy-brown curls, it gave her a very rodent-like appearance. During a previous encounter with her, Kisara had asked why she had those whiskers, only for her to charge a hundred thousand col for it, which naturally she didn't have.

"No thanks, Argo," Kirito replied. "I don't feel remotely comfortable trafficking in a girl's private information."

"Nee-hee! Good mindset to have," Argo the Rat said mischievously.

Like her two teammates, Argo was a former beta tester, though it would be a stretch if they were to call her a friend. She was more of an acquaintance. The most time the three beta testers talked was when they were creating that guidebook that distributed to all the players on launch day. Rather than fight to clear the game, Argo instead focused on the sell and distribution of information. According to her, she's never once sold a piece of information with unclear verification. She always paid a source for info she believed was worthwhile and would then sell it as a product after she checks if it's solid. Apparently, her reputation would be ruined if she sold people poor intel, so it was very much in her interest to verify her sources.

"Let me guess," Marth spoke up. "Is today's visit involving the usual proxy negotiation rather than your main business?"

That brought a scowl to the Rat's face. She looked back and forth before leading the trio to a nearby alleyway. The meeting was only two hours away, so there weren't many players roaming around, but Argo clearly didn't want this to be overheard. She valued her secrets after all.

After judging that they were a good distance away from potential eavesdroppers, Argo came to a stop and nodded. "Yup. They've raised the bid to 29,800 col."

"Twenty-nine thousand?!" Kisara exclaimed in shock. "How the hell did they get that much money on Floor 1?!"

Meanwhile Kirito remained impassive. "Hm. Nope. Still not gonna change my answer. No matter the number, I still won't sell."

"I figured as much," the info broker replied before turning to the swordsman in gray. "And you?"

Marth let out a scoff. "Even a beta tester would struggle to raise that amount of money while on the first floor. Even if they could produce the col, I still won't sell. I'd be a fool to give it up so early."

"That's about what I expected. Naturally I told them that when they made the offer, but they're still insistent."

You see, Argo was not only an info broker, but she also used her high agility stat to moonlight as a messenger. Normally she would just pass along brief messages, either verbal or written, but for the past week, she's been a serving as a connection between Marth and Kirito and this mysterious client that wants to buy one of their Anneal Blades.

Similar to other games, SAO had a weapon-strengthening system, improving Sharpness, Quickness, Accuracy, Heaviness, or Durability. For a price, either an NPC or player blacksmith could try to raise a particular stat of your weapon, provided you have the materials to do so that is. Naturally, it was also possible for such strengthening's to fail.

Both Marth and Kirito's Anneal Blades were at +6 (3S3D), which took a lot of grinding to do while being constrained on the first floor. Meanwhile Kisara's Anneal Flash was at +5 (3S2Q). Again, such a thing was not easy to do so early in the game. All three of their swords were probably the best you could get on the first floor. They won't need to get new ones until maybe Floor 3 or 4, and then they'll have to start the whole enhancement process all over again.

"Just how much are they paying you to keep quiet on their identity?" Kirito asked. "A thousand?"

"Around that, yeah. Want to raise the ante?"

"No way. Our finances are tight enough as is. I am not getting in a bidding war over this. It's not worth it in the long run. Still, I won't deny how dedicated you are to your business."

Argo simply grinned and let out a laugh. "That's the best part! Every time I make a sale, that a new product I can sell. It's double the profit!"

That was the danger of buying info from Argo. You never know when she'll turn you into a profit. However, despite that risk, many people come to rely on her. After all, her products were always of high quality, so there was not much reason to complain.

"Alright. I'll go tell the client you refused again. As a bonus, I'll even say that there's no way to change your minds. See ya, Kii-boy, Mar-Mar."

The Rat turned and waved before darting out of the alley with all haste, disappearing into the crowd. Yeah there was no way she was going to die in this world. Kirito mentioned something about what separates a person's likelihood of life or death. Basically, it was all down to your core, something that you believe in unconditionally.

For Argo, it was information. She knew where all the dangerous monsters were and the best hunting grounds. That allowed her to keep a level head and increase her chances of survival. As for Marth and Kirito, it was probably their swords. Apparently, there's this state a swordsman can enter where he and the sword become one. They both have been able to reach this state only a handful of times, none of which being under their own control, but it did motivate them to stay alive, aside from looking after Kisara of course.

But what about Kisara herself? What was her core? What was motivating her to survive? What about that girl they rescued from the labyrinth? All questions that she couldn't easily answer.

Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her stomach grumbling. In all the excitement that happened today, she realized that she hasn't eaten anything since breakfast. Kirito let out a chuckle in amusement as her face went red with embarrassment.

"Sounds like someone's hungry," he said casually. "We've still got about an hour before the meeting starts. How about we go get some food while we wait?"

Both siblings nodded in agreement before they headed off to find food. As they wandered, Kisara thought about what might happen during the boss meeting. The obvious part will be gap between new players and beta testers. As it turns out, there is only one piece of information that not even Argo the Rat would sell. That information was whether someone was a beta tester or not. The sentiment was shared among all the former testers. If they could recognize each other, they wouldn't try to discuss the beta.

The reason for this was quite simple. Being publicly outed as a beta tester was a death sentence. Not by monsters of course, but by a lynch mob of new players. Most of the new players blame the deaths of the two thousand players on the beta testers, and neither Marth nor Kirito fully denied it.

Kisara wasn't totally safe either. Not only was she the sister of a beta tester, which might label her guilty by association, but Kayaba was also her and Marth's foster father. If their connection to the game's creators were made public, there was no doubt that all the players would hunt them down, all to get revenge on the man that trapped them in this world.

As if sensing her anxiety, Marth draped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her into a sideways hug. "Don't worry. No matter what happens, I'll protect you. That's what an elder brother is supposed to do after all."

"Don't forget about me too," Kirito added, giving the whitette a comforting smile. "We all promised that we'll survive this world, and we'll do exactly that, even if the entire world becomes our enemy."

Their words brought her some small comfort, but it wasn't quite enough to fully rid her of her anxiety. She just has this bad feeling that something terrible is going to happen soon.

She could only pray that she and her friends will manage to escape unscathed.

To be continued

Well, well. I finally got around to updating this story. This has been long overdue. I finally managed to procure the first volume of SAO Progressive. As I mentioned previously, I have no intention of fully adapting Progressive into this story. For one thing, Progressive isn't even finished yet, second that would take forever, and that's not even factoring in adapting the other arcs of SAO. I'll probably stop with the Progressive part after the Illfang fight, and then I'll switch back to regular Aincrad arc. Overall this chapter is shorter than normal, but if I added the meeting and the next Asuna encounter, this chapter would become more bloated. Oh yeah, Asuna finally made her debut in this story. Look forward to seeing more interactions with her in the near future. The next chapter should finally introduce the next major character in this story. Dang this has been a long time coming. Anyway, see you guys next time!

P.S. For those asking about my original Dark Swordsman stories, yes they have been deleted and no, I have no intention of reuploading them. Those stories were my earlier works and they are frankly terrible. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and was just making stuff up as I go which is way more obvious in Dark Wolf. Now that I have a clear idea on what I want in my stories, it was time to hit the reset button. I'm sorry if you guys preferred the original Dark Swordsman, but my decision is final.