Eugeo wasn't really sure how to respond.

"You want to recruit more members?"

Kirito and Asuna nodded, while an invested Argo and Lux stood to the side. Eugeo was still getting used to the white-haired double-agent's presence; after the fall of Laughing Coffin, Argo recruited the meek and unassuming girl to act as her personal assistant and backup. Apparently the girl was an accidental master at blending in and extracting information from loose lips. Lux, much to everyone's surprise, was eager to help; in her own words, she wanted to atone for her role in Laughing Coffin's murderous rampage.

No one blamed her, especially after hearing how the murder guild coerced her into servitude, but no one was going to stop her from helping Argo with information gathering. More information was always a plus.

"The floors are only going to get harder, and while our guild is strong, we could stand to bolster our numbers." Kirito explained as his wife nodded along. "Argo's idea, and we agree."

Eugeo still found the notion odd. Though it had been three months since, Kizmel's death was still relatively fresh on everyones' minds. He doubted this was some shallow attempt to replace Kizmel, but the whole thing seemed a little off. He couldn't disagree with the logic, though. More people to help with the clearing effort was always a good idea.

Eugeo had to take a moment and calculate just how long they'd been going at this. They were nearly at the two year mark, which was a sobering thought in and of itself. They needed to hurry; their bodies in the real world were probably, as Leonn so eloquently put it, "atrophied to shit." Even assuming that those on the outside decided to keep them on life support instead of pulling the plug, they were fighting against the clock here. More people fighting on the front line could only help.

"The other guilds are doin' the same thin'. Well, except the Sleepin' Knights and the other smaller guilds." Argo added. "As terrible as it sounds, y'all need more bodies to throw at this. We're already on Floor 62, and it's not gettin' any easier."

"Alice did mention something like that yesterday…" Eugeo muttered, cupping his chin in thought. He chose to ignore the conniving and smug looks on those around him.

For whatever reason, now that Leonn and Liz were together, and now that Nautilus and Yuna had gotten married – a small affair, and the ceremony itself was quaint and beautiful – everybody was keen on "shipping" him and the vice-leader of the KoB together. It wasn't exactly as if they were wrong, necessarily; he did still harbor a slight crush on her, but even in the off chance she returned his feelings, she was far too busy running the KoB to have time for a relationship.

A spiteful part of himself blamed Heathcliff for how busy Alice was. It was no secret among anyone on the front line that, outside of boss battles, Heathcliff's only role in the KoB was as a figurehead for the public. Anyone in the know knew that Alice was the one really running the whole operation. As such, she hardly had any time to herself.

He counted himself lucky that those few moments she had away from her guild, she chose to spend with him. Years apart from one another as children mattered little; their bond was strong as ever now. Perhaps even stronger. Asuna often joked that the two were joined at the hip, but he couldn't help it. He got to see a side of Alice not many knew existed. Where Alice the KoB vice-lead was strong and stoic, Alice Zuberg was caring and confident. Despite her public appearance, she had a cheeky sense of humor and was much more… cuddly and physically affectionate than one might assume. Maybe it was the fact that she had to put on such an act in the public eye that her private self was so drastically different, but it was a side he admired nonetheless.

…Okay, he definitely had a crush on her.

Didn't mean he was going to just openly admit it, though.

"How many should we recruit?" Leonn asked, walking up to join the conversation. He was joined by Klein, Agil, and Keita – the rest of the Renegade leadership.

"I don't think it's a good idea to take on too many newbies." Keita suggested. "If we take on too many, our contribution to the clearing effort will take a big hit."

"Wouldn't the other guilds just make up for that?" Lux asked, her voice just barely above a whisper.

"Normally, yes." Argo corrected her ersatz-apprentice. "But think about it; if the other guilds are recruitin' too, then the number of people they can send to the front line also decreases. If everyone recruits a crapton of new players, then progress will slow while the veteran players train up the newbies."

"Good point." Klein looked pensive. "So what's a good number for us, then?"

"Well, as it stands right now, we're almost twenty-five strong." Asuna calculated. "For every new player we recruit, we need at least one veteran to act as their mentor, which takes them away from the front lines."

"So what, ten new players then?" Klein asked.

Asuna shook her head. "That cuts us down to fifteen. That's almost half of our fighting force. I think four or five new players is manageable."

"That's a good number." Kirito agreed. "That only removes five of our frontliners from the action, leaving about twenty that are still ready to fight."

"Okay, but how do we go about recruiting?" Keita asked, leaning on his quarterstaff. Eugeo didn't understand why he didn't just take a seat; they were in the meeting hall for a reason.

"We just hold a recruitment drive…?" Kirito asked, his tone questioning as if the answer was obvious. "Why? Should we do it differently?"

"Kii-bou, if ya hold a standard recruitment drive, yer gonna get dozens of applicants. The Renegades are one of, if not the, most popular front line guild. People are gonna be fightin' for a spot. Choosin' just five outta the lot is gonna come off as really selective and elitist. Not to mention yer gonna get a whole lotta stuck-up, arrogant players who think they're hot shit. You don' want no glory hogs, Kii-bou, trust me."

"Ok, then how?" Kirito asked pointedly.

Eugeo cupped his chin thoughtfully. There had to be a way to recruit without luring in glory seekers. They needed people with potential and drive, not ego. The problem, like Argo said, was that the Renegades were too famous. In fact, most of the frontline guilds would have a similar problem, really. If only they could audition people without them knowing…

His eyes widened and he snapped his fingers, immediately drawing attention to himself.

"I think I have an idea."

This was ridiculous.

"Remind me why we got stuck with this job?"

"Because we're not as recognizable, Mako, on account of us rarely fighting in boss battles. We're perfect for scouting out players!"

"Wolfgang, that's not something to take pride in."

Wolfgang leaned back in his seat, idly watching players walk to and fro in the Town of Beginnings. "Sure it is! Just think of it as us selling our wares and services. We're in our element, Mako."

Mako leaned forward, looking over the edge of the table they were seated at. Draped over the table and displayed on the tablecloth was a simple phrase that just about any MMO player worth their salt knew.

"LFM."

An old abbreviation that harkened back to the days of Everquest, World of Warcraft, and Guild Wars, "LFM" stood for "Looking For More." It was an easy way to broadcast to others that you (and anyone associated with you) were in the market for other like-minded players and adventurers. It was the MMO-equivalent of standing on a street corner and twirling around an enormous cardboard arrow.

Was it obnoxious? Absolutely.

Was it effective? Equally so.

Usually this simple, three-letter message was broadcasted in a zone-wide chat room, but that wasn't available here in SAO. It usually implied something temporary; after the quest or dungeon was cleared, the group would disband and go their separate ways. To avoid any confusion, written below the big bold "LFM" letters was a simple phrase.

"Small guild looking for more to join Clearers and Assault Team."

Mako looked over towards the other tables, these easily recognizable as belonging to the Knights of Blood and Divine Dragon Alliance, respectively. Apparently the other frontline guilds held no qualms regarding open advertisement and using their name to bring in potential recruits. Then again, both guilds were much larger than the Resolute Renegades and could afford to take in large numbers of people.

Their own meager little booth was, in a word, pathetic by comparison.

"LOOKING FOR MORE!" Wolfgang shouted. Mako covered his ears for the sake of his continued ear health (and sanity). "NEED DPS, TANKS, AND HEALERS!"

"Wolfgang, there are no healers in this game."

"What do you call Yuna and Silica, then?"

"They both have Unique Skills that let them do that. No one else in literally the entire game can do that."

Wolfgang blinked.

"LOOKING FOR MORE! NEED DPS AND TANKS!"

"Would you STOP shouting?!" Mako shouted, giving Wolfgang a firm smack to the backside of the head. He could already see the amused or exasperated looks of other players passing by, many on their way to the KoB or DDA recruiting booths and passing by their booth entirely. "You're not helping!"

"E-excuse me."

Both Wolfgang and Mako stopped and turned as one to see two teenage girls standing sheepishly in front of their booth. The one on the left, a brunette with relatively short hair and two small pigtails trailing the sides of her head, held herself with some semblance of confidence; her hesitant sapphire eyes gave away her trepidation, though. The one on the right looked slightly more sure of herself; if her red eyes and her long and equally red hair were any indication, she was probably more assertive than her companion.

"We'd like to ask about your guild." The redhead asked. "You said you're recruiting?"

Mako blinked and shared a surprised look with Wolfgang before responding. "Yeah… we're recruiting. I'm surprised you approached us, though. Didn't you see the KoB and DDA over there?"

"W-we tried." The brunette replied shakily before finding some much needed courage. "We're not high-enough level. They turned us away."

Wolfgang pinched the bridge of his nose. "Classic employer mentality. Look for the ones with job experience, which blocks out those who are looking for that experience in the first place."

"Just out of curiosity, what level are you two?" Mako asked, pointing back and forth between the two girls.

"We're both level 16. We've tried to level on our own, but…" The redhead sighed, her confident front falling away. "...we need help. At this rate, we'll never catch up to the front line. We've already had a few close calls."

"Hmm." Mako hummed, leaning back in his chair. "Why should we take you on?"

"Mako!" Wolfgang whisper-hissed, only to receive a light smack to deter him. "We can't be picky!"

"Hush, you." Mako whispered back before turning his attention back to the girls. "Well?"

"Well…" The brunette began, gulping audibly out of what was likely nervousness. "We're not the best at fighting…"

"Not helping your case here."

"But we're hard workers!" She recovered, and Mako had to suppress a grin. "We've stood on the sidelines long enough; we want to help clear this game! If you'll take us on, you won't be disappointed! We won't give up!"

"Please give us a chance." The redhead added. "We really want to do our part, even if it isn't as a member of the big three."

Mako's stern countenance broke out into a wide grin. "Good! Sorry for the third degree; we just wanted to make sure your motives were genuine. You're in. Meet us back here at 8:00 and we'll bring you to our guild base for an invitation and orientation."

"Yay!" The brunette cheered, her smile threatening to split her face. "We won't let you down! Come on, Tiese! Let's go get some lunch and buy some more supplies!"

The redhead, Tiese, laughed at her friend's antics before following her away. "Slow down, Ronye! We've got time!"

Mako watched the duo scamper off towards a nearby cafe before sighing contently. "Well, there's two. That went well."

He reclined in his seat again, content with those two new recruits. Another case of players that were, in his opinion, a little green in the gills. In an ideal world, they had no business on the front line; they should be enjoying their time in safety rather than risking life and limb to catch up, but he couldn't argue against that kind of motivation and will to push forward. He may not be a member of the Assault Team – on account of his unwillingness to fight bosses most of the time – but he could recognize the traits needed in an Assault Team member any day of the week.

After all, he lived with almost two dozen of the risk takers himself.

"That was cruel of you."

Mako rose an eyebrow as a woman – probably in her early twenties – approached. She looked over the duo behind the booth with an analytical eye, all the while her incredibly long brown ponytail fluttered in the breeze behind her. Mako suddenly felt small, despite the fact that he probably outleveled her.

"Pardon?" Wolfgang asked.

"Leading those girls on like that when you had every intention of recruiting them." The woman explained, her arms crossed.

"Oh, you saw that?" Mako asked rhetorically.

"Why?" She asked pointedly, ignoring his question.

"We know how it is." Wolfgang explained. "A lot of people see how the Assault Team gets the spotlight. We wanted to make sure they weren't signing up for the wrong reasons. Glory-seekers or those with egos don't do well on the front line; just look at where Kibaou's ego got him back in the day. We can't promise fame and glory."

Her expression softened, as did her posture. "Consider me interested, then."

"Huh?"

Mako exchanged a bewildered look with his companion. "Did she just test us like we tested them?"

"I think so." Wolfgang smirked.

Mako looked back at the woman. "Okay, my turn. Why?"

"I'm a bit of a martial artist in the real world." She told them. "Swordsmanship, specifically. Overconfidence is one of the first things they beat out of you. I'm in the same situation as those two; I'm not at a high enough level to meet their requirements."

"How?" Wolfgang asked. "If you've got experience, I figured you'd be a midliner by now."

She sighed. "I've spent almost two years teaching those here on the first floor how to survive in a fight. I've been so focused on teaching them proper swordsmanship – not sword skills, but actual swordsmanship – that I've had little time to level up myself. In that time, I feel as if I've become… unrefined. I've lost my edge. I went out into the field last week, just to test myself. I faltered. Just like a coward. I… can't seem to convince myself that I have the skill."

Not expecting such a complicated answer, the Renegade representatives stayed silent and listened.

"I think it's time I stopped teaching and started learning, and what better way than to study from those on the front line? If you'll have me, that is."

Mako took a moment to consider.

"You're in!" Wolfgang spouted, cutting off Mako's dramatic pause.

"Dude! You're ruining my "aloof recruiter" vibes!"

"Oh come on, you were gonna say yes."

"Yes, but it's the principle of the thing. We can't just take on everybody who shows up to our booth."

"This is our third person all day. I hardly think we can afford to be picky now."

A fit of giggling interrupted their spat as their newest recruit tried to keep her composure. "Well, if nothing else, this is sure to be interesting. I take it we shall meet back here at 8:00 then? I overheard your instructions to the other girls."

"Yes ma'am." Wolfgang answered with a grin.

"Oh, please don't." She chuckled. "We're practically the same age."

"Sure don't look it." Wolfgang smiled, waggling his eyebrows.

*SMACK!*

"Ow, hey! What the hell, Mako?!"

Mako frowned. "Stop flirting with the recruits! Sorry about him."

"No problem at all. I appreciate the compliment." She smiled. "Sortiliena, though you can just call me Liena."

"I'm Mako, and the casanova over here is Wolfgang. Welcome aboard."

"Thank you." Liena said, walking off. "I believe I'm going to track down those two girls and get to know my new guildmates. I suppose I'll see you both later."

Mako checked his in-game clock on his HUD. He leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head in a reclined position. "Three recruits in an hour. Not too shabby."

"We've been here for 4 hours. The fact we even got three to begin with is - "

"Not the point!"

"Six hours, and not a single new recruit since Liena!" Wolfgang cried out, throwing his hands into the air. Frustrated, he stood up and kicked a nearby rock, which ended up rebounding off of the nearby wall and smacking him in the forehead. "Ow!"

"Nice."

"I don't wanna hear it!"

Unfortunately, he was right. In the hours since recruiting Liena, they had no one approach their recruitment table. Not a single soul.

Actually, that wasn't entirely true. Some small child stopped by to ask for directions, and later Argo came to visit and heckle them for their low recruitment rate. Probably would have been better if no one actually showed up; at least they'd be spared the humiliation. Argo was ruthless in her mischievous teasing. Thankfully Lux, who'd come along, was not at all like her employer.

Thank goodness for that. One Argo was bad enough. Two would have driven anyone to insanity.

"We're back!"

Noting the three new recruits approaching, Mako checked his clock. "Damn. 8:00 already?"

"Yes." Liena said, scanning the area. "I take it we are the only recruits?"

"Wait." Ronye interrupted, looking around. "Where is… Frenica! Stop hiding and come over here!"

Peeking out from behind a corner was another teenage girl with light brown hair styled into two braided tails that framed her face. She looked even more meek and timid than Ronye, and that was saying something. The girl, Frenica, slowly came out into the open and shuffled up alongside them.

"H-hello."

"Hello there." Wolfgang memed.

"I know this is probably overstepping, but we were hoping you might consider recruiting Frenica here as well." Tiese explained. "She had a bad experience with her last guild. They really didn't teach her anything."

"What'd they have her do?" Mako asked.

"Mainly fetch quests and grunt work." Tiese answered. "She's worse off than we are in terms of experience with a sword."

"I-I'm not that bad." Frenica objected.

"Frenica, you're level 8." Ronye countered. "Not your fault, but even you have to admit that's low."

Frenica sighed. "You're not wrong."

"So how can you… ah screw it." Mako started, only to give up halfway through. "What the hell, we'll take ya. You want to join the Assault Team or just help with the Clearing effort?"

"I… think for now just the Clearing effort will be enough." Frenica admitted, her nervous stutter starting to fade. "I'm not that great a fighter."

Wolfgang chuckled. "Oh we'll change that in a hurry, believe me. We've got some of the best fighters."

"I've been meaning to ask about that." Liena interjected. "It occurred to us while we were eating that we don't know the name of your guild."

"We'll do you one better." Mako grinned. "We'll show ya. Wolfgang, let the boss man know we're inbound with four new recruits."

Wolfgang chuckled. "You got it."

The four women exchanged wary looks. Liena, as the eldest of the group, decided to speak up on behalf of the group. "You're being awfully evasive about who you're with. You're not perverts, are you?"

"What?! No!" Mako immediately objected. "Why would you think that?!"

"They've got a point, Mako. We haven't told them a thing about us. They really don't know what they signed up for, if you think about it."

"I… I… we're not…" Mako began to short-circuit. "Look, here's some teleport crystals. If at any point you feel threatened, feel free to just teleport out."

Liena took the crystals and began to hand them out. "I suppose that is of some relief. Where are we going, anyway?"

As they stepped up to the teleport plaza, Mako grinned. "To our guild base, where else? Just repeat after us, and all will be answered."

Mako shot a conspiratorial wink over to Wolfgang, who looked just as enthused to surprise their new recruits. Together, they shouted the magic words.

"Teleport, Nelluon Arael!"

The new recruits were an odd bunch.

Kirito looked over the group of four women as they stood in the middle of the guild hall. Their expressions were varied, but at least he could tell they took this seriously.

The brunette with the pigtails, Ronye, looked absolutely starstruck. Her mouth gaped open like a fish as her eyes darted back and forth between the Renegades assembled. He noticed her eyes lingering on him more often than anyone else, and passively hoped Asuna wouldn't notice. Or maybe she did and just delighted in how uncomfortable it made him.

The redhead, Tiese, was just as stunned, but at least she didn't look like she was ten seconds away from fainting. Rather than frantically look around the room, she seemed to take her time absorbing her surroundings. The smile on her face betrayed how eager she was, though.

The one with the ponytail, Sortiliena, just looked impressed. Her eyes were focused mostly and himself and Asuna, and he felt as if he was being analyzed. It was a curious feeling, really.

The last one, Frenica, seemed to shrink in on herself under the scrutinous gazes of the Renegades assembled. This was a gentle soul, he could tell already. Hardly fit for the front line, but Wolfgang and Mako had to have seen something in her in order to recruit her. At the very least, she could help from a supply standpoint. With Agil spending more time on the Assault Team, the merchant trio became the merchant duo and thus their ability to finance their clearing efforts was beginning to wane.

"If you two idiots decided to recruit only women, I'm going to shoot you." Sinon joked. Then again, it was entirely possible she was being serious.

"Oh come on, Sinon!" Mako objected, gesturing with his mug of ale, courtesy of Agil. "Give us some credit! We've got a good feeling about these ones. Trust us."

Suddenly, Ronye started to lightly smack Tiese's arm repeatedly. "Tiese. Tiese. Tiese."

"What?" The redhead hissed, her eyes glancing at her companion for a moment before whipping back forward to attention.

"That's Kirito."

"I know, Ronye. He's right there; I can see just fine."

"No no, you don't understand. That's the Black Swordsman. We just signed up to join the Resolute Renegades."

"Again, yes. I can see that."

"Girls, focus." Sortiliena lightly scolded.

"Yes, ma'am." They chorused, much to Sortiliena's visible discomfort.

"Welcome." Asuna greeted, standing up with a smile. "My name is Asuna, and this is Kirito. As you might already know, we're the leaders of the Resolute Renegades. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Likewise." Sortiliena said, giving a courteous nod in reply. "I admit, this is not what I expected when Wolfgang and Mako recruited us. I'm pleasantly surprised and eager to work with you all."

"Excellent!" Asuna said, clapping her hands together. "Now, as part of our new recruitment program – Liz, don't give me that look, I know it sounds more official than it really is – we've decided to make our onboarding process more involved than the other guilds. Rather than group the four of you together and give you minimal guidance before throwing you into the field, our program is more akin to a mentorship program. You'll be assigned at least one Renegade who will serve as your designated mentor until you reach a level we're both comfortable with."

"That makes sense." Sortiliena commented. "Thank you in advance for the better care you'll give us compared to the other guilds."

"Of course!" Asuna smiled again. "Now, I understand all of you use either shortswords or longswords. Unless any of you want to respec into another weapon, we'll be pairing you with one of our own sword wielders. That includes Kirito, Geeou, Nautilus, Wolfgang, Dynamm, Klein, and Lokuss. Kirito, Geeou, and Nautilus all specialize in longswords; Wolfgang and Dynamm use shortswords, Klein uses a katana, and Lokuss uses a saber."

"We'll give you your choice of mentor." Kirito spoke up. "And you're welcome to switch mentors at any given point, provided the mentor in question isn't already training somebody. Each of us has a slightly different style of fighting, so learning from different sources could benefit you. Does that sound good to you all?"

Four heads nodded.

"Great!" Asuna chirped. "I suppose we can start with you, Ronye. Who would - "

"Kirito!"

Kirito couldn't help but flush at how sudden and enthusiastic the spritely brunette was. He and Asuna glanced at each other before the fencer cleared her throat.

"That was fast. Very well; we'll pair you up with Kirito. I'm sure my husband won't mind… right dear?"

"Oh goodness! I'm so sorry!" Ronye exclaimed, her face erupting in a furious blush. "I didn't mean to imply…! Oh, no… I didn't mean anything by that! It's just that he's the best swordsman in SAO! I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you're awesome, Kirito-senpai!"

Klein, who was seated at the bar, almost choked on his drink at the mention of "Kirito-senpai." He turned and looked at Kirito, all the while sporting a shit-eating grin. Great. Why did he know that name was going to catch on?

"Huh." Asuna hummed as she looked over Ronye. "You know what? I think we're going to get along just fine, Ronye. I like you."

"Really?!"

"I, too, think Kirito is awesome." Asuna giggled before winking at him. "We women of culture need to stick together, after all."

Kirito awkwardly chuckled. "Let's get along, Ronye."

"Yes!"

"How about you, Tiese?" Asuna continued. "Who would you like to apprentice under?"

Tiese, unlike her fangirl companion, took a few moments to consider as she scanned over the room. Eventually her eyes locked onto one person in particular. "Geeou, if he'll have me. I've always wanted to learn from the Sapphire Swordsman."

"Wait, what?" Geeou stammered, taken aback at the moniker.

"What, ya didn't know ya had a title, Geo-bou?" Argo's cackled, making quite the entrance as she and Lux sauntered into the guild hall. "People are callin' ya the Sapphire Swordsman nowadays."

"But why?" Came the confused retort.

"Dude, you and Kirito could be mistaken for brothers if it weren't for the hair color." Klein deadpanned. "You even learned under him back in the day, so the title makes sense."

"I… alright." Geeou finally sighed, apparently accepting his fate.

Kirito held back a snicker. "Looks like you'll be teaching as well, Geeou-senpai."

"Oh, don't you start."

"What about you, Sortiliena?" Asuna resumed, ignoring the quiet bickering between her husband and his brother in all but blood. "Who would you like to apprentice under?"

"Please, call me Liena." Sortili - Liena replied, correcting her with a smile. "I think I'd like to learn from someone whose style is different from mine. Klein, would you be willing to teach me?"

"Me?" The samurai asked, pointing at himself. Kirito noticed, out of the corner of his eye, Kuroi bristle. "Sure, I guess. Let's do this, Liena!"

"I like the enthusiasm." Liena chuckled. "Hopefully I won't bore you."

"Frenica?" Asuna finally came to the sheepish recruit.

"I-I'd like to stay a Clearer instead of joining the Assault Team." Frenica admitted with some reluctance. "Maybe Wolfgang or Mako could teach me?"

"Hell, we'll both teach ya!" Wolfgang exclaimed, throwing an arm around Mako's shoulder. He extended his free arm out into the air in an overly dramatic fashion. "We'll also teach you the way of the merchant."

"Stop making it sound mystical." Agil chided.

"Hey, we've gotta make it sound exciting somehow." Wolfgang laughed. "How else are we supposed to compete with the Assault Team?"

"It's settled, then." Asuna said after clearing her throat, clearly wanting to wrap up the formalities. "Ronye will apprentice under Kirito, Tiese with Geeou, Liena with Klein, and Frenica will learn under Mako and Wolfgang."

As the formalities of accepting four new members into their guild finally came to an end and the rest of the night was spent welcoming and getting to know the new girls, Kirito found himself muddled in his own thoughts. He'd never formally taken anyone under his wing before, not like this. Yes, he'd taught Geeou some tips and tricks back when they first met, but the blonde was already a decent swordsman at the time. This time, he would be officially taking responsibility for someone and teaching them not only how to fight, but how to survive. What was arguably worse about the whole thing was that he was now responsible for their growth into an Assault Team member. If they did poorly on the front line, it would be due to a lack of skill on his part. Not theirs.

That kind of responsibility was nothing to scoff at.

Yet, he wasn't alone in this, either. Geeou and Klein were now saddled with similar responsibilities. Frenica was admittedly an outlier in this situation, as she only needed to be able to defend herself as a regular Clearer, and even then he had a suspicion she would be spending the vast majority of her time assisting Mako and Wolfgang with the economic side of things. Regardless, it was up to him, Geeou, and Klein to make sure these girls were combat-ready.

Then again, Kirito had also mentored Yuuki for a while there as well. Maybe he was equipped to handle this. He looked over at Ronye, who was adorably gushing over how cute Pina and Fafnir were, and a smile crept onto his face. The rest of the guild could handle the front line just fine without him for the time being. This was a new chapter for him, in a way. He idly patted the hilt of Elucidator and smiled. This was going to be an entertaining next few weeks for him, and probably a tiring one for Ronye.

School was officially in session.

A/N:

More Underworld characters! Bringing in these four was something I've wanted to do since the beginning, and this felt like a good time to do so. Don't expect them to take a large role in the upcoming chapters, but I still wanted to include more UW characters in some fashion. That, and now we'll get to see a more in-depth look into how the Assault Team operates through how they teach their new members the ropes.

I've also decided to remove any romantic subtext with Ronye and Kirito's relationship. Instead of being infatuated with Kirito as a love interest, I've decided to turn that adoration into something a little more innocent, but no less entertaining. Ronye's a fangirl. A shameless Kirito fangirl who is ecstatic at the chance to learn under her idol.

Tiese is a little more muted in her enthusiasm to learn under Eugeo, but still eager to learn. While I absolutely ship these two in canon, I've already made it abundantly clear that Eugeo's got a thing for Alice. I'm not about to start throwing love triangles here; they've got enough on their plate trying to clear a death game. They don't need teenage romance drama thrown in the mix.

My apologies for those of you who were looking forward to seeing Yuna and Naut's wedding. It would have gone down very similarly to Asuna and Kirito's; apart from the wholesome vibes, I felt like it would have been more or less a repeat of the wedding chapter, and as callous as it sounds… the story needs to move forward. We're 78 whole chapters deep at this point.

Think of it this way; because it wasn't explicitly written out, you can imagine how the wedding went down for yourselves!

…Weak? Yeah, I know.

Anyhoo, next chapter we begin training the new recruits!

Til next time!