Koharu, that evening

After completing the "Thirty-Years Lament" quest and the other two, it was evening. Like the previous evening, the party of five went their separate ways; Kirito, Asuna, and Mito ventured on to the Blink and Brink, the inn they're staying and where the blue-blueberry tarts can be bought in the restaurant of the same building. Jaymes and Koharu, however, returned to the catacombs "to check something out."

Those were Jaymes' words, and he only invited Koharu along. Kirito and Asuna looked like they had no clue what he was talking about, but Mito had a certain glint in her eye. She also rushed the other pair out of the catacombs. Koharu does not know what's going on, and it doesn't seem she'll learn anytime soon as her partner leans against the south wall of the first room to the catacombs, the only direction they haven't left this room from. He silently taps his wrist, his eyes on the staircase between this room and the town above.

She wishes she could message Mito and ask what's going on, but being in a dungeon means one cannot receive or send messages, even to those on one's friend list. So her only option is to face the boy who keeps their outing a secret...and that's when he shifts from the wall and holds his arm up in greeting. Turning to the stairway, she sees a tall man with red hair approaching them with a wave of his own. "Yo."

"Hey. Oh, hello there, Miss Koharu!"

"Klein? It's great to see you!"

Klein puts his hands on his hips and beams a smile in Koharu's way. "Wow, you look super tough nowadays. Jaymes has been treating you right, has he?"

"Um, I don't know about being stronger..." True, her levels are much higher than they were four floors ago when they last encountered Klein. She also leveled up to level-17 earlier, still one behind her partner. Since experience is not given a bonus while in a party, those who do more damage, being targeted, debuffing, etc., are given more of the split when a monster is defeated. Since Koharu and Jaymes battle together most times, the bonus is split two ways, usually in Jaymes' favor; the same applies to Asuna and Kirito. It's why the boys are higher level. As for Mito, she plays the third wheel to either pairing, so if she lands an attack or draws a monster's aggro, her involvement splits the experience into thirds.

The attack order for both Jaymes/Koharu and Kirito/Asuna is the same; boys always attack first with a sword skill, and the girls finish it off. Being the target nets the males more experience.

Koharu doesn't mind being one level behind Jaymes. If it means they're still alive, she'll lag in level; on the flip side, she doesn't want to lag too far. Yet, according to the difficulty level of the catacombs (level-12) she has nothing to worry about...for now. They can't stay ahead of the game for long.

"Nonsense," Klein jovially declares. He looks to Jaymes with that same upbeat attitude. "You agree, right? Koharu has grown as powerful as she is cute."

Jaymes nods. "She's not the girl I met back then, that's for sure. You can do a lot more things now because of it. Our ability to work together has only gotten better as a result. You are, in my opinion, the strongest woman of the Assault Team." Those words spark a flame in Koharu's heart. Sure, he's acknowledged her strength before, but "strongest woman of the Assault Team" is a bold declaration considering Mito's at his level and Asuna has wowed the Assault Team twice now. Yet...she doesn't want to deny those words either. And as if he's reading her mind, Jaymes continues by saying, "But don't let Klein's words or mine get to your head, Ko. Don't fall behind Mito and Asuna. Even the strongest people can get stronger. Same for you and me, Klein."

"True, true."

She nods. "I understand. Moving on, why are you here, Klein?"

He chuckles. "Are you ready for ghost hunting?"

"Gh-ghost hunting?" After this morning (in which Koharu was a little less afraid than Asuna of the angry specter), Koharu did not think she'd be seeking ghosts so soon. She turns to Jaymes, who shakes his head with a sigh.

"It slipped my mind that I didn't tell you. Klein heard a story of an actual ghost down in the catacombs, unlike the one we saw in the chapel. This one seemed...player-like. Only Mito knows of this since she was with me last night, and I plan to keep this from Asuna and Kirito for now."

"So that explains why they didn't know what you were talking about."

"Mhm. The current hypothesis is that it's a player in the spirit of Halloween, but it could be a Christmas ghost who hasn't realized Ebenezer Scrouge has changed. That's all we know so far, but there should be more information. We're just waiting on Argo to show up with that information." He manages to mention Argo's name without any sort of negative tone for once. He doesn't hate Argo, but he does hate dealing with her. For Jaymes to call on Argo's services means he's serious about the matter...even if it does sound farfetched that there's a player masquerading as a ghost or vice versa.

"Did you just say my name?"

"Gaaaaah!"

"Bwaaaa!" Klein and Jaymes almost leap out of their armor as the form of Argo takes shape in between them. Given the room they're in is occupied by other players, they shouldn't have expected a ghost to appear at this moment, but Argo does have a streak of sneakily showing up. And seeing Jaymes shaken this way draws a smile to Koharu's mouth.

"Nice timing, Argo."

Argo, amused by the men's fright, smiles cheekily. "And Koharu isn't shocked at all."

"You appear in the middle of me talking about ghosts!"

"Just say hi like a normal person!"

She ignores their complaints and heads to the southern doorway, opening it. Unlike the north, west, and east doors, which had a hallway on the other side, the southern passage leads to a small room and a descending staircase. Having not been to the south before, Koharu deduces that's the only path that leads to the second sub-level. Beyond that point, they're no longer within the safety limit of Karluin. "We're chasing after the elusive, mysterious player. You need to use all of your focus and attention now. You should be grateful I gave you a fresh startle to snap you out of your sloth!"

Klein shakes his head as he follows Argo, Koharu, and Jaymes through the door. "That doesn't make sense... Anyway, get any information?"

Argo stops in the middle of the room, then glances at the door, ensuring it is shut. She then holds up two fingers. "I know what I'm doing. There are two locations where the ghost player was seen. One was near the labyrinth that one of my ALS guildmembers was investigating. When he stopped a guy that he didn't know, that guy's body just vanished into thin air. Nobody knows what happened to him after that. The other is here within the underground cemetery, which correlates with what Klein has heard. Both places have had multiple sightings of the same solo players. Both places have had multiple sightings of the same solo player. We should split up and check out both locations."

Koharu glances at the staircase before them, her avatar shivering from the sense of danger her real body is feeling through the NerveGear. Something about going deeper...spooks her. "Further down into the underground cemetery... Sounds like a lot of undead monsters will show up."

"Scared?"

"I-I'm not!" Koharu shoots back at Argo, who's grinning for a second time. "The mysterious player should be human. And Jaymes is with me!"

"There you have it, Jaymes. So we'll handle the catacombs. Klein, can I ask you and your guild to look at the labyrinth?"

Klein grins as well. He bows and starts to skitter back to the door. "It's decided then! We'll thoroughly search the labyrinth. It's a shame I can't accompany you in the catacombs. Let me know if you find some rare relics during your search."

With the speed of a frightened dog, Klein vanishes behind the door. Feeling somewhat grieved by their friends' rapid departure, Koharu sighs. "Klein...looked pretty excited to leave, didn't he?"

Jaymes doesn't look happy, but his attention is on the descending stairs. "Think he's scared? He seemed to have forgotten we believe it's a person wearing a rare item, huh?" Jaymes clears his throat and takes the first steps to the stairs. "Well, nothing we can do now. Let's be careful, you two. And while we're heading down deeper, remember there's an area boss down here."

"The one that guards the shortcut to another town on the floor, right?"

"Yeah, that one. Let's do our best not to gain its attention."

"Speaking of which, I've spent most of the day researching the mid-boss," Argo says. "It's not the same one from the beta, so I've been in the safe room outside its chamber."

"What's it like?" Jaymes asks.

"Big zombie, looks resistant to all types of attacks. There are some puzzles around the chamber that look helpful but are complicated. I still got a few to solve, but it looks like they'll make an opening in the ceiling to let light in. It might be the weakness of the boss. I need to investigate more tonight, but the ghost's our priority right now. If we find an item that can make us disappear, that'll help us with the floor boss. We need to figure out how to get it."

"If it's not a one-of-a-kind," Jaymes grumbles as his foot hits the first step. "Okay, Argo, we will help you after we find this ghost. Until then... Eyes and ears open from now on, got it?"

"Got it, Jaymes."

"I hear ya."

"Let's go."

xxxxxxxxx

Koharu can report she's glad she's in the catacombs with Jaymes and Argo. The first floor was creepy but safe, so with the latter factor out of the equation, it's been nothing but a Halloween nightmare. She'll admit she has only one great fear-bugs-so the supernatural doesn't bother her any more than it sensibly would. This morning's hateful spirit is an anomaly, given what it did, but beyond that, she's fine.

As they traversed the second level, they encountered more "astral-class" enemies (because calling them that instead of ghosts makes a difference) named Mournful Wraiths whom the trio dispatched quickly. The first one jolted Koharu because it arose from a slowly opening sarcophagus, but after that, the reminder she was in an underground tomb remained on her mind. And that's not to disregard the Moldy Mummies, which...well, the name says it all.

Jaymes warned her not to drop anything valuable-monsters called Sly Shrewman would come and pick up drop items in the blink of an eye. He demonstrated with a Col coin, materializing one and tossing it along the ground. A yellow-eyed, blue-skinned human-like rat no taller than a foot and a half skittered into the area and ran off with the coin. "There's a chance you could get your item back, either by materializing all your item or chasing the rat down. I do not suggest the former method, for there's the possibility that your item is no longer recognized as yours by the system, and it'll attract more shrewmen. Might as well chase it down or forget about recovery."

Since that tutorial, it's been a while since they entered the second level, and now the trio sets foot on the third level. Koharu lost track of how long they'd been here, but the time registers at 22:02. If she remembers correctly, they met up with Argo and Klein between eight and eight-thirty, so they've been mapping out every nook and cranny of the second level for about two hours. Hopefully, the third doesn't take them that long.

"It's really damp," the young woman complains softly to her partner. "Just what is that ghost doing out here? I doubt it's searching for treasure. What do you think, Jaymes?"

"Farming, probably." That's a logical assumption. The catacombs are a major floor dungeon, important enough for the game to put the shortcut here. It doesn't seem many adventurous players made it this far, and the relic hunters might not come below the safety of the first level. She hasn't seen the DKB or ALS so far today, either. The "ghost player" in question must be a solo player like herself; if so, that's dangerous even for the strongest players.

"They might want to get strong enough to take on the boss. If so, we can't leave them alone. I don't know their reasoning, but working so hard alone must be really lonely. It'd be great if we find them... But it looks like we will have to look in every nook and cranny here."

"Hold." Argo, several steps ahead, calls out. The group has barely made it to the first large chamber of the third level, yet Argo perks up like a rat sensing danger. Koharu does the same, and through some means of prioritizing her sense of hearing, she hears what sounds like...steel.

"Someone's fighting... It could be the ghost!"

Jaymes glances at Argo, who nods back. Drawing his sword, he softly states, "Let's go!" He takes the lead, turning to the right to exit the chamber, then following the increasing sound echoing off the way. Somehow, no monsters impeded their path, which means the monsters haven't respawned yet. The person battling has not been here long.

In the span of two minutes of frantic running, Koharu can clearly distinguish the sounds of someone in combat ahead of them. Jaymes slides to a stop at the arcing entrance to another large room, holding the girls with him back. From their location, Koharu can see the combatants.

Fighting a group of monsters is a figure clad from head to toe in steel armor, face hidden by a helmet. Wrapped around the person's body is a green cape, bigger than the cloak Koharu wears now. The knight swings a mace with their right hand, battering an enemy with a sword skill, then uses a shield fit for a proper tank to defend herself.

Or maybe not just herself. Koharu catches a glimpse of a second figure, a girl that looks younger than Koharu by a couple of years in basic armor and wielding a dagger. Considering Koharu is underage for SAO's age rating (she's fourteen, and it's recommended for ages fifteen and up), she can't say she's surprised to see someone who looks no older than twelve playing the game. She's seen younger down in an orphanage in the Town of Beginnings.

But she's never seen a kid on the front lines.

"They just keep popping up," the knight says. "There's no end to them. I'll draw their attention so you can run away. Okay?"

"I can handle myself... What are you going to do?"

"I have high vitality... I'll get through them."

"Aren't you scared?"

"I'm shaking from...excitement. Just go already. If I can handle this calmly, I'm sure my defense status will be enough to get me through it."

"Looks like they're having trouble," Koharu states after overhearing their chatter. She looks down at Jaymes, crouching on the stone floor. "What should we do?"

"...Argo, stay here and observe. Koharu, we'll help them."

"Yeah! We can't just leave them."

"Ya two have fun with that." Argo steps aside for Koharu to pass through, following her partner into the fray. Held over his right shoulder, the black blade named Imperial glows green as Jaymes is lifted off his feet, using the sword skill Sonic Leap to cut down a Moldy Mummy and make a clear path to the trapped pair. Koharu runs through, using a normal attack to stop a monster from capitalizing on the frozen Jaymes.

Before the others can speak, Koharu does, gesturing to the clear route back to Argo. "I'll help! You protect the girl!"

The knight nods their head and leads the girl away. "Thanks! Take care of those guys!"

xxxxxxxxxx

Once the last monster is struck down, Koharu puts the Bullstar Dagger back in its sheath, then faces her partner. He scans the room quietly for a moment, then his posture relaxes. Letting go of the dagger's hilt, Koharu takes a breath of relief. The fight wasn't brutal in the slightest. At best, it was a mere annoyance for the pair to fight the Mournful Wraiths and the Moldy Mummies, but the knight (and maybe the girl) had it harder.

Speaking of which, the knight, the girl, and Argo walk up to Koharu and Jaymes once the chamber is confirmed to be clear. Looking at the knight, Koharu says, "Are you two okay?"

The helmet moves in a nodding motion. "Thanks to you. You saved us. We appreciate it." The knight steps to Koharu's side, glancing in the girl's direction. "I'm sorry to ask this after you saved us, but could you please take her someplace safe? I gotta meet up with my friends. I'm sure they'll worry if I'm really late."

"You're not friends?"

"We just happened to meet here... But I never introduced myself. I'm Liten. How about you?"

"I'm Koharu."

"Jaymes."

The knight nods again. "Ah, I've heard of you guys. You're pretty prominent players in the clearing group. It's an honor to meet you even under these circumstances."

Koharu shakes her head. "We're not as great as you say. We're just doing what we can. But still... Didn't Mito say the same thing? Are we becoming that well known?"

Jaymes shrugs. "I guess. Look who we associate with, the 'big, bad beater' and the princess. I wouldn't be surprised if someone told a story here and there." His eyes land on the hooded Argo, who offers no rebuttal. "Plus Klein heard about us too. So I wouldn't put it past it that we're popular."

"Maybe not much by common players," Liten adds. "I'm a part of ALS, so I get to hear about top players often." Koharu wonders how their reputation is with ALS. Jaymes and Koharu, at the very least, are respected by Kibaou despite him knowing they're beta players. Compared to Kirito, the cactus-headed man at least listens to her partner. She doesn't get a chance to ask as Liten returns their attention to the young girl. "Well then, may I know your name as well?"

"...Mater. Nice to meet you." The girl speaks with a straight tone well beyond her years. If SAO was a normal game, Koharu might believe this was an adult playing with a small avatar. Well...it could be a small woman, but Koharu's sure this is a young teenage girl.

"Mater," Liten repeats. "It would be good for you to join a party and work together from now on. If you're interested in joining a guild, then ALS or DKB would be good. You can trust a guy named Shivata in the DKB. Or me if you want to join ALS. Whatever the case, don't be reckless. Okay?"

Mater doesn't reply or make a emote of understanding. It confuses Koharu, but with Jaymes and Argo distant from the group in a conversation of their own, Koharu has to speak for them. She takes hold of Mater's shoulder and says, "Mater, we'll see you off. Liten, you take care as well."

Liten bows in thanks. "Thanks. I leave the rest to you. I'll make sure to thank you properly later." Liten turns on their heels and scurries off in the opposite direction in which Koharu, Jaymes, and Argo find them. As Liten wanders off, Koharu looks down to Mater, who brushes her brown ponytail off her shoulder.

"He was kind of blunt, but he seemed like a good person... Um, Mater, it's not safe here. Why don't you go back to town with us?"

"I'm okay... As long as I'm not surrounded, I'll be fine. I just messed up earlier."

"It's okay to mess up in a normal game, but SAO is a death game. Mater, you don't know what would've happened if Liten or we didn't show up. There might not be a next time. And a young girl like you shouldn't be alone in a dungeon like this."

Mater looks up with expressionless eyes. They're unnaturally focused on Koharu and she jumps in her skin. "Is that why you're trying to be my guardian?"

"Huh?"

"My life has nothing to do with other players. I'm used to being alone. Really. You can go on your own."

"This does concern us," says a returning Jaymes, his gaze equally fixed on Mater as hers is on him. "We saved you, talked to you, and know your name, Mater. We're not friends,but you're not a stranger. And even if you were, we couldn't let you face danger alone."

"So are you telling me that you want to protect me and ensure that I survive? So you may feel good about yourselves?"

"I could actually care le-"

"I suppose that's true," Koharu half-admits and half-stops her partner from saying something she'll have to get angry with him about. With a sigh, she continues. "We might want to feel good about ourselves besides protecting you, Mater. I don't want to regret not helping somebody I could have. Do you think you could indulge that selfish inclination of mine?"

Mater doesn't hesitate to shake her head. "I understand how you feel, but I still can't go with you."

"Why? Can't you trust me?"

"I know you're not bad people, but I have other things to do. It's a problem of my priorities." With that, Mater backs away towards the far wall but stops about three-fourths of the way there. She turns back to Koharu and the others, bowing her head."I'm grateful that you're so concerned about me. So take this." Mater makes a few taps in the air, the result being a trade request from her to Koharu. The traded items are a couple thousand Col and a few consumable items like potions and antidotes.

But the items are not what confuses Koharu. Rather, it's being given them by Mater. "What's this?"

"A sign of my gratitude for saving me."

"We can't take this. You're a player as well... Right? Isn't this important to you?"

She shrugs. "I've determined that giving them to you is more valuable. I'm just leaving it where it belongs."

"It's more valuable for us to take it?" Jaymes asks.

"Yes. Col and items don't have any value if you don't use them."

"Are you not going to use it, Mater?"

"I don't have a reason to. I've already made up my mind. Alright, I'm going. If you keep making correct choices, then we'll meet again. Oh, and... If you meet an annoying boy who fashions himself a storyteller, tell him to lay off." With that, Mater resumes walking towards the back wall. Koharu doesn't understand why Mater heads in that direction until Mater vanishes in the blink of an eye.

"S-she disappeared?"

"No way!"

As shocked as her partner and the informant, Koharu runs to the exact spot Mater vanished. She places her hands along the wall, feeling nothing out of the ordinary. Then her foot slips just a bit at the foot of the wall. Koharu looks down, noticing a gap between the floor and the wall. "Wait. There's something in the wall... A hidden passage?"

It's not a big gap by any means, so someone like an adult couldn't get through it. It seems to lead down to a deep trench that looks to be the perfect size for someone of Mater's height. Even now, Koharu can hear the sound of light footsteps drawing away from her into the deep darkness of the trench. "It looks like it'd be difficult for us to pass through this, but I suppose she was acting like she was fine because of this passage. But still...she was quite...peculiar..."

Jaymes sighs as he joins her at the wall. "She was kind of argumentative and quite calm."

"She does talk in riddles. And she remained calm when she was surrounded by monsters and after we saved her. Not only that... She felt kind of 'different.' Though I can't really put my finger on it. She didn't seem like a bad person, though. She told us why she wanted to be alone and expressed her gratitude. I hope she gets back safely... Huh? There's something on the ground."

Koharu kneels down to pick up a small ring with a darkened black stone embedded in it. Curious, Koharu holds the ring up for Jaymes to see. "Did Mater drop it? I'll keep it until we see her again... I don't know when that will be, though."

He hands the ring back to Koharu for her to keep for now. "I believe we'll see her again."

She nods and places the ring in her inventory. "I have the same feeling. The ghost might've used this secret passage to disappear, too."

"...What if...Mater is our ghost?"

"It was supposed to be a guy. I'm sure that Mater isn't the ghost...it seems like we didn't find him. I wonder how Klein fared. We should talk to him once we leave."

"Right. We should get back up to town-Bwaaaaa!" Jaymes leaps in the air while the thing that frightened him chuckles heartily. He lands on his feet, clearly angry by Argo's sneaky nature. "What gives?"

Argo shrugs. "Ya forget all about poor me while talkin' to Koharu. Feelin' like the third wheel here on our overnight date in the dungeon, Jay-man. You said you'll stay with me in the safe area, remember? Cheatin' and leavin' me to go with her after all we've been through?"

"Huuuh?" Jaymes grabs Argo's cheeks and stretches them out. "Like I'd choose you over Koharu! Not in a million years! No, a trillion years!"

"Sa whit yu seyang is thut yu'd like Kuhore? I't tuke sedit fus it-Owwww!"

Jaymes extends Argo's cheeks beyond their anatomical limit. "I didn't say that either! You're not taking credit for anything! Another word, your tongue is coming out!" All Koharu can do to keep her face from flushing with blood is watch with a smile. She glances back at the wall where Mater vanished, hoping the young girl will be fine on her own...and there's Liten, who should be back with her friends about now. That makes Koharu think of the friends not with them now.

"I wonder what Asuna and everyone are up to now... Huh?" Koharu's eyes wander to the left side of her HUD, right where the HP bars of Jaymes, Kirito, Asuna, and Mito are projected. She's looked at it many times before but only focused on her partner's health, not the three below it. So only in this relaxed, thought-filled state about Asuna do she finally notice that Asuna's health, which should be full, had dropped ten percent...

"Jaymes!" That startles her partner enough for him to drop Argo and turn to her. She gestures in the direction of the HP bars. "Asuna... Asuna shouldn't have lost health. Kirito and Mito haven't, so that means..."

He frowns, then tightens his fists. "It's after ten. What the hell is she... Argo, get to where you need to be. We'll meet you there, I know where it is."

Argo, no longer in a teasing mood, nods. "Right. You and Koharu go save Asuna...and hopefully, Kirito is with her..."