A/N So uh…yeah didn't mean for this to take over 6 months but that's just how things are sometimes. Hopefully people are still following this story despite the unintended hiatus. Oh, and btw figured I should mention that during the wasp-farming bit from chapter 7, Kirito and Sinon explained most of the other general game terminology terms to Asuna. It doesn't get mentioned in the fic itself, so wanted to mention it here.

"Yes, we are here to receive your teachings." Kirito, being the only one to know the specifics of the quest, logically took the lead.

The old man smiled at that, though it was closer to a smirk than anything else. "Well then, allow me to give you the details on what you shall learn here from me, before you make any final decisions, yes?"

The group seemed a bit more suspicious then they were before, considering what they had heard, but it would be a waste of time to back down now, after they had come all this way.

"Yeah, that makes sense to us." Klein decided to say, knowing that the npc wouldn't have any trouble parsing his response.

"Ok then. When you are done training you will be able to utilize the inherent power of your body, in order to lay low your enemies without needing a weapon or magical attack. However, first you must pass a trial of mine to prove yourself worthy of my teachings; that you have the determination and wit to learn without giving up or becoming unable to move forward."

The old man's smile/smirk only seemed to grow when he mentioned the trial, but while they were cautious of what the trial would involve, they remained undaunted by the potential hardship.

"Will you tell us what the trial will involve beforehand? Or only after we agree?" Issin probed, trying to get any specific details out of the man. Since neither Sinon or Kirito felt like elaborating on why the quest was annoying.

Unfortunately, the still unnamed man denied it. "Only after you agree, because sometimes in life you will not have all of the information you want to have, before making a decision. Will you continue in spite of this? Or will you retreat? It is another question that must be answered."

Kunimittz just turned towards Kirito, an exasperated look on his face. "He really likes to play up the 'wise and philosophical master' angle doesn't he?"

"Yeah." Kirito sighed in response "He definitely does. It's not even good philosophical rambling either; It's always really obvious stuff. The dev team probably had a laugh while designing this guy."

"Does he ever use the 'inside of you are two wolves' thing? Because I always thought that one was pretty funny."

"No, the closest he ever got in the beta was the 'when one door closes, another opens' one. Which isn't even true, that's not how opportunities work."

If the npc perceived the commentary on his personality, he did not react in any way. Merely stood there waiting for an actual response.

A few moments later, after the two were finished with their byplay, Dynamm decided to move things along. "We will undergo whatever trial you are speaking of. What would you have us do?"

Upon hearing the affirmation his 'smile' transitioned fully into a wide smirk "First, hold still for a moment." Next, he proceeded to pull out a brush and container of some kind, from seemingly nowhere, before somehow managing to paint a series of brown whiskers on everyone's faces in the span of 2 or 3 seconds.

Then while most of them were distracted by the suddenness, the npc actually explained what he wanted them to do. "The trial you shall undergo is both simple yet complicated. You only need to do one thing, yet it may take you longer to do then many things may otherwise take."

"And that one thing is" He then gestured towards the boulders lying around the area "Each of you need to shatter one of these rocks without the use of weapons or offensive magic. I will not instill into you my knowledge until you manage to do so."

Several of them reached up to their faces in an effort to wipe off whatever kind of paint was used, only to find out that it had somehow already dried; despite it being at most a few seconds since it was applied.

Almost immediately afterwards, the group seemingly as one, turned to either side-eye or glare at Kirito and Sinon. "...This is why you refused to explain the quest, didn't you? So you two could see what we would look like with these ridiculous whiskers isn't it? I really should have connected the dots when you said this was the 'martials arts' quest."

Issin's voice started out somewhat incensed before transitioning closer to resignation at the end as she realized what had happened.

"Am I missing something here? I had assumed only Kirito and Sinon had prior knowledge of this quest?" Asuna was looking back and forth between them and Issin in apparent confusion.

It was at this point that Klein had also clued in on what had happened and decided to explain. "No, that's right. Pretty sure what Issin is referring to is that before we met you, Asuna. Kirito had mentioned this quest and the whiskers thing in passing. Which was then apparently forgotten by all of us, until now anyway."

Kirito had apparently also forgotten about that exchange, causing them to blink in confusion a few times before remembering what had happened. "Oh yeah, that did happen didn't it? But yes, this is that quest. I hadn't intended to hide it from you guys, but as Issin reminded me I never did properly explain it and at that point I thought it would be funnier if I didn't mention the whiskers thing."

Several of them let out a sigh at hearing this, before accepting that what was done was done and they should move on. The task set out before was daunting enough as it was. Anna wanted some more clarification though, or at least an attempt at some anyway.

Looking back towards the weirdly philosophical quest giver she asked "So we need to break one of these boulders without our weapons or any magical attacks? Does it matter what we do besides that? And what counts as a 'weapon' in this case?"

Somehow the man's smirk grew even wider upon hearing her questions. "Yes, that is the requirement. I do not otherwise care how you go about doing so, you may punch them, kick them, headbutt them. If you somehow managed to roll them off this mesa so that they'd break on the ground below, I'd even accept that. In this particular journey, it is not the steps you take that matter, only the final destination. As for your final question, a weapon is anything you hold that you would use to try and directly destroy the rocks with. Indirect is fine, but direct is not."

"So, hypothetically speaking, if we somehow got a large rock and dropped it on one of the other rocks that would be fine since we technically aren't doing it directly? Or even got something else to do it for us?" She wanted to make sure her bases were covered before she tried this ridiculous endeavor, she had (presumably, since she didn't actually know Asuna's stats) the highest strength of the group but this would undoubtedly take a while unless they thought of some way to get around it.

"Yes, that would count."

Having listened to this back and forth, and noticed something the day before, Asuna had an idea that would presumably work under the specified restrictions; actually enacting it might not be easy, but it would almost certainly be easier than the "default" method of doing it.

"I have an idea that may potentially work then, if you all would be kind enough to assist me with it? I doubt I could pull it off on my own."

The others were a bit surprised by this, they had expected to spend a while planning how to go about this, but saw no reason not to hear her out. Shrugging his shoulders, Dynamm answered first "Sure, not like I have any ideas on how to pull this off. What's yours?"

"Well, I noticed yesterday that the cows do not seem able to stop well once they start charging, and that they do a lot of damage to whatever they hit. So I was wondering if we could somehow get one or more of the cows up here and convince it to charge into one of the boulders, hopefully destroying it for us. Under the specified rules, it should work since we aren't using any weapons or magic, and all that matters is the boulder gets broken."

He paused to consider the idea for a moment before replying "So you want us to aggro one of the cows, and then kite it back up here and into the rocks? And then repeat the process if it works? If it does work, it would probably save us a lot of effort, and we don't really have anything to lose other then some time. Sounds like a decent enough idea to me" He then turned back towards the others "what do you guys think about it? Worth a shot?"

Receiving various forms of agreements, and a grunt from Harry (which amounted to the same thing) they decided to try and enact her plan.


Same location, roughly an hour later

The plan did in fact work, surprisingly well even, the cows could break a boulder by slamming into it at full speed, though the cow would die on impact with the boulder. Resulting in them needing to kite multiple cows up the area in order to break all the required rocks; currently they only needed the last one they were currently taunting, and they would be finished with the objective.

Assuming the npc actually considered it complete anyway, he hadn't responded to their actions at all so far. Neither giving a confirmation or denial.

And with a final resounding crack the last boulder was reduced to fragments and gritty dust, the cow letting out a pained 'moo' and shattered into polygons before fading out of existence as well.

It was at that moment the old man started noticeably reacting to them again, and walked over to them. "Congratulations my students, you have passed my trial and proved your potential. I shall now teach you what you came here for."

He then proceeded to give an explanation about how in order to properly utilize one's own body as a weapon they must first find the source of power within them. Which apparently involved various breathing exercises and mediation, as well some visualization.

Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, those that had already become reasonably familiar with using magic had an easier time figuring out how to locate the well of power. Which was similar, yet still distinctly different from the energy they used for their spells.

Sinon and Asuna took longer to find it, but it was only a relatively small amount of time longer. The other's tried to help once they figured it out, but their instructions weren't really of any more help than the npc's.

The second step was that after the power was located, it must then be directed outwards into the body and specifically into the body part you were planning on attacking with. Which also took a bit to get the hang of, but not as long as the first step did.

Once properly directed into a body part -just their arms and hands currently- they could properly feel the energy instead of just 'feeling' it in the sort of weird figurative way of before. It apparently felt differently for each other person, with the stated feelings ranging from a pleasant warmth suffusing the limb; to an almost electrical buzz that constantly shifted around, like it was begging to be let out.

Asuna and Harry however didn't describe what they were feeling. Neither felt the desire to try and put it into words, content to just experience it themselves.

"Ok, so we found the energy and now it's in our arms. What's the next step? Do we need to meditate under a waterfall or something? Grab a rock from the palm of your hand?" Quipped Kunimittz, who felt like playing into the stereotype.

Surprisingly, given the npcs lack of reactions up until now, this caused him to let out a sharp laugh. "No, my student, the next step is the easiest but it will still test your resolve. You must simply punch one of the remaining boulders and witness the fruit of your labors."

Stunned silence filled the area for a moment before Sinon broke it, bewilderment clear in her voice. "So…you want us to destroy more boulders for you? Really? I certainly understand why this quest pissed you off now Kirito."

Kirito opened their mouth to respond but before they could, the npc said something else.

"I don't need you to break them, merely punch them so that I can confirm you did steps 1 and 2 properly. If you have accomplished such a feat then they should fall before your might, just like any other obstacle to your goals."

Punching a solid rock didn't sound like a good idea, but it was apparently the next step in the quest, and the cows had shown that the rocks were destructible. Still, nobody wanted to be the first to test it. Fancy energy or not, punching a rock is generally considered to not be a fun time. They all just looked back and forth between each other, wondering who would be the one to test it.

Seeing this go on for a few minutes Asuna decided that she might as well be the one to do it. Walking up to one of the rocks she proceeded to let out a serious right hook into the center of the stone. A faint distortion surrounded her arm when she did so, making it look like her arm was somehow refracting a bit of light away from it.

A solid thump resounded from the point of impact back to them, and a spider web of cracks raced outwards, nearly covering the entire front of the boulder. It was still more or less in one piece, but it was obviously more effective then it would have been if it was punched normally.

If Asuna herself was in any way surprised by this, she didn't show it. Merely turning back towards the npc and asking "That qualifies as proof, does it not? I can do so again, if you require it."

Actually smiling for the first time since they arrived the npc responded in a more jubilant manner then he had previously "No, that will not be necessary, and it is delightful to see a student accomplish such a feat. Now, just need to witness your companions doing the same and I will remove the marks I have applied to you all. If you want me to, of course."

Thus the others followed suit and attacked the rock -which properly shattered after 3 more hits- then moved on to other ones when they broke. They primarily used regular punches, but Kirito tried for a kick to mixed results and Issin tried a palm strike, to better but still mixed results.

After everyone did their demonstration, they all received a 'Quest Complete' notification and the still-unnamed npc seemed to have a final thing to say. "Congratulations once again, you have beaten my trial and learned the basics of Ki usage. Now you will be able to fight those that would go against you even if circumstances prevent you from using both weapons and magic. Also If you all will come with me I will remove the whiskers I marked you all with."


Early Afternoon, Urbus

The group had returned to Urbus after finishing up at the monk's place and were now wondering what else they felt like doing today.

"So…does anyone have anything they want to do now? That hopefully doesn't involve weirdly philosophical npcs out of an old martial arts film?" Klein asked, while being only somewhat sarcastic.

Everyone else looked at each other for a bit, wondering if they had any specific desires before turning back towards Klein.

"I don't have any particular ideas or plans. I could go find Lisbeth and see if she has made any throwing knives for me, but it's not even been a full day, and she said she didn't have the skill for it so I doubt it. So I'm up for whatever." stated Sinon, while casually twirling one of her throwing darts around.

In response to this Kirito adds "Yeah, it's not particularly likely that she has made any yet. We could also go and introduce the rest of you guys to her, but if we do that we should get the materials for some upgrades first. Not really a priority or anything though."

Similar responses are said by a few others, there are things they could do but none that are especially pressing or noteworthy compared to the others.

A few minutes into this back and forth all of them except for Asuna received a message from Argo, needless to say they paused the discussion to read it.


Hey, wanted to let you guys know that Diabel an' some others are plannin' on having a meeting to discuss a potential assault on th' Bulbous Bow. It will be outside Urbus' main gate at around noonish three days from now. They wanted to see if givin a more advanced notice would increase th' amount of people who show up.

Also, is Asuna still with you guys? Was gonna message her too, but forgot to get her contact details due to th' ninja weirdos throwing me off balance.


After reading and then closing the message window, Sinon is the first to speak. "Huh, They're going after the Field Boss already? Certainly picked up the pace from the first floor, that's for sure."

"So what's a Field Boss? Is that what the various boss monsters scattered around the floors are called? Or are they more important, since Argo specifically said a meeting was happening to take one down?" inquired Anna

"They are kinda like those, but they are stronger and higher level, generally requiring a few parties and some preparation to take down safely. The main thing that sets them apart however, is that you can't enter the floor's Labyrinth until you have defeated it. They can also block off other parts of the floor, but that only happened once in the beta."

"Meaning that they plan to start tackling the Labyrinth and looking for the boss room shortly afterwards. That is indeed quite the increase in pace, since we've only been on this floor for less than a week." added Issin, seeing what Sinon was leading towards with the explanation.

Shortly after Issun finished speaking Asuna chose that moment to interject "So, I'm assuming that was Argo informing you all of a meeting similar to the one from a few days ago? Though, why did she not message me as well? Surely it would be prudent to have a lot of people attend, would it not?"

"Apparently she forgot to get your contact details due to the fake ninja idiots from earlier. She had intended to send you the message as well." Klein answered.

"That makes sense then. They were rather…unique individuals after all. I shall have to remember to give them to her, next we meet. That inconvenience aside, does this change your potential plans on what to do next?"

The others take a few moments to think it over, before realizing that it doesn't really. If it was closer then it would have, but being a few days away it didn't really change anything.

Kirito shrugged as a result "Not really, most of the things we'd do to prepare for it we'd be doing anyway; and it not happening for another 3 days also means its not particularly relevant right now. Meaning that we are back where we started in having to decide what to do next."

The back and forth again resumed as expected.

A/N: I should probably stop saying I'm going to have things in upcoming chapters and then not include them shouldn't I? Well the martial arts bit went on longer then I originally expected it to, and wanted to have a bit of a lead up to the fight itself so its been pushed back to the next chapter. Not to make the same mistake as last chapter, but other then the field boss, I don't have other plans before the labyrinth. So it will likely only be another 2 or 3 chapters of floor 2, unless I get some ideas of things I want to include beyond that. Not particularly likely for that to happen, but not impossible either.