Sword Art Online: Advent of the Steel Mind

by Megawrath

Two souls strung together by fate. One, a gifted genius with a misunderstood disability. The other, a beautiful girl with a heart of gold. Though both seek an escape from reality, what happens when that escape becomes a trap? Will those concepts still hold meaning? Is reality that where you feel the most alive? It all begins with a simple question. "Would you like to play with me?"

13. Chapter 13

:: Author's Note ::

And so at last we come to this. I guess I'll start with the good news first. I'm back with another chapter in my SAO fanfiction. Now here is the bad news. It will be the last chapter in this arc.

Don't panic! The story is far from over, I promise! I'm just making this chapter the conclusion to the first arc of what I intend to turn into a multi-series story. This way, I can at least say I've finally concluded the prologue to my SAO story.

And what a conclusion it has turned out to be.

Truthfully, I feel a little bad for making you all wait this long. After struggling with writers block, stress, and other IRL issues that have plagued my life the past few months, I finally feel like I'm in a good headspace for more fanfiction writing. So hopefully I'll be able to give you guys more of this story when I begin the next arc, which I intend to make as a whole new story after completing this one.

I'm hoping the extra length will make up for the wait. And though this chapter marks the conclusion of the prologue, I'm hoping you'll enjoy exactly where the conclusion leads.

And with that, I give you the finale of SAO: Advent of the Steel Mind. Here is Chapter Thirteen.

:: End Note ::

The ringing formed in his ears, as did the familiar feeling of plunging backwards into a pool of cold water. Lights and loading screens whirred past his vision in rapid succession. Sight, sound, touch, taste, all five senses were quickly calibrated whereupon one final loading screen filled in front him. Until finally, the link process was complete and Kazuto Kirigaya was once again thrust into the NerveGear menu.

He looked around at his surroundings. This screen had become so familiar to him yet this time it felt different. There was an energy in the air he wasn't used to. An electricity not like the beta. Kazuto looked down at his hands, revealing the same neon jumpsuit every player wore when they first entered. He approached the holographic interface and selected Sword Art Online from the main menu. Kazuto had already finished installing the primary game and all its updates onto his NerveGear rig, so all that was left to do was enter his account information, retrieve his updated player avatar, and enter the game.

Upon entering his account info, Kazuto did a once over of his updated character stats. He sighed morosely, noting everything had been reset. Though his avatar still looked the same, Kazuto's stats were all back to level one, his advanced gear was gone, along with the unique blade Kayaba gave him for performing his duties as a Beta Tester. He was just a regular player now, working his way up along with everyone else.

Well...that wasn't completely true. He could still theoretically use his slicing to alter the game's code if he wanted. It wouldn't be nearly as invasive without his administrator clearance, but if Kazuto wanted to, he could make small alterations to…

He quickly shook his head free of such thoughts. Kazuto couldn't do that. It would be cheating. As far as he was concerned, no one even needed to know about his ability other than the Beta Testers.

With a thoughtful smile, he accepted all changes whereupon a large green start button appeared in front of him. A surge of excitement jolted through his being as he hit the button and entered the game. Kazuto was teleported away from the main menu, whereupon a large skydome appeared in front of him with five words written in bold letters.

Welcome To Sword Art Online!

And just like that, Kazuto was warped into the game. He looked around at the familiar landscape, the courtyard, the buildings, the clear blue sky overhead. He then looked down at his hands, wrapped in leather gloves, before clenching them excitedly and grinning with confidence.

"Hello world…" Kirito declared. "...I'm back!"

This juvelation lasted for all of five seconds before multiple players began warping in around him.

"Holy shit, this is so fucking sweet!" The player who just warped in began jumping for joy. "I'm actually in Aincrad!"

"Woohoo! Finally, no more demo games!" another player declared.

"Will you check out this skydome?! It's so freaking sick!"

Dozens, hundred, nay thousands of players began warping in in droves, filling the courtyard with boisterous cheering and a lot of noise. Kirito quickly adjusted his audio settings before getting the heck outta there. Upon making his way through the crowd to a back alley, Kirito watched as the server became absolutely swarmed with droves of new players. All yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs in excitement.

"This could be a problem," he muttered to himself nervously. "How am I gonna find Asuna in this mess?"

At that moment, his message alert went off. Kirito beamed with excitement. It was from Asuna.

:: Omg, where are you?! ::

He quickly typed up a response on his holographic keyboard.

:: I ducked into an alley east of the central courtyard. Too many people! O-O ::

:: Are you okay? As soon as I saw the server blow up I started panicking! ::

Kirito smiled upon noting the concern in her message. For some reason it always made him blush when Asuna worried for him like that.

:: I'm fine, Asuna. My audio is turned way down. Still probably gonna stick to the backstreets for now. ::

:: Same! My God, I knew it would be different from Beta but this is a circus! ::

He quirked his brow in confusion before typing a response.

:: Aren't circuses supposed to be fun? ::

:: Lol! I'll explain later. Meet me at the weapons and armor shop, okay? ::

:: Okay, I'll see you there. ^^ ::

:: We made it, Kirito! We're finally back! ::

His heart soared, whereupon Kirito typed out his response.

:: Our adventure finally begins. ::

---

Asuna should have known it would be this chaotic. The Town of Beginning's streets were flooded with thousands of players exploring the shops, buying their gear, and forming parties. Over a few yards away, a blonde teen was flirting with a young looking brunette in a pink mini-skirt.

"Why don't we form a party together?" he asked with a slick grin plastered on his face.

She giggled playfully before swaying from side to side a little. "Well...I don't know. Maybe."

Asuna narrowed her eyes at the display, whereupon she opened her menu and brought up both character's player information, just like how Diavel showed her. Upon checking out their profiles, her eyes went wide and she cupped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Those two were in for a rude awakening when they eventually figured out their gender and age were public information.

That wasn't a girl and he wasn't sixteen.

"Freaking catfish," she muttered to herself while shaking her head.

"Asuna!"

A familiar voice caught her ears, but it wasn't Kirito. Asuna turned around to see a familiar emerald haired woman waving excitedly at her. A beaming smile formed on her face whereupon she began dancing on her toes with giddiness.

"Ahhhh!" Asuna squealed happily before running straight into Merida's arms.

The two friends embraced each other before jumping up and down happily. Two months of text messaging and emails had simultaneously brought these two closer together and made them all the more eager to see each other again. It was hard not to be just slightly emotional about it, given how long they'd both been waiting for this.

"Oh my God, Merida, it is so good to see you again!" Asuna beamed happily.

"It's so good to see you too, Asuna," Merida assured, just as happy as she was.

"Where's your husband?" she asked curiously while looking over her shoulder.

"Over here!"

Gatrie waved while jogging up to them. At which point Asuna let Merida go and hugged him next.

"Good to see you, big guy. Life been treating you well?"

He nodded. "It's a lot better now that I'm back where I belong."

"In Aincrad?"

Gatrie shook his head and smiled lovingly at Merida. "With my wife."

She took a breath and turned away before fanning her eyes furiously. "Darling, please. I just stopped crying."

He chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, babe. I can't help but get a little sappy. You know how much I've missed you."

Merida sniffled a few times, trying and failing to reign it under control, before finally breaking down and hugging them both. "Oh dammit, there I go again. I just missed you both so much!"

They took a moment to let the emotions pass before Gatrie finally spoke up again.

"So where's Kirito? We thought for sure he'd be with you."

Asuna sighed wearily. "We got separated by the crowd. As soon as the server went up he had to duck into an alley to avoid getting overwhelmed."

"Oh bless him," Merida pouted somewhat for Kirito. "I hope that poor boy is okay."

"He'll be fine," Gatrie assured. "Kirito knows these streets better than the three of us combined."

"Still, I'd rather not make him wait longer than I have to," Asuna insisted. "We agreed to meet by the weapons and armor shop."

Merida nodded in understanding. "We'll come with you."

"You sure?" Asuna asked. "We're supposed to meet up with some of Kirito's gaming buddies and show them the ropes. If you'd rather find the rest of the group, I'll be okay with that."

She shook her head assuredly. "Argo and Pitohui are off doing their own thing, Chrys is with Coper, and I believe Diavel is hanging out with some IRL friends."

"There's no rush getting the group together," Gatrie insisted before wrapping his arm around his wife and pulling her in close. "Now that we're back in Aincrad, we've got all the time in the world."

Asuna smiled and closed her eyes, happiness welling up inside of her. Gatrie really hit the nail on the head. There was finally time. Time enough to build a life away from reality.

---

It took longer than she cared to admit, but Asuna finally managed to navigate the tangled mess of alleys and back streets that lead to the training grounds. As they got further and further off the beaten path, the hordes of babyfaced players slowly began to die down. Eventually, they reached the weapons and armor shop, where Kirito was waiting happily alongside four other players she didn't recognize.

"Kirito!" Merida was the first to speak up, rushing up to the Black Swordsman and hugging him tightly.

"It's good to see you, Merida," he responded happily while returning her embrace.

"Have you been okay?" she asked sincerely while smiling up at him. "Asuna kept me up to date. It sounds like your last few months at school went by alright."

He nodded. "School was okay. The last two months haven't been as hard as I thought they would be."

"So how does it feel to finally be a highschool graduate?" Gatrie asked playfully while nudging him with his elbow.

Kirito chuckled at him in response. "I'm more relieved to be done than anything."

"I'll second that," Asuna spoke up before giving Kazuto a warm hug. "Sorry that took so long. But as you can see, I bumped into some friends along the way."

He beamed excitedly. "So did I!"

It was then Asuna finally turned her attention to the four strangers at Kirito's back. They still seemed to be in awe of the world they'd been thrust into, not that Asuna could blame them. She still remembered how gobsmacked she must have looked wandering around the Town of Beginnings for the first time.

"Dude...this whole city is insane," one of the players murmured to his neighbor while taking in the sights.

"This blows anything Dragonquest 2 can make out of the water," another commented while practically dancing with giddiness.

"Guys, focus up," the one in front of them insisted. "We're in the presence of Beta Testers."

Of the four players staring slack jawed at the world of Aincrad, it was the one seemingly leading the bunch that initially garnered Asuna's attention. His avatar had long red hair and wore a bandanna over his forehead. The garments he wore were clearly inspired by Japanese culture and gave him the appearance of a wandering bandit or a rhonin.

"Everyone, this is Klein," Kirito introduced. "He's a friend I met through online gaming."

Asuna narrowed her eyes curiously at the player named Klein, who scratched the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly.

"It's nice to meet you, Klein," Merida was the first to speak up. "My name is Merida and this is my husband Gatrie."

"Yo," he waved at them nonchalantly.

"Nice to meet you both," Klein responded chipperly. "These are my bros. Dale, Harry, and Kunimittz."

All three of them waved in greeting.

"So if you don't mind me asking, are all of you seriously Beta Testers?"

Merida and Gatrie both looked at each other in surprise before turning back to them.

"We are, but how did you know that?" Gatrie asked.

"Well, you're friends with Kirito so I just sort of assumed," Klein admitted frankly.

He shrugged. "Eh, fair enough."

"This is Asuna," Kirito continued. "She's my IRL friend I was telling you about, Klein."

"Hey, any pal of Kirito's is a friend of mine," he assured in that same lackadaisical voice.

"I was just on my way here when we bumped into each other," Kirito explained brightly. "Klein seemed a little lost, so I figured we would help him get started, Asuna."

He chuckled at that. "Give me some credit, Kirito. I may be a newbie but I'm not special."

An incredibly uncomfortable silence followed. Merida placed a hand up to her mouth and her eyes grew big. Gatrie visibly cringed before turning his gaze away. Meanwhile, Asuna's glare turned icey and a dark aura began to waft off of her.

"Yeah...I guess you're not," Kirito admitted, sounding a little uncomfortable.

"So how exactly do you know Kirito again?" Asuna spoke up, her arms folded, a hint of suspicion in her voice.

At that Klein beamed excitedly. "Are you kidding? Kirito and I go way back. He used to run in my guild back when we were still playing Dragonquest 2."

"Klein was actually a very strong leader," Kirito explained, his smile returning. "His guild, Fuurinkazan, was always at the top of the leaderboards for PVP events and world achievements."

"Now thanks to our good buddy Kirito here, we've expanded into the world of SAO," he declared boisterously.

She quirked a brow at him, her lips forming a slightly judgemental pout. "So I've heard...Kirito, isn't this the guy you gave away your other copies of SAO to?"

He nodded, looking somewhat perplexed as to why Asuna was glaring at Klein. "Yeah, that's right. I know I've mentioned Klein at least a couple of times to you."

"Right...and didn't you also buy NerveGear for him and his friends?"

"Wait, what?" Merida sounded a little bit surprised by her words.

"I did," he confirmed.

"And are all these people your friends as well?" she went on to ask.

Kirito frowned awkwardly and turned his head away. "Well...I don't know the others that well, but Klein is a good friend of mine."

Asuna's glare turned a bit colder. First impressions aside, she had something of a bone to pick with this guy. The fact that he let Kirito buy him not just his NerveGear but also three other sets for his guildmates did not sit well with her at all. It was one thing for Kirito to spend money on his friends, but Klein had no business letting him pay for the rest of his chums as far as she was concerned. Whether he offered to do it himself or not.

"Yeah, I was honestly touched when Kazuto offered to pay for our rigs," Klein spoke up before going to pat him on the back. "But the two of us have been thick as thieves online, haven't we?"

"Don't touch his back," Asuna spoke up sharply.

He quickly pulled his hand away and ran it through his hair again. "Oh uhhh...hehe...sorry."

Kirito looked between Klein, then Asuna, then back to Klein again. A look of confusion plastered on his face.

"Kirito, why don't you help me and Gatrie pick out our gear?" Merida suddenly offered, immediately sensing where Asuna's head was at. "I could use your opinion on a new loadout I was thinking about trying."

He nodded in understanding. "Okay. Asuna, you coming?"

She smiled back at him sweetly. "I'll be there in just a second, Kirito. I'd just like to properly introduce myself to your friend first."

He still looked a little confused. "Well alright then."

Klein frowned thoughtfully at Asuna before gesturing with his head towards the Armor and Weapons shop. "Hey guys, go with Kirito. I'll uhh...make introductions."

Dale and the others all looked just as perplexed as Klein was at that moment, but otherwise followed the others into the shop. Once they were gone, he turned his attention back to Asuna.

"So...are we cool?" he asked somewhat nervously.

She gestured for him to follow. "I need a word with you. In private."

---

Klein followed Asuna to an alley away from the shop, during which time neither player said a word to the other. Finally, it was Klein who broke the tension.

"Alright, so I'm sensing a bit of hostility here, do we know each other?"

Asuna stopped walking and sighed before turning around and folding her arms. "No, we've never met."

"So then what gives?"

"Let me ask you, how long have you known Kirito?"

Klein thought back for a moment before resting his hands on the back of his head nonchalantly and shrugging. "I don't know, it's been at least a couple years. Why do you ask?"

"Are you aware he has autism?" she asked sternly.

He frowned thoughtfully while scratching his stubbly chin. "Come to think of it, I think he did mention something about a condition, or whatever. But I mean, he's always seemed pretty normal to me. A bit on the shy side, but other than that Kirito's a pretty chill dude."

She groaned wearily. "Okay, be honest, do you even know what autism is?"

"Is that the one where you can't look at bright flashy lights?"

Asuna rubbed the bridge of her nose to relieve the pressure building up. "No, that's epilepsy. Okay, so you're telling me you genuinely don't have a clue what it is?"

He laughed awkwardly. "I uhhh...I guess not."

She put her hands on her hips and glared at him judgingly. "Look, I have to be honest, as far as first impressions go, you're not exactly batting a thousand. It's clear to me you don't know Kirito nearly as well as you seem to think you do."

"I know my buddies well enough," he insisted, sounding a little offended. "Sure, Kirito's a quiet guy, but he's always just been a part of the gang around us."

Asuna shook her head vehemently. "You only think that way because you've never interacted with him in person before. It's completely different when you're not just chatting online."

"How do you figure?"

She placed a hand against her chest. "I know him in real life. I know how his condition works. It's not something you can pick up from behind a computer screen. The only way you see the real Kirito is by interacting with him in person."

Klein chuckled at that. "I don't think you give my man nearly enough credit. Sure, I might not know what autism is, but I've been hanging with Kirito for a good long while. He's smart. Ridiculously smart. And I don't think…"

"I'm not disputing that," she quickly cut him off while raising a hand in front of her. "Trust me, I know how incredibly gifted Kirito is. His condition has nothing to do with intellect. It's a complex developmental disability that affects communication, behavior, and social awareness."

"Kirito's always communicated really well with us," he argued. "And I haven't noticed any behavior or social problems."

"Because you haven't really…" she stopped herself from raising her voice and took a breath to calm down before continuing. "...look, I don't have the time or the energy to explain all this to you, so for now I just need you to understand this. That boy is precious to me, and he's precious to his friends. And I can't have you taking advantage of him."

"Woah woah woah, back up," Klein raised his hands up in front of him, sounding a little offended. "Now I resent that. I would never take advantage of a friend. Especially someone who's been as good a friend as Kirito has."

His words made her pause. Asuna seemed to consider him differently for a moment before narrowing her eyes again. "Do you really mean that?"

He nodded confidently. "I don't dog on my friends. And I sure as hell don't take advantage of them either." Klein placed a fist up to his chest. "Where I come from, loyalty is law. That was one of the founding tenets of my guild. No matter what, you look after your friends and you watch each other's backs."

"So then why would you let Kirito spend a fortune buying all those NerveGear rigs?" she challenged. "Don't you realize how much money he's spent on you?"

At that, Klein turned his head away guiltily.

"I want to believe what you say, Klein. But the fact is, even if you didn't know about his autism, you should have known it wasn't okay to just let him…"

"I never wanted him to do that," he admitted quietly.

Asuna seemed genuinely shocked by his words. "Wait...you didn't?"

Klein sighed in a melancholy tone. "The boys and I were just shooting the shit one day when Kirito hopped onto our gaming channel. We happened to be talking about SAO and he mentioned he was a programmer for the game." He smiled at the memory. "Man...we just thought that was the sickest thing. Like, one of our guild members, one of our own, was working on the world's first VRMMORPG." He chuckled at one particular thought. "Not only that, but this lucky bastard was gonna get to play it before it even came out. Like...we were all so jealous."

She nodded in understanding. "I can see that."

"But at the same time, we just loved hearing about everything he was doing," he continued. "Kirito would tell us all about the game and what he was working on, it was great." His smile slowly faded. "And then one day Dale mentioned how he'd give anything to play the game, but there was no way he could ever afford it. Kirito...offered to pay for his rig right then and there."

"Hold on, he offered to pay for his rig before yours?"

He smiled and nodded. "I pulled him into a private chat and explained that probably wasn't appropriate. Dale is one of my closest friends IRL, but Kirito didn't know him nearly well enough for me to be comfortable letting that happen. Well, we got to talking, and come to find out he had five reserved copies of SAO to his name to give out to family and friends. And since no one in his family were gamers…"

Asuna finally smiled at him. "He was going to give you one."

"Not just me. All my IRL friends too. It was...the nicest thing anyone's ever offered to do for me."

Asuna was a little surprised by what she was seeing. Klein started to tear up. He didn't break down crying but it was clear he was getting legitimately emotional over this. Maybe she had this guy pegged wrong.

"Sorry…" He sniffed before wiping his eyes dry. "I know this isn't a great look for a guy my age." Klein finally smiled. "I just can't help but be a little emotional about it. We never asked him to do that for us, but thanks to Kirito my friends and I get to experience SAO for ourselves."

"I understand how that feels," she assured.

"I promise you, Asuna, we weren't trying to take advantage of Kirito. I even offered to reimburse him when I got the funds together but he insisted it was okay."

She nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like Kirito alright."

"If he has a condition I need to know about, then please by all means tell me," Klein insisted. "My buddies and I may be a bit clueless but we're all good guys, I promise."

After taking a moment to think, Asuna finally sighed and offered him a hand in truce. "Sorry for going into this so hot blooded. I get a little protective when it comes to Kirito."

"Hey, it's no sweat," Klein assured, his cheerful, aloof demeanor finally returning as they shook hands. "Honestly, I think Kirito is one hell of a lucky guy."

She quirked her head curiously. "How do you figure?"

He chuckled awkwardly before scratching the back of his head. "Well, I know if I had a girlfriend who cared about me half as much as you seem to care about Kirito, I could die a happy man."

At that she turned her gaze away and blushed fiercely. "Oh, I'm...not his girlfriend."

Klein seemed a little surprised by that. "Wait, really? I guess I just sort of assumed by the way you were getting so huffy a second ago."

"Wh...I was not huffy!" she insisted indignantly, her face turning redder.

He responded with a knowing grin. "You definitely got a little huffy."

Asuna crossed her arms and stuck her nose up in the air defiantly. "I was just concerned, is all. Kirito is a dear friend to me."

Klein chuckled at her in amusement and shrugged. "Hey, if you say so." He then added with an amorous look in his eyes. "So...if he's not your boyfriend, does that make you available? Cause I'll be honest, avatar or no avatar, I can't remember the last time I met a woman quite as hot as you."

The blood vessels in her forehead bulged and her left eyebrow began to twitch dangerously. Without warning, Asuna clenched her fist, which began to glow bright red, whereupon she struck Klein square in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him as well as a small sliver of his health bar.

"Okay…" he whispered breathlessly while keeled over and clutching his stomach. "...message received."

Asuna placed her hands on her hips and glared at him again. "Listen, we need to go over some ground rules so long as you're going to be in a party with Kirito. Firstly, I don't want to ever hear you or any of your friends use the word special in that context ever again. Secondly…"

As she began to list off rules, Klein continued to stare in bewilderment while clutching his wounded stomach. Slowly, a smile started to form over his face. This Asuna chick sure was one hell of a firebrand, that was for sure. Honestly, it just made her even more attractive. That passion in her voice, the sharp confident look in her eyes, in combination with her gorgeously long hair and stunning figure, was really something else.

Man...Kirito really is one lucky sonofabitch.

---

Klein and Asuna eventually came to an understanding and rejoined the others back in the shop. Gatrie and Merida had just finished buying their loadout consisting of basic starting weapons and armor. Meanwhile, Kirito was guiding Klein's friends through the various weapon options. Upon seeing Asuna rejoin them, Merida smiled at her before nudging her husband and walking over.

"Everything okay?"

Asuna nodded assuredly. "I just wanted to give our new friend here the rundown regarding our resident Black Swordsman."

Merida considered Klein a little more thoughtfully. "I trust the conversation was...enlightening?"

He laughed awkwardly. "Ehehe...very."

At that, she smiled at him approvingly and nodded. "Well I hope we didn't scare you too bad. I promise this is a very inclusive group. We're all friends here."

"Glad to hear it," he responded chipperly.

"Welcome aboard, Klein," Gatrie declared boisterously before slapping him on the back. "Now that you're a part of the group, I have just one very important question for you."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

He gave him a sly grin. "How do you feel about heavy plate?"

Merida giggled at him. "Now now, Honey. Let the man make his own choices."

Gatrie laughed thunderously. "What's wrong with making a few suggestions? Maybe he wants to be a heavy plate user. In which case, I can heartily endorse the tanky lifestyle."

She rolled her eyes at him before turning back to Klein. "You'll have to forgive him. My hubby has a bit of a one track mind when it comes to armor." She fluttered her lashes at him. "Among other things."

"I hope you're talking about you," he insisted flirtatiously before pulling her in close.

"I might be," she responded just as suggestively.

The two lovers kissed passionately to which Klein nudged Asuna and whispered.

"Are they always like this?"

She chortled under her breath and nodded. "Actually, this is tame compared to how they usually act."

Klein considered the pair again a little more thoughtfully before directing his attention back to the rest of his group. Kirito was showing Dale, Harry, and Kunimitz how to select their weapons, all of whom were marveling at the sheer volume of options they had available.

"If you're looking for something a bit heavier I'd recommend a standard two-handed greatsword," Kirito spoke while holding up an iron greatsword and showing it to them. "Go ahead, try it out."

Dale gingerly took the weapon from Kirito's hands, a look of astonishment in his eyes. "It's way lighter than I thought it would be."

He nodded. "These are just starting weapons, so you'll be able to use any one of them though some might be trickier to master than others." A thought occurred to him and his gaze fell on Asuna. "Just...be careful picking up the bigger stuff. If we break something in here, the guards won't be happy."

She cleared her throat awkwardly and turned away before muttering quietly to herself. "Not sure why he felt the need to look at me when he said that."

"Dude, this is so sick!" Dale was absolutely giddy with excitement as he held the massive sword in his hands. "You can really feel the power in this thing."

"Hey, Kirito. Help me pick something out too," Klein asked while walking back over to his group.

Asuna smiled at them. Though she was still a little wary of Klein and his friends, seeing their excitement brought back fond memories of the time they spent together in Beta. More than anything, though, it was just nice to see Kirito in his element again.

"So what do you guys think?" Klein asked while holding up two different swords. "I'm thinking either a talwar or a nodachi for my first weapon but I can't make up my mind."

"Those are both slashing type weapons with about the same crit rate," Kirito explained. "While the nodachi is a bit longer, the talwar does a bit more damage."

"So range versus damage. Hmmm…" He seemed to weigh his options, his gaze shifting from one to the other.

"You should go with whichever you think fits you best," Kirito suggested.

"What do you guys think? Harry, you know a bit about swords right? Which should I go with?"

His buddy Harry cleared his throat and spoke up. "Well, the talwar is of Indian descent while the nodachi is Japanese. While both are primarily slashing weapons, the talwar was favored by cavalrymen while the nodachi was mostly used for dick measuring."

Kirito chuckled at that. "He's not wrong. Most katanas were more a sign of honor and status than they were useful in combat. They were typically only used as a last resort in battle."

"However, they were commonly used in duels between two samurai, and being skilled with a katana was a badge of high honor in Feudal Japan," Harry offered.

"Both weapons provide a good balance of pve and pvp ability, but the nodachi is more suited to one on one duels than the talwar is," Kirito added.

"Makes sense…" Klein finally seemed to come to a consensus before putting down the talwar. "Alright, I'm going with the katana then."

Kirito rolled his eyes. "If that's what you want."

"Alright, my turn!" Harry insisted before making his way over to a nearby display case. "Let's see…" He pointed at a large chain with a metal ball on one end and a sickle on the other. "How about that one? It looks pretty badass."

Kirito peered into the glass display case and frowned worriedly. "The kusarigama? Are you sure?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

"It's just...that's one of the single hardest weapons in the game to learn how to use," Kirito admitted.

"Errr…maybe you should listen to him, Harry," Kunimitz cautioned. "You've been known to be a little accident prone."

"Aww, come on. Give me some credit at least," he insisted indignantly. "I'm not some special needs kid, I got this."

Klein felt two sets of eyes on the back of his head giving off a particularly icy glare. Rather than turn around to confirm what he already knew, he instead looked over towards Kirito. Sure enough, his buddy's comment had clearly made him a little uncomfortable.

"Hey, guys? How about we try to lay off with all the "special needs' stuff, huh?"

His friends all turned and glared at him in confusion.

"What do you mean? We're just joking around, Klein."

He laughed nervously, still very aware of the chill of death that was forming behind him. "Yeah well...we should probably try to mind our manners while we're here. This isn't like Dragonquest, we don't have private discord servers anymore."

The three friends gave each other looks before shrugging.

"He's got a point," Kunimitz admitted.

"Eh, I don't see what the big deal is but if that's what you guys want I don't care either way," Harry added.

"We'll keep it clean, Boss. No worries," Dale assured.

He smiled at them approvingly and nodded. "Remember, we're trying to make Fuurinkazan a household name. We need to think about our public image. So let's try to keep it kosher, yeah?"

Harry groaned in weary resignation. "Yeah yeah, message received."

He breathed a sigh of relief before wiping the bead of sweat from his brow. Klein then turned around and smiled before giving Asuna the thumbs up. The aura of death she was giving off a second ago alongside Merida slowly turned into a wary smirk, whereupon she quietly nodded her head in approval. His buddies were in the clear, at least for now.

"Hey, think of it this way, Harry," Dale offered while patting him on the back. "When Bappo keeps his mouth shut, Bappo no flacko."

They all burst into a fit of laughter. Even Kirito started laughing. Meanwhile, Asuna, Merida, and Gatrie all just looked confused.

"Hey! Hey! When Bappo wants Mexican for lunch, Bappo get taco," Harry declared.

Again they all laughed, with Kirito laughing the hardest of all.

"When Bappo go to work, Bappo no slacko," Klein stated.

They continued exchanging these strange quips with each other while Asuna and the others watched on in perplexment.

"Bappo no slacko?" Gatrie asked in confusion. "I don't get it."

"It must be an inside joke," Merida observed.

Kirito laughed again before speaking next. "When Bappo kills Beaters, Bappo no hacko."

"Bappo no hacko!" Kunimitz snorted for how hilarious he thought that one was.

"Nice one, Man," Klein offered before high fiving him.

Asuna's features finally softened into a warm smile. As protective as she was being of Kirito she had to admit he seemed to fit in well with his online friends. At the very least, they all seemed to share the same silly sense of humor. Still, when it came to inside jokes nothing would beat pan with feather as far as she was concerned.

"Well, we knew it would be different."

Asuna turned and looked at Merida who was watching Kirito with a smile on her face.

"Our little family just got a lot bigger, it seems."

"Argo was talking about that," Asuna mentioned while watching Kirito again. "She didn't seem thrilled by the prospect either."

Merida giggled in a bubbly voice before shaking her head. "We'll be fine. So long as we remember to look out for one another, it doesn't matter how large the guild grows."

Gaitrie wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in close. "As long as I have you, Darling, that's all I need."

Asuna chuckled at the display before considering the new group more thoughtfully. "I guess Kirito could have found worse friends. Especially Klein."

Merida nodded in agreement, getting nice and snugly in her husband's arms. "He seems to have a good head on his shoulders."

Asuna suddenly narrowed her eyes sharply.

"All the same, if those four don't mind what they say around him, then Bappo gonna get slappo."

---

Klein was knocked flat onto his butt for what had to be the tenth time in a row by the level one boar that had been released from its pen. After successfully outfitting everyone with weapons and armor, the group made their way to the training ground to receive their free lesson from the Weapon's Master. This gave the Beta Testers a chance to work out some of the rust they'd acquired during their brief hiatus, while giving the newbies an opportunity to learn more about the combat system. Merida, Gatrie, Asuna, and Kirito had all already gone, each having earned their regal weapons from beating Master Piandao. Now it was Kleins turn, but so far he hadn't exactly been able to get the hang of things.

"Maybe you shouldn't have gone with a katana," Kirito offered.

"What the hell is wrong with katanas?!" Klein griped indignantly while slowly lurching back up.

"A lot, actually," Kirito insisted before gripping the hilt of his regal broadsword. "Longswords are better, trust me."

"Remember, the initial motion is the most important," the Weapons Master lectured while watching Klein struggle against the boar.

"Initial motion?" Klein sounded unsure as he readied his blade again.

He attacked the boar only to be knocked backwards yet again, causing Asuna to visibly wince this time. That one just looked painful.

"Man...you're really not that good with that thing," Kirito admitted kinda bluntly.

Gatrie, Dale, Harry, and Kunimitz all snickered despite themselves while Asuna and Merida sighed and shook their heads.

"You know…" Klein groaned in both pain and frustration while standing back up. "...you could be a little more constructive, Kirito."

He frowned in confusion before turning to Asuna. "Constructive?"

"He's using the word constructive in place of a word like positive or good natured," Asuna explained. "Constructive criticism is where you tell someone they need to improve in a kind way."

Kirito considered her words thoughtfully for a moment before turning back towards Klein.

"You are very good at not doing that correctly."

The boys all burst into hysterical laughter, Klein groaned in embarrassment, while Asuna and Merida both shook their heads at each other in exasperation.

"I don't get it. Was that not right?" Kirito asked, sounding a little discouraged.

"Not...exactly," Asuna admitted awkwardly before turning to Merida for support. "You wanna help me out here?"

Merida walked up to Kirito and took his hands in hers, looking him directly in the eye. "Instead of focusing solely on what he did wrong, try to find the things he did right as well as tell him where he needs to improve."

Kirito thought long and hard on everything he saw in Klein's form before finally letting go of Merida's hands and addressing his friend again.

"You don't hesitate when you strike," he offered. "And your footwork isn't bad. But you need to focus more on your stance and the position of your hands when you perform your initial motion."

"See, that's the part I think I'm getting hung up on," Klein explained. "What initial motion?"

"The one Piandao showed you earlier," Kirito answered. "The way you swing isn't nearly as important as that initial form."

"That's easy to say but the damn thing keeps moving," he insisted while trying to zero in on the boar.

Kirito picked up a stone and raised it over his head, whereupon it began to glow in his palm. "If you perform your initial motion correctly and activate the skill at the right time, the system will pretty much guarantee you'll hit your target."

He proceeded to toss the stone directly at the boar, landing a direct hit on its flank. The creature turned around and flared its nostrils angrily at Kirito before charging. Who drew his sword and easily blocked the attack.

"Here's another way to think of it. When you perform the initial motion, wait a second. You'll feel the skill activate, at which point...drive it home."

Klein narrowed his gaze and lowered himself back into a combat stance. "Okay...I think I'm getting what you're putting down."

After tousling with the boar for a moment, Kirito kicked it off towards Klein. As the boar came charging towards him, Klein shifted his feet and placed the blade in the position that Piandao had shown him. His katana began to glow, whereupon he did as instructed and just...drove it home.

With a single slash of the blade, Klein dashed forward, slicing clean through the boar's midsection in the process and achieving a critical hit. The enemy's health dropped to zero and it shattered into light.

"Woah…" Gatrie looked slightly surprised. "...that was a one hitter."

"Damn, Klein! You took it out in one shot," Dale exclaimed in amazement.

Having processed what he just did, Klein beamed excitedly before raising his fist in triumph. "Hell yeah! That's more like it!"

Kirito smiled and nodded his head approvingly. "That was way better, Klein. I think you're improving."

He snickered devilishly before giving Kirito the thumbs up. "Just you wait! I'm gonna change your mind about katanas."

At that, Kirito frowned. "Doubtful, but you're getting better at least."

"Heh…" Klein slung the blade over his shoulder. "Now that's what I call positive reinforcement."

That made him smile again. While Klein returned to his lesson with the Weapons Master, Kirito rejoined the rest of his friends.

"So, what do you think? Was that okay?"

Asuna beamed at him proudly and nodded. "You did wonderfully, Kirito."

He scratched his arm a little self-consciously. "I was only about eighty percent sure I used that idiom correctly. Drive it home. Did what I say make sense?"

"It was perfect," Merida assured, offering him praise as well. "Your language skills are really coming along, Kirito."

He beamed happily at that. "Well in that case, I'm gonna keep giving Klein constructive criticism. It seems to really be helping his form."

Asuna chuckled at him and nodded. "Go ahead, Kirito."

He left. At which point both Asuna and Merida both looked at each other, their hearts melting simultaneously.

"God, I had almost forgotten just how precious that boy is," Merida insisted.

"I know right?"

While the girls continued to speak at length with each other, the rest of Klein's group watched on curiously. At which point Dale nudged Gatrie, grabbing his attention.

"Hey, Gatrie. You were a Beta Tester with Kirito, right?"

"Uhh…yeah? Why?"

"What's his deal?" Harry asked curiously. "Klein says he has some sort of mental thing or whatever. Is that why he acts the way he does?"

He nodded. "Kirito has autism. I don't know a whole lot about it myself. You'd have to ask Asuna or my wife if you want to know more."

"Your best bet is to do your own research," Asuna insisted, having tuned into the conversation. "There are several good books I can recommend if you're interested."

"Uhh...maybe just the cliffnotes?" Kunimitz asked.

Asuna sighed wearily. "Look, autism isn't something you can just sum up in a few words. It's a huge spectrum of disorders that affects things like behavior and ability to interact with other people."

"Are you sure he has something like that?" Harry sounded skeptical.

Dale nodded in agreement. "Kirito's never shown us anything like that before. Not as long as we've known him."

"That's because he was probably masking," Asuna explained.

Merida gave her a curious look. "Wait, I don't think I've heard of this."

She nodded in understanding. "I just learned about it not too long ago. Some people with autism who are considered high functioning can actually hide some or even all of their autistic traits under the right circumstances."

"That makes sense," Gatrie admitted while scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I mean...we were all pretty much clueless about it until you opened our eyes, Asuna."

"The thing is, Kirito is something of a unique case," she continued to explain. "He has a lot of trouble masking IRL, but in Aincrad? He can mask so well you'd look at him and potentially never know he was autistic."

"Out of curiosity, how different is it interacting with Kirito outside of Aincrad?" Merida asked gently.

Asuna frowned thoughtfully at that. "Merida, I cannot even begin to describe just how jarring the change is. In here, it's almost like he's an entirely different person."

She sighed woefully at that and turned her gaze back towards Kirito. "That poor boy. I just hope the larger player base isn't too overwhelming for him."

"Hey, ten thousand players isn't that much of a difference," Gatrie offered. "Sure it may seem like a lot. But Aincrad is huge! I bet once things settle down and the newbies start to disperse, it'll feel just like the good ole days again."

Merida giggled at him. "That's a good point, Baby. I didn't think about it like that."

"Still, we need to keep an eye on him," Asuna insisted before adding with a smirk. "After all, very soon those ten thousand players are going to be calling him your Majesty."

Harry gave her a confused look. "Wait, what do you mean?"

She gestured towards Kirito, who was at that moment coaching Klein through the obstacle course. "That boy is going to be Aincrad's first king."

"Oh shit, this game lets you be king?" Kunimitz asked, sounding fairly intrigued by the idea.

Asuna nodded. "Sure does. That's the whole objective of our guild, actually. As the Knights of the Black Oath, we're all trying to reach the top of the castle and claim the Throne of Aincrad for Kirito so he can be king."

"Dude, that's so sick!" Harry declared.

Dale nodded in agreement enthusiastically. "Can you imagine what a boost in popularity our guild would get if we pulled something like that off?"

"We should form an alliance!" he insisted excitedly. "Fuurinkazan and the Knights of the Black Oath could work together to get Kirito to the top of the castle."

Asuna quirked a brow at them before turning back to Merida and grinning. "What do you think? Should we form an alliance with the samurai guild?"

Merida snickered before offering a playful grin of her own. "I don't know. We may need to run it by Diavel first."

"We could always put in a good word for them," Gatrie offered.

Asuna nodded in agreement. "We could." She then turned her gaze back to the three new players. "That is, if they prove they've got what it takes to party up with us."

Kunimitz returned her grin with one of his own. "Heh, that sounds like a challenge to me."

"Just you wait," Dale insisted. "We're gonna show you Beta Testers and the rest of Aincrad just what Fuurinkazan is made of."

She chuckled in amusement at that and placed her hands on her hips. "Well okay then. I tell you what, once we're out of the training grounds, Kirito and I will take you out into the wilds and put you newbies through the paces. Sound good?"

"Challenge accepted!" Harry declared.

Kunimitz nodded in agreement. "Bring it. We'll show you just what we can do."

As the four of them went back and forth in a similar manner, Merida and Gatrie couldn't help but smile at Asuna. Admiration present in their eyes.

"You know something? As great a King as Kirito is gonna make, Asuna sure would make one killer Queen as well."

Merida nodded in agreement. "I was just thinking the exact same thing."

---

After everyone took a turn in the training ground, Kirito, Asuna, and the rest of the party completed the Swarm of Troubles quest as a group before making their way out of the Town of Beginnings to put the new players through the paces and give them some experience out in the wilds of the First Floor. When Asuna expressed to Kirito her desire to give the members of Fuurinkazan a challenge, the Black Swordsman had the perfect idea.

They were going to run a Dungeon together.

West of the Town of Beginnings was the village of Moonbrook. Once a small little farming town, the village of Moonbrook was now overrun by the Defias Gang. A dangerous group of bandits, footpads, and thugs led by the notorious Edwin Vancleef. According to Kirito this town acted as one of the first bandit havens available for orange and red players, where player killing tools could be crafted, and new skills were learned for the dark art of PKing. Though considering the bandits who made up the Defias Brotherhood were all extremely low level, it wasn't really the best option for low level player killers. The safer havens required access to higher floors, as this discouraged new players from PKing too early in the game so they could focus more on PVE and adjusting to the environment.

This made the village of Moonbrook a great spot for raiding by green players. Not only that, but bordering on the town of Moonbrook was the game's lowest level Dungeon, known as the Deadmines. A series of expansive winding tunnels dug out under the town that extended eastwards back towards the Town of Beginnings. It was said that there was a secret entrance into the Town of Beginnings that could be found within this mine, accessible only to high level orange and red players.

The Deadmines were the center of the Defias operation, led by Edwin VanCleef, who was said to be constructing a juggernaut at the bottom of the mines with the aid of a clan of goblins in the hopes of invading the Town of Beginnings. As the future King of Aincrad, Kirito was determined to stop these brigands, and enlisted the help of the Lightning Flash Asuna, Gatrie the Iron Wall, the beautiful and kind hearted Merida, as well as the ambitious members of the guild Fuurinkazan to make this a reality.

"So what's the dungeon scene like in this game, Kirito?" Klein asked as the group made their way down a dirt trodden path towards the objective.

"It's a lot like Dragonquest 2. Dungeons follow a similar layout of trash mobs, broken up by elite bosses with uncommon to rare loot drops," Kirito explained. "At the end of which is a main boss with a guaranteed rare drop. There's also a ten percent chance of an epic drop with the final boss."

"Ten percent?" Klein seemed to perk up at that. "Interesting. In Dragonquest it was only five."

"That's to compensate for the last attack bonus," he responded.

"Right, now explain that to me again?" Klein requested. "That's this game's version of loot drop mechanics right?"

Kirito nodded. "Aincrad places are far greater emphasis on crafted gear than loot drops. Every player is guaranteed an uncommon drop after defeating the last boss. But rare and epic items only go to the player who scores the last attack on the boss."

"So there's a bit of competition for the good drops, huh? Niiiice."

"Do all weapons and gear have a limited durability?" Dale asked curiously. "Or just the common stuff?"

"Everything below Artifact Level gear is breakable," Kirito explained. "Aincrad uses a standard gear ranking system of gray, white, green, dark blue, purple, orange, and then light blue."

"Oh, oh! I actually don't know about this!" Asuna spoke up brightly. "What do those colors mean?"

Kirito smiled back at Asuna. "It's basically a ranking system for how rare your gear is. All items found in the game are given a quality rating that is defined by their corresponding text color."

"It's common in most MMOs," Klein continued. "For weapons and equipment, the quality of the item in question determines the level of stat bonuses the item has to offer."

He nodded at Klein's words. "In the case of Aincrad, gray items are poor quality. White items are common. Green is uncommon. Dark blue is rare. Purple is epic. Orange is legendary. And light blue is reserved for Artifact Gear."

"Gray items are basically junk," Gatrie spoke up. "Seriously, don't bother with those. They're good for nothing but selling off for a few copper coins."

"Now hold on, Darling. That's not necessarily true," Merida insisted sweetly. "Poor quality gear can be recycled, after all. And the base material you receive can be used to create better quality weapons and armor."

Gatrie chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "Oh right. I forgot about that."

"White items are the most common in the game," she continued. "For instance, our starting armor is all composed of common gear. Most shops only sell common gear as well."

"What about my Regal Rapier?" Asuna asked next.

"That's an uncommon item," Kirito answered. "If you look at the item information, you'll see the name text is green, which indicates its status as a superior blade to the starting weapon."

"Well you don't have to keep rubbing it in," Dale grumbled as he considered his basic starting great-sword.

"Rare items are most commonly found as loot drops or in treasure chests," he continued. "But experienced Artisan Players can also craft rare gear with the right materials."

"So what about the other rankings?" Asuna asked. "Epic, legendary, and...what was the third one?"

"Artifact Gear," Kirito explained. "Those three categories work a little differently from lower quality gear as they're all percentage based as opposed to level based."

Klein perked up at that. "Now that's interesting. So rare gear in this game is more akin to heirlooms, huh?"

He nodded in confirmation. "Pretty much. Everything above rare gear will level up alongside you as you play."

"So what does that mean?" Asuna asked.

"Basically, it means that the stats of epic, legendary, and Artifact Gear will all increase as you level up," Merida explained. "Meaning you won't have to replace it as quickly as you would more common items."

"Epic gear offers lower percentage bonuses than legendary and has lower durability. That said, they're both much harder to come by," Kirito insisted. "The only time you're guaranteed an epic item is after certain rare boss fights, completing specific extremely tough quests, or as the last attack bonus of a floor boss. Legendary gear is even harder to find. You only have a ten percent chance of legendary items dropping on a floor boss."

"Can Artisan Players craft epic and legendary gear?"

"They can, but it's incredibly hard," Kirito admitted. "Skills and level aside, you have to have the right materials and acquiring them is no easy feat. Only Master Artisan Players with access to top tier resources can craft those kinds of items."

"Tell me more about these Artifact Items, Kirito," Klein requested. "What makes them special?"

Kirito considered his question more thoughtfully for a moment. "Artifact Items are special. They have percentage based stats comparable to that of legendary or epic gear but with one major difference."

"Which is?" Asuna asked curiously.

"They're immortal objects," he responded candidly. "Artifact Weapons and Gear do not lose durability, meaning they'll never break and require no upkeep or repairs."

"Now that sounds like it could come in handy," Klein responded.

"I can only imagine what you have to go through to get your hands on one of those though," Asuna added.

"It's not easy," Kirito assured. "For one, Artifact Weapons can't be crafted or duplicated. They only drop in very specific locations and whoever gets them has the only one that will exist on the server."

"So every Artifact Weapon is unique?" Gatrie observed. "That's pretty cool."

"Where do you get them from?" was naturally Asuna's next question.

Kirito frowned thoughtfully at that. "Honestly? I don't know. Every floor has at least one Artifact Item on it, but some floors have multiple Artifacts. Supposedly, they're entombed in what's known as a Treasure Crypt, or at least, that's the name I saw in the coding."

"Sounds ominous," Merida admitted.

He nodded in agreement. "The entrances to these crypts are hidden, even I don't know exactly where they are or what all is in them. But given just how powerful Artifact Items are, I have to imagine they're heavily guarded. It's likely the monster guarding that treasure will be even stronger than the floor boss."

"Still, it might be worth it for a powerful piece of gear that never breaks," Klein insisted.

"There's a major caveat to owning an Artifact Item, however," he warned. "Artifact Items cannot be sold or traded. They're bound to whichever player comes to possess them and if they die, regardless of whether they have the item equipped or not, they lose it."

Gatrie stopped walking and glared at Kirito in disbelief. "Woah, time out. So if you die you lose the artifact?"

He nodded.

"What happens to it then?" Asuna asked.

"They return to the place from which they came," he admitted frankly. "Sealed back in the tomb they were exhumed from."

Klein shook his head at that. "Man, that's brutal. Imagine going through all that effort just to screw up and lose your best weapon or chestplate or something."

"It makes sense though if you think about it," Asuna retorted. "This way, only the strongest and most skilled players get to use them."

Gatrie chuckled at that. "Well if that's the case then Kirito will likely be covered in them by the time he reaches the Throne of Aincrad."

Merida giggled at that and nodded in agreement. "I can just see it now. Our almighty King covered in powerful Artifact Gear. You'll look incredible, Kirito."

He turned his head away and blushed at their words. "There's only one Artifact I really want."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Asuna asked him sweetly.

Kirito turned his gaze up towards the sky. "I want my sword back."

At that, Asuna stopped and gave him a curious look. "You mean the sword you were using as a Beta Tester."

"Oh yeah!" Gatrie exclaimed excitedly. "Dude, that thing was badass. You totally need to get it back."

He nodded in agreement, determination in his eyes. "I will get it back. Me and that weapon have a lot of history and the fact I can't use it anymore irritates me."

Asuna frowned at him in concern. "I'm sorry you lost it, Kirito. But if it's any consolation I'll help you get it back as soon as we find it."

Kirito smiled at her gratefully. "I really appreciate that, Asuna. Don't worry, I'll find it again no matter what."

"It was such a pretty weapon," Merida admitted. "That pitch black blade and ornate grip." She turned towards Kirito with her next question. "What was the name of it again?"

He came to a stop, his gaze cast upon the ground thoughtfully.

"The Elucidator."

The party gazed upon the Black Swordsman curiously. It was impossible to tell what their leader was thinking at that point.

"Dr. Kayaba gave it to me so I could protect this world from Beaters," he insisted. "That blade...freed me. It gave me power when I didn't have any. It gave me a voice when it felt like I had none. But more than that, it helped me secure my legacy as the Black Swordsman. Without it, I'm not complete, and I will get it back."

Asuna smiled at him and gently placed a hand on his bicep. "You will, I'm sure of it."

"Though that could take awhile," Gatrie admitted frankly. "I mean, we don't have a clue where it is."

At that, Kirito finally smiled. "Dr. Kayaba refused to tell me exactly where it is, but he gave me a hint."

They all perked up in intrigue at his next words.

"It will be waiting for you on Floor Fifty. Those were his words to me."

---

In order to enter the Deadmines, Kirito's party needed to complete a quest line that would take them the better part of the day. They began their journey at Sentinel Hill. An old tower where Imperial Rangers had set up a base of operations. There they received their first quest to kill the Defias messenger patrolling along the path between Sentinel Hill and Moonbrook. Upon eliminating the Defias messenger, they retrieved the quest item confidential documents which they immediately returned to the quest giver, where they then learned that there was a traitor amongst the Defias ranks.

Their next mission was simple: sneak into the ranks of the Defias using a unique quest item known as Defias gear, and establish contact with the traitor. Once done, he would show them the entrance to the Deadmines, whereupon they could unlock the instance and teleport there at will should they ever desire to run it again. Once inside, they would kill the Defias leader, Edwin Vancleef, and bring his head back to the Rangers at Sentinel Hill, gaining new levels, as well as boosting several key skills including sneaking, detection, and listening to name but a few.

As the group made their way through the small town of Moonbrook, now disguised as members of the Defias gang, Asuna couldn't help but feel giddy as she recalled the time she snuck through the streets of Urubus with Kirito as a wanted fugitive. Though the predicament they were in now was far less intense, as they could speak openly and walk around at their leisure without the members of the Defias gang getting suspicious.

"Jeez, this sure is a lot of hoops we're having to jump through just to run a Dungeon," Asuna admitted while pulling at the red bandanna obscuring her face.

Klein, now cloaked in a Defias hood and mask, gave her a curious look. "You must not play a lot of MMOs outside of Aincrad, huh?"

"Asuna wasn't really a gamer before she came to Aincrad," Merida explained. "In fact, she's never played a videogame before now."

He gawked at her in disbelief. "So you just dove straight into the world's first VRMMO without any prior gaming experience?"

"Man, talk about jumping straight into the deep end," Kunimitz spoke up, sounding fairly impressed. "That sure takes guts."

She chuckled at him while running her hand along the hilt of her rapier thoughtfully. "Truth be told, I still don't consider myself to be much of a gamer. To me, Aincrad is far more than just a game. It's a whole new world just waiting to be explored."

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Asuna," Merida insisted brightly. "I'd never played a video game in my life before coming to Aincrad."

"So how did you get into it, Merida?" Klein asked, looking to strike up a friendly conversation.

Gatrie and Merida both exchanged nervous looks with one another.

"You sure you wanna know?" she asked sincerely. "I'd rather not bring down the mood."

"I asked, didn't I?" he offered in a friendly tone.

Gatrie placed a hand on his wife's shoulder assuringly. "If you don't want to tell them, you don't have to."

She sighed in a melancholy tone before shaking her head. "No no, there's no need to hide it." Though her face was obscured by a mask, it was clear she was smiling up at him by the look in her eyes. "I'm not ashamed of who I am, not so long as I have you by my side."

The members of Fuurinkazan listened intently as Merida recounted her story, recalling her fight with cancer, the subsequent brain tumor she developed, and her rapidly declining health. By the time they'd reached their destination and Kirito began speaking with the Defias traitor, Merida had fully recounted her tale.

"So after Kirito dealt with the last of the Beaters, the ceremony continued and Gatrie and I were officially married," she concluded brightly. "Now? I'm the happiest I've ever been and ready to start my new life here in Aincrad."

They all fell silent at the conclusion of her story. At which point the members of Fuurinkazan began to tear up and sniffle despite themselves.

"Oh...oh man…" Harry wiped his eyes dry and turned his head away. "Who the fuck's out here cutting onions?"

"That...was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard," Dale insisted, emotion welling up in his voice as he blew his nose.

"Dude, did you just blow snot into your bandanna?" Kunimitz sounded slightly disgusted.

He waved him off dismissively. "Oh relax. It's just virtual snot, right?"

"Still, gross," his buddy insisted.

Merida giggled at the three boy's obtuse reactions good spiritedly. "My goodness. There's no need for all that. What's important is we all get to explore this world together. I'm living a life free of regrets, that's nothing to be sad about."

"For what it's worth, Merida, your story still gets to me a little bit too," Asuna admitted while wiping a stray tear from her eye.

Klein finally managed to pull himself together and dry his eyes with his sleeve before turning back towards Kirito, who at that moment was busy negotiating with the traitor. "Man...just when I thought my respect for that kid couldn't get any higher."

Asuna smiled at the Black Swordsman, clear pride in her eyes. "Kirito never ceases to amaze me, not since the day I met him."

"Listening to you guys' stories, I can't help but be a little inspired," he admitted. "The guys were telling me you wanted to form an alliance with our guild, is that true?"

She chuckled at him and nodded. "Hey, if you're cool with it, I'm sure Kirito and Diavel would love to have you on board."

He laughed at that good spiritedly and scratched the back of his head. "Man, this is great. To think I'm lucky enough to know the man who's gonna be King of Aincrad. I don't suppose he's looking for a Samurai Retainer is he? If so, where do I send in my resume?"

At that, Asuna placed a hand up to her chest and bowed her head. "Sorry...but that boy already has a Retainer."

"Oh yeah? Who's that?" he asked curiously.

Her gaze shifted back to Kirito.

"Me."

---

The Dungeon itself was very linear, meaning there was no real risk of anyone getting lost. Most of the enemies consisted of Defias miners, brigands, and bandits. Though there was also the occasional goblin as well. Asuna completely stunned everyone with her abilities early on, taking on multiple elite monsters one after another and making them look like complete chumps in comparison. She really did live up to the nickname Lightning Flash, and even Kirito seemed amazed at just how much better she'd gotten since the Beta. What none of them knew was that Asuna had been practicing fencing techniques in her room in preparation for official launch. She'd figured out that many of the sword skills employed in Aincrad were based on real life combat maneuvers and had been training meticulously in the core skills to get herself better at the game.

As a result, she proved to be an absolute beast with her blade, easily keeping pace with Kirito as the two lead the Dungeon party through the mines towards its first boss. A brutish ogre by the name of Rhahk'Zor. As Kirito explained to the group, Dungeon bosses in Aincrad as a whole were not terribly complex. Most of the challenge came from pure execution of holding threat and giving the damage dealers enough time to heal up from spikey damage, as well as proper coordination with the trash packs.

Rhahk'Zor as a boss was certainly no Ilfang, that much was obvious. He was basically just a level eight elite enemy with a lot of health who hit harder with that giant stone hammer of his. The rest of the party was able to deal with the mobs while Gatrie tanked most of the fight alongside Kirito. One thing the Black Swordsman warned them about regarding this dungeon was that a patrol would always spawn directly behind them after killing a boss. So they needed to backtrack and deal with the threat to their flank so that they didn't sneak up on them while they were fighting something else. Kirito's expertise kept them out of danger, and Asuna was able to translate any orders he gave that confused or befuddled the rest of the group. Working as a team, the two made for impressive leaders.

After Rhahk'Zor, the party rounded a corner in the mines where they happened upon a rare spawn. Gatrie managed to secure the kill, earning himself a new shield in the form of the Gold Plated Buckler, a rare level item drop that boosted his strength and stamina stats considerably. After tackling the rare spawn, the group battled its way through a horde of elite goblin minions before reaching the next boss, the goblin engineer Sneed and his mechanized shredder bot. The clunky shredder proved to be no match for Asuna's impressive speed and agility, augmented by her real life athletic ability which she used alongside Kirito's brilliant sword skills to easily do away with the robot. Whereupon the goblin engineer Sneed himself engaged the group directly, though the moment Gatrie pulled aggro, the fight was basically over.

After killing Sneed, the party found themselves next to a giant metal furnace in a room covered by goblins and small metal bots. Though the newer players seemed a bit overwhelmed by their numbers at first, under Asuna and Kirito's guidance, they were able to deal with each individual mob one at a time, picking off their numbers one by one before reaching the next boss, the goblin Gilnid. Though armed with a flaming mace, the group was able to make quick work of the goblin boss using a strategy that Klein affectionately referred to as tank and spank.

In the room next to him was a large locked door. As Kirito explained it, the way to get through normally involved pushing a minecart full of explosives from one end of the dungeon to the door, but they didn't have to go that far. He'd anticipated this and had already power leveled his lockpicking skill appropriately to level twenty, allowing them to silently enter the next area without alerting more guards.

Where they arrived at a large wooden fortress, the entrance of which was guarded by a massive minotaur wielding an iron hammer named Mr. Smite. Admittedly, he was a little more difficult to kill than the last few bosses. The minotaur would occasionally stun the party and switch weapons from one of several weapon racks hanging on the walls, changing his attack patterns and sword skills along with these new weapons. Kirito's strategy for this one was actually rather ingenious, Asuna felt. Rather than fight him directly, they instead ran away to a further distance from the weapons racks and took him on there, thus increasing the time it took for him to gain his new weapon and giving them more time to heal up. Though they had to be careful so as not to accidentally pull him completely out of the combat zone otherwise the boss would reset and they'd have to start over.

After killing the guard, the party made their way up a gangplank to the top of the fortress, where an elite murloc named Cookie was patrolling. He dropped a ring that increased battle healing abilities that Merida desperately wanted, and after slapping on the puppy dog eyes, eventually convinced her husband to hand over to her despite him also desiring the rare trinket. After the murloc was Edwin Vancleef's personal bodyguard, the goblin lancer Greenskin, whom the party was able to make short work of.

Until finally, they reached the chamber of the final boss room. There, hiding in the shadows, was the man they'd come to slay, Edwin Vancleef. The leader of the Defias, and a level ten elite monster armed with twin sabres. Asuna and Kirito showed no hesitation as they approached the final boss, weapons in hand, their party at their backs.

"We need to be careful," Kirito insisted. "Edwin may look like he's alone, but he's got two stealthed rogues waiting to ambush us."

"Any other adds we need to worry about?" Asuna asked, having fully picked up on the language by the end of the dungeon.

He nodded. "Once he reaches fifty percent health, he'll summon two more guards to his side. We need to take care of the two rogues before then."

"Right." She turned her gaze back to the group, a sharp, commanding look in her eyes. "Gatrie, I want you and Merida to assist Klein and his group with the two elite rogues. Kirito and I will keep the boss distracted long enough for you to finish them off. Once that's done, switch out with us and tank so Merida can provide combat healing."

He grinned knowingly and nodded. "You got it, Boss."

Asuna then turned her attention to the members of Fuurinkazan. "For this one, I want the four of you to focus on adds. Once he hits fifty percent, Gatrie will pull aggro again and give us time to clean up the trash mobs, then we can attack him as a group."

The four boys stood at attention, slightly intimidated by Asuna's sudden shift in demeanor. "Y...yes, Ma'am!"

With a prideful smirk she then turned back to Kirito. "Now then, who are we going to set up for the last attack bonus, Kirito?"

"I say we take it to a vote," he declared.

She nodded in agreement before turning back to the group. "Right. All in favor of setting our leader up for the last attack bonus say aye."

"Aye!" they all shouted in unison.

He frowned at that. "Are you sure? We don't have to give it to me just because I'm party leader, you know?"

Asuna smiled at him and placed her hands on his cheeks, which began to glow warm under her touch. "Don't you get it, Kirito? None of us would be here if it wasn't for you. More than anything we want you to succeed."

Kirito remained silent, stunned in place by her words.

"Besides, it's not like we can't just run the Dungeon again when the instance resets," she insisted. Whereupon her steely gaze returned and she drew her rapier. "Alright, no more slacking off. Let's finish strong and bring this thing home."

With Kirito by her side, the two charged headlong into the boss room. The party stuck to the strategy she set up perfectly, working in coordination with each other to eliminate the elite mobs as they spawned in before focusing their attacks on the primary target.

"Kirito, switch out with me!" Gatrie shouted after blocking another attack from Edwin with his buckler.

"On it!" he called back before switching in and parrying a flurry of blows from the twin sabres. Whereupon he went on the offensive, proving his skill as the Black Swordsman and slowly whittling down the enemy's second health bar.

"Asuna, switch out with me!"

He jumped back and Asuna charged in. With a flurry of lightning quick strikes she struck at the bandit leader again and again with her rapier, dodging between his blades with the grace and finesse of a professional ballerina as she slashed, stabbed and riposted with her weapon.

"Kirito, switch!"

The Black Swordsman tagged back in. Once more he continued to slash and hack away at Edwin's health with his broadsword, seemingly unhittable as he parried blow after blow.

"Switch!"

Asuna jumped back in, all her focus on ending the fight.

"Switch!"

Kirito protected her from a downswing and pushed back, going on the offensive yet again.

The rest of the party just stared in amazement at the two. Despite the fact that they'd finished off the trash mobs some time ago, none of them felt the need to jump in and help. They were too stunned watching these two single handedly take on the boss by themselves. Kirito and Asuna worked so perfectly together, possessing near flawless team cohesion as they covered for each other, protecting one another whilst also boosting their strengths. It left them all in awe. Alone, these two were likely the most talented players in all of Aincrad.

But together? They were absolutely unstoppable.

"Kirito, this is it! Switch with me!" Asuna declared upon whittling the boss's final healthbar down squarely into the red.

He took the front and began mercilessly assaulting Edwin with everything in his arsenal, chipping off the last of his health until he was squarely in the critical range. With one final combo, he set himself up for a critical hit to finish the fight.

Before promptly stopping and turning back to his partner.

"Asuna, switch!"

Though caught off guard at first, Asuna's feet moved on their own as Edwin went back on the attack. Moments before Kirito was hit with the diagonal slice of a sabre, she jumped in front of him and parried the blow. Asuna then pulled back on the guard of her rapier and twisted it to the right, enveloping the blade in an aura of pink.

With a powerful yell she drove the blade home, running Edwin through with a devastating Linear attack. The boss fell to the floor and shattered into light, enveloping the room in total silence. Asuna lowered her weapon and gazed upon the textbox that appeared in front of her. A single item appeared in her inventory. A new rapier by the name of Corsair's Barb.

Upon closer inspection, she noted the text was in purple. Her eyes lit up and a beaming smile enveloped her face.

"I got an epic drop…" She began jumping up and down in absolute excitement. "I got an epic drop! I got a freaking epic drop! Woohoo!"

Suddenly, it hit her what Kirito just did. She turned around to see him smiling proudly, whereupon she glowered somewhat, her cheeks burning crimson.

"Hold on. I thought we agreed you would get the last attack bonus. Not me."

"Yeah, well...I wanted you to have it," he insisted meekly, his gaze turning away despite himself.

Asuna narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously before looking at the obscenely rare weapon that had just appeared in her inventory. With this, she would receive permanent stat bonuses to her agility and dexterity that would increase with every level up she received for so long as she still had this blade. In a way, this rapier was a perfect starting weapon for her.

In fact, it was almost a little too perfect.

Forget the fact that there was only a ten percent chance an epic item would drop, but the fact that it also happened to be a rapier made her skeptical to believe that this was just lady luck on her side. The odds were simply too astronomical given item drops from bosses were supposed to be completely random. Having come to a conclusion she finally turned back towards Kirito who was still fidgeting uncomfortably behind her.

"Kirito...did you know that rapier was gonna drop?"

He lowered his head shamefully. "I'm really sorry, Asuna. I lied to you."

She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her gaze at him again. "About what?"

"Well...it was more of a lie of omission really," he admitted while tapping his fingers against his thumb very rapidly. "I didn't want to do it but I was worried if I told you, you'd ruin the surprise."

"What surprise?"

He finally found the nerve to return her gaze. "There's something I didn't tell you about Dungeons in this game. Specifically...about the last attack bonus for the final boss."

A knowing smile began to creep over her lips despite herself. "Oh yeah? And what's that?"

Kirito swallowed back the lump in his throat and continued despite how nervous he was. "The thing is...if you're the first party to successfully clear a Dungeon, then you automatically get an epic or legendary item tailored to you if you acquire the last attack bonus."

Asuna took a breath and sighed in exasperation, giggling under her breath as she shook her head in disbelief. "So that's why you seemed so anxious. I should have known you were planning something, you little sneak."

"I'm really sorry," he insisted, starting to retreat in on himself self-consciously. "I wasn't trying to lie to you, Asuna, I promise. I just didn't want to ruin the surprise. I really wanted you to have a good weapon to start the game with and…"

His words were cut off by Asuna wrapping him up in a giant hug. Once again, Kirito's face turned completely crimson as she held him close.

"Never change," Asuna whispered while hugging him tight. Whereupon she finally let go and smiled up at him. "No matter how high we climb together, promise me you'll never change. Okay?"

After a moment to collect his thoughts, Kirito returned her smile and nodded. "Okay. I promise."

From a few yards away, Gatrie and Merida both smiled knowingly at one another. They could see the affection in both their eyes, almost hear the thoughts running through their heads. Both of the newlyweds could clearly see it. Hell, even Klein and his buddies could see it.

Standing there in front of them, the future King and Queen of Aincrad.

---

The Dungeon run was an absolute success. Everyone in Kirito's party received near full sets of uncommon armor. Both Gatrie and Merida received rare items to brag about when they eventually met up with the rest of their friends, and Asuna was absolutely in love with her new epic rapier the Corsair's Barb. The hilt was designed to look like a beautiful rose, while the blade was clearly meant to be its single 'thorn'. Though the symbolism was a little on the nose, Asuna adored the new weapon regardless. Aside from the new loot, their levels had been drastically increased as well. With the members of Fuurinkazan achieving level eight, save for Klein who made it to level nine alongside Gatrie and Merida.

As for Asuna and Kirito? Given they'd done the bulk of the work, the two were now officially level ten. Only a day into their adventure, and they were already both well ahead of the curve. As the sun began to set over the horizon, the group set up camp on a grassy hill overlooking the Town of Beginnings off in the distance. Given how much money they'd made clearing the Deadmines, the party decided to buy enough supplies for a celebratory feast after turning in Edwin's head to the Imperial Rangers and completing the quest.

Now celebrating their hard fought victory, the party ate their fill of food and drank their fill of ale from the wooden keg they purchased, with Gatrie doing most of the drinking. Though Kirito joined them at first, the rowdiness eventually got to be too much and he soon excused himself to a nearby field to watch the sunset while the rest of the group partied. Asuna was going to join him, but ever the considerate one, Kirito insisted she have fun with the others.

Their spirits sailing, and their faces flushed from alcohol, the group really started to get into character. With Gatrie going so far as to teach the group a drinking song he'd learned from Diavel and made his own. Though a little slurred, the heavy plate wearing warrior had a surprisingly strong set of pipes on him as he sang through an old song whose lyrics he'd changed and dedicated to his wife. All while holding a tankard high in the air and swaying to the tapping of feet and slapping of knees.

"Welll Gatrie Taylor was a brisk young fella."

"Full of heart and full of play."

"Till his mind he did uncover."

"To a youthful lady gay."

He sang to his wife, who sat on his knee her face burning crimson despite the beaming smile on her face.

"Four and twenty Aincrad warriors"

"Met him on the King's highway"

"As he went for to be married"

"Pressed he was and sent away"

As he sang, the rest of them broke out into the chorus. Save for Merida who continued to simply smile and listen.

"Folleri-de-dom, de- daerai diddero"

"Folleri-de-dom, domme daerai dae"

"Folleri-de-dom, de- daerai diddero"

"Folleri-de-dom, domme daerai dae"

"Aincrad's armor she put on"

"And drew her blade a lass of war"

"Her pretty little fingers long and slender"

"They were smeared with blood and tar"

''

"On the field there was a battle"

"She amongst the rest did fight"

"The wind blew off her silver buttons"

"Breasts were bared all snowy white"

She hid her face in her hands, muttering "oh God" in embarrassment while the others laughed and broke into chorus again.

"Folleri-de-dom, de- daerai diddero"

"Folleri-de-dom, domme daerai dae"

"Folleri-de-dom, de- daerai diddero"

"Folleri-de-dom, domme daerai dae"

''

"When the warrior did discover"

"He said Fair maid, what brought you here?"

"Sir, I'm seeking new beginnings"

"Pressed he was to lend his ear"

''

"Now they rise up in the morning"

"Early at the break of day"

"Together he seeks her new beginning"

"Walking with his lady gay"

She placed her hands up to her chest, love and adoration in her eyes for the man whose lap she occupied.

"Folleri-de-dom, de- daerai diddero"

"Folleri-de-dom, domme daerai dae"

"Folleri-de-dom, de- daerai diddero"

"Folleri-de-dom, domme daerai dae"

At the conclusion of the song they all clapped for Gatrie's performance while Merida wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, her cheeks still burning red. When she finally pulled away, Merida fanned her face to get her color back under control.

"God, why did I have to fall in love with the biggest goofball on the entire server?" she asked, still slightly giggly despite herself. "You really do love putting me on the spot in front of all our friends, don't you, Darling?"

"You know how much I love seeing your pretty bright red face, Love," he responded with a cheeky grin.

Asuna chortled at him. "Oh my God, Gatrie. Give the poor girl a break."

They all laughed good spiritedly at her comment.

"Man, that Dungeon was sick! I never knew how much fun it could be moving your body as you play," Dale insisted.

Harry nodded in agreement. "The combat is addictive for sure."

Klein downed a healthy portion of his ale before wiping the foam from his lips. "So tell me more about these skills you mentioned, Asuna. There's like a ton of them, yeah?"

Asuna nodded. "According to Kirito there's supposed to be over a thousand. I'm no expert, but the crafting system in this game is pretty insane."

"But no magic, huh?" Klein observed. "That's a pretty bold move."

She chuckled and shrugged. "I mean, Aincrad still seems pretty magical to me."

Klein smiled at that, his gaze cast up towards the sky. "When I look around I still can't quite believe it." He knocked Dale on the shoulder. "We're inside a game, Bro!"

His buddy chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Dr. Kayaba really is an absolute genius."

"It makes me glad I was born when I was," Harry admitted.

Asuna chuckled as well. "Yeah, I felt the same way after my first dive."

"You're the really lucky one," Klein insisted while gesturing to Asuna with his tankard. "You and the rest of the Beta Testers."

Her gaze fell on the campfire, a wistful smile on her face. "I never would have even gotten to see this world if it wasn't for Kirito."

"That makes two of us," Merida commented.

"I really owe him a lot," she admitted, her smile slowly fading as something slowly dawned on her. "He's...changed my life for the better in more ways than one. Kirito is basically my best friend and…"

Her voice trailed off and the camp fell silent.

"And what?" Merida asked with a knowing grin.

Asuna smiled and shook her head, a blush forming on her cheeks. "It's nothing."

At that moment, her message alert went off. Asuna opened her menu and checked her inbox, expecting a message from Kirito. Her eyes widened and she gasped, however, upon seeing the name that popped up.

:: How's it going d'Artagnan? ::

Asuna's features lit up and she immediately typed back a response.

:: Hi, Diavel! :D ::

He promptly responded.

:: Good to hear from you again, Asuna. :) How've you been? ::

Asuna eagerly typed up her answer.

:: Ahhhh! I'm so so so excited to be back! This is all I've been able to think about these past two months! ::

:: Same, honestly. How is our King doing? ::

She giggled at that before sending her reply.

:: Kirito is doing well. I think he's just glad to be back though. ::

:: We all are. ::

:: How are the others doing? I ran into Merida and her husband, but haven't seen anyone else. ::

:: Argo and Pitohui are off doing their own thing. Same with Chrys and Coper. I'm with some IRL buddies atm. But I was thinking if you wanted to meet up later, we could. ::

Asuna narrowed her gaze curiously at the message.

:: What did you have in mind? ::

It took a moment for him to respond, but when he did, Asuna's heart did a small flip.

:: There's a cafe in the Town of Beginnings that Chrys recommended. Supposedly they have great coffee. I was thinking if you're up for it the two of us might check it out. It'd be a great way to catch up. ::

Asuna felt her cheeks flush as a nervous quiver formed in her heart. She understood perfectly well exactly what it was Diavel was asking for here. And she'd have been lying to herself if she said he hadn't also been on her mind during those two months they were away. With a smile, she began to type out a response…

...before promptly stopping not even three letters in.

It was as if it suddenly hit her at that very moment. Like a shroud had been lifted from her eyes and she could see clearly for the first time in months. Slowly, her gaze fell to the rapier at her side, the one Kirito so graciously helped her acquire. More memories came flooding back at that moment. The Forest where they built their first cabin, the laughs they shared messing with the game's craft engine, roleplaying as a married couple, all of it.

The more she thought about things, the more her mind began to slip back. To that wonderful adventure she went on for three days alongside Kirito. Her first day in the Town of Beginnings, her first duel with the Weapons Master, every adventure, every part of her journey leading up to this moment...he was right there beside her almost every step of the way.

And then she thought back even further. To that shy quiet boy she first approached in the library. The one who always seemed to be smiling at her. The one whose sketchbook she checkmarked to signify the beginning of their friendship, the very same one where he drew her portrait, not as the world saw her, but as she now saw herself.

The boy...who made her heart flutter every time she held his hand.

Diavel was a great man, and he hoped to God she'd stay friends with him and the others forever. But he wasn't the one who showed her this world. Diavel wasn't there for her when she was at her loneliest. And he wasn't the one whom she'd grown to know and cherish so dearly these past two months.

He wasn't the one who had truly captured her heart.

When Asuna set out on this journey, she did so with the intention of building a life for herself. One where she was free of the burdens forced upon her in the real world. For the longest time, she had no idea what that would ultimately mean. There was a yearning in Asuna's heart for something she never thought she'd have in the real world, but up until now she was clueless as to where she would find that desire.

No...that wasn't right. Truthfully, Asuna had known for some time. It was just scary to think about. It was still kind of scary, if she was being honest with herself. And maybe it was the shame of just how scared she was that ultimately kept her from acknowledging these feelings sooner. But having had time to come to grips with them, she ultimately decided there was no sense in fighting what she'd known all along. These feelings in her heart, this desire, it wasn't for Diavel.

Slowly, her gaze turned back behind her, where a boy in a black cloak was sitting on the edge of a cliff, his eyes out over the horizon. Knowing what she had to do, Asuna turned her attention back towards the message and typed up a response.

:: That sounds wonderful, Diavel. But I'll have to raincheck you on that. Kirito and I are showing some of his friends the ropes and… ::

She stopped typing for a moment before taking a deep breath and smiling.

:: ...and I'm really happy with where I am. ::

After a moment of nervous waiting, she finally got a response.

:: Of course! No sweat. :) Just know that we'll be meeting up in Goldshire to discuss the next step for our group. I'll send you the details later. ::

She eagerly typed up a response.

:: Can't wait! Kirito and I will see you there. ::

With that, she closed her menu and stood up from her seat near the camp.

"Guys, I'll be back. There's...something I have to do."

---

The view was breathtaking, that was Asuna's first thought as she slowly approached him. Kirito really did pick the perfect spot to set up camp. From here, they could see the whole First Floor in all its splendor. The floating islands and crystal waterfalls, mythical creatures soaring overhead, and the orange glow of the setting sun off in the horizon illuminating their surroundings in beautiful twilight.

He was there on the edge of the cliff, sitting in the grassy field, his hair gently blowing in the breeze and his eyes cast over the horizon. Kirito was deep in his own thoughts, then again, so was she.

Asuna's heart was racing madly at that moment. She couldn't lie to herself. This terrified her. Everything about it felt dangerous and risky and there were so many times she wanted to back out and return to a sense of familiarity. To accept Diavel's offer and push these thoughts to the back of her mind again.

But then she remembered that first day in the library. How she nearly did the exact same thing and just walked away that fateful moment. What would she have lost out on had she just ignored this quiet, timid, boy that day? Furthermore, what would she miss out on by not being honest with how she felt?

Going on a date with Diavel was picking the easy way out. Much like how she almost picked the easy way out that day and didn't intervene. But if there was one thing she'd grown to know about the boy sitting in front of her, it was that if you opened your heart up to him, even just a little bit, there was so much he had to offer you in return.

What Asuna was about to give him now was so much more than that.

Slowly but surely she sat down next to him in the grass and looked out over the horizon, the wind gently blowing through her hair alongside his. For the longest time, neither one said a word to the other, then again, they were used to this. They were used to the quiet, the small moments of peace. Finally, Asuna spoke up.

"No matter how many times I see it, I'm still blown away by this world."

Kirito smiled at her words. "I know that one."

She giggled at him. "I know you do."

Another small silence followed.

"Your friends seem to really be enjoying themselves," she observed while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

He nodded. "I'm glad."

"You missed Gatrie's singing," she confessed while looking back over her shoulder at the campfire a few yards away. "It wasn't half bad, actually."

"I could hear him," he assured, his gaze never once leaving the setting sun. "That was a strange song to sing to Merida. The original lyrics revolve around a sailor cheating on his wife and getting shot for it."

Asuna laughed at that before curling her knees up to her chest and smiling at him. "Well...I think I like his version better."

After a moment, Kirito smiled as well and nodded. "Me too."

Once again, silence enveloped them.

"Why do you like me?"

Asuna gasped upon hearing Kirito's question, her back going rigid and her cheeks flaring red. "Wh...what do you mean?"

He withdrew in on himself, frowning self consciously. "I've been sitting here thinking about all our adventures together. Everything the two of us have been through."

She placed a hand up to her chest, her lips parted slightly as her heart continued to race.

"You've made me really happy, Asuna," he finally admitted, his own cheeks flaring red as well. "You always do."

"Kirito…"

"But I'm not like other people," he continued, a hint of pain welling up in his voice. "I have weird ticks that make me stand out. I don't know how to hold a conversation or socialize with people. I'm always stressed out or anxious about things that others consider to be mundane."

She remained silent, allowing him to continue.

"It just feels like...all my life I've only ever been a burden to others. But with you…" He began tapping his fingers against his thumb. "...you never seem to care about any of that. You're always smiling at me. You never yell or look disappointed when I mess up. You're always...always…"

"Kirito...look at me."

His back stiffened and his eyes grew wide as he slowly turned his head towards her. Asuna had the biggest smile on her face at that moment, despite the full blush set into her cheeks.

"You really want to know what it is I like about you?" she asked, doing her best to steady her nerves.

He slowly nodded his head. Whereupon Asuna took a deep breath and just laid it all out.

"The truth is, there's so many things I like about you. I like how much we laugh together,over silly things. I like the way you occasionally will stroke your hair whenever you're deep in thought. I like how bright your eyes look whenever you're excited about something. I like listening to you talk, how smart you are, how kind you are. All of it. Just hearing you talk sometimes makes my heart feel warmer."

His mouth fell open as his face turned beet red.

"But there's more," she insisted, ignoring her racing heart. "I like how thoughtful you are. I like that you never forget when we have plans. I like how warm I feel whenever you hold my hand. I like how soft and gentle your fingers are when you touch me."

Her voice was shaking but she composed herself and kept on.

"But more than that...more than that Kirito I like how happy I am when I'm with you." Asuna wiped a tear from her eye, her lip quivering despite herself. "You tell me all the time how happy I make you, but I don't think you'll ever appreciate just how happy you've made me."

"Why are you crying?" he asked, concern filling his voice.

"Because what I've come to realize…" She did her best to compose herself but nothing was working. Asuna's voice hitched as she wiped more tears from her eyes. "...for as much as I may love this world. As much as I may love this game. The thing I love most of all is that I get to share it with you."

"But...why are you crying?" he asked again insistently, his own eyes starting to well up.

Upon seeing the distraught look on his face, Asuna finally smiled brightly and sniffled a few times, fanning her eyes to get herself under control. "It's okay, Kirito. I promise I'm not sad. These are happy tears I'm shedding right now."

"Okay, but...why?" he asked, still sounding confused.

After taking one more breath, she finally managed to compose herself again. Whereupon Asuna gently placed her hand over his.

"Because I've finally realized something," she admitted, her voice filling with affection. "I've realized that as happy as I am being here in Aincrad. The fact that I'm here with you is what really makes me happy. My adventure in this new world...would be nothing without you in it."

As it slowly began to dawn on him what Asuna was trying to say, Kirito's eyes grew wide and his face turned the darkest shade of red she'd ever seen on him. "Asuna...are you...are you telling me..."

She nodded her head, a bright happy smile still plastered on her face. "Yes, Kirito. I am."

This revelation shook him to his very core. Kirito was suddenly extremely nervous, his whole body shaking as he silently stared at the ground. His voice trembled with apprehension as he tried to come to grips with the emotions running through him at that moment. Asuna gripped his hand a little tighter and slowly turned his gaze back to her.

"The thing I like most about you, Kirito...is you. And so long as we're on this journey together…"

His trembling stopped as their eyes connected. For a moment, the only noises that could be heard was the rustling of the wind on the breeze as the last rays of sunlight slowly began to fade off in the distance.

"...I want to stay by your side for as long as you will let me."

With those words, Asuna gently placed her hands on his cheeks, closed her eyes, tilted her head a little, leaned forward…

...and kissed him.

It was a little awkward at first. Kirito clearly wasn't expecting it by the way he suddenly tensed up. Yet after a moment of her gently holding her lips to his, he finally relaxed, his eyes slowly closing as well. When at last she pulled away, the two stared into each other's eyes for a moment, the feelings that had formed in their hearts some time ago finally coming to bare in their gaze.

"Th...that was my…" He could barely speak.

Asuna giggled at him sweetly, her lashes fluttering as the adoration she felt for this boy welled up to the surface in full. "Your first kiss? It's okay if you were a little nervous. That's completely understandable."

Kirito was at a complete loss. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but he simply couldn't form the words. So instead, she did it for him. With another shaky breath, Asuna spoke the words that she'd been so afraid of all this time.

"Kirito...the truth is...I lo…"

"Guys! We have a major problem!"

Both of them nearly jumped out of their skin at the sound of Klein's voice as he came running up behind them.

Asuna groaned in frustration and was about to tell him off, but upon seeing the clear panic in his eyes, managed to stop herself. "Wh...what is it?"

"The logout button, it's gone."

A nervous pit formed in Asuna's stomach as a deathly chill ran down her spine. "I'm sorry...what?"

After taking a moment to catch his breath, Klein stood up straight and opened his menu before pointing to the now empty space where the logout button used to be.

"It's gone. We can't log out of the game...we're trapped."