Kirito and the rest of the party were ready and at the meeting place when only a level eighteen player was standing in the centre of the attention area of the ruined stadium. They were waiting for the rest of the large group to gather.
"While we're waiting, you're a high level group, correct? I greatly accept your assistance should you decide to help us today."
Kirito nodded his head, stood up and walked over in case there were people from the group watching and waiting for others to enter the area and take a seat.
"Hi there. Am I right to guess you're the person who organized this group?"
He nodded his head in confirmation and kept his eyes on Kirito. He seemed to be less of the pervert type than other male players. He kept his eyes from drifting after all.
"Good, then maybe you can tell me who from your group is the supposed beta tester? The only reason I can think of for a beta tester to be below level twenty at this point is if they were training the rest of this raid group you're all forming."
"Ah, he said his name was...it was...I honestly can't remember. It sounds a little obnoxious and you'll know him right away because he does have a foul attitude to other beta testers. Are your group beta testers? It might be better not to mention that. This group doesn't really like mention of beta testers..."
"Most of our group is beta testers, but that's why you should listen. Even if you have a full raid party who know the mechanics of the boss fight at the end of the dungeon, it's a lot of trouble if you don't at minimum set raid minimum level for twenty. When the dungeon is hit today, I very much recommend grinding the mobs of the dungeon until everyone reaches twenty. If you're ready when you reach the boss room, we'll be waiting for you. If you aren't ready by this evening, we'll have returned to town. This is for everyone's good. Don't burn out the group and risk casualties in a rush to clear the game. Be smart."
He took Kirito's suggestion seriously. While the suggestions and words were quietly passed from Kirito to the raid leader, others were slowly joining the seats of the stadium. Some were trying to sit close to the rest of the party, but they were making it very obvious that they were off limits.
"Hey leader, she your type and already taken? How about the other three?"
"No, she is the leader of a stronger party and has just told me valuable information for our dungeon run today. I will be considering this information for the meeting. I suggest against the direction of in game relationships unless bonds naturally form while experiencing this time together. Chasing a relationship will only waste our time stuck in this game."
While a few nodded in agreement to the statement, there were many who seemed to be eager skirt chasers who were disappointed.
The leader of the raid party finally began when a final, obviously obnoxious player sat down around the centre of the seating arrangement. His armour appearance was bright and flashy, and he wore a one hand sword on his back like Kirito. It was as if he was trying to mock him, but Kirito didn't pay him any mind other than that he might be the one who claimed being a beta tester. That couldn't be right though. He had the lowest level of everyone gathered.
"Today we meet here before setting off into the dungeon of this first floor. I have received guidance from a high level player with experience that it would be wise to use the dungeon for levelling. That any lower than level twenty would be a waste of time and life on the boss monster. We need to be cautious and careful to learn against the enemies of the dungeon. Remember that the information books sold by the information vendor in the Town of Beginnings has recount of beta testers that dungeon monsters resemble the floor boss. Sometimes, floor bosses won't have additional monsters to defeat along with them, but such monsters can appear in the first floor boss fight, and they are much stronger than their counterparts in the dungeon. If we do not reach the minimum goal level of twenty with the entire raid party by sundown time this evening, six thirty, we will return to town, as we won't have the assistance of the high level group after that point. It would be pointless to go into the fight exhausted, and even more a risk than being under level. Today, I want to follow the high level group led by the black haired swordswoman at the back, and everyone learn their techniques so that we might have better odds against the floor boss. We will not risk our lives for a faster clear if we can ensure our safety to return to town by being a little more careful. Would the group led by the black haired swordswoman step forward and give some words before we set off for the dungeon?"
First, Kirito was starting to think at least within the raid group it was fine to let them continue to think of him as female, so not to cause drama for the others in the party. When they finished lining up beside the raid leader in the centre of the stadium, the obnoxious claimant of being a beta tester stood up.
"Let me guess, a group of beta testers finally decided they're going to help us clear the game and stop people from dying against the mobs down here?"
The raid leader was the one to respond.
"Remember that though we have received a lot of information from the beta test period and it's all available in the information book in the Town of Beginnings, this is also dated. Even powerful new players can be more valuable if a beta tester went into the dungeon expecting it to be easier. Monsters are stronger now than they were during the beta test. You have already stated that you were part of the beta test, and that the monsters are stronger. Should we not take your word for it and be more careful?"
He seemed to only grow more sour.
"Then why the hell haven't the floor clearers of the beta test already cleared us a couple of floors and proven what the difficulty stretch is?"
"Need you be reminded that only ten floors were cleared after the entire time of the two months of the beta test? Or did you not participate in the whole thing? All of this information is in the book I have been mentioning. Even if those who were famous for clearing the floors were here, if they weren't as cautious when tackling the dungeon before now, they might have died against the dungeon mobs while trying to gain faster levels. Just because a person was a beta tester, doesn't mean they are going to free us from the game. We need to work together as a whole, not condemn the beta testers."
His words seemed to hold enough weight that saying those words might have convinced most of the group it wasn't so bad if there were beta testers there to help them. It wouldn't be wise to already tell them about Kirito and Sinon's floor clearing during the beta. Instead, Kirito would reveal that all but one of the group was from the beta test.
"Hi everyone, and thank you for allowing us to join your pre dungeon run meeting. I am Kirito. I, Sinon and Leafa were part of the beta test. Asuna from our group is not from the beta test, though she stands well with us. We have experienced dungeon combat during the beta test, and we had checked it against the dungeon as it is now. The difficulty of the monsters is at least twice as much, with the monsters having three times more health, and a different attack from usual. The monster type of floor one's dungeon and boss is Kobold. They are nimble and good at dodging, so get a good handle on using your sword skills. Without sword skills or basic combat knowledge outside of the game, it would be highly unlikely a person could land a single strike on them. They had five different attack patterns. A shield bash is the most annoying with a stun effect which makes it impossible to move for a short time. They have a power strike which can be easily blocked as it takes the most time to wind up. They also have a sweeping strike which uses their tail to try and knock nearby opponents to the ground. Their final two of the original patterns are a swift horizontal and diagonal strike which can be blocked, however it's smarter to parry or counter those. Those are incredibly valuable abilities, so be certain to learn how to use them and the timing against the dungeon enemies. The final ability these dungeon enemies were given, is a knock back ability. They charge at you and headbutt you to knock you ten feet from where they hit you. If your group agrees to form a full raid party, we wouldn't be against assisting with a grind to have you all reach level twenty. We are already level twenty five aside Asuna who is at level twenty one. We have not yet attempted the boss, as it would be foolish not to take a full raid when the dungeon difficulty had increased as much as it has. If there is no protest from the full group, we are ready to lead the way into the dungeon. I understand there is some dislike for beta testers, but I'm sure you now realize the position we are in. Though we played the game before, it's almost entirely different in difficulty, and there are new elements. We have experience, but we are still only human like the rest of you. I could almost guarantee some of the other beta testers made mistakes and lost their lives before the announcement on the first day. It's terrible, but it only reminds us more we should work together. Thank you for listening, and I hope you will work with us today to clear the first floor."
The obnoxious player stood up again gnashing his teeth at how annoyed he was of Kirito's words and the group in front of them.
"I heard it was mostly guys who were in the beta test. How's a group of girls better than the pro pair of guys who cleared ten floors? You girls must be a pretty joke who were all hanging out in the Town of Beginnings the whole time."
Kirito was getting his buttons pushed.
"You do remember the mirrors, correct? If a player was in a masculine avatar and they were doing the floor clearing before, then if they suddenly were forced to play as themselves, a female player who had played the boss floors during beta could be that...never mind. I'm not dancing around it. I was the shorter of the pair of floor clearing players during the beta test. Sinon with the blue hair was the taller male avatar of our pair, and we alone cleared all ten floors during the beta. Want to know the difference of difficulty from beta testers who did leave the Town of Beginnings? This game wants to kill us now. Before, it was fun and it was easy to get through the first few floors before just messing around. Now, even setting foot into the first dungeon is like fighting the dungeon of the eighth floor. Everything is out to kill us, and we have to make use of everything the game has given us to survive. Not happy with the fact that two of our group were the so hated floor clearers who hadn't seemed to show up? Then fine, we won't wait for you and look for another raid group to tackle the floors with. No more suggestions and trying to keep your group alive. If you're foolish enough to let petty hatred from a beta tester who never really experienced the game, then you might as well let a weak boar from right outside the Town of Beginnings ram you to death. We're here to clear the game and return to our real lives. Please don't be idiots and think about the situation carefully. I'll be happy to help out anyone who is ready to give the dungeon a serious run. Anyone who's still being a petty idiot, leave."
Everyone was convinced except the obnoxious idiot claiming himself a beta tester. There were plenty during the beta test who stayed in the Town of Beginnings, but for such a petty and stupid hatred to come from their lack of courage and intellect to make it to the floor clearing and dungeons and enjoy the game as a game when it was one during the test, it disappointed Kirito those kind of people were stuck in the game.
The flashy armoured obnoxious swordsman stood up and stomped out of the stadium.
"Now, I'll let the rest of my party introduce themselves, but first a finish to my introduction. I am Kirito. I prefer the one hand sword type combat type without a shield. This is because outside of the game, I was a high ranking student in kendo, and while it adds to my ability in the game, it does also add to what the game can offer my kendo. My weapon type is good for parrying, countering and unleashing a great amount of damage in a short time, however it does have the drawback of being less defensive and requires stronger armour for defence."
Sinon stood beside him, and she stepped forward for her introduction.
"I am Sinon. As another of the floor clearing beta testers, I fully agree with Kirito's statement that we will not stand for reckless charges against the floor bosses. Again, I agree that the difficulty of this first floor's dungeon is about as difficult as the floor eight dungeon in beta, and the boss might be as difficult as the floor ten boss during the beta. If this is the case, then I would much rather us all be above level thirty. However, that would be much more grinding than the game seems to be indicating. An average level of twenty sounds about right. I am a dagger user. My weapon type is more speed focused and the least defensive of all weapon types currently. I honestly would very much prefer daggers if they were dual wield like they were in the beta... Dagger skills include a bonus to strength of attacks from behind, and act like an assassin in other older role playing games. This is the kind of play style I have, paired with the hiding and stealth abilities."
Next to step forward was Leafa. She basically worked the same as Kazuto, but she was more diligent to the way her kendo lessons had taught her so far. She was disappointed Kirito was letting it bleed in with his kendo so easily. Her introduction went by quickly enough that she and the rest of the group wanted to forget it. The boys in the crowd watching them only had their eyes on her chest while she talked after all.
Finally, Asuna's turn.
"Hello everyone. I am Asuna. I practised my sword style for a few years when I was younger and I am proud to say it has helped me build a very satisfying and exhilarating speed with which I can use my rapier. Kirito has already vouched for me, but I believe it would do me well to catch up to their level during the training in the dungeon today. My weapon type is good for frontal attacks, stunning and knock back as well as dealing a great amount of damage in a short amount of time. I believe it might be nearly as powerful as the one hand sword style, but I haven't yet had the chance to compare it to Kirito as much as with Leafa. I am confident in being able to face any monster of this floor with this group, and I will do my best to help others here progress further through this game until we can make it out."
With that, it seemed the meeting was adjourned. The raid leader opened an alliance invitation with Kirito as the leader of his party. When they were partnered up and ready for experience sharing to the lower level players, they set out for the dungeon.
