"Oneechan, can you help me with this part?"

Leafa beckoned Kirito over to see a projection of her school work. They were having a study session within a virtual space. The two of them were gathered with some of their friends. Asuna, Lisbeth, Silica and Klein were those who were available. The rest of the primary members of the Alt guild in SAO would be on later. Later, they would be exploring a private server for SAO survivors which had some choice additions. The floating castle, Aincrad flew several thousand meters over their server, the base was made of ALO and had a few other games incorporated. It was a real mixture that didn't really have a goal or population filling it. At most there were forty people who logged into it and it was mostly to blow off steam from their rehabilitation. Going full force back into reality was very jarring, so using the private server with the amalgamation of environments and systems was calming.

Kirito leaned over to take a look at Leafa's projected homework and noticed she was stuck on a science problem concerning electricity.

"Ah, I've been learning a lot about this from Ela-san recently. This is really basic stuff though. You'll just want to remember there's positive and negative currents for this question. Let me know if you are stumped on anything else."

Leafa nodded with a happy hum. Asuna leaned her head on Kirito's shoulder and let out a gentle breath.

"Done your homework already, Asuna?"

"Mhm~"

She continued resting her head on Kirito's shoulder.

Kirito was doing some homework in a sense. She never returned home with school homework, because she would finish it all at the school by the end of the last period. She was very fast learned and information gathered on her like a sponge. What she was working on was a project from Ela to convert Yui from a top-down AI to a bottom-up. Kirito was baffled that it was even a possibility considering all of the information Yui was made up of.

"Why is there so much on your screen?"

Asuna stared in disbelief when she saw the wall of text and numbers.

"This is to make Yui closer to being human, so it's worth studying. Converting top-down AI information to bottom-up is incredibly difficult. Ela-san said she would lend Yui her time accelerated virtual space so she could grow up again. It's still totally her but converting and removing the right information is absolutely necessary. Strangely enough, Ela-san's children don't comprise of a lot of information in spite of being essentially adults. Apparently it's because they're not as complex as we would think."

"Wow...so all that is for removing the unnecessary stuff?"

"Pretty much. Yui is incredibly useful as she is, but since she has a foundation on emotion already, she would get more out of being more close to human than information. I could do the work she does with a bit of effort, so it would be better for me to not be lazy so she can be a person of her own someday."

Asuna smiled wide.

"Mama is so amazing~"

Yui popped into the virtual space on Kirito's lap. She was always there, so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but she had been napping.

"Done your nap?"

Kiin popped in as well on Kirito's head.

"Hmm...maybe you brought Kiin out to snuggle?"

Yui let out a mischievous giggle.

"Mama knows me so well~"

Kirito gently lifted Kiin off of her head and placed him on Yui's lap.

"Ah, that part there you made a mistake mama. It's only a little one though."

Kirito patted Yui.

"I was about to get to that one. Thanks."

The conversation went on calmly for a while, and eventually all of the homework was done and everyone was relaxing while they waited for the rest of their friends to join the server. Everyone from those present were exceeding expectations with their rehabilitation and they were catching up on their studies to the point that by the end of the next school year, they would be back to the school year the rest of the people their age were at.

Ela logged into the server and sat with an exhausted thump in her usual place. That being said, it was only three weeks since the ALO situation had been resolved. She found and settled in a usual place quickly. It made plenty sense since she had thrown together the server for everyone. Even Recon had retired from ALO with them until everything calmed down. After it had been exposed that the upper management of the company which released it were involved with highly illegal human experimentation, the servers were shut down until further notice.

The fact that the private server had ALO's flight system incorporated, all of SAO's base and detailed crafting as well as several other spaces which mimicked other games which were favored by different people who used the server, it was basically a giant server with infinite possibilities but no direction. There were no quests, no significant npcs, and no regular monsters. There were only significant boss monsters loaded in from each game for challenges and the puzzles contained in the environments.

"How's your progress on the homework I gave you, Kirito?"

Ela's question woke Kirito from her relaxation and a few others perked up.

"I finished what you assigned me. Yui helped me out a little too. Turns out this is affecting her very quickly. Just how did you go about this assignment for me?"

Ela smirked in triumph, knowing she had managed to continue being ahead of her great disciple. She had been very proud of Kirito's progress in her studies. She was incredibly fast at taking in the very difficult formulas and sciences. Especially when it came to simplifying complicated formulas. It had been the one thing Ela struggled with the most when she was learning what she did best. Now being a professional at simplifying the overly complicated, she had managed to make some things that were unfathomable to others.

"It took a long time for me to figure out how to simplify things to such an extent, but I consulted Yui and you before right? Those were questions to prune out what was essential and what wasn't for her. So, I came up with the conversion table for you. As you work on it, it applies to Yui when you reach certain parts. If you're done where I assigned you to, she should be down to mostly emotional data and memories since she materialized as your daughter. You were pruning the Cardinal system out of her."

Kirito's eyes grew more and more wide as she heard the explanation.

"I was adjusting her as I went?!"

Those who were still deep in their relaxation woke from the sudden shout.

"Mhm! So, your impressions? Both of you."

Yui gave a big smile and nodded before opening her mouth.

"I feel so light and refreshed! I feel like I could be happy as I am, but knowing I could be even better makes me excited for what else you have planned!"

Kirito smiled when she heard Yui's excitement.

"I guess it's not so bad...I'm sorry about the outburst. Please, check it over to make sure I got everything right because it would be devastating if I got rid of something important and she just doesn't remember it."

Yui understood immediately the concern. She also looked expectantly as the text wall flew across the space between Kirito and Ela. It only took a moment for Ela to respond.

"You did perfectly. As expected. You learn so fast. I grew to expect it with my children, but it's nice to see that another person can learn so quickly. I grew up surrounded by people who took infinitely longer to learn, but everyone here is so fast to adapt and learn. Perhaps I should have just begged more to move to Japan when I was younger. Maybe...I wouldn't have lost many of the things I did, including my vision. But, that's impossible because I grew up with a nerve disorder which just eventually reached my eyes. Nothing to be done about it. We're not advanced enough in medical technology to fix my nerve damage. That's why I like helping people developing all kinds of technology. Especially Kojiro-san. Her work in the medical field might just be able to save my vision someday. I'm not holding out too much hope or expectation however, because I get enough visual stimulation in AR and VR to supply me with all the visual stimulus I need. Would being able to see help with going outside? Yes. I haven't really left home in a while however due to some...other issues which would be more pressing to resolve."

All eyes were on Ela, curious about the adult who had been for the most part a mystery to them. Ela let out a long sigh.

"I intended to wait until I had treatment before showing what I look like outside, but you have trusted me and worked with me so much, you deserve to know more about me so you can judge who I am as a person. I don't need to reiterate but I will..."

She took a deep breath and moved her eyes as she began explaining, as if her eyes could function like that normally.

"I am Ela Turin. Thirty years of age. Outside of virtual and augmented reality, I am five feet, eight inches tall, have naturally dirty coloured hair with a primary golden blond. My eyes change colours often, but the reasoning is random on why it will change. I stepped into the field of innovation when I was nine years old, but due to government restriction on technology development, I was denied several times until they put me on a blacklist to no longer receive. I eventually stopped inventing, but progress in the VR realm over here in Japan reignited my flame for inventing so I reached out."

That wasn't much new to some of those present, but it was good hearing it from her on the rare occasion she spoke of herself.

"As for unfortunate information about myself, I was born with a rare genetic mutation which makes your nerves thinner than they usually are. Thankfully this didn't turn out to be so bad for a while, but around the age of eight I developed severe chronic pain which has fluctuated but always been present to this day. The pain exists everywhere and often stops my motor skills with my body, making it impossible for me to move like I used to. Honorably discharged from the Canadian military ten years ago, soon after is when I started my transition from male to female. At the age of eighteen, I finished the current state of the AR device everyone is wearing. It has only received minor software updates since. It is the only thing which allows me to interact somewhat normally in the real world. As for my current physical situation, I'm plugged into the primary medicuboid, the first one. I am one of the terminally ill patients of doctor Kojiro-san. My terminal illness isn't likely to take me too soon, so it's possible she, I and with the help of others, my illness can be resolved. I have about ten years if I'm lucky, five years if unlucky. This...is why I've been hoping for your assistance as another mind with a different background and the potential you have. I would like to be able to continue parenting my children and sharing all my work with the world from over the years."

Everyone stared in silence. They had heard of some people in recent years lying to rack up pity points, which most people consider pointless, but the seriousness in her expression and the fact she had never lied to them made it feel all the more believable.

"I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be. I'm where I am on the virtue of doing everything in my ability to adapt to what came at me to try and ruin my life. I "saw it coming" that I would eventually lose my vision because my older sister lost hers at birth to the same issue, and my eyes had the weakest nerves out of them all. As for my other issues, they were also bound to happen. I lost my older sister several years back, around the time I developed my chronic pain issue. I was able to anticipate the issues I've had to face myself, because my sister went through the same but worse. I wanted to help her in any way I could, but I wasn't able to save her in the end. I wasn't learned enough in the medical field, and there wasn't something like the medicuboid ready to slow down the process of degradation her body was going through. I'm still here, I've got a lot of will to live, and I want to do everything in my power to make sure my sister is the last to die as helpless and painfully as her. Imagine having so many invisible disabilities and injuries and disorders eating away at you and suddenly keeling over while nobody realizes. At least...thankfully people are opening up their minds to issues they can't see."

Ela clapped her hands as she finished explaining, noticing the login pattern for others joining the server. Apparently she wasn't comfortable enough with everyone in their group to share with more people. Or, she was done explaining.

As more of the group gathered in the server, it became clear she wasn't going to continue explaining about herself. She had a gentle atmosphere around her, as if she was feeling protective, or very calm.

"I have a quest implemented in the server that I would like to challenge with all of us today. Would that be alright?"

Ela's announcement on that got the fully present guild excited. Expectations were high with the server having so many games implemented into it in some form or function, and what was known about her. They wondered if they were going to have a lot of trouble with it, or if she would spoil the fun and solve the issues for them.

"If there are no objections, I'll load us all in to the start point."

No objections were raised, only one question.

"How long do you think this quest will take for us to complete? I got called to go in early for my rehab in the morning."

The comment was from Agil. He wore a somewhat embarrassed expression but it became neutral very quickly.

"It will only take two hours at most if you want hints along the way, possibly three if you're sightseeing."

Agil gave a toothy grin and nodded.

"Three hours is fine, but no longer than that. Please show us your quest, Ela-san!"

From the last word of that reply, everyone was transported to the beginning point of the quest. They started out on a glowing stone pedestal surrounded by water. There was a forest bordering the pond where they stood. The leaves on the trees of the forest were a light pink, the bark white as snow. The water was a vivid pink colour as well.

A purple wisp swirled and touched down on the pedestal. Where the wisp made contact with the pedestal became solid. A fae emerged from the wisp, becoming much larger than the initial size it had. The purple clothed fae had white skin and hair, with clothes ranging from light pink to dark purple. It had a feminine frame and had wings which directly resembled the leaves on the trees.

"Welcome! You have arrived to the motherland of dryads. You have certain misfortune to appear in this place. I will have you do a few things in exchange for guidance through the forest. If you don't agree, I will be sealing you here on this pedestal. After all, my master is the most powerful of the dryads living here."

Everyone stared at the fae in wonder, but quickly went to checking between each other for how to respond.

"We will take your offer, but on one condition. Without lying, can you tell us why it is difficult to leave here without help?"

Leafa's response to the fae had the fae interested.

"Oh-ho~! You must be a fae too! No use tricking a fellow trickster. Since you were the one to speak up, how about you and I have a magic fight? Whoever remains will take the lead."

Leafa shook her head.

"I don't know this forest. If the fight is to convince you to guide us, then I will take you up on the challenge. But I will not fight to the death."

The fae let out a very animated groan of displeasure.

"How could you say that?! Our kind is always fighting like this. If you won't, then I'll feed you all to the treants!"

Leafa sighed and placed a hand on the butt of her katana, ready to draw it at a moment's notice.

"No steel allowed!"

The katana disappeared, turned into a scattering of pink leaves. The disappearance made Leafa furious.

"You have made a mistake..."

Leafa channeled her mp into a freezing spell focused in her hand, and pushed off of the ground with all her strength, bounding so fast that aside from Ela, Kirito, Asuna and the other fae, she would have been a blur. The fae wasn't fast enough however to dodge the open hand containing the ice magic. No matter how fast it sensed the magic, it couldn't react in time. Leafa grabbed the fae's neck and slammed it into the water, her hand freezing the water on contact and forming a plume. The fae frozen into the impact zone, only their face visible an not frozen.

"Heh, quite the trick there knowing and using my weakness...okay. You win. I'll guide you all. You deigned to spare my life after all."

Ela freed the fae from the ice with some fire magic. The fae panicked and dove back into the water when its wings were set aflame.

"That's quite rude when I said I would help you!"

It stopped right in front of Ela's face with a pout. Ela smiled and used a light healing magic to heal the burns.

"Oh...thank you for the healing. I suppose I can forgive you for burning me then...if you provide some food to make up for the burnt energy."

A candy drop appeared above her hand when she held it out. The fae quickly scooped it up and swallowed it whole. It was hard to believe considering the size of the fae and the size of the candy, but it was magic and in a virtual space.

"Right then...let's get you out of here."

Kirito spoke up jokingly as they walked over the suddenly solid water.

"If you keep doing so much, we won't be able to enjoy the quest for ourselves. Maybe you weren't the one to make this quest?"

Ela shrugged.

"You would be right in guessing as such. My eldest child created this quest and I would like to enjoy it with everyone. I will leave the rest to everyone else unless you need my help from here."

Upon reaching the forest, everyone realized very quickly what kind of forest they were in. It wasn't a bluff that they would be dealing with treants after entering it. Every single tree was in fact a treant. They turned their faces as their guests continued through. Eventually they were beset upon by something other than treants. A druid which changed form between different types of animals as a shape changer. It wasn't just one however. Several druids taking on different forms attacked the group. They had a fair amount of struggle fending off the druids which constantly changed their forms to compensate for their weakness. During the struggle it came out that they were after the fae which betrayed their home. The druids tired out, letting the fae and the group continue because they no longer had the strength to oppose them.

As they continued their way out of the forest, they found themselves distracted once again, by a convocation of witches containing the leader, the master of the fae. As soon as the witches were about to cast magic at the group, a high pitched beep pierced through the surroundings. A message notification to Kirito. The witches shrieked and unleashed a barrage of low level spells in response to their magic they had been casting being interrupted. The wave of firebolts, lightning strikes and ice spikes were more than enough to terrify the group, but none of the spells connected.

"It seems I don't have the time to spend fighting you, so I'll end this swiftly."

Kirito had deployed a wall like she had used in Aincrad and that stopped the magic from reaching the group. Immediately after the spells finished hitting the wall, she returned it to her inventory and charged up to them. She moved fast, used the trees, the treants and everything she could while weaving her way toward the witches as they unleashed more and more magic. As soon as she closed the distance, she practically danced with her short sword, slicing through the witches as if there was nothing for her blade to cut through.

The witches were solid in spite of the ease with which the blade sliced through them, and they shattered with the same dying animation the monsters did within SAO. Kirito let out a sigh when she knew she was done and she interacted with her messages to be certain what the message was she received. The message was from Kikuoka, regarding the request he had before.

"What was that about? Though, you really did go all out getting those witches."

Kirito groaned when she finished reading the request.

"Apparently...I'm going to be needed in another game, to help investigate a murder."

Ela walked up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I will assist how I can. A request from Kikuoka-san right?"

With a nod, Kirito dropped to her butt.

"I was hoping to relax a while longer, but apparently they can't pin down the murderer and they need more proof. There was another victim found and it has become urgent that they get help. Same motive is what Kikuoka-san's division have determined. They need someone to go into Gun Gale Online and find the person responsible for the crimes. As much as I would appreciate your help Ela-san, I think you don't need to transfer to that game to do so. I will handle the game side of the investigation myself. If it's on my own I don't need to worry about protecting anyone."

Ela gave a worried expression.

"This is real life. Yes you face those risks in SAO, but-"

"But there's nobody here more physically capable in a virtual environment, and your skills would be more efficiently used otherwise in the investigation. Archery isn't the same as firing a gun, but I could likely use a bow there and other tools and play as a hunter. I will be fine. After all, do you know a better stealth type here?"

The confidence was flowing from her. She was still unhappy that she had to do it, but she accepted that it was her responsibility.

"Well, give him your response and let's finish the quest."

Kirito nodded and swiftly sent a response, turning to the fae which was leading them out of the forest when she was ready. It didn't take much longer to get out of the forest. They were very close to the edge when they had been stopped by the witches. The quest changed when they got out. The objective was to survive a dragon attack.