I'm finally done! And I feel so dead x.X

Let me tell you, I was so sick of this chapter not being done, that I rushed a bit at the end, but I regret nothing! If you see any mistake or if some part sounds completely stupid, feel free to tell me :D

Now, I wanted to thank all of you for your big support! While the rant due to the reviews was perhaps a bit – explosive, too early, I should have thought a bit first? - early, but I don't regret it. It was heartwarming when I got at least 3 reviews in the first thirty minutes (I might have even cried a little.).

So I wanted to really, really thank you all! You are the best!

The response I got for my little update was also really awesome. You all have given me your opinions and reasoning and it helped me decide who to add and who not. For example, Gokudera was one of the characters I had thought the most possible to add, but your reasoning showed me, that he would not have the time, money and ambition to play. Or Belphegor would not be that interested in it. He can kill people RL, why would he do that VR without blood?

Skull and Chrome/Nagi are already planned to be added. I also have a weapon for Nagi to use, that differs from her usual trident (she acted as Mukuro's bods, ergo she had HIS weapon, but not her own). Skull is a bit tricky. Still debating what to give him.

Dino is the one who I really have to think about more. Right now I'm a bit against adding him, but part of me wants to put him in and that there is a logic reasoning for it, too.

For those who do not know yet, the poll on my profile is still open, so please check it out.

I have also uploaded pictures of Benihime, Washi and Weaver on DeviantArt under the username TraumTaenzerin94. Please check them out! You can also find them on the AO3 version of this story.

Now, enjoy reading!

Word count: 6519 (main chapter); 1109 (bonus)


Chapter Three: Of Quests and Weapons

Shortly after waking up, Washi and Weaver planned out what to do the next days. After breakfast and getting better gear, the best course of action was to travel to the next town and doing as many quests as possible along the way. Washi remembered many of the from the area and planned the rout accordingly. Some of them were a bit far out, but had gear that would be very useful for the next few floors. If they needed money, he purposed doing the «Secret Medicine of the Forest» quest and then sell the rewarded sword to another player, since none of them used the «One-Handed Sword» skill.

"Which would you recommend, Washi?" Tsuna asked nervously as she eyed the weapon merchant's wares. She had already been able to sell all her junk from the monsters she had killed the day before for a good amount of col, the currency in SAO. Now she had to decide which spear she should choose. There were three to choose from, one made from iron, one made from black iron and one made from steel, all with different stats.

"Let me see." He said and looked over her shoulder at the weapon specifications and studied them for a minute. "This one-" He pointed to the iron one. "-isn't very good. It's only slightly better than your starting spear. In my opinion, it's not good enough for the price. That one-" This time he gestured to the steel spear. "-is much better. It boosts your strength more than the others, but it's weight also dampens your reaction time which can be too dangerous. The last one would be my recommendation. It does less damage than the last one, but boosts your agility by 1 point without restricting you and is cheap too. Also, remember that we plan on doing a quest with a spear as reward. That one will be useful for the next floors."

While Tsuna nodded and bought the spear made of black iron, Weaver stood at a nearby stall and got the potions they needed. She had already changed into her new leather and cloth gear and had her new dagger strapped to her waist. A long black scarf was wrapped around her neck, giving her the ninja feeling she was after along with a +4 agility boost. It could be used to hide her face, function as a hood, or even both at once. Weaver had bought it from a disheartened player, who got it as a quest reward the day before and wished to remain in the Town of Beginning. He wanted to hear nothing of her offer to add him to their party and help him level a bit.

"I think we got everything." Weaver announced happily after she had looked over their purchases. Most of it was meant to last them until they reached the next town, with enough food and potions in case they encountered trouble.

"Then we can set out." Washi said proudly and adjusted the positions of the shield on his back and the mace on his belt. While the game was called "SWORD Art Online", there were a variety of different weapons and swords were used by too many of his fellow players. So a mace was different. That it reminded him of the baton he used as a policeman, had something to do with that as well.

Tsuna placed one hand on the staff of her spear that was now safely strapped on her back and was thankful that she was in a game, due to it's length. It ended just a few centimeters above the ground, while the tip towered about a head over her. In the real world she would have tripped from the weight on her back or even over her own feet by now. Some moments she could just forget that this was a virtual world, that this was not real. But at the same time, part of her was more than aware of that fact. A part that was screaming fakefakefake over and over in the back of her head, that she nearly got a headache.

~HnS~

"Which is the first one, dear?" Weaver asked her husband after they had left the Town of Beginning. Over the last hour they had collected all of their planned quests within the town. There were so many that they had to filter which they wanted to do without having to return to the quest giver. All of them were finished once they had finished their objective.

"We have to kill ten wolves that attack travelers on the way out of Town of Beginning." Washi explained as he led them down the road. "There is a hidden part of the quest. If you manage to save the eldest of the travelers, who are being attacked, he will tell you about «Mist Wolves' Den», the wolves home and a mini dungeon, and ask you to kill the pack alpha. His body is quite strong and you get a weapon drop out of his bones or teeth."

"Is it a random weapon or based on the player to land the last attack?" Weaver asked skeptically. Doing the quest would be pointless, if they got the wrong gear from it. While they could sell it, it was still not good enough. They did those quests to get gear not col.

"It's a random drop, but from limited options." Washi explained. "You can get a dagger, a sword or a mace from it. So the chances are higher to get a weapon we can use than getting the sword."

"You know quite a bit about the quests of this area" Tsuna mentioned. "You are like a walking handbook of quests."

"Well" Washi laughed and scratched at his cheek. "I quested here a lot with other players during the beta. We tried to find as much information on them as possible. While we had to sign a contract for the beta not to post anything online about the quests before the official launch, we wrote things down for ourselves to quest easier. I memorized my notes in the time between the beta and the launch."

"Are you going to share this knowledge with the other players?"Tsuna asked thoughtfully. "If I wasn't partying with you, I would be at a huge dis-disat- I would not have such options and in our situation, information can mean the difference between life and death."

"I know" Washi sighed deeply. "I had never intended to keep anything to myself. I was going to post a quest-guide in my blog and be done with it. Argo – I have told you about the information broker, right? - send me a message yesterday. She arranged different meetings with all beta testers to collect useful information to create a handbook that will be given to all players free of charge. That way everyone will have all information they need."

"That's very nice of her" Tsuna hummed. She couldn't wait to meet Argo, she sounded nice and like fun. "Which other quests are we doing for weapons?"

"Two others." Washi explained, his eyes glued to the open screens in front of him. One was a map along with their position and the other was a note with the quests they had accepted. "During the «Misty Wolf Pack» quest we will make a detour to a hut at the edge of the woods. There we will meet a farmer who will tell us of his son's death and how the tribe of goblins responsible lives in a cave deep in the woods. He will ask us to avenge his son, by killing the goblins. The chieftain will drop a random weapon."

"The other one is located at the halfway point of our route." He continued. "A sick young woman will tell us that her children are lost in the area. They went out to gather herbs to cure their mother's illness. This quest is similar to the «Secret Medicine of the Forest» quest. We will have to find the children and the herbs and return it to the quest giver. She will give us one of the weapons she has from her late husband."

"Well" Weaver grinned enthusiastically. "If I'm not mistaken, then the wolves over there are our targets, right?" She pointed along the way, to a small group of NPC travelers, who were distinguishable by their lack of weapons. They were using walking sticks and swinging bags to keep the wolves surrounding them away.

"Yes, that's them" Washi shouted alarmed and readied his shield and mace. "We need to keep the NPCs alive. If most of them survive for the second part, we will get more EXP." Tsuna pulled the spear from her back and tried to relax. She could do it, she was Benihime and she would grow strong and return to her mother and Renji-oji-san.

Charging forward Benihime readied a sword skill and pierced a wolf that was about to attack a young NPC. The wolf lost half of it's HP and snarled at her, while she cursed the stiffening period after a skill, where she couldn't move for a moment. Kicking it back and off her weapon she used another sword skill and watched as the wolf shattered into pixels.

"Good work" Weaver shouted her way, as she danced around a wolf, hacking and slashing at it with her dagger. The sword skills she used delivered multiple hits per skill and her higher agility reduced her stiffening period. "Don't get distracted! Focus on the ones near the travelers!"

Another two wolves appeared, snarling and growling and went to attack the NPCs, when Washi used his shield to slam them away before attacking one with his mace. Benihime show forward and attacked the second wolf. Twisting around she found another wolf slightly behind her and gritted her teeth as she took the position for a different sword skill. This one consisted of three fast jabs with her spear, each his with the same amount of damage like the other skill, but with a longer stiffening period.

They could finally relax, as Weaver and Washi had killed the last wolves. Only one of the NPCs had died, before they had even seen them and now the rest turned to Washi, Weaver and Benihime gratefully.

"Many thanks, you saved our lives" One of them, and old man, said. "The wolves have always been a problem on this road, but ever since the Mist Wolf Alpha came into the area, the wolves are wilder than ever before. We can't travel without being attacked." The NPC is silent for a moment before bowing to them. "Please, gracious adventurers, as you are trained in the use of your weapons, would you aid is? The wolves live in a cave deep in the woods and if you kill the Mist Wolf Alpha, the wolves would scatter and we could safely travel again. Would you do that for us?"

"Of course" Washi assured them with a smile. "You will be able to travel without fear soon." The NPCs bowed gratefully and gathered their belongings, while a screen popped up before the three players.

«Quest Finished!

Reward:

Exp 350(+263)

Col 300

Item 5

Congratulations!

You have started the hidden

«Misty Wolf Pack» Quest»

"Nice" Weaver hummed when she saw the additional EXP. "We got quite a bit of bonus experience. That should be about..." She counted the surviving members of the travelers and calculated. "...15% per surviving NPC."

"I got a necklace named «Wolf Claw». Oh, two of them." Washi noticed humming. "It gives a +1 agility boost as well as +2 for defense against wolves. Kiko got one of those once. She told me about it during the beta. It's useful for our quest. How high is your agility, Hime?"

Benihime blinked. Did he mean her?

"Don't worry about me, dear" Weaver answered and proudly adjusted her scarf. "The boost from the scarf is enough for me. I think Benihime could use it more."

"Yeah" Washi answered and opened a trading screen with Benihime to give her the necklace. It looked quite simple and crude. Just a single wolf claw on a thin leather string. There were small scratches on it's surface and there were a few chips missing here and there.

"Let's continue!" Weaver beamed with a huge grin and clapped her hands together. "Now we have to start the Goblin quest right?"

~HnS~

"Say, Weaver" Tsuna said as they traveled through the forest. In the last hour they had traveled to it's edge and had spoken to the farmer living in the small hut. The tale of his son's death was sad and filled with the feeling of mourning. Now they were first looking for the cave the goblins lived in, followed by the «Mist Wolves Den» to get their first two weapons. "Washi called you 'Hime' earlier. I was a bit confused, since it's my name here, too, and... ehm... well, is it just him calling you his princess or...?"

"It's both actually" Weaver grinned. "He does like calling me 'his princess' and it's also a shorter version of my name, Orihime." She laughed. "Do you know the story of Tanabata?"

Tsuna nodded. It was one of her favorite holidays. She loved to hang up wishes on trees, playing games with her mother and Renji-oji-san and wearing her yukata. Her mother loved the story behind it even more, saying it was reminding her of her own love. Two lovers separated by a great river, only being able to meet once a year for a single day. When it was a cloudy day, they didn't even have that.

"Washi's real name, Hideyoshi, sound's similar to Hikeboshi from the story and I'm named Orihime." Weaver began to tell. "The first time we met was when we were children at the Tanabata festival in Kyoto. In the following years we only ever met at the festival until he finally asked me out. Since then Tanabata has a special place in out hearts. Our names are also a hint at Orihime, weaving princess, and Hikeboshi, who is depicted as the Aquila, eagle, constellation."

"I hope we're not trapped here too long" Washi called from in front of them. His eyes were glued to his map, just like before. "I don't want to miss our annual Tanabata. Or our wedding anniversary."

"We married on Tanabata" Weaver whispered into Tsuna's ear, causing her to giggle. They really loved that holiday.

"The cave should be near here somewhere." Washi muttered. Passing through a few thick bushes and under low hanging branches they burst into a small clearing. A clearing that ended at a rock wall with a cave.

"Is this the goblin cave?" Tsuna asked frowning. "Or the one from the wolves?"

"It's from the goblins, I think." Washi replied and examined the wall. Figures and pictures were scratched into it's surface or painted with different colored mud. "Wolves can't do that. It was used as an identifier."

"One important thing" He began. "There is a certain tactic used by players, when facing strong opponents. It's called "Switch". A monster can only be attacked by one player at a time. When one player has to rest for a moments, because of their HP for example, they "switch" with a party member that stayed back. Additionally, the monster's AI cannot adjust to the changed fighting style fast enough, so you have a slight advantage."

"Are you ready?" He asked them. "The goblins are stronger than the wolves, so we have to be quiet and fast. We get bonus damage if they are unaware of our attack. The chieftain is even stronger than them."

"Hai", Weaver and Benihime said as one and readied their weapons. It was better not to enter unprepared.

~HnS~

The goblin cave consisted of a long and narrow path that lead to a large spacious chamber. Scattered all around were goblins with differing primitive weapons, ranging from axes to swords to clubs. While they only needed three to four sword skills for each goblin, there were too many to simply charge at them. One of the items Weaver had gotten from the wolf quest was one set of «Iron Throwing Picks», containing ten picks. They had counted eleven goblins, along with the chieftain. It was easy to simply attack one goblin with a pick to lure it into the path, where they waited hidden for their chance to attack it.

Their plan worked perfectly. They waited until the goblin was near them and then struck him with sword skills. Once Weaver had been able to land a critical hit. The pick had pierced the goblin's neck and went up into it's brain, destroying it as it was. When they had thrown all picks, they crept forward, sticking to the shadows. The chieftain was located on a higher level than than the rest of the cave and the last goblin stood guard at the ramp upwards.

"Once we have slain the last guard we should take potions." Weaver proposed in a whisper, while eyeing the mentioned goblin. "The boss should be the strongest. I don't like to take risks with something like that."

"Yes" Benihime agreed, while Washi just nodded. The guard-goblin patrolled along the ramp and Washi raised a hand to sign them when to attack. They watched for a moment as the goblin was nearer to the chieftain and then walked into their direction. Just as he was about to stop walking, did Washi sign for them to attack and Weaver, the fastest of the three of them darted forward, a sword skill ready. The goblin was hit several times but raised its weapon, a crudely made ax and swung it after Weaver, but Washi jumped between and blocked it with his shield. Then Benihime twisted to it's back and hit it with her three-hit-sword skill. Its HP reached zero and it burst into pixels.

"Nice work!" They each used as many potions as they needed to have full health and sneaked forward, making sure to stay in the shadows to observe the «Goblin Chieftain».

"Observation and information are the key to survive" Washi muttered. "You know, the first time I did this quest with a group, we nearly wiped. One of our lower level members thought too much of himself and tried charging one of the goblins. He got aggro from all of them. If you are attacked by all goblins at once, your only ways to survive is a good strategy, running away, or one hell of an experienced tank. Thankfully we had teamed up with a solo player named Kirito. He was obsessed with SAO and knew how to deal with the situation. Two of our party died but the rest managed to fight the goblins and the chieftain. I was... very angry at the one who caused it."

"I think I remember that" Weaver bit her lip and looked to the side. "You were ranting at me about this member and how he was an egoistical... idiot. At that time I couldn't understand why you were so angry. I thought it was just a game. But now I understand it better and I think... the situation was similar to, you know, Toriyama-chan, right?"

Washi's face closed off and emotions flashed through his eyes. They were gone faster than Benihime could recognize them, but it was obvious that, whoever this Toriyama-san was, it was a bad topic, one that hurt him deeply. But Washi wasn't the only one hiding his emotions. Weaver was looking to the side, trying to hide the guilt on her face.

"Dear, I-" she began, but Washi cut her off.

"Don't." He said harshly, but softened instantly. "Don't, please. Not now."

"I-" She said hesitantly, but nodded. "Alright. I'm sorry."

"Let's just... finish our quests, alright?"

The atmosphere was thick and Benihime shifted uncomfortably when they crept forward towards the chieftain. He was bigger than the other goblins and sat on a big throne made of bones, which none of them wanted to examine too closely. His jagged and yellowed teeth were gnawing on a piece of raw meat in his right hand, while his left hand was holding a large club made of stone. It seemed as if he had simply broken off a stalagmite to use it as a weapon.

Once again Washi gave a signal to attack. Weaver shot forward, her dagger glowing with a readied sword skill and twisted around to the chieftain's unguarded back. He turned around to attack her, but Benihime had reached him with another sword skill of her own. Washi's mace hit the chieftain on his head while Weaver once again went after his unguarded back. The chieftain shrieked inhumanly and swung his club after Washi, who couldn't move due to his stiffening period. Benihime, who had not yet used her sword skill, slipped behind him, raised her spear horizontally in a guard position and caught the swing. The force of the swing went through her arms and she watched as her HP lowered by a quarter.

"Yoshi! Beni!" Weaver called in a mix of panic and relief. When she could move she charged another sword skill, aiming for the chieftain's neck, which did another critical hit, but it left her open for an attack. When the chieftain raised his club again, Washi was able to move and ready to move. He used his shield to push it back and smashed his mace into the chieftain's face. His hit caused the chieftain to stumble back and a small icon appeared above his health bar.

"He's confused" Washi laughed. "He cant attack or defend! That's our chance!" The next minutes were a blur of attacking, evading and defending. Once Washi figured out what had caused the confusion status– a specific sword skill to the head, while the chieftain readied his attack – he tried to replicate it.

Washi only managed it once the chieftain's HP was very low and Benihime used the opportunity to attack it again, but there was still a tiny bit of HP left. The chieftain recovered from the confusion faster than before and with a shriek like before prepared to attack again. There was just a flash of light and the chieftain burst into pixels, revealing Weaver behind it, her dagger still in the air.

"Yes!" Benihime cheered and jumped happily, while Weaver and Washi shared a hug. Grinning mischievously Weaver spared a quick glance in her direction, before pulling Washi's head down for a loving kiss. Benihime turned her back to them and payed attention to the screens that had popped up before them.

«Quest Completed!

Dungeon Cleared!

Reward:

Exp 650(+250)

Col 700

Item 6»

«Congratulations!

You have reached Level 3!

Please distribute your Status Points.»

For a moment Benihime looked over her stats. During her level up the day before she had put one point into strength – STR – and two into agility – AGI. Since her spear focused more on speed than strength, she decided to place her now points the same way.

Looking over the rewarded items she hummed happily when she spotted «Leather Gloves» with a +3 boost in agility and equipped them. They fit nicely and would come in handy. The other items were three health potions, a set of «Iron Throwing Picks» and one «Goblin Bone».

"What items did you get?" Washi asked as he looked through his items as well. "I got three potions, a ring with +2 in strength and two «Goblin Bones»."

"I got those" Benihime grinned and raised her hands to show him the gloves. "They have +3 Agility. Then I have a set of «Iron Throwing Picks», three potions and one «Goblin Bone». So Weaver must have gotten it."

"Yup" Weaver confirmed with a flushed face. "I got a necklace with +2 agility, three potions as well, one set of «Iron Throwing Picks», one «Goblin Bone» and -" She grinned. "- a «Savage Warmace». You got lucky, love. Here." She opened the trading screen and gave Washi the weapon. It was a crude mace made of wood with blades of bone and stone jutting out on one end. While it was not the most beautiful weapon of all the look on Washi's face said enough in it's attack power.

"We got a bonus for "Clearing the Dungeon"?" Weaver asked curiously.

"It's done in several MMOs." Benihime explained. "If you kill every enemie in the dungeon, you get extra EXP."

"That's right." Washi confirmed. "Here in SAO it's mostly between 20-50% on the EXP gained from the Dungeon Boss. In this case we got 500 EXP from the «Goblin Chieftain» and got lucky that we got 250 EXP, so that's 50%."

"Well" Weaver said and stretched her arms over her head. "That was fun. On to the wolves then?"

"Let's go."

~HnS~

"Is it a Dungeon, too?" Benihime asked. They had reached the part of the forest where the «Mist Wolves Den» was located and were now overlooking it from a small cliff before it. The den consisted of a multitude of pathways that snaked their way through the ground, forming several hills and valleys. Everything was covered in a thin layer of mist that didn't do much more than blur some shapes instead of hiding them.

"No" Washi said. "We don't even need to kill all of the wolves. The alpha is enough. Although..." He looked at both of his party members. "... it might be a good idea for us to still clear the den of wolves. We will need any EXP that we can get."

"There are so many..." Tsuna gulped. "That will take a long time if we want to clear them all out..."

"How strong are they, dear?" Weaver implored. "If they are about as strong as the wolves we encountered before, then we could try to split up. We were able to kill the wolves by ourselves."

"«Mist Wolves» are a bit stronger than normal «Wolves»." Washi warned while he watched the groups of Wolves walk along the paths before them. "Not by much, but enough to be dangerous if you are attacked by multiple ones. I'm not sure if we could risk attacking them on our own."

"We could..." Tsuna bit her lips while she tried to vocalize her idea. She felt that splitting up in a small area with known enemies was a good way to train in case they were separated and had to fend for themselves. "We could... test if we can kill them solo. You know, that one of us attacks a wolf and the others stay back and only enter the fight if they need help. If it works we might be able to split up."

Washi and Weaver shared a look. It was obvious that Weaver was torn between remaining together and splitting up, while Washi looked quite happy with her idea. Weaver raised an eyebrow at her husband, who simply shrugged his shoulders with a smile. After a long sigh Weaver turned to Benihime.

"We can try. Splitting up might really save us time" She acknowledged. "But we have to be really careful. We don't want any surprises." She frowned at the last word and Tsuna tilted her head to the side.

"She doesn't like getting surprised." Washi chuckled quietly so Weaver couldn't hear. "I tried to take her out on a surprise date once before we got married. It didn't end well. She wouldn't speak to me for a week. The only surprise she liked was my proposal."

"Let me guess" Tsuna grinned. "it was on Tanabata?" Her answer was a sly grin.

They made their was to one of the hills of the den and selected one of the wolves to attack. It was a bit outside of the others, obviously patrolling. After some debating it was decided that Benihime should try first. Taking a deep breath she charged up her sword skill and charged the «Mist Wolf» before her.

Her hit took about half of it's HP and it turned to her snarling. It's jaw closed around her left leg, just as the stiffening period ended. Raising her spear high, she slammed it's tip into the wolf's neck. Her use of a sword skill only registered as the wolf burst into pixels.

"Beni, you okay?" Weaver worried as she fretted over the still present tooth marks on her lower leg. Benihime just grinned. She had felt an odd rush when she was attacked. After that she had simply reacted. It reminded her a bit of the times she was chased by some bullies and she had to change directions in a split second.

Or like when she came face to face with Hibari-senpai. While she was not yet in Namimori Middle, she knew him or rather of him. Everyone knew the Hibari family. Hibari-senpai's parents Hibari Masahiro, who lead or rather ruled the police force of Tokyo with an iron fist, and Hibari Lifen, who none in Namimori had ever seen in anything but kimonos or elegant Chinese dresses. And of course Hibari-senpai, who was rumored to control all of Namimori and if he did not, then he would soon.

"Yes, I'm fine" Benihime answered, still grinning. She was wondering if this was an adrenaline rush. Why didn't she have one of such earlier? Like when they were fighting the other wolves, the goblins or the chieftain? Wasn't there something else? Ah, yes -"Weaver, why did you call me Beni?"

"Oh" Weaver flushed. "Did I? I didn't really notice. It's just- well, Benihime is quite a mouthful, so I might have subconsciously shortened it. If it bothers you I can stop."

"No, no" Benihime assured her. "It doesn't bother me. I was just wondering. And -" Her smile softened. "- Beni sounds nice. I'd like it if you call me that. Both of you." They continued to smile at each other for a few moments, before Washi cleared his throat.

"How about we continue, ladies" He offered. "Since it worked with Beni we should try it ourselves and then split up."

"Of course, dear" Weaver smiled. "Do you need a potion, Beni?" Benihime eyed her HP bar and shook her head with a smile.

"No, but thank you." She said. "I take one later. If the wolves are as strong as that one I can go a bit before I need one. I take one when I have less than half HP left."

"Good" Weaver nodded. "But keep a close eye on it."

"I will."

The tests went on without any incident. Washi killed his test wolf with one hit of his warmace and Weaver had to use three skills to take it down, but managed to evade every attack. Since they were confident that they could stay aloive on their own, they split up, even if Weaver and Washi did so a bit reluctantly. Each of them took one part of the den they wanted to clear and carefully made their way through.

Benihime panted as she slew her – she didn't know which number – wolf and slumped to the ground. That could have ended bad. She had nearly destroyed a plant that gave her bad feelings. She had dug her feet into the ground, when she saw that her attack would destroy it and pulled the skill up to hit the nearby tree. That had then alerted the three wolves near her of her presence and she had to defend herself. Many of their attacks had hit nothing but air since she had somehow been lucky enough to move into the right direction, but enough had hit her that her HP bar blinked at her with an angry red.

Selecting the potions in her menu she rested for a few moments to recover and watched Washi and Weaver's HP bars under hers. Who would have thought that this would end like this? She wondered for a moment what mama and Renji-oji-san were doing right now. Mama would be said, that she was certain of, but Renji-oji-san would take care of her.

The planned regrouping place was located in front of the small space where the alpha slept. It was surrounded on three sides by thick trees and a small cliff, so they could only attack from the front. Weaver and Washi were already there when Benihime arrived on their rendezvous point, but it was hard to tell which arm belonged to whom. They were hugging each other so hard and tight that they might as well have been one single being. They obviously did not take the split up well. It was kind of cute.

"Eto, shall we continue?" Benihime asked after a few moments. This reminded her of mama and Renji-oji-san. When Renji-oji-san returned to Kyoto, he and mama had long and sweet farewells. Sure, the farewells with her "father" were even sweeter and longer, but too long made it awkward and too sweet could make it disgusting. Let alone the fact, that his visits were very few and far in between.

Blushing lightly, they separated and all together made their way to the alpha's area. He was bigger than the other wolves and had different colored fur. While the «Mist Wolves» had a gray pelt, the «Mist Wolf Alpha» was pure white. Several scars covered his face and body and his teeth were long and wickedly sharp.

Once again they first watched him, while Washi told them what information he knew about him. Which body part they needed to hit to stun him, where he was vulnerable and from which position he couldn't attack them as fast. Then on his signal Weaver sprinted forward and attacked, followed by Benihime and lastly by Washi. The alpha was much stronger than the «Mist Wolves» had been, but still not as strong as the «Goblin Chieftain».

This fight was longer than the fight against the chieftain since they just couldn't manage to confuse him or momentarily stun him. There were several instances where one if them had to jump back and take a few potions to recover and then rejoin the fight. While it might have been safer for one to stay back and only engage the enemy when one wanted to switch, they had found out earlier that day that their stiffening periods and attacks matched well and that there was always one that attacked.

Finally after several minutes of attacking and recovering, the alpha took a great bite out of Washi's arm who didn't think long, but held the alpha in that position. Weaver and Benihime took that opportunity and used their best sword skills to attack. And the alpha burst into pixels.

«Quest Completed!

Reward:

Exp 500

Col 400

Item 4»

Just like before the first thing Benihime did after cheering for their success, was to check her rewarded items. There were once again two potions, from which she used one, one «Great Wolf Pelt» and one bracelet with +3 strength. Beside her she heard Washi and Weaver comment on the gear they had gotten – a pair of + 3 strength gauntlets and a +3 agility ring, respectively – while they also exchanged the weapon they were after, a dagger called «Misty Fang», which Washi had gotten this time. It was the «Mist Alpha»'s fang with a twisted handle.

~HnS~

The last weapon quest they had planned was not as difficult as the others, it just took much longer to do. They had to travel a very long way while also fighting monsters. Many monsters. They would catch a glimpse of the children, who would then disappear into a direction again, which caused the way to be so long and mostly through monster infested areas.

They finally found the children in a clearing, a small boy and girl of about five years and a girl around eight years old. The younger ones were hidden behind their older sister, who used a branch to defend themselves from monsters in a circle around them. Washi used his warmace to open a way for Benihime and Weaver to enter the circle and slay the monsters easier.

The children were very thankful that they were saved and asked them to help them gather the herbs their mother needed. Even if it had not been a part of the quest, as Washi had already told them, they would have done it anyway. Especially considering that the little ones started to tear up at the thought of their mother dying.

Washi had already marked the herb's locations that he remembered and had planned the rout they had to take. It was just as long as their trek to find the children. Each time it was a small patch of plants where the eldest girl picked one or two herbs before urging them on again.

By the time they had returned to the hut they had to fight enough monsters to each level up again. Some of the monsters they had fought had also been part of a quest they had accepted in the Town of Beginnings, where they simply had to kill a certain amount of a type of monster which gave them even more EXP.

Their quest giver was more than happy to have her children back. She thanked them tearfully and bowed deeply, causing her to stumble due to her illness. While she used the herbs they had gathered to make her medicine, she allowed Weaver, Washi and Benihime to look through the weapons her late husband left her. There were two swords, one straight and one curved, a dagger, a hammer and a spears. Benihime eyed the spear with a critical eye, comparing it to her current weapon.

The «Whistling Wind Pike» was heavier than her black iron spear, but it was also longer and did more damage. It also gave her a boost of +2 strength and +3 agility, which were very good stats. When she equipped it and took a good look at it, she was awed. The spear towered over her and its surface gleamed in a swirly pattern of silvery and gray steel. The main part of the pole was made out of square metal that twisted in a spiral upwards to a tear-drop-like tip. A small test outside revealed that it was called "Whistling Wind" for a reason.

Benihime liked this weapon. It felt good and made her feel strong.

With a smile on her face, Benihime joined Weaver and Washi on their way to their next quests and to their destination.

~HnS-Bonus Chapter~

[Trigger Warning: mentioned character deaths; mentioned domestic and child abuse]

Kusakabe Tetsuya stood before the door of Hibari Kyôya's office and sighed deeply before he raised his hand to knock. He had sworn his alliance to the boy two years ago, after he had watched him singlehandedly defeat two warring Yakuza Families. His older brother, Kusakabe Shunya, had been a member of one of them, in order to support their family. He was killed when he refused to murder innocent people. His body had been found in pieces six months after his death.

It was the reason he had been able to witness Hibari's fight with both Families. He had wished to avenge his brother, but instead he got to witness their shame and defeat, while also finding someone he could follow.

"Enter" Hibari's voice was sharp and to the point, much like the boy himself. Tetsuya opened the door and bowed deeply before his leader.

"We have grave news, Hibari-san." He explained without beating around the bush. Hibari had little patience and bit anyone to death that went on and on with meaningless talking. "Yesterday was the official launch of the VRMMORPG Sword Art Online on 13:00 JST. Shortly after that, news started to spread that people were trapped inside the game with no means to escape. The hardware used for the game, a helmet like device called NerveGear, generates microwave energy and can lead it directly into the player's brain, effectively killing them. Over 200 players died within the first hours."

Tetsuya hesitated.

"There are seven people here in Namimori who were trapped in the game" He continued and handed his boss files on those people. "Two of them, Taguchi Tohaku, age 18, and Konoe Fukuko, age 28, are among the deceased. The other five, Ninomiya Nao, age 17, Watoga Shinji, age 19, Irie Souichi, age 12, Takudo Shinsaku, age 20, and Sawada Tsunayoshi, age 12, are still located in their homes, but will be relocated to the hospital soon, since it is unknown when they will escape the game by "clearing" it. It means, they have to win the game to escape."

Hibari read through the files, concentrating on the deceased first.

"Have Koyanagi contact the families of Konoe and Taguchi." Hibari ordered. "Tell him to ensure that they are treated with the utmost respect. Send them an anonymous donation to cover the funeral costs from the Yakuza money we confiscated last month."

"Konoe has two children, nine and seven years old." Hibari noticed. "Who is their guardian now?"

"Their maternal grandparents, living south of Namimori just out of the town" Tetsuya answered. He had anticipated this question. "Their father is forbidden any form of contact via restraining order and court sentence. He is currently serving time in prison for... domestic abuse against his wife and child molestation."

"He touched them?" He asked with narrowing eyes and growled at Tetsuya's grim nod. "Have some of our man patrol the area around the grandparent's house. In case the amoeba decides to flee now that the mother is dead." Tetsuya made a note on his clipboard. "If we have a contact in the prison have him keep an eye on the amoeba."

"Summarize the situations for the living players." Hibari ordered and Tetsuya lifted a few of his papers. He had taken notes about all players while he read through their files.

"Ninomiya Nao, age 17, student of Namimori High, good academics, while also quite popular. Second of three children, her parents work often, so she had been in her elder brother's care often, same with her younger sister."

"Watoga Shinji, age 19, had taken a year off to deal with an injury after a car accident, studies to enter Medical School in Tokyo, living with his grandmother and four younger siblings. Their financial situation is shaky at best, his late father left them with a large dept, which Watoga helped his mother repay. They were hit by a truck on their way home, which cost his mother's life. He ended up with a spine injury and it was considered a miracle that he retained his ability to walk."

"Irie Souichi, age 12, student of Namimori Elementary, aspiring to enter Yumei Private Middle School. He has good grades in all of his classes and has a big social circle. Lives with both parents and one older sister. Both parents work well paid jobs, the father full-time and the mother part-time, so there is no need for them to worry about money."

"Takudo Shinsaku, age 20, graduated from Namimori Vocational School last spring and has been learning in his father's trade in the family business Takudo Tailoring after that. Two uncles in the same buisness and one younger brother in Namimori High. The mother works in Namimori Hospital as a nurse and has already volunteered to care for the SAO victims, despite the vacation time she had taken three days ago."

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, age 12, student of Namimori Elementary. Known to her classmates as "Dame-Tsuna", has horrible grades, no friends, is terribly clumsy and constantly bullied. Used to be a very bright and active child but had a sudden strange decline in abilities at age 5. Lives with her mother, a housewife, her father's work and whereabouts are unknown. They survive on a large sum of money that is send to them monthly. A frequent visitor is Watanabe Renji, who is speculated by neighbors to be Tsunayoshi's father. Further research revealed Watanabe to be a childhood friend of the mother and to be biologically female. One of our contacts in the underworld thought the name Sawada sounded familiar, but couldn't immediately place it. He is currently looking into it."

Hibari nodded and flipped through some of the files, mostly skimming the information and payed close attention to Sawada. Tetsuya understood that. If her father was unknown and her family name sounded familiar in the underworld, then it could lead to danger. But there was also a chance that Sawada was a spy.

"Have our men keep eyes on the families of each of them." Hibari ordered. "Ninomiya, Irie and Takudo won't need more than that. Send an anonymous donation to the family of Watoga to cover the rest of the dept and to pay for the hospital along with monthly anonymous sums to help them survive until the game is "cleared". Have some of our men monitor Sawada's correspondence. If necessary that of Watanabe as well. If there are any information on Sawada's father have our contact look into it and then inform me immediately."

"Of course" Tetsuya nodded and made notes.

"Dismissed."


If you like it, have any questions, requests or find any mistakes, please leave a review or send me a PM.

I played a bit around with Kusakabe and Hibari. How they met and how they treat each other. Here Kusakabe is not yet as close to Hibari as he is in the series.

CHARACTER INFO(at the end):

Benihime

Lvl: 4

STR: 4 (+5)

AGI: 5 (+7)

Skills: «One-Handed Assault Spear»; «Blade Throwing»

Gear: black iron spear (+1 AGI) now «Whispering Wind Pike» (Spear; +2 STR, +3 AGI); «Wolf Claw» (Necklace; +1 AGI; +2 DEF against Wolves); «Leather Gloves» (+3 AGI); bracelet (+3 STR)

Weaver

Lvl: 4

STR: 2 (+1)

AGI: 7 (+10)

Skills: «One-Handed Dagger»; «Blade Throwing»

Gear: long black scarf (+4 AGI); Necklace (+2 AGI); «Misty Fang» (+4 AGI; +1 STR)

Washi

Lvl: 5

STR: 8 (+7)

AGI: 4 (+1)

Skills: «One-Handed Mace»; «Shield»

Gear: «Savage Warmace» (Mace; +5 STR); «Wolf Claw» (Necklace; +1 AGI; +2 DEF against Wolves); ring (+2 STR)

Review Answers:

Chapter 2:

xenocanaan: Thank you! I actually got the idea, because there are some events in the real wold that will be important or semi-important for later.

marcoglas92: Thank you for the review. To be honest, the spear will not be her final weapon skill, but a different one, that is a secret for now. While she is small now, I think that, since it is a game, it has not as much impact as it would have in the real world. The other weapon ideas are great, but I also wanted to do something different from the other stories, like "Online Famiglia", which inspired this story, where Tsuna uses a dagger, or "House of Cards", where Tsuna uses a 1H sword (I think). I also have this image of small girl using an ax that is way bigger than she is. I always wanted to use that.

As for Iemitsu, while I can see that he has had good intentions, well... as the saying goes "the Road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions". All went to hell because of the seal and his stupidity in hiding his real job. I mean, which construction worker still has his work clothes on when he has to fly or use a train to travel home? Sigh, I really hate him...

ArtyRave27: Haha, no problem. Thanks for your patience. To be honest, Aion is the only MMO that really stuck around and it kinda caused me to hate WoW's fighting system, when I tried it for my sister. She plays it, tho. The real world chapters will not only include Namimori, but also events concerning other players, like Washi and Weaver. Some I can't wait to write :D

Yes, Kirito and Asuna will be in the next chapter for the boss fight and team up with Weaver, Washi, Tsuna and another player (secret for now), but they will stay more in the background for the rest of the story. I try to focus Hoshi no Saiten on Tsuna's guild (of the same name) to make it a bit interesting. Most SAO/KHR stories have Kirito as a major character, but I try to keep away from that.

Tinnil: Yes, Souichi will be there soon. To be onest, I had problems while deciding on his avatar name. I wanted to have it be a reference on his wish to be a musician. In the end the one I decided on is also a reference to his sun flames. But I keep it a secret for now.

I haven't watched the abridged series yet, but I will soon.

Silencia20: Thank you! Weaver and Washi have really grown to my heart. I think that their characters are subconsciously been influenced by Log Horizon, since I watched the first season before writing this story. I know though, that Weaver's ninja-build is based partly on Akatsuki. She's so cute. I'm glad that you like the world building. It was just bugging me, that some elements were not addressed in the anime or books.

Guest(apr 16) #1: Thanks for pointing that out. I have changed it soon after, since many pointed it out. To be honest, I hadn't really thought of that and forgot to research the guild requements (a quest on third floor btw).

Guest (apr 16) #2: Thank you! Your review caused me to add another two khr characters to my planning, but a secret for now. Thou, some suggestions, while funny and awesome, I don't think will work. Like the mentioned during my last update, there are a ton of things to keep in mind before adding them.

And Yes, Iemitsu will regret that he didn't stay in contact with his family.

konan248: Thank you! They will meet before the First Floor Boss, which will be the next chapter.

Horus3699, Guest (Jun7): Egyptian Dreams is on hiatus for now. I don't really have the inspiration to write it right now, but I don't say that it is completely abandoned. I will try to write and continue it one day. I'm also toying with the idea to simply make it into a short story with only a few chapters and taking out some things and compressing others. Like, only writing key events or so. But I'm not sure yet.

VariegatedMosaic: Thank You! Iemitsu is really a horrible father and husband. It's the reason for a few planned events that will happen along the way of the SAO arc and the KHR arc. After all, Renji's name has a certain meaning that might give a few answeres/ spoilers ;)

Rant chapter:

Dragon Wing Gundam: Thank you!

Reduced20: Thank you for your kind words. Beni's outfit will be uploaded soon on the DeviantArt account I mentioned. There are just a few changes I want to make before that.

marcoglas92: Thank you! I just got really angry at how they wrote it. As I said, it has influenced how I write reviews. One author has pulled their stories from because of such reviews and I just kinda exploded when I got another one.

IgnisFelicis: Thank you! To be honest, I think I wouldn't have even written the rant if I had had some time to cool down. The demanding way it was written, tho. That really got to me.

Meteorthunder3: Thank you for the suggestion! I looked and it is actually disabled, when I got the reviews :/ Strange. In that moment I was just really angry and had it written without any time to cool down. The demands were just... well, thank you for your kind words :D

michelous: Most guests who have left reviews are kind tbh. It's just a smaller part, not half.

assana73: While I myself hope that the author of a story that hasn't been updated in a long time would continue, I personally keep that to myself, since I know how such demands can make someone feel... like a horrible author and a loser. Most reviews where I'm asked to update are good and nice to read, but those with demands are the worst.

hi: It's really sweet that you thank me for writing, but you, yourself, don't have to apologize, since you didn't do anything wrong. But thank you all the same!

falsewarrior: Thank You! I normally do just that, but here I was just really angry and exploded without cooling down a bit.

Hikari Nova: Thank you! While they will meet in the next chapter for the first floor boss, they will not be together often. It's been done enough and there are so many possibilities for such stories in SAO, since we know so little of the other players. It's really fun to think of members for the guild and creating their backstories :D

Crows-Love-Henry: Thank You! The time It has been on has been a deciding factor as well. Such reviews could have been more fitting for my other story, Egyptian Dreams which I haven't updated in two years or so, but here? And saying I should say if it's abandoned? Ridiculous.

Thanks that you like it and understand that I write for myself. I was afraid someone would take offense on how I said that.

DragonClanMaster: Thank You! I also had only a few of such comments. It was really the demanding way in which they were written, that made me explode and post the rant. It was uploaded just an hour or so after the last review. I couldn't stop myself before I had said what I wanted to say.