A/N: The Faithless One was a scary boss fight, wasn't he? And he's not even the boss that represents fear, it represents doubt. You can just imagine how the beast looks. Hopefully, you're all caught up with the story from those flashbacks. I don't want to leave anything out...Anyways, don't forget to review what you think of the stories.


NOVEMBER 16TH, 2022. FLOOR 3, WILDLIFE FOREST

I evade the attacks the Bloodthrashers throw at me. It's me and Hope against the three of them. The Bloodthrashers are cats in the form of humans, it's pretty freaky I'll say. When they stop fighting, I charge up my weapon and strike at them. I kill one of the Bloodthrashers, when my attacks end they strike me. My body gets covered in red data scratches. I stumble back as my HP goes to a yellow zone.

Hope steps in and chants a holy spell. He releases a holy bolt aiming at the Bloodthrashers which explodes at the Bloodthrasher it contacts at. Hope turns to me, casting a healing spell to restore my HP. The last Bloodthrasher targets Hope, but I get in its way and strike it down.

We both earned our results. "All right! Nice work." Hope says.

I admire his enthusiasm, but I don't really see the big deal here. I'm a level 20 Swordsman and he's a level 18 Cleric. We're just killing some level 16's to earn some Krystal's. It's not like he leveled up.

The third floor in this world is a gloomy forest. There are hardly any open spaces that aren't a town. Me and Hope are running low on funds spending our money and gears so we decided to do a little, what he calls, 'Farming'. We've been killing some creatures for the past hour.

Hope and I look down at the lower areas to see other players making some kills with the creatures. It's more like players are taking the enemy's place and the enemies are trying to farm for themselves or something.

"Looks like we're not the only ones here farming," I say.

"Everyone is trying to get tougher for the next floor boss," Hope says.

I don't blame him. Very soon when we cleared the first-floor boss, everyone rushed into clearing the second. Didn't even bother to wander around the second floor, just jumped into the floor boss. I wasn't there when it happened and thank goodness Hope wasn't either. But the boss was dangerous and a hundred players died.

"Well, it's nice to see everyone has learned something. I almost thought this game was filled with ten thousand Snow's." I say.

Hope laughs at my little joke, he knows every well how stupid and reckless Snow can be. "Well...there's always the Dungeon area."

Hope points his staff at the crypt tunnel. We could only see a few feet in, the rest is nothing but darkness. I cross my arms looking down into the dungeon. "Hmm...I don't know. I have a feeling people are also cleaning that place up." I open my menu accessing my inventory. I have about 7485 Krystals. "I think we have enough. Let's head back to town for now."

"Maybe. Perhaps we should wake up extra early to farm next time." That's a great idea I'll admit.

We head back into town, Sentinel Base Camp. It's a small town compared to Dawns Blossom back on the first floor. The towns on this floor are small. There are really no Inns, Restaurants, or weapon and armor vendors here. As soon as we arrive in town something catches his attention. He goes to some poster board.

"Another announcement?" I ask.

"Not really." Hope taps on the message board and a list appear much as our menu does. "Just looking around."

I cross my arms. "I don't see what's so interesting about some silly news."

"It's more than that, Lightning." Hope scrolls through a list. "You can make check out guilds, read announcements even check out quests and missions other players post."

I'm surprised to hear that last part. "You can make quests and missions?"

"Yea. Just post something on the Quest log, write an announcement of what you need help with and the reward." Hope says.

"I'll admit, that's impressive," I say.

Hope checks another list. "Here's a list of guilds..." Hope looks at me. "Hey, Light. You ever thought of joining a guild?"

"No...I don't even know what that is." I say.

"Well...a guild is kind of like...Snow and his NORA crew." I roll my eyes hearing that. "People work as one team. Hang out, go on adventures together." Hope pays his attention back to the poster boards. "It's actually very beneficial to be in a guild in most MMO games. Well, you can still go with playing solo but it's still good to be in a guild. Let's set up a forum."

Hope accesses the forums on the poster board to create one of his own. He writes about a level 20 Swordsman and a level 18 Cleric looking for a guild. Normally, I remind him about getting me involved in stuff like this but he is the expert in this world. More than I am since I only joined for nearly two weeks.

Hope finishes the post. "All right. Now we just wait for a response." Hope turns to face me. "What do you want to do in the meantime?"

I look at the time, it's about 5:45 PM. "We should probably grab something to eat."


FLOOR 2, HALFHILL

The second floor of this death game is mostly farmland. Nothing but wide open space, some filled with vegetable gardens.

We both went to a restaurant to grab virtual food to eat. We both talked a little, I told him that Serah and Snow said hi and that they'll be waiting for us in the real world. He's glad to hear that they are supporting us on the other side. When he was talking, all he said was that he's glad that I came. If I hadn't shown up, he would have been doomed, well Leafa too.

After we eat, we take a walk around town. Hope receives a message. "What is it?" I ask.

"Let's see..." Hope opens the message and reads it. "From someone named Akama...it's about my poster forum. They're saying they want us to join 'NORA'."

I wide my eyes open hearing that. 'NORA'? As we walk around town looking for this 'Akama', I'm praying that this guild isn't Snow's stupid little gang of kids. I'm guessing my prayers aren't enough to cause in a house, there they are, waiting for us.

"Hope! Lightning!" Maqui says, waving at us.

"Maqui! Gadot! Yuj! Lebreau! Nice to see you all." Hope says.

'Not so nice at all' I say in my mind.

Hope talked with the NORA crew for a while. Most of the time is agonizing to me. But I do learn that Lebreau is Shadowfire the Witch. Gadot is Akama the Crusader. Yuj is Elk the Avatar and Maqui are Gaston the Shadow Sniper.

"You and Lightning are looking for a guild, right? You should join us. We could use a heavy melee on our front lines and a healer." Gadot says.

Hope was about to speak until I said something. "I'd wither eat poison ivy. It's less painful than joining you, idiots."

The NORA crew looks at me shocked. "Oh come on, Lightning. Don't be like that." Maqui says.

"I know what you guys are like, and in case you haven't noticed: We're in a death game. This isn't a time or play for you recklessness." I say.

I walk right out of the house. Hope isn't following me, so I'm guessing he's staying to join the guild. If he ends up getting killed, it's not going to be my fault. I don't bother looking around for a guild so I just went ahead and make some kills around town.

The creatures on the second floor are mostly strange-looking rabbits known as 'Hoplites' It's a good thing I don't have a soft side with bunnies. I know Serah does. If she were here, she'd cried seeing me kill these creatures.

What started as making some Krystals turns into trying to shake off my nerves and rage. I'm making a bloodbath out here with these creatures, which is ironic cause I'm not spilling blood, just damaged data flakes.

After my fifteenth kill, I stand heavily panting in rage. "Hiya, Lightning!"

I didn't bother to recognize the voice, just turn facing the person with my blade held in front of his face. "WHAT!?"

Klein looks at the tip of my sword nervously, holding his hands over his shoulders. "Whoa! Whoa! Take it easy. I'm just here to say 'Hi'." Klein says.

I take a deep breath, relaxing my facials and sheath my sword. "Sorry, Klein. I was just blowing off some steam."

"I can see that. Is something wrong?" Klein asks.

"It's nothing, just that me and Espeon were looking for a guild to join," I say. "But the only guild that answered our forum was this gang of kids I can't stand. The 'NORA' crew."

"Oh yeah. I heard of them. They sound like an awesome guild." Klein says.

"Once you get to know them, they really aren't," I say. "Anyways, Espeon is joining their guild while I'm left without one...Not that it bothers me so much, but still."

"Well. If you're looking for a guild, you could join mine." Klein says. "The Fuuinkazan guild."

"What's it like?" I ask suspiciously.

"We are an eco-friendly team. We're tough, brave, and cautious. We also plan to become part of the Assault Team to fight in the front lines." Klein says.

I think carefully for a moment. Friendly, tough, brave, cautious. But I wonder about their behaviors since Klein was crushing on me when we first met. I'm still hoping he gets the message when I threatened him back on the first floor, even though he hasn't bothered to pour on a charm on me since the first floor when I was looking for Hope.

"I suppose I could give it a shot," I say. "What are the other members like?"

Klein stands close to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. My soldier instincts are on high alert from this. "We're about to have a meeting in a few, so I'll take you to see them." Klein escorts me back to town. "Trust me, I think you'll find them enjoyable."

I wouldn't say 'enjoyable'. That's more of Vanille's thing. She is pretty perky.


FLOOR 3, SHADO-DEN DUNGEON

Klein took me to meet his guild on the first floor of the dungeon. Apparently, they are planning to clear a dungeon to earn some Krystal's and gears, and he is inviting me to the team to give them a shot.

There's the Fuuinkazan guild waiting for Klein and I. There are about six men, A Shadow Sniper, a Cleric, two Assassins, and two Avatars. The members are surprised to see Klein.

"Hey! Klein! You're late!" The Avatar known as Sixteen says.

The Shadow Sniper, Bizmo, notices me. "Oh...you have a girl with you?"

'Girl'. Hearing that puts me on alert. I'm familiar with men calling me a girl. It's usually a sign of trouble...for them. "Sorry, boys. This here is Lightning." Klein gives me a hard pat on the back, I stumble forward a bit from the impact. "She's going to be our new member."

All those men just stare at me with shocked expressions. Another sign of trouble for them. After a minute of nothingness, they all showed excited expressions and gathered up in front of me talking all at once.

I hold my sword in front of me for defense, then Klein stands in between us, holding back his members. "Hey, hey now! Don't be like that boys!" Klein looks back at me with a nervous smile. "It's okay. They're not really that bad of a bunch." Klein pushes all of his men back. "At ease, boys. Now, Lightning here. She's going to be our new member, but...she's not really a tameable kind of girl."

I cross my arms giving an offended expression. "I'm right here!" I say in an irritated tone.

Klein looks back at me. "Sorry. No offense." 'Little too late for that' I thought. Klein looks back at his guild members. "So just treat Lightning here like one of the guys."

They all responded with an 'okay' 'all right'. Klein looks back at me with a smile. "That better?"

"I'm still picturing me chopping your head off," I say with a cold tone.

We make our journey through the dungeon. All of the enemies here are creatures known as 'Mogu'. They resemble as some Chinese guard dogs and orcs in humanoid forms. Me and Klein and the two Assassins fight in the front lines while Bizmo, Sixteen, and the other Avatar are fighting from behind with the Cleric.

The Assassins work hard to become targets for they can easily evade attacks with their reflexes. They are fighting is good I'll admit, but their behavior just makes me sick.

In between fights, the boys have been putting on some charm on me, one at a time. Compliments, clinging on to me, making dates. I thought the NORA gang was bad enough. I try hard to hold back the incredibly strong nerve to slice these boys in half. It's not easy though.

The dungeon goes about three floors. We killed a lot of mobs, half of us including me manages to gain a level. I've been a couple of Krystal's too. If only Hope was here, this could have made our farming time.

We all made it to the end of the dungeon, where we have to face the boss: Shado-den Soulstealer. The boss is a powerful Wizard monster, casting its shadow magic on all of us. Our Cleric could barely keep our HP up. What annoyed me most about the fight is the Soulstealer kept summoning hostile spirits to attack us. Me and one other Assassin focus on killing them while the other is taking out the boss.

We defeated the Shado-den Soulstealer, with roughly about 15%-34% of our HP left. We all even collapse in exhaustion at the end of the fight.

"Damn! That was a hard one." Sixteen says.

"Are they sure this isn't an elite dungeon?" Bizmo says.

We all earned our results, I received a Crypt Cape. I open my menu and click on the cloak. It appears in my hands, it's a twin short cape that raises Strength and Vitality by 8 each. Judging by the looks, it looks like it would go down to my wrist. The lining on the edges at black while the inside is dark purple. It seems okay so I equip it.

While the Fuuinkazan guild is looking at their results, I turn my back on them and make my leave. There's no way I'm joining this guild since the people here are nothing but girl charming dogs...well, Klein isn't so bad I guess, at least he knows how to back off.

"He-hey. Lightning!" I can hear footsteps rushing towards me then Klein stands right in front of my blocking my way. "Where are you going?"

"Leaving," I answered. "I'm not joining the guild."

Klein looks shocked to hear that. I feel someone grabbing my arm, I turn to see it's Sixteen clinging to me. "How about I take you out on a date? Then you'll join us? Hmm?"

I look angry, taking out my sword. "All right! That's it!" I hold my weapon back as it charges. Sixteen looks at my weapon then give a worried look the moment I strike at him. My attack knocks him back and took out some of his HP. Sixteen lays there with that data cut I gave him. The other members are looking at me with shocked expressions. "So now you're all getting the message?"

"Lightning. Do you realize what you've done?" Klein asks me.

I turn to face him. "I gave your friend what he deserves."

"N-no! Not that! Now you're a...uh..." Klein opens his menu going through his items list. What is he doing? A mirror appears in Klein's hands and he holds it out in front of me. "Look."

All I can see is a reflection of myself. All though something did catch my attention. My cursor is orange. I take the mirror staring at the arrow object floating on top of me.

"My cursor is orange...why is it orange?" I ask.

"Cause you attacked another player outside of a duel," Klein says. "You've become a murderer."

I grow anxious hearing that. I turn back. Sixteen is still alive, with only 190 HP, a red zone. "But...Sixteen is still alive. How could I be a murderer just by striking him?"

"That's just how it works. Whether it's killing a player or just give a single attack. Murder's murder." Sixteen says.

"Well, that's just not fair," I say, arms crossed.

"That's the way it's designed," Klein says.

"Whatever. I'm still out of here." I walk past Klein.

"Uh! Lightning! You can't return to town!" I didn't listen to Klein, I just kept on walking.


FLOOR 3, SENTINEL CAMP FIELD

I try hard to forget this day, those idiot boys trying to woo me. Leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Nighttime falls and I'm heading back to the Sentinel Camp. The moment I step foot in town, something hits me and knocks me away from the town. I sit up, there was nothing and my HP didn't drain from it either.

"What the?" ...I stand on my feet, walking towards the town. I reach my hand out, only it stops by force not even all the way to its maximum length. I see a barrier, it's only visible around my hand. "What the heck is going on?"

"I tried to warn you." I turn to see it's Klein and his guild. "Murderers aren't allowed in towns. They are safe zones for a reason."

I sigh in frustration. "Great...just great. At least tell me this isn't permanent."

Klein shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know for sure, but I did hear that it'll wear off in a day or two. As long as you don't harm another player again."

"Well, now where I'm gonna sleep? I'm not allowed in towns and falling asleep out on the field wouldn't seem like the best option." I say.

"Well, you can, just have someone watch over you while you sleep." Sixteen says.

I can tell from his eyes that he's getting the idea of watching me sleep. I can also see that sparkle in the other boys' eyes.

"Not on your life, morons," I say, walking away.