Several hours later, 12:00 PM JST, Tolbana

I am sitting down next to a high table, resting my head on the flat top with my arms acting as a pillow. For some reason, I couldn't sleep properly last night, causing me to wake up at different intervals. Therefore, I didn't get enough sleep. My eyes were barely open, and I could see almost nothing through my mask. I was fortunate enough to be alone in the inn, but that won't be the case in a few minutes or so since everyone is getting on. Before that happens, I need to hurry up and wake up.

"I should have taken a shower instead of diving right in after eating…" I mumbled to myself.

I rolled my head over so I was now resting on my chin. I could see some of the things in front of me, like the pillars holding up the ceiling and other tables, but most of my vision was blocked by my hood and mask. I slowly looked around, seeing NPCs walking by and cleaning up the place. I forced myself to sit up properly but it didn't take long for me to lean on the wall next to me. For some reason, it was cushioned with cloth panels, making it comfortable to lean against. I found myself drifting to sleep when somebody noisily sat down in front of me.

"Did you like, not sleep at all or something?" A familiar voice asked me.

I forced myself to open my eyes and I saw Zed leaning his back on the wall. His right arm was rested on the tabletop, fiddling with one of his throwing knives. He wasn't looking at me, but rather staring out in the open, observing the actions of the NPCs and the appearance of the inn. Now that I'm really looking at him, Zed's appearance hasn't changed at all except for his dark red hair and a black ring that is on his right ring finger.

"Yeah, something like that…" I answered him. "Is that ring from Paradox?"

"Oh this?" Zed twirled around the ring on his finger. "No, it's not from her. I just got it from a jewelry store over at Alne. There's nothing special about it. I just liked the design."

"Hmm… Okay then…"

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep some more?"

"Oh, what's this? Zed is concerned of my well-being?" I teased him.

"I'm not concerned… I'm just saying, you look way too tired to do anything right. I got a feeling you're only going to be a burden once we fight the boss and enter the Labyrinth."

"I'll be fine." I yawned out. "Plus, it's not like it's going to change anything during the Field Boss fight. I'm still going to be useless anyway…"

"What do you mean?"

"I need to train my Two-Handed Straight Sword and get it to level seven-hundred. It's already at six-hundred-ninety-seven, meaning I have three more levels to go before I can finally wield my Buster Sword properly."

"Where did you get that sword anyway?" Zed questioned me.

"It was a gift… From Kayaba Akihiko…" I told him. Zed looked at me in confusion.

"I thought he was dead."

"He is. He died because he uploaded his brain into the Internet. He managed to succeed which is how I got The Seed package to be open to the public. During that time, he managed to create an item compatible for ALO and gave it to me. I don't know how he did it, but he did. All I need to do now is find a way to keep it a secret from the administrators, though I doubt anybody would keep quiet about what had happened in Yggdrasil City."

"Well, you have Violet after all." Zed pointed out. "I'm sure she will hook you up."

"Hopefully…"

Our conversation ended there, and the two of us sat quietly in the inn, waiting for everyone to get on. A minute or so passed by when flashes of light suddenly appeared all over the room. Next thing I knew, everyone in the guild as well as Kirito and his group of friends were now present in the room. Even Klein and his guild appeared. They all looked at each other in surprise, noticing that everyone got on at the same exact time as if it were pure coincidence.

"Wait, did everyone log on at the same time?" Klein marveled.

"No, Mortifer and I were already here." Zed groaned as he stood up from his chair.

"Well, either way, that was freaky." ViVi blurted out, his eyes wide open with surprise.

"Hey, Onii-chan!" Leafa called out, stomping her way to me. "Did you even eat breakfast this morning? You got on ALO so quickly that I was worried."

"Yes Mom, I ate breakfast…" I groaned out as a joke. Leafa put her hands on her waist, irritated and slightly embarrassed. Violet giggled as she walked towards me.

"Come on Mortifer! We need to get to the amphitheater!" Violet encouraged me as she tugged on my sleeve. "The raid party is waiting for us there! We're going to discuss the strategy and everything else."

"Okay, okay… Let's head out then…"

I unequipped the Buster Sword, returning the colossal weapon back into my Inventory. I held Violet's hand and together, we exited the inn and walked into broad daylight. Many players were walking down the streets, admiring the town's architecture, the NPC vendors and other things. Many of them looked at our large group of twenty-two people, wondering what we were doing. I overheard some of them talking about my presence in Yggdrasil City last night, as well as the fact that Kirito is the guy who beat General Eugene. During our walk to the Field Boss raid summit, we passed by a weapons vendor. I asked the group to stop as I needed to buy myself a two-handed sword to use.

"How high is your Two-Handed Straight Sword, Nii-san?" Kirito asked me.

"Six-hundred-ninety-seven. I won't be completely useless, but this crappy weapon won't be able to make a big difference. If worst comes to worst, then I'll switch back to my Obsidian Blades."

I strapped my Iron Broadsword on my back since my two other blades are by my side. Afterwards, we continued our walk to the theater which is just around the corner. When we did turn the corner, I looked up the staircase and saw large group of people gathered at the front entrance. The group consisted of different races who are all trying to peek inside the amphitheater. It seems they have gotten word of the boss raid meeting, or saw the Lords and the General walk towards here. Our group slowly ascended the staircase, making lots of noise with our heavy footsteps. The large group of players at the entrance turned their heads and noticed our approach. They split up, creating a path for us to pass through. I passed through without looking at the spectators and looked down towards the stage. At the very center was a large round wooden table where Sakuya, Alicia, and Eugene sat at. The chairs were arranged like a heptagon and marked to tell who is going to sit where. When I saw a purple mark next to Sakuya's seat, I already wished I had Violet by my side. And taking up the front row seats of the theater were the other members of the raiding parties.

"You guys are late!" Alicia cried out to us.

Kirito, Klein, Zed and I walked all the way down to the stage and took our seats at the round wooden table. I sat in the middle, between Sakuya and Eugene. Alicia and Klein sat on Sakuya's right, while Kirito and Zed sat on Eugene's left. I was facing towards the entrance of the ruined building, able to see every single person inside the theater. Jeez, it's only a Field Boss raid meeting, yet everything seems so formal and serious.

"Everyone's hear now…" Eugene began. "So, you guys apparently have information about The Stone Golem?"

"That's right. The boss does not have a set pattern, but its attacks have timers or occurs at set intervals, making it rather easy to adapt." Kirito began speaking. "Before we talk about its attacks, I want to go over its overall strengths and weaknesses. The Field Boss is heavily resistant to slash attacks as it is made of solid stone. Pierce attacks are no different and will only work on if the attack hits the boss' weak point which is on its abdomen, above its heart. Blunt-edge attacks affect it best, but our raiding party only has a total of three blunt-weapon users. We theorize that Water Magic and Explosion Magic may work on it. Eugene-san, did you bring fire mages capable of high-level Fire Magic."

"Yeah. And if we need anymore, my healers can switch to offensive magic." Eugene suggested.

"I have three dragoons at the ready. Since the Field Boss is in an open field, I was thinking we could use them if we need any more firepower." Alicia put in.

"So, what about the boss' attacks?" Sakuya asked.

"It has three offensive attacks which it uses instantly once it goes off cooldown." Zed began to quickly explain the boss' attacks. "A strong punch with its right arm that targets one person. It has a fifteen second cooldown. An Earth elemental attack where it smashes the ground with its left fist, crushing anything beneath it and sending a wave of rocks towards its target. This one has a twenty second cooldown. Finally, it has a large area-of-effect attack where it throws sharpened rocks in a cone in front of him. It can be easily dodged by flying upwards, but it can deal some serious damage if not dodged. It has a thirty second cooldown. Though the most important thing is his passive ability."

"Passive?" Eugene questioned.

"Before that, I need to tell you that the boss has three health bars total." Klein took over. "We brought it down to almost one bar to see if it changes any patterns before that, but didn't notice any change. Now for the passive ability, whenever it loses a quarter of its HP bar, it sheds part of itself. The fragmented piece transforms into ten Ruined Stone Golems, which are basically it's minions. Their individual stats were low, but it's still resistant to slash and pierce attacks like the boss itself."

"So, if we happen to damage the boss too much, we're going to be faced with a swarm of these mini-golems while fighting the boss?"

"That's right…" I began speaking. "We don't know how effective Explosion Magic and Water Magic can be, so we need to moderate our use of it at the start. If we accidentally take away one health bar right away, we will be faced with forty of these guys. We need our healers to focus on the tanks and the mages to keep up the DPS. Sakuya, I want your soldiers to clear the Ruined Stone Golems and protect all of our supports. Alicia, your dragoons will help Eugene's mages maintain the DPS while you and your other teammates will help Sakuya clear the trash mobs."

"You're so mean Mortifer-kun." Sakuya smiled at me. "Giving my party such a boring role. And why does Eugene get to play a bigger part in this raid than myself?"

"Because we agreed to clear the first floor before the weekend is over." Eugene growled. "We can't mess around during a boss fight and expect to emerge victorious from it."

Sakuya's seductive smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of contempt.

"I know full well that the agreement was to clear the 1st Floor before Monday comes, but what's the harm in having some fun while doing so? ALfheim Online is a video game which is created for people to have fun and enjoy. You two are taking it a bit too seriously."

"I am fully aware that games are meant for entertainment, but for some people, losing is not fun at all. Straying from the path of victory will only lead to defeat, and that defeat feels even worse knowing you could have won had you not fooled around like an ass. Do you know what else is not fun, Sakuya? Knowing that your mistakes led to another's misfortune… That's not fun…" I grimly stated. I looked at Sakuya with dead serious eyes, and she hesitated after noticing the anger burning inside them.

"Nii-san…" Kirito called out to me. I turned to Kirito, who looked at me with a worried expression. That's when I realized what I was saying.

Yes… This game is no longer Sword Art Online, so there is no punishment for failing a boss raid such as this. I'm also highly confident that we can defeat the boss in the first go without struggling too much. Heck, even when we encountered it earlier this morning, I thought we could beat it even with everyone being so tired. However, that small chance of messing up which then leads to someone's death… It's still in my mind… Wait, no… It's more like it returned to me when I entered New Aincrad. Everything feels the same, making me think I am in SAO once more. I lived in that world for so long, and tried living inside of it so much that I no longer know if the rules I lived by then are still applied to me now. In the back of my head, I know that the death penalty is non-existent, but I also don't want to see anybody dying in front of me. I guess you could also say that the Voices also play a role in how much I've immersed myself in this virtual reality. I put my hand on my face, contemplating about how this will affect me from now on.

"There's no point in hiding it anymore Nii-san…" Kirito began. "You guys probably realized this already, but we are all survivors of the death game Sword Art Online."

Sakuya, Alicia and Eugene turned their heads towards Kirito. Their expressions didn't completely show surprise, making me assume that they must have known or at least suspected it.

"There are things we don't want to remember… Things we want to forget… Please bear with my brother's actions…"

The amphitheater went silent. All except for the voices of people at the entrance, as well as the Voices in my head were reaching me. Finally, Sakuya broke the silence.

"I suspected so… Your strength and experience with VRMMORPGs seemed rather large even though you guys have played ALO less than us… Very well then. We will try out best not to question too much about things related to this topic."

"Thank you… Anyways…" Kirito began speaking. "Let's go over everyone's roles now. Mortifer, Zed, Klein, and my group will mainly act as the vanguard, dealing damage to the boss and tanking its attacks. Paradox, Cayonz, Asuna and Eugene's healers will keep everyone healthy. Aqua will provide additional support. Eugene's mages and Alicia's dragoons will be our main damage dealer. And finally, Sakuya and Alicia's group will take care of the trash mob. Are there any objections?"

Everyone looked at one another, looking to see if someone will raise their hands. When nobody had any objections, Kirito stood up from his seat.

"Okay then. Let's go take down that Field Boss!"


(Violet)

Several minutes later, plains of the Field Boss Zone

Kirito's group led the raid party towards the Field Boss. Klein and his party were next to them, conversing with one another. Sakuya and Alicia were located behind those two groups, sticking together as usual. Alicia's dragoons flew high above them, to the point where we can't hear the beating of their wings. Eugene and the Salamanders followed behind Sakuya and Alicia, making sure everyone in their group was prepared for the raid. Our guild was located at the very back of the raiding party, all because of Mortifer, who was even further behind us. He was walking at an absurdly slow rate, causing him to fall behind rather far. And if we tried to slow down so he could catch up, he would simply stop and look at us from afar.

"It seems like he doesn't want to be near us right now." Zed determined. "Come on guys, ignore him. We need to catch up with everyone else."

Team A and the rest of Team B went on ahead to catch up with the raiding party. I remained where I was and looked at Mortifer from afar. Even though he wasn't even looking to see where he was going, he stopped in his tracks as if he knew I too had stopped moving. I tried making my way to him, but he too began moving away from me. Can he hear my footsteps from that far? Or is he really looking up right at me instead of down at the ground? Either way, I really can't understand why he can be so stubborn, even to me.

"Fine, be like that then!" I shouted at him out of frustration.

I stomped my way towards my guild who had fully caught up with everyone else. When I had almost reached them, I turned back to check on Mortifer, who had completely disappeared out of my sight. I stopped in my tracks and scanned the landscape around me. There are a bunch of hills he could be hiding behind, but he couldn't have moved that quick unless he used his wings or had sprinted his way there. I would have heard him either way since my Straining is maxed out, and flying in general seems to make a booming noise, a bit like a sonic boom. I let out a long sigh and continued to chase after my guild.

The entire raiding party had stopped on top of a large hill and spread out so everyone could see the area before them. In front of us is the giant pillar which the Labyrinth is located inside of. At the base of it is a rather mountainous terrain with a large opening towards one side. This large opening leads to the entrance of the Labyrinth which is currently being guarded by The Stone Golem. The Field Boss stood in front of the door, scanning the area around it. The boss spotted us, and its name, health bar, and the red Color Cursor appeared on its head. It bumped its own fists together and let out an odd roar which sounded throughout the valley.

"Oi, oi, oi…" Eugene growled. "Where's that damn Imp Mortifer?"

"He disappeared somewhere… I don't know." I told everyone.

"Right when we're about to go into a boss fight?!" Paradox exclaimed.

"What the hell is that brother of yours doing Kirito…" Zed mumbled as he drew out his sword.

"I don't really know…" Kirito responded back as he scratched his head.

"Well, don't worry. That guy will appear when worst comes to worst." Zed told everyone as he began descending the mountain. "He does that all the time anyway."

Just as we were about to descend the grassy hill, something flew above our heads in blinding speed. The black, comet-like object flew right at The Stone Golem and collided with the Field Boss' heart. Instantly, the boss loss nearly a quarter of its HP bar, and it stumbled backwards. The man in black whom I thought was an object gracefully landed on the ground, and held his two-handed sword with one hand. Before I could determine the identity of the man, the Field Boss began its rock throwing attack, raining rocks all over the area in front of it. The man in black evaded and parried away all of the incoming rocks, taking no damage from the attack. Because of his speed, actions and movement style, I already knew it was Mortifer.

"Are you guys seriously going to make me do all the work?" Mortifer shouted at us.

"Well, it seems like you can solo it anyway!" Zed shouted back out of anger. "And this guy said he was going to be useless because he's using a two-handed sword… How many bosses has he soloed again?"

"Uh…" Rizer said as he began to count his fingers. "Five, unless you want to count that silver-haired guy he fought earlier this morning. I consider that guy a boss since he was an NPC."

"Make it seven. He basically did all the work with Heathcliff." Kirito admitted.

"Oji-chan also could have soloed The Fatal Scythe that I deleted back then Mama, Papa." Yui smiled as she flew around Kirito's head.

"Well, he was level one-hundred and three or something like that… I'm not exactly surprised." I mumbled out for everyone to hear.

"He was above level one-hundred?!" Asuna exclaimed. I nodded my head, making everyone else in Kirito and Klein's group drop their mouths open.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but what are you guys talking about?" Sakuya questioned us. "You're saying that he has defeated at least six bosses on his own?"

"Eh… Don't worry about it. It may seem like an impossible feat but that guy does it all the time." Aqua announced.

"Enough with the chatter already." Eugene grouched. "Let's take down that boss already."


Half an hour later, inside the Labyrinth

The strategy that Mortifer made as well as Trish's intuition allowed us to take down The Stone Golem rather quickly. In fact, the fight itself took us ten minutes. It had no change of attack pattern, and the Ruined Stone Golems were handled with ease. This Field Boss must be the easiest boss fight I've participated in, though it may be because we are all quite powerful players. There's no doubt in my mind that Mortifer, or even Kirito could have soloed that boss. Also, there doesn't seem to be a Last Attack Bonus in the game since one of Eugene's mages performed the last hit and received no bonus items for doing so. After the fight, Sakuya, Alicia and Eugene relayed out messages to their armies to inform everyone that the 1st Floor Labyrinth is now open. The news spread around rather quickly since we saw new players appear after twenty or so minutes of the messages being sent out. During that time, we were recuperating in the Labyrinth's entrance.

"Hey, hey… I thought New Aincrad is supposed to be harder than the original SAO." Klein complained out loud.

"Be grateful it didn't take us so long. We now have time to explore the Labyrinth. Heck, we can probably face the Floor Boss today if we wanted to." Kirito determined.

"We agreed to do it tomorrow, but we can reschedule it to today if you guys wish." Alicia offered.

"It really depends on how long it will take us to find the boss room." Kirito sighed. "Also, unlike SAO, we can't really have a scouting team to check on the boss' attacks since the doors will apparently close after the grace period is over. That only leaves you with two options: win right away, or lose and retry with more knowledge of the boss."

"We have unlimited retries, but that doesn't mean we can just let ourselves die every time." Sakuya stated.

"Of course not. We just need to be prepared for anything that may happen in the boss room. Unfortunately for you Sakuya, your army lacks in diversity, only using swords and Wind Magic…" Eugene grumbled.

"It would be much more powerful if we didn't have to deal with you Salamanders attacking us all of the time." Sakuya argued back, glaring at the General.

"That just goes to show how weak you Sylphs really are. You even had to team up with the Cait Sith and receive help from the Imp and Spriggan." Eugene ridiculed her, causing Alicia to express her distaste.

The tension amongst the three leaders increased to dangerous levels. Everyone else, including their own subordinates, began backing away, afraid of what was going to happen if this continues. Sakuya and Alicia glared at Eugene, who looked down on the two Lords. That's when the raiding party split up, creating a path for Mortifer, who was walking towards the three bickering players. He stopped in front of them with his hood down but mask still on. I only see the back of his head, so I couldn't tell what he was planning on doing.

"You guys are wasting time, arguing about the strength of your races." Mortifer began speaking. "There is no point in going up against each other anymore since the Grand Quest of ALfheim Online has changed. New Aincrad is not a competition to see which race finishes it first. It's only to see if it can be finished. But, if you wish to think of this as a race, then I suggest you shut up and get a move on, or else I will take down the Floor Boss by myself... Also, if you're really itching for a fight now, then come. I'll take you on. I'm rather bored right now…"

The place went quiet from Mortifer's words. Everyone, except for our guild, was either surprised or scared of his speech. Sakuya and Alicia held expressions which hinted fear while Eugene's expression remained impassive. Mostly everyone in the raiding party does not doubt the fact that Mortifer himself is strong enough to solo bosses, even if New Aincrad is supposedly harder than before. The simple fact that Mortifer isn't afraid to stand up against other players is what makes him so endearing to players. It's also what makes me fear for his safety.

"We will cease our arguing then…" Sakuya obeyed, bowing towards Mortifer. I have a feeling she is now growing scared of Mortifer. At least that means she won't hit on him anymore…

"Thank you… Now, let's make clearing this Labyrinth more efficient." Mortifer began speaking. "The boss room is located at the uppermost floor of the Labyrinth, making it difficult to find as this entire dungeon is a giant maze with multiple floors. We will split up and traverse different paths of the dungeon. When a group finds something special, like a staircase or a Safe-Zone Area, inform all other groups about it. Other than that, we will rendezvous back at Tolbana in two hours' time. Do we have an agreement?"

Zed, Kirito, Klein, Alicia and Sakuya nodded their heads in agreement. Eugene hesitated and finally obliged. It seems he is still having trouble being bossed around by Mortifer, but it seems like everyone is like that from the start, especially Zed. Mortifer then turned his head towards the dungeon where it splits into four different paths.

"Two teams will go down on each path, and split up when they have the chance to do so. Kirito, Klein, go take the left path. Sakuya and Alicia, take the one next to them. Eugene and Zed, you guys head down the right path. My group will take care of that one right there."

Mortifer pointed to the path between Sakuya and Zed's group. It seems we will be the only ones taking that path.

"If your path splits and you go down a path that leads to one of the other parties, backtrack and take the other path. If you can't backtrack, then travel alongside them until you see another path split. Also, remember that there are random players in the Labyrinth who are not part of the raid party. If possible, obtain and share information regarding the mapping of the Labyrinth. Does everyone understand?"

"Aye." Everyone spoke in unison.

"Okay then… Split up!"


An hour later

Even though our group was supposed to stick together and search the Labyrinth, the moment we set off, Mortifer disappeared like a ghost. We didn't even know if he took our designated path since we didn't see anything in front of us as soon as we embarked. He's also not outside of the Labyrinth either since I cannot detect him on my map, nor has he logged off since his status is currently online. I contacted the other groups about his disappearance and told them to inform us if they find him. So far, nobody has even caught a sign of him. However, because Mortifer is solo, he managed to search around rather quickly and has found the staircase to the second and third floor. Since almost everything in the first floor was discovered, everyone went on ahead to the second floor. Five of the seven groups went on ahead to the third floor while Sakuya and Alicia stayed behind to explore the rest of the second floor. The groups split up once again and is now exploring the third floor. And at that moment, Rizer received a message from Mortifer.

"Jeez… Mortifer's found the staircase to the fourth floor…"

Cayonz, Trish and I looked at him in surprise. I opened my menu and pulled open my map, displaying the areas of the third floor we have discovered. When I saw how much blank space there was on my map of the third floor, I let out a long sigh.

"How is it even possible for Mortifer to find everything so quickly?" I questioned. "Surely, he had to stop to fight some mobs, and he didn't even message us for the third and fourth floor. The staircases have to be close to each other if he found it so fast, otherwise his speed bug may have returned."

"But, aren't Imps capable of flight even inside of dungeons?" Trish brought up. "If he used his wings to travel around the Labyrinth, it would only make sense that he finds everything so quickly without having to face many monsters. After all, we haven't found a single aerial monster yet. Also, the Labyrinth in itself isn't that big, but because we are facing lots of monsters, it is taking us much longer to explore. After all, it took us a month to find the boss room on the twentieth floor, right?"

The three of us looked at Trish in surprise.

"You are one smart girl Trish." I complimented her whilst smiling. "I completely forgot about the Imp's flight capabilities. Also, don't Imps, Spriggans, Pooka, Sylphs and Cait Sith have the wall run ability? I heard that it's hard to pull off and you need to run at incredible speeds."

"Well, the only other person faster than you Violet is Mortifer, so I don't have a doubt he can do it with ease." Rizer put in.

"It is Mortifer after all." Cayonz also added. "That's probably going to become an inside joke within our guild whenever he does something a normal can't do…"

"Haha… Yeah, it probably will." I laughed out, smiling brightly. "Anyways, will you guys tell me what Mortifer was talking about earlier this morning? The one where he was talking to you guys in English?"

Rizer and Cayonz looked at each other, then back at me.

"I'm sorry Violet, but we can't tell you what it is. It's a secret, and you know how good our guild is at keeping secrets." Rizer answered me.

"It's unfortunate that people in Japan learn English grammar usage, but don't even use English in actual conversations. If they did, they would be able to talk and understand many other people." Cayonz told Rizer via English.

"Yeah, I know… Mortifer managed to teach himself how to communicate in English properly which is quite impressive. Apparently, he knows a few Latin and speaks Spanish fluently as well." Rizer responded, also in English.

"Did you understand any of that?" I asked Trish quietly.

"Mortifer knows Latin and Spanish… I think is what they said…" Trish whispered back.

"Well, whatever then. Let's head over to the staircase leading up to the third floor. Everyone should be gathering there now, except for maybe Sakuya and Alicia."

We began messaging the other groups, obtaining mapping information on how to get to the staircase which Mortifer found. After minutes of taking the route given to us by Zed's group, we found everyone else ascending the staircase alongside a bunch of random players. Kirito and Klein were sharing map data with the random players while Zed and Eugene's group continued to ascend the staircase. When we began going up, Asuna spotted me and began waving frantically over to my direction.

"Violet-chan!" Asuna greeted me. "You're here!"

Zed and Eugene's groups stopped in their tracks, and turned back around to face us. My group caught up with everyone and we gathered at the top of the staircase. The random players Kirito and Klein were conversing with either went on ahead or went back down, perhaps to exit the dungeon. Everyone except for Eugene sat on the steps of the stairs, resting their bodies. I forgot how terribly boring mapping and exploring a Labyrinth is, especially when there are twenty floors to fully explore. All of this exploring is also making my avatar a bit hungry. With no house or place to cook food, I couldn't make any meals for the group to eat while exploring the Labyrinth. I do wonder what kind of things I can make in this game with all new kinds of monsters everywhere.

"Even though we did this kind of thing for hours less than a year ago, I'm already starting to get tired." ViVi panted.

"That's because your real-life physical prowess influences your strength in-game." Zed spoke up. "If you want to do better, you've got to work out more…"

"But that's so difficult! It gets too hot when I work out!"

"Then remove your clothes!" Aqua boomed. "You're always wearing like three layers of clothing regardless of the situation you're in. Even in school you wear the designated winter jacket."

"But it's so cold all the time!"

"ViVi, shut up already…" I commanded my cousin. "If Mortifer were here, he would have beaten you up already for complaining so much…"

"Can I be his substitute?" Rizer asked me, cracking his knuckles and giving ViVi a death glare. I simply sighed and shook my head, denying his request.

"Did you lot not bring any food with you?" Eugene questioned us. "Eating food in-game will help relieve the fatigue you have. It also helps reduce your hunger in the real world, making it a rather odd, but popular dieting method."

"We're aware of the fatigue loss, but we don't have a place to cook food in, nor the ingredients to do so." Asuna told the Salamander.

"Then buy something off of an NPC store. It's way cheaper and easier that way."

"But player-made food tastes way better, especially coming from one who has Completed their Cooking, like us two." I told the General, pointing to myself and Asuna.

"You two maxed out Cooking? What a waste of time…"

"You won't think that if you just taste our cooking." I grumbled out to Eugene.

"Enough with the food stuff you guys." Kirito stopped us. "Let's keep exploring the Labyrinth so we can beat the 1st Floor before the weekend ends. When summer break starts next month, then we can do whatever we want."

"Agreed." Zed said as he stood up. He reached out for Paradox's hand, and helped her up as well. "Let's keep on going."


Several hours later 8PM, an inn in Tolbana

The members of the raiding party currently online are waiting at the round table for the rest of the group. During the eight long hours we explored the inside of the dungeon, we managed to reach the nineteenth floor of the Labyrinth. While most of the floors aren't fully explored, it's pretty impressive for us to get so far in one day. These things usually take up to a week to do, with the exception of the 22nd Floor of the old Aincrad, which took three days to clear.

I had just gotten back from eating dinner with my family. There was something rather odd in the atmosphere while I was eating dinner. My parents were being oddly quiet tonight. Usually they ask me how is my day going and what I did in-game with my friends, but they didn't talk much today. I could just be overreacting but I'm still not too sure. They seemed as if they were nervous to talk to me which has never happened before.

Anyways, we are currently waiting for Mortifer's family to get back online. Apparently, they ran out of things to cook, so Mortifer and Leafa had to go to the market and buy items. When I questioned Kirito about Mortifer's cooking skills in the real world, he told me that Mortifer is the one who usually cooks the food for the family, making me quite surprised, though Kirito stated that Mortifer's cooking isn't as good as Suguha's. However, it is taking them quite a long time to eat their dinner since everyone else returned thirty minutes ago.

"What's taking them so long?" Klein complained. "It's just food…"

"Well, they don't order food for delivery like you Klein-san." Asuna teased the red-haired man.

"Yeah, and besides…" Lizbeth spoke up. "We had to wait for you for a full hour, just so you could run to the nearest McDonalds and get a burger…"

"But a man's gotta eat!"

"Then stop being rude to Kirito and his family, and let them eat at their own pace…"

"Fine, fine…"

The raid party began sitting down all over the bar alongside a bunch of other players who have entered the inn. It got super busy and crowded inside the inn, to the point where people are now spilling outside of the place. Is this the only inn in Tolbana? If so, then why did everyone suddenly decide to come here? All of the rooms are going to be rented out at this point when all of us log off here. Nonetheless, the inside of the inn became a party, with people competing in an arm wrestling competition. Currently, Rizer has dominated every single one of his opponents, including Eugene who struggled greatly against him. The only two people able to compete against him is Agil and Cayonz, who are both larger and seemingly more muscular than Rizer.

"You want to try our left hands Cayonz?" Rizer encouraged our healer.

"Let's do this…" Cayonz said with a smile.

The two competitors brought their left arms up on the table and clasped their hands together. Cayonz's huge hand covered Rizer's like a half-glove. They set their right arms on the table in front of them and leaned towards each other.

"On your mark…" Zed began announcing. "Get set…. Go!"

Immediately, veins popped out of both of their arms as they struggled to bring each other down. Both of their biceps began bulging out for everyone to admire. I could see Rizer's face begin turning red as he continued his struggle. After ten seconds, we began to see movement. Rizer was pushing Cayonz's hand down and the crowd got really excited. Everyone thought Cayonz was going to lose when he suddenly began fighting back. They went back up to the middle and then Cayonz began pushing Rizer's hand downward. And with one last push, Cayonz literally slammed Rizer's hand down the table hard enough to cause it to flip over. Rizer was thrown off his seat while Cayonz was also brought down due to his momentum and Rizer's pull. Had the table not been an Immortal Object, it likely would have been destroyed just now.

"And the winner is… Cayonz!" Zed shouted as he raised Cayonz's right arm upwards.

The crowd went into an uproar and congratulated our guild's healer. People went over to pat both Rizer and Cayonz on the back, congratulating both of them for doing a good job on the match. During the midst of that, three flashes of light appeared in different spots of the room. I spotted Mortifer appear from one of these lights, and he looked surprised at the huge crowd of people. I began making my way to him, and when he spotted me, he too did the same. We finally met up and moved to a more spacious area of the inn.

"What the hell did we miss?" Mortifer asked me.

"Rizer and Cayonz had an arm wrestling competition. It was a left-arm battle that Cayonz won in the end." I informed him. "What took you guys so long?"

"Kirito messed up the rice badly, making it unusable, and I needed to get gas for my car as well." Mortifer told me.

"Oh, okay then."

"And uh, sorry about my attitude earlier… I was being stubborn. I wanted to be alone so I could clear my mind for a bit. I'm better now, so I'll rejoin you guys tomorrow when we continue our search for the twentieth floor and the boss room."

"Okay. I'm glad you're alright." I told him with a smile.

"The Reaper and his family is back you guys." Zed announced to everyone.

"About time you got here." Eugene grouched. "Let's hurry up and share the mapping locations already as well as the strategy we're going to do for the boss."

"Wait, strategy? Did we find the boss room and scout it?" Mortifer questioned.

"No, but we got news from ALO's website, MMO Tomorrow as well as NPCs in the game. It just so happens that the 1st Floor Boss of New Aincrad is the same as it was in SAO." Konno explained to Mortifer.

"You mean Illfang the Kobold Lord?"

"Yeah, that guy."

"Are all of the bosses in New Aincrad the same as the old Aincrad?"

"I don't believe so." Konno mused. "Anyways, do you know about Illfang?"

"Violet and I were there during the raid, but we didn't participate. Kirito, Agil and Asuna actually fought it though, and Kirito landed the last hit on it." Mortifer told him.

"Oh yeah, I remember that." Kirito spoke up. "I remember kicking you off that staircase."

"You remember, yet haven't apologized?"

"Hey, that happened before you changed, so that doesn't count."

"Can we discuss what we came here for already?" Eugene demanded, slamming his hand down the table, effectively getting the attention of everyone in the inn.

Mortifer let out a long sigh and took a seat at the large round table at the center of the room. Zed, Kirito, Sakuya, Alicia and Eugene also sat down at the table and opened up their menus. Everyone else gathered around, including the curious random players who wanted to know what was going on.

"I almost completed mapping the entirety of the nineteenth floor, so the empty areas are possible locations for the staircase." Mortifer explained as he brought out his map. "The southwestern region of the floor is where I predict the staircase is going to be. Otherwise, it is located at this tiny area over here towards the east. There are no Safe-Zone Areas in floors sixteen to nineteen, so hopefully there is one at the twentieth."

"Going backwards, our parties discovered nothing importance in floors one through seven." Sakuya took over. "Like we discussed earlier, there are Safe-Zone Areas at floor eight and thirteen, with a few horde traps on the tenth and fifteenth floor, spawning fifteen Red Kobolds at that location."

"There are also traps like that at the seventeenth and eighteenth floor. There may be more at the twentieth since it is the last floor, but that is merely an assumption." Alicia added in.

"Now, what about the boss then?" Eugene asked.

"I think we should talk about it tomorrow right before we enter the room, so it is fresh in our minds." Zed suggested. "Right now, I just want to rest. I forgot how tiresome it is to search through a Labyrinth."

"I'm fine with that." Klein agreed with him. Everyone around the table also began agreeing with the two.

"Then what do we do about the mapping data?" Sakuya asked everyone.

"I'll give mine away once we finish clearing this floor since I don't see the point of keeping it." Mortifer spoke up.

"To whom will you give it to?" Alicia questioned him.

"Whoever can give me five-thousand Yrd first will get the data." Mortifer bargained.

Immediately, Sakuya, Eugene and Alicia opened their inventory and quickly took out three satchel bags filled with gold. The three of them shoved it towards Mortifer, who did not know which one to take from.

"This is ten-thousand Yrd!" Alicia exclaimed. Right away, Sakuya and Eugene took out another bag.

"Fifteen-thousand!" Sakuya shouted.

"Twenty-five!" Eugene growled as he shoved it right towards Mortifer's face.

Sakuya and Alicia took out yet another bag filled with money.

"Thirty thousand!" Alicia pleaded.

"Forty thousand!" Sakuya begged. Eugene then took out one more bag and slammed it down the table.

"Fifty thousand!"

The inn went silent at Eugene's offer. While I haven't been in this game long, I know the economy well enough to know that fifty-thousand is plenty of money. Even in SAO, this price would be completely absurd for map data that isn't even complete. It's only the first floor too, so it's odd for the three of them to complete bring the price all the way up to fifty thousand. Mortifer however simply smiled mischievously, as if it was his plan to get the three of them to bid on his mapping data.

"I guess Eugene wins it. Keep the money for now, and I'll give you the map data tomorrow."

"You better not go against your word Imp." Eugene threatened. He stashed his bags money back into his inventory. "Come on men. Let's get out of here."

Eugene and his party stood up from their seats and began making their way out of the inn. The crowd split and created a path for them to take. Eugene pushed open the swinging doors and disappeared into the night. The crowd then turned their eyes back to the meeting table where everyone remained sitting. Mortifer was smiling behind his mask while playing with a throwing knife Zed had placed on the table.

"Fifty-thousand for incomplete map data… What is that guy thinking?" Mortifer asked Sakuya and Alicia.

"He probably wants to know all of the locations of every good farming spot within New Aincrad so he can keep on building the strength of the Salamanders. The feuds between races remain even after the end of the old Grand Quest." Sakuya explained.

"There are also rumors going around dealing with the Salamanders, but this place is too crowded to discuss that sort of thing." Alicia added in.

"Whatever. We can talk about it tomorrow or some other time. I need to go check something out. Rizer, Cayonz, let's go." Mortifer said as he stood up from his chair.

"Oh, we're heading there now?" Rizer asked.

"Wait, heading where?" Zed asked them.

"Don't worry about it." Mortifer told him as the three of them walked out the door.

Irritation built up inside of me and I stomped my way outside of the inn with the rest of the guild following behind me. However, before we could even react, Mortifer, Rizer and Cayonz took off on their wings and flew away from the town in super speed. I can easily follow their speed, but I decided not to trail them.

"Where are those guys going?" Paradox asked me.

"I don't know… There's some sort of secret they don't want to tell us. Every time they talk about it, they speak in English so I can't fully understand a word they're saying." I informed the rest of the guild.

"Well, hopefully I'm with them next time so I can find out what secret they are trying to keep from us." Aqua yawned as she leaned her head on Trish's shoulder. "Did you pick up any of the words they were speaking Trish?"

"N-No… They spoke rather fast, so I couldn't comprehend any of what they were saying." Trish admitted.

"You guys will find about it eventually." A voice from inside the inn spoke. We turned our heads towards the inn entrance and saw Kirito and Leafa appear from within.

"You guys know what he's hiding from us?" Konno asked the two siblings.

"Yup, but Onii-chan told us to also keep it a secret from you guys. Sorry." Leafa nervously smiled.

"Oh, come on! You gotta tell us!" ViVi pleaded.

"Nope. Sorry." Kirito affirmed.

"Well, whatever then. If they want to keep it a secret, then so be it. We'll just wait for the day they come and tell us then." Zed declared.

"Hopefully it's soon…" I mumbled out.


(Mortifer)

The Misty Valley, Half an hour later

We flew through the night sky, passing over hills, forests, rivers and other landforms in the northeastern side of the world. The air has gotten considerably colder and the ground below us has started to gain some frost. Ahead of us however, is a thick fog which remained stationary and unmoving. I pulled out an item called Sky Light. It's a decoration item that remains where it is placed, whether it be on a surface or floating in the air. And unless a player moves it directly with their body, it remains where it is. I took the glowing ball of light and held it in my hand.

"Follow close behind me, or else you may lose me." I told Rizer and Cayonz. We flew into the fog, and my mask began accumulating water droplets. The air rapidly got colder, and the fog thicker.

"Was it really a good time to visit this place during the night? We have a raid boss to go to tomorrow as well." Rizer asked me.

"We also don't have the time, nor resources to work on it. And with little to no visibility, it's hard to work at all." Cayonz stated.

"I just want to show you guys the way here so then I don't have to lead you here all of the time."

I looked at my map while traversing the thick fog. I used the landforms displayed on the screen as guides to where I need to go. It would be easier if it were day time since I can at least see what is below me, but the night is dark with the moon still not high enough in the sky. In fact, I think the sun is still up on the other side of ALfheim, just hovering above the ocean.

"You were right about this fog… I can't see a god damn thing." Rizer exclaimed.

"I think we should have hugged the side of the mountain. After all, the plot is located next to one, right?" Cayonz asked.

"Yeah… We probably should have." I thought out loud. "Well, we're getting close anyways."

We continued flying through the fog until it slowly began to clear up. At that point, I put my map away and felt my way out of the fog. Eventually, it got to the point where we could see what was in front of us. I looked at the ground and saw the ancient-looking stone path and slowed down my pace so I could follow it. We exited the fog and looked upon a great canyon. The top was blooming with flowers and grass while the walls were filled with dirt and stone. I descended down to the stone path, and so did Rizer and Cayonz. Upon stepping into the ravine, a notification popped up in front of Rizer and Cayonz.

"You have entered a player's land. Owner ID: Mortifer…" Rizer read.

"Oh, so this is where the border starts? Sweet!" I exclaimed.

I opened up my inventory and pulled out thirty-one more Sky Lights. I gave Rizer and Cayonz eight each and kept the other sixteen for myself. I then used my menu to begin configuring the permissions of my private territory. I gave both Rizer and Cayonz full authorization to everything in my property and even allowed them to configure any other options that may need to be changed. The two of them were notified of their newly received permissions.

"Place these Sky Lights near the walls of the ravine, hovering above the ground." I told them. "Make sure you maximize its lighting capabilities by distancing them from each other. I'll be putting these floating near the top of the ravine so we can make sure it is fully lit."

"All right then." Cayonz acknowledged.

The three of us began working on lighting up the ravine. I flew up near the grassy top, and began placing the Sky Lights on both sides of the ravines. We could probably decorate this ravine a bit more as well. Maybe have some stone arches across the top, or get some plants with vines so that they drop down into the ravine below. The stone path also needs to be updated a bit as I feel like there is too much grass being exposed. Should we also have our own flag here as well? I guess we can decide on that later.

"I'm down with my side!" Cayonz shouted below me.

"I am as well!" Rizer added on.

"All right! I'll be down in a second!" I shouted back at them. I placed the last of the lights and descended to the ground. I then faced towards the other exit of the canyon and smiled. "So, what do you think of this?"

The stone path ended when the ravine opened into a huge valley. The entire area was located within an even larger canyon with smaller walls. The valley extended all the way to the side of the mountains where it rose up slightly due to a hill. There were two weird, narrow bridges connecting the top of the canyon and the hill at the bottom of the valley. This gives access to a smaller area above the canyon that we can use for other things. Not only that, a natural road on the mountainside led up to an isolated platform, hanging off the side of the mountain, a few dozen meters off the bottom of the valley. Yes… I know exactly what I want to do for each and every part of this place…

"How much did this land cost again?" Rizer asked me while marveling at the space we were working with.

"One and a quarter trillion." I told him. "I'm basically bankrupt now because of this place. The money you guys have on you right now will be used for the resources we need for this place."

I opened up my menu and sent a trade request to Rizer. He willingly accepted and I gave him a small quantity of wood to work with.

"Can you make a chest and table out of that?" I asked him.

"Shouldn't be a problem…" Rizer determined.

He accepted the trade offer and took the wood I had offered him. He selected the wood and began using his Carpentry skill to craft items. After a few seconds of waiting, a large flat wooden table appeared in front of Rizer as well as a wooden chest on top of it. I then opened my own menu and began taking out the schematics I had for our project and stored them inside of the chest. I took the thing and brought it down below the table. I looked up to the night sky above us which twinkled with stars.

"When we finish with the boss fight tomorrow, I'll start working on this place." I told the two of them. "I'm aware that you guys have work on the weekdays, but don't worry too much. Because Martial Arts and Meditation are no longer Skills in this game, I replaced it with Masonry and Carpentry. Fortunately, the data I had with those two were also transferred from SAO, so I don't need to level it up so much. I can do the basic stuff without you guys, but I will still need your help for the bigger stuff."

"That's fine. As long as you get the resources for us, we can do whatever it is the plans ask for." Cayonz stated. "Also, did you choose us because we still have the Carpentry and Masonry skills?"

"Mostly… But, I figured you guys would be more willing to help me out in this kind of thing."

"Well, you're not wrong about that second one." Rizer laughed. "Zed would be slacking off if he knew he had to help build something like that. Probably ViVi and Aqua as well."

"Yeah… Probably…" I also laughed out. "Well, it's getting late now, and I need to reset my sleep schedule. I'm going to log off now. See you guys tomorrow."

I waved the two of them good bye as I logged out of the game.


2 PM of the next day, 20th Floor of 1st Floor Labyrinth

We looked upon the giant black iron door which stood at least two stories off the ground. It took us nearly two hours to find the twentieth-floor staircase and locate the boss room. By that time, we had activated so many horde traps that I needed to go fly out of the Labyrinth and to Tolbana to obtain healing items. They weren't as good as the ones in Alne, but we don't need anything too crazy. It took me half an hour to do this supply run, and by the time I returned, everyone's health and mana regenerated to the point where it was nearly full. Everyone healed up completely and we began our boss raid meeting right there in front of the door.

"So, this Illfang guy… What is he like?" Sakuya asked us.

"The guy has four health bars and uses an axe and buckler which is a small shield strapped to its arm." My brother began explaining. "At the start of the fight, three Ruin Kobold Sentinels spawn right next to the boss and defends it from the players. Each time one of its health bars are depleted, it spawns three more totaling to twelve. When it's last health bar is brought down below to one-third, it throws away the axe and buckler and switches it for a katana. Its special attacks are switched along with its weapons, so be wary of moves we haven't seen. All of its attacks can be easily parried and blocked, but since ALO does not have Sword Skills, it may be a bit harder."

"Sword Skills?" Alicia asked us.

"They are a type of special attacks done with your weapons." Violet began explaining to the Cait Sith Lord. "They do extra damage and are assisted by the system, making combat easier for those who aren't fast enough or strong enough. Speaking of that, I heard my father talking to some of his associates about that. He said they may implement it into ALO as well."

"Really?!" ViVi beamed. "Cool!"

"Perhaps they can also add an elemental aspect to the Sword Skills…That would be a great advantage against bosses who are resistant to physical attacks." Konno mused.

"And it would make it so players who aren't that good at sword fighting have a chance against others. Though I doubt you're going to use any Sword Skills aren't you, Nii-san?" Kirito asked me.

"I don't see a point to it if I can dish out more damage without suffering that Post-Motion Delay. I have faith in my own strength and weapons to not use the system's assistance." I confidently proclaimed.

"We've gone off track again…" Eugene growled, punching the ground with his red iron gauntlet. "Is there anything else we should know of the boss?"

"Since Magic did not exist in SAO, we don't know its resistances or weaknesses to magic-based attacks, so for now just use Explosion Magic as usual. I like to consider the boss as a glass cannon, so the people of the vanguard need to be cautious if it is targeting them. I have nothing else to say."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Kirito stated.

"So, how will we split the teams again?" Asuna asked.

"Trish, what do you propose?" I asked her.

The entire group looked at our youngest member, waiting for her to come up with a response to my question. I could tell she was nervous since she was both shaking and sweating. She looked at the ground and blushed heavily, as I could see red even through her brown cheeks. She then took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to speak.

"Konno-san should be our main tank and try to pull aggro as much as possible. His shield makes blocking easier due to its surface area. The other tanks will switch around with him, but also try to parry the boss' attack, allowing our damage-dealers to Switch in and attack the boss. Eugene-san's mages should use their attacks sparingly in case the boss suddenly charges for them. Depending on the boss' damage output, the healers should only heal a little bit above or below half the player's HP. As for the trash mobs, the party who first encounters them should be responsible for taking it down as quickly as possible. If your party has a tank, they should just go straight for the boss to make sure the others have time to take down the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. Archers should help wherever they are needed, whether it be the boss or its minions… T-That's all I have…"

There was a short moment of silence before I smiled and approached Trish. I put my hand on top of her head and rubbed it affectionately. I then walked away from her and approached the boss room's entrance.

"You heard her. Now let's go!" I shouted out to everyone. And in unison, they responded:

"Yeah!"

Kirito and I did the honors of pushing the boss room door open. While that happened, I saw Aqua hugging Trish from behind, grinning like a child. The rest of the guild and more went over to congratulate Trish, patting her on the back and complimenting her. When the doors fully opened, we all spilled inside of the familiar rectangular room. Pillars aligned the sides near the walls, leading up to a giant throne at the other end of the room. I could not see the boss yet, but that's because we have a grace period before it spawns in, indicated by the blue torches that are beginning to light up on each of the pillars. When everyone was inside, Klein headed over to the side of the door and pressed the button which automatically closed it. That very same button will also end the grace period and lets the boss fight start right away.

As I predicted, a flash of light appeared in front of the throne, and a familiar red giant appeared from it. It picked up its weapons and jumped down from its high throne and out into the light. Illfang roared and three Ruin Kobold Sentinels appeared before him. However, the only thing that didn't appear were his health bars.

"Hey, how come his health isn't showing?" Klein asked everyone.

"It seems that the bosses in New Aincrad do not show their health bars…" Sakuya determined.

"Yeah, but what about The Stone Golem? That one had its health bar showing." Lizbeth recalled.

"Who cares! We don't need to see its health to defeat it!" ViVi excitedly proclaimed. "Let's go!"


Half an hour later

The Stone Golem is nothing compared to Illfang the Kobold Lord. Now I truly see what they meant about how the New Aincrad bosses are harder. The Field Boss we fought yesterday must have been there to throw us off, unless all Field Bosses are that weak. However, this fight has taken us half an hour, and Illfang has only spawned in nine minions total, meaning he likely has one health bar left unless they changed that aspect of him. Even with Eugene's mages using their most powerful magical attack, it doesn't seem to be affecting the boss as much as we think it does. It's a good thing I went on a supply run because we badly needed these potions for the fight as our mages have depleted their MP bars three times already.

"Not seeing its health bar is way harder than I thought it would be." Agil stated.

"Yeah! We don't even know if it still has one full health bar left or something!" Klein shouted out.

"Mortifer-san, our healers will run out of MP in two minutes!" Trish shouted out to me. "The fire mages and I will run out in one and a half. We're also out of MP potions, making us mages useless in two minutes time!"

"All right then… I guess we just need to go all out on the boss…" I determined.

I sheathed my two-handed sword and pulled out my two Obsidian Blades. Even though I am extremely close to being able to wield the Buster Sword, this situation calls for me to use my twin blades. Maybe I'll switch back when I know this guy is almost dead. Either way, I need to focus on dishing out as much damage as possible in the short window I have to attack. I really think we should all just attack together once we have an opening, but that would be completely reckless of us to do. Just one attack that Konno blocked chipped away nearly a quarter of his health, and Konno's Shield is Completed too.

"A powerful downward strike in three seconds!" Yui cried out the boss' attack pattern. Everyone held their weapons tightly and readied themselves. "Three… Two… One!"

Illfang performed a powerful downward strike with its axe. Rizer, who was at full health at the time, went in and parried the incoming attack, breaking Illfang's guard and leaving it wide open to our attacks. All of our damage dealers then went in and mercilessly attacked the Floor Boss. We continued our onslaught until Illfang let out an angered roar which shook the entire boss area, and deafening those of us right next to it. Three Ruin Kobold Sentinels spawned next to it, indicating another loss of an HP bar. If this guy has the same health bars as last time, then this should be the last set of trash mobs. Seeing that we needed to end before the mages run out of MP, I attacked all three of boss' minions and brought them away from everyone else.

"I can handle these three! Do as much damage as possible to the boss!" I shouted at them.

"Right!" Kirito shouted back.

I led the three minions far away from the boss, all the way to the throne room as a way to make sure that they will have to run a long distance to get back to the boss. When I was satisfied with the distance between me and the rest of the group, I turned around and went straight for the closest Kobold. Since my weapon isn't so great, I didn't do much damage to the plated armor of the trash mobs. Two of them attacked me at once with their large maces, forcing me to go on the full defensive and block. I was pushed back a little bit due to their bigger size and weapons, but I didn't take much damage from doing so. This pattern of attacking and blocking brought me down to a quarter of my health before I finally managed to defeat all three. And at that moment, my Two-Handed Straight Sword reached level seven-hundred. I smiled with glee and rummaged through my Inventory to find my beloved Buster Sword. Without hesitation, I stored my Iron Broadsword inside my inventory and switched it out for the Buster Sword.

I could now wield the sword properly and be able to fight with it without it hindering me so much. Rizer would be able to use this quite well, but it was heavy for him at the time because he is not the owner of the blade. For some reason, things like these are heavier if another person wields it, like it is trying to prevent theft. Either way, this sword will give me a huge power boost, and there is something in my sights that I can use to test the strength of my attacks. I gazed at the giant red Kobold at the center of my room, and charged towards it, dragging my heavy sword behind me. With my built-up momentum, I sliced through the back side of Illfang, cutting across its waist and deep into his belly. I felt no resistance during my attack, telling me just how sharp the blade is.

"Oh! You can wield it now!" Violet shouted in glee. Her happy expression then quickly changed into one of worry. "Look out!"

With Violet's warning, I quickly turned around and noticed the attack coming in from my left. I held up my sword in a way that would completely negate the attack by making it slide off the large surface of my blade. As I predicted, the axe simply slid past me and went over my head. Konno, who was nearby, took that opportunity to use his mace and smash the flat part of the axe upwards, making the boss stumble from the force.

"Go!" Konno encouraged everyone.

Literally everyone in the raid party looked at Illfang and joined in on the chaos. The tanks, damage-dealers, archers, mages and even the healers attacked the boss without showing any shred of mercy. Arrows plunged into its belly. Swords hacked through its virtual flesh. Blunt weapons pummeled the sides of the boss, leaving giant crater-like marks. Explosive fireballs blasted away at the boss' face, and jets of water knocked back Illfang a few meters from his original location. And I watched as our little Trish chanted out an incantation and sent three spikes of ice flying towards Illfang. The first landed on its left shoulder. The second pierced through its heart. And the last went further away, going right into its mouth and hitting the back of its throat. Illfang the Kobold Lord shuddered violently before its body exploded into millions of pixels. After a few seconds of silence, the congratulatory screen popped up in front of all of us, as well as the words 'Congratulations' above the center of the room.

"Yeah! We did it! Woo!" ViVi exclaimed.

"We're the first group to beat a floor in New Aincrad!" Klein declared.

"Awesome Trish! You landed the killing blow!" Aqua shouted in glee, jumping on Trish and knocking her down to the ground. The blonde-haired girl smiled as she sat on top of her best friend. "Guys! Let's give three cheers for Trish!"

I smiled and listened as everyone congratulated our little mage and strategist who is now smiling brighter than ever. With this, she can break out of her little bubble and become more sociable like she wanted to be. Not only that, she will become a recognized member of our group should our guild become famous one day. After all, with the money-making plan I came up with, we're bound to get some sort of reputation. Anyways, I watched as a staircase appeared behind the throne, ascending all the way up to a door half the size of the one behind us. Without warning, Eugene and his group pushed past me and made their way towards the staircase. Before he got too far from us however, he stopped and turned around to face me.

"Before we move on, I would like to have the map data now." Eugene asked me. He materialized three brown satchel bogs, each jingled with coins. The excitement died down slightly as I approached him.

"Moving straight on ahead to the 2nd Floor… You really are thinking of this as a competition now, aren't you?" I asked him as I opened up a trading menu.

"It is as you said yesterday. Losing is not fun. While I'm clearly aware of the fact that I need your assistance in clearing these floors, I am not fond of being looked down upon. Consider me as your rival, Imp. I will fight with you for now, but I long for the day we do our real battle."

We exchanged our planned goods. I received fifty-thousand Yrd while Eugene received all the mapping data I had on the 1st Floor's Labyrinth. He and his group then turned around and continued towards the staircase leading to the 2nd Floor. I sighed and scratched my head as I turned to face everyone else. When they began their ascent, I began talking to everyone else.

"He calls me his rival when he has no chance of defeating me…" I grumbled out.

"That trash talk is going to bite back at you one day." Kirito stated.

"Winners get the bragging rights Kirito. He lost to you, and you acknowledge that you cannot defeat me. He can call me his rival, but there's no way I'll call him my rival. That title has yet to be taken by someone."

"Oh, so I haven't taken that title, Mortifer?" Zed questioned.

"Do you consider yourself equal or better than me Zed?" I asked him.

"Not yet…"

"Good. Because I don't think that as well. That's why I don't consider you a rival"

Zed's right eye twitched slightly, showing his irritation at my words. Paradox already began taking measures to calm Zed down by wrapping her body around his right arm.

"Damn Mortifer…" Rizer muttered out. "Tone down on the savagery. You're only going to make Zed mad."

"Sorry… I think seeing Eugene's face makes me a bit pissed off. I apologize for my rudeness Zed…"

I bowed towards Zed, trying to express my forgiveness to him. He calmed down and bowed himself, accepting my apology. I then stretched my muscles and looked back at the staircase. Eugene and his group are gone now, leaving us behind in the boss room.

"Well, I think I'm done for today. Rizer, Cayonz… You want to head over there and begin our project?" I asked the two of them.

"Yeah, let's go. I'm hyped to start working on it!" Rizer exclaimed.

"Aqua-chan! Please translate!" Violet pleaded her.

"I'll see you later Violet! Sorry in advance!" I told her. "Oh, and Kirito, Leafa! Come by from time to time and give me feedback on it! Let's go!"

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If the quality of this chapter does not match that of the previous ones I've done, then I do apologize. I write this late at night (or early morning) and I got a severe case of Writer's Block and did not know what to do for the chapter. That will also be the case for the next chapter (most likely). Not only that, I have summer homework to do, and my procrastination isn't helping either. If the next chapter takes even longer, I seriously do apologize.

Next Chapter: The New Reapers of Sorrow

Word Count: 12.4k

- Mortifer V