Two days after the 2nd Floor opened, Misty Valley, Evening

I entered the valley, with a literal wagon in tow. Since I could not fit enough in my inventory, I had to purchase two large wagons to carry all the necessary materials we needed for the project. Right after the boss fight, we started by clearing the land of any hindrances such as rocks and bushes. We also had to dig out the moat around the hill of the valley. This man-made river went under the two bridges, connecting the top to the bottom, making it look much prettier than it once was. As for where we will get the water and how we will preserve it, there are special stones in the Gnome capital of Kalifa which are completely waterproof and resist erosion. We planned on covering the bottom of the river with these cheap rocks like a blanket, then covering the top layer with dirt to hide the white color. After everything is done, we will fill it with water done so the water doesn't evaporate due to lack of protection. That won't be happening for a while, but I'm not even sure the game engine includes evaporation of bodies of water.

I dragged the two wagons and parked them right next to the schematics table and the chest that held most of our belongings. I stretched my muscles from the long journey I took, where I came here from a village that is thirty minutes away on foot. Rizer was working on the bridge that allowed us to cross the moat and reach the hill. With his Crafting and Carpentry being rather high-leveled, he managed to make a drawbridge which was controlled by a metal wheel. The wheel was hooked up to a stone archway that Cayonz created at the hill side of the moat. While people can easily fly or even swim across the small river, it just looks better with a bridge.

"Cayonz, stand back!" Rizer warned the man as he let go of the rope holding the bridge up.

The giant wooden bridge fell forward and hovered above the moat. The end of the bridge was perfectly touching the other side of the moat, making it perfectly even. Rizer then hooked up chains to two sides of the bridge and connected them to the winch system we had built on Cayonz's stone archway. Rizer then tested it, pulling on the winch system and lifting the bridge with ease. He then placed the lock on the wheel, with the lock being a giant stone. The wheel didn't budge, satisfying Rizer.

"And… the bridge is done!" Rizer happily announced.

"All right!" Cayonz exclaimed, giving Rizer a high five. "Hey Mortifer, I've finished outlining half of the base. Did you bring the rest of the materials we need for the full base?"

"Yeah, right here!" I told them, patting the giant mound of stone to be used by Cayonz. "Do you want me to move the schematics table up to the top so you don't need to run down back here?"

"Yes, that would be much appreciated," Cayonz shouted back at me.

I headed over to the table and stored it inside of my Inventory. I took the chest filled with items, and began to carry it to the top of the hill by hand. Had the chest weighed the exact total of the items inside of it instead of a hundredth of their total weight, this would have been impossible for me to move, as it had all our equipment, including my Buster Sword. I carefully went up the hill, as the chest blocked me from seeing what was in front of me. When I got to the top, I dropped the chest and pushed it towards where the entrance was going to be. I then opened my Inventory and took out the table and schematics. I laid them out as intended and looked at them with Cayonz.

"It's oddly shaped, but I won't question your ideas since I'm assuming you have thought this out completely," Cayonz told me as he scrutinized the plans. "Four towers on the corners of the square, with the ones at the rear being taller than the rest… Four bastions located on the sides, reaching down to the second floor and not intruding the first, acting a bit like an overhang… May I ask what the towers above the plateau are for?"

"Well, clearly this place can't be completely occupied by only ten of us, and I wanted everyone to have their own rooms. The tower to the right is for our guild to use, and the tower to the left is for Kirito and his group should they want to stay here. Five floors for each tower with two big rooms in each floor, designed to the owner's tastes. When we make it, the shapes of each room will be the same, but we won't furnish it until we reveal it to everyone else."

"Understood. What are we going to do with that platform all the way up there then?" Cayonz asked, pointing towards the high platform on the mountainside.

"It may be too high and small for it, but I was thinking of turning it into some mystical garden. After all, I need a place to go to when I want to calm down or be alone."

"Speaking of gardens, where are you planning on getting all of the plants we need to make this place?" Rizer asked me as he ascended the hill.

"The Undines and Pookas have some nice plants we can buy, but the ones I want for that garden up there are in the Sylph territory. Luckily, we can simply buy seeds and wait a few weeks for them to grow."

"If Paradox had planted them with her Horticulture, everything would grow in a matter of days instead." Rizer pointed out. "We should plant them a month or so before the summer break ends for them, so they are fully grown by the time we reveal the place to them."

"Agreed. Now, let's see how we will work this out…" Cayonz said as he looked at the schematics once more. "So, the floors will be made of stone, but we're going to cover it over with a carpet, right?"

"That's what I intend to do. We can get the carpets rather cheap over at Cait Sith towns. I also want some of the flooring to be wood since the stone can get cold during the winter months. In fact, the entire place must be freezing without any heaters and insulation. Torches and fires are going to be a must."

"Yes, they are indeed. I guess I can start off with the floor of the entryway. Where are the materials?" Cayonz asked. I pointed down the hill where the two wagons sat silently. "Well, that's unfortunate."

"I'll help you out big guy," I offered him.

The two of us walked down the hill, leaving Rizer to work on the wooden doors for the entrance. Cayonz took one wagon of stone while I took the other. Together, we struggled to bring it all the way up the hill and used up a lot of our energy to do so. While we walked up, I noticed all the empty space we had between the hill and the canyon entrance. In fact, there's enough space to fit another large building in the area, or even cover it with a forest completely. It would look rather uneven, but I think we can transform the left side into a forest and build a large building on the right. Maybe an arena for fighting? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

"You think we should make a big arena with all the space we have over there?" I asked Cayonz, pointing my head towards the open space to our left. He looked down the hill and laughed.

"Let's finish this first before we build another enormous object," Cayonz bellowed.

"Haha… All right then…"


(Violet)

Two days later, Afternoon, Alne

Mortifer told us to meet in Alne earlier in the day when we were still in school. Apparently, it has something to do with the secret he is keeping from us. That fact alone made me want to come here as soon as possible. After I finished my homework, I logged on and made my way to Alne. The trip took me half an hour, since I came from the 2nd Floor of Aincrad. By the time I arrived, almost everyone was there, except for ViVi, Rizer and Cayonz. ViVi is probably taking longer due to his homework, while Rizer and Cayonz cannot attend the meeting due to work issues. However, Mortifer had informed Rizer and Cayonz of the contents of this meeting a few days ago, so it won't harm them if they miss it. That means all that's left to do is to wait for my cousin ViVi.

"You three are in the same class, right?" Zed asked Aqua and Trish. "Was today's homework that hard on you guys?"

"It's not exactly hard, but ViVi doesn't seem to be too skilled in mathematics," Aqua explained to him. I nodded slightly in agreement since I knew of ViVi's math skills.

"Do they not give you guys digital homework?" Mortifer asked us. "My brother does his homework in-game with the new updates to the AmuSphere software."

"Oh? That's a thing?" Konno beamed with excitement. "Then we don't need to meet up in the real world for study sessions! That would save so much time and money."

"Not only that, we can get help from you Mortifer!" Aqua smiled. "You're pretty smart, right? You finished school too, so why don't you come and help us with homework from time to time?"

"Uh… I'll help you out, I guess," Mortifer hesitantly responded. "I haven't studied in three years though, so don't expect me to remember even the simplest of things."

"Speaking of studying, are you not going to go to college Mortifer?" I asked him.

"I still don't know what to do in my future… But when I do find something, then I'll see if I can pass the entrance exams."

I nodded slightly, accepting his statement on why he is not going to college yet despite being smart enough to do so. And at that moment, I saw a familiar person in green running towards us. My cousin, bundled up in several layers of clothing, arrived at the meeting and began to pant heavily. He held up his finger, silently asking for a moment to recover his breath. After recovering, he stood up and smiled brightly.

"Heh, sorry for taking so long!" ViVi worriedly spoke. "Did I miss anything important?"

"Nope. We haven't started the meeting yet," Konno stated. "Well, we're about to now since you're here."

We all looked towards Mortifer, who was sitting on top of a rock. He removed his mask and pulled down his hood. He got up to his feet and scratched his head. He looked nervous, which confused me slightly.

"So, as some of you may know…" Mortifer began speaking. "Rizer, Cayonz and I are working on a secret project. Because it is a surprise, I cannot tell you guys anything about it. As for why I'm here… Our project requires a lot of funds which we have nearly expended in a matter of days."

"So… You need us to lend you some money?" Zed asked Mortifer.

"I promised myself to refrain from borrowing money from you guys. Even if I did use everyone's money, it won't be enough to pay for the expenses. I'm here to ask you guys if you know of ways we can make quick money in this game."

"Just how much money are we talking about here?" I asked Mortifer.

"Two hundred billion Yrd."

Everyone's jaws dropped at the absurd amount of money Mortifer is asking for.

"If you think that's too much, just know that Cayonz and I have already spent more than one and a quarter trillion on this project," Mortifer added in.

"What the hell are you guys working on for something to cost so much?!" Konno questioned. "Oh wait, you're not going to tell us… And you're right about the fact that we can't pay for the costs right away. I think the seven of us only have around one hundred billion in total, but you said you're not going to borrow anyway…"

"Jeez… The only way to make that sort of money is farming the Evil-God class monsters down in Jötunheimr…" Zed determined. "But with our current stats and equipment, it will take us several months of constant farming and waiting for the field dungeon to reset…"

"Is there any other way?" Trish asked.

Everyone became quiet as we silently brainstormed for ideas. Clearly, boss raids yield the most money of anything in this game, and it is dependable since they always give each player at least ten-thousand Yrd. Illfang alone gave each member of the raiding party seventy-thousand Yrd, so imagine what the bosses above it would yield. However, even clearing the floors would take too long. The only reason why we cleared the 1st Floor so quickly was due to us completely rushing through it for hours. In SAO, it would usually take us a week or two before we entered the next floor. Plus, there are only ten floors available in New Aincrad at present, so that won't be enough either.

We can try to sell some of the things we make, like weapons, armor and clothing. However, if our prices are too high, people won't buy. Material costs also play a huge role, and I am not aware of what kind of materials are in this world. And from the looks of it, almost everyone in the game wears some type of armor, so clothing that offers little to no protection won't do. I dug deep into my mind to think up of ways to make money when I suddenly remembered a recent memory. During our first trip to Alne from the Imp capital, Mortifer was telling me of his journey to save Asuna. I remembered him telling me how Leafa suggested that he and Kirito should kill her off and join the Salamanders as mercenaries. If they did decide to kill Leafa then…

"What if we do mercenary work?" I asked everyone. The entire guild turned their heads towards me. "All of us are pretty experienced players, and once we get Rizer to make us some good equipment, we can become high quality mercenaries for people to hire. The races of ALfheim are still going at each other even though the old Grand Quest is already over. This would be the perfect opportunity to take up mercenary work."

"I agree," Trish began speaking. "Not only would it be in high demand, we can bargain with the players to give us as much money as possible. The system gives a random amount of money within a given range, making it not as reliable."

"Also, I hear that they took down the interracial fighting within race-owned towns and cities," Zed put in. "That means, if a foreign race enters a city of another race, they can now fight back and kill the residents of the town, and receive loot from them as well."

"Wait, won't that just make us bad guys again?!" ViVi exclaimed. "We were already infamous in SAO, and we nearly died because of it. I don't want to be known as a bad guy again!"

"You were never a bad guy to begin with…" Mortifer mumbled. "Plus, who would think a fuzzball like you is actually some all-powerful villain?"

"Hey!" ViVi shouted back out of anger. "Now that's just mean!"

"ViVi, please calm down…" I begged my cousin. "And Mortifer, please stop being so blunt. You're going to hurt someone's feelings pretty badly if you continue doing that."

"It's become a bad habit… I can't help it… Anyways, the mercenary work is definitely a good idea. There is one problem however... How are we going to get people to hire us, if they don't even know us?"

"You're friends with Thinker-san, right Mortifer?" Trish asked him. "Why don't we make a post on the MMO Tomorrow and get him to put us up on the front page? Almost everyone in ALO checks the site at least three times a week, so if people see something like that, the ones who care will be more likely to contact us."

"That's not a bad idea at all, Trish," Mortifer determined. "I'll see if I can do just that."

"Wait, Mortifer…" Aqua began. "What about your Voices? If you kill someone in this game, does it still affect you?"

My eyes widened, as even I had forgotten about the Voices. Mortifer never really told me if he receives the same consequence for killing people in the game. Even if it doesn't really kill them in the real life, I know that Mortifer believes that actions in the game will affect him in the real world. Not only that, Kirito told me in school that Mortifer may be struggling with finding the difference between the real world and the virtual one, which terrifies me a little bit.

"I don't exactly know if it's the action, or the thought, but yes, the Voices still do affect me even in ALfheim…" Mortifer admitted. "I killed a bunch of players during my first day here in ALO, and each of their Voices are now in my head. I do have a theory though… If I just stop viewing it as actually killing the player, then maybe the Voices won't react. However, if that doesn't work, then I am fine with burdening myself even more. After all, I cannot make you guys do all of the dirty work."

"Are you really sure about that Mortifer?" I asked him.

"Yes… I am absolutely sure," He affirmed.

"Well, that settles it then," Zed announced. "First we're going to need to get Rizer to make us new equipment. After that, Mortifer can make a post on the MMO Tomorrow. How are we going to meet up with clients?"

"We can tell them to meet us at Alne or Yggdrasil City. If they're at New Aincrad, then any of the cities with Teleport Gates will do. Other than that, we will only go to other locations if the client absolutely cannot go to the supposed meeting location. Also, this would be a good learning experience in fighting other players. ALO is a PvP game after all."

"May I ask, what kind of missions do mercenaries do here?" ViVi questioned.

"Protect and escort, quest-assistance, raids, theft, and assassinations," Mortifer listed them out. "Assassinations were pretty hard to pull off before that new patch Zed mentioned. Because of that, assassinations may become much more common if this kind of work is acceptable here in ALO."

"Do we have some sort of base of operations we can all meet up at then?" Aqua asked everyone.

"Zed and I have a small home at Yggdrasil City." Paradox stated, causing Zed to worry. "We can use that as our base for now."

"Paradox!" Zed cried out.

"Aw, would you look at that. Zed's embarrassed," Aqua teased him.

"I just want everyone to remember that all the Yrd you receive is for me to take. Other items you get however are yours for the taking. Are we in an agreement?" Mortifer restated for everyone to hear.

"Aye!" We all said in unison.

"All right then. First, Rizer is going to ask Lizbeth and see if he can use her forge for a bit. While that happens, we need to go get the materials he needs to make our equipment. I got the list right here with me."

Mortifer pulled out a short list of items that everyone began looking through. There were only fifteen items in the list, each needing a quantity ranging from one to five. The weapon that requires the most components seems to be Aqua's bow, which makes total sense. ViVi's staff requires the least components, as it only needs three Elder Tree Wood, though those are located all the way at Sylph territory. All the rest of the materials seem to be in the northern regions of Alfheim, where many minerals and ores can be found at the Gnome's territory. This should take us a day or two overall, so it won't be long until we start our mercenary guild. If this doesn't succeed, then it will take a while till Mortifer shows us this secret project he's been hiding from me.


(Ai)

7PM in the Evening, Yuzuki Household in Setagaya

During our quest to find materials, everyone split up to go to different places. Zed and Paradox went south to Sylph territory to cut down some trees. With Paradox's Lumber ability, she can get a higher quality wood compared to all of us, giving ViVi a better weapon. There are also some nasty spiders in the forests that have a chance of dropping an uncommon material that Rizer wants to use for Aqua's bow. Konno, Trish and Aqua went to the Gnome capital and began mining ore there for Rizer to use. Mortifer and I stayed in the central plains to fight the more powerful monsters in the area for both money and materials. Rizer and Cayonz had yet to log in after coming back from work.

Right now, I am offline and back in the real world. Dinner is going to start soon, and it's a family tradition for everyone to eat together unless one has important business to take care of. I stood up from my master bed and put on a pair of warm, cozy slippers. I headed to my bedroom door and opened it. Our maid Kyoko was in front of my bedroom door, cleaning the marble floor with an electric sweeper. She noticed me exit my room and stopped her chores to bow towards me.

"Good evening, Ai-chan," she greeted me.

"Good evening, Kyoko-san," I greeted her back. "Has everyone gathered at the dining room already?"

"Everyone except for Hitori-kun. He's coming back from his internship right now, but he was caught up in traffic downtown."

"Good to know then."

I left Kyoko to continue cleaning the floor, and headed over to the staircase. I took my time and slowly descended the marble staircase, holding onto the wooden railing on my right in case I were to fall. There have already been several cases where I fell with these slippers. I have yet to get new ones, and I don't like going barefoot on the cold marble floor. When I reached the ground level, I picked up my pace and headed towards the dining area, which was just behind the staircase and in front of the entrance. I saw my mother and father already sitting down at the dining table, waiting for our food to be delivered by our butler and cook, Nagato. My mother was on her laptop, doing work, while my father was playing some video game on his tablet. My father noticed me first and greeted me with a smile.

"Ah! Good evening Ai-chan." He greeted me.

"Good evening Otou-san, Okaa-san," I responded. "When will Nagato-san be done with cooking our dinner?"

"Let's see here…" My father swiped across his tablet and moved it closer to his face. "He said he will be done in six minutes, give or take."

"That's good to know then. I'm hungry."

I took a seat at our large dining table, which can hold up to ten people. My father sat at the very end of it, overlooking everything between him and the entrance of the dining room. My mother sat on his left while I sat across from her. I took the rolled-up napkin in front of me and set it down on my lap. To kill time, I took out my phone and began watching random cat videos on YouTube. However, the first video hadn't yet loaded when my mom suddenly slammed her laptop shut. My father also turned off his tablet and set it aside. He leaned in towards the table and rested his arms on it. He set his chin on top of his locked hands and closed his eyes.

"Ai… A few days ago, on Saturday morning, Hitori was talking to Vitushi online," My father began mumbling out. "Vitushi was mentioning a person named Mortifer, whom you had apparently been waiting to see for the longest time."

My body froze solid and my heart began beating harder. Anxiety built within me as my father's words were being processed in my head. I had not told them about Mortifer because I've been scared of what their reaction would be. I had never had a boyfriend, or even hinted that I wanted one back before I was stuck in Sword Art Online. If I mention having a boyfriend now, especially one that I actually married in-game… They would've been completely shocked.

"Who is this Mortifer person, Ai?" my mother asked me.

"He's my boyfriend…" I told them. Both of their eyes widened. As I had predicted, they were completely surprised. "I met him soon after I was trapped in Sword Art Online. We stuck together throughout most of the game and became really close together…"

"A boyfriend?" My mother questioned. "Why have you not told us about this?"

I brought my feet up to the seat and rolled up into a ball. It's a very common thing I do whenever I am nervous around my parents on the dining table, and they picked it up a long time ago. I didn't say anything to them because I knew everything was going to be harder if I didn't tell them the truth. It's bad enough that they found out so early, and I have ViVi to thank for that. However, when I looked back at my mother, her expression showed wonder and joy, instead of the anger and seriousness one would expect.

"You should have told us yourself!" My mother exclaimed. "I know! Why don't you invite this Mortifer over to our house for lunch some time?"

"S-Seriously?!" I asked, completely bewildered at my mother's suggestion.

"Yes, my darling. Go on and invite Kirigaya-kun over to our house. We want to know what kind of man our daughter is interested in." my father encouraged.

"Did ViVi tell you his real name too?" I asked them since they called Mortifer by his family name. The two of them seemingly hesitated to answer.

"Yes… He did…" my mother responded, a hint of nervousness in her voice. Why do they look so nervous all of a sudden? Oh well… It doesn't matter now.

"I'll ask him tonight or tomorrow," I informed them. "What if he can't come or doesn't want to?"

"Well, I insist he comes over, but if he really can't, then that is fine. You still play with him in ALfheim Online, right? We can meet him there if you two don't mind." my mother suggested. They really do want to meet him, don't they?

"I'd rather just meet up in the real world…" I told them.

"Well, all right then… Nagato!" my mother called out. "How much more time?"

"One more minute Yuzuki-sama!" Nagato called out from the kitchen, which was a room down the hallway.

The three of us waited for our supper, resuming what we were doing before our conversation about Mortifer started. Nagato arrived a minute later in his typical black tuxedo and chef's apron. He pushed a large cart with steaming plates of food. It seems we are having curry tonight, as there is a pungent aroma piercing my nostrils coming from a pot. Surely enough, when Nagato set the pot down in front of us, I could see him scoop up some curry and pour it over three plates of rice.

"Please, enjoy the meal." Nagato politely said as he left with his trolley.

My mother, father and I set aside our devices and clapped our hands together in a prayer-like fashion. In unison, we all said:

"Thanks for the food."


(Mortifer)

Three hours later, Misty Valley

"You're lucky that Violet brought up the mercenary work Mortifer," Cayonz told me as we began building the outer walls, "That way, you didn't need to say it yourself."

"Yeah… I was trying to get other ideas since I wanted the mercenary work to be the last resort, but it seems that it really is the best way to make money in this game…" I responded. "But I was surprised when Violet brought it up, and relieved too. Because of her, I didn't have to bring it up myself. So Rizer, did Liz allow you to use her forge?"

"Yup. She said she can lend it to me tomorrow when she's online," Rizer stated. "Did you guys get all the materials I asked for?"

"Yeah, we did. We left all of the materials at Zed and Paradox's place in Yggdrasil City. Their home isn't too far from Liz's shop as well, making it a rather convenient place to leave the materials. Speaking of Liz's forge, do you know what we need to make our own forge here?"

"Yes, but it won't be that easy. The thing we need is in this super-hot dungeon called Devil's Valley. It's a moderate difficulty dungeon, but we have to partake in a slaughter-type quest an NPC at the entrance of the dungeon gives. In the end, he'll give us an item that can carry out magma from the dungeon itself, allowing us to use it for the forge."

"That means we're going to need someone who can cast a fire-resistance spell on us… Maybe I should bring Trish along. It'll be a new experience for her."

Cayonz and I continued to line up the stone bricks while Rizer created the large wooden door for the entrance. Since the walls weren't high enough to add in the hinges for the door, Rizer simply set it down on the ground and helped us make the walls of the establishment. Currently, we only have enough materials to make the walls for the entire first floor. I can't buy anymore materials since we had already gone bankrupt from the last trip. We badly need money to continue our project, so I am hoping we can take on the Field Boss tomorrow, and the Floor Boss by Sunday. I've also already contacted Thinker earlier tonight when I had dinner. He accepted my request to put our mercenary advertisement on the front page of the MMO Tomorrow's ALO section. Tomorrow, when Rizer makes our new equipment and Violet sews our new clothes, I will put up the ad and hope for the best.

The next day 4PM, Lisbeth's Shop in Yggdrasil City

Both Rizer and Cayonz got off work early today for reasons they didn't state, though nobody is complaining about it. Because of this, we are able to get our equipment made now instead of later in the night. We went over to Zed's place and picked up the materials there, bringing it over to Lisbeth's forge just down the street. Every member of the guild as well as Kirito and Klein's group are present while Rizer proceeded to create us our weapons. During that time, Violet created us new clothing to go along with our armor, as well as everyone's signature black cloaks. Because of the new kinds of armor, styles and materials in the game, almost everyone's appearances changed except for my own.

Violet is wearing a purple corset very similar to the one she started with. The only difference is the higher quality material and stat boosts they give. With that, she wears tight black leather pants and boots. Dark purple gloves covered her hands while black mesh sleeves covered her arms. Her choker is now a simple black color with nothing special added on it. She also bought purple teardrop earrings in Alne to complete the set. She has her mask in her hands, with the mask being recreated from the one she had in SAO. Everyone else had their masks as well, though I am the only one wearing mine.

Rizer switched to Heavy Metal Armor from Light Metal Armor, making him look much more menacing than before. He now wears a bulky steel chest plate that had a faint outline of his abs. His shoulder guards were made of steel and shaped like the head of a wolf. He wears black cloth pants that were covered with metal plates, covering his thighs, knees, shins and calves. He is also wearing dark gray metallic boots and steel gauntlets. Because of his cumbersome armor, he is sacrificing the speed which he so badly needed to survive in SAO, but no longer needs in this game.

Paradox looks a bit like Asuna, wearing a white-blue shirt and armbands. She wears a blue, laced skirt above a shorter white one, and long sky-blue socks with white boots. She also has her brown pouch strapped to a gray belt around her waist. Her small dagger rested behind the small of her back, next to her magical wand.

Cayonz has the simplest outfit by far, only wearing a large blue kimono. He wears a dark blue shirt beneath it as well as blue cloth pants. He is wearing black military-like shoes on his feet, and black fur gloves on his hands. His katana is strapped to the left side of his kimono while he holds his wooden staff in his right hand. His appearance reminds me of Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings.

Zed is wearing a black and red gothic vest on top of a red long sleeve shirt. Metal straps and chains hold the two sides together like how a button-up shirt would. He is wearing red cargo pants that go well with his black military boots. Knives hang by his waist and they are also hidden inside his pants, as well as under his arm sleeves. He wears a new red bandana like a headband, and still wears the black ring on his hand.

Konno literally looks like an iron wall, as his armor is even bulkier than Rizer's. He wears an absurdly large chest plate, with pauldrons that are bigger than his own head. His steel vambrace and gauntlets make his arms look much bigger than they really are. This also applies to his cuisse and greaves, as his legs look like two giant steel beams. Konno's helmet is a shiny, metallic samurai helmet that is somewhat a detriment to Konno as it limits his vision greatly. His shield could very well be a giant steel door since it is as big as him.

ViVi has had a noticeable change as he no longer wears several layers of clothing. Because he complains about being cold all of the time, Violet made sure to make her cousin clothes that give high cold-resistance. ViVi is dressed in green robes that resemble that of a monk's garments. He has a white waistband holding his robes together, as well as his signature white scarf. He wrapped his arms with linen, allowing him to easily hold on to his staff and other objects. He is also wearing a pair of geta sandals, despite us warning him not to use them in a Player vs. Player game like ALO.

Aqua has taken her skimpy, real-life appearance and brought it into the game, causing other male players to look at her with perverted eyes. She wears a black and yellow tube top that only covered her breasts, leaving her belly exposed. She has a yellow loincloth to cover up some of her legs, but you can still visibly see her yellow short shorts from the side. Her golden sandals are outlined with small blue gems that are common here in ALO. Finally, she has black, fingerless gloves on her hands and yellow, frilly arm sleeves for a "cute" look, and to protect herself from the bow string rubbing on her arm.

Trish, who wore a simple gray blouse and pants back in SAO, has made a huge wardrobe change. She is wearing a white off-the-shoulder blouse that barely covers her stomach. A golden trim causes her top to shine in the light. A white, frilly skirt and a pair of knee-high white boots cover most of her legs. Her hands are covered in white, silk gloves that reached up to her upper arm. She had a golden ring on her right ring finger, and two golden bangles on her left arm. Gold, heart-shaped earrings hung from both ears, reflecting light occasionally. To top it all off, she dons a white witch hat with a golden brim.

"Are you not concerned in the least for your appearance?" Zed questioned Aqua. "You do realize that you are just begging other male players to gawk at you and conjure up dirty thoughts with that outfit."

"Pfft. I don't care," Aqua answered, rolling her eyes while doing so. She then smiled seductively before getting into an alluring pose. "In fact, I want them to look at me. It just tells me that I really do have a well-desired body that would make me a model. That way, I won't have to go study something like engineering or programming."

"There's no guarantee that you will become a model in the future you know…" Konno pointed out.

"In Japan, probably not. In the United States however, I'll be quite famous. But come on, let's talk about Trish's outfit!" Aqua squealed. She walked around Trish, playfully teasing her while doing so. "I love your skirt so much Trish! And that top… Are you wearing this to build up your confidence?"

"A-A bit…" Trish shyly responded. "Though I don't think I look as good as you do Aqua."

Aqua made an annoyed face and instantly went behind Trish. She wrapped her arms around Trish and squeezed her undeveloped breasts. Aqua moved her hands around in circles, smiling wickedly.

"Once these babies begin to develop, I'm sure you will be just like me Trish…" Aqua teased.

Trish's brown face flushed into a deep red before she began screaming out of embarrassment. Trish broke away from Aqua and began whacking her on the head with her magical staff.

"Dummy, dummy, dummy, dummy, dummy!" Trish cried out repeatedly.

Aqua, Paradox and Violet laughed while the rest of the us sighed. The bond those two have is nearly unbreakable. Since we were wasting time, I cleared my throat, making sure I coughed loud enough for everyone to hear. They turned their heads toward me and I stopped leaning against the wall.

"Let's stop with the chatter and get on with business," I demanded of the guild. Nobody complained, so I continued. "Sakuya, Alicia, and Eugene are already waiting for us over at Taran. Let's head over there now so we can take on the Field Boss."

"Whoa, hold on Mortifer!" Rizer called out from the forge. "Don't forget your swords now!"

"Ah… My bad…"

I made my way to Rizer, who was still hammering down on a black ingot. Right next to him is a sleek white blade that greatly resembled my beloved Sword of Light from SAO. I have been given the honor to name this sword myself, and so I chose to call it Lux, the Latin word for light. Of course, this other sword that Rizer is making right now will be called Umbra, the Latin word for shadow. Both Lux and Sanctus are made from strength-based metals, increasing my total damage output while reducing my attack speed due to its heaviness. Unlike my legendary swords from SAO however, Rizer will constantly have to repair them, as well as my Buster Sword. Because of this, I can't keep using them all the time or their durability and usefulness will wear away.

With a few more hits from the blacksmith hammer Lisbeth gave him, Rizer turned the black ingot into a sleek black sword with the same shape as Lux. Rizer took the sword, examined its stats and gave it to me. I did a few practice swings to make sure I was comfortable swinging it around. It felt just like Lux, but with a little bit more weight during the swing. A screen popped up in front of me, asking me to name the black sword. I inputted Umbra into the empty box and the sword glowed momentarily before returning back to normal. Rizer gave me the blade's sheath and I strapped it on my waist, right next to Lux.

"All right… Now we can go to the boss."


Later that evening, outside the 2nd Floor Labyrinth

We had managed to beat the Field Boss earlier in the day. It was different from the original Field Boss back in SAO, and it also had no health bars like Illfang, making us assume that every boss from now on will have no HP bar displayed above it. It took us twenty minutes to take down the boss, and we spent the rest of the time going through the Labyrinth. Tensions between Eugene's party and the rest of the group continues to rise, especially between me and Eugene. The guy doesn't like it when I take lead of the party, but the only reason why I take the lead is because nobody else wants to.

Anyways, we managed to reach the tenth floor of the Labyrinth within a few hours. Just like what I did back in the 1st Floor, I rushed on ahead of everyone, discovering each staircase before everyone else. Currently, we are heading back to Taran to debrief quickly and go our separate ways. Everyone is flying back to the town while I simply walked on the ground, watching them from a distance. Soon, they became too far away to be seen against the darkness of the night. So, I looked straight ahead and continued to enjoy my stroll across the fields. After a while, I heard something coming towards me, and so I looked up and saw Violet hovering down to the ground.

"Violet? Why'd you come back?" I asked.

"Um… It has something to deal with real-world stuff…" she informed me.

"So… What is it?"

"My uh… My parents want to meet you…"

I was left completely dumbfounded, with eyes wide open in shock. I have devoted myself completely to Violet, but the obstacle I have yet to encounter are her parents. Violet hasn't talked much about her family, but since they are a rather rich family, I have an idea what they're like from my past experiences with the parents of a few of my friends. Asuna has strengthened my negative view on rich families because of her arranged marriage with Sugou. The only things impressive about me are my grades and kendo experience, but both of those are things of the past.

"Wait, did you tell them about me?" I asked her.

"They found out about you first from ViVi…" Violet explained. "He was talking to my brother, and ViVi assumed he already knew because of our family reunion trip."

"It would be ViVi… Oh well…" I sighed. "Is there a specific time and place they want to meet me?"

"There is no set time yet, but they want you to come over to my house and have lunch there," Violet stated. I choked up a little at her last few words.

"Y-Your house?" I asked nervously. She simply nodded, giving me more anxiety. "I-I'll have to think about the time, but sure…"

"Are you sure Katsumoto?" Violet addressed me with my real name. "Not once in my life have I told my parents I had a crush on someone, nor did I ever date anybody. This is pretty sudden for them, but they are eager to meet you, which worries me for some reason."

"I don't know Ai…" I answered. "I'm scared to meet them, but our relationship won't be going anywhere if I don't meet them. They'll worry if they have no clue who their own daughter is dating."

"Well, you better make a good first impression on them," Violet demanded. "I don't want them to hate you, nor do I want them to separate us."

"I don't want that either, but I don't have that many desirable qualities."

"You graduated at the top of your class, didn't you? You also got into the finals for the national kendo competition! You can mention your unravelling of Sugou Nobuyuki's evil plans in ALO, which basically allowed my father to buy ALfheim Online off of RECT Progress. He would be rather grateful for that."

"Then… How about next Saturday?" I asked her.

"I'll see if they can do next Saturday then," Violet said.

"Do I have to dress formally? I don't have any formal clothing."

"I'll have to check up on my parents with that. Sorry for the sudden notice Mortifer…"

Violet pulled herself close to me and hugged me. I hugged her back, taking in her body's warmth.

"What do you think they will say?" Violet asked.

"I don't know… Let's just hope for the best."


(Katsumoto)

The next day, 4AM

My eyes are hurting from staring at the computer screen. After debriefing, Rizer, Cayonz and I went back to go work on our project and finished up with the first floor's walls. We could've kept working on the project, but our lack of funds has prevented us from doing so. Because of that, the two of them decided to go to sleep while I stayed logged in. I went back to the Labyrinth to explore, and found the staircases all the way up to the thirteenth floor. All of that happened half an hour ago. I logged out then because my body was getting extremely tired. Even now, I am struggling to keep myself awake.

I am sitting down at my desk, looking at my computer's screen. I'm on the MMO Tomorrow website, and I'm trying to think up of what to do with this advertisement. Obviously, people will be viewing this post in many ways. Two of them however will be rather common. They will either look at this mercenary guild advertisement and laugh at it, or take it seriously and take note of our presence in the game. I just seriously hope this plan isn't a complete failure because I don't want to visit Jötunheimr any time soon. Those Evil-God class monsters are an absolute pain to take down by yourself due to their formidability, but I can deal with them if I must.

"Now… What to put…" I muttered to myself as I stared at the computer screen.

I began typing up the post for the forum, making sure to include every single important detail possible. Meeting places include Alne, Yggdrasil City, and every city in New Aincrad that contains a Teleport Gate. Unless the client absolutely cannot go to any of those locations, we won't meet them anywhere else. Payment must be done as soon as the mission is accomplished, and failure to do so will only make matters more complicated. All missions have a base price, and will increase depending on the circumstances. Assassinations and thefts are the most expensive missions while protect and escort are the cheapest. If our guild fails the mission, we will have to pay an amount nearly double of what was lost as compensation. If the client betrays us or is the reason for the mission's failure, payment must be made on the spot, whether it be with Yrd or with something else.

Finally, I added a photo of myself that Rizer took earlier. I was leaning on the Monument of Swordsmen, with my Buster Sword by my side. Right next to my head are the names of the party leaders who helped take down Illfang the Kobold Lord, mine being one of them. While I don't like posting pictures of myself for everyone to see, it is necessary since people know me better from what I look like because of the scene I made in Yggdrasil City. Hopefully people can recognize me.

"Man… If this is what my resume would look like, no company would ever hire me." I joked to myself.

The advertisement is so simple and unprofessional that I feel the need to redo it. However, I am way too tired to think up of more things to add, and I can just edit it later. Yeah, I'll just go to sleep now…


Afternoon

"Onii-chan!" a voice called out. It's Sugu's. "Onii-chan, wake up!"

A loud banging sounded in my ear drums, and I slowly opened my eyes. Light filtered into the room, with most of it being blocked by my curtain. I looked at my computer, which I had forgotten to turn off earlier. A green notification light flashed on the monitor, signaling me that I had received an email from someone. Before I stood up from bed, I looked at the clock and noticed that it was one in the afternoon. I overslept again.

"Ugh… Yeah, I'm awake…" I moaned out as I stood up from bed.

"We're logging into the game right now. How long will you take?" Suguha asked.

"Depends. Did you make breakfast for me?"

"Yeah. It's grilled fish."

"Then give me half an hour. I'm going to take a shower."

"Okay."

I faintly heard Suguha's footsteps as she walked to her room and closed the door behind her. I walked over to my closet and brought out a new set of clothes. I drowsily walked over to the bathroom and headed inside. I got myself undressed and looked at the mirror. I have no doubt in my mind that Violet's parents will question me about this scar I have on my right eye. Even now, it still aches from the time Sugou had tortured me. I rubbed away the gound in my eyes and took out my phone. I opened up my music playlist and chose one of the songs to play.

As soon as it started, I jumped in the shower and let the cold-water flow. For the first few moments, I stood there and got myself used to the shockingly cold water. Afterwards, I began cleaning myself. I shampooed my hair first, then put on some conditioner before washing with soap. With the time I had left, I cleaned my face thoroughly with some special soap bar my aunt got for us. I rinsed out the conditioner in my hair and turned the tap off. I retrieved my towel and dried myself up. I put on my clothes and left the bathroom. There's no need for me to comb if I'm not even going outside the house.

I headed downstairs, with my towel still wrapped around my neck. I saw my breakfast sitting at the table, still steaming. I went ahead and sat down to enjoy my meal. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and accessed my email account. I opened my inbox and saw that I had received a notification from the MMO Tomorrow forum. It seems to be a private message from a user named SCR1BE. I opened up the message and began reading it as I ate.

Yo! I saw you in Yggdrasil City the night of the New Aincrad update. That fight you had with that silver-haired dude was so cool! Anyways, I saw your post on the front page of the site. I'm a new player, and I need help with a mission in this dungeon that is too hard for me. The dungeon is called Devil's Valley, and it's the Blacksmith's Hearth quest.

I almost spit my water out as I read the email. That's the same exact quest that Rizer needs to take for the forge. What a coincidence! With this, we can kill two birds with one stone. Get money to continue building, and get the item we need to create Rizer's forge. However, I do have some doubts. This guy contacted us way too fast. Sure, the post may have been on the front page, but it has only been a few hours before he sent this email. This guy must have been desperate for help, or this is some sort of trap. If it is a trap, it could work out depending on the circumstances, and we can get even more money if we manage to capture them. Either way, people will likely spread bad rumors about us if this really is a trap. If we get killed, they would say we are weak. If we beat them, they would say we are liars and we just bait them in to steal their belongings. I didn't think about any of this before I posted that advertisement…

If you guys would like to help me, then please send me when and where we should meet. If I don't respond right away, I'll likely be inside of the game. I hang around in Alne a lot and loiter around. From two to three o'clock in the day, I hang around at the player restaurant called The Dream Oven. You can meet me there today, or tomorrow. I can't do weekdays because I have schoolwork. Please help me!

The email ended there. I looked at my phone and noticed that it has been twenty minutes since I woke up. Our client will only be at that restaurant for forty more minutes, meaning I have to hurry up and find him. I quickly devoured the rest of my food and placed my plate at the sink with all the other dirty dishes. I headed upstairs, placed my towel back in the bathroom, and ran to my room. I took my AmuSphere and placed it on my head.

"Link, start!"


(Mortifer)

An inn within Taran

The world formed for me through the rapid appearance of pixels. I was already hearing the noises of the people inside the inn before it all fully formed. I found myself sitting on a chair near the corner of the bar. Players have gathered around at the center, eating, drinking and conversing. I spotted my guild hanging around the front of the inn, talking with Kirito and Klein's group. All of them appear to be ready to head over to the Labyrinth, as they all have their equipment on them. I hurried over to them, making my way around the numerous tables scattered around the inn.

"Hey, Mortifer is here," Kirito announced as he looked right at me. Everyone turned their heads to me.

"Sorry, but uh, I can't go to the Labyrinth just yet," I told them.

"How come?" Violet asked me.

"I posted the ad for the mercenary stuff earlier this morning. It seems someone has already contacted me for a mission. Apparently, he's in Alne right now, waiting at a restaurant called The Dream Oven."

"Wait, mercenary work?" my sister asked me. "Is it for… you know?"

"Yeah, it's for that. We ran out of funds already, so I can't really reject this client. Plus, the quest he is asking us to help him or her on is the same quest we need to do Rizer, for the uh… Bucket…"

"Oh, really? What a coincidence!" Rizer exclaimed. "If that's the case, I'll go with you then."

"Oh, and Trish, I want you to come with us as well," I told her. "We're going to Devil's Valley, a medium-difficulty dungeon. I think it would be a good experience for you to go through."

"Wait, what about me and Cayonz?" Violet questioned me.

"An Undine's powers will be nullified in a fire dungeon, and burns will continuously reduce the amount of healing and apply a damage-over-time. As for you Violet, I'm trying to reduce the amount of people we send on missions at a time, as I want to get to the 3rd Floor as soon as possible. I also have a feeling that it may be a trap, but due to our desperate need for money, I can't decline this mission."

I swiped my left hand downwards and opened the Communications menu. I sent a trade request to Zed, who looked at me questioningly. I offered to give him all of my mapping data I had gathered last night and this morning and accepted the trade offer. He too accepted it without putting anything for me to receive and did so with hesitation.

"This morning, after everyone went offline, I went ahead to scout the Labyrinth a bit more," I informed everyone. "That has the mapping data all the way to the thirteenth floor. I've already mapped half of the floor, so it shouldn't be too hard to find the staircase to the fourteenth."

I opened my Party sub-menu and invited Rizer and Trish to join. Both of them accepted the invite without any questions. I then made my way to the door.

"I'm going to go meet with the guy now and talk about the mission's details. Unless I decline this mission, we won't be back for a few hours. See you guys later!"


Half an hour later, Alne

We scrambled around the player-property district, trying to find where The Dream Oven was located. We only have a few more minutes before three, so we needed to be quick about it. The three of us darted around the streets separately, occasionally running into each other and into other players. Finally, I found a building with a sign that had the name The Dream Oven on it. I quickly messaged Rizer and Trish and burst the door open.

I instantly collided with someone who fell down on his butt because of it. I stopped myself from falling on top of him and rubbed my head as we had headbutted each other during the collision. I looked up to the player whom I had run into. He was a male Salamander dressed in maroon colored clothes. He wore this samurai-like armor that looked similar to Klein's armor.

"I'm sorry about that…" I apologized to him as I reached out my hand for him to grab.

Instantly he jumped up from the ground and held my hand with both of his hands. He grinned widely and had his mouth open wide in awe. He began jumping up and down, probably out of excitement. He stopped and backed away a few steps before spreading his arms out like a bird.

"You came!" he shouted out in glee. He then stood up straight and bowed towards me. "Hello, I am SCR1BE, but I'm called Verity in-game. Call me whatever you like. It's an honor to meet you, Reaper-san."

"Oh? Is that what people call me by?" I asked.

"Well, nobody really knew your name until that post. Plus, I heard that you told someone to call you that back on the 1st Floor," Verity explained.

"Yes, that's right. Two of my friends are on their way right now. They should be here any moment. Let's sit down and discuss this mission you want us to go on."

"Yes, let's!"

Verity led me to an empty table towards the center of the restaurant. I spotted a player towards the other side of the restaurant, cleaning the countertops and the tables. He was a Sylph who wore green clothes and a white apron. He must be the owner of this place. Verity and I took a seat at the table, sitting across from each other.

"Hey, Nozu! Can I have an order for your special!" Verity shouted to the Sylph.

"All right then. Give me five minutes to prepare it," Nozu responded.

At that moment, the door opened, causing a tiny bell above it to ring. Rizer and Trish walked into the restaurant, panting from running around Alne. They saw me and made my way towards me. Verity looked at them blankly before realizing that they were my friends. He smiled lightly as he watched the two of them take their seats right next to me.

"So, let's discuss the details of this mission you are hiring us for," I began. "You contacted me in the MMO Tomorrow's ALO forum, asking for help in the quest called Blacksmith's Hearth. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Verity answered. I continued my explanation of the mission to see if he knows what we're doing.

"This quest requires one to converse with an NPC at the entrance of Devil's Valley and partake in a slaughter-type mission. The mission is to kill hordes of the Flaming Undead and collect one-hundred Nether Salt, an item that is dropped upon the death of each Flaming Undead. This is the mission you need help on, right?"

"Yes, that is the mission. The Flaming Undead are scattered throughout the dungeon. I can handle them solo, but most of them are found in the deepest parts of the dungeon, where more powerful monsters lurk. I am new to the game and do not have many items. I also do not have any high stats, and am limited due to the game's extreme combat system. That's why I am asking you guys for help in this mission."

"Before we continue, I have a question," Rizer began. "Why is a Salamander interested in becoming a blacksmith?"

"Oh, I don't want to become a blacksmith. My friend who is a blacksmith asked me to do this quest for him since he will be gone for the next few weeks. He told me he would make me this sick-ass sword for me when he comes back."

"Very well then…"

"So... Are you guys going to help me out?" Verity asked.

"If you have the money to pay us, then yes, we will," I told him. "How much are you willing to pay us?"

"Ten-thousand Yrd," Verity answered quickly. His quick response and low offer made me flinch a bit.

"That won't even be enough to cover the cost of the second floor…" Rizer whispered to me.

"I know I forgot to add the base costs of each mission on the post, but quest-assistance already has a base cost of Ten-thousand Yrd," I informed Verity. "Being a slaughter-type quest in a medium-difficulty dungeon, we will only accept anything at least twenty-thousand. Should something happen that deficits us due to your actions, the minimum price will only go up from there."

"Then twenty-thousand it is then, unless something happens of course. Though, I assure you that I won't be that much of a hindrance," Verity affirmed.

"Also, we were going to do this very same quest as well. Therefore, part of the Nether Salts we ourselves will be kept as our own and will not add up to yours. Is that fine with you?" I asked.

"Absolutely. No problem. So, are we at an agreement?"

The Salamander reached out his hand for a handshake. Through my mask, I gazed into Verity's eyes, trying to see if there was anything fishy with the guy. Also, I forgot about making a contract template for every mission to ensure that none of our clients give us any bullshit. I'm going to have to do that before I accept the next mission, but for now, I'll settle with a handshake. I reached out and grabbed his hand. I firmly shook his hand, and he did the same. At that moment, Nozu, the restaurant owner, came by our table and set down a plate of salmon in front of us.

"Please, enjoy," Nozu smiled as he bowed. Verity gave Nozu a small bag of coins and Nozu took it right away.

I examined the plate of salmon in front of us. It was cooked on the skin, and had a light brown color to it. Pepper, herbs and spices visibly covered the fish, which steamed on the plate. Rizer sliced it open with a knife, revealing the pink-brown interior. Rizer took a bite of the fish and nodded in his in agreement.

"Tastes good," he said.

With that, Trish also got herself a slice of salmon and ate it along with Rizer. Not wanting to be rude, I took my fork and sliced off a piece of the salmon. Before putting it in my mouth, I noticed that the underside of my piece had a small hole on it, as if something had punctured it after it was cooked. I frowned behind my mask. I looked at Verity, who simply smiled as he waited for me to eat my piece. I pushed my mask upwards and put the piece of salmon in my mouth. I pushed the salmon towards the side of my mouth and faked myself eating it. I made a chewing motion with my mouth, tasting a bit of it on my tongue but not biting into it or swallowing it. I nodded towards Verity, who smiled and ate a piece himself. I took my napkin and wiped my mouth with it. During that time, I spat out the salmon and hid it inside of the napkin. I placed the white cloth on the edge of the table and let the salmon fall into my hand. I then stored it inside my pocket, making sure nobody sees anything. I pulled down my mask and stood up from the chair.

"Okay then. Let's go."


An hour later, Devil's Valley

My breathing is ragged due to exhaustion. Even with the fire-resistance boost Trish gave us, the hellish features of this fiery field dungeon are still causing us to struggle. Killing off the Flaming Undead is an easy task for Trish, Rizer, and I, but not so much for Verity. However, Verity does not need the fire-resistance boost and isn't as tired as we are due to his natural fire-resistance as a Salamander. If I had brought Zed along, we would've finished a long time ago. At least we only have a few more to kill before we need to head back to the NPC.

"How many do we have in total now Trish?" I asked.

"Uh, excluding Rizer-san's, we have ninety-four Nether Salts. Only six more to go." Trish informed us.

"All right! We're almost there!" Verity shouted in glee as he ran over to take on another Flaming Undead.

Suddenly, as he was about to attack the fiery zombie, Verity collapsed to the ground, causing me to widen my eyes in shock. The Flaming Undead he was charging is now running towards the fallen Verity, who is lying on the ground without making any movements. I didn't call out to him, but instead chose to confront the monster right away. I quickly dispatched the zombie and kneeled next to Verity to turn him over. I looked at his health bar at the corner of my vision and noticed the yellow square with a lightning bolt next to his name. Paralysis? At the same time, Rizer and Trish also collapsed to the ground, unable to move at all.

"What the hell is this? There are no mobs here capable of inflicting paralysis, right Mortifer?" Rizer asked.

"No, there shouldn't be," I responded.

"That's because it wasn't a monster who inflicted the paralysis on you," a voice called out.

I turned to the origin of the voice and saw seven people appear from behind a hill. There were three Salamanders, two Gnomes, an Imp, and a Spriggan. One of the Gnomes dragged out another person in green clothes who also wore a chef's apron. The player turns out to be Nozu, whose hands are currently chained together.

"I see… So, did you threaten our chef here to drug the salmon with some slow-reacting paralysis poison?" I questioned them. "I admit, it was a very clever idea. However, you really shouldn't bruise up the fish so much just to put in a tad bit of poison. It becomes a bit suspicious, no?"

"I suspected that you didn't consume the fish," one of the Salamanders spoke. "No matter… Disabling three out of four of you is enough. Your friends won't be able to move for the next few minutes, so don't rely on them for any help."

"It's not like I needed their help anyway…" I said as I stood up and held Lux and Sanctus tightly in my hands. "Now tell me, why would you target us?"

"Almost everyone in SAO has heard at least a whisper of what happened a week ago upon New Aincrad's release," the same Salamander spoke once again. "A guy who went to-to-toe with an insanely powerful opponent who summoned meteors and moved insanely quick. This guy wanted to be called The Reaper of Sorrow, and his real in-game name is apparently Mortifer. That's you, right?"

"And? What will you do if I am?" I asked.

All seven of the players drew out their weapons. The Salamander I was talking to brought out a one-handed sword and a small shield. The two others pulled out a short lance and a magical staff. One of the Gnomes brought out a giant shield as well as a one-handed war hammer, while the other one wielded a two-handed war hammer. The Imp wielded a curved dagger while the Spriggan held a long spear that appeared to be a yari. Their group was quite diverse, just like my own guild.

"All those stories are complete bullshit, and we're here to prove that to everyone," the Salamander spoke.

"Oh? And how do you plan on doing that?" I asked him, wanting him to make the first move.

"By beating the crap out of you!"

The six fighters charged me all at once while their mage stood back and recited incantations. Whether he was there for additional offense or support, I needed to stop him. I sprinted towards the mage, but the Gnome with the shield stood in my path. The Imp and Spriggan appeared on my left, and the Salamanders on my right. The Gnome with the war hammer stood between me and the other Gnome, acting as another obstacle to keep me from getting their mage. Seeing that I had no choice but to leave their mage for later, I jumped to the left to confront the Imp and Spriggan. The two of them stopped running, surprised at my sudden and quick charge. I went for the Imp, who tried running away in vain. I tripped the Spriggan and chased after the Imp, who I impaled with my dual blades. His health dropped down by a quarter before I began eviscerating him. He barely lived before his Salamander friends came to his rescue.

"Oh no you don't!" the Salamander with the lance shouted.

The two of them zoned me away from the Imp by standing in between us. The Gnome with the shield continued to protect the mage while the one with the hammer went to the Imp's aid. The Spriggan recovered and joined the Salamanders in their assault on me. Their mage finished chanting an incantation, which began healing the severely wounded Imp. Unless I take them down now, that mage is going to heal them right back up. I could either increase my damage output to eventually kill them through the mage's healing, or go for the mage immediately. However, that Gnome with the shield was in the way. The only way I could overpower him was with the Buster Sword, but I haven't used it in PvP yet, nor did I have it equipped. I'm going to have to run while changing my weapons.

I sheathed both my blades and broke off into a sprint. The Salamanders and Spriggan chased after me, throwing out taunts since I was running away from them. During that time, I kept my hand steady as I navigated my Inventory. I found the Buster Sword and quickly stored my twin blades back into my inventory. I equipped the sword, which began materializing under my black cloak. I ripped my own cloak away, revealing my head while my face is still covered by my mask. I unsheathed the Buster Sword and held the colossal weapon with both hands. The Salamanders and Spriggan stopped their charge, surprised at the massive weapon. Before I could make a move, they all began to laugh.

"Ha ha ha! And what are you planning on doing with a sword like that?!" the Salamander with the sword, whom I am assuming is their leader, laughed out. "That thing is so big, I bet you can't even attack properly with it!"

"We'll see about that," I responded.

I ran towards them, and they readied their weapons, holding them in front of their faces as if expecting for an attack to block. However, I didn't attack them, but instead, I jumped over them. I stepped on their heads, using them as stepping stones to get away from them. I met the hammer Gnome and the Imp, who was still in the yellow zone. The Gnome jumped in between me and the Imp, and he swung his hammer to attack. I parried it, sending his war hammer flying since I had put in much more force than he did. The Imp then watched in total fear as my blade cut right through his chest, killing him instantly. At that moment, a new Voice screamed in my head, causing my senses to dull slightly. I pushed it back and tried not thinking about it as killing them, but rather making them go to a different place.

"You're going to pay for that!" the Spriggan shouted as he lunged at me with his spear from behind.

I narrowly dodged his yari, and I pushed it away using the blunt end of the blade. I slashed my sword in front of me, causing the Spriggan and the two Salamanders to back away. The Gnome scrambled for his war hammer, allowing me to confront the other Gnome guarding their mage. Using all of my might, I leaped into the air, performing a summersault and swinging my sword over my head. The Buster Sword made contact with the shield, making a loud ringing noise and causing the Gnome to fall to the ground from the force. The mage backed away in fear, and he broke off into a sprint. He was a rather slow sprinter, so I wasted no time and threw my Buster Sword at him. The giant sword flew through the air and cut a deep wound into the guy's right leg. He tripped and fell, giving me the perfect opportunity.

I pulled out several throwing knives, and quickly threw them at the fallen Salamander. I threw about a dozen knives but it only brought him a little bit below half of his health bar. The other guys were catching up, so I increased my pace and reached for my Buster Sword. The Salamander mage stood up, with knives still inside his back, and continued sprinting away while drinking a healing potion. This time, I chased him down, and with one hard-hitting combo, his avatar lost the last of its HP and perished. The other five attackers stopped in their tracks and looked at me with rage-filled eyes. I looked at them tauntingly, smiling mischievously behind my mask. I rested my Buster Sword on my right shoulder, which caused me a bit of stress due to the weight. With my left hand, I motioned for them to come whilst saying:

"Bring it on."

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a giant fireball blasted the Spriggan from behind, sending him flying towards me. I dodged his airborne body, which then landed on the rocky floor of the field dungeon. I looked back in front of me and noticed Trish standing behind the remaining Salamanders and Gnomes. Rizer is right behind her, giving Verity a potion. Both of them stood up and drew out their weapons.

"What?! You guys should still be paralyzed for a few more minutes!" their leader shouted.

"Sorry bud, but your paralysis poison isn't as strong as you thought it would be." Rizer shouted back. "After a few minutes, I could move my arms around just a little bit. It took me a while, but I managed to cure myself from it using a potion."

"Impossible! No simple paralysis cure can counter the effects of a poison created by someone with a high Mixing level!" the shield Gnome shouted.

"That's right. But the it just so happens that we have someone in our guild who has Completed their Mixing, making our potions and poisons much more potent than your own." Trish smiled.

"You… Don't think that makes you better than us!" the Spriggan yelled.

The Gnomes and the Spriggan charged towards Rizer, Trish and Verity, while the two Salamanders chased after me. Trish broke off into a sprint before they got close since she knew Rizer nor Verity can protect her from an attack while fighting off another person. The Gnome with the Warhammer confronted Rizer. The one with the shield went for Verity. The Spriggan chased after Trish, but Trish was outrunning him completely. I looked at my own opponents and determined that the Buster Sword is still too heavy for me to use in a two-on-one situation. It doesn't seem like I have the time to run away and switch weapons anymore since they were only two meters away. I chose to throw aside my sword and fight them unarmed.

The Salamander with the sword tried aiming for my head, but I used my bracers to make it slide over my head. I narrowly dodged the lance, and quickly pushed the lance Salamander into his own friend. The two of them stumbled and fell to the ground. The lance-user quickly recovered and tried piercing me once again. However, I quickly dodged the attack and threw disarmed the guy, taking his lance for myself. Without even thinking, I spun around and threw it at the other Salamander, who looked down to see the lance pierce his stomach. He fell to his knees and tried pulling the lance out of him, but to no avail. As for the other Salamander, I grabbed his shirt and pants, and threw him towards a nearby lava pit. The moment his body plunged inside the lava, he instantly disappeared in a flash of pixels. I looked at the last Salamander, and went over to pick up my Buster Sword.

"If you guys really wanted to crush us, you should've have brought an entire raid party," I told him. "After all, not all raid bosses have to be NPCs."

"S-Screw you!" the Salamander shouted.

With one swift strike, I slashed across the Salamander's chest, bringing his health down to zero. His head dropped as his body disappeared in a burst of pixels. I turned towards everyone else and saw that they had finished the rest of them off. Trish came out unscathed, making me assume she outran the Spriggan until Rizer or Verity could come to assist her. Rizer and Trish ran over to me while Verity went over to Nozu to get out of his bindings. Afterwards, the two of them joined the three of us, and we all stood in a circle.

"I'm so sorry… I didn't expect any of this to happen," Verity apologized.

"No, it's my fault…" Nozu moped. "I was the one who put the poison into the food I served you. They threatened me and I was scared out of my mind when they did so."

"It's fine," I told them. "We managed to live through it, so no worries."

"H-How much more do I have to pay you guys because of this?" Verity asked, making me confused.

"No, I'll pay for the extra cost Verity," Nozu offered. "After all, if I wasn't such a coward, you wouldn't have to pay extra."

"You guys realize you don't have to pay us extra, right?" Trish questioned them.

"Huh?" they said in unison.

"The agreement was that you would pay us twenty-thousand Yrd upon the completion of the quest. Extra costs will be included should the client's actions cause us to be at a disadvantage," I began explaining to them. "Verity, you were the one who ordered Nozu's special salmon, but you were not intending on poisoning us, right?"

"R-Right…" Nozu answered.

"Nozu, if you were our client, I would charge you more because you yourself added the poison. However, because you aren't the client, no costs will be added. Either way, those guys were targeting us to begin with and only used you guys as tools. Therefore, in our point-of-view, there is no reason to charge you guys more than what was agreed upon."

The two of them looked at us stunned. After a few moments of silence, they both nodded their heads.

"So, what do we do now?" Verity asked.

"Well, we finished our mission," Rizer stated. "Those guys dropped some Nether Salt when we killed them, so we have more than enough. They also dropped a bunch of crappy items and about ten-thousand Yrd. We'll keep that as our own reward for beating those guys."

Rizer opened up his Trade menu and sent a request to Verity. He gave the Salamander one-hundred Nether Salts while Verity offered him the agreed payment for helping him complete the mission. When Rizer looked at his trading screen, he furrowed his brows.

"Hey, you're giving me forty-thousand Yrd. We told you there is no extra cost," Rizer stated.

"I know that. The extra twenty-thousand isn't for completing the mission. Consider it as the tip, for helping me out," Verity smiled brightly. Every one of us smiled back. Rizer accepted the trade offer and the screen disappeared.

"All right then. Let's get out of this hell hole," I suggested.

"Yeah!"


Two hours later, 2nd Floor Labyrinth

"So, you only have one new Voice in your head?" Rizer asked me as we made our way to the Safe-Zone Area in the Labyrinth.

"Yeah. The only new voice in my head is that Imp's," I told them. "I tried thinking of it as not killing them but just getting them out of my way. I also tried thinking of the game as an actual game and not real life. Because of SAO, I've been struggling with that a lot. If I continue practicing this thought process, then I can ease my suffering and be able to participate in any mission."

"Good for you Mortifer-san," Trish beamed. "Oh, and did you guys hear about the newest update coming out next week on Tuesday morning?"

"No, why? What's inside of it?" I asked.

"They're bringing back the Sword Skills from Sword Art Online and adding the combat-assist function!"

Rizer and I looked at her with surprise.

"Oh? Really now? That'll make the boss raids even easier as long as we're cautious," Rizer determined.

"They also added a new system called Original Sword Skills," Trish began. "Basically, it's a system that allows a player to create their own Original Sword Skill, which they can later modify to add an elemental aspect to it and even share it with other players. As long as the player meets the required speed, power, and number of attacks, they can make any kind of Sword Skill. The only problem however is the fact that the player is not assisted by the system, meaning they are limited to their actual body's strengths."

"So, if the person isn't athletic or skilled enough, they can't utilize the system?" I asked her.

"Basically, yes. However, if you are good enough to do so, they say that players can make devastating Original Sword Skills since there is no combo limit set. I also heard you can do it with more than one weapon as well," Trish continued explaining.

"Oh, that means I can recreate my Dual Blades attacks and other stuff. Though I highly doubt I can recreate The End from my Darkness Blade. I don't even remember the exact attacks, nor is it physically possible for a human being to do it."

"You sure you're still a human being Mortifer?" Rizer joked.

"Outside of the game, yeah. In-game, probably not," I answered.

The three of us continued walking to the Safe-Zone Area. We avoided all of the monsters since we were getting late for a meeting that's being held soon in the Safe-Zone Area. After we completed our mission, I messaged Violet about our success, and she told me that they had already found the boss room thanks to Eugene's group. They apparently rushed on ahead, just like what I did, and managed to find all of the staircases and even the boss room.

"Oh, there it is!" Trish exclaimed, pointing towards a small archway with two small torches on either side. I could see everyone gathered around a large rock several meters away from the archway.

Trish broke off into a sprint, entering the Safe-Zone Area forcefield, causing the air around the archway to shimmer slightly. She shouted to everyone that we had arrived, causing everyone to smile and wave their hands. Aqua ran to Trish and wrapped her arms around her best friend, congratulating her on completing the mission. Violet also rushed over to me while Rizer just went to meet up with everyone else.

"So, how much money did you get from your first client?" Violet asked.

"Forty-thousand Yrd, plus a little extra from some players who were trying to ambush us," I told her.

"Did you kill those players and, you know…"

"Not entirely. I caused the deaths of four players, but I only obtained one new voice. I sort of learned how to differentiate reality from the virtual world."

"Oh, that's good! I'm proud of you guys!" Violet exclaimed as she gave me a hug. "Come on. Let's join everyone else. We're planning on taking the Floor Boss today!"

"Oh? Already? Well, not that I'm complaining. At least we can get the guild quest even faster," I determined. "Alright, let's go then."


Three days later, Tuesday 8PM, 3rd Floor

The new ALO updates arrived earlier this morning, causing every player of the game to log on even if they had school work to do. The Sword Skill update Trish mentioned was indeed implemented into the game, bringing back the same exact Sword Skills Sword Art Online had for each available weapon in this game. Since all of us already had a high level in our weapon Skills, we're able to use every single Sword Skill available to us while others still have to work for it.

The thing I'm most interested in however, is the Original Sword Skill system. Before I logged in, I exercised my real-world body for a bit at the family dojo, stretching my muscles and practicing complex, and quick movements. I recreated the Dual Blades move Double Circular in the real-world and tried recording it in-game using the OSS system. Unfortunately, the system seems to only accept OSS with combos of three or more attacks. The speed and power requirements are also a lot higher than I expected, as even I could not record a simple combo.

Anyways, while the guild was in school, I went on ahead to complete the quest that grants me full access to the Guild option in the menu, and even allowing me to create my own guild. With Violet's help, we created a new guild emblem that will be displayed next to our names in our avatar's HUD as well as our names in the Monument of Swordsmen. The emblem we chose was similar to the original tattoo I had on my back inside of SAO. Before, the skull rested inside of this egg-like object, but it's different now. We drew it so it now held a white ribbon with the Japanese characters "love" and "sorrow" on it.

"How much have our edge levels risen by?" Violet jokingly asked.

"Tenfold? A hundredfold? Who knows?" I answered her whilst smiling.

I took the drawing of our emblem and assigned it to be our guild's logo. After I configured a few more options, I inputted our guild's name into the box. I confirmed all of the settings and my screen of light disappeared. I looked at the top left corner of my vision and saw that everyone in the party now had the same emblem next to their name. I checked my friends' list and noticed it on everyone else's as well. We all smiled and I put my hand out in front of me. Everyone already knew what to do and they put their own hands on top of mine.

"Before, we were known as villains, but we were also known as one of the strongest," I began speaking. "Whether we become good or bad people in this game has yet to be determined. However, there is one thing I am sure of… We're not going to let anyone else take our spot as the strongest guild!"

"Hell yeah!" ViVi excitedly shouted.

"I can't wait to start our mercenary work," Zed smiled mischievously.

"Oh, I can tell this is going to be fun," Rizer also smiled.

"This marks the rebirth of the Reapers of Sorrow!" I shouted out. In unison, we raised our hands to the air and cried out for the world to hear us.

"Banzai!"