Hey guys. Sorry for the late update. As I said in the previous chapter, I had my finals the last few weeks for this sem.

And I didn't say this, but right after my finals, I went for camp, and there was no signal there... No wifi... So I couldn't work on the chapter for three days...

Also, I forgot to add the summary for the Oberon arc, so I updated the previous chapter. So yeah...

Anyways, with that aside, Guest, yes, it is meant to confuse people who have no idea what is happening. If you have yet to watch SAO season three, then you won't know anything. And even then, I changed a lot from canon when it comes to the beginning part of the arc. Hell, most of the details of this arc won't even be the same as canon, since this is a real world setting and not VR...

So yeah, that's that, so let's get on with the chapter.

Xxx

After meeting Bercouli, the two boys would train day by day, night by night, under the swordsman's guidance.

The older swordsman was impressed. If he didn't knew they were beginners, he'd say that they were swordsmen, just out of shape, especially Kirito.

While Eugeo picked up the techniques easily, Kirito was on a whole new level. Every slash, every stab, every technique he showed them, it was as if Kirito already knew them, but had for some reason forgotten about them.

It was as if Kirito had amnesia, but the muscle memory allowed him to quickly pick up on the techniques.

Bercouli found it strange, but he knew Kirito was a good boy, so he didn't care much about it.

As Kirito traded blows with Eugeo, the black haired boy getting more hits at Eugeo than the blonde boy at him, Bercouli spoke, "Okay, time's up!"

The two boys quickly stopped their spar, moving to stand in front of their master.

The older man nodded, "You two are quite good for your age, but if you want to enter the academy, you'll have to do better."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, they knew that they were not ready yet. Bercouli then chuckled, "Well, in a few years, I don't doubt the two of you will be able to match most of the better students in academy."

Kirito and Eugeo both grinned at the comment. Bercouli then said, grinning, "Now, since we're done for the day, how about I bring you boys out of the village for lunch?"

Kirito eyes gleamed with curiosity and excitement, "Really?!"

Bercouli smirked, "Of course, can't have my students being holed up near a tree forever, right?"

Kirito nodded enthusiastically, but Eugeo was a bit worried, "But wouldn't the chief and everyone else be worried?"

Bercouli grinned, "Don't worry, we'll be back before sundown."

Eugeo blinked, "But the nearest village is at least a day's travel."

The master blinked before he realised that he had yet to tell his students, "Ah, I haven't told you two yet."

Kirito and Eugeo both looked at each other confusedly as their master turned and walked into the clearing, then, he gave a clear and loud whistle.

Then, after a short moment, a faint roar reached their ears, before a huge creature landed on the ground with an audible boom.

The two boys stared in awe as Bercouli grinned at the dragon. It was a grey blue dragon, similar to the swordsman's hair. The dragon grunted as it lowered its head in respect to its master.

Kirito marvelled at the dragon, "Woah!"

Eugeo nodded in agreement, "How? I thought only Integrity Knights can have dragons."

Bercouli froze for a brief second, totally forgetting about that fact before he grinned, "I'm just awesome like that, and no, I'm not an Integrity Knight. I found Hoshig-, Hoshi here, when he was injured, nursed him back to health, and he's been with me since."

The two kids marvelled at the dragon before they ran and started touching the dragon's scales. Hoshigami didn't react, just staring at his master, his eyes clearly saying, 'You owe me a whole bucket of meat.'

Bercouli just smiled sheepishly. He couldn't let the two boys know the truth just yet, or everything he did would probably backfire.

The man fake coughed, "Ahem, enough touching him boys, let's get going, shall we?"

Kirito and Eugeo both grinned and said in unison, "Yeah!"

The man mounted his dragon, before he quickly pulled his two 10 year old students onto the dragon. He then glanced down, "Let's go."

The dragon grunted and took flight, startling the two boys as they shot upwards.

(linebreak)

After a short flight, the dragon reached a nearby town, landing near the entrance of the village between the trees.

After Kirito and Eugeo got down from the dragon, Bercouli got down and spoke, "Sorry for troubling you, Hoshigami, I'll call fron you when we're done, then I'll prepare a full course meal for you later, okay?"

The dragon grunted, a happy glint in his eyes. Though the dragon couldn't say it, he had enjoyed flying around freely, especially since he was carrying his master/partner, along with his students.

Hoshigami nodded before he took off into the sky, flying away to rest in some random place.

Bercouli then turned to his apprentices, "Now, let's get going, shall we?"

The two boys nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah!"

(linebreak)

After a short walk through the town, they reached a restaurant that was rather packed with people.

Bercouli grinned, "This place serves some of the best food I've had, and it just so happens to be near your village."

Kirito and Eugeo oh'd as they entered the shop. As they sat down, they were greeted by a woman with neck length black hair, "Bercouli-san, its been a while."

The swordsman nodded with a smile, "Yes, it has, Rinko."

The woman smiled and looked at the two boys, "So, who are these boys?"

Bercouli nodded, "My new apprentices, I thought I'd bring them here for a break."

Rinko nodded, "I see."

The man then asked, "So, how are you two holding up?"

Rinko's smile never left her face, but her eyes slightly lost a certain spark, "We're fine... Its been years since he... left... But we're doing fine."

Bercouli nodded, "Yuuki?"

The woman's eyes slightly regained the spark, glancing towards the counter for a second, "She's doing great. She doesn't remember much about her father, but she's trying hard so that she can enter the academy."

The man nodded, "I see..."

A short moment of silence fell upon them, confusing the boys slightly before the woman asked, "So, may I have your orders?"

Bercouli nodded with a smile, "The usual."

Rinko smiled and looked at Kirito and Eugeo, "Boys?"

Kirito glanced at the menu on the wall before a name caught his attention, "Ra... men?"

Rinko caught the boy's gaze at the menu and smiled, "Yes, its a dish from my late husband's home. Would you like to try it?"

The boy smiled and nodded, "Yeah!"

Rinko nodded with a smile, taking down the order before she looked at Eugeo, "What about you?"

Eugeo also looked at the menu before he smiled at Rinko, "I'll just have what Kirito is having."

The woman chuckled and nodded, "Okay, two bowls of ramen for you two, and the usual for you, Bercouli-san."

Bercouli nodded, "Thanks, Rinko."

The woman smiled and nodded before she left to relay the orders to one of the chefs.

As the woman left, Bercouli saw the confused faces of his students and decided to explain, "Rinko is a friend of mine. She's... was one of my... friend's wife. But years ago, he left us... So to speak."

Kirito and Eugeo oh'd. But they didn't push further, it was obvious that their master didn't want to talk more about the matter.

Bercouli just smiled softly as he watched his students bicker around. He then frowned as he closed his eyes, 'Where did you go, Akihiko...'

After a short moment of enjoying the atmosphere in the restaurant, Rinko brought the food on a tray to their table. The woman smiled as she took the tray away, "Enjoy your meal."

Bercouli smiled back and nodded in thanks as the woman went to help her staff serve the other customers.

The man then looked at his students, "Let's eat, those noodles will go bad if its cold."

Kirito and Eugeo grinned and started to eat their food. But as soon as Kirito took a bite, nostalgia hit him as the smell and taste of the ramen filled his senses.

For some odd reason, Kirito wanted to cry, and he felt his heart ache for a second, as if some part of him was missing or empty.

The feeling, strangely, left as soon as it came, and it confused the hell out of the child. Kirito was then brought out of his musings by Bercouli, "Kirito, what's wrong?"

Eugeo nodded, "You spaced out a bit."

Kirito blinked before he looked at the bowl of noodles, "No, its nothing."

The boy continued eating, and Bercouli shrugged, "Okay."

Eugeo nodded and also continued eating.

After that, the meal progressed normally. Bercouli told stories about his more recent adventures to the boys, and as expected, they listened to his stories in awe.

The swordsman also didn't fail to notice the little girl, roughly around the same age as his students, with red eyes and black hair with a tinge of purple, hiding behind the counter, peeking at them while listening to his stories.

After half an hour, the three finished their meal, and it also marked the end of Bercouli's stories. The man held back a chuckle as he saw the girl behind the counter visibly deflated into her seat.

Bercouli then stood up and pointed at the counter, "I'm gonna catch up with Rinko for a while, how about you two go play with that little girl over there?"

Kirito and Eugeo blinked as their master left the table to talk to Rinko, then they glanced at the counter, just in time to see the girl duck behind the counter.

The two boys grinned at each other and approached the girl.

With Bercouli, the man smiled as he saw his students pull the young girl out from behind the counter before they eventually went out of the store.

The swordsman glanced apologetically at Rinko, "I hope you don't mind, Rinko."

The woman smiled and shook her head, "No, its better like that. She doesn't have any friends her age, and this might just help her open up."

The swordsman nodded as they continued catching up.

Meanwhile, with Kirito, Eugeo and the girl, the two boys had managed to pull the girl away from the counter, and now, they were walking around the town, the girl showing them around.

As they walked, Kirito asked, "So, what do you normally do here, ermm... Sorry, I forgot to ask for your name..."

Eugeo smiled forcedfully, remembering that he also forgot to ask for her name even though they introduced themselves. They had been a bit too caught up with trying to pull the girl away from the counter before she could properly say her name.

The girl giggled, "It's okay, my name is Kayaba Yuuki. Just call me Yuuki."

Eugeo smiled, "Kayaba Yuuki, that's a nice name. Right, Kirito?"

The blonde boy waited for his best friend's response as they walked, Eugeo and Yuuki walking ahead of Kirito, but the boy didn't reply. The two blinked as Eugeo asked, "Kirito?"

The two turned and saw Kirito with a blank face. Yuuki blinked and got in front of the boy's face, "Kirito?"

The black haired boy muttered, "Kayaba... That sounds... familiar."

Then all of a sudden, the boy grunted and grabbed his head pain, falling to one knee.

Images flashed through his mind, the first one, was a man, with short hair, holding a wooden shield and a wooden sword.

The next one, was himself in a small apartment, with four girls sitting at a dining table as he cooked in the kitchen, all of them laughing happily as they conversed.

The third one and final image, was an image of a huge cone shaped structure, which quickly blurred away, revealing the same man in the first image, but wearing red and white/silver armor with real weapons, poised to slash at him, with many other people on the ground around them.

"Kirito?"

Eugeo's voice reached his ears, yet he swore he heard several other voices layered with it.

The boy gasped as he found himself staring at the ground. He looked up to see the worried faces of Yuuki and Eugeo.

Eugeo looked at him worriedly, "Kirito, are you okay?"

Yuuki looked at him with the same worried expression, "Yeah, you suddenly fell to the ground after I said my name."

Kirito shakily stood up, frowning. He tried to remember what he saw, but for some odd reason, he couldn't remember any of it. The boy shook his head, "Its nothing, I just stumbled."

The black haired boy stood up with Eugeo and Yuuki's help. The girl asked, "Are you sure you're fine?"

Kirito nodded, smiling, "I'm fine. Come on, you said you'd show us around, right?"

Yuuki smiled and nodded before she continued leading them around the town, telling them what the places were, why they were there, and so on so forth.

Soon, they reached the local church, and the three children entered the place. The church was standard in terms of design, but unlike the church in the village of Rulid, there was a huge grey statue at the center end of the hall.

It was a knight, with armor, resting both of his arms on the hilt of a broad sword that was stabbed at his feet. The knight's armor was beautiful, or rather, intimidating.

The helmet was similar to that of a normal Integrity Knight, without any horns, except that the edges of the helmet were sharper, as if they were feathers or spikes.

The armor, however, did not resemble the Integrity Knights, not one bit. It was sleek, yet bulky at the same time, with many lines running along the armor. (Imagine the armor of Zero from Garo.)

Kirito blinked, "Is that?"

Yuuki smiled and nodded, "Yes, the God of Swords and Weaponry, Kazuto. Of course, we worship Stacia and all the other gods, but we mainly pray to him."

Eugeo nodded in understanding. Across the lands, people worshipped different gods. Some worship the goddess of birth and peace, Stacia, some worship the goddess of the Sun, Solus, some worship the goddess of life, Quinella, along with the goddess of wisdom, Cardinal.

And in the case of this town, they worshipped the god of swords, weaponry and justice, Kazuto.

With Kirito, the boy stared blankly at the statue. It felt familiar, yet different at the same time. Kirito muttered the name, "Kazuto..."

Yuuki nodded with a smile, "Well, its said that he fought off Vector, the god of darkness once, here in our land. It resulted in his soul separated from his body. People say his soul is wandering somewhere in the world, while his body, or Granteed, as they call it, is sealed somewhere in the mountains."

Kirito nodded, "I see..."

Eugeo also nodded, staring at the statue of the knight/god in awe. Yuuki then turned, pulling the two boys' arms, "Come on, there's one last place I wanna show you guys."

The two boys looked at each other and shrugged before they followed the purple haired girl out of the church.

After a short walk, the three reached the top of a small hill, overseeing the entire town. Eugeo said in awe, "Woah!"

Kirito nodded in agreement. Yuuki smiled as she sat down, "I happened to find this place by accident, and you're the only two people I've showed this placed to."

The two boys followed, sitting down beside her, as Eugeo asked, "What about your other friends?"

Yuuki smiled sadly, "Well, I always stayed in my mom's shop... So I didn't have many friends."

Kirito and Eugeo both oh'd, not knowing what to say.

The girl then beamed at them, "But I have you two now, right?"

Kirito grinned, "Yeah! We're your friends, Yuuki!"

Eugeo smiled and nodded in agreement. After a short while of talking, the three kids started playing around on the hill, laughing as they chased each other.

(linebreak)

Later in the evening, Kirito, Eugeo and Bercouli were at the gates of the town, with Rinko and Yuuki standing behind them.

Bercouli smiled, "Its been great catching up with you, Rinko. You too, Yuuki."

The woman smiled and nodded, "Same here. Do stop by to visit again if you have the chance, I'm sure Yuuki would like to see her friends again."

Yuuki beamed, "Definitely!"

Kirito and Eugeo both grinned, the former nodding, "Of course! Yuuki is our friend now!"

Bercouli chuckled, "We should get going, these two need to get back by sundown."

Rinko nodded in understanding, "Of course, have a safe trip."

The three males smiled/grinned before they turned and left the town, the two boys waving at their new friend as they did.

Soon, the three vanished from sight, and Rinko and Yuuki turned to go home.

As they walked, Rinko spoke up, "So, how was it, your two new friends?"

Yuuki beamed at her mother, "It was fun!"

The woman smiled, "I see."

After a short moment of thinking, Rinko said again, "I heard from Bercouli, those two are training to enter the Sword Mastery Academy."

Yuuki blinked, "R-really?!"

The woman nodded, "Yes."

She turned to looked her daughter with a smile on her face, "So, how about we start your training?"

The young girl just grinned at her mom, "Yeah!"

(linebreak)

A few years later, the boys were now 16. Under Bercouli's tutelage, the two young men had grown into two promising swordsmen.

Unfortunately, they hadn't made much progress in chopping down the Gigas Cedar, not even reaching half of its life. But their master had assured them that it would be dealt with when the time came.

So the boys continued their daily routine of training with their master, chopping the tree, eat and sleep.

Throughout the years, Kirito and Eugeo's relationship with Alice's family had somewhat improved, though it was mostly because of Selka.

The younger daughter of the Zuberg family visited Kirito and Eugeo in their own small house after they had moved out of the church. The girl would visit them in the evening, after they'd finish their work.

Gasupht and Sadina didn't mind. They were more than aware of the younger girl's crush on the two boys, though which of them, they weren't sure.

Now, as usual, the girl was in the two young men's home. The girl smiled as she shook her head. The two boys were so similar, yet so different.

On one side of the small house, Kirito's stuff laid all over the place, while the other side, Eugeo's stuff were all placed neatly.

The girl paused, as she looked at the picture on the desk, showing herself, her sister, Kirito and Eugeo when they were younger.

Until now, Selka still didn't know the real reason why Alice broke the Taboo Index. According to Kirito and Eugeo, it was to save an Integrity Knight, and some villagers believed them, while others didn't.

But the girl was confused, why would Alice break the Taboo Index to save the knight? Why risk her life for someone she didn't know? It just confused the younger girl a lot.

Selka frowned softly as she glanced out of the window, right towards the icy cave that lead to the border between the human world and the Dark Territory.

But before she could go further, Selka was brought out of her musings by Kirito's voice, "Selka! You there?"

The 14 year old girl smiled as she saw Kirito and Eugeo enter the house, "Kirito-san, Eugeo-san. Welcome back."

The two boys grinned at her before they started making dinner together, though it was mostly Selka doing the work while instructing the boys on several tasks.

Soon, the three of them were sitting at the table, enjoying a simple dinner. Eugeo smiled as he took a bite, "Selka, you really don't need to clean our stuff for us, you know?"

The girl puffed her cheeks at him, "And I told you I want to do it."

Eugeo wanted to say more, but Kirito nudged him with his legs, telling him to shut up as Kirito smiled at the girl, "Thank you, Selka. But... Don't you have your friends?"

The girl pouted, "Well, yeah..."

Kirito nodded, deciding to just leave it as it is, "I see... Well, as long as you can handle it.."

The girl just grinned, "Of course!"

Eugeo glanced at Kirito, but one look from the black haired teen stopped him from whatever he was going to say.

As they continued eating, Selka asked, "So, how's the training coming?"

The young girl had one time went to visit the two boys when they were supposed to be hacking at the trees, only to see Kirito and Eugeo training together, fortunately when Bercouli wasn't there.

The two boys had asked her to keep it a secret, and the young girl had more than happily agreed.

Kirito grinned, "Its coming along nicely. Soon, we'll master those sword skills and cut down that damn tree, then we can go to the sword mastery academy and become knights."

Eugeo smiled determinedly, "Then we can find Alice."

Selka smiled and nodded, though she felt her heart ache slightly for a moment. The whole reason the two boys were even training to be knights, from what she knew, was for her older sister.

To Selka, everything they did was for just one reason, one person. Alice. Her sister. The younger girl wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was jealous of her sister. Even when Alice wasn't here, all the two boys would think of, was her.

But even as those thoughts appeared in her mind, a part of her hated herself for even thinking like that. No one was at fault here, so she just smiled, helping them whenever, however she could, even if it hurt a lot.

Kirito then asked, "On that note, how is your training going?"

The nun in training beamed at him, "It's fun! I just learned how to conjure all seven elements!"

Eugeo blinked, "Seven elements?"

Selka grinned, "Yes! Fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, light, and darkness."

Kirito chuckled, "Well done, I suppose."

The younger girl smiled, blushing slightly in embarrassment from the praise.

After that, they just had small talk as they finished their meal before Kirito helped Selka clean the dishes, while Eugeo went to clean up the table.

Soon after, they finished cleaning up, and it was time for Selka to head home. The young girl smiled at the two boys, "I'll be going home then."

Eugeo nodded with a smile, "Be careful, kay?"

Kirito just waved from inside the house. Selka smiled and left the house, heading home to rest for the night.

After the girl left, Eugeo said, "Selka really doesn't need to do this, ya know?"

Kirito nodded as he cleaned his wooden sword, "I know. But, you know, ever since Alice was... a lot of the villagers keep comparing Selka to her... I think, she feels jealous, and the only time she really smiles is when she's here."

Eugeo nodded, "I see..."

Kirito sighed and glanced out the window, seeing Selka's shrinking figure, "Well, I hope she'll realise she doesn't need to feel that way... Selka is her own person, after all."

Eugeo nodded, staying silent. Kirito set down his sword, "I suppose that's enough, get some rest."

The blonde nodded as Kirito went to bed. Eugeo glanced out of the window, before he decided to go get some sleep.

(linebreak)

The next day, in the afternoon, Selka laid in her bed. The sister from the church had told her she could take the day off in the morning, so she had nothing to do.

Kirito and Eugeo were most likely hacking at the tree and training, and just about all of her friends had their respective jobs/work to do.

The girl's thoughts eventually drifted to Alice, and Selka glanced towards the direction where the ice cave was.

The girl hesitated for a short moment. She wanted to go see how Kirito and Eugeo were doing, but she also wanted to see why Alice crossed the border.

Selka let out a breath and put on her clothes and walked out of her room, heading for the door, "Mom, I'm going out!"

Sadina replied from the back, "Okay! Be careful!"

Selka just shouted a reply before she headed out. But as soon as she stepped out of her house, the girl stopped, 'Wait, how do I even get to the cave?'

Selka frowned at her stupidity before she decided to ask the gatekeeper when she reached the village entrance.

After a short while, the girl reached the ice cave, rubbing her arms as a cold breeze blew past her. Selka muttered, "Cold..."

The girl let out a breath and chanted, "System Call: Generate Thermal Element."

Immediately, a ball of heat energy appeared at her fingertips, warming her up immediately. The girl then walked in, blissfully unaware of the eyes that were watching her from the shadows.

(linebreak)

A few hours later, at noon, Kirito and Eugeo had just finished their daily routine early, and Bercouli had decided to let the boys rest for the day before he went off to where he usually went after training the two teens.

As they walked, Eugeo said, "Hey, Kirito, it's been on my mind for a while now, but Selka has always helped us, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, why?"

The blonde continued, "Then shouldn't we do something for her?"

Kirito scratched his chin, "Hmm, I suppose you're right... Any ideas?"

Eugeo considered a while as he looked at the sky, "Hmm, its still early... How about we bring her out of the village?"

Kirito raised an eyebrow, "Out of the village? You think old man Gasupth would let us bring her out?"

Eugeo shrugged, "Probably, I mean, the closest village away is a day's walk away."

The black haired boy looked at the forest, "How about a picnic?"

Eugeo grinned, "Like we used to do back then?"

Kirito chuckled, "Yeah, but this time, we do the cooking."

The blonde's grin widened, "Why not?"

The black haired teen nodded and started to head for their house, "Come on, let's go back and prepare the food, then we can go find Selka."

Eugeo nodded and followed his best friend back to their house.

A few hours later, the two boys had finished preparing a basket of food (coughmakingahugemessoftheirkitchenintheprocesscough) and quickly headed for the church where Selka should be.

When they reached the church, Kirito saw one of the sisters and asked, "Excuse me, have you seen Selka?"

The woman regarded the two boys before she answered, "No, today is her day off from her training. I've not seen her since this morning."

Kirito and Eugeo shared a glance before Eugeo asked, "What about her friends?"

The woman smiled slightly and pointed at a direction where a young girl around Selka's age was walking. Kirito and Eugeo gave their thanks before they approached the girl.

Turns out none of them knew where they were, and the two boys felt something was weird, so they continued looking for the girl.

That was until they asked the gatekeeper of their village. The man answered, "Well, I saw her going out of the village, towards where that ice cave should be. I mean, she did ask me where the cave was... So she probably might be there?"

Kirito and Eugeo shared a look and they instantly guessed what the other were thinking. Kirito nodded to the man, "Thank you, we'll go check on her."

The gatekeeper nodded, "Please do so, its dangerous for a girl like her to go into the forest like that."

The two boys nodded and immediately headed for the cave. They weren't worried about Selka being in the forest, since they practically lived in the forest outside the village.

No. They were more worried about her actually entering the cave, and reaching the border of the worlds, no matter how unlikely it was.

(linebreak)

A short while later, the two boys were at the entrance of the cave, the icy wind blowing at their faces. Kirito glanced at Eugeo and nodded, "Let's go."

The blonde nodded and followed his brother in all but blood into the cave, with one purpose only. To find Selka.

As the two teens walked, Eugeo thought aloud, "Where could Selka be though?"

Kirito looked around, searching for the girl, "We'll just have to look, the cave is not as huge as it seems."

Eugeo just nodded as they wandered in the caves, looking around for any signs of Selka's hair and her usual attire.

They continued for approximately 15 minutes, until Kirito noticed a small gap on his left. The black haired teen nudged his friend, "Hey, look."

The blonde turned, following Kirito's line of sight, and he frowned, "This wasn't here the last time we came here..."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah... But we haven't been for years now. Who knows what lives here now..."

Eugeo let out a breath, "So, what now?"

Kirito didn't look away from the gap, "What else? We search the place for Selka. Come on."

The two boys slowly and carefully entered the gap, reaching a dark cave. Kirito frowned, "I can't see anything in here..."

Eugeo nodded and pulled out a small plant he had picked up earlier before they entered the cave, "Wait a sec... System Call : Generate Luminous Element."

Instantly, the plant lit up, lighting up their surroundings to a small degree. Then the teens nodded at each other and continued walking.

As they reached the more inner parts of the cave, Kirito noticed that the cave was getting brighter, and it wasn't because of their little glowing plant.

The black haired teen stopped Eugeo from going any further as he noticed the source of light, coming from behind one of the ice pillars.

Eugeo looked at his friend, "What's wrong?"

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he pulled Eugeo to behind the icy pillars, covering the light from the plant as he did. The teen whispered, "Stay quiet, and look."

The two teens peeked out from the sides of the pillar. Then they saw them. A dozen green, armored humanoid creatures, with pointy noses and ears. They were all the height of the teens' chest, but only because they had hunched backs.

Kirito and Eugeo both immediately knew what they were. Goblins. Creatures from the Dark Territory, known to kill humans mercilessly, and in some occasions, eat humans.

Standing in the center of the dozen goblins, was a goblin several times the size of a normal goblin. A goblin king.

But what caught their attention, was the wooden cart at the side of the goblin hoard. And on top of the cart was a familiar unconscious girl. Selka.

Eugeo started to stand up, but Kirito quickly pulled him down. The blonde snapped his head at his friend, "What are you doing?!"

Kirito shook his head, pointing at the goblins, "We can't go out like this... Look at the goblins, its obvious they are the ones who captured her. And they are all armed."

The black haired teen then pointed to another cart near them, one that was filled with swords and other weaoons, "We should get the swords first. We need weapons. Of course, getting out safely is the best, but I doubt we can get out of here with Selka without a fight."

Eugeo nodded, understanding his logic, "Then, what do we do?"

Kirito crouched down, "First, we get the swords, then, I'll distract the goblins and you get Selka."

He took the plant out from his shirt and handed it to Eugeo, "If I remember correctly, goblins hate light. So use it to ward them off if they come to you."

Eugeo nodded. He wanted to object to the plan, but he knew Kirito was the stronger one between them, so it would be better for him to get Selka and run.

Kirito nodded, seeing Eugeo understood the plan, "Let's go."

The two teens slowly and quietly crept towards the cart full of weapons, fortunately able to do it while staying behind the pillars.

Kirito picked up a sturdy looking one handed sword and handed Eugeo another sword before he ducked behind the pillar again. The teen then looked over the pillar, watching the oblivious goblins.

Kirito quietly ducked behind the pillar and looked at Eugeo, "They're distracted, go to Selka, I'll get them to the other side of the cave."

The blonde nodded and moved over to the next pillar. He then looked back at Kirito, "Be careful, got it?"

The black haired teen grinned, "Who do you think I am? Go."

The blonde nodded and slowly crept towards the cart where Selka was. Kirito then quietly peeked out from the pillar he was hiding behind.

Kirito thought, 'Okay, as soon as Eugeo reaches Selka, I'll go out...'

He prepared himself to charge out as soon as the blonde reached the girl. But then, a loud crack drew everyone's attention. Right towards Eugeo's direction, who was standing right in the open.

Kirito cursed as the goblin king smirked at Eugeo, "Ho, what do we have here?"

The goblins immediately surrounded the blonde, cackling as Eugeo nervously backed away.

Kirito let out a breath as he could hear the heavy footsteps the goblin king made. Then he charged.

The first five goblins never saw it coming. With the sword, Kirito managed to cut down five goblins before the others realized what was happening.

Kirito gritted his teeth as the other goblins quickly realised his presence and charged at him, and he just roared and continued doing his best in cutting them down.

The goblin lord glanced at Kirito, regarding the teen as he slashed down the goblins, slowly moving towards them. The larger goblin smirked, "Interesting..."

Soon, Kirito stood in front of the goblin lord, with the other remaining goblins surrounding him warily.

The goblin lord asked, "Are you seriously trying to fight us, young human?"

Kirito gritted his teeth. Eugeo was pretty much fine, the goblins were more wary of him, and the blonde was slowly backing away, unfortunately not towards Selka since there were several goblins there.

The black haired teen cursed their luck at the same time. He doubted the goblins would simply let them go, so there was only one option left.

Kirito widened his stance, tightening his grip on the sword, "No, I'm not just fighting you."

His eyes hardened, surprising the goblins, "I'm winning!"

Without another word, the teen charged, brandishing his sword as he did. The goblins growled at his response, and charged at him.

Kirito just gritted his teeth as the first two goblins came into range. The teen swung his sword at the first goblin, cutting it down as he spun, barely dodging the swipe from the second goblin's mace.

Not missing a beat, Kirito ducked, using his legs to sweep the second goblin over his feet before kicking him away.

After dealing with the two goblins, Kirito continued rushing forward, cutting down another two goblins in the process.

Then, the last four goblins tried to overwhelm him with their numbers. But Kirito just pushed back harder with his sword before swiftly slashing down two of them with his sword.

The remaining two goblins just roared at him, one of them swinging its club at him, but Kirito used his sword to block the blow before striking the goblin hard on the head with the butt of the sword.

The other goblin growled, trying to catch Kirito by surprise by bashing him in the head. But the teen saw it coming and rammed it with his shoulder, pushing the goblin away, before he cut the goblin down with his sword.

The teen took a small breath and was about to turn to the goblin lord when he felt a huge shadow looming over him. Kirito quickly leaped away just in time to dodge a massive cleaver slamming into the ground, courtesy of the goblin lord.

The teen rolled on the ground, quickly spinning to face the goblin lord. The huge goblin merely sneered at the teen, "You really have guts to face me, this Ugachi-sama!"

Kirito merely smirked and charged the goblin lord, meeting Ugachi's blade with his own.

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Meanwhile, as Kirito was fighting the goblins and the goblin lord, Eugeo was holding back five goblins that surrounded him.

The blonde held the lit plant on his left, while holding the sword on his right hand. Eugeo glanced at Kirito who was cutting down goblins one by one, before looking at his enemies, 'Kirito is fighting so hard... I have to do my best too!'

The blonde knew he wasn't as good as his brother, but he had to fight, to save Selka.

The blonde grunted and charged, swinging his sword at the first goblin. The goblin growled and blocked the attack, but the block quickly crumbled away as Eugeo thrust the plant at its face, blinding it, allowing the teen to slice its head off.

Eugeo then heard a clanking noise from behind him, at the same time seeing a goblin charging from the front. Gritting his teeth, the blonde spun, thrusting the plant at the goblin from behind while he parried and stabbed the goblin from the front.

The blonde allowed himself to take a small breath, eyeing the two remaining goblins in front of him. Fortunately, they weren't smart enough to flank him.

The goblins growled at him, before they charged. Eugeo grunted, twisting his body, allowing one goblin to pass by him before he thrust his sword, straight through the goblin's chest.

Not letting the chance go, he spun, using the dead goblin as a shield just in time to block the last goblin from bashing his head off.

Then, Eugeo kicked the corpse of the goblin off of his sword, surprising the last goblin before he swung his blade hard, leaving a severed head on the ground.

Eugeo panted, just as he realised that all five goblins were dead. Then, as he was about to turn to help Kirito, he heard a scream. And then he turned, he saw Kirito crashing right into an ice pillar.

(linebreak)

Earlier, Kirito was pushing against Ugachi's cleaver, slowly and expectedly losing in the battle of strength.

The teen cursed and pulled back, causing Ugachi to lurch forward before Kirito pushed back hard, surprising the goblin lord as he stumbled back.

But Ugachi wouldn't be the leader of his squad if he let such a simple trick deter him. Quickly recovering, Ugachi swung his massive sword down at the smaller human, clashing against the sword.

The goblin lord had to hand it to the boy, while he hadn't fought any Integrity Knights, the number of humans he had faced that could match him blow for blow like Kirito did could be counted in one hand, and Kirito had just added one to the list.

The goblin lord was brought out of his musings when Kirito, surprisingly, moved forward, sliding his sword along Ugachi's cleaver, and landed a horizontal slash on his abdomen.

Ugachi growled lowly in pain, swinging his cleaver at Kirito to slice him in half. But the boy's smaller body allowed him to easily slip away to launch his next attack.

Kirito let out a breath, positioning himself in a stance Bercouli had taught him, to initiate a sword skill, "Sharp Nail."

His sword immediately glowed red, as the mana from his body flowed into the sword. Then, he moved.

Quickly entering his range, right in front of Ugachi, the teen swung his sword down, landing a deep gash on Ugachi's chest. Then, before the goblin could react, the teen pulled his blade back, leaving yet another slash on the goblin's chest.

Finally, Kirito repositioned his sword, roaring as he swung his sword down for a third time, right as Ugachi pulled his gauntlet up to block the attack.

Normally the metal gauntlet would be enough to stop a sword like Kirito's, but not one enforced with a sword skill, and the blade cut right through the metal like paper, Ugachi's arm right along with it.

But right as Kirito stood up, the teen caught a glint of metal, and the cleaver slammed right into his left arm, sending him flying some distance away before crashing into the ground.

Kirito, having not experienced pain to that degree, screamed in pain as blood flowed down his arm.

The teen's scream was cut short as Ugachi slammed his foot into his gut, sending him flying straight into Eugeo.

The goblin lord growled, "You wretched boy! You'll pay for this humiliation!"

Eugeo gasped as he saw the blood covering Kirito's arm, "K-kirito!

The blonde gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on his sword as he stood in front of Ugachi. The goblin growled at the boy, "I'll kill all of you!"

Eugeo steeled his nerves and charged, parrying Ugachi's sword with his own before he thrust the plant's light at the goblin's face, making him stumble back.

Repositioning himself, Eugeo prepared a sword skill as his sword took on a blue glow, "Vertical Arc."

Then he charged. Managing to stun the goblin shortly by throwing the plant at Ugachi's face, Eugeo slid right in front of the goblin.

Grunting as he gripped his sword, Eugeo swung his sword down diagonally, leaving a deep gash on Ugachi's abdomen. Then, not missing a beat, Eugeo repositioned his sword, and left another slash on Ugachi, making a V-shaped wound.

Then, not wanting to miss the chance, Eugeo leaped up, aiming for Ugachi's head. That was his mistake.

For a goblin of his size, Ugachi was a fairly agile opponent, and he was also very much trained in withstanding pain. And right as Eugeo jumped up, Ugachi gritted his teeth, pushing back the pain to the back of his mind, and swung his blade.

Eugeo never saw it coming, nor could he block or avoid it, as the cleaver slammed into his abdomen, leaving a deep wound as he was flung away.

At that moment, Kirito managed to stabilize himself and stood up, just in time to watch Eugeo crash into the ground right beside him.

The teen gasped as he rushed over to his brother in all but blood, "Eugeo!"

He looked at the deep slash on Eugeo's stomach, and he started to panic before he mentally slapped himself. It was rather deep, possibly fatal if not treated immediately, and unfortunately, he didn't have the skills to treat it.

The only one who had any hope of saving Eugeo, was Selka, but she was unconscious, and Ugachi was in his way.

So in the end, there was only one thing to do. Take down Ugachi the goblin lord.

Kirito closed his eyes as he heard the goblin's footsteps slowly closing in. Steeling his nerves, and doing his best to ignore the pain, Kirito grabbed his sword and stood up to face the goblin.

Ugachi growled and raised his sword, "Die, boy!"

The goblin swung his sword, but at that moment, Kirito sprang into action, blocking the blade with his own.

Ugachi growled, pushing up and slammed Kirito onto the ground, "You damned human!"

The goblin slammed his cleaver at Kirito's head, but the teen swiftly rolled away onto all fours before he pushed himself up, spinning as he landed on the ground.

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he faced Ugachi. The goblin only roared as he charged forward, "DIE!"

The teen steadied himself and charged, reminding himself not to let Ugachi use his superior strength, before he clashed blades with the goblin.

Kirito grunted as he pushed against Ugachi's sword, glad that he had cut off Ugachi's other arm, as he was sure he would have been overwhelmed easily if the goblin had both arms.

Then, Kirito titled his sword, allowing the sword to slide down the cleaver as he dashed past the goblin, surprising Ugachi as he could do nothing due to the lack of his left arm.

Not missing the chance, as Ugachi spun, Kirito activated another sword skill as the blade glowed green, "Sonic Leap!"

In the blink of an eye, Ugachi's head flew off, and blood sprayed out of the goblin's neck like a fountain before the body fell to the floor.

Kirito let out a breath, suddenly feeling exhausted as the adrenaline left him. The teen then turned to move towards Eugeo, but after three steps, he stumbled and started to fall.

But before he could hit the ground, Kirito felt someone grab him, and he saw a dark blue armor enter his line of sight as a familiar voice reached his ears, "Easy there, kid. Fanatio has Eugeo covered, and my squad is securing the area."

Kirito looked up, "B-bercouli-sensei?"

The man sighed, "You did something very stupid right there, challenging Ugachi of all people..."

Kirito tried to speak, but was cut off as Bercouli chuckled, "But you did great."

The teen then looked around, noticing a knight with long wavy and silky black hair in light purple armor treating Eugeo, while another knight, this one wearing a bland grey white armor tending to Selka.

He also noticed several other knights, all wearing the same grey white armor scouting the area. And he realised one thing. They were all Integrity Knights.

But before he could ask his teacher what was happening, Kirito's fatigue caught up to him, and everything went black.

XXX

Done. So, several timeskips here, and I brought in Yuuki. The reason I brought her in, well, you all remember that Kirito used 'Mother's Rosario' in the Aincrad arc, right? I don't think I need to explain more there.

And then the fight with Ugachi. Now, as I said, I changed a lot from canon. So here, I changed the fight slightly, as Eugeo, unlike canon, actually has training.

And it kinda bugged me, cuz in canon, there was an Integrity Knight fighting the dragon at the borders, but still in the Dark Territory, yet no one was there to stop the goblins.

So that's why I put the knights in, even if they're late.

So yeah, that's the chapter. The next one will be where Kirito and Eugeo head to the academy, and wrapping up several things here and there.

So yeah, review please. I'll see y'all next time.