Hey guys, this is the 61st chapter.
Thanks, for everyone who took the time to review. If you find something wrong, or any mistakes, please don't hesitate to tell me.
To the Guest, about your suggestion for the MHA/One Punch Man story, normally I'd PM you, but since you're using a Guest account here, I can only do a shoutout. Sorry to say this, but I don't have much knowledge on MHA. One Punch Man, probably, but I've never thought much on the setting. It's an interesting idea, but it'll have to go onto the waiting list. Thank you for the idea, it gave me something to think on, and I'll consider it in the future.
To the other Guest, for now, if you're looking at it from the previous chapters, and linking back all to the previous arcs, yes, this arc makes absolutely no sense. Everything will be explained after this arc. But I'll give you a hint, it's similar to SAO canon, to some extent, but with a lot of changes.
But for now, just think of this as my take on the SAO Alicization arc, or as I call it, the Underworld arc, except with a fantasy world setting instead of VR. And I suppose I'll give you another hint, if you watched Buddy Complex, I took a certain concept from that particular series.
So yeah, without further ado, let's start the chapter.
XXX
A while later, Kirito groaned as he opened his eyes groggily, shielding his eyes from the light as they adjusted to the light.
The teen immediately noticed that he was in his room. Turning his head, Kirito noticed Eugeo putting on a shirt, his stomach area perfectly fine.
Only then did he remember. They had gone to find Selka, only to find her unconscious among a hoard of goblins.
They had planned to save her and leave quietly, but things went south, and they had to fight the goblins.
Kirito remembered Eugeo getting cleaved in the stomach, and he vaguely remembered killing the goblin lord.
Then he frowned, it was fuzzy, but he vaguely recalled that Bercouli was there, and so were a squad of Integrity Knights. That was one thing he had to ask Bercouli when they saw him.
But before Kirito could dwell more on the matter, Eugeo's voice brought him out of his musings, "Kirito? You're awake?"
The black haired teen blinked as Eugeo walked over to him with a smile. Kirito smiled softly as he sat up, "Yeah."
Then his smile dropped slightly, "E-eugeo, are you okay?"
The blonde nodded, his smile dropping, "I'm fine. I remember that goblin's sword slicing my stomach... And when I woke up, we're here."
Kirito nodded, "I see... Selka?"
Eugeo frowned, "I... don't know. I was planning to go out and check..."
Kirito nodded, "I see... She's probably fine... I think... Somone must have brought us back, so they might have brought Selka back too."
Eugeo nodded, "Hopefully."
Kirito then got off of his bed and walked out of his room, and he quickly noticed a note on the dining table. Kirito blinked as he noticed it was from Bercouli.
On it wrote:
'Meet me at our usual location as usual.'
Kirito blinked several times and turned, "Hey Eugeo!"
The blonde came out of their room, and Kirito passed him the note. After reading it, Eugeo looked at Kirito confusedly, "Why would Bercouli-sensei give us a note telling us to meet him?"
Kirito closed his eyes and took a breath, "Ya know... After you got injured, I managed to kill that goblin... And then I saw Bercouli-sensei, with several Integrity Knights... I think he wants to talk to us about that..."
Eugeo blinked, rather confused about what Kirito was talking about, but decided to just nod and find out when they met up with their teacher.
Kirito looked out from the window towards the church, where the only clock in the village was, "We still have an hour or so, let's go find Selka."
The two boys quickly headed for the chief's house, and they stopped outside the door. Kirito glanced at Eugeo, who nodded before Kirito knocked on the door.
A short moment later, the door opened to reveal Sadina. The woman smiled as she saw the two boys, "Ah Kirito, Eugeo, here to visit Selka?"
Kirito nodded, "Yeah, is she okay?"
Sadina just smiled and let them in, "I think the two of you should find out yourselves, I'll call her to come down."
The two boys just nodded as they sat down. No matter how much they'd grown, Sadina still made them feel like children, but that was probably one of the good things about her.
After a few minutes, Selka came down with Sadina, the younger girl beaming as she saw the two teens, "Kirito-san, Eugeo-san."
Sadina smiled as Selka walked over to her friends, "I'll prepare some snacks, you three carry on."
Kirito spoke up, "Thank you, Sadina-san."
Eugeo nodded, "Yeah, thanks, Sadina-san."
The woman just nodded as she headed to the kitchen, leaving the three alone in the living room. For a brief moment, silence befell upon them, until Kirito asked, "Selka, how are you doing?"
The girl smiled, "I'm fine."
Her smile dropped slightly, "I heard... Kirito-san and Eugeo-san tried to help me, and got injured in the process."
Eugeo smiled, "Well, we're fine, don't worry about it."
Kirito nodded, "Yeah, the important thing is that you're okay."
Selka's face turned red upon hearing those words, not knowing what to say. Eugeo blinked, "Selka, your face is red, are you sure you're fine?"
Selka blinked as Eugeo leaned over and placed his palm over her forehead, "E-eh?! E-eugeo-san?!"
The blonde frowned slightly, "Hmm, you seem fine."
Kirito just chuckled and smacked Eugeo on the back lightly, "Sit down bro, I'm pretty sure she's fine, just a bit embarrassed, right?"
Selka just nodded silently, but Eugeo wanted to protest, worried that Selka might have injuries or any sickness, when Sadina interrupted them with some snacks.
After that, the three, along with Sadina, spent the afternoon talking about random things, catching up on their respective lives until Kirito and Eugeo had to meet Bercouli.
(linebreak)
The two teens were in the forest, reaching the Gigas Cedar. And as usual, they saw Bercouli waiting for them.
But unlike as usual, the man wasn't in his normal attire. Instead, he wore a dark blue armor, one that anyone would recognize, and for Kirito and Eugeo, a set of armor that they would never forget.
Bercouli greeted, "Hey, Kirito, Eugeo."
Kirito and Eugeo nodded, the former asked, "Bercouli-sensei, that armor is..."
The man raised a hand, stopping Kirito, before he said, "To answer your question, yes, I am an Integrity Knight. But before that, about your little adventure into that cave."
The two boys wanted to protest and reason with their teacher, but before they could even speak, Bercouli raised his palm, silencing them, "What you did, was reckless. But, your fight with Ugachi and the goblins, I must say I'm impressed."
The man grinned, "Ugachi is quite a well known goblin, at least, among us. Kirito, you managed to defeat him, and Eugeo managed to hold him off for a short moment."
The man paused for a short moment before he continued, "The two of you managed to wipe out a recon squad of goblins, normally that'd require a small team of Integrity Knights. That speaks volumes of your skill, Kirito, Eugeo."
Bercouli let out a breath, "That also tells me that I have nothing left to teach you. All you two need, is experience."
The two stayed silent, not knowing how to respond. Bercouli then tossed two sheathed one handed swords, one to Eugeo, and one to Kirito.
The two teens caught the swords easily, sending looks of confusion at their master. Bercouli then pulled out a blue sword, with a rose on the guard, and stabbed it into the ground.
The two teens easily recognised the sword, but didn't get the chance to ask their teacher when he said, "This will be your final test, Kirito, Eugeo."
He gestured to the Gigas Cedar, "Kirito, I want you to cut down the tree. Use whatever you've learned from me, and whatever you can get. Nothing more, nothing less. I will, of course, stop you from trying."
His eyes then landed on Eugeo. The man pulled the blue sword off of the ground, showing it to his blonde student, "Eugeo, your task, is to take this sword off of me. Simple as that."
Bercouli then placed the blue sword on his back and looked at both of them, "Of course, you two can work together. So, am I clear, boys?"
His only response was them drawing their swords, and he grinned in anticipation. The two teens didn't need to talk to know that they had to work together to finish their tasks.
The teens shared a glance, and they knew what they needed to do. First, Eugeo would keep Bercouli occupied, and after Kirito chopped down the tree, he'd go back and help Eugeo. Or whichever came first.
Without another word, Kirito charged towards the tree, while Eugeo charged at Bercouli.
Immediately, Bercouli moved, pulling out a normal sword and swung it at his student, stopping Kirito in his tracks as the teen was forced to block.
Bercouli then caught Eugeo moving for the Blue Rose Sword on his back. The man smirked and kicked Kirito away before blocking Eugeo's sword, locking their blades.
Bercouli chuckled as Eugeo struggled to push against him, "Not bad, Eugeo, years of chopping at that tree with that axe sure does wonders to your strength."
The blonde didn't reply, instead pushing harder at him. Bercouli chuckled again, "Unfortunately, that's not enough to push me back."
The man pushed, easily pushing the blonde's sword away. Eugeo just tch'd, but didn't let off. Instead, he used the momentum to spin and swing his sword at Bercouli yet again.
But the Integrity Knight merely blocked the sword again. Then, to Bercouli's confusion, Eugeo grinned as they locked blades.
Bercouli blinked, curious why he was smiling before he realized he couldn't see Kirito anywhere. The man's eyes snapped over to the tree to see Kirito right at the Gigas Cedar, his blade poised to strike.
The man hid a smirk as Kirito's blade glowed blue, and the teen swung.
The moment the sword hit the tree bark, the glowing sword cut through the tree like a knife through hot butter, and Bercouli's eyes widened as Kirito's sword cut through half of the tree, before stopping as the glow faded.
Bercouli was honestly surprised and impressed. He had expected Kirito to only cut through a quarter of the remaining parts of the tree, not half.
That meant Kirito had already passed his test, but he still wanted to test them more. Besides, Eugeo had yet to take the sword off of him.
Bercouli was then brought out of his musings as he caught Eugeo reaching for the Blue Rose Sword again, only to fail as Bercouli smacked his hand away.
The two then continued trading strikes, the blonde trying to move behind Bercouli for the sword, while Bercouli blocked Eugeo at every turn, having fun with his student. For the older man's case, anyways.
Back with Kirito, the teen cursed, he had the perfect chance to cut down the tree, but it seemed Bercouli wasn't going easy on them.
The teen then tried to pull his sword out of the tree. But to his surprise, the sword didn't budge one bit, obviously stuck in place.
Kirito cursed, he doubted Eugeo could keep Bercouli occupied long enough for him to pull out the sword.
The teen's mind raced for ideas on how to get his sword or cut down the tree before helping Eugeo. After a brief moment, his eyes fell upon the sword on Bercouli's back, and Kirito mentally slapped himself.
No. He didn't need to find a way to cut down the tree. It was already in front of him all this time.
Kirito let out a breath, meeting Eugeo's eyes as they both nodded at each other. Then, Kirito charged.
Bercouli's eyes widened as he easily saw Kirito running at him barehanded. The swordsman pushed Eugeo away and turned to kick Kirito away.
But, to his shock, yet again, Kirito had saw that coming and ducked, sending a devastating palm strike to Bercouli's chin.
Not letting the chance slip, Kirito continued pushing on. Using Bercouli's knees as a platform, the teen jumped up and swung his right leg, kicking Bercouli right in the face, sending the man stumbling to the ground.
Not missing the chance, Kirito grabbed the sword from Bercouli's back and rushed back towards the tree.
Bercouli cursed as his protégé stole the sword from him. Granted he had been going easy on them, it was still a pretty impressive display on hand-to-hand combat from the young man.
The swordsman hid a grin as he got up to chase after Kirito only to see Eugeo standing in front of him.
Bercouli grinned as Eugeo charged him, obviously intent on keeping him busy for Kirito to finish his task.
The man blocked a slash from Eugeo. Truth to be told, if he were to be serious, Eugeo was at least on the level of a junior Integrity Knight, while Kirito was already at the level of the average Integrity Knights, and they weren't even at their primes.
Bercouli grinned as he swung his sword at Eugeo's right, only for his blade to meet air as the young teen dodged the strike and aimed a stab at Bercouli's chest.
The man blocked the attack as he kicked Eugeo away before turning his attention to Kirito, who had reached the Gigas Cedar.
Kirito let out a breath as he gripped the Blue Rose Sword in his hands, then he took his stance for the 'Horizontal' skill, just as he did before.
Then, the sword glowed blue, and Kirito grunted as he swung the blade.
In an instant, a visible line appeared on the tree, as Kirito's sword arm was outstretched on the other side. Then, after a brief moment, the tree started to lurch backwards, until it slammed right into the ground with a loud boom.
Eugeo shielded his face with his arms as the dust and wind blew at him, while Bercouli smirked proudly at his student's display.
Back with Kirito, the teen let out a breath and turned to Bercouli and Eugeo, glancing at Eugeo who was standing some distance away from their teacher.
The brothers-in-all-but-blood nodded lightly at each other and broke into a sprint, running towards each other.
Bercouli easily noticed that and smirked, 'I guess I'll play for just a little more.'
The man swiftly stood between the two boys, blocking them from meeting as he brought up his sword at Kirito.
Kirito grunted and swung the blue blade at his master, Bercouli blocking it with his own sword. Eugeo did the same with his own, but Bercouli merely blocked it with his own gauntlet.
The reason why Bercouli used his sword to block Kirito's slash while using his gauntlet for Eugeo, it was because the Blue Rose Sword was more than capable of cutting through his armor, and only by infusing his sword with mana, could it stand up to the blue sword.
Back to the fight, Bercouli grinned and pushed Eugeo's blade aside before kicking Kirito in the chest.
Then, the man turned to block a slash from Eugeo. Bercouli was the caught off guard when Eugeo pulled back, causing him to lurch forward before Eugeo managed to land a hard slap kick on his cheek, sending him sprawling to the ground.
As he fell, Bercouli had to hand it to Eugeo. The kid was smart enough to pull back and land a counter kick to his face.
He then felt Eugeo leaping over him, and he decided to just let the game end as he laid on the ground for a little more.
With Kirito and Eugeo, the blonde was rather surprised that he had actually landed the hit on his teacher, and even more for the fact that he had actually reached Kirito.
Kirito let out a breath as he handed the Blue Rose Sword to his friend, and the two looked at Bercouli who slowly stood up.
The man chuckled as he saw Eugeo holding the blue sword, "Not bad, well done."
Bercouli walked over to them and looked at Eugeo, "That sword is yours from now on, take good care of it."
Eugeo blinked several times before he gaped, "R-really?!"
The knight nodded, "Yeah, the two of you are going to the academy, right? You need swords if you wanna go."
Bercouli then turned to Kirito, "As for you..."
He gestured to the fallen Gigas Cedar, "This will be your sword."
Kirito blinked, "Wait, what?"
Bercouli chuckled and walked over to the tip of the tree, and with one swift swing, he cut off the top part of the tree.
The man then walked back to Kirito and handed the wood to the teen along with a piece of paper, "Go to this address, this here can be formed into a divine class weapon, similar to the Blue Rose Sword Eugeo has, and similar to my own. The blacksmith there is a good one, and he can forge you a sword that can last you for your whole life."
Kirito just gaped at the piece of wood in his hands, rather surprised that the Gigas Cedar had been a divine class object.
Bercouli then looked at both teens, "Now that we've done all that, I suppose its time I told you two everything."
The man then sat down on the grass, gesturing his students to do the same.
As they sat down, Kirito asked, "Sensei, you're the Integrity Knight we met all those years ago, right?"
Bercouli smiled dryly, "Yeah, I am."
Eugeo asked, reminding himself to stay calm, "Why did you train us?"
Bercouli nodded, "I'll get to that later... I suppose I'll start after Alice was brought to the church."
The man took a breath and spoke, "This is supposed to classified info, but at that time, I was on a mission to guard the borders and take out a whole squad of forces from the Dark Territory. I managed to take all of them all out and rushed back to the church."
Bercouli looked at the boys, "I managed to stop the pope from punishing Alice, and unfortunately, we couldn't let her go, so she was given a job in the church."
He paused before he continued, chuckling as he did, "The little girl, even when her life was in danger, she pleaded me to check on the two of you, and I did."
Bercouli grinned, "And imagine, coming to the forest, to see two young boys, swinging two wooden handmade swords. Well, I was gonna just take a look and report back to her, but the two of you showed great potential, and I couldn't pass up on the chance. And the rest, well, you know. "
Kirito and Eugeo both stayed silent for a short while, before Kirito asked, "How's Alice?"
Bercouli smiled, "She's doing great, and she's waiting for the two of you."
Kirito nodded, "I see..."
Eugeo then asked, "Can you bring us to see her?"
Bercouli grinned and shook his head, "No, I've meddled here long enough. That'll have to depend on you two."
He smirked at them, "Besides, you're aiming for the academy, right? Once you become knights, I'll take the two of you under my wing, and then you can see her everyday."
Bercouli then got up, "Well, my job is done for now. Take these, they're recommendation letters so you can take the test to enter the academy."
He tossed the two boys each an envelope, Kirito and Eugeo catching them easily.
Bercouli then turned and picked up his sword, "The battles with the Dark Territory will be starting again, so this will probably be the last time I'll be seeing you two in a while now. But don't worry, I'll be keeping track of your progress."
Kirito and Eugeo both stood up, the former nodded, "I see..."
Bercouli nodded, "Yeah..."
Kirito then asked, "By the way, sensei, I never did ask you, what is the name of our style?"
Bercouli blinked several times before he answered, "Truth to be told, the skills I taught you are all things I picked up throughout my years as a knight, combinations of skills from many different styles I suppose."
He grinned, "But, well, if you really want a name for it, I guess it'd be called the Aincrad style."
Eugeo muttered the name, "The Aincrad style."
Kirito nodded, but before he could say anything, he felt a light pulse in his temples, as random flashes of images ran through his head.
First was a huge kobold, then a weird minotaur looking creature, then a huge skeleton with scythes in front, and finally a huge white humanoid creature roaring.
The teen blinked as all of those images vanished in the next second, and he couldn't recall any of it. Kirito frowned, 'W-what was that?'
He was broken out of his musings as Bercouli spoke again, "Well, I'm sure you'll ace the exams anyways, so, I'll be going now."
Deciding to file those images for later, Kirito and Eugeo then shared a glance, before they bowed and spoke in unison, "Thank you for everything you've done, Bercouli-sensei!"
The man chuckled with a smirk, "Sure, just make sure to graduate, Alice and I, we'll be waiting for you."
Bercouli then walked away, slowly vanishing between the trees.
After a short while, Kirito and Eugeo rose from the bow before they headed back to the village, intent on reporting that they had finished their task.
(linebreak)
A while later with Bercouli, he rode on Hoshigami, landing on the platform on the 30th floor of the Central Cathedral.
The man easily got off his dragon, allowing the dragon to fly off to where he usually went, before Bercouli headed inside.
As soon as the man entered the tower, he was met with a young girl, with blonde hair, wearing golden armor, with a blue cape along with a white and blue skirt.
The girl's face visibly lit up as soon as she saw Bercouli, and the girl asked almost immediately, "Ojii-sama, how did they do?"
Bercouli chuckled, "They did great, now we just have to wait for them to graduate."
The girl let out a breath in relief, a smile appearing on her face. The girl then quickly realized who and how she was talking to and straightened up before bowing slightly, "Thank you very much, Ojii-sama. I'll be heading back to my post."
The girl quickly turned and left, heading for the stairs, before Bercouli could say anything.
As the girl left, Bercouli chuckled, 'She never changes, does she...'
The oldest Integrity Knight was very glad he had managed to take her under his wing. God knows what would have happened to her if she had been taken by the pope.
It was also quite heartwarming for him to see the girl with such emotions, especially when it came to Kirito and Eugeo. It showed just how much the girl cared for them.
Though there was one thing that ticked him off. Even after all these years, after he had managed to get her to call him Ojii-sama, Alice still acted formally around him during workinh hours, even when he insisted she didn't need to.
Bercouli shook his head lightly and chuckled again before he headed for his office.
As the man walked, he spotted his second in command and greeted her, "Hey, Fanatio."
The woman's face visibly brightened up as she saw him, "Bercouli-sama."
The oldest knight nodded to the woman and asked, "No shifts?"
The second Integrity Knight shook her head, "Not today."
She then asked, "So, you finished your final test for your students, right?"
Bercouli nodded, "Yeah."
Fanatio smiled, "How did they do?"
The man chuckled, "They did great. Now they just need to graduate the academy."
The woman nodded before she asked, "Why not just bring them here? You did the same with Alice..."
Bercouli walked to one of the windows, looking over the entire capital, "They are young. Alice was a special case, if I didn't take her in, she would have fallen into Chudelkin's hands, and gods forbid what would happen if a young girl with a high aptitude for the arts like her reached his hands."
The man took a breath, "No. Alice is a special case. But those boys, they are pure, so innocent. The whole reason they even trained is because they wanted to meet Alice again."
Bercouli chuckled, "Or rather, they thought Alice would be punished, and they wanted to save her, even after all these years..."
The man continued, "Rather than pulling them into this mess, I want them to at least live peacefully for two more years before they graduate."
Fanatio nodded, "I see... But I still don't understand, why not just tell them Alice is one of us now?"
Bercouli grinned, "Then they wouldn't have the drive to improve. Kirito and Eugeo, those boys would do anything for a friend or family. Sure, they would still train so that they can stand beside Alice. But the drive won't be there, or at least, not as great, and their progress would be much slower than what they have now. "
Fanatio nodded, "I see..."
The woman then looked at her predecessor, "Do you really think they can help us?"
Bercouli smirked, "Now? Possibly. In their prime, most definitely. Especially if Kirito is what I think he is."
(linebreak)
Later in the evening, back in the village of Rulid. After Bercouli had left, Kirito and Eugeo had headed straight for Gasupht to report that they had finished their task.
The man had nearly dropped his cup of coffee in shock before he quickly followed the boys to the Gigas Cedar, and to his surprise, the massive tree had fallen.
Gasupht didn't know how the two teens did it. It was predicted that the tree would stand tall for at least another ten years, even if someone hacked at it every day and night.
Yet these two boys had done it, they did the impossible.
And now, to celebrate Kirito and Eugeo's accomplishment at cutting down the tree, the entire village was having a party.
Now, everyone was in the village square. Tables were set up, with trays on top all filled with food, and everyone was enjoying the food, taking the chance to rest and have fun.
With Kirito and Eugeo, the two of them were constantly patted on the back by the adults, congratulating the two boys for finishing the infamous tasks in their teens.
Seeing everyone in such high spirits, just because they had managed to cut down that tree, showed them just how much, how hard, and how long it had taken them to make the dent in the tree, and seeing it cut down after all that time filled the villagers, especially the elderly, with joy.
Soon, the pats and congratulations stopped, as everyone went to enjoy the food, allowing the two teens to get some time for themselves.
As Kirito and Eugeo leaned on one of the fences at the edge of the village square, both holding a bowl as they ate their portion of the food.
As they ate, Selka approached them with a smile, "Kirito-san, Eugeo-san."
Kirito swallowed the food and grinned, "Hey, Selka."
Eugeo just placed his spoon into the bowl and waved as his mouth was still full with food. Kirito then asked, "What's up?"
The young girl smiled, "Well, I didn't get to say it just now, but congratulations!"
Kirito chuckled and nodded, "Thanks."
Eugeo swallowed the food and nodded, "Yeah, thank you, Selka."
Selka giggled before she asked, "So, what are you two gonna do now?"
Kirito glanced at Eugeo, whose free arm rested on the Blue Rose Sword at his waist. The teens shared a glance and grinned, before Eugeo said, "Well, you'll just have to wait and see."
Kirito grinned and nodded, "Yeah, Gasupht-jiisan will have us announce it later anyways."
Selka just pouted, "Fine, be that way..."
Kirito and Eugeo chuckled.
Before they could continue, their attention was brought towards the stage at the center back of the village square, where Gasupht stood.
The crowd quickly quiet down as the village chief spoke, "Thank you. Now, I'm pretty sure everyone here enjoyed yourselves, right?"
The villagers all agreed. Gasupht nodded, "I'm pretty sure everyone knows this, earlier today, two young men, managed to complete the task that has been plaguing our village was decades."
The chief stared straight at the two teens, "Kirito and Eugeo! Get up here!"
The two sent Selka an apologetic glance as they quickly got on the stage, the villagers clapping as they did so.
Gasupht smiled slightly as Kirito and Eugeo stood beside him. The chief cleared his throat, silencing the crowd again, "Now, as per the rules, after anyone completes their first calling, they will be given the choice of choosing their next calling."
Gasupht turned to the teens, "So, Kirito, Eugeo, what are your next callings?"
Kirito and Eugeo shared a grin, the latter gripping the hilt of the Blue Rose Sword, and they nodded, before they said in unison, "We'll be heading for Centoria, and we'll be entering the Sword Mastery Academy."
As soon as those words left their mouths, the crowd erupted into cheers. To them, it wasn't everyday someone got to finish their original task, and these teens were going big. And most of the villagers were proud of them.
To Gasupht and Sadina, the announcement surprised them a bit, more so the man than the woman. They quickly realized what the teens were doing, and they were grateful and proud of them for that. But at the same time, they also felt guilty, as they knew the boys were doing all this for their eldest daughter.
But even as everyone cheered, among the crowd, only one young girl wasn't smiling.
(linebreak)
A while later, at night, the party had quickly ended, and everyone had finished cleaning up before they headed back to their own homes.
As the villagers left the square, soon, only Gasupht, Sadina, Selka, Kirito and Eugeo remained.
Gasupht smiled and patted Kirito on the back, "Well done, boys. I never expected you two to complete that in such a short amount of time. Though I wanted either of you to take on my mantle as village chief, striving to be a knight is very good."
Sadina shook her head with a smile and poked the man at his sides, earning a yelp from the man, causing the teens to sweatdrop.
The woman easily ignored her husband's yelps and asked, "So, when are you two leaving?"
Eugeo nodded, "Probably tomorrow, or at least within the week, the next entry test is next month, and it'll take a week to get there, plus we still need to register, and that'll probably take a week in itself."
Sadina nodded, "Yes, and you also need to find a place to stay."
Kirito shook his head, "Just before we do the test. Students from abroad are allowed to stay in the dorms, from what I've heard."
The woman frowned slightly, "Still, it'd be safer to find a place to stay first. Our village can sponsor your trip for the first month, right?"
Sadina looked at Gasupht at that last part, and the man looked like he wanted to disagree, but one subtle pinch and one look that said 'You'll-be-sleeping-on-the-couch-if-you-say-no', the village chief quickly nodded with a strained smile, "O-of course. It should be okay to provide funds for the first few weeks, months even. The two of you are the first ones to ever enter the academy after all."
Kirito and Eugeo both smiled forcefully, the former nodding, "T-thanks, Gasupht-jiisan."
Sadina let go of her husband, allowing the man to let out a breath. The man then asked, "Anyways, just out of curiosity, how did you two do it?"
Sadina nodded, "Yes, I would also like to know."
Kirito looked at Eugeo, and the black haired teen asked, "You wanna show em?"
The blonde shook his head, handing the Blue Rose Sword to Kirito, "Nah, you cut it down, you show them."
Kirito sighed and took the sword, "Fine."
He then walked away, putting some distance between him and the others, "This is something we've been practicing for a while."
Kirito took a stance, the starting stance for the sword skill 'Slant', otherwise known as the Zakkalight Style: Aoi Kazekiri, or simply 'Azure Wind Slash'.
The teen let out a breath as he let the mana from his body flow into the sword, causing it to glow light blue.
As the sword glowed, Gasupht, Sadina and Selka's eyes widened, easily recognising the tell-tale light effect of the sword skill.
Kirito then announced quietly, "Aincrad-ryu, Slant!"
He swung the blade, leaving a visible streak of light that quickly faded, like the glow on the sword, as Kirito relaxed from the stance.
As he walked back, Gasupht stuttered, "T-that was a sword skill!"
Kirito and Eugeo nodded as if it was nothing. Sadina asked, rather surprised, "Where did you learn that from?"
Kirito grinned, "From a knight."
Eugeo nodded, grinning as well, "Apparently he saw us swinging wooden swords in the forest once and decided to train us on a whim."
Not exactly the truth, but they didn't want to reveal too much just yet.
Gasupht nodded, "I, I see."
The man realized, Kirito and Eugeo may have just become two of the most dangerous men in their village. The village chief then cleared his throat, "Ermm, it's getting pretty late, I guess we should all head home now."
Sadina nodded, shaking off her shock as she smiled, "Yes, you two have a big day coming."
Kirito and Eugeo both nodded with a smile, but just as they were about to head home, Selka spoke up, "Mom, Dad, do you mind if you two head home first? I want to talk to them a little bit."
Gasupht was about to say something when Sadina quickly cut in, "Sure, just make sure not to take too long, okay?"
Selka nodded gratefully as her mother pushed her father away towards their house, whispering harshly to the man as they left.
After a short while, Kirito asked, "So, what's up?"
The girl looked down, not meeting their eyes, before she asked, "Is it for my sister?"
Kirito and Eugeo blinked, glancing at each other. The blonde teen asked, "Selka, what are you talking about?"
The girl clenched her fists, glaring up at the two older boys, "Don't lie to me! You two want to be knights, so you can go to the Central Cathedral and find my sister, am I right?!"
Selka's knuckles turned white, tears threatening to fall as she glared at the Kirito and Eugeo.
Kirito immediately understood why Selka was acting like this, and as Eugeo started to say something, Kirito cut in, "That's where you're wrong, Selka."
He sent Eugeo a glance, telling him to let him handle this, and the blonde relented, allowing Kirito to continue, "I won't lie, Alice getting sent to the church did play a role in it, but I've always wanted to be be a knight from the start."
He took a breath, "In the beginning, it was just a pipe dream, with the Gigas Cedar and all. At that time, it wasn't important if we could enter the academy or not."
Kirito smiled slightly, "But then Alice got sent away, and Eugeo and I met our teacher, and everything started to progress. Of course, we will be getting your sister back."
Kirito then looked at Selka right in the eye, "But, the original intent, the real reason why we want to become knights, is still the same. Do you know what that is?"
The girl tried to glare, but with the soft tone Kirito was using, it was hard for her to stay mad. The girl clenched her fists, forcing herself from crying, "W-what is that reason?"
Kirito smiled, "To protect you. To protect your parents, to protect everyone else in this village, our family."
Selka's anger started to fade, replaced by embarrassment instead, as she blushed slightly, "W-what?"
The teen nodded, "If all we wanted to do was get Alice back, then there are better and other ways to do it. But our original intent was to become knights, getting Alice back is just another reason we have to succeed."
Kirito patted her head, "So don't worry about all that, we'll definitely come back, and we'll be bringing your sister along with us."
Eugeo nodded, deciding to pipe in, "Yeah, Selka, don't worry too much, everything will turn out fine. It won't take long too, maybe a year or two, but we'll definitely come back."
Kirito nodded, smiling, "Yeah, what he said."
Selka closed her eyes, holding back the tears, 'That's not fair, Kirito-san, Eugeo-san...'
The girl took a breath and look at them, "Fine, but you better swear you'll come back, okay?"
Eugeo grinned, "You got it!"
Kirito nodded, before taking his hand off of Selka's head, "Yeah."
Selka forced a smile and turned, "Sorry for that, Kirito-san, Eugeo-san, I'll be going home then."
Kirito and Eugeo nodded, waving as the girl quickly walked away. Kirito then looked at his brother in all but blood, "Let's head back too, we need to prepare for our trip tomorrow."
Eugeo nodded as they headed for their house, chatting idly as they did so.
(linebreak)
With Selka, the girl entered the house, and Gasupht was about to greet her but the girl just headed straight for her room and closed the door.
The man looked at his wife, "What's up with her?"
Sadina sighed, having an idea what happened, "I'll go talk to her."
The woman went to Selka's door and knocked, "Selka?"
The girl's voice came at her, "Go away, just leave me alone."
Sadina tried to open the door, but found it was locked. The woman sighed, before she turned and walked to her husband.
Gasupht asked, "What's wrong?"
Sadina shook her head, "I think I know, but its better to just leave it for tomorrow."
The man glanced at Selka's room, "You sure?"
Sadina nodded, "Yes, now let's go to bed."
Gasupht sighed and nodded, joining his wife as they headed to bed.
With Selka, the girl sat on her bed, gripping her bed sheets tightly, as tears dropped onto her dress, 'It's not fair!'
The girl silently sobbed. She hated that Kirito and Eugeo would do so much just for her sister, and she hated herself more for thinking like that.
Selka knew Alice could only be with one of them, and she herself could only choose one, so she had told herself it would turn out fine. But it hurt so much, to know that they would go so far just for Alice.
Soon, the girl forced herself to stop crying, silently telling herself to hold back those feelings, as it was going to be a big day for Kirito and Eugeo the next day, or days.
With those thoughts in mind, the girl quickly washed herself before heading for bed.
XXX
Done! So, a small Selka moment at the end there. I originally had planned to just have Kirito and Eugeo announce their plans, add some small talks before ending it.
But then I realised, Selka's feelings were not expanded much in canon. In canon, she didn't have that much of a romantic relationship with Kirito or Eugeo, but she was always compared to Alice, and in canon, she hadn't even met her until two years after the death of Quinella.
That's why I thought, why not add that last part, to further show what she's feeling, and how her character develops.
So yeah, this marks the end of the first part of the Underworld arc. Just a note, I'm following the order of events of the Alicization arc, but making changes to it as I go.
In fact, the academy sub-arc will most probably be almost the same as canon, except with a few changed here and there.
Oh, and I know I said this chapter will be where Kirito and Eugeo head to the academy. But as I wrote, I found that I couldn't fit all of that into one chapter, so it'll be in the next one, sorry for that.
So yeah, review please. Until next time.