The next morning, our new three-man party went to visit the quest giver, a missus in the village who had a sick daughter that she tended to. When we inquired about her daughter's illness, she invited us into her home. It was a small one-floor house with just the bare necessities, a design that was fitting for the small village that we were in. Even though it was lacking in luxury compared to the houses that were in the Town of Beginnings, it still held a very welcoming and warm atmosphere. A brief thought flashed through my mind that this was the kind of house I would prefer but I was snapped out of my daydream when I heard the steady sound of a child coughing in a room inside the house.

"Maria has always been a sickly child, but this time it's different. None of the medicine sold at the market is working and I'm starting to get worried for her safety," said Ana, the mother.

"How long has she been sick for?" asked Asuna.

"It's been almost two months now, but recently her condition has gotten worse so I started asking around the village for help. Perhaps that's how you heard about my situation?"

"Sure…" I said, earning me an elbow jab from Asuna.

"How can we help?" she asked.

"I used to be an alchemist, back in the day. I know of a potion that can be brewed using the [Nepenthes' Ovule]. However, as you can see, I'm not much of a fighter and those predatory plants are very dangerous." Ana grabbed onto Asuna's hand as she said this. "Please save my daughter. She's the only one I have. I have no one else to turn to. Please."

It was hard to distinguish NPCs from players at times like these. The desperation in her voice and the fear in her eyes felt so real that you forgot you were in a game. It was reminiscent of the same look my aunt would have when Suga got sick or hurt. The same look she would have when I got sick or hurt.

Quest: Secret Medicine of the Forest

Description: Ana's daughter, Maria, has been sick for a long time and has shown no signs of improvement. Ana needs your help in gathering a rare alchemical ingredient needed to brew a healing potion.

Objective: Bring back 1 [Nepenthes' Ovule] to Ana.

Reward: You will receive 1,000 Cor. Ana's affinity will increase by 50 points. Your reputation in Horunka will increase slightly.

Failure: Ana's affinity will decrease by 50 points. Your reputation in Horunka will decrease slightly.

O Accept / X Decline

"W-We'll try our best," said Asuna, a little taken aback by the scene.

"Thank you!"

"Are you okay?" I asked Asuna once we stepped out of the house.

"That was just a little more intense than I expected, that's all," she said.

"Sucks that the [Anneal Blade] is no longer the reward for this quest," said Coper.

"We're still going to help her, right?"

"1,000 Cor isn't bad and the [Little Nepenthes] is good EXP too," I assured her, although I too was feeling disappointed about not being able to secure the rare weapon. "Before we start, let's talk about the plan first. There are three distinct types of [Little Nepenthes]; normal, flower, and fruit. The normal ones have no special features and will have nothing growing on their heads. The flower ones are the ones we are looking for and will drop the ovule once killed. Finally, the ones that have fruits growing on their heads should not be killed. Otherwise, it will attract swarms of [Grass Beetle] to our location which will put a drag on our hunt."

"Wouldn't leaving the ones with fruit alive also put a drag on our hunt?" asked Asuna.

"The best way would be to have one person pick up the aggro of the fruit nepenthes and then lead them away from the hunting area before coming back. I don't mind doing it since I have [Flash Step] to drop the aggro."

"We can adopt a standard trinity setup then. I'll be the tank, Asuna can be the damage dealer, and Kirito will be the support," Coper suggested.

"I have no complaints with that idea," I said. "You?" Asuna shook her head. "Alright, then let's go save little Maria."

Despite its namesake, there was nothing little about these Level 3 plant monsters that stood one and a half meters tall. Its lower body consisted of roots that allowed it to move and it had arm-like vines with pointed leaves attached to both sides of its bodies. It looked like a giant daikon with pink spots and at the center of its head was a wide red mouth. Each time the mouth opened or closed, a strange liquid that looked like saliva would dribble out of it. If I had to rank monsters by how hideous they were, the [Little Nepenthes] would be at the top of the list. For two whole days, I had these nightmare fuels chase me around the forest. About 20% of all the [Little Nepenthes] consisted of fruit-bearing ones so it took a long time to gather them all.

On the first day, it was hard to manage the aggro of all of them so that they stuck to me and didn't wander off. A monster's aggro was determined by a hidden hate value that fluctuated based on a long list of factors, including the amount of damage players were dealing, the amount of damage players were taking and specific hate altering skills. It was a lot harder than I thought since the number wasn't displayed and at the end of the day, I had a lot more respect for the tank players that played the role back in the beta. Thankfully, they weren't as fast as the [Grass Beetle] so I had time to adjust if I made a mistake. Overall, the whole ordeal was more disturbing to my mental health than it was stressful.

By the end of the second day, we killed almost a hundred [Little Nepenthes] and our pace was only improving as I got better at aggro management. It also helped that I picked up the common skill [Hiding Lvl. 1], which made it easier to vanish after using [Flash Step]. "Based on the pace we are going at and the drop rate of the ovule, we should be able to finish up our quest within the next day and a half," I said as we sat around a table at the inn.

"We were so close to the hundred mark today. We could have gone a little longer and maybe we would already have the ovule," said Asuna.

"Monster hunting gets too dangerous at night," I said, shutting down the idea. "There still hasn't been any newcomers to town yet so we aren't under any kind of pressure to rush."

"I'm just worried about little Maria, that's all," she said.

"You have a kind heart but they are just NPCs at the end of the day. Even if we treated her daughter today, she'll just get sick again tomorrow so that the quest can be offered again," said Coper. "More importantly, the fields around the Town of Beginnings will be known quantities at this point and even the safest players will feel comfortable hunting there. I wouldn't be surprised if it's already overcrowded. The braver ones will start showing up in Horunka or Medai by the end of the week to avoid the competition there."

"Moving on to Tolbana isn't out of the question once we hit Level 5 or 6. After we are done with this quest, we should consider staying ahead of the curve," I said. "The quest reward for the [Secret Medicine of the Forest] is only money, there's no point in doing it again."

"I agree, there'll be more lucrative quests if we get to Tolbana first, we should press on," said Coper before adding, "That is if you'll still have me."

Asuna smirked, "Wow, so polite all of a sudden."

"Gotta stay professional in case you reject me."

"We make a good team; tank, support, damage dealer. There's a reason it's called the holy trinity of RPGs," I said.

"Then it's official?" asked Coper.

"I'm fine with it."

"Ditto."

"Alright, our party shall henceforth be known as the Three Musketeers!" said Coper as he raised his mug.

"Pfft, how is that name going to work when we eventually need more people?" I laughed. "How about Kirito Carries You?"

Asuna complained, "Your DPS is the lowest among us!"

"That's because I'm playing support!"

"Okay, it sounds like the time for the bard to play the Black Swordsman again. Bard!"

"No, no, no, I will pay you double if you play anything else!"

The three of us were having so much fun that, for a brief moment, we forgot about the death game that we were trapped in. Unfortunately, our merriment was interrupted when an unexpected guest approached us. "Excuse me, have you guys had any luck in getting the ovule?" asked Ana.

Coper and I were both shocked by what was happening since this wasn't something the NPC did in the beta. They were programmed to follow a fairly consistent routine and would rarely approach the players unless it was for a quest. It was Asuna that responded, "No, but we've made good headway, we should be able to find one tomorrow morning."

"No, tomorrow morning might be too late! Please, Maria's condition is worsening as we speak, I need the ovule or else I fear my daughter will not make it through the night." Ana's eyes were filled with tears as she got on her knees in front of us. "I know it's dangerous to fight monsters at night but I have no one else to turn to. If money isn't enough, I have a family heirloom that I can offer as well. I beg of you, please save my daughter!"

Quest Update: Secret Medicine of the Forest

Description: Maria's condition has worsened and her life is in danger. Ana needs the ovule tonight or else she will lose her daughter. In her desperation, she has offered her family heirloom as compensation for the quest.

Objective: Bring back 1 [Little Nepenthes' Ovule] to Ana before the end of the night.

Reward: You will receive the [Anneal Blade]. Ana's affinity will increase by 100. Your reputation in Horunka will increase moderately.

Failure: Ana's affinity will decrease by 100. Your reputation in Horunka will decrease slightly. Maria will die.

'Quest NPCs could die? I thought all of them were flagged as essential. If Maria dies, how will the quest be reoffered?' "Kirito…" My thoughts were interrupted though when I saw the stat block of the family heirloom.

[Anneal Blade]

An exceptional black iron blade crafted by a skilled blacksmith. It has been in Ana's family for many generations and is as old as the Black Iron Palace.

+50 HP

+50 SP

Damage: 11

Durability: 150/150

Weight: 10

Rarity: Rare*

*Unique

Incredible! It was better than its beta version across the board. The Unique status also meant that there was only one of its kind. If improved, this sword could last until the end of Floor 3. My excitement lasted only for a moment before it died down again, "It's still too risky to hunt at night..."

"Are we really going to pass this up? If Maria dies, this quest will never be offered again."

"Please Kirito, this woman needs our help. We've never been in trouble so far, we'll be even more careful now."

This wasn't mana from the heavens. There was a reason why the reward increased so dramatically; Kayaba knew exactly what kind of risks hunting at night entailed. I wanted to remain firm in my decision but when I saw Ana with her head still on the ground begging for her daughter's life, I couldn't bear to say no. "If our Health drops to the yellow zone, we come back."

My party members nodded and the pleading mother finally let out a sob of relief, "Thank you, heroes! Thank you!"

"Don't thank us yet." I stood up and tossed a torch each to Coper and Asuna. "It'll be a long night."

The light from the village became dimmer and dimmer with each step we took back into the forest. The beaten path faded beneath our feet and we were left with nothing but our torchlight to guide us in the dark woods. During the day, there was nothing to fear in these woods, but at night, with the darkness leaving us half-blind, all it took was one wrong step.

"Will you be okay without your shield?"

"Won't be able to tank as many hits," responded Coper.

"That's putting it lightly."

We were able to hear our targets before we could even see them. The sound of their heavy roots dragging across the dirt gave us plenty of warning ahead of time. "Are we still using the same strategy?" asked Asuna as the three of us hovered thirty feet away from the nepenthes.

"No, we want to avoid fighting as much as possible. In the morning, we were forcing new spawns by killing the existing nepenthes in the area but there's no point in doing that now since there won't be enough time for the new ones to appear. We'll look specifically for the one that has the ovule," I said as I tried to see if there was a flower-bearing one in the group ahead of us. "We'll need to get closer. The nepenthes don't rely on sight to find their prey so stay quiet and upwind."

The two of them gave an affirmative nod and we began to slowly creep forward. My heart was beating fiercely in my chest and my lungs were demanding more air, but the sound of my breathing already seemed too loud to my ears. I peeked through the bushes and prayed to see the red flower blooming on one of their ugly heads but we were not so lucky.

We froze when one of the plant monsters started approaching us. I saw Asuna's hand move towards her blade but I caught her eye and shook my head. The creature was so close that we could hear its low growls coming out of its monstrously big mouth and see the saliva that was dripping onto the ground. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of my face as I prepared myself for the worst but, thankfully, the monster left us before anything else happened. The three of us exchanged a look and we moved on to another section of the forest.

This continued for hours as we sifted through the woods trying to find a flower-bearing nepenthes. Many times my heart stopped when I thought we had been spotted and the tension was starting to strain our nerves. "Does the ovule even exist?" cursed Coper.

"Be patient, it has to be here if there's a quest for it," I said, more for myself than for anyone else.

"Guys, look!" said Asuna excitedly as she pointed forward. Under a ray of moonlight that filtered through the trees, a single red flower bloomed amidst the garden of fruits that surrounded it.

"I guess if it was easy we wouldn't be getting a Unique sword," said Coper as he turned to me with a smile. "You ready?"

"Let's do this." Our prize was surrounded by nepenthes rigged with the fruit trap so we had to approach this carefully. Once we got as close as we could, I circled to the opposite side while making as much noise as possible to get the nepenthes on the outer edges to follow me. Once the numbers around the target dwindled to a few bodyguards, that's when Coper and Asuna made their move.

Asuna went straight for the ovule while Coper did his best to cover her. This whole plan rested on how fast she could kill the target. If she was nervous then she didn't show it. The only thing she was focused on was the Vital that only her eyes could see. The [Little Nepenthes] tried to stop her with its vine whip but she nimbly dodged it by ducking under it and closed the distance with [Lunge]. Her skinny blade made contact with the nepenthes' body and green liquid spewed out from the other side.

"Good hit!" Coper called out. The monster screeched in pain and tried to retaliate by swallowing her whole but its bite was countered with [Riposte]. As soon as she blocked the attack, she struck out again with the extra attack speed she got from [Rhythmic Strike] and hit her second Vital. "One more!"

The [Little Nepenthes] was on its last leg but it did not yield so easily. Without [Riposte] to protect her, the monster knocked her back with its roots before she could finish the job and slammed her with its vine whips. Her HP bar instantly fell to the yellow zone and I felt a wave of panic wash over me. "I got her! You focus on keeping those bastards away!" said Coper but he was currently surrounded. If he went to help Asuna, he would suffer many hits and be in a dangerous spot himself.

Right as I was about to sprint back, Asuna stopped both of us in our tracks, "No!" Despite the horrible pain that she must have just suffered, she slowly got up from the ground and raised her guard. "I got this."

With eyes full of fire, she charged at the monster with her glowing rapier. The [Little Nepenthes] tried to keep her at bay with its roots but Asuna jumped forward to avoid the grounded attack. With a twisted grin, the monster followed up with its vines on the airborne target that had nowhere to dodge to. I held my breath for what seemed like the end but Asuna was ready for it. Her saber glowed green and a flurry of blows parried both vine attacks leaving the monster with one last option. Its great maw opened up and revealed its razor-sharp teeth, but right before its jaws could snap shut, the monster dissolved into a million different rainbow pieces. The bright shards fell around her like snow and at that moment, under the light of the moon, I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world.