"Time to go!" I shouted once Asuna picked up the quest item. It was now a race against the clock as the three of us made a mad dash towards the forest exit. We were all low on Stamina and I wasn't sure how long we could run from them. As they slowly gained on us, Coper slowed down and dropped his torch to re-equip his shield. "[Shield of Faith]!" His shield glowed goldenly and a translucent spectral shield manifested itself between the nepenthes and us, stopping the monsters from being able to pursue us momentarily. However, the nepenthes were piling on top of each other, their roots and vines entangling together creating a writhing mass of horror that pushed against the shield with their combined weight. Cracks were forming and I didn't know how long the wall would hold for but I sure as hell wasn't going to stick around and find out.

"Over here!" After what felt like a marathon, the three of us burst into a small clearing where the bright moonlight wasn't obstructed by the trees. We were all at our limits in terms of Stamina but we still had no idea how much forest was left. While doing my best to catch my breath, I tried to focus my senses to gauge how far the plant monsters were behind us. But to my surprise, apart from our heavy breathing, there was nothing but silence all around us.

"Where are we right now?"

"Give me a second," I said as I pulled up the map of this area. "We're almost out, just a little more."

Crack.

A chill went down my back as I heard the sound of a twig snap. I quickly turned around to see what caused it but there was nothing but the shadows of the trees. Panic surged through me. I wanted to believe that it was my mind playing tricks on me but deep down I knew something was there. I threw my torch forward to shed some light but before it even hit the ground, something caught it and the fire was snuffed out. "We need to get out of here." Suddenly, a tentacle-like object lashed out at me from the darkness. It was by instinct alone that I was able to deflect the attack with my katana but even then, the force of the blow knocked me on my back.

"Kirito!"

"What the hell was that?!"

I scrambled back onto my feet as fast as I could while Asuna and Coper got ready for another fight. The vine that attacked me slowly retracted back and a guttural growl came from within the trees. Out of the bushes, a large monstrosity crawled under the moonlight on stocks that have hardened to act as legs. It was a twisted mutation of the [Little Nepenthes] with girthier vines that had thorns on its sides and a mouth at its ends. Its body looked like a fruit that had ripened and out of it bloomed a head that was nothing but a giant mouth with rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth. Rosy petals sprouted out of its neck and caught the clear saliva that was dripping out of its mouth.

It was a [Large Nepenthes].

"Run, now!" I yelled as soon as I realized what it was. But the plant monster didn't come out all this way just to let its prey escape. Its long vines burrowed into the ground and I recognized the skill immediately. "It's using [Entangle]! Use your movement skill!"

I flash stepped without a second's hesitation to anywhere but where I was currently and when I looked back, I saw vines shoot up from under the ground of where I was standing just a second ago. I quickly looked to Asuna and was glad to see that she followed my command without question. If we were to get caught up in those vines, it would spell the end of us. I then searched for Coper and saw that the vines were closing in on him. "Coper, use [Dash]! Quickly!" But for some reason, Coper refused to use his skill and with each millisecond he delayed, the vines got closer to him. "Use [Dash]! Coper, use [Dash]!"

"I have no more Stamina!" My eyes widened at that revelation and my body went cold with dread. 'Was that [Shield of Faith] the last of his Stamina?' Before I could contemplate further, the vines of the [Large Nepenthes] sprouted out from the ground and restrained Coper's legs. Once he fell to the ground, the vines then wrapped around his arms before encasing his entire torso. "Help! Help!"

As Coper screamed for help, my ears started to ring. We had to help him. He was going to die if we didn't save him. I had to help him. My body started to turn back on its own but a pair of arms held me back. "Let me go! We can still-"

"It's too late!" said Asuna as she pulled me back with all of her strength. "It's too late, Kirito!"

"Save me! Kirito! Asuna! Please save me!" The more he begged, the harder I fought against Asuna's grasp but she would not let go of me. Despite catching several elbows to the face and body, she did not relent. All she said was, 'it's too late, it's too late.' 'Don't you understand? Coper is about to-'

I could not finish my thought because the [Large Nepenthes] had caught up to its prey. At that moment, I locked eyes with Coper and saw the tears streaming down his face. As he begged me to save him one last time, all I could do was whisper an unheard apology.

Name's Coper, by the way, it's an honor to meet the infamous Black Swordsman.

"AHHHHHH!"

Oh yeah? Wah orf ou goomph to foo ow?

"SAVE ME, PLEASE!"

To new friendships then.

"AAHHHHHHH!"

Alright, our party shall henceforth be known as the Three Musketeers!

"..."

The blood-curdling screams of pain made me want to throw up, hide, look away, but I could not do any of that. All I could do was sit there paralyzed and watch as the monster devoured Coper. "W-We need to run," said Asuna with panic in her voice as she tugged at my arm. I heard her but I was unable to move. "Kirito, please, we need to get out of here!"

Her grip on me loosened and at that moment, I broke free from her and charged at the monster that killed Coper. I didn't know what I was thinking. All I knew was that my friend was dead and I needed to avenge him somehow. I lept in the air and jammed my sword right through its blood-stained mouth but it did next to nothing to its health bar. The [Large Nepenthes] batted me off as if I was just a fly and went back to its meal. At that moment, I wanted to cry from how powerless I felt. 'Why am I so weak?'

"Get up, Kirito! Get up!" Even as I was being dragged away, my eyes were still unable to leave that scene in front of me. As we ran out of the forest, the moment of Coper's death was played again and again in my mind.

[Secret Medicine of the Forest] has been completed!

"Thank you, thank you so much for this! I didn't know how much longer my daughter would have lasted had you not come through with the ovule!" How ironic that we were able to save this NPC's daughter but weren't able to save the life of a real person. The weight of the [Anneal Blade] felt hollow in my hands. The ebony blade was encased by high-quality steel that made up its edge and a small sapphire was embedded in the silver guard. This is what you died for Coper. A sword.

As soon as I got the reward for the quest, I walked out of the house. Behind me, I could hear Asuna's footsteps following. "Kirito. Kirito, will you please talk to me?"

I stopped in my tracks and turned towards her, "What do you want me to say?" My voice came out sharper and more bitter than I meant it but I could care less about that right now.

"Anything! You haven't said a single word since we came back!"

"There's nothing to say, Asuna. It's like you said, it was too late. He was the one that mismanaged his Stamina and got himself caught. Nothing more we could have done. Case closed."

"Why are you acting like this?"

"This is how I am!" I said as I walked up to her and held up the [Anneal Blade]. "I got what I came here for. You and Coper were useful but now that I have my unique item, I don't need you anymore so go find someone else to party with."

Slap!

She didn't hold anything back and the sting on my cheek was harsh enough to clear my head to the point where I realized how much my words were hurting her. "You can do what you want but don't pretend like you are the only one suffering from Coper's death. I was there, the same as you, and I saw it too."

"I'm not suffering-"

"Stop." I felt a lump form in my throat when she interrupted me and I wanted to blink away the tears that were welling up in my eyes. "You don't have to pretend with me."

"It was too dangerous. I knew it was too fucking dangerous. I should have called it off or done more or come up with a better plan." I could not look her in the eyes anymore and as I looked down, I felt the tears begin to fall. "I'm so weak. I can't even protect my friends on the first floor. I couldn't save him. I won't be able to save you."

"Stop…"

"It was my fault. He's never going to see his family again and it was my fault."

"No!" She wrapped her arms around me and I felt that her whole body was shaking. "If you are guilty then so am I. This is our burden to share, not yours to bear alone. I- Please...I can't bear it alone either..."

I hugged her back as tightly as I could and we both cried into each other's embrace. We sought the support we both needed from each other and allowed the floodgates of emotions to pour out. I had wallowed in guilt by myself but I wasn't alone anymore. I had someone I could rely on. Someone that has risked her life for me. Someone that knew my demons. Someone I could give back the same support I received. It was at that moment that I knew that, live or die, our fates were intertwined now.

We stayed together that night. The thought of facing the inevitable nightmare alone was too terrifying for both of us. As we laid on the bed back to back, Asuna said, "More people we meet along the way are going to die before this is over."

"Mhmm," I confirmed softly.

"We're going to make it."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"What else do you see in our future?"

There was a moment of silence before she said, "We're going to kill that monster."

I laid awake for a while longer but the accumulated fatigue of the day had finally caught up to me. As my mind sank deeper into sleep, I felt Asuna snuggle up to my chest. Too tired to care about propriety at that point, I wrapped my arms around her body and closed my eyes.

When I woke up, I found myself alone in bed. Asuna was already cooking breakfast by the time I went downstairs. She didn't broach the subject so I saw no need to bring it up either. The weeks following that day were a blur. From dawn to dusk, we did nothing but eat, sleep, and kill monsters. Rarely taking a break and rarely even talking to each other apart from when we were discussing combat tactics. By the end of the first week, newcomers started showing up in the village just like Coper predicted. Every time we noticed a new party, we would warn them of the [Large Nepenthes] that roamed deep within the forest. Part of it was to keep them safe but to my shame, a larger part of it was so that our prey wouldn't be killed by a random party. We were two people possessed and we needed to slay this demon ourselves otherwise it would haunt us for the rest of our lives.

It took us three weeks of grinding to get to a high enough level and another week after that to find the [Large Nepenthes] again. The sword that I had wedged into its mouth remained. I had feared that we would kill another of its kind and delude ourselves into thinking that the score was settled but now, there was no mistaking it. This was the one that killed our friend. This was the one we needed to kill before we moved on.

There was no hesitation. As soon as I saw that disgusting plant, I placed my [Death Mark] and made a beeline for it. Sensing the threatening presence, the [Large Nepenthes] turned towards us and buried its roots into the ground but both of us were more than ready for it. I easily flash stepped into the air while Asuna used [Evasive Footwork] to sidestep the roots that were coming out of the ground with the minimum movement required.

The [Anneal Blade] blazed red with fury and the [Large Nepenthes] was left with a gaping gash on its head. The [Death Mark] triggered and the monster suffered another wave of damage as dark energy exploded from within it. The plant's green blood oozed out from all over its body and its natural armor began rotting away from the effects of my skill.

The overgrown weed retaliated by releasing yellow pollen from its body while unleashing a barrage of vine attacks onto me. I held my breath to not breathe any of the alien substance in, however, despite my efforts, my limbs grew rigid. Dodging and blocking became harder and the thorns on the vines shredded my flesh while the mouth on the vines sank their teeth into me.

My Health was dropping rapidly so I used [Way of the Phoenix] to sustain myself with the lifesteal but it was not a viable long-term solution as the damage I took exceeded the amount I healed. However, I wasn't fighting alone, while the [Large Nepenthes] had its attention on me, Asuna had more than enough time to land a hit on a Vital. The monster roared out in pain as it suddenly suffered a heavy blow but it was just the beginning.

Once the first Vital was struck, [Lethal Tempo] kicked in and Asuna gained not only a burst of attack speed but a burst of movement speed as well. Weaving between its roots, she struck two Vitals in quick session and lunged for a third. The monstrosity swung its vines widely and tried to catch the agile swordswoman with its maw but it had forgotten once again that we were not fighting alone.

With a [Flash Step], I teleported right beside its maw and interrupted its attack with my own causing it to rear its ugly head towards me instead. But this time it was Asuna who stepped in with a [Riposte], not only blocking the attack but striking yet another Vital at the same time. With a loud battlecry, both of our blades glowed golden, "For Coper!" The [Large Nepenthes] tried one last time to capture us with its vines but like a hot shear, we sliced through its limbs before finally taking off its head. The gigantic mouth hit the ground with a thud before the rest of its body collapsed along with it, shattering into a million pieces.

You have gained a new title!

Under normal circumstances, I would have checked what the new title was but at that moment, it didn't even register in my mind. I immediately turned to Asuna and tears began rolling down my cheek. "We did it…" Her lips quivered and all she could do was nod as she stifled a cry. "Coper, we did it!" I yelled out at the top of my lungs as I brought her in for a strong hug. We finally gave ourselves the right to move on. We finally felt ready to start living again.

Before leaving Horunka, we went to visit Coper's grave one last time. His body was no longer there but we made a small shrine with some rocks and his equipment for closure. I left some fresh flowers but I had nothing more to say. The best I could do for my friend now was to beat this game and save the lives that were remaining.

"To Tolbana?"

"Yes, time to meet some old friends."

You have 2 new messages!

Message 1

From: Diavel

Subject: First Floor Boss Strategy Meeting

Greetings players,

You may not know me but my name is Diavel and the reason I am sending you this message is to inform you of a strategy meeting that is taking place in Tolbana on December 2nd at 16:00 at the amphitheater. My party and I have found the Floor Boss dungeon and we have plans to clear it, however, we will need your help to accomplish this task. I know these are trying times but in order for us to, not only, clear this floor but the whole game, we must overcome our fears and band together. Our fate is in our hands. Let this be the first step we take to going back to the real world.

I hope to see you all at Tolbana.

Diavel

Message 2

From: Diavel

Subject: Clearers Meeting

Noon, December 1st The Tiny Albatross Inn, Room 204