Hello everyone! I haven't forgotten about you all, I promise!

Now, I know that I had mentioned that I would wait until both stories had two chapters each before uploading but I realised how unfair that would be for you all. So because of that, this was the one that I was able to do easily and had sat down with a friend and got his input on the matter and it meant giving you this chapter!

In regards to Enter the King: I still need to do re-writes of some of the earlier chapters but I also need to make a change for the end of the last chapter; I have actually shot myself in the foot with how I ended the chapter and will need to swap that end part for something else and then add the removed part into the next chapter so I'm able to write freely again and without trapping myself.

Anyways! A very long-awaited chapter five! I hope you all enjoy! =^.^=

~Chapter Five~
~The Battle Begins Now!~

~Floor One: Northern Fields~

Having settled for knowing that sleep would not come so easily to him tonight after the events of the day so far; the search of the labyrinthian grove, the surprise appearance of his sister-figure, the near-death at the hands of the mimic Prince and the surprise he had gotten during the hot springs with the others; Naruto slowly made his way out to the northern fields of the first floor for a moonlight stroll; a small habit he picked up whenever he couldn't sleep. Allowing himself a small comfortable smile to settle on his face as the night breeze hit his face, he moved his hands to the back of his head and gazed upwards towards the artificial moon and lost himself in its glow. He had noticed that the enemies changed based on the time of day and on weather changes, adding a new level of danger to the game since he knew that stronger predators and enemies would appear at night than they would in the day; mentally taking note about speaking with the others about the possibility of nighttime dungeons being stronger variants of the daytime versions.

"Never pegged you for a nighttime stroller, Ruto-kun~"

Tilting his head over his shoulder, he found his fellow blonde watching him and slowly keeping a few paces behind him as he walked. He was impressed that he hands even noticed her presence the entire time since leaving the inn and knew that there was much more to his blonde companion than she would let on. Offering a small smile, he lowers his hands and slows down enough for Argo to walk side by side with him and noted she quickly matched his pace in walking down the dirt-covered path. He noted that she was wearing her usual cloak to hide her lithe body frame yet left her hood open for all to see; allowing him a moment to take the sight of her in and simply enjoy the company from his nighttime companion.

"One of the few simple pleasures, Ar-chan. Just like to lose myself in the moon's glow and the soft comforting feel of the nightly zephyrs blowing through my hair and caressing my face like a long-lost lover." he described for her poetically, earning a soft smile from her as she took a step closer to Naruto and continued to walk beside him. The two of them were so comfortable in the silence and neither of them needed to speak as they continued to walk.

"So where are we going?" Argo asked him around three minutes later, tilting her head slightly to look up at the whiskered-player.

"I want to see Prince Namizu. I have a feeling that he knows more than he lets on and I want to ask his advice on what awaits us." he replied quietly, letting the night relax him and soothe his body from the adrenaline from earlier. Argo simply hummed in response as she made an emboldened move and slowly wrapped an arm around his, earning a curious look from the male but soon dismissed it as he pulled her closer. "Are you..?" he trailed off, feeling her pressing closer to him.

"It's a little chilly for my tastes but you're incredibly warm, Ruto-kun~ it's a nice heat you're giving off, sa~" she responded coyly as she smirked up to him, earning a grin in response as the two shared a small laugh before continuing on their way. It had taken them both an hour to reach the grove in which they cleared earlier on that day; passing the time with one another with small talk and the occasional digs and jabs directed to Kirito for his asshole persona and many laughs at his expense. The two of them stood still and noted how much more animated the mimics were at night and admired how carefree they acted when not in danger or under threat. He sharply whistled, earning the attention of the roaming mimics around him and beckoned the closest one to him to come forward.

"Hello, little one! Would you be so kind as to fetch Prince Namizu for me please?" he asked, pulling out a small bag of Col and placing it into the mouth of the mimic. Skittering happily for the token, it quickly scampered off to do as asked. Not even five minutes later, the smaller mimics parted way as the Prince made his presence known; internally surprised that they would seek him out so soon and after their confrontation earlier on. He also smiled and approved of the respect shown when the two of them bowed towards him in greeting and gave a small bow in response.

"I will admit that I did not expect you to seek out my counsel so soon. I had seen the small token that you had given one of my kin and for that, I thank you. What is it you seek?" the Prince commented, earning a sigh of relief from both players.

"Sorry to disturb you so late into the night but I was wondering if you would be able to give any help in regards to what awaits us beyond the grove." Argo spoke up softly, surprising Naruto for taking the lead but also grinning at the imitative. The Prince paused for a moment as it slowly settled down and stayed still.

"I suppose there is a little slither of information that I can give, in response to your initiative, little girl." Argo bristled slightly from the comment but a hand on her shoulder slowly brought her back down to calm, missing the small smirk as the Prince saw the reaction."I cannot give too much away but I will direct your attention to the booklet that each player has in their inventory."

Naruto and Argo both nodded as they both pulled the small object that they were talking about; a small brown-leather handbook the size of a hand that both of them slowly opened up the pages. "This booklet was written by the original Beta players of this game during the development stages and it contains all the hidden areas, weapons, loot, bosses, dungeons and farming spots for the first floor; since none of the players ever managed to reach any floors above the one we are currently on. It also contains information based on the first Boss of the game; Illfang."

"Illfang; the Kobold Lord. Says that he has four bars of health and he has several minions that will spawn with him and in different intervals if all of them have been killed for a certain time. Also mentions that the last bar indicates a shift of battle; the adds will stop re-spawning once they hit this threshold and that he swaps out his weapon for a talwar?" Naruto read from the book to the Prince and looked up in confusion, earning a nod from Namizu.

"Discard it."

Both pair of eyes snapped to him and looked shocked in response to the sudden shift in tone and the sharp words as the Prince watched them with a neutral face (well, as neutral as a mimic can I guess?) as he reached down and touched the page; both players noting the slight change in the text. "There has been a small change in regards to the weapon in which Illfang pulls out once he reaches his final bar of health. Instead of the original talwar that was used in the Beta; Illfang will, instead, use a nodachi."

"Okay. I'm confused as to why the type of weapon would be a thing for concern though." Argo commented as her brows furrowed in deep thought as she pondered why this information was important.

"Simple," Naruto interrupted after a moment, earning the attention of the mimic and the blonde as they turned to face him, "It might sound inconsequential but there's a major difference between the two. The main issues is that a nodachi reaches further and it does a lot more damage to boot." he explained, skimming through the battle guide that's in the book. "It says that if players surround him that he will do a wide circle attack and the extra reach would throw the players off when they still get hit by the range of the attack. Not to mention the conal attack if everyone stands in front of him." he deduced snapping the book shut and pocketing it.

"I am impressed that you know the danger in which this poses, Naruto. But now you have this small intake of information, what will you do about it?" the Prince asked them both, stunning them at the use of the taller blond''s first name. Argo was about to comment but Naruto heat her to the punch and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We let the other players know. We can't keep something of this magnitude to ourselves in the hope of surviving. The others need to know." he commented, earning a startled look as Argo stood in front of him defiantly.

"Naruto, you realise the amount of Col we can make off this piece of information!?" she argued heatedly in response. Naruto glared at her and it made her flinch seeing his usually vibrant eyes turned into cold glacial chips.

"No amount of money can ever buy back amount life, Argo. Yes, there will be a time where we can make a profit from information and in exchange; better equip the other players for the remaining floors," he trailed off, sighing in exhaustion as Argo let loose the breath she didn't realise she was holding. Naruto looked at her and she saw a new side of him she hadn't expected before; "This kind of information can save lives. I can't stand back knowing this and not wanting to help someone. If they die, it would be my fault since I would be too selfish to warn others. I wouldn't be able to live with that guilt, Ar-chan." he trailed off, feeling drained.

Argo said nothing during the entire response as she watched just how passionately he spoke and she felt... outclassed. She knew she was stronger and more well-versed in this game they were all trapped in but she couldn't find a single fault in his argument. She nodded silently with her head down, missing the hand that softly rubbed her head before her eyes closed and enjoyed the small token of affection.

"... I knew I was right to spare you. There is a lot of pressure surrounding you and a lot of mystery in store for you that not even I can guess as to what will occur. Yet I can see how much you give for others and how little you seem to take for yourself. I will enjoy to see what you become, Naruto." the Prince smirked as he slowly stood back to his feet. Naruto smiled as he bowed his head in respect as a small circle appeared underneath their feet, earning confused glances. "A Teleport Crystal. I have devoured several foolish players who lacks the respect and selflessness you possess. Think of this as a small token of reaffirming my belief that there is someone different." the Prince finished as the two disappeared from sight. The remaining mimics skittered about a few moments before following the Prince as they all took shelter for the night.

~SAO:AC~

~Floor One: Town of Beginnings~

The two of them soon blinked as they realised that they had been taken back to the main town and a few minutes away from the inn. Before the two of them could say anything, Naruto felt his head get smacked by a small rock. Rubbing his head and turning to whoever threw it, he noted a smug Kirito throwing a rock up and down in his hand.

"Well well wellll! Out for a midnight stroll with no-one around, hmm? Tsk tsk, what would your sister say?" Kirito smirked, taunting the blonde. He yelped when something hard smacked the back of his head and dropped the pebble as both hands cradled his head.

"For you to shut up, Baka!" said sister spoke as she stepped from behind the ravenett and before the two blonds. She looked straight into his eyes and searched for a few moments before smiling and hugging him, earning a light head scratch in response that made her snuggle further into him. "Did you get what you were after, onii-sama?" she asked sleepily, enjoying her head petting.

"Yeah, we got what we were after. Well talk about it more at this 'conference' thing tomorrow." he replied, earning a nod from the three of them since it was reaching nearly two in the morning. They had all gotten to their own room except for Naruto and Kazuko as they moved into his room.

"Kazu-chan?" Naruto softly called out, earning the attention of the redhead as she sat in front of him. "I'm glad you're here but... why did you join the game knowing what was in store?" he asked softly, looking into her amber eyes. She dipped her head as her hands clenched on her thighs, knowing that her nerves were getting the better of her at that moment.

"I..." she trailed off softly, "I couldn't stay outside knowing you were in danger. I couldn't bring myself to bare the thought that any moment that there was a chance that you'd never make it out alive and I couldn't bare the thought that I would never tell you that I-" she started passionately before clamping her hands over her mouth and scrunching her eyes. She was about to bolt out of the room but a pair of arms kept her from going anywhere and she squirmed in his grip.

"Kazu-chan... please." he whispered softly, halting her attempt to break free as she heard the soft tone that made her shiver. He felt her move in his arms as her body pressed into his, her hands cupping his cheeks and resting her head on his.

"Onii- no. Naru-kun." she half-moaned, earning his full attention from the sound of her voice and for using his full name. "I couldn't forgive myself if I lost you without telling you that.. I-I..." she stammered before pulling him closer and staring into his vibrant eyes and letting a few tears fall as she smiled warmly.

"I love you."

Naruto had no chance to respond as his eyes widened in shock from feeling a soft pair of lips press against his, noting how soft and silky they felt over his own. He slowly closed his eyes as his body burned from the warmth of the sudden kiss as his hands pulled her tighter to him as the two slowly lost themselves into the kiss. A few moments later, the two pulled away as they stared into glossy eyes.

"Kazu-chan. . I have always dreamed of you saying those words to me." he confessed, earning a shocked look. "I've never really gotten close to many people and... meeting you was the moment I knew that I'd eventually wind up falling for you. I-I love you too, Kazu-chan. I've tried to keep thinking of you as a sister but I can't help but see you as a beautiful woman and the feelings grew stronger the more time we spent together. I can't even control my body when it comes to you, admittedly..." he confessed further, blushing hard and looking away.

He felt a hand tilt his head up again as she slowly stroked his cheek, before feeling her lips over his once more. She softly pushed him down onto his back as she climbed to straddle him, pressing her lips harder against his. The two of them lost themselves as they continues to kiss one another and pour all their pent-up affections for one another before feeling the need to breathe. The two slowly pulled back against panted as they stared at one another and smiled, knowing no more words needed to be said before resuming their actions and going well into the night.

~SAO:AC~

~Floor One: Amphitheater~

The group of eight had taken to sitting near the bottom of the seating area, close to the stage, since they knew they would need to make their announcements during this 'meeting'. There looked to be about a good seventy or more players about that had caught wind of this and made it to pitch in ideas about how to tackle the first Boss. A figure caught everyone's attention as he made his way to the front and onto the stage area on the bottom; dressed in a light blue get up with a sword strapped to his waist and a shield resting on his back with a cross motif emblazoned in the middle. Clapping his hands a few times to get everyone's attention, he stared with a soft smile on his face.

"Hey, everyone! Thank you for coming to our little pow-wow! My name is Diabel and you could say I'm somewhat of a knight!" the now named Diabel introduced, earning a round of laughter from the players.

"Hey, you know there's no job classes in this game!"

Diabel had the decency to laugh and scratch the back of his head in regards to the comment. Coughing to gain their attention back, he put on a serious face and looked at all the players. "Now onto serious matters; I know many of you may be discouraged by the face that two thousand people have died so far-"

"What!?"

"Two-thousand people are dead?"

"It hasn't even long been over a month yet!"

"Oh my God, we really are fucked!"

Diabel let loose a look of sheer confusion as he regarded the outburst of comments before hesitantly carrying on. "And I know even more of you are a little down because we haven't even cleared the first floor yet-"

"We haven't!?"

"I thought we were almost doneee!" a random voice broke out sobbing.

Diabel looked down to the front row where the group sat and looked at them with pleading eyes. Earning a couple of shrugs in response. "Uh, you guys do know there are a hundred floors, right?" he asked, back to everyone else.

"... WHAT!?"

Diabel was ready to give up at this point as he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed; "Oh, jeez I am just making things worse. Point is we found the boss room! Now, we've formulated a few strategies with the help of a few beta-testers-"

"Beta Testers?!"

Everyone turned to the unfamiliar voice and noted a rugged looking asshole (so thought Naruto, Argo and Kirito) with spiked brown hair and a basic looking armour shouting in a rough nasal voice. (Low-key hate this dude and you all know who it is.)

"Can everyone stop interrupting me, for the love of God! Kibaou what do you want!?" Diabel yelled in response, getting agitated by the constant interruptions. Kibaou huffed as he made his way down to stand in front of the audience and smirked arrogantly as he pointed to the audience.

"Beta testers, they're the reason we're stuck in this game!"

Everyone was stunned by the sheer stupidity of his claim as he was standing there in a pose, feeling cringy for having to see such a firm look on his face like he believed it.

"What..? Do you have any evidence to back that up?" Diabel groaned, moving to sit on the floor knowing that he will be here a while. Meanwhile, Kibaou waved his hand dismissively as if he was casually dismissing what was said. A lot of players narrowed their eyes in response to that gesture and made a mental note of his name.

"Pfft! Evidence. I don't need evidence. Isn't that right, Jesus?" he replied, pointing to a player in the middle of the rows, earning a sweat drop from said player.

"Uhhh, It's pronounced 'hay-soos', and I don't know you."

"If I might interject?" Agil stood up from sitting beside Asuna and Klein before making his way to stand over Kibaou and look down on him.

"And who the hell are you?" Kibaou rudely replied, earning a glare from the axe-wielder as he pushed the shoulder of the brown-haired asshole as a sign to shut up.

"I am known by many names; "Mountain Slayer", "Thunder Lion", "The Chocolate Axe"; but you? You may call me-"

"Tiffany!"

*smack*

"For fuck sake, Kirito. Do you have to be as fucking asshole wherever you go?" Naruto fumed, his hand smoking after smacking Kirito into the floor from the hit to the back of his head. "Agil, if you mind?" he introduced and promted, earning a smirk for the blow and a nod for the intervention. Naruto looked at Diabel and earned a nod in response as the blond moved to stand beside Agil and before everyone.

"Right. Before we go on, I want no interruptions or I'm feeding you to my blade. Are we clear?" Naruto grinned darkly, making everyone shiver and nod in fear. "Good! Now, does everyone here have this book in their inventory? It's a book is full of tips and strategies on how to survive this game, put together by the beta testers. Everyone read it, I hope?"

"Actually, I didn't read it."

"Yeah, I didn't read it either."

"I skimmed it?"

"I mean, c'mon dude! It's at least eighty-pages long!"

Naruto stabbed his sword in the ground and used the hilt for his foot to rest on, using his elbow to rest on his knee and support himself as he leaned forward with book in view. "You guys have got to be kidding me. Beta players made this book to give you a fighting chance to get off this floor and take it through with you to the end of the game and you can't even be assed to read it because of your pathetic laziness!?" he yelled, shutting everyone up as they all shivered from the reprimanding tone in the voice of the blond.

"Listen. We only managed to find the path to the boss room yesterday afternoon. We lost another hundred and twenty-seven people because there was a test on the first floor and no-one managed to do it until we got there. As and reward, we were given a bit of news regarding the first floor boss-"

"And what makes you so special?" Kibaou quipped nastily in response. Naruto fumed and yanked his sword out of the ground and swung it till it rested next to his throat, stunning everyone with the ease and control he could handle it.

"Interrupt me one. More. Time. I DARE you."

Kibaou swallowed his pride as sweat poured from his face and nodded shakily, keeping his mouth shut or he'd lose his damn head. Naruto held it there a few moments longer before snapping the sword back and making his way to the center stage again.

"How we managed it doesn't matter. Just be thankful we did. But anyways, there's been a change in the game from what was mentioned in this book." Naruto continued, flicking open the page on the details of the boss. "In the Beta, he'd swap to a talwar when it's health is on the last bar. This is incorrect; it will change, now, to a nodachi. This means that the sword has a longer reach and it does a lot more cutting damage and is capable of slicing you in half," he explained seriously, earning murmurs in the crowd.

"There are three main parts of this fight and I swear that I will not be responsible if you don't listen to me. First; minions. He will spawn five at any time and they will re-spawn after some time has passed before it was killed. Second; he will pull a conal-AoE for the players whore stacked in front of him. Stick to his flanks but don't group up or all rush in at once!" Naruto began running it down with them all, Kazuko having joined Naruto at let the front and began denting a diagram on the untiled part of the floor; prompting everyone to move to the front rows to see.

"Lastly; when he swaps to his nodachi, you cannot surround him. He will have access to a circle-wide AoE that will leave you vulnerable to getting hit and a good chance you will die. Again, spread out and only send so many in at and me so it doesn't trigger. Other than that, make sure you have enough Col to stock up on potions and try to form groups of around five to eight players per group." he finished, earning nods and grinning once he saw the gears turning in their heads and several players already teaming up together ready.

"W-What about you, sir?" a female player spoke up as everyone looked to her briefly. "Who will you be pairing up with?"

Naruto noted the female who spoke and the long raven-navy hair that sat comfortably on her shoulder and the soft blue eyes he could see so much emotion in. He smiles softly as he walks up to her, ignoring the looks of everyone else.

"What's your name, miss?" Naruto asked softly, earning a small dusting of red across her cheeks in response.

"A-Ah! M-My name is Sachi!" she stuttered, bowing her head deep. She stiffened and looked up to find his hand softly rubbing her head and a warm smile on his face.

"I'm Naruto and it's a pleasure to meet you. I already have a few members in my party but we will have a space free if you would like to join us?" he offered softly. She blushed harder and settled for nodding as he took her hand and no lead her to Kazuko, who took her to the others. "Now..." he trailed off, a foxy grin on his face as he faced everyone.

"Any questions?"

~SAO:AC~

~Floor One: Boss Room~

Everyone had decided to use the rest of the day to stock up and work on their gear and inventory before agreeing to meet up at the entrance of the grove and following Naruto and the rest of the group together through the grove. A lot of the adventurers were tempted to take the treasure chests but a sharp rebuke from Naruto stopped them. They had taken an hour to climb the stairs that lead up to the first Boss room and now everyone was sitting down and making the final preparations.

Diabel had taken back over at this point and was busy organizing the groups together for who would be best where and which players would be up first; allowing Naruto to head over to his group: consisting of Kazuko, Asuna, Sachi, Agil, Argo, Lisbeth and Kirito. He smiled noting how Kazuko was talking with Sachi and Asuna, helping the newcomer with her nerves and easing her into a comfortable smile. Argo was busy teasing Kirito alongside Lisbeth about something if his face was any indication.

"So what're you thinking, Naruto?" Agil spoke from his side, earning a look in response. "Since we are classed as the two tanks of the group, how do you want to do this?"

"I have no clue, since it'll be us to focus on adds and the boss then I don't really know. Wouldn't surprise me if they have one person tanking Illfang." Naruto shrugged in response. The two watched on as the blond smiled seeing everyone bonding one way or another before his thoughts were broken by a hand on his shoulder.

"Uh, Naruto? I heard you talking with Agil and I wondered if you would be alright to focus on Illfang?" Diabel asked softly. Naruto shrugged before he whistled sharply, earning attention of the group. Everyone was standing in front of him and he looked at each one of them before nodding.

"Guys and gals; I've been asked to take the focus of Illfang. I'll need one of you to focus solely on my health and make sure I don't fall into red. I'll need these guys with me as the main force on the boss if you want me to do this. I work well with them all." Naruto called out to the others before directing back to Diabel. Earning a small nod in response, Naruto and the others made their way to the behemoth doors before pushing them forward.

The room was darkened and dull as the group of players slowly inched their way into the room, with Diabel leading the group with Naruto following behind with his sword rested on his shoulders. Once all the players had made their way comfortably into the room, the doors soon closed behind them and the room burst into colour: the mosaic windows and flooring that was reminiscent of a church floor. A large booming sound in the middle of the floor turned their attention to a hulking red figure that slowly drew his axe and shield and roared loudly at the group. Naruto took a step forward and used his Scan ability on Illfang, who stared at the blond in return.

Name: Illfang, the Kobold Lord
Level: ?

Health: 200,000/200,000
Mana: 0/0

Naruto closed his eyes as he calmed his mind ready for the battle ahead, noting that the clock read 10:58am. His eyes didn't even open when he heard the five bursts of sound, signalling the arrival of the minions; slowing his breathing down and slowly opening his eyes as he focused on the boss and entering his battle mode, giving him a strength and reflex boost. He slammed the sword down and tightened the grip on his gloves, noting that everyone easy watching the blond face off against Illfang and the tension building. Naruto smirked as he saw the clock hit eleven and yanked his sword onto his shoulder ready.

"Attack!" Diabel commanded and the first wave of players ran forward past Naruto as the two kept in place. Not heeding any attention to the fights going on around him with the Ruin Kobold Sentinels, Naruto grinned as he slowly started walking towards Illfang before bursting into speed as the two clashed swords and the battle begun. Naruto had to give credit where due that Illfang was a damn strong opponent; forcing Naruto to dance between one-handed and two-handed attacks to try and keep up with the Kobold Lord's onslaught. The larger of the two moved back to try and disarm the blond but was surprised when said blond had the foresight to slide under the attack on his knees and use the edge of the blade to slam upwards into the wrist of the hand holding the sword firm. It was a close call since Naruto didn't expect the boss to recover so quickly; but was saved in the nick of time with an axe clashing against the downward swing and slammed his attack into the inner forearm of the boss. Successfully staggering him for a moment, Agil grabbed the waist of Naruto and bounced back;

"Kirito; switch! Keep him company!"

Naruto and Agil bounced back as Kirito heard the call, using his sword play to land a small gash on the inner thigh of the boss; moving quickly so that Illfang missed the punt attempt to send Kirito back. The raven-haired swordsman managed to whittle the health down of the first bar before spotting an opening for a parry; using a spare sword in his inventory of a lower value and using it to jam into the wrist of Illfang. Kirito smirked as he turned his eyes to the side and nodded, allowing the sole redhead of the team to make her entrance.

Kazuko smirked as she allowed the rush of battle to fill her; her eyes sharpening as her naginata twirled in her hands before deftly using said weapon to land a huge slash from his right shoulder down to the left hip, keeping Illfang in pain and from gaining focus again as she slowly landed small cuts and slashes across its arms. She saw the other arm coming in quickly for her but Naruto had quickly jumped in the way with his [Steelguard] active and took the brunt of the damage while keeping his positioning and landing a quick backhanded blow to the eye of their opponent and causing him to roar loudly in pain.

While Naruto had focused the attention on Illfang to himself, Asuna found an opportunity to sneak around to the boss' rear and allowed several rapier slashes to reach the back of his knees and roaring in pain from the critical hit. Jumping back once more and out of the fray, Argo soon dashed in and allowed her dagger to slowly nick slashes that bled the boss out over his back; only for her to be smacked back harshly when Illfang wildly swung behind him and caught the lithe frame of the information specialist. Lisbeth moved to catch her and took a small bit of damage doing so before opening up a potion for the blonde to drink and restore her health. Another roar alerted them all that the boss's axe was held out far to the side and was beginning to glow red, making Naruto grunt before turning to the other fighters close to the boss and fighting;

"Move back! He's charging an AoE!" he warned, managing to save a majority of the players as they lept back in time. Unfortunately, two players hadn't made a big enough leap and was caught clean in the attack; separating the two halves of their bodies before bursting into pixels. Everyone paused at the first casualties of the game but Naruto knew they couldn't afford to stop now.

"Everyone! Now isn't the time to freeze! We need to keep going or we'll only add to the numbers! So move it!" Kazuko bellowed out loudly, snapping everyone out of their stupors and yelling as they moved back to face against Illfang now that all the adds were down for the count, for the time being. Naruto smiled and nodded before turning serious again as his sword lit up in a blood-red glow; running forward as Kirito and Asuna took turns in keeping the boss' attention split and switching between the two of them. Kazuko saw the opportunity he was going for and yelled out to the duo;

"Kirito, Asuna! Make a path!"

The two turned their attention away to see Naruto gaining speed to where they were and noted the sword was ready for a skill. Kirito copied Naruto and slid under the swinging arm of the boss and knocking the shield from his hand and allowing Asuna to follow up as she swung hard and moved the empty arm outwards and straight into the path of a flying blond; yelling hard as he used the tip of his sword and sliced clean through the muscles and bone in his wrist and pinned it flat down to the floor. A pained roar erupted from the throat of Illfang as he glared venomously at the blonde who had crippled him...

... only to roar louder as said blond spun on his hand in a move reminiscent to break-dancing and used his foot to kick hard at the hilt of the sword and rotating to to the point that the right wrist of the boss was cut clean off. Jumping back with everyone in tow, the main group of eight took the time to regroup with the others and top-up on potions to bring their health back up as the watched Illfang cradle his arm to his stomach.

HP: 46,724/200,000

Status: Crippled (-25% to all stats), Enraged (Attack +50%, Movement +25%, Defence -50%, Immune to Sleep, Paralysis, Stun), Weak-Armed (Attack -25%, Attack Speed -25%)

"Don't get comfy yet! We still have a bar to go!" Diabel commanded, giving Naruto a pat on the shoulder for his colossal efforts alongside his team. "Squad E, move back and recover while Squads B and D cover both front and left flank-rear! Keep three members in front and spread out for the attacks from the back! Switch if your health goes into the yellow!" he ordered, earning yells of response as the other players followed orders and began to work at the small amount of health remaining in the last bar as they kept hold of the boss' attention; only for Diabel to course as they watched a new wave of spawns appear and ready to take the players at his flank unaware. He didn't have a chance to make a command since Naruto, Agil, Argo and Kazuko dashed forwards at astonishing speeds and quickly interrupted the wave from reaching the players.

Naruto quickly brought his sword down to split the five into groups of two and three and allowed him time to heave the sword up and bisecting one of the Sentinels up in half from bottom to top; exploding into pixels. Kazuko quickly allowed her naginata to spin in her hands once more as she started spinning into a whirlwind of steel as her naginata started ripping hard into the remaining two sentinels (both stunned by the brutal death of its kin) and soon followed suit as she stabbed her weapon into the ground to stop the dizziness. Meanwhile, Agil quickly parried the attack and stunned the one Sentinel and moving his axe expertly under his arm to block the incoming attack from behind; allowing Argo to throw her weapon at the exposed neck of the first stunned add and quickly delivered its death before somersaulting backwards and driving the blade deep into the neck and severing the main artery before kicking back and landing back with the other two.

Diabel, meanwhile, was stunned at the synchronicity of the players and was awed at how easily they were functioning as a group together. His original idea was to lower the boss' health down and move to claim the Last Hit bonus but seeing how the others had moved and how well they were doing; he sighed before smirking as he dashed forward and took a blow with his shield for a stunned Kibaou. Following suit of Naruto, he rammed his sword between the bones of the other remaining wrist and kicked it in deeper before getting harshly smacked away; only for Kirito to move in the way and catch him before he took any more health. Sachi quickly moved over to him and offered him a potion as Lisbeth moved forwards and deftly leaped up off the back of a crouched player and readied her mace to swing down; letting the mace connect with the sword and pinning it down to the ground.

No more was said as Asuna, Naruto, Kazuko and Kirito all moved as a cohesive four and started weaving around one another as all the attacks started draining the trapped Illfang away of his health. Kazuko grinned as her eyes began glowing and her naginata was bathed in a light blue aura before allowing the blade to cut cleanly through the one recovered leg and severing it completely; causing Illfang to fall on his stomach. Asuna closed her eyes and yelled as her rapier pierced through the eye and brain of the boss; Naruto cleanly severing the trapped arm before stamping on his hilt and landing a somersault kick and [Mug] attack on it before Kirito finished it off with a [Vertical Square] attack that slowly drained Illfang of the last drop of health remaining. Everyone watched the severed pieces of the boss in front of them slide from one another before bursting into pixels.

Total silence reigned in the hall area before cheers erupted as the news sank in that they had finally cleared the first floor! Hope swelled inside each person there as they all celebrated, hugging one another and wishing congratulations as they relished in their hard-fought victory! Naruto and the others moved back to the group and allowed themselves a reprieve while drinking potions to bump their health back up to max and celebrated in their own circle.

"Wait just a damn minute!"

Everyone turned to face Kibaou as he stomped forward and pointed his fingers towards the exhausted group that was the main force against Illfang, earning everyone's confused stares. However, before he could mutter anything of an argument, a voice pierced the deafening silence and it came from one of the least expected people;

"Shut. Up. Kibaou."

Diabel had marched forward and stood in front of the Kansas-dialect as the two stared one another down. "If you think that your prejudice is gonna be the thing that brings this mood down, you are sorely mistaken! I don't want to hear anything about the eight of them; they were acting under my orders and they did what I asked of them!" he defended heatedly, stunning the male into silence before giving off a foul look and stomped off back through the doors they came from. Everyone turned to Diabel as he walked up to Naruto and the others and bowed! "Thank you. We lost two good people but thanks to your efforts, we did not lose anymore. You went above and beyond and thank you for saving the others on your own initiative."

Everyone soon cheered in response as they also gave their cheers up for the group of eight as they all took the praise in their own ways. Naruto and Kirito was surprised to see small menus pop up in front of them but soon realised they had gotten rewards from the fight thanks to the Last Hit and [Mug] attacks;

~Congratulations! You got the [Last Attack] bonus!~

Kirito: [Midnight Coat]!

~Congratulations! [Mug] Skill successful!~

Naruto: [Fusion Sword: Base]!

Kirito quickly opened up his inventory and looked at the item he had won, quickly equipping it as the tassels of the coat settled on him nicely; allowing the dark black coat to sit comfortably on his shoulders. Meanwhile, Naruto had found the weapon in his inventory and quickly equipped it; noting how much difference in quality there was between the old blade and this one! He gave a few experimental swings before noting several notches under the guard that seemed to show slots for additional pieces to fit into. Knowing it would probably be a while before he found said pieces; he quickly allowed the sword to fasten to the claps on his back before nodding in gratitude to Diabel and the others as they all started making their way up the set of stairs that appeared before them as soon as Ilfang had died.

Everyone soon followed as they walked down the hallway and soon found themselves at another set of double doors; similar to the one they just came through. Naruto looked at the door and gripped his hand into a fist before placing it on the door. Soon followed by another hand that came from Kazuko. Then Asuna. Then Argo, Lisbeth, Sachi, Agil, Klein, Kirito and Diabel. Nodding towards one another, they pushed hard and allowed the piercing light to shine through, guiding them into the new hope that they will clear this game once and for all...

~Chapter End!~

And there you have it, peeps! It took me a while to figure how I could start this chapter but I decided to do it that way. I didn't want the Prince as a passing one-off character so there will be more mentions and showings of him in the future!

Regards to the Naruto/Kazuko scene; please remember this. They have been apart for over a month. She had been terrified that she would not get the chance to express her feelings and coupled with the fear of almost dying earlier on; she didn't want to take any more chances and that is why they confessed to one another about their feelings. (Honestly took a lot of strength to not make it a lemon but it's simply the start of the relationship. There's plenty of time for that kind of thing later on!)

Also, in regards to the pairings; I'm making a small change. I'm removing Lisbeth from Naruto's harem since she just struck out to me as a female who wouldn't be willing to share; she's too headstrong for that. I have someone else in mind to take her place but that's to be revealed at a later date! Hehehehe~!

But yeah, please be a little more patient with me for Enter the King as I'm re-writing things but will give you a chapter before Christmas! Also, in the mean time; I have a small story opened on the side full of small dribbles and stories based on what's in my head and helps me to get over my writer's block. Hope you check it out and give it a little loving! For now, enjoy the chapter again; show me some love on Twitch and I will catch you all soon!

Kitsune, logging out~ =^.^=