Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Yes, I'll be continuing the story Honestly, this one was pretty challenging (and fun) to write, since I have almost nothing to go off of. I just wanna say a big thank you to Serge Ta'Null for giving me some great ideas for chapter 2; the chapter would've been far tougher if they hadn't suggested anything

I'll see you guys at the bottom!

17 July 2024
Floor 48, Lisbeth's Smith Shop
16:36

The bell rung as I walked in the door of the Bavarian-style building known as Lisbeth's Smith Shop. Considering the time of day, I was surprised at how few players there were in the shop, since this is usually the busiest time for her.

I can't believe that idiot had the nerve to do that! He barely made the minimum level requirement to join the assault team, and he's already trying to throw his weight around!

"Liz? You here? I'm here to get my weapons repaired," I called out as I looked around at the display cases. Of the dozens of times I've visited, I've always been astonished at the variety if items she has for sale. Everything from throwing knives to daggers to maces, and the list goes on. It's not only looks that make her extremely popular in Aincrad.

"Hey, well get in line, buddy, she's busy with my equipment right now," A male player spat as he crossed his arms. He was maybe a few centimeters shorter than me, but had a more muscular build. The armor he wore reminded me of a European knight, except for the fact that he had no helmet.

No need to be a jerk about it. Wait, he looks familiar...

I leaned against one of the display cases and waited a few minutes before Lisbeth finally came out of the back. She walked behind an antique-style cash register behind the main counter, and the Euro Knight stood across from her.

"Okay, that'll be 5,000 col for the upgrades and repairs," she said as she opened the trade window.

"What?! It wasn't even half of that earlier today!" The player exclaimed as he threw his arms out to his sides.

"Sorry, but that was before you came the extra half dozen times," Lisbeth shot back, refusing to back down.

"Fine." The player angrily typed the amount in the trade window and stormed off, mumbling to himself while he exited.

After turning my head from the front door, I materialized the Elucidator and Dark Repulsor and set them on the counter.

"So are you gonna charge me double like you did him? The two of us know it's not my first trip here today. If anything, I've been here about as many times as he has," I said.

"I know, but I won't," she replied casually.

"Why?"

"Because one: you're an actual member of the clearing team, not some mid-level player taking every opportunity to be alone with me. Two: you don't go and mess up what I repair for you so you can come back a half hour later and have me repair it again. And three: I'm your exclusive blacksmith."

"What does the last one have to do with anything?" I asked, tilting my head. Maybe being here will help get my mind off of it...

"Nothing, I just... like hearing myself say it.." Her face grew pink when she finished talking. She picked up the swords and led me downstairs to where her forge and many tools reside. I took a seat on a bench close to her watermill grindstone and watched her work her magic. She put on her gloves, a pair of goggles, and began grinding off the scratches and dents in the Elucidator, then quickly moved to the Dark Repulsor. Something about the light-blue blade required extra attention, so she leaned in to get a better look.

Haha, she looks so cute when she's focused.. I guess it's working.

"Did you say something?" She asked, looking up from the wheel.

"Huh?! Oh, umm.. no," I answered. Did I actually say something, or was it just a thought..? Oh come on, Kazuto, nothing's wrong with thinking a girl is cute. She's just a pretty good friend. And your exclusive blacksmith. Damn it, don't tell me that I'm liking the sound of that, too...

"If you say so.. Well, your swords are almost done," She said for the fifth time today.

"Awesome, thanks," I replied. It's pretty strange, its been a little over a week since we first took off for the Floor 55 Mountain, but we've become pretty good friends since then. I've gone and helped her with some of her work orders, and she's given me some info on good hunting spots among clearers. I'm already aware of a majority of the ones she's mentioned, but it seems to give her an extra sense of accomplishment to tell me the locations, so I let her have her moment. Besides, think it's pretty fun to go out with her. Wait, not in that way!

"Normal price?" I asked, shaking off the previous thought.

"Did you forget that quickly?" She laughed as she pulled up the trade window.

"Just making sure. Hey, there's still a few hours of daylight left. Did you have any material quests you need to go on?"

"Well, I have one, but it's not too important.. Just a weapon order from a non-clearer. Were you gonna head back out to the field?"

We went through the transaction and sat down close to the staircase.

"Mmm, I don't know. I'll head out for an hour if anything, which is why I was asking, but otherwise I think I'd call it a day; I just got out of a boss meeting. There's supposed to be a raid within the next few days or so and I wanna be well rested and trained. Asuna was pretty mad when I showed up late for the last one."

"Really?" Lisbeth shook her head as she laughed, "If you didn't spend every hour of daylight in a dungeon, that wouldn't happen! Besides, you're already one of the best in the game. You don't really need the training."

"So you want me to take a break from the front? I can't do that and stay as far above the other clearers as I am. Plus, if they didn't plan the raids so early, I wouldn't be so late. Who organizes a meeting for 30 people at noon?" I asked, playfully tapping her shoulder.

"Are you serious? You're really something else, did you know that?" She continued laughing as she put her hand up to her forehead.

"Yeah, I get that a lot from some of the other clearers. Except you didn't say that with venom on the tip of your tongue," I said with a solemn expression. Just when I was forgetting the incident.

"Hey, where'd that come from? Have a rough day?" She asked.

"I guess you could say that. Being one of the top players gets a hell of a lot more enemies than fans. At least you have looks on your side."

"I'm glad you think that." She looked away briefly, blushing, "But what ruined your day?"

"It's fine, it was no big deal." I sighed and shook my head, realizing that she wasn't going to drop the subject.

"Come on, Kirito, I'm your friend. If something's bothering you, you can tell me."

Liz leaned against the wall and signaled for me to sit closer. I moved over some, then looked down at the floor before I began.

"Well, the Assault Team is set to challenge this floor's boss on the 21st, so we decided to hold a meeting to discuss tactics. I went to the boss meeting like I always do, and things were like they always were. We exchanged information on the boss, came up with a strategy, and got ready to leave, but that's when things took the crappy turn. Some idiot leader of a new, small frontline guild called Sky Runners piped up in front of everyone on how I'm the beater and I shouldn't be allowed to raid with the group because I 'only do it for the money and items, not for any other players.'" I explained, using air quotes when I said his words.

"That's not all!" I continued. I could already feel the anger and humiliation swell up inside again. "I tried ignoring him and and leaving, but then he went on! He even had the nerve to bring up Diabel's death on Floor 1 and tried to pin it on me! I told him to shut up and leave the past behind us, and that it wasn't my fault, and he accused me of lying and challenged me to a duel. Finally, Klein and his guild jumped in and told him to back off, only to be ignored by Idiot and Co.. I declined the duel, since I saw nothing to gain by fighting him. Given no other option, he heads out ahead of me, but before he does, he says this: 'You're really something else, you know that? Just a selfish beater who won't fight back,' his guild right behind him. And the best part? Klein and his friends were the only ones in the room to back me up. Other clearers stayed out of it, hoping to avoid needless fighting. Then Heathcliff said a passive comment about respect between the clearers, and stopped Asuna from intervening. I guess I know who my actual friends are in this damn world."

Lisbeth widened her eyes and stood still, then opened her mouth to speak.

"Kirito, I'm sorry.. I heard something about it from one of the customers, but I didn't pay much attention.. What was his name?"

"Oh don't worry about it, I'll be fine. I don't really remember his name right now, I didn't bother making a connection. It's just gonna be a pain in the ass working with the jerk in the future," I said. I leaned back and put my arm around her, hoping we could change the subject.

"Hey, well I'm probably gonna go training later tonight. Did you.. maybe want to come? " I asked nervously. Yes, we've gone material hunting in the past, but otherwise, we've never met up outside of her smith shop.

"Umm.. I don't know," she started. She interlocked her fingers and glanced back and forth from the floor to me before she continued. "I'm nowhere near your level. Are you sure I won't just slow you down?"

"That's nothing to worry about, Liz," I began, "I'm still fairly clumsy in my Dual Blades skill, so if anything, I'll be the burden. I haven't had any good spots to myself for a while, so I haven't trained the skill very much. If I go at night, then there won't be as many people to worry about."

She stood up and and started rifling through papers on a nearby table.

"Well, one of my customers did put in that request for a new weapon, and the materials are only found close to the front lines. Did you want to look for them now or later tonight?

"What would we need to look for?" I got up from the bench and walked up next to Liz. Soon enough, she found a sheet of paper with a some notes scribbled on it.

"Umm.. Iron ore, charcoal, and aluminum-bauxite ore." She continued going down the list. "The materials are found on Floor 57, but they're extremely difficult to find. Think you're up for the challenge?"

"Of course! Best part is that if there are any materials left over, you could make a second sword of similar quality. Maybe even one that can break the Elucidator into a million pieces instead of snap right in half," I teased, gently punching her shoulder as I finished.

"Hey! You have any idea how hard I worked on the Lightning Bolt? It took me four hours to gather the materials and three tries to build it!"

"Now you tell me?" *sigh* "Great.. As if I didn't already feel guilty."

The bell on the front door rang, interrupting the conversation.

"Sounds like somebody's here. Sit tight, I'll be right back," she said. She got up and messed with my hair, then made her way up the small staircase that led to the register.

"Hey, what was that for? I'm not some kind of pet!" I asked, turning to face the smiling blacksmith.

"Sorry, Kirito! I've been wanting to do that! Don't think that's the last time!" She called before leaving to help the visitor.

I wonder what else she's been wanting to do, but hasn't mustered the nerve to do. Stop that, Kirito! Well, maybe I can go over some of my new sword skills while she's busy.

I stood up and pulled the Dark Repulsor out of my inventory, and headed to the center of the room. With the Elucidator in my right hand and Repulsor in my left, I went over the few skills I learned. A few minutes later, Liz came back down.

"Hey! Sorry about that, the other customer was asking for an update on his sword's progress. He was less than pleased with the answer."

"He didn't give you a rough time about it, did he?" I asked, putting my swords back into their scabbards. I swear if he did...

"No, he was just a little impatient. He keeps telling me how he wants it as soon as possible, but nothing more."

"Are you sure?" Hold on, why are you getting so protective?

"Yeah, he just told me that and left. So I guess that means we're on for this evening?" She asked, equipping her battle gear as she spoke. A steel plate guard appeared on her left arm, along with a matching chest plate and set of greaves on her shins.

Wow... She didn't have that the day we met...

"U-umm, yeah!" I stammered, hoping she didn't catch me staring. "So floor 62, right?"

"Weren't you listening? Floor 57 is where everything is." She materialized her new mace, the Indian Gunstock, and headed for the door. I followed suit, returning the Dark Repulsor to my inventory as I walked.

Once we made our way out the door, the NPC clerk came in and changed the sign to "CLOSED", then left. Man, in all the MMO's I've played, I've never come across a lazier group of data.

To save time, Lisbeth and I burned a blue crystal and headed up to Fodina, a small town on the 57th floor. The town is reminiscent of an old Italian city comprised of stone houses and pathways along the streets with expansive forests a short walk away from the outskirts. Once in Fodina, we started walking towards the forest to look for the mine. Much like many other forests in Aincrad, there were many different trails and mini dungeons in the form of caves, so we were stuck wandering around for the better part of two hours.

"Didn't you say that the mining area was outside of this part town? I would think that with all of the map data collected, we'd have found it already. What if we went the wrong way?" I asked, feeling boredom start to take over. The sun was beginning to set, and I was hoping that we wouldn't have to be out too late.

"Are you saying that you think I don't know what I'm doing?" She turned and gave me a look of suspicion.

"Well I'm just saying, we've been out here a while and haven't found anything. It's gonna be dark soon, and I'm worried about being out too late and-"

She grabbed my collar and pulled my face down to hers, leaving our faces mere centimeters apart and me in utter surprise. In an instant, my heart rate nearly doubled.

Any closer and we'd be...

"I'm pretty sure we're in the right area, I mean the town's name means 'mine'. Just a couple more hours and we'll call it; I know you're no stranger to being out late for a materials quest." She let go of my collar. "Besides, it'll probably be fun!"

In the next second, she grabbed my hand and began running towards a densely wooded area. "Come on! I think it's this way!"

Right, the way that I was initially referring to.

About fifteen minutes later, we finally spotted the mine in our maps. It turns out, we headed in the wrong direction when we left Fodina, and had covered about two-thirds of the surrounding forest in our wandering. At this point, most of the sun went over the horizon and the insects of the night began their cacophony. At the entrance, we saw a young NPC standing outside with a panicked look on her face. A question mark rested above her head.

"You know, if you listened to me, we would have spent less time wandering and more time looking for the materials," I said in a playful know-it-all tone.

"Oh shut up, Kirito," she responded. A slight blush from embarrassment starting to set in. "Well, we finally found it. It looks like a quest NPC at the entrance, do you think it might have something to do with the quest?"

"Probably. Let's go ask and find out," I replied, pretending not to notice the new redness.

As we walked up to the NPC, she ran up to us with an urgent look on her face. She was wearing a white shirt with sleeves torn off at the elbow, brown pants that ended a few inches above her ankle, and had no shoes on.

"Do you need any help?" I asked, prompting the pre-programmed dialogue.

"Yes, mister!" She began. "You see, my family is very poor, so we do what we can to get through each day. We heard of a mine in this area, so my brother and I came over to take a look. When we got here, he told me to wait inside while he explored for a few minutes, so I did, but that was almost two hours ago! I'm worried that he may be hurt, can you go and find him?"

A quest window popped up in front of us, asking if we'd like to accept.

I looked over at Lisbeth, wondering if she was willing to try it.

"Let's do it." She shot me a confident smile and hit the blue "O".

"Alright! Let's go make sure everything's where its supposed to be before we jump in."

"Right behind you! The tree over there looks nice," she said before pointing to a nearby Maple tree. A spigot stuck out the side of the trunk, slowly dripping sap into a bucket.

"Yeah, I can go for a few minutes' rest." Not wasting a second, Liz grabbed my hand and pulled me to the base of the trunk. We each opened our menus and began looking over everything.

"Hey, Kirito, can I.. umm.. ask you a personal question.?" Lisbeth asked after we sat down. She had her menu closed and sat cross-legged with her hands in her lap.

What else is there to ask? She already knows most of what there is to know about me.. Unless she's going to ask about the other side.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, in all the times we've gone out, you've never really been very talkative to anyone but me. Why's that?"

"You see, I've always been a bit of a loner. I guess you can say that Klein and his guild are friends, especially after they backed me up, but for the most part I don't socialize with anybody outside of meetings."

"Really? Haven't you ever thought of joining a guild? I'm sure somebody would want your skills and talents. You might even be able to make some more friends."

Suddenly, I felt a stab of pain inside my chest at the memories I thought I'd finally suppressed. Ducker getting mercilessly hacked into shards, Tetsuo going down after taking out a small group of golems, Sasamaru getting killed in an attempt to avenge Tetsuo, and then Sachi. She was doing what she could to fend off the Mineral Elementals until one came up behind her and slashed her back. She said a few inaudible words, then shattered like the rest of them. When I finally arrived back in town, I ran into the guild leader, Keita, and told him the news. Devastated at the loss of his friends, he jumped off the bridge we were on, meeting the same fate as his former guild mates.

It's a downward emotional spiral with her today, isn't it? Come on, Kirito, don't say that. We were getting along really well earlier. She just doesn't know...

"Kirito? Are you okay? Y-you're starting to hurt my hand," Lisbeth asked, bringing me back to the present.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, Liz..." I let go of her hand. "I didn't realize that I grabbed it.. Don't worry, I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Again, you can tell me when something's bothering you, now what is it?" She scooted closer and put her hand on my knee.

"Now's not the time, okay?!" I snapped. She retreated slightly, obviously taken aback by my sudden outburst.

"Okay.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so nosy... It's just that I wanted to make sure you were okay since we were acting really weird and something seemed to be on your mind and I didn't want you to be down while we're out here. I just want to be able to make you feel happy because I-" she paused and put her hand over her mouth, then continued. "I think I'll stop talking now..."

"No, Liz, I'm sorry.. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you like that." I closed the distance and put my arm around her, trying to ease the tension. "It's just something I don't like thinking about... If you want to know that badly, we can talk about it when we get back to the shop."

She sighed, then rested her head on my shoulder.

"Really?"

"Really."

We sat there in silence for a couple of minutes before she started talking.

"Okay! Well, we're burning daylight, we'd better hurry up and look for the materials." She got out from under my arm and offered a hand to lift me up, then the two of us ran back to the entrance.

"Good luck, travelers! Please find my brother!" The NPC called out to us.

"Don't worry, we'll find him. Hey, has anyone else gone inside since you and your brother got here?" I asked. I don't need anyone finding out about my dual-wielding skill before I get good with it.

"No, sir! But if another traveler comes, I'll see to it that they help you and your friend!"

"That sounds fair enough, ready, Liz?"

"Ready!"

"Alright, let's do this!" I exclaimed before we ran inside.

Author's Note: Yes, I threw in a reference to my other story. Deal with it :P *gives thumbs up to furrballnerd* It was a bit of an accident.

Well, let me know what you guys think! If there's something you liked or disliked, feel free to leave a review or send a PM. For any contributions on future chapters to help speed up the updating, I'll make sure to give specific credit. Thanks again to Surge Ta'Null for giving me a major push!