"For being called the Dragonic Kingdom, this place sure is lacking in dragons." Klein mused.

"Maybe we should find some NPCs and ask for a lead."

"Are you going to explode their homes?"

"One time! I did that one time! The devs have probably reset the area and are looking for how it happened."

"Oh yeah, wreck a city one time? No biggie, we're the ones blowing this out of proportion." Kirito sighed, he knew Klein just liked to hassle people a little. He'd gotten used to it over the years, mostly.

"Harry, why don't you use some scouting spells to see if there're any towns nearby."

The group decided to break as their caster began his spells. Kirito looked to the sky, could the servers really handle such detailed graphics? Actually it was probably just the distance that made it seem like the clouds were detailed. Maybe the game was projecting a flat image to save processing power.

They'd travelled for about a day and a half and while they didn't feel tired they were starting to get hungry. Kirito was able to use skills to produce small amounts of food, and Issin complemented it with a few conjugation spells. Getting hungry in game felt weird, he didn't like that. Seemed unnecessary, but the devs of this game seemed like they wanted realism to be maxed. Then Harry snapped to, looking sick.

"Are you okay? Did you get hit by countermeasures?" Asuna asked, noting his paling face.

"To the southwest. Monsters are... killing people and...eating them." He looked sick. Looked like this game was filled with a lot of gritty stuff.

"Sounds like an Event. Why don't we derail it a little?" Kirito suggested. Asuna and Klein nodded in agreement, but Harry One still looked a little sick. They split up, Issin moving more slowly with their sickened caster while the other three moved as the vanguard. Even if Asuna and Klein only had their backup gear it should be more than enough to take on the mobs of this low powered world.

The three closed in with Klein taking point. His Samurai class had the highest defense and with the one with the slowest speed in front it was easier to keep formation. Slow in this context was completely relative, as he still moved with incredible speed. The formation of players approached the village, small fingers of smoke starting to reach for the sky. Kirito had the highest perception could see the attackers first.

"It looks like a group of minotaurs. Strength based, not skill. Urk." His throat jumped as he barely made out one of the creatures tearing an NPC in half. Even at this distance, he could tell it would be graphic once he got closer. Whoever designed this was sick.

"30 seconds until contact. Buff us Iss...Activate your skills everyone." Klein called, hesitating after remembering he wasn't with his usual team. Activating their skills, Kirito worked to control his increased speed and drew his weapons. Asuna seemed to start glowing, one of her Aura abilities, no doubt.

It was upon passing the first few building that they noticed the smell. The iron scent of blood and the sweat of fear. An odor they never before knew, but had no doubt it arose from the spilled viscera. The three gagged upon entering the area, they originated from modern Japan, how could they be accustomed to such smells?

They could sense villagers hiding, for those fleeing were being rounded up by the minotaurs first. Their brown fur was matted with blood, particularly along the arms. Arms dangles from the laws of some, chewing it like gruesome pocky, blood dripping off the fingers on the end.

"Kill for the living, kill for the dead!" Klein roared, recovering from the sight first. His eyes lit with a fire his friends had not seen before, and he charged forward. [Karakurenei] left trails of frost in its wake as he cleaved through a group of minotaurs chasing after a small group of townsfolk.

Asuna acted second, her eyes had been misting up and her hand clenched tightly around her weapon. But seeing Klein move spurred her on to action. She began weaving through the town, cutting down those trying to break their way into the houses.

"This is sick, just sick. Who would make something like this?" Kirito had been around the internet enough to know that people could be pretty malicious, but this was something else. These bodies weren't real, they couldn't be. Even so, you could get sad over a fictional character dying, and when you're in the middle of it... Damn whoever made this happen. Kirito would mess up whatever plan they had.

While Asuna and Klein fought the minotaurs in the village, Kirito brandished his swords and headed for the main force. They were all clumped together. He leaped before them and crossed his swords at a right angle, parallel to the ground.

"I don't know why this is going on, but it ends here." He pulled the weapons across each other, so he held them straight out from his body. "Dual Blade Wave!"

A skill that used the magic in a weapon to create an area attack, part of the Magic Knight class. Two overlapping crescents of light expanded forward, cutting down all in their way. One composed of black and green flame that nevertheless seemed to shimmer with a divine aura. The other was prismatic, every color of the rainbow, but made one think of the greed one would have for gems of great value.

The dozens, perhaps hundreds, of minotaurs were cut down in an instant. Their deaths looked just as brutal as those of the villagers, their insides visible from the clear bisection. The Black Swordsman turned to the village, there was still cleanup to take care of.

Kirito stuck a sword in the back of a minotaur trying to flee. That was the last of them. The villagers were beginning to gather around Asuna, who was using some low tier healing spells. It seemed even that was a great feat of magic in this world. Her class didn't grant her a lot of MP, so Kirito thought it was a bit of a waste. Still, leaving the wounded untreated, even if they were NPCs they seemed too lifelike. He gave her a hand with his Physician skill. Klein helped by locating those really injured and rounding up the survivors. A message from Issin reported that Harry was retching near the outskirts. The War Priest would pop over for any grave injuries, but otherwise kept near their magician.

"How can we ever thank you enough?" The village elder prostrated himself before the three. "You have saved our lives, we are in your debt!"

"No, we're sorry we couldn't get here sooner." Asuna dipped her own head in regret. Where did these minotaurs come from? Why would they attack this village?"

"Are you not from here? No of course not, we wouldn't have to worry if our kingdom had heroes of your caliber. The Dragonic Kingdom borders beastman territories to the south and east. We are frequently subjected to their raids for...food. The queen hires mercenaries to help protect us, but it is not enough."

"So this isn't some rare occurrence? Are you lot safe here? We could escort you somewhere if necessary." Klein offered. Kirito narrowed his eyes a little, he hated escort missions. There was no need to go so far for NPCs, but ugh, how was he supposed to feel about this? They certainly seemed real, but was that enough? He grabbed ahold of his swords, and drew them gently. It helped him relax, sometimes he logged in just to do this if real life was getting too stressful.

Saving someone in trouble is only common sense.

Follow your own desire. Revel in power. Destroy that which opposes you.

If the road is harsh, it is only natural to take your sword and help.

Kirito felt like his swords were actually guiding him. Maybe it was just all this stress getting to him. What did he want? Helping people? He had charged in like the other two, but hadn't he been the slowest to do so? No he would have helped even if they hadn't been there.

He wanted to be a hero.

"I agree, we should help them get to the nearest town." Kirito gave his input.

"We would be eternally grateful. May we have the names of our saviours?"

"Klein."

"Asuna."

"Kirito."

"Then if you would, please guard us to the nearest city of Dchael. We will do all we can to ask them to reward you. It should only be an hour or two before we depart." The village elder once again bowed deeply and left to organize his fellows.

Waiting for the villagers to pack their things, the trio met back up with Harry One and Issin. Harry looked like he'd finally composed himself, but kept his back to the hamlet and had an air purification shield up.

"Yo Harry, how you holding up over there?"

"I'm... I'll be good. Sorry I couldn't help you out there. Sorry I kept you tied up here with me Iss."

"Oi, I'm glad I didn't have to head into that hellscape. This place sure is brutal. Not surprised you lost your lunch."

"Well, it's good you guys are fine. We've agreed to lead the villagers to a city where they should be safe. Guild Leader orders." Klein chuckled mirthlessly.

"That's fine with us. Those people have been through a lot." Issin looked to Kirito "Are these guys really NPCs? You're the programming buff."

"Yeah I bet they are." Kirito would bet that they were. There was no other way this sort of thing could happen "They're pretty high level AIs, but it might be that their systems all overlap. Like each one has its own packet of data for memories and they all ship through the same brain to process that. That would cut down on how much processing power was actually needed.

On top of that, we still haven't encountered any players. It might be that this isn't a game, but a sort of automated story generator. That's probably why the console and stuff got axed, but since our abilities are linked to our avatars we can still use them."

Kirito's explanations were solid. But he couldn't have predicted any of this beforehand. Was he just making up stuff that fit the situation they were in? Well it was impossible for this to be real, so it must be the answer. There was no way they'd magically teleported to some fantasy world.

His companions were growing uneasy, even he could feel the rising tensions. It was getting to be that time when their family should have removed them from the Dive already. But they were all still here. Doubts were arising, but Kirito spoke with confidence. It would be fine, they'd be removed from the game. Just sit tight and hold on to each other.

"After this should we offer to help hunt down some beastmen?" Asuna asked the rest of the group. She was sitting with her legs pulled towards her chest and stared at her feet. "Even if this is a game, they really did look like they were in pain. Should we really let that happen?"

"I'm in." Kirito murmured, mostly to himself. He really didn't want to get into contemplating the ethics of a digital mind. That sort of thing bugged him in scifi settings. He should just be a Hero. Saving people was what Heroes did.

"I won't allow more evil to come to pass."

"We go where Klein goes."

So they all resolved to help protect the Dragonic Kingdom. Monsters would not go unpunished.

Their destination was not far from the village. Perhaps a day, maybe two if the wagons were slow. Kirito spent his time as the vanguard, running about and scouring the terrain for approaching monsters. There were a few ogres and goblins, but he sliced through those before they knew he was there. The rest of the group could cast support magic on others, healing and easing the burdens of the travelers. Kirito was a pure solo build. None of his skills affected other players directly. That was just how he played. To himself he felt as though he wasn't contributing as much,so when they spotted the city soon after they set out the second day, he felt relieved.

The city looked like the one from...Re-Estize was it? A large wall surrounded the city. There were numerous guards stationed at the gate. Seeing the caravan, it looked like they were prepping themselves for high alert. To Kirito's surprise lightly armored soldier rode up to them.

"What happened?" He asked, riding alongside the group. Kirito wondered why he was so worried. The players let the village elder speak first.

"Our village was destroyed by minotaurs. Luckily these warriors defeated them and were able to save our lives. Please, ask your commander to thank them appropriately."

"They repelled minotaur attack? What were the numbers and how many escaped? We may still be in danger."

"No need to worry, we didn't let them escape." Kirito spoke. It seemed like they were about to ready the city for a defensive battle. There was no need to do that.

"You didn't let them escape? Humans don't let beastmen do anything. Are you lot adventurers?"

"We got our copper plates, but the requests were boring."

"We were wandering when we came across the village being attacked, and we couldn't stand by." Asuna added. The scout looked slightly skeptical of their abilities, but nonetheless a bit relieved.

"In that case, I'll ask you and a few villagers to report to the captain to give a short report. We'll reward you as well for your troubles. I'll inform the garrison to prepare the safe-houses for the villagers as temporary lodging." With that he rode back to the gate and inside after a quick discussion. As they approached, the banded iron gates were fully opened to accommodate them.

A man with a decorated helm came out to greet them as they passed through. He looked them over, unimpressed until he noticed their gear. Eyes lingering for a second, he introduced himself.

"Captain Daniels, at your service. First, I would like to thank you for aiding the village. There is a need for us to gather information on the enemy, so I hope you won't be too inconvenienced by our questions."

"Intelligence is the first step to victory."

"Then how have you kept us alive for so long?"

"Because I have you, my living crystal ball!" Klein put Harry in a headlock for his sass. Captain Daniels gave them a look but reserved his comments. He brought them into a building close to the entrance of the city, there were a few maps and diagrams on a large desk. There were six chairs readied for them, four on the long side and two on the short side, with a fancier seventh chair on the other long side. They all took their seats, with Harry and Issin sitting on the far side.

"Could I ask who you all are? I normally wouldn't think a strong adventuring group was here, but your gear is certainly beyond anything I've seen before. You don't match the descriptions of any of the famous groups." He gestured towards Klein's katana.

"This is a piece of junk, Kirito's the one with the good stuff. Ah, name's Klein by the way."

"A piece of junk? Even to my untrained eye, it clearly holds a great deal of power." He turned to Kirito, "May I see your blades Mr. Kirito?"

"Sure." Kirito drew his weapons and set them on the table. Daniels seemed to be unsure if he should leap out of his chair or faint into it.

"This...this is...I can feel the power radiating from them! Where did you find such treasures? These rival Re-Estize's Razor's Edge, no they may even surpass it!"

"Yeah, I worked hard to get them." Kirito brushed it off and returned them to their sheathes. He shrugged." Gear's gear."

Asuna, Issin and Harry One used this moment to introduce themselves, and without the swords in front of him, the captain seemed to regain his calm.

"So how many minotaurs were you facing?"

"Three dozen?"

"27."

"140 maybe?"

"Before you try making up a story to increase your fame, perhaps you should get your story straight." Daniels sighed. "We do have scouts going to survey the damage, but I would like some preliminary info."

"You misunderstand sir, those were our personal counts." Asuna politely interrupted.

"There's no way that's possible. Not only is that beyond human capability, but the minotaurs don't move in force like that. Your gear is unparalleled to be sure, but that would be a feat on par with Adamantite ranked adventurers, perhaps even beyond that."

"Those trash mobs are considered tough?" Issin poorly whispered to Klein.

"Same back in E-Rantel. Remember Kirito's Dire Wolf?"

"Dude really isn't cut out for pet ownership." Kirito and Asuna glared at them, although for different reasons.

"You find a group of nearly 200 minotaurs to be easy to dispose of? You're not even saying it was difficult. What audacity." Captain Daniels hung his head. Who were these adventurers that looked down on their struggle? They did stop to help and looked so confident. "Would you please give us a demonstration of your skills? Even if I did believe you, the reward for 200 minotaurs would be too great a drain. If you demonstrate Adamantium level skills, you will each be rewarded as such."

"If we do so, I also ask you point us towards other towns that might be in danger." Asuna seemed very forward in her desire to go out and save more towns.

"That's fine, but even so I can't guarantee a reward every time if you are as strong as you say."

"It doesn't matter. We seek to save more lives."

"I don't see how I could refuse then."

Daniels visibly grew irked when they refused the small training yard. Instead they insisted on leaving the town. Issin said they wanted to save the town, not leave it in ruins. Asuna felt it was a little out of line to someone whose relationship with them was already on precarious footing.

"I'll be most underwhelming, so I'll go first." Klein sheepishly stepped up. As a defensive class he didn't have flashy abilities, most were to help him damage soak or hit ridiculously hard. Not a whole lot of theatrics. Well except one. Even if it had taken him 5 levels, he didn't regret.

"Giga Drill, Pierce the Heavens!" pointing his sword to the sky, the very air around him seemed to swirl. He leaped into the air almost vanishing, but he returned slamming into the ground, fracturing the earth. The Captain struggled to keep his footing and could only gape.

"I didn't have a target so it was kind of boring. Asuna, you're up! Believe in the me that believes in you!"

"You know I have no idea what you're talking about."

Asuna took a deep breath. What should she call out? She had a lot of commander classes, as well as a mix of Paladin and Cleric abilities. Probably something that would relate to divine abilities. She spread her arms and balls of light coalesced around her and were drawn in.

Seraphim's Blessing

Her hair turned a shimmering white and lengthened. Shining silver gauntlets appeared on her wrists, and radiant white feathers sprouted from her back.

"Eh 'Maou', can't help but stare can you?" Klein noticed Kirito's wide eyes.

"Not everything is a reference."

"But it can be if we try hard enough!" Klein laughed. Kirito wondered if it was worse to be like Asuna and not understand anything that came out of his mouth, or stuck in this hell of comprehending every sideways reference.

Harry One stepped up to the plate. He cricked his knuckles. Flashy? Wizards could do flashy.

Time Waits for Me

An overrank magic, allies within the area acted more than a dozen times faster while everything else froze.

"Dude. You just cast it on an empty space. It's not going to do anything." Issin chastised.

"Gah! I forgot! But time manipulation is so cool!" It seemed at the very least that Captain Daniels had time to recover his bearings. At the moment he was debating if he should rise from his knees.

Issin stepped up next, wondering what Overrank magic to use. He didn't know a great deal, he wasn't a pure spellcaster. Ragnarok was pretty famous, but it would probably cause quite a bit of chaos here. He raised his hands to the sky.

"Sigyn's Absence" the clouds began to darken and expand. A shape writhed in the stratosphere, only seen through the gaps in the clouds. Then it began to rain. Not normal rain, but fist sizes globs of viscous green liquid, which ate at the ground. All together they sounded like the hissing of a mighty serpent, and every time they struck, the earth shook. Harry One threw up a barrier for the captain, who may have been on the verge of fainting.

"Flashy magic casters," Kirito grumbled. Now how was he supposed to top that? He used sharp things, for crying out loud. Now he was going to look incompetent. Issin totally stole the spotlight.

After about a minute, the area in front of them had already become a pockmarked wasteland. Considering how terrified the captain looked, Issin forcibly ended the spell. Now it was Kirito's turn.

"Considering how much stuff we wrecked already, I think I'll pass. But I could totally take any of these guys on in a fight and win right now."

"Cop out Kirito!" Issin shouted "You're cheating me out of my victory!"

"A wise man chooses his battles."

"Since I lost, I'll clean up. Maybe that will redeem me a little." Harry One cast Creation and the land returned to its former, unmarked state.

"So do we pass?"

This... It couldn't be. The events in front of his eyes couldn't be happening. This display of power surpassed that of the Evil Gods, no even that of the Eight Greed Kings. Those were figures of legend, whose stories must have been exaggerated in the telling, and they were stronger still?

They were a group hardly a few years into adulthood, and they casually tossed this power around. It was some sort of game to them, reconstructing the landscape had been a matter of cleanup! He wanted to shout, rant, rave. But he couldn't. To speak out of turn to these inhuman existences? They could destroy the Dragonic Kingdoms on a whim.

There was a bright side to it. That radiant angel Asuna wished to save them from the beastmen. Surely she must be divine intervention, perhaps a true god. She and her fellow gods would definitely save them. Daniels fell to his knees.

"Oh great ones! I humbly beseech you to help us!"

AN: it's way easier for me to write Kirito and co., since when I write Ainz, it usually feels like I'm rehashing the story. I get other people do, and it's not that I don't like borrowing work but it just feels repetitive.

Ah and looking at the reviews someone thought they cleared 8th floor with minimum difficulty. They cleared it on minimum difficulty. AOG withdrew their forces because they knew they wouldn't lose and they wanted a heroic final showdown where they totally curbstomped them personally.

It wasn't Momonga's idea, it was, let's say Ulbert. Yeah, Ulbert is like that.

Also Dale is currently schroedinger's character at the moment. Who's Dale you ask? Exactly.