Chapter 3

Up until this point Jayce had fought only when necessary. When every fight meant life or death he avoided it at all costs. Even against enemies that were significantly lower level than him there was always the chance of something going wrong. It simply wasn't worth the risk to fight indiscriminately. Even though that was counterproductive to completing the game, he simply didn't have the strength to push himself out into the world like the beta testers had done.

The girl that stood beside him with a grin on her face had to be a beta tester. It was the only explanation for her nonchalant attitude. Why else would someone seem to be enjoying themselves in this type of situation? The only problem with that theory was, if she had been a beta tester why was she still here in the Town of Beginnings? She should be further ahead with the group of people that would be tackling the boss of this floor.

"So what's the plan friend?" She asked crouching down to survey the camp below them. Jayce stared down at her still trying to gauge this girl. He bit his lower lip and swallowed before finding the words to answer her.

"I…don't need help." It was a lie of course, but he couldn't bring himself to accept this situation. It was one thing to risk his own life, but endangering another was completely out of the question. He couldn't be responsible for someone dying, not again. Dark thoughts began to swirl through his mind bringing his heartrate up dangerously high.

"Hey? It's alright." Her voice brought him back to reality, or rather back to artificial reality. The excitement was gone, replaced by genuine concern. She was looking up at him now, her silver eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

"Why?" She wasn't here by chance that much was certain. There had to be something else that brought her to be here at the same time as him. Once more her lips curled up into a smile and the excitement returned to her eyes.

"The Kobolds in these camps have a chance to drop a rare dagger. I've been hunting them around here for the past few nights. No luck so far, but I'm feeling lucky tonight." Her motives made sense completely. In this game, no in this life you had to not only get stronger as a person, but continue to upgrade your equipment. Rare drops were always highly sought after since they tended to be much higher quality than store bought weapons. They also could be upgraded further than weapons like the one on Jayce's hip.

Having this girl help to handle the camp would raise the safety level significantly. It also meant they could be more efficient. There was no downside to it at all. Even if there was he doubted it would outweigh the benefits. For himself it also meant they could clear other camps and he could gain multiple Amberthorn harvest points. At this point if he made any argument against working together it would be clear that he was just being rude.

"So? Will you help me? I'd owe you big time." She asked once more and Jayce gave a quick nod relenting at last. Her smile widened as she tapped the air in front of her twice and a window appeared in Jayce's view. A party notification asking for his acceptance or denial to formally group with the white haired girl. With one last moment of hesitation he reached up and tapped the accept button.

"Jem…za. Jemza?" He said softly seeing a health bar appear under his own along with the name he had just tried to pronounce. She stood once more and held her hand out towards him.

"Yes, Jemza. Nice to meet you." Their fingers wrapped around each other's hands and shook quickly.

"Jayce." He responded still a bit nervous. He had never really conversed with any other players since being trapped here. This was the first time he had been partied with someone and had a formal conversation with an actual introduction. He scolded himself internally for being so socially awkward. The fact that the hand he held was a woman's didn't matter, he would have been just as nervous if it were a man. That's just who he was.

"Alright Jayce, I can dispatch one of the Kobolds bringing the odds even. Then we each take one and move on. Simple right?" Under the hood of his cloak he raised an eyebrow questioningly. Her voice sounded confident and the math meant that she would take two Kobolds down per camp while he was only responsible for one. It meant that she was shouldering far more risk than he was.

"Take these then." Jayce flicked his finger down opening the in-game menu and initiated a trade sequence with her. He placed a number of potions into his side and tapped the Trade button. Her eyes widened seeing the items being offered.

"Wow, that's a lot of potions. I don't have a lot, but you're…"

"I don't want your money." He interrupted her with a wave. He didn't mean for it to come off so irritated sounding, but she didn't seem to take offense. For a brief moment he thought he saw a strange look cross her face, but it was gone instantly. She tapped the button on her side of the trade window and the potions were deposited into her inventory. She began attaching them to her belt while Jayce double checked his own.

"You're an Alchemist, aren't you?" Jemza asked still looking down at herself slipping vials onto her belt.

"I guess I'd be called a Mixer." She snorted while laughing at his answer.

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll stick with Alchemist. Mixer just sounds strange. Either way, thank you." She finished placing the liquid filled glass bottles and vials on her belt and pulled the dagger free from the sheath.

"You sure about this?" Jayce asked sliding his Iron Longsword out of the scabbard. Jemza was already walking down the hill, but turned her head back towards him flashing a wink. She crouched lower maneuvering towards one of Kobolds and it was at that point he knew her second skill.

There were two skills that worked against one another at all times. Searching was a skill that was used to locate hidden doorways, traps or even enemies. Depending on your skill level against the object or person you were looking at was the deciding factor on if you revealed it. This could be modified by the opposing skill, Hiding. Jemza, clearly had chosen that very skill along with Daggers making it possible for her to approach the camp unseen. It was only because they were in a party that he could still see her.

As she placed herself behind one of the Kobolds a bright light began to appear around her hand and dagger. She retracted the blade letting the game assisted motions kick in. This was what SAO was all about. Every weapon had its own set of abilities one could learn as their experience with the weapon grew. The lights around her hand and blade grew as she unleashed one such ability.

Sword Skills as they were called came in various designs. Some were simple damaging strikes, while others could inflict status effects. They all had cooldowns ranging from a few seconds to minutes. Regardless of the weapon type they were collectively known as Sword Skills and it was these that brought about an increased level of excitement in combat. It was unique and went further than simply letting users swing weapons wildly. It allowed elegant and devastating attacks to be performed by anyone who focused on a weapon type.

Jayce sprinted down the hill as Jemza grabbed the Kobold from behind covering its mouth with her hand and ramming her dagger though the creatures back. The action itself was pointless as the three Kobolds were linked to each other and would all become aggressive the moment their comrade was attacked. Nevertheless, the image of Jemza appearing from the shadows with her blade drawn made her look every part the assassin.

Her attack depleted the health of the Kobold and it shattered into polygonal fragments. Attacks from stealth were guaranteed critical hits and with the Kobolds already being lower level than her it was an easy one shot kill. The other two screeched loudly each leveling a spear in her direction. The closest one hopped forward jabbing the weapon forward for her chest. She spun nimbly to the right letting the tip of the weapon cut across the air where she had been standing.

"Uwah!" The second Kobold turned hearing Jayce yell out successfully drawing its attention. Gripping the spear in both hands it mimicked the other Kobold engaged with Jemza thrusting it ahead sharply. Jayce pulled his arm back activating a basic one handed sword skill Slant drawing blue lights around the blade. The assisted movement drew the sword up intercepting the spear before it could touch his body and pushed it away.

With agility matching her playstyle, Jemza danced around the Kobold she faced letting it attack before dodging. Four consecutive attacks from the creature failed to connect as she bounced on the balls of her feet. A fifth time the pole raced past her face and she rotated her body reaching out and grabbing the small creature by the neck. Her rotation continued until she was behind it with her left arm now wrapped around its throat. The dagger flashed up and plunged down into its chest from behind making it cry out violently.

Jayce ducked low to avoid the spear tip and stepped forward cutting his sword along a horizontal arc. It bit into the midsection of the Kobold sending red fragments of light into the air. It was the systems way of mimicking blood. The creature stumbled backwards, his strike having done enough damage to cause it to stumble back losing its balance. Without hesitating Jayce activated another Slant crushing the creature's neck and shattering it into pieces.

"Well done Alchemist. That was perfect." Jemza commented placing the dagger back into its sheath. She raised a hand triumphantly smiling widely towards him. Jayce stared at her blankly as her hand hung high in the air awkwardly. She jerked her head in an upward fashion refusing to lower her hand. Jayce sighed and lifted his glove up slapping their palms together. She was so carefree and fearless. Somehow she was finding enjoyment in such a simple task as this.

"Any luck?" Jayce asked crouching down between two of the shabby looking tents and plucked a small plant from the dirt. Jemza looked at the open loot window in front of her and shrugged.

"I feel lucky, but not that lucky." She answered with a laugh. He nodded in response dropping the Amberthorn into his inventory. He stood back up and turned towards her contemplating a decision mentally. At last he finally shook his head and held up his hands helplessly.

"Can't be helped then right? Let's find another." Once more he felt like he saw something in her face as he spoke. A slight glimmer in her eye, or maybe just a twitch of the mouth. Subtle changes that appeared for but a fraction of a second and then were gone. The white haired girl grinned and gave a nod.