AN: This went up without my beta reader seeing its penultimate state first. It's also going up late. Also, if I'm gonna have more than one follower, and more than one favourite, I could do with more than one person giving feedback. I'll get better a lot quicker with some input.

December 3rd, 2022 – Roughly 16:15 AST. We had just left Asuna and Sarako at the farmhouse that Kirito had rented, while we took Sarako's 'boys' with us to help me farm some XP at the labyrinth.

Then, we heard a voice behind us. "Take a moment to slow down, would ya?"

The six of us stopped and walked over to Argo as she was making her way to us.

"Same business, as usual?" asked Kirito.

When Argo nodded, I directed the others to come about 80 feet away with me. After two minutes, during which Kirito handed some coins to the Rat, he made his way back over as Argo left. Then, we proceeded again toward the tower.

With the others all about 10 feet away from us, and each other, to keep an eye on all directions on the path north, I whispered to Kirito. "So, what type of info was she selling?"

"I bought the identity of the guy who was after my Anneal Blade," he answered softly, looking to me as we walked, "You made some pretty bold arguments to him today."

I raised an eyebrow at the thought of Kibaou trying to buy from a beta tester. "Damn, I can't believe how right I was. He really didn't read a single page of that book."

"Yeah. So, I figure that he doesn't know that I'm…"

"No, I suppose not," I responded, looking up at the labyrinth, "Now, I don't really expect to actually get the level, but I figure that I'll get close."

"Well, it's better than sitting around waiting for her to finish, I guess."

I held back a chortle at the way I could interpret Kirito's phrasing, and we got on with the task. We gave the girls roughly two hours to themselves, before we returned to Tolbana. In the farmhouse, sure enough, the e-girl and the fencer were sat on the sofa together.

"Thank you for looking after each other," Sarako giggled as she leapt to her feet and headed for the door without hesitation, "Be sure to let me know if you need my services again!"

Her simps stared at each other for a moment as they followed her out, and then after a moment, I turned to the hooded fencer as she stretched after standing.

Kirito scratched his head for a moment. "So, do you want to tackle anything else?"

The female player shrugged. "It's probably a good idea to eat, at least. Can't just drink your milk all day, huh?"

"Depends on the meanings that phrase has in this language."

The teen girl shot her eyes at me with the piercing jolt of Linear, before slowly passing us to exit.

The boy at my side turned to me. "I'm not gonna say you don't have a point."

I chuckled softly. "She only has to deal with me for one more day, at most."

Kirito shook his head. "Well, I'm hungry too. What about you?"

I headed for the door as well. "If you can call it hunger."

The beta tester sharply exhaled from his nose as he followed.

As gentle embers danced in the street lanterns, members of the raid group were still passing back and forth between the pub doors and the fountain in the town square. Diavel and Kibaou were even drinking together.

Kirito and I, however, weren't the type to really care for gatherings of any kind. Sure, I went to conventions and conferences in the real world, but that was still work, as I was there for Black Yeti booths to promote the company's games and merch, as well as my music. I also went to American and Canadian cons to watch Thrown Controllers live – I even once got a chance to play against The Runaway Guys themselves, not counting the time I was a guest on their YouTube channel.

So, we went into a secluded alley, where we saw the back of a familiar cloak. We found the fencer sitting on the brick lining of a little garden shelf. As we approached her, we spotted an even more familiar sight in her hand – NPC bakery black bread from this very town of Tolbana. For only 1 Cor, these small rolls were dry and unrefined, but it was still filling.

"Those are pretty good, aren't they?"

The fencer turned her head slightly at Kirito's comment. "Mind if we sit down?"

She didn't say a word, looking down at her bread again. The boy sat about a foot away from her, prompting her to shuffle another foot away as I sat on the other side of Kirito, before we took out bread of our own.

"You really think they're good?"

Kirito swallowed to answer the girl's question. "Uh-huh. Since I came to this town, I end up eating at least one a day. Course, I got a trick to make it taste better."

"What trick…?" The fencer tilted her head as Kirito retrieved a ceramic jar from his belt pouch – the game's only form of a 'quickbar', and placed it between her and himself.

"Try it with some of that."

She watched me take out my own jar, and then touched the button on his. Her finger glowed, and Kirito gestured with his bread. She understood, and made a gentle stroke on her roll.

"Cream…?" She hesitated as she saw Kirito use the fifth serving from the jar, as it shattered once he spread it on. I applied the same cream from my own jar, also shattering it.

As Kirito and I ate our rolls, Asuna bit into hers. She seemed to freeze upon tasting the bread with a condiment on it, and Kirito hesitated upon seeing this. She then promptly finished the loaf in under four more bites, and followed the last with a soft, embarrassed sigh.

"I got it from «The Heifer Strikes Back»," Kirito explained as I nodded, "That's the quest in the town closest to the other side of the floor."

I swallowed the last of my roll to speak. "It's only on a six-hour cooldown, can be done four times a day if you really go for it."

The fencer shrugged. "Don't worry about telling me the other details. I appreciate it, but… I didn't come to this town to eat good food."

"I can't imagine anyone did," I quipped as Kirito stared at me, "So, what are you here for?"

She clasped her hands together in her lap, as she tilted her head down.

"So that I don't lose sight of who I am."

I lifted my head as she continued. "I don't wanna lock myself in a room in the Town of Beginnings, where I'd just slowly rot away. I'd rather stay the way I am, 'til the last moment."

Her body seemed to tense up. "Even if a monster beats me and I die… I won't lose… To this game or this world – no matter what."

Kirito tossed the last bite of his bread into his mouth, with only a couple chews before swallowing.

"I wouldn't want a party member dying on me… So, try not to die tomorrow."

"Solid advice, kid," I groaned at Kirito's redundancy, "Why don't we ensure her MMO knowledge is practical to FullDive?"

The fencer got up, and so did we. "He does have a point. Your statement seemed condescending."

Kirito shook his head. "Sorry. I just really don't want it to happen."

The girl tilted her head. "Well, what is there to know?"

I glanced at Kirito, and he looked at me. "I suppose we should start with «Switch» and «Pot»…?"

The boy beside me nodded, and we spent the rest of the evening discussing MMO tactics and how FullDive VR would play into them. Next morning, we joined the other parties at the fountain, and around 10AM, we set off north through the woods toward the tower.

Kibaou filled us in on party placement as directed by Diavel: Kirito, Asuna and I were to hang back behind the parties who would dispose of the Ruin Kobold Sentinels, while the others took care of Illfang at the front. Whatever, at least we were there.

As each tower was 20 floors, the boss was always on the 20th. Within the boss room, would also feature the stairs up through the skybox, past which awaited the door to the next floor of Aincrad.

The 45-player raid group reached the boss door at the top floor of the labyrinth, and Diavel leaned against his sword in front of it for a quick statement.

"Listen up, everyone," he declared as he brought one fist up to his chest, "I've only got one thing to say to you: Let's win! Come on!"

He then pushed open the door, and we poured slowly into the dark chamber within. Only once two thirds of us were inside, did the large hall illuminate with luminous puddles of rainbow gradients plastering the walls, and the marble floor with a polished granite strip down the middle, reflected those gradients of light. Granite pillars dotted on each side of the floor strip, right up to the throne with a spade-shaped back cushion, from which the Kobold Lord himself, Illfang, leapt ahead 20 feet and landed roughly 30 from the tank players, as his four HP bars and full title appeared above him, and three lights flashed around him, spawning his loyal Sentinels.

As the four charged toward us, Diavel gave his first order. "Commence attack!"

The first set of tanks and the first set of primary DPS players closed in on the enemy party in the precise center of the room, as Kibaou made the first clash with his weapon against the morningstar wielded by a Sentinel.

"A and C, you get up first!" Diavel directed traffic as expected. "Squad B, block that first move!"

Once B caught Illfang's first move, they pulled out for A to get in and start thinning out his health. Squad C would be ready to catch the next attack.

"Squad C, keep guarding and prepare to switch," Diavel continued to instruct, "Everyone else, when you fall back, regroup and flank them. Squads D, E & F, keep those minions off us!"

"Right!" I called back to him as Kirito, Asuna and I confronted a Sentinel as the other two parties of equal role each pursued the other two.

"Switch!" Kirito directed Asuna after knocking the kobold's weapon aside.

"I'm on it," she answered as she passed him and ran the Sentinel through with Linear – unlike most other times I saw the fencer use it, I could see her blade as it moved; it definitely meant that I was receiving my medication in the morning as I'd hoped – and that one strike shattered the kobold.

"…Right on." Kirito was just as impressed as I was, though I didn't vocalize it. With nothing to do against the first wave, I ran in to draw the next waves of Sentinels toward us, away from the boss, allowing us to fight them behind the core of the raid group. Each trio of kobolds spawned as each health bar depleted from Illfang's own HP.

We were just about done with the last wave, when the main raid had worn Illfang's final bar down into its red point. Sure enough, he threw aside his axe and buckler, as Kirito parried a Sentinel and turned to observe the boss.

Kibaou smirked at the sight. "Looks like the guide book was right."

"Stand back!" Diavel's order confused the front party as he passed them. "I've got it!"

Kirito glanced at the blue-haired knight after blocking another Sentinel, and I looked as well, as the boy in my party gasped at Diavel's smirk directed towards him.

As the raid leader activated a Sword Skill, the Kobold Lord reached back and drew his next weapon, one that I'd only known about from research I'd done when working on Butterfly FX – a nodachi.

I saw Kirito's face change the way mine did. A talwar was in the Curved Sword category. But this weapon which had not been drawn in the beta by this boss, was a type of katana.

"Wait, stop!" I heard Kirito call out as Kibaou glanced back at us. "It's no good! Get out of there!"

Just then, Illfang leapt into the air, and hopped back and forth between four pillars surrounding Diavel, before dropping down with a 360-degree horizontal slash – «Tsumujiguruma», or «Whirling Wheel» in English, though I would figure «Revolving Wheel» made more sense.

Diavel let out a cry as Illfang then swung a home-run slash with the skill «Ukifune» – or «Floating Boat» in English – sending Diavel far over the heads of the rest of the raid group.

"Diavel, no!" Kibaou cried as Illfang landed in front of him and drew his attention back with a roar.

"Diavel…!" Kirito called out as he and I ran over to the knight, his HP scrolling down pixel by pixel, down to red. "What the hell were you thinking?"

The boy beside me then flinched as Diavel pushed back a potion in his hand.

"You know…" Diavel groaned as he sat slightly upright, "You were beta testers too, weren't you?"

My fellow party member's expression changed. "You were after the «Last Attack Bonus». The rare item. You're just like me, a beta tester."

"Please… You have to defeat the boss…" Diavel sighed as his avatar glowed. "For everyone here…"

Diavel's avatar then shattered, his triangular particles ascending past us as Kibaou and other close players looked on. There were no ifs, ands, or buts – no HP, no game life, no real life.

I had kept watch over a few players after I was done directly interacting with them, while Kirito had only agreed to help me a couple times due to guilt over leaving Klein to his own group of friends.

Diavel, on the other hand, brought us together for a purpose. United us for a cause. Had never left anyone behind. His credibility was front-and-center in every sense of how one could see him and hear him.

Kirito and I rose to our feet, and I glanced over to the fencer in our party as she approached.

"I'll go too," she said.

"Okay," the boy agreed as the three of us ran forward, "We'll hit him just like we did the minions."

I followed close behind the two. "I'll be able to finally make use of the other sword I got made."

"You got it…!" The fencer affirmed the plan as Illfang and Kirito clashed with «Tsujikaze» and «Rage Spike» respectively – the former translating as «Whirlwind» – knocking each other back.

"Switch!" On Kirito's prompt, the fencer moved in, just as Illfang regained his footing. "Asuna!"

Hearing Kirito's use of her name, she slipped past the kobold lord's strike just enough for it to tear away her cloak, as she immediately countered with Linear, knocking the boss a fair distance back.

I very briefly glanced at Asuna – just long enough to absorb the image of her beauty; as her long, chestnut hair flowed by her waist, some kind of braiding ran across the back of her head, meeting right in the middle as a short ponytail. It was hard to describe for someone who never paid any attention to the names of hairstyles.

I took in that image, and ran ahead as Illfang roared, and the other two pulled in close again, as I struck with «Greaver», a two-hit Curved Sword attack catching each of the boss' shins. I then slid under his legs as Kirito ran in to block another attack, as Asuna followed up again with Linear. As I circled back in front of Illfang, Kirito blocked three ordinary strikes from him before attempting to block «Gengetsu» – «Phantom Moon» – a move that misled the boy to one side before connecting against his exposed side with the real strike, sending him back into Asuna as the two both tumbled beside me.

"Damn fake-outs…!" I grumbled as I Switched in Asuna's place, though Illfang was ready to counter my Reaver with Tsujikaze – we only cancelled each-other out, so I was able to roll back beside my allies on the floor.

Illfang came down with «Hiogi» – or «Scarlet Fan» – while I couldn't get into an «Initial Motion» in what time I had. Then, Agil passed me to block the skill with a «Two-Handed Axe» skill – named as «Whirlwind» but not even close in similarity to the Katana skill of the same name. The Kobold Lord landed firmly on his feet, about 15 feet from the rest of the raid as they all rushed in.

Agil then turned back to us. "We can hold this bastard off until your health's back up!"

I tossed a potion each to the other two as I quickly followed the group. Glancing back to see them drink them, I then turned my attention to Illfang as he blocked a bunch of strikes, knocking some players into a position that triggered his 'surrounded' state. He then leapt into the air again for Tsumujiguruma as he substituted the pillar-hopping for just some extra hang time.

"Watch out!" Kirito called out as I closed in behind the parties who were knocked back.

"I have it!" As I declared this, I jumped up and executed «Weaver», a skill which lifted me higher to slash with an uppercut motion, catching Illfang's nodachi on my custom scimitar. "Go for it!"

As the boss crashed hard on the floor, I rolled behind my party. "Do it!"

"You got it!" Asuna affirmed on my direction as she followed Kirito's block with Linear, and I caught another attack before Kirito used «Vertical Arc», a two-hit Sword Skill which carved the letter V into Illfang's skin. As the boy landed on his feet, the boss' wounds began to glow brightly for a moment, before the Kobold Lord exploded into polygonal shards.

Cheers erupted from the raid group as the Congratulations popup appeared, as the room dimmed upon completion of Aincrad's first floor.

"Nice job."

Kirito glanced back at Asuna upon hearing her, as she, Agil, and myself approached him.

"That was some fine swordsmanship," Agil added as I noticed the young boy glancing at his popup displaying his battle yields, "Congratulations. Today's victory is all thanks to you."

"No…"

The other players disagreed with Kirito's humbleness. "Yeah!" "You rock, man!" More words of encouragement spilled from their mouths amongst light applause.

"Stop cheering!"

Everyone turned to Kibaou after he called out. "Why'd you do it, huh? Why'd you let Diavel die?"

"…Let him die?"

Kibaou sat upright at Kirito's confusion. "That's what I said! Admit it, you knew the technique the boss was gonna use! You could have told us! Then Diavel would have stood a chance! He wouldn't have had to die!"

"Did none of you read the book Diavel quoted?" I asked as I turned to Kibaou, "Word-for-word, the information which was at one point correct, was contradicted solely by the boss' new weapon type featuring a completely different moveset."

"I know why he knew!" Some scrub kid with a spear spoke with un-dropped balls, "He used to be a beta tester! Think about it! He knew the boss' attack patterns! He knew, but he kept it from us!"

Kibaou sniffled as the taller-than-he-should-be child continued. "And, I bet he's not the only beta tester here! Come on, show yourselves!"

I shook my head. "Do you not understand the amount of time between August and November, for changing a few minute details that make a larger impact when combined? The book's author isn't even here in the raid – there's no gain for them to lie!"

"How do you know?" asked Lind – a player who seemed to idolize Diavel, "You can't be sure there wasn't a transaction under the table for this guy to benefit from the boss, and pay off the Rat!"

I sighed through gritted teeth. "You three always have an answer for everything, don't you…!"

"Hey… Calm down." Shortly after Agil's request, we then turned in the direction of Kirito's laughter.

"So, you guys think I used to be a beta tester…" He began as he stood up, "It's not cool to put me in the same class with those noobs."

Kibaou hesitated in his shock. "Wh… What'd you say?!"

"You heard me," Kirito began as he approached the raid group, "Most of the thousand people who scored a slot in SAO's beta were rookies. They were so green; they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, even you guys are better than they were."

Kibaou looked stunned. I knew what Kirito was doing, but I was shocked that he would be the one to do it – and I knew he made this decision way too hastily, for the effort that I was making.

"But me, I'm nothin' like those guys, man." He turned to us after passing by us all, standing about 20 feet from the stairs to the exit. "During the beta, I made it to floors that were higher than any of the other testers. That's a fact. I knew about the boss, because I fought tons of monsters with way more Sword Skills on higher floors."

I couldn't help but smile at his acting talent. "I know a bunch of other things, too. More than you can imagine. More than any info broker."

I knew it. He was trying to protect Argo. The one whose rat logo was on the strategy guides, full of information which she explicitly stated was from the beta, even containing a disclaimer that not all details would be the same in the final product. Were millennials and Gen Z really this ignorant?

Kibaou slowly stood up. "Wh... What the hell...? If that's true, then you're worse than a beta tester. You're a goddamn cheater, that's what you are!"

The bandwagon effect did the rest of Kibaou's job, as Lind supported his words. "He's a beta tester and a cheater! He's a «Beater»!"

I rolled my eyes. "That might get lost in translation—"

"A Beater. Yeah, that's good. I like it."

I was too distracted by the others' shock to comment on Kirito's acceptance of the moniker. Maybe English is a language best forgotten for just a year or two…

"Okay, you can call me a Beater," he said as he turned toward the stairs, "Just make sure you don't confuse me with those beta testers anymore."

He then equipped a long black coat – likely Illfang's Last Attack Bonus – and after glancing back at everyone else with a smirk, proceeded up the stairs. Kibaou looked as if he just grew cataracts.

"Wait!"

Kirito stopped near the top of the stairs as Asuna ran up to him. "When we were fighting the boss, you called me by my name."

"I wasn't trying to be rude," he answered as I caught up, "Did I mess up the pronunciation?"

"How'd you even know it?"

I stepped into the fencer's vision and pointed at my eye. "The Heads-Up Display is overlaid right on your cornea, isn't it? I asked Kayaba to do that. Right in the top-left corner, you can see other party members' HP, names, and status."

Kirito turned to me. "You did that, SAUER?"

As I nodded in confirmation, the girl used the process of elimination to read the only other name in the party list. "Kiri…to… Kirito? Your name is Kirito…?"

"Yeah."

After a second, she gave off an embarrassed giggle. "I'm so dumb. It was there the whole time and I never knew!"

Kirito turned away again. "You can become powerful here on your own. But if the day comes when someone you trust invites you to join a guild, don't turn it down. Because there are limits to what a solo player can do."

Asuna tilted her head. "But, you're solo…"

As if with deliberate timing, the 'Beater' then opened his menu, and dissolved the party. I glanced over to Asuna, who did the same to me, as Kirito continued up the stairs, and pushed open the big door leading to the second floor.

The fencer turned to me, glancing toward the door with concern. "So, you told Mr. Akihiko for a change to the display, or something? I suppose you're a beta tester too…?"

I nodded. "Previously, the HUD was kind of displayed as if it were plastered on the wall of a bubble around the avatar. Things closer to you, like your hair, could obscure it."

Sarako slapped me on the back as her boys followed her up the stairs. "Really appreciate that one, was really bothering me before."

I glanced down at the other players at the bottom, as they murmured to each other.

"Here's something for you to appreciate." I then took a few steps back down, noticed by the raid.

"Let's be realistic, okay?" I implored straightforwardly, "Past the tenth floor, beta knowledge will almost be worthless, save for things that are applicable to gameplay rather than context. Did you people think we just sat around looking in every nook and cranny for things to remember?"

Kibaou flinched as he looked up. "How do we know the book is right about anything?"

"Blatantly refusing information right in front of you?" I shook my head. "You're starting to sound a whole lot like Dean Takahashi. Maybe we should keep the NerveGear on you and make you play Cuphead if you survive with the rest of us."

"Don't compare journalists to real gamers!"

"Lind, you wouldn't know a real gamer if he was the one guy you looked up to."

I glanced back at the hanging jaws of just under twenty of the forty players still at the base of the stairs, and began to walk up them again. "The game's recommended age is 14, and this game has killed grown men. We're offering you the same advantage we have, if you'll just take it. Why else would the testers not be confidently rocking up to at least the fifth floor in the month we've had? That phase of development is designed to figure out which things to change for balance, and a bit more polish on any minor issues. Take it from the director of Fairy Best Friends and UDU."

I slowed my pace up the stairs, to listen to their murmurs, before continuing to the next floor.

While Sarako and her boys had disappeared into the distance, I was pulled from the new scenery, around the other side of the tower's roof, by Asuna.

"Does your weapon have anything to do with this beta argument?"

I tilted my head as I retrieved my scimitar. "It's called «Pressure Cell». What about it?"

"Well, you still had that straight sword like Kirito's, before we got to the tower. Why not use that?"

I chuckled as I materialized the Anneal Blade from my menu. "Straight swords aren't quite my main focus here. I've always had a thing for curves…"

She seemed suddenly closer to me, as if trying to catch my eyes wandering. Then she backed up, taking a deep breath. "Noted."

I smirked at her response. "Anyway, yeah. Had this one cooked up just last night. Metal came from the three Wind Fleurets I'd found before meeting you."

Asuna blinked. "You had more than one, and knew I was using rapiers?"

I exhaled in amusement. "Yours feels more special cause you earned it, doesn't it?"

The fencer took out her Wind Fleuret, and looked it up and down. "…Yeah. It does."

I put away my Anneal Blade, keeping Pressure Cell at my side. "Although, when it's starting to look obsolete, you can take it to a smith who'll melt it down into an ingot and forge it into a new thing."

Asuna nodded. "Okay. Who did this one for you?"

I smiled at the face I saw in my memory. "Went back to the Town of Beginnings one day, saw a girl who probably reacted the same way you did on launch day. Told her how she could help without having to be in harm's way."

"How do I find her, then?"

I gently bit my lip recalling the smith's real looks, copied by the NerveGear. "Short dark brown hair, should be sitting on a Vendor's Carpet in front of an anvil. You might see her having to carry the rolled carpet when she's outside of a settlement."

The fencer smiled. "I guess that's about as clear as it can get, huh?"

"Yeah. When you see Lisbeth – tell her SAUER sent ya. I've got one more Wind Fleuret to turn into something else later."

"Lisbeth," she grinned as she turned toward the second floor's fields, "That's better. I'll see you around, won't I?"

I nodded as I took off ahead of her. "You know it!"

I usually only got to speak this much in conferences and presentations. Any other instance where I used this many words so close together, I was often singing them.

Which reminded me, Yuna and Nautilus stopped in at Tolbana earlier in the morning, a couple of hours before the raid group left town. The former had shown me her singing talent around then, prompting me to inform her that she could put it to practical use. She then quickly assigned the corresponding skill to her new empty slot.

I told her where she could get an instrument if she felt she needed to play one, and then left her in Nautilus' care once again as I left with the raid group.

One of the people who encouraged her, in fact, was our very own raid leader, Diavel. He thought players could do with some extra uplifting effort, and if the general atmosphere was lighter on their shoulders, hope could be easier to spread through the population.

He even thought to point out to her, and her alone, that I was the real SAUER – someone who had faith in her as soon as I heard her first few notes. And he had similar thoughts. Of course, after just telling another 40 people who I was, more people might be able to find their post-SAO futures with my help. But thanks to this raid group's leader, she was the first to receive my guidance.

But the promise of Yuna's future wouldn't mean a thing anytime soon, if Diavel hadn't rounded up more than forty players in one place, and encouraged them to work together, showing them what companionship and togetherness can do for those who felt alone, isolated, and insufficient.

I slowed my running pace to walking, as I pulled out my last bottle of limoncello. I had too much to get done, for me to hang out with the others and celebrate or anything like that.

So, I would just pretend they were doing in a pub, something similar enough to what I was doing on my way to my next objective:

A toast, to the man who got us moving.

"Thank you, Diavel."

AN: Sure, most of it was just Episode 2, and it's my shortest chapter so far, but we can't all be working hard through Christmas, can we? Although, I will say that I'm dropping to a fortnightly update schedule. Call it my New Year's Resolution, to give myself some more time, and less pressure. I'm satisfied with seven chapters right before the year ends.