This was a slight struggle to write. I need to improve my writing skills... But to improve, you must do. And redoing things are more tiring then writing new things.

Well, I'll write when I ain't gaming. Also, don't expect an update any time soon, as usual.

.,.

*Party request: Keima*

Tsukihime12 whisper to Keima : What's with the party request?

Keima : I'm lost in the forest. Well, It's not that I can't find my way out, but it's easier if I had a player indicator to act as a compass.

Tsukihime12 : What did you do? Why did you even head over to the forest alone?

Keima: There was a heroine to be saved. Accept the request already.

Tsukihime12: Fine Fine.

*Party request accepted*

She blinked as she looked at the top left corner of her eyes. Keima wasn't partying alone, he had a person named Kizmer with him.

Tsukihime12: Hey, who's Kizmer?

Keima: She's the heroine.

Tsukihime12: Oh! So, you finally found yourself a girlfriend eh?

Keima: She's not my girlfriend, she's a heroine.

Tsukihime12: To-meh-to, to-mah-to, same difference! Hurry up and bring her here! I want to meet her. Consider it payment for being a compass.

Keima: All right.

.,.

It was an unusual sight for the other players in the town. While the NPC guards acted like nothing was wrong, everyone else knew that something ridiculous was happening. A dark elf NPC was walking behind a player, while he led her around with his hand held to hers. Isn't that weird? Wasn't she the same dark elf that served as a quest?

Ignoring the glances sent his way, Keima walked with Kizmer to the item shop, where his 'compass' was waiting. He walked in with a sigh, spotting the girl whom gave him a shell shocked look of surprise. He noted idly that she had somehow managed to grow her hair out to shoulder length. Her hair color was still black though, and her facial structure was the same as before. If not for the presence of the NPC shopkeeper behind the counter, her maid clothing would have fit well in the wooden shop. Hmm, come to think about it, the orange lighting of the shop and her friendliness would surely attract many customers here. Perhaps he'll suggest the idea to her one day?

"Hey, what the heck? You partied with a NPC character? How did you do this in the first place?"

"It's an automatic party quest event."

He guided the elf to the chair opposite of her, before slumping down into his own seat. He held a hand up to the girl.

"I've already considered the possibility, but right now, she has no dialogue. Such a disappointing game. A Npc that doesn't talk, what's the use of it! Yet… As Kami, I've saved her, and so, I've have to take responsibility."

The black haired girl stared at Kizmer in return, whom seemed to fidget a little, the elf averting her eyes away. That reaction made her feel uncomfortable. It was an almost human like expression. Was that really a npc?

"Hey, what do you mean by taking responsibility?" she asked.

"Didn't I say this before? She's a heroine.. so, she's a character that I will save. I will play to reach her ending."

"An ending…. Like an eroge?"

"NO! An eroge is nothing like a dating sim! Those games that exist only to satisfy the urge of lust! Dating sims are on a different plane, no a different dimension! A dating sim is that of a tale, a story! One that is shared between you and the heroine, as you both strive to reach the happy ending!"

Keima seemed to slump further, but he soon picked himself up.

"I can't blame you for not differentiating the two though. That is how shitty reality is, but we're in a game, so I'll educate now."

"Say… can I follow you for a bit?" the girl asked.

"What for?"

"I'm curious. I want to see what you do. Besides, am I not your trusted partner? If you don't let me follow, I won't be your compass anymore."

He looked at her evenly for a few moments, before giving a nod. He knew very well that she was following just to 'leach' some exp. He can't blame her though, it's impossible to gain an ally with such a high level as Kizmer. It's probably a bug, and she would be following the bug abuser to level. That's not a bad thing, in fact, he silently applauded her for it.

"Well, if you're determined. Very well. Our first task is to return back to the forest."

"The forest?"

"Yes, right now, Kizmer is the same as an amnesia heroine. In order to progress through her route, we have to find key locations, or key items that will trigger her dialogue."

"Is that so… You seem pretty knowledgeable about things like this, Keima."

"Of course, situations like this occur all the time…. In games."

Not for the first time, Tsukihime12 wondered how many dating sims that Keima has played.

.,.

Adventuring with Keima for the first time was an eye opener to her. She was at level 8, with Keima at lv 12, and Kizmer at lv 25. Still, with the way things were… She felt extremely outclassed in the party.

Whenever a bunch of monsters would appear, Keima would leap forward, draw his two blades and dig deeply into the monsters. He then almost seem to draw a circle with his swords, dispatching a first monster with ease, and would then perform an X-slash and a circle to kill a second. He did this again and again, without tiring and seemingly with robotic ease. She recognized the skills as variations of Leap and Circular, but she hadn't seen X-slash before.

Well, the fact that he was using system skills naturally wasn't an issue. She could do that as well, but it was more in the way that he moved that struck out to her… She wasn't sure what it was, but it was there, and it compelled her to watch instead of helping out. She had once considered dual wielding to be a bug, but watching Keima use those skills, she doubted that hypothesis now. Still, why could only he dual wield! She wants to do the same thing as well!

Beside her, Kizmer looked on. The NPC proved to be mostly unhelpful, watching Keima with a robotic gaze as she followed behind him. A sigh escaped her lips. Something exciting should happen soon, or she'll fall asleep!

Lost in thought, the rustling of a bush attracted her attention a touch too late, and a tree monster managed to attack her in her blindside. She fell to the floor with a small cry of alarm, and as she picked herself up, the monster was already killed by Kizmer.

The NPC's eyes almost looked concerned, and she felt her face reddened in embarrassment.

"Um, sorry. Thank you for protecting me!"

Bowing for a few seconds, she straightened herself to look at Kizmer, whom gave a small nod in acknowledgement.

"Hey, over here!" Keima's voice called out.

Heading over to where Keima was, she was startled to discover a small wooden hut. Keima was waiting in the clearing, and upon spotting the two girls, he threw a health potion to herself.

"Never enter an event without full hp." he told her. "Get your weapon ready. This place will have enemies soon."

"Eh? How do you know?"

"A lone empty hut in the middle of a clearing. There's a few possible scenarios. But with Kizmer here, it's only one. Kizmer…. Come on." he blinked, before walking up to the elf, taking her hand, and leading her to the hut. "You'll see what I mean soon."

The two entered the hut, and with after a few seconds of hesitation, she followed them.

Surprisingly, the inside of the hut was brightly lit, and it was warmer here, compared to the mist forest outside. A small fireplace was in the middle, but the fire had long died out, with only embers being visible in the ash.

A bed made of hay was at one of the corners, and Kizmer was there, throwing the hay to the side to reveal a small box. Its' lid was closed, and it was decorated with countless threads of gold, the treads seemingly being the only thing holding the lid closed. An expression of both wonder and fear was on the elf's face. With Kizmer being almost robotic earlier, it unnerved her to see such a human expression.

"I don't believe it… It's the Salk Ruby!"

Keima reached out to take the box, but when he did so, the elf reacted violently, pushing him away. "No! You can't! Any elf whom looks into it will turn into a monster! This… this is too important! I must go!"

In a dash, the elf ran out of the hut, disappearing into the mist forest soon after.

KIZMER Has left the party!

Quest Complete! EXP +1000

Quest Accepted! The origins of the stone.

"So, this is how it is? So Kayaba likes the classics? To plant a plot hook at this stage of the game… Is this hide and seek? Well, next is to…."

He couldn't complete his sentence, for the next moment, the ground shook with a giant roar.

"Earthquake?" Keima spoke, kneeling to keep his balance, while his partner had fallen on the floor. The tremors continued, and they both heard the sound of someone shouting for help. With a grimace, Keima tried to move, but his progress was slow.

Still, the earth stilled soon after, and Keima rushed out in full haste. Wind rushed in his ear, muting Tsukihime12's cry for him to wait. He ran, trusting not his eyes, but his sense of hearing as he rushed towards the sounds of ruffling leaves.

Soon, he caught sight of what happened. A construct… no, an earth golem with thick limbs was running away. It was made out of mud and branches, from what he could see, and on top of the golem, a light elf and Kizmer, bound in chains could be seen.

He caught up to them, but his approach was anything but silent, with him yelling out a battle cry as he charged. The light elf, easily notched an arrow and shot at him, forcing him to stop to parry the projectile.

He ran once again, but it was too late. The golem was climbing a giant beanstalk tree with ease, a tree that seemingly reached into the next level above them. Not to be deterred, Keima tried to do the same, but a system error stopped him. As he tried to touch the beanstalk, his hand was stopped by an invisible wall instead, with the System error symbol displayed.

"Tsk, as I thought." he spoke to himself, glaring up at the tree. Still, he felt a little disappointed that he was not given the chance to recover the heroine. He had fought for months, and only for a single event? Annoyed at the current events, he decided to reply to the consistent messages that were sent to him, while walking back to the hut.

.,.

Tsukihime12: Where are you!

Tsukihime12: What's going on!

Tsukihime12: Hello! Come on, reply! Where are you?

Tsukihime12: What the hell is that?

Keima: Where am I… doesn't matter. Stay still, I'll move to you instead. It's a test.

Tsukihime12: A test?

Keima: Yes, a princess has been captured, and the protagonist has to save her. Honestly, it's shitty. Normally, these kind of quests are done after getting to know the heroine, but having it done this early, directly after revealing that stone means that….

Keima: Means that it's following PEACH.

Tsukihime12: PEACH?

Keima: Princess taken, enter the castle, attempt the rescue, challenge the boss, happy end. It's a commonly used formula…

Keima: However! It's the execution that is important in developing a connection with the heroine! Princess Sophia, Dragon knight was well done! This! This was terribly done!

Tsukihime12: …

Tsukihime12: Kizmer was kidnapped?

Keima: Earth golem… Probably this level's boss. They ran up to the next level.

Tsukihime12: But… didn't we just reach this level? There's no way we can defeat this level's boss that quickly.

Keima: As much as I hate to admit it… That's true.

Tsukihime12: Well, why don't you just take it easy? She's a NPC, after all. There's no harm.

Keima: Take it easy? She's a heroine… The first heroine in this world. She's waiting for me. I'm the Otoshigami! There's no heroine whom I can't save! It's possible that the quest is timed, I might need to save her as soon as I can.

Keima: Failure is not an option.

Tsukihime12: Well, whatever you say. But if you are planning to clear this level alone, don't call for me.

Keima: I've soloed 8000 games by myself! I've guided the masses in the right strategies, and right actions and patterns to reach the best ending! There is no help that I need in a game!

.,.

Finally arriving at the clearing to the hut, he ignored her shivering as he turned to head to town.

"Tsuki, we shall head to town, and disband the party here."

"What? But… I need to level up more!"

"Kizmer's gone. There's no reason for you to stay. I'm also going to prepare."

He heard her footsteps behind him, but he did not expect the harsh slap to the back of his head.

"What did you do that for!" he said.

Turning around, he grit his teeth at the girl, whom looked back at him without amusement. An orange marker was above her head and she seemed to be pissed, but he's the pissed one here!

"You are an idiot! Why are you doing this when you get nothing in return? Just forget about the quest and train with me!"

"You no good exp leech! Do you always pick a bento to eat instead of eating both bentos!? Even if a coffee is sour, if it's prepared by a heroine, I'll drink it! Heroines are pure! Heroines are the ideal! How can I leave them alone? Especially in a shitty game world like this? When the heroines are dead and there's nothing else to save, is that when you'll not take it easy? SAO has no save and load!"

"You… You…. You damn Otamega! Fine! Go ahead and fight. See if I care if you die."

PARTY HAS DISBANDED

Struck at the hate in her voice, Keima could only watch as she took out a teleport crystal and vanished in a blue speck of light. Taking a few moments to calm himself down, Keima decided not to use a teleport crystal and walk his way back. What had gotten her that mad? It sure is hard to understand girls in reality.