December 24th, 2023 (Floor 35: Forest of Wandering)

It had been a tiring year for the Hunters. Between Kirito and Asuna leaving, gaining Taka, and welcoming Kirito back with open arms, we'd committed the last five months power levelling and rushing into boss fights with metaphorical guns blazing. It was exhausting and grueling and we took advantage of the outside-safe zone duelling quirk far more than we should have but the Hunters were the undisputed highest levelled players in the game. Kirito had caught up to me somehow, with both of us leading the pack at level 70. Heidan and Maisie weren't far behind at level 68, with Blake on level 67. Even Taka had hit his stride and was at a comfortable level 65. The clearers had pushed on, with the labyrinth of the 49th floor being explored now.

The guild had grown in size, but not by players. I had been browsing through my inventory, deciding what to keep and what to sell to raise money for a guild base, when I found the old hunting horn that the Bullbous Bow had dropped on the 3rd floor. I had used it once and Nymer, a fully trainable canine companion, had appeared from the plains and, after that, I hadn't put any thought to it. When I came upon it again, I studied it closer with my tools appraisal skill and found that the tool was a bound piece of equipment that, unlike most tools in SAO, had uses.

Naturally, I used the horn again. Nymer was no longer the sole companion animal of the Hunters; there were now six wolves accompanying us in our hunting. Nymer was the oldest and the largest, as well as the clear alpha, but the others were quickly catching up to him in the months following their summoning. The horn had shattered after the youngest wolf- a silver direwolf named I'd named Pooca, was called but we still had a great sized pack.

The Hunters, for better or worse, started getting famous once the wolf pack grew. We were pretty well known thanks to our work at the front lines and the training sessions but, with a full pack of wolves at our sides, we became a legend. It was fitting, though, for the Hunters of Artemis to have wolf companions. In the myth, the followers of the goddess Artemis did have dogs and wolves aiding them in battle.

With everyone wearing ghostly white-blue armor, wielding strange glowing weapons, and followed by a pack of wolves, there was a fair amount of lore spread whenever the Hunters rolled into a town. It was interesting, but also hindering. We spent less and less time in the public eye. I knew the same thing was happening to Asuna, who was now being called "Lightning Flash" thanks to her blinding speed and accuracy with her rapier.

To try to fight the myth that surrounded the Hunters, we worked more closely than Argo and held another three training sessions over the course of the year. The hope was that being on display in front of everyone would help cut back the belief that we were anything special but it didn't seem to work that way. More players came to the events to see the clearers than to actually train but, so long as they were getting better and surviving longer, I wasn't going to fight with anyone.

"This place is cool. Why don't we get a house here?" Maisie asked as we were teleported from one section of the forest to another.

"Because it's extremely easy to get lost and it's even easier to get killed if you get separated," Heidan reminded her. She hummed thoughtfully.

"That's fair. The wolves love it here, though." And it's true. As soon as we stepped into the Forest of Wandering, Nymer and the others had gone nuts, running around and playfully nipping at each other. With each one wearing armor, they left dizzying streaks of light in their wakes, lighting up the dark forest for us.

"The wolves might respawn if they're lucky. We won't," Heidan pointed out.

"But they wouldn't be our wolves," Maisie shot back with a frown. One of them- a red wolf named Tiber- ran up to her and licked her hand at the remark. She smiled brightly, ruffling the wolf's fur. "See? Who's a good boy? You are! Yes, you are!"

"Come on, sis. Stay focused," Blake yawned as Kirito directed us down another path. None of us had spent much time in the field dungeons like this forest but that wasn't an issue. Thanks to Argo and some merchants in town, we had both information and a complete map of the area.

"You know, I bet a house in this area would be really cheap! We could totally afford it, especially if we convince Riva to actually sell some of the weapons she stockpiles."

"We're being followed," I murmured to Kirito. He nodded at me almost distractedly.

"I know. I'm planning on circling around here," he said, pointing to a section on the map. "If they don't show themselves by then, we'll have Nymer and the others sniff them out."

We circled around and, whether it was impatience or someone came to their senses, our tail vanished. When neither Kirito nor I could feel them, we started back towards our main goal: the giant fir tree.

Argo had heard there was going to be an event boss tonight that was going to drop a revival item- something that could bring a player back from the dead. While none of us were quite sure how it would work, since the Nervegear was supposed to instantly kill the player, it wasn't something we'd just ignore. If there was a chance we'd be able to save someone, we'd take it.

We appeared out of another teleport and the fir tree rose up in front of us. It was absolutely massive and covered in heavy snow that weighed its limbs down. The snow continued to fall around us and I counted the minutes as the clock wound down towards midnight.

We were prepared for this fight. We all had the best armor and weapons we could make or find. We had the full support of a wolf pack. We had excellent teamwork and had a list of maneuvers we could pull out in a matter of seconds.

The clocktower from the town started to toll and we readied our weapons as jingle bells went off above us. Two streaks of light appeared in the sky and we got into our basic formation. Kirito, Taka, and Maisie got in front while Heidan and I stayed in the mid-guard. Blake was behind us, a dagger in one hand and a healing crystal in the other, and the wolves took up a perimeter all around us.

A massive figure started to descend from the sky and, after the snow had settled, four HP bars and the name "Nicholas the Renegade" were hung over a Santa-esque figure. His only weapon that we could see was a massive battle-axe. Nothing we couldn't handle.

Between the six players and the six wolves, Nicholas didn't stand a chance.

After the battle, the revival item was immediately granted to Blake. She was almost always serving as full-raid support. If someone died in a boss fight, she'd be the only one able to administer the Divine Gem of Returning Soul in time.

With the event boss defeated and the revival item in safe hands, we returned to our guild's home on the 28th floor.

Our house probably wasn't in the best place. It was almost an hour away from the nearest teleport gate and it was actually just outside of a field dungeon, but it was comfortable and it suited all of the Hunters' needs. Built facing the Wolf Plains, the three story house was made out of redwood and rough grey stone. It was surrounded with forests and we had a kennel of sorts built for the wolves just behind the main house where they could come and go freely. Most of them slept inside with us, though, so it wasn't used often. The house itself was pretty big; there was a large living room and a kitchen on the main floor and, up the stairs, there were three bedrooms on the second floor and another three on the third. A forge was built into the side of the house and it was there that I spent most of my time at the house. There were chests scattered around the forge, all containing raw materials that I didn't want to carry around into the field. A garden was set up next to the kennel but none of us really used it much. Gardening in-game was a pretty difficult skill to master so it was just easier to buy whatever we needed from NPCs.

"We'll need to run out and get more potion supplies," Blake announced as soon as we stepped through the threshold. As she wasn't generally in the fight, her skills tended to be more supportive. She was experienced with first aid, medicine mixing, and negotiation. Because of her tendency to stay out of the line of fire, a number of players in the clearing guilds had assumed she was weak. She's corrected those assumptions each time we give her free reign to fight. Blake fights hard and dirty.

"You couldn't have pointed that out when we were in Blaidd?" I asked tiredly. She rolled her eyes.

"You say that like I'm not capable of walking back alone."

"I didn't say that!" I said quickly. I've seen Blake gut a drunken ape with nothing but a dagger and that is not a skill I want to be put upon me anytime soon. "Just make sure Remus goes with you."

Each of the wolves, while technically my companions, had a soft spot for one player in particular. Nymer was mine, Pooca was Taka's, Tiber was Maisie's, Scath was Kirito's, Dewr was Heidan's, and Remus was Blake's. When the guild was apart for any length of time, everyone brought with them their own member of the pack. If anything happened, the wolves would be able to communicate with each other, even across an entire floor.

"Will do. I'll be back soon."

"Get more milk!" Maisie shouted after her, scowling at our near-empty fridge. "It's like no one lives here."

"Probably because we hardly live here," Kirito chuckled. "We spend so much time on the front, I don't even know why we bought the place."

"We should look at a house near the Forest of Wandering!"

"Why? So we can not live there too?"

Heidan and I laughed as Maisie all but growled at Kirito, drawing a butter knife from a drawer and launching it at him. He barely evaded the projectile, shouting out as he hit the floor.

Updated 22:11, 1.27.2022