Hello ^.^ THANKS FOR OPENING THIS UP AND READING IT!

Oh and, Boss are Monsters which guard the floors and must be slayed in order to clear the floor. You'll read about them in the chapter to come.

Thank you to the following people,

i3fanfics ~ I love that nickname! Nutella-Chan is a little most suitable but thanks so much! : D

DEVIlishAngel00 ~ hehehe but that's why we love him! :3

Guest ~ Thanks so much! I'll try to update regularly until then keep reading! : )

SORRY GUYS! I RECIEVED REVIEWS SAYING THAT NASTUME WAS BADLY DEVELOPED IN THIS AND THAT THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHETHER IT WAS NATSUME'S POV.

SOMEONE~ YES IT IS NATSUME'S POINT OF VIEW

GUEST ~ I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. PLEASE CONTINUE READING AND I PROMISE TO MAKE HIM BETTER.

To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.

~ Dumbledore

Natsume Hyuuga

There were stunning trees and fields filled with a brilliant diversity of wildflowers. There were forests of trees that were filled with a canopy of leaves and a whole lot of striking colors that thrived wherever I looked. The home I had just bought was a nice, mediocre sized cottage that stood on a hill that passed over a small village. There was an insignificant population of people and no stores or source of socialization, but oddly enough, I was fine with that. Just the fresh, clear oxygen in the air, the indistinct glowing lights of the community at night time and the scattering of stars in the dark, night sky was all I required, all I've ever needed. It was almost too good to be true.

The area in which I lived in the real world was periodically displayed with a tinge of grey in the sky, the significant sign of pollution lingering in the air. Even the occasional shift of wind was tainted with the city gas. It disgusted me to the very core.

Surprisingly, it didn't cost much to buy this house. When I had grown bored of sleeping in local inns and hotels, I traded around and earned a fair sum of rabbits. Thus I spent it here on the 11th floor. Three months had passed since the launching of the game and number of floors cleared were 16. Hell would freeze over before all 100 floors would be cleared. How pathetic is that.

Having nothing else to do, I decided to take a quick stroll through the forest. Honestly, I was still contemplating between attempting to leave or stay in this world forever. I mean, it wasn't a bad idea; I liked this place far better than the real world. The events I would have to face in reality did not exist here and that was the way I liked it to be.

Abruptly, I heard the snap of a twig and faint rustle of the bushes beside me. I smirked, it only makes it more fun when you can't see what you're dealing with.

A wolf appeared, its vicious fangs bared in a gruesome grin. The orange marker over its head indicated its higher level and strength compared to that of the boars I had fought earlier.

The wolf leapt, its jaw opened wide to tear into my flesh. But I was ready. The wolf's glistening fangs clamped down on my arm. A slight cracking noise indicated that I had probably earned myself a major injury. I ignored it and was glad that pain didn't exist in this world. I found myself grinning at the wolf's now exposed underside. My right hand was jam-packed with a raging flame and I swung my hand left, right and left again quickly. The wolf shattered before it was able to even register what had happened and it was vanquished.

A fanfare sounded and a violet message appeared in front of my eyes. "Congratulations. You leveled up," it read. Beneath it was the battle results screen, indicating I had reached level twenty and gained even more rabbits. My health bar grew as well, although an exclamation mark remained indicating that I needed to get an antidote for my wolf's bite.

I opened the status screen contemplating on what to invest the status points in when I found an invite to a guild. I opened the invite and read about the said guild. Tch, seems pretty top notch.

Congratulations Player!

You are invited to join the legendary guild:

Guardians of the Real.

A guild significantly for Dangerous Alice Types and a chance to fight on the front lines.

To join our guild please attend our meeting at Warrior Ward Café on the 4th floor.

We'll be happy to see you there.

Happy my ass, being in a guild meant either leading or being lead and I didn't want any loser trying to control me.

The thought of wanting to stay lingered back into my mind and I immediately shook the feeling out. Living in a fake world made me just as fake as the next person, right? No doubt I was still unconfident about my decisions. Maybe another battle would refresh my thoughts. No, they were all too redundant. I needed something new. Something lively with an audacious feeling perhaps. The front lines, eh?

I teleported myself to the 12th floor, unaware of everything that was going on. Seemed like there was already a collection of players battling against this floor. I observed the criteria, dismayed by the performance of these players. One by one they were dying and shattering without so much of a comeback. That was when it hit me, the players were being thrown to the ground by an unknown being that wasn't in sight. I ate my words, maybe it wasn't so fun to deal with something you couldn't see.

The roar of a massive beast rang and about twenty feet above the heads of a group of players was a tentacled creature of greater power than any wolf or boar. This sure wasn't all rainbows and sunshines.

"Commander! Our numbers are falling by the minute! We need to retreat," referred the soldiers clad in gladiator like attires and gold tinted helmets, desperately trying to fight the boss of the 12th floor.

The uneasy man clad in a helmet distinguished from the rest, assuming that he's the leader, began to fear that this was his last battle. He wasn't ready to die yet and instead of giving orders to his team, he fled using a transporting crystal, thereby abandoning his associates. Tch, what a coward.

The boss went out of hand, violently slaying soldier after soldier. Unable to bare the sight, a cloaked figure arrayed in orange apparel took charge. Leaping over pillars and columns, the figure was horizontally sprinting up the monster itself.

I widened my eyes and was astonished, realizing what they had planned to do. The cloaked figure jumped up to eye level with the beast, only to anger the creature and provoke it. The beast raised its tentacle in attempt to swat the figure out of the air.

A blinding blue light appear, illuminating every corner of the cavern. The beast's attack wasn't able to proceed further and stop midair as if hitting a barrier. Wait, I've seen this before.

A blue light appeared and the boar wasn't able to come any further. It was as if an invisible wall was in its way.

I clicked my tongue, it was that idiot. I ran out to the beast only to be overwhelmed by the next action of the cloaked figure. The cloaked figure imitated the beast's attack, their left arm morphing into a tentacle and swatting the beast with a tentacle like that of its own. Unleashing a prevailing Alice. Hn, impressive.

Stealing the spotlight, I leapt forward to finish off the beast with an eruption of my fire and burned it to crisps. The fire ceased and the battle was over. The 'level up' message had appeared once again bringing me to a level twenty-five. The points and rabbits of course were divided among the cloaked figure and I.

"You again?!"

The remaining soldiers cheered and praised us. Another floor cleared, so this is what it's like to take on bosses. An adrenaline-charging experience indeed.

The cloaked figure removed their veil and exposed their real identity. However, I smirked, already knowing who it was. There before me stood. . .