The day after his real world fight, Ren had sent Megumi an email, seeing if she wanted to meet up in ALO and do something together. The latter had agreed and Ren had logged into the game as quickly as he could. He stood now as Chrome, the level forty-one sword and shield user. He waited in the teleport plaza of the town on floor thirty-eight, Yulan.
Chrome glanced up into the top corner of his HUD, she should be here soon, he thought to himself. He looked over to his right and saw a player walking around, looking from her left to her right, scanning the somewhat crowded plaza. She wore a diamond shaped shield on her right arm and from her right hip hung a rather deadly looking black mace. She was adorned in a dark brown set of light steel armour with a crimson coloured skirt covering her legs down to where her boots stopped. The female player's light blue hair was tied into a rather long ponytail that was bounced around by the breeze.
"Muko?" Chrome asked, approaching the mace-user.
"Oh, are you Chrome?" the armoured girl asked, quickly looking the taller avatar up and down.
"Yeah, that's me."
"Wow, you look so different in here!"
"So do you."
The two took a few moments to add one another to their friend's lists and then sit down on the edge of the plaza's fountain. The two of them sat in silence for a minute or so before Chrome finally decided to speak.
"So uh, what did you wanna do today?" he asked, looking over at the girl.
"I'm not too sure. I guess we could always go explore the dungeon on this floor," Muko replied, toying with her blue hair a little.
"What level are you? Will you be able to handle the dungeon on this floor?" Chrome asked, looking at the girl with a slightly worried expression.
"I'm level thirty-six so I should be fine. Besides, you're strong, you'll protect me right?" Muko gave a cheerful smile as she spoke. Chrome's cheeks went red and he got to his feet.
"Of course I will."
The two made their way to the dungeon of floor thirty-eight. It was one Chrome hadn't actually visited before. The entrance was a moss-covered stairway leading down into the earth, deep cracks ran down along the old stones. Chrome and Muko looked at each other, nodded once and then proceeded in.
The stairway went down for a few metres before levelling out into a wide corridor with old stone walls, again covered in moss like the stairs. Small plants could be seen growing out of the cracks in the walls and floor, the air was cold and musty. Chrome called up his menu and quickly navigated into his inventory. He clicked on the Shield of the Storm he had gotten from the twenty-four hour event and equipped it.
Instantly his left arm was covered with a large, dark grey shield in the shape of an oval. On the face of it was a golden serpentine dragon wrapped around a lightning bolt. He ran his hand over the dragon and flexed his arm a few times, testing the weight. Satisfied, he unsheathed Amethyst Edge and looked to Muko.
"Wow, you have such awesome gear," the blue-haired girl said in awe, gazing upon the sword and shield.
"I had the sword forged for me by a friend and I got the shield from the event the other day."
"Oh wow, you were in that? I couldn't find anyone to do it with me."
"It was pretty fun, it was exhausting through."
The two reached a crossroads in the dungeon and Chrome held out his arm to stop Muko. He listened for a few seconds, hearing a metallic noise coming from the left. He turned his head slightly and could hear the same noise from the right as well. Chrome could lead Muko straight ahead and avoid both approaching enemies but he didn't want to pass up the EXP he could get.
"There are enemies coming from left and right, you take the left," Chrome said, stepping out and facing the corridor to the right. Muko nodded, readying her mace and facing left as the two sets of armour came into view. Chrome glanced just above his target, the name read Hallowed Knight. Chrome looked behind him and could see the exact same enemy coming for Muko. Both knights were armed with a simple steel sword and a buckler.
"Okay… let's do this," Muko whispered, taking a deep breath. She slowly moved towards her opponent, her shield held up in front of her. The Hallowed Knight started with a high overhead swing that Muko easily blocked with her shield. She batted the sword away with said shield before delivering a strong strike to her enemy's left side. As the knight staggered back, Muko pulled her shield away and then smacked the enemy's helmet, sending it flying off and shattering against the wall. The empty armour took a second to recover before attacking again.
Chrome's fight was going at a much quicker pace. He ducked under a horizontal swing and then attacked with his shield to stagger his opponent. The counterattack was quickly followed up by a sword skill that consisted of a three-hit combo in the shape of a triangle. Chrome then leapt into the air, spun once and delivered a powerful diagonal slash as he fell, cleaving the enemy in half. As it shattered, Chrome sheathed his sword and glanced over at Muko who was repeatedly bludgeoning her opponent after getting it down on one knee.
"You alright?" Chrome asked, walking over to Muko as the Hallowed Armour died.
"Yes, that was an easy enemy," she said with a smile as she turned to face her companion. The two proceeded down the left-hand corridor that Muko had been fighting in and headed deeper into the dungeon. Chrome and Muko fought a number of enemies before reaching the eighth and final basement of the area. It consisted only of a single ledge with a ladder leading down into the darkness.
"After you," Chrome said, holding his hand out towards the ladder. Muko nodded and climbed onto the small steel ladder, heading down slowly. Once she was about halfway down, Chrome climbed on as well, slowly making the descent. Muko got to the bottom and waited until Chrome joined her before they advanced into the dark.
They walked for a few seconds before torches lit up the circular room they found themselves in. Like the rest of the dungeon, the floor, rounded walls and rather high ceiling were all made of the same cracked stones. At the far end of the room were the doors that would lead to floor thirty-nine. Giant, exotic looking plants were growing from broken sections of the wall and floor, giving a bit of colour to the otherwise drab area.
Chrome drew Amethyst Edge and scanned the room for a boss monster. There was nothing though. No sign of any boss monster, not even any BGM. It made Chrome a little uneasy. He could see Muko felt worse than him, her weapon hand was shaking.
"It'll be okay, I'll protect you," Chrome whispered, moving in front of Muko slightly with his shield ready. He took a deep breath and focused on locating any sign of an enemy. Just as he was about to conclude that there was no boss present, Muko let out a rather high-pitched squeal.
"There!" she called out, pointing to one of the giant flowers on the wall. As Chrome looked up at it, a pair of large golden eyes stared right back at him. Seconds later, a massive snake slivered from the centre of the plant and fell to the ground before the two players.
"Sneaky," Chrome muttered, readying his weapon. "I'll take the lead, be ready to switch in when I need you," Chrome said in a serious tone.
"Right," Muko replied and took a few steps back.
The snake hissed at Chrome, it's large, forked tongue flickering outside its mouth. The swordsman charged forward, the light from the burning torches catching the purple blade of his sword. He struck with the Falling Sabre skill he had used on the Hallowed Knight at the start of the dungeon, opening a long diagonal wound on the snake's body. The creature let out a hiss and flicked its tail out at Chrome who was now guarding.
Muko watched in awe as Chrome continued to deliver fast and precise blows to the enemy and only getting hit by attacks that beat his own speed. As the boss' first HP gauge disappeared, she noticed Chrome's had fallen into the yellow. She tightened her shaking hand around her mace and moved in closer. "Chrome, switch with me!" she called out. If he could do that well against this enemy, surely she could deal some good blows. Chrome moved back towards her and the two switched.
Muko ran in and leapt into the air, unleashing a powerful upwards blow to the snake's jaw, slamming its large mouth shut. A look of fury came into The Flora Serpent's eyes as it slithered backwards. Muko barely blocked a strike from its tail and rolled to avoid a deadly bite. Muko continued to deliver strong blows to the boss, slowly depleting the second of its three HP gauges. The snake let out a large hiss and swept Muko from her feet with its large tail. As Muko fell face-first to the ground and some of her HP vanished, the snake slithered up the wall and back into the flower it had come from.
Muko got to her feet and shook her head slightly, looking up at the unmoving plant. She focused on it intently, her shield raised as Chrome watched her from behind. Muko caught a glimpse of something to her right but it was too late. The snake came flying from another flower and slammed straight into the blue-haired girl, sending her flying through the air and then tumbling across the hard ground.
"Muko!" Chrome yelled out, charging forward. He rammed his sword into the lower half of The Flora Serpent's body and used it to vault to the other side before wrenching the sword free. Chrome ran as fast as his legs could carry him, watching as the snake's open mouth came ever closer to Muko. "Get away from her!" Chrome roared, jumping between his comrade and the monster before slamming his shield into the side of the boss' head. The snake hissed, recoiled and shook its head.
Chrome took up a defensive stance as Muko slowly rose behind him, her HP in the red. Chrome quickly blocked a strike from the snake's tail and then ran at the monster. "Try my Star Cutter!" he yelled, delivering a fast ten-hit combo in the shape of a star onto the boss. The Flora Serpent screeched in pain and Chrome leapt onto the monster's body, running up towards its head.
"Chrome, look out!" Muko called out, hesitating for a moment before running at the snake which was turning its head to bite Chrome. She glanced up at her still red HP gauge and took a deep breath, jumping up and smashing her mace into the snake's jaw. The beast was staggered and Muko quickly backed away, her shield raised high.
Chrome reached the snake's head and spun his sword around above his head before driving it down between the boss' eyes. Its final HP bar emptied and the boss shattered, causing Chrome to fall to the ground. He fell to one knee, his sword on the ground as he panted. His heart hammered in his chest as Muko approached him.
"Are you okay?" she asked quietly, looking down at Chrome with a concerned expression. "That thing almost got you."
"I'm alright, that was fun," Chrome replied with a slight smile as he stood up.
"Fun? I was terrified, we both almost died," Muko said, her body shaking.
"But its ok, we both survived. This is nothing compared to what the people who were trapped in here felt, at least we can respawn," Chrome said, sheathing his sword and watching his HP slowly recover.
"Well, thank you for saving me regardless," Muko said quietly, blushing a little.
"I said I'd protect you right?" Chrome asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Muko nodded. "Come on, let's get out of here," he said, leading Muko out of the dungeon and up to the thirty-ninth floor.
Chrome's eyes went wide when they came back out into daylight. His eyes were drawn to a familiar figure who stood up from a seat and began approaching. The player's forest green armour shone slightly in the sunlight as they got closer.
"Well, well, well. What might you be doing all alone in a dungeon with this young lady Chrome?" Arcadia asked with a grin, raising her eyebrow. Chrome's palm connected with his face as his teacher asked the question.
"What are you doing here Arcadia?" he asked.
"Well I was gonna hang out with you but I saw you were in that dungeon so I figured I'd wait here for you, but it seems you already have ample company," Arcadia said, her grin widening.
"So you were stalking me?"
"More or less."
"That's creepy."
"Nope, that's boredom."
"Um, Chrome, who is this?" Muko asked in a timid voice after listening to the odd exchange.
"Oh right, this is Arcadia. She's a friend of mine from the real world. Arcadia this is Muko," Chrome said, looking between the two.
"It's nice to meet you Muko," Arcadia said, holding out her hand with a warm smile.
"You too," Muko said, returning the smile and shaking the older woman's hand. When she released Muko's hand, Arcadia's arm was instantly around Chrome's shoulder.
"So what were you two doing in there? Having a cute little date, holding hands, ooh maybe something more…," Chrome's fist smacked the top of Arcadia's head before she could continue.
"We were training," Chrome said, shrugging Arcadia's arm free.
"Aww, well that's no fun," the axe user said, pouting.
"What's the matter, are you jealous?" Chrome asked with a slight smirk.
"Why the heck would I be jealous?" Arcadia asked in return, the volume of her voice rising a little more than she intended.
"Oh right, I forgot, you have Hakuya now don't you," Chrome said, patting his teacher's shoulder as he began to walk away, Muko following behind.
"What?! I don't have Hakuya! I don't have any… one…," Arcadia yelled out after stomping her foot several times. Her voice dropped at the end and she frowned. "Damn…," she muttered. "Dammit Chrome, get back here!" Arcadia yelled, running after Chrome and Muko.