Chrome stood in his living room, which seemed to have become the official meeting place of Azure Storm, with the other members of said guild. The previous night he had received a message from Kotetsu asking him to gather everyone although he had no idea why. But he had done as his friend had asked and they now all stood or sat in the living room of his and Muko's house.
"So, what's with the big meeting all of a sudden?" Vakross asked as he leant against his usual wall, his hand on the handle of his sword.
"Hey, don't look at me. I don't know what it's about, I just called it because Kotetsu asked me to," Chrome said, holding up his hands.
"Did you find something useful?" Arcadia asked, resting her chin in her hands. Kotetsu nodded in response. He opened his menu and materialised the map he had gotten for everyone to see, setting the translucent screen on the coffee table.
"What is this map of? I don't recognise any of these landmarks," Hakuya said, studying the map closely.
"I know that place…," Vakross said, walking over to the coffee table. "Where did you get this Kotetsu?" the swordsman asked, glancing up at the blue-haired dagger user.
"I got it from a Death Gamer I defeated yesterday. This is a map of the main city for floor seventy-three which is apparently the floor Nobunaga is on."
"But that's impossible, we've only cleared up to floor seventy-one," Muko said.
"He's not lying about the map though, this is definitely floor seventy-three, I had a house there back in SAO," Vakross said. Everyone looked to each other with questioning expressions, not sure what to think.
"What I think is that it's likely Nobunaga could be on a floor we haven't gotten to yet. I mean he's managed to manipulate the system to trap us here and to enforce his level reset upon death. It's not unreasonable to assume he could have done the same to access locked floors," Kotetsu explained, Chrome nodded in agreement.
"I agree with Kotetsu, we've seen what this guy can do. We can't exactly rule anything out right now," he added.
"Okay, so assuming Nobunaga really is there, what are we supposed to do? I doubt players will believe this if we show them, they'll probably just think we're in league with the Death Gamers," Hakuya said.
"I'm aware of that, that's the reason I got Chrome to call this meeting. The only option I came up with last night would be for us to clear floors seventy-one and seventy-two by ourselves to reach Nobunaga."
"That wouldn't be easy. The bosses around these floor are pretty strong. I fought the one for seventy-two back in the original game and I know the bosses are even more powerful in this version of the game since the permanent death was removed," Vakross explained.
"If we asked Veille to help he probably would. I think he'll believe us about the map," Muko said, looking at Chrome.
"I don't want to sound rude but do you really think we can trust him? I mean he is a Death Gamer," Arcadia said. "He says he wants to stop Nobunaga but how can we be sure he's not just leading us into a trap, after all Nobunaga seems to want Chrome gone pretty bad."
"That's true. I haven't met this guy personally but the way he just popped up and asked for our help specifically is a bit suspicious," Kotetsu said, leaning into the couch.
"I can see where both of you are coming from," Chrome said as he rubbed his chin slightly. "At this point in the game it's hard to know who we can trust, anyone could be out to kill us at any moment and that's something we can't afford. But I don't think two boss raids is something we can really handle alone."
"Chrome is right. If we're going to be doing this we'll need help and Veille is the only one we can really turn to. If he does turn on us, he'll be just as weak from the boss fights as we will and at that point I don't think any of us will hesitate to stop him," Hakuya said. His eyes were still fixed on the map, taking in every detail he could.
"I think it's a risk we'll have to take. We need to stop Nobunaga before people spend another two years trapped inside this game," Vakross said, toying with his sword a little. Chrome noted a distant look in the swordsman's eyes.
"Well if Chrome thinks it's best then we'll ask for Veille's help but I just wanted to voice my concerns," Arcadia said, staring at her student as she mention his name. Kotetsu nodded in agreement to the second half of her statement.
"We'll ask him, if he turns on us then it will be my responsibility as the guild leader. I will personally make sure no harm comes to any of you," Chrome said, looking at each of his comrades. "Normally I'd say we should take the time to level up but with the situation as it is, I don't really think we have time. We're just going to have to stock up on items and play these fights smart."
"When do you think we should tackle the floor seventy-one boss?" Muko asked.
"We'll need to give Veille and his men enough time to get ready, same as us. What if we give it three days?" Kotetsu asked, looking over at Chrome.
"Three days sounds good to me. You all need to make sure you have as many healing items as you can carry. In two days' time we'll all meet here so we can discuss strategies for the fights. Is everyone okay with that?" Chrome asked, looking to everyone once again. Each of his friends nodded as he looked at them.
"I'll go see some of my old contacts and see what information I can get on these bosses," Vakross said. He turned away from the coffee table and headed for the door of the house.
"Can you let me know anything you find out?" Chrome asked. Vakross waved in acknowledgement and left the house.
"I guess I'll go out and get some new gear. Time to blow all my savings," Kotetsu said. He got to his feet and stretched upwards before waving and leaving the house.
"What will you two do?" Muko asked, looking at Arcadia and Hakuya.
"I've got some things that I want to do before all of this, so I'll be heading off by myself for a bit," Arcadia said, rising to her feet.
"Are you sure?" Hakuya asked, walking over to her. Arcadia nodded and touched the back of his hand as she left the house.
"What about you Hakuya?" Chrome asked, looking at the spearman.
"I'm not really sure. I already have a large stockpile of items so I don't really need to go get any. I might as well just hang around here and bug you until Arcadia gets back," Hakuya said with a shrug, proceeding to take up the entire couch.
"I'm gonna head out for a bit too, okay Chrome?" Muko said, looking at her boyfriend.
"Alright, be careful," Chrome said, hugging her quickly.
"I will," Muko said. She smiled at the two boys and then left.
"Ha, you got ditched," Hakuya said with a large grin.
"So did you," Chrome replied, heading into the kitchen.
"Darn it…," Hakuya whispered.
Muko walked through Lindas, making her way to Lisbeth's shop. She took in all the familiar sights that she would see every time she made her way down this route. Her mace bounced gently against her leg with each step. Even though she was in a town, Muko made it a habit of always having her mace and shield equipped. Like the group had just discussed, who knew what Nobunaga could do.
As Muko arrived at the familiar shop she took a small breath and pushed the door open. The bell on the inside of the door jingled and Lisbeth greeted her from the counter. "Welcome to Lisbeth's smith shop, oh hey Muko!" the pink haired girl called out happily.
"Good morning Lisbeth," Muko said with a small bow. The blue haired girl walked up to the counter and looked at some of the various weapons Lisbeth had displayed behind her. "Um… is it ready?" Muko asked, a tinge of red spreading across her cheeks. A huge grin spread across Lisbeth's face and she reached under the counter.
"You bet, I finished it last night after I closed up," Lisbeth said, placing a small, white box on the counter in front of Muko.
"Thank you so much for doing this for me. How much do I owe you?"
"Not a thing. Consider it a favour from a friend."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am, you Azure Strom people really need to learn how to accept freebies."
Muko opened the small box and gasped slightly at the contents. Her open mouth was soon replaced with a smile that seemed too perfect for something created by ones and zeroes. Lisbeth watched the reaction and a warm smile appeared on her own lips.
"I can't thank you enough for this Lisbeth," Muko said, the beginnings of tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"Aww, don't start crying now. I just wanted to help you out, I couldn't really turn you down when you came to me. I'm glad you like how they turned out though. I can't say that kind of thing is my specialty."
"They're perfect Lisbeth. Don't you worry. I love them."
"Well that's good to hear! When do you think you're gonna do it?"
"I'm not too sure yet, but I've got an idea."
"You better let me know what happens! If you don't then I'll change my mind about them being free!"
Muko couldn't help but laugh at the grin on Lisbeth's face. The blacksmith always seemed so happy and cheerful, she couldn't picture a frown on the pink haired girl's face it just didn't seem natural. Muko scooped up the box from the counter and put it away into her inventory.
"So what's on the schedule for today?" Lisbeth asked.
"I was probably just going to go back home and stay with Chrome and Hakuya," Muko replied.
"Nope, that won't do. Why don't you stay here and help me out? I'll pay you for it." Muko considered the offer for a few moments.
"Sure, that sounds nice," the blue haired girl said with a smile.
"Alright then, let's get to work!" Lisbeth put her fist in the air and Muko mimicked the gesture.