Arcadia made her way through the quiet markets of the Town of Beginnings, glancing around at the player and NPC run stalls lining the road. As she traversed the familiar streets, she remembered her first time in this city. ALO was her first VRMMO and she had no idea what she was doing. Her axe had felt so unnatural in her hands and as embarrassing as it was, she had been killed by the first mob she had encountered.
She hadn't been one to give up though. Arcadia had gone straight back out into the field and once again started getting beaten by the same type of mob. It was then that another player stepped in and helped her kill the enemy. He was a young man equipped with a simple sword and shield. His brown hair had been fluttering in the breeze as he spent the last few minutes laughing at Arcadia for almost being beaten by such a weak enemy. At that point she'd wanted to hit him with her axe.
Over the next week or so, Arcadia had adventured with this Chrome kid and slowly got her bearings in the virtual world. He had become her first friend in the game and even though she was clearly the older of the two, she felt she could rely on Chrome. He did seem somewhat familiar though.
It was only when they took on their first boss monster together that she discovered why. They had just beaten the boss on floor two after a rough battle when Chrome had mentioned he had to log off because he had some school work to do. Arcadia had mentioned she might have been able to help and after Chrome described the assignment and how his partner for it was a friend from the school soccer team Arcadia had almost choked on the in-game drink she was consuming.
The next day, she had approached one of her students in class, a boy by the name of Ren Hikari. She had casually asked him how his assignment was going and when he had said he'd been getting help from a friend she gradually began to point out all the things she had helped him with the previous day. Ren's expression had been priceless.
That had been the beginning of one of Arcadia's closest friendships. Many people would probably find it weird that she was closer with Ren and Tatsuya than most other people her age. But most of the people her age were too busy talking about marriage and settling down, she had no thoughts about any of that. She just wanted to get stronger in ALO.
Her students meant the world to her after all. She had become a teacher to become a role model. Although in some ways, she felt as though Ren, or rather Chrome, had been more of a role model to her than she had been to him. He had been the one to show her how great this world could be when she probably would have given up after a few days.
Arcadia wasn't ashamed to admit that she had made truer friends inside this game than she had in the real world. Although the battles they had faced hadn't been real, they had still been trials they had overcome together. The battles they fought now though, each one of them was completely real.
Without even realising it, Arcadia found herself standing within the vast fields outside the Town of Beginnings. She stood with one hand on her hip as the other went to her forehead, keeping her purple hair from getting in her eyes in the wind.
Even now, Arcadia was still amazed at how real the wind felt inside this game. When she was a kid, something like this was just a crazy fantasy. As much as she loved it though, she couldn't stay in here forever. Nobunaga needed to be stopped and Arcadia would do whatever it took to make sure he was.
Arcadia took her axe from her back and aimed it up at the sky. She would protect her students, her friends, no matter what. Even if it meant she lost all of the levels she had worked so hard to gain, she wouldn't let anyone die.
"Been a while since I've been back here," a voice said from behind Arcadia. The teacher turned around to see Chrome approaching with a smile.
"Chrome… what are you doing here?" Arcadia asked, lowering her axe.
"Just figured I'd come see if you're alright, you seemed like you had a lot on your mind."
"You could say that I guess."
"Knowing you, it's something along the lines of making sure you protect everyone because you're the adult."
"It's totally not that."
"Yeah it is."
"Yeah it is."
The two stood beside each other in silence just staring out across the fields. It felt like forever since it had just been the two of them, those peaceful days of grinding together on the lower floors seemed like an eternity ago.
"So, you and Hakuya huh?" Chrome said casually, ending the silence. Arcadia, caught completely off guard almost fell as she staggered back a few paces in surprise.
"W…what? Me and him, no way!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide.
"Oh just admit it, it's not like he's that bad," Chrome said with a laugh.
"Yeah I guess you're right," Arcadia replied, smiling herself.
"Who knew Miss Hidenori would be the type of woman to fall for a guy in a game," Chrome said with a grin.
"Like you're one to talk!" Arcadia snapped in response. The two threw their heads back and laughed at each other. "You know, I'm happy you met Muko. You've changed since you started dating her, in a good way of course."
"I'm glad you found someone too Takiko. I'll stop Nobunaga and escape this game so you can meet him for real," Chrome said, looking up at the sky.
"Takiko? Since when do you call me by my name? I'm your teacher," Arcadia remarked, narrowing her eyes on her student. Chrome stretched upwards and sat down.
"Hey, I'm the teacher in here, or did you forget that?"
"Please, I could beat you easy"
"Oh? Is that a challenge?"
"Please, fighting you would be anything but."
"Just cause your little boyfriend beat me doesn't mean you can."
"I beg to differ."
The two stood staring at each other, both with serious expressions on their faces. Chrome was somewhat surprised when Arcadia drew her axe and pointed it at him. She had replaced the axe he had given her months ago with a new one. Its black blade was the shape of a dragon's wing and the cold steel shone in the sun.
"So, the lady desires a battle. Who am I to say no?" Chrome said, drawing Amethyst Edge with a casual smile and flexing his arm with his crystallite shield on it. Arcadia sent the duel request and Chrome accepted. The counter slowly went down and Chrome watched Arcadia close her eyes and take a deep breath. As the timer hit zero, both players charged at each other.
Chrome and Arcadia were both sprawled on the grassy hill, their chests rising and falling with their heavy breathing. Chrome's sword was embedded in the ground close to him while Arcadia's axe laid flat on the ground near her. Arcadia ran her armoured hand across her brow, wiping away the sweat.
The two didn't speak as their HP gradually rose back to their normal levels. Arcadia sat up, her arms crossed on her knees as she looked over at Chrome. If she didn't know any better, she'd have thought he was asleep. She smiled slightly and rose to her feet.
Arcadia picked up her axe and began walking back towards town, leaving Chrome laying on the grass. Her armoured boots rang out quietly as she walked through the Town of Beginnings once again. The fight with Chrome had helped clear her mind and now she knew it wasn't a matter of her protecting the rest of the guild or them protecting her. They would all protect each other.
Arcadia was glad she had made the friends she had in this game. Even now when things seemed dark, they helped her find the way forward. Even though most of them were just kids, they each seemed far more mature than their years would suggest. A grim smile crept across her lips when she thought they were probably more mature than her at times.
They were the kinds of people she would entrust her life to, and her inside ALO; that was exactly what she was doing. Arcadia didn't know why Nobunaga had trapped them all inside this game, but she did know one thing. Azure Storm was going to stop him. No matter what it took, she knew the members of the small guild would put everything on the line to break free and return to the real world.
As she thought to herself, she glanced up to see a familiar figure leaning against the wall with a rose in his hand several metres away. The cobalt armoured spearman stood up straight and began walking beside the purple haired woman as she reached him. Arcadia reached down and took Hakuya's hand as the two wandered off into town.