Chapter 1

Start.

February 23, 2023.

Error after error, we traversed the twenty-fifth floor. Now finally at a quarter of the floating castle, we were met with a treacherous floor. Four players have perished in a matter of days; heading towards new towns wasn't this dangerous since the start of the game; and now with a complex and extreme terrain, traps were everywhere.

False trails thru out the roads leading to instant death, poisonous swamp filled with terrible monsters and such stories were all being handed down. Never before had we faced such threats, and now, the death probability had risen twofold.

Us lucky one that got past those dangers and activated new towns were exhausted. The feeling of a short break came every time we set off to reach the dungeon leading to the next floor; but with the time limit were on and the increasing casualties taken, it seemed impossible.

Today, the whole clearing group came up here to help out in the searching process. Rarely happening, it was said that we would have to mass the greatest force yet to get thru the floor. The search, obviously, was to find the boss room as quickly as possible; and the circumstances really called for it.

A while back, three scouts were killed in an early attempt to gain information about the floor. As information was scarce, they were our only hope of finding out more about the area. But indiscriminately, they were taken out by a superbly strong labyrinth boss; this being accounted for by the sole survivor, one of the four members of the recon squad. Like always, many stories surfaced, exaggerations were common; however, the truth would always surface sooner or later.

Everyone was daunted; even I had a feeling of discomfort as we heard those stories. Aside from the fact that more lives were lost, it was also so surprising that they found the labyrinth boss so early on; we had barely planned on starting to map out the dungeon today. With most of the floor covered, the only thing left was the colossal tower. But like always, things happen to change drastically, especially in this place we are trapped in.

And like that, and without further notice, we were then told to gather, as the entire ALS was mobilized.

[Repot to the twenty-fifth floor immediately. Bring enough supplies. Direct orders from the Commander]

Receiving the message, I hurried to teleport towards [Brunhild], the twenty-fifth floor´s main town. Almost noon, and as I finished teleporting, many other clearers were already gathered at the plaza. The news of the wipeout was rapidly spread out, especially to the solo players. Even they knew that we were left with no choice but to mass forces to take on the labyrinth boss in hopes of reaching the floor boss.

"Hey man, you ready to decimate the labyrinth boss!?"

Shaking me from behind, I turned to find Ray, already at the plaza.

"You´re here quite early, I'm surprised; it's not like you to be so punctual! I underestimated your bravery…"

"Yeah well, they don't call me the [Unfearing One] for nothing!"

Bursting into laughter, I almost fell back at the terrible self-proclaimed nickname my partner had made up for himself. With my hand on his shoulder, I couldn't stop myself from chuckling once more every time I turned to look at him. Although his heavy duty helmet didn't permit me seeing his facial expressions, it was obvious he was offended.

"Ahh… so the Un-Unfearing One huh? Nope, never heard of him…."

"Hey! Come on… it's the best I could come up with! …anybody who´s somebody needs a nickname… you're lucky, you have a pimp one, and everyone knows you're Silver E…"

"Heyy! Shhhh! …no one knows here but you! Just think what the command would do if they find out!"

Quickly alerting him to be quiet before anyone else heard, my hand rose and covered his already concealed mouth; shaking my head to let him know my discomfort, my eyes squinted, and even though they were unseen, I felt he knew my response.

"…Ohhh… right… but it's your fault anyway! …"

"It's a necessary condition for my…ahem, work, the work I have; besides; I don't need some silly name to represent me…"

"Necessary!? Ha! I know your true intentions! …."

A diminutive sweat droplet ran thru the side of my forehead. If were in the real world, it would be really obvious that I was nervous. But with another benefit that the game brings, that action could easily be hidden; and with my visor, it was almost impossible to see my reactions.

"Yeah! Krakov told me everything! … but don't worry, your secret is safe with me…"

That little! … Wait! How much does he really know!?

"Fine with me… just… keep it to yourself, please…"

"You got it! Anyways…. Look over there! She's also here! The [Flash]!"

"Huh?! …Oh, yeah…the only constant female player on the front…"

Looking at the contrary side of the plaza, a radiant glow was found. A young girl with exceptional good looks was at on a stone bench. Basically the only female to be in every boss fight; not only known thru out by every player, she was also very skilled with her rapier. Possibly even making it into the top ten strongest clearers, it was her light-fast moves that earned her her nickname and position on the front.

"Dude! She's sooo beautiful… you think that…"

"Nope! I wouldn't get too carried away if I were you. Just imagine how many have tried and failed hard; and besides, I think she's taken! …."

Pointing at the scene once again, a new figure had appeared. Dressed in black and equipped with simple gear, a young boy sat down near the girl. Long black hair and feminine facial features, at simple view he seemed like a weak player. Yet I wasn't fooled, as I had witnessed, like mostly everyone here, the power of his skills. If hiding his potential wasn't strange enough; I also felt he had way more things hidden. But with a burst coming from my side, my concentrative questioning was broken.

"No! Why!? It's not fair! …First you and now them! What's this world coming to!? Even your sorry butt has someone…while I'm alone like a dog! …I mean, that's not even a man for her! …"

"…I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that… And besides, do you even know who that kid is!?"

"Some punk that thinks he owns everything! …who does he think he is!? Stealing the prettiest girl around…she was mine, I saw her first…"

"Ha! Please… first, women aren't belongings to be kept, I mean, she's probably having a bad time herself fending off guys like you… second, it's really hard to find someone to be with in this world, less than a third of us are female, so most of us will have to bear that truth… and third, why are we making such a fuss about this?! "

"Girls! What's more important than that!? Well… like you have your own already, you don't have to worry! ... But we mortals have to scavenge around… "

"Hey, chill man… anyways, you wouldn't stand a chance; you haven't even shown your face and you want to compete with that? He's like the second strongest player around, only after that white haired guy! They call him the black, black….something, but I like to call him [Blackhawk]. So yeah, it'll be impossible to get around… now relax!"

"…I…F-fine, you win! But next time, don't kill my dreams again…"

With a droopy stance, it was obvious I had put his hopes down. Taking him by the shoulder, I tried to change the subject to ease his discomfort.

"Sure thing… now let's report in. I think I saw the Major around here somewhere…"

Sill disappointed from my lecture, he took my advice and didn't turn around again. And now with our discussion over, it was time to get down to business. Looking around the plaza once more, we spotted a tall robust player. Sporting a green cape, it was easy identifying his presence.

Trotting towards the other side of the plaza, we were met with a firm yet familiar face; Major of the ALS and the highest ranked member present at the time in the square: [Kobatz].

As one of the strongest players in the ALS, Kobatz was a bulky man, maybe around his early thirties. It wasn't rare to find players his age, but it was when it came to discipline. Standing firm with his arms crossed, looking imposing, we arrived to his side. As very adherent person, we didn't haste to announce ourselves.

"Reporting for duty, sir!"

"At ease; well, we at least have the presence of a Captain here. Tell me; were you the only ones sent here?"

"No sir, my squad is on its way. My comrade´s squad is also preparing to head over… Sir? Weren't you informed?"

"I was told reinforcements would come, nothing more; as I was already on this floor"

"Sir, you mean to say that you're the only survivor of the recon team!?"

"That is correct. I was sent to lead the expeditionary group, but we were played a foul hand!"

Seeing his apparent mix of anger and desperation, we didn't ask any longer. Known for his reservedness and easy to-get temperament, we kept quiet. Standing without saying a single word, the awkward moment was put to rest when he spoke up once more.

"The commander is here. Regroup with your teams and report as soon as they're here!"

"Right!"

Leaving us, Kobatz then headed towards the teleport gate as his team arrived; the personal guard of the commander and the elite members of the ALS led by none other than Kibaou. All sporting at least one piece of green equipment, they were always at the front of the ALS. Always with an imposing aura, they were regarded as the lead team, and some even going to the extreme as to consider Kibaou as the leader of the clearers.

Inspecting the barely seen elite party, we waited for our comrades to arrive. But not long enough; the teleport gate began working at an impressive rate, materializing players with rapid flashes of light. Those that came in quickly ran towards their assigned groups and assembled their parties. And soon, the mid-sized clearing party was fully assembled, as we were impatient to begin the voyage.

"Ray! Switch!"

Rapidly yelling out, I jumped away from the danger zone, as my wingman jumped in. Speedily dealing a critical hit, he too pulled back as I ordered the rest to switch in.

"Now, Kato! Switch!"

Taking action and raining blows, we all got a couple of hits at the monster. The eight meter tall, burnt skinned goliath with twin heads was not only armed with its size, it also wielded two heavy chains linked to its wrists; as big as their master, they didn't show the same lag like their wielder, as they had amazing speed for their size. But not ceding to the power of our foe, we took it head on; the [Two-Headed Giant].

Superbly strong and hard to hit, the massive labyrinth boss was giving us a run for our money, as it seemed that even the terrain augmented its strength. Adding to this was the feeling that his two heads gave it twice the ability to predict our moves, as we were fighting even harder by the minute. The inside of the labyrinth was also huge, with barely enough space to orderly fight. With the adversity on us, it was now obvious why we chose to bring in the whole clearing party.

Losing two men, we managed to take its attacks but partially failed to deliver a victorious blow in the past two hours. Now tired and worn down by its stamina, we were decreasing our performance, but as our condition began to worsen, the commander of the ALS forced us back onto our limits.

Holding his weapon high in the air, he ordered most of the maneuvers. In his commanding pose, he somehow resembled our first clearing leader; yet he lacked the charm that the other had. But with the task at hand, he was probably the only that was brave enough to take that place.

"Common! Keep fighting! It's either him or us! If we don't make it out, then we would've failed our task! …Now get up and keep fighting!"

Arrogant as ever, yet with the motivational and commanding orders, many members regained their will and started to animate their men as well. It was as if his orders were more feared than the boss we were facing; and with that, we were again pulled from annihilation by his undying and greedy fighting spirit. And like magic, we were dragged into the offensive.

Clank!

Loud ringing noises and sparkling lights covered the tank groups as we immediately began our attacks.

Slash!

Hit after hit, blow after blow, were now had the upper hand. And even though we had endured the two hour long carnage, we were now so close that we all began to fight with even more force.

"It's almost down! Just a little more and were done!"

"Squad three, fall back and help out the rest!"

"Retreat! …Squad two, take our place!"

"Squad four and five! Take front place and hold the line! …The rest be on standby with the others! Don't let the line draw back by even an inch!"

Swish!

The shattering noise of a player was amplified by the terrain, being able to be heard thru out the entire dungeon. Furious roars came after, as even more players rushed in to take revenge. But it was no time to retaliate recklessly, and even less to mourn for another casualty. The moment someone heedlessly takes an action like that, the same time they would also meet their demise. And with nothing more to do, that same grief would have to be channeled and become strength to keep fighting.

Roaaaaaar!

Letting out its loudest bawl, one of its twin chains adjusted its trajectory and rained down towards us. With no time to run, I speedily ordered a defensive posture.

"Maneuver three!"

Bash!

Our weapons taking the most damage, we engaged a defensive maneuver with the collective cover our steel. Consisting of grouping up with the closest partner, we held out our weapons in defensive positions and hoped that the combined force would be enough to secure our safety.

Pushed back a few meters, we barely resisted the attack; but as planned, our move proved worthy, as we once again took to action helped out by the rest.

"It's HP is now reaching the red zone! Push harder!"

"Kyaaaaaaaa!"

Blades shining everywhere, everyone had now recovered, and the final assault began. The different attack groups took their hits, and without allowing it more moment, switched with the ones waiting.

Crank!

"Ahhhh!"

Shaking off the new threats, the giant threw its last attack, but not without taking yet another life with him. The shattering once again rang in our ears, as countless particles flew across the battlefield.

"Do it now! …Give it all you´ve got!"

And with its last brutal action, the boss was finally put down. The last blades shining and hitting their target directly, the giant body disintegrated into nothing. Sparkling particles soared one last time, as the space was promptly lit up.

Crash!

Not even waiting for the victory confirmation, dozens of players all fell to the hard ground at the same time, pulled by their own fatigue. Seconds later, the congratulations sign swayed up ahead.

Three hours later and five lives lost, the battle was over.

Wanting to somehow let out the anger still inside, it was futile, as I was to worn-out to even move my hands. But futile as it was, their deaths would once again not be in vain; and even though it wasn't enough, we had defeated the strongest foe yet.

This was just the guardian! Barely the start! …I just can't imagine how the real one will be…