Asuna awoke early, and crawled out of bed to see Kirito cooking several ingredients over the fire. He turned around, still idly stirring the pot.

'Oh, you're awake?'

'Why didn't you wake me? Did you keep watch all night?'

'You were sleeping so peacefully. I didn't want to disturb you.'

'T-Thanks... but I get worried about you too.'

Kirito turned back to the pot, which began to boil and bubble over the white hot campfire.

'Anyway, let's eat. We should be able to reach the town before nightfall.'

Asuna nodded, and took a seat next to Kirito. The meal was soon ready, and Kirito handed Asuna a bowl of boiling hot stew. She tentatively pressed the spoon against her lips, then wolfishly began to swallow several mouthfuls.

'It's delicious. Have you been raising your cooking skill?'

Kirito blushed slightly while looking back to the fire.

'I've been practicing a little.'

After the couple had finished their breakfast, Kirito collected the tent and placed it back in his inventory, before continuing his journey.

Several hours later, and the faint outline of a town began to emerge in the distance. They quickened their pace, feeling slightly anxious. After at least another hour, they finally reached the gate.

'That's strange. This must be the town, but I don't see any security at the gate. Usually there'd at least be one or two NPC's guarding the area.'

Kirito spoke too soon, for a small troop of heavily armed men began to approach. The leader of them bore an insincere smile as he rested his hand over the hilt of his sword.

'Welcome to our town, adventurers. Now if you'll just pay the toll, we'll let you go right on ahead.'

'Toll? I've never heard of anything like that before. This is the first town where I've ever heard of such a thing,' replied Kirito, who eyed the men up suspiciously.

'We only introduced it recently. Fifty coins, please.'

Kirito could of defeated the entire troop by himself if he had to; however, he hadn't come so far just to fight. And the money was only pocket change to him. He threw the guard a small bag of precisely fifty coins, then continued on his way.

'You know, they probably weren't even guards. It's likely that they were just a group of players that passed by and planned on taking your money,' Asuna conjectured, turning to Kirito.

'I knew that the moment I saw them. But I'd like to avoid a fight if I can. We have more important matters to attend to.'

They walked through the crowded streets. Kirito scanned the buildings, most were dilapidated or beyond repair. Rows of boarded up houses lined the streets, adding even further to the gloomy atmosphere.

'The question is... where do we start?' Asked Kirito, watching his footing on the broken, cobbled road.

'There must be a town hall of some sort. Every town has a council of players to make decisions on behalf of the people. We should start there.'

Kirito nodded, and continued through the streets with Asuna, looking for any indication of where the town hall may be. He was suddenly stopped by a loud cry, emanating from a nearby pub. Suddenly, a tall, disheveled man stumbled out of the door, clutching his chest. He was followed by a slightly shorter man, who wore an eye-patch around one eye, and firmly gripped a long sword in his hand.

'I'll teach you for spilling my drink. Let's see how funny you find it when I run my blade through you.'

The taller man desperately reached for his own weapon, but it was too late. The other man had used one of his skills to charge forward. He managed to thrust his sword straight through his chest before he even had time to react. The man curled up in pain, then exploded into a flurry of sparks.

'B-But how?' Asuna queried, turning to Kirito in a state of disbelief, 'PVP should be disabled. Unless for some reason, the leader of the town chose to disable it.'

'I don't know... but for now, let's try and find the town hall. It's dangerous out here.'