Chapter 3

Authors Note: Doing some P.O.V. changes. This will be the start of the slow-down of the story, and it will stay slowed. Please, please, please review! I love your words!

I wandered the streets of Taft. It was the main city of floor 11, and it was March of 2023. It had been several days since the clearing of the floor 10 boss. That meant the clearing guild hadn't formally established their temporary base, so the streets were practically bare while they set up. Just how I liked it. But I needed a new scythe. The last time I'd gotten an upgrade was after 7's boss fight from some NPC, and it just didn't stand up anymore. I'd upgraded the shit out of it, but any more and I was afraid it would break. So as much as I hated to say it, it was time to retire ol' snake handguards. For custom weapons, a player store would probably be best. But where to find one… I heard the sound of something hitting glass, and I turned absentmindedly to find the noise. Someone had just changed their sign from closed to open, and a quick glance at the sign above read 'Lisbeth's'. I decided to check it out…

Lisbeth's P.O.V.

Ok…This was it. The day my months of training had led up to, the opening of my first shop. It wasn't a very good location, and it didn't have a water wheel like I'd wanted, but it would do until I could find a more suitable location. I flicked the closed sign to open and stepped in the back room, waiting for the ring that would signify my first customer. It wasn't but two seconds until I heard the ring. Maybe Asuna was coming to check on me. I sprung through the door, placing my hands on my hips and proudly pronounced, "Hello, and welcome to Lisbeth's Smith Shop!" There was no response. I opened my eyes that had been screwed shut, and then my mind wiped blank.

It couldn't be him. He…He wasn't supposed to exist. He was just a myth! Right?

Standing before me was The Grim Reaper.

"Hello," came a voice from under the hood.

"You…You're just a myth," I said, my words stumbling as they left my mouth. He cocked his head to the side slightly.

"I was aware that the current theory was that I'm an NPC." He chuckled slightly. "Guess I'm behind on the times."

"What…Um..." I couldn't think. "What would you like, Mr. Reaper?" I asked good-naturedly.

Another chuckle escaped that hood of his. "I need a scythe, believe it or not." He pulled that blade that was feared by many out of its sheath, and laid it on the table.

"Well…I'll need time to gather the materials."

"Ah, about that." He pulled up his menu, and quickly set a few consumables to take shape. Instantly, about 12 Volcanic rune ores dropped onto the table. I stared. You could only get these by fighting the mini-boss on the 7th floor's dungeon. Even then, the drop rate was less than 10%. And yet, he had twelve. "I trust this will be sufficient."

I reached out, hitting the appraise option, just to be sure they were real. They were. Holy shit.

"Yeah, this will be…um…What stats were you looking for?"

"Strength and speed, mostly."

"Yeah, I've…heard the rumors."

He cocked his head to the side again. "Oh, really? And what do they say?"

"Well…Some of them say you're the real reaper, stalking the battlefield to claim souls."

He scoffed. "Morons."

"But those at least think you're real. The others say you're a myth."

"Can we get back to the scythe, please?" He reached under the hood and rubbed his face. At least, I hoped there was a face under there.

"Yes, of course. Sorry, I just didn't expect my first customer to be Death," I said, chuckling and turning back to my forge room. He cleared his throat, and I turned in confusion. "What?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"And what's that?"

"The ore?" Ah. Yeah, that was important. I nodded sharply, walking back to the table. "So, how many will you need? 5? 6?" I smiled slightly, and picked one up. "Are you kidding me?"

"No…I just need the one." He immediately rubbed his face again, and groaned through his hands.

"I spent an entire day grinding that stupid boss." I couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, go ahead and laugh at my pain." I caught myself, marveling at the absurdness of the situation. Here I was, on my first day of work. A player I thought was a myth had just complained, and I was laughing at his anguish. Definitely what I'd thought I'd be doing when I woke up today.

Seth's POV

I couldn't stop staring at her as she walked into the back room. The pink hair… 'Stop it, Seth.' I walked over to the table, and scooped up the rest of the ores, placing them back into my inventory. Maybe I'd be able to sell them, or upgrade the scythe with them. I leaned on the wall, my head resting back against the wall itself. There was a very pretty girl making my new weapon. I could get used to this.

I thought about what she'd said. According to a lot of players, I either didn't exist, or was the real grim reaper. Either rumor would cause even more fear. And after the beater thing, I was surprised this girl was willing to craft for me. My bandanna slipped off my nose, and I went to drag it back up when there was a noise. My eyes snapped open, and Lisbeth was back.

"So you do have a face under there," she said, sounding like she actually believed the opposite was true.

I quickly dragged the bandanna back up. "Is it done?"

"Yeah."

"That was quick."

"Forging doesn't take much time. It's more about the gathering of materials, and you did most of that for me."

"Can I see it?"

"Of course." She stepped to the side of the door, and gestured me into the forge. On the anvil…

It was a work of art. The top edge looked like the wing of a bat, the side without the blade extending out into points with red fabric webbing between the points. The blade itself was long, and had runes carved into it in an unknown language. It had a small handle extending from the pole midway, allowing me more versatility. Wonderful. The bottom edge ended in a small circle, with edges extending from it like a ninja star.

"Is it good?" she asked. "You didn't say what you wanted the handle to be made out of, so I used raven wood that a friend of mine gathered from floor nine."

"It's beautiful." I reached out and picked it up, spinning it quickly. I spun around, stopping the blade just before it hit the wall, then spun again, twirling the blade and nearly hitting the girl. She yelped and I chuckled.

"I'll need to appraise it," she said, reaching out. I allowed her to touch it, and the option popped up which she quickly tapped. "Raven's Talon. It's got a level 2 bleeding effect, and that can be upgraded further."

"Pretty damn good for your first client." I sheathed the blade. "How much?" She thought.

"Tell you what. No money, but I'll require two things?"

"Oh? And what would those be?"

"You come by my shop only for upgrades. Having someone like you pop by is going to earn me some publicity." I chuckled, bowing my head. She wasn't wrong. I had a certain group following me almost at all times. Normally I could lose them in the Labyrinth area, but they could be annoying in safe zones. But I'd overheard they were going to be on floor 9 today.

"Deal. And the second thing?"

"The Army. They've been poking around lately. A friend of mine…refused to pay their taxes, and they dragged him to that castle of theirs."

"You want me to scare them off if they come for you?"

"When, actually. When they come for me. I was planning to call Asuna, but you'll do."

"Alright…when are they coming for you?" I checked the time in the corner of my display. I'd planned to head out towards the labyrinth area today, but I could spare a few hours.

"About 10 minutes."

"How…"

"Do I know? They have a schedule. They dispatch platoons to every floor every Wednesday at noon."

"I was not aware of that. They're really into this whole 'You owe us because we're the only ones trying to clear the game' thing. I thought they'd be too afraid to come this far. I'm not even an official member of the clearing group, and I know they're a joke among the higher players."

"Tell me about it. I can wield a mace with the best of them, and they still say I need to be protected." A knock at the door. "Shit," she said, running to the window. "They're early." She turned, but I was already gone.

Lisbeth's P.O.V.

'Dammitdammitdammitdammitdammitdammit….That's what I get for trusting the damn Reaper,' I thought as I saw he was gone. I turned back and opened the door. 'Do a guy a favor, and he'll take all he can.' Three Army grunts were standing there.

"What do you idiots want?"

"Taxes, citizen. You owe it to all the players trapped in this game to fund the Army, the only guild successful in its efforts to clear the game."

"Ever hear of the Knights of the Blood Oath? They can do more in an hour than you jackasses can pull off in a week."

"How dare you!"

"How dare I?! How dare you come in here and demand my money!"

I was really hoping this wasn't going to result in a fight. Even in a safe zone, they could still come back when I went to the field. It was then I heard a voice.

"You three have about 10 seconds to get off my lawn," said a gravelly voice from behind them. The small group parted. The Reaper was back. His voice had lowered to little more than a throaty growl, but there was no mistaking that scythe.

"Oh, god…" muttered the one on the right. The one in the middle kept a stiff back and retaliated.

"And who are you that thinks they can outweigh the Army?" The Reaper drew his new scythe, placing the end with the blade on the ground.

"You know exactly who I am. I can see the trembling in your companion's legs. I can smell your fear." The one in the middle even started to cower. "One Army platoon versus the entire Clearing group? No problem. One Reaper? Now you're scared." The figure leaned in, squaring up to the middle guy. "Run back to that dump you idiots call a castle, and tell your higher ups something. If you bother this poor girl ever again, you will find anything unprotected by the ethics filter scattered about the ruins of Hell." The three trembled under the force the man was putting behind his words. He leaned even closer. "Boo." The three jumped, then ran off. The Reaper watched them leave, then nodded to me. "I don't think they'll be coming back here any time soon." His voice had returned to normal.

Seth's P.O.V.

There was nothing I liked more than to watch the Army run like hell. I turned back to Lisbeth. "I don't think they'll be coming back here any time soon," I said. I was surprised when she leapt forward and threw her arms around me.

"Thank you!"

"Woah, ok." I tried prying her arms off of me, but her strength factor was higher than mine. "Look, it's nothing. You told me to do it, and I got it done." She stood up straight, a smile wide on her face.

"I thought you left."

"I keep my promises." I closed my eyes, lowering my bandanna and rubbing my throat. Doing that gravely tone killed my voice.

Lisbeth's P.O.V.

He did it. I could hardly believe it, but he did it. He lowered his bandanna, and I got an idea. I stood on the tip of my toes to get to his height, planting a kiss on his exposed cheek. "You're not as bad as everyone thinks you are," I whispered. I immediately turned, going back inside the shop without waiting for a response.

Seth's P.O.V.

"You're not as bad as everyone thinks you are," she whispered. She turned and went back inside. My hand absentmindedly raised itself to rub the area she'd touched with her lips. Snapping out of whatever trance I was in, I raised my bandanna, sheathed my new scythe, and headed for the Maze Tower. I could definitely get used to this.