Yes, this story is still going! I apologize for the big delay. Here's chapter 4 of Life is but a Dream!

It was a frightening creature.

With shaded blue fur, a stocky build and two sharp, pointed tusks protruding from the sides of its mouth, Miri couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved. She had to remind herself to stay focused – it was the weakest monster of Floor 2. She shouldn't have much trouble defeating it.

The creature snorted and turned its dark red eyes on Miri. She instinctively stepped back. Midori laughed.

"Don't be such a pansy! The frenzy boars are practically the magikarps of Sword Art Online."

"Yeah, but you forget that magikarps evolve into super powerful gyarados," added Saki. "Hey, Miri! Don't make it mad or it might even mega evolve!"

Miri rolled her eyes. Great. This is just what I need. She swung out her sword – it shone sheen silver in the waning sunlight, its metal reflecting her avatar and the clouds overhead. Haru and Chris had made sure to supply all of them with middle-class, sturdy weapons.

"Oh my goddess!" groaned Hitomi. "We're gonna be sitting here 'till old age if you don't take a swing soon!"

"Shut up! I'm forming a plan!"

"Seriously! Who needs a plan for the weakest – and I mean the weakest – monster in the game? Hit it in the face! Button mash it! Do something other than stare!"

Miri turned to argue back. Hitomi sat in the grass beside twelve other students – mostly young teens who wanted to level up under Midori's tutorage. They had all beaten at least one frenzy boar – now she was the last one to make her move.

"Miri look out!"

Miri spun around. She glimpsed sharp red eyes and an ugly face – and in the nick of time stumbled aside. A flash of ugly blur fur shot past where she'd just stood. The frenzy boar lurched to a halt. It turned around, stamping with fury. If this were real life Miri would definitely not want to pick a fight.

But...no matter what happened, Sword Art Online was still a game. Real world logic didn't apply to an MMO. She furrowed her brow and stepped forward. The creature lowered its sharp tusks. With another angry snort it dashed forward; this time Miri was prepared, and side-stepped. The creature stumbled, and without a moment's hesitation Miri lashed out her sword and struck it down on the neck. It squealed; its HP bar cut in half. She raised her hands for the finishing blow; this time the creature crumbled with the sword half-embedded in its craw. Its HP bar blinked into the red – and then suddenly the frenzy boar shattered into a million blue shards. The remaining fragments of what once had been the enemy floated lazily to the ground, before dissipating like snow. It was as if the frenzy boar had never even been there to begin with.

Miri stepped back. She'd done it. It hadn't been that difficult. A small smile managed to tug at the edges of her lips. Her first enemy! And here she thought she wouldn't even be able to hit the creature, no less than actually defeat it.

A small window opened before her eyes.

50 exp +

Item(s) received –

Monster Meat

Azure Fur

Congratulations!

You have leveled up.

Level 1 – 2

New Move Learned –

Fury Slash

"Woo hoo!"

Saki leaped for joy. "I knew you could do it!"

Midori shrugged, her eyes lazily scanning her menu. "Not bad. Your technique could use some work; you're definitely no natural."

Of course she has to say that.

"But…it's workable." With a shrug she turned to the rest of the class. "That's one of the most important factors of Sword Art Online; technique and strategy can decide between life and death. You have to treat this seriously, and learn the best ways to dispose of your enemies."

Hitomi raised a hand. "So we basically gotta be obsessive gamer nerds who can predict every combo, move and ability? 'Cause that's kinda what I am already. I know every fighting game combo after all!" She punched at the air, spun in a circle, then lost her footing and collapsed to the ground. "Trust me," she laughed with a sheepish grin, "I'm practically a walking game guide."

"Yes well…there are no online guides to help you now. The beta testers only know of the first boss; beyond that…everything else is a mystery. You'll have to be quick on your feet, and figure out your enemy on the go."

Miri joined the watching students. A boy groaned. "So we can't just button mash our way through?"

"Does this look like a fighting game to you?"

That day Midori was ruthless. After her lecture she forced them to grind the whole day by beating countless hordes of Frenzy Boars. Soon the weak enemies became boring and repetitive; as the sun began to set on the horizon, and the group readied themselves to be teleported back to Starting City, Miri heard a boy ask, "So when will we actually get to do something fun?"

Midori laughed. "We're grinding! Since when has grinding ever been fun?"

Miri had the distinct feeling that Midori just couldn't be bothered to teach them anything else about the other monsters of SAO.

"Aww," groaned Saki, leaning against the bed frame, "I wish they'd let me fight!"

"You're way too small to be battling against monsters."

"I am so not small! I'd probably be an even better fighter than you!"

"Uh-huh," Miri muttered, flicking through an S.A.O news page. There had been no more game updates since that fateful day when the logout button had mysteriously disappeared. The last update had been a day before that event had occurred – but it was nothing more than a string of random, glitched numbers. Miri sighed and closed the window.

"What's up?"

"Nothing…I'm just thinking. It's been three weeks since we've been trapped here, right?"

"Um…yeah! I think so."

"I'm just wondering…if there are any hackers here."

Saki cocked her head. "What's a 'hackah?'"

Miri smiled. "A hacker is someone that can break through computer security. But well, that's just putting it simply. I think if there are hackers in this game then there's a possibility that we may be able to logout after all."

"Oh…I don't really get it, but okay. Where can we find them?"

"That I don't know. I just hope that wherever they are they're working on breaking through Sword Art Online's security wall."

The door burst open. Hitomi stood at the doorway, a sly grin on her face. "Hey! You guys ready for an adventure?"

"Oh yes! I love adventures-Ow!"

"Depends on what this 'adventure' entails," Miri said, one hand holding Saki back by the collar of her shirt. "So what's up?"

With a suspicious glance from left to right, Hitomi slammed the door closed behind her. "Alright! So there's a big argument going on between Chris and Haru. Wanna go eavesdrop?"

Saki frowned. "That doesn't sound like much of an adventure."

"What are they arguing about?"

"From what I heard," said Hitomi, "it sounds like Haru wants to help Diavel beat the first boss. Come on, let's go listen!"

Miri sighed. Well…she was curious; she'd never heard Haru and Chris have an argument before. But what if the two found out they were eavesdropping…?

Before she could decide, Hitomi had grabbed her by the wrist and was practically dragging her to Haru's dorm. Saki followed loyally behind.

"Like I said…it's too risky."

"So we just stay here? Wait for an imaginary knight in white armor to log us out?" There was a long pause. Haru's voice became soft. "No one's coming, Chris."

"We don't know that…"

"We're all alone in this place. We have to take matters into our own hands."

"Since when did you become so passionate about beating the game?"

They were crouched outside Haru's door, their ears pressed against the creaky wood.

Haru didn't speak for a while. Then, "I don't want to live the rest of my life in here. I want to log out. I want to see my family again."

"You think I don't want to?! My brothers and sisters need me! My mum too! And they'll all be worried sick." A sob sounded behind the door. "But Sword Art Online has been reviewed as a notoriously hard game to beat. And if we die…"

"We'll never see them again."

The two fell silent.

"That's why," said Haru, "I'm going to take Diavel up on his offer."

"Haru…please, you don't know what you'll find!"

"I know…but if we don't work together to beat the game then we'll just be stuck here. I don't want to wait anymore. I have to do something, anything. I'm joining Diavel's guild…whether you like it or not."

A sudden crash sounded outside. There was cheering; a duel between two players must've been initiated in the streets. Flinching, Miri turned back to the door.

For a few minutes they heard nothing; then hushed whispers began, too quiet for Hitomi, Saki and Miri to hear. Chris sounded…angry. Brow furrowed, Miri pulled away.

She didn't want Haru to risk his life.

She prayed he'd be okay.

But...joining Diavel of all people. So he was going to battle the first boss. She wondered how much Diavel's guild had grown.

As they walked away, Saki running ahead, Miri heard Hitomi mutter, "the first boss, huh…?"

She shot her a curious look. Hitomi grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

"Things are getting pretty dramatic, aren't they?" Before Miri could reply Hitomi skipped ahead. "I'm off to bed. Have a good night!"

Soon only Saki and Miri were left in the lonely corridor.

Miri had the strange feeling that her idyllic life with the beta testers in Sword Art Online was about to come to an end.

Life with the beaters was different, to say the least.

Recently, although riots against the beta testers had died down for the time being, tensions were still high and everybody was trying to keep a low profile. The atmosphere in the shack was still crackling with unease; some of the beaters looked dark and brooding, whilst others seemed agitated at how Chris seemed bent on not fighting the first boss.

Miri tried to avoid the conflict. Instead she and Saki would help out with the cooking. (Recently Miri had managed to level up her cooking skill to level 4, much to her pride.) Saki loved playing with children, and the shack was filled with their giggles and play for most of the day.

And then, of course, there were the beta testers themselves.

Most of them were friends of Haru and Chris; they came and went as they pleased, bringing valuable items or information about the inner workings of the city. The other seven were people who stayed in the shack permanently. And they were…well…Miri wasn't sure how to describe them.

First there was of course Midori and Shin; Midori being her usual sharp-tongued, no-nonsense self and Shin her loyal fanboy; after those two was Gou.

In truth, Miri couldn't help feeling intimidated by his dark eyes and scowling face. He had long black hair tied up in a ponytail, and thick, sweeping lashes. A heavy sword and shield hung at his side. He reminded Miri of a battle weary warrior. She tried to avoid him as much as possible.

By his side was Kinu.

Kinu could literally not keep her mouth shut for more than two seconds.

In one of their first weeks staying at the shack, Kinu had appeared beside Miri and showed them a fantastic, gleaming sword from her menu.

"See that?" she'd said, with a dreamy look in her sharp green eyes. "That's a Fuchsia Double-edged Blade. It has a base sturdy stat of 200, with an even higher attack stat of 220. It's perfect if you're looking for a sword that'll last you a long while, and can hit hard and precise. And it's all yours for a mere 20000 cor!"

"Um…excuse me?"

"Oh, this isn't your thing? That's fine!" Exiting the picture, she then brought up another image of a sword. This one was thin and light, and had a gleaming red hilt. "Maybe this is more your thing! The Vermilion Sweeper! Okay so it isn't that sturdy, but it's really light – perfect for your scrawny figure!"

"Huh?"

"And you can swing hard and fast! I'll give it to you for a special deal – 10000 cor, give or take. You want it?"

Miri could only stare at her with wide eyes. Kinu sighed, crossed her arms, tapped a foot, and then gave her an excruciating glare.

"Honestly…the Vermilion Sweeper is perfect for you! But if strength's more your thing…"

"N-No!" Miri laughed and scratched the back of her head. "Honestly. I'm fine. I don't need a sword."

"Look!" Kinu hadn't even listened. "Now this is my personal favorite. The Flash." A thick katana, with a gleaming silver edge, shone through the picture. Its thick hilt was splashed a blinding white, and its shining metal was as clear and clean as a mirror. Even Miri thought it was beautiful. "If I could marry anyone," said Kinu, drooling, "I'd totally wed this katana."

"Wait, what?"

Needless to say Miri hadn't spoken with her much after that.

From what she could gather Kinu loved to craft swords, and Gou would craft tools. However since only the Second Floor had been unlocked they hadn't been able to make anything of worth. Kinu was constantly complaining about how she didn't have the items necessary to craft her beloved Flash. Miri wondered just exactly how many levels they'd have to unlock to make such magnificent weapons.

These were the people Miri and Saki soon came to know. Indeed, even though Hitomi was hyper, and Midori and Gou were scary, and Shin was a fanboy and Kinu was weird – well, as the weeks wore on, Miri couldn't help but start to like the ragtag group.

There was another beta tester, however – though Miri didn't meet him until the dawn of her fourth week in Sword Art Online.

The sun was so warm on her face…a distant tinkle of bells sounded in the air, and the ill tempered snorts of angry Frenzy Boars reminded Miri of the angry bulls in her childhood home.

For a moment she was taken back to a time when the world was simple; when she ran through the farmland, her laughter so high-pitched and carefree, and her dad following loyally behind.

She suppressed a shiver.

"Lookie, lookie, look!" Saki's voice cut through her thoughts.

They were on Floor 2. Saki was pretending to wield a sword. "Aha! I just slayed a dragon! Did you see that, Miri?" Her face crumpled when she saw her sister turned away. "Hey! Miri! Listen to me!"

"Huh?" Miri glanced back. "Oh…I'm sorry. Do it again."

Saki sighed. "I can't do it again," she declared, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "the dragon's already dead!" Her brow furrowed. "You're acting weird."

"I'm not weird!"

"Yeah you are! What's up?"

Miri bit her lip. She met her sister's eyes and then quickly averted her gaze.

No…she couldn't vent to her little sister. It wasn't Saki's job to make her feel better.

Shaking away her thoughts, Midori's voice snapped them all back to attention.

"Alright kiddos, recap time! I want you to show me the newest move you've learned. Get to it!"

Hitomi was first. "Hey, you stinking boar!" A frenzy boar turned to glare at her, steam puking from its nostrils. "Yeah you! Come on! You think you're so tough! Prepare for me to go so OP on your –"

"Now, Hitomi." Midori shot the girl an impatient glare.

Hitomi cleared her throat, withdrew her sword and opened her menu. Scrolling quickly down she selected something, then turned to face the beast; it dug its paw in the dirt, gave a warning stamp, then lowered its tusks and prepared to charge.

"Okay, miss Kagura, bring it on!"

There was a flicker. The blinding sunlight, the sea of grass, the dots of bushes and trees and faraway mountains…all was bleached in a sudden, seeping darkness. Light evaporated. A deafening stillness fell upon the plains, the only sounds being the small groups' ragged breaths.

"H-Huh?"

Miri's eyes turned to the sky. As soon as she saw it she grasped her sister's wrist and pulled her down.

It was…a dragon.

Miri had seen so many dragons online; both in MMOs, fantasy illustrations, hell, even movies. But to see one in real life – so big, with its body blotting out the sun and dark, scaly skin as black as ink…well, pictures just couldn't do the creature justice.

"Don't move." Midori's voice was hard. Miri flinched, but forced herself to obey.

As it passed over Miri couldn't help noticing the horns on its wings; its dark, hooked talons and lashing tail. For a few seconds it came to a stop; its wings flapped, and it turned to look down at the ground.

She saw the reflection in its eyes. And although she knew it was just data –it was code and nothing more – in that single moment that dragon felt more real than anything she'd ever seen before.

Suddenly it turned and with one mighty flap of its wings it had disappeared. Gone. Just like that.

At once the group released a heavy breath.

"Well," said Midori, "at least you all listened to me that time."

"What was it?" one student asked.

"That," suddenly another voice interjected; "is just another one of Sword Art Online's secrets."

Turning, Miri saw a young looking man, clad in leather and short blonde hair cupping his chubby face. "I say…we were certainly lucky to see the Guardian today!"

"…Guardian?"

"That," said the man, "is one of Sword Art Online's Guardians. Pretty cool, huh?"

Before anyone else could ask any questions, Midori stormed up to the man and drew her sword.

"No one gave you an invitation, Maru."

"I'm not here because I was invited to be, silly." He gave her a little pat on the head; Midori flinched back, her lips twisting into a scowl. "I'm just having a merry stroll through these wonderful fields…is that such a crime?"

"Whatever. Just leave us be."

Maru took a step back. He put a hand to his heart, as if offended; "oh my, Midori…after all I've done for you…"

Before Miri could stop her Saki had run ahead, and skidded to a halt near the man. "You know what that big monster was?"

Maru smirked. "Of course!" His eyes turned to the class of children, gazing at him with awe-filled faces. "Sometimes, though very rarely, you may see strange, giant creatures pass by on low level floors. We call these the Guardians of SAO. Nobody knows what they're there for; they don't seem to want to cause harm. It's just another secret we must work out…"

"Yeah, you can go ponder your conspiracies elsewhere!" Midori pushed herself in front of Saki and fixed him with a glare. "Don't even think about stealing our students. No one wants to join your filthy guild."

"That isn't for you to decide." Maru shoved past her, and strolled casually ahead. "But fine. If that's how you want it to be…I'll leave you heroic beta testers to do your work." His eyes glinted, and he turned to give Midori a sly grin. "Have fun training your toddlers, Midi."

With that he'd opened up his menu, and teleported elsewhere. Midori stared at where Maru had once stood, something strange written on her face; then, with a frustrated groan, she turned back to the students and clapped her hands.

"Right! Back to work!"

That Maru…Miri hadn't exactly understood it but…well, he seemed like another problem the beta testers had to deal with.

Something about the cockiness in his face made her stomach twist. Maru was a strange man…perhaps he was someone she should stay clear of.

"What was all that about?" asked Saki, looking rightfully confused.

Beside her Hitomi had her hands curled up into fists. "That was Maru," she said, through clenched teeth. Miri was surprised at the anger that seeped through her voice. "He's a hacker."

"So…" Miri tapped her chin, trying to process it all. "The normal players of SAO hate the beta testers. Okay. I got that. But why exactly do the beta testers hate the hackers?"

They were sitting in Miri's room on the bed, scoffing down their dinner of cold rice and monster meat.

"I told you," Hitomi mumbled through a mouthful, "the hackers are stupid, conniving, dirty little sneaks! They'll steal your money and ruin your day! You do not want to encounter one."

"I don't think you can call them stupid," said Saki, "I mean, they're HACKAHS!" She struck a dramatic pose. "I don't really get it, but you gotta be super smart to be a HACKA right?"

"Hacker. And anyway, why would hackers do such a thing? They're our best bet of getting out of Sword Art Online alive – right? I mean, they can hack into SAO. They gotta be able to log us out."

Hitomi paused. "Um…I'm not sure about everything hackers can do. But if hackers can log us out they're definitely not going to be doing that anytime soon."

"Huh?"

"A lot of them work for Player Killer guilds. They use their hacking to corner a victim, and then they get paid in return. Others just like to use their hacking for get rich quick schemes. And then there are those…like Maru. They're not interested in Player Killing, or getting rich; they just want to learn all they can about Sword Art Online and they use their Hacking to help them get new information. That's probably how Maru learned about the Guardians."

"Isn't that good? They could help us out with knowledge like that."

"Yeah but the thing is, they choose not to. They think they're so much better than us beaters! They even have their own secret guild." She stabbed a fork in her rice, her eyes ablaze. "And you wanna know the worst thing? Mention a beta tester and everybody will look at you with hateful eyes; but mention a hacker, and everybody thinks they're the solution to our problem!"

"Sounds rough," said Saki, laying a sympathetic hand on Hitomi's shoulder. "But if it'll make you feel better, I think the beta testers are really cool!"

Hitomi sighed. "Thanks…that's nice of you, kid. But it doesn't change the fact that Hackers are big flaming turds and if there wasn't a child in the room I'd so be calling him every name under the god-damn roof-Ow!"

Miri had conked her on the head. "Don't swear in front of my sister!"

"Sorry…"

As they ate the rest of their meal, Miri couldn't help feeling more confused than ever. So the general public hated the beta testers; the beta testers hated the hackers; and the hackers hated the general public – at least…according to Hitomi…?

Great. Now I've got a headache.

As Hitomi said goodnight and Miri slammed their door shut, she couldn't escape the thoughts swirling about in her head. So much was happening as of late…Haru talking about joining Diavel's guild, Maru's appearance, the Guardian they'd seen passing over Floor 2…

But as she lay in bed, Saki snoring beside her, Miri couldn't help thinking that maybe the Hackers weren't all that bad. When she thought of their intelligence, their slyness and the programs at their disposal a sliver of envy crept up in her heart. She'd always wanted to learn about hacking, and computer code. Though she'd never been that good at it…

Besides…Maru was right about one thing.

There were a lot of secrets to Sword Art Online.

Things that people hadn't even begun to discover.

When Miri awoke Saki was nowhere to be seen. Her heart jolted and at once she was out of bed.

"Saki…?"

As she walked down the corridor she couldn't help noticing the uneasy silence that filled the shack. She felt her muscles tense. Opening the door, Miri emerged into the cold lounge room.

No one…was there.

Her heart beating fast, Miri checked the kitchen. Nobody there. Back in the lounge she looked around, though there was no sign of people ever having lived there.

Miri was about to open her menu and send Saki a message when a flicker caught her eyes. Miri immediately glanced up at the ceiling.

She'd never noticed it before…but there, right in the middle, was a perfect square with a hanging string dangling from the edge. Suddenly there was a hushed whisper, a push, and a shove.

Frowning, Miri reached up, grabbed the string and pulled.

Suddenly the square fell open, and before Miri could avoid him Shin fell out and hit her front on. Slamming to the ground, she immediately pressed a hand to the back of her head, expecting there to be bleeding or pain or something awful. Of course there was nothing; her heart calmed when she realized things like blood and intense pain weren't processed in Sword Art Online.

"Jeez," Shin lay crouched on top of her, scratching the back of his head. "U-Um…Happy Birthday, Miri-"

Before he could finish she'd kicked him straight in the stomach, and sent him crashing back against the wall.

"The hell was that for? E-Everybody was gone and then – and then you fall on me and-" She had to pause for breath. Anger and surprise and fear and relief coursed through her veins all at once. She pinched the bridge of her nose and heaved a sigh. Shin lay against the wall, looking incredibly dazed.

"Thanks a lot, Shin," Kinu called from up top. "You just ruined the surprise." At once the dainty sword-loving girl dropped down. She turned to face Miri, and smiled. "Happy Birthday!"

"Yeah, Happy Birthday!"
At once one by one the rest of the residents jumped out. There was Chris, Haru, the few children that stayed with them, Gou – hell, even Midori had taken part. For a few moments Miri stepped back and looked at them all with confusion.

Her…birthday?

"Surprise!"

Saki was the last to jump out. "I said to Chris, I said, we gotta throw a Birthday party for Miri! She's turning thirteen and she'd love a surprise! And I said, I said to her, I said…!"

Oh.

A birthday party…just for her?

"Here." Kinu presented her with a sword. Tears rimmed Kinu's eyes as Miri took it from her hands. "Um…It's one of the best I've made…I mean, with the materials available to me at the moment of course. It's called an Aevus Sabre. It has a base sturdy stat of 100, and a hit power of 150. It's one of the lighter swords but it can still deal massive blows. Take good care of it okay?" Then, reluctantly, she relinquished her prized beauty. The sword dematerialized and appeared in her weapons slot.

"Thank you…" Before she could even recover from Kinu's act of kindness, Gou stepped forward.

"Here. For you." He transferred to her inventory her a stone with a strange, glowing marking etched into its surface. "Kinu and I got it as a prize from a quest. Maybe you'll find a use for it."

"Oh…" It was pretty, though she hadn't the first idea what the markings meant. "Thanks, Gou. I appreciate it."

Finally Chris and Haru walked up. "Here. We worked on this just for you."

A necklace.

It was carved from sturdy wood and had the numbers '13' etched into the middle. Chris placed it around her neck and stepped back to admire what she'd made.

"Wow…you look so cute." Haru nodded in agreement. "You know…you're the same age as my step-sister now." She clapped her hands and gave Miri such a broad smile, that it was hard to believe she was the same tired teenager who'd been working day and night to keep the people of the shack happy.

Miri's heart lifted. A birthday party…just for her; it had been so many years since she'd had one.

"We thought," said Haru, "that maybe we've all been pretty gloomy lately. So now whenever it's someone's birthday we'll have a big celebration! How does that sound?"

The children cheered, though Kinu seemed reluctant at the thought of parting with more of her precious swords.

That day they ate and laughed and chattered like there was no tomorrow. Saki threw herself into Miri's chest, and wrapped her in a hug. "How could you have forgotten your own birthday? You're so dumb, Miri!"

Yeah…she had forgotten. For so long she'd tried to be the mature girl; the one in control, the sister who was not weak and would do anything to escape the game.

And she still was that girl.

But…for one day…

Maybe just for one day she could be like normal thirteen year olds, and smile and laugh and enjoy the day in its entirety.

So she did just that.

And for the first time in a long while Miri was part of a family.