BEEP BEEP BEEP! By the side of my bed on a simple wooden cupboard my high pitched alarm was going off in my ear, 7:00 AM July 26th. It had been six months since me and my three loyal friends had defeated the second floor boss and seven months since this entire death trap closed itself around the 10,000 players which had entered it. I was in my large and luxurious log cabin, which cost most of the money I had saved up in the game, in the 22nd floor of Aincrad. The floor was in my opinion the best we had yet to find, it was a floor of sheer beauty containing large green pine forests and a number of large shimmering lakes.

As I woke up I slowly came to my senses, turned off my beeping alarm clock and sat up and looked out the open window to my side. It was yet another stunningly bright day outside where birds could be heard singing and the smells of the luscious plant life could be smelt upon the gentle breeze. I got out of my soft bed with a stretch and a long yawn and slowly plodded to the kitchen to make myself a cooked breakfast consisting of a chicken like meat and toast. As I sat down at the finely carved and polished mahogany table I thought about my plans for the day. I wasn't on front line duty for another week and I had been down to the floor dungeon most of the week, so I eventually decided that I would go for a long walk through the forests.

Within the 8 months of the game people had started to accept and get used to life in Aincrad, with some preferring it to real life, and the fiery determination to clear the game and outright fury at Kayaba Akihiko had already began to fade a little. I was one of those who preferred this virtual world to reality, it's unbelievable scenery, unlimited possibilities, endless adventures and few limitations to what a person could do had drawn me solidly to life in here and unlike most of the time in the real world I was happy and content with my way of life.

After eating I got up and changed into a simple dark red shirt, blue trousers and thick leather hiking boots. No weapons or any kind of armour, I wouldn't be needing those today. I went to the thick oaken door, opened it and walked out into the fresh air and sunshine which seemed to never vanish from this floor. To my left was the vastly stretching dark green pine forests and to my right was a large lake at the bottom of a large mountainside waterfall which shimmered in the sunlight. I walked down from the front of my house and onto the dirt path and walked into the direction of the vast forests.

About 20 minutes into my walk my menu panel opened up and showed me that I had received a short voice message from Andrew. I stopped walking and wondered if it was that important, but on the end I decided that I had better hear it now or I would almost certainly forget about it by the time I had finished my walk.

"Hey Steven, meet me down at my house on the 18th floor I want to talk to you about some things." I hear Andrew's voice say from the panel in front of me. I roll my eyes a the message, "what could he want now." I think irritated at always being interrupted whenever I'm at home. But however much his summons annoy me I'm curious about what he wants to talk about so, reluctantly, I begin the short walk to the floor portal.

Near to 10 minutes later I reach my destination. The floor portal was in a large perfectly circular clearing in the forest and was a white granite circle with 2 stairs leading up to the central section, it had a white marble archway over it with a sphere of distorted, light blue, space covering the area of the portal base. The floor portal allows players to teleport freely between any of the cleared floors by simply naming the place you want to go.

"Floor 18." I say clearly once I'm standing in the centre of the portal base. Immediately the space around me gets engulfed in an electric blue and white light signalling the teleportation. A few seconds later the engulfing light begins to recede and I begin to see the rolling hills, flower filled plains and a number of golden yellow, soft red and muted brown leaved oak and elm forests. I was standing on another portal base similar to the one on the 22nd floor apart from a more intricately carved stonework surrounding me.

I walked down from the portal base and turned around to see a spread out village which consisted of large thatched roofed cottages connected together by a number of cobble streets. Nearer to the centre of the village the buildings drew closer together and formed a large town centre where shops of every kind were established and prospering. My destination, Andrew's house, was on the far side of the village in one of the out-skirt areas of the village much nearer to the wilderness that this floor presented.

Andrew's house, like the others was a white painted wooden cottage with a thatched roof, there was a few windows on each floor looking out towards the town and the door was made from birch wood with a brass knocker in the shape of an eagle. As I walked towards the house I noticed that the curtains were still closed and no light could be seen coming from the house. When I reached the door I banged on the door with the brass eagle, which created a loud thud each time it hit, and waited for Andrew to open the door.

Half a minute later the door opened inwards to reveal the inside of the house and Andrew. He wore a simple dark blue shirt and black trousers, he had obviously not been awake for too long as his hair was a mess and I saw him yawn as he opened the door.

"Hi Andrew." I say before he returns my greeting and we both walk back inside the house towards the large furnished living room lit by a crystal chandelier in the centre of the room as Andrew closes the front door with a soft thud and click of the lock. I went and sat down in one of the oaken chairs which stood by a large mahogany table. When Andrew entered the room he sat down by the table in the chair opposite me.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about." I say getting straight down to the point of me being here.

"Well so much for formalities then." Andrew replies with a a slight shake of his head. "Well I was thinking about starting a guild for us four and anyone else who want to join." when I just stare at him indifferently without saying anything he goes on "I know you don't really like the idea of being in a big official party of sorts but most of the people in the front line are in guilds and when they band together and organise themselves they can clear and map out a whole floor within a day or two, taking all the glory and loot with them. Us lot are just a small band of solo players who can't do much up in those higher dungeons on our own."

"Wait a sec, we can't do anything on our own?" I say sarcastically "Last time we were all together on the front line we did a good days work up there and mapped out a good section for the rest of the liners to go by. Just because we can't take on the big floor bosses alone doesn't mean we can't do things on the front line." I continue with irritation in my voice.

"That may be so, but think about it Steven, what's going to happen on the higher floors around the 60s to 70s that's going to be pretty hard for a group of people who get the left over items from the big guilds. Then we have the fact that we have to be in a constant party most of the time which stops us from joining any other parties whereas a guild would be a permanent and official party which still allows secondary parties to be joined. Also with a guild we can sort out item management and trading easier than the usual of us constantly trading." He responds with equal irritation and determination.

"I take it from the number of reasons you've gathered, you've spoken with Andrew and Oliver already." I comment slowly before looking out the window at the expansive fields which lay to this side of the house.

"Yes, I have spoken to them and both of them agree to the idea and I left you till last as I knew you would be the hardest to persuade because you are so damn stubborn and thick headed all the time." He answered with annoyance in his voice.

"Okay, okay no need to get angry with me for disagreeing to your idea. How about I help out with the guild but I wont be an official member." I say calmly, now looking back at him. "So who's going to be the guild leader then?" I ask curiously.

"Well Andrew said a complete no to it instantly but Oliver said he wouldn't mind doing it and I'm not completely sure if I should lead the guild." He answers quietly.

"Well then why don't you and Oliver have an organised duel and the winner of that becomes the leader, simple isn't it." I say calmly before getting up and walking into Andrew's medium sized kitchen for a drink of water. When I returned to the living room with a clear glass of water in my hand I see that Andrew has his menu open and is sending someone a message.

"Who you messaging." I ask with curiosity as I sit back down and place my glass on the table.

"Oliver. I'm telling him about what you said and arranging a duel with him for sometime tonight." he replies slowly only half concentrating on what he was saying.

"Why don't you do it up on my floor, there's some good places for a duel and it never really gets to cold to be outside even in the dead of night." I suggest.

"Just so that you can get back home to go to sleep quicker than the rest of us." He responds with a smile now looking up at me. "But fair enough, It's gonna be at 8 PM tonight wherever you choose." He says calmly.

"Well then want to go out and do some training with me while we wait." I ask Andrew as I get up and head towards the front door, after rolling his eyes he gets up and follows me out through the front door.