Side Story: A Certain Virtual Blacksmith

"There are still no leads on who or what was responsible for striking down the ex-guild officer at noon yesterday as he delivered an incoherent speech from outside his balcony at the «Black Iron Castle». However, Thinker, the guild leader of the «Aincrad Liberation Force», more commonly known as «The Army», has disclosed that Kibaou, the victim of yesterday's events, is recuperating in a secure location. During our interview, Thinker informed us that due to mental stress associated with the recent disastrous boss clearing and yesterday's incident, Kibaou will not be returning to active duty in the near future, if at all. He also assured us that his men are looking into the incident and will do their utmost to ensure that residents of the «1st District» are safe from harm…"

Lizbeth looked up from the player-written newspaper which she placed atop a barrel and returned to work. There was only one task to be completed before she was done with this job, but she had been so curious about what had happened yesterday, with all the rumors flying around, that she had indulged and let the «System Assist» take over while she craned her head to the side to read. Thankfully, the customer sitting on the wooden stool across from her at her street stall didn't seem to mind the delay.

"Sorry about that," Liz apologized as she inspected the interior of the gun's barrel. She was performing maintenance on the weapon to restore its durability.

"Don't worry about it," her customer replied, sounding slightly amused. "Since I'm no longer in charge of training, I have all day."

Liz set down the piece of the gun she had been holding and began to put the components back together. She talked as she worked. "But really…for that to happen in a «Safe Zone». Uwah, the world's a scary place."

She tested out the mechanisms on the gun, took a quick check through the scope and, when she was satisfied that everything was in order, handed the gun back to its owner. Liz smiled and said, "That went a lot more smoothly than the first time I tried my hand at it. «System Assist» was a godsend back then, but I can almost do everything manually now. There've been a lot more customers recently, so I can't afford to work slowly." She stretched her arms over her head dramatically, wincing when she heard popping noises emanating from her stiff joints. "Just the other day, I had this one guy come in…looked a bit like a mountain bandit with that scruffy beard and bandana, who ordered a dozen custom-made curved blades and katanas. At least, I think that was what he was trying to order. It was kind of hard to tell with his stuttering."

Her current customer was one of her regulars, a girl who looked to be a year or two younger than herself. As usual, she wore a tan-colored jacket and short pants which looked a little too tight. However, there were a few things that were different about Sinon today. First, she was wearing a scarf, odd enough since it was getting warmer recently with the shifting seasons. But there was one more change which made the girl stand out even more.

As the sniper picked up her gun and looked through the scope experimentally, Liz worked up the courage to ask her about it. "You dyed your hair? It looks…rather flashy."

She chose her words carefully; the last time she had even hinted that Sinon might be interested in a guy (and rightfully so in Liz's opinion, considering how often she complained about him being an arrogant showoff during boss fights,) she had refused to talk to Liz for a week afterwards. Liz didn't want to go through that again. Trying to make small talk during maintenance with someone who refused to answer but spent the whole time looking over your shoulder was rather uncomfortable.

Sinon favored her with a predatory grin. Combined with her now ice-blue hair, the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees instantly. "I like the color," she answered simply. "Plus it's noticeable and I'm a little tired of people whispering behind my back. If someone has something that they want to say about me, they'll know how to find me….What's with that look?"

At Sinon's words, Liz gave a start. She hadn't realized she'd been staring. "Um, nothing!" she exclaimed, backing up a step. "You just sound so confident about yourself that—" Sinon raised an eyebrow, prompting Liz to add hastily, "Not that you haven't always been confident, but it feels different now. How can I say it…er…"

Sinon leaned back and crossed her legs as she looked Liz in the eye, prompting the blacksmith to continue with a curt nod of her head. It was a fine display of balance, considering the girl was sitting on a backless stool.

In an attempt to change the topic since she couldn't find the right words, Liz asked "Weren't you in a guild the last time you came by?" Her eyes flickered down to the paper. If memory served her correctly, Sinon had been a member of «The Army». "I'm sure you've heard questions about what happened yesterday already but, one thing's really been bugging me… Aren't player criminals unable to enter «Safe Areas» like towns? It seems dangerous if they're allowed inside…"

Sinon smirked a bit as if she was remembering something amusing. "That's sort of true. When we tried to drag that sorry excuse for a division leader back into town, the NPC guards all started chasing him like he had insulted their mothers. Apparently, the guards can hurt a player while they're inside a «Safe Area». I guess that's where the idea that «Orange Players» can't enter towns came from. We ended up having to go to the expense of teleporting him directly into the «Black Iron Castle». But the moment Kibaou took a step outside…ah, his panicked screams were hilarious."

"The paper said Kibaou was in charge of the last boss fight. Did what happened during the latest district clearing have anything to do with you leaving?"

It was a natural follow-up question, but Liz instantly regretted asking that question as Sinon's expression immediately turned cold. "That doesn't have anything to do with you."

Liz must have let her shock show, because Sinon's expression softened as she added in a slightly apologetic tone, "Sorry, it's just that someone I knew… In any case, I promised the Yulier I wouldn't give out any details on what happened during the 25th district clearing. You'll have to wait for the 'official' version."

With those calmly spoken words, the sniper tossed Liz her payment for her services and walked off into the busy streets of the bustling trade town. It did not take long for her to disappear out of sight behind the crowds of shoppers browsing wares.

Liz turned back to her portable furnace with a sigh. That short break to read the news was her first one of the day. She still had about a dozen orders to fill today. The work hours were long, but she couldn't stop now, not when she was halfway towards buying a building to turn into her shop. In that sense, the recent boom in people wanting to head out into the field and sewers was a blessing. Skilled weapon crafters and armorers were in high demand these days and it was getting difficult to procure the raw supplies needed to keep up. Business was so good that even with her pitiful excuse for a storefront, a stall barely as large as those used for festivals back in the real world, she had no shortage of customers. Even an amateur salesperson like herself knew the market was good when the customers tolerated her tendency to outburst at them for interrupting her when she was in the middle of working.

She struck the glowing metal bar in front of her repeatedly, each strike flattening the ingot slightly. When she reached the 25th strike, the bar began to glow and morphed into the final product, a flanged mace. Liz opened up a menu and checked the stats on the weapon.

She clicked her tongue. Passable. The weapon had a common name and the randomized stats averaged out to be typical. It was definitely good enough for a mid-level player heading out to the sewers to level or gather materials.

There were many levels of gear that could be crafted. Those of the highest grade had unique names and easily outclassed common gear. Of course, even with a high smithing skill, crafting such an item was a rare occurrence. Liz, who must have forged or assembled a thousand assorted weapons by now, had yet to create one such masterpiece. But she knew such gear existed, mostly because the tailor down the road, a woman by the name of Ashley, had sewn together no less than three such named outfits in the past month. Really…some people had all the luck…

Setting the mace aside for now, Liz materialized another ingot from her inventory and placed it into the furnace. The automated process would inform her when it was ready for hammering. Since it would take a little bit of time, she busied herself with tidying up her stock. Even if her shop was a dingy little affair, there was something nice about making it looking organized.

Nothing about her day, discounting how busy she was, was out of the ordinary. At least, Liz could say that up until just two hours before sunset. She was stretching out her arms, having completed yet another order and was mentally congratulating herself on reaching the final job she had to finish today when she noticed something strange about the crowd of shoppers in the district.

A ripple ran through the throng, almost as if there was some unseen force pushing people aside. And if Liz wasn't mistaken, the source of that disturbance was heading her way. Quiet murmurs began to reach her ears as people nearby began to whisper amongst themselves. At that moment, her furnace gave a small chime, indicating that the ingot within was ready for processing. Liz had been absentmindedly working the bellows the entire time through muscle memory. Although she wanted to find out what was going on, she had to start forging or risk losing her materials.

She raised her hammer in both hands, bringing it up with the intent to strike. Just as she was swinging it down, a voice called out.

"That doesn't look quite right…"

The unexpected accusation broke her concentration and her hammer struck the anvil instead of the ingot, sending a resounding clang and a few sparks into the late afternoon air.

"Quiet! What do you know?" Liz snapped in annoyance. She looked up from her work and glared up at the owner of the voice. At that moment, time froze momentarily. Her irritation was instantly overwhelmed by surprise and awe.

(What was she doing here?)

Long chestnut hair that flowed elegantly down to her waist. A silver breastplate over a white undershirt framed in red. A delicate looking frame. But elegant as the girl looked, Liz had heard the tales about her. Nearly everyone in «Aincrad» had. And if even half the stories were true, Asuna was as much a weapon as the rapier and pistol hanging at her belt.

"Are you alright?" Asuna asked. It took a moment for Liz to realize she was addressing her.

Snapping out of her daze, Liz brushed off her hands on her blacksmith's apron and stood up. "Can I help you with anything?" she asked, changing her tone to her "shopkeeper" voice.

The «KoB» officer smiled wryly, probably because of the complete 180 Liz's behavior had just undergone. Liz silently cursed at herself; not only did she embarrass herself, but she did so in front of arguably the most famous person in the game. Thankfully, Asuna didn't dwell on the matter.

"I've heard from a mutual acquaintance that you're the person to go to for swords and ranged weapons," she explained. "I'd like to commission you for some work."

"If it's a custom-made weapon you want, I have a long list of clients that I need to take care of first," Liz explained apologetically. "It might be some time before I can fill an order. I'd recommend finding someone else if you're in a rush."

Her words didn't seem to deter Asuna at all, because the girl just smiled with a brightness that Liz could never hope to match even in her dreams. "A smith that isn't swamped with work is one I'd need to be careful of," she replied. "I'd rather trust in the quality of someone who is in high demand than a craftsman who can't find work even in this environment."

Her words were convincing and Liz was a bit surprised that she hadn't realized that first. She quickly excused herself by reminding herself that she had been focusing solely on leveling her crafting skills rather than focusing on the business aspect of her job.

"You make a good argument," Liz admitted. "But it'll take a few days, if not a week, before I can even get started on your order. Not to mention the cost of materials for a frontline-caliber weapon will be rather high…"

"Don't worry about the cost," Asuna answered confidently, "I'll get you the materials you need if you want."

Well, it was entirely likely that she would be able to cover the costs of forging a weapon easily. Even if Liz didn't know that Asuna probably saw rare drops on a regular basis and putting aside the fact that she probably made more in a week than Liz did in a month, the girl gave off an "ojou-sama" aura that practically screamed "I could buy up every item in your shop on a whim." But the implications of what she had added at the end irked Liz.

"Don't look down on me," Liz snapped, again punting decorum to the curb where it rightfully belonged. "I'm the smith here. It's my job to make sure I have the materials I need. You focus on clearing the game, I'll worry about the crafting. I'll have your weapon ready in a few days. Just stop by when you're not busy."

That was what she had said a week ago but…

"Ah…this isn't good…"

Liz mumbled to herself as she checked her inventory. After filling all the orders prior to the one she had received from Asuna, her materials stockpile was running dangerously low. In fact, all she had left were low rank materials, suitable for forging items for players around level 10. There was no possible way to craft a weapon for a frontliner with what she had; even a weapon with a unique name made from those ingots would be too weak.

"No choice but to restock," Liz said to no one in particular.

She placed a small message on her stall to let her customers know that she'd be out for an hour or two. Even though there wasn't any way for someone to steal her items on display, Liz still stashed away all of her stock in two locked chests before heading out. It would take some time to organize her merchandise again after returning, but she counted it as an opportunity to reduce the clutter in her already tiny vendor's stall.

After an hour and a half of walking around, Liz still didn't have any luck.

She didn't know whether it was because demand for crafting materials was high or if her luck was just that bad, but none of her usual suppliers had anything in stock. It was telling that even Agil, the dark-skinned giant who always had what she needed, gave her an apologetic bow and said he didn't have anything left. He was her last resort, though the reason she thought of him as such was because the man was so imposing that Liz always found herself hard-pressed to argue down his prices or to haggle up when she was selling.

Shaking her head, Liz decided to try in a different district.

The situation wasn't any different there. Merchants were either out of stock or were holding what they had left for friends or their usual clients. What she could find was of a low enough quality that Liz doubted she would be able to make a weapon on a level that would satisfy Asuna.

She almost considered giving up and trying at a later date. A second later, Liz threw that thought into the proverbial trash heap while simultaneously smacking her cheeks with both hands. Hard. This was an obstacle towards her dream of opening a shop. If she gave up now, she might be tempted down this path again in the future. And a smith…nay, a professional, who gave up just because conditions weren't ideal couldn't really call themselves a professional. Her pride and reputation as a smith was on the line.

Unfortunately, that meant that she would have to go out into the field. And in order to make something top-notch, Liz would have to head to at least the «20th District». Knowing that her chance of survival alone was probably near 0%, she decided to try to find a party.

«The Golden Chalice» took every standard RPG trope related to taverns and did a bad job of condensing it into one small package. It reeked strongly of alcohol and smoke although none of the patrons seemed to be smoking. The noise level inside rivaled that of the marketplace on a busy day, making it hard to hear oneself think, let alone any single conversation unless one focused. There were NPC serving girls in frilly uniforms running about taking orders and a NPC bouncer at the door who was tapping a club against his palm menacingly and glaring at everyone in the room as if he was contemplating murder. The only thing missing was a good drunken brawl. Steeling herself for the worst, Liz took a step inside.

The furnishings which Liz could actually see beneath the layer of dirt and grime that covered them were made of some dark-colored wood. Speaking of the grime, Liz tried to keep her distance from the tables, chairs, and walls to avoid getting any on herself. She was tempted to keep her distance from the customers as well, but that would defeat the purpose of being there. If it hadn't been for everyone she had asked saying that this was the "go-to" place for finding an adventuring party at her level, Liz would have turned around and left the moment she saw what it looked like on the inside. In her opinion, the building that occupied this space probably looked better when it was still part of a district overrun by the undead. Also in her opinion, the patrons of this place must have brains as rotted as the undead if they willingly congregated in a dive like this.

Not knowing where to turn, Liz figured the best place to ask might be the portly tavern owner. Even if he was an NPC, he might have a hint as to how to find a party in this dive.

"Hello," Liz addressed him. "I'm looking for—"

"Looking for work are yeh?" the plump man interrupted as a quest marker appeared over his head. Despite the noise level in the room, it seemed he had no trouble hearing her and mistook her words for a quest trigger. "Lucky for yeh, Ah'm in need of someone to work the tables."

"Wait…what?" Liz asked. "No—I'm not—"

"Here's yer uniform, try not to get it dirty," the tavern owner continued, ignoring her protests. "There's a changing room in the back."

"I told you, I'm not—," Liz exclaimed.

But the man had already turned to take an order from another patron. Liz puffed out her cheeks in indignation and shook her head. Despite how advanced the programming of this world was, there were limitations. Some NPCs were extremely narrow in how much their behavior varied. Go beyond the limits of their coding and they would reset to their default behavior.

Liz took one look at the item that now occupied her inventory and then turned to get a glimpse of one of the waitresses in the tavern. She tried to imagine herself wearing the outfit for a brief moment before laughing derisively and telling herself that would never happen.

There were so many people gathered in the tavern that she didn't really know where to begin in order to find a group. After wandering about for a few minutes and trying to interject herself into a few conversations, Liz was starting to grow annoyed with the whole endeavor. Most of the groups seemed to be friends who were just waiting for a few more of their companions to arrive. In any case, there was no room in their parties for an outsider, a stranger who seemed so nervous approaching them that her combat ability was in doubt from the start.

With a tired sigh, she plopped down in a seat and placed her head down on the table. She felt too exhausted to even order a drink. Liz didn't know how much time passed with her like that. All she knew was that it was quite some time later when she heard something that instantly re-energized her.

"But most of the enemies in the «Mithril Mines» are «Skeletal»-types, Sen. Most of our members use piercing weapons. No matter how you look at it, we need better party balance to farm that place."

"Look, we have to work with what we have. It's not like blunt weapons are that popular. And that's the best spot to farm for materials even if the place is completely misnamed; it's the best choice of locations to train and gear up at the same time."

Liz turned her head about as far as she could towards the voices coming from the table behind her. Seated there were 4 young men. There was no unity in the color scheme of their armor. If they were part of a guild, they didn't show it. One took a swig from a mug before continuing to talk.

"That's true, but I still think we'd be better off with another person or two. It's not like any of us are strong enough to handle the sewers under the 20th district alone. Even with 4 of us, it's still a stretch to say we're not taking any risks."

"Are you still looking for more party members?" Liz asked, unable to believe her luck. After a full day of terrible fortune, it looked like things were finally getting better. "I'm a mace-user…"

The conversation at the other table immediately stopped as the players there gave her appraising looks. Liz gulped nervously and crossed her fingers.

"We're not actually going as a party since we couldn't agree on loot rules; we decided that it was best to just stick as a group without partying so that there's no grief about drops. But if you're sure you can handle yourself in the sewers, I don't see why not," one of them answered. He ran his fingers through his spiky brown hair and then offered it to her. "I'm Thelsen, but everyone just shortens it to Sen. You are above level 20, right? The area we're going to is pretty rough if you're going without backup, but anyone above that range should be able to hold out until help arrives if needed…I think."

Liz took his hand and shook it. He had a firm grip, strong enough that she felt the pressure for a few seconds after he let go. "I'm Lizbeth," she said in introduction. "And yes, I'm above level 20." Liz didn't feel the need to add that almost all of her experience towards leveling up had come from raising her crafting skills. She didn't want Sera to back out of his offer now and she also figured that what she lacked in battle experience, she could probably make up for with above-average gear that she had crafted for herself.

"Let me introduce the rest of the guys," Sen said. Pointing at a chubby boy who looked a little older than Liz, he stated, "That's Kagerou." Pointing at the cloaked figure who had his head down on the table, Sen added, "The one who looks half-asleep next to him who's dressed like he's roleplaying a thief is Kuro; he never did tell me his full in-game name, come to think of it...damn RP'ers. And lastly, we have Red…which is in my opinion a name that's a bit too cool for a guy like him. Lucky bastard got the name because he carried it over fr—Oof!"

The interruption was due to Red punching him in the ribs. Laughing, but with a look in his eyes that clearly said he thought that Sen was talking too much, the young man said, "Oh shut the hell up. You've been on my case about my choice of names since before we got stuck here."

It seemed that at least those two knew each other in real life. That made Liz feel a bit less apprehensive for some reason. Sen turned once more towards Liz and instructed her. "We'll be heading out right after dark since that's when the spawn rate of enemies and mining nodes down there is highest. Meet us in the central square of the «20th District» at 6. If you're late, we'll go without you."

Liz arrived at the designated location with 15 minutes to spare. One member of the group had arrived before her, but Liz found it difficult to make small talk with someone who wore a cloaked mantle and concealed the lower half of his face with a scarf.

"Um… hi," Liz said, a little nervously, as she sat down on the low stone wall about 2 meters from where Kuro was sitting.

Kuro turned towards her and gave her a brief nod of acknowledgement.

"Hello," he greeted. It was the first time she had heard him speaking; Kuro's voice sounded gruff, but not naturally so. It was the sort of voice one would expect from a boy playing at being tough.

Liz didn't think too much of it. She'd encountered a few players before who'd taken to roleplaying. Tank builds who would pretend to be knights or gunners who dressed up as frontiersmen, that sort of thing. Taking into account the tattered cloak and dark brown leather armor Kuro wore as well as the dagger by his side, the artificially harsher tone he spoke in was clearly just another aspect of the part he chose to play. It did make interacting with him a little awkward though, so Liz found herself sitting in silence for some time before working up the courage to speak again.

"The others are a little late…" she said quietly to herself.

"They just arrived," Kuro answered, pointing down a dimly lit street.

He was right. Liz had to squint in order to make out the rest of the players, but there was no mistaking Kagerou's portly silhouette. Noticing that they had been seen, the three late-comers sped up their pace.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Sen said with an insincere expression. "I had to get some stuff together and then Kagerou took a side-trip to buy a sandwich. Red's already given me his piece of mind so please don't mention it anymore, alright?"

"We're really going to do this out of party?" Kuro asked.

Sen gave him an unreadable look. "We've already gone over it before. Less party drama that way. Besides, you're the one that seems intent on keeping up that mysterious rogue image, right?"

Kuro shrugged. Done in a typical manner, the gesture would have diffused the situation. However, Kuro somehow imbued his shrug with enough arrogance that Liz could feel the tension in the air skyrocketing. If this kept up, her group would disband (was that even the proper term when a non-party broke apart?) before it left town.

"Hey now, let's just get along…" Liz implored. Sen and the others looked her way as if they had just noticed her presence.

"You're right," Sen agreed with an apologetic look. "The whole point of this was to avoid arguments to begin with. Let's just get going, shall we? It's about a 45 minute trek to our destination in the sewers under this district so we shouldn't waste any time."

Liz flipped through her menus, equipped the items she intended to use, and after thinking briefly, added a half dozen healing potions to her pouch for easy access. The sudden increase in weight as well as how it was distributed mostly on her left caused her to lose her balance mid-step and she stumbled sideways into Kuro. The boy caught her by the shoulder and wordlessly helped her stabilize her footing. His dark brown eyes twinkled with amusement beneath his hood, causing Liz to fume silently. It wasn't her fault she was used to wearing light clothing rather than armor!

She had chosen to wear a steel breastplate over a padded tunic. Her shoulders were protected by leather spaulders and her hands by thick gloves with metal plates at the back of the hands. Liz also wore soft boots, the type which were comfortable enough to hike for miles in. She had picked out this combination of gear because it offered decent protective stats but also because it made less noise when she moved around. The first time she had ventured into the depths, she had worn the strongest protective gear she could equip with her stats. That trip, Liz "the walking-tank" had attracted far too many undead for her liking because it sounded like she was dropping a handful of loose change with every step she took. They hadn't really been able to harm her, but she had come out of the sewers covered in a centimeter-thick coat of sticky, rotted filth. It took her a week to get the smell out of her hair. After that experience, she got smarter about her choice of equipment.

Of course, compared to the eerie silence that cloaked the self-proclaimed rogue next to her, Liz still sounded as loud as a drunk leaving a bar. She breathed a sigh of relief when Sen ordered Kuro to scout ahead of them. Nodding once in confirmation, Kuro slipped away into the shadows, leaving barely a ripple in the sewage behind him as he ventured further into the darkness ahead of the group.

"Dooryaa!"

Liz struck out with a heavy swing of her mace, smashing in the head of the «Putrid Shuffler» in front of her. She clamped her eyes shut tight as she did so, but between feeling the impact as it travelled down her arm and hearing the sickening squelch as flesh and bone gave way, merely closing her eyes wasn't enough to keep her from feeling somewhat ill. Only ten minutes into their journey, Liz already recalled why she had decided to stay away from undead territory and took up a nice cozy lifestyle as a smith instead.

Turning to the side, she retched. Her stomach felt like it wanted to flip inside out, but luckily, the game mechanics spared her the indignity of actually vomiting.

"Oy, you alright there?" Red asked, looking at her in concern. Momentarily distracted, he took a hit from the enemy that he was facing and staggered back a step.

Liz quickly placed herself between him and the monster. She blocked a second blow meant for Red with her shield and lashed out with «Twin Craters», dealing two heavy hits which sent the zombie careening into the sewer wall. Its health dropped by about half.

"I'm fine," Liz answered. She wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her glove, instantly regretting it when she saw how grimy they had become. "But these guys just keep on coming…"

A dark blur streaked between Liz and Red, close enough that Liz could feel the wind rush by. The tattered edge of his cloak flicked her on the nose as he passed. Disconcertingly, Kuro had made no noise whatsoever as he ran by. A glowing line appeared in the air as he drew his knife from the depths of his cloak and plunged it into the chest of the monster Liz had stunned.

The zombie's hp dropped into the red zone but as it did, the pale-blue glow that emanated from its eye sockets changed to a fierce orange. It had entered into a frenzied state, increasing its own attack power and speed while in its death throes. Liz, having just recovered from the momentary paralysis at the end of using her «Skill», ran towards Kuro, intending to shield him. But it seemed there was no need to do so.

Sidestepping the zombie's vertical attack, Kuro grabbed the monster by the back of the head with his left hand and leaped, kneeing the creature in the face. He twisted about mid-air, sending the mob sprawling to the ground before landing on top of it and plunging his dagger downwards into its neck.

As the mob exploded into shards beneath him, Kuro casually turned his head towards the group. "Found a shortcut to our destination that's relatively clear," he said. "Try to move as quickly and quietly as you can though, I noticed signs of «Abomination»-class mobs along the way."

Liz had no idea what an «Abomination»-class monster was like, but judging from the reactions of the boys, she probably didn't want to find out.

"Maybe we should take the longer but easier way," Red said nervously. "I don't like the idea of running into one of those."

"A shortcut would mean we have more time to farm. And there's no guarantee we won't run into an «Abomination» even if we take the slow route," Sen argued. "Besides, Kuro said the way is clear, so as long as we're not stupid about it, we'll be fine taking the shortcut."

"Relatively clear," Kuro corrected. "But the choice is yours. I'm just the expendable scout and have no say in the matter, according to you."

It seemed that he was still holding a grudge against the group leader for the poor choice of words Sen had used when they had first entered the sewers. Liz was afraid that the two would start a fight then and there, but Sen ignored Kuro's statement and told him to lead the way.

Kagerou brought up the rear guard as they scrambled into the darkness of a nearby access shaft. A cold draft billowed upwards from the lower levels, sending a chill down Liz's spine. The rusted ladder that went down into the gloom didn't look like it could hold the weight of one person, let alone five.

As if reading her mind, Kuro said, "It's sturdy enough. Barely creaked when I climbed up and down the first time. I can go down first so that there's someone down there to catch you if you're afraid you'll slip."

"Who's afraid?" Liz exclaimed. Then, eyeing the ladder a little nervously, she said, "You can go first if you want, but I swear, if you look up while I'm climbing down, I'll give you a reason to add an eye-patch to your costume."

The boy did a double-take before laughing. Then, still shaking with the effort of holding in his mirth, he gripped the side rails of the ladder and slid down without bothering to use the footholds. A muffled thump echoed upwards when he reached the ground below.

"It's clear down here," he called up. "Come on down."

Liz did so, cringing each time she heard the ladder creak. Every step she took made her feel like the rung supporting her weight would give way and send her plummeting down into the darkness below. To make herself feel better, she imagined falling directly on top of Kuro and using him as a cushion to break her fall. While the thought wasn't as cheerful as she had hoped it would be, it was enough to distract her long enough for her to reach the ground without incident.

The next person down was Red, followed by Sen. Kagerou, as the rear guard, was the last to descend. Seeing the bulkiest member of their team climb down without hesitation made Liz feel a little embarrassed at her earlier unease. However, she kept that particular thought unvoiced.

"So this is the farming spot you guys were talking about…"

Liz had to admit the place was impressive. As the name «Mithril Mines» suggested, it had been a mine at some point. There were still old tools and equipment lying around. Rusted mine carts and the decrepit ruins of what seemed to be old housing units dotted the cavernous hollow. The miners were still around too, in a sense.

The clatter of bones told her another «Skeletal Digger» was nearby. Readying her hammer, she peered around the corner nervously. Red had the «Mining» skill so he was happily swinging a pickaxe away at mineral deposits in the main cavern, but the rest of the group had to make due with the wholesale slaughter of these undead workers to get materials. The drop-rate was excellent; roughly half the monsters she had killed had dropped mid-level ores. She practically cried with joy when one lucky kill yielded a chunk of «Crimson Ore», a rare material which, when processed, increased the allocation of armor points on any gear it was added to the recipe for.

"I'm surprised that no one else is here," Liz mused. "With the drops being this good, you would think that would be crowded."

"That's because it usually takes an hour round trip to get here for a cautious group. Very few people know about that shortcut we took," Kuro answered. Liz couldn't stop herself from jumping up. She hadn't noticed him at all. He continued without pause, "The monsters here don't give much experience compared to the later districts so front-liners busy with leveling wouldn't bother with the lengthy journey and mid-level players are mostly unwilling to travel through the «Abomination» territory that surrounds this area because those're rather dangerous to same-level adventurers."

Liz placed a hand over her heart and took two deep breaths to calm down. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" she admonished. Kuro looked amused but once again disappeared into the gloom.

She stared at where he had vanished for a moment longer, still wondering how that ability worked when a rattling sound from behind her alerted her to the presence of an enemy she had forgotten about thanks to Kuro's appearance.

Spinning around, Liz barely managed to raise her shield in time to block a blow from the «Skeletal Digger»'s pickaxe. Blocking normally threw an attacker off-balance more than the defender but because she had been unprepared, Liz ended up taking just as long as the creature to recover.

She swung her shield arm forwards and caught the enemy's second attack as it descended. Then, using her forward momentum, she side-stepped and used «Impact Drive». A red glow surrounded her hammer as it lashed out, first in a horizontal arc which cracked her enemy's ribs and then in a second strike which dealt a solid blow to the top of its head. A final swing tracing the trajectory of the previous attack in reverse sent the enemy's skull flying off.

Decapitation was only an inconvenience for skeletal mobs and Liz's attack left her momentarily open causing her to take a retaliatory hit to the chest which glanced off of her armor. Instead of worrying about her health which had only dropped about 5% thanks to her high-end armor, she immediately went on the offensive again. What her fighting style lacked in elegance, it made up for in simplicity and efficiency. Smash things until they stopped moving while tanking the hits, loot, heal up if necessary, and then move on. She even got into a nice rhythm at one point similar to when she was working the forge, but Red ruined it by interrupting her as she ran on by, claiming that it was "creepy" how she was humming a merry tune while swinging away with her hammer like a maniac.

Liz had amassed a stockpile of materials large enough to last at least a week when things began to go downhill.

A loud scream was the first indication that anything was wrong. Liz finished off the enemy she was fighting and rushed towards the source of the noise. She skidded to a halt when she heard voices. Peering around the corner cautiously, she saw Red and Sen confronted by two cloaked figures. Kagerou was lying on the floor; she could make out a debuff indicator next to his health bar when she focused on him. Kuro was nowhere to be seen.

"How nice of you to spend your time farming materials for us," one of the cloaked players jeered. "Hand over what you've gotten so far and we'll let you go with your lives."

"Oh? That's quite the clichéd line you're spouting there," Red said. "Any other ones you want to use while you're at it? 'This is a stickup?' Or how about 'Your belongings or your life?' I don't see our shifty little rogue friend with them, did that coward run away after selling us out?"

"Red…read the damn atmosphere," Sen said in a frantic tone.

"What? It's two on two. We can take them," Red replied. "Just gotta calm down and focus. Plus if we can get a paralyze cure potion to Kagerou, we'll have numeric advantage."

Sen considered Red's words for a moment and then drew his weapon. "Right, numeric advantage. You take the one on the right and I'll…"

Without any hesitation, Sen plunged his sword into Red's side while he was focused on the two Orange players in front of them. Red collapsed to one knee and struggled briefly before falling prone to the ground.

"You…bastard. What are you doing?"

"Paralysis poison," Sen laughed. "You're an idiot, Red. Seriously. Always blindly holding on to the first impression you have and never taking the time to think things through. You never once considered that some people might be trying to get ahead in the world, did you?" He placed a foot on top of Red's weapon arm and pressed down forcibly, pinning it down. "Even though you got into the beta, you didn't even consider using your knowledge from that to help me out, even when I asked right? Well, I'm sick of always playing 'catch up to the front-liners.' I'll advance faster than any of them. You, on the other hand, can go ahead and play pretend adventurer all you want while you languish in obscurity."

"W-what?"

"Let me spell it out in a way that even a game-addicted moron like you can understand," Sen answered condescendingly as he kicked Red in the ribs. "This is reality. You can't take things as easy as you did in real life. But I've given up on trying to convince you of that, so I decided to join a group that feels the same way as me."

"Oy! Are you just going to talk all day or are going to rob them already?" one of the cloaked players asked. "We still need to hunt down the other two in order to pass initiation, right?"

Sen gave one last kick to Red's face, causing the boy to groan before falling completely still. It looked like he was out cold. "Right," Sen agreed. "They couldn't have gone too far. I've been itching to stick a blade in that shifty bastard's gut since we started. Might be a little hard to find him without your «Search» skill though."

(This is not good…not good at all…)

Liz involuntarily took a step backwards. She had to get out of here! But she couldn't just leave Red and Kagerou there…and there was no knowing if Kuro knew of the danger either.

The loose ground beneath her gave way. Although she managed to catch her footing before she fell, the damage was done. The three «Orange Players» spun around in her direction. Although she was still out of sight, it was only a matter of time before they found her.

Liz was preparing herself to make a run for it when she felt a firm hand place itself on her shoulders. She almost cried out in surprise, but her voice was muffled immediately as Kuro's hand covered her mouth.

"Shh," he whispered franticly. "They haven't seen you just yet. No need to panic, so don't speak. Nod once if you understand me."

Liz nodded her head once and took a deep breath when Kuro removed his hand from over her mouth.

"Alright, I need you to backtrack and get to the «Safe Zone» we passed on our way here. Once you get there, teleport out. Do you understand?"

Liz nodded again.

"Once you get back to town, contact someone from either the «KoB» or «DDA», let them know that there're «Orange Players» in the «Mithril Mines». They'll probably be able to get here in half the time we took since they don't need to worry about attracting attention from the undead."

"What abo—mmph!" Liz began, but had her mouth covered up again.

"Just shut up and do it," Kuro whispered. "Don't worry about me. I'll buy you some time to get away and then lose them. Go!"

The boy released Liz and forcefully gave her a push back before stepping out into the open. As he did, he began to clap slowly. "Wow, congrats. It only took you a full two minutes to realize someone was listening in on you. As expected of people of your intelligence levels."

Liz was standing there wondering what was running through the boy's mind when he glanced back briefly and met her eyes. It took her a split second more to realize that she should get going. She turned and fled, moving as quietly as she could to avoid giving herself away. In the distance, she could hear Kuro saying something in a mocking tone, but the words didn't register in her head.

"Waaagh!"

Liz screamed at the top of her lungs as she leapt to the side, barely avoiding a swipe from the lumbering monstrosity that blocked her way. She had run into the monster about a minute ago and now knew firsthand why the boys in her group had been so cautious when Kuro had mentioned there were «Abomination»-class monsters in the area.

She had an inkling that they were tough from the boys' reactions. What she didn't have any idea about was that abominations were truck-sized…things…that attacked in the most grotesque ways possible. "Thing" was about the best term Liz's panicked mind could think of to label the «Caustic Maw». How else would one describe a mound of corpses that had fused together into a gelatinous blob as they rotted? While it didn't have any visible appendages which it moved about on, the monster was quite swift for something of its size, making a squelching noise as it chased after her.

She scrambled about, the dim lighting of the sewers barely providing enough to see by. The occasional torch mounted on a wall bracket was a blessing, but they were few and far in between. Liz's motions were slowed considerably because she fear running into a wall or worse. Despite her caution, she felt something bump against her leg and, in a fit of panic, lost her footing and fell backwards onto her rear. Her clothes were instantly and thoroughly soaked, leaving her with an unpleasant feeling as she pushed herself back up on her feet. A flicker of movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention.

"Uwaah!" Liz raised her shield and deflected the torrent of flesh that the monster lobbed at her.

The impact sent her skidding backwards a half dozen steps. Her health was down below 50% again. Every time she blocked an attack, a portion of the damage went through. Even with her above-average equipment, she was taking a beating. There were only two potions left in her pouch; she would need to a few seconds once she ran out in order to refill it from her main inventory. Unfortunately, it was impossible to work the game menus and fight at the same time. She needed to get away.

Liz deflected another hit and struck the monster once in retaliation. She took the opportunity in a brief pause to run past it down another corridor. As she fled, she uncorked another potion and took a deep swig of the contents.

She had told Kuro that she would follow his instructions and get back to town as soon as possible, but running into the abomination had changed everything. She had taken a wrong turn somewhere and backtracking would require heading straight for the monster. And try as she might, she couldn't seem to build any distance from her pursuer.

She wasn't familiar with this location and had no idea where the exit might be. Nor did she know where any other «Safe Zones» were besides the one they had passed while heading for the mines. That left two choices: keep running and hope for the best or stand and fight. The former would mean risking running into more of those twisted monstrosities, a situation which would spell almost certain doom. Liz had been lucky so far in that she hadn't run into any other monsters during her flight.

Fighting it wasn't much of an option either. If she had stood her ground instead of panicking and running right from the start, she might have had a shot at wearing it down. But with the potions in her pouch running low, she would have to find some opening in order to replenish them from her inventory. Still, that seemed like the better choice of the two and was a hell of a lot better than just giving up and dying.

She turned around and steeled herself for combat. She couldn't quite keep her knees from trembling, but that fact wasn't as important as the putrid wall of flesh that was preparing to lash out at her again.

The first strike was easy to dodge, and Liz counterattacked immediately with as hard a strike as she could manage.

"Huh?"

The monster's body gave way to her strike with barely any resistance. Her mace sank into the fleshy bulk…and stuck there. Liz pulled at the handle, but suction force kept it buried inside. Desperately, she grasped her weapon with both hands and tugged furiously. Aside from a decidedly sickening squelching noise, her efforts had no visible effect.

A strong impact to Liz's chest sent her careening into the sewer wall. She had been so preoccupied with trying to free her weapon that she hadn't noticed the monster telegraphing its attack movement. She coughed once and gave her health bar a quick glance. Once again, it had dropped into the yellow.

There was one upside to taking the hit though. The additional force had been enough to free her mace; it now lay on the ground a half dozen yards away from Liz. Scrambling to her feet, she rolled under a wide horizontal attack which carved a mark in the wall behind her and picked her weapon up. She was in the middle of uncorking her last potion when something wrapped itself around her ankle and yanked her off her feet.

Liz grabbed at the bottle which had slipped out of her hand but missed. It hit the ground and shattered, sending a burst of blue light, blindingly bright in the gloom of the sewer, into the air that faded away all too quickly. She was now dangling upside-down in the air, held suspended by a tendril of rotted meat that had snaked its way around her right leg.

Desperately flailing around, Liz swung her mace around, trying to make contact with it while stubbornly holding her skirt in place with her shield arm.

(Wait… there's no one around to see even if I let go.)

It was a completely ridiculous thought to have while her life was on the line, but for some reason, it calmed her down enough to let her think properly. Thanks to freeing up her shield-arm, Liz was able to twist her body around enough to strike a blow to the part of the monster that had grabbed her ankle. Like before, her mace stuck fast to the gelatinous flesh, but her objective was to keep her weapon in a secure location so that she could use her dominant hand to access the game menus.

"Let's see…«Inventory»…potions…," Liz muttered as she tried to scroll down the list of items she had stored away. That was one problem with being a craftswoman, she had so much inventory clutter that finding exactly what she needed took some time.

The «Caustic Maw» gave a roar which resonated outwards from somewhere inside its fleshy mass. Beneath her, part of the main body of the monster split open, revealing a cavernous mouth filled with what appeared to be jagged teeth. On a closer inspection, they were the edges of broken bones and rusty old weapons, arranged in a series of rings around the creature's "mouth." Her concentration broken, Liz accidentally hit a button on the menu floating in front of her without thinking. A cascade of ores, the fruits of her labors the past few hours, materialized in front of her and dropped down into the «Caustic Maw»'s open mouth just as it started to roar again. Her hand slipped as she grabbed for the falling metal out of reflex, brushing against the menu. This time, a two-handed axe appeared, hanging motionless in the air for a brief moment before gravity took over and dropped it straight into the monster's belly.

"Graaa-kekekeukuku!"

It seemed that the monster was choking on the unexpected meal. If she weren't about to become a late-night snack for the damn thing, it would have been funny. As it was, she took the opportunity to locate her stash of health potions and materialized one to drink. Quickly tearing the cork out of the bottle, Liz pushed the tip of the flask to her lips and chugged. Of course, circumstances had to mock her one more time. Since she was upside down and swinging back and forth wildly as the monster below her spasmed, some of the health potion went up her nose. Liz joined the beast below her in a coughing fit.

Blinking back the tears that had formed in her eye and sniffing loudly in an attempt to clear her nostrils of healing potion, Liz took longer to recover than the «Caustic Maw» did. It swung her around angrily and launched her headfirst towards its cavernous gullet. Liz screamed loudly, bringing her shield arm up towards her head in a last-ditch effort to save herself.

Something struck her in the side forcefully and she found herself flipping over, limbs flopping to the side weakly.

If this is death…it's less painful than I thought it would be.

Her mental processes overloaded from the combination of fright and adrenaline. As her mind raced to catch up, a tangle of jumbled and mostly incomprehensible thoughts flew through her mind, creating a metaphorical train-wreck within her head. Because of this, it took her several moments longer than average to realize two things.

First and most importantly, she wasn't dead.

Second, she was being held in a princess-carry by her rescuer.

"Are you alright?"

It was the quintessential storybook rescue of a damsel in distress. Rescue? Check. Casual question as to her well-being? Check. Knight? Check. Shining armor? Also a check. But the familiar female voice asking after her well-being belonged to none other than Asuna. Although Liz had to concede that the «KoB» sub-commander cut a dashing figure in her uniform, she quickly fought down the urge to develop a decidedly yuri-esque crush on her rescuer.

"Asuna?" she gasped. "What are you…?"

Asuna landed on the ground with barely a splash and set Liz down on her feet. Turning back towards the monster, she shouted off a series of commands which Liz couldn't follow in her dazed state. In response, a squad of armored players formed a protective line between the two girls and the «Caustic Maw». One or two would break off from the group at a time and attack the beast. Liz noted in awe that each of their attacks shaved off almost 10% off one of the monster's two health bars.

"Its weakness seems to be the mouth at the top," Asuna stated to her group, "Archers, arc your shots. Use fire arrows since it's a flesh-based monster. Tanks, continue keeping an eye out for the monster's movement patterns and learn how to handle it."

Upon her orders, the group again leaped into action. Two of the players who had been a part of the defensive line stepped back and unshouldered their bows. The pair consisted of a boy and a girl, each who looked a few years older than Liz herself, perhaps university-aged. They simultaneously browsed through their menus and materialized quivers. A third player held a torch towards the pair which they used to ignite the rags at the end of their arrows. The remaining players quickly filled in the gap in the line and brought their shields up to bear. Their orchestrated movements told Liz that the group must have worked together for a long time in contrast to the ragtag "party" she had joined.

The two archers drew their bows in tandem in a movement so fluid that Liz was mesmerized by the gracefulness of the act. Two flaming projectiles rose into the air, tracing a gentle curve towards the ceiling of the sewer before dropping down into the center of the «Caustic Maw»'s open mouth. It gave a pained roar as the arrows struck home although its cries of agony were cut short after a second and third volley of arrows were fired into its gullet. Flames geysered from its oral cavity, splashing off the ceiling of the sewers. Something inside of the beast must have been highly flammable, or perhaps the oily substance which coated its surface was exactly what it looked like. With a spasm, the monster spewed flaming gobs of flesh from within itself, launching them in a slow arc towards the players fighting it. The majority of the projectiles bounced harmlessly off the shields held by the front-line, but a dozen were launched higher and descended upon the unprotected torchbearer and archers.

A blur shot past Liz, bouncing off the left wall of the sewer on an intercept trajectory. Liz didn't even have time to cry out in surprise before 10 of the projectiles exploded into pixelated dust. Asuna then kicked off the ceiling, straight down, and dispatched the two remaining objects, landing gracefully in a kneeling position. She stood back up just as the gently descending lightshow show showered down around her. Behind her, the monster expired as her men attacked it, sending one final explosion of prismatic pixels outwards with the sound of shattering glass. The timing couldn't have been more perfect for dramatic effect, Liz thought.

Liz burst out into quiet laughter, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. She was safe! The abomination which the boys had been so afraid of had been dispatched of by these elite troops. And they had made it look so easy too. So easy that she almost felt like a fool for completely losing her head when first encountering the «Caustic Maw».

"Are you alright?" Asuna asked, walking back over with a look of concern on her face.

Liz responded by throwing her arms around her savior, still half-laughing half-crying as a sense of relief overwhelmed her. Asuna returned the hug, softly patting Liz on the back and whispering soothing words. When Liz finally returned to her senses, she backed away suddenly, her face heating up in embarrassment.

"I-I-I…" she stammered. "Um, that is to say – sorry. I lost my composure. Um…thank you."

Asuna gave her a knowing smile. "It's alright," she answered. "That happens to all of us occasionally."

"I'll bet it never happens to you," Liz pouted. Those were her true thoughts. A strong girl like Asuna who seemed perfect in almost every way imaginable would probably never panic as badly as Liz had earlier.

"Squad, secure the perimeter," Asuna ordered loudly, causing Liz to jump in surprise. The rest of the «KoB» members acknowledged the order and immediately fanned out, leaving Liz and Asuna alone.

"It's happened a few times since this whole affair started," Asuna stated, lowering her voice to almost a whisper. It was clear that she did not want those under her command hearing. "The first month or so, I had pretty much given up on ever seeing the real world again. It was a humiliating experience now that I Iook back on it, but I learned a lot as well. Thankfully, I made a few friends who helped me get out of it."

"I can't say the same," Liz replied dejectedly. "The only reliable friends I have are my tools. I mean, my customers are friendly enough, but it's not like we're close enough to hang out or anything."

"Then how about we be friends?" Asuna suggested, giving Liz a bright smile. For a moment, Liz felt like she was back in grade school on the first day of class. "And if you ever need anyone you can 'lose your composure' around, just send me a message so long as you'll return the favor once in a while."

"What?" Liz exclaimed loudly. One of Asuna's subordinates glanced over in their direction with a curious expression on his face. Face turning red, Liz continued in a quieter tone, "I-I can't ask that of you. I'm sure you busy with the «KoB» and boss fights and I'm sure there're a ton of things you'd rather do than take the time to do and I can't see you ever losing your cool and—"

Asuna interrupted Liz's rant by shaking her by the shoulders. "Calm down," she commanded in the same tone she had used to order her group. Liz complied out of shock, causing Asuna to burst into a fit of giggles. "It's true that I have a lot of responsibilities, but that doesn't mean that I don't have time for personal relationships. And I don't know what rumors you've been hearing about me, but I'm just a normal girl like you. I have doubts and problems that I need to share with someone I can trust once in a while before I go crazy over keeping them hidden."

"But—"

"No buts."

Liz stealthily pinched herself in the thigh to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Of course, this being a virtual world generated by the «Nerve Gear» she had been wearing in real life, she didn't feel anything. "Sooo, friends?" she asked hesitantly.

"Friends," Asuna declared with an unwavering smile. It was a smile that could cause a person to fall in love at a glance. Liz filed it away in her memory to practice in front of a mirror, just in case she ever found that special someone.

"I appreciate everything you've done," Liz said. "You know, saving my life and all. But what are you doing here? This isn't the front."

"Our scouts reported that the next boss has an attack pattern similar to those abominations," Asuna answered, jerking her head slightly towards where the «Caustic Maw» had died. "We were here to get the men used to avoiding the mechanics. I should be the one asking you that question. I never expected to see you in the sewers, Liz."

Asuna's words reminded Liz about what happened prior to getting sidetracked by 5 tons of angry, rotten monster. "Ah!" she exclaimed, "That's right, I need to find help! From the «KoB» or «DDA»…wait, you guys are from the «KoB». We need to go back!"

Asuna's expression took on contradictory blend of amusement and seriousness. "Just tell me what you need help with," she said.

Liz continued, "There's— there's a bunch of guys, «Orange Players». Back in the «Mithril Mines». Kuro's still back there, or he was, he said he'd buy some time for me to go and… Anyways, we need to go back there! I don't know if they'll still be there when we get there but we have to try!"

At the mention of player criminals, Asuna narrowed her eyes dangerously, her gaze taking on a sharpness which exceeded her rapier's. "You said they were at the «Mithril Mines»? Damn it!" she exclaimed, before looking shocked, "Sorry, I didn't mean to speak coarsely. But if they're here, that means they're growing stronger faster than any of us expected. Give me a minute to plan a course of action with my men. If they're still there, we don't want them escaping on us."

Liz sat on the stool behind the counter of her dingy stall in the «1st District», hammering away at an ingot as she listened to her new friend updating her on what she had learned from the «Orange Players» they had found hogtied and unceremoniously dumped in a pile behind a makeshift barricade in the mines. There had been five players in total, two more than Liz had seen when she had been there initially. Red and Kagerou had been standing guard over them, looking thoroughly perplexed. When Asuna questioned them, they both stated that when they had come to, the player criminals had already been beaten.

"Taking down five player criminals, possibly simultaneously, and leaving them alive for us to find," Asuna mused. "Whoever did it had to have been a front-liner. Or close to it."

"Nah, there's no way Kuro was a front-liner, he didn't seem to have any high level skills besides his «Sneak» and I think most of his damage was because he was wielding a good knife. I can tell a quality weapon when I see one," Liz answered. "Someone else must have gotten there before we did."

"I just hate being left with a mystery," Asuna replied. "And the «Orange Players» didn't know much either. That, or they're more afraid of their superiors than us and just won't talk."

There was a minute's pause as Asuna drifted off into her thoughts. Liz continued striking the metal in front of her methodically, each clang flattening the piece some more. This piece was taking a lot more hits to forge than usual.

"What're you making?" Asuna asked, looking over Liz's shoulder.

"Well," Liz answered, wiping some sweat off her forehead. "I got my hands on a quality piece of metal thanks to you, so I figured I'd put it to good use filling in that order you placed with me a week back."

"Thanks to me?"

"It was a special drop from the «Caustic Maw»," Liz said, not looking up from her work. "You know how there's actually no mithril in the «Mithril Mines»?"

Asuna arched an eyebrow. "I'm not a craftsman, so I'll take your word for it."

"Well, it turns out that's not quite true," Liz continued. "It's there, just in miniscule amounts in the ore which drops. Apparently, if you gather a ton of the stuff, figuratively speaking, and drop it all into that monster's stomach, it'll process the raw materials for you and give you mithril as a drop."

"You're just making that up," Asuna laughed. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard. Well, besides this one time where…actually, never mind."

"I kid you not," Liz replied with a smug smile. There was just something about knowing something that a front-liner did not which was satisfying. "It was on the flavor text of the ingot's item description."

"The flavor text?" Asuna asked incredulously. "Nobody ever reads that!"

Liz ignored her friend's comment and hammered the ingot in front of her once more. Upon the latest strike, it glowed a brilliant pure white and elongated, its dimensions taking on the shape of an elegant sword with a thin blade and a guard formed of silver filigree. Liz's eyes opened wide when she looked over the item's stats.

"You'll want to read the text on this one," she said, handing the freshly forged rapier to Asuna.

Unlike something which came straight out of the forge in reality, it was pleasantly cool to the touch. The weapon itself was light. So light, in fact, that Liz almost couldn't feel a difference when Asuna took it out of her hand. The «KoB» sub-commander gave the rapier a few experimental thrusts, the tip of the blade moving so quickly that it vanished, leaving only a trail of light in its wake.

Asuna set the weapon down and brought up the item's status menu. Her expression lit up as she looked through the description.

"Forged in a crucible against impossible odds, this blade embodies the everlasting light of hope which humanity must never lose," she read quietly. "It's perfect," she declared, beaming at Liz.

Epilogue

"You know, telling someone you'll meet him here and then hiding from him is a sign of a terrible personality."

"I've been detected? You've really been grinding your «Search» skill lately, 'Kuro.'"

Argo «the Rat» stepped out of the shadows so suddenly it appeared as if she had been a part of the alleyway wall. She smiled jovially as she greeted the boy in front of her. As usual, her hooded cloak was unable to conceal her whisker-marked cheeks and mischievous eyes.

"Hardly," he replied. "I'm only at the level where I can sense you one time out of five. It's just that I know you have a terrible personality."

The perfect seriousness with which he delivered his accusation caused Argo to burst into laughter. "It takes one to know one, Ki-bou," she retorted in a sing-song tone. "You should keep that name by the way. Kuro's cute. It certainly sounds like the name of someone you can cuddle up with in front of a fireplace."

Kirito grimaced. "My neighbor's pet kitten is named Kuro. I'm afraid I'll have to refuse."

After waiting for Argo to finish laughing, an endeavor which didn't take too long since she noticed the dark expression on his face, Kirito went into the matter which he had contacted her about. He materialized a scroll and tossed it to the information dealer.

"They weren't too hard to find. Players who want to form a group but not party up are a rarity." Pointing to the scroll in Argo's hand, "That's all the information I got from interrogating them before their would-be victims started regaining consciousness. This lead was a dead-end. None of the «Orange Players» had any direct contact with PoH. That man is even more elusive than you can be."

"I didn't think it would be easy to track him down," Argo answered. "But you can't blame yourself for not finding a connection. All the good criminals cover their tracks well. At least you were in time to save some people."

Kirito sighed, "I hope the girl I sent for help made it out ok. I still feel kind of bad about sending her off alone even though the «Safe Zone» was only about a hundred yards from the entrance."

"You said her name was Lizbeth, right?" Argo confirmed. "I saw her in the «1st District» earlier today chatting with your favorite member of the «KoB». Maybe I should have stopped by to say 'Just checking in on how you're doing after your adventure. Kirito—I mean, Kuro says "hi." Oh Asuna-chan, I didn't see you there. Kindly forget that I mentioned Ki-bou, if you would.'"

"Please don't even joke about that," Kirito groaned. "I have a hard enough time as it is trying to convince her I'm not some kind of death-seeker as it is without her knowing that I'm looking into «Laughing Coffin»."

"Not to nag or anything since that's her job," Argo replied opening the scroll and quickly reading through the report, "but aren't you a little too obsessed with the criminal element these days? I mean, it's a great deal for me since the information you're finding is worth a lot more than what I'm providing you with to start you off, but..."

"Don't worry," Kirito answered, cutting her off. "You know better than anyone how cautious I am. Kind of have to be that way as a solo. It's just that I'm getting a little tired of this game of cat-and-mouse PoH's playing. Thanks for the information, I'd better get going."

As she watched the Black Swordsman leaving, Argo whispered to his back, "That's all well and good, but I hope you're not mistaken about whether you're the cat or the mouse."

Author's Note: It's certainly been a while since I've last posted anything. I haven't had much time to write the past year thanks to school. Hopefully I can get a few chapters in before studies force me to go underground again. I planned on doing a few of these side-stories before moving back to the main storyline to flesh out characters who haven't appeared much, if at all.

The chapter title is basically a shout-out to the "Toaru" series. Considering the chapter seems to be "A Series of Unfortunate Events" starring Liz, I figured it was appropriate. With that said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and feel free to comment, complain, critique, etc.