Surprisingly, despite the size of the city, it didn't take very long from the center of Grandum to the city outskirts.
We've passed by a couple of forts during our travel to the KBO HQ, with a about a dozen NPC guards each. Grandum's a big city. It's logical that they need every guard they can get to keep the peace inside the city, especially during chaotic times like this where guild battles could come up at anywhere, anytime.
Normally, NPC guards wouldn't do anything except standing still at their posts. Sometimes they are part of some quests or participate in some special events in which they were part of. For example, by rare circumstances, monsters storming the city, where they will help the local defenders to defend the city, something like that.
Even I have to admit that it's pretty much suicidal for anyone to stir up a fight inside the city. With all the guards here, chances are you'll ended up locked inside a local prison for a week if you try to do something incredibly stupid.
After ten more minutes, we've finally arrived at the KBO headquarter. It's a huge, steel, mediaval-era castle.
"Whoa, it's so large!" Agil exclaimed.
"It took us a whole year to finally bought this place. We almost went broke after that! But it was worth it. It's not too far from the frontline and a good level grinding dungeon." Asuna explained.
"Why do you need such a big castle for, anyways? Wouldn't a simple, large enough villa do?" I asked.
"Hey, we have over thirty members to take care of here! Even the largest villa can't hold all of them! Before this, we had a small house on the thirty-ninth floor, but it was too small as we get more members. And they all earned their ranks in the guild, you know? Of course, they need a little luxury in return. Besides, it's close to the frontlines and numerous quest givers inside the city." Asuna glared at me.
"I'm not saying it was a bad thing! I was just...isn't it a bit too...extravagant?"
Asuna didn't answer.
We walked up to the front gate, with two guards in KBO knight armor standing in front of it.
"Welcome back, vice commander Asuna!" The first guard welcomed, then noticed Edgar standing behind us.
"Wait, that's the HDA paladin! Arrest him!" He shouted up, and he and the other guard drew their swords up, causing Edgar to step back a bit.
"Stand down, Cecil! He's with me. He has a business with our leader." Asuna ordered.
The guard, Cecil, gave a slightly confused look, before lowering his sword.
"If you say so, vice commander..." Cecil said, then opened the entrance for us.
"Well, that went rather well..." Edgar sighed.
We walked inside the headquarter. It was very spacious. The hallway is decorated in a Gothic-mediaval style blended in with some of the Renaissance-era arts (Or at least, that's what I thought...).
I looked around to find, well, you know exactly who I'm looking for, but there's no sign of them...
The other KBO knights stared at us curiously, some of them readily prepared their weapons after seeing Edgar, but none dared to do anything when Asuna gave them a death glare.
She really earned her place as a vice commander here, didn't she? There's not many players in the game that can have that much respect.
Asuna led us to a middle-sized chamber, with sofas and a coffee table in the middle. My guess is that this place is a guest room.
"Alright, you guys wait here, I'll check up with my commander to see if he's available, and please don't do anything stupid, okay? It'll be the worst mistake you'll ever make..."
Asuna gave us a warning, before she left the room.
"Whew! This sofa's awesome! I can sit here all day!" Agil said, while making himself comfortable on the sofa.
"Don't get too comfortable, Agil. Anyways, didn't you tell us that you're here because some KBO members asked for a rare spear?" I told him.
"Hey, gimme a break, man! It's not like I got that rare spear out of thin air or something! I spent a whole precious week trying to get this damn thing from one bastard merchant on the twenty-fourth floor. Let me rest a bit, I'll find him later..." He said miserably.
"Speaking of which, do you have any powerful swords for sale, Agil? I've been looking for a new sword for a while." I said.
Oh, I forgot to tell you. Around November last year, five months after I left the Black Cats of the Full Moon guild, I've been given an unique skill. I don't really know how I got it, it just appeared out of thin air. The skill itself is named 'Dual Blades' which is, true to its name, allowed me to wield two swords at a time, which is proved to be very useful in combat.
Except that I didn't use that skill regularly in battle, after I mastered the skill last January. I never use it in presence of others, because I'm afraid that it'll draw too much attention. I didn't know how I got the skill, nor the requirements of it, I just got it out of nowhere. So if people asked me and I don't have an answer for them, they'll just assume that I'm a selfish asshole for not sharing the knowledge (which I don't have), seeing that I'm a Beater and all...
Another reason is that I just can't find a good sword to match my Elucidator. My last sword is a total joke compared to it. So I mainly kept my skill a secret. There's no one except me that knew I possessed this skill.
It's a logical, I'm a solo player. The less anyone knew about me, the better...
Agil scratched his head, which is weird, because he has no hair...
"Um, I don't really have swords in my shop, Kirito. Mainly I sell the heavy weapons and quest-based items. Maybe you could find a good weaponsmith inside Grandum. It'a big city, after all. There's bound to be someone that sells a great sword that could suit you." Agil told me.
"I have a collection of rare swords back at my HQ, Kirito, but seeing that your sword pretty much beats all of them in terms of attack damage, I'd say you need a better sword than them..." Edgar said.
"Why do you even need a new sword anyways? Isn't your Elucidator strong enough to defeat anything the moves?" Agil asked.
"It's strong enough for the first fifty floors, Agil. It's gonna take more than that if I ever going to finish this game alive." I told him.
It's true, Elucidator never failed me in any situation, but it's getting outdated now since I arrived at the sixty-seventh floor. The damage is getting lower, and the monsters are harder to hit, despite my high level.
Sooner or later, I'm gonna have to use my Dual Blade skill no matter how much I don't want to, unless I found a better sword first.
Suddenly, the room's doors opened.
"...Kirito...kun?"
Oh, hell.
Sachi, along with the rest of the Black Cats of the Full Moon guild, stood at the door, eyes widen in shocked.
Awkward silence.
"Um...hi?" I blurted out.
Sachi's face saddened, as if she's going to cry.
I can't tell her expression. Is it happy? Sad? Or disbelief?
"Yo! Kirito! Long time no see! Where the hell have you been?!" Keita, who I've just noticed, said cheerfully.
He then walked up to me and offered to shake my hand, which I do so reluctantly.
"You left without even saying goodbye! I have to spent a whole evening comforting Sachi-chan about that!"
I don't know what to reply.
"...um...I..."
Keita walked back to his friends.
"Anyways, since you're here, you'd better apologize to Sachi for making her like that, Kirito! Oi! Sachi, say something to Kirito, will you?" He pushed Sachi out toward me.
Sachi stared at me, still stunned.
"Um...Ah...Eh...Kiri...Kya!" She tried to say something, but ended up babbling. I could tell she didn't know what to say, just like me.
Somehow that makes her really cute.
Wait! What am I thinking!?
I looked behind her at the rest of the guild. Tetsuo and Sasamaru were still there, as well as three others that I didn't know of, two girls and one boy.
Sasamaru smiled nervously at me, while Tetsuo gave me a somewhat frustrated look. I could tell he's still angry at me about...that day.
"I'm...I'm glad to see you...Sachi. I'm glad to see all you guys..." I said, trying to cheer her up.
The blue-haired girl looked up at me, then she did the unthinkable.
She lunged toward me, and hugged me tightly.
"Wha! Wait a sec!" I yelled.
"Kirito, you dummy! Why did you leave us!? I was very scared when you left us that day! I thought...I thought I was never gonna see you again!" She cried out, her voice trembled. She seemed like she's about to cry.
I...I didn't prepare for this...
I did the only thing I could; I embraced her.
"Sachi..."
I patted her back, slowly and gently.
"There, there. I'm here now..."
I tried to figure out a word to say, but just couldn't.
Keita walked up next to her, and put a hand on her shoulder.
"She almost break down after she told me what happened in the dungeon that day..."
I looked at Keita, his face saddened.
"I...I still can't believe Ducker's...gone..."
"It's...it's my fault..." I spoke up.
"I let him die...I'm...I'm sorry..."
Before I continued, Keita gave me a pat on the back.
"Hey, don't blame yourself! It's...it's partly my fault, too. I should've gone with you guys, remember? Maybe I could've stop him before he triggered the trap."
"But...but it should be my responsibility, too! I could've warn him, but I did nothing! I have the knowledge of the place, but I didn't tell you guys! I didn't even tell you the fact that I'm..."
"...a Beater." Keita continued.
I was stunned.
"Sachi told me everything about you, Kirito, about how you saved her, Sasamaru and Tetsuo from that trap, about how she discovered the truth behind your level. You used your far more superior skill as a Beater to save them from that deadly trap. Even if you couldn't save Ducker, you saved the rest of us. Hadn't you been there, all of them would've been gone that day, and...I...I wouldn't have any reason to live anymore without them...For all I care, you saved us, Kirito." Keita said.
"I..."
Sachi finally let me go and stood beside Keita. I looked at her face, at least she wasn't crying now.
"Em...if you guys don't mind, we'll...sit here, okay?" Agil's voice came from behind me, I almost forgot that he and Edgar were in the room, too.
"Ah, sorry! I didn't see you guys back there! Your friends, Kirito?" Keita asked.
"Sort of, yeah..." I finally managed to say something. "We're having some business with the KBO."
"Hey, only us did. You just tag along because you wanted to see your friends, aren't you?" Agil reminded me.
"Ah, right. Anyways, what are you guys doing here?" I asked Keita.
"Um, we were trying to ask for some assistance from the KBO. Recently, we've accepted a quest that can't be finish without a certain quest item, which is now in possession of the KBO." He explained.
"So, what make you so sure they're just gonna give it to you? They're gonna expect something in return."
Keita looked back at Tetsuo. He nodded, before continued.
"The quest's reward is a set of extremely rare and powerful weapons, something which might benefit greatly to someone who knows how to use them. We made a deal with the KBO that we'll give them half of the weapons received after we finish the quest. They can take whichever they liked, and we will keep the rest."
"But...that means you'll have to give up all the best weapons to them!" I argued. This quest is starting to interest me. I'm in need of a new sword already.
"We have no choice. The quest can't be cancelled, and we can't do this alone. At least we can still get something from it, as well as experiences" Keita said.
"What's the quest item, anyways?" I asked.
"It's actually a set of quest items. They're called the Marks of Swordsmen. There are five which is needed in completing the quest. We already got the Mark of Scimitar, the Mark of Broadsword. The KBO's in possession of the Mark of Rapier, and we don't know the location of the last two marks."
"Um, if I may speak something..." Edgar interrupted. "Recently, my guild members 'borrowed' some of rare or quest-based items from other players, and the guild is now in possession of numerous items. I believe I have once heard of one such mark. The Mark of Saber. Could it be one of the marks you're looking for?"
"Yeah! That's the one!" A young girl behind Sasamaru shouted up, before realized that she just made herself the center of attention.
"Sorry..." She backed down and retreated behind Sasamaru, who then started to make fun of her.
"Ah, I haven't introduced our new members yet! Sorry, Kirito! The girl there, her name is Lamia, our saber user." He pointed to the girl that blurted out a moment ago. She has a short, brown hair and gold eyes.
"Hi..." She just raise a hand from behind Sasamaru's back, and gave me cheerful smile.
"The other girl is our new javelin user. Her name is Izumi." He pointed at a young girl, no, she's not exactly a girl, she's a young woman with a twintail red-brown hair, as are her eyes. She just gave me a small smile and nodded at me.
"And finally, our newest member, Oren. A longsword user." He pointed at a boy who stood near Tetsuo. He's the shortest person in the group, even shorter than Sachi...
"Nice to meet you!" He waved his hand happily, a bright smile on his face, in contrast of Tetsuo's stoic one.
"Right, where did we left at...Oh, the Mark of Saber. Lamia said that it's one of the marks needed to complete the quest. Do you have it, mister...?" Keita looked at Edgar.
"Call me Edgar, and yes, my guild is currently in possession of that mark. I can give it to you, if you do something for us in return..." The HDA paladin said.
"And what would that be?" Keita asked.
"Well, since my guild has all the weapons they needed, you won't have to share the weapons received from the quest, however..." He stared at Keita, who's smiling, like he's saying I'm not finished yet!
"Recently, someone has been stealing items from my guild. We've currently have no clue of where to find thief, or, a group of thieves. What I'm asking is, I wanted your help in tracking down the thief and take our stolen items back from them."
"If you can find the thief, and recover our items, then it's a deal. However, if you can't, then I'm afraid I have to take whatever items you find from your quest to replace the stolen ones." Edgar finished.
"WHAT! But that way we'll be left with nothing!" Sasamaru yelled up.
"Hey, calm down! Let's just talk things over a bit!" Keita shouted.
"Why don't you ordered your paladins to track down the thief themselves, Edgar? You have plenty of them, aren't you?" I asked him.
"Well, you already witnessed how my paladins 'tracking down' the thief, Kirito. They're just too headstrong to listen for reasons. Besides, I needed every man I can get to clear the frontlines. Since our relationship with the KBO worsened, we have to rely on ourselves to clear the dungeons. I can't afford to send my men on 'small errands' like this, can I?" He grinned.
Looks like Edgar's more devious than I thought...
"I'll...I'll think about it, Mr. Edgar." Keita spoke up, before turning to me.
"So, about earlier, what do you think about joining our guild again, Kiri-"
The doors opened again, and Asuna burst in.
"Right! Heathcliff is ready to see you, Mr. Edgar. Wait, what are you guys doing in here?"
She just noticed the Black Cats of the Full Moon inside the room.
"Friends of yours?" She asked me.
"Um, you could say that..." I told her.
"Whoa, can't believe a bastard like you could find a friend here, that's new." She frowned, her arms crossed.
"A...Actually, he's our former guild member!" Sachi spoke up, surprising everyone.
"It's...it's been nearly a year ago. He saved us from a trap, we all owe him our lives." She continued.
"You're joking me. Kirito? Guild member? So what's with all that 'screw teamwork' stuff about!?" Asuna gave me a death glare, before turning to Edgar.
"Mr. Edgar, Heathcliff is waiting for you, that hallway, the second door on the left." She pointed to the hallway behind her.
"Thank you, Asuna." Edgar said, then walked out of the room.
Asuna then sat down on the sofa, opposite of Agil, who's making a bored face.
"Man, I feel like I'm the only one who shouldn't be here right now..." He sighed.
"Alright. So Heathcliff's approved of helping you guys solving the quest, but as long as you keep the end of your bargain. Now, tell me your story about how this Beater joined your guild, and Kirito, tell me everything, or I'll kill you." Asuna said, her eyes focused at me.
This is gonna be a hell of a day.
Editor's note: First of all, SORRY for keeping you guys waiting! I was almost finishing this chapter when I realized that the original plot I made doesn't make any sense, so I had to rewrite almost all of it...So tired now...
Anyways, Kirito's finally reunited with the BCOF, but is still reluctant about rejoining the guild, as well as a new quest with a precious reward that everyone wants. How will this resolved in the end? Stay tuned!
PS. Be sure to reread the second chapter. I've made a mistake about the timeline. It should be at least TEN months since Kirito left the BCOF. Because the Murder in the Safe Area incident happened around April, which made my previous timeline mute. (if it's been eight months since Kirito left the BCOF during June last year, then it should be February, while the events in this chapter is supposed to happen some time in April.) A little mistake that I won't be repeating again...trust me!