In the afternoon, we arrived at the twenty-fourth floor with no major incidents.

Well, not exactly.

On the way back to the city, we got harassed by some monsters in the canyon, the 'Desert Jackals', those annoying scavengers kept attacking us every three minutes or so, and in packs, for crying out loud! It's lucky that they are not so dangerous, everyone in our party can handle them all just fine, and they're also giving us some good EXPs to level up.

I caught a glimpse of Sachi's current level after she successfully leveled up. Her level is now 38. A good progress, I'd say, since the last time I saw her ten months ago.

She's getting better and better at fighting, although sometimes she's still unsure of what to do in battle. Her fear of dying tends to get the better of her sometimes, like back at the fight at the fortress, but really, we were outnumbered at that time and our opponents are much more skilled than your every day field monsters. With me assisting her most of the time, she has no problems in fighting at all.

Wha, it's not like I'm helping her out because I like her or anything!

I'm just...well, I did promise to protect her, right?

Damn it, it's been ages when I think about it.

I left her...I left the Black Cats because I thought I couldn't keep that promise.

To hell with that promise.

That's what I thought about it at that time.

So why the hell am I even here?

Damn it, just...to hell with it all.

I'm just gonna finish this mission, then leave them for good.

I'm a solo player. I'm the solo player.

Solo means no to guilds, or any teamwork-related thing.

It's just not my style at all.

As long as they don't do something incredibly stupid, the Black Cats can hold their own just fine.

And the large guilds will probably do all the work to clear the floors. All they have to do is just trying to stay alive until somebody clears the game, if it could be cleared at all.

Better have some fun while it lasted. This is a video game, after all.

To each their own, I think.

After some time, we arrived at a hill overlooking a large green field with lakes and mountains in the distance. Kinda reminded me of some pictures of Switzerland I've seen on the internet.

"So, Agil. Where's the place you met that slippery bastard, anyways?" I asked.

Agil pointed to the north of us, at a medium-sized town in front of us.

"That town over there. Its name is Mayfair. Not much of a bustling place nowadays since all the stuffs' happening in big cities like Grandum. Still, a nice, quiet place if you ask me." Agil explained.

"About nine days ago, I got a request from a man called Balthazar. He's supposedly the KBO knight I mentioned before. He wanted me to deliver this spear for him." He added, before opening his inventory window and selecting the spear he's talking about.

"Whoa..." Keita blurted out after seeing the spear itself.

The spear itself is about twice the length of my Elucidator. Its sharp head is made of a rare iron, probably Obsidian, which shines brightly when reflecting the light from the sun. The handle itself is even decorated by glossy textures.

"And then two days later..." Agil continued. "Someone, probably Balthazar's contact, sent me the information about the merchant currently in possession of the spear, and it leads me to that town."

"May I?" I asked. Agil just nodded before handing the spear to me.

I'll admit, I'm not a fan of spears at all. Actually, anything that isn't a sword won't get on my interest list. This game is called Sword Art Online, for god's sake! Why would this game have anything else other than swords anyways?

But I can't deny that this spear's pretty damn awesome.

It's surprisingly light for a weapon made with such material. I tried practicing some moves with it. Even a non-spear fans like me have no problems using it at all. Its long lengths means it's more effective in attack enemies before they could get close to you, and its flexibility means you could perform quicker moves.

This thing is nothing short of perfect. Guess that's why the HDA wanted it back so badly.

"Wow, never realized you're a spear fan, Kirito." Sasamaru said.

"I'm not!"

"But I must admit you do look pretty cool using it, Kirito!" Izumi said.

I'll rather stick with the swords, thank you very much.

I turned my attention to the spear once more, and look at its name.

Fierce Dragon

Heh, a suitable name, indeed.

"Well, whoever's the real owner of this spear, he's one lucky bastard." I commented.

"Yeah, no kidding, and it's worth killing us over if it means he can get it back." Agil said miserably.

"So, shall we go to the town right now?" Keita asked.

I stared down the hill. There's a forest standing in the path leading to the town, and there's a giant lake and mountain ranges on both ends of the forest, meaning we'll have to cut straight through it to reach the town. There's no alternative routes.

"We'll have to cut straight through the forest." Tetsuo said. "Maybe it's better if we take some rest. We've been fighting all morning, right?"

"About time somebody says this. My legs' going numb." Asuna complained. I almost forget that she's in the guild as a 'temporary member', too.

And with that, we all made a temporary camp and rest.

"Hey Asuna, could I get more sandwiches, please? They're very delicious!" Sasamaru spoke.

"No way! You're eating too much!" Asuna replied, before pulling the bag of sandwiches away from Sasamaru, who desperately tried to reach for it.

"But you gave half of them to Kirito! That's unfair!" He protested.

"T-That's none of your business! I did that because he protected me at the fortress! You didn't do anything to earn this, you idiot!" Asuna yelled out, before turning her face away, blushing.

Well, er...about that...

Never mind! Her sandwiches' actually pretty delicious like Sasamaru said. I swear, I could sit and eat them all day.

"Hey, Kirito?" Sachi spoke.

"Yes, Sachi?"

"Would you...mind if you try some of my...homemade grilled chickens?" She asked shyly.

Well, sure, why not?

I grabbed one of the chickens Sachi offered me and putting it in my mouth.

Um, it's not bad, not bad at all.

A little spicy, but it tasted nice, the meat's very tender, easy to bite, and...wait...

Oh my god.

"H-how did it tasted like?" Sachi asked excitingly.

Oh god, oh god, oh god.

This is...

"THIS IS HEAVEN!" I yelled out. "SACHI! YOUR CHICKENS IS DA BEST!"

"REALLY!?"

Sachi's eyes widen. She smiled happily, cheering.

Oh man, Sachi's chickens' just 100% made of awesome!

A few more of these, and I'm ready to take on the entire HDA guild, seriously!

"Hey, hey! Don't forget about my sandwiches, you idiot! I swear, I'll kill you if you leave even one tiny piece of it!" Asuna said frustratingly. I could see it on her face, she's jealous.

Oh crap.

"So, Kirito..." Keita blurted out. "I haven't properly introduce our new members to you, right? We got cut short back at the fortress and...since you'll be staying with us for a while, I think you'd better get to know them!"

And then Keita looked at the short brown hair girl sitting across him, Lamia.

"Let's start with you first, Lamia!"

Lamia nodded, before gave me a smile.

"Nice to meet you again, Kirito-san! My name's Lamia! I'm the guild's saber user!" She said happily.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too, Lamia!" I replied. Lamia's kinda reminded me of Silica, the young beast tamer I once helped revived her pet dragon. "So, what's your story prior joining the guild?"

Lamia's smile faded a bit.

"Um...I don't really want to talk about it, Kirito-san." She said.

"Hey, it's okay! You don't have to tell me." I quickly told her. She must have a rough time in the past, I'm sure.

"N-no, no! Not at all! It was just..this isn't my first guild I've joined, Kirito-san..." She said, her face saddened.

"Not your first guild? So you joined another guild once before, but quitted?" I asked.

"I didn't quit that guild, Kirito-san. It's just that they...they..." Lamia struggled. She took a deep breath, before continue.

"They were all killed fighting the thirty-fourth floor boss, Kirito-san. I'm the only survivor..."

WHAT!?

Lamia's...a sole survivor...from her previous guild.

"That...that couldn't been easy, Lamia." I said slowly, trying not to upset her.

"It's...don't worry about me!" I'm okay now, Kirito-san!" She waved her hands, before gave me another nervous smile.

But I'm sure she's not okay at all.

Losing her entire guild...that's a very traumatic experience for anyone.

I've almost got into one myself, and barely managed to prevent it, but she...

She had to go through it...that horror experience even I dreaded.

Keita seemed to notice that Lamia's in no state to continue further, and quickly nodded to Izumi.

"Right Izumi, it's your turn now!"

Izumi turned to look at me. The red-headed twintail woman gave me a little smile.

"Nice to meet you, Kirito. My name is Izumi Misaki, a javelin user." Izumi introduced herself in full name. Didn't expect that. Formal, but so unusual...

"I take it you're an experienced player, Izumi-san." I said.

Izumi just giggled.

"Not really, you've already seen how well I'm doing in combat back at the fortress. I couldn't even last a minute against those paladins."

"They were all elites, and we were outnumbered at that time, Izumi. You just couldn't take on everyone by yourself. Besides, I think a javelin's not exactly a crowd-clearing weapon."

"Heh, good point." Izumi said. "I preferred to fight my enemies one-on-one. I like things up close and personal."

Whoa, this girl's starting to scare me.

"So, how did you get here?"

Izumi chuckled. "I don't really know, either. It was just three months ago. I was wondering around on the forty-second floor when I heard about the Black Cats accepting new members. Back then, I was getting bored doing the same stuffs every day. Going out, hunt some monsters, level up, eat and sleep, so I decided to join the guild to have some fun." She explained.

So, that means she must have some experiences as a solo player like me. Heh, we could team up nicely.

"Okay. Oren, it's your turn now!" Izumi glanced at Oren, who's busy finishing up his pork chop.

"...Um...yummy...ah, what did you say again?"

Izumi just facepalmed.

"Ah, yeah! Nice to meet you, Kirito-san!" Oren smiled.

"Uh...nice to meet you, too?" I said nervously.

"I've heard stories about you, Kirito-san! You're that badass Beater everyone's talking about! You're the best, man! I wanna be like you someday!" He yelled out excitingly.

"Heh, looks like someone got a fanboy here." Asuna teased.

Damn it, you shut up!

"I've been getting better and better at using my longsword, Kirito-san! Maybe I could be your sidekick?!"

"Ah...maybe, Oren. Maybe..." I said. Heh, this boy's crazy.

"So what's the story between you and the Black Cats, Oren?"

"Ah! Er...well! I joined the Black Cats because they once helped me doing a quest! So, in return, I'm joining the guild!"

"Uh huh."

Right, I guess that's all of them.

"Okay. It's nice to meet all three of you." I said. "I'm sure you'll all make great additions to the Black Cats."

All three of them gave me smiles in response.

"Right! I think we've rested long enough. Let's get to the town!" Keita announced.

"Yeah, let's get there before it gets dark." Agil said. "I want to find that merchant as fast as possible."

"Who's the merchant, anyways?" I asked. "You haven't told me his name yet."

"I don't know, either. I didn't ask for his name." Agil replied.

"Oookay. Don't worry, we'll find you your merchant, Agil."

And with that, we all set out down the hill, into the forest.

Editor's note: So, no actions in this chapter, just merely explaining some backgrounds to my three new OCs. If you ask me, I think I wasn't doing such a good job about it, really. I was really sleepy...

Well, nothing more. Next week, next chapter, as usual!

PS. I got the spear's name, Fierce Dragon, from Zhao Yun's ultimate weapon from the video game Dynasty Warriors. LOL