December 2nd, 2022 5:00

"So, uh, who could've guessed that someone went deeper into the dungeon than the others," Axel attempted to strike up a conversation with a silent Lyn regarding the mysterious girl they found along with Kirito in the Labyrinth, while the two were taking a stroll around Tolbana.

"Is it a good thing or a bad thing? It's not something I would think about too much, even in this game," Lyn replied.

Axel took a deep breath, as if preparing to read a long lecture about limited loot and EXP in MMORPG games. He might have failed to get into the beta-test, but his experience with mass multiplayer games was no joke.

"Fufufufu, you two look so funny together. Are you a couple?" a teenage female voice inquired with a snicker. "Can I paint you?"

The two players turned around to see a bespectacled girl looking at the two through a finger frame. The girl was older than Lyn and Axel, had blonde hair and was dressed in turquoise-colored gear. Despite her refined and slim complexion, she had a mace hanging over her belt and a small round shield behind her back.

"W-what are you saying?! W-we are not a couple!" Axel blurted out, blushing slightly.

"Y-yes, he's right!" Lyn stammered, her face completely red.

"Relax, I'm just kidding," the girl laughed slightly. "I'm Ceba, or at least that's what my avatar's name is. The part about painting wasn't a joke by the way."

"Painting? Is this possible in-game?" Axel asked curiously.

"Well, that Rat girl said nothing about such skill ever existing. Even if it can be acquired on higher floors, I'm not going to wait. That's why I'll have to go gather some paint…hair dye that is. The one that was dropped by some monster got used up when I dyed my hair. Maybe if I get more of it, I will be able to at least paint on a wall…"

Ceba's deliberations about art went on and on until Axel called out to her.

"And you'll need our help to get the dye?" he asked the blonde girl.

The girl snapped back to reality. "Ding-dong, you are right. I don't have to give you hints now. Actually, my level is good enough to be able to deal with the monsters, but the grind is a pain, you see. And you two looked pretty approachable," Ceba gave the two a begging look.

Axel and Lyn stared at the painter for a second, before Axel smiled and replied.

"Sure, why not."

Lyn nodded in agreement.

The look on Ceba's face changed to a smile.

"Alrighty, let's get going, then!" she said energetically.

5:40

After a somewhat tiring walk, the three players approached a swampy area.

"Okay, this is the place," Ceba pointed at the swamp in front of the trio. "Actually, when I went to explore the area a few days ago, there were strange mobs around. Can't remember how they were called, but they were kinda like kobolds in the Labyrinth. Maybe they have some special attack or something. Oh, never mind, I just hit one with my mace when it was distracted and that's it," the bespectacled girl exclaimed cheerfully, taking out her weapon.

Seriously? Axel thought to himself in disbelief with his left eye twitching slightly. And those swamp Kobolds she mentioned sound familiar too…

"L-let's not get too carried away, shall we? Letting our guard down won't do any good, right?" Lyn attempted to warn the two.

"I feel like a magical girl, and the mace is my magic wand!" was the only thing she heard from Ceba, as the girl in glasses ran off towards the swamp.

"She seems like an…interesting person that's for sure," Lyn let out a small nervous laugh.

"Yeah…" Axel agreed.

6:00

"Alright, it seems those guys are called Swamp Kobold Trappers," Axel reported to the two as the trio were watching huge, net-holding blue monsters lurking around the swamp from the safety of a bush. "Haven't seen these guys in person, but from what I've heard, they disarm their attackers with their nets. Many players died by underestimating them."

"H-how horrible, isn't that cheating?" Lyn asked, her voice trembling with a mix of sadness and anger.

Axel coughed.

"You see, in some games there are enemies that can steal your weapon and attack your vulnerable avatar, sometimes with the stolen weapon," he explained to Lyn and Ceba, who were unpleasantly shocked by the explanation.

"Well crud, I should've played more games before SAO's release," Ceba frowned. "And I should've applied for the beta."

"Don't blame yourself. Not even the beta-testers knew about Kayaba's plan. We're all in the same boat here," Axel reassured the bespectacled girl before the concerned look on his face changed to a look of contemplation.

"Anyway, now that we know what tricks the Trapper uses, we gotta come up with some strategy," he said.

"H-how about we attack it, see how it reacts and then escape?" Lyn offered.

"Let's attack it head-on," Ceba blurted out.

The expression on Axel's face got visibly gloomier. During his fourteen years of life he has never thought about making an important decision that might cost him his life and the life of others. And now, there he was, making such a decision while trapped in a faraway fantasy world, yet at the same time lying in a hospital bed. Both of his companions' strategies had a chance of success, but the risk of losing their lives still terrified the boy.

"A-Axel-san, is everything fine?" Lyn asked worryingly.

"Gaaaaah. Alright, we'll work something out when we fight it," he yelled out, unable to decide.

The two girls almost jumped out of their skin from the sudden exclamation.

"W-well, if you say so…" Lyn replied, her voice quavering with slight fear. Ceba only hummed and nodded in agreement, looking at Axel with her eyes wide open.

A drop of virtual sweat rolled down Axel's temple. The words he yelled out weren't meant to scare his companions, yet the feeling of discomfort lingered between the trio. Even though one of the girls was an honor student that everyone considered to be distant, unapproachable and slightly arrogant and the other was basically a stranger to him, the boy felt that their lives mattered to him nevertheless, and if they die trying to get some stupid item, then he won't ever forgive himself. On the other hand, turning down the bespectacled girl's plead for help would seem bad right now, so something had to be done.

"No-no-no, I didn't mean to shock you, it's just that I find it hard to choose what strategy we should stick to. Losing our lives to some stupid mob doesn't sound good too," the boy explained himself.

Lyn put her hand to her chin in thought.

"Actually, I think I'll trust your strategy, Axel-san, I agree with what you said earlier. And…sorry for misunderstanding you and making you worry at first," the frail raven-haired girl lightened up and smiled slightly.

"You do have a point, count me in," Ceba joined Lyn.

All of Axel's discomfort disappeared in an instant and he smiled back at the two.

"Okay, let's go!"

6:40

"I've got it in my sights now! Let's get going!" Axel whispered to his two companions, as they slowly approached the clueless monster from behind. "Ceba-san, you'll have to go on ahead and stun the Trapper with your mace."

The bespectacled girl did the OK-gesture, jumped out of the bushes and charged at the monster, her mace shining green.

"Sword Skill: Power Strike!"

Was yelling the skill name really necessary? Axel cringed silently as he and Lyn watched Ceba hit the mob with a [Power Strike] skill, which successfully stunned the Kobold.

"Hey, guys, now's your turn!" the blonde girl yelled, recovering from the post-skill recoil.

Lyn readied her spear, while Axel took out his sword.

"We'll take it down once I count to three," the boy commanded, to which the raven-haired frail girl nodded.

"On my mark… One… two… and three!"

At the count of three, the [Cold Spike] gleamed red, while the [Tempered Broadsword] shined blue.

The dizzy monster got pierced through by a rapid [Sonic Charge] and a [Tempest] double-handed sword skill slashed it diagonally.

"D-did we get it?" Lyn wondered, watching the Trapper go down with a shrill roar and gush out blue shards from the damaged spot.

"Yes!" Axel pumped his fist after seeing the HP bar drop to zero.

"We did it!" Ceba shouted happily.

Once the monster froze before disappearing, a weird glitching effect rippled across its body, forcing the trio to stop their celebration. The Kobold moved its arm moved sharply and started to slowly overcome the freeze.

Axel's facial expression changed dramatically from that of happiness to that of horror.

No way, but how… he thought in shock.

The mob was now back in action, no longer constrained by the system. It had no HP left, but was moving freely.

The Swamp Kobold's bloodshot crimson eyes stared at Axel, Lyn and Ceba, seemingly getting ready to tear them to shreds.

Its merciless gaze fell on Lyn, who was trembling in fear before the glitched monster. The Kobold inhaled and roared deafeningly at the raven-haired girl. Lyn, in turn, fell on her back from the powerful gust of wind, stunned by the attack.

In the blink of an eye, her [Cold Spike] was snatched by the Kobold's net. She was completely defenseless and vulnerable. Her life was hanging by a thread. The very same despair that she experienced in Horunka overcame her.

Ceba ran towards the Kobold and attempted to repeat the [Power Strike], but her mace was also snatched and she was violently thrown to the side, stunned as well.

The only one standing was Axel, unable to rely on his companions anymore. The Kobold now had two weapons in its possession, and the odds were totally not in the boy's favor.

With the same deafening roar, the Swamp Kobold Trapper raised its two weapons above Axel and launched its onslaught. The boy blocked the attack with his sword, but he risked to break it much sooner than expected.

The Kobold clenched its fangs and applied even more pressure, hoping to disarm Axel.

During this battle, Axel felt time stop for him. He could no longer block the attack and felt all the strength leave him.

Are you going to give up everything and let yourself and your friends be killed easily? an eerie, disembodied female voice whispered suddenly inside the boy's head. I believe you must muster up all the courage you have to save them.

"Save them?"Axel asked out loud.

We are not meant to meet any time soon, but nevertheless, I shall help you.

"B-but how?"

You shall see.

Axel could feel a sudden surge of energy flow through his body, his HP was restored.

"You're right, I must save them. No, I WILL save them," he exclaimed, feeling the motivation come back to him. The [Tempered Broadsword] glowed gold, much to Axel and the Kobold Trapper's surprise.

"Haaaaaagh!"

The whole area was engulfed in a bright light, but then, everything went pitch black.

If you want to find me, head for the 10th Floor of Aincrad. You will find clues there.

These were the last word Axel heard from the mysterious voice.

6:50

"…ey…Hey, are you okay?" someone said, shaking Axel at the same time.

The boy slowly opened his eyes to see the two girls in front of him.

"Ah, you guys. I remember you were attacked by the Kobold…" he slowly rose up, holding his head. "…And that voice. Did you hear it too?"

The two girls shook their heads.

"I-I remember you fighting the Kobold alone. And then there was a strange light, but I fainted afterwards. When I woke up, the monster was gone…" Lyn stated.

"Same here," Ceba agreed.

Axel turned to Ceba. "So, did you get the dye you wanted?"

"Well, I did, but when I tried to paint while you were out, I couldn't use it. It's safe to say that they can't replace paint in this world after all," she sighed. "Sorry for making you two go through all of this. As compensation, how about we stay in-touch? I'll inform you if I find anything about your case."

"A-and we better ask Kirito-san once we meet up with him again. Or maybe the Rat girl," Lyn offered.

"Sounds like a plan," Axel agreed. "Let's head back to Tolbana for now. What about you, Ceba-san?"

"Oh, I want to stay here for a bit. Maybe I can find something better than dye. I shouldn't let my artistic skill rot away while we stay trapped in here," the bespectacled girl replied.

The two players said their goodbyes to their new friend and headed back to town. Deep inside, Axel still couldn't forget the accident with the Kobold. There definitely had to be an answer to this mystery. Just what was that mysterious voice, what was that strange Sword Skill and how did he even manage to activate it? All of these question simply couldn't leave him…

A/N:

Welp, here I am. A new chapter (the last one in 2022), finally, and it adds an overlooked canon character into the mix too!

I haven't updated the fic since, like, May, I think (if we leave out the cover art update with Axel and Lyn on it in June, ginormous thanks to my friend who drew that btw, you're cool). Anyway, I don't intend to abandon the story at any point, there are lots of things I have planned for it, so I better switch off the procrastination, turn on the super saiyan mode and go, go, go. And hopefully, the upcoming chapters will be lengthier and more enjoyable.

On a side note, a huge shoutout to Irusha the Kitsune for the detailed reviews! I will try to fix bracket mistakes as soon as possible, thank you for noting that.

That's all for now, Happy New Year, guys!