AN: Surprise! I'm putting up an extra chapter on my birthday. I'm 26 now! There will still be a chapter on Saturday (or late Friday depending on your time zone).

Also, thanks for 1K total views! And thanks for reading more than ten chapters, too.


December 14th, 2022 – 16:54 AST. The Dark Elven Royal Guard, Kizmel, stretched in a natural and human manner, and turned to us with a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Warriors of humankind, allow me to thank you again for your help. I hope that you will assist in our next operation."

I nodded. "Absolutely."

"Now that I think on it, I have not heard your names yet. What are they?"

I chortled at Kirito's eye-take. I couldn't blame him, though – who would expect NPCs to ask for an input of that kind in a FullDive game?

"Um… My name is Kirito."

"Ah, your human names are difficult to pronounce. Is it… Kirito?" Her intonation must have been off slightly for the boy answering, as he repeated it. She then followed along more closely. "Kirito."

"That's perfect." His expression seemed to be of relief that she was finally doing something clearly associated with digital programming – in this case, the system calibrating speech recognition.

Kizmel repeated the process with Asuna, and then turned her attention to me. "And you, you are…"

"SAUER," I answered, the simplest to pronounce as 'Sawa' like everyone else did.

"Sa-wa… It's shorter."

"You got it on the first try."

Her smile became clearer to see. "Kirito, Asuna, SAUER. Please call me Kizmel. I will leave the timing of our departure up to you. If you wish to return to your human town, I can send you nearby with another charm, or you can spend the night in one of our tents."

Asuna quickly grasped that the opportunity was tied to the instance. "In that case, we will gratefully accept your hospitality."

"Perhaps you should save your thanks. After all," Kizmel explained as I realized why she'd be saying what she did, "Without a spare tent, you will need to share mine. It will be a tight fit for four, but it will be comfortable."

"No, we'd be happy to—four?"

I exhaled in amusement at Asuna's hesitation. "See," I whispered to her, "Since she'd normally die back in the first quest, it'd be 'recently vacant'. Kirito and I partied with two other males in the beta, which was predictably less awkward."

She nodded slowly as she gave a more definitive answer for Kizmel to process. "Thank you. We'd be happy to use it."

"Good. I will be here within the grounds, so call upon me if you should need anything."

The proud dark elf bowed again and strode off toward the dining tent. Asuna then turned to us with the most predictable expression.

"I would probably be more alert, if only one of you two were with me."

I shrugged. "We understand."


Like the camp itself, Kizmel's tent was upgraded from the beta, too. The supposed 'tight fit for four' could actually hold six with room to spare, with thick, luxurious pelts spread on the ground for a comfortable and sufficient rest. The thick-woven tent fabric blocked sound from outside, and up in front of the central support pole was an oddly shaped heater which glowed with warmth.

Kirito walked into the middle and sat down, removing his sword and practical armors before laying back on the furs. Asuna approached and stood over the boy, glaring coldly down at him. She then flinched upon feeling my firm grip on her shoulder.

"Let's be honest," I calmly rebutted the fencer's intentions, "How do you think the elves would react towards your merciless slaughter of two fellow humans over something as petty as sleep territory?"

I steeled my nerves as she turned so her chilling eyes could meet mine, glancing just past her to observe the young boy's fear as he sat up. She certainly didn't look like she cared whether or not judgement would be cast on her inside the camp, if her color cursor turned orange.

She sat and leaned against the thick support pole. "Tell me more about this questline. You two did it back in the beta, didn't you?"

I grinned as Kirito slung himself back to the ground with a sigh of relief. "The dark elves and forest elves don't have any fixed morality. They're just fighting over a place on a higher floor, called the Sanctuary. It has some powerful item in it."

The fencer closely watched me as I sat on the other side of Kirito, opposite her. "So, the key in that leaf bag was to the Sanctuary?"

I nodded. "There's six of them in total, across multiple floors. The questline involves collecting them for either side."

Asuna tilted her head. "When other players start this questline, there are bound to be some who choose to side with the forest elves, and they will be attempting quests at the same time as us."

I chuckled softly. "Nah, all the relevant stuff directly between the factions, will happen solely in the instances generated for each party. People could start this questline from either side, years after we complete it, and they would still be able to do the whole thing."

She blinked. "Well, if a different one exists for every party doing the quest, then that means there would be just as many Kizmels and commanders, and the like."

"Hmm…" I briefly humored the thought of multiple purple-haired dark elf women. "At this point, I'd imagine the game should realize the name Kizmel is permanently taken, and start generating new names for each elf."

I then thought back to the repeatable quests on earlier floors. The way the guy at the ranch would respond in Horunka, when I did the calf quest. It would be a different calf every time, and he would acknowledge the calves I had brought back before. Since «Secret Medicine of the Forest» could be repeated as well by the same player, did it mean Agatha would need multiple doses?

Asuna shrugged as she unequipped her rapier and practical armors, including her hooded cape, shaking free her long hair as she leaned back and stretched her white-socked feet. Her hand began absentmindedly gliding across the furs as she spoke again.

"It is a bit odd, though, isn't it? How human Kizmel acts, for a digital construct?"

"Oh, absolutely," I answered, glancing out through the entrance flap of the tent, "There's something about it that really makes it feel… real. Just like Kayaba said he wanted it."

"To think he put so much work into it… All just to kill ten thousand random people."

Asuna looked back at Kirito after his comment, and silently nodded. We sat there for a minute in silence before agreeing to get up and have dinner. The whole accommodation offered in the camp, from a resting place to food, was all free. And who would we be to turn down something which was not going to be here forever?

"Ah, welcome," Kizmel said upon seeing us enter the dining tent, "I'm afraid I cannot offer you much at this humble camp, but you are free to use my tent, this tent, and the bathing tent as needed."

"You have a bath?" Asuna asked without hesitation. Kizmel nodded and pointed outward to the left.

"Right next to the dining tent. Again, available at your leisure."

"Thank you. I'm certainly going to take advantage of that." Of course you will, Asuna.

During our meal, I glanced out of the tent in the direction of the camp's attendant blacksmith. Kirito noticed this and turned to Asuna.

"You know, the NPC blacksmith here is a really high level. You could upgrade your weapon to its maximum level, and it would be a good idea to do it while the instance is here."

"Oh, I was gonna see the smith, too," I answered Kirito's prompt to Asuna, "I have a couple more remaining Wind Fleurets to craft into something else."

"Oh, I remember you saying you could do that," she recalled as she eyed my scimitar, also made of metal harvested from Wind Fleurets, "Actually, I should do that too, shouldn't I?"

I nodded. "A maxed Wind Fleuret would only be viable to the middle of this floor, anyway."

"Oh, yeah…" Kirito agreed with a nod, "Well, you're sure to get a good one from the one you have."

"What are you going to make with yours, SAUER?" asked the fencer.

"Metal Claws, like Argo's," I answered plainly, "They're good at catching and intercepting weapons, and they're immune to fumbles. She also confirmed that they're compatible with Martial Arts, and Blade Throwing can still be used while wearing them."

Kirito blinked. "Sounds kind of overpowered."

I shrugged. "It's made up for by how close you have to get to the enemy. And I still have to unlock another skill slot to fill with the Claw skill."

He leaned back with a sigh. "And you'll get that at Level 20…"

"Should take the rest of the month to get there."


After the good meal, and a horn blowing for 1800 hours, we made our exit, Kizmel close behind as laughter perpetuated inside. "I believe I will have a rest. Just say the word if you need anything."

We nodded to the NPC as she headed to her tent. Asuna then stepped in front of us.

"In the meantime, why don't we each have a bath?"

I shrugged. "You don't really get dirty, nor sweaty, in-game. It's just to relax."

The fencer then fixed her icy gaze on me. "You in particular, need to relax."

I took a deep breath as I met her eyes. "Fine. But there's only one bath in that tent."

She tilted her head. "Hm. If this is still outside the safe zone, it would be dangerous to remove all equipment here. When each of us bathes, we should have the others standing guard."

"Do any of us need two to stand guard?" I asked, exhausted just by this conversation.

Kirito glanced at me for a moment. "If you want the duty out of the way, Asuna should go first. It stands to reason that she's the one who gets two guards."

Her only concern would be NPCs, but it would nonetheless be daunting to have male dark elves waltzing in at a moment's notice.

"Makes sense to me."

"Thank you." Asuna left behind a grin, already inside the tent before we heard the 'you'. The tent's entrance was a simple cloth flap like any other, hanging loose in the wind, but it wasn't impractically parted to the point of easy pickings.

I remembered from the beta, the tub she was now using: elegantly carved, filled to the lip with pale green water. It was certainly a treat, and it didn't have any prank effects like growing pointier ears. Sure enough, two swishing sounds indicated the removal of all but underwear, then the underwear. Then a splash, and contented sigh.

"…How can anyone relax like this?" I heard Kirito growl to himself as he sat down against one of the outside support poles.

"Oh, don't be such a child," I snapped back at him, leaning against a taller log while standing, with arms folded, "If you were as tempted as you thought you were, you'd be seeking out the Rat at any time you knew she was nearby."

Faint humming interrupted us before an argument could start, and the not-at-all-beater sighed.

"What could you know about what I'm thinking? It's not like that."

I shook my head. "Do you want to interrupt that beautiful song? …Never give, make them forget…"

The boy lifted his head upon hearing me sing in English. "Is that… one of your songs?"

I chuckled softly. "I covered every mainstream genre there is, I was bound to strike a chord with her through at least one. The crazy part is that it's Brandi Francisco's entrance theme."

He lowered his head again, trying to get comfortable against the pole. I then walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I could teach you the full song, sometime. Even how to pronounce every letter."

It was mostly a joke, but he turned his attention up to me with a telling expression.


Half an hour later, Asuna stepped out. "You know, you two may as well go together. You don't have anything to do in the meantime, do you, Kirito?"

The boy stared up at her, back in her armor. "I mean, I don't, but—"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed Kirito by the collar of his shirt. "You're tense too, kid, it's in your tone."

I heard the fencer's faint giggle get cut off by the tent flap returning to its neutral position, as Kirito hissed in my grasp. But he quickly caved once I let go, knowing she wouldn't let him out. Of course, the exonerated beta tester ended up melting into the water as soon as he had both feet inside.

"See? Aren't you feeling better already?"

He glanced away until I was also mostly submerged. "Not if you keep going on about it."

I shook my head with a smile. "Just settle down. You weren't dreading this as you ate, were you?"

Kirito leaned back as he raised an eyebrow. "You hesitated when you ate the roast chicken."

I nodded. "It looks pretty much the same as BBQ chicken. And I despise BBQ. I'm fairly certain that tonight was my first-ever actual roast chicken. And I want more."

"Doesn't poultry make you sleepy?" asked the one who ate more of it than I did.

"From the tryptophan? Only when mixed with carbs. I didn't have any of the bread. Not that such effects would work in-game, anyway."

He shrugged. "It certainly feels like it does."

I returned the shrug. "I could probably step out of the instance for an hour of hunting, if I could get back into this instance again. Oh, well…"

The boy finally smiled. "I know the feeling. I want to do more, too. But we should turn in after this."

"Yeah. Hell, even if we could return to this instance as long as Asuna stayed within it, she wouldn't have any of our words to justify it."

That got him laughing. He very clearly cut himself off after a few seconds, though, fearing just how easy it would be for Asuna to just slightly hold open the entrance flap, letting our voices out so she could hear. But without any kind of reaction, we couldn't know.

Regardless, we were thoroughly soothed by the water after only 15 minutes, compared to Asuna's thirty before us. Once we were presentable again, we returned to Kizmel's tent with the fencer.


The sight was certainly something. Already curled up under blankets atop the furs, our hostess was sleeping peacefully. Asuna returned to the middle where she'd set herself up, I planted myself back where I had been, and then Kirito between us. It was at that moment when I made my back parallel with the furs, that I realized I was the nearest to the dark elf.

That detail was irrelevant to me, for the time being. It had been a long day.

It felt like a seamless transition from 18:50 to 2AM. When I awoke, I saw Kirito carefully stepping to the entry flap of the tent. I popped up as well – carefully as to not disturb Asuna – and followed him out just closely enough for him to notice the flap moving behind him.

"What's up?" I asked as he turned around.

"I'm curious about Kizmel. She couldn't have gone to the next quest, already."

I smirked. "If she's still in this camp, I'm sure there's a place you'd regret finding her."

He rolled his eyes. "Don't do that. You'll make her think it was on purpose."

I shrugged. "Still, it could be a good time to see what else is different from the beta."

Kirito cupped his jaw in his hand in contemplation. "…The space behind the commander's tent?"

While the actual moon object was high above Aincrad itself, the skybox on the underside of every floor disc reflected moonlight all the same, bright enough to navigate open areas. We passed by the east side of the command tent, and found three wooden grave markers, with Kizmel in front of the leftmost grave, in tunic and tights. As we approached, she heard and looked up at us.

"…Kirito, SAUER. The morrow will be difficult if you don't get your rest," she whispered.

I moved closer as my fellow human's feet stalled. "I've been adjusted to a nice cycle for years, now."

From roughly 2017 since, I had realized I could enter REM – Rapid-Eye Movement, the state of one's subconscious responsible for dreams – while awake. Eventually, I figured out how to induce it on command, and then started using the technique to trick my own brain into thinking it was at rest.

…Which would simply convince it to rest. Shortly into 2020, I could sleep on command. To this day, I still never learned to induce lucid dreaming; I could only initiate a dream. I also couldn't wake on command either – I remained at the whims of my energy for each day.

"Thanks for letting us use your tent," Kirito finally said.

"I don't mind," she replied, looking down at the grave again, "It is too large for me alone."

I stepped just beside her to see the marker. "…Tilnel…"

"My sister," Kizmel answered, "She lost her life in the first battle after we descended to this floor last month."

"Huh…" I bowed my head in thought. "Roughly around the time we appeared in this world."

"You… appeared? Did you… come from another…?"

I hastily thought up an excuse. "We've, uh… Pushed out our memories pertaining directly to it, since we have little hope of making it back. We're adjusting to this one and becoming comfortable."

Kirito quickly changed the subject to avoid spoiling the 'real' world. "Was Tilnel… a knight, too?"

"No. My sister was an herbalist," she answered, though in Japanese, she didn't have to worry about the silent H of the English word, "Her job on the battlefield was to tend to the wounded. She never carried anything larger than a dagger. She was at the rear vanguard when the forest elves' falconers ambushed us from behind…"

Damn those falconers. The third floor's toughest mobs behind bosses and quest-flag enemies. Dark elves had wolf handlers, but the advantage from the air motivated my boomerang usage. The old modern tactical RPG adage of rock-paper-scissors – that being ranged-melee-flying.

As Kizmel adjusted herself into a sitting position, so too did I, and then Kirito. The dark elf then retrieved a leather skin by her side, pulled the plug, and took a swig. She then passed it to me, and I thanked her softly before taking a swig of my own.

"Hm… Sweet, sour… a minty sting afterward." I handed back the skin, and she passed it to Kirito on her opposite side.

"It was her favourite, moontear wine," she explained as Kirito took a sip, "From moontear herbs. I snuck some out of the castle, hoping to bring it to her. In the end, she never had a sip…"

Kirito passed the skin back, and Kizmel poured the rest onto the marker.

"I think it might be my favourite, too," I absentmindedly commented.

"You do?" I did not expect to hear that. I turned to her, seeing that she was now hugging her knees.

"When I accepted the mission to retrieve the Jade Key yesterday," she resumed as her eyes turned forward again, "I was prepared to die. Part of me might have hoped for it. At best, I might have had the satisfaction of taking that forest elf down with me, otherwise I would simply have lost…"

She then glanced up to me again. "But fate helped you guide me away from my death. After I had sworn that no gods existed in this forsaken place anymore…"

My eyes met hers as I saw how moist they were. She was just as much a natural resident within this world, as I had claimed the players were stranded wanderers. No – that was what we were, in the context of this world's people. And there was a timeline taking place just this past August, when we were willingly transporting between this world and our own. Wherein she would perish countless times as she'd once wished, just like Asuna in this world's current, new canon established by the officially-released version of SAO.

I took a deep breath as I glanced back at Kirito for a second. "Kirito, Asuna and I, we may be three of thousands suddenly placed into an unfamiliar realm… But we consciously made the decision to help you back there. And we'll walk the road you lead, every step of the way."

The dark elf grinned. "In that case, I will do my best to protect you. Until our paths are to part."

My lips curved in a slight smile upon seeing hers. "I didn't foresee that expression again so soon."

She slowly pushed herself to her feet. "Would you prefer to see it more often?"

I chortled for a second, caught off guard. "I'll do my damndest for such a beautiful sight."

Kirito sat stunned – not by disgust, nor by much shock, but by confusion, clear as crystal. He could hardly believe that not only was I flirting with an AI-controlled NPC, but she was reciprocating in a similar fashion. I glanced up at the party list in the top-left: Kizmel was displayed as Level 15 – just short of mine by two.

The royal guard stared down at him, as if wondering what was on his mind. But I knew, and it was hilarious on all fronts. Of course, Asuna was less amused by our return, already awake herself as it rolled into 3AM.

"Maybe you were right to be concerned about the male NPCs," I joked to her out of earshot from either Kirito or Kizmel, as we passed the narrow canyon out of the instance and back to the main game world's third floor, in the Forest of Wavering Mists.


Today was a Thursday – the 15th. From what I remembered, the next NXT JP TakeOver event which was scheduled, was «The Dome», on the coming Saturday. If I were a booking man, I'd have set the finals of the now-vacant NXT JP Women's Championship tournament for that event's card. I briefly wondered to myself if Kumiko would even challenge for it back, once she escaped Aincrad. Or if Brandi would still get to contend for it.

The mist and trees were lit by the pale blue moonlight, catching us all in its beauty. Kizmel stood by with us to admire it, too.

"It's stunning," Asuna murmured, unmoving for 30 seconds. When she returned to her senses, I glanced over at Kizmel, slightly puzzled by her reaction.

"She loved the night forest as well… Come, let us be off."

The quest following «Jade Key» was titled «Vanquishing the Spiders». There was no separate venom status in the game, so the spiders whose nest we were tasked with finding, were just referred to as poisonous, like most other poison enemies in RPGs. Lorewise, the spiders were interfering with the patrol missions. And like the camp, the nest's location was random, but unlike it, remained on the persistent server plane. We would simply have to hunt spiders until we narrowed down where they were coming from.

"How many antidote potions do you have?" Kirito asked Asuna.

"Hmm…" She pulled up her inventory as her menu jingled, "Three in my pouch, and sixteen in the inventory."

"About the same as me," he replied before turning his head, "And SAUER?"

"Two in the pouch, 20 in the inventory."

"More than enough," Kirito affirmed, before glancing in Kizmel's direction, "You know, it occurred to me just now… Would the game be able to handle players passing their own potions to NPCs…?"

I cut to the chase. "Hey, Kizmel. How do you handle poison?"

She had what looked to be a proud expression as she answered. "I have a few antidotes in case, but I do not need them. I have this."

She held out her right hand, gloved tightly in leather. Over the top of the glove, was a ring on her index finger. The green gemstone embedded, gleamed brightly like the green of antidote potions.

"What kind of ring is that?" Kirito asked.

"I received it along with my sword from Her Majesty when I was knighted. It allows me to use a purifying charm once every ten minutes."

I choked on air before I realized the air had no mass. "That's a hell of a ring…!"

She smiled awkwardly. "I cannot give it to you, as much as you might like it. For one thing, this ring draws upon what little magic is left in the blood of Lyusula, so you humans would not be able to use one anyway, I suspect."

"Hmm, speculative," I contemplated her last word aloud, before returning a chuckle. "Of course, I would sooner give you another ring, before accepting one from you."

Asuna grinned. "I'd expect nothing less of you. Although, I'm sure Kirito is above being the one to receive a ring from a girl, too."

Kirito flinched. "W-Why are we talking about this? I mean, I get it, I would be the one giving…"

I interrupted him to react to Asuna. "Putting the responsibility of proposal on the man? I was under the impression you were against your mother's interpretation of familial unity."

"Excuse me?"

Look for a distraction now, me.

"Focus on the quest," I suggested as I pointed my scimitar at the two Thicket Spiders ahead.

"One at the front, one at the right," Kizmel replied as we all drew weapons, "You three take the one ahead and I'll handle the other."

I nodded as I stepped ahead of the other two. "Its only attack is a bite, but the thread it shoots from the back will slow you down."

"Alright."

As I heard the fencer's answer behind me, I struck the spider with Reaver, and she followed up with Linear to its single eye. It retaliated with an attempted bite, but she pulled back and hit with a move called Oblique, a lower-range thrust with more power. I then jabbed the spider through the thread producing end with Flash Blow, knocking it toward Kirito for a harsher impact on his Anneal Blade. With his regular slash, the spider was knocked on its back, and then he finished it with a Horizontal Arc for two hits, as the spider's legs curled inward before it shattered into blue glass.

I sheathed my scimitar as Kirito offered Asuna a high five, and after a second of hesitation, she sent her hand to his. Then, I offered a relevant talking topic.

"You handle the appearance of large spiders about as well as you handle wasps."

Asuna sent her glare my way, then her expression softened. "Once they're as big as this, they're not that different from wild animals. I can't waste my time thinking about how monsters look."

Kizmel walked over, arms crossed after having finished her spider as well. "That is very reassuring. Tilnel, my sister, did not shy away from corporeal monsters, either, whether insects or oozes…"

As she spoke, her voice dipped in volume. I had heard Kirito telling Asuna about Tilnel on our way through the rock passage, as the two lowered their heads hearing her here. Kizmel noticed their expressions and then apologized for bringing it up.

"What is the meaning of that gesture you just did?" she asked as she raised her hand, and waved it forward in the air. I couldn't help but chuckle at how adorably confused her motion was.

"It's a human gesture to congratulate another for good effort." After answering, I swiftly slapped Kizmel's hand with a crisp smack to demonstrate. She looked down at her palm and squeezed it, as though savouring the sensation of the warm sting.

"I see. We elves do not make it a practice to touch each-other often… But this is not unwelcome."

As she held up her hand and looked to Asuna, she promptly answered with a high five. Then she turned to Kirito, and he caught on after a moment, returning the high five as well.

After Kizmel lowered her hand, Kirito's hung in the air for a few more seconds. I turned to him and waved my hand in front of his eyes. "What's up, Kirito?"

"Huh?" He returned to us and lowered his hand. "Oh, uh… Nothing."

"Hm. Anyway, those spiders came from the northwest," I informed him as I pointed, "Let's head up that way to find the nest."

As we got moving again, Asuna slipped between myself and Kirito to whisper to us again.

"Hey, did Kizmel just say something about 'corporeal' monsters?"

Kirito tilted his head. "Eh? Um, yeah."

I exhaled in amusement. "As opposed to 'incorporeal', like not having a body? Ghosts, and the like?"

The fencer slowly turned her head to face me. "Like… Like that."

I shrugged. "We didn't see anything like that in the beta. But if any are intended to be fought, there will be some way to attack them."

Four battles later, with Thicket Spiders and the larger Coppice Spiders, we saw a small hill ahead. Highlighted against the side of it was a natural cave's gaping maw. Fourteen real-world sized spiders darted around the entrance, as Asuna pointed to them with an annoyed question.

"Do we have to get rid of those little ones, too?"

Kirito shrugged. "Those are just critters."

I hopped in on the word he used. "Critters being, ambient background animals, like butterflies and alley cats in town."

The fencer blinked. "There are so many terms I have to learn. I could do with a slang glossary…"

The boy beside me smiled. "You could probably ask Argo for something like that."

Kizmel chuckled from behind us as she shook her head. "It sounds like your words have not been unified yet. I suppose that is not a surprise, for there were nine nations of humankind, before the Great Separation happened."

Kirito and Asuna glanced at each other. Players referred to 'Separation' as the brief period back in November after launch, when avatars were slumped against walls and props for roughly an hour. Buffering circle icons appeared over them during this time, and we figured out that our bodies had been moved to hospitals.

Of course, Kizmel, an NPC, would have meant something else. Nevertheless, she returned her focus toward the quest. "Come, let us investigate the hole. We will need more concrete information on these spiders, to bring to the commander."

I looked her up and down and mumbled to myself. "I'm keen to investigate some holes…"

The heel of Asuna's boot in the top of my foot, reminded me that she was also here. I sighed as we made our way inside.


"I don't like these natural dungeons," she grumbled as she stepped in a shallow puddle.

"There might be better lighting tools on higher floors," I commented as we lit torches to hold in our off-hands to counteract the darkness, "Of course, elves have Darkvision like in D&D."

"Hm… I'm guessing you have the option to be an elf in that game?"

"Uh-huh," I answered with a soft chuckle, "Oh, by the way: this dungeon, while placed randomly, remains firmly on the server plane. Anyone else can come here. And there are even multiple other quests that take place here."

The fencer took a deep breath as we pressed on. We fought spiders, we opened chests, we mined ores and nearly uncovered the full map data of the cave's first floor. Then, we heard some metal scraping ahead, and the four of us stopped still.

"Hmm, it's been roughly 14 hours since we got to this floor, hasn't it?"

Asuna looked back at me as I asked. "Just about, yeah."

I nodded slowly. "Around this time, they'd be here. The others here would be doing a major quest available from the main city. The quest is somewhat random, but one location for the item needed, can be this cave."

Kirito continued the explanation. "Depending on party size, it can take 10-15 hours to get this far."

Another clang prompted Kizmel to turn to us as she confirmed the sound. "Kirito, Asuna, SAUER. It would seem there are other visitors to this nest."

I nodded. "Our fellow humans have as much reason to be here, as we have to avoid them. For now, those reasons are plentiful."

The elven knight grinned and pointed to a divot in the wall. "I understand. We can hide here."

I chortled as I dropped my torch in a nearby puddle. "Alright, I'm interested."

Kizmel's smile persisted. "The people of the forest have their own ways of deception."

Kirito and Asuna nodded and dropped their torches in the puddle, before sliding into the wall's depression, three feet deep. I backed in after them, and Kizmel pressed against me. Though she still wore her heavy metallic armor, I could very clearly feel the shape of her figure through it. I had to bite my lower lip to ensure I only breathed through my nose, though the pace certainly picked up.

Kizmel's head tilted slightly upon seeing my expression, but she flashed a quick smile before turning her head outward. As I blocked out memories of my boss and her sisters making half-assed passes which were simultaneously sincere and empty, Kizmel drew her cape across the outer limits of the divot as we kept ourselves squished within. The hood she had this time made her so much cuter.

Interestingly enough, the cape was opaque on the outside, but clear on the inside. There was just enough green glow from the moss across from us, for us to tell we could see through the cape. Furthermore, the stealth rating appeared in the top-left of my HUD, showing 95%. It was likely that Kirito couldn't even get that high with just his Coat of Midnight.

I tilted my head just slightly to direct my voice, albeit in as soft a whisper as I could muster, toward Kirito and Asuna, whose backs were against mine as they had entered the divot frontward.

"Asuna, that major quest which takes half a day; it unlocks the ability to found a guild."

"Ohh… That could be anyone, then…"

Kizmel then turned her head to face us again. "They'll pass by soon. Keep it down."

I silently inhaled as she glanced back outward. Ten seconds passed before we heard the rattling of armor ahead, coming from two or three sources, while we heard five or six pairs of feet.

"What the hell?! All the chests have been ransacked already!" Yup, that's Kibaou's voice.

The first player who passed – closely enough to reach out and touch – wore thick scale armor and a chain coif over his whole head. While we couldn't make out the tunic and pants, they would surely have been moss green. He carried a round shield and a rare, crudely-designed one-handed axe.

Following close behind him was similar but with a sword instead, and the third was the unhelmeted and mace-hairstyled Kibaou. As he glanced past us, the hiding rate dropped to 90% and then back. Three more players passed afterward, and the clanking gradually died out.

Kizmel straightened out her body and threw her cape back. She then helped us exit the divot as we sighed in relief.

"They probably wouldn't say much beyond the chests," I suggested. Kirito and Asuna nodded.

"Did you know some of those people?" asked the dark elf with us, as she turned away from the direction in which the other party went.

"In a sense," I answered with a shrug, "We're not on the best terms, but we're all riding the road to recovery – a road which would be longer if we met again here."

"Oh…? I'd heard that the humans in this castle had maintained a healthy peace for years."

"Perhaps between the humans who grew up here," I explained as I leaned a hand on the wall, and contained a chuckle at my roundabout way of hiding knowledge of the game from an NPC who may never understand the truth, "But the ones who passed by are of the thousands who spontaneously arrived on the first floor. Of them, several hundred, including myself and Kirito, have vivid déjà vu pertaining to the first ten floors. So far, our visions have been mostly accurate, and the others had a hard time believing us, when the first discrepancies manifested as we reached the second floor."

Kirito was stunned again by my quick improvisation, but this time, it came with a smile, far beyond impressed by my censorship of the beta testers and full retail players.

Kizmel smiled, seemingly interested by my hasty lore. "I see. Then it must be like the relationship between my Pagoda Knights Brigade and the royal Sandalwood Knights."

I grinned hearing her lore again. "Named after trees, huh? Any others?"

"There's the Trifoliate Knights Brigade, heavy units. We are not on good terms with them, either."

"Hmm…" I scratched my chin. "The perks of the Pagoda Knights, they're certainly appealing…"

She chuckled at my interest. "I'm afraid that there is no historical precedent for humans being awarded the knight's sword from the queen of Lyusula. But based on your accomplishments, you might be able to win an audience with her…"

I joined in her chuckle. "I'd imagine no human has tried before. But I'll give it a go."

Asuna giggled as she retrieved our torches and passed one to me, and then to Kirito. They could be ignited multiple times as long as they had durability, so with a swipe on the stone walls, they lit up again quickly.


I opened my menu to see the map window, showing my fellow players. "There are two more rooms here on this floor of the cave. Kibaou will be looking for the one with the stairs down, the other has what we're looking for."

The two nodded, and we all looked up to see Kizmel staring at my menu. Directly at it. Like she was actually capable of seeing it.

"…It has been a long time since I saw that human charm."

I glanced at Kirito for a second, then at her. "You've seen it before?"

"Indeed. It is the art of Mystic Scribing, one of the few charms left to humankind after its magic was lost, is it not? The one that allows you to record knowledge, even physical items, within your mystic tome…"

From in-universe context, a glowing screen floating mid-air at the wave of a hand would be seen as magic by almost anyone. I nodded in amusement. "Yeah. The room we need is this way, away from those other humans…"

We cleared out that room, and investigated a blinking light at the back. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a silver ornament shaped like a leaf. At the base was a white gem, similar to opal.

Turning back to the other three, I eyed the fastener on Kizmel's cape. Same design.

"It is the insignia of the Pagoda Knights," she answered gloomily, "It must have belonged to a scout who was investigating the cave. The owner cannot be alive anymore."

I picked it up and took a deep breath. "Suppose the commander would need to see this?"

The dark elf nodded, and the quest log updated as I set it in my belt pouch. Even from in here, we could hear the voices of the other players. Or at least, just Kibaou's voice.

"As soon as we get down there, we'll be fighting right away. So, remember what we saw!"

"Yeah!" we heard from his companions.

I chuckled at Kizmel's expression, cutting her off before she could ask. "Sounds like they're finally starting to believe the words in the, uh… fragmented prophecy, so to speak."

Of course, that only made her more confused. "Prophecy…?"

Asuna giggled as I resumed my explanation. "Every time we reach a floor from which we had our visions three to four months ago, we relay memories of the floor's relevant visions, to an… elected oracle, of sorts. The oracle compiles these details into prophetic texts. However, only humans can understand the dialect used therein. As stated previously, the visions aren't 100% accurate."

Kizmel slowly nodded. "Well, it sounds like there should not be much of a problem, anymore."

I shrugged. "They want to earn their keep, now. On the last two floors, us three saved them handily and they probably don't want to start owing us too much."

She glanced in the direction of the other room. "Shouldn't we at least see how they do?"

I smiled at her concern. "If you really want to. As long as they follow the texts, they'll be fine here."

The dark elf nodded. "Let us take a small peek."

By the time we got down the stairs, and saw the very large spider in front of Kibaou's party, we saw that its HP bar was red – the second of two, even.

"Nephila Regina," I read the boss' name, "Or just, Queen Weaver."

Shortly after I told my companions the translation, the spider exploded into glass. As Kibaou's group cheered, I turned back to my own allies.

"Hang back for a moment. I have an idea."


AN: So, how's my 'Godzilla' for some of you, as I mentioned in the last chapter's author notes? Let me know. ...See you in five days, I guess.