A/N: Once again, I'm under immense pressure to get the next thing finished. Next week is definitely Aincrad Interim Chapter 2, giving me the full fortnight to type up Chapter 24 of this for the week after. We'll see if I need to put up AI3 the week after that.

"He called Morte 'Mamoru'. Did you catch that?" asked Kirito, turning to face me as we sat.

I slowly nodded. "Yes, I heard it. But they forfeited humanity. My only remorse is that it was me who had to do it."

Asuna shook her head. "If it had to be there and then, it had to be you. No-one else was around."

January 1st, 2023 – 18:45 AST. What was supposed to be a simple scripted trip back to Stachion from Suribus, turned into attempted murder by two orange-cursor players.

At 6:30, the NPC Cylon, Lord of Stachion, paralyzed Kirito, Asuna, and myself with poison smoke, and then loaded us into a carriage to take us back there, only to be attacked and killed by Morte and Joe. For attacking an NPC, their cursors turned orange, marking them as criminals.

Once the NPC was out of the way, the two PKers intended to kill us while we were paralyzed, had it not been for Kirito and Asuna knocking over another jar of poison to keep them back. We held our breaths to resist the second cloud, and then charged out at the pair, forcing them to retreat after Kirito almost killed Morte himself. I was not about to let them get away, and I finished the two off, sadistic as my methods may have been.

After I returned to my companions, the other NPC who drove the horse of the carriage, returned to take the carriage back to Stachion; we quickly got back on and had a chance to talk on the way.

"Namnepenth's Poison Jar," Kirito explained of the empty jar in his hand, "This is the poison gas that paralyzed us so thoroughly, for as long as we were."

I took the jar and squinted at it. "Namnepenth… I don't think I was ever caught by one."

Opening my menu and then the Guild submenu, I posted my first-ever server-wide Guild Statement.

[All SSA members: While carrying out tasks, be on the lookout for an enemy called Namnepenth. Not sure what floor, if even available yet, but please compile all details on it, including its location and all item drops. Most likely on sixth floor, in currently-open forest section.]

"Alright, what else do we have?" I asked after sending out the statement.

Kirito held up one of the oily throwing picks. "Spine of… Sh… Shuma…"

I tapped the pick to open its property window. "Shmargor. Spine of Shmargor."

"What does that mean?" asked Kirito, turning to me for English-speaking expertise.

"Shmargor is likely a given name… Unless you mean 'spine'. Those are the spikes on the back and tail of a reptile, such as a dragon."

"Okay…"

I continued reading. "Paralysis; three applications. When this wicked spine strikes, it confers a Level 2 paralyzing poison effect. The poison will wear away after three uses."

Kirito shook his head. "We haven't even seen the Level 1 poison for paralysis, yet. The potions which are currently available can only cure Level 1…"

I nodded. "We'd have to make Level 2 curing potions with Mixing, or get one of those elusive Curing crystals I'd hoped at least one of my guild members would find today."

"How much proficiency does it take to craft Level 2 potions?" asked Asuna.

"About 100," Kirito answered, "I think."

"And the drop rate for crystals…?"

"On this floor, point-01 percent. Seventh-onward, point-one. Before we faced Fuscus, I told another party to start fighting monsters on the sixth floor as soon as they could get there. And I sent every party leader an individual message telling them to send me the first Curing crystal they found. And since we're on the topic…"

I sent another Guild Statement: [Don't need the Curing crystal so desperately anymore.]

"As for Shmargor," I resumed, "Check out the flavor text: The sunken elf general N'ltzahh faced the dread dragon Shmargor and cut off every last one of its spines, which dripped with deadly poison. Interesting… Could there be an exploit to be found in that workshop, to kill N'ltzahh?"

"It would have to be an exploit, wouldn't it? Even at Level 20, his cursor would still be black…"

"Absolutely, Kirito," I replied as I handed back the spine, "If he could beat him fairly, there'd be no need for him to exploit the quest just to kill us."

Kirito handed me Joe's dagger. "What about the Dirk of Agony?"

"Can't say I recognize the name," I answered as I read the properties, "When equipped, grants a poison and frost resistance. Low chance of bleeding damage…"

I looked up to Kirito again after reading further. "Given as a prize from the Fallen Elf Commander."

"…A Fallen Elf prize?" he muttered, as Asuna circled me to read the text herself.

"Does this mean… it was a quest reward?"

I shrugged. "Suppose the possibility, that you can just wander into the Fallen Elf camp in that cave, without the guidance of the glowing fluid. A secret route for the campaign…?"

Kirito sighed. "If that's true, they may have interacted directly with N'ltzahh as an ally, and received those spines as a reward, too. They could even offer repeatable quests…"

"Hmm…" After a moment, I took a closer look at the dagger. "It's certainly a fancy blade…"

"Back to the quest, though," Asuna interjected, "We had a look at the log, while you were hunting down the orange players. 'Cylon, Lord of Stachion, has been killed by bandits. You must find the proper place to use the two remaining keys.' Kirito concluded that the system accounts for player interference in the plot of a quest."

"Huh…" I looked at the keys she held, "Well, the gold key is the one to the dungeon under the lord's mansion, but I've never seen the iron."

"Neither have I," Kirito replied, "None of the puzzles in that dungeon require it."

"We wouldn't have seen it used if Cylon lived, either," I continued to explain, "He would have locked us in there to make us retrieve the cube for him. But Theano, the maid, would help slip us out of the carriage and then we'd work with her. In any case, we should see if she can get us back on track."

We hopped off the carriage, at the point closest to the former maid's home, and walked the rest of the way there. As we all found our feet again, I received a handful of messages.

"Ah, what do you know – my guild's ready to open the next sector of the floor."

"Are they?" inquired Kirito, surprised.

"They were just waiting for Kumiko's Dark Auxiliary to finish the fifth-floor elf quests. Brandi's Forest Aux, Chumi's group, Kaptyn, and obviously, Kiril's scouting party; they were all waiting in Suribus for most of the afternoon. I just sent the flag to Kaptyn's spearman right now."

"With it, they should certainly pull it off," my fellow beta tester chuckled.

I couldn't help but chuckle as well. "We can finish off this quest, and get right onto our favourites."

Asuna's eyes lit up with a giggle. "You would call them your 'favourite' quests, SAUER."

My face warmed so abruptly that I ended up choking on the steam in my throat. "B-But am I wrong, about them being favourites to you, as well?"

The fencer giggled again. "I suppose you aren't."

I shrugged with a smile as we arrived at the maid's house. "Brandi scouted the lake in the middle of the floor, and suggested we can swim across the star points with Tuberries. Chumi cleared out the relics in Karluin, Kaptyn concluded that our current fort is the best we can get for a guild hall so far, and both Chumi and Kiril had a casualty each in the morning, both PK."

Asuna sighed. "Well, at least Morte and Joe won't be a part of it anymore."

"That's true. Now, let's talk to the maid."

"Just a second," Kirito interrupted, his arm before me, "You want to cross Lake Talpha with Tuberries and skip three biomes ahead? Did you forget about the starfish, Ophiometus?"

I chuckled, shaking my head. "I did not forget. But I think we'll stand a better chance with swimming assistance like the Tuberries. We'll use a larger scouting group to figure out how to take it on."

The other tester shook his head with a sigh. "Let's just finish this quest…"

We didn't even have to knock, though, for Theano to open the door. "You…? But I felt…"

She shifted her stance a bit, and then squinted at us. "Where's Cylon?"

"We'll explain inside," I answered straightforwardly, "It's a bit of a long story."

As we walked in, I sent Speen a message: [If the sudoku resets tomorrow morning, forget about it. I need something more practical, in that case – message Brandi or Kumiko for the location of a quest you're to check for: it may be possible to side with the Fallen in the Elf War campaign.]

We sat down with Theano, and she took a deep breath. "Let me guess: he's dead."

Kirito and Asuna lowered their heads, and I glanced at them for a moment before steeling myself to tell her everything else.

"Listen, Theano – we were asked by Cylon to figure out this whole cube thing. But when we got the gold key, he ambushed us with poison gas, paralyzing us. As he was bringing us back to Stachion, we were attacked by two others – they were after us, but had no choice other than to go through Cylon beforehand. It was only once they'd killed him, that they turned their attention to us; it was the time lost to him that allowed us to recover from the paralysis, and fight back. There was nothing we could have done, we're sorry."

"I see…" Theano shook her head. She revealed to us, another iron key.

"You are among the summoned adventurers ascending through the Pillars of the Heavens?"

The three of us nodded. "Is there anything you know about the next pillar's guardian?" I asked.

"That is why I asked," she answered, putting away the key, "Without Cylon, there is no need to play this game I had wanted him to pass. He was meant to own up to what he had done, and then I was going to reveal how to get the cube for himself. In the process, he would have found the solutions pertaining to every puzzle beneath the mansion. Since he cannot do it anymore, there is no need to withhold it from the likes of you. Please, follow me."

As Theano opened the door, the same large man aiding Cylon, though unmasked, was there. I should have guessed earlier that he was the gardener.

"Theano, I—"

"I know, Terro. But there is more to this than the lordship of Stachion."

"More than Stachion?" I asked, curious.

"I'll explain when you have the cube," Theano replied, leading us back toward the mansion.

Rather than the typical entrance leading through the puzzles, Theano opened a secret door at the back of the dungeon, leading straight to the cube.

"The charade was just to aid in Cylon's redemption. You will need to take this with you."

"But why?" asked Asuna, as Kirito voiced his confusion as well, "We thought it was for Pithagrus?"

The former maid shook her head. "While it was true that the curse began when he was killed, he cannot stop it with the cube's help. Instead, it must be destroyed."

"Is there a specific way to do it?" Kirito asked, seeming frustrated in the changes from the beta.

"By returning it to the guardian beast from which it was pried."

Kirito, Asuna, and I glanced back and forth at each-other.

"It was… removed from the guardian?"

Theano nodded. "Without it, the guardian cannot move, but it is also indestructible. Only when the cube is returned to it, can it be defeated, and only then, will this cube be destroyed, and the town's curse finally lifted."

"Hmm…" I took a deep breath. "Were you expecting Cylon when we arrived?"

Theano glanced to our waists. "…You have his key."

Asuna took out the iron key, holding her hand open. "This one?"

"Yes… The one paired with mine." After that answer, she took out her similar one.

I blinked. "Paired?"

Theano nodded. "I thought he was close because I felt mine move. But you have it… That's what led me to conclude that something had happened…"

I slowly nodded as well. "Again, I'm sorry. I wish we had the means…"

The former maid smiled. "Please. Cylon would still want the curse to end. That's what matters."

Asuna couldn't help but smile as well. "We will see to it. Thank you."

"Unfortunately, we must ensure that it can be done," she elaborated, "And yes, I said 'we,' then."

After leaving the secret back door of the puzzle dungeon, Theano introduced us to her daughter, a short blonde named Myia. She had known as well, that Cylon – her father – had killed Pythagoras, then fabricated a murdered traveller. It was decided that they would take the cube ahead to the labyrinth tower, and wait for us there, to ensure the cube was returned and then destroyed.

"With someone to entrust the keys to," Theano concluded, "I can focus all of my attention on the safety of Myia as we take our journey to the Pillar of the Heavens. We will be fine; the keys will be much safer with you than moving together with the cube. To that end, keep the keys apart, too; if united, keeping it away from the cube will be much more difficult."

I looked over to Kirito, and Theano gave him her iron key, while I held onto the one we looted from Cylon almost an hour ago.

"Well then," I chuckled as I sent another Guild Statement, "Guess we ended up not using the golden key at all. Still, it's good that we picked it up."

"Of course. Without it, my mother would not have realized you were helping my father."

Theano patted Myia's shoulder, smiling down at her response. "Well, we should get going."

I nodded with a smile. "You may run into my buddies as they clear out the mountain caverns. Take their assistance when opportune."

Theano nodded. "Thank you." And with that, she and Myia were gone with the cube.

My Guild Statement read: [Curse of Stachion has become a global quest. The central character was killed by orange players, and the quest has been re-written. The quest item is now relevant to the labyrinth tower's boss, and two NPCs will likely pass the raid group to get it there. Help them if it's needed; the quest is key to the floor's clearing.]

With this quest as complete as it could be by this point, we had little else to do as of 7PM.

"What do you know – guess we're heading west," I laughed as I pointed at my map window.

As agreed, we took a 15-minute walk to Suribus, then an hour to get to the first mountain range, before receiving a message from Kumiko that the guild had beaten the boss in the cavern: it was a vine plant growing explosive peas, and the Last Attack Bonus was just a pile of peas.

I sent Kiril and Chumi each a message, telling them to scout the starfish under Lake Talpha tomorrow and to ensure they watch for when the lake surface breaks, which would draw its attention. I sent them seven Tuberries each to use on the lake, if they had to go in for the scouting effort. I then replied to Kabe's message telling me that his party had filled up on Magnatherium parts, by calling him back to the sixth floor to join Kaptyn and Brandi's parties in Arraro, the only settlement in the northwestern section; a barren wasteland biome with few surviving typical desert features.

Kirito, Asuna, and myself – we went further northwest across the barren slice, as the former and I defended the drastic contrast by pointing out the height of the mountains, almost touching the disc holding the seventh floor above, after Asuna complained about it.

"There's no way weather can escape each climate and into another," I suggested, albeit unsure.

We would not suffer to this environment as we would in real life, but it was a good idea to take cold drinks along, just for the sake of comfort. Large scorpions, centipedes, and camel spiders, yielded sufficient XP to push Kirito to Level 20, which he celebrated in a fashion matching the age he would otherwise appear to be. Of course, Asuna knew from my own level, that he was this happy due to unlocking another skill slot, and we briefly discussed his primary candidates of Sprint and the Blade Throwing skill.

It was getting closer to 10PM by the time we reached Castle Galey, a huge fortress carved out of a circular basin at the end of a long canyon. Normally, players would have to go through the canyon itself, but I equipped my claws over the top of the Friction Grips, and with the addition of the Coarse Soles on my feet, I was able to grind down the basin wall with Asuna and Kirito hanging off my belt. However, I made sure we landed close to the stone bridge we would otherwise cross, which would lead over to the front gate. Banners with the scimitar and horn, billowed atop stone pillars as the three of us approached the gate, and I held up my hand with the Sigil of Lyusula on my finger, once again pre-empting the guards atop the gate – rather than in front of it, where they usually stood.

"Galey is the biggest Dark Elven fortress, even if not as fancy as Yofel," I told Asuna as the bells rang and the gate slowly rose, "Guess that's to be expected from a rock formation sculpture."

We slipped under the gate as soon as we could, and then the gate rumbled closed again.

Across the northern reach of the castle, was a crescent-shaped open area of tile mosaics, dark elf guards and servants walking about without a word.

"Boss! Did you know about this?" I heard as soon as we walked into this space.

I glanced over to see Kumiko, accompanied by the four players I'd known from the beta, whom I'd assigned to her leadership. Asuna blinked a couple times upon seeing her.

"Another party? So, this isn't an instance?"

"I had the same question!" Kumiko pouted, fists on her hips, "You knew you weren't far behind!"

I sighed with a chuckle. "You act like you didn't cut a promo from a spring in the woods, showing almost as much as a true siren would."

The fencer's face warmed as I poked at Kumiko's epithet. "S-She bathed on camera for a wrestling show on television?!"

I couldn't help but laugh at her flustering. "That's why I gave her only female beta testers. Y'all outnumber us guys far too greatly in this situation for us to be too stupid around you."

Asuna exhaled halfway between a groan and a growl. "I guess I can look at it that way."

I smiled, patting Kumiko's head. "Well, that makes everything a whole lot easier, doesn't it? Means less squabbling over the point of the bathing doors if they lead to the same water."

Asuna raised her finger to speak, but then slowly lowered her hand, remembering the advantage of the ratio. She took a deep breath, and looked over to the massive hardwood tree in the center of the open space – branches covered in vivid green leaves, a natural spring of clear water at its roots.

She pointed to the faint, pulsing blue light in the hollow knot within. "Is this a spirit tree?"

I nodded. "Yup – the elves' transport between floors. The only plant life in this biome besides all the cacti further out. But yeah, these big guys grow anew every hundred or so years."

Kirito nodded. "The elves still can't predict where, though. This one, however, has been alive for centuries, even before Castle Galey was built."

Just then, the door of the fortress' west wing opened, and both parties turned to see two dark elves making small talk – both in black-and-purple metal armors, saber and kite shield on each person, chocolatey skin and pale purple hair. One was muscular and masculine, with a face to match, and the other bore the feminine familiarity to which Kirito, Asuna, and I had grown so close.

"Asuna! Kirito! SAUER!" The latter gleefully greeted us, diving into Asuna's arms and wrapping hers around the fencer. "I'm glad you've come. It must have been difficult to cross this arid land on foot."

"Ah, Kizmel, these are the ones you hold in such high regard!" chuckled the male dark elf, watching Kizmel release Asuna and pull Kirito into a similar hug, "And it is no surprise that you w—Ah!"

Kumiko's party interrupted him with a five-on-one hug. "SAUER, this is Vantorain," the leader of the hug attack explained, "We were able to save a Dark Elven Royal Knight like you did!"

"N-Nice," I rasped as Kizmel focused her embrace on me next, "You girls can have him."

Kizmel smiled as she released me from her grip. "It's late, but we should see the liege of the castle before the dust of your journey is washed away."

Though the castle itself was three stories tall, the wings only had two. And the inside was lined with black-and-ivory tiles making the fortress appear completely unlike a sculpture, the way it appeared from the outside. The lord's office on the third floor, was manned by Count Melan Gus Galeyon, a large and hearty bearded elf with generic dialogue, offering a main quest and three sub-quests.

After we left him, Kizmel and Vantorain joined our relieved exhale.

"I am of common birth," Kizmel admitted with a guilty smile, "Since receiving the duty of recovering the hidden keys, I have had more interactions with nobles, but it is not something one gets used to."

I nodded in understanding. "Us summoned adventurers are all common, too. We would never have expected to be in the same mile radius as people with titles, let alone meeting them."

The west wing's third floor contained the guest chambers, Kizmel and Vantorain finding two right beside each-other for mine and Kumiko's parties, respectively. Out the lattice windows, was the dark night sky a minute or two past ten.

"Ooh, it's such a lovely room!" exclaimed Asuna, as we were walked into ours.

"It's a bit smaller than the guest room at Yofel Castle, I know," Kizmel began, "But it's actually the second-best in all of Castle Galey."

"Could hardly call it cramped, though," I chuckled as Asuna stood in the middle, "The sofa looks to hold five people itself."

Asuna sat down on it after unequipping her weapon, leaning into the curved elegance as Kizmel grinned and removed her saber, sitting beside her. I gestured to Kumiko's girls and Vantorain, who found other seating in the chamber as I sat on the other side of Kizmel, and Kirito with Asuna.

"What are you bringing us in for, SAUER?" asked the curious Kumiko.

I opened my Mystic Tome – the game menu window – and retrieved the dagger and three picks retrieved from the PKers whom I had killed earlier in the evening.

Kizmel and Vantorain's faced tightened. "What are these…?" asked the latter.

"Two fellow summoned adventurers tried to kill us just over three hours ago," I explained with the weapons in my hands, "I did have to kill them in defense, and this is what they used."

"Goodness…!" exclaimed Kumiko, followed by "My word…!" from both dark elves.

"Now that we have come to know each-other," Vantorain suggested, "I think it is in our very best interests to stick together in our efforts to claim the next key."

"Agreed," Kizmel concurred furiously, "Do you know if there was anyone connected to them?"

"We believe there is at least one other man," I told them as I set the weapons on the table, "They likely worked for him, and there is no telling who else is within his grasp."

"But these weapons… What is their importance?"

Vantorain lifted one of the picks after he spoke, as Kizmel took another.

I took a deep breath. "We suspect that they were obtained from the Fallen Elves."

Their eyes widened. "What makes you think so?" asked Kizmel, shakily.

"Those picks you hold, they're fashioned from the spines of Shmargor, by General N'ltzahh."

"N'ltzahh…?!" Vantorain repeated, as Kizmel repeated the other key name, "Shmargor…?!"

"This 'Shmargor', the human words in our Mystic Tome describe it as a dragon," Asuna explained.

Kizmel nodded. "Shmargor is an evil dragon spoken of in elven legend. Long in the past, when the elves and humans and dwarves still lived on the earth, a wicked little snake snuck past the priestess and climbed the black Holy Tree to take a bite of the single fruit that grew at the tip of one of its branches. The snake gained eternal life, but it was cursed so that everything that entered its mouth turned to poison. Every time it ate, the snaked suffered and died, only to come back to life through the fruit's holy power. After several centuries, the snake had evolved into a massive, ugly poison dragon that attacked towns and villages. But the human hero Selm defeated it, and it fled to the land of ice far to the distant north…"

I shook my head slowly. "I can't imagine the snake thought of anything more than simple hunger."

Vantorain nodded in agreement. "The fruit of the Holy Tree is said to give eternal life, and its sap provides invulnerable flesh. Many tragic tales revolve around such fruit. For another example: At the end of the Month of Holly, which humankind designates as December, there is a holy sage who is tasked with the duty of giving gifts to children. One year, he learned that the gift he was to give to a sickly little human girl was actually a piece of the Holy Tree's fruit. Unable to stifle his curiosity, he opened the present box and found an unbearably gorgeous crystal. The sage desired this crystal, and of all the thousands of children, he only failed to deliver that one little girl's gift… And without the protection of that crystal, the girl did not live to see the new year as she was meant to, and so the holy sage went mad, cursed to wander forever through a night that never ends…"

"I gather that all of these stories end similarly," I commented.

"Most of them," Vantorain answered, "The gifts of the Holy Tree are not to be coveted."

I nodded. "Including the sap, right? And so, the Fallen Elves were banished to the north, too? That would make sense of General N'ltzahh encountering Shmargor…"

Kizmel tilted her head. "It is possible. As I believe Lord Yofilis told you, only Her Royal Majesty possesses all the legends surrounding the Great Separation and the six sacred keys. All we are told regarding time relative to Aincrad's creation, is that this floating castle was created long in the past."

"Although," Vantorain continued, "For what we hear on occasion, Her Majesty and the forest elf king are very long-lived. Perhaps, the man who leads the Fallen is equally ancient."

Kizmel picked up the Dirk of Agony, looking it over just once. "And this is a Fallen weapon, indeed."

I blinked. "Is it that symbol at the base of the blade?"

She nodded, as Vantorain took the dagger to explain. "This engraving is of two folding lines, which create a pattern of three diamonds. It represents ice and lightning."

"Like the shield and longsword of the forest elves," Kumiko noted, familiar with the duty I assigned Brandi, of reporting the rewards of the forest route to the campaign, "Or the scimitar and horn for dark elves."

"Though these are of the Fallen," Vantorain resumed, "The markings on the blades of those we had fought on the third and fifth floors, were cast silver, rather than carved."

Kirito nodded. "This dagger – it is of lesser value than the weapons of Fallen elves we've fought?"

"You think they'd give humans equal gear to their own?" I interjected, tense, "They think they're merely using the vagabonds who attacked us, but in truth, those humans helped the Fallen just to claim the rewards of weapons more practical in murdering fellow humans."

Kizmel sighed. "In any case, I am glad you managed to kill them. I would have done the same."

"I appreciate it, Kizmel," I chuckled with an arm around her, "I have a team of my own investigating the bases we've seen so far, looking for any spare equipment left behind."

"Hm. Maybe you will indeed, find something. But for now, let us dispose of the sand upon you."

While I remembered bathing in the second floor of the east wing, Kizmel led us to the basement of the west wing. To the right of the hallway there, white steam poured from a large doorway.

"I'll remind us, again," I warned Asuna especially, "The numbers favor the women greatly, and the males in their company are not so stupid as to act upon what their eyes cannot avoid."

The fencer glanced at me again. "Why do you keep saying it like that?"

Forgoing 'swemsoots' as Kizmel called them on the fourth floor, we all walked into a rest lounge, decorated with plants, tables and chairs, with pitchers and glasses for water. Two rattan doors, each marked with different symbols, appeared to be the separate gendered entrances. The women went through the circle-marked door, while Kirito, Vantorain, and myself, entered through the other door marked with a square, opposite on the right. There were changing rooms within, and then once we had everything off, we walked in towels through the next door, coming to a massive dome spanning thirty feet. The curved walls and ceiling were carved from the bedrock, and lamps in the wall niches softly illuminated the chamber. And before us, vast opal-white water, and a thick root of the castle's spirit tree hanging from the ceiling and seemingly drinking from the bath.

We abandoned the towels mere seconds before entering the water, waist-deep nearer to the root. There, the steam was pushed apart by Vantorain… and Kizmel.

As the female dark elf's hands pierced the vapors, the other girls were made aware of our presence, and Asuna slowly nodded, with an expression of feeling tricked by Kizmel.

"Now I get it…" the fencer sighed, wading over to Kirito and myself, "Let us instead separate by the previously-established grouping from the third floor and upward."

Kizmel grinned. "If that will better comfort you," she replied, following Asuna as Vantorain re-joined his allies, and we all sat in the submerged seats at the edges of the bath, on our chosen sides.

"SAUER must have seen it coming," Kizmel whined playfully, approaching the empty seat between Kirito and Asuna, as I sat on the other side of the former, "Vantorain and I were not going to enter until you had discovered this for yourselves."

Asuna huffed redly. "For once, I am thankful for SAUER's awareness."

Kizmel shook her head, with the same grin. "You three sure do struggle sometimes," she remarked, before passing Kirito and planting herself on the other side of me, instead.

I didn't see Asuna roll her eyes, holding my breath as the warmth of skin against my shoulder made the rest of my body feel ice cold, despite the heat of the bath.

"Why so tense, SAUER?" the lady to my right chuckled, sliding an arm over my back and around my neck as she noticed my slight shiver, "Doesn't this remind you of the third floor, as opposed to the restrictions imposed on the fourth?"

I couldn't even get out a "Kizmel!" as my lungs completely emptied, and I glanced over to Asuna, having since taken the seat beside Kirito as she leaned her head in front of him to glare at us both.

Seeing her cold eyes without having to turn my head now, I finally mustered air for words.

"T-That w-would n-never be reassuring…!"

Kizmel exhaled a visible breath as she turned her head to face the fencer. "Asuna, I think you are making the boys nervous. What are you putting them through when I am not sharing your more vulnerable moments?"

"Her?! Making us nervous…!?"

Kirito, on the other hand, was silent as Asuna scrambled past us to sit on the other side of Kizmel.

"I-I don't put them through anything! H-humans just value their vulnerability far greater than the typical degree of trust they place in one-another…!"

Asuna suddenly joined us in becoming quiet, as we heard giggles from the nearby cloud of steam behind which lay Kumiko, four female beta testers, and the male dark elf Vantorain.

The fencer huffed as she returned to the other side of Kirito. "At least we're the more disciplined group currently here…" she murmured, crossing her arms as she sat down.

As the scene's tone settled, we learned that the spirit tree here was drinking the water from the hot spring as I had assumed, occasionally soaking its upper branches enough to rain a puddle at is base. That puddle would then seep into the bedrock, and every hour or so, pour back to the spring in the form of a waterfall. Thankfully, down here, the water was 99% opaque.

"Now, Kumiko," I called over to her, once her party wasn't as noisy, "Since we'll be fighting fellow humans with powerful paralysis poison, we will need better ways to treat those poisons."

Kumiko's party moved back into view of ours, so that Kizmel and Vantorain could both help in any explanation of their answer, as the former spoke first.

"If those throwing picks are indeed fashioned from the spikes of the dragon Shmargor, then the story of the human hero Selm fighting the dragon should be useful to consult. As I recall, Selm gained the assistance of an elven sage and constructed a tool to stop the dragon's poison…"

Vantorain nodded. "The dark elf storyteller in this very castle, would have a fuller recollection of the story of Shmargor. As a general rule, however, they are very old and spent most of the day sleeping. The best time to visit the library would be in the middle of the day."

I leaned back with a chuckle. "Excellent. Elders are seldom seen, aren't they? I don't recall how they appear in my visions from before we were summoned to Aincrad."

Kizmel nodded with a smile. "Well, shall we talk more in the morning?"

I turned my eyes, not my head, to glance briefly at her, from collarbone to submerged waist.

"S-Sure, the morning…" Then I glanced over to Kumiko's party, who were already leaving.

"Actually, one more quick conversation in the lounge before the changing rooms."

Once Kumiko and the female beta testers had taken Vantorain out of sight, we got out, got dressed, and sat down in the rattan chairs of the lounge. Asuna's new yellow tunic and Kizmel's shimmering purple gown were sheer enough to keep me anxious, but I simply chose to remain still as our chat resumed here.

"It is a shame I will have to move up again, once my duty on this floor is over. The bath here is quite splendid, as Asuna tends to express."

I nodded slowly in agreement with Kizmel. "Right. So, currently, you have the Jade, Lapis and Amber Keys safely stored. We have made a lot of progress in a short time."

Kizmel nodded again. "They are in the treasure repository on the fourth floor of the central hall."

That sounds like a lot more than could fit into Yofilis' chest, I thought silently. But my words were far more practical: "My visions remind me of how debilitating the wasteland is to elvenkind. It is thus, impossible to attack this castle, correct?"

"Correct. The spirit tree allows us to sustain the castle, and no further outward. If it died out, then a new location would be required for our castle, which is equipped to move in emergency. Should it arise, the gate bells can be heard throughout the castle."

I scratched the side, and then top, of my head. "What happens to dark elves stranded on a mission when an emergency takes place at the same time?"

Kizmel chuckled once more. "Fear not. Vantorain and I will be able to travel, tomorrow."

I smiled, raising a hand toward her. "Very well. But promise to remain rational in all decisions."

I extended out my right pinkie finger, which Kizmel stared at. "What is wrong with your finger?"

I snorted. "Right, culture… Our human customs include a 'pinkie promise'. We intertwine them to solidify our vow to whatever agreement was made at the time it is done."

"Like this?" Kizmel asked, raising her right pinkie, and hooking it around mine.

"That's right," I chuckled as we shook pinkies like we would whole hands. Then she did the same gesture with Kirito and Asuna, at the same time.

"It is a strange custom, but it feels fun. I promise not to take unnecessary risks, if you promise to prioritize your own safety."

"Of course!" replied the other two humans, and I replied a little late, "Absolutely."

When we got back to the guest chambers, we found that our suite only had one bedroom. After glancing back and forth at each-other, it was agreed that Kirito would be squished between me and Asuna, keeping the vulnerable and the 'suspicious' separated by one Asuna deemed as both. Hence, Kirito's spine, in a sense, was the border between mine and Asuna's territories on the bed.

There was not much more to discuss, before the other two fell asleep. And after briefly reflecting on my first willing claims of two human lives – though it was more a passionate obligation than will, unlike the accidents in launch week – I eventually drifted off, myself.

A/N: Well, there you go. As usual, if you want to yell at me in an environment where everyone else is yelling at me, there's a Discord server focused around SAO fanfiction, accessible by entering this key into the joining interface: Sycypugbxq

Thank you for 10 FFN favourites, and the opportunity to pass 150k words. I still would like to know how I keep y'all around. Regardless, see you next Friday/Saturday overlap.