Part 6: The Puzzling Sixth Floor, A Cursed Quest, The Fourth Key, and Farewell to The Friend Who'll Always Be

Mito

At three in the morning on January 1st, 2023, Mito and her four companions took their first steps on the sixth floor of Aincrad, teleporting from Karluin to the main town of the sixth floor, Stachion. Upon first glance, the town of Stachion remains as she remembers it. Surrounding the teleport gate is a giant sudoku puzzle that's twenty-seven rows and columns wide. The giant puzzle comprises seven hundred and twenty-eight smaller puzzles, each containing eighty-one tiles that make up a single sudoku puzzle.

As Kirito explains to Asuna and Koharu, some were bold enough to attempt to solve the entire puzzle. It could have been accomplished if it didn't take so long to do so (Asuna quickly calculated ten days at minimum) and if the puzzle didn't reset and shuffled the hint numbers at midnight. So on the final day of the beta, the puzzle solvers used outside resources to help in their endeavor. Mito heard that the puzzle might've been solved, but the reward, if one exists, is unknown.

Minutes later, they found an inn and rented their rooms. Asuna and Kirito have rooms 201 and 202, Jaymes and Koharu share 203, and Mito takes 204. Tired as she is, she quickly solved the annoying puzzle that acts as a lock for the door, then bids goodnight to the other four as they work on their puzzles.

As soon as she's alone in her room, bathed in the moonlight from the large window, Mito sighs and topples down to the floor, back against the door. Knees folded against her chest, the purple-haired girl stares at the window.

When she joined Asuna and her new friends, Mito wondered why she initially backed off. Asuna had forgiven her, understanding the events that led Mito to do as she did. Mito believed it came too easily, but Asuna never said something she didn't mean. Furthermore, she had found new friends and a reason to live in this world. Was it part jealousy that Asuna moved on from their separation, or did the guilt of the matter weigh so long on Mito's shoulders that it wasn't something she could easily drop?

As she adventured with them until now, Mito knew two things; she would only stay temporarily in the party and had to ensure Asuna was in good hands. After beating the fourth floor, she was certain Asuna was fine with Koharu and the guys, and had the desire to part ways then...but something told her to stay just a while longer. She'll call it fate, destiny, whatever. Why it wanted her to stay, she doesn't know, but because of it, she got to witness that her worries about Asuna were unwarranted.

"You did well. I'm glad...you're all right..."

"I was scared... I was so scared... There was a ghost, and I fell into a pit...then I got lost,, and dropped my rapier, and I thought I was done for...I thought I was going to meet my end in this horrible dark cave...I was so, so scared, so scared...I really mean it..."

"It's all right... You're all right. If we ever get split up again, I'll find you and come help. You're...my partner, Asuna."

"...Yeah."

That moment in the catacombs between Asuna and Kirito initially made Mito angry at herself. That should have been her comforting Asuna, not Kirito...but then she realized why she was made to stay. Why she was made to see this very moment...and the one the previous evening after they beaten Fuscus the Vacant Colossus.

"Why...why... Why do you have to be talked to like that...? After how hard you worked...After you risked your life to fight for the sake of the group, for the sake of everyone trapped in here...After you bowed to them and apologized...Why do you deserve this? This is wrong. They make their guilds, pull all their friends in, do whatever they want, bicker with each other...and you ran yourself ragged for their sake, only to get accused like that...It's wrong. It's absolutely wrong."

"...That's what I chose to happen. I chose not to join a group. I'm not fighting because I want people to recognize me...or praise me. As long as I can protect myself and those around me, the rest doesn't matter to me. So...I don't have the right to be recognized or praised. You don't need to cry for..."

"I'm the one who decides who I should cry for! In that case...I'll be the one to praise you, Kirito. I'll do whatever I can for you...whatever you say."

"...Just you saying that is enough for me. I don't want you to do anything for me..."

"Then, sit down!"

Hiding on the ascending staircase, Mito watched Asuna cry for Kirito's sake, then she brought him close and hugged him, allowing him to tear up while in her embrace.

Her entire purpose in this game was to protect Asuna and beat the game with her, but she failed at that. In turn, Asuna found a new protector - a boy, nonetheless - and like the other pair in the group, they've grown closer over the trials they've overcome. Dare Mito says that Asuna might have grown...attached to Kirito and vice versa. Neither will admit that, for they see their partnership as temporary.

Mito believed her inner lamentations were because she felt guilty that she couldn't protect Asuna herself, but that is not the case. She thought it was because she didn't want to part from Asuna, but that's not the conflict. The source of it all is Asuna when Mito decides to leave. Will she rejoin Mito and carry on as they did back on the first floor, or will Asuna remain by Kirito's side? Will Asuna choose her friend, or will she choose the boy she's growing close to?

Or will Asuna even get to make that choice? With the player killers on the rise and the boys' plan... Mito believes she knows which option she prefers. If it means protecting the girl who is her friend,..her best friend...and the future of Aincrad, Mito will make the choice for Asuna.

Asuna, the next morning

"Good morning... Why are you tired?"

"What the hell were you two doing?"

"...Let's forget about it."

After an impromptu race with Kirito to be the first downstairs to the restaurant (which ended with them getting scolded by the NPC lady behind the counter and losing to Jaymes and Koharu, already present and eating), the fencer and swordsman join their friends and order the same meal; a breakfast platter and coffee. It doesn't take long for the meal to arrive. The platter consists of two buttered rolls, cheese, ham, eggs, and green salad.

Picking up a knife, Asuna cuts the square of cheese into triangles. "You don't have to solve a puzzle to get your food."

"Oh, would you prefer it that way? For lunch, I know a place that sells a meal served in a puzzle box."

"No, thank you."

To her left, Koharu giggles while placing her cup of coffee back on the table. "We're finally on the sixth floor. It feels like we're actually making progress getting to this floor. But can I ask why there are so many puzzles here in Stachion?"

"Oh, Jaymes didn't tell you? I guess I didn't say anything, either. The theme of this floor is puzzles."

Asuna blinks in surprise. "You mean...it's not just the main town, but it's the entire floor that's like this?"

""Yep. Most of the dungeons are full of puzzles and tricks. It was a floor that really divided the player base during the beta, I can tell you that."

"Uh…huh…" That's troubling in Asuna's mind. After all, the last time something was thought to be the same, they found out Fuscus the Vacant Colossus differed from what Kirito and Mito remembered. Because of it, they suffered the first casualty of the boss raids - Diavel the knight and symbol of the frontier. Her eyes gloss over to the boy diagonally across the table, who looks back at her, awaiting her thoughts. The battle took place half a day ago, but Jaymes looks back to his usual self.

"What does that expression mean?" Kirito asks.

"Well, it's not that I hate puzzles themselves…I like the sudoku number games from the square—and jigsaw puzzles and disentanglement puzzles and the like. But…when I think about the fifth-floor boss, I get worried."

"Oh. Good point."

"So, if the theme of the floor is the same, can we expect the boss to be the same too?"

Jaymes shrugs. "Well, the themes of all except the fourth floor have remained the same, but the bosses themselves have altered enough that the beta knowledge about them is useful but not exactly correct. Or, I guess in Fuscus' case, thrown out the window entirely. What was this floor's boss like?"

"The boss in the beta was kind of like a Rubik's Cube with arms and legs. The row you attacked would rotate, and once you got all the sides aligned, its armor would break off. But because everyone just went ham on it, the colors would get more and more out of alignment…"

Jaymes reaches for the bridge of his nose, pinching it. "I already feel stressed."

Asuna feels the same way as she sighs, pausing her forking en route to her mouth with a cucumber hooked. "That's exactly the kind of thing that Lind from the DKB and Kibaou from the ALS are going to argue over—who gets to call the shots in battle. Maybe it's better that we tackle this boss with the same group as the last one?"

"No, no way. We had no other choice in the matter to prevent the ALS from rushing ahead…but the entire point of boss fights is to use a full raid party and go in at maximum strength. And you never know if it might've been changed since the beta."

"Probably to make it more annoying, if anything... Oh, Jaymes, Koharu, have you seen Mito?"

"Yep," Jaymes answers as he fixes the remains of his food into a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich. "She says she's got some things to take care of alone. I didn't question it because we're the same. Koharu and I have been asked to help a friend, so we'll be splitting off for the time being."

Asuna nods in understanding. Mito not telling her that she's going on her own is concerning, but Asuna decides not to worry too much. Mito is a former beta tester, so she knows where to go and how to protect herself. She survived by herself from the second half of the first floor to the beginning of the fourth, after all. As for Jaymes and Koharu, for them to be going off on their own, Jaymes usually doesn't put himself out to help others without convincing...oh. "I see how it is."

"Huh?"

"Is this that Lisbeth girl I heard about? The blacksmith you two met on the fourth floor? Koharu said you got all too nice with her."

"Huh? K-Koharu?"

The dagger wielder brings her coffee cup to her mouth, hiding all except a slight frown behind it. "Is it not true, Jaymes? You didn't want to help Sachi when she gave us sandwiches without ulterior motives, and for the longest, you despised Kizmel. I don't even think you're too fond of Mito. However...you got awfully familiar with Lisbeth very quickly."

"I'm so very disappointed in you, Jaymes. To have a girl like Koharu with you always, yet you flirt openly with this blacksmith."

"You keep talking, and I'm going to use the Guild Flag and drive it up your ass. Ah, what an excellent idea... Assuna. Speaking of which, how long do you plan on holding unto the thing, Kirito?"

Jaymes' comment aside (she'll get him later for it), the Guild Flag of Valor is the item they received after defeating Fuscus the previous evening. From what Asuna understands of the thing, it has benefits for anyone in the same guild as the holder, and those benefits last indefinitely as long as the flagpole is touching the ground. It also functions as a polearm, but is weak in strength.

It took twenty-two players to form an impromtu raiding party to defeat Fuscus in time to avoid the worst-case scenario for the frontlines. Asuna learned about Kibaou and ALS's secret plan to swipe the flag while searching for Kirito one night in the catacombs of the fifth floor. When Kibaou's group entered, seeing only Asuna and her friends present, Kirito offered the flag under two conditions: Either Kiritoholds on to the current flag until a second one appears, in which each guild will have one for themselves, or an ALS and DKB merger will see Kirito immediately relinquish the flag.

If Lind had been aware of the flag before, he didn't take action to beat ALS to it. He certainly knows of it now, as Jaymes reported the battle's events to the blue guild's leader - and the unfortunate death of Lind's former party leader, Diavel.

Asuna may be a novice, but the last two months have shown her many things about how gamers think. There's little chance of an ALS-DKB merger, and she doubts a second flag exists. As of the nine cleared bosses of the beta, Kirito, Mito, and Jaymes haven't said anything of two Flag of Valors.

"Dunno," Kirito says while wearing a distant expression. "If we give the flag to either guild, it'll destroy the balance we've got now. It'll permanently destroy any chance at peace between the two sides, and in the worst-case scenario, it could wipe out half the power of the frontier-advancing group, But it's also so powerful that letting it rot away in my inventory would be a waste…At the present moment, we have hardly any means of adding combat buffs, and this will provide four different kinds, just from sticking a flag into the ground… Of course, in sheer numerical terms, the individual values are pretty small, but it can also affect any number of players—and for an unlimited amount of time…And the craziest part of all is that the guild flag itself is categorized as a polearm weapon with a number of possible upgrade attempts…"

"Oh…h-how many?"

"Ten."

Jaymes whistles in awe. "And I'll wager those upgrades also affect the buffs. A level ten Flag of Valor would be overkill. Exactly what we need. But I agree that we should hold off from giving it to either guild...and not any of the smaller ones like the Bro Squad or Furinkazan. I think, when we do use it, it should be a unanimous decision between us, Lind, and Kibaou. Whether the effects go to DKB, ALS, or a third powerful guild, that's for the future to decide."

"Hrmmm," Asuna grunts, then points her knife at both Jaymes and Kirito. "Then what about this idea? Why don't either of you start a guild, register the flag, and absorb both the DKB and ALS?"

"Absolutely not. Zero percent chance. Zero-point-zero-zero-zero-zero!"

"I don't care to form a guild with those idiots. I have my ideal guild already in my head."

"Oh, what's that? A bunch of girls to flirt with?"

"Kirito, give me the damn flag."

"And with that, we're going to be late." Koharu sets down her cup, whispers a thanks for the meal, and cuts through the tension of her partner and female comrade. "What are you two going to do, Kirito?"

"Um, well, it's Asuna's choice. Either we can go all over Stachion, accept all the quests we can, and clear out one or two of the easy ones? Or we can practive dueling, like we talked about yesterday?"

"Hmm. Practice. I don't want to put it off and then regret it later."

Kirito nods. "In that case, let's find somewhere we can be alone. If people overhear or spy on our practice, it'll only have the opposite effect."

"Sounds good…but do you have a place in mind?"

"I might." Kirito leaps to his feet then leads the group out to the outside world. As the door closes behind them, Kirito turns to face Jaymes. "When do you think you two will be finished?"

The red swordsman responds with a shrug. "I don't even know what we're getting into, so we'll catch up later."

"Have fun, you two," Asuna says with a wave. "And stay alive."

Koharu beams back. "Same to the both of you. Don't overwork Asuna, Kirito."

"Y-yeah, I'll remember that."