My God. Editing this chapter is a nightmare, as my computer continuously gave up on me with its Grammarly scripts. There may be multiple grammar errors, so I sincerely apologize if that disturbs you.

It has been quite a long time since I posted. Don't worry I'm not dead. It's just that this chapter is more of a filler and explanatory episode to some canon events. The relevance of this chapter to my main plot is not all that important. It is mostly for the sheer pleasure of seeing sword fights and see how canon details being explained. I hope I satisfy it though. I know the two-person quest thing is a lot contrived, but I just want the two of them alone for this one. I'm a sucker at dramatic ending seriously, since nothing really is at stake right now. It's a video game, mostly for plain fun. So bear with me there for those two details. The next chapter shall mostly be plot points, and more on our main character's disease.

I hope you guys enjoy, and hopefully the next chapter would be of a reasonable length. See you then!

Disclaimer: I do not own SAO or any of its world and characters

Chapter 9: The Birth of Absolute Sword

April 7, 2025

"Hah!"

My blade once again radiated brightly, this time in a lime green color, as I delivered a hail of sword thrust into a metallic tower shield. The wielder of this shield, the large Gnome member of the Sleeping Knights, was forced to take a few steps back as the blades were relentless in ferocity. After the attack, the post-motion effect began to kick in. I felt stiffened. The feeling when despite what you attempt, your body wouldn't listen to you. What I was trying to get used to.

But thankfully, the feeling did not last long. More than a second at most. During that time, Tecchi was still taking his time recovering from my last attack. As a speedster, having given the opponent a piece of my own expertise, I had to disengage from him. I could not let him close in on me. Bringing my blade to my hip level, pointing diagonally downward and to the outside, I again went into the pre-motion sequence. My saber glowed again, this time in bright orange, as I slashed upward, in the opposite direction of where my sword was pointing at. It was only one simple slash, but its power was unmatched by any unassisted swing, sending Tecchi stumbling a few steps back.

"Whew. That went better than I had expected."

I did not screw up my sword skills like last time. If I could keep this up, I could actually win!

Tecchi didn't seem bothered one bit by my attack, as he stood up firmly, his mace banging onto his shield a few times. He gave me a hearty smile as he gazed directly into my eyes. An exchange of impression. Then, when I most expected, he stormed at me with his mace held high, his tower shield at the front. For a second, I thought he was no different from a rhino running at full speed.

Lesson learned from the Illfang boss fight: never go head to head with a tank. It's more common sense really though. He's just too powerful for any speedsters to hit him head-on, so I'd have to flee for now. The cave wasn't really a good place to maneuver, but luckily it was spacious enough to whirl around a little bit.

"Come on…"

I made my dash around the large glowing gem, trying to outpace his movements, but the man was faster than I imagined. He stopped for a second, but a push of his foot he was already facing me, who was careless not noticing him coming around the corner. With a swing of his mace, he forced a block out of me. But thankfully, I wasn't at a passive stance. I could recover nicely. I gave him a kick to the stomach to dislodge his mace from my sword. Once freed, I fled, and yet again he pursued.

It looked a little like a bullfight session, but for the next minute, our roles were evidently clear. Tecchi was on the offensive, while I was trying to dodge his ram. While his weapon did not necessarily deal much damage to a normal player due to his tankish defensive build, I was not the average 'normal' player here. If little was at stakes, and you could avoid hits, why the hell not?

I checked the timer nearby. A minute and thirty seconds remaining. His health portion was still higher than mine. By a great margin. So far I had not had a direct hit on him yet, due to his top-to-bottom protection. If I couldn't land one on him…well…I'd have to hit him a million times more like this to put him down to my health level. Sounds like a fun task.

I stopped at an empty space, as Tecchi was still pursuing me with his shield raised and his mace ready to strike me at any moment I let my guard down. Ok, if I could make use of his momentum to stab his back, then I could end this easily enough with the Howling Octave sword skills.

"Alright."

Come on. Have it at me.

As he charged right at me, the moment he raised the mace, I simultaneously ducked and jumped forward to the side. His colossal silhouette stampeded past me as I narrowly dodged him. He had fallen for it. Time to end this!

What was the attack pre-motion? Sword to hip level, facing forward and bend my arm ninety degrees? Got it.

Without a saying, I got to the procedure, placing my hand at exactly where I wanted it to be. And without delays, my sword shone brightly, as the system recognized my posture. I let myself loose, as I allowed the game to take control of my body for the next few seconds. Strength flowed to every corners of my body. I was ready to finish this off.

But again!

"Wait wait!"

This isn't Howling Octave!

Instead of delivering a fatal lightning fast barrage of sword stabs to his back, I instead slashed four times in a square shape. Two of whom missed the target.

And to make things worse…

BANG!

Tecchi was not stunned by the attack. He casually turned around and banged his mace onto my face, sending me tumbling to the deck. My health bar moved from right to left, the color changing from healthy green to an old leave yellow as it passed the half mark. And since this is not a duel to the death or a game to see who's the first to bleed, you know what that means…

Duel finished. Winner: Tecchi

The game's duel interface popped up before the two of us, with Tecchi's avatar being highlighted.

Damn it, I lost like five duels now. Six if I count Yuuki's unofficial duel when we were training Satsuki. This new sword skill system is downgrading my win rate hard.

"Nice job as always Tecchi!" Jun gave the burly Gnome a thumbs-up as he complimented him.

"Thanks." Tecchi replied with a smile before turning to me. He bent over, extending his hand to me.

"Good game man." He shared with me a sporty remark. "You almost got me there if you had used some other skills there."

"Did you mess up the skill's pre-motion or something, Hirano-san?" Asked the Salamander.

"Yeah, I did." I laughed it off as I took Tecchi's hand. "Man, this is easy to mix up. What was the Howling Octave again?"

"It is sword to shoulder, bend arm horizontally." Jun replied

"Oh…" I nodded my head. I screwed that up. "Ok someone deserves to lose that game."

"Come on, don't be harsh on yourself. You improved since the last time you died tragically to the floor one boss."

Urgh…

"Please don't remind me of that moment again." I irked, as oth of them chuckled at my reaction. Even the slightest mention of the occasion sent the sensation back to my body. The violent spin and the unfettered G forces shot to my brain in one go. Why was that the thing that my memory liked to keep store of, instead of all these sword skill's pre-motion stances?

Audibly, I could hear some gigglings in the distance. Speaking of my death to the ugly kangaroo…

"Hahahaha! Replay that part again!"

"Oh, play it at half speed! It gets even better!"

"Oh my god! I'm dying right now!"

Are you serious?

"Are you guys still laughing at my death? That's like the eighth fucking time I've seen you doing that!" I yelled.

"Sorry Hirano-san! But I can't just stop laughing right now!" Siune was drowning in her own giggles.

"I need a dosage of this everyday. Pure medicine to keep the doctors away!" Nori appeared to be dying in her laughter - hell I predict she would actually die due to coughing or shortness of breathe - as well as Talken, whom I couldn't even tell if he was laughing or crying, or both.

"Well played Hirano-san." The only person to remain a rational human being was Yuuki. But that was after being through that state for the last three times I see her! Well played my ass!

"You guys are such masochists." Jun too laughed jokingly, bringing me onto the plate for ridicule. But thankfully he did not slice me to pieces. "But Yuuki, do you remember to do the Wolf Hunt quest today?"

Oh yeah, Yuuki did tell me about that. It is a two-person per quest, but multiple quests could be done synchronously, so we were set to leave once the quest was near its opening time, simply to be at the forefront, since everybody would be swarming into the quest like ants. The price reward was indeed too sweet to miss.

"Oh no…" She shuddered in realization. I knew it. "Oh no!"

I knew this would happen.

"It's already half an hour in!" She bolted up from where she was sitting, yelping in horror, her hands clenching her head tight.

"Well, it's not too late, Yuuki-san. If we can do it quickly enough. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have cleared it yet." Siune said.

I had heard about the quest. It was a one-time only quest. And not just one time only for each of the every players in ALO. It was for the fastest duo out there. If one completes the quest, everything's over. So that's why the importance of punctuation in these situations could not be stressed enough. But even with that drilled in their heads, they still managed to forget it.

"As the quest is a non-repeatable for two players, winner takes all kind of thing, I guess it is more of a search quest than a battle quest. If we are smart enough, we could outpace others quickly enough." Jun explained.

I very much agreed with his logic, though could we outsmart like…a few dozen players? Well, we may as well could, since the players in ALO weren't exactly the brightest. They weren't noobs per say, but there were many occasions when they failed what they shouldn't be failing. I wouldn't get my hopes up for this one, but one could always try.

Right?

"Oh my goodness." I uttered palely.

That wasn't a few dozens. More like a hundred.

The entirety of the Sleeping Knights reappeared in a cold mountainous region in the far north of the ALO map, particularly at a small village at the foot of a mountain itself. Clusters of thick clouds that extended to the heavens erased every bit of warmth from the artificial sun that the game provided us, and on the while, flakes of frozen water sprinkled on us, dangling through our hair strands and melting away at the contact with our skins. Despite the lack of clear sky, from our position, I could see small silhouettes of people from afar, either flying through the air or wandering around in the mountain. I did not count accurately, but I could estimate at around a hundred were committed to this one. And this was just the visible part of the mountain.

"This doesn't look too optimistic to me." I said, a little discouraged at the sight. "Do you guys want to go ahead with it?"

Yuuki instantly shot at me like a bullet.

"Of course we will! We've planned this far already!"

Yeah sure, though it was highly likely that the prize would already be seized by the time we knew what we were going up against.

"I don't think it'll be futile though." Siune said. "We still have a chance. Don't be discouraged."

I watched as the rest of the members nodded in agreement, and then briefly glanced back at the mountain. Well ok, if they were so unanimous, then who am I to stop them.

"Ok! Let us divide into teams of twos for this one!" Yuuki cheerfully guided us.

I watched as the guys picked their teammate for this quest. Jun immediately placed his hand on Talken's shoulder, as the latter held his weapon close to his body. Siune and Nori also moved close to each other. Those left were Tecchi, Yuuki and me. Ever since my inclusion as a guild member, the number of guildmate had been an uncomfortable prime seven. It was only good for boss raiding, as the maximum number of players in a party is seven. Other than that, any activities that needed to divide the members into smaller teams always result in uneven groups.

Before I could choose between the two, an arm suddenly wrapped around my own.

"Ok it's been decided! Let's go!" Yuuki declared as she pulled me closer.

I could feel as if butterflies were wrecking in my stomach, but now it was best to keep it in.

With the team issue settled, we headed for the NPC who was in charge of this quest. A burly man with a bushy white beard standing at the center of the small town.

"12000 Yrds for the head of the Eldwood's White Wolf! Come adventurers! Come! Don't miss your opportunity!"

Unlike most NPCs, who only deliver the quests once the players had made contact with them, this guy was actively advertising it to anyone who passed by the town centre. Of course, this was much programmed into their core already, to continuously made their speech even if no one was there to hear it. And it was exactly what was going on. Everyone that was interested in the quest had already departed. Those who remained in the square was either the NPCs or the merchant players. We were seemingly the last one in line.

Seven of us headed to the burly guy to strike up a conversation.

"Good day sir." I opened, drawing his attention.

"Hello, young one. I trust that you are going for the booty, aren't you?" The pre-programmed dialogues instantaneously voiced out as soon as he recognized my approach.

"Yes." I replied shortly.

"Please sign up near the desk on that side of the square, thank you." He pointed to the said direction, at a middle-aged lady with shouldered white hair, as the conversation came to a close.

Rolling my eyes, I headed to where he said I should go to.

"Ah. You are up for the wolf hunt sir?" The old lady asked me.

"Yes, ma'am. Just tell us what we need to do." I said.

"Good, very good. We, the townspeople of Argana, are actually searching for this mythical creature: The White Wolf of Eldwood. This creature has been known to be responsible for hundreds of disappearance of adventurers into the mountain. And yet we could not find a concrete evidence whether it is real or no." The NPC began her story. "We were frightened for the safety of our citizens. But recently, we are able to trace it down…"

I raised one of my eyebrows in a 'uh-huh' kind of response. These NPCs can be a little unnecessary in its exposition, but ah well, people who were interested in the background behind it could care.

"We are now certain that the wolf is not a god, but flesh and blood. So I ask of you adventurers. Confront and bring the wolf's head back to our town, and we'll be utterly grateful."

As that was said, a notification popped right in front of me and Yuuki.

Accept quest: Wolf Hunt?

Yes/No

I immediately pressed yes. The notification disappeared, replaced by yet another one.

Quest: Wolf Hunt

Begin!

"There we go," Yuuki said, as purplish hues concentrated into two shapes looking alike to the blades of a propeller behind her back. "Come on Hirano-san! Let's not waste any more time!"

"Hmm." I nodded as I also materialized my Sylph wings. Before I flew off, I turned back to the guys.

"We'll be heading off now. Good luck you guys."

Everyone gave me either thumbs-up or a nod pervaded with confidence, and not without the accompany of a big smile. With that said, we both flew off into the mountain, searching for this white wolf.

We flew over multiple players, in groups of twos, who were either searching for something or making short works of other monsters in the way. Most of these monsters were forest elements, though there were a few ice ones, as this was a pretty cold region to be living in. But I couldn't hide my curiosity when I saw a few players battling what I could figure as wolves as well. And they were white.

That doesn't look like the final objective of the quest. The quest was said to be a one-time completion for whoever is the fastest couple to fulfill the objectives. It couldn't be that easy.

"Hey, Yuuki-kun!" I nevertheless called out to Yuuki, as we both stopped mid-air. "We should consider planning what we intend to do rather than just flying around like this."

"Yeah, you're right." She nodded a few times. As said, we both descended to the mountain slope. "But where do we even start?"

"I think it has something to do with the wolves out there. I mean they do have characteristics that fit the prize we are looking for, though I doubt it is." I speculated.

"Maybe the Eldwood's wolf is the leader of the pack or something."

"I'd say likely so. Then…" I caressed my lips. "If they are in packs, then we ought to look for their den."

"Den?" Yuuki tilted her head slightly.

"Yeah, den. Like a small cave or burrow. That's where natural wolves usually live." I explained

"Then we should go…deeper…I guess." She suggested, though with a little head scratch. This didn't seem to be her expertise. Or rather a fifteen-year-old who spent twenty-four hours in games.

"Yeah, you usually do. It's not gonna be an underground thing, so just look for caves." I said, simplifying it as much as possible for her.

"Sounds like a plan."

"Hirano-san. Do you hear something?" Yuuki suddenly stopped me.

I ceased my next step. My senses heightened at the question.

"Yeah. It sounds like a wounded animal." I answered. It was a subtle sound, but could squeeze any human's heart tight, assuming that they have one.

"It's right ahead. Hold on let me go check." Yuuki told me before speeding ahead into the bushes, whilst I look around, keeping a close eye on whatever monsters or players who may be lurking around here. Moments later, a whisper of a yell came from where she had disappeared into.

"Hirano-san! Come here! You have to see this!"

My curiosity bounced up and down. What could that be?

I opened my tracker, looking for Yuuki's footsteps, just in case she went too deep. She didn't though. A few strides and I could see her crouching behind a large bush like a ninja waiting for the prey.

"Come." She whispered, her fingers moving back and forth at me.

My knees bent, I hunched over like an inelegant ape as I moved over next to Yuuki. A wolf, the same white wolf, came into view, with one of its back legs being clamped upon by a steel jaw, connected to a chain that locked the poor creature in its place. It was trying to yank out the trap, but the steel cold mechanism mercilessly sank its sharp teeth into its flesh. The wolf seemed to be at its limits now, still standing strong in its will to free itself, but its physicality was waning quickly.

"Poor little creature." I uttered with pity.

"What should we do with it?" Yuuki turned to me.

What should I do? I wasn't sure myself. The most obvious one would be to end its misery and reap a small reward of Yrds, and perhaps a few items that may drop from it, considering it was hostile anyway. But it didn't seem harmful to anyone right now. It was wounded, its health was draining slowly under the half mark. And besides, bringing down the guillotine's blade at such a wounded creature would simply be inhumane in nature. It's cruel. I know that this was merely a game, and that the wolf was simply a mindless pre-programmed computer algorithm trying to mimic the real thing. But in this world, as the line between reality and fantasy blurred, so was my perceptions. And even if I didn't, the empathy and conscience of a human being wouldn't allow me to end its misery, when I could totally be doing something else. Something human.

And I decided to be one.

"I'll help it." I told Yuuki as I stood up from the bush. Without waiting for her to reply, I stepped forward.

The creature recognized a nearby player. Having identified me as hostile, it immediately turned its fangs over to my direction. Its eyes locked with fury, as its pointy scary teeth displayed full view. It did well to make me halt, but nevertheless did none to make me stop.

"Easy now."

I had my hand in front of me, my blade out of sight as I took a step forward. And again. And again. One at a time. Forward.

This was somewhat familiar, just like the first time I ever approach an alarmed dog everytime I visited a friend's house back school. That guy did have a sensitive dog for sure, treating me like an invader to its territories. It probably hadn't gotten used to me yet, even now. But I did remember that moment, when I backed away at any subtle movement, with my skin crawling in fear of being wolved down at any moment.

But I eventually got over it. And I would too now. Another step forward, I felt the urge to run, but forced myself to counter it, against my instinct.

The roars were ferocious and frightening initially but gradually softened as I left myself open to any attacks. If you were to approach dogs, you ought not to be defensive, but rather open to any of its approaches to get to know you. And I assumed it would be the same for wolves. When I finally got in the range of its mercy, the creature finally stood up straight, or at least try to, instead of bending its back in predatorial stance.

"Sit tight." I uttered softly, as my palm slowly shifted over to the steel jaw. Initially a soft touch, and then holding it firmly. With several wrenches, I eventually pulled the jaw apart, for just a slight bit to free the wolf's limb from the grasp.

Freed of the torment, the wolf suddenly walked toward me and dug its head onto my body. Its once hostile red eyes soon turned into a friendly white that humans usually see.

"Hey hey. Easy." I said as I run my fingers through its thick white fur, my tone all lifted of the fears I had before for the creature that would usually be deemed as the greatest predators of the wild. Right now, it looked nothing like a house pet dog, but a little bigger, cuddling in the warmth of its owner, or in my case its savior.

"Wow…" From behind came Yuuki, who was in awe at the display. "That's so awesome! I would be quite frightened if I ever have to approach a wolf myself."

"I'm actually quite scared myself at first," I admitted. "Though it isn't so bad once you take the first step."

"Though I don't recall the trap being an in-game item." Yuuki noted. "This obviously isn't the work of players."

"Well…"

Now that she mentioned it, she was absolutely spot on. Traps like this hadn't really been a purchasable nor a dungeon item from the very start of the game, and not even now. It simply was an inaccessible item. So the wolf wasn't exactly trapped there for easy killing…There could only be one explanation for this.

"The wolf may be a lead to our main objective." I blurted out.

The white wolf, after snuggling in gratitude to me, its savior, took a step backward and turned around as it walked up the mountain. But it didn't immediately disappear like the ending of 'The Life of Pi'. Instead, with every few steps it took, the wolf would turn its head around over to us, as if it was expecting us something.

"I think we should follow it." Yuuki said, on the same wavelength as me.

I didn't have any disagreements, so I did exactly what she said. The wolf didn't really wait for us, perhaps due to its algorithmic nature, as it only turned its head around a few times, assuming we followed it already. Around ten minutes later, we arrived at the location that we had been searching for.

It was quite a large den. In fact, it was a small rocky cave itself. But the path there was not at all paved with red carpets all the way. There wasn't even a road for those carpets anyway. You had to go through a hill full of deadly poisonous carnivorous flowers lurking around, and the cave was well-hidden behind a group of bushes and trees. No wonder why people couldn't find this. It was quite a place. But sooner or later it would be.

The wolf casually strutted into the den, while we were quite hesitant. For all my kindness toward that particular wolf, they may still be hostile. And they were savage and vicious predators. Fighting off one may be viable, but fending off a whole pack would be quite difficult. But for all I know, this should be an in-game feature. They wouldn't make this for nothing.

And so we stepped into the cave ourselves. Before us, from the shadows emerged an entity we could feast our eyes upon for an eternity. A lupine being towering over our shoulders, standing over a multiple of around eight young cubs at the back, its silky silver-white fur radiated with celestial power. The lime green pair of eyes stared down on us puny beings, though with the looks I deemed far different from a look of hostility. And then all of a sudden.

"I have yet to know who you are, but as was told by my youngling here, I must thank you, children."

It actually spoke. Not through the physical, but perhaps through a magical force. The deep and gradual tone attested layers of philosophy.

"No problem." I replied shortly, as the creature continued.

"I haven't met a creature like you two before. Considering how many of my children have been slaughtered by those elves."

Well, not by the players at least.

"Allow me to inquire. Are you two also here to kill me?"

I knew this may have come up. I decided to be honest with it.

"I was instructed to. But you don't seem like the monster people portrays you to."

"It is because I am not." The large wolf replied. "It is those elves that intend to invade my territory."

The wolf turned around to look at the cubs. "This Eldwood has been the territory for us wolves for generations. And it has remained so until very recently. Very recently, when the elves decided to make this place their homes."

Contrary to the story of the old woman down at the town square, I was actually intrigued at this side of the story.

"You see, the reason for the disappearance of these adventurers is because they are seeking for us. They are hunting us down for the cheap gold coins that I don't know why people crave over it so much." It said. "Dozens of my children has already perished to their swords, and it seems like they are trying to go for the killing blow this time."

"So all that they've been doing" Yuuki joined in. "Was driving innocent wildlife to extinction?"

The wolf did not reply. But silence did not mean no.

"Then is there anything we could do to assist?"

A moment of silence. And then.

"I don't know what you two could do otherwise. As my pack is being driven to the brink now, I will attempt a last resort. But it will take time. If you could prevent the outsiders from interfering, I could very well go along with the plan."

Just as it finished the dialogue, a notification popped up in front of us.

Accept Quest: The Hands of Mother Nature.

Yes/No

At first, we didn't hesitate to click yes. But then a warning sign came up.

If you accept this quest, then Wolf Hunt will end. Are you sure you want to proceed?

Yes/No

"Wait, so does this mean you have to fight off against every other players in this game?" Yuuki asked.

"It does sound like it," I said. "It's quite daunting."

"What are you talking about? This is great! I've always wanted to take the position of a juggernaut!"

I facepalmed internally. Anything could excite this girl apparently.

"Ok, why not then?" But I didn't try to argue with her. I didn't really want to argue with such sunshine.

Regardless of the seemingly heart-racing and muscle-tensing action sequence, we decided to play this strategically. To lessen the amount of time we had to fight other players, Yuuki decided to cloak the den's entrance with her cloaking magic. It did look somewhat convincing at first glance, but I doubt people would be fooled on close inspection.

"What a twist don't you think?" Yuuki laughed as we sat down on a rock together near the wolves. The young cubs were sleeping while the large white wolf seemed to be contemplating something. Should not bother it.

"To think that this is an actual feature of the game, I kind of have to give the developers a job well done." I replied.

"How long was the time again?" She asked.

"Over an hour."

"Whoo. I guess we have only one course of action to do." She said, accompanied with a sigh, as she straightened her legs lazily out like a beach-goer.

I could relate. In fact, we didn't last that long without engaging in a conversation.

"Say Hirano-san." Yuuki became the first to engage with me. "You're pursuing art, right? What do you intend to do as an artist later?"

I bit my lower lip. "It's not a definite future, but I want to become more of a traditional painter. I've always liked fine painting."

"Wow. I know some of my former classmates who actually want to become an artist like you! You know, the ones who like to sit behind a canvas with the thing on their hands and a beret on their heads." She replied excitedly.

"That's somewhat stereotypical." I chuckled at her imagination, the typical impression that only comes from the uninformed

"You know what, you'd look perfect with a beret." Yuuki remarked. "You then just have to act like a dandy king, and then nobody can mistake you!"

I couldn't help but burst out laughing. A little bitter as if I was taking a pill. Perhaps I could become that image, but I still wasn't convinced that I would be able to.

"Though I could go for something more applied. But that was the far future. Hell, I'm not even sure if I'm gonna be able to pursue it till the end."

"Why not?" Her smile suddenly turned into a frown.

"...I'm not too confident in myself." I said, my eyes looking at the ground.

"Come on, don't be so pessimistic." Yuuki slapped my shoulder. "I haven't seen your skills yet. Show me, and I'll evaluate it for you."

I know whether good or bad I drew, she'd give me some positive notes anyway. But fine. There was no harm in doing it, and it was something I enjoyed myself.

"Ok then. But what should I…" I looked around the cave for some usable and absorbable spots. This was by no means an ideal environment for drawing, but I could possibly make do with a piece of coal or something like that.

Looking over the pile of rocks on the other side of the cave, I noticed a black piece of coal mixed among them. Just the one that I needed, I reached out to the thing. As the rocks were in no ways flat enough to sustain a beautiful drawing, I had to use my Hand Mirror instead. Not on the glass surface, but rather the back side.

As if by instinct, after pulling the Hand Mirror out, I placed it on the ground instead, the glass side facing the rocks, while my left hand gripped tightly on the wrist of my right, which was holding the coal.

"You have a weird posture." I didn't even realize it until Yuuki pointed it out. Yeah, this wasn't the real world. I could still move with ease.

"No no. I…" I stuttered in front of the confused Yuuki. But then like a child caught lying, no words escaped my lips, so I instead just kept my mouth shut, and silently corrected myself. Now I held the mirror with my left hand and my thigh while my right hand did the work.

A strange, alien yet so day-to-day, feeling engulfed me, as soon as my hands started sketching. From my shoulder to elbow, wrist and then palm and my five fingers, their coordination was all smooth and well done, even though I was not a stranger to this. The movement was beyond exquisite, and the touch was spot on. Without any restrictions placed upon me, the topic of my artwork was soon made clear.

"Ah…"

I heard the girl next to me uttering softly, but I continued on nonetheless. The piece of coal cooperated surprisingly well. In just minutes, I already had it done for display.

"Here." I handed the mirror, the finished product, to her. She seemed at a lost for words for a while.

"Is that me?" Then she softly inquired.

I glanced away briefly.

"Yeah. I can't really come up with something different from a portrait."

My specialty was supposed to be landscape painting, but it wasn't a min-max thing. I could do others well, and since the piece of coal was not a pencil, I'd only have that as an option.

"This is beautiful!" Then the gate burst open. "You should have this publicized now! You'd be famous in no time!"

"Calm down calm down." I said, a smile crossing my lips to the positivity. I wasn't really unprepared for this, but hearing her saying it for real was indeed uplifting.

"I'm serious! This is the best portrait of me I have ever seen! And you did that in less than ten minutes. It's…it's just amazing." She said with pure earnest.

Now that's because it's likely that no one has ever portrayed her before.

"It's quite different in real life though. I am…not this good in the real world."

Because I have that goddamned disease that is robbing me of everything I had once capable of doing.

"Really? It's hard to believe."

I shook my head.

"It's the truth. It's a lot more complicated than you think."

And more brutal…

"So what are you gonna do about it?" She asked.

"I am not sure myself. I am not sure to give it up or just continue on with it."

My reply seemed to strike a chord or something. I half expected her to say something positive like you should continue regardless of circumstances or some shit like that, like how everyone would say it to my face. I honestly wouldn't be surprised. But no. It was not at all a naive response.

"I know this sounds a little idealistic of me, but if you are thinking about giving up on it, how about trying to do something a little differently. Something that you have never done before."

Huh?

"What do you mean by that?" Was my initial response. To my even bigger surprise, she simply smiled.

"You can figure that out by yourself. Once you get back to the real world."

What she meant by that I couldn't figure out, as the topic never became prevalent again in our conversation. Before we know it, over three-quarters of the one hour limit had come to pass. As for the remaining quarter?

"Do you hear something?" Yuuki slapped my thigh, pulling me back to Earth.

Sounds of rattling leaves. Not very far from here. Did someone discover our camouflage?

"Stay here I'll check it out." I told Yuuki before standing up.

Before I could reach the entrance, somebody had already barged through it. Or rather two people. One person was a huge Gnome wielding a huge two-sided axe. One could say he is Tecchi version 2.0, but with a more bushy hair and grumpy wrinkled skin. And for sure he didn't look as peaceful as him. The other one was a young male Undine with shoulder length hair, wielding a short sword and shield.

"What is this place?" The large man asked in awe, "And who are you?" and then stared at me irritably.

"I'm just a normal quest doer." I lied. "There's nothing here to find."

"Ho?" The Gnome scoffed. "You are either a terrible liar or a complete retard. Because you can't hide that thing behind you there."

"Well…"

I should stop trying to deceive people. It only made me look like a fool.

"Now stop trolling me and get out of the way." He berated as he pushed me aside.

"Wait!" I yelled out to him. "I'm sorry sir but you're not touching that wolf."

"The fuck are you trying to say to me kid?" He growled in definite anger.

"You heard me."

That appeared to have tipped him off.

"Then go to hell." Was his war cry before he ran at me. Oh fuck. I got carried away with all the distraction I forgot that I was in a cave. A narrow claustrophobic cave. Any speedster's nightmare.

I was about to have my ass kicked when all of a sudden, from behind the Gnome, unveiling from the cloaking magic, a flash of purple illuminated the dimly lit cave. The small petite middle school girl jumped out of her hiding spot like a crocodile lunging out of the water clutching on its prey. With utmost precision and mercilessness, she slashed the large Gnome thrice before ending it with a stab to the heart from the back, her blade visible from my side.

The burly guy was definitely shocked, stumbling three steps forward to me.

"You brat!" He roared as he turned over to face his attacker.

But that would be his last word for this life though. Long before he even had the intention to counterattack, I unsheathed my saber and whipped directly onto his exposed neck. It was unfair I know, but he wasn't being at all courteous to earn that.

His health dropped to zero in seconds, as his body disappeared into tiny shards, leaving behind a bright yellow spiritual flame.

Having finished him off, we turned to his partner. But unlike his deceased fellow…

"H-Help!" He instantaneously discarded his weapon and charged out of the den like a scared chicken.

I tried to catch up to him, but by the time I got to the entrance, he had already flown out of sight. This guy is quick to run away.

"Our location is compromised." I declared. "I bet they'd be flocking here in no time."

"Oooh, I'm quite excited for this!" Yuuki cheered. "Let's end this quest with a bang!"

"Right!" I concurred.

I've been losing too many times now. Now's the time to have my name elevated to a new position.

And it didn't take long for them to arrive.

"It's them! They're blocking the way to the White Wolf!" I could hear the sound of the same old guy who just minutes ago ran away from me. And he's back with such renewed confidence! What a coward.

"Alright! Let's give these trolls a beating of their life!" One of the guys, presumably from the same clan or something, shouted his war cry as the entirety of the players - counting to around a dozen or more - being led to this exotic den rushed forward.

With no intention of being on the defense, we also charge forward. Our already superior speed combined with the descent of the hill already gave us far better edges. Two strides in and the third one a power push, I leapt in the air, over the heads of the first row players and then finally landed on one of those on the second row. And most preferably, with my foot on his face.

If the earth-shattering stomp to the face along with gravity didn't kill him, then my subsequent sword stabs would. The Salamander with a dagger at the front row just seemed to watch with awe as if a god just descended upon the battlefield. I'm sorry bro, but I wouldn't let a moment of hesitation go unpunished.

I quickly jumped right at him, my blade raised overhead slashing straight down. The guy hastily raised his dagger to block my attack, avoiding my attack just barely. And barely to me was just too slow. I edged my sword into his hilt; a strong push and his hand gave in, leaving himself open. And the opportunity was not missed. Two slash to his torso and he's a goner.

The third player was a tougher cookie though. A one-handed axe-wielding Spriggan. His axe raised, striking down without relent. I knew blocking it head-on would be a terrible idea. As a result, I carefully placed my blade into the area where the axe's blade and the handle connects. So now instead of having to exert a directly opposite force, it was now an upward force. More easily handled.

Unfortunately, they also did not give me any moment to breathe. The next player with a two handed-sword also lunged at me. I kicked the Spriggan back before jumping back, avoiding the sword attack. The sword guy was also quick, as the moment he recovered, he charged forward bravely, his sword skill ready to use. It was a simple swordplay that involved moving your sword in a curvature path in a downward diagonal direction. I saw it coming the moment he moved his sword down, so I shifted my sword accurately to direct it away from me.

I was playing a one versus two here, so I could not be on the defensive. Taking advantage of the post-motion sequence, I slashed the guy's shoulder quickly, grazing him slightly, before I jumped back again. Though this time my wings faded into view, propelling me up into the air.

Almost immediately, the two guys followed me like two cats chasing a mouse. But unfortunately for them, I got my groove back. And look at the surroundings, free of obstacles. Fighting a speedster in this scenario for people who were not really speedsters themselves…good luck gentlemen.

I flew up to a certain altitude before lunging back down at them, particularly the sword guy. He anticipated my attack with a block but failed the next move as I flipped, bringing my feet smashing onto his torso. Then I proceeded to use his torso as a base to launch myself at the axe dude, who was completely shocked by the movement. Though he did nullify my attack, he did not for my next one. I kicked him back before flying downward on a curved path to attack right below his knees. There fell right into the familiar pattern that I had once done upon Yuuki days earlier. And in short description, he did not last very long.

Once I finished off this guy, the two-handed swordsman knew he was taking on more than he could chew. So he had switched for a wand, attempting a spell in hope of pulverizing me. And oh boy what a terrible idea that was.

I, of course, would never let him accomplish the task. Before he could finish his last keyword of the spell, I was right at his face, with a sword unsheathed. What came next was just pure murder. I slashed open his chest three times and then his neck two times. I don't know what the players would feel with their heads cut off, but I wouldn't want to know.

After the guy though…there were none. It was apparent that everybody was ignoring me for the most part and instead preferred to go after a seemingly more vulnerable target. Seemingly was the keyword though. In actual reality, however, that judgment would be a fatal mistake.

When I looked over to Yuuki, five flames already surrounded her. Six after she finished off this spear wielding guy with a beautiful and spectacular swordplay, locking his arms in place before slicing across his chest.

"As expected," I commented. To everyone, it may have been a shock to realize that they were ants comparing to this small girl.

The next victim charged recklessly at her and without a thought in mind. He paid it dearly as she simply spun around his lunging attack before delivering a quick blow to his nape. Another swordsman rushed into the thick, but Yuuki quickly put him in his place with a couple of acrobatic moves.

The first wave of twelve players was accompanied by around fourteen more. I don't even know if they were from the same clan or no, as people seemed to already know where the final objective was. But nothing discouraged this Imp, as she continued to take in any challengers any seconds, dancing through the battlefield with grace and elegance. She was a fighting machine, and nobody could dream of stopping such an exquisite tango.

But because of the sheer number, some people were attempting to slip through. But they forgot another threat still looming above them.

From the sky, I dove into my target like a dive bomber. The black shadow quickly alerted the players, but it didn't matter to me. Gravity plus wing power smashed the guy's ability, and will, to stand. The other dude stopped at his track at my sight. And I took it as an opportunity. I stormed at him, putting him into a standoff. With a few sword clashes, I found my opening for a frontal kick, tossing him down the hill right near Yuuki.

"One more coming your way from behind!" I screamed as hard as I can. Yuuki took heed of my warning, as she turned around and finished the guy off cleanly.

"Can you do the work by yourself? I'm a little busy at the moment!" She shouted back, causing me to burst out in laughter.

The other few who were attempting to slip through soon abandoned in futility.

"Who is this girl?!"

"Is she hacking this game?"

"She's not a human anymore."

Murmurs began to ripple across the battlefield, as the next fourteen players had all but perished, with Yuuki standing in the middle of it all, looked upon with a myriad of horror, mild respect, and disbelief. She alone had cut down over twenty, nearly thirty, players on her own. While for me, I was struggling to handle one-sixth that number. Even I, who had seen first hand what she could do a player, was caught off-guard by such carnage. Sure, the players in this dungeon weren't too high-leveled or skilled in the first place, but to say that a girl of fifteen years of age to handle over twenty people was an achievement was a gross understatement…

"If you don't want to go through the countdowns, just leave. Please." I shouted to the players.

"Ugh!" A few grunted in frustration. "As if!"

I knew that was gonna happen. Their hard work wasn't one to be given up so easily.

Another player joined the fight. Another player to be killed. After Yuuki and he crossed swords, I simply jumped high, just like the first leap into battle, and slammed my feet onto his shoulder, knocking him to the ground, leaving up to my partner to do whatever she wanted to do with him.

The next player with a two-handed axe stampeded in, followed by a paladin-build player - with fully clad sword and shield. All two clamped down on me like a wrench. I bent back, narrowly avoiding the brutal axe swing, but was pushed back by the paladin with his weapons. Luckily, right beside me was my trustful partner. Before the axeman struck the decisive blow, he was bombarded with an array of sword stabbing skill, to which his huge build couldn't keep up with. Once she was finished with him, our combined effort reduced the paladin to a dim flame.

And it went on. And on. Yuuki mowing down the players who dared to attack her. And I was the crusher crane that softened the prey for her to kill. The immerse was just extraordinary. At times, I didn't even pay attention to the clock. I only looked at the dance of swords that we had. Our dance.

Before we realized it, all of a sudden, an immense energy field radiated from the wolf's den. A huge ball of energy expanded rapidly, engulfing us all, me, Yuuki and the other players. It happened so fast I couldn't figure out what happened. But the next thing we know, we were the only people to be affected. Or rather, buffed. Miraculously, our health bar shot to the max in an instant as well as our mana bar. That moment, I felt so…refreshed. Like I had just finished taking a long bath. You could literally feel being carried into the sky by the wind.

"What just happened?" I mumbled as I looked back at the den…well it didn't look like a den anymore though. Trees and leaves began to dominate the rocky plane of the cave. And not just that, our whole area also seemed to be swirling with lifeform. Trees that were once in its infancy grew to its prime in a matter of seconds, while those in twilight seemed to reverse the process, as branches that were considered dead long ago reemerged life, to the shock of everybody around us.

It was at that moment when the clock hit zero. The quest was over. Our quest was over. We had won.

"Children." A familiar voice echoed. "No matter what you do, are from, or who you are, always remember what it had taken in order for today to exist. You do not own this land. You inherit it. You borrow it from your own future generations. So be the rightful heir to the throne bestowed upon you…"

I couldn't help but smile.

"...be the grateful son and daughters of our mother nature…"

The voice then vanished, never to be heard from again.

And from our quest menu, a notification popped up.

Quest Complete: The Hands of Mother Nature.

Your reward: Blade of grass (x1)

There was a mixture of feelings that circulated. Pride? Joy? Reflective? I couldn't describe in words. But all I know, what had happened today would still be a topic of conversation for years to come…

…though not exactly to what I had expected.

"Look at that! Yuuki's now the hot topic of the entire ALO right now!" Nori squealed in excitement as she read the ALO's community forum via her menu bar.

I could say that the sudden twist and the hidden quest was a very nicely done environmental campaign, informing everybody of one of the greatest issues affecting the world today, while still managed to keep the players entertained through intense battles and swordfights. But it seemed unfortunate that the message of the quest was somewhat overshadowed by the news of the mysterious swordswoman who made grass of over thirty players in existence.

"You were in the quest too, Argo? We didn't know." I said.

The Cait Sith was the one who started all of this gossip as she was also among the active quest-doer. And since she was present in the area to do the quest, it was understandable that she would also be present at the scene of carnage at the wolf's den. And it seemed like this was just too good of an opportunity to snatch some headlines.

"Yeah, I was going trying to seek out some credits with my friend, though you guys beat us to that." She replied. "But hey, in exchange, I got some pretty good deals for information!"

Always about money it seemed.

"Who is this mysterious girl? Killed thirty players alone. Is she a secret pro player? These sorts of comments are flooding the forum right now. You really made yourself something out there Yuuki-san." Siune complimented Yuuki, as the latter lowered her eyes in flusters. She really earned her reputation.

"How about me though?" I inquired.

"Huh?" Argo replied confusingly. The short and blunt response went a long way to tick me off.

"You don't say you did not notice me during all of that commotion."

"Oh! Don't worry I did put you in there." She replied. "Read the second paragraph."

What? That was like at the very top. How the fuck could I miss that?

"There, that part. This young Imp player, along with her Sylph partner…"

Along with her Sylph partner…

...That's it...

"Hey, at least five players die by my own hands. And I actually helped her out at the end. You could've at least given me some credits than an incomplete sentence!" I bawled.

"But that wouldn't make a nice headline, would it?" She replied blankly, without even a slight bit of remorse.

"Seriously?!"

That's bullshit! As an artist, non-recognition is even worse than accomplishing nothing at all. Oooh, that cat! I'd make sure to pay this back later!

"Don't worry Hirano-san. I'm pretty sure one day you'd have fans flocking around you soon." Yuuki patted my shoulder, trying to console me.

"Yeaahhhhh right." I growled, a heap of salt filled my mouth.

And that was how Yuuki's reputation in ALO skyrocketed. On the while, I was still just the dumb background to her glory…

The next day.

I woke up rather early today. There was no class, but my mind just seemed to remember the routine. After taking the shower and a quick breakfast, I returned to my bed and was about to reach for the Amusphere to get in ALO. I didn't have any particular goal in mind, I just intended to chill out today in there.

But then…

'I'm serious! This is the best portrait of me I have ever seen! And you did it in less than ten minutes!'

…

"I know this sounds a little idealistic of me, but if you are thinking about giving up on it, how about trying to do something a little differently. Something that you have never done before."

…I stopped.

My hand lost strength as it fell to the bed with a thud. I stared at my Amusphere for long. One by one, the words flowed back to me. It was peculiarly vague, but chords it struck. What did she mean by doing it differently?

Then, as if there was this mysterious force pulling me, I looked over to my easel, standing solemnly next to my desk. My old friend and family. I spent as much time with it as I had with my friends. The woods still looked so bright and fresh, despite countless times it had been used. Thin rays of sunlight gently glossed over the elegantly peeled edge of the easel. And the canvas was just pure and ivory white. I could hear its invitation. To soak it with my excellence. To cover it with my passion and skills. My love for drawings.

"Something different."

I might have seen it. What she told me. This could have been just another futile attempt like how I, and perhaps many other people, perceive it to be, but then again...

I placed down my Amusphere and forced myself to stand up and drag myself forward. And, with a shaky, curled, but now decisive hand, I picked up the palette and the paintbrush.