A/N: And we're back, hope you all had a good Christmas, if you celebrate it, if not, then welcome back all the same. End of the year approaches, but Timeless will get one last chapter before we start back into 2025. Another thing, thank you all for over 10K VIEWS, hell yeah, great way to cap off 2024! Hope you enjoy!

[Alfheim Online, New Aincrad, Floor 27]

[Malzeno's POV]

Settled into my spot within the cosy tavern, I let Yuuki do all the work as the others got themselves seated around the large round table. Immediately, Jun waved his hand.

"Hey, leader, are we finally going to do something exciting! I've been waiting for hours~" Jun complained, surprising no one.

My adorable girlfriend was quick to shoot him down. "Hey, I've got school work, studies are important, you know," Jun groaned at that as she wore a teasing grin. "But if you're ready for some adventure, we've netted a really good one!" All of them perked up, Yuuki gesturing to me.

"To give some colourful suspense to the reveal; recently an event has gone live across both New Aincrad and Alfheim, a crossover between ALO and Monster Hunter-" All of them gave various looks of surprise and excitement, Jun and Nori drumming the table with anticipation. "-so several quest events are sprinkled across the game, one's that my lovely boss has given me insight into one in particular-"

"We're hunting for Dango!" Yuuki threw her fist high, interrupting me. I raised a brow at her humorously, seeing her smile sheepishly as she cleared her throat. "M-more specifically, a quest to obtain an exclusive dango flavour, Bee-utiful!"

What I noticed was Siune's expression perking up at the name, maybe she's done her research on the events too? Meanwhile, Talken looked like he wanted to say something so I silently gestured to him. "Thanks, I was wondering what the quest is about?"

"Already ahead of ya," Yuuki beamed, pulling up her menu to switch it 'Public', turning her screen around for them to see the quest marked out in bold.

Event Quest!

-A Sticky Situation-

The honey found within the thickest point of the forests within Sylph territory is exactly what I need to replicate the recipe adventurers, from another world no less, have shown me. But be careful, you might not be the only ones looking for a meal...

Locate and gather the Potent Honey [ ]

Forests in Sylph territory 50000 Yrd Dango Ingredient

"Is that it? Guess it'll be like a boss battle when we find the honey, yeah?" Nori remarked, leaning her cheek against her hand. "Any other tips?"

"Other than the fact that this isn't a journey to the mountains to collect the tongues of some monsters with absolutely nothing threatening in the area, I say we're already in a good spot," I held both my thumbs up, a cold sweat at the memory.

"Uh... what?" Jun laughed a little, but my mood only declined.

"No more Popo Tongues, I beg of you..." Shaking my head clear of that memory, I slammed the table with my palm. "Now then! Grab your friends, grab your shit, and let's get this party rollin'!"

"For Dango!" Yuuki roared beside me, exciting a collective cheer from the guild.

While everyone checked their gear and items, heading over to the tavern's bartender to buy some items they had on sale, Siune approached us while Yuuki extended the quest to the whole party.

"Siune, what's up?" I turned to, seeing that twinkle of curiosity in her eyes.

"I was wondering what were the other quests available during this event?" She asked, never expected her to be so into quest intel.

"I'd normally charge but I dunno much else other than the names and details. There's a quest for each environment across Alfheim, with apparently a hidden quest in Aincrad somewhere that no one's been able to find. Apparently each of the quests give you a hint but no one's certain of that fact, Argo's looking into it with Asuna and Kirito,"

"Aw, I wanted to invite Asuna along this time," Yuuki sighed, she really did like having Asuna around, even told me she views the Princess similarly to her own sister Aiko which was sweet.

Continuing with my explanation, I rolled my hand for emphasis, holding up one finger at a time. "There's one other gathering quest that leads into a monster in the snow region-no more Popos-and the one we're currently on. Hunting quest for the desert and wetlands. The finally two capture quests to the dark forest region and Butterfly Valley,"

"I see, so none of these quests actively detail what the monster you'll be facing is, not even its type like variant, sub-species, or other prefix. Although, it could very well be monsters for a single generation, though you mentioned Popo so it could just be a selection from across various titles, including the Frontier series..." Siune spat out a whole lot of words I wasn't used to hearing.

"Woah, Siune, you're like a real broker just now!" Yuuki exclaimed.

"I'm surprised... you're a fangirl, aren't you?" There was a faint chuckle behind my words with a smirk. Of all people to be fans of Monster Hunter, Siune had to rank the lowest on that list. Looks can be deceiving after all.

The usually mature and soft-spoken Undine quickly erupted into stutters, waving her hands as a faint blush crept up her face. "I-I'm... w-well, I like the series since I w-was young, so when I heard about the e-events I wanted to suggest them to you, Yuuki, but you both a-already beat me to the punch..."

"Why'd you never say anything? I'm literally stealing the name of a monster for my own gratification?" I pointed up at my own head.

"I-I did notice, but well..." Now she went bashful, tapping her fingers together. "I've had problems trying to express my fondness for the games, no one took any interest or regressed to the usual stereotype that girls playing video games is weird. When I saw your name for the first time, I was honestly surprised and worried you might've thought less of me-ow,"

I flicked her on the forehead, arms crossed. "Siune, I have a massive bounty on my head, literally half the game could give you a colourful insult about me. I also happened to have been kicked to the curb by Cupcake here when we first met, so believe me, the conspiracy theory that girls cannot play video games is a concept that is older than the fifth generation,"

"And it's us, like we'd judge you, I think it's pretty cool imagining you as this awesome slayer of monsters over your healer side for a change," Yuuki did a few sweeping actions with her hands, then her eyes grew impossibly wide. "This is perfect, we have two expert monster hunters for our quest!"

"Huh, I guess so..." I wasn't complaining.

"Are you sure that's okay? I'm more than fine with supporting everyone as always," Siune smiled nervously, but I could see what Yuuki was looking at. Siune was eager to show off her talents from another game, she had expressed excitement over a new experience before numerous times.

"Why not? Come on, live the thrill of the hunt like a real monster hunter for a change!" I gave my shot of encouragement, Yuuki humming in agreement.

"Haven't you ever wanted to be just like the hunter you controlled behind a screen? Imagine going toe-to-toe with a big monster with your own strength, this event won't last forever, y'know?" Yuuki sweetened the incentive.

Siune's face scrunched up, making a few odd noises as she turned to pace for a bit, muttering to herself and likely going through some serious character conflict. Me and Yuuki blinked at each other, then turned back to see Siune with a big, starry-eyed smile, squeezing her staff tightly in her right hand.

"O-okay, I'll do it, just for this quest!" She caved, practically shaking with excitement. "Oh, I wonder what kind of monster it'll be? It's in a forest so there's no telling what it'll be~ Maybe an Arzuros, they love honey? Or will it be a bird wyvern, the possibilities are endless~"

"I think we broke her, thoughts?" I whispered to Yuuki who snickered a little.

"I think she's fit to explode with excitement, I've never seen her act like this before," She gave a hushed reply.

"Both, both is good-and yeah, well, what's the harm in trying something new?" Shrugging, I offered her my hand as Yuuki happily took it, ready to move out on our gathering quest.

[Sylph Territory, The Deep Woods]

Nothing was unusual for the forest, aside from the increased activity of players in the area, leading to some battles in the sky that we promptly avoided. Though one perk of having the Absolute Sword on your team, no one was dumb enough to try and fight less they incurred her wrath.

Although, we quickly ran into a problem...

"Where in the hell are we going?" I let out an exasperated sigh, looking around at the trees that all started to look the same. "I swear we've passed that tree twice now."

"Which tree?" Nori's brow rose.

"Yes,"

"Tracks..." Siune pursed her lips, having spotted old claw marks tore vertically down a tree trunk. "Usually we'd get a prompt on how old they are but without it, I'm not sure where we go,"

"Siune," Our eyes peered to Tecchi, his tower shield shifting a little to gesture upward.

Looking to the emerald roof above, I saw the glimmering specks of fireflies, like the ones all over Alfheim, only they seemed to cluster into a trail leading past the maimed tree and further into the forest.

"That's it, Scoutflies!" Me and Siune gasped, smiling at each other.

"We can use them to lead to our next sign of monster activity-" I began.

"And that'll lead us to the source of the honey," She concluded, offering me an innocent high-five.

"Man, you guys are nerds..." Jun shook his head, so we shrugged and led the charge, but not before I paused with a devilish idea crawling into my mind.

"Say, Jun, you ever met a Khezu?" I asked, seeing his blank expression.

"No...?" He looked nervous, good. "So what? It's just a monster, if you're saying can I beat one then-"

"No-no, it's nothing about your abilities, you're a good tank, but a Khezu has a lovely way of attacking people, you see," Turning around slowly, I began to stalk towards him with a whimsical smile. "Khezu are blind, so they rely on sounds and vibrations to track prey, they also love to hang from ceilings and other objects, hiding from view while they wait for their prey,"

I moved behind him, seeing him tense up in all his armour. "If you had the misfortune of missing it, they'll spit a paralyzing saliva, rendering their prey immobile for them. From there they inject their young into the body, so either the victim dies or the infant Khezu grow strong enough to burst from the host... so it's best you watch your head, okay? Okay."

Patting his shoulder, I left the redhead sufficiently grossed out and terrified of his surroundings as I waltzed between Yuuki and Siune. The former looked mixed between disgust and laughter. "That sounds so gross, is that even possible in the game?"

"Nope," I popped the 'P'.

"And Khezu are cave dwellers by nature, they'd never venture into the woods," Siune added, looking uncomfortable with my explanation that only caused my smile to grow wider as she gasped, lightly shoving me. "Malzeno, that's such a horrible thing to do,"

"I know, it's why I did it-BOOM!" And Jun immediately shrieked like a girl, whipping me and others into a fit of laughter that nearly toppled me over as I ran, seeing Jun in hot pursuit of me. "You-you should've seen the look on your face! Priceless~!"

Slowly, the Scoutflies above led us to various other clues and hints to the mysterious monster, it was land-based which was good for us, and big too as it split trees at the roots. The glowing stream of insects grew bolder and distinct, leading us throughout the thick woods as we jogged down a slope into a large, open space among the tallest trees that still managed to form a canopy say for the middle of the clearing.

"This screams boss arena," Talken pointed out.

"Definitely a boss arena," Nori clicked her tongue. "Boss?"

"Not like we're gonna just run away, let's do this," Yuuki declared, drawing her obsidian blade to take the vanguard with Siune, who had her own rapier equipped for the occasion. I stood within the middle of the group while far less paranoid Jun and Tecchi stood to the left and right, Nori by my side watching our backs.

The Scoutflies gathered as they would in World, highlighting the first real footprints. Siune and I went to investigate, keeping out wits about us as we found the fireflies scatter when we spotted the tracks. Big with long nails that curved slightly.

"Look like bear tracks," Nori commented, the others moving in to watch the woods.

"An Arzuros, makes sense, they love honey more than tearing a person's face off," I remarked dryly, then saw the Scoutflies all turn an orange tint, dispersing into the treetops. "Speaking of..."

"It's here," Siune turned to the west as we came from the south, seeing the Scoutflies gather again in orange before scattering just as quickly when the thicket rustled and broke under the weight of the beast trudging through.

"Nice work you two, everyone ready?" Yuuki grinned, her eyes burning with confidence.

The foliage was pushed aside, branches breaking away as the large beast pushed through into the clearing. Almost instantly the blood drained from my face, and I could tell out the corner of my eye that Siune's did too, her own rapier quivering in her grip.

The fanged beast didn't even acknowledge us at first, chomping down on a piece of sticky honey it had stolen from nearby, wiping its jaws clean with a thick forearm. Its forearms, feet, eyes, and upper body-fur were blood-red in colouration. Aside from those sections, its body was primarily blue, with the carapace and lower body-fur being a greenish blue. A pronounced strip of fur atop its head gave the impression of a mohawk.

"Woah...that's supposed to be a honey-eating bear? The thing's bigger than a car!" Jun gawked, gesturing with his greatsword.

Finding my voice, I gripped No Turning Back tightly with an equally tense smile and nervous sweat threatening to run down my whole body. "That's because, my redheaded friend, this particular Arzuros is very... very...very dangerous,"

"Huh? How dangerous?" Yuuki's head spun around to me and Siune, seeing it sniff the air as it locked eyes with us, slowly standing up on its hind legs.

"The Crimson Bear..." Siune responded with a tight voice.

"The Deviant, Redhelm Arzuros," The title rolled off my tongue like lead, "Well, you wanted a fight right? Welp, ya got one, hahaa..."

/Redhelm Arzuros\

With both forearms outstretched, Redhelm unleashed an almighty roar that send tremors through the earth and shook the forest itself, forcing us all to cover our ears when it bent down on all fours and immediately lunged, its tongue lapping to the side of its bloodied jaws.

[To Be Continued...]

[Author's Notes]

Surprise, Monster Hunter event to kick off the first of two major battles for this arc. I wanted to show more of the Sleeping Knights working together, and I also find Arzuros to be a fun battle all things considered. Redhelm on the other hand is... yeah, he's a bastard of a Deviant, all of them are.

I also wanted to make Siune be a bit of a fangirl of the series just for fun, as well as have some back and forth with Malzeno over their knowledge of the games. So, I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; see ya in the next chapter, Players!