Toshi opened the eleventh tab on his computer, typing the in "new aincrad alfheim online" into the search bar. After entering the search, his eyes glazed over the most relevant results, the sources ranging from the Alfheim Online main site to several news articles. How funny, I never would've guessed that they would use Amusphere technology to help in hospitals. He right-clicked the link, opening the news article into another tab, but selected the link to the ALO main site which matched his search query. The page opened a few moments later.

"New Aincrad is one of the nine realms, added as one of the first updates to the New Alfheim Online on May 17th, 2025."

New Alfheim Online? Was there an old one? Toshi thought.

As he read, Toshi felt a buzz in his pocket. He pulled out his phone, noticing that there was a missed message from Asuna. He tapped the message, opening his phone.

Asuna: Hey Toshi! I hope you're having a great day! I wanted to tell you that Liz, me, and a bunch of my other friends finally set a date to go up against the boss on Floor 29 in New Aincrad. We were thinking about doing it this Saturday at around 10…would you be able to come with us?

Toshi typed in his reply, sending the message as he finished.

Toshi: Of course, that should work great for me.

Toshi set his phone down, looking up at the ceiling. That's odd. I haven't heard her mention Kirito once since I've seen her. Are they still even together? He picked up his phone as it buzzed again.

Asuna: Awesome! Feel free to invite Ruby if you want. She may not want to, but she's always welcome!

Toshi: I'm sure she would appreciate the offer, but I think she's out of town this weekend with some friends. I'll let her know that you were thinking of her though.

Asuna: Good to know! See you then!

Toshi set his phone down staring at the computer screen in front of him, finding thoughts flooding through his head. Does Asuna know what happened between Kirito and I and is trying to separate the two of us? he wondered. If Asuna knows, who else knows? What do they know specifically? Do they know about Lyn? He paused, feeling his heartbeat increase.

Do they know about me?

One week later…

Toshiyan spawned into a large, open courtyard in front of a fountain. He didn't wait for the light to disappear from his spawn animation to step forward and extend his dark, bat-like wings. He launched into the air, feeling the cool morning wind rush over him.

By the time we get there, it'll be towards the early afternoon. Dark magic offensive attacks are going to be weaker than normal. He thought to himself. Maybe I'll reformat my offensive magic setup when I get there.

When Liz's shop came into view of his map, he lowered himself, coasting to a stop a few steps down the street from the building. His wings retracted upon landing, and he stood up, eying the location anxiously.

Why am I nervous? I don't even know if he's going to be there. He walked towards the blacksmith shop, pausing in front of the shop. Toshiyan could feel his breath beginning to shallow as his heart rate began to speed up again. I need to calm down. He attempted to take a few deep breaths, closing his eyes as he did so. You need them to take you seriously, just be calm! He opened his eyes, lifting his fist up to knock on the wooden door. He paused just before. Maybe, I should wait…it would be awkward if I-

"Toshi!" a familiar voice called.

Toshiyan snapped out of his thoughts, turning to see three girls coming towards him, the group being led by Asuna, with Liz and a friend following shortly behind. He sighed. "Hey, sorry if I'm late."

"Nah, you're not late." Liz replied. "If anything you might be a bit early."

"You alright Toshi?" Asuna asked. "We called you and you didn't answer."

"I'm good, sorry, I was just…lost in thought is all."

"You're all good." Liz continued. "Say, have you met Silica yet?"

"Silica?" he responded.

The other girl by Liz stepped forward. Toshiyan first noticed the light blue dragon perched on the back of the fairy's dark blue coat. His eyes were then drawn to her light brown hair which blended in with her protruding cat ears. Behind her, Toshiyan could see a cat tail protruding. "Hey! You're Asuna's friend, right?"

"Yes-"

"It's nice to meet you! I'm Silica!" she replied.

Toshiyan stood up straight. "I'm Toshiyan, that's an impressive dragon you've got there." he added.

The small dragon let out a small cry as Silica laughed. "Thanks, this is Pina."

"Silica here is our resident beast tamer." Liz explained. "One of the best around."

"Really?" Toshiyan replied eagerly.

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm the BEST around, but I do like it." Silica added nervously.

"Still, that's quite the feat." Toshiyan added. "I've never been much of a 'pet' guy myself, but that's still cool." Familiars typically don't do enough damage to justify the effort it takes to train them. That was certainly the case in SAO, but maybe it's different here though?

"Thanks," Silica replied cheerfully.

"Well, no use standing around here." Liz said loudly, walking towards the wooden door with a key. After touching the key to the lock, she touched a button on a pop-up, and pushed the door open. "Everybody in, have a seat at the table to the right."

"Thank you," Toshiyan replied, stepping inside while the others followed. He sat at a long bench, moving all the way down. He looked up to find Asuna and Silica sitting across from him.

"So, Toshiyan, how old are you?" Silica asked.

"Oh, um, 16."

"Oh, so you're Shino's age?"

Toshiyan looked at Silica. "Shino?"

"Shino is another friend of ours." Asuna explained. "She, Leafa, and Klein should be here soon, so you'll get to meet her." Asuna put her hand on Silica's head. "Sorry Silica, you're still the youngest."

"Don't do that!" Silica huffed, batting Asuna's hand away. "Besides, it's not like I mind!"

Toshiyan smiled to himself. "So Silica, did you pick a Cait Sith because you wanted to be a beast tamer, or did you become a beast tamer because you were a Cait Sith?"

"Huh? Oh, um, probably the first. I was a beast tamer back in SAO too."

"You were in SAO?" Toshiyan replied

"Yeah."

Toshiyan looked at her curiously. "So was I."

"Really?" Silica asked.

"Yes, which is odd, because I never met someone younger than me, and I was 13. That would've made you…"

"I was 12 when it started."

His gaze became more stern. "That's kind of intense."

"Yeah, it definitely wasn't what I expected, but that's probably why I got Pina to begin with. She really helped me get through it, along with all my friends of course."

"To be fair though, there were a lot of things we weren't expecting about that game. More power to you…I guess-"

A light tap sounded at the door, and a few other fairies walked in. The first one was a Sylph with long, blonde hair, and a sword clipped to her belt. "Hey everyone!"

"Hey Leafa!" Silica exclaimed, leaning over Asuna to look at her friend. Both girls then got up, running to hug the new player. "How did your Kendo Tournament go?"

"Didn't you hear? I got second place!"

"WHAT!" Silica exclaimed. "That's incredible!"

"Congratulations!" Asuna cheered.

"Thanks," she smiled, glancing up to meet Toshiyan's gaze. "Who's this?"

"Leafa, this is Toshiyan, the guy I was telling you about." Asuna explained.

"Oh, I didn't know he was coming today." Leafa commented.

Toshiyan stood up from the bench, walking over to Leafa, holding his hand out. "It's nice to meet you."

She grabbed his hand, firmly shaking it. "Nice to meet you too, the name's Leafa. I'm Kirito's sister."

Toshiyan could feel some of his muscles stiffen as she mentioned Kirito's name. "Is that right?"

"Where is Kirito?" Silica asked.

"He said he's running late. He was doing some stuff with Yui and it took longer than he thought."

"He's…coming here?" Toshiyan asked.

"Of course he is." Leafa responded. "Why wouldn't he?"

"I guess I should've expected that." Toshiyan continued. "I don't think Asuna mentioned that." he said looking at the fairy in question.

"I'm sure I did…" Asuna replied. "That's not a problem is it?"

You really didn't. "Not at all." he replied, attempting to hide the strain in his voice.

"You know him?" Leafa asked.

"Toshiyan was in SAO with Kirito and I." Asuna explained. "He was in the front lines for several levels fighting with the guild I was a part of."

"That's cool." Leafa said smiling. "You sound like you'd be pretty skilled."

"I'm alright, definitely could be better."

"Hey, you can't be worse than Silica."

"HEY!" Silica yelled.

"Relax, I'm kidding." Leafa replied. "It looks like you use daggers like she does though. Another one of your masterpieces Liz?"

"You betcha!"

"Well, let's see 'em."

Toshiyan reached down, unsheathing the dark, slightly curved blades. "Liz really did a great job with these. They work almost perfectly with my magic setup."

"Shh, don't say that too loudly, it'll get to her head." Leafa joked.

"Ha ha, very funny." Liz responded, rolling her eyes.

"So, besides Kirito, how many more people are there?" Toshiyan asked, turning back to Asuna.

"Just Sinon and Klein." Asuna answered. "I've been keeping an eye on my friend's list…it says that they're active. Hopefully they'll be here soon."

"No worries, it gives me time to reorganize my magic skills."

"Oh! I should probably do that too." Silica mentioned, opening her menu.

"What magic do you specialize in?" Leafa asked.

"Dark and Lightning magic."

"That's a nice combo," Leafa said. "Dark is super versatile, and Lightning helps with damage."

"Look at you being all nerdy." Liz teased.

"Pot, meet kettle." Leafa hummed in reply.

Toshiya smirked as he sat down, pulling open his menu. He opened the daggers and began sliding spells in and out of the hot bar. It felt like only a few seconds had gone by when the door opened again. "Wassup my people!" a male voice called.

"Hey Klein," Asuna said. How's it going? It's been a while."

"It's been going good, work has been killer lately." the newcomer replied. As he walked in, Toshiyan immediately recognized the red garb as Salamander type, but it was styled like a traditional Samurai. He had spiky hair that was kept up by a headband, his left hand clutching a samurai sword with a style similar to that of the Sylph's sword. "Lots of overtime, let's just put it that way."

Toshiyan tilted his head slightly. Why do you sound somewhat familiar?

"It's good to see you." Asuna continued. "Klein, do you remember Toshiyan?"

"Toshiyan," Klein mumbled, glancing at the Imp in question.

"He was in the front lines with us back in SAO-" Asuna started.

"Was he one of your Knights of the Blood Oath guys?" Klein asked, sitting down in the booth next to Silica. "Because if so, I had a hard enough time remembering the names of people I know now let alone the names of people I knew three years ago."

"Toshiyan, do you remember Klein?"

"You do sound awfully familiar." Toshiyan muttered. "You fought a couple times in the front lines, right?"

"Yep, I sure did." the man responded. "I mostly hang out with my buddies, but I saw my fair share of fighting with our boy Kirito alongside the Clearers. You might remember me as that dashing swordsman wielding a katana."

"Oh yeah," Toshiyan hummed. "Not a lot of people I remember used a Katana."

"Hmm, I see my reputation precedes me."

"Well, a katana is a solid choice of weaponry. If I didn't have my daggers, I probably would've picked one myself."

"Daggers?" Klein hummed, looking up. His eyes widened suddenly. "Friends with Asuna…wait a minute, you're the Electric Assassin!"

Silica and Liz looked at Klein, confused. "Huh?" they said, almost simultaneously

"Wow, I forgot people called you that." Asuna replied.

Toshiyan shifted uncomfortably. "That was a long time ago."

"Man, you all have so many nicknames it's almost hard to keep track of them all." Liz added, smiling to herself.

"Please don't call me by that nickname." Toshiyan pleaded. "It's just weird." It also brings back unpleasant memories.

The conversation shifted again as Toshiyan heard the door open. "Hey everyone, sorry I'm late." a more mellow voice called from the door.

Toshiyan looked up to see a young Cait Sith almost glide in from the door. Like all Cait Sith, this fairy had a long cat-like tail, but unlike Silica's tail, this one appeared a dark blue color, and it seemed mostly covered by what appeared to be a long green coat. The chestplate covered most of her upper body, stopped shortly below her rib cage, and left a small keyhole where the green cloak was bound together, and the upper rim of the chestplate ended. Beneath the metal, the fairy wore a black jumpsuit, which extended down past her waist down to about halfway up her thighs. Toshiyan could make out a bow and quiver tucked beneath the cloak. That's a ranger if I've ever seen one.

"Sinon!" Silica exclaimed. The smaller Cait Sith practically crawled over Klein, who yelled out as he was being trampled out of his seat. Silica wrapped her arms around the archer, smiling. "It's been forever, how have you been?"

"I'm doing just fine." Sinon replied with a soft smile.

"I see you've updated your outfit." Leafa added. "The jumpsuit is new."

"Yeah, it's supposed to help decrease my threat level when I attack."

"Oh sure," Klein commented, leaning back. "Force us to take even more of the bruntwork."

The archer rolled her eyes, her glance finally making its way to Toshiyan's direction. "Asuna, is this your friend you were telling us about?"

"Yes, this is Toshiyan."

The Cait Sith reached her hand forward towards Toshiyan. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Sinon."

"I'm Toshiyan, it's good to know we have someone like you watching our backs." Cait Siths usually have really great advantages on scouting and recon spells, and that's ignoring their bonuses on skills like perception. If Silica is a beast tamer and expert, I'd wager that Sinon is the eyes and ears behind this group.

"Well if what Liz and Asuna tell me about your skills is true, I should be the one grateful for your contribution."

Toshiyan gave a half-smile. "I suppose then we'll just call it even."

"Sinon, any sign of Kirito?"

"I thought he was already here?" Sinon replied.

Asuna slid her menu open, pulling open her friends list. "Hmm, it says he's online right now. I wonder what's taking him so long…"

"Knowing Kirito, he could be anywhere," Liz sighed. "Can you track him?"

"Yeah, give me a moment." Asuna hummed, tapping sequentially on several buttons on the menu screen. As a trail appeared, suddenly the door pushed open. A Spriggan fairy, dressed in a long black coat, with matching dark eyes and hair, suddenly stepped into the room.

"Aw, did you guys miss me that much?" Kirito teased.

"Well well, look who finally decided to show up?" Klein announced, standing up.

"Sorry about that, I lost track of time upgrading Yui's interface." Kirito apologized. "It looks like we're all-" Kirito paused, meeting Toshiyan's eyes. "Who's this?"

"Kirito, this is-"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten me already, Kirito?" Toshiyan interrupted, stepping towards the Spriggan. "We've known each other for a long time."

Kirito's eyes fixed on the Imp's for a moment, suddenly widening in realization. "Toshiyan?"

"Long time, no see, Kirito," Toshiyan replied, his gaze narrowing in such a way to where Kirito could see his stern, but neutral expression. "Or should I call you the 'Savior of Aincrad'?" Kirito glanced at Asuna momentarily, then his eyes flitted back to the Imp before him. You look like you've seen someone you didn't expect, or hope, to see. Toshiyan thought. He then forced a smile on his face. "I'm just messing with you, Kirito, thanks for letting me tag along with your buddies."

Kirito's somewhat tense expression softened slightly. "R-Right, of course." He cleared his throat. "If everyone's ready, we can head out now."

"Wait, Kirito," Asuna interrupted. "Shouldn't we review our plans first?"

"We can do that on the way," Kirito answered. "It's better now that we get a head start on the dungeon now."

"Sounds like a great idea," Toshiyan added, making his voice sound as cheerful as possible. "Lead the way."

Kirito seemed to look away as quickly as possible as he made his way to the exit while the other group members were on the way. Toshiyan silently exhaled what seemed to be years of tension. Oh, he remembers alright.

"The Spider Lord What-now?" Silica asked.

"The Spider Lord Nemron." Sinon commented. "It's the name of the boss."

"Right," Kirito explained. "From what Yui has told me, this dungeon has mostly been cleared out already by other fighters, but the boss also has summoning capabilities. That means we need our damage dealers waiting to switch in to deal with the spiders and keep them off Asuna or whoever may be healing."

"Is Yui here?" Sinon asked.

"Not today," Kirito added. "Agil needed some help with some computer trouble, and Yui offered to help. We should be able to manage today though. Any other questions?"

Toshiyan walked silently, noting the clearing ahead highlighted by a pair of large, burgundy-colored doors. It looks like we're here. The party stopped just short of the dungeon's doors.

"Alright, any last-minute items before we go in?" Different party members either shook their heads or muttered 'no' to the party. "One more thing…thank you for coming. Ever since we've started clearing floors out by ourselves, I feel like we've been able to grow stronger as a group, and also as friends. This floor has been notoriously difficult, but I really think we have a good chance of beating this dungeon."

"Just in case though," Asuna added. "If any of you die, stay at the respawn point near the teleporter. We'll either teleport to you after the boss is defeated, or we'll all die and meet you all there."

"Thanks Asuna," Kirito replied. "But for now," He raised his fist for emphasis. "Let's give this all we've got!" he yelled. Toshiyan saw the rest of the party cheering as Kirito finished his speech.

As the doors began to open, Toshiyan remained silent, pondering one particular detail of the entire speech. He never once looked me in the eye. Toshiyan thought. Not much has changed then, has it? He still is the Marty Stu of the gaming universe, but he can tell that I pose a problem to the dynamic of this group. With this in mind, it almost goes without saying that he'll try and slowly push me out when possible. The group began entering the dungeon, Toshiyan following shortly after them. I have to establish a helpful place in this group, it's the only way to protect myself from whatever Kirito may have in store for me. But for now… He took a deep breath. It's important that I play nice.

Toshiyan didn't get much of a chance to think as the party progressed deeper into the dungeon. "Hey, do you ever notice that all dungeons look the same?" Liz commented.

"Huh?" Klein asked. "No way."

"Yes way." Liz retorted.

"Wait, for real?"

"I mean, think about it." Liz continued. "Bright cyan, crystal-like ground, and then we get to these brighter, more open spaces held up by these kinds of…I dunno…stone pillar things with some swirls around it. The paths aren't supported by structures underneath."

"The lights on the walls are the same design on every floor too." Kirito added. "I'm sure it's some kind of template that the developers use."

"How am I just now barely noticing that?" Klein asked, sounding equally shocked and disappointed.

"Aww, there, there, Klein." Silica consoled. "I don't think we typically think about that sort of thing when we play. I never went to dungeons in SAO, but when I got to scary places, I was always more focused on the monsters around me.

"But like, come on." Klein countered. "It seems like one of those things that just seems dumb in hindsight."

"It's not a contest, Klein." Asuna reassured. "Don't beat yourself up too much about stuff like that."

"Guys, we've got incoming." Sinon called out. Toshiyan looked up to see spiders the size of large dogs scaling down the stone pillars in the open area. The designs on spiders looked unique, with the largest spiders having a distinct design on its abdomen. Another spider had black design with green highlights, while others seemed more brown in color. As their labels came into view, Toshiyan instinctively grabbed his daggers, noting a red-colored, murderous intent in the several eyes each spider had.

"Klein, get up front now!" Kirito called. "Everyone else, use ranged attacks to knock them off the pillars before they can get on the path!"

"Pina! Use Bubble Attack!"

Toshiyan turned to face the small dragon as it let out a loud cry. He saw several bubbles begin making their way to the spiders, the spiders shuddering and coming to a halt as they made contact. Almost immediately after, several streaks of light make direct contact to the spiders on the pillar.

Everyone pulled out their weapons and braced themselves for battle. The spiderlings charged and Klein and Kirito stood as the tanks, ready to take the blow. Sinon pulled her bow back and fired it at one of the spiderlings, and another swiftly disappeared after Klein and Kirito charged forward. Quickly afterward, those ones were taken down, even more turned the corner. This is my chance. Toshiyan stood in front of the spiders and magic furled around him. "Seā-Non-Al-Den-Net-Ere-" Toshiyan paused for a moment, more spiders flooding in by the second. When they were in range he muttered the last word of his spell. "Drill" Immediately, dark tendrils erupted from his hands and they enveloped the spiders in dark cocoons. That will buy some time, they should be able to-. Suddenly, a beam of light traveled down a clean ark, destroying the cocoons, but not the monsters. The newly freed creatures rushed towards the tanks.

"Watch out!" Silica called out to the fighters in the front. Asuna and Leafa rushed forward to support the fighters, slamming into the wall of spiders with inhuman force. Two of the spiders suddenly burst into crystals on impact, and the other ones began to fall apart shortly thereafter. Toshiyan, sensing the urgency of the situation, lept off the crystalline ground around them, bouncing off the nearby column, lunging into the backline of spiders. He aimed for the spider farthest away from Sinon, noting the bright arcs of light slam into the arachnids. Asuna weaved gracefully past each spider, dispatching the last three with precision, with a trail of crystals vanishing into the void above them. With the last spider gone, Toshiyan breathed a sigh of relief.

"What was the deal with that last wave?" Klein asked. "Those suckers seemed to come out of nowhere all at once."

"I tried to stop them," Toshiyan noted. "But Sinon broke the magic containment accidentally, and it had the inadvertent effect of causing them to arrive all at once."

"It wasn't accidental," Sinon responded cortly.

Toshiyan turned to the archer who had just put her bow down, staring at her with a mix of confusion and frustration. "Why?"

"You used dark magic, and that would've made these arachnid-type creatures stronger."

"Even if that was true, the monsters wouldn't have been in there long enough for the monsters to grow strong enough to be problematic. They would've been killed."

Sinon sighed. "You were grossly overestimating how fast our fighters were moving. We're not all speed types here, and I don't know what game you're playing where those enemy buffs are insignificant, but it sure isn't ALO."

Toshiyan frowned. "Hang on a minute-"

"Knock it off you guys." Silica interrupted. "Let's just keep going."

"Toshiyan, why don't you take Leafa's spot as a switch?" Asuna suggested. "Leafa, we should probably have you buffing us anyway."

The Imp frowned at the Cait Sith, the latter sparing no expense in sharing an equally tense look. Toshiyan took a deep breath. Asuna seems to be trying to diffuse the situation, I shouldn't make it more difficult for her. I need to get along. "Fine, whatever works best."

"Alright, so here's what I think, Klein, Liz, and I will start as the tanks." Kirito started. "Asuna and Toshiyan will be ready to switch in and fight when we need them to. Leafa and Silica will stay back and heal us when we need it. Sinon will stay back and help to take care of the spiderlings, and provide cover fire on the boss." Kirito then turned to face Toshiyan and Asuna. "Focus on disrupting the aggro if you can, we need to keep him from attacking as much as possible to avoid having any of us get poisoned."

"Fair enough." Toshiyan agreed. "We'll keep them off your back." Admittedly, if the boss is as easy to deal with as it was easy to get to the boss's room, then this should be over much more quickly than I thought.

"Alright, everyone's ready, let's get moving." Kirito turned, pushing the tall stone doors. They walked into the pitch darkness, the doors closing behind them. When they had entered the room fully, blue torches illuminated the tall, cylindrical dungeon. On the floor, small grooves organized themselves in a checkered like pattern, and there were rocks about the size of a person scattered throughout the platform. The walls were covered in thick layers of webs, the white, silky appearance shimmering in torch light.

"Where's the boss?" Klein asked.

Toshiyan's eyes shot upwards, having recollections of the 75th floor in Aincrad. He reluctantly looked upward, but noted nothing. It must not have spawned yet. Then with a jolt, the ground moved, and from below came a giant, black spider, with a dark, shimmering, bony exoskeleton. Each of its legs slammed into the ground, making a clanging sound, and causing nearby rubble to jump slightly with each step. Its icon confirmed that it was the Spider Lord Nemron. It let out a terrifying shriek and its health bars appeared. It suddenly lept to the wall, shooting massive, net-like webs at the party from its rear. The party weaved out of the path of the web attacks, taking cover behind the rocks nearby.

"I can't get a clear shot!" Sinon exclaimed, peeking around the corner.

"How do we get up there?" Silica asked. "We can't fly in a dungeon."

"You can't," Toshiyan replied, his wings extending. "But I can." He extended his wings propelling himself forward with his bat-like wings. He deftly navigated around the webbing flying through the air toward him.

"Toshiyan, wait up!" Kirito's voice called out. Toshiyan looked behind him, seeing the Spriggan fly just behind him. "What's the plan here?"

I forgot Spriggans can also fly in dungeons too. Just my luck. "The webs on the walls probably won't get us stuck, if we can cut the webbing under its legs, it'll start to slide, and it will force it back onto the main platform."

Kirito nodded. "You go left, I'll go right."

Toshiyan adjusted his grip on the daggers, both blades glowing a pale shade of yellow. Sparks began to shoot off the metal, some flying in front of Toshiyan's face as he began to navigate his wings to just above the front upper legs. The spider hissed angrily as the fairies moved into its view, Toshiyan noting that Kirito's sword was glowing red with fire magic. Toshiyan deactivated his wings for a moment, thrusting his sword forward. With electric speed, the Imp sliced just the webbing underneath the spider's legs. Kirito matched Toshiyan's movements, and in a matter of seconds, the spider suddenly began plummeting to the depths below. The boss frantically stretched its legs out, scraping its exposed leg claws against the grooved floor. Toshiyan used the opportunity to run along the back of the spider, slashing at the spider's body. However, his daggers seemed to make only a superficial cut before his momentum caused him to escape the range of the spider. He rolled onto the main platform, regaining his footing to face the monster that was uncomfortably close to him. That's weird. My daggers should've been able to cut that far more easily.

Kirito slammed his large, dark sword into the top of the monster, aiming for the largest part of its abdomen. A large, metallic clang echoed through the boss room, and the spider bucked the Spriggan off as it scrambled more fully onto the main platform. Kirito swung his sword into the ground, slowing his movement so that he stopped in the middle of the room. "It's abdomen has physical armor!" The Spriggan called out. "We need to coordinate magic attacks and keep it off balance!"

"Nice, now let's do this!" Klein shouted. However, just at that moment, the massive spider let out a long shriek, and in a matter of moments, several spiderlings appeared from the ceiling, sliding down on slick lines of silk. "OH COME ON!" Klein exclaimed.

"Asuna and Leafa, focus your magic on offense! Silica, keep Pina pelting it with magic too! Klein and Liz, get up in its face with me and keep it distracted. Sinon, Toshiyan, keep the spiderlings off us, and make callouts accordingly!"

"On it!" Sinon called back, charging her bow with an arrow that looked made of pure light.

"On your six Sinon!" Toshiyan yelled. He flipped the dagger in his right hand over, grabbing it by the blade as it took on a yellow color. When the ability stopped charging up, he hurled the dagger with lightning speed toward a spiderling approaching the archer from behind. The spiderling shrieked, shrinking backward with a large dagger protruding from its face. Sinon lept into the air, firing a light arrow at the delicate connection between the spider's abdomen and head. The spiderling disappeared in seconds, just as Toshiyan arrived next to the archer. They were almost back as they noticed several spiderlings began to make their way to the other fighters. "You got any aggro moves?"

"Yeah, if you can keep up with all the monsters."

"Don't worry about that." Toshiyan urged, dropping into a more agile stance. "Just get them over here."

Sinon nodded, pulling back her bow string laden with another arrow. She pointed it up in the air. "Seā-Lit-Aun-Tia-Su-Zul-Atar!" She unleashed the arrow, which split into several different beams of light, homing into several different spiderlings. The spiderlings immediately turned their attention to the archer, about 10 making their way over to both her and Toshiyan. "Get ready."

Toshiyan gripped his daggers. "I was born ready." Toshiyan dashed forward, targeting the heads of each of the spiders with two or three direct strikes before jumping to the next monster. If I've been counting right, my daggers should kill them in about 3-4 hits. If my attacks don't kill them, then a minor attack from Sinon should finish them off. My job right now is to draw their attention to me, buy time for Sinon to attack, and do damage where possible. Toshiyan continued this bobbing and weaving pattern across the different spiderlings. After about the third spiderling, one larger spiderling lept into the air, attempting to land on Toshiyan's back. Toshiyan spun around, closing his fist as a dark circle formed around it. "Sū-Chi-Aulen!" As the dark circle closed in around his fist as it made contact with the spiderling, the monster was sent flying into yet another spiderling, with both slamming into the wall. Toshiyan charged up another lightning attack, slamming into both spiderlings ferociously, pinning the monsters to the wall with his daggers. Upon the death of those two spiderlings, Toshiyan turned around, dispatching another three monsters with the bobbing and weaving strategy, careful to avoid dwelling on a single monster for too long. Upon killing the third monster, he turned to see the last spiderling suddenly dispatched by a volley of three magical arrows. Toshiyan turned to see Sinon smiling to herself, nodding to Toshiyan. Toshiyan nodded back. Not bad, archer. Not bad at all.

"Kirito! If you're going to attack it, focus on the spider's underbelly! It should be weaker there!" Asuna called out.

Both Sinon and Toshiyan turned their attention back to the boss, which still had about two of its initial three health bars remaining. Klein swung his katana at one of its legs, only to watch it bound harmlessly off its armor. Klein lept out of range of a quick counter-attack from that same leg. The spider then lifted up its abdomen and shot several balls of webbing into the air. As the webbing landed on the main platform, it spread out into several patches of dispersed webs. It's clogging up the battlefield, trying to slow us down.

"Klein, switch with Toshiyan, and Leafa switch with Liz! Asuna, heal us where you can!" Kirito ordered. Toshiyan perked up, dashing towards the group's leader. He made his way to Kirito's side. "Would your knockback jinx work on the spider?"

"I doubt it." Toshiyan responded. "Anything much heavier than a person has a significant drop off in terms of distance and power."

"I was sliding under the spider to do damage, but it's too clogged up with webbing now, I can't clear the gap fast enough to be effective." Kirito suddenly perked up. "You said it can launch people, right?"

"Yeah,"

The monster interrupted their brief conversation by shrieking and charging toward them. Kirito and Toshiyan dived in opposite directions to avoid being trampled. Toshiyan turned to look back at the abdomen of the spider, noticing a few strands of spider silk protruding from its rear. His eyes grew wide. "Klein! How's your MP?"

"Hurting at the moment!"

"Do you have enough for one more fire attack?"

"Probably just one, why?"

"Kirito, get it to turn its back to Klein!"

"You got it!"

Toshiyan rushed over to the katana-wielding fighter as Kirito was able to carefully draw the spider's attention away from them. Toshiyan pointed to the spider. "You see where that silk is protruding from that opening?"

"Well yeah, it's butt silk."

Toshiyan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but that means that there's likely some silk left inside its abdomen. If there's space in its abdomen, you can probably channel some fire or explosion magic into it. Can you do that?"

Klein smiled. "Oh yeah, give me a second to charge it up. I have just the thing."

"Leafa! Switch!" Kirito called out. The Sylph in question lunged forward, levying her sword against the monster, attempting to keep its eyes away from Kirito. The Spriggan rushed over to them. "What's going on? What's the plan?"

"The monster has space in its abdomen." Toshiyan uttered briefly.

"We're gonna torch it from the inside."

Kirito smiled. "I like it." He turned to face the rest of the group. "Silica! Sinon! Use your stuns now if you can!"

"On it!" Silica responded. "Go Pina!" The dragon on her shoulder shot a stream of bubbles toward the enemy, while at the same time, Sinon shot an arrow with a crimson hue at the spider. As the arrow made contact, a cloud of dark smoke erupted around the monster, and the bubbles from Pina's attack slammed into the spider almost immediately after, leaving the monster dazed.

"Go Klein!" Kirito called.

"It's time to bring the heat!" Klein called. He charged forward, his sword glowing a bright red. The katana-bearing swordsman jumped up into the air, pulling the sword behind him as it erupted with flames. "Infernal Slash!" He swung the sword down, targeting the rear of the spider's large abdomen. The spider shrieked in pain, it's entire abdomen almost completely on fire. Toshiyan looked up to note that the spider's health bar had dropped down another

"Everyone, move in!"

Toshiyan swept in, noting that Kirito, Leafa, Liz, and Asuna were not far behind. Each of them surrounded the monster, slashing at openings between the boss's flailing legs. He instinctively checked the health bars of his teammates up close, noting that Klein's health had dipped significantly lower, hovering steadily in the yellow range. Before he could say anything, Klein's health began increasing. His peripheral vision caught a glimpse of Silica's dragon blowing another breath attack on the would-be samurai, and Toshiyan smiled to himself. This group has a good thing going for it. The group continued to slam several attacks into the giant spider, and they watched earnestly as the last health bar was completely depleted in the matter of a few minutes. The boss made one last final shriek, shattering into a multitude of crystals. Spiderling descending from the ceiling likewise shattered into crystals, and a hush fell over the room. Suddenly, a large announcement banner appeared above them, reading "Congratulations!"

"Aw yeah!" Klein shouted. "You can't stop the dream team!"

A patch of cobwebs began falling off the wall, revealing a hidden door. As the last bits of cobwebs fell, a path of rocks descended from below, forming a path toward the door. Silica went up to the door, pushing against it. "Aw, that's right, bummer."

"What is it?" Toshiyan asked.

"Floors 30-39 haven't been released to the public yet." Kirito explained. "We've gone as far as we can go right now."

Toshiyan frowned. "Wait, the game's not fully uploaded yet?"

"No," Asuna interjected. "I was confused about that too at first, but they wanted to make some updates and change some things from the original game."

Toshiyan froze. Does that mean…could they still be there?

"You see, if I was you Toshiyan, I'd be more confused as to why Klein shouted 'Infernal Slash' like he's some kind of anime character." Leafa added.

"Hey!" Klein retorted defensively. "It just felt…I dunno…right."

"Sure it did." Liz sighed "And yet this is the guy who's always complaining about how he can't get a date."

"That has nothing to do with it!" Klein argued.

"Well, regardless," Asuna interrupted. "I think today's raid warrants a celebration, don't you think, Kirito?"

The Black Swordsman smiled. "I sure think so. Seven people just beat the highest floor available. That's definitely something worth celebrating."

"I'm thinking something nice at Agil's place would be great!" Silica chimed in.

"Sounds good to me." Liz agreed.

As the group made their way to the exit, Asuna turned back to see Toshiyan remaining stagnant in the middle of the boss room's floor, staring down. "Um, Toshiyan, are you coming?"

The fairy in question blinked, lifting his head as he seemed to snap back into reality. "Hmm?"

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah," Toshiyan said calmly. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Hey friends! I hope that you've had a wonderful holiday, and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. My university work is starting to pick up something fierce, but I think I'm going to start prioritizing this and one other story at this point, which should hopefully make the updates for this come more frequently. If you've made it this far, I appreciate your support, and I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do.

One more logistical note, I've been receiving some offers from online artists recently about the potential for collaborating to make some art for my story. I've been attempting to message them through the PM system here on the site, but I keep on not having the messages sent. As such, if anyone is interested in reaching out to me, please reach out to me through the email on my profile. If you have any other questions, please let me know!All the best,
Paladin