Sword Art Online - Alchemy Edition! (Part 1)

by The Dark Dragen

When the Beta Testers entered Sword Art Online, they thought that they would have an easier time than other players in the world of Aincrad, as they were lucky enough to play a few floors before anyone else. However, they soon find out things aren't as it seems, and they are trapped in a Death Game. Read as one such Beta, Kirito, tries to beat the Death Game. NOT FOR CHILDREN

17. Chapter 16 - Becoming an Alchemist (Pt3)

Chapter Summary: In this chapter, Kirito embarks on his quest to become an alchemist. After completing the quest, he is recognized as a beginner alchemist. Once he finishes his quests, he chooses to spend the night with the NPC Aiko.

Author's Note: I want to give a special shout-out to my beta reader, Darklord331, for his help in this chapter. He was the one who wrote the fight that was in here. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not that good with fights, so I normally do just a basic fight or use a fight from another story and edit it to fit my story, just like with my smut. However, with this fight Darklord331 was able to write a decent fight for the story. So, a big shout out and thank you to him for doing this work for me. He did a great job.

Chapter Sixteen…

Becoming an Alchemist - Part 3

23rd of November 2027 - The Forest:

Kirito sneaking around the forest near the village of Horunka Village, as the alchemist, Edward, watches from the shadows. To start off, Kirito sneaked around to find the ingredients that he needed to make the potions he needed. However, after about half an hour of searching the forest, Edward threw a small bomb-like item that attracted a small group of monsters that were in the area.

These monsters were Forest Wasp, Forest Kobold and Forest Kobold Riders.

Suddenly, a high-pitched buzz broke the silence, and Kirito's gaze snapped to the source. A swarm of Forest Wasps descended from the canopy, their iridescent wings glinting in the dappled sunlight. These wasps were notorious for their aggressive nature and venomous stings. Without hesitation, Kirito raised his sword, ready to defend himself. The first wasp darted toward him, its stinger aimed at his face. Kirito sidestepped and countered with a swift, Vertical slash, cleaving the insect in two.

Kirito didn't pause. As more wasps closed in, he executed a precise Slant attack, cutting through the air at a sharp forty-five-degree angle. The blade sliced through multiple wasps, their bodies falling to the ground in pieces. Another wasp attempted to flank him, but Kirito pivoted on his heel, delivering a powerful Horizontal slash. He shifted his weight to his left foot, his body moving fluidly with the motion of the sword, converting the strength in his legs and waist into a devastating strike that swept through the swarm. The wasps dispersed, their numbers decimated by Kirito's relentless assault.

They chittered and hissed, brandishing crude weapons fashioned from bone and stone. Kirito's eyes narrowed as he assessed their numbers and positions. The Kobolds had the advantage of numbers.

As the Kobolds charged, Kirito met them head-on. The first Kobold lunged at him with a bone dagger. Kirito parried the attack with his sword, then countered with a Vertical slash, cutting the creature down. Another Kobold tried to flank him, but Kirito spun and delivered a Slant attack, the diagonal slash slicing through his foe with lethal precision.

The remaining Kobolds hesitated, but Kirito didn't give them a chance to regroup. He advanced with a series of rapid Horizontal slashes, each one executed with the full strength of his legs and waist. The Kobolds fell one by one, their crude weapons no match for Kirito's skill and speed. His expression remained stoic; there was no room for complacency in this unforgiving environment.

Kirito braced himself, gripping his sword tightly. The Riders charged, their wolves bounding across the clearing with alarming speed. Kirito's mind raced, calculating his next move. He needed to disrupt their formation and neutralise their mobility. With a determined expression, he waited until the first Rider was almost upon him before he launched into a Slant attack. The diagonal slash caught the Rider off guard, unseating him from his mount.

Without pausing, Kirito followed up with a Vertical slash, bringing his sword down with force upon another Rider. The blade cut through armour and flesh, and the Rider collapsed to the ground. The wolves, now riderless and enraged, lunged at Kirito. He sidestepped their attacks, delivering precise Horizontal slashes to keep them at bay. Each swing of his sword was calculated, converting the strength in his legs and waist into powerful, sweeping strikes.

Despite their fierce resistance, the Riders and their wolves were gradually overwhelmed by Kirito's relentless onslaught. As the last Rider fell, Kirito stood amidst the carnage, his breathing heavy but controlled. The forest was eerily silent once more, the only sounds were the crackling of residual magic and the distant calls of birds. Kirito took a moment to steady himself, wiping sweat from his brow.

As the last Rider fell, Kirito stood amidst the carnage, his breathing heavy but controlled. When the battle was over, and Kirito saw that there were no more battles, he asked Edward with slight anger, "Why did you do that?" This action could have killed him if he wasn't careful. "I could have been killed."

"I wanted to see how you handle surprise," Edward told the young teen, "whilst sneaking about is easy enough normally, there'll be times when the monsters might spot you, or something happens, and they detect you. So, I wanted to see how you could handle yourself should something like this happen."

As much as Kirito hated this, as he thought about it, he had to agree that it made sense. It would be like in real life, if a dangerous wild anime suddenly found you, because they detected you somehow, they would attack you. It wouldn't be like in a game where skills were high enough that you could hide, you could hide without with ease and wouldn't be detected unless something made them notice you. And seeing how this game seemed to be playing out, he wouldn't be surprised if some monsters could detect someone, even if they skills were high enough.

Bitterly, Kirito said to the alchemist with a sigh, "As much as I didn't like it, I understand why you did it."

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Edward saw the monster that Kirito had to defeat next. "So, here's the very Little Nepenthe for the remaining quest you need to do."

Indeed, not far away, the Little Nepenthe with the fruit on top of it. Upon seeing it, both Kirito and Edward hid. As they did, Kirito had to ask one thing, "So, Edward, how should I get the fruit on this monster? If I damage it, it'll be destroyed and summon others of its kind."

"I understand, but if you can cut the stem, you'll be able to remove the fruit without problem." explained Edward, as he stepped back to watch what Kirito would do next.

Kirito sat where he was, watching the Little Nepenthe moving about. The thick stem that he had to cut was five inches long, which was fine to cut. The problem was that he had to face the monster and cut it, which would be hard as he could accidentally damage and break the fruit, which would mean that it would summon more Little Nepenthe into the area. Something that Kirito didn't want.

This meant that his only option was to launch a sneak attack, but he would only have one shot at this.

If he missed, he would alert the monster and the risk of damaging the fruit would be even greater. Sure, he could try and fight the monster head-on and hope to defeat it without damaging the fruit, but the problem is that he didn't know if any other Little Nepenthes were lurking around nearby and would come when hearing the fight. No, a sneak attack was the only way Kirito could do this without risk.

With that in mind, instead of a sword, Kirito equipped his dagger and cast a Slant attack at the seam. He did this as the attack with the dagger was smaller than one with a sword and so less likely to hit the fruit. Thankfully, this worked, and Kirito got the Red Fruit. As Kirito picked it up, he got the Status Window popped up as he did.

Little Nepenthe's Red Fruit

Potion Ingredient:

This Red Fruit can be used to make certain Potions.

Seeing this, Kirito smiled and placed the fruit into his satchel for safekeeping. Then, turning to see the monsters that he had defeated, he asked Edward, "Do we need anything else from these monsters?"

Kirito didn't like the idea of leaving these useful materials behind, but with how the game is, unless he can figure out a way to carry more items, he cannot carry them all by himself, so unless Edward can help him carry them, he will have to leave them behind.

"Hmm, as for the monsters, no, but as for the Kobolds, you can see if they have anything useful you might want." Edward told the young teen.

This was a shame. He was going to search the Kobolds anyway, but he was hoping that Edward might want something from the monsters. That way, he might be able to convince the man to help him get the monsters out of the town. But it would seem today wasn't his lucky day.

Whatever the case, he began to search the Forest Kobolds. At first, it would seem as if his luck was remaining unlucky, as other than the Cor, which was around fifty altogether, all the items had lower stats than the items that he already had. That was until he spotted a satchel, as he picked it up, the Status Window popped up.

Forest Kobold's Satchel

DEF: 5

Description:

This satchel allows the holder to carry twice the amount that they normally would be able to hold.

Warning:

This is only for basic ingredients, potions and tonics.

Can't hold anything else.

This was something amazing, as the satchel that he got with his alchemist outfit didn't have any of these added features. No defence boost or the added feature of being able to hold more items. Sure, it was only for basic ingredients, potions and tonics, and only twice as much, but for someone who was becoming an Alchemist, this was very useful. This way, he can have more potions and the like during a fight and hold more ingredients to make potions and tonics.

So, after putting this new satchel on and picking up the Cor, Kirito and Edward returned to the village of Horunka.

Once they returned to the village, Edward showed Kirito how to make potions. After this, Kirito made his first two potions, the five Nepenthe's Health Potions and four Basic Antidotes.

Nepenthe's Health Potion

Description:

Allows the Holder to heal five hundred health over time.

Duration:

20 Seconds.

Cooldown:

1 Minute.

Basic Antidote

Description:

Care Poison at once. Once taken can grant poison immunity for a short while.

Poison Immunity:

20 Minutes.

These were decent items, namely the health items. Up until Floor 5, there were at least two types of health items: Healing Crystals and Basic Health Potions.

The Healing Crystals were the most sought item to get, as they completely heal a person within seconds, but the problem was that they were rare as they were very expensive to buy, as such, not many people have them because they don't have the money to get them. At least on the first few floors. The main problem Players have, and the reason why they prefer Potions in the Labyrinths is because of the Anti-Crystal Fields within the Labyrinths. These Fields would prevent Players from using the Crystals, which is why Players use potions to heal.

Basic Health Potions were different. They weren't affected by the Anti-Crystal Fields, so people would use them within the Labyrinths. However, the Basic Health Potions could only heal a person by two hundred fifty over forty-five seconds, and the cooldown time before they could take another potion was three minutes. So, this new health potion was much better than the Basic Health Potion.

The only problem was getting the main ingredient, the Little Nepenthe's Red Fruit. They had to capture the monster with this fruit to make the potion, and that could be hard if you weren't careful, as instead of getting the fruit, you could summon monsters instead. So, this would be hard to make for most Players, not only because the monsters were somewhat rare, but defeating the monster without damaging the fruit is hard too because of the monster moving about. They would have to do sneak attacks to do this, and most Players didn't have this skill.

But Kirito was still happy that he was able to make them, not only because he gained a better health potion but also because he completed his Class Change quest.

"Well done, Adventurer, you have completed your quest." Edward said as the Quest Window popped up in front of Kirito.

The Alchemist Test (COMPLETED.)

Make Two Potions to Prove Yourself!

Gather the ingredients and make a Healing Potion.

Gather the ingredients and make an Antidote.

Reward(s):

Class Change.

Nepenthe's Health Potion Recipe.

Basic Antidote Recipe.

Alchemist Apprentice Cloak.

"I have to say, I envy you Adventurers." Edward told the young teen, "For us Tians, it takes time to learn to make the potions that you just made, but for you, Adventurers, all you need is to be shown how to do something, and you almost know what to do. And from there, depending on how much you work on your skills, you can master them faster than anyone else in our world. I really envy that."

Kirito had to admit it was strange. At first, he thought that it was part of the game system that he could use such skills with ease, that he did nothing at all but pretend to do the actions. But he soon realize that it was more than that. Whilst the system was doing some of the work, he was somehow also gaining information about how to do such skills, like he really knew how to do such things that should have taken time or, in some cases, not at all, because they weren't meant to be real.

Like with these potions he just made. Sure, Edward had just shown him how to make them, but it was like he had known how to make them for a while. Like what mistakes not to make and slight changes he needs to make to make a decent potion. It was strange. How was this possible? More importantly, why was it happening?

Even if it was possible for Kayaba to transfer information into people's minds, why would he do this for something like potions? Sure, sword fighting, ability to make things, that makes sense, but to make these potions? Why would Kayaba do such a thing when the ingredients don't exist in the real world? It made no sense.

But before Kirito could think more about this, Edward reminded him why he was here by saying, "Anyway, let's get back to the point, making you into an Alchemist." Here, Kirito smiled. This was the moment that the teenager was waiting for: "But first, let me hand you an item that'll help you as an Alchemist."

With that, the alchemist gave Kirito the Alchemist Apprentice Cloak. As the cloak was handed over to Kirito, the Status Window popped open.

Alchemist Apprentice Cloak

M-Def:

25

M-Atk

5

MP:

30

Skill:

Basic Resistance:

10 Resistance to All Status Effects.

As Kirito saw this, he had to admit this was a decent reward. Sure, the wasn't all that great, but the and MP were. Not only that, the 10 Resistance to All Status Effects was also useful, which meant it would be a little bit harder to put a status effect. Sure, it wouldn't stop it fully, but it was better than nothing, and as he gets more items, things will become easier in the future. So, all in all, a good item.

"Next, here's the potion that'll make you into an alchemist." Edward said as he handed a purple-like potion to Kirito.

"A potion?" Kirito asked in shock. To become a Warrior, all a Player had to do was train with another Warrior and over the next few days, they would train and learn about Ki before becoming a Warrior themselves. But becoming an Alchemist was a bit different than this and the beta version, where you would have to do the same thing as a Warrior. Here, it would seem that they had to do a quest, and no Kirito had to take a potion to become an Alchemist.

Out of the two classes, becoming an Alchemist had become even harder than in the beta version.

Whatever the case, before Kirito could think more about this, Edward explained, "Yes, because your body needs mana, we created a potion with Mana Root that'll change your body so that you can have mana. The amount of mana you get isn't much, but it'll start you off."

Kirito had to admit Mana Root was different; he hadn't heard about it during the beta test. Meaning that this was a new item added to the game. Which was interesting. He couldn't wait to learn more about it later on. But for now, he took the potion. In doing so, a few Status Windows popped open:

They were as follows:

Congratulations! You have become an Alchemist!

You have gained the Body of an Alchemist.

As an Alchemist, you now have access to Alchemist Skill Slots.

With this, you've gained new abilities and skills.

With this, you'll gain an extra 5MP per level.

10 Resistance to All Status Effects.

You have gained a new ability - Alchemy.

Level this up to gain more Alchemist Skill Slots.

As you level this up, you will gain more skills and learn as an alchemist.

Warning:

For now, you can only level Alchemy by making Potions.

You have gained new stats:

Magic - Mag: Mana - MP:

This'll allow you to use new skills and abilities as you level up your alchemy skills and do certain quests.

Magic - Mag: Magic Attack - :

This'll help with any alchemy attack abilities that you need to use mana for.

This was different from what Kirito was suspecting. Sure, he knew about the stats, but the Body of an Alchemist was new. It would seem that this was now how Kayaba was going to explain how someone could have the ability of an Alchemist. It was like the Warrior Spirit, the name of the ability to become a Warrior.

Whilst The Warrior Spirit was the same as in the beta version, there were only two added things: having another Slot Wheel and the ability to use Ki and earn Ki Points - KP. From what Kirito heard about this, Ki meant to give the Warrior to earn energy-based abilities in attacks and defence.

As for becoming an Alchemist, it would seem as if the ability Enchantment was gone. In the beta version of the game, they had the ability from the moment you became an Alchemist, but here, they didn't get it, at least for now. With how things were, they could get it later, or it could be under another name. It wasn't useful at the start, though. You might get Enchantment early, but until you got other skills like blacksmithing, the skill was useless as you couldn't do anything otherwise.

As for the new skill, the Body of an Alchemist, it was an interesting system to have. Whilst it kept the Alchemy skill and the Magic Attack and Mana Stats, it also gave players Alchemist Skill Slots, along with giving them 5MP per level and 10 Resistance to All Status Effects. Sure, they didn't get 10 resistance per level, but it was better than nothing.

Either way, now that he has become an alchemist, he can really start his quest to become stronger and finish this Death Game as fast as he can. He just hoped that the following floor had changed as much as this one. If they had, then it would take longer and who knows when they can leave this damn place.

The problem came when he opened his stats, and sure enough, as the rumours said, he started off at Level 1:

Level 1 - Alchemist (Without equipment…)

Attribute Stats:

STR: 33 ( 10)

AGI: 30

VIT: 20

INT: 40

DEX: 14

Mag: 1

Stat Stats:

HP: 500

P-Atk: 215

DEF: 100

SP: 400

M-DEF: 200

R-ATK: 70

MP: 5 ( 5)

M-Att: 2

Upon seeing the stats for Mag, Kirito realized that they had changed this too. Instead of 2 MP and 1 M-Atk as he expected to have from the beta, 1 Mag now equalled 5 MP and 2 M-Atk. This was slightly better than before. This also meant that when he equipped his Alchemist Dagger, he would have 50 MP and 20 M-Atk. Up until now, he left the dagger at the Hunter's Guild, as he had no use for it. It had lower attack points than his sword, so he only used it when he was training with Aloy. But now that he had the stat Magic, he had more of a reason to have it on him. Sure, he might not use it often, but now that it allowed him to have 50 MP and 20 M-Atk, it would be foolish of him not to wear it.

But Kirito was happy that his stats didn't go all the way down to how he set them at the start but kept them the way he got them at Level 15. He was afraid this wouldn't be the case. The main problem now was that to get to level two, he would need to gain one thousand and five hundred exp. This was much more than the start; it would have taken a while to get there.

"Thank you Edward." Kirito thanked the man.

Kirito was going to bid the man goodbye so that he could level up again and raise his Magic stat. Edward stopped, and he said, "Listen, I would like to offer you an opportunity to learn a new skill."

"Oh?" Kirito said in shock, not expecting this.

"Yes, you saved me and the other alchemist, but the other alchemists don't think what I gave you was enough of a thanks." Edward informed the young teen, "They want me to teach you something that would help you greatly, something that we would wait until you prove to us you are worthy enough. But, my fellow alchemists thought that what you did for us was proof enough that you were worthy of this skill."

"What skill is this?" Kirito asked with interest, hearing he could learn a new skill, piquing his interest. He knew of most of the skills that an Alchemist could have in this game, the few that there were, so he had to wonder which skill they could be talking about. Other than Enchantment, there were no useful skills to learn, and Enchantment wasn't all that useful at this time.

"I don't know if you heard of this skill, but the other alchemists want me to teach you Symbology." Edward explained what the other alchemists wanted him to do.

'What's Symbology?' Kirito thought to himself. This was new, as Symbology wasn't in the beta version of the game and as such, the young teen wondered what this could be. He didn't think he had heard of this in real life or in other games before. So, for this reason, Kirito asked, "So, what's this ability?"

"Symbology is the only kind of magic, other than Alchemy, that we can use in this floating castle of Aincrad. It is a kind of symbol magic." The alchemist Informed the young black-haired teenager as he drew a few symbols in the air where a chain of fire and lightning came out of them.

Kirito was surprised by this. He thought that there would be no magic in this game. It was meant to be a no-magic game, only blades and skills. So, to see some sort of magic in the game was surprising. Sure, he used mana in the beta version, but that was to help with enchantments and slight other skills to give skill, but never to do things like firing fire and lightning. So, he had to wonder about the lore behind this and how they were going to explain it.

"It is said that this type of magic is the weakest in our world," Edward explained. "On the surface, they can perform feats far beyond our abilities. They can summon magical beasts, alter the weather, and use elemental magic in ways we can only dream of, engaging in forms of magic we have not even conceived of. As for symbology, its effectiveness depends on how the alchemist utilises it and the extent of our training. While we may not be able to defeat those on the surface, we can manage most of the monsters here as long as we train. Many people learn only the basic symbology for healing and defence skills, although it is possible to learn offensive symbology as well."

Although it may not have seemed like it at first, this new system appeared to be less powerful than one might have expected. Users would be limited in their capabilities and would primarily use them as alchemists. Normally, Kirito would be concerned that this could disrupt the game by introducing magic. However, considering the current state of the Death Game and all the changes that have occurred so far, he felt that any additional help would be beneficial. He no longer cared about the presence of magic in the game if it could assist him in the long run.

Knowing that he would need every skill he could acquire to survive this dangerous game, he asked the Alchemist, "Edward, is it possible for you to teach me some basic Symbology? I think learning some healing and defensive Symbology skills would really help me."

"I'm sorry, Young Alchemist, but I cannot stay. I have to return to Floor 30 to ensure my family is safe," Edward replied, his voice filled with concern. He was deeply worried about his wife, son, and daughter. With the awakening of a new Great Evil, monsters would soon be rampaging, attacking people, villages, settlements, and towns. Edward wanted to ensure that now, as he had managed to bring some Alchemists to the first floor to teach the Adventurers about Alchemy, his family was protected. "However, if you're willing to do a favour for me, I might know a way to help you."

"How can you get to Floor 30? I thought it was impossible with the Floor Guardians protecting the exits," Kirito asked, confused about how an NPC could access a place that both they and the players were unable to reach.

"For those of us born here in Aincrad, there is a pathway we can use to get to the next floor when the Great Evil appears," Edward explained to the young teen. "However, while most of us can use this path, it is not a safe route. It comes with its own dangers, whether from monsters or the treacherous layout. Therefore, only skilled fighters or those protected by skilled fighters would take this path. Very few of us would use it unless absolutely necessary."

Kirito was amazed. He had never imagined that the developer would create such a plot device for the Titans to navigate this world. At least it would explain how someone from the upper floors could reach the lower ones if they needed to. After hearing this, the teen asked, "You mentioned that you might have a way to learn Symbology."

"Yes," Edward replied. "Typically, you wouldn't be able to learn Symbology until you reach some of the upper floors, where you can grasp the basics of Alchemy first. However, if you can find my brother Alphonse and tell him that I sent you to locate him, he will be able to teach you the fundamentals of Symbology."

Upon hearing this, a Quest Window popped up:

Find a Missing Brother!

Find Alphonse

Reward(s)

500 Exp

Learn Symbology

?

Accept/Decline

(WARNING: If Alphonse is found by someone else or dies, you'll fail the quest and cannot learn Symbology on this floor.)

Looking at the quest, it seemed simple enough. He had completed a few similar ones during the Beta Test, and often, if the characters died, the quest would fail. Besides the risk of someone else finding this character before him, the main challenge was locating Alphonse himself. He could be anywhere on this floor, which was quite large compared to the Beta Test.

Finding Alphonse would be beneficial, as it would allow him to learn Symbology before anyone else could—there would be several floors before others had the opportunity. Kirito wanted to avoid dying, and any quest that could give him an edge over others was valuable in his eyes.

"I'm willing to look for your brother, but it might take some time since I don't know where to begin unless you have any suggestions," Kirito said as he accepted the quest.

"I understand, and I appreciate your willingness to help me," Edward replied gratefully. "As for where to search for him, I can only advise you to look at the camp where we were held."

As he spoke, the map was updated to show a marker for the camp's location.

"Thank you. I'll search for him as soon as I finish my current job." Kirito explained to the other alchemist.

"That's fine," Edward said with a slight bow of his head. "It's been a while already, so he could be anywhere by now." Then, as the alchemist looked around, he added, "Before I leave, I'll share two pieces of information with you. First, be on the lookout for plants and monsters that have Mana Roots. These roots are important for the potions you can create; incorporating them can help recover mana or strengthen the potion. As for my second piece of advice, keep an eye out for Mana Crystals while mining and defeating monsters. These crystals are rare, but finding them can boost either your mana, magic attack, or both. However, be cautious: you can only use a limited number of them before they cease to be effective; this limit varies for each alchemist."

Kirito had never encountered these two items during the Beta Test, but they sounded useful. If they could help recover mana, strengthen potions, and boost stats, he wanted to learn more. He was about to ask the Alchemist for additional information, but Edward said his goodbyes and left before Kirito could inquire. Sighing, Kirito realized he would have to figure out these new items on his own.

Noticing that it was getting late, Kirito decided it was time to call it a night. There wasn't much he could do at this point. Most of his quests were completed, and the ones he still had were either beyond his current strength or lacked clear directions for locating the required individuals. Since he was in Horunka Village, he thought about visiting Aiko and her daughter, Rukia.

Before he left the last time, Aiko had mentioned that he was welcome to visit them anytime - not just for sex, but also if he needed a place to stay for the night. Kirito decided he would spend the night at her home, saving some money in the process.

o0OoO0o

23rd of November 2027 - Night Time, Horunka Village:

As Kirito arrived at Aiko's house, he knocked on the door and waited. It wasn't long before Aiko answered. Upon seeing him, she smiled and said, "Adventurer, you're back. Have you finished the quest I gave you?"

"Unfortunately, no. The monster is too strong for me to defeat right now. I need to get stronger before I can face it," Kirito replied. "I'm hoping that now that I'm an Alchemist, once I improve my skills, I'll be able to create some potions and weapons to defeat the monster."

"So, you've become an Alchemist. Congratulations, Adventurer!" Aiko exclaimed. "What can I do to help you?"

"First off, could you please call me Kirito? With so many Adventurers around, it can be confusing if everyone is called 'Adventurer.'" Kirito requested, hoping she could be programmed to do so. It felt odd that she addressed him in such a generic way, especially since they had shared intimate moments together.

"Of course, Kirito! I'm honoured that you'd like me to call you by your name. Thank you." Aiko said with a bow. "So, Kirito, why did you come here today?" She then gave him a flirtatious look, hoping he had come to fuck her.

"I was hoping the offer of a room was still open." Kirito said with a smile.

"Sure it is." Aiko replied. "Thanks to you, Rukia was healed. As long as you're in the tower, you're more than welcome to stay here whenever you need a place."

"Thank you." Kirito said as he entered the small home.

"Have you eaten yet?" Aiko asked the young man.

"No, not yet," the black-haired teen replied. "I wanted to make sure your offer to stay here was still available before heading to the inn to get something to eat."

"You don't need to do that. Rukia and I were about to eat, and you're welcome to join us." Aiko said with a smile.

"Only if you have enough." Kirito replied.

"Then take a seat." Aiko said, gesturing toward the table before going to the counter where the food was cooking. As she dished up the food, she called out, "Rukia! Dinner is ready."

With that, the eleven-year-old exited her room. Upon seeing Kirito, she ran up and hugged him. "Welcome back, Adventurer! I'm glad to see you again." the purple-haired pre-teen said as she pulled back from the hug and sat next to him. "I hope you're doing well."

"I'm doing well, Rukia. Thank you. I just recently became an Alchemist." the teen said with a warm smile.

"Really? Wow! Have you learned anything interesting, Adventurer?" the young girl asked Kirito.

"Not yet. I only became one an hour ago, so I can only make two basic potions right now." Kirito informed her with a smile. "But I can't wait to learn how to become a great Alchemist. I hear they have some amazing skills."

"They sure do! My great-grandfather was supposed to be an Alchemist," Rukia said, smiling as she recalled what her mother had told her. "Isn't that right, Mum?"

"He was, dear," Aiko told her daughter with a sad smile as she remembered her grandfather.

"So, Adventurer, have you done much since we last saw you?" Rukia asked.

"First off, please call me Kirito, like I asked your mother." Kirito said to the eleven-year-old.

"Really?" Rukia exclaimed in amazement. From what she had heard about Adventurers, they rarely allowed anyone to call them by their names. Only a rare few would grant that honour.

"Sure, as I mentioned to your mother, it can be confusing when everyone is called 'Adventurer.'" Kirito explained. He continued, "As for what I've been up to, I'm mainly trying to get stronger and complete a few quests. I haven't been able to do as much as I would have liked, though, because I needed to become an Alchemist first."

"I remember those days." Aiko admitted. "When I was young and went adventuring, I found that it took quite a while for me to reach level fifteen and become an Alchemist. Alchemists don't often come to the first floor, we had to send for one to come here so I could learn to become one, as grandfather was too busy to teach me himself."

"Oh, you became an Alchemist too?" Kirito asked, surprised.

"I did." Aiko replied. "But I never became as strong as my grandfather. I only reached level ten before I returned to this floor, realizing that adventuring wasn't really for me. However, I wanted to gain enough strength to protect myself here, so I worked hard to level up."

"There's no shame in that." Kirito said. "Not everyone is cut out for fighting and adventuring. The only reason I'm pushing myself to get stronger so quickly is that I want to go home, and I can't do that until my people clear this tower. If that weren't the case, I would take my time and enjoy the journey." What he didn't mention was that he was eager to reach floor eleven to see if he could beat his previous record before taking the time to have fun.

"So, Kirito, what quest are you working on now?" the young girl asked as she enjoyed the small dinner her mother had prepared for them.

"Well, I have two quests right now: one to search for someone's brother and another to hunt down some thieves," Kirito told Rukia.

"Really?" Rukia sounded excited. "We have some thieves in this village. They are…"

"Rukia!" Aiko warned her daughter sternly. "He has much more important things to do than deal with the village's problems. He is a busy person, you know."

"Listen, Aiko, I'm an Adventurer, so it's our job to help with any problems you might have. It helps us get stronger and allows us to assist those in need," Kirito explained to the mother with a small smile. It was true; if he could get a quest out of this, he could earn rewards and experience from completing it. Who knows, the thieves here could be the ones he was looking for. "Please tell me who these thieves are. They might be just the ones I'm after, and if not, I still want to help you."

"But I don't have anything to offer you in return. I know that Adventurers don't do things for free. The only thing I can offer you is myself, and—" Aiko began, but Kirito held up his hand, anticipating what she might offer.

"Listen, allowing me to stay here for free is more than enough," Kirito said. Then, seeing her about to speak again, he added, "Yes, you're letting me stay here because I saved Rukia, but I still want to help you. If you tell me who these thieves are, I'll deal with them if I can."

"Thank you, Kirito," Aiko replied, bowing her head. "The thieves in question are members of the Shadow Wolf Fang."

"No, it should be me thanking you," Kirito said with a smile, realizing that the thieves he was looking for could be in this village. "Could you please tell me how many members are in this village and where to find them?"

"I don't know for sure, but I've seen about ten of them, and they have been coming and going from the inn," Aiko explained. "They've been here for a few months, causing problems for the village, but the Village Chief hasn't done anything to stop them for some reason. He allows them to run the village as they like."

Kirito hummed in response. It was likely that the chief of this village was either corrupt or being blackmailed. He would need to talk to the Village Chief in the morning to find out not only what he was up to but also if he might know the whereabouts of the rest of the Shadow Wolf Fang.

"I see. Thank you for the information. I'll try to deal with them soon. I need to get some help first," Kirito said, aware that if he were going to confront them, he would need Zangetsu's assistance. This would be his first time dealing with human enemies, and given how realistic the game appeared, he wasn't sure if he could handle this alone. He was relieved to have Zangetsu's offer of help.

"Thank you, Kirito." Aiko smiled at the young man in front of her, already thinking of a way to repay him.

With that, they enjoyed their meal in peace, engaging in small talk. Kirito was amazed by the conversation; whoever programmed the AI for these NPCs was a genius. They discussed their lives in the village and shared various experiences.

By the end of the meal, Kirito decided it was time for bed. He wanted to wake up early to speak with the Village Chief about the thieves.

To Be Continued!

Author's Note: Here ends another chapter of Sword Art Online - Alchemy Edition. I hope that you enjoyed the second part of Becoming an Alchemist. I hope that you'll be able to spare a few moments to leave me some feedback on the story. I would like to hear your thoughts and any ideas you would like to see happen in the story.

I would like to apologise for the long wait for the update. The problem is that my muse for this story disappeared, and it took time to recover. The muse problem is not just with this story but with most of my stories. Truth is, I'm in my forties, and my muse to write is slowly disappearing, so I might not fully finish my stories unless they are one-shots. Another problem other than my muse, is writer's block.

There are a few stories that I want to work on, but I have no idea how to write the chapters. So, for one story, this block has been with me for over a year, my Back to the Future story, I want to finish it, but I just don't know how to write the next chapter.

I'm getting close to the point where I'll be using both light novels of Sword Art Online as a basis for the remainder of this first floor. However, before I reach that point, I have at least one, possibly two, chapters planned that will change the dynamics of the floors. I'm looking for ideas for chapters before I finalise this floor. If you have any suggestions for quests from other games that you'd like to see incorporated or events that weren't in the light novels but you wish had been, please let me know. I'll consider adding them to the chapter.