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Okay Sis, I'm off to see Calem and Serena!""Tell them I said Hi!" Artemis said cheerfully as her older twin brother called through the door, before he ran out of the house."Ouch!"She flinched slightly, looking at a cut on her thumb from the article she was reading.Kayaba Akihiko…"Vulpix!" Her small white Alohaian Vulpix said as ahe looked up at her in alarm and worry."I'm okay popsicle. It's just a tiny cut. Nothing to worry about." The 15 year old said with a cheerful smile.Closing the magazine, she looked at the new game near her PC setup.She had heard about this game for months and was eager to play. Her cousin in Japan managed to get a copy for her and her brother to play. However since her brother was the new champion of Aloha, he never really had the time to play it. So he let her have it.In a few swift move she placed the disk in the slot and placed the Nervegear over her head, smiling to herself. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves but she was just too excited."Link start!"There were flashes of colors and screens that she accessed to work towards the main screen.WELCOME TO SWORD ART ONLINEIn a second a familiar scene appeared before her eyes.Floor 1: Town of BeginningsVarious players spawned around her with the same excited aura surrounding them. Charging forward she mapped out the quickest route to the hunting grounds. Already filling up the town distracted by the merchandise from the first level shops. The low level weapons and talismans weren't of any interest to her, it was better to get a head start, gain as much easy experience before it became more difficult.Catching a glimpse of herself in the glass she smiled at her avatar. A slim female build with a gorgeous face equipped with the generic beginner armor and weapon."Hey Cousin!"Artemis looked behind her to see a figure running towards her. This fingure had a male figure and a handsome face equipped with the generic beginning"How did you know it was me Kirito?" Artemis asked her older cousin."You can change your look but you'll always have the family eyes." Kirito said with a smirk."Hey, You two there!"Their feet scuttled against the stone pavement to a halt, looking back, They saw a man running towards them with red hair and a crimson bandana. He grasped his knees catching his breath.I didn't think that physical fitness translated to the gameplay…good to know."Us?""You run around as if you know the place. You were in the beta test weren't you."Kirito nodded. While Artemis had no idea what was going on."Today's my first day." He pleadingly grabbed Kirito shoulders. "Show me the basics, okay?""Uh?""I'm begging you!" He slapped his hands together bowing his head slightly."…can't you just access the tutorial?""Is there a tutorial?""…We…don't know…"There was a brief silence between them before Kiritk sighed. "Alright, I'll help you out.""Really?! Thanks man!" His head shot up in excitement and aggressively shook her hand. "My name's Klein, nice to meet you. And who might this beautiful lady be?" He asked with a smile.She smiled slightly while Kirito gave him an annoyed glare."I'm Kirito. That's my cousin" Kirito said with a small glare which caused Klein to gawk in embaressment."I'm Moon." Artemis or now known as Moon said.Floor 1: Town of Beginnings; West FieldIt was amazing how many times Klein was pushed around, by a level 2 boar no less.He gasped in pain. "R-right in the crotch…""Seriously? You're not supposed to feel pain you know." Moon said."Huh, oh yeah." Klein stopped rolling around upon realization. "I guess it was just a habit."Lending him a hand, Kirito guided his attention towards the boar."Like I said, what's important is your initial motion input.""Easier said than done, this guy keeps running around like crazy. "Moon looked around for a second, picking up a small stone. "It's not that hard once you get the timing right. Once you have that down and you activate your sword skill."She placed all of her focus on the boar flinging the pebble at the last second and from her hand a red laser damaged the boar slightly."The system will ensure that the technique connects." Kirito said."Motion input…motion input…"The boar charged for Moon but she maneuvered around it, blocking it's second attack to keep it in place."It's kind of like a battle, when you're prepared to attack and you feel your skill activate, add a slight pause, then let it explode." Kirito explained. "It's kinda similar to a pokemon battle." Moon said with a smile."Explode?" Klein mumbled to himself, he suddenly stood in a battle stance hanging his sword over his shoulder. A few seconds later it started to glow.Kirito and Moon smiled, Kirito kicking the boar off balance and sending it towards Klein."Hyyyaaaa!"In one hit the boar's health was depleted and it exploded into data leaving behind a screen that listed the experience gained."HECK YA!"Klein raised his arms in victory, yelling out in glee."Congrats." Moon said cheerfullyThe three took a step towards each other and shared a high five."But, that boars about the equivalent of a slime in other games, so you won't get much exp." Kirito explained"Whaat?! I thought it was a mid-level boss or something." Klein said in an exhausted tone."Ha, of course not." Moon said while smiling at him.In the distance a few more boars re-spawned."Pretty exciting, isn't it?"Klein practiced a few moves with his sword with a big smile stretched across his face."Hey, there're a lot of skills in this game right, like blacksmithing and stuff?"Kirito nodded. "I've heard there are an unlimited number of skills available, except for magic."Klein built up his sword skill, "No magic huh, that's a pretty bold decision.""It's a risky decision." Moon muttered under her breath.He glided forward in one move, leaving a fading red trail in his wake."But it's fun isn't it, fighting with your entire body." Kirito saidKlein turned towards them with a smile, "Yeah.""Let's keep moving on." Moon said as she got out her simple and generic sword. Ready to level up."Right! "-0-The sun was setting in the distance, blazing beautifully against the fields and wildlife."You wouldn't even know that this is a game." Klein sat near them enjoying the view. "Seriously, I'm glad that I was born in this time.""You make a big deal out of everything, drama queen." Kirito said with an anime sweat drop."This is my first time using full dive, Mr. Beta tester."Moon slightly turned her head, "Then this is your fist time playing a game with Nervegear?""I rushed out and bought the hardware to play SAO. I was lucky to even get a hard copy; but you were ten times as lucky, after all you were in the beta. ""I wasn't in the beta but Kirito here was." Moon said with a small smile.Kirito turned his head slightly towards him."Only a thousand people got that chance.""I guess." Unease grew in Kirito's chest, he rubbed the back of his neck out of habit."So how far did you get in the beta.""Over a couple of months Kirito got onto floor 8, but this time, it'll only take a month." Moon explained with a smile. Kirito had told her all about itKlein smiled at Moon's charisma. "You're both hardcore into this aren't you?"Kirito unsheathed his sword lifting it in front of him against the sunlight as it seemed to glow under its rays. "To be honest, during the beta test, SAO was the only thing on my mind, day and night. In this world a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go. It's a virtual world, but for some reason, I feel more alive here than I do in the real one.""Yup, hardcore to the extreme." Klein chuckled under his breath."You wanna hunt more?" Moon offered."Of course, I'd love to!" Klein lifted his body to his knees, "But.." he feel back onto his butt grabbing his stomach in mild embarrassment as his stomach growled. "I'm really hungry, so I think that I'll log out.""Eating food here doesn't make you feel hungry anymore." Kirito explained"Heh, I already ordered a hot pizza for 5:30.""You've already though ahead." Moon said. Come to think of it, Pizza did sound good at the moment.He stood up brushing the grass off of his pants. "Once I've eaten I'll be back, don't get lonely without me. ""Alright." Kirito smirked slightly and turned his head away looking back towards the setting landscape."Hey, after this I'm meeting up with some other people I know from another game, you wanna meet them?""Huh?""But- You don't have to if you don't want to, I'll introduce you another time." Klein said reassuringly."I'd love to but I can't. Maybe some other time." Moon said with a smile.And depending on what continet you live on, I'll either have to take a plane to travel.Moon thought to herself."Sure, sorry. Thanks for the offer." Kirito was slightly amazed that he was even offering."Hey hey, that's my line, I need to repay you both for this sometime, mentally. Thanks for the tutorial guys."Kirito and Moon chuckled to themselves, slightly surprised that he held out his hand."I'll see you both around."Kirito and Moon accepted his handshake."If there's anything else you want to know just ask. We'll both in this area for a while gathering exp.""We'll take you up on that offer soon!"Klein gripped their hands tighter in appreciation.He walked away a few steps, "See you!" waving his hand down to open the menu.Kirito and Moon turned their back to him, Moon was about to bring up her menu to log out too but stopped when Klein spoke again."That's odd, there's no log out button.""What?""Yeah, it's not there."Kirito opened up his menu to check "It should be at the bottom of the main menu…eh?" Moon gawked at not seeing the log out button.Her heart beat quickened at the empty panel, where the log out button should be."See?" Klein said a bit panicky."I'm sure it's nothing though, it's a few days after the beta, there are bound to be a few bugs. I'm sure the server people are freaking out though." Kirito said calmely."In a second you will as well." Moon said"huh?""It's 5:25.""MY TERUYAKI MAYO PIZZA AND GINGER ALEEEE!" Klien slightly spazed out in defeat.Okay that is just gross but based on his choice of food. He has to be from Japan like Kirito.Moon thought to herself"Just call the game master." Kirito recommended trying to calm him down."I tried but there's no response."This isn't right, there shouldn't be any reason to not have a log out sequence on the menu. Moon thought to herself a bit confused and scared."Is there any other way to log out?"Kirito shook his head. "No, everyone has to go through the menu, it's the standard in any type of game.""There has to be a way.""Log out!""Escape!"Nothing happened."He's telling you, there isn't any way to manually log out without the option being available. Why would there need to be?" Moon asked."Y-You're kidding, right?" Klein was stunned for a few moments before another idea came to mind. "I know; I'll just rip the Nervegear off my head!"He tried to pull at what he though was an invisible helmet but it was to of no avail."It's no use, remember, the Nervegear intercepts any kind of motion and translates it to motion in the game. " Kirito explained."So what, we wait for them to fix the bug?""Or for someone in the real world to remove the Nervegear from us. " Moon said calmely."But I live alone…what about you?""We both have a sibling and our moms, but I think that they'll notice before din- "Suddenly Klein grabbed her shoulders."Y-You have a younger sister? How old is- "Klein was significantly taller than her, but that didn't stop Moon from kicking him in his manhood and slapping him too. Sending him sprawling to the ground without mercy."OWOWOWOWOWO-Oh wait, it really doesn't hurt.""I have an older Brother, and He has a little sister you creeper! And more importantly, don't you find this weird?!" Moon exclaimed angrily."Sure, I do, it's a bug.""This isn't just a bug; what kind of developer overlooks such a serious problem. And the fact that we're still here is a red flag as well." Kirito explained."huh?""Basically meaning A game master has control over the source code, if they wanted to they could shut down the server and log out everyone manually if they wanted to. But they haven't, there haven't been any notifications either to let us know that they're doing something about this." Moon explained looking at a confused Klein."The server has been up for hours, a few people should have already noticed the missing log out option and notified the game master. The moment that they realized that they made a mistake should have been immediate, and the notification would have come directly after; But that hasn't happened yet." Kirito said. He was slightly confused as to why that wasn't happening.Is someone keeping us here?Suddenly a ringing of bells reached their ears, she, Kirito, and Klein turned toward the direction of the noise; only a few seconds later a bright light transported them and the next thing they knew they were in the town square.Surrounding them were thousands of other players all with confused expressions and a few were huddled together whispering amongst themselves.A forced teleport?Above them was a warning panel that overtook the sky in a crimson red. From the sky fell blood that gathered together to form a red hooded figure."Attention, players, welcome to my world.""My world?""My name is Kayaba Akihiko, as of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world. I'm sure that you've all noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu." Kayaba waved his hand down similar to what Klein did earlier, pulling up a menu. "This is not a defect in the game, this is the key feature of Sword Art Online.""F-Feature?!""You cannot log out of SAO yourselves, and no one on the outside can shut down or remove the Nervegear, any attempts to do so will activate a transmitter that will emit a microwave function that will destroy the brain."Several articles were pulled up, news stations, internet posts, anything pertaining to the news of people dying all over the world because of the Nervegear.There were a few voices of outrage gathering strength in seconds, Kirito and Moon's heads lowered in though while Klein turned towards them."This guy's full of crap, isn't he, the Nervegear doesn't have that kind of function?"Kirito hesitated for a moment. "There is hardware within the Nervegear that uses microwave tech but to be powerful enough the kill someone… "There had been proof of microwave radiation killing people, but did the Nervegear have the capability?"But if someone shut off the power?" Klein asked."The Nervegear has an internal battery, and if these news articles are real…" Moon said suddenly realizing the urgency of the situation. Unfortunately several families and friends have ignored the warning and have attempted to remove the gear, as a result two hundred and thirteen players have already been removed from Aincrad and the real world."What?!"Two hundred and thirteen?""I don't believe this; I don't believe this!""There are already live reports of players dying because of the Nervegear removal, thus, the chances of removal are now minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game. But I want you to remember, the moment that your hp drops to zero, your avatar will be lost forever, and you will be destroyed."There is only one way to clear the game; you are now on Floor 1 the lowest level of Aincrad. It you make your way through the various dungeons and defeat the floor boss you may advance to the higher floors. Defeat the final boss on Floor 100 and you will clear the game.""Clear 100 Floors...? That's impossible, the beta testers never made it anywhere near that high!""Finally, I've added a resent from me to your item storage, please see for yourself."Kirito and Moon opened the items option pressing on a new item in the inbox."A Mirror?" Moon asked."AAAHHH!""Klein?!"Bursts of light suddenly engulfed every single player, screams of confusion reached Kirito and Moon's ears as the light engulfed them as well.The bust faded as players came around looking at each other in confusion."Hey, you alright you two?""Ah, Yeah- huh?"Standing in front of them was a man with a mess of red hair and a bandana wrapped around his forehead."Who're you?" He asked themKirito held up his mirror again shocked at what he saw; his former male avatar was now replaced with his real life counter part image. His clothes were the same, but his hair was short.The same was said for Moon. The only thing that changed was her hair which was now the short chin lenth bob cut she had in real life. She still had her armor and weapon on too.Around them, everyone's avatar changed form."That means…you're Klein?!" Kirito exclaimed surprised"You're Kirito and You're Moon?!""How….?" Moon began but was cute off by Kirito."The Nervegear has a face scanner, it can recognize your face, but the body type-" Kirito began"It was the first thing to be calibrated when everyone downloaded it right?" Klein said interupting him."You're probably wondering 'why', why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of sword art online and the Nervegear do all this?""My Goal has already been achieved, I created Sword Art Online for only one reason; to intervene with the story that will unfold!"Kayaba!"Soon, this goal will be complete; this ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch."The body began to disintegrate into data."Good luck, players."The world turned back to normal for only a few moments before screams erupted the coliseum.This is real...if we die in this prison…it's the end!The limits were lifted from the exits of the plaza, catching Kirito's eye."Klein, come with us!" Kirito harshly whispered, grabbing his arm and guiding the three of them out of the sea of pankicking confused people.-0-IF what he said was true, then the first 24 hours with be critical." Moon said."Huh?"They stood in an alley that wasn't too far from the plaza the rest of the players were still in pandemonium."Our strength in SAO depends on how many resources we can take in. Right now, everyone is in a panic but they'll realize that they'll need those same things as well. The spawn rates in this game differ from other mmo's; each monster type has their own respawn time limit, the higher the level, the longer it will take; but in this situation, the hunting fields will soon be wiped clean. The closest village is the best place where we can start a few mini quests and gain extra exp, but we need to do so right now. " Kirito explained.The journey would normally take a few hours on the normal route, but luckily there was a hill pass that cut the time in half."Klein?"He looked disheartened, "T-the thing is, I spent an entire night in line to buy this with a bunch of my friends from another game. They're out there with everyone else in the plaza, I can't leave them behind."If it was just Klein it would be fine…but two more…even one… Moon thought to herself."Don't worry about it."Shock lifted Moon's head from her thoughts."I'm in no position to ask you for any more favors, don't worry about it go on ahead to the next village. I used to run a guild and with everything you've taught me, I'll get by somehow. " Klein explained to them. Hoping to reasure them."All right, then," She and Kirito turned their bodies towards the road but still facing him. "let's part ways here. If something happens send us a message." Kirito said."I will.""Then, goodbye, Klein." Moon said with a small and sad smile.They walked down the alleyway towards the darkness, the sun was setting, eventually the night would overtake everyone as well."Moon!"Klein's voice stopped her which caused Kirito to stop as well."Ah..." There was no immediate response, the two were at a loss for words. "Hey, you know, you have a super cute face!"That caused Kirito to glare at him. He was very protective of his family. Especially his cousin.Moon turned her head towards him, "You're exactly my type, it suits you!" He smiled at her half-jokingly.She smiled at him in return, "That scraggy face of yours suits 10 times better!"Kirito and Moon sprinted a few steps ahead down the alley.Why…?Moon gripped her fist tightly turning back, "Klein!"The only thing that greeted them was an empty alley way striking a cord that made her freeze for a moment.Before they could react, they ran away.-0-You wanted this, no regrets…not this time.The spasious empty field welcomed her and Kirito as they ran down the path. A bright blue slight a good distance ahead spawned a wolf and their swords reflexively fell into their hands.They positioned their weapons, in a split second taking a sprint forward as the wolf jumped at them, fangs bearing.Now!The wolf was defeated in one swift motion, landing on their feet again they both starting running again without stopping.We won't allow ourselves to die!
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The buyer's raised the price to 29,800 cor, sounds like a pretty good deal if you ask me."A young woman wearing a cloak that covered the majority of her face sat across from Kirito and Moon on a table in their room at an inn. She had a petit built but was of average height, also having long blonde hair that was usually hidden by the hood she wore. But her most distinguishing features were on her face, were the four lines on her cheeks resembling whiskers; prompting her nickname Argo the Rat."Once again, not interested." Kirito crossed his arms with a firm tone. "Tell the buyer that if he wants the Anneal Blade then he can just do the side quest for it rather than trying to buy it off someone else, it'll be easier that way." Moon said in a gentle but firm tone.Argo chucked. "Hehe, savage as always aren't you Luna?"Moon slightly flinched at her words, tilting her head in curiosity while Kirito snickered behind his hand "How exactly did I earn that nickname from you?" Moon asked."Be-ca-use, you two are my favorites after all!" She jumped off the table and sat on the table next to Moon and Kirito before wrapping her arms around Moon and Kirito's shoulders, leaning in. "And because you're both my favorites, I'll give you both a special deal, 1,000 cor for the identity of the buyer.""We're not interested." Kirito said."Critical hit!" Argo playfully yelled and wrapped her arms around Kirito and Moon, trapping them in a sort of group hug. "Without your cor filling my pockets I'm unable to function, 500 cor for revival."Neither Kirito nor Moon didn't attempt to struggle knowing how persistent Argo was. "If you release us we'll give you information about the next thing to ask for." Moon said."Oh- ho, your words have revived me!" Argo released Kirito and Moon before leaping towards the door. "Pleasure doing business with you both as always!"Kirito sighed to himseld laying down on his bed at the ordeal of dealing with Argo. Moon turned her head towards a clock on the wall, "We should probably get going." Moon said. "Yeah, we should." Kirito answered.-0-One month has passed since the game started, over two thousand players have died. However, no one has been able to clear the first floor. Ever since the beta test everything on this floor has been rearranged, no one has been able to find the boss room.Kirito and Moon sat on the outskirts of a small coliseum populated with a group of players who bothered to show up."Ok everyone, let's get started!" "My name is Diabel, and I'd like to consider my "job" as a knight!"An eruption of laughter echoed through the stands."There's no job system in this game newb!""Take this seriously!""Is this meeting a joke too?"Diabel gestured for the stands to lower their voices, a more serious atmosphere spread through the crowd as he spoke again."Today, our party located the boss room on top of the tower."The players murmured among themselves at the revelation"We need to defeat the boss, reach the second floor, and tell everyone at the town of beginnings that it is possible to beat this game. Everyone present here shares that duty! Do you all agree?!""All right, then let's begin our planning; first, divide into parties of six!"A familiar feeling of dread spread though Kirito and Moon's chests, as they looked around at everyone- all of whom were men- easily grouping up together."An ordinary party has no chance against a floor boss. We'll need to form a raid group using multiple parties in order for our attack to be affective.Under different circumstances Moon would have easily formed a party with other players, with a male avatar. However, this wasn't the time to wallow in self-pity. She looked around spotting another player wearing a brown hood sitting by himself with his tattoo muscular arms crossed infront of his chest."Hey, Kirito, I'll be right back." Moon told him. "Don't go too far where I can't see you okay?" Kirito asked. "Don't worry, I won't." Moon answered her cousin with a smile before turning around and walking away.Taking a deep breath, she summoned all her courage and walked over to him, "Were you left out as well?"He didn't even bother looking in her direction, "I wasn't left out, everyone just seemed to know each other already.""Are you a solo player?""…something like that."Moon tilted her head slightly upwards trying to get a better view of his face since he towered over her, a weak attempt of trying to gain his attention. "Do you want to party with me and my cousin for this raid?"The hooded player turned his gaze to her."Look...He just said that we can't beat the boss on our own, so just for this fight?"The player sat still for a few moments before nodding.Moon opened the menu and sent a party request which the player accepted, she read the user name located near his health bar.Guzma"Okay, have you all partied up? Then-""Wait!"Moon turned around and saw a rather gruff looking player standing at the top of the amp theatre grabbed everyone's attention, he jumped down to the center stage where Diabel stood. She quickly ranned back over to her cousin's side."My name's Kibaou, I wanna say something before we take on this boss." He faced the audience. "Some of you need to apologize to the two thousand players who have died so far!"A few people were taken back with shock."Kibaou, are you referring to the beta testers?" Diabel calmly asked.Kirito flinched slightly. Moon silently held his hand. It was a weak attempt to comfort him but Kirito apperciated it none the less."Of course I am! On the day this stupid game started all the beta's ditched us beginners and disappeared; they took all the best hunting spots and easy quests for themselves while the rest of us were still trying to process what was even happening. They horded all the extra experience points and bonus items that the beginners didn't know existed!A few whispers took hold of the stands."I'm sure someone here was in the beta! Whoever you are, you should get on your knees, apologize, and give up all the items and money you've been hoarding! Otherwise how can we expect any sort of protection or trust when we fight, for all we know they could take advantage of every battle to gain bonus items!"He's not wrong, not entirely.The image of Klein flashed in Kirito and Moon's minds, and a familiar pain made Moon claw her shirt."May I speak?"The new voice snapped her from her thoughts.A giant muscled man with a battle axe walked towards Kibaou."My name is Agil. Kibaou, tell me if I have this right. You're saying that because the beta players didn't help the rest of you, that it was the reason that so many players died, correct?"Kibaou tensed at his words, "Y-yeah."Agil pulled a small brown book from his items menu, showing it to the crowd."You all got this guide book didn't you? It was provided for free on the items store.""I did." Kibaou lowered his head slightly, "But what does that have to- ""This guide book contains information compiled from the people who played the beta."There were expressions of shock that everyone shared, a slight snarl formed on the side of Kibaous mouth."Everyone has equal access to this information, and even still, many players died. Not because there was information being withheld, but because of their own mistakes. I thought that the meeting being held here was to discuss how we could learn from the deaths of the fallen, and how we could use that to help defeat the boss."Murmurs of agreement spread through the stands. Agil turned back to face Kibaou, as if to challenge anything else he may say. But the aggressive player turned tail to a seat in the front row, accepting defeat."All right then, I assume we can continue then?" Diabel held the guide book in his hand. "The latest issue of the guide book was just issued and it contains information about the boss. According to it, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold lord. He's guarded by his assistants known as Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He is armed with an axe and a buckler He has four health bars, and when the last one enters the red he'll switch to a curved sword-like weapon called a Talwar. At that time his attack pattern will change and he'll become more aggressive."Except when that happens there'll be no telling how, or who'll he'll attack."That concludes this briefing, but before you all go, the items will be distributed automatically, the extra EXP will go to the party that defeats the boss, and whomever receives any bonus item will keep it themselves. Any objections?"Only silence greeted him."Then we'll leave at ten tomorrow morning. See you there!"-0-Moon stood near the shadows of the town's pavilion, silently, with crossing arms hoping that no one would approach her. She had told her cousin that she needed some fresh air and some time to think. Besides the raid party were enjoying their charisma boost after Diabel's speech overconfidently drinking to a future victory.The tall man, Agil, nodded a greeting but kept his distance, instead choosing to converse with the other players. at her She sighed to herself, under different circumstances, there would have been an urge to crush their spirits. But now; perhaps they were right to enjoy what could be their last night.In the corner of her eye she saw a familiar dark hood, moving towards the back alley. Guzma was biting into a roll of sourdough."Can I join you?"Guzma looked a little surprised that anyone was approaching him. Moon stood a few feet away with her hands behind her back in a polite manner. "Don't you want to be with the rest of them?" Sounding slightly curious."I'd rather get to know the one who'll have my back, wouldn't you?"Guzma though over her words for a moment before scooting away, giving her room to sit."Tasty isn't it?""You seriously think so?" Guzma asked her sarcastcally.Moon nodded, "It's better than the food in the Town of Beginnings for the most part, though I do like to change it up a bit." She removed a small jar from her inventory placing it near Guzma."Change it up a bit?" Guzma asked, slightly surprised"Just try it." She smiled reassuringly at him.Guzma activated the item, a small glow formed around his hand as he put it on his bread. A familiar physical form took shape on its crust."Butter?"Guzma gave a slightly tense glance at the bread before taking tentative bite; after which he furiously gobbled down, sighing in satisfaction afterward. After going a month of eatting nothing but crap it was nice to have something tasty for a change." Um, sorry." He shot her an apologetic glance after the item shattered.She shook her head, " It's alright, think of it as a token to our partnership."Guzma chuckled slightly. "Over butter?"Moon returned his smile, "We've broken bread, I'd say that we're at least not strangers.""It's a reward for a quest called The Heifer Strikes Back" one village behind us, if you want, I'll show you where it is sometime."The air seemed to grow colder as Guzma shook his head. "I'm never going back.""Huh?"Guzma lifted his head looking towards the plaza where the faint cheers of the raid members could be heard. "You've seen it haven't you, all those players who gave up after...that day."Moon tensed slightly."They're trapped in that town, no hope, no will to move forward to do anything besides feel sorry for themselves." Guzma gripped his hands tightly. "I'd rather die still being me than letting myself rot away back at the inn's in the first Arceus forsaken town. Even if I get killed by a monster, I still want to be me."There was a thick silence before Guzma snapped out of his thoughts, " Ah, sorry darlin', I got a little dark there didn't I?"Moon looked forward, gently swaying her legs. "I won't allow any party members to die on my and my cousin's watch, so at the very least; you can't die tomorrow." Her party member nodded his head."I won't be a burden to you."-0-Moon make her way back to the inn after seeing Guzma to his, wanting to make sure nothing happened to him. She avoided other players easily, but wasn't careful enough when she was just about to open the door to her and Kirito's shared room."You're Moon, right?"She sighed to herself, muttering a few swears before she put on a smile as she she turned to face a blue haired swordsman. "Diabel."He stared at her for a few moments -as if trying to place her- before smiling, "Can I offer you a drink? The tavern downstairs has a pretty good ale."Moon's smile vanished and she slightly narrowed her eyes, distrustful, but surprised to be seeing the swordsman at the inn."I'm not going to try anything." He tried to reassure her but could see that his efforts were in vain. Normally, players didn't talk to each other out to socialize; they always had an alterior motive,always.But curiosity presidence as she did want to hear what he had to say. "Alright, your treat, right?" She smirked playfully much to his chagrin.They sat across from each other at the tavern, each with a goblet filled with what was technically alcohol in-game, but to Moon, it just tasted like cranberry juice, but she didn't drink enough to know if it could make the players actually drunk. They all could have acted that way from the atmosphere."So, what did you want to talk about?" Moon picked up her goblet, taking a sip."I'd like to get to know you a little better, is that ok?"Moon slightly narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms after setting down her goblet. "If you have a point, please kindly get straight to it, we'd both save a lot of time.""Fair enough." He took a sip of his ale before choosing his next words carefully." You were part of the beta test, weren't you?"Moon's body tensed, but she kept a calm head. "No. But my cousin was. What's it to you?"The blue haired knight smirked at her response. "Nothing really, I just wanted to see if my hunch was correct. The first day that everything started a bunch of the other beta players went ahead to do whatever side quest to gain exp and items they could before the rest of the players did. Because of that it was easy for a while to discern who were the beta's and regular players. I saw you and your cousin in this town a good time before everyone else came along, and the majority of them are just regular players.""So you're one as well?" Diabel nodded at her words. "That can't be the only reason you wanted to talk."Diabel chuckled to himself slightly. "It kind of is." The air turned a more serious tone. "This is the first boss battle that this game is giving us, and for all we know everything could be entirely different from the beta.""It's plausible isn't it? The whole point for a beta is to check for bugs and make sure everything was actually playable. Any changes that were made were for the benefit of the players.""But you're forgetting that this isn't a normal game, for all we know the moment we step into that room there could be an ambush just waiting to slaughter anything that steps though.""So is that what you're afraid of? Getting everyone killed?" She said slightly surprised at his chivarly."I'm the one leading the charge remember? I have to make sure that everyone gets out of this dilemma alive. The game already took so many people; I don't want to add to that list.""Respectable.""You've already partied up with your cousin and with another player, so if I may ask, would you mind sticking to rear support?"Moon forwned at his words. "Please explain why.""I'm running on assumptions here, but if you've already gotten a sword of Anneal then your level must be pretty significant. The majority of the players average out to about 10 to 15, what they lack in strength we make for in numbers. But the sentinels are the same way, it makes sense if we base our main attack towards the boss and have a strong player taking out the foot soldiers so they don't pose a threat right?"A red flag went off in Moon's mind, but she remained quiet about her inner thoughts. "Sounds to be a good plan on paper, but plans can change. It also makes sense to have the stronger group with the few higher tier players and have the larger group take on the sentinels. That way there'll be smaller targets for Illfang to hit so the other players won't need to soak up extra damage."He nodded at her words, Moon noticed that he gripped his cup tighter."If you'll allow me to state my own obervations; I'm willing to bet that in the two thousand people that died, a few were in the beta. In this game especially no one is above desire, if they see on oppotunity they'll probably take it by the horns. But it's that desire that can blind you." She sighed to herself as she could see that Diabel understood what she was trying to say. Never wavering as she stood, "Well whatever. My cousin and I will follow your plan tomorrow, so don't worry about it."She walked rested her hand on his shoulder as she passed by. Argo's attempts at getting me to accept your offer are getting quite tedious. I'd recommend that you stop trying to buy my weapon altogether and focus on the battle tomorrow."Moon didn't even bother looking at his response as she walked back to her and her cousin's shared room, going over every battle strategy that wouldn't get her killed. Rule one in her books: Don't go for the obvious kill.-0-Floor 1: Forest Field"Let's go over this again, we're the leftovers so our objective is to attack the boss's support."The raid group made their trek through the woods, the larger group taking the lead with Diabel in the front while Kirito, Moon, another player named Asuna, and Guzma lagged behind a few feet away."Got it.""I'll use the sword skill to knock them off balance, the second I do switch in and go for the most damage.""Switch?""It's the fastest way to get an attack in, were you mostly on support in other games?""Support?""You know, healing and buffs?""Um...not really."Tension rose in Kirito's chest. "But you have been in a party before, right?""This is my first."Moon stopped in her tracks, looking towards the skies of Aincrad - defeated- for some kind of explanation of why she and her cousin got stuck with newbies."Is something wrong?" Guzma asked.She shook her head, patting his arm reassuringly, "If it gets bad in there, just fall back and rely on us to protect you.""Wait, What?"Within the dungeon, everyone stood around the door leading to the boss room, the air high with tension."Everyone, I have one thing to say! Let's win!"Kirito and Moon nervously looked towards the familiar door, both of their hearts beating rapidly as it opened to a dark room. As all the players walked in it lit up and the red eyes that sat in the back of the room took form.What looked to be a giant red muscled kangaroo wielding an axe and a shield jumped forward from its throne roaring loudly. It immediately summoned its foot soldiers, smaller versions of itself, geared with armor and maces immediately running towards them upon spawning."Commence attack!" Diabel yelled, leading the attack. The raid party charged, the yells of battle cries and the songs of sword against sword were the only sounds to be heard above Diabel's instructions."Squad A! Squad C! Switch out!""Squad B, block!""Squad C, keep guarding and prepare to switch out!"" Squads D, E, and F, keep sentinels off of us!""Roger!" Kirito and Moon ran straight towards the sentinel in front of them, unbalancing its weapon for a moment. "Switch!"Asuna and Guzma wasted no time in striking the monster with their rapiers multiple times, making Kirito and Moon stand there for a few second in awe before snapping back to reality.Their techniques were so fast even we couldn't keep track of their blades.Moon smiled inwardly as they continued their offensive attack against the small fry.Suddenly the boss roared out, grabbing both Kirito and Moon's attention. The boss threw away it's weapon and shield bearing its teeth. Its heath was in the red nearing its end."Stand back, I'll go!"What?!Diabel ran ahead from the crowd weapon in hand.We were supposed to surround it with the entire group, what is he doing?!Moon's heart almost stopped as Diabel looked back at her with an apologetic smile on his face. The boss pulled out it's weapon as Diabel stopped to build up his sword skill, a yellow light overtaking his sword; a long sword with a curved end.That's not a Tawar, it's a Nodatchi! It's not the same as the beta!"No! Jump back as fast as you can!" Kirito yelled as loud as he could, but it was no use.The boss jumped at a blinding speed, bouncing off of the pillars and then the ceiling faster than the eye could follow. In a few seconds it critically slashed Diabel back many yards away, leaving the raid party to handle the now chaotic boss.Moon killed the sentinel she was taking on, "Cover me!" she yelled at Kirito, Asuna, and Guzma and ran towards where Diabel was on the ground. She knelt near him, immediately taking out a potion."What were you thinking?!"She tried to use the potion to heal him, but the item had no effect.Diabel smiled gently, his avatar had already begun to fade. She dropped her item reaching for his hand instead."Sorry, Moon."Before her eyes Diabel's avatar shattered, leaving a wound that no potion could heal. She looked in shock, lowering her head in defeat. The raid players were all scattered to the edges of the room in fear of the Boss's random attack patterns."Look out!"Moon didn't react to Guzma's words, not noticing a sentinel's raised mallet suddenly flash into destroyed pieces as Guzma now stood behind her. She was still knelt down, looking at the place where Diabel's body once was. For a moment she shut her eyes.When this game started, the only thing I thought about was my and my cousin's own survival, but you never abandoned the other players. No matter what your intentions were, you fought, and led everyone brilliantly! You united all of these players, something I would never dream of doing.Gripping the hilt on her lunar white sword, she stood, lifting her head now in a calm demeanor, looking directly at the boss knocking away other players. Guzma stood by her wordlessly, nodding his head as if he was in agreement."Thank you."The two sprinted ahead towards the monster."It's just like the sentinels, unbalance then strike!" Kirito called out to her."Got it!"The Illfang looked at the two of them building up his sword skill so his Nodatchi was shining in a white light.Moon aimed directly at the Nodatchi, knocking up the sword and leaving the stomach of Illfang wide open for Guzma to strike."Switch!"Guzma was poised to strike but in a spit second Illfang struck down, recoiling from the previous strike.Moon's eyes widened in fear, "Guzma!"The strike damaged the cloak he wore, destroying it, but didn't prevent Guzma from striking a critical attack. This aloud Moon to get a clear look at him. Guzma was a gorgeous male! With pale tanish skin and fluffy white hair that had a black undercut. He was well musclar for his age but it was his eyes that drew her in. Guzma's eyes were a beautiful grey color like storm clouds. Moon stood in awe for a few moments his strength before blocking another one of the boss's attacks. The two continued their barrage of attacks, Moon defending and Guzma leading with a wave a strong smaller hits. But in one move Illfang gained the upper hand, slashing Moon with an upper slash sending her slamming into Guzma back a few yards, dropping her weapon. She could see her health dwindle quickly into the yellow before watching Illfang going in for another strike. Guzma covered her, lifting his black and grey rapier to defend, but was unneeded as Kirito struck the boss. The rest of their party followed suit, the teen looked back to the two of them."We'll hold him off until you recover!"The raid players made the mistake of attacking while Illfang was blocking, easily being swept back as Illfang launched its counter attack. It went in for another attack jumping up to build power."Look out"!Moon wasted no time in picking up her sword and leapt towards the boss at a high altitude, slashing the stomach of Illfang, then tumbling to her feet again when hitting the ground."Guzma! One last counter attack!""Got it!"They sprinted together repeating the technique that they used against the sentinels, Moon defended once as Guzma struck Illfang, but the last move was Moon's as she built up her sword skill, screaming all of her physical strength into one last attack destroying Illfang.For a few moments the only movement was from the fallen pieces of Illfangs form than soon faded away. Then cheers came from the players to their victory of defeating the first boss.Moon remained on one knee, trying to catch her breath after the adrenaline rush. She looked at the window that popped in front of her, [Bonus items: Coat of Midnight and Cloak of Twilight]"Congratulations."Moon looked behind her where Guzma, Asuna, Kirito, and Agil stood proudly."That was some fine swordsmanship, this victory belongs to you."Why?! Why did you let Diabel die?!""Let him die?" Agil responded on her behalf."That's right, you knew the technique the boss used, why didn't you warn him?!"She and the black haired runt must be beta testers, that's how they knew all the attack patterns. They knew but didn't tell us.""Other beta testers are here too right?! Come out!"Everyone looked around with distrust, the tension in the room could be cut with a knife.This is bad, at this rate…Kirito and Moon looked towards Asuna, Guzma, and Agil trying to calm down the other players with little success. They were beginning to argue with themselves. Moon looked back at the window informing her of the bonus item she had received and took a deep breath.Suddenly the room was filled with her cousin's condescending laughter as a hush fell over the crowd."Us? beta testers? You must be as stupid as you look." Kirito"What?!"Kirito stood where Moon sat, walking towards Kibaou and the other members of his party that called out the other beta testers."Comparing my cousin and I to the rest of those newbies would be comparing apples to oranges. Most of them were newbies who didn't even know how to open the menu on the deep dive function; something a child could figure out, I may add."He stared them down with a cold look in his eye and a smirk on his face."But we're not like them, especially my cousin. Only I made it up higher than any top player ever did during the beta. The reason we both knew the bosses' skills was because I fought against worse in the upper levels and taught my cousin the skills she would need to survive in this god forsaken game. So we know a lot more, more than any information broker at this level would know."W-What, that's, that's worse than being a beta tester. You, you're a cheater!"Roars of outrage came from the raid party, the screamed out insults at her and Kirito venting out all their anger."A beta tester and a cheater, you, you're a beater!""A beater, I like it." Moon said as she opened her menu equipping her new item. Which was the cloak of Twilight while she sended the Coat of Midnight to Kirito's menu for him to equip himself with it. "That's right, I'm a beater so from on don't confuse me with the other players." Kirito said as he opened his menu and equiped himself with the Coat of Midnight.Kirito easily turned his back on the players of whom they fought beside, and taking Moon's hand, they both started making their way towards the gate."Yo! Wait!"Moon stopped walking up the stairs, looking back slightly at Guzma who ran after her. He stood at the base of the stairs."You called my name while we were fighting.""Sorry for not asking for permission, did I mess up the pronunciation?""Where did you learn it?""…Huh?" Moon looked back slightly dumfounded."My name darlin, I never told it to you, so how did you know it?"She paused for a moment to process what he just said. "Oh! There should be a second hp gauge around here under your name.""Moon?" He asked looking at her like she had grown a second head. "Is that your name?"She nodded."Huh, so that's where it's been." Guzma proclaimed as if it was the most natural thing to say."…pft." Moon smiled inwardly laughing at his response. "You, you're really something else entirely."She could see Guzma slightly narrow his grey eyes at her remark, not sure whether it was a compliment or an insult.The laughter ceased and Moon smiled mournfully at him. "You'll be pretty strong one day, so if anyone you trust ever asks you to join a guild, don't turn them down. There's a limit to what you can do as a solo player. ""Then, what about you two?"Moon turned back towards the door leading to the next floor. Her only response to his question was opening her menu and disbanding their party. Without a second of hesitation she walked through the door leaving Guzma behind.It's always benefited everyone when Kirito and I kept to ourselfs, this time it's no different.