The Apathy of a Gamer

'RUN! RUN! RUN!' Were his thoughts as he booked away from floor two's warp gate. He heard that system announcement. Hell, who couldn't of heard it? He'd been so wrapped up in his fight with the boss that he completely forgotten about the announcement that happens when a boss is defeated.

Kirito ran faster, putting all of his strength into his «Sprinting» skill. His brand new coat swayed from winds that pierced him, dust trailing behind his footsteps. The coat was perfect, exactly his style. Couldn't of asked for a better drop from the boss. It was called «Coat of Midnight». It's defensive stats were okay, but its agility bonus was it's best factor. No, the best factor was that it was black! Oh what an amazing reward!

A smirk showed itself freely on his face as adrenaline pumped through Kirito's body, pushing his skill to its limit. He enjoyed this kind of feeling. The feeling when you've just done something epic, the fresh feeling of blood rushing through your veins. It reminded him of the time he'd won the RAIZE tournament.

It was these moments that he lived for! This was why he played video games!

He began to laugh uncontrollably, his voice being lost in the air. It was so easy. The challenges this game proposed were so entertaining, and something only he could find amusement in. This world was his! Not even Kayaba could stop him from conquering it!

«Illfang the Kobold Lord» had been a complete joke. The strategy he used was rather straightforward, but very efficient. The first thing he did was take out the boss's two minions, the «Kobold Sentinels». He would hop around the pillars that were aligned across from each other inside the room. The minions would have an easy time getting around them, but the boss, being as big as it was, would be much slower. He would then parry one sentinel backwards and use a sword skill on the other. This method cleared out both the sentinels, which only managed to chip his hp bar. The method for killing the boss wasn't much different. Also using the pillars, he flanked around them and attacked Illfang from behind. The beast became enraged and made several attempts to kill him, slashing his sword fiercely. Kirito swiftly dodged each strike, making Illfang's attacks smack into the pillars, giving him another chance to attack. The boss room was damageable, and eventually a pillar would be destroyed. When it finally collapsed, Kirito jumped away from the falling rocks. He then simply ran behind a different pillar while the boss was distracted by the collateral damage of its own attack. There were more than enough pillars in the room, and with his level, he had no problem dealing damage to the monster.

That was the thing with his combat level. Kirito was way over-leveled for the current floor. In the beta test, it didn't matter how many times you died. It didn't matter if you lost equipment, or rare loot, because everything would be reset once the game was officially released. All that mattered was how much of the game you could clear as fast as possible. Because of this, everyone who participated in boss battles, including himself, were way under-leveled. Players who fought the first boss were level 4-6, and he was no different. Even though their levels were low, they were still able to beat the boss. In this case, it was quantity over quality. Bosses did not regenerate hp, so damage over time would eventually lead to a boss's death. The only way a player could regenerate their hp without using any healing items was if they used one of their skill points in the skill «Battle Healing».

Once Illfang's health hit the red zone, its attack patterns would change. In the beta, it would switch out its main weapon for a talwar hidden on its back. However, this time it was different. When Kirito got its hp down, Illfang threw away its weapon, but instead of a talwar, it drew a nodachi.

This could have been very bad for some people. The boss would have a longer reach and do more damage than it normally would. However, Kirito had been preparing for this. He'd already learned a long time ago that the game was different from its initial stage. In fact, he predicted that Illfang would pull off something like that. That's why when he drew his nodachi, it had absolutely no affect on Kirito's strategy. It even made the fight easier because the nodachi kept getting stuck inside the pillars, throwing Illfang off balance.

It was actually hilarious.

Kirito used one final sword skill, «Uppercut», which hit the boss dead on, erasing it from the game. Music played, and a huge congratulations message shown itself overhead. He was looking at the new items he received when he heard the system announcement go off.

That was when he began running.

It really didn't matter though, he planned on running through the doors when they were opened anyway. It made him a little excited when he thought about how the players back in «Tolbana» could have reacted. Looking at his in-game clock, the boss meeting only must of just begun. They were probably all stunned into silence. As much as he didn't want to be near them, he kinda wished he could of at least seen their faces. He thought about activating the warp gate before dismissing the idea. Doing that would only draw people in quicker. They could activate it when they made their way up the floor.

Kirito's gaze fell on the area around him. Floor two was intriguingly different from floor one. In terms of size, they were about the same. The major difference between the two was the gigantic mountain that took up a quarter of the entirety of the new floor. It also had a more rocky terrain. While it had its fair share of grass, there was plenty more grey stones than greenery. There was also a dungeon inside the mountain cave. A lot of good quests assigned the player to go in there from the nearby town, «Urbus».

The town was this floor's main hub, and it had a rather unique background. Supposedly, the peak of the mountain broke off, leaving the top of the mountain flat. The mountain peak hit the ground, burying itself in it. After several decades, the rock eventually disintegrated, leaving behind a giant crater. A young explorer came across the crater, and decided to make it his home. Overtime, more people settled into it, which made the once small home into a lively city. Although the crater was created by a falling rock, it's a safe town to enter. The rock fell quite a distance from its original peak, and the town even has gates guarding it from any debris or monsters. It's blocked off from outside activity, and the way you enter it is from a staircase that descends downward into the crater-town. Interestingly enough, every town in the game was designed to have some kind of story written for it. «Urbus» is a cool place to visit, and one of the highlighted towns players really enjoyed.

But that wasn't where Kirito was headed. His destination was at the very top of the mountain.

There's a very specific reason why Kayaba made the top of the mountain flat. Realistically, if a mountain's peak fell off, the top would still be very bumpy. However, that would be an inconvenience to Kayaba, so he flattened it. He did this because there's a secret at the very top. It was so secret, that only the best of the best beta testers knew about it. Players who were good at gathering information like Argo the Rat.

And of course, Kirito knew about it too.

The secret was a hidden quest. Any player who adventured to the top of the mountain was able to accept the quest. It was called «Break the Iron Rock». The quest was assigned by an old man who was a martial arts master. If you dived further into the quest's backstory, you would find out that the old man was actually the young explorer who first came across the crater where «Urbus» is now located. To complete the quest, you must break the iron rock the old man sets up. You must do so with your bare hands, without any sword skills. The quest's rewards didn't give any items or col, and it barely gave any xp. There was only one reason a player would do this quest.

To receive the extra skill, «Martial Arts».

The skill was the only known extra skill in the game. It allowed the player to activate a brand new set of sword skills with only their hands. It was very handy, although a lot weaker than using a weapon. Even though it was weak, it was perfect for a one-handed wielder who didn't use a shield. The best thing about extra skills was that they don't even use one of your skill points.

In SAO, skill points were precious. You only get a limited number of skill points, rumored to be around twelve. What skills you pick would affect how you shape your character. They are something you definitely don't want to toss around. You could retrieve a used up skill point by going to the witch in the «Town of Beginnings», but the price was hefty. It cost a huge sum of money. The higher the skill, the higher the price. If a player reset the skill, the skill would be completely removed from your character. Not only would that be a waste of time, but a waste of money. So choose wisely!

Kirito wanted this skill because he never planned on using a shield. Therefore, he would always have a free hand open. Having «Martial Arts» would be a big increase to his repertoire. Doing the quest now would be ideal. He could begin leveling it up as soon as possible and do it before anyone else gets there, or finds out about it. Even though the quest wasn't known by many players, he was sure the information would be leaked. Damn you Argo...

He finally slowed his pace, looking at the rocky stature before him. He didn't even notice how long he'd been running. It had been a half-hour since he arrived on the floor. Players should have begun pouring in by now. It wouldn't be too long before they make their way to «Urbus» and the mountain. He had it all to himself right now. Might as well get to it.

---

Are you sure you want to accept the quest «Break the Iron Rock»?

Yes/No

Pressing yes, Kirito followed the old man to an iron rock that was nearby the man's shack. "You may begin." The elder said, walking away from Kirito. This would be the last interaction he would have with the man. As soon as you break the rock, the quest becomes complete and you receive your rewards. The old man wasn't needed from here on out. You could choose to talk to him once you've completed his quest, but the only thing he says are simple text words that congratulate you.

Kirito set his focus onto the rock. In the beta test, the rock was extremely hard to break. He'd doubt that factor had changed, even now. He was level 10 when he had completed the quest, and it took him several hours to finally break it. As long as it was, his timing was still much shorter than other players. It had taken Argo nearly a day. He stole a glance up at his combat level.

Kirito

LV: 19

Illfang had leveled him up twice. The xp bar under his stat showed him that he was nearly leveled up again. Jumping two levels at once was absolutely incredible, and completely unheard of. All of that xp the boss dropped had solely went to him. In a normal boss fight, experience points and item drops were split between players and their party members. While this makes it seem like your cut would be small, it was actually very good. Partaking in a boss fight would save you time away from grinding. The col and items were also very beneficial.

It felt good knowing just how much stronger he was than everyone else. Not even former beta testers could even come close to reaching his level. Granted, he did have unfair advantages like better equipment and knowledge that no one else knew, but that wasn't his fault. He was just a better player than the rest of them, plain and simple.

It was time to become even further ahead of them. Stretching an arm out, he held his right hand out above the rock, positioning himself into a stance a martial artist would take. It may have taken him several tries before, but this wasn't like last time. He knew exactly how to activate the skill, and which spot would cause the rock to methodically break. He slammed his fist down. "Hrragh!"

CRACK!

The rock, made of heavy iron that would take a man hours to even dent, broke under the impact of Kirito's fist. The rock split clean in two, and slowly shattered into thousands of crystalline particles.

Quest Complete!

A smirk of satisfaction materialized on his face. It only took one shot. This result was to be expected. He was confident he could break the rock much faster than last time, the level gap perhaps making it easier.

He accepted the quest rewards and watched as «Martial Arts» appeared into his skill list.

«One-Handed Sword»

«Martial Arts»

«Parrying»

«Searching»

«Hiding»

«Sprinting»

His skill list would continue to grow. The question was, when would it stop? In the beta, no one really knew because no one ever reached that high of a level. The only reason he knew there was a skill cap was because of the witch in the «Town of Beginnings». If you could have an infinite amount of skills, why would she be there?

He shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well. I shouldn't have to worry about that right now." No use thinking about things that were far into the future. He was sure it would be awhile before he did come across that problem, and he could avoid it completely if he made smart skill choices. Walking to the edge of the mountain, he could make out the town of «Urbus». From this high up, it looked like a small hole dug with a shovel. There wasn't any other reason to stay up on the mountain, and now that he had the skill, he would never have to travel back up it.

He carefully began his tread down the mountain. That was the most dangerous part of the quest. The reason why the quest was so secretive was because it was so damn hard to travel up it. He recalled a whole bunch of players thinking they would find a treasure chest or something if they reached the top, only to plummet to their deaths a quarter the way up. Falling that high scared players to death, and there were signs posted in front of the mountain warning players about it. No one tried to climb up it after that. Kirito doubt anyone would try until info about it was leaked.

It was still daytime, the virtual sun's rays were already lighting up the surface below. His coat protected him from the virtual winds blowing against him. They were virtual, but it still felt nice on his skin. His next destination was the center of the floor. The area was covered with both grass and gravel, separating the two biomes. The only unique thing about it were the many rocks scattered across it. There were no quest near it, so there wasn't any reason why a player would travel to it. For SAO, it was a dull sight. Kirito only had one specific reason to head there.

To fight the strongest monsters with the best xp rates, of course.

The strongest mob on floor two was the «Rock Taurus». Equipped with strong defense and attack power, they sounded pretty deadly, but they actually weren't that difficult to defeat. The taurus' run sluggishly and their only attack is to sprint head-first into the player. Alone, they were easy to fight. All you had to do was dodge, strike, rinse, and repeat. They normally only spawned one at a time, making it hard to actually grind out on them. That would typically be the case, unless you journeyed to the center of the floor. Not only do they spawn frequently, but in pairs, making it the fastest place to grind on the current floor.

It wasn't exactly safe, however. Because they spawn so quickly, you always have to be on your feet. Getting hit by one of them takes a large margin of your health away. Its easy to get trampled and defeated if they all bombard you at once. Kirito wasn't worried though. His level was way too high for them to be an actual threat. They were just the best he could do for now.

He thought about doing more quests, but forgone that option. Other than the «Martial Arts» quest, there weren't any others that would be of use to him. The best quests here only gave out xp and col. While this would be good for a lower level, it wouldn't for him. He could grind out on the «Rock Taurus» and get even more rewards then the quest's gave.

Kirito nodded to himself, the victorious smirk still plastered on his face. He didn't even feel a minuscule amount of drowsiness. Soloing a floor boss had really hyped him up. He would have to burn away his adrenaline by grinding on mobs. Focused on setting his plan into motion, he completely missed the blinking orange light in the corner of his vision.

---

"Hah!" Kirito yelled out activating «Horizontal». His blade went completely through the «Rock Taurus» diving towards him, obliterating it. He quickly turned around to face his other foes. He danced around the rocky creatures that charged at him, knocking one aside while activating a sword skill into another. These taurus' were definitely proving how deadly they could be in groups. Even he, now a level 20, always had to stay on his toes to avoid being tackled.

The «Rock Taurus» roared at Kirito, rushing at him with all it's strength. He ducked under it and leaped towards the one behind it, landing a heavy blow on its neck. Steel tore through fur, splitting the monster in two. He turned back around into his stance, holding his sword in front of him, his other hand ready to move at a moments notice. Two taurus's slowly approached him, one on his left flank, and one on his right, cornering him behind a pillar of stone. They stared him down menacingly, stomping their feet into the ground. Suddenly, they both charged at him at the same time. He dashed to his left, batting the taurus away with his sword. The taurus flew behind him and slammed into the rock, dazed. He turned around as the other was directly upon him. He wouldn't have time to swing his sword around to block its attack.

He swiftly raised his fist, a red light shining from it. He let out a fierce yell as he smashed the taurus into the ground with his new «Martial Arts» sword skill, «Hammer Fist», a downwards strike. The taurus let out a painful wail, it's hp dropping into yellow. He brought his sword back down upon the beast, slaying it. The other beast managed to get onto its feet and charge at him, only to be struck with a «Horizontal», which also finished it off.

He watched the mob die with tired eyes, panting lightly. Fatigue was finally catching up to him. He'd been at it all day, from morning till night, grinding for xp and items while also training his «Martial Arts» skill. He checked the vicinity for anymore mobs to slay, but it seemed he had run the system dry. Either that or the taurus' themselves were to afraid to spawn back in. The thought of something that bizarre happening made him chuckle. He flicked his sword, a new habit of his, and sheathed it away behind him. His menu showed that it was a quarter to midnight. He woke himself up early to fight Illfang, and he'd been up a long time since then. Now would be a good time to get some rest.

He was just about to close his menu when a glowing light caught his eye. He raised an eyebrow. 'What could this be?' Kirito questioned himself. Deciding not to wait any longer, he pressed his finger on the orange light.

Message

Asuna:

"KIRITO! THE FIRST BOSS WAS BEATEN BEFORE WE COULD FIGHT IT! THE SECOND FLOOR IS OPEN!"

Message

Asuna:

"Did you get my message Kirito? The first boss was cleared! Are you there?"

Message

Asuna:

"Hey! Don't ignore me! I'm trying to talk to you! Answer me!"

Kirito paled. there were over forty messages from Asuna trying to contact him. The further he went down, the more graphic and angrier they got. 'Oh man, she's gonna kill me! The next time she sees me, I'm done for!' He thought in absolute terror, already bracing himself for the horror to come. He would know. Having a younger sister taught him to never EVER inflict a woman's wrath. He had broken that taboo. There was no escaping it.

He was dead.

Or at least his soul was for that matter. Sure enough he could make it up to her, right? Woman can be forgiving. It's not like there's a heartless monster under their gentle exterior, right?

Right?

Kirito gulped down his nervousness. 'If she's going to forgive me, I have to write the best message I can, and do something special for her.' He thought hurriedly, not sparing any time to second guess himself.

Message To

Asuna:

"I'm really sorry if I made you worry Asuna, I just didn't get the chance to reply back in time. Rest assured, I got all your messages, and I was very surprised upon reading the parts about the first boss being defeated. If you'd like, we could meet up tomorrow. How about 5:45 a.m. at the town square in «Urbus»? If you don't know how to get there, simply say 'Teleport Urbus' at the teleporter in «Tolbana». I'll see you there!"

Sent

'What a cheesy message! What the hell was I thinking!' She'll probably read the message and think he was the nerdiest loser in all of Aincrad. Maybe he should have taken the aggressive approach? Nice guys usually finish last, so if he played the tough guy and said, 'Hey bitch, meet me up at Urbus,' would it have worked?

Kirito sighed hanging his head low. There wasn't much use thinking about it now. All he could do was hope she would go easy on him. This is for the best anyways. By meeting up, he could check and see if she's told anyone about him or if she truly kept it a secret. She shouldn't have much trouble making her way to «Urbus». Once a town was explored and the warp gate was activated, anyone could teleport to it from another town with its own warp gate. With dreadful thoughts clouding his mind, Kirito made his way to «Urbus», taking off his ring and coat, as well as equipping his lowly armor so he could stay secretive. This would be the first time he entered «Urbus» ever since the beta.

The beta. It seems so long ago since he first logged into it and experienced the wonders of SAO. He had many great adventures inside it, adventures he would soon experience again. A smile crept up on him. There wasn't a need to reminisce on the beta as he would be able to play until his heart was content. What's better is that things were different this time around, which made his playthrough an even tougher challenge.

"Well, I guess not everything is different." He said aloud as he stepped inside «Urbus». From the looks of it, everything was exactly the same. That was alright, he still had plenty floors to go. He couldn't wait to unveil the secrets SAO had to show.

Kirito walked up towards the blacksmithing shop. Another asset the town had was that it has a twenty-four hour blacksmith. It was too bad that it was only useful for low level items. He would be able to repair his «Anneal Blade», the «Ring of Charos» and his «Defiance Set» just fine because they were useable at level one, but anything above level five would be damaged. His «Coat of Midnight» would also be safe, as it just met the mark at level 5. Glancing to see if anyone was around, he reequipped his trusty «Ring of Charos» to repair his items with minimal cost before making his way to an inn.

The sound of voices caught Kirito's attention. Looking ahead at one of the few inn's in «Urbus», he saw a few players chatting rather angrily in front of the doorway. 'Well, it is a new floor. Shouldn't be surprised there are still people roaming the streets this late at night.' He thought before taking his ring off again. Wouldn't want anyone seeing that.

He tried to walk past the players, but they stopped him. "Hey, you planning on renting out a room?" The tallest one asked him. Kirito turned to the group. He could guess from the beards on their face and difference in height, that they were all a solid ten years older than him. The man and his two friends seemed to have a look of expectancy on their faces.

A bored look masked Kirito's aggravation. "Yeah, is there a problem?" He asked, apathy lacing his tone. This was his defense against people. Whenever a stranger or someone he didn't like approached him, his expression would drop into one of indifference and his demeanor would stiffen, guarding himself from others.

The player shrugged off his nonchalant attitude. "Yep, thought so. Sorry kid, but there ain't anymore inns in this town. They all got rented out by other players." His two friends nodded along with his words.

"Oh." Was all he could reply. Once again, players have gotten in his way. He should expect this sort of outcome by now. Really, it shouldn't be much of a surprise. 'Maybe Asuna got a room here?' If he messaged her, she might let him room with h- No no no, that wouldn't work and he knew it.

He turned and walked away from the players as they continued to talk amongst themselves. 'Should I go back to «Tolbana» and rent a room there?' It was hard getting a room when players began showing up there. Because Kirito was there first, he was able to rent his room out repeatedly for as long as he liked. Since he was going to the second floor, he let the rental time die out. For a moment, he had forgotten that other players would be at «Urbus» before he would, and that had cost him a room. He knew those three men probably thought of going to «Tolbana» for a room too. Taking in to account that they haven't already teleported there, Tolbana's inns must also be packed full.

Another dreaded sigh made it's way out of Kirito. 'Guess I'll just sleep on a rooftop.' It wouldn't be the first time he had slept on one. The reason why it wasn't done much was because no one wanted to sleep outside, and because no one could climb on top of them. There skills were too weak to get onto roofs. Kirito didn't care about sleeping outdoors, so of course he found a way to get onto a roof. In «Urbus», there was a tall fence that surrounded an npc house. Using his higher than average player stats, he ran up the fence and climbed to the top. He balanced himself carefully before jumping from the fence onto the home. There were a few buildings that had flat roofs, so he leaped from house to house until he came across one. He sat down and categorized his assorted items in his inventory so he could make a quick sell tomorrow. Taking off his weapon and storing it away, he set his alarm for 5:30 a.m. so he would be awake by the time he met up with Asuna. Yawning, Kirito gently lied down on the rooftop and put his hands behind his head. He began dozing off before finally falling asleep.

---

5:34 a.m.

Kirito yawned into his arm. He thought he was used to waking up early. He hasn't felt this tired before, so why now? 'Maybe my body's telling me it doesn't want to meet up with Asuna.' He speculated. Nah, it was just coincidence. "Well I'm here. Guess I'll wait for her to show." He mumbled to himself, sitting on a wooden bench that was next to a statue of a man. The sculpture depicted the founder of «Urbus», which was now the old man on top of the mountain. Although the statue looked pristine, it was very old because it depicted the man in his early twenties.

He looked around the town square. It was surprisingly empty. Then again, it was super early in the morning. Guess there weren't any early birds in SAO. He opened up his menu.

5:36 a.m.

'Maybe I should of set the alarm to 5:40.' At this rate, he would be waiting here all da-

"YOU!" A loud voice screamed making Kirito jump. He quickly turned in the direction of the voice where a hooded figure was making their way towards him.

"Wha-"

"WHY HAVEN'T YOU REPLIED TO ANY OF MY MESSAGES!"

Kirito put his hands up in defense. "Hey! Calm dow-"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN YOU JERK!" She yelled with utmost fury. "YOU HAD ME WORRIED! I THOUGHT YOU DIED!"

He looked at the building nearby. Windows were beginning to open up and he could see heads popping out. She was drawing a lot of attention to them. "Asuna please! I understand you're mad, but can we please do this somewhere else?" He asked with quickness, gesturing to the watchers around them.

Asuna looked around from under her hood. Her angry look changed into one of embarrassment. Her face turned red. She tried to say something to disguise it, but all she could do was nod dumbly, pulling her hood further down her face.

"Good, follow me." Kirito said, also embarrassed. At least she wasn't those kind of girls who scream at people without any precautions. It was nice to know she was willing to listen to reason. He led her away from the square with haste in his footsteps. He hated being the center of attention, more then that, he hated being the center of attention when something embarrassing just happened to him. Why did she put him through that?

Kirito stopped at an npc house. There was a bench next to it where they could sit which was quite a ways away from the player inns. On this side of town, there shouldn't be any players nearby this early in the day. "Wanna sit?" He asked with kindness, sitting down and patting the seat next to him. She quietly nodded again and sat down, still embarrassed from her outburst.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

He looked at her with soft eyes. Here he was thinking about himself while she was thinking about him. "Don't beat yourself up over it." He sighed scratching the back of his head. "Besides, it was my fault to begin with, sorry." He apologized back. "Guess I'm just not used to receiving messages from people."

She looked satisfied with that answer, perking up with a smile. "Well now that all that's out of the way, what were you up to Kirito?" Surely he was doing something important. When she woke up, she immediately saw his message glowing in her vision. If he didn't even notice hers, he must've been completely absorbed into something.

He stiffened and looked around vigilantly. He sighed and looked back at her with a scowl. "Your not suppose to say my name, remember?" If there had been any players around, he could have very well been screwed.

Her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! I didn't even notice!" She bowed her head in shame. "I'm sorry!"

Kirito rubbed his forehead. "We're gonna need to work on your secretive skills." His glare returned, ten times as fierce. "That being said, you haven't told anyone, have you?"

It was her turn to stiffen. "N-no I havent! I-I promise!" She stuttered out anxiously, suddenly finding her feet interesting. He stared her down like a predator would prey, looking at her posture for any signs of deceit. Asuna squirmed under his gaze, unable to look back at him.

Unable to detect anything, his glare let up. "I guess I have to believe you." He shrugged. No one had come up to him claiming he was 'Kirito,' and he didn't have any proof that she did tell someone. He had no choice but to give her the benefit of the doubt. Asuna let her shoulders slump down, finally able to breathe again. "As for your question, well..." He couldn't tell her that he was on an adrenaline high after defeating the first floor boss by himself. He couldn't tell her that he was out grinding on the second floor either. That would give himself away, and would make her very suspicious. He gathered up a convincing story and scratched his cheek in chagrin. "I stayed up too long the other day and accidentally slept in. It took me awhile to find the «Moonflower» and by the time I finally found it, the sun was rising." He explained with a smile of embarrassment, trying to make his excuse sound plausible. "Sorry."

Asuna's face scrunched up, irritation leaking from her. A drop of sweat fell down Kirito's face. "That's it? That's what you were up to?" She said in bewilderment. "Geez! How long can you sleep!?"

Kirito inwardly sighed. She believed his lie. "I know, I know. When you told me the first floor was cleared, I was really surprised." He said with a chuckle that exposed some of his relief. Then he frowned. 'Now that I think about it. I've lied to her a whole lot.' He thought with resentment towards himself. This was how it had to be done though. If he was going to play the game the way he wanted, he would have to lie to people. It just came with the choice.

"You're such a boy." She huffed out with her cheeks puffed, crossing her arms and turning away from him. Kirito watched her antics with a true smile. She was actually quite adorable when she pouted like that.

'What am I thinking?' He shook his head out of his thoughts. Sure, she was definitely cute. Easily the hottest girl he'd ever scene. What was better was that she looked around his age. 'But a girl like that would never like a guy like me.' There wasn't a point in thinking about such a frivolous fantasy. The farthest he could go was the friendzone. Some guys would try to get out of it, but he knew his place. Once you're in, you can never leave. "So, what else did you want to tell me?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Oh yeah!" She said suddenly remembering why they were meeting up. She rubbed her arm, a little embarrassed. "Well, I pretty much said everything in those messages I sent you. I guess I just wanted someone to talk about it with."

Kirito almost rolled his eyes. 'So, she's a gossiping girl?' He thought. She probably misses talking to her friends in the real world. Since he was possibly her only friend in this world, and with the obvious lack of females around, she had no one else to go to. Still, Kirito didn't like the thought of being a substitute for a gossiping schoolgirl. He could only think of one word to describe the predicament he found himself in.

Typical.

He sighed. Might as well oblige her. Besides, this way, it would be easier to make it up to her. "So, you wanna pick my brain?" She nodded vigorously, excitement bubbling up inside her. He could tell she really wanted to gossip with him. He checked the time.

5:57 a.m.

Woah, wasn't it 5:36 just a moment ago? Time flew by quick! An epiphany struck Kirito, an amazing idea began to formulate inside his head. He knew how to make it up to her. This was perfect. "Okay, follow me and we'll talk." He got up from the bench and began walking down the street. Asuna sat in confusion before getting up and following after him.

He led her through several roads, looking at the time in his menu. The place opened up at 6:00 a.m. and it was already 6:03. They were farther away from it than he thought. Kirito sensed a presence looming over his shoulder. "Whatcha looking at?" Asuna asked peeking over his shoulder, trying to steal a glance at his menu. He quickly closed out of it before she could see anything.

"Just checking the time." He said nonchalantly. Wouldn't want her looking at that. If she knew he was level 20, twice the level she was, he'd guess her yell would wake up everyone on this floor and the one before. Asuna grumbled unsatisfied. She wanted a peek at his menu! "We're here." Kirito announced, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Asuna looked at the building Kirito led her to. Her eyes widened. "This is..." She couldn't finish her sentence, stunned at what she was seeing. They were directly in front of... "A... A restaurant!?" She yelled out in happiness.

"Shhh!" Kirito hushed her with a finger over his lips. "We're really close to inns. You'll wake some people up yelling so loudly." He said, making her face flush. It would also do some good on his ears as well. He could say without a doubt that he'd heard enough women screaming in his lifetime. He opened the door for her. "Ladies first." He said with a teasing smile to which Asuna returned.

She stepped inside, looking around the place. You could tell that the small restaurant was mediocre at best, but for someone who'd been trapped in SAO without much luxury, it may as well been five-stars. He followed her inside, closing the door behind him. The first thing he noticed were people sitting down at tables. There were cursors above their heads. 'People beat us here?' He questioned in surprise. Its only been opened for three minutes and yet players already made their way here?

He thought for a moment. 'Now I get it. These players must be beta testers.' They woke up early in the morning so they could have a good meal before the place was leaked to the public. This was the only restaurant on this floor. What's worse, it only serves breakfast through 6:00 a.m. through 10:30 a.m. If they were stuck on this floor for another month like the last one, then this would probably be their only chance to eat here before the place would be constantly packed to the brim with people.

The only other shop that sold food on this floor was in another town far away from the restaurant. They only sold small dried foods that could be used on the field, and even they only had a limited supply per day. Kirito quickly speculated his options. If this really was their only chance to eat at this restaurant, he should probably pack up on dry foods to take out with him onto the field. He finished the rest of his milk and cookies, giving the majority of them to Asuna. He would need to find something else to satiate him. That town was way to far away to be worth traveling to. He would waste way too much xp for little payout. His best option would be to teleport to «Tolbana» and buy food there. It wouldn't be that good, but it was something.

Before he could think about it further, faces turned into their direction, gazes lingering on Asuna's hooded figure. This made the both of them shuffle around uncomfortably. Kirito because of his social anxiety and Asuna because they probably heard her outburst outside.

"Welcome!" The two nervous players jumped slightly at the voice. It was an npc waitress greeting them. Snickers could be heard by the tables, making their faces light up. Asuna was lucky, at least no one could see her blush. "Are you here together?" The waitress asked. They both nodded in sync, voices suddenly stuck inside their throats. "Follow me please!" She said cheerfully, leading the two to a small table with two chairs on each side.

The table was in the corner of the restaurant. Good, that's how Kirito preferred it. Hearing Asuna sigh in relief led him to believe that she was also happy with the npc's decision. They were each handed a menu. "What will it be?" The npc politely asked with a notebook in her hands, oblivious to the players around her.

Kirito didn't bother reading the menu. He already knew what he wanted. "I'll have eggs and bacon."

"Would you like a drink?"

He thought for a second. "Orange juice." He said. Normally he would have preferred milk, but since he'd had it recently, he decided to mix it up.

The npc turned towards Asuna. "And what would you like?" She asked with a shining smile.

The hooded girl shuffled nervously in her seat, the sudden shift in attention made her feel awkward. She looked like she was having trouble forming words. Was she still embarrassed about that whole incident a moment ago? Or is she just to afraid to order something? She softly cleared her throat. "I-I'll have the same thing." She quietly spoke out.

The waitress wrote down their orders. "Coming right up." She said in a mirthful voice, trotting away. Their eyes followed her as she left. When she disappeared into the kitchen, Asuna let her shoulders drop, breathing in relief.

Kirito raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" He asked, confused at her behavior. "She was just an npc. As real as they seem, they're not sentient." He patronized. Truth be told, he was the exact same way as her the first time he spoke with an npc. Not that she needed to know anyway...

Asuna looked surprised at this information. "That was an npc?" The information struck her in amazement. She knew they existed, but were surprised at how similar they looked to players. "She looked so real." She whispered to him, purposely keeping her voice low.

He nodded back to her. "Wait a second, was that your first time interacting with an npc?" Kirito asked dumbfounded. There was no way she hasn't spoken to an npc by now.

"No, of course I have!" She said in her loudest whisper. "The blacksmith I talked to yesterday seemed npc'ish." She spoke out. She originally thought he was a real person, but if all npc's looked like that girl did, then he may of actually been an npc. "I asked him to repair my gear just like you said, remember?"

"Oh yeah? And how did that go?"

She balled her fists on top of the table. "That jerk wouldn't listen to me! I had to haggle him for ten minutes before he finally repaired my equipment!" She whispered again in annoyance, recalling that stupid old man. Even worse, he charged insane prices!

Kirito facepalmed. Was it really that difficult? "Like I said, npc's are not sentient. The only way you can communicate to them effectively is with simple voice commands." This had to be a prank right? It just wasn't possible to be so nooby at a video game. "The only ones worth talking to are ones that have a question mark above their heads. That means they have a quest for you." He decided to fill her in, in case she went about talking to every npc she came across.

Asuna heard the disbelieving tone in his voice and glared at him. "It's your fault for not teaching me about that earlier!" She quickly whispered with tamed rage.

He sighed. Did he really have to tell her something THAT basic? Actually, yeah, he probably should have. Of course she just had to blame him for it. He looked at her hooded face, feeling the small glare coming from under it. She made it seem like playing the game was difficult. Not even a eight-year-old should be having her kind of troubles. It almost made him chuckle at how bad she was. A small smile escaped him. Although the girl was a hassle to deal with, he was kind of glad he ran into her that day.

"How about we talk about something else?" There wasn't a need to discuss how bad she was. They both knew she was terrible; nothing else to say about it. "Wanna tell me why your whispering?" Kirito said, taking interest in her actions. He was also talking quietly, but not quiet enough to be whispering.

Asuna's glare dropped. He could see a frown underneath her hood. "Because I'm a girl." She said, downcast. She didn't have the luxury to speak up in public places. She was a girl, and that meant her feminine voice would attract people towards her. She tried speaking to others before, trying to get in contact with anyone who knew a way to log out, but her efforts didn't go so well. Girls were apparently scarce in the video game world. When one was found, they would be glomped by men everywhere. At first she thought they were being nice, but when she looked into their eyes, she could see that they were just like everyone else in the real world who tried taking advantage of her.

Kirito knew he stepped on a landmine. A look of regret shown on his face. "I'm sorry. I-"

"It's okay." Asuna cut him off. She knew he didn't mean to bring that up. It wasn't his fault.

The mood felt tense between the two once again. 'I hope it isn't always like this between us.' Kirito thought uncomfortably. How many awkward moments have they had between each other now? He'd lost count at this point. 'Come on man, snap out of it.' He couldn't be the one to think like that. He was the guy, so he should be the one to take charge. Kirito placed his elbow on the table and leaned on his hand, giving Asuna his best smile, ready to gossip. "Well, go ahead and ask away."

"Huh?" She questioned him. Giving her a look, she figured out what he meant. "Oh right, the second floor." Asuna gave him a smile of her own, making his heart jump. "I totally forgot. That's the second time that's happened now." She said, placing her hand on her mouth to stifle her giggles. Good, it seems the mood's returned. Asuna folded her hands on her lap in a polite manner. "We'll, I guess I wanna start off with how."

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the only way to get to the second floor is if we beat the boss on the first floor, correct?" He nodded. "Like I said in my messages, we never got there. The meeting only just began when the announcement went off." They heard a noise across the room, making her pause. From the looks of it, more players were arriving to dine at the restaurant. Her attention fell back on Kirito. "Some other group must have beaten us there, but who?" She began pondering in her head. Just what kind of group was it? Who were they? How many? How strong? And how did they know where the boss room was? As far as anyone knew, the only people to know where it was at were the ones who started the boss meeting.

Kirito had to strongly grit his teeth in silence. He could not laugh. He must absolutely not laugh. Of course no one would speculate that a SINGLE player took out a floor boss. Not even the players who followed the pro gamer 'Kirito' would believe that he soloed the boss. He coughed into his hand, disguising any form of laughter into it. He looked away from her. If he made eye contact with her, he might slip up. His antics made her confused. Did she say something weird? "It looks like we have a mystery on our hands." Kirito said smoothly. He may of been awkward around people, but he was an expert at concealing his inner thoughts. He didn't want to lie to her again, but telling her he beat the boss was out of the question.

Asuna sat there thinking about what could have happened while Kirito watched her in silence, waiting for her next question. A look of surprise flashed on her face, as if she figured the mystery out, surprising him. The look quickly disappeared. She begun to stare at him, her eyebrows slightly narrowed. Uh oh. What did he do this time? That look she was giving is anything but good. Whatever she was about to say, he had to be careful when he answered.

"So..." She dragged out, suspicion leaking from her voice, once again catching him off guard. "Did YOU happened to see anyone while you were out late last night?" She questioned with a low whisper. Even though her voice was quiet, it was asked with vehemence. What was she planning?

Kirito brushed off her malicious tone, pretending he didn't comprehend it, instead he simply placed his elbow back onto the table with his head once again in his hand. "No, not at all. I was so deep in the forest, immersed in hiding from the wolves while searching for the «Moonflower» that I couldn't have heard or seen anything, even if I tried." He casually explained, sighing because he 'missed his chance' to catch the mystery group. In actuality, he was just trying to make his argument more believable.

She wasn't done though. "Didn't see anything, huh?" Her voice held more confidence. She leaned onto the table, suspense taking hold of her actions. "Could it be because it was YOU who beat the boss?" Her bold statement was whisked away in the wind, preventing anyone else from hearing it. But he heard it.

He blinked. Did he just hear what he thought he just heard? Surely his ears were deceiving him. There was no way she could possibly be accusing him of something like that. Kirito felt a small rush of rage brush over him, nearly showing itself on his features. He held it back in the corners of his mind before it slipped. 'Not here. Don't get mad in a place like this.' This was a problem he had. It never really showed itself because he never talked to anyone or did anything other than play video games. Nevertheless, it was there. He had an anger issue. Whenever someone accused him of something, or tried back-stabbing him, he would become incredibly furious.

He quickly calmed himself. He had no right to get mad at her anyways. After all, he really did beat the boss, not that she could know that. Still, it hurt to know that she suspected him. He felt sort of betrayed. 'Maybe she'll feel like this if she ever found out about the lies I told her.' He thought, hoping that she would never learn about that. Kirito gave her an unpleasant sigh. "And here I thought you couldn't become anymore terrible at this game. But here you are, proving me wrong. Congrats." He jabbed at her, making her cheeks puff up in anger. He cut her off before she could reply. "Think about what your saying. Do you really think I alone could beat a floor boss?" He whispered back at her incredulously.

The look of ridiculousness on his face made her confidence shake. 'Are bosses really that hard?' She questioned herself. It wasn't like she ever fought one, so she had no idea if they were as tough as he made them out to be. Considering who he was and what he thought about them, they must have been pretty dang difficult. A look of shame graced her face as she looked down. "Are they really that bad?" She asked, weakly putting up her last line of defense.

"Really that bad?" He restated. "Try fighting a monster at least five times the size of a normal one, add incredible strength, defense, four bars of health to it, and ask me if its that bad." He wasn't exaggerating about it. It was absolutely ridiculous for a person to take on a monster like that by themselves. 'But I never said impossible.' He added in his head.

Asuna's head fell lower with each fact he listed off about bosses until her face was planted on the table. "That's not so bad." Sarcasm pathetically leaked from the words she spoke.

Kirito watched her sulk, amusement in his eyes. "Come on, no use grieving over it." He said trying and failing to cheer her up. Another thought occurred to him. "Hey, tell me why you accused me of fighting the boss." He didn't want her thinking things like that. If she didn't trust him, then she would probably rat him out. Although he was lying to her, and therefore she probably shouldn't trust him, he couldn't have her doing that. His throat ran dry when he thought about it like that, making it hard to speak. 'Its for the best.' He thought reassuringly, casting away any feelings of regret away. He already made his decision, now it was time to stick with it.

She looked up at him, sorrow on her face. "W-Well, you were out late, and you aren't wearing your fancy armor you had on last time." She stuttered out. "You also know a lot about this game, so I thought maybe..." Her voice died out, regretting she even accused him in the first place.

He shook his head, lazily laying back in his chair. "You should have at least looked into bosses more before you began accusing me." He scolded. "If I did something like that, I would have to have several groups of players backing me up, which wouldn't make since because I want to remain anonymous, remember?" He said, putting everything together for her.

"I know." She said solemnly, already figuring that part out. She sat in silence before laughing weakly. "Here I am accusing the only friend I have over something so stupid. I'm not a very good person am I?" Kirito's eyes widened. Did it really affect her that badly? She looked like she wanted to curl up in a ball and hide away in a corner. Sure she made him angry for a small second, but he explained everything out to her. He didn't think much of it, so why did she? "I'm so sorry." She croaked out, bowing her head low. Hearing that made his stomach churn, the thoughts of regret he cast away rushed back tenfold. Not only was he lying to her, but he also made her feel guilty from said lie. Kirito shook his head, disgusted with himself.

If there was one thing he was sure about, it was that he didn't like seeing her sad. He had to cheer her up, fast. "Um." Come on, say something! "Its not a big deal, really. I like having you around. Your still learning about the game, so don't go beating yourself up over something like that." He said truthfully. "Besides, it should be me apologizing for the mean things I said about your skills in the game. I've seen what you can do, and you're actually a good fighter." Kirito added, with a little more passion in his voice then he planned.

She looked up in surprise. A small smile grazed her face. For a nerd, he was actually really sweet. "Thank you." She whispered.

"Hmm?" He questioned, unable to hear her.

Before she could answer him, the waitress walked up to their table. "Here you go! Enjoy!" She set their food down in front of them respectively. Asuna instantly perked up. She picked up her silverware and began eating with much more control over herself, unlike the last time he seen her eat when she gave in to temptation and devoured her food in milliseconds.

The cloaked girl chewed quietly before she spoke, "Its different."

"Uh huh." Kirito responded. Most food in SAO wasn't like food in real life. You wouldn't be finding your traditional foods here. Things like pizza, hamburgers, or other modern culture cuisines were out. They were lucky to get things like eggs and bacon, albeit they tasted much different. "SAO's timeline is ancient, so you won't be tasting anything your used to." He said in-between bites. Asuna hummed, thinking about his words before taking another bite.

"Its still good though." She said, her smile reappearing.

His heart jumped again. It seemed like her smile would always have that effect on him. The mood was much better now then it was a moment ago. He wished it was always like this. It was kind of nice, eating with a pretty girl in a small breakfast joint. He never could have imagined himself doing something like this in real life. He probably would never have the chance to either. He shrugged. It didn't really matter now. He would enjoy it now while he had the chance, and maybe in the future, the two of them could do this again.

---

Kirito and Asuna walked out of the restaurant with satisfied looks on their faces. They each had a couple plates before they were done, courtesy of Kirito who paid for the meal. Getting an extra 30,000 col from killing a floor boss gives you quite a lot of pocket money. They finished up their chat about the boss, speculating what could have happened. Asuna was still as clueless as she was before they talked, while Kirito shamelessly rebutted her questions with his own thoughts on the subject, finding her desperation for info humorous. The hooded girl stretched her arms over her head with contentment. "Well, what now?" She asked, avoiding the use of his name.

He noticed this and smirked at her. "Well, just because we're on the second floor doesn't mean we should start slacking." He responded. "We've had our fun. Its time to get back to work."

The hooded girl groaned in sadness. "Yeah, I guess your right." She wished she had more time to relax, but she knew that wasn't possible. Kirito told her yesterday that the players who get to new quest or locations first usually get the best xp and equipment. If she was going to keep up with Kirito and everyone else, she would have to start pulling her weight. "We have to get out of here as soon as we can." She said with newfound determination. They couldn't wait around for the people in the real world to rescue them. For all they knew, it could be years before they found a way to get them out safely. 'How long do we even have?' Asuna thought in fear.

Its already been a month. Everyone who was still alive has probably already been transferred to a hospital so they can be monitored. Right now, the only thing that was keeping them alive were the machines they were hooked up to, and the people looking after them. But that wouldn't last forever, would it? Could they even beat all one hundred floors within the time they have before their bodies gave out? It was scary to think about, but it was something that had to be taken into consideration.

Kirito was taken aback from the resolve in her voice. This girl had more mood swings than he could count. First she was angry, embarrassed, happy, curious, sad, tired, now determined, all in the span of an hour. This wasn't the first time a girl confused him, and it wouldn't be the last. He paused for a moment to think about what she said. 'She wants to get out?' That wasn't unusual. Most, no, everyone trapped in here wants to get out. Everyone except him. This game was a thousand times better than real life. He didn't ever want to leave.

He felt her hazel eyes look at him with confidence. It didn't make since. The first time he met her, she seemed depressed. The look in her eyes made it seem like she was trying to hide away from the world and everyone on it. Now she looked like a completely different person. Not only that, but she truly believed they could beat the game. She looked so confident that it made him believe it too. He scratched the back of his head and once again sighed. She noticed that she made him sigh a lot, which was beginning to irk her. "Well, if you wanna get out that badly, your gonna have to level up, fast." He told her, an amused smile on his face.

'I guess I'll humor her.' He thought. He didn't want to get out, but he wouldn't stop her from trying. Besides, its not like he had to worry about the game ending anytime soon. They still had a long way to go before they reached the 100th floor. "There's a few quest you should do before other people take them. They should help you out a bit." He informed her. "Here, open your menu and I will show you."

Asuna nodded. "Right." She understood now. Quest and items in the game were scarce. She'd have to take as many opportunities she could to level up and get stronger. It made her feel a little guilty, as she felt she would be hogging them to herself, but it had to be done. It wasn't like she was cheating, and it was completely fair if she got to the quest first before others did. She pulled up her menu and Kirito had her circle locations for quest she should take, also drawing her a map of the floor with the safest paths to travel.

"Aren't you going to do these quests?" She asked him with confusion. "You said that they could only be done a limited number of times, so shouldn't you be doing them with me?" If he was also going to do these quests, it would be a lot safer if they did them together.

He shook his head. "Nah, there's a few things I need to do before them." He gave her a smile to ease her concern. "Don't worry, I'll get to them soon before they're taken." Asuna frowned, unsatisfied. This was the second time he would be bailing on her before they could do a quest together. She groaned. Why is he so mysterious!?

She opened her mouth to retort him, but sighed in acceptance. "Oh, fine." She knew he'd made up his mind. She then jabbed her finger into his chest. "But this better not become a regular thing!" She exclaimed, making him back away with his hands up. "I expect compensation for this! Next time, your going questing with me!"

"Okay, okay!" Kirito said, giving in to her demands. Why are women so forceful?

"Hmph." She folded her arms. "I'll hold you to it." She said, making Kirito sweatdrop.

"R-Right." He stuttered out, forcing a smile. "Well, until next time." He said, walking past her with nervous haste. He picked his feet up faster after feeling her eyes on him, trying to escape her gaze. She watched him walk away with a glare. When his figure faded away, her glare dropped into a happy smile.

"Until next time." She giggled.

---

"Hah!" Kirito grunted, striking an «Angry Taurus» with a «Vertical» sword skill, bisecting it. He yawned before flicking his sword, sheathing it on his back. He was currently exploring through the dungeon that was supposed to lead to the second floor boss. Like floor one, the second floor's boss room was in a different location, and it has yet to be found. There was a good chance that this would be a continuous pattern for the floors to come.

'Maybe I should get some sleep.' Kirito thought in lethargy. Starting in the early afternoon, he'd been grinding in the dungeon all day, and it was now going on 3:00 a.m. He's explored a lot of the dungeon, and from the looks of it, he'd mapped out at least half of the area. Unlike some other games where you can buy a map for guidance, players would have to map areas out themselves. By Kirito's standards, it wasn't that hard, but most people generally had trouble with it.

He looked up at his health bar. Still full. He never had to use potions because of his newest addition to his skill list, «Battle Healing». On the off chance a monster hit him, his health would regenerate the small portion of damage it did, and by the time another monster hit him, his health would already be full again. He struck down another taurus that sloppily charged at him. It was just too easy nowadays. Most monsters only needed one well-placed sword skill to defeat them. 'I guess that's what happens when you fight level 13 monsters at level 22.'

Its been a week since floor two was opened up, and in that time, he could only level himself up twice. Even with his method, the xp just wasn't great enough for his level. After his method began to get inefficient, Kirito decided to grind out in the boss dungeon. Sure it would be less xp, but if he could find out where the second boss was, maybe he could defeat it like he did Illfang and go up a floor. After that, he could try to level up some more before going back to floor one and begin grinding out in the hidden dungeon. There were a lot of high leveled monsters still in it. He wasn't able to fight them then, but he could now. He was having a lot of fun leveling, there was only one problem.

The world of Aincrad was in a frenzy. The biggest news that made headlines was the obvious floor two mysteriously opening up. There were the obvious questions circling around. Who did it? How? Why? Then there were the more thoughtful questions asked. Was it a ploy from Kayaba? Or was he trying to aid them, and speed up the process of the game? The one who reported this news was the rat herself, Argo, who now had her own printing press. She and a few of her helpers find out news and report it in a paper they write called the «Weekly Argo» that, as the name states, will have a new installment every week. The paper gets sold to local general stores where players can buy it for 50 col to read all the latest news and rumors, as well as small tips and tricks on the current floor. They've already sold out three times, and judging by the overwhelming positive responses it's gotten, will be selling for a long time to come.

Kirito blanched at the idea of her being one of the richest players in Aincrad. It probably wasn't wise for her to have so many funds. She would probably use it to find even more devious ways to make money. He himself had also made a fortune grinding out on mobs and when he defeated Illfang, but at the incredible rate her business was growing, she would pass him up in the next one or two floors.

Another major story that Argo posted in her paper was the creation of the «Monument of Life» that appeared a few days ago in the «Town of Beginnings». The monument was at the location of the previous «Room of Resurrection», where players used to respawn after they died. The monument had all 10,000 player names on it, and the way it worked was simple. The names that were crossed out meant that the player was dead, and if it wasn't, they were alive. This wouldn't be much of a problem for Kirito, except...

IT DISPLAYED HIS NAME ON IT!

It didn't take long for players to find out that THEE 'Kirito' was actually trapped in the game, AND alive. Of course Argo couldn't pass up a story like that, so she wrote an article with bold letters stating: "KIRITO IS ALIVE!" People all over had been looking for him, whether they were actual players playing the game, or kept stationary in the «Town of Beginnings». Argo had her crew do a massive sweep in the starting town, looking for him. She probably wanted to chew him out for deleting her. After coming up short, they basically confirmed that he wasn't there hiding away, and that he was actually PLAYING the game. Not only did this irk people, but it also made them suspicious. Questions began popping up, like "Is Kirito working with Kayaba?" Or, "Did Kirito betray us?" Some of the more faithful players asked questions like, "Did Kirito lead a group of players to beat the boss?" It all got out of hand real fast. He already speculated this before, but now he knew there was no way he could reveal himself. That kind of backlash would be too much for him to handle.

Kirito sighed in irritation. Was Kayaba messing with him? That bastard had to of known he was trying to stay on the down low, so why! Kirito swung his blade in anger, smashing into an «Angry Taurus». The force of the blow hit the creature so strong it slammed into the nearby wall, obliterating it. He let out a calming breath. He should be fine. They did not know his face, and as long as his identity remained secret, they would never find him.

He thought back to what happened a couple days ago, making him frown. Asuna was spamming him with messages about how people were looking for him and why. He met up with her in person and explained that he was a famous 'pro gamer' that most players knew about. When she asked why they were angry, he told her they were probably mad that he kept himself hidden from them, even though he was a valuable asset. They talked for a few hours. She kept asking if he would be okay or what he was planning to do. He said that he didn't plan on revealing himself to them, and she promised she wouldn't rat him out as long as he didn't want to be found, which took him by surprise. He thought she too would be angry at him for hiding away from people when he was needed.

'She must've felt sympathy for me.' Kirito thought with guilt, once again belittling himself. She probably understood that a guy like him usually kept to himself, and wouldn't do well in front of all those people. His frown deepened. The worst part about all of this was making Asuna worry about him. She was too sweet for her own good, comforting him when she didn't need to. He had to make it up to her. He couldn't take her to that restaurant again. As predicted, it was packed full with people, with players camping out in front of the doors to get a chance to eat there. That option was definitely out, but maybe he could do something for her in the upcoming floors...

Kirito turned into the next passageway, mapping out the area behind him into his menu data. He didn't get to far down the corridor before he was stopped.

"This is.." Two iron doors several times his size stood before him. He'd found it already? It was even easier to find then it was the first floor doors. Then again, he knew the doors would be in a different location, so he went on a path vastly different than the previous one. Like all boss door's, they had a different design on them than the first floor's. Instead of diamond shapes embedded into it, it had several horizontal lines of triangles across it. One triangle was upward, the next downward, and the pattern repeated.

"I guess that's it for today." He could take on the dungeon tomorrow. Staying up as late as he had, doing it now could be risky, even for his level. Bosses were way stronger and moved way different from your average mob. If the boss was tampered with like Illfang, it could prove to be a challenge. Kirito turned on his foot and began walking back to town.

Wait. No. This wasn't right.

He stopped himself. His drowsiness must be getting to him. What was he thinking? Leaving the boss room alone could prove to be a mistake. Last time, a player group found the boss room and planned on having a meeting that was set to a certain date. At the time, he knew when they were going to fight it, and was able to adjust his plans accordingly. Now, no one had found it, and nothing noteworthy has been announced either.

But who said no one actually DID find it?

A group of players COULD have found it, but decided to keep the information to themselves, so they would be able to fight it. Most people probably thought the boss info was leaked, and that the new group stole the boss away from the raid party. Now, no one would be sharing any information, so he could not adjust his plans to theirs. If he came tomorrow, there is a chance that the boss would be defeated. He wouldn't have another chance like this for a long time to come, if at all. He was lucky last time, and now he's received that same chance. He was certainly blessed.

Or was he cursed?

If he did go in there, he could really die. That would always be a possible outcome. He knew better than anyone to NEVER take on more than what you can. He was good, but he wasn't a God. He didn't have any time to prepare for this dungeon, and one mistake could cost him his life. Kirito debated on this. Should he really risk it? Was it worth it? Then he thought back to when he defeated Illfang with an «Uppercut». The rush he got, the feeling that he alone lived for...

Kirito smiled. "Well, this truly may be the last chance I'll ever have to solo a boss. There's no way I can pass this opportunity up." He made his decision. Who needs sleep anyway? This wasn't the first time he traded in sleep for fun. Back when he played RAIZE, he stayed up nearly three consecutive days grinding out his combat skills. This was nothing.

Taking out an apple and some water from his inventory, he sat down in front of the boss doors and ate. 'Good thing I brought rations with me.' He received the apple from a sweet deal he made with a greedy npc. Using the «Ring of Charos», he was able to cut the cost down to a third of the price the npc offered. He was still overpaying for it, but with the col he had, it was an easy buy.

"This may be my last meal." He chuckled out, the thought of death lingering in his mind. He swallowed the last bit of his apple, downing it with water from his water flask. He cleared his throat before placing the empty container back into his storage. "Who am I kidding? There's no way I'm gonna be defeated here of all places." Any sort of worry was drained from his mind. If he died here this early in the game, then he DESERVED to die. He sat up, withdrawing his sword from his back. "Now or never." He said with a smirk, finalizing the choice he made. He pressed his free hand onto the entrance, slowly opening the heavy doors.

The room was dark. Even so, Kirito pressed on in confidence, already knowing the room would light up upon entering further. Just as predicted, the lights around the room glowed a shining light-blue, removing the darkness in it's entirety. Kirito narrowed his eyes at the creature before him, holding his sword out in front of him. There was a reason why the second floor's theme were taurus monsters. The boss stood on all fours, two sharp horns on it's head, red piercing eyes, icy-blue fur, and a blue diamond on the center of it's forehead. The monster's name was...

«Baran the Freezing Taurus»

The beast let out a mighty roar as it charged at him. Kirito glared at it with conviction.

"You're mine."