The Apathy of a Gamer

«Baran the Freezing Taurus» roared at Kirito with all it's might, staring him down with murderous intent. It stood in the center of the room, alone. Unlike «Illfang the Kobold Lord» who had minions, this boss did not. 'Or at least it shouldn't.' He thought. The player glared back at the boss as it was preparing to charge at him, doing the exact same thing as the other taurus's on floor two did, dragging their hoof across the ground while bending it's back legs. It was preparing to charge. Kirito bent his legs as well, ready to use his «Sprinting» skill any moment. The boss roared once more before running towards Kirito as fast it could.

A move he expected.

The swordsman had already planned out the moves he would make against Baran. He already had experience fighting the boss before and he knew the boss would only start acting different once he'd worn it's hp down. The boss's first move would be a straight on charge, just like every other taurus on the floor, in an attempt to wipe out any heavy equipped player who couldn't move away in time. Kirito set his plan into motion, first making a complete 180 turn and running straight towards the southern wall near the room's entrance.

Kirito approached the wall fast, hearing Baran's hooves smack into the ground harshly. Even with his high level and skill in «Sprinting», the monster was still faster than him. His foot touched the wall as soon as the beast was on top of him.

"Hah!" He grunted, kicking off the wall as hard as he could. The beast's head only barely grazed his coat before it crashed dead into the wall, the weight of it's body making it smash even harder. Kirito wasn't done. He spun his body towards the taurus, briefly glancing at the diamond between it's eyes before sticking his sword straight into it's neck, sliding and dragging the sword down the creature all the way to the base of it's tail.

Most players would probably be tempted to hit the blue gem on it's forehead as it appears to be a weak spot. Most players would be making a mistake. The diamond is where Baran's ice attacks come from, hence the name "Freezing Taurus." It is also very, very hard. Many players struck the gem in the beta, only to have their sword shatter into pieces. Kirito doubted that aspect of the boss had changed and it wasn't worth risking the durability of his only sword.

Baran's screech was muffled by the concrete of the wall pouring onto it. The cloaked player activated «Uppercut», a sword skill striking from the bottom up. This sword skill would allow him to hit the beast's bottom and tail, doing more damage to it. He breathed out a sigh, blinking quickly to rid his exhaustion. 'Good, the way boss room's work still hasn't changed.' Kirito thought, glad and relieved his assumption was correct.

Just like the boss room on floor one, this boss room could also be damaged. This was crucial to Kirito's plan. If he was going to defeat the boss, he needed to know if the boss room could be damaged. If it couldn't be damaged, he would have to swallow his pride and turn tail out of the room. His exhaustion was already getting to him and he knew the only way he could beat Baran quickly was by using the room to his advantage. Any other method would take too long and coming up with the method would take even more time, which would in turn make him more tired.

He couldn't afford to waste any time.

The bull-like animal struggled getting it's head out of the wall, particularly it's horns. Kirito was able to pull off one more «Horizontal» before it freed itself. He had to use sword skills carefully, only when the beast was stuck. Despite it's massive size, it was quick. Although sword skills are powerful, there is a major backlash. Each sword skill has a cool down timer, and the player would have to wait a second before they could move again. There is also a timer after the skill is used, so no skill can be used twice in a row.

Baran turned around in search of the black-haired player, only to see him halfway across the room. It snarled in rage before charging at him again. Kirito heard it's loud footsteps approaching him and swiftly peeked over his shoulder to see it. Specifically, it's health bar.

He raised an eyebrow. 'A little over half on it's first bar.' Every floor boss had at least four bars of health, while mini bosses usually had two. This boss was no different. Kirito was actually surprised at how much damaged he'd already done to it. Only a couple minutes in and nearly an eighth of it's health was gone. A boss usually took a couple hours to beat inside the beta because all the players were so under leveled. This time, he was way over leveled, even by his own standards. 'At this rate, I'll win within a half hour. Just don't get hit and your fine.' He smirked to himself.

Being powerful was fun.

Kirito repeated this technique, jumping off a pillar in the middle of the room and onto the beast's back. Baran crashed once again, stones falling on top of it's head. Kirito slid down the beast with his sword jammed into it, pulling off two more sword skills on it's behind before taking off again. This time when he peeked at it, the boss's first bar of health was in the red zone.

'This'll only work one more time.' He thought running towards another wall. The first phase of the boss was pretty simple minded. All it did was rush at it's targets at a super fast speed. As long as you could move out of the way in time, you were safe. 'After he loses his first health bar, his attack patterns will change.'

The gigantic taurus freed it's horns before charging again. Once more, it foolishly fell for Kirito's trap and slammed into the eastern wall where Kirito nailed it with two more swords skills. It howled in pain and anger, instantly freeing itself from the wall.

Kirito leaped back, grunting as he narrowly dodged the bull's back kick. 'If that had hit me...' He cut his thought off, preparing his next move. He knew he would've been sprawled out on the ground where the boss would have then trample him to his death. He shook his head, getting himself back in the game.

The boy looked above the taurus's head. Baran's first health bar was gone and it's second was chipped down by a fifth. The beast did a complete circle, kicking both it's front and back hooves in every direction it could. He knew what it was doing. It was separating itself from the players so it could pull off it's next attack. As Kirito predicted, the horned creature gave a mighty roar and jumped high in the air.

'Now!' He screamed to himself, also jumping as high as he could. The boss landed first, it's hooves connecting with the ground. The floor shook dangerously as sound-like waves traveled from it's feet. 'Yep, just like the beta.' Kirito thought, landing on the ground and running fiercely towards Baran. This was it's second stage. It jumped really high and stomped on the ground hard. When it landed, it would stun any player that was standing on the ground. It would then ram through the stunned player before they could move. The way you could avoid being stunned was also jumping along with the beast to dodge the sound-like waves.

The black haired player ran underneath the bull while it was cooling down from it's attack. He gave a blaring yell before striking the boss multiple times on it's underside. He quickly moved out of the way before he was kicked by the boss. Once again, it was turning in a circle to kick any nearby player away. 'So far so good.' Kirito thought, glancing at the depleting health bar of the boss. Using sword skills on it's second stage would be difficult. The bull moves too sporadically and the cool down timer on skills could be fatal. 'On his next jump, rocks will start falling from the ceiling.' He predicted from his past beta experience.

Awaiting to be proven correct, Kirito watched as the animal jumped high in the air. He followed in sync with the boss while watching out for falling rocks. His theory was right as both giant and small rocks fell from the ceiling, each one looking scarily sharp. The player in black evaded the falling rocks, crushing the smaller ones with his sword. He repeated his move again against the boss and ravaged it's underside. The beast roared in agony as it's virtual flesh was torn into. Kirito hopped away from it, his eyes connecting with the boss's.

"He really doesn't like me." Kirito sweatdropped, feeling the hate pouring off the beast. It's red eyes shined ominously, attempting to kick the player harming it. Again, Kirito avoided the boss's stun attack and bombarded it with a series of sword slashes. The bull's cry permeated the room, this one sounding much different from it's previous wails. 'This is it! It's third stage!' Kirito held his sword in front of him, readying himself for the beast's next move.

In the beta, «Baran the Freezing Taurus» had four stages, each coinciding with each of it's health bars. The first was a simple straightforward attack, attempting to run over the player. The next was jumping to stun the player, as well as causing rocks to fall, creating an aerial-like move. The third stage would be when it starts to use it's ice attacks. The reason why the beast is called the freezing taurus was because of the gem on it's forehead, which enabled it to use ice.

'The third stage will freeze the floor which can also be avoided by jumping and the fourth stage was ice breath which can be avoided by hiding behind the pillars.' Kirito recalled. He knew that the boss's attack patterns would change just like Illfang's, and that only happened once Illfang hit it's final bar of health. 'Good, his patterns won't change yet.' He paused. 'And if they do, I'll be ready.' He took a calm breath, awaiting Baran's ice attack. The only catch is that he would have to balance himself on ice once it froze the floor.

The enormous beast let out one final cry before the crystal on it's head began shining bright. 'This is it!' He thought putting power into his legs, readying to jump. It stomped it's two front hooves at Kirito before lowering it's cyan gem to the ground. 'Now-' Kirito's eyes widened.

That wasn't an ice attack.

"Gah!" Kirito let out, only half avoiding the fire blast the taurus unleashed. The wounded player bounced across the ground a few times before rolling onto his knees. "My sword!" He yelled, now aware that his prized «Anneal Blade +10» was no longer in his hands.

"Where is it!?" He spoke in panic. Before he could look, another flaming beam fired straight in his direction. "Crap!" He quickly rolled out of the way, the ground he was previously standing on being scorched into, leaving behind a long crater. Kirito ran away from the monster behind a pillar to avoid being burned alive.

'What the hell just happened? I thought it was an ice taurus!' He processed, trying to get his barrings together. His eyes widened in surprise, realizing his mistake. 'Damn it! He got me again!' He said now angered at his foolishness. He should've known Kayaba would have more crazy tricks up his sleeve. The boss's name was what got him. He was completely expecting an ICE attack. Because he was so focused on ice attacks alone, the boss was able to use that weakness to bypass his guard, nailing him. He never would have imagined it would use a fire attack.

Kirito peeked at the horned monster. It was on a cool down from it's attacks, raising it's head to the sky and roaring with all it's might. He glanced above it's head at it's name.

«Baran the Flaming Taurus»

'So it's name did change.' He thought, his heavy breathing finally slowing down. He looked at his health bar in the corner of his vision. "Yellow?" The blast only hit him half way. Even with his high-tier equipment, it still did that much damage to him? Would it have killed him if he took it completely? 'If it was anyone else, they would have died.' He thought as it crossed his mind. He drunk a potion he'd place on his belt, a quick heal. He gulped it down, still thinking about the fire attack. He gasped in shock, realization striking him.

"Yeah, that was definitely meant to kill anyone it was aimed at." He breathed. "Especially beta testers." No question about it. No player would have survived the blast. The only reason he could was because he was so high level and he had good armor. No one else is as strong nor as equipped as he. In that situation, anyone would have been screwed, but it was the beta's that would've been ultimately screwed.

The beta testers were armed with the knowledge of the boss. They would have believed the boss would freeze the ground on it's third phase, jumping in the air. Little would they know that they were being attacked with a wave of fire. The attack would've obliterated them as they wouldn't be able to dodge it midair. He wasn't just hit because the boss used a different attack, but because the game used his own beta knowledge against him.

Kirito was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt his back begin to burn. He turned around only to see the pillar being melted away by a red hot flame. "Even through the rock!?" He gasped, jumping away from the molten pillar. He was only barely able to move out of the way before Baran's head came through the molten rocks, ready to smash the black haired player into pieces.

He scoffed at himself. "Damn, I should have been focusing on my next move instead of wasting time thinking." He muttered, berating his own stupidity. He shook his head, a furious look forming on his face. "Oh I'm wide awake now." He exclaimed out loud. "Time to get your head in the game." Baran wasn't gonna get away with surprising him like that. He told himself earlier that he wouldn't fall for anymore tricks, yet here he was slipping up. He smirked, the adrenaline of battle appearing inside his veins. "You're gonna pay."

The taurus roared in response as if it heard him, preparing another blast of fire. 'The gem on it's head is orange now.' He noticed, taking note of it. 'If it's name is now flaming taurus, its probably safe to assume it won't be using ice attacks.' When putting it to thought, it was logical. The beast hadn't used any ice attacks yet and it's previous name could have only been set to freezing taurus to throw players off. His eyes narrowed. Of course, that too could be a trap. He would be expecting fire and ice attacks now. Hell, even lightning moves, if it even had any.

He wasn't going to get caught off guard again.

Another roar sounded off the walls as it's fire blast discharged from it's gem. Kirito easily sidestepped it, making sure it hit the wall behind him and not a pillar. He would have to use the pillars in the room wisely, as they were his only way to cover himself temporarily before they were melted. Glancing back at his health, he saw it was in the green, but still not full. 'Not taking a chance.' With that thought, he drunk the last potion he had on his belt. If he needed another one, he would have to hide and go into his menu to get it.

A second blast fired at him, which he also sidestepped. He looked at the boss, it's gem catching his eye. He noticed a darker coloration to it than it had previously. "It went dull." He spoke out before it was out of his vision, the beast raising it's head to roar at the sky again. 'So that's when it cools down.' The boss would shoot two blasts before cooling down. He remembered earlier how he hid behind a pillar for a short time after the beast hit him. He was able to sit there for a time before it attacked him again.

But it also tried crushing him with it's head after it melted the pillar. Then again, the boss also paused there before charging back up. 'So it can only fire two consecutive blasts, or a blast and a headbutt.' He put together, figuring out the taurus' attack patterns. He also noticed the boss still had two health bars left. 'That means a floor boss's moveset can change before their final bar of health.' He assessed, crushing his theory on their movesets changing at their last bar of health. This could also mean that their moves could be completely different from the very start. He would have to be cautious on any boss fight now. No, even normal monsters could have changed. ANY fight, he would have to go in expecting the worst.

The boss was still screaming as loud as it could, looking as intimidating as it could be, but Kirito could see past it's charade now. When it stops attacking and begins to scream, that would be his moment to strike. 'But first I have to find my sword.' It was blown away when he was struck, he just hoped it wasn't destroyed. "I leveled it up as much as I could, there's no way it could have broke so easily." He said, trying to reassure his doubt. He did defend against that fire attack with it. Although he was able to dodge half of the blow, his sword took it full on.

A heavy breath left his mouth. He looked around the room meticulously, but quickly, worry striking the back of his mind. If it was destroyed, he would have to run away, ashamed of himself for letting the boss get the better of him. A familiar bright light shined in the corner of his vision, making him turn to look at it. Baran's gem was shining like an early morning sun, preparing another blast of fire. "Damn it! Is it really gone!?" Kirito yelled. He looked everywhere he could in the time the boss was cooling down. The sword couldn't have traveled behind a pillar unless it bounced off a wall, but he was in the middle of the room when he was hit. Could the blast of been that strong?

He watched the light shine on Baran's head in anger. He didn't want to waste time grinding for another «Anneal Blade». He was extremely lucky the first time and players were still crowding the spot where they were located. It would be practically impossible to get another unless he was lucky enough to purchase it from a player who didn't want one, which was rare as the most commonly used weapon in the game was swords. A small flash bounced off the orange light at Kirito, making him cover his eyes. He uncovered them and squinted in the direction of the sharp light.

"There it is!" He announced, unceremonious joy leaking from his voice. The blade was stuck high up inside one of the pillars deeper in the room. No wonder he couldn't find it. He was looking at the ground and his sword was up above. 'It was only thanks to the boss's light that I was able to find it.' He thought, almost chuckling at the irony. 'Thanks for your help in finding the weapon that'll lead you to your demise.' He was able to take one step towards it before a wave of heat was upon him. "Shit!" He cursed, swiftly moving out of the way, his leg and coat being grazed by the flames. Before he could think, the beast's form cascaded his, ready to crush him between it's head and a wall. "Urk!" The boy grunted while rolling away. He was stretching his ability to it's absolute limits. The beast crashed into the pillar behind him, shaking the ground under it. Kirito toppled to the ground, more of his hp draining from the monster's onslaught.

Kirito groaned, watching his hp fall. 'Maybe I shouldn't have been so cocky.' He pushed himself back to his feet, trying to keep his breath steady. His health was still in green. 'No need to worry yet.' Getting his sword back was the bigger problem. He heard the monstrous animal roar out it's anger behind him. He couldn't see if it's gem was dull or not, but he would have to assume it was on cool down. "Now or never!" He yelled, taking the chance.

The fourteen year old boy sprinted towards the pillar. If he was going to get his sword, he would have to run up even further up the wall than he did previously. He ran towards it with a confidant glare on his face. "HAH!" He yelled out, jumping higher than he ever had. He proceeded to run up the wall as quick as he could, positioning his feet in a way he could clear more distance. 'Keep going!' He thought, grunting as his legs were wearing out. Using the rest of his leg energy, he pushed himself into one final leap. It was small, but it was all he could do. It was enough, as he was able to clasp his right hand around the blade's hilt.

"Yes!" He smiled in relief, finally one with his sword again. Kirito continued to hang on his sword, his body gently swaying back and forth off the pillar. 'I didn't really think this through.' He gulped, looking down below. It was a long drop down, he would surely take damage from it. His sword was also stuck in the wall, over half of the blade being jammed into it. Kirito lifted his left hand to it and began to pull. The sword only barely skidded out of it's position. 'At this rate, the boss's cool down will finish before I can get it out!' He thought in a hurry. He pushed both of his feet into the pillar, using every limb he had into pulling the sword out of the stone.

His efforts proved fruitful, the blade making its way out slowly, but surely. He stopped to take a breath only to notice an orange light reflecting off the walls of the room. A quick glance behind him showed the bull firing up another beam, raising it's head to angle it directly at him in the air. He readjusted his hands fast and pulled hard. 'I have to fall! Its the only way I'll be able to dodge the blast!' He thought in a hurry. He knew he would take a lot of fall damage from the drop, just as long as he didn't die, it would be okay. The sword's tip was all that was left inside the pillar. One more pull and it would be free. 'Time it perfectly! Pull the sword out as soon as he shoots his flame!'

The beast's screech pierced his ears, the gem on it's forehead shining at it's pinnacle before the strong blast rocketed towards the hanging boy. Just as it did, Kirito released his sword from the stony pillar, falling backwards to the ground. He watched as the fire above took out the area he was hanging from, creating a small avalanche of molten rocks. Kirito ignored the rocks and twisted himself in the air. "Land on your feet!" He commanded himself. His feet smacked the ground roughly, knees straining as the gravity pushed them down. "Grrk!" He grunted out, also using his hands to catch himself. He looked up to see another flame blast headed his way. He was able to push his body right, narrowly dodging the fire's heat.

He scrambled back onto his feet and rushed behind another pillar. He laid his back against it, sighing in exhaustion. He knew he couldn't attack the taurus as he was now. It was too risky. He would have to use this cool down phase to recuperate. He switched his hold on the blade from right hand to left, opening his menu and moving through it skillfully. Potions were on his belt in no time and he drunk one down to recover his hp, which had dropped to red from the fall.

He took out another potion and drunk from it, doubling up on safety. While he did, he thought about his fall. 'If this game were more realistic, I would've died ten times over by now.' He grimaced at the thought. Truthfully, it made him embarrassed of himself. 'I'm not as good as I thought.' It was a hard pill to swallow, but it was necessary. Being a champion in another game doesn't mean anything in a different one. His vast intelligence of the beta and knowledge that only he knew exclusively about the game made him overconfident. He remembered what he told Asuna. "Know your limits." Did he really know his?

After killing the first boss, he was ready to take on anything. He expected everything that it thrown at him. Throughout the entire fight, he didn't even need to drink a potion, yet here he was on the next boss already down four. He thought he could get through the game solely on predicting the system, but he'd just experienced that relying on that alone could be your downfall. The potion vial shattered in his hand after it's contents were emptied while the boy looked down to his sword. It was beat up. The first blast it took really did a good bit of damage to it's durability. Near the tip of the blade was the worst, probably due to the impact it had against the pillar it stuck into.

Strangely, his self-berating made him think of the time when he officially announced himself as a pro gamer back when he won the competition in RAIZE. What did it mean to be "pro?" 'That's easy.' He laughed. The #1 thing it took to become a pro was intelligence. Specifically, the ability to predict your opponent. If you could predict your opponents moves, then you've already won. 'That's what I initially thought, at least.' That was the key to his victory in the RAIZE tournament. He studied all the methods in the game, day in and day out. He watched countless hours online on the pro teams, their methods and the way each and every one of them played. He sunk many, many hours into research and it finally payed off when the solo tourney was announced. He used the knowledge he harnessed, and he became the winner.

'But this isn't a game where you can rely on that.' Predicting is important, but that was all he'd ever done up to this point. If he was going to become a true pro, he needed to focus not only on prediction, but on other aspects needed to become one. He had the skill and knowledge to play Sword Art Online, but he lacked the last key, a crucial part of becoming a pro gamer.

Instinct, other words known as reaction time.

He reacted quickly already, but he didn't have the instincts of a pro. He needed to adjust his mindset to fit the bill. If he went one on one with a pro gamer in RAIZE without the knowledge of the player, it was possible that he would be defeated. 'I can't have that.' He thought, now angered. Kirito didn't mind losing in real life, but losing on a video game he loved more than anything else? That enraged him. He had to be better than everyone in all aspects and wouldn't except anything less. Even if no one knew about it, as long as he knew he was the best, he would be content.

'I may be the best now, but soon..' No, he wasn't even gonna think about it. The thought of being under someone else in the game he absolutely cherished made him want to vomit. A fire way stronger than Baran's burned inside Kirito, showing inside his eyes. "I'M NOT GONNA LET THAT HAPPEN!" He yelled out at the monster, running away from his hiding place.

Kirito circled the boss, watching as it charged up it's attack. It fired it's first blast at him, which he dodged completely. The boss was slowly turning, trying to aim the fire at his moving body. The attack came up short and died down before it could get anywhere near the speeding boy. The virtual taurus now even more furious, fired a second blast, only for it to end the same way.

The diamond on Baran's head lost it's color, forcing the beast into cool down. Kirito turned roughly. Instead of circling the boss, he was sprinting straight at it. He gripped his «Anneal Blade +10» with both hands and with a loud battle cry, he activated a «Horizontal» which slammed into the boss's left leg. The sword slice straight through the joint, the leg giving out. The boss tipped over on it's front side, screaming from the wound it received. Kirito repeated his action, quickly snapping out of his own cool down and using «Slant» on the right leg. Baran's leg once again caved in, making the boss's front side fall over completely.

The enraged player kept at it. After his second sword skill's cool down, he rushed over to the monster's side, jumping up on it's back. He climbed over it onto the downed creature's neck fast before it could try to throw him off. He flipped his sword in his hands and held it over his head. 'THIS IS PAYBACK!' Were his thoughts before he jerked his sword down, right into the taurus's eye.

It's scream was loud, echoing as far out into the hall outside of the boss room. It shook it's head back and forth, trying to get the player off, but Kirito held strong. He gripped his sword hard, keeping the blade inside it's eye. He became uncontrollable of his body as it swung along with the beast's head. His finger's were tempted to let go, but he wasn't having it. He knew the damage he'd done to the boss would stack up as long as his sword was inside of it. The shaking felt perpetual, but it finally gave as Baran's gem lit up again, the animal ready to blast the bug clinging onto it.

'That's it.' He told himself, kicking off the bull, releasing it from the torture it's eye had endured. The damage he'd done was only visible temporarily, showing a large red glittery spot where it's eye was, indicating it was damaged. Soon, the red light vanished, leaving no trace that he even hit it, the eye still functioning. He looked back up to it's health. 'Good, that took half of it's third bar down. If I can pull that off one mo-' He cut himself off. No, no, no. He wasn't going to start relying on predictions again. He took a deep breath in, releasing the stress the thought brought along. He steadied himself before running in a circle around the beast again. 'If the opportunity shows itself, then I will use it. If not, I'll just strike whatever I can.' He thought, adjusting his plans into ones more versatile.

He may have tripped up a few times before, but he refused to let himself mess up like that again.

Kirito dodged the next wave of fire using the same method he did before. This time, the boss decided to forgo it's fire for a head on attack. The running player skidded to a stop, standing and awaiting for the boss to strike. He held his sword so it's flat side was facing him horizontally, just in case he had to block an unforeseen attack. Outrunning the beast was out. He'd have no choice but to dodge at the last second. The bull leaped towards him, lowering it's head at it's tiny target. It aimed the horns on it's head to him, ready to puncture him through.

He jumped over it's head and out of the way. Baran, unable to stop it's dash, rammed into the wall on the eastern side of the room. Kirito held his sword to his side and ran at the entrapped monster. 'I can't hit it's face if it's buried in the wall.' He thought. Attacking the backside could be dangerous, as the boss likes to kick out it's legs when players are near. He made his decision, charging up a «Lunge» attack on the beast's right side.

His sword lit up a bright white before shooting into the boss's side. He heard it yell inside the wall, muffled by gravel spilling out around it. He was able to lash the boss with three more sword skills before it was able to free itself, it's third health bar depleted. He quickly scampered away behind a pillar in preparation for the taurus' final onslaught.

Angered that it was now on it's last bar of health, the boss flailed it's legs around itself in an attempt to crush anything and everything near it. It's wild hooves hit the wall it was stuck in several times, caving it in deeply. Kirito watched it storm around, kicking into pillars and knocking them down. He ran away before the boss could hit his pillar, running in front of the boss room doors. Baran gave one final kick to the last standing pillar, knocking it down into thousands of pieces.

The room was now bare. All that was left were rocks from the destroyed pillars and scorch marks from the fire's blasts. The boss npc's eyes scanned the room, locking sight on the player standing at the room's entrance. Kirito's body tensed up defensively. He spared one look at his sword and knew it's life was running to a close. If his sword was going to make it out of this fight, he would have to choose his next moves carefully.

Baran gave Kirito a glare before changing into it's final stage. The beast roared with it's head up, flames spilling out from it's blazing diamond. Fire covered Baran's entire head for a short moment before it slammed it's skull into the ground.

Kirito grunted as he jumped, avoiding a speedy fire that poured away from under the monster. His heart raced as he realized he'd reacted purely on instinct.

'Good, that's what I want.' He couldn't think anymore as he had to avoid more fire from the flaming taurus again. Baran repeated the attack once more. It was a repeated flame that formed a circle which would spread throughout the entire room. It's attack could be compared to it's earlier stomps that would stun lock a player, except this one would burn them alive.

Once it's attacks died down, the creature raised it's head from the floor, giving Kirito a good look at it. Baran's red eyes were now made of pure orange flames. The horns on it's head were also different. They were now a sizzling orange as fire danced across them as well. The taurus' whole entire body was steaming from all the fire the beast was producing and the hooves holding it up were now a glistening orange as well, the ground underneath the boss melting away. Kirito could feel the difference in the room, the atmosphere becoming very humid. His mouth became dry and his body felt drastically hot. Player's could not sweat in the game, but he was sure that from all the heat he was experiencing, his real body must be.

A small red looking status effect appeared under Kirito's hp bar. His eyes widened in realization of what it was. 'I'm taking burn damage!' He thought, watching his health drain much quicker than he expected from the burn's effects. The boy sneered as he watched the burn affliction overpower his «Battle Healing» skill. He still had two potions on his belt for quick access, but at this rate, he would need more than them. 'I have to finish this fast!' He told himself, flicking his sword out to his side and started up his sprint around the room again.

He had to keep an eye on the floor and the boss. There was several pieces of rubble on the ground which could easily trip him up, giving the boss the upper hand. The blackened ground was also beginning to smoke from the room's heat. "Damn coat." He swore under his heavy breath. Why did it have to be so warm in a time like this?

Kirito jumped over a pile of rocks, keeping Baran in his vision. The steam in the room was making it harder to see, but Baran was way too big to lose sight of. He'd just have to pay close attention for it's attacks. He watched as the beast lifted it's head and began cultivating a giant ball of fire inside of it's mouth. 'It can use fire attacks from other parts of it's body?' He questioned. Not even it's freezing form in the beta could do that. The heaving boy narrowed his eyes as he focused in on it. He saw the blast of fire building up, but something else caught his eye. The taurus's head was raised so it was hard to tell, but he could have swore he saw the gem on it's forehead glinting with light.

His body stiffened. 'Its a double attack!' He reacted quickly, sliding under the fireball shot towards him. He watched the beast lean forward, aiming the shining gem at him. The gem was smoldering, looking way more powerful than before, giving Kirito a bad feeling. Using quick wit and skill, he spread his feet apart while maintaining his slide across the ground before pushing his sword down under him. As a blast way faster than the others flew his way, Kirito used both of his feet and the sword under him as a springboard to propel himself further, much faster than he would have jumping. The fire easily missed him because of the tactic, blowing away the wall he was previously in front of.

He rolled up back onto his feet, catching a glimpse of what the blast did to the wall. Initially, it looked like it completely blew up the eastern wall as piles and piles of rocks fell, even going as far up to the ceiling. A closer look shown that although looking bare, a thin sheet of metal was still there, a purple box appearing in front of it. Kirito shielded his face to get a better look at it, reading it's text.

Immortal Object

He raised an eyebrow. 'So the walls really are immortal.' The only other time he remembered seeing the immortal object box was in safe zones. They were obviously there so players wouldn't be able to ransack towns, as some of the more darker players probably would have done. Everything outside of those safe zones were completely destructible, including the ground they walked on. 'Well, I guess it makes since.' He shrugged. The boss was so strong that it's blast could easily destroy the room. Although rocks could crumble away, there had to be some form of protection to prevent the room from collapsing, as bosses cannot leave their own room. He turned his attention back to the boss which appeared to be in a stun-locked state.

It was growling in place, it's glowing horns and feet fading into a nasty brown and the diamond on it's head also lost it's color. The steam in the room let up and his status affliction went away. 'This is only temporary, it'll come back just as strong.' He ran at the boss and sliced into it many times, abstaining from sword skills in case he needed to run. He backed away as the monster tensed back up. The beast shook for a moment before a big sphere of fire surrounded it, enclosing in a diameter around it. Kirito shielding himself with his arm. He wasn't in the radius of the blast, but he could definitely feel the heat coming off it. Steam rolled off the beast, making the temperature in the room shoot back up. He saw the little red box return under his health, his status effect returning.

'Better drink a potion.' He thought as he ran, reaching down to his belt to grab one. His health was already under half from the heat alone. Under these circumstances, getting hit even once could be dangerous. He couldn't give it an opportunity to hit him. 'Stay on your toes. Keep moving no matter what.' He thought, his potion shattering into virtual glass. His health was near full now, but the rate it was falling was not a pleasant sight.

"How the heck were normal players suppose to fight this thing!?" He yelled out as if Kayaba could here him, watching Baran rotate towards him while charging up it's double attack. His levels were the best they could possibly be this far in the game and even he was struggling against the beast. Sure he was fighting it by himself, but this was nuts! Illfang wasn't anywhere near this strong, even when it's attack patterns changed.

That's when he realized.

The boy scoffed. "The bastard is intentionally trying to kill us." He said exasperated. Basically, Kayaba was attempting to put his death penalty to good use. If the game was too easy, then everyone would be fighting to get out. As scary as death sounds, it wouldn't matter as much if you never had to worry about dying. But in here, you were always worrying. Kayaba purposely cranked up the difficulty from easy mode to hard. 'He doesn't want players to run around carelessly. He really does want people to fight like their lives are on the line.' Kayaba wanted to make this world real. He wanted players to function as if this fantasy life they lived were their own. 'Then again, he could have made bosses nearly impossible to beat, which means...'

They were actually suppose to beat the game. If they fought hard enough and played super carefully, they could truly get out.

'Either that or somewhere down the line the game becomes incompletable and we're just suppose to remain trapped here until our bodies die out in the real world.' But why play a pointless game? That outcome was unlikely, but still a possibility. Kirito chuckled. "Heh, whatever. I'll bite!" He yelled, jumping high on top of a grounded rock, dodging the ball of fire and the blast after it. He didn't care about the game's true objective, he just wanted to play. The player kept his pace up and ran towards the weakened taurus, the room temperature softening. Kirito ran directly at it's front side and lifted his sword over his head for a heavy strike. He jumped up and proceeded to cut into Baran's face repeatedly, the boss screeching with each slice.

It tried smacking him away with a jerk of it's head, but he moved back before it could reach. He jumped back more in preparation of the spherical fire that would appear once the boss regained it's barrings and heated up again, which it did with a mighty roar. The boss's health bar shown at a low yellow, the forth bar seeming to have more health than it's predecessors. Kirito drunk another potion as his health dipped into the yellow again. 'One more set of sword strikes and it should be down.' He thought as he healed.

Baran screeched once more, repeating it's same attacks at the running boy. Kirito was able to dodge them just as efficiently and the boss once again was forced into cool down, it's legs wobbling. The boy flicked his sword out to his right and with both hands, took out it's front left leg again. The monster collapsed to it's front, trying to force it's standing leg to remain standing, the health bar over the beasts head falling. Kirito ran to it's other side, preparing to take down it's right leg. Just as Baran's health bar touched red, it's fiery eyes glowed ominous, changing from a fierce orange into a deadly red. The boy was barely able to notice and put his sword in front of his body to shield himself from the monster's head slamming into him.

"Guh!" He yelled as his back slammed into the western wall behind him. The sword in his hands was only barely holding on, the durability falling to deadly limits. The beast pushed him farther back inside the wall, crumbling it's rocks. Kirito winced at the pressure. He quickly looked for a way out of the situation it trapped him in. He couldn't move under the boss's head and it's flaming horns were blocking both his left and right sides. He couldn't duck under them or he would be crushed and he couldn't jump up because of the weight of the monster. He couldn't attack because his sword was stuck between the monster and his body. 'I can't hold out!' He grunted under the weight on top of him. Anymore and his sword would break! Even worse, he was losing hp quickly, his health under half.

He looked above and saw the boss's low health. Only a sliver of it remained. "Just one more strike!" He grunted again, trying to push the beast away. Baran wasn't letting him, using all it's strength to keep the boy trapped. Kirito's eyes widened. "HRRRAAAGH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, his left hand glowing red. He punched the beast right in it's nostrils, a loud crack bouncing off the room.

All of the sudden, everything stopped. The heat in the room vanished, the weight of the boss he was trapped under let up, and Baran's bright orange fire lighting up the room died out completely. The boss raised it's head in one final roar, crying out as it's body began glowing a translucent blue. The light shined more before the beast broke into pieces, the sound of glass shattering filling the room.

Congratulations!

Kirito panted as he looked at the message displayed in the room. He slid down towards the ground, letting his sword fall to his side with a clank. "I did it." He sighed out, his breath refusing to slow. 'Huh?' His eyes slowly widening. 'I'm smiling?' He thought in surprise. Soon, he began to laugh. "That was awesome!" His laughing increased, ignoring his menu popping up in front of him as he held his stomach in an attempt to settle himself. "The adrenaline is back!" He said between laughs. He couldn't stop. It was so much fun! He'd never had to try as hard as he could in this game until now! That fight was so thrilling! "This really is the best game ever!" He held his mouth trying to stifle himself, but his laughter still slipped through.

He just couldn't stop laughing!

Attention. The second floor has now been cleared. The third floor has now been opened.

He stopped laughing.

"Oh shit." Escaped his lips, unable to contain the words. That was the system announcement broadcast. No matter where you were, you could hear it. Now everyone would know that the third floor was opened. "Guess I'll have to check my items later!" He yelled, closing his menu and running to the next floor door.

---

'RUN! RUN! RUN!' Were his thoughts as he booked away from floor three's warp gate. He could still feel the adrenaline of the fight rushing through his veins. The smile he had when he beat the first boss had reappeared as he ran to the next main town on the floor. He just couldn't get his mind off it. He really thought he finished the fight in the best way possible, using «Hammer Fist» from «Martial Arts» to kill the beast.

His energy felt restored, all his earlier lethargy was replaced with newfound vigor. He was ready to take on the world!

"I have to hurry before anyone else heads there!" He told himself, speeding up his sprint. His next destination was «Zumfut», which if everything on the floor was the same layout in the beta, should be on the north-east side of the floor, quite a bit away from the warp gate. Although it was far away, Kirito knew players, or at the very least beta testers, would be headed towards as fast as they possibly could and for the exact same reason he was.

They wanted to get one of the two knightswords from the quest «A Royal Escort». The player would get either the «King's Knightsword» or the «Queen's Knightsword». Sadly, the swords could only be claimed on the 9th floor where the king and queen's castle is, and you had to wait until the floor was unlocked. Kirito was able to get his hands on the «Queen's Knightsword» in the beta a day before it ended. The sword was the most powerful he had seen in game, the only other blade rivaling it being it's counterpart.

Even though he only had the sword for a short while, he fell in love with it. Instead of his «Anneal Blade» only being able to upgrade to +10, the swords could be upgraded to +20. They were also heavier and had better stats. They each also had a special quirk. The «King's Knightsword» had the ability to temporarily blind an opponent, while the «Queen's Knightsword» did massive damage to weapon durability, making it easier to break an opponents weapon. Kirito personally liked the queen version better. While blinding an opponent was cool, it was much more fun to break someone's weapon. A sword like those so early in the game would be desired by everyone. Any player that owned it would be able to fend off monsters with ease.

The reason why everyone had to rush towards them was because there were only two. The swords had no duplicates; meaning there were only one of each. Only two people in the entire game would get their hands on the swords, making them very, very rare. No player could have both, as you can only choose one or the other upon completing the quest. A player could not repeat the quest either. 'Well, I guess you could get both if the other player decided to sell it.' Kirito thought, doubting that logic. When he got his, and oh would he get his, he would never sell it, even if he didn't need it anymore. He doubt the other player who got their hands on the «King's Knightsword» would sell theirs as well.

He passed another tree inside the forest he was in. Floor three was absolutely filled with trees. It was practically the entire floor. Just trees, trees, and more trees. Even «Zumfut» had trees in it, three giant ones to be precise. The town was also surrounded with water, making the town island-like. The trees were separated in the shape of a triangle with a pond being in the center of them. The trees weren't just for show. The town itself was actually located inside them. Npc's, shops, inns, and more, all inside those three trees. It was a strange sight to look at, but you get used to strange in a world like this.

'I just have to keep going!' He thought, counting the time it was taking him to get there. "Whoops." He said, jumping over a «Forest Snake» that appeared under the ground. "Can't get careless here." He almost forgotten that mobs spawned in these forests. Although he was strong, he should still be on the lookout. "Oh yeah that's right, my items and xp!" Looks like he'd forgotten about those too. "The adrenaline must be getting to me." He chuckled out. Thinking back on the fight was still entertaining, but now wasn't the time for that. He spared a glance at his health bar which was now full. 'Must've leveled up.' He thought. When a player leveled up, their health would regenerate to it's max. Since he didn't use a potion, he must have leveled. He looked at the numbers under his hp.

"I'm level 24!?" He said unable to contain himself. The first boss leveled him up a few times, but he didn't expect the second to do the same. He grimaced after a thought. "Its gonna be much harder to level up now." He sighed. It was hard enough as it was before while being level 22, but now it would be even harder. "I guess I'm doing pretty good since I ended the beta at level 25." He said to lighten himself back up. When you no longer have to take care of yourself in the real world or go to school, it becomes much more easier to level up. Especially now that he was stuck inside the game 24/7.

He was proud of himself. It took him two months to reach that level. Now its barely been over a month and he'd only just beaten floor two. The gaps between floors two and nine were huge and yet he was already near his peak level inside the beta. He knew already that it was going to get much more harder to level up, but that was okay. Being stronger than the rest was a price well worth it. Besides, it would still be hard for other players to level once they reached his. "Actually, it'll be easier for them considering we should be on future floors and there would be stronger monsters to grind on."

...

"Oh well." He smirked. He didn't mind grinding anyways.

Next, he opened up his menu. He couldn't waste time stopping to check, so he would have to check while moving. 'Lets see what I got.' He scrolled through his list into his «Items» tab. He looked at the bottom of the menu and counted his col. Subtracting what he had before, he came up with an extra 50,000 he received from the boss. He got plenty of item drops too, which he would be keeping some as boss drops were typically better than your average mob drops. 'I can use these for future upgrades on equipment.' He scrolled through to look at what he wanted to see the most.

The last attack bonus.

"Baran's Amber?" He said, pressing down the item button and summoning it. It was an orange diamond-like gem that felt warm in his hands. "Wait, this thing was on it's head!" He said in surprise. He didn't remember a drop like this in the beta. If he recalled, he believed the boss drop was a shield. "What does it do?" He asked aloud while pressing the item's description box. It wasn't like he could put it on his head for fire moves, so what was it used for?

Baran's Amber: This expensive jewel can be used on a bladed weapon for a unique bonus. The gem has fire inside of it, giving off a warm feeling to it's surface. This item can only be used once.

Kirito hummed to himself. 'That was sort of vague.' It wasn't like some piece of equipment he could put on. It said that it can be used on bladed weapons. 'So, a weapon attachment?' If that was the case, he was lucky. If he used a club or a mace then this item would be useless to him, as those were blunt weapons, but he used a sword. 'If it's an attachment, should I use it on my «Anneal Blade +10»?' He wasn't sure if he should. He liked his sword, but this was the first item he had ever seen like this, most likely the first of it's kind. Plus, the item could only be used once. 'Well, telling the player it can only be used once is sort of like a warning. Is it telling me to choose wisely?'

"I guess I'll wait." Although he didn't know how good it was, there was still a chance that he would never get another item like it again. It would be better to wait it out since he was going for the «Queen's Knightsword» that he would eventually get on floor nine. The sword was powerful, and since he never went past floor nine in the beta, he had no idea how long it would take to get a better one than that. It was safer to use an item like this on that sword. Instead of only having the bonus through floors 3-9, he would have it through 9-?. It was a gamble, but it could potentially pay off. "I mean, any kind of bonus is good, right?" The description said it was unique, so he doubted it was useless. Could it be something to do with fire?

Kirito shook his head. "I shouldn't think about that right now. I have to focus on getting to «Zumfut»!" He placed the item back in his storage and proceeded to head towards the town.

---

'Twenty minutes.' Kirito thought as he approached «Zumfut». That was the amount of time it took him to reach the town. "Good thing it's location didn't change." He would have been angry at the time wasted from that. "Can't accept the quest just yet, though." He said, not feeling the least bit weary. His equipment needed repaired, especially his sword. He also had to buy more potions and sell some drops. He headed towards the south-western tree. It was the tree where all the shops in town were.

He had to avoid all the monsters that spawned on the way into town. He was about to withdraw his sword and kill one when he remembered how badly damaged it was. Even one hit with the sword could possibly break it. He didn't want to take that chance. Kirito first approached the blacksmith shop, double checking that his «Ring of Charos» was equipped on his finger.

"Hello there." He spoke, activating one of the npc's responses, making her turn to him. "Would you please repair my equipment?" He asked her, the ring on his finger softly glowing with a maroon light.

The npc almost unnoticeably stiffened, the ring working it's magic. "Of course!" She responded in joy, unaware of the hypnosis the ring put her under. Kirito took off his sword and armor, leaving the boy in the clothes he started out with. "I'll fix these right up for you!" She said. "And because I'm feeling special today, I'll fix them for only half the price!" She told him, walking back to her workplace, leaving Kirito alone.

'This ring is seriously useful.' He thought once again, taking a seat on a bench just outside of the shop. It wouldn't be too long of a wait and even though he still felt excited, he wanted to sit down for a minute. He didn't notice it at first, but after using his ring in combat, he learned that it was unbreakable. It was the first equippable item he'd seen with infinite durability, the other exception being the clothes that were worn under armor, but those didn't give any bonuses, unlike his ring. 'Well, if I had to take the ring off to repair it, the ring's abilities would nullify, making it useless.' He thought. Kayaba probably realized that and just gave the ring infinite durability.

"Oh well. Just another bonus for me." He said, walking back and grabbing his equipment, paying the npc only half the original payment needed. He felt it safe to wear his armor in town because there wasn't anyone nearby. 'It should take awhile for players to make their way here. Even for betas.' He walked up a floor inside the tree and sold his unneeded items, as well as purchase some more potions.

'These potions just aren't cutting it anymore.' He thought, looking at one of the vials. The only potion that was currently purchasable was the starting one. It healed fine for beginners, but he was past the beginner stages. This showed when he had to double up on potions when he was fighting the second boss. He looked at the price under one of the vials. "They're surprising expensive, huh?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow. Although the «Ring of Charos» made things less expensive for him, it didn't mean it would for other players. Kirito hummed in thought. 'There's a skill about making potions, right? I think it's called «Brewing».' He rubbed his chin. "Perhaps I'll invest a skill point into it." He said, debating the thought. Making potions didn't seem like a bad idea for the future. After he got all the skills he wanted, if he had any skill points left, he wouldn't be opposed choosing it.

Kirito paid for his potions, restocking his inventory and belt, leaving the south-western tree over to the south-eastern one. The quest «A Royal Escort» was located just inside the tree. The boy walked in and approached the four elven guards at the left side of the entrance room. They were stationed around a small circular table conversing with one another. There were two well dressed elves behind them who were also talking, one male and one female. They each had a yellow question mark above their heads, meaning they had a quest. Both of them were the «Elven King» and «Elven Queen» respectively.

The quest, as the name states, was an escort quest. The «Elven King» and «Elven Queen» were stuck here inside «Zumfut». After restocking their supplies in their horse carriages, they were trying to get back home over to their kingdom, but there were too many monsters blocking their path. They could navigate through the forest easily, as they are forest people, but they couldn't defend themselves against the forest's brutality. They had already attempted to leave once and they were outnumbered, many of their warriors being slain. Now left with little protection, they needed help, an escort. That's where the player comes in and helps them go through the forest. Since their kingdom is on floor nine, the player can't actually guide them all the way back home. All you had to do was safely get them and their supplies out of the forest and then they tell you that they can take it from there.

The reason why there were two question marks above the king and queen's head was because there was actually two different quests. Because they had so much supplies, they couldn't take it all back at once without the proper protection. One player wouldn't be enough to protect it all, so you could only escort one of them. The first player who came would escort either the king and two guards out with half of their supply carriages, or the queen with the other two guards and half of the supplies. The next player who played the quest would escort the ones that remained behind.

"Are you in need of assistance?" The black haired player asked, making himself known to the npc's, triggering their quest. All of the elvish npc's look at him, surprise on their faces. The guards quickly stood up, in case they had to defend their leaders.

"Who goes there!" One of them yelled at him, raising his lance at the boy.

Kirito raised both his hands, gesturing for peace. "I mean you no harm. I overheard your conversation and would like to help you." He said, trying to ease them. The guards were hesitant, but both the king and queen stepped in front of them.

"Really?" The queen stated, looking happy at his request. "That would be marvelous!"

"Indeed." The king replied, his posture appearing as if a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. "Very well young lad. If you can help us, then by all means we will accept." He stated.

One of the guards looked surprised, turning back towards the king. "But sir! Can we really trust this outsider?" He asked his leader, not quite trusting the player in front of him.

Another guard leaned in towards him. "We're desperate enough as it is. We need the help of a strong adventurer." He whispered to his peer, a relieved look also appearing on his face. All four elven guards began conversing with each other, before they all silenced themselves as the king raised his hand.

"We would like you to guide us out of the forest." He said to Kirito. "The forest has been ridden with more monsters than ever before. We have already tried to travel back home, but they were just too strong for us. Are you sure you can help us in this task, adventurer?" The king questioned him.

A quest box appeared in front of Kirito, asking him if he would accept the quest or not. He pressed the blue circle icon, accepting the quest. "Very well young warrior." The king said. "Sadly, myself and my queen can travel one at a time. I am afraid that we have too much luggage and five people alone cannot protect it all." He said, gesturing to both Kirito and his four guards. "It would be much easier for two of our guards to go with you, along with half of our supplies and either the queen or myself." The king raised a hand towards his wife beside him. "Which one of us would you like to travel with?"

The doors at the entrance of the tree slammed open, making Kirito stiffen. There was a short pause before the person that entered spoke. "I would like to join you in your quest." A feminine voice resounded behind Kirito, catching the elves attention.

"Oh my!" The king chuckled in surprise, looking strangely pleased. "Another adventurer wishes to partake in our expedition?" He asked, feeling rather blessed at the fortune his people had received. Kirito was as stiff as a board, not moving a single muscle. He recognized the line the king spoke. The same exact thing happened to him in the beta test.

It meant another player was joining the quest.

'No! This can't be happening!' He thought in absolute horror. Inside the beta, Kirito had no choice but to do quests with other people because they simply would not leave him alone. But ever since the death game began, he was able to do everything by himself. 'Why now!? Out of all the quests, why this one!?' He asked himself in a panic, keeping his body completely still.

Unlike most quests, «A Royal Escort» had an exception. Although the quest had to be done by two different people, those two players could do the quest together, meaning the quest would become co-op. Instead of splitting in two groups, the king and queen would go together with all of their supplies and the players would protect them together. This wouldn't be a big problem for most people, but it effected Kirito specifically because...

The players had to join a party together.

If it was Asuna, than it would be fine as he was already friends with her. 'But that voice wasn't Asuna's.' He thought, his stomach dropping as he heard footsteps approaching them.

The voice spoke again. "Yes, I would like to help escort you out of the forest." They replied to the king, walking up to them, right next to Kirito. The boy could barely see the figure in the corner of his vision, but he wouldn't dare turn. He didn't move a single inch and stared straight at the elven npcs.

The queen laughed beautifully, overjoyed from the player's response. "Well of course! We could very much use the help of another adventurer!" She stated with glee. The queen turned towards her spouse. "Honey, does this mean we can go together now?" She asked, blinking sweetly at him.

The king shrugged at his wife's demand. "Of course." He said before turning towards Kirito. "But only if it's okay with you?" He asked. All eyes were on him now, awaiting his answer.

...

...

...

The player stepped closer to him. "Well? Aren't you gonna accept?" She asked, annoyance emerging in her tone. Kirito didn't answer her question, opting to remain silent. Like a statue, he continued to stare directly ahead, the npc's in front of him not acknowledging his silence.

"Hey!" She raised her voice, walking in front of him in an attempt to meet his gaze. "Answer me!" Kirito lowered his head towards the floorboards before she could look in his eyes, staring at the ground.

'Why is this happening!' He thought, still freaking out at the situation he was suddenly thrown in. He didn't activate the warp gate so players couldn't teleport up to floor three. How in the world did this girl catch up to him? He ran for a whole twenty minutes to get here and the only stop he made was to repair his equipm-

'Oh no.' He thought, his stomach turning even more. 'How long was I there resupplying myself?' Did his adrenaline get the best of him and make him lose track of time? He could have swore he was there at the very most five minutes. There was absolutely no way five minutes was all it took for someone to catch up to him, right? So how? 'Maybe if I don't respond, she'll go away.' He thought in desperation, hoping she would leave him alone.

The girl growled at him. "Alright! That's it!" She yelled, finally losing her patience. The infuriated woman stomped up and grabbed him by the collar of his coat. She pulled it up roughly, forcing him to look at her. "You're gonna talk whether you like it or not!"

Kirito looked at her in shock for a moment before his face turned into a scowl. "No." He said simply, speaking for the first time, aggressiveness lacing his tone. He pushed her hands away from his coat and turned around, walking away from her towards the exit.

She looked surprised at his reaction, before her scowl also returned. "Come back here!" She yelled. When he didn't turn around, she became even more furious. She was about to call out again, but she noticed that he was near the doorway. Her eyes widened. "Stop!" The girl quickly ran in front of the doors, blocking his exit.

He tried to go around her, but the girl spread her arms out so he couldn't pass. His eyes met hers. "Let me leave." He stated, annoyance pouring off of him. He knew why she was blocking him. If he left the tree before joining the party of the other player, the quest would start only for one player, meaning the second player had to do the quest by themselves. Truth was, it was actually a lot easier to do the quest together. Not only was it faster for the elves, but for the players too, as the elves take a much shorter path out of the forest.

But he didn't care about that. He would rather spend more time doing the quest alone than do it with someone else and give away his identity. She glared at him, gritting her teeth. "No!" She shouted. "There's no reason for us not to do this quest together! Since you're already here, you have to be a beta tester!" She wisely deduced. "So you already know that if we do the quest together, it will be much faster!"

Kirito looked back down to feet. What in the world was he supposed to do? As much as he wanted to simply push her and be on his way, he knew he wouldn't. He wasn't about to put his hands on a woman, even if she was angering him. She didn't look like she was about to move anytime soon and there weren't any other exits in the tree. 'Damn it!' The words resounded throughout his mind. Why did this have to happen!

"Listen here, buster!" She said, making him raise his head back to her. "I don't want to spend my whole day escorting these npc's out of the forest!" She said, her voice lowering down to a more quieter tone, albeit still irritated. "Just accept my party invite so we can take the easy route!" She pleaded. "I'll do the work, just accept it!" The girl said, giving him an incentive.

They sat in silence, the boy thinking about his options. Well, he didn't really have any, but he was still thinking about her words. He looked behind them at the npc's that were further back inside the room. They all sat in silence with smiles on their faces, completely unaware of their confrontation. He turned back at the girl, taking in her appearance.

She had the same black hair and eyes he did. Her hair was short for a girl, ending just under her neck with her bangs tied with white ribbons that framed the sides of her face. She had white skin, a little lighter than his. Her gloves, boots, pants, and armor plating were all a light brown. The only piece of equipment that wasn't brown was her undershirt, which was black, just like his. If his memory served correctly, he believed that her equipment was the best you could get on the current floors; with the exception of his. They were all monster drops, which was far better than any store bought gear you could buy. The girl also had a spear on her back. He didn't recognize the spear, but at the game's current stage, it looked top-tier.

As he was looking over her equipment, she was doing the same to his. 'What kind of armor is that?' She thought, surprised at how expensive it looked. 'He's really decked out. He must be pretty strong.' She wouldn't admit it, but she was impressed by his gear. 'How in the world did he get his hands on something like that?'

The boy across from her sighed, knocking her out of her thoughts. "Does it really matter?" He spoke back to her. "So what if it takes you all day. As far as you know, we could be trapped in here forever. You have all the time in the world." His words were bold and cheeky, pissing her off even more.

She growled back at him. "Oh you smart ass!" She replied, her voice becoming louder. "You know what I meant!" This boy was so infuriating! The girl placed her hands on her hips, taking a step towards him. "Just why are you so against questing together!?" Something fierce swirled in her eyes. "Is it because I'm a girl!?"

The enraged female began taking more steps towards him, making him take steps back. "Woah, woah, woah!" He put his hands up in defense. Where'd the hell that come from? "I never said anything like that!" He quickly responded, the girl's accusations making him nervous.

"Oh yeah? Then why don't you want to quest with me!?" She asked. A small look of realization crossed her face. "Wait a second.." She began. "You're one of the players who cleared the second floor boss!" She exclaimed. Why didn't she notice that sooner? Of course he was one of the players that cleared it.

About a half hour ago, she was inside the floor dungeon grinding, looking for the door to the second boss. She didn't have a party to fight the boss with, but she knew she could sell the information to someone like Argo for a pretty penny. She spent the whole night looking for it and when she finally found it, the boss was already beaten. The doors were wide open and the room inside looked destroyed, as if there was a huge scrap that took place. She stepped inside the room, awestruck. She couldn't believe it happened again, that a group of players beat a floor boss unbeknownst to all the other trapped players.

She decided to forget about it, choosing to head straight to floor three. She completely forgone opening the warp gate, as she knew she had to hurry if she was going to be one of the two players to get a knightsword. The worry she had and the long run to «Zumfut» must've made her forget about the players who beat the boss, who should now be on the floor.

The boy jumped at her words and she smirked, knowing she had cornered him. "Where's your little buddies, huh?" She questioned, her mischievous smile growing. Kirito's stomach began twisting again. He never expected an outcome like this. "Oh let me guess, they all went to grab the other good quests on the floor and I just so happened to run into you trying to take one of the knightswords." She drug out the word, knowing she was correct.

Her facts were jumbled up, but she was right. The warp gate wasn't opened, so the only way players could make it to the third floor was if they ran through the boss room. Since he was here, she was able to deduce that he had to be one of the people to clear the boss. She assumed that he did it in a group because beating a boss by yourself was unheard of, but still. 'Damn it!' He swore. If he had just played it off earlier and said he had just gotten here a moment before she did in search of the players who had beaten the boss, then she may have believed him, but he tried escaping which meant he had something to hide. Still, it was possibly that he may have been able to get himself out of the situation then, but his facial expression and body posture gave him away entirely. She wouldn't believe any excuse now.

His mouth felt dry. He tried to say something, anything, but all he could do was choke on his words. "Looks like I was right." She said smoothly. She stood proud, knowing she had figured him out. Kirito began to glare at her. All of a sudden, she became much more smackable now.

He ended up sighing. 'There's nothing I can do.' She completely got him. If he was just a little faster, or if he didn't think about buying that extra potion, maybe he could of gotten away with it. The girl was waiting for his response, her hands still firmly on her hips, the smirk on her face looked like it would split her in two. "Okay, you win." He surrendered, putting his hands up. "You got me." The words ached as they left his mouth.

"I knew it!" She shouted in victory. She already knew, but it felt so good to here him say it! "Go ahead, tell me all that there is to know." She pushed on, wanting to know every bit of the details.

"I really don't want to." He said almost pleadingly.

The girl shrugged. "Well, I guess you don't have to." She trailed off, suddenly turning around and walking away. For a moment, Kirito thought it was over, relief escaping him as his stiff shoulders loosened before she turned her head back to him "I'll just have to expose you to the public."

Kirito gasped. "No! Wait!" It was his turn to run in front of her. "You can't do that!"

"Oh? And why not?"

"Because!" Is this bitch crazy!? What the hell's her problem!?

The girl laughed at him, making him blush in anger. "Okay, okay, I won't." The anxious boy sighed again, holding his racing heart. That was almost too scary. "But..." She trailed once again, making him jerk back. "You have to let me in on your secrets, and you have to do the quest with me." She said slyly, her eyes narrowing in interest.

Her words hit him like a roundhouse to the face. He had to tell her everything? "Are you serious!?" He yelled back at her in disbelief. One look from her told him everything he needed to know. She was going to expose him to everyone.

He gulped, his voice suddenly vanishing from his throat. 'Shit!' Was all he could think. He couldn't even run away anymore because now she knew he was one of the players who beat the boss, or at least took part in it. Damn, this girl was even worse than Argo!

There wasn't anything he could do to change her mind. There was no way around it, he had to tell her. His lost strength returned in a flash. He wasn't going to take this lying down. "Okay, I'll tell you." He said each word slowly, making sure she understood. "But in return, you are going to tell me who you are."

She thought about it for a second before shrugging. "Okay, I guess that's fair."

"No." He cut her off. "You tell me first."

The girl scowled. "Hey! That's not-" Her words instantly died in her throat. The look in his eyes was way different from before. The girl suddenly felt small compared to him, as if he could strike her down at a moments notice. A sharp chill went through her spine, like a lightning strike. The girl, now afraid, unconsciously began to take steps back from him. She had never felt a pressure like this before.

As quick as it came, it left and her breath returned to her with a sharp intake. "I'm sorry." He apologized, realizing what he was doing to her and stopping. The coated boy felt a tinge of guilt. His rage got the better of him again and he forced it on her. 'I did the same thing to Asuna, didn't I?' To be honest, he hated doing it. Even if she was pushing him, he shouldn't have scared her like that. "Tell me first, and I will tell you everything." He repeated, making sure she understood.

The girl regained her breath, now weary of the boy in front of her. 'Just who is he.' She thought. Was that pressure some kind of skill? Or was it something else? She cleared her throat before speaking. "Alright, I'll tell you." She started. "What do you want to know?"

"Just tell me your name and how you got here so quickly."

She nodded back at him, taking one last breath before beginning. "My in game name is Sinon. I came to «Zumfut» by foot, running as fast as I could from the boss room here in an attempt to do «A Royal Escort» before any other player could." She paused. "Oh and I didn't open the warp gate, if that's what your wondering." She added in, folded her arms. The look of irritation was once again on her face. "Now, do you wanna tell me who you are?" She emphasized, clearly wanting to know.

"You ran here?" He questioned, mildly surprised. "How long did that take you?" She'd have had to run really fast if she caught up with him. Or he didn't realize how long he took inside the shopping tree.

The girl now known as Sinon sighed. "You tell me genius. It didn't take you that long to get here either." Her response irked him, but he doubted he was going to get anymore out of her.

'She probably doesn't know herself.' He guessed. She was probably just as focused as he was to get to the quest before anyone else could. "And I assume you're a beta tester?" She nodded. He already assumed she was, but there was a small possibility that she wasn't and she just paid a beta tester for the information on the quest. "And you're alone?" Another nod. He sighed. 'Well, there's no point in lying to her and say that I'm in a group.' He thought. It wouldn't do anyone any good lying about something like that. He didn't really need to know anything else about her either, except...

"Why do you want to do this quest so badly?" He asked suspiciously. "You have a spear on your back, meaning you used a skill point in «Polearms». Your a beta tester, so you know that training two different fighting skills at once is a bad idea." He told her, a hand gesturing to her weapon. "Why try so hard for a quest that rewards you with a sword?"

The black haired girl looked surprised at his question, then her face quickly returned to it's neutral angered expression. Her head turned away from him, biting the inside of her cheek. "I was going to sell it." She said, folding her arms tighter.

'Sell it?' He thought. All that work just to make a profit? "You're a money grubber?" He questioned.

The girl swiftly turned back, a small dust of red on her face. "I am not!" She shouted back at him, her arms dropping to her sides. "I'm just trying to play smart!" She tried to explain. "You know just as well as I do that those swords go for a hefty price on the market! If I get my hands on one, I'll be able to sell it and I won't have to worry about my col running low!" Sinon scoffed away again, folding her arms back.

His mouth fell open for a second before closing. 'Actually, that's not a bad plan.' She really was playing smart. Those two swords could very well be the strongest for several more floors after floor nine. She could easily sell it for over one hundred thousand col. Hell, even more than that. 'And here I thought no one would be selling it.' He almost laughed, remembering what he thought earlier. He watched her pout, any minute now it looked like she would start throwing a tantrum and stomp her feet on the ground. 'She's actually kind of cute.' He sighed, also folding his arms.

Enough stalling. It was time to tell her.

"Okay then, Sinon." He said, testing her name. She turned back to look at him with a grumpy look on her face. She didn't like the tone he used her name in, but opted to stay silent. "There's just one more thing I need you to do." He once again slowed his words, making sure she was paying absolute attention to them.

"Of course there is!" She was getting ready to blow a fuse from all this waiting.

He held his hand out, stopping her from saying any more. He looked at her more seriously than before. "I need you to promise me that you won't tell a single soul of what you're about to hear." Sinon was ready to object again, but one look at his eyes told her not to. He was dead serious about this.

"Okay." She spoke out. "I promise."

The boy prepared himself for her questions, cooling his nerves as much as he could "Alright then." He said back. "What do you want to know?" He spoke out, asking the same question she asked him.

The girl looked less irritated now that it was her turn. She let her arms fall to her sides, one remaining on her hip. "Alright tough guy." She called him out. "What's your name?"

The male player took a heavy breath in, slowing breathing it out. No turning back now. This was it.

He steeled himself. "My name is Kirito."