Part 4 of The Beast King Arc

The fourth part/chapter of Sword Art Online: Snow and Bells of The Beast King Arc.

Part 4
I growl furiously. My opponent, Luna, aka Selene, was dueling me one-on-one in the VRMMO, Kingdom. I could stand my ground despite her status as a "King", the highest level class you can be. Her animal mix was a lion and phoenix, rare animals that you can become.

Like I said, I could stand my ground. Only problem is, It's hard getting over the fact that her avatar is twice as big as mine. I literally have to look up to see her.

"What's wrong, Snow? Can't take the heat?" the huge hybrid sneers as we both circle, waiting for one of us to strike.

"Oh...I get it, 'cause you're a phoenix, and you're blazing fire, and stuff..." I reply. She shakes her head, putting shame upon me. Or, how some people may call it, facepalm.

Oh, and I forgot, the rest of the Snow Bells, plus Magkiel, were watching. They were trying not to laugh from my idiocy, but, what can I say?

It was nice to finally be around these guys again. They were family once, and they still are. I look over at Claire, who is sitting by Magkiel. It was about a week ago since I've found out about their....current situation. I've somewhat learned to cope with it. With the help of Luna slapping me upside the head when I think negatively about it.

Speaking of Luna, we're talking to each other like when we first met. Crazy, flirty, and eating. Lots of eating.

"...ow. Earth to Snow. Come in. Are we going to battle or what?" she says, with annoyance in her voice.

I zone back in reality. Or VRMMO.

"Of cour-" I didn't even finish my sentence before she leaped at me. She got on top of me and trie to pin me down with those big paws(or claws?) of hers. On my back, I use my quills to lift both of us up. Both of us are launched into the air and thump onto the ground.

I recover quickly, and sprint towards her. My aim was to bite her with my venomous snake fangs. They do lots of damage, for a long amount of time. But Luna got up too fast and she releases a supernova of flames around her.

-

Damn, I lost, didn't I? That's what I get for dueling someone with all of her stats almost maxed out while mine is barely reaching the 200 radius.

"Maybe next time, Snow. You lack distance and speed. You require one of those if you wanna beat me." The lion/phoenix hybrid says to me in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I suppose. I could've done better, if I hadn't underestimated you." I reply in a bored way.

"Yeah, that's true. We've all seen you fight." And everyone nods in agreement.

"Well, Claire and I are going to logout. We'll be back on later." I sigh and I open my menu. I stop to watch Claire say her goodbyes to Magkiel by rubbing their noses together. Or is that muzzles? Doesn't matter. It still makes me cringe a bit.

-

One of my favorite parts of the day. Clarinet tutoring for Claire. Ah, my high school years. The whole Snow Bells guild were all in band. Brandon(2MNSTRM), who played the clarinet, like me. Guadalupe(Lupe), who played the saxophone, Nick(Nikolas), who also played the saxophone and RK(ReK) and Eli(SeoulWishes) who played the flute.

All of it seems like yesterday, our fun screwing around. Now, we're all separated. But Claire makes up for that. She has potential to be better than me.

"Alright, Claire. Let's start with a warm-up. Remington, please." I order Claire. This is my least favorite warm-up, but it helps with your embouchure and tuning. Speaking of which, Claire is doing that. Expanding the barrel of her clarinet because she's sharp. Nice.

I want to write a song. Not a too easy or not too hard song. An easy 1st class song, if that's possible. I've began work on it, but something's missing.....

I sigh and return to tutoring Claire.

-

Later that day, I receive a notification on my cellphone. It's linked to my game account, so I know when someone private messages me.

My eyes glare at it. If it's really who this person says he is....

[To the naiive Snow,

I know what game you play. And I've found a way to kill players from inside a game. Meet me at the locations labeled....

-Tyrant]

I drop my phone. Is he bullshitting me? Or is this legit? There's actually been rumors going around that people are getting shot in another VRMMO. What was it again? Gun Hail Online? Gun Tales?

I've never felt this scared before. Not since my eyes were tattooed. I stare at my bathroom mirror and see those red eyes of mine. My eyes sparkle. I smile insanely, almost pleasuringly.

BUT I GET TO FIGHT, RIGHT?

"EHTHTHTHTHT!!!"