Sword Art Online: Clashing Blades

Sword Art Online: Clashing Blades is a fanfiction story written by user Ishi.



Overview
The story is centered around Ishi, and his journey in Sword Art Online.

Prologue
Left side. He’s going to strike my left side. He’s trying to trick me into thinking it’ll be an overhead swing. I’m not falling for it. He raises his sword, and I can see the flinch he makes when he’s about to make the move. I’ll slide my blade under it, push it over my head. That’ll let me grab him with Gilgamesh and punch him into the ground. I can finish him off there.

I planned that all out before the level 42 Dark Knight I was facing had even finished his move. I see his blade suddenly switch direction, and come at my left side. I do just as planned, sliding my blade under his, redirecting it over my head, before rushing up and grabbing his helmet with Gilgamesh, not giving him an opportunity to react. I slammed him down into the ground, taking out a good chunk of his HP, as it was a good counter move, before raising Arondight overhead and slicing through his neck, finishing off the rest of his HP and causing him to shatter into multicolored shards that disappeared to reveal the battle results.

[Result]

[Exp: 50000]

[Col: 25000]

[Items: 3]

I slash my sword through the air and spin it in my hand before sheathing it onto my back.

“And that’s another boss down.” I say to myself.

I then felt my power increase again, and another screen came up.

[Level Up]

[Level 54]

“Alright.” I say, satisfied. I check my inventory to see what new items I picked up.

A really good HP Potion, a ring that increases agility which is useless for me at this point, and the rare boss drop ‘Dark Knight Slayer’.

“Huh, dropped your sword, huh?” I said. “Well should be good for selling.”

Like I needed it. Arondight was already more powerful than that thing anyway. It’s more powerful than anything I come across. I should know. I designed the thing along with my clawed gauntlet, Gilgamesh.

I look up to the sky and let out a deep sigh. I reflect on all that’s happened since the Game Master trapped all the players in here. Four months had passed since then, and I’ve only gotten to floor 10 of this damn game. Not that I couldn’t keep going, but I liked to hang back and level up on the lower floors. It was getting tougher though, finding enemies that’ll give me good amounts of exp, so soon I’d have to power level through the floors.

The highest floor anyone’s gotten to so far was floor 36, and those guys were the guys who had all the information so they could get through it faster than anyone. Everyone’s still getting used to being here, and once everyone else gets stronger, it’ll become easier to progress through the floors when a bunch of other people reach upwards in levels they’ll go by way quicker. I have work to do as well, but I prefer to work alone. I find it’s easier to work when nobody’s there to hold me back. Or to annoy me. I’ve been working alone for most of my time in SAO.

I look at the claws of the gauntlet on my left hand, seeing how the darkened metal blades shine in the sun. I retract the claws back to where they belong, fastened on the armguard, and revealing my fingers. I stare at my hand for a second before clenching it into a fist, remembering my goal.

Ever since this all started, there’s been only one thing on my mind. One motive for me to grow stronger, and advance through the floors, and then become stronger still. Murder Kayaba Akihiko. The Game Master of Sword Art Online. Not only in game, but when I get out, I’m going to kill him in real life as well. He deserves nothing less than to die. But, having murder constantly on my mind does make me hungry. Or maybe it’s because I just beat a high level boss? Eh, whatever. I was hungry either way, and I decided to head back to the third village of the floor, Talmia, to my favorite restaurant in the game.

I look back across the fields in the direction of town and take off sprinting.

Chapter 1
When I got back to Talmia I slowed down to a walk. This place was always busy. People talking about the what-not and conducting commerce. Things I never really got into. Besides the basics like food and stuff, the most I’ve ever bought were some potions and so I’m literally sitting on a whole fortune of blood money from my fallen enemies. Even then I usually get all the potions I need from them as well, so there you go.

I briskly walk through the crowds and make it to my favorite restaurant: a place called Adeline’s, run by the owner whom the restaurant is named after. Makes THE best ramen, hands down. I don’t know what she puts in it but I love it. And considering that I’ve wolfed down about 1000 bowls of the stuff since I found out about it, I can safely say it’s not poisoned and I am not slowly dying.

Well even if I were I’d be dying doing what I love.

I step into the restaurant and hear the bells chime above the door, where I am greeted by Adeline, who was standing at the front desk.

“Ah, Ishi!” She said with a warm smile. “Having the usual today?”

“Like I ever have anything else.” I say, taking a seat at an empty table next to a window.

“Alrighty, then. Coming right up!” She shuffles into the back room to make me my meal. She has to do it because she’s the only one who knows how to make it right. Others have tried. It takes a bit longer for her to make it because she has to do more to it than just make it appear out of thin air. She doesn’t have the recipe saved so she does each step individually. She’s quick, however, and she comes back with my steaming bowl of ramen and a coke, which wasn’t called coke, but it freaking is, I don’t care what you say, it’s the same damn thing.

“Enjoy!” She said as she set my meal down in front of me.

I nodded to her and immediately dug in, picking up my fork (because screw chopsticks, can’t use them to save my life) and stabbing into the noodles, because those little strings of pasta have had it too good for too long and somebody has to learn ‘em.

So while I’m merrily munching on my meal, I’m looking out the window and watching as the people of this little town went along their way, and basically just staring out into space, while I inhale my meal. Pretty soon I’m on my second bowl and then my third, because I can’t get a full stomach digitally, it’s just a momentary reprieve.

So I’m on my fifth bowl, which I can afford from all the monster murdering I’ve been preoccupied with as of late when somebody catches my attention.

“Hey! Over here!” I her a voice say.

I snap out of it and look over to see a young lady smiling at me. She had red hair and eyes to match, as well as an outfit that didn’t really give her off as a high level character. It was just a basic clothes set, didn’t look like it was meant for combat.

“Hiya!” She said.

“Do I know you?” I say plainly.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, no.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Then why are you here?” I say, slurping down the rest of my fifth bowl then doing back in to drink the bowl dry.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, um… the thing is, I was kind of hoping you could help me.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I finish up and wipe my mouth off, sighing contently and thanking God that I couldn’t get fat, because I probably would be by now if this was real life.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“With what?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, the thing is…” She begins. “Well, I haven’t really worked much on leveling up, you see… I’m only a level 18.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I take a long swig of my drink and set the glass down.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What the hell have you been doing this entire time?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, I’ve been running a shop. I create runes.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Aren’t runes magic? I thought this game didn’t have magic.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well this is different.” She explains. “See these runes aren’t necessarily magic. They give a skill that allows you to imbue a weapon with a certain element.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“So, it’s not magic, then?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Technically no.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well what would you need my help for?” I say, finishing up my drink and calling my ramen killing spree off for now.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, I need help getting to the next town over and… well you seem like you know your way around.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Why would you need my help with that?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, you know…” She twiddles her thumbs a bit. “I’ve just heard that there are some PKers along the road and well… I’d rather not die just yet.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Seems like your own fault, not leveling up with the time you had.” I say, getting up off my seat and heading for the door.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Please? Pleeeease?” She pleads, grabbing my arm to stop me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If there’s one thing I hated, it was low levels begging for my help.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Sorry, no.” I shrug her off, exiting the restaurant.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She follows.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Pleeeeeeeease?” She whined. “I don’t have any one else to turn to!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Why not?” I say. “Don’t you have any friends?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She suddenly hangs her head low, a remorseful look on her face.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I used to…” She said in a sad tone.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Well damn, now I feel awful.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Agh…” I rub the back of my neck. “Fine, I’ll help.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Really?” She said. “Oh, thank you! My name’s Asuka!” She held out a hand.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ishi.” I tell her, not taking that hand.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She dropped her arm and pouted. “You aren’t much for making friends are you?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I work alone for the most part. Don’t have anyone holding me back.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well that’s a grim way to look at things.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Just don’t get used to my company, kid.” I say. “I’ll help you to the next town but after that you’re on your own.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Um. Okay.” She said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Come on.” I say, gesturing her to follow me, which she did.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">---

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We had made it out of town and it was the afternoon by the time we hit the main road that would lead us to Vespera.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Asuka followed me closely, making sure not to talk too much because I had to shut her up too many times. Talkative girl, she was. Too bad we had almost nothing in common from what I could tell.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey, Ishi?” Asuka quips after a time. “You mind if I ask you something?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Maybe.” I say. “Probably.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What are you going to do once the game is finished?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Murder Kayaba Akihiko.” I say straightforwardly.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What?” She says. “You’re going to kill him?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Wouldn’t you?” I ask. “Wouldn’t you want to kill him after trapping us here? For being responsible for the thousands of lives lost since this game’s release?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well… I wouldn’t care if he was killed… but… I can’t see myself being the one to kill him.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well you won’t have to be. I’m going to be the one to kill him.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hm…”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We keep walking along the road as the sun began to set. The stars soon became visible in the sky and the moon began to shine its light down on the landscape.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh my God.” Asuka whined. “How long is this road?!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“We’re almost there.” I tell her.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well good. I’m tired and starving.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I abruptly stop in my tracks, leading to Asuka taking a few steps in front of me before stopping herself.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey, why’d we stop?” She asks.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Someone’s here.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“How can you tell?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Shush up.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I look around. We were basically in a field right now, with one dirt pathway leading to the village we were heading to. We hadn’t seen a single other player on this path since we started on our way, of course I knew there were player killers here. I just couldn’t see them. They must be a type of rouge class, one that has that invisibility skill some PKers seem to love so much. Not that it’d make a difference. They need to uncloak in order to attack, and my reflexes were sharper than my sword.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sure enough, behind me, three players were in the air and coming down on me from three different angles. Quickly I bring out my blade and extend the claws of my gauntlet into position and spin around, swinging my sword at blinding speed to clash into all three of their swords in one swipe, sending them backwards and making them jump back to get some distance.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ah!” Asuka jumped. “Where’d they come from?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Heh, you’re not half bad.” One of the PKers told me. “Your reflexes are pretty fast.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Why don’t you get out of here? Make it easy on yourselves.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He stifles a laugh.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You kidding? Our levels are in the 50s. We can take anybody on!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Care to prove that?” I say, getting ready for a quick fight.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Heh.” The guy chuckles. “You know what? I think we should take our time with you! Come on!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">They all rush up, one at a time, but close together. Bad mistake on their part. I blink up to the leader faster than he could think and place a finger of Gilgamesh onto his chest. It was over.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Chain Lightning.” I mutter, before a powerful surge of electricity arced between each one of them instantly, bringing down more than three quarters of their HP and sending them all to the ground in a fit of muscle spasms.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I sheath my weapons and head back to Asuka, who looked shocked at how easily I took down our aggressors.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I hate player killers.” I say under my breath as I pass by Asuka. “C’mon, let’s go.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ah!” She jogs up to my side. “How’d you do that?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Do what?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Move that fast! I mean, I didn’t even see you take a step!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“It’s a skill unique to me.” I explain. “I’m the only one in this game who can use it. It’s called Zero Shift.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Zero Shift?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“It allows me to move at near teleportation speed. It’s pretty useful.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’d say.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Let’s keep moving.” I say. “I’d rather we not run into any more PKers along the way.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">---

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It was around midnight when we got to the village, and the streets only had a few people walking about. The streets were lit by lanterns and the full moon above us as we entered the town.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Here we are.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Agh, that took forever…” Asuka complained. “But thanks a lot for the help, Ishi. I really appreciate it.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Sure.” I say, walking past her toward the nearest inn for the night.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey, wait!” Asuka ran up ahead of me to stop me. “Is it okay if I friend you?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“No.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, come on! I’m not going to pester you all the time, I promise.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“But you ARE going to pester me until I let you friend me.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yep!” She nods with a gleeful smile.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Alright, fine.” I sigh. “Not gonna get you off my back otherwise.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So I let her friend me, which made 3 people on my friends list, with Jackel and Dainsleif being the other two. No I’m not an antisocial freak, I just don’t like people.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Thanks again!” Asuka called to me as she waved and ran around a corner.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I let out a long and heavy sigh.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What the hell did I just get in to?” I ask myself before heading to the nearest tavern.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">There I rent a room for the night and head up, putting my weapons to the side of the bed and summarily crashing on said bed. I decided tomorrow I was going to head back to Talmia to do some more training around that area. I had to keep getting stronger if I wanted to finish this game.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter 2
<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I slowly wake up, checking the time.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">10:48.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I lazily roll out of bed, hitting the ground with a thud, before coming to my senses and standing upright, stretching myself out and yawning. When I open my eyes again I see a small notification to my left.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Messages.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">42 of them.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I open up my inbox and see they’re all messages from Asuka. They were all ‘how do I’ questions.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Dammit, Asuka!” I shout.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I just knew this would happen.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So I wipe my entire inbox clean without reading any of them and head downstairs to pay the innkeeper before heading outside and leaving Vespera for the fields around it, figuring I’d get some morning training in. I mean, might as well. I don’t do much else anyway.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">---

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">When I reach the fields I see a bunch of monsters just about my level. Should give me good enough exp and such. At least for now. They were Minotaurs, which provided a decent challenge to match their rewards.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">No problem.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I run toward the nearest one, and he quickly spots me. He snorts through his large nostrils and readies the large battle axe he wielded, ready to charge me. I don’t give him the opportunity. I jump up into the air, grabbing the small blades I have strapped around my white jacket, and throwing four of them in his direction, slamming into his head and instantly taking him down. I had caught the attention of a few others in the vicinity, and they were coming toward me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The blades I had thrown reappear in their sheaths around my jacket and I grab two of them, using Zero Shift to close the distance between me and one of my attackers, stabbing him with both blades through the stomach, not killing him, but causing an awful lot of damage. I let go of the daggers and slide back, spinning around and raising a foot, smashing his face with the heel of my shoe, sending him into the ground as his friends came in to back him up. I activate Gilgamesh, and appear in front of another Minotaur, delivering a crushing punch into his stomach that makes him cough up blood and fly a good distance away.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As yet another comes at me from behind, raising his axe up and bringing it down, I bring Gilgamesh up and grab his weapon, stopping it dead in mid attack. I draw out another small blade and pull on his axe, brining him in for me to stab him in the neck, before jumping up and clawing down with Gilgamesh, gashing into his face and down his chest, bringing is HP down to 0 and causing him to shatter. The one I had kicked earlier had recovered and was charging me, along with a friend, from both sides. They were charging me like a bull would, horns in front and trying to ram me. I draw two of my short blades and wait as they close in. At just the last moment, I jump up, letting them ram headfirst into each other, taking out a good chunk of both HP bars, before coming down and sending both my daggers into the backs of their necks, destroying the rest of their HP bars and giving me a good amount of exp for the double kill.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey, Ishi!” I hear a familiar voice call out.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Dammit…” I mutter as I turn to Asuka. “You know, you didn’t have to flood my inbox like that.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Sorry!” She says with a guilty smile. “I just don’t know much about this game.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well make some new high level friends so you can bother them with that.” I tell her. “I’m busy.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I get the feeling you don’t really like me.” Asuka realized.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You’re annoying.” I tell her bluntly.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, thanks.” She said aggressively.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey, I’m honest.” I say. “I don’t sugarcoat things; I tell it like it is.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well you don’t have to be so mean about it.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hm…” I throw a rock at another Minotaur to get his attention. He charges up as I throw two blades into his legs to trip him, before Shifting up above him and stabbing downwards into his neck with Arondight, getting some more exp.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“So what do you want?” I ask her as I walk back over to her.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I just thought we could hang out.” She said. “I mean, I’m not doing anything better.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well I am.” I say, again being brutally honest.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Is this how you treat all your friends?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey, the only reason why I friended you in the first place is because you wouldn’t have stopped bothering me if I hadn’t. And you’re bothering me anyway!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well sorry!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You should be.” I gather up a bunch of pebbles and just start spinning around and throwing them randomly, hoping to attract the attention of as many of these guys as possible. And it worked!

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">6 of the Minutaurs around me come running up with their same slow and predictable attack patterns and I easily mop them up too, while Asuka just stands on the sidelines waiting for me to finish up my massacre.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Just farming?” Asuka asks.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Nothing else to do, really.” I say. “I’ve finished up most of the quests minus those ones that have me collecting or killing x number of y.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hm…” She pauses and looks over my shoulder. “Hey, who’s that?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Huh?” I look over to where she’s looking and see someone there. He was staring at me a distance away. He had black hair, and was wearing all black with dark brown padded boots reaching up to his knees, and a white long sleeve haori with black trim.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey!” I shout. “What’re you staring at me like that for?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He doesn’t answer. He just keeps staring at me. I shrug.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Weird.” I go back to my business, but am cut short when the guy suddenly appeared right in front of me, his hand on his sheathed katana he had belted to his side. I immediately bring up Arondight in defense as his blade slices through the air, clashing into my sword and throwing me back.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Agh! What the hell?!” I yell, jumping back a distance.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The guy had his blade sheathed to his side, but he held onto the handle, ready to strike again. I realize then that I hadn’t even seen him draw his blade when he struck at me. It was too fast for me to see.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Who are you?” I demand, getting ready to fight. “A player killer?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Perhaps.” He says in a plain demeanor. “I prefer to call myself a simple swordsman, though.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Swordsman?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He rushes me again, almost too fast for me to catch, and I shift out of the way of another strike, appearing to his side and sending my blade down on him quickly. He draws his sword, again quicker than I can see, deflecting my blow and retaliating with his own. I block his blade with Gilgamesh before shifting behind him and preparing for another strike. He was one step ahead of me, and I had to back up quick as his blade cut into my chest.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I shift away from him, keeping a defensive stance. I didn’t take too much damage from that attack, since I backed off quick enough.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ishi!” Asuka said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Stay out of this, Asuka!” I command her. “This guy’s way above your level.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She backs away from our fight, but keeps an eye on me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Come to think of it, he was probably above my level as well, which wasn’t good for me. It’ll be tricky taking this guy down.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You’re not bad.” The unknown swordsman told me. “My name is Yamato.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yamato?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Legendary Player Killer.” He said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Now that rang a bell. I’ve heard rumors about the Legendary Player Killer around multiple towns. They said he was unbeatable. I never believed he even existed.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Why is someone like you here?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’ve been looking for a good fight.” He told me. “You just looked interesting.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What the hell does that mean?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">   He doesn’t answer, instead rushing up to me again. We clash blades twice before he spins around to deliver a kick which I sidestep, leaning into the momentum and spinning myself to strike with my own blade. He easily deflects the blow, and the three others I send his way before I rear up and come crashing down on him with Gilgamesh, which manages to break his guard just enough for me to swipe at his neck.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He catches my blade.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What?!” I stammer, unable to believe that he had just caught my attack with his bare hand, not a single point of HP lost.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You’re not good enough.” He said, looking up at me with his cold light blue eyes.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He turns his blade over and slashes into me again, not letting me move out of the way this time. That brings my bar down to red as I let go of Arondight and hit the ground, cripplingly injured.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“But maybe you have potential…” He mutters, throwing my sword back at me, sticking it into the ground next to me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He begins to walk away.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey!” I shout. “Where are you going?!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You’re in no condition to fight me anymore.” He said coldly. “Live to fight another day.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">With that he kept walking away. I hated it, but he was right. He took that much out of me with just one hit, and I’m pretty sure he was holding back to keep me alive. I scowled at him behind his back as he kept walking, soon leaving my line of sight beyond a hill.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ishi!” Asuka rushed up to my side. “Are you alright?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah.” I say, staggering up to my feet. “I’ll be fine.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We both look to where the swordsman had disappeared.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Who was he?” Asuka asked.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I don’t know.” I answer.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Here, take this.” Asuka says, handing me an HP potion.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I take it and drink it down, returning me to half health, which was enough.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Thanks.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She nods. “We should probably head back to town.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah, probably.” I lead the way as she follows me back to Vespera.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As we began the trek back I thought about what Yamato had said. Potential? What did he mean by that?

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">---

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">When we made it back to Vespera, we decided to head to a restaurant and grab a bite to eat. And by ‘we’ I mean ‘Asuka forced me to’. One of the many downsides of not being able to advocate for myself.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We both decided on a bowl of ramen. She decided on tonkotsu style ramen while I went with Shio ramen, because this wasn’t Adeline’s and I couldn’t get the kind of ramen I level up my nonexistent Ramen Slayer skill with every time I go there. It was still good I guess, just not as good as Adeline’s.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Asuka was merrily munching down her bowl while I took mine more slowly, still thinking about what Yamato had said. It was really getting to me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey.” Asuka waves her hand. “Something on your mind?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You could say that.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What that guy told you?” She guessed.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah.” I sigh.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” She said, taking another bite. “I mean, I’m sure you’ll be able to get him next time.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“No, he’s different.” I say. “He’s better than me… WAY better. He was just playing with me. He wasn’t even trying and I didn’t stand a chance…”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Aw, don’t be like that.” Asuka said. “I know what’ll cheer you up!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I look up as she reaches across the table.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“A nice big hug!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I just stare at her as she wore a big smile with her arms outstretched.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You know, you’re lucky enough I’m even having lunch with you, so don’t push it.” I say, taking another slow bite of my meal.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hmm.” She sat back down. “Who doesn’t like hugs?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You know, you’re awfully childish.” I tell her.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’m not childish! I’m just… very optimistic is all.” She smiles.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Whatever you want to call it, it’s annoying.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“So if you can’t be happy, nobody can, is that it?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hmph…” I look out the window into the streets, where I saw more of the same. Players talking and conducting commerce. Like I was going to see anything new.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We continued our meal mostly in silence, as Asuka figured she wasn’t going to get much out of me, since I was still lost in thought.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">---

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">After we had finished up our meal, I decided to head back to Talmia and leave Asuka to do whatever it is she does when I’m not around. It’s not my business.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It was late at night by the time I was halfway back, and my way was lit up by the moonlight radiating from that big white digital rock in the sky. I took it slow, in no rush to get there or anywhere for that matter. I felt the breeze roll across the plains, making the grass dance and picking up dirt from the path I was on. I stopped and looked up to the moon, its light easily lighting up the entire landscape. It was cold. Colder than usual. I didn’t like the cold, but at the same time it helped me think. It helped calm my nerves and let me see clearly. I was still thinking about what Yamato had told me, still trying to figure out the meaning of his words…

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Potential… potential for what?

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">What did he expect me to become?

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter 3
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">3 Weeks Later <span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Slow… sloppy… uncoordinated… nope… nope... nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It had been like this for the last 3 weeks. I had decided to help Asuka level up and train her in the ways of not just flailing around a sword randomly, no idea why. We were in the fields outside Talmia and I was watching her as she practiced her technique and listened to me ramble on about how she was doing it all wrong, which was actually kind of fun.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Agh! Dammit!” Asuka shouted. “Will you quit yelling at me?!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’ll stop when you get it right.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“No you won’t.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You’re right.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She sighs heavily. “So what am I supposed to be doing exactly?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’ve explained it enough times.” I say nonchalantly, sitting down in the grass.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah, once!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah, that’s enough.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Just tell me again!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I sigh and shake my head. “You’re supposed to be using your sword to perform quick and precise strikes that FLOW into each other. FLOW. Get it?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“No…” Asuka heaves, exhausted from all the training I’ve been putting her through.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, watch then.” I say, standing up and drawing my own sword. I slice it through the air, demonstrating how it should be done.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You see?” I say between strikes. “You need to learn how to make each move lead into the next. You need to plan at least two steps ahead at all times. You need to always know what move you’re going to make after the one you’re making, and then know the one after that.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I show her how I constantly use momentum from each of my swings to add into the power of the next, and how it allows for quick strikes without as much energy as she would without chaining each move together.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Get it now?” I ask, sheathing Arondight to my back.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I… think?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well get to it then.” I say, sitting back down on the grass and crossing my arms.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She brings her sword up again, letting out a long breath and cutting into the air, quickly and accurately, upwards and diagonally to the right, before redirecting the blade downward, curving it cleanly into the next swing, keeping the momentum in her strikes. She comes up diagonally left this time, before spinning and delivering one powerful downward swing.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“See how that last one didn’t need so much push to get that much power?” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah…” Asuka says. “That was… easy…”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Good.” I say. “Now do it again, but with more strikes.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">---

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We go at this for a while; I teach her multiple techniques, some she gets more easily than others, while the others it takes her days to nail. But progress was steady and she was beginning to get more and more skilled, and she was starting to figure out things on her own, which meant less work for me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Yay.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She was leveling up pretty quickly as well. In three weeks she went from level 18 to level 32. She had a new weapon as well. A nice straight double edged long sword like mine. Although not nearly as powerful, it still boasted some solid stats, and it was the kind of weapon she’d need for the kind of training I was putting her through.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She also took on a style change, wearing a white and red sleeveless top with a black skirt, red leggings and black shoes, as well as black gloves with runes on them, allowing her to imbue her weapon with fire, which I thought was pretty neat. But I wasn’t about to admit anything to her.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We had finished up a training session and were now on our way back to Talmia for some of Adeline’s ramen, which I had gotten Asuka hooked on.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Damn, this is just so GOOD!” Asuka said with her mouth full, munching on Adeline’s special ramen.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Why I always come here.” I said, taking a smaller bite of my own meal.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey, I meant to ask you something…” Asuka said between bites. “You have a girlfriend?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What?” I ask. “No, hell no, why?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What’s the problem with a girlfriend?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Why would I want one?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I don’t know.” She twirled her chopsticks between her fingers, because she could actually use the infernal sticks. “So you’re not alone all the time?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’m fine with being alone.” I told her. “Frankly I’d rather not even be with you.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Then why are you?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I shrug. “Hell if I know.” I take a sip of my drink.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">A time went on without either of us saying anything, before I spoke up.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“A had a girlfriend once, actually.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, really?” Asuka seemed a bit surprised.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah, but it didn’t really mean anything.” I said. “It was mainly just for fun I guess.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What? Like… sex fun?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Only once.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Does the game let you do that?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Apparently, because we did.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well that’s one way to be straightforward. Who was she?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Misaki.” I said. “I was her partner when we were in Pendragon Court together.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Pendragon Court?” Asuka asked. “That one clearer and PK eliminating guild?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“That’s the one.” I said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You were in there?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah, but I quit.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Why?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Just wanted to do things my own way. There was a moral code there that I didn’t usually abide by.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah that makes sense.” Asuka took down the last of her bowl of ramen. “So where is Misaki now?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Still with Pendragon Court, I’d assume.” I said. “We were drifting apart even before I left, and when I did our relationship just ended.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh… I see.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It was at this time I had finished my meal. I stand up from our table and head to the door.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’m gonna head out.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Head out? Where?” Asuka inquired.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I dunno.” I shrug, exiting the building and taking to the streets.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Talmia was just about as busy as it always was. Nothing new was going on, and even if there was I really wouldn’t care all that much. It didn’t really matter either way to me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But along the road there was one thing that caught my attention. I look in the direction of unknown sounds and face down an alleyway. There I see a little girl. Couldn’t be more than 10. She was dressed in what might as well be rags, with tangled up blonde hair. She was being pestered by a higher level. Looked to be in the 40s. Couldn’t have that. I walk down the alley toward the two.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Please, just leave me alone…” The little girl was sat down against the wall, not putting up much resistance.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Low levels like you shouldn’t even be allowed to live here.” The guy flaunted. “Only the strong survive! It’s my job to weed out the weaklings like you.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Real tough guy, aren’t you?” I say, catching his attention. “You get your kicks off assaulting little girls?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’d get out of here if I were you.” He said, glaring at me. “You don’t want to fight me.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Is that so?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah! So beat it, or I’ll beat you!” He glances over at the little girl, her hands raised up in futile defense. “But first, I’m gonna beat her!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Try it.” My tone got more menacing, and I gave him a stare I knew shook him, even if he tried to make it seem like it didn’t.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He made the punch. Big mistake.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I Shift up to him, grabbing his punch with Gilgamesh before it connected, raising up his arm before pulling back hard and slamming him into the wall, before quickly grabbing his head and throwing him into the opposite wall with such force it took out half his HP bar.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Agh! What the hell!” He shouted.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I put my hand up to Arondight. When he saw that he ran for it as fast as he could, running out of the alley and onto the streets. After a few seconds I went up to the little girl and put my hand on her shoulder.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Are you alright?” I ask gently.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She was still scared, I could tell, but she nodded slowly.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What’s your name?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She hesitated at first, but spoke. “Cl-Claire.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Claire.” I repeat. “My name’s Ishi.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ishi?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I nod, with a smile.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Th-thank you.” She said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You should probably stick to the main roads.” I suggest. “There aren’t so many of those guys as in the alleyways.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She nodded and quickly ran off back into the streets, running in the opposite direction as her attacker had. I casually walk onto the main street where I see Asuka waiting, a smile on her face.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Aw, so you have a heart all along.” She teased.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Shut up.” I say, passing her by and continuing on my way. She followed.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“So you’re not just a sociopathic freak after all huh?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Shut up.” I repeat.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She only giggled, and stayed quiet for the rest of our walk.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">---

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It was late at night and I had decided to hang out in the plains around Talmia. I was lying down in the grass on the top of a hill next to the only tree in the fields. The moon was bright and cast a white light down on the grass, making it appear a soft blue hue. I was lost in thought again. I was still trying to figure out what Yamato had said, and what he expected of me. I didn’t understand it, even after the three weeks I’ve been thinking on it. I sigh and close my eyes, feeling the cool night breeze sweep over me. It felt nice, and it helped calm me down.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah, I like coming here too.” I heard a voice say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I immediately recognized the voice.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I Shift up to my feet and turn around and see Yamato leaning against the tree, looking out over the plains.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You should really keep at least part of your consciousness in the real world.” He said nonchalantly. “I could’ve easily killed you right there.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Why are you here?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Just checking to see if you’ve improved at all. Looks like you’ve leveled up a bit.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">True. I was a level 58 now. I wasn’t exactly power leveling though. If I had done that I’d be halfway through the 60s by now.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I glare at Yamato, but see that he doesn’t really want to fight. Which struck me as a bit odd if not awkward. I didn’t make any move to try to instigate a fight either, figuring I’d lose again. Come to think of it, now that I got a good look at him, I feel like… I knew him from somewhere. Recently.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hang on a second…” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He looks up at me. “Hm?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You were at the Alpha Tests.” I realize.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“There ya go!” He says. “Yeah, I’m an Alpha Tester, just like you are. Was in the same room as you on the same day at the same time.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You didn’t talk at all.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Had nothing to talk about.” He said coolly. “You’d know about that.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I turn around and sit on the grass, overlooking the fields with Yamato. It felt really weird.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Tell me something.” I say. “What did you mean when you said I had potential?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You haven’t figured that out already?” He asked.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“No.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You’re slow.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Bite me.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well it wouldn’t really mean much if I just gave you the answer.” He said. “To truly understand it you need to find that out for yourself.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well you’re philosophical aren’t you?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Sure.” He says. “Anyway, I think I’ll head out now. Not really in the mood to fight you.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hm…” I murmur.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“See you around.” He says, leaving just as quickly as he appeared.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">A few minutes of silence pass by before I stand up.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“That was weird.” I say, looking back at the tree Yamato was leaning on. He was nowhere to be seen.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">That just added more questions to it. I didn’t get why he would immediately attack me one time then just have a friendly conversation the next. It was obvious he still expected something out of me, but what that was I had no clue.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">One thing I did know for sure is that the next time we drew swords I’d have to be at the top of my game to fight him. Whenever that will be. ===<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter 4  ===

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So I was helping Asuka out with a quest. How she convinced me to come along I don’t know. And actually it was less helping and more doing all the work for like no exp considering I was so much higher level than she was. It was a quest for a rare runic thing or something, I didn’t really pay attention. I guess somebody had to help the poor girl.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We were in a volcanic region of Aincrad, up on the 44th floor. The trail we were on was black, along with the volcanic mountains surrounding us, oozing red hot magma rivers. I’d complain but we couldn’t feel heat too hot to be uncomfortable in this game, so it was fine I guess.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Thanks again for helping me with this, Ishi.” She said. “I’m not really that confident in my abilities to take this on by myself.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“It’s fine.” I say, walking along the trail. “What are we looking for again?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ugh!” She groaned. “This is like the tenth time I’ve told you!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I wasn’t paying attention the other nine times, sorry.” I said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“It’s a rare runic material that’s only found in this region.” She said. “I can make some really powerful runes with it.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You gonna find enough for more than one?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, no, not even for one.” She said. “But I can analyze the material and make some of my own. Chances are it’s comprised of common ingredients, but the mix needs to be exact, and the only way for me to find out what the mix is, is to find one.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Okay, I got it this time.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You sure?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Really?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yes.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Alright.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We continued treading up the volcano path, jumping over the occasional lava river and inching our way around the occasional volcano cliff until we reached the tallest volcano in the range. We step up to the crest and I look down at the orange magma far below.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Let me guess.” I say. “It’s inside the volcano.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“How’d you know?” Asuka asked.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“It’s ALWAYS inside the volcano.” I answer. “So how are we gonna get down there?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’m… not sure… actually.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Further, how are we supposed to find it once we’re down there?” I add. “It’s just lava down there.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, hang on.” Asuka said. “See that?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“See what?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Over there.” She points down into the basin. “Looks like there’s a platform way at the bottom. Might lead into a cave.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Okay, so again, how do we get down there?” I repeat. “I could probably manage but you’d have to stay…”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I look over to her. She has an innocent smile on her face.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, don’t give me that!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Please can you go down there for me?” She asks in the cutest voice she can manage.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You gotta be kidding…”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Pleeeeease.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“God dammit…”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I jump off the edge of the crater and fall downwards toward the lava below. About halfway down I bring out Gilgamesh and slam the claws into the side wall, slowing my descent until I came to a stop, hanging a sort of safe distance above the molten rock.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“How you doing down there?” I hear Asuka shout.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Kiss my ass, that’s how I’m doing!” I shout back.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Okay, good!” She retorts.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“For fuck’s sake…” I mutter, looking down at the platform Asuka mentioned. It was to my right, almost at the opposite end of the crater. I kick to my right, releasing the wall just enough for me to begin wall running downwards and to the right toward the platform, digging into the wall with Gilgamesh to make sure I stayed on it. Once I’m right above it I let go and fall onto the hot rock. Good thing my shoes couldn’t burn up in this game.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Why didn’t you just use Zero Shift to get down there?” Asuka asked from above.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Where’s the fun in that?” I say. “And you were right, there is a cave here. I’m gonna see if your rock is in there.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“It’s not just a rock!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah it kind of is!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Just get the thing, will you?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Nag, nag.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I heave a heavy sigh and make my way into the cave. It wasn’t dark thanks to the magma everywhere, and there was even a small stream of it along the side against the wall, which provided enough light further in as well. I walked through the tunnel until I came across a clearing. It was a large circular room, clearly made by someone, or something. The place was lit up along the walls with torches and more magma flows, and in the center of the room was a pedestal with the rock I was looking for.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, so at least there aren’t any traps.” I say sarcastically. “Guess I should’ve expected that.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I step up to the pedestal. It was obsidian, cut cleanly into a square shape, with the pure white stone on top of it.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Yeah, totally rigged.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I thought about how I was going to get at it without setting off the totally not painfully obvious trap lying in wait for me. I inspected the thing top to bottom, touching it precariously but not lifting it off. I knelt down to it, slowly bringing my hands up, inching forward until an open hand was on either side, before slowly, ever so slowly, bringing my hands in, centimeter by centimeter. I clasp my hands around the stone and very, very carefully lift it off its pedestal. To my surprise, nothing went off. I quickly retract myself from the pedestal with the stone in hand. I look at the thing… didn’t see why this was so important. Just looked like a rock, really, but I guessed Asuka would know more about it than I would.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I shrug, putting the item in my inventory and turning to leave, stopping just at the entrance to the room. I sigh.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I raise my arms and let them fall back to my sides with a smack, before running back into the room toward the pedestal, bringing out Arondight and slicing clean through the thing.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Apparently the room didn’t like that, because when I did the entire thing started shaking like they always do. And of course I bolted. I just wanted to do that to piss of whatever was guarding the thing. And it worked! I shifted back to the platform in the crater and shifted up out of it, landing where Asuka was. Only thing was, I didn’t see her.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Asuka?” I say. “Asuka! You here?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">No answer.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Huh…”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I slide down the steep, winding path that led us up here, digging my hand into the ground to keep me at a constant speed down the slope before I hit the bottom of the incline, standing upright and looking around for Asuka.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Asuka!” I shout.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Still no answer.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Where could she have gone, I wonder?

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I trot up the next small hill and slide down the black and dusty rock, doing the same for the next few crests until I began to hear voices.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Give us what you got and maybe we won’t hurt you.” I heard one voice say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Let me go, dammit!” I heard Asuka shout.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Or what?” Another, deeper voice asked.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ngh! Dammit!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I made my way up until I was at the top of the volcanic hill, looking down at the scene. I saw a group of higher levels with Asuka being held captive.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I swear to God, I’ll-” Asuka was interrupted by the bigger of the group, who put his face dangerously close to hers.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You’ll what, little girl?” He said mockingly. “You’re nothing to us. We could end your life…” He took out his blade; a giant cleaver of a sword. “At the drop of a hat…”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He put the blade up to her neck. She struggled in vain. The man just laghed.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Face it, girly.” He said. “Nobody’s coming for you.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Want to bet?” I say, revealing my presence as I shifted up to the big guy, sliding Gilgamesh between his blade and Asuka’s neck and pushing back, leaving an opening for me to slice him in the side with Arondight, getting him to back off while I punched the guy holding Asuka in the face to let her go. She fell forward and I caught her with one arm, raising my blade in defense and ready for anyone to make a move.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, now.” The big guy said. “That one actually stung a little.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I noticed the brands on all of them. Whether on their clothing or their skin, I recognized that insignia instantly.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Laughing Coffin.” I muttered.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“The PK guild?” Asuka said, staying close to me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“That’s right, girly.” Mr. Big Guy said. “And trust me, boy.” He points his sword at me. “You’re gonna regret messing with us.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh I bet.” I say, letting Asuka go and bringing up Gilgamesh and Arondight, ready to fight. Asuka brought out her sword as well, pressing her back to mine, ready to fight.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You sure you can handle these guys?” I ask her.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You’re the one who taught me, aren’t you?” She responded.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I shrug. “Eh, point.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Let’s go, then.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Asuka breaks off from me while I do the same, dashing into one of the players surrounding us and giving him a solid punch with Gilgamesh, sending him flying back, half his HP gone. I next grab the blade of another with my gauntlet and with Arondight redirect the sword of the one behind me, landing a good kick to his side before pulling on the other’s sword and slicing through his stomach, making sure to leave him alive in the process. I look over and see Asuka fighting just as I had taught her to; using her acrobatic skills as well as the moves I’ve taught her to dispatch her opponents. I look back just in time to catch another player coming after me, axe raised and ready to come down on me. I rush up with Zero Shift before punching him with my gauntlet arm, throwing a few knives his way for good measure. They all hit their mark, landing in his arms and legs, leaving him unable to fight. I spin to evade a strike from another enemy and slam a strong spinning heel kick into his face, immediately sending him into the air before I shifted up and slashed at him in the air, taking him down to almost no HP left.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">That was it for my lot, and I look over to see Asuka finishing up with hers. She looked over to me and smiled. I was about to walk over to her when I heard a clapping.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Bravo.” I heard a deep voice say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I look over and see the big guy I had punched earlier walk up to me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You are both quite skilled, I’ll give you that.” He told us. “But trust me, your fight’s just getting started!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He brings out a giant ass double handed claymore in one swift motion. He smiles evilly at both of us.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You ready?” I ask Asuka.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You bet.” She responds.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Just then, out of nowhere the volcano erupts in a huge pillar of molten rock, towering high above all of us, making a resounding boom that almost split my head in two. Before I can assess the situation however, I hear a loud roar from the magma pillar, and not long after emerged a large dragon made of black rock and flame, its eyes a burning red and its mouth billowing fire. The giant thing shot the magma over our heads and into the lands below us, before bending down to look at us all. It growled menacingly at us, extending its wings before rearing up and letting out a loud roar.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ho-lee shit…” I mutter.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh my God…” Asuka gasps.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The big guy just stands there, seemingly unafraid of the giant monster in front of us.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hah!” He laughs. “You think you can stop me? Bring it-”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He didn’t get to finish the sentence before the dragon stomped on him. I could see the multicolored shards fly out from the shockwave of the things massive clawed foot hitting the ground.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Woah!” I back up, as does Asuka.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The giant beast roared at us before jumping from its crater and crashing onto the ground behind us, forcing us back.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Looks like we aren’t getting out of this one…” I say, readying myself.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“How are we gonna beat something like that?!” Asuka said. “It’s gotta be levels above us!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“No idea.” I say. “Just make sure you don’t get hit.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Sound advice…”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The creature makes a swipe at us, which Asuka jumps over while I shift into it, coming in and slashing at its face. The dragon rears back and roars, but it didn’t look like I did much damage. It raises itself up high and opens its mouth, raining fire onto me. I quickly Shift out of the way and to its side before the flames touch me. I can see Asuka running around it, trying to flank it, but the dragon catches wise. It makes a swipe for Asuka with its tail, which she is quick to jump over, landing on its tail and stabbing it, holding onto the blade as she swung around on the tail. I used this distraction to land another clean cut onto the dragon’s face, which once again looked like it didn’t do much. In fact, I realized why. The dragon had black rocky armor on its head that protected it. The entire thing was covered in it. I’d have to find a way to break it off before we could really get at it.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Asuka!” I shout at her, still being flailed around on the dragon’s tail.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Bit… ngh! Busy here… agh!” She struggled to maintain her grip on her sword.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“We need to get its armor off before we can hurt it!” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, good to know!” She said, launching herself off the dragon’s tail and landing on the back of its neck, stabbing into the rocky armor. The blade only got an inch through before it stopped dead.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ah! This is some tough armor!” She said, struggling to pull the blade out. She barely managed to before the dragon stood on its back legs and came crashing down again, making a shockwave that blew both of us back into the nearest wall.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I looked over to Asuka. I could see her HP was at half now, while mine was still well over 3/4ths.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Asuka, take a breather.” I tell her. “I got this.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“By yourself?!” She exclaimed. “Are you crazy?!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey, you know me.” I say, preparing myself.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The dragon then took flight, beginning to circle around me menacingly, eyeing me all the way. This went on for a few minutes, before finally the beast made a quick growl and swooped down to try to claw at me. I dodged its large claws and managed to grab onto the base of its wing as it soared up into the air again. It knew I was there, and immediately made an effort to shake me off. It flew up high into the air and performed aerial maneuvers, spinning and darting side to side to get me to lose my grip. But I was firmly put there, for I had the claws of Gilgamesh embedded into its rock armor. I wasn’t going anywhere.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I waited until it calmed down, spread its wings to glide. When this happened I quickly detached myself and sprang forward, digging Gilgamesh into the armor behind its lower neck. I hold on as it once again attempted to shake me off with its aerial displays. I waited and kept my claws dug into my opponent before it once again went into a glide, whereupon I make another dash forward, landing on the back of its neck, but just behind the head, around where Asuka had stabbed it. I take a look around to find exactly where she had made her mark, and once I had found it I raise Arondight and plunge it downwards, hitting the exact same spot, only going much deeper, piercing through the armor and stabbing into its neck. The creature roared in pain, and I saw a good chunk of its HP go out.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I stand up, keeping a hold of Arondight, before shoving the blade to the right, in turn causing the dragon to turn right. I do the same to the left. Same result. I was in control now. I push the blade forward hard and the dragon goes into a full dive, screaming toward the ground, taking me with it. I was going to slam this thing headfirst into the ground, hoping I wouldn’t end up the same way this thing was. The dragon, however, had different plans. It overrode my commands and pulled out of the dive just before it hit the ground. With that plan out the window I decide to do it the old fashioned way. I look around at our low altitude and notice we were coming up on a large and long rock face.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Perfect.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I thrust my blade deeper into the dragon, before stepping backward and making a run down its back mid-flight, cutting through its armor, making it screech in agony, until I got to its tail, where I stab through the less armored fiery flesh of the dragon. Now coming up on the rocky wall, I throw myself out to it, and when I’m within arm’s reach, I slam Gilgamesh’s claws into it, sending sparks flying and creating an extremely audible scraping sound, as well as making a long trail of five gashes on the rock. I keep this up, slowly but surely decreasing the dragon’s speed, until, once it was slowed enough, I detach myself and make one mighty leap off the wall, flying over the dragon and landing on its head, digging Gilgamesh into its forehead before delivering a stab to its left eye, making it roar loudly as it shakes its head. This causes it to accidentally slam into the wall and damage its wing, sending it to the ground, and me with it. At the last second, I let go with Gilgamesh and slide down onto its back, letting the dragon take all the force of impact onto its face.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">By the time we stopped rolling and came to a sliding stop, I find myself dirty, but relatively undamaged. The dragon was not as lucky. More than three fourths of its HP was gone by now. It was time to finish it off.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It thrashed around and flailed with the rest of its strength to try to shake me off its back, but I quickly run up it to its neck and finally to the top of its head where I jump up and with both hands stab downwards with Arondight, piercing through the severely damaged armor easily and impaling the thing right through the head. I watch as the rest of the HP bar disappeared, and the dragon exploded into multicolored shards.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I am left heaving with my hands on my knees.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Someone better get me a drink!” I shout at no one in particular.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I look up and check the battle results. A metric shit-ton of exp and cash, as well as a unique weapon: Flamberge. A pretty damn powerful sword. Nothing I would use, but I’d give it to Asuka. She’s been needing a new weapon for a while now. There was a level 52 requirement, however, so she won’t be able to use it for a while.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Climbing out of the rubble from the battle, I make my way back to where I had left Asuka on my dragon joyride. She immediately sprang to her feet and ran up to me when she saw me coming up the hill.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ishi!” She shouted, stopping in front of me. “Are you alright?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah, nothing I couldn’t handle.” I told her. “I got you a souvenir.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I initiate a trade with her, giving her the weapon the boss had dropped as well as the runic material she so desperately wanted.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Woah…” She said, looking at its stats. “This thing is badass!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Though you’d like it.” I said. “You’ll have to level up fast to use it.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, yeah!” She says, ending the trade with Flamberge and material in her inventory. “Thanks, Ishi.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah.” I say. “Come on, I want to get the hell out of this place.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah, I’m right there with ya.” She says, following me as started down the mountain.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I could go for some of Adeline’s ramen after all that crap. ===<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter 5   ===

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I wake up slowly. Just about as slow as I usually do, which usually involved moaning and going back to sleep a few times before actually waking up somewhere between 1 and 4 in the afternoon. Curiously though, I had awoken at the brisk time of 7 am, which struck me as odd considering my ludicrously off kilter sleeping habits, but whatever.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I slump out of bed and casually get dressed in my usual getup before heading out. I slide down the stairs and land firmly at the bottom.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, good morning, Ishi.” Adeline greeted.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hi.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">With me not having a house of my own Adeline was generous enough to offer one of her empty rooms for me to stay in, considering the restaurant was also her house upstairs. No charge either. Bonus!

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What’re you off to kill today?” Adeline jokes, cleaning up some glasses and dishes to get ready to open shop in an hour.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Don’t know yet.” I say. “I’ll tell you when I get back.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I head out the door, the bells above it chiming to signal my exit and strode down the streets, thinking of something to do. About 15 minutes of me just walking around randomly pass by and I was at a complete loss. There was never anything to do, really. I just usually waited until something came up.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Lo and behold.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I received a message.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I assumed it was from Asuka.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I opened up my inbox and to my surprise this time it wasn’t.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It was from Knight. The leader of Pendragon Court himself.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Knight?” I say to myself. “What does he want?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I hadn’t really talked to Knight in almost half a year. Not because we were on bad terms or anything, but because we never really had anything to talk about. He had told me that he’d message me if he ever needed my help with something after I had left the Court, and knowing him it must be something big if he was going out of his way to ask for my assistance.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Ishi, 

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">''<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I need to speak with you about matters of great importance. Please meet with Misaki, Gawain and myself at our headquarters in Luciad. ''

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Huh…” I say. “I wonder what could be so important?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I close up my menus and teleport to the home of Pendragon Court. The city of Luciad, on the 29th floor of Aincrad.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I easily make my way through the busy streets of the large city by memory toward the center, where the headquarters of the Knights of the Round Table was stationed. I entered the building by holding up the key to the door, which a pendant of the insignia of Pendragon Court on it. I held on to it after I had left by Knight’s request. I headed for the main room of the building; the gathering hall, where our meetings would usually take place. Once I’m there I see Knight, Gawain and Misaki at the large table, talking amongst one another, before Misaki notices my entrance.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hello, Ishi.” Misaki said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Knight looked up from the papers on the table he was examining.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Lancelot.” He said. “Glad you could make it so quickly.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Lancelot was the nickname he gave me. He’s the only one who actually calls me that instead of my actual name. It’s a name I had earned in my time in the guild, due to my skills with a blade.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Had nothing better to do.” I said casually, sitting down at a chair and leaning back, kicking my feet up onto the table. “What’s going on?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“The Guardians of Darkness.” He told me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The Guardians of Darkness was another guild, and the main enemy of the Court. Their sole purpose was to take over Aincrad by taking the Game Master’s place. How they were to go about doing that, however, we never could figure out.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What are they up to this time?” I ask, not the least bit concerned.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“We’ve been able to discover what it is they’re after.” Gawain clarified. “It’s a weapon that will allow them to easily defeat the Game Master and put themselves in his place.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Is any weapon that powerful?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“We don’t know.” Knight said. “It’s called Skeith. Apparently it has the power to destroy anything in the game. How it can do this, however, we don’t know. Nor do we know where it is, or even what it is, really.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“So what are we going to do about that?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I don’t know…” Knight says. “We’ve been trying to think of something. We definitely need to locate Skeith before they do. But I’m afraid we’ve more pressing matters to deal with. The Guardians of Darkness are about ready to stage an all out war with us. We presently do not have the numbers to fight them. We’ll need to recruit an army.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’m not standing on a corner flicking cards, if that’s what you’re asking.” I told him.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I know you wouldn’t even if I did ask.” Knight smiled. “No. I need you to do what you can to find out more about Skeith, and find where it’s located and take it before the Guardians of Darkness have a chance at it.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Why only me?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Because you’re the only one who can do it.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Fair enough.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Misaki, Gawain and I will be recruiting and training for battle just in the case it comes to that.” Knight said. “We also have Avro and Vincent doing the same.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What about Trinity?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“She’s bringing us intel from the enemy.” He said. “She’ll be able to tell us what they’re planning and when they’ll strike. She’ll also be bringing us new on Skeith, so we’ll keep you updated.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“So what should I do for now?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“There’s one person we want you to look into.” Misaki contributed. “Soryu. Heard of her?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Can’t say I have.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“She’s a notorious player killer that usually hangs out around the 33rd floor. She’s connected to the Guardians of Darkness, but isn’t an official member. We have reason to believe that she knows a thing or two about Skeith. It’d be a good idea to track her down and get what she knows out of her.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Alright, I’ll get on that.” I say, getting out of my seat and turning to leave.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“One more thing, Lancelot.” Knight said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I turn to face him.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What is it?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“There’s something different about you…” He told me. “I can’t tell what it is.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’m the same as I’ve always been.” I say casually. “Nothing’s changed.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Knight shrugs and goes back to the papers on the table and Gawain and Misaki do the same. I leave at that, exiting the building and immediately teleporting to the 33rd floor of Aincrad, at the town of Ravenwing.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Now, Ravenwing was a dark place, as the name may suggest. It was in the middle of a dense forest, so dense in fact that you could never see the sun through the tree canopy. It was always pretty dark around here, to the point where nobody could tell if it was day or night without looking at their clocks. Lanterns had to be put all about the town so people could see well enough. This was also one of the more dangerous places in Aincrad. It was a home for player killers, since they would be constantly attacked by NPC guards if they went to any other place due to their status. This place was one of many little hidey holes for the murderes of Aincrad, but was the most popular due to its relatively secluded and hidden location, off the map for most other players.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I was not most other players.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I had found this place while exploring the dark forest for why not reasons. The people here tend to keep to themselves but I’ve had more than a few brawls here, all of which end up with me winning and gaining a reputation around here as a guy you don’t want to mess with, even if I refused to kill other players. That refusal was part of the reason I get jumped around here in the first place, but I digress.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I figured this was the best place to start, because of the player killers and all. A bunch will probably know of Soryu’s whereabouts. I step into the tavern there and immediately all eyes were on me. Then all eyes immediately left me because they all knew who I was. I step up to the bar and take a seat at the bar stool.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ah, if it ain’t the merciful knight ‘imself.” I hear a familiar voice say, as the owner of said voice approached me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Scott.” I say. “How goes it?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ah, it’s goin’ fine enough, lad.” Scott said in his thick Scottish accent, which is why people around here called him Scott. Nobody knew his real name anyway, and he had his display name changed to Scott since so many people called him that. He’s even renowned as “The Scottsman” around Aincrad, especially to his enemies.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He was one of the few people around here who weren’t total dicks.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“So, what brings ye ‘round these parts?” He said as he cleaned off a class with a washcloth.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’m looking for a player killer named Soryu.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Sor-yu!” Scott said. “Now there’s a character if I’ve ever seen one. Sharp in wit and blade she is. Why’d you be lookin’ for one of her class, if I may inquire?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I don’t think that’s any of your business.” I say, trying to be as polite as possible about it.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Scott just laughs.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ay, there ya go again, Ishi. Always secrets with ye, always. On me ‘art I can’t figure a thing ‘boutcha. Mysterious as they come.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I just think my business is my business and nobody else needs to involve themselves.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Fair enough.” Scott says. Yeh I’ve seen the woman ‘round here. She oftentimes comes in for a quick drink or to beat the li”vin’ hell outta some guy who looks at ‘er funny.” He lets out a hearty chuckle. “Or both. She has her own table right there in the back.” He points towards an empty table near a corner of the room. “Reserved for her use only. Anyone who’d sit at that there table is the bravest man I’ve ever seen. He’d also be the deadest man I’ve ever seen if she’d caught the stupid bastard.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You know where I could find her?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hmm…” Scott scratches his beard. “I hear tell she can be seen ‘round Blackwood Forest, along the trail there. She likes to ambush unsuspecting boys an’ girls and slice their goddamn throats out, she does. Great judge o’ character I’d say.” He chuckles again. “Wait. Yer not thinkin’ o’ fightin’ her are ya?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Maybe.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ohoh, there’s a brave lad!” He slaps his hand on the table. “Always a fighter ye are. Saw that the instant I laid eyes on yeh, that’s for true. Also saw that when ya slammed that one poor bastard’s head throw a table then threw ‘im out the window.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well he started it.” I say in defense.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hah, you threw the first punch, if I’m rememberin’ right.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well he shouldn’t have snuck up on me.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Not a people person are yeh?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“No, not really.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Coulda figured that, I guess.” Scott laughed. “Well fer whatever reason yah might have, yeh ought to be careful goin’ about Soryu. I know ‘ow well you are with a blade, but I also know ‘ow well she is with them knives and that sword she got on ‘er. You won’t see ‘er comin’ ‘till she’s already on yah.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Thanks for the advice.” I say, getting up out of the barstool and leaving the tavern.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Blackwood Forest wasn’t too far from Ravenwing, so I took the trail that would lead me straight to it, and the trail Soryu supposedly liked to ambush unsuspecting players to “slice there goddamn throats out”, as she does.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">---

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Before long, I find myself at the entrance to Blackwood Forest. If you couldn’t figure, it was called Blackwood Forest because all the trees were black. Their leaves were a dark green that might as well be black if you’re looking from the outside, but inside you can tell the difference because the only two colors you’ll be seeing are black and dark green. And the grey of the ground if you’re one of those people who just stare at the ground as they walk.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I begin my walk through the beautiful and lush scenery – there’s the sarcasm, you see – and walk carefully I did, as I wanted to make as little sound as possible. So lightly did I walk, that I could hear the light breeze through the trees and the sound of my own breath. It didn’t take long for me to hear something else, though. I heard a rustling that nobody else would’ve caught, but my senses were sharper than that. I keep walking, pretending I didn’t hear it. A few minutes pass before I hear it again.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This time I stop.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I listen.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I cancel out everything except for the soft rustling of the trees in the breeze. I listen intently on the softly flowing sound, hearing out for the slightest break in that sound. It was right above me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I quickly activate Gilgamesh and block the blade that was coming down on me, swiftly bringing out my own blade and swiping at my opponent, who jumps back to avoid the attack. I immediately take up a combat stance.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, well.” She says. “You’re sharp. Never had that happen before.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Soryu, I take it.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Nobody but.” She bows to me, not breaking the piercing gaze of her purple eyes for an instant. “Mind introducing yourself?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I hesitate to answer, but do so after a few seconds.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ishi.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ishi…” She says, closing her eyes. “Ishi… Ishi… Ishi… I like that name.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Cut it out.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“The fact that you were able to avoid me killing you suggests that you knew I was here, and that you were looking for me.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Damn, she’s good.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“So tell me, Ishi. What business do you have with me?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You know a few things about Skeith, don’t you?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Skeith?” She repeats the name. “Perhaps. Memory’s a little fuzzy though… I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I Shift up to her and grab her face with my gauntlet, slamming her down into the ground.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“That bring back anything?” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Agh… Not quite sure… Maybe you need to do a little more…”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I bring her up and throw her toward the nearest tree. She flips and plants her feet on the tree before kicking off it, bringing out her sword and coming at me with an overhead slash. I block the blow with my sword, but she manages to place a hard kick to my side, breaking my guard and allowing her to get in one quick strike before I bring up my defense again, defending against her blade with Gilgamesh before smacking her sword out of the way and delivering my own slash. It deals a bit of damage but not enough to wound her in any real way. She jumps back and examines me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ahh… Such strength… Such skill… Such spirit… I can see why he is so taken to you.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You have the eyes, you know.” Soryu says, walking casually back and forth. “But… You haven’t quite grasped it yet. You…” She looks at me. “Lack something.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What’re you talking about?” I demand.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, I have a feeling you’ll find out for yourself soon enough.” She taunts. “You want to know about Skeith, huh? Tell me, Blade Master. For what purpose do you need Skeith.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I need only to find it.” I tell her. “Tell me what you know.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hmm… Well that won’t do.” She says, bringing up her sword. “You’ll have to get the information you want out of me the way you know best.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Fine by me.” I say, taking my stance again.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She’s the first to move, running at me and preparing an overhead strike which I’m quick to evade. I place a kick in her side, but she uses the momentum to spin around and make a slash for my right side. I bring up my sword and parry the move. She makes a few more quick strikes which I parry and avoid before making an attack of my own which she jumps back to evade. I take the break in her guard to Shift up and land a solid punch with Gilgamesh right into her stomach. She flies back, yelping, but flips around and lands on her feet. I Shift up again, not giving her time to recover, and back fist her right in the face, sending her to the ground and taking a good amount of her HP out to add to the first blow. On the ground, she tried to get back up as quick as she could, but I put my hand around her neck and point my blade at her face.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You lose.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hah… seems so.” She laughs. “Fine. I’ll tell you what I know. As you may have heard, Skeith is a powerful weapon with the ability to completely destroy anything in this game. What most people don’t know, however, is that it is actually a piece of corrupted coding that found its way into Aincrad. It’s a data cluster that has the ability to corrupt other game data. Players, NPCs, environments. You name it, Skeith can destroy it.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Where can I find it?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ah… I’m not so sure… but I believe you could-”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She was interrupted when a blade came down and stabbed her through the skull, immediately killing her and causing her body to explode into those multicolored fragments.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I jump back and bring up my blade, ready for a fight.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Now, now, Soryu.” He says. “You knew better than to reveal our little secret.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yamato.” I say menacingly.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Nice to see you again, Ishi.” Yamato says. “Looking for Skeith, huh? Sorry, but your odds of finding it are pretty slim, let alone actually containing it.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What do you mean?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Nah, nah, it doesn’t work that way.” Yamato chided. “I can’t just give you all the answers, that wouldn’t be fun. What’s the point of just having everything handed to you, you wouldn’t learn anything.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I run up quickly and slice at him. He deftly parries my attack with his own sword before delivering a strong kick to the face that sends me back.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Someone’s on edge.” He says nonchalantly.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Enough of your bullshit.” I point my sword at him. “Tell me what you know.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’m inclined not to tell you.” He says.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“That so?” I run at him, making a quick slash that he parries again, delivering his own quick slash that I jump away from, before he comes up and brings his blade into an uppercut. I sidestep the blow and bring up my blade to defend a side strike, locking blades there.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Tell me something, Ishi.” Yamato said, pushing his blade into me, forcing me to brace my footing. “Have you learned anything yet? Has anything I’ve told you sunk in?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What’re you on about?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Alright, tell me something else then.” He slides his blade under mine and butts the handle of his sword on my face, before rearing up and coming down again. I barely manage to block the blow. “You go around the lands, wandering aimlessly and fighting wherever you go.” He places a few more quick strikes which I defend against. “Yet throughout all that you feel no purpose. Nothing to answer for.” He kicks me back and forces my back against a tree. He comes at me hard, his blade clashing against my own, braced up in defense. The tree behind me fell, cut clean in half despite me blocking his blade.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“And you’re different?” I ask, pushing back his sword. “You’re the one who goes around randomly killing people.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I fight because I have purpose.” He said, forced back into defense as I move in to attack. I make a few quick slashes before bringing Gilgamesh down on him, forcing him to block the powerful blow. “What do you fight for, Ishi?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What do I fight for?” I repeat the question.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I hesitate, and that was all he needed to spin his blade around my gauntlet, putting me off balance and into a kick to the back, sending me down to the ground. I Shift up to recover and put a distance between me and him.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You don’t even know, do you?” Yamato asked.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I only fight because I’m forced to!” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Is that so?” Yamato laughed. “You feel this world has forced you to take up arms? What’s stopping you from just laying low and starting a normal life here? A lot of people do that.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I stay silent, unable to answer the question.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ah, but you’re different, aren’t you?” Yamato rests his blade on his shoulder as he paces the ground. “You feel the need to fight. Your blade yearns for it, as do you. You haven’t killed a single other player in your time here, which I guess is something admirable for sure, but foolish at once.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What?” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“A sword is meant for killing, Ishi.” He continues. “It’s meant to end conflict, not to prolong a battle.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You’re wrong.” I say. “My blade isn’t used as a tool of death. Not like yours.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Yamato shakes his head and sighs.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Still so naïve…” He sheaths is sword. “I guess it can’t be helped. You’ll figure it out soon enough.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">With that, he turned to leave.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey!” I run begin to run after him, but he suddenly unsheathes his blade at blinding speed and cuts into the air, a blade forming in the space just in front of me, I Shift out of the way as the blade cuts through multiple trees and topples them over. I’m left standing there as the swordsman walks into the darkness, and out of sight.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I scowl behind his back, before turning in the opposite direction and leaving the area, heading back to Luciad to inform the Court of my findings. ===<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Chapter 6    ===

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Interesting.” Knight said, pacing back and forth in front of the round table, after I had told him about my mission. “I didn’t realize Yamato was involved as well.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I take it you’ve heard of him?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yes.” Knight stopped and put his hands on the table. “I’ve heard of him. He’s going to be trouble…”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You aren’t thinking of getting information out of him, are you?” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“It seems like a proper course of action.” Knight said casually. “Do you see any reason why we shouldn’t?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Getting killed comes to mind.” I tell him. “He’s good. Really good. I doubt we’d last against him.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“How would you know?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I fought him. Twice.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Have you?” He puts a hand to his chin. “Is he really that skilled?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yes.” I say. “He's just leaving me alive, to be honest. I don’t match to his skills. I really should be dead.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“So then why did he leave you alive?” Knight asked.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I thought about what he said. About the “potential” I had. I stayed silent for a few seconds.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I don’t know.” I said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well we’ll need to get information out of him some way or another.” Misaki said. “Unless Trinity can give us something we can use.” Misaki looked past my shoulder and smirked. “Speak of the devil.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I look back and see Trinity enter the room. She shook her head to get some of her blonde hair out of her face to reveal her striking violet eyes, which immediately fell on me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, hello, Ishi.” She said. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“That’s it?” She asks, walking toward the table. “No ‘how have you been’ or ‘anything new’ or anything?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You know me. I’m not much of a conversationalist.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She chuckles lightly. “Yes, we all know that by now.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Trinity.” Knight addressed her. “Have anything to report?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“As a matter of fact, I have.” She said. “It seems that the last person to use Skeith was the player killer Yamato, but he was the second person to use it.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well that confirms what Ishi said about Yamato.” Gawain said. “Do you know what he used it for?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“No idea.” Trinity said. “I don’t think anyone knows. But the first person to use it apparently attempted complete dominion over Aincrad. Nobody knew his name and nobody knew what happened to him. He disappeared earlier this year.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Is that all you could gather?” Knight asked.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yes, sir.” She confirmed.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Alright, good. We’ll investigate on that. In the meantime, we’ll be needing to recruit more members for when we go head to head with the Guardians of Darkness. I already have Avro, Vincent, Gareth, and Agravaine out looking for recruits right now. I’d like you to try to find some as well.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Don’t you think I should be gathering more intelligence?” Trinity questioned.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“It’d be safer now if you didn’t.” Knight said. “We’ve already put you at enough risk. I want you to lay low for a little while. We have enough information to work with for now. With the Guardians of Darkness rallying up their numbers it’d be foolish to send you out there again.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I understand.” Trinity said. “I’ll get to work with recruiting. Good to see you, Ishi.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I wave her off as she leaves the room.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“How many times have you sent her to gather intel, anyway?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Too many times to play it safe.” Gawain said. “She’s almost been compromised more than a few times.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well it’s a good thing she’s so good at what she does.” I remark.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ishi, you say you’ve come face-to-face with Yamato before.” Knight said. “Do you think you will sometime again?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, no doubt.” I say. “Not really looking forward to it. Why?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“We need you to see how much you can get out of him.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Sssshit.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Judging by what you’ve told about him, he’s not out to kill you.” He clarified. “You have the best chance at getting information out of him.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah…”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“We need you to figure out as much about Skeith as you can from him. He used it last; we may be able to get a better figure of what we’re dealing with.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I sigh. “Fine. Is that it?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“For now, yes.” Knight said. “I’ll call you back if we need anything else.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Alright.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">With that I turn and leave the building, stepping back out onto the streets of Luciad. I’m almost immediately bumped into by a big guy sporting the Laughing Coffin attire being followed by more members of the gang.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey, watch it.” I say assertively.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Piss off, shitstain.” He retorts, shoving past another person, who tripped and fell to the ground. The guy’s cohorts laughed as they passed. I look back at them.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Dicks.” I mutter, turning to walk, but bumping into someone else. I back up a bit and see a girl there, dressed up in Laughing Coffin robes. She looked up at me with her gray eyes, before looking back down.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Sorry.” She said quietly.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“SELENE!” The big guy in the group called. “LET’S GO!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She squeaked a little bit before rushing past me and catching up to her group. I shrugged off the matter and walked in the other direction.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ishi!” I hear Asuka call from the crowd ahead of me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I can see her jumping up to peek over the crowd, a hand raised high and waving.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ishi! Over here!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Every time she jumped she was a little closer as I just stood there, smirking at the whole scene. It was kind of funny to watch her work her way through the crowd. Eventually she got to me, though, and she gleamed up at me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I found you!” She said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Great.” I said. “Now you hide and I’ll try to find you when I get around to it.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, har har.” She feigned laughter. “C’mere.” She said, grabbing my left sleeve. “I got something to show you!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She dragged me through the crowd and toward a less clustered part of town. We slipped into a secluded alleyway and out of sight.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Agh, okay, okay!” I yank my sleeve from her grasp. “What is it?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Here!” She said, holding out a rock to me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Eh?” I pick it up. It was round and smooth as glass. It bore a shining white insignia on it. “What’s this thing?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You remember that rune you helped me get?” She asked.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You mean when I did all the work?” I say. “How could I forget?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I made this out of it!” She smiled. “I thought you could use it!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’m not much on runes, Asuka.” I tell her. “What am I supposed to do with it?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well it should allow you to manipulate a field around you to a certain degree.” She explained. “You could theoretically make a firewall around you, or negate gravity around you or something.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What do you mean theoretically?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well you’d need training.” She said. “I can help you with that, if you like.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Neh, I’m good.” I say, putting the thing in my pocket. “I’ll figure it out on my own.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Suit yourself.” She shrugged. “Why were you here anyway?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Had to meet up with the guild.” I said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Didn’t you leave the guild?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I owed the leader a favor.” I said, leaving the alleyway, with her following.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Okay, then.” Asuka kept pace with me as I pulled up my map and tapped on the first floor, then Talmia.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Grabbing something to eat.” I said. “Want something?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Sure!” She said cheerily, bringing up her map as well and leaving for Talmia just as I do.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">---

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So we ate a nice lunch then went back out to train some more. This time we were doing sparring matches against each other. Needless to say, Asuka was a bit nervous, but I encouraged her to give it her best shot and to not hold back. So she didn’t.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And then I decked her like 10 times.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Agh!” She yelped as I slammed her into the ground unarmed. “Dammit… you’re too good at this!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well I’ve had a lot of practice.” I say, helping her back up to her feet.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah…” She said, rubbing the back of her head.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Alright, let’s try something else, then.” I say, bringing out my sword.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Wait, wait, what’re you doing?” Asuka stammered, backing up a bit.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Think fast.” I say, swiping my sword at her. She ducks under the blade just barely, a bit of her hair getting sheared off before she jumped back.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey!” She shouted. “I wasn’t ready!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I rush up to her again and make another strike, which this time she blocks with her own sword.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Agh, will you stop it?” She asks.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You think the enemy’s gonna stop?” I say, curving my blade inwards to slide it off her own and bring it around for another quick slash which she again block. I make a few quick slices at her which she either blocks or dodges before she makes a swipe at me. A rather quick one actually; quicker than she’s ever done. With my speed I manage to deflect the blow with Gilgamesh before kicking her legs from under her and sending her back to the ground.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ach!” Asuka shouted as her back hit the grass. “Why!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“That was a fast one.” I remark. “Not fast enough for me, but maybe enough to catch someone else off guard.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, yippee.” She said sarcastically, taking my hand as I pulled her back up.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“It’s getting late.” I say, looking up at the sky. “We should probably head back.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah…” Asuka wiped some dirt off her cheek.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Before we started on our way back to Talmia for dinner, Asuka spoke up.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey, Ishi?” She said. “I was wondering. Where do you live in real life?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I look back at her. “Why?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She shrugs. “Just curious.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Nagoya.” I say. “You?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Tokyo.” She says.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Fancy living, huh?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah, my dad’s actually the chief of police there, and my mom’s a nurse for Aiiku Hospital. How about your parents?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I looked out to the sun setting on the horizon. The soft breeze combed through my hair and I sighed.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“They’re dead.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ah…” She says quietly. “When?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, my mom died giving birth to me and my dad died from alcohol poisoning when I was 5. Lived with my grandparents after that.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh… I’m sorry.” She says. “What about your grandparents?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Died four years ago. I got my wealthy aunt and uncle supporting me from Tokyo; sending me money and the like.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You had it rough, huh?” Asuka said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well I got a nice income out of it.” I said nonchalantly. “Well, and I got trapped in this game, but hey, what can you do?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Heh, yeah.” Asuka chuckled. “Maybe after all this is done and over with we can meet up sometime, yeah?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Meh.” I shrug. “Maybe, I don’t know. Anyway, we should be heading back.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ah. Right.” Asuka caught up to me as I began walking back to Talmia.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">---

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I look down and see my reflection. I was standing in a shallow pool of water, just deep enough to reach up past the soles of my shoes. I look around and I see nothing but white. White and the endless water, fading into the white obscurity. I suddenly see him standing there, sword unsheathed. I bring out my weapons as well. We both run at each other, the water splashing under our steps. We clash blades, the impact being reflected in the water below us, both in image and by the ripple sent out from the strike. We split apart and clash again, striking each other’s blades, as our reflections did battle just as we did.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I dodge left. I dodge right. I swing my sword at his then parry another blow from the side. We strike and lock blades again. We stay held there, trying to push each other back. Suddenly, he curves his blade and slides it under mine, pushing me back and leaving me off balance. I see him spin and watch as his blade comes at me in slow motion, with me being powerless to stop it. His sword cut into my chest, killing me instantly.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">---

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I woke up with a start, sitting up in bed. Sweat was rolling down my body, and my breathing was quick and heavy. I sigh and try to regain my thoughts. It was just a dream, I knew that. It was just a dream. But that dream was far too real. I tried to shake it off and lie back down on the bed, calming myself down. I go back to sleep with one thought on my mind.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Yamato was going to kill me.

Chapter 7
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">15 Days Later 

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I cut through again. Then again. And again after that. My blade split the very air in two as I strike each target. I was facing high leveled enemy NPCs this time. Higher leveled then I normally would; level 71s. I was level 64 at this point. Ever since I had that dream I had been training non-stop; constantly taking on monsters over my level to increase my level up rate. Right now I was in the aptly named Death Region of Aincrad, on the 57th floor. I was fighting in the courtyard of a black stone castle in a dead black forest. The sky here was always gray, and the sun never shined here. This place was notorious for player deaths, which was why I was training here.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The 3 Death Knights I was facing came at me in all directions. I was faster, still. I cut through multiple times into one, taking his HP down a good deal, before jumping up to avoid a stab from behind from another, coming down on his back with Gilgamesh, clawing into him and gashing him from behind, dealing quite a bit of damage. Another one swung its blade at me. I bend back as the blade sweeps just past my nose. I stand upright before spinning and delivering a low sweep kick to his legs, tripping him and allowing me to place a solid kick onto his chest armor, putting him a distance back and allowing me to evade a few more swipes from his friends, and block two blades at once with my sword. I Shift back and then forward again, bringing my blade forward and impaling one right through the chest. I twist around as another blade came at me, defending against the blade with the body of his ally, before kicking the Knight off my blade and slicing it quickly, destroying the rest of its HP, before I rush up and punch the other right in the face, sending it flying and exploding into its rainbow polygons.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The one I had kicked earlier came at me again. I grabbed its blade with Gilgamesh before raising my own blade, watching it clash against the metal of his shield. We pushed against each other, trying to force each other back. I suddenly and unexpectedly twist around, making his blade slip out of my hand and past my shoulder, twisting around quickly and cutting his blade arm clean off. As his sword flew through the air, I landed a good punch with Gilgamesh, setting him away from me, before catching his blade as it came down, turning, and throwing the sword at him, embedding itself in his helmet. I was left as the victor. Still… something didn’t feel right. I swung my blade with as much speed, precision, and skill as I always do, and my strikes with Gilgamesh were always spot on and powerful. But still, after all that… I felt… off.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Something was missing.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I had spent the last two weeks training this hard, determined to not be outdone by Yamato. However, in those two weeks I began to feel strange, like my fighting style was off somehow. That shouldn’t be possible, considering if it was off, I’d know what was wrong. Perhaps I just needed to train more… become stronger, still…

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ishi!” I hear a voice call.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I look over, and see her smiling at me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“There you are.” Misaki said as she made her way to me. “I’ve been looking around for you.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, here I am.” I say, sheathing my weapons and meeting her halfway. “What do you need?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, we haven’t really talked in a long time, so I just wanted to check in.” She said. “How are things? You training?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Uh, yeah.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Against enemies like these, that’s not like you.” Misaki noted. “You don’t train this hard. You could die from taking on enemies this high level, you know.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I can take care of myself, Misaki.” I tell her. “I appreciate your concern, though.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You want to take a break?” She asked. “I think you’ve been out here doing this enough for now.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">---

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We traveled to an area near Luciad. It was a vibrant meadow with some trees scattered around. It wasn’t unlike the plains around Talmia, except those plains only has like two trees. Misaki and I sit leaning against one of the trees and I take a deep sigh, recovering from my non-stop combat training.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What were you doing in the Death Region of all places?” Misaki asked. “Doesn’t seem like the kind of place you’d hang out at.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Just training.” I say plainly.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You’re usually pretty laid back about training.” Misaki told me. “What would get you to train so hard?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I hesitate to tell her about my troubles with Yamato, but I knew I could trust her. She’s been with me for a long while now. I guess I could stand to tell.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I’m worried.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“About what?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yamato.” I sigh. “He’s going to kill me unless I can get stronger. And I realized as I’ve been training for these past few weeks, my technique is lacking something. I don’t know what it is. Something is missing.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Maybe you’re just off your game from stressing out about it?” Misaki suggested.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“No, if something was off I’d know it, and I’d be able to identify and fix it…” I think on it. “It’s something I’ve never had before… something I need to beat Yamato.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Are you sure?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yes.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, whatever that is, I’m sure you’ll find it sometime soon.” Misaki reassured. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hm…” I look up at the clear blue sky, a far cry from the dark and cloudy skies of the place I was just at.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey, Ishi.” Misaki said. “You mind if I ask you something?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“No.” I say. “Go ahead.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well…” She thought of where to begin. “When you first joined Pendragon Court, you seemed a bit… distant towards everyone at first. But I noticed when you were paired with me as partners you were more open to me immediately. I mean, even Knight and Gawain and Trinity had a tough time earning your trust, but for some reason you trusted me right away. Why is that?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I think on it. “Well…” I start. “I saw something in you.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hm? What was that?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hell if I know.” I say. “I thought it was something I wanted. Something that let me know you were safe to trust.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Which is why you became attached to me in the first place?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well, yeah…” I say, scratching my cheek with a finger. “I thought you were the one for me, to be honest.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I thought the same.” Misaki said. “That didn’t pan out quite like we had thought, huh?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Nope.” I said. “But at least we figured that out before we got too serious about it.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“We had sex, Ishi.” Misaki laughed.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey, you’re the one who wanted it.” I point at her. “I wasn’t even thinking about that.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I guess you’re right.” She chuckles. “Still though, it’s not the same in game as it is in real life, huh?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never done it in real life.” I tell her. “But I’d imagine it is.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Misaki took my hand in hers and interlaced her fingers with mine. She looked straight into my eyes intently.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You’re changing.” She said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“How can you tell?” I inquire.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“I just can.” She says. “I don’t know how you’re changing… but you definitely are…”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Weird.” I say, turning and looking out across the meadow.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well anyway.” Misaki said, standing up. “I’d best get back to Knight. He’s probably wondering where I am right about now. I’ll see you later, Ishi.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She brings out her menus in preparation for fast travel, but stops.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, actually, you should come with.” She says. “We have two new members, recruited by Trinity. They use knives so she was hoping you could help put them through initiation, seeing as you have a few knives on you as well.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I look to the belts over my jacket with the four knives fastened on them, two for both belts.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah, okay.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I join her as she travels to Luciad, and we both walk to Pendragon Court HQ. There, we get to the courtyard, where our training takes place, and I see Trinity, along with two other girls, which I saw were the new recruits. Trinity was in the middle training them, but since she didn’t have knives of her own, she couldn’t properly train them. It looked like one of the trainees used twin knives, while the other used one knife, complemented by a bow on her back.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Trinity is the first to notice me.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ah, Ishi.” She said, as the two recruits stop their exercises and look in our direction.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey, Trinity.” I say.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Thanks for bringing him in, Misaki.” Trinity said. “I’ve been having some trouble with these two. We don’t seem to have anyone who’s quite as good with knives as Ishi.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Mhm.” Misaki nods. “Anyway, I have some business I need to discuss with Knight. You have fun.” Before she left, she grabs my shirt. “Don’t hurt them too badly, please.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I give her a “who, me?” face, and she rolls her eyes and smiles before leaving us.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Kana, Diana.” Trinity addresses the two newbies. “This is Ishi. A former member of ours. One of the best we’ve seen, if not the best.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The two bow to me, saying “hello” simultaneously.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I nod.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ishi, this is Kana and Diana. Sisters.” Trinity said. “Now a word of warning, girls.” Trinity addresses the two recruits. “Ishi trains… hard. So, yeah… there’s your warning. So have fun!” She turns to me. “You mind if I just sit right over here?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Oh, yeah, go ahead.” I say, before turning to my two newest students. “Alright, let’s see what you got.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I initiate a duel with both of them, two on one, and set it to First Strike Mode. Once that was done, I prepare to take my weapons out, but stop, figuring I wouldn’t need them.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Alright.” I say. “Let’s go.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Kana and Diana both run at me with their knives equipped. Kana makes two quick strikes with her blades which I effortlessly weave around, before placing my foot on her head and lightly shove her back onto the ground. Diana was next. She swiped at me, but I again dodge before grabbing her arm on the next strike and pushing her back.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You aren’t going to get very far by just randomly swiping at me.” I tell them, as Diana helps her sister up onto her feet.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Kana’s the first to come at me again, while Diana follows behind her. They take me from two directions. I’m quick enough to evade the attack from the two at once and wave in between their subsequent strikes before backing up as they came at me still. Walking pace, they forced me back with their flurry of attacks.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And by forcing me back, I of course mean I was letting them do that.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I find the opening I was looking for and dive between the two, hooking my legs with theirs and planting my hands on the ground, twisting quickly to trip both of them and put be back up on my feet.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">By now the two’s HP was well on its way to being whittled down to half just from me putting them onto the ground. It wasn’t doing much, but it wasn’t like they were going to hit me any time soon.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You need to focus and plan ahead.” I scold the two. “Predict your movements and the movements of your opponent at once.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“How are we supposed to do that?” Kana asked.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Technique is all well and good.” I say. “But instinct is really what fighting is all about. If you don’t have that, you’re going to be killed off pretty quickly.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What’re you talking about?” Diana said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“When you fight without thinking about fighting.” I explain. “When it all just comes naturally. That’s when you’ve developed a deadly fighting instinct.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This time I make a move, Shifting up to the two and grabbing two knives from my belt, backhanding both and slicing between the two simultaneously, cutting them both in the sides as in a cross armed strike. This eliminated both from the duel.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Kana and Diana both grabbed for their sides, where I had struck them.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“How’d you do that?” Diana wondered.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Again.” I say, initiating another duel.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">---

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This routine goes on for hours, and by now the sun was setting. I had won every duel I had initiated thus far. I saw how the two were slowly progressing, but it wasn’t good enough. Not nearly good enough.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The two were a distance away from me, planning their next move. I stand there casually and unarmed, waiting for them to make their move. They eventually do, bringing out their knives and rushing me. I Shift up to them, placing my hands on their chests and lightly pushing them, making them trip and fall to the ground.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I sigh and put a hand to my face.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Come on, I’m unarmed, even.” I say, walking away.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Can we stop now?” Diana asked.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“What, you want to give up?” I ask.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“We don’t have a chance in beating you anyway.” Kana added.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I stare at them both for a few seconds, being reminded of Yamato.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Then fight harder!” I shout at them. “If there’s someone who’s stronger than you in your way, then the only option you have is to become stronger than them! You aren’t going to get anywhere by giving up!”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The sisters look at each other and take in my words. They nod to each other.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Use your bow, Diana.” Kana said.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Huh?” She responded. “But aren’t we training with knives?”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Just do it.” She said, bringing out her two knives.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Uh, alright.” Diana grabbed the bow from her back and notched an arrow, drawing the string slightly but keeping the bow lowered.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You ready?” Kana asked her sister.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Diana nods in response.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Kana comes after me as Diana pulls back the string on her bow all the way and points it at me, launching an arrow which I dodge. Kana is there in an instant, swiping at me with her two knives before attempting a middle kick which I grab. I have to let go, though, as I dodge another arrow that sailed past my head. Diana then came running after me, launching arrows as she went, with some damn good accuracy, I might add. I’m forced into dodging both hers and Kana’s attacks as I’m put on the defensive for once. It doesn’t stay that way for long as I jump up and kick off Kana’s shoulders, flipping in the air and throwing two knives at Diana, who is able to dodge both with a well timed roll which she uses to notch three arrows at once, before recovering and launching all three at me as Kana attempted to keep me from moving out of the way. I manage to spin to evade a swipe from Kana before sidestepping the line of three arrows and a few more single arrows.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Diana then reaches us, as Kana moves back to evade my overhead kick and backs up to Diana, crouching as Diana jumps onto her sister’s back as she stands up quickly, giving her a boost in the air which she uses to bring out her knife and come down on me. I manage to block the blow by raising my arm and stopping her arm, but I notice Kana coming in below me simultaneously, knives ready to stab into me. I wouldn’t be able to get out of that easily, but still, I know exactly what to do.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I kick one of Kana’s arms to throw her off, before bringing out my own blade an sweeping a leg under Diana, tripping her as I cut into her at the same time, eliminating her from the duel, as I rush up to Kana as she tries to recover and slice her leg from under her, sending her to the ground and allowing me to put my blade up to her neck.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Not bad.” I tell the two as the duel ended and I sheath my weapon. “You’re definitely improving, that’s for sure.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Ah, really?” Kana said as she got back to her feet.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“That kind of maneuver would’ve taken me out if my reflexes weren’t as sharp as they were.” I say. “So, yeah, really.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">   “Well that was fun to watch.” Trinity said, walking over to me. “Good job, Ishi. I’d say your little training session just proved they have what it takes.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Well they still need some work.” I tell her.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Didn’t we all?” She smiles. “Anyway, girls. Ishi says you’re alright, so welcome to Pendragon Court.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Alright!” Kana cheers as she high-fives her sister.

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“You’ll still need a bit of training, mind you.” Trinity says. “But still, well done.” Trinity turns to me. “Well, that’s about all we have for today, so you can head out if you want.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah, alright.” I say. “I’ll see you later, then.”

<span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">She nods and goes to take care of the girls as I leave the courtyard and then the building, heading back to the Death Region to continue my own training overnight.

Chapter 8
“Gah!” I gasp, snapping out of my sleep.

I had that same dream again. The one where Yamato kills me. I was lying in my bed, sweating and breathing heavy. There was a dim light coming into my room, so it was early morning. I look over and see Adeline sitting next to me, her hand on my arm. She had a worried look on her face.

“Are you alright?” She asked. “You were shouting out in your sleep.”

“I… I was?” I ask.

“Yes.” She said. “You were thrashing around too. What did you dream about?”

“I… I can’t remember.” I lie. She didn’t need to know. I didn’t want her to worry about me, either.

“Well, alright…” She let go of my arm and stood up. “Well, if you want I can cook you some breakfast before you head out.” She smiled.

“Ah, yeah, sure.” I say, sitting up on the bed and yawning.

“I’ll see you downstairs.” Adeline said, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

I sigh and hang my head low, still reeling from the realism of that dream.

“Dammit…” I say, shaking my head to get out of my thoughts, before standing up and getting dressed, leaving my room and heading downstairs for some of Adeline’s breakfast.

Scrambled eggs and bacon. Nothing too fancy, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t good.

I sit at my regular window table and Adeline hands me a plate with my meal on it as well as a glass of milk before heading into the back room.

The restaurant was empty, as it was before opening time. I took a few bites of my meal before Adeline joined me with a plate of pancakes with a side of eggs, as well as some tea.

“So, what was your dream about?” Adeline asked.

“I don’t remember.” I say. “I told you that, remember?”

“Ishi, I know you well enough to know when you’re lying.” She smiles coyly. “So what’s up?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I say plainly. “Just let it go.”

She shrugs and takes a bite of pancake, looking out the window like I was. The streets weren’t crowded, with only a few people passing by every minute or so. The sun hadn’t risen yet so the light was gray and dim, and a fog shrouded the distance.

“So, you have a girlfriend yet?” Adeline asked abruptly.

I cough on the milk I was chugging down, splattering some of it onto the table.

“No!” I shout when I catch my breath.

“That blush says otherwise.” Adeline smiled.

I try to look down at my cheeks, realizing I couldn’t, before looking away.

“It’s not like that.” I say sternly.

“I don’t know, Asuka seems interested if you ask me.” She teased.

“It’s nothing like that!” I say. “I’m training her, that’s all!”

“Hey, Ishi!” Asuka said when she walked through the door.

I slam my face into the table.

“Ah… did I miss something?” She asks.

“Oh, no, we’re fine.” Adeline said.

“Ah- um… fuckin… wh-what’s up?” I stutter.

“Training day, remember?” Asuka said.

“Oh… it’s Wednesday already?” I ask, picking up my composure. “You’re a bit early, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, well I got up early.” Asuka said. “Having breakfast?”

“Yeah.” I say, taking another few bites of scrambled eggs.

“Adeline, you mind if you cook me up something too?” Asuka asks.

“Oh, not at all.” She says, getting out of her seat and heading for the kitchen. “Go ahead and sit down, I won’t be long.”

So she goes and sits down next to me. Fuck my life.

“You’re blushing.” Asuka noted. “Something wrong?”

I look at her before quickly looking away and back out the window.

“No, I’m fine.” I say.

“Well, okay…”

“Here you are.” Adeline said while handing Asuka a plate of waffles and bacon with a cup of milk before sitting back down and resuming her breakfast.

“So what’s been going on with you, Asuka?” Adeline asked, looking up at her from her plate.

“Oh, nothing much.” Asuka said. “I’ve been getting a lot more business with my runes thanks to Ishi finding that rare material for me.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Unfortunately I haven’t had much time to run the shop with all the training and leveling I’ve been doing as of late… had to get a friend to run the place for me.”

“Where is your shop anyway?” I ask. “I don’t think I’ve ever been there.”

“You haven’t.” Asuka said. “We can visit before we go out training if you want.”

“No, that’s fine.” I say, taking a sip of my milk and taking a bite of bacon.

“So how’s business with you, Adeline?” Asuka asks.

“Oh, it’s going well.” She answers. “Same as always. Of course Ishi here wouldn’t let me go out of business with how much he comes around for ramen.”

“Damn right I wouldn’t.” I say.

“But even without him I’d be doing well enough.” She continued.

“Well that’s good.” Asuka said. “My shop isn’t quite as well known as your place here, but who knows? Maybe I’ll get there sometime.”

It was at this point that I finished up my breakfast and jumped onto my feet on the seat, jumping over Asuka and landing cleanly before heading for the door.

“Hurry it up.” I say, waiting there.

Asuka quickly wolfed down the last of her meal before thanking Adeline and joining me out the door.

---

We headed to the courtyard at Pendragon HQ to do our training. It was still early morning by the time we got there so we were alone when we drew swords. The orange sun peeking over the horizon gleamed against my blade as well as the claws of my gauntlet, while it made the red blade of Asuka’s Flamberge seem like it was ablaze.

We stood a distance away, First Strike duel initiated. We both move simultaneously, circling around each other at a run before spiraling into each other and striking blades, making sparks fly. I twist around and deliver another quick swipe, but Asuka’s smart, and she ducks under it, taking advantage of her momentum to swing upwards while my guard is down. I manage to sidestep the swipe and I slip over onto my hands, spinning around with my feet out as I deliver a series of spinning kicks before pushing myself back up with my hands and locking blades with her.

We both stared each other down as we pushed against each other, before Asuka brings her other hand onto her blade and pushes down, allowing me to use the force of the push to twist around and let her slide by before swiping at her with Gilgamesh. She barely manages to dodge before spinning quickly, releasing a few flames to distract me and quickly set some distance between me and her.

“Those runes are helpful, aren’t they?” I ask.

“You know it!” She winks at me before running toward me again, her blade charged up with fire.

Her speed and power increased as she quickly assaulted me with a flurry of attacks, all of which I was able to evade of block, before I slam outward with Gilgamesh to meet her blade, clashing into it with such force it knocked us both back a bit. I recover first and swing at her with my blade. She tilts herself back and lets the blade fly just past her face before delivering a backflip kick to distance herself again.

This time I close the distance, sprinting at her quickly and slashing upwards with my blade, catching her off guard and putting her off balance enough for me to deliver a solid punch to her gut with Gilgamesh, sending her to the ground. The duel then ended with me as the victor.

“Agh!” Asuka shook her head. “How are you that fast even without Zero Shift?”

“Well I was pretty athletic to begin with.” I tell her.

“What, you worked out or something?” She asked as I helped her to her feet. “Hit the gyms?”

“What? Hell no.” I say. “Free running.”

“You do free running?” Asuka questions.

“Oh, yeah.” I answer. “Lots of it. I climb up buildings, run along rooftops, sometimes evade the cops, it’s all fun.”

“Wait, you’ve had to run from the cops? Why? What’d you do?”

“Nothing. I just hate people. Anyway, back to business.” I initiate another duel and we ready ourselves.

“So you climb up high buildings?” Asuka continued the conversation.

“Oh yeah, they’re the best kind.” I tell her as she runs at me and we lock blades. “Best views of the city from there.”

“I’m guessing that’s why the cops don’t really like you.” She laughs.

“Maybe.” I curve my blade off hers and spin around, delivering a few quick strikes while deflecting a few of hers before locking blades again. “But I haven’t been caught once.”

“That so?” She asks, jumping upwards and landing behind me, delivering a quick slice that I duck under before sweeping my leg and kicking her feet from under her. She recovers by planting her hands on the ground and flipping back onto her feet, making a fast swipe at me that clips my side before she spins around quickly, her blade extended and flames whipping through the air. I deflect five successive blows before grabbing her blade with Gilgamesh and tossing her aside, making her slide onto the ground, but she quickly pounces back up.

“I bet you wouldn’t find too many climbable buildings in Tokyo.” She says.

“Well I don’t plan on going to Tokyo.” I say, smiling at the fight. “I like Nagoya just fine.”

“I see.” Asuka comes at me again, and we clash blades a few more times before I flip back and distance myself.

“Doesn’t Nagoya have its fair share of high rises?” Asuka asks.

“I don’t live where the high rises are.” I say. “And what do you like so much about Tokyo? I’d hate a loud and noisy place like that.”

“Well I’ve always live in Tokyo. Guess I’m just…” She swings her blade into the air sends some flames my way. “…used to it!”

I Shift out of the way of the flames and smirk.

“I don’t think I’d ever be able to get used to a place like that.” I tell her.

“You would if you lived there for 17 years.”

“Maybe.”

We go at it again, our duel becoming more and more heated as time went on. Asuka was definitely much more skilled than when we had began that was for sure, and she was beginning to develop her own fighting instinct.

Mine was way better, but still…

I block an attack to my left by holding my arm over my head and angling my sword down to meet her blade, before bringing my arm back over my head, taking both our blades with it and leaving her right completely exposed. I use that to deliver a strong kick to her side, ending the duel and making her stumble back before catching her balance.

“Aw!” She whined. “I had you that time!”

“Not quite.” I smirk. “You’re getting better, though, I’ll tell you that.”

“I’m glad.” She smiles at me.

“SNEAK ATTACK!” I hear behind me.

I brace my blade behind my back to block the attack.

“You know, it’s not much of a sneak attack if you announce the attack, Avro.” I turn to look at the other knight, standing there, pushing against me.

“Eh, whatever.” The fiery knight said, before I launched him upwards with a well placed high kick to the chin. He backflips to land on his feet and initiated a duel with me. I accepted and pointed my blade to him.

“What’re you doing up so early, anyway?” Avro asked, smiling.

“Someone wasn’t going to let me stay in.” I look back at Asuka, who shrugs.

“Friend of yours?” She asks.

“Oh, yeah.” I say. “This is Avro.” I have to block another few attacks while my back is turned before pushing Avro down to the ground. “He’s in Pendragon Court, too. I initiated and trained him while I was in the guild.”

“Oh. I see.” Askua laughs. “Bit impulsive, isn’t he?”

“I’m not impulsive!” Avro protests, delivering a few more quick attacks which I evade before sending my own flurry of attacks, which he blocks before we lock blades. “I’m experimental!”

I push Avro back before rushing up and clawing upwards with Gilgamesh, barely grazing his hair before he backs up.

“Who’s she anyway?” Avro asked. “Your girlfriend?”

God dammit.

“No, it’s nothing like that, dammit!” I say, running up and performing a jumping overhead swipe which Avro defends against by bracing his blade above him.

“Oh, defensive!” He snickered. “Something you aren’t telli- AGH!” I quickly bring my blade inwards, slamming the pommel right into his gut before giving him a quick downwards diagonal slice that put him out of the duel.

“I told you, it’s nothing like that. I’m training her.”

“Why’s that?” Avro asked, sheathing his sword.

“Can’t get rid of her.”

“Hey!” Asuka shouted behind me.

I raise my hands.

“Ah, Ishi.” Knight says as he walks into the courtyard, Gawain by his side. “Training with Asuka?”

“Ah, yeah.” I answer.

By now everyone in the guild knew who Asuka was, save for Avro, who I had just now informed. They liked her enough to let us use the courtyard here for our training sessions.

“Hey, Knight. Hey, Gawain.” Asuka greets.

Knight nods her way, and Gawain doesn’t move an inch. He always was the silent type with people he doesn’t really hang around with all that much. Hell, the only reason why he talks to us is because we were in a guild together, so he couldn’t get away from us. Forced, but hey, he’s good with us now, so it’s fine. We had previously warned Asuka about his nature, so she doesn’t take it personally.

“Ishi, I need to speak with you.” Knight addresses, walking up to me.

“About what?” I ask.

“The Guardians of Darkness.” He clarifies. “They’ve made a move on Skeith. We think they’ve found it.”

“Found it?” I say. “How?”

“No idea.” He says. “But we have the location where they last were from Trinity. Twilight Fields. I need you to go over there and check it out.”

“Right now?”

“Right now.”

“First thing in the morning?”

“Ishi!”

“Alright, alright.” I wave him off, turning around to Asuka. “Why don’t you train a bit with Avro, Asuka.” I suggest. “You’d probably get a few tricks out of him.”

“C’mon, Ishi.” Avro complains. “I can’t fight a girl! It wouldn’t be a fair fight!”

That triggered Asuka to promptly smack him upside the head so hard it grounded him.

“Don’t worry, Ishi.” Asuka said. “I’ll keep up my training while you go do what you do.”

I nod and head out, going to the outskirts of Luciad before heading to floor 37. Twilight Fields.

---

I arrived at my destination in short order. Twilight Fields was actually a valley, situated between two cliffs. The reason why it was called a field was because of how wide an area there was between the two cliffs. You’d find all the normal life you’d find in a normal field around here. It was also called Twilight Fields because of the way the cliffs were placed east and west, and they were so tall that it looked like twilight most of the time while the sun would rise above the east cliff at around 10 or so in the morning.

Nice place, I think.

I look around, not seeing anyone in sight, before making a brisk jog through the fields. It takes me 10 minutes to pick up on something. I sniff the air. It smelled weird. Something I hadn’t smelled before… or had I… no I definitely have. I couldn’t make it out though. I pick up the pace a bit until I come across a dead body. The body of a player. Covered in blood. I kneel down and investigate the body. There were gashed across his body, like he had been cut apart or something.

Then it hit me.

“Why the hell is there a physical body here?” I say.

It also then occurred to me that the smell I was smelling was blood.

And there was a lot more of it.

I look down at the grass and notice red spots all over it. One leading off into a trail. I follow the dark line for about a minute before I come across something that took me by surprise.

At least a dozen players. All from the Guardians of Darkness. All dead and strewn about on the ground. Blood everywhere.

“What the fuck?” I say to myself, moving around the bloodied corpses.

I wondered again why the bodies hadn’t disappeared, and why there was blood everywhere. That shouldn’t happen in this game. I’m pretty sure the game doesn’t even render blood. I look around at the whole mess. The players looked sickly… like they had been torn apart from the inside out before dying. Their eyes were wide open, as were their mouths.

“What the hell did this?” I ask myself.

“Skeith did this, Ishi.” I hear a voice say.

I wheel around, and there was none other than Yamato, walking the blood path I had just came from.

“Fancy seeing you here.” He remarks.

“Why are you here?” I demand. “Want to recapture Skeith?”

“Huh? Recapture?” He asks. “Oh, no. I never had the thing.”

“What?” I question. “What’re you talking about? You were the last to use it, were you not?”

“I was not.” He said, kneeling down to inspect one of the bodied. “The last person to use Skeith was a friend of mine… he…” He hesitated, then switched to a different subject. “Ishi, you can’t go after Skeith.”

“What? Why not?” I say.

“Look at what it’s done.” He says, standing up. “I don’t think you understand just what you’re dealing with here. These people obviously didn’t.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I tell him. “I need to get to Skeith before the Guardians of Darkness do.”

“Ishi, it killed my best friend.” He said, almost in a remorseful way. “It’s something you don’t want to mess with.”

“Why should I care about your dead friend?” I say.

Seems I struck a nerve, because in an instant, he drew his sword and lunged at me. I barely brace Gilgamesh up in time to stop his blade. When I looked into his eyes, I saw pained fury. Something I didn’t expect from him.

I draw my blade and swipe at him, and he backs up enough to sheath his blade before slashing it through the air at blinding speed, projecting a blade in front of me that I’m forced to Shift away from. He does it again, and I evade, then again. This time I rush up to him and make a quick slash of my own, having it bounce off his blade before I’m hit in the side by the scabbard of his sword as he turned around and drew again. I quickly catch it and we clash blades.

“I need to make sure nobody gets their hands on it, Ishi!” He shouts. “It’s too dangerous! It’s something that shouldn’t exist!”

“How would you know?” I say, pushing against his blade as he did the same with mine. “How do you know what it’s capable of?”

“I’ve seen it firsthand! Are all these bodies not proof enough?!”

Suddenly, we’re both shaken with a splitting headache. We both grasp our heads and I kneel to the ground as Yamato staggers back, trying to catch his balance. The pain subsides, but I’m still disoriented. I pant as I try to reassess myself.

“What…” I stammer. “How… you aren’t supposed to feel pain in this game…”

“Skeith is still here…” Yamato says, regaining himself before me.

It hit me then… just what the hell was Skeith exactly? Why can I feel pain when it’s around? Why are all these bodies still here and all bloodied?

I had a bad feeling about all this. If what Yamato is saying is true, which I’m inclined to believe is the case, then we may be in way over our heads with this… but something of that power can’t fall into the wrong hands. I still need to go after it.

“It doesn’t matter…” I say, standing up. “If the Guardians of Darkness get their hands on it, who know what they’ll do with it? I need to get it first, and like hell I’m letting you get it.”

“Ishi, it’ll kill you.” He says.

“Why do you care?” I respond. “Why, huh? Why are you keeping me alive? Why not just kill me? You’re more than capable of doing so!”

“My reasons are my own.” He says.

“You’re pathetic.” I scoff, walking past him forward through the corpses. “You better make up your mind quick, Yamato.” I say. “If you don’t kill me soon, I’ll kill you.”

With that, I head forward. Yamato doesn’t say another word. He just leaves me to it.

About a minute of walking and I’m struck by another splitting headache, this time it sends me to the ground. The pain quickly spreads throughout my entire body, and I scream as I lie paralyzed by pain. I could barely think straight. I was frightened. I had no idea what was happening. Suddenly, the pain subsided again, and I’m left on the ground, trying to recover. I slowly stagger up, coughing into my hand. I look down at it and see blood on it.

When I look back up, I see something… it looked like some sort of cluster of data. It was at a distance so I couldn’t see well, and it blended in with the background as well, but still, I saw it there. I was fixed on it, mesmerized by it… then my heart was stricken with the most terrifying feeling I had ever experienced. Fear gripped me as I looked at it. When I looked at myself, I saw bits of digital sparks flying off my body. More pain followed shortly after. Before it got too unbearable, I broke out into a run. I ran away as fast as I could from it, whatever it was. I ran across the fields until I left the area, and I continued running after that. I ran until I was sure it was gone, and after that I fell onto my hands and knees, staring at the ground, wide-eyed.

I had never been more terrified in my life.

Yamato was right… Skeith is something that shouldn’t exist.

God damn whatever twisted person created that monster…

Chapter 9
After I had picked myself up, I travelled back to Luciad to report to Knight on my findings. I was still pretty shaken up when I entered the room, and everyone there took notice immediately.

“Geez, Ishi.” Avro said. “You look like hell.”

“Ishi.” Knight said. “What happened? Did you find Skeith.”

I hesitate before answering. “Yes…”

“Did you capture it?” He followed up.

“No…” I say. “I wasn’t able to…”

“Well… that’s troubling… we’ll have to try again whenever we can.”

“NO!” I shout abruptly, startling everyone except Gawain.

“What?” Knight asked.

“I saw that thing, Knight.” I said. “I… it slaughtered them… the members of the Guardians of Darkness that were sent for it… they were all bloody heaps on the ground!”

“Bloody heaps?” Trinity repeated.

“That’s impossible.” Gawain said in his usual cool demeanor. “Bodies disappear when killed. There’s no blood in the game either.”

“Then what’s this?!” I hold out my right hand, the one I had coughed blood into earlier. Sure enough was a red stain on my white fingerless glove. It hadn’t gone away.

“This is my blood.” I tell them. “I coughed it up when I was near the damn thing.”

“So you did see it?” Knight said.

“Hope I never have to again…” I say. “That thing… I felt it killing me when it was near. It hurt… it hurt a lot…”

“You felt pain?” Avro asked.

“I felt enough to put anyone else in shock!” I said. “Knight, we can’t go after this thing! We don’t know what we’re dealing with!”

“Ishi, I see that the danger is great, but even so we cannot let the enemy get to Skeith before we do.” Knight told me. “But this… this definitely complicates things…”

“You’re still set on controlling it?” I ask, in an angry tone.

“Do we have a choice?” Gawain steps in. “We know it can be controlled. It’s been done before. So we need to try to secure it before they do.”

“That thing will kill all of us and anyone else that tries!” I slam my palm onto the table. “You didn’t see it like I did! You didn’t feel yourself being torn apart from the inside!”

“Ishi, I understand what you’re saying here, believe me, I do.” Knight says. “But if there’s any chance of us capturing Skeith, we need to take it. No matter the risk. All of Aincrad depends on that, if what you’re saying is true.”

I look at the ground, knowing him to be right. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself.

“I met Yamato there.” I say after a brief silence. “He was looking for Skeith too. Said he wanted to make sure it didn’t fall into the wrong hands, as we are. He said the first person to use it was a friend of his, and he had never used it himself. To that end, I don’t know, but Yamato claimed that in the end Skeith killed him. I don’t exactly know what Yamato wants to do with Skeith, but I don’t think he’d use it for destruction like the Guardians of Darkness would.”

“I see…” Knight though on this. “It doesn’t matter, though. In any hands other than ours Skeith is a danger we cannot have around. We still need to find a way to capture it before anyone else.”

“I’ll do it.” I say unexpectedly.

Everyone looks to me, and I’m quickly thinking of a reason why I had said that. The words just slipped out of my mouth without me even thinking about it. I scramble for the words.

“I mean… ah…” I scratch my head.

“Are you sure?” Knight asked. “Even after what you saw?”

“I…” I think on it. For some reason, something was urging me to say yes. Albeit something was also telling me to say no, and I was more inclined to listen to that urge than the former, but even so...

“Yes.” I say. “I’ll find a way to contain Skeith before anyone else does.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Misaki spoke up for the first time. “I mean, after what happened…”

“I’m sure.” I say, not entirely confident in my own words.

“Very well.” Knight said. “Ishi, I’ll put you in charge of this mission. We’ll send any information we may find straight to you.”

“Alright.” I nod.

“Good luck.”

I leave the building and then leave town, walking right out the gates tall and proud before promptly falling flat on my face right onto the ground.

“Son of a BITCH!” I curse into the dirt, standing up and dusting myself off.

I really had no idea why I did that. The last thing I wanted right now was to dive right

back into that… whatever the hell it was… but for some reason I did, and for my pride’s sake I wasn’t going to back down.

Fuck my pride, dammit…

I dust off my jacket before deciding I needed something to clear my head of all the crap

that’s been going on recently… or at least give myself a chance to sort through all of it.

I pull up my map and fast travel to a destination I’ve visited only once before.

---

Sakura Trail was a long and rarely trodden path that lies in a relatively isolated area of the 14th floor. I had visited this place only once before, the last time I needed to calm my nerves, which was quite a while ago, actually. I take my first few steps onto the empty trail. A cool breeze swept through the trees, gently lifting the falling pink pedals as they softly and soundlessly fell to the ground. This region was cooler than others of the floor, especially considering the fact it was the start of summer, but I didn’t mind it.

I walk slowly on the path between rows of trees, watching the pedals dance in the light breeze, falling around me, and on me. Each breath I took smelled sweet, and I could almost taste that sweetness in my mouth. The only sound to be heard was the breeze sweeping through the trees and combing through my hair and fluttering the tails of my jacket, as well as my quiet footsteps on the ground. It was afternoon, but not yet dusk, and the sun was not too bright, so I could perfectly see everything surrounding me.

“Hey, Ishi!” I hear a very cheery voice sound behind me, followed by quickened footsteps.

I turn around and am greeted with a wide and young smile from another member of Pendragon Court: Agravaine.

“Oh, hey, Agravaine.” I say.

“I didn’t know you came here!” She said, merrily, waving from side-to-side excitedly, her white, fur-collared cape fluttering.

“Well, I usually don’t.” I say, chuckling a bit. “I’ve only come here once.”

“Oh?” She said, stopping her motions and stepping up to me. “Oh, right, you live in Japan. I bet it’s cool over there. I’ve always wanted to visit Japan but my parents would never agree to it.”

“Huh…”

“I come here because this place reminds me of Japan! There are Sakura blossoms in Japan too!”

“Right...”

One thing you need to know about Agravaine: she’s really energetic and VERY optimistic. She always has a way of lightening up the mood of anyone, no matter how down and/or dull they are. I mean, she even gets to Gawain, and that’s an accomplishment worthy of a Nobel Prize.

“What’s it like in Japan?” She asked curiously. “I bet it’s awesome!”

“Eh.” I shrug.

“Oh, come on! I’ve seen so many things about Japan! It looks super cool!”

“Well when you’ve lived somewhere for 18 years any place will get boring.” I say. “Besides, I could say the same about the States.”

“Eh, it’s nothing too special…” She said. “I mean, if you like being kept up until 3 in the morning, what with all the car alarms and people screaming and gunshots, it’d probably suit you fine, I’m guessing.”

“New York can’t be that bad.” I say.

“It is.” She told me sternly. “Part of me is glad I’m stuck in here. At least I can get some sleep when I want to.”

“Huh.”

“Oh, let’s walk together!” She said, hopping once and taking my hand to lead the way. “C’mon!”

“Agh! Agravaine!” I’m not given a choice as she tugs me along with her, happily taking in the scenery that I was enjoying up until recently.

“So how’ve you been, Ishi?” Agravaine asked. “Haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Eh, same old.” I say. “What about you?”

“Same with me!” She said, still leading me along as we walked together.

Agravaine took her steps with all the enthusiasm in the world; enough confidence radiating from her to break a frikkin’ Geiger counter. Can’t say I didn’t like being around her, because I did, even if she totally crashed the moment for me.

“Oh, I heard about this Skeith thing from Knight! Sounds cool!” She said. “I wonder what something like that could do!”

I suddenly remember what it could do and I grab my stomach in an attempt to stop myself from vomiting.

“Uh, are you ok?” Agravaine asked worriedly. “You don’t look so good… didja eat something bad? Wait, can you even get sick in this game?”

“I… no I’m fine…” I say. “You don’t want to know what Skeith does…”

“Huh?” She said. “Do you know?”

“I saw it, yeah…” I say, steeling my stomach. “It’s… bad… the things it does.”

“Oh, so it’s some evil weapon thing, then?”

“Yyyyeah… sure.” I say. “Unfortunately for some reason now I volunteered to be the one to capture it… don’t have a clue how I’m supposed to do that… the last thing I want it to go looking for that thing after what I saw.”

“Must’ve been bad.”

“I was.” I shake my head, getting the thoughts I came here to get rid of out of my head. “Anyway, let’s keep going.”

“Okay!”

“Hey, you!” I hear someone say.

I turn and see a group of Laughing Coffin members there. Five of them, looked like. They had their weapons drawn.

God dammit, can’t even take a walk nowadays.

“You know about Skeith.” Their leader said. “We wanna hear it.”

“Uh oh.” Agravaine said.

“Why’s that?” I ask. “Not like a bunch of punks like you would be able to control it.”

“Shut up!” He said, pointing his sword at me.

“I’ll take care of this guy!” Another one in the group said, rushing me. He brings up his sword over his head, and I promptly move to the side and hold out my leg, tripping him and sending him flat on his face.

“Whoops.” I say nonchalantly

“Why, you…” The guy scrambled back up, before snatching Agravaine’s neck in his arm and holding his sword to her neck. “Tell us what you know or the girl gets it!”

“Ow!” Agravaine said, tugging at the guy’s arm. “Hey! You’re pulling my hair, cut it out!”

“Shut it!” He said.

“Wow, how stupid are you guys?” I ask, not the least bit concerned.

“Fuck you!” The guy holding Agravaine said. “I’ll kill her, I swear!”

With Agravaine’s struggling against her captor, the guy slipped off her neck and his hand accidentally grabbed her breast.

“AH!” Agravaine quickly sprang up, arms in the air and hands in fists, managing to uppercut the guy right in the jaw and send him straight to the ground. She quickly crossed her arms around her chest.

“Don’t touch me there!” She cried, shaking her head with a blush. “That’s dirty!”

“Heh.” I smile, as I dodge another one of the guy’s blades and let him pass by me as

Agravaine comes up and jumps over him, kicking off his back playfully and sending him to the ground too, landing on the shoulders of another one of them.

“Hahah!” She laughed triumphantly. “Onwards!”

“Hey! Get off me, bitch!” The guy shook around, trying to knock her off, but lost his balance and was sent to the ground and slammed down right under Agravaine’s rear.

“Aw, that wasn’t a fun ride…” She said, sitting on the back of the guy on the ground. “Ishi, these guys are no fun!”

“Tell me about it.” I say, dodging a blade from the fourth one and kicking him in the side, crippling him and putting him to the ground as well.

The leader of the ground backed up a bit.

“You… you…” He said through gritted teeth. “I’ll kill you!”

He ran at me, and swung his sword. I jumped over it and landed standing on his shoulders.

“Giddyup.” I say, as my weight easily pushed him down and crushed him into the dirt.

“Agh… well you were right, Agravaine.” I said. “That ride wasn’t fun in the slightest.”

I step off the guy, leaving him in the dirt as I return to Agravaine.

“Let’s continue our walk, shall we?” I suggest.

“Okay!” She said, taking my hand again and leading me onwards, making sure to step on the guys on the ground for good measure as we continued our little walk together.

“I don’t like it…” I say after we distance ourselves from our assailants. “Now Laughing Coffin is after Skeith too… that complicates things.”

“How did Laughing Coffin figure out about it anyway?” Agravaine asked.

“I’d assume word of its existence has been going around.” I tell her. “It’s not hard to imagine a lot of people know about it by now. Just makes my job more difficult.”

“Is it really that important?” She asks.

“Oh yeah.” I say. “If you had seen what this thing can do like I had you’d know.”

“I don’t know if I want to…”

“You don’t.”

---

So we had continued our walk until I decided it was time I headed back, and Agravaine tagged along with, since once she stuck on you there’s no getting her off. So like the smart person I am I headed to Pendragon Court HQ so someone could take her off my hands.

Not that I didn’t like her, she can just be clingy.

Not in a needy way, just in a sort of “where we going” kind of way, if that makes sense.

“Oh, I see you picked up Agravaine.” Misaki laughed when I entered the room.

“Yeah, I’m the one who picked her up.” I say.

“Hi, Misaki!” Agravaine shouted cheerily as she skipped from my side and to hers.

How that girl got into the guild is beyond me…

Oh wait, I remember. She got pissed off once.

Once.

“So, Ishi.” Misaki addressed me. “About Skeith… are you sure you want to take it on?”

“As a matter of fact, Misaki, I am not.” I say. “But I don’t trust anyone else to do it, after what I saw of it.”

“I guess I can understand that.” She said. “Just… be careful, okay?”

We both look each other in the eye. She had a look of serious concern and caring. I understood.

“I will.” I say. “I promise.”

I leave the building again.

When I get back onto the streets, I’m immediately PMed by Asuka. I bring up the message.

"So I heard you were going after Skeith."

I PM back.

"Yeah."

"You doing that alone?"

"Probably."

"Come to Adeline’s, we need to talk."

"About what?"

"Adeline’s."

"Fine…"

---

So I go to Adeline’s and right through the door I’m slapped right in the face by Asuka, because for some reason I didn’t see it coming.

“Geez!” I say. “What was that for?”

“Like hell you’re going after something like that on your own!” She said.

“How do you even know about it?” I ask.

“Misaki told me what you told about it.” She answered. “I’m not letting you do it alone!”

“Asuka, I need to do this alone.” I tell her. “It’s safer for everyone that way.”

“I’m coming with.” She said defiantly.

“Asuka, no.” I say.

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes!”

“No.”

“YES!”

“No.”

“Dammit, Ishi!” She said, sitting down at one of the tables.

“I don’t want you to get hurt.” I say.

She pauses at that and looks at me. I’m looking out the window, not looking at her.

“I just…” I say. “I just don’t want you getting hurt.”

She gets up from the table and tries to slap me again, but I grab her hand. She gives me a pouting look that I counter with my usual look of indifference.

“Fine…” She said, pulling her hand from mine and sitting back at the table. “Just don’t get yourself killed.” She said.

“If that’s what you’re worried about you don’t need to be.” I say. “I’m not getting killed by anything.”

“Famous last words.” She smirks.

“Right.” I smile, leaving Adeline’s and deciding to head back to Ravenwing to begin my search. No doubt that retched hive of scum and villainy had some information that’d be useful.

Chapter 10
So to Ravenwing I went, entering the tavern there and having all eyes on me for a few seconds before everyone got back to their own business, as usual.

“So, the Blade Master returns!” I’m greeted by Scott as I sit down at the bar. “Didja take care o’ that business yeh had with Soryu? Haven’t seen ‘er in a while, so yah must’ve.”

“Yeah, she’s dead.” I say.

“Dead? You kill ‘er?” Scott asked surprised. “Yah ain’t killed no one before!”

“No, I didn’t do it.” I clarified. “But that’s not important. I need some more info.”

“Ain’t that the reason why yah even bother comin’ ‘ere.” Scott laughed. “Not much into hangin’ ‘round these parts. What can I help yeh with?”

“I’m looking for some people with information on Skeith.” I say in a quiet voice so nobody would hear me.

“Ah.” Scott says, also quietly. “Per’aps we should talk ‘bout this in the back.” He said, leading me to the back room where he closed and locked the door.

“So.” He said. “It’s Skeith yer after, then?”

“That’s right.” I confirm. “I was hoping you could help me out.”

“Well yah’ve come tah the right place, lad.” He said. “I’m sure a lot of folks ‘round these parts ‘ave got some useful things tah offer. I’ve been hearin’ tell of the thing quite a bit ‘f late. From them Laughing Coffin bastards, mostly.”

“Have anything I can actually use?” I skip straight to the point.

“Ah, well I s’ppose yah could listen in ‘round town, see what that turns up.” He said. “If yah wander ‘round these parts, yer bound to pick up word ‘bout it.”

“Alright, thanks, Scott.” I say.

“’ey, Ishi.” He stops me. “Be careful, ‘right? It’s dangerous waters yer treading.”

“You expect anything different from me?” I ask with a smile.

“Hah!” He laughs heartily and pats me on the back. “Course! Best ‘a luck to yah, Ishi.”

With that he leaves me to my job.

I step outside and I’m smacked in the face.

“Fuck!” I shout, looking up to see Asuka.

“Hiya!” She said with a smile.

“What the hell, Asuka?!” I said. “I told you not to come with!”

“Yeah, and I didn’t listen.” She said. “You really thought you could get rid of me that easy?”

“Dammit!” I curse again before sighing, figuring as long as she was here she could help out. “Fine… look, we need information on Skeith. Around here some people will know about it, most likely Laughing Coffin. If we can listen around for them we may be able to find out something useful.”

“So, what?” Asuka said. “Tactical espionage action?”

“Well we don’t want to get caught.” I say. “So yeah, I guess.”

“Well alrighty then.” She said. “Let’s go.”

So we walk together down the black streets of Ravenwing, at a slower pace than normal, listening in on people talking to catch wind of Skeith. We stuck to the right side of the street as we walked, just to make us look a bit less conspicuous, although we did still seem a bit out of place since we were pretty much the only people there who hadn’t mass murdered people for fun.

Sure enough, not long after we set out we caught glimpse of a Laughing Coffin member scurrying into an alleyway. Seeing this as suspicious, we quickly and quietly rush up and peek around the corner. We saw the guy talking with another member of the same guild, and Asuka and I leaned back into cover and pretended to be leaning against the wall while at the same time listening in on their conversation.

“Take this letter to the boss.” I heard the guy say to the other guy, and I figured he handed him a note. “Utmost importance. Don’t lose it.”

“No worries.” The other guy said. “I won’t.”

“Good. Wouldn’t want to die quite yet, would you?”

The other guy gave out a nervous laugh, before the two went their separate ways, with the guy we had followed coming back out the alleyway. We quickly moved out of the way before he got out of the alley so he wouldn’t notice us before we quickly moved into the alley and caught the courier on his way. We stayed at a distance as he walked through the alleys.

“Alright, Asuka.” I whisper. “We’ll follow this guy to wherever he’s going. You stay on ground, I’ll take the roofs.”

“Got it.” She whispered back, moving up and hiding behind a few crates while went around a building and found a place to climb up, doing so in short order, getting up to the roof quickly and silently before rushing up and looking down at our target. I spotted Asuka moving along at a good pace behind the guy, making sure not to be seen.

I followed at the same pace on the rooftops, making my way across and jumping over the occasional alley separating buildings quickly and silently, making sure the guy we were tailing didn’t see us. The guy led us around to the more abandoned parts of Ravenwing before we approached a little clearing in the middle of all the buildings. Asuka stopped at the edge of the alleyway and I stood overlooking the scene as we saw a large circle of Laughing Coffin members surrounding a player. The player was fighting back. Not only that, it looked like he was winning.

The courier worked his way past the crowd, oblivious to the rogue player and shouted out.

“I have a letter for…” He stopped when the player in question looked at him. “Uh…”

“Oh, good!” The player said. “Another one!”

With that, the courier made a run out of the circle.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” The random player said, immediately giving chase, cleaving his way out of the circle.

Asuka and I immediately gave chase to both of them, disregarding any manner of stealth at this point.

I still jumped along the rooftops while Asuka took the ground. I kept the two players in sight as they ran, the Laughing Coffin member trying his best to outrun his pursuer, but the guy was right on him the whole way.

Suddenly, though, the chasing player pulls out a chained whip and lashes it out, snagging the other’s leg and tripping him. He was on the guy a second after, a sword raised. I act quickly, jumping from the roof and Shifting up, bringing out my own sword and slashing at his, blocking the blow before spinning and kicking the player away. The Laughing Coffin member quickly scrambled back onto his feet and ran.

“Asuka!” I shout. “Get after him! I’ll take care of this one!”

“On it!” She said, sprinting past me.

My opponent tried to launch his whip at Asuka, but I quickly intervene and grab the chain with Gilgamesh. The player pulls back on his weapon and I let go, taking a battle stance. My opponent was dressed in a white overcoat and a white v-neck under it, with gray pants, along with boots and fingerless gloves. He wielded a large black and green sword in his right hand, and a chain whip in his left. He had a brown mohawk and deep red eyes.

Wait… white coat, red eyes… I’ve heard that somewhere…

“Blade Master…” He said, a malicious smile plastered on his face.

“You know of me?” I ask.

“I’ve always wanted to fight you.” He took his own battle stance.

“Guess it’s your lucky day, then.” I say, preparing for the fight.

He comes at me first, emitting and almost growl-like noise before raising his sword and striking downwards. I evade the blow by sidestepping it and quickly came up with my own overhead strike, which he defends against by bringing his whip up and wrapping the chain around his fist to block my sword. I come to the side with Gilgamesh and he manages to move out of the way before spinning around and swinging his sword at me again. I clash my blade with his and lock it there, pushing back with my other hand and putting him a bit off balance, enough for me to quickly step to the side and deliver a slash that he jumps away from, but I still manage to nick him in the side. He stays his distance, planning his next move, while I plan my next five.

He comes at me first again, throwing his whip at me. I deflect the blow with Gilgamesh, the bladed tip of it bouncing off the armguard, before I rush up to meet him and deliver two quick slashes that he doesn’t bother defending against. He did it on purpose, because while I was delivering those attacks, he pulled his whip back and had it wrap around my waist, holding it there and keeping me in place as he raised his sword and brought it down. I’m forced to brace my blade in defense, and even though I block the attack, it was so strong that it still took a good nick of my HP, the sheer force of the heavy sword knocking me onto my back and sending my sword flying away, embedding itself into a nearby building.

“Shit…” I curse under my breath as another downwards blow comes my way.

I’m able to free myself from the binds of his whip and flip back onto my hands and launch myself back onto my feet. I wasn’t going to be able to get my sword back right now, so I took up a hand-to-hand stance for now. He sends his whip at me again, and I grab it with Gilgamesh. This time, I pull on it hard, sending him my way. He uses this to his advantage, swinging his sword with heavy momentum. I plan ahead and quickly step back just enough to let his blade pass right by my nose, before bringing his own chain whip up and snagging his sword with it, wrapping it around few times quickly before yanking down hard, sending him downwards and allowing me to jump up and send a sharp heel kick downwards right into the back of his head, slamming his face into the ground and allowing me to kick off him and get to my sword, grabbing it and kicking off the wall to force it out, spinning in the air once and throwing my sword at him. He slashes at it with his own sword, sending it into the air, where I Shift up to and catch it before coming down on him hard, pushing him into the ground a bit with the force of the blow.

We stay there, locked blades and locked eyes. He had the same devilish smile as before, and he was clearly enjoying the fight. Suddenly, though, he rolls backwards, taking me with him and forcing me to rebound off my hand and back onto my feet, before he slashes at me with his whip. I’m not fast enough this time, and it hits me dead on, taking a good chunk out of my HP, but when he goes for another slash, I dodge it and rush up to him, evading a few more swings of his sword before putting a hard straight kick into his chest, sending him onto his back, but not before he drags me along for the ride with his whip around my waist and we both end up paused, blades to each other’s necks.

We stay there, panting and staring at each other, for a good minute before he puts a hard punch into my gut that pushes me backwards, but I pull back on his chain and take him with me, locking blades with him again and spinning around, pushing my blade outwards and grinding off his own, spinning back to gain distance.

We both stay in place, regaining our breath in time for out next clash. We both run at each other at the same time, swords swung and clashed together again, and again, and again, striking off each other in a shower of sparks. I was surprised at how evenly matched we were, and I had expected an opponent that used such a heavy weapon would be slower and more predictable. He had trained away those flaws… which meant he was dangerous.

Suddenly, though, when we lock blades, I see Asuka come up with the Laughing Coffin courier in tow, tied up with rope.

“Oh, hey.” She said. “Still fighting this guy?”

My adversary quickly launched his whip at her at such speed that she didn’t have time to react. It hit her dead on and took off half her HP, sending her to the ground.

“Asuka!” I shout, looking my opponent in the eye. “Bastard!”

He shoves my blade off him, but I spin around and slash again, harder than I had before, making a resounding ‘ching’ as it bounced off his blade. I swipe again, even harder, then again, then again, making my strikes faster than he could see, forced to just put his blade up to deflect all the incoming blows. Suddenly, though, he lashes out with his whip and hits my blade arm, once again causing me to let go of my sword.

I didn’t stop.

I instead grabbed his whip with Gilgamesh and tugged on it, hard, making him let go before I cast it aside and began bearing down on him with my gauntlet. I punched downwards continuously, so hard he sank down to his knees, his sword braced overhead as I punched hard into it. I slam my fist into his sword again, and again, and again, with mighty force, before I rear up and launch one final and powerful blow that knocks his sword from his hand and allowing me to reach in and slam my free hand into his neck, raising my open clawed gauntlet and slashing down on him, stopping just short of tearing into his face.

We’re both left breathing heavy, with my hand gripping his neck with force and my claws just barely touching his cheek. I could’ve killed him there. I would’ve. But I didn’t… I’m no player killer, and I refused to become one.

“Agh…” Asuka said, getting back up. “That one hurt… metaphorically.”

With knowledge that she was alright, I retracted the claws of my gauntlet and stepped off my opponent, walking over to my sword and snatching it off the ground before sheathing it onto my back.

“Oh, wow…” I hear the guy pant on the ground. “That was a fight…”

I say nothing as he gets back up and dusts off his jacket, retrieving his weapons and fastening them to his sides. I get another good look at the guy and I focus again on his red eyes. Then it hits me.

“The Winter Fox…” I said. “That’s who you are.”

The Winter Fox was a relatively well known player who is said to be absolutely merciless to other players, commonly fighting for just about no reason at all. Despite this, he isn’t a player killer, he just enjoys torturing people… if that sounds any better.

“You’ve heard of me as well, I take it.” He said. “I have to say; your reputation is well established.”

“You have a reputation?” Asuka asked.

“Apparently.” I answer. “So what’s The Winter Fox doing in a place like Ravenwing?” I asked him.

“I just hate Laughing Coffin.” He said. “So when I heard about a base of theirs stationed here I decided to check it out.”

“And make a scene out of it.” I say

“You know my reputation.” He responds.

“Yeah…”

“Ishi.” Asuka said, waving me over to her. “I got the letter off the guy.”

I take the physical note from her and look at it.

“Majora.” I read out.

That’s all it said.

“The hell does that mean?” I wonder aloud.

“No idea.” Asuka said. “Hey, where’d what’s his face go?”

I look over and notice The White Fox had disappeared without a trace. Didn’t even bother to say goodbye. How rude.

“Well anyway, we’ll need to figure out what this means.” I say to Asuka. “C’mon.”

I lead her across town back to the tavern, where I see Scott wave me over with his usual friendly smile.

“Ah, Ishi.” He said. “Yah find what yer lookin’ fer? Oh?”

He noticed Asuka beside me and smiled.

“Who’s the lass? You pickin’ up girls now, eh?”

“Why the hell does everyone say that…” I ask.

“He’s, uh…” Asuka fills in for me. “I’m sort of his apprentice, you could say.”

“Ah, trainin’ the lass, are yah, Ishi?” He said. “Well that ain’t like yeh.”

“Well I couldn’t get her off me so I figured I might as well.” I say.

“Hohoh! Well then!” He puts out a hand to Asuka and she takes it. The poor girl is almost grounded by the force of his handshake. “Tha name’s Scott, me fair lass.” He said with a warm and welcome smile.

“Ah…” She said, after she was freed from his grip as she inspected her arm to make sure it wasn’t broken or anything. “Asuka.” She says.

“Asuka!” Scott says, giving her a little bow.

“We picked this up off a Laughing Coffin courier.” I say, handing him the note. “You know what it means?”

He takes the note and looks at it.

“Majora, eh?” He said, scratching his beard in thought. “Sorry, me boy. Don’t know nuthin’ ‘bout no Majora. I’ve never heard the name ‘round here either so I doubt anyone here’d know either.”

“Damn…” I say, taking the note back and giving it one last look before pocketing it. “Well thanks anyway. We’ll be off, then.”

“Come back ‘round anytime yeh feel, now!” He says. “And feel free tah bring the young lass with yah!”

I wave behind me and we both leave the tavern, heading back to Luciad. Hopefully the guild would be able to provide some more insight on this cryptic message.

Chapter 11
“Majora, huh?” Gawain said when I showed him the note and told him of my mission.

Knight himself wasn’t present at the moment, off on his own business that I didn’t need nor cared to know about.

“Trinity, didn’t you hear the name before?” He turns to his fellow knight.

“Ah, yes!” She recalls. “On one of my recon missions! Seems only the higher-ups of the Guardians of Darkness know of him.”

“Did they say anything?” I ask.

“Unfortunately no.” She replied. “They know the name at least, but I don’t know if they know too much about him. Apparently the guy with all the info would be the leader of the guild himself.”

“Kamui…” I mutter.

“He wouldn’t be an option.” Gawain told me. “There must me something we can do about this…”

I think on it, but I can’t come up with anything.

“Wait…” Trinity spoke. “What about The Chronicler?”

“The Chronicler?” Asuka asks. “You mean the whackjob that lives way out in the arctic region of the 37th floor?”

“That’s the one.” She said. “But he’s not just a whackjob. He apparently has records of everything that has ever happened in the game.”

“According to rumors.” I specify.

“Well, yeah.”

“Why would I trust rumors?”

“Because there is some truth behind them.” Gawain intervened. “This man was a programmer for the entire game, and has access to every bit of data stored in the game.”

“If he was a programmer, why is he trapped in the game like everyone else?” Asuka says.

“He betrayed the Game Master before the game was released. As punishment, he banished him to live through the game himself. Unfortunately all that knowledge has taken no small toll on his sanity. You’d best be careful in confronting him.”

“Uh, yeah, one problem.” I say, raising a finger. “I fucking hate the cold.”

“Oh, don’t be such a baby.” Asuka said, bumping my shoulder.

“I hate the cold!” I repeat. “It’s cold!”

“Well if you want to figure out who this Majora character is, The Chronicler is your best shot.” Trinity told me. “Sucks to be you.”

“No kidding…” I say.

“Well, come on.” Asuka said. “No time to waste!”

“I’m getting a bite first.” I say as we leave the building.

“Oh…” She looked at her stomach and rubbed it. “Good point, I’m hungry too…”

“To Adeline’s then.” I say.

And off we went to Talmia.

---

So we had our quick lunch before heading to the 37th floor, to a town called Aurora’s Edge.

There were auroras there, in case you couldn’t figure that one out.

It was really cold. But it wasn’t uncomfortable because of the whole NerveGear thing going on.

Still didn’t like it.

We went to the tavern there, which was thankfully heated by a fireplace and was greeted instantly by a man at the bar. He had a full blue and white snow gear.

“Hey, there!” He said. “Haven’t seen you two around before. What can I get you two?”

“We aren’t here for that.” I say. “We need to find The Chronicler.”

“Him?” He says. “Why’s that?”

“Reasons.” I tell him plainly. “Just point us in the right direction.”

“Well pointing won’t do you too good past this place.” He said. “Firstly you’re going to need some gear that’ll keep you from freezing to death out there, you can get that at the shop across the street, and second, you’ll be needing something to guide you there.”

He takes out a golden compass inlaid with decorative silver markings.

“Something like this.” He says.

“Isn’t that a Destination Compass?” Asuka asked.

“A what?” I say.

“A Destination Compass.” She said. “When you’re looking for some place it always points in the direction of where you want to go. They’re really rare.”

“That’s right.” He said. “I don’t really be needing this thing since I know my way around frontwards and back, and I’d be willing to part with it… for a price, of course.”

“How much?” I sigh.

“Howsabout…” He thinks. “Five million?”

“Fi… five million?!” Asuka exclaims. “That’s ridiculous! I-”

I give the guy his five million.

“There.” I say.

He hands me the compass.

“Pleasure doing business.” He said.

I walk out, Asuka following.

“You had five million?” She asked.

“I have way more than that.” I say. “I never buy anything other than Adeline’s ramen.”

“Oh, right…” She says.

Afterwards we get our snow gear, which was basically just a heavy cloak that went over our outfits. Apparently it was enough to make us not freeze to death out there. We both get black cloaks, white fur lined on the collar and hood, and some pretty comfy stuff on the inside, two white stripes lining the hem and cuffs. I already felt warm and cozy in it, so I knew it was some good stuff.

That and the fact that it was expensive as all hell, but I still had more than anyone ever needed.

I pull out the Destination Compass and look at it. Its dial was spinning around at a steady and slow pace.

“How does it work?” I wonder aloud.

I think about where I wanted to go and instantly the thing points in a direction, steady and true.

“Oh, that’s how.” I say. “C’mon.”

So off we go through town, and in following the compass we make our way to the edge of the place. We look ahead and all we see is white. Just, white. As far as I could see. Nothing else.

“This is gonna suck, isn’t it?” Asuka said.

“Probably.” I reply. “But we need to find this guy if we want to figure out who Majora is.”

“Or was.” Asuka noted.

“Or was.” I repeat.

We take our first steps into the shallow snow, and begin our trek across the frozen wastelands.

---

Not long after we set out, it began to snow a bit, and the winds picked up. Aurora’s Edge was well beyond eyesight by now. The wind and snow together made white horizontal streaks in the air, whipping our cloaks behind us. Wasn’t unbearable, though; these cloaks definitely did their job well. We’ve been out here for around an hour now.

“Are we there yet?” Asuka asked.

“No.” I answer.

“How much further?” She follows it up.

“This thing doesn’t say.” I tell her. “I don’t think it’s too much further, though.”

“Better not be…” She says, adjusting the collar on her cloak.

Suddenly I feel a cracking under my shoes. I look down and the ground shifts abruptly.

“Ishi!” Asuka shouts, as I suddenly fall. I lash out with Gilgamesh and embed the claws in the ice quickly, stopping my descent. I look down to a deep black ravine. I couldn’t see the bottom. Then, Gilgamesh began to lose grip on the ice, slowly beginning to scrape off it. There wasn’t anything I could grip on the smooth ice, either.

“Shit…” I curse under my breath. “Asuka!”

Asuka was there in an instant, holding out her hand.

“Here!” She says. “Take my hand!”

I do so, pulling myself up with one arm and grabbing her hand. She begins to pull up, but her feet slip and she suddenly falls in with me. I keep a hold of her arm to stop her fall.

“Agh!” She shouts, looking down the chasm.

The added weight made me lose my grip quickly, and we both fell down.

I still keep a hold of her as we fell, noticing we were falling down a long shaft, multiple holes lined the walls. This was an ice cavern network, I realize.

I got an idea.

I take out Arondight and wield it in the claws of Gilgamesh.

“Hang on!” I tell Asuka, before I spin around, throwing Asuka out then pulling her inwards to instantly increase my spin speed. She grabs a hold of my torso as I spun quickly, before I launch my blade out and slam it deep into the ice wall, sinking it to the hilt and quickly slowing our free fall until we came to a stop, hanging by my sword over a bottomless pit.

“Holy shit!” Asuka said, her voice echoing off the walls.

“Asuka, see that cave entrance over there?” I gesture towards one of the holes in the walls. There was a ledge just a bit below us, but it was out of our way as well. I couldn’t just slide down.

“Yeah.” She says.

“Okay, keep a hold of my arm and jump right… there. Use your sword to keep yourself there.”

“Right…” She takes out her sword, and still holding onto my arm, climbs up, and jumps off my shoulders to the point I told her to, digging her sword into it.

“Okay, when I launch myself, pull your sword out, alright? We only got one shot at this.”

“Got it.” She said, readying herself.

I let go of my sword and brace my feet up against the handle, using Asuka’s arm as a swing to launch myself back and swing myself forward, grabbing my blade out of the wall as I throw myself out, and in that instant, Asuka pulls her sword out and I take her with me, before I quickly dig my sword in again and swing Asuka with great momentum, letting her go and fly towards the ledge. She lands right on it, tipping back a bit and wheeling her arms to try to keep her balance, but she does keep it, and she jumps forward to safety, while I’m left on the ledge hanging onto my sword.

“You alright?” I ask her.

“Yeah, I’m good.” She says. “How are you gonna get here, though?”

“Hang on…” I begin to swing myself on the handle of my sword, before launching myself to the curved wall, slamming into it with Gilgamesh and running along it, toward Asuka, before leaping off the wall and towards her. She brings out her hand and I grab it, quickly digging Arondight into the ledge to keep me from slipping. Asuka, for safety, plants her sword near the edge and pulls me up with her foot on the flat of the blade, and sure enough, I’m up to her level, getting to my feet as Asuka pulls her sword from the ice and sheathes it to her side.

“Nice work.” I say.

She nods and we both look down the dark tunnel.

“Looks promising.” I say.

“How are we gonna get out of here?” Asuka asked.

“Don’t know yet.” I say. “Let’s just see what we can find.”

We both head into the cold and dark cave. There was barely any light, so Asuka lit up a rune to light the way. The cave was basically just a cylindrical tube of solid, clear, and smooth ice. So smooth we had to watch our footing so we wouldn’t slip, and even then we fell flat on our asses a few times, and then we fell flat on our asses trying to help each other up after we had fallen flat on our asses.

What fun.

But eventually, after around half an hour I’d wager, we come across a downwards slope of ice. We stop and look down.

“Wonder where this goes…” Asuka says, holding out her light to try to see further down.

“Only one way to find out.” I say, gesturing downwards.

“Oh, come on, there has to be another- AGH!”

I grab her arm and pull her down as I slid down myself, taking her with me as we once again fell flat on our asses as we slid down into the great unknown.

“You DICK!” Asuka shouted.

“What?” I said. “I was slipping!”

“Bullcrap!” She said, giving me an angry look. “What if there’s like… a pit of spikes at the bottom of this?”

“You worry too much.” I say.

Before long, though, we reach a sudden end to our literal slip-n-slide when the ice gave way again and we fall into another smaller slip-n-slide that leads us straight into the ground. I land on my feet and take a few steps forward to balance myself and Asuka just fell flat on her ass.

“Ow!” She said, as I helped her up.

“Woah, look at this.” I say, pointing to the ground.

It was cobblestone.

“Well at least we can walk on this.” Asuka said.

“Come on, there must be something up ahead.” I say, as I lead her forwards.

It didn’t take long for us to find something pretty astounding. There was a large circular room… like REALLY LARGE circular room. Right in the center was a stone building of some kind… looked ancient as hell. The place was lit up from sunlight coming through reflective crystals in the roof, that made it look almost like there could be a hole right in the ceiling with all the light they gave off.

“What the hell?” I say in bewilderment.

“What is this place?” Asuka added.

On a suspicion I pull out my compass. It pointed right towards it. I made sure by moving around a bit. The compass pointed straight and true right ahead. With how far the compass moved when I did I knew the distance wasn’t far.

“That’s our place.” I said.

“Wow, really?” Asuka asked. “Good thing you fell into that hole then, huh?”

“Hey, you fell in too.” I point at her.

“Only to try to get you out.” She smiles coyly.

“Pfft…”

We both head toward the monumental building and stepped up to what looked like the entrance. There was a door there, upon closer inspection it wasn’t a door. It was just stone carved to look like a door.

“Great…” I say. “So how do we-”

I’m interrupted when suddenly the floor below us turns, and so does the door, taking us around and slamming shut with us on the other side.

“Agh! What the-” I begin, only to have a finger meet my lips.

“Shhhh.” He said. “Inside voices.”

What I saw was a cloaked figure in a blue hooded cloak, with the hood up to obscure his face. The guy turned and scurried forwards, gesturing us to come forward. Despite my better judgement, we both do, following him down winding staircases and through maze-like corridors until finally we come across a room that looked like a huge library. What looked like millions of books filled tons of huge shelves all over the room. A brazier lit up the center of the room, while medieval looking chandeliers lit up the rest.

“Uh, hey, guy.” I say. “Mind telling us who you are.”

“Oh, right, right.” He said quickly. “I’m ‘The Chronicler’, as people seem to like to call me.”

“Okay, so what’s your real name, then?” Asuka asked.

“Don’t know.” He said just as quick, sorting through papers on the floor. “Can’t remember. Called The Chronicler too much. It stuck. My real name, WHAT’S MY REAL NAME?!”

He turns his head to us in a creepy manner, his hood falling down to reveal a shaggy man who looked like he had been here for more than a while. I could see what Gawain was talking about when he said he wasn’t exactly completely sane.

“Oh, you!” He says, pointing at me. “I know you!”

He quickly points at Asuka.

“And you!”

“How do you know us?” I ask.

“I know everything!” He said. “I am The Chronicler, after all! I keep the ever growing records of everything that happens to everything and everyone in Aincrad. All these books are those records!”

I look around again. I couldn’t even see how big the room actually was from where I was standing.

“Homey.” Asuka says quietly.

“Look, we-”

“You want me to decipher a cryptic message for you!” He interrupted. “Yes, yes. Majora’s the name, is it not? Yes, I remember that one… I think… ah… I probably need to check the records for that one. It’s hard to keep track of everything in my head! I’ve been doing it for so long.”

I mouth out ‘no shit’ before addressing him again.

“So can you help us?” I ask.

“Can I? Oh yes, I could. But the more delicious question is will I?” He says.

“Well if you want to be a dick about it, yeah.” I say.

“Oh, I’ll help you, alright.” He said. “But first you must help me.”

“Fair enough.” Asuka said. “What do you need? Help picking up all the paper on the ground or… something?”

“No, no, young one.” He wagged a finger. “There is an item of great importance which has been lost to me. I need you to retrieve it for me.”

“Agh… fetch quests…” I mutter.

“The artifact I am looking for is somewhere in Snowpeak Castle. I unfortunately misplaced it on one of my… previous expeditions to the site.”

“Why can’t you just go and get it yourself?” I ask.

“The castle has some… new residents.” He said. “And as you can see, I’m not very well suited for combat, myself. You however seem like you’ve both seen a fair share of battles.”

“I guess…” Asuka says.

“Come.” He says, leading us out of the library and through a couple more freaking miles of stairs and hallways before we came across what looked like an elevator room. And I’d be right on that assumption.

“You may find Snowpeak Castle due west of here.” He said. “Just follow your compass. It’ll take you where you need to go.”

“Okay, fine.” I say, Asuka and I both getting in the elevator.

“Also, take this.” He said, handing us a key. “It will allow you access to the elevator. Once you find the artifact you may use the elevator to return to this chamber.”

“You still haven’t told us what we’re looking for.” I say.

“You’ll know it when you see it.” He said, as he activated the elevator, taking us upwards. “Good luck.”

---

After a few minutes we reach the top of the elevator, where we are put back out into the snow after leaving the inside of a small and ancient monument.

I check my compass, and it pointed toward a new location.

“Alright, come on.” I say to Asuka. “Let’s just get whatever this thing is and get back.”

Chapter 12
It didn’t take too long to get to where we needed to go. Snowpeak Castle was a beautiful looking structure overlooking the mountains. That’s where the ‘Snowpeak’ part came from, I’d wager. Asuka and I stood at the start of a long and narrow set of winding steps that faded into white fog leading toward the castle in the distance.

“Huh.” Asuka said. “So whatever that guy wants is in there?”

“Yeah.” I say. “Compass points right to it.”

“Nice place.” She noted. “Hope it’s warmer inside.”

“Wouldn’t bet on it.” I say, as I began walking along the stone steps toward the castle.

---

So after a few close calls with the edge of the cliff we were on since we couldn’t even see where we were walking through the fog, and had to keep a hand on the cliff face to keep going, we finally made it to the front doors of the castle. The place looked… oddly in shape for a building that had been abandoned for a while. The front door of frosted mahogany and gold still looked almost like it was new.

Good thing for us, it was easy to open as well.

The main foyer was quite a large room with black marble floors with red and white diamond designs. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling, and a set of decorative white stairs led to an upper level straight ahead, while two long corridors went off to the right and left.

And it was in fact warmer than it was outside.

“So where do we start looking?” Asuka asks, her voice echoing off the walls.

“Don’t know…” I say, stepping forward and looking around. My footsteps also reverberated around the room as I paced around, looking at all the decorations along the walls and between the big windows. “Let me check the compass.”

I look at the compass, but I see it’s just spinning slowly like it does when dormant.

“Crap.” I say. “Looks like it tells us where to go but not what to do once we get there.”

“Great, so we’re on our own?” Asuka asks.

“Looks like.” I reply. “We should split up, it’ll be faster that way.”

“I don’t know…” Asuka said, looking around as I did. “I feel… strange… here.”

“Me too.” I say. “Something about this place puts me off. Nevertheless, though. We’ll meet back in this foyer in 3 hours if we can’t turn up anything.”

She nods and begins to walk to the left hallway.

“Be careful, alright?” She said, looking back to me taking the right hallway.

“Yeah, you too.” I say, before we went our separate ways.

At the end of the long hallway, there was a door, so I walked to it and went through it, like I was going to do anything else.

On the other side of the door, I’m surprised to find something that looked completely different. I expected more neat looking hallways and stuff, but instead I found another smaller room. The only thing is that the ceiling had caved in and rubble was everywhere. Cold snow drifted into the room from the giant hole in the ceiling, and the remains of what once was a chandelier was bent and broken on the floor, along with the ceiling.

“The hell?” I say aloud.

The hell indeed, for from the outside, I realize, the place was completely perfect. Not to mention the main foyer didn’t have a scratch on it anywhere, like the maid brigade made a quick sweep just before we arrived or something.

I double take and open the door I went through again. I have to push really hard to get it open, because for some reason support beams from the ceiling were blocking the way. In fact,

the perfect main foyer was now in shambles, from my view in between the rubble blocking the door. Not even two minutes ago the place was spotless, and now it was a wreck.

Yeah, something was really wrong with this place.

“Well that’s interesting.” I said, navigating around the broken pieces that was once a room and toward the next door. I open it and I’m led into a busted up hallway that lined the outside walls of this part of the building. A lot of the outside wall had come down, and snow drifted down onto the old torn up rug that used to go all along the hallway. I walk down the hallway, looking to my right outside. I saw a large courtyard blanketed in frosty fog, in fact, it looked like there were 5 large courtyards in total, forming a U shape around the main building of the castle, and from here I could also see the outside fortress walls and the tall spires, all of which were in a complete state of disrepair. It only made me wonder further how Asuka and I saw different on the way in.

“Huh…” I mumble, as I walk toward the other door at the far end of the hall. I’m stopped however, when a large chunk of the ceiling came down just in front of me, caving in the path and forbidding me from progressing further.

“Agh, dammit.” I say, scratching the back of my neck, before walking back and looking over the edge of the ruined hallway.

Long way down, but I could see a walkway down there, which I could probably slide down to. I hop off the ledge and fall a ways before I slam into the wall with Gilgamesh, slowing me down. Figures, I take a chunk of the wall with me and I fall down a good few stories and right onto my back.

“Agh!” I moan, lying on the walkway for a few seconds before slowly clambering back up and dusting myself off. “Crap…”

I look up to where I had fallen off. A good sized hole in the wall marked where I lost my

grip. No way was I getting back up there. The walkway I was on led forward and right to the tops of the fortress walls lining the castle, and the other way led off around the main building I was at until it broke straight into a sheer drop. So I decide to take the not broken way. I get onto the main walls and walk along, looking over at the ruined castle. The place looked… strangely beautiful despite it being a complete wreck. I had to watch myself from slipping on some ice that had formed at random spots along the wall as I made my way around, hoping I could get back inside on this path.

The sound of ice cracking and the wind blowing was all I heard as I walked along the wall, naturally. However, about halfway across the wall, the ice cracks suddenly changed to ice completely shattering, and when I look behind me, I see a very thin and tall humanoid thing made entirely out of ice, wielding a spear of ice, come behind me and raise its weapon. I sidestep quickly before its spear embeds itself in the ground, strangely not breaking from striking the stone ground. The thing pulls the spear out of the ground and swings it at me. I back up to evade it, but I bump my back into another one that had sprung up behind me. It grabbed me with icy claw like hands, before trying to stab downwards. I spring Gilgamesh into action and backhand the thing in the side, forcing it to let go as I jumped back to gain distance. Immediately, the first one threw the spear at me, and I duck under it before it regenerates another ice spear right in its hand.

“So you’re the new residents.” I assume.

Needless to say, they couldn’t talk back to confirm. The two charge at me, and I bring out my sword, diving in between the two to dodge their spears before blocking their following spear swings with my sword and gauntlet before finding an opening in the second one and slicing it clean in half, and using the new opening granted to spin around a strike from the first and latch onto its torso with Gilamesh, spinning a bit before tossing it out over the wall and letting it fall to its death below.

“Boy.” I said. “I hope Asuka’s okay… I should message her.”

I pull up my messages and try to message Asuka. When I send the message though, I’m greeted by an error message.

[ERROR]

[ASUKA IS NOT A RECOGNIZED PLAYER NAME]

“The hell?” I say to myself as I try to send the message again.

The same error message appeared.

“Shit…” I curse. “I need to find her.”

I step forward and sweep back with Gilgamesh to tear another ice creature in half and slice the upper part of it in half again with my sword, before resuming my walk along the wall. I reach the door to another tower at one of the corners of the wall and step inside, being led onto a spiral staircase that took me downwards and leading out to the first courtyard I saw from above. I step out onto the snowy and foggy ground, taking my steps slowly in caution for any more of those ice guys.

Sure enough, as I made my way to the other side of the courtyard, a spear of ice cut through the fog and narrowly missed me as I jumped back and sliced behind me to counter another one coming up to swipe at me. I try to get at him but the thing slips back into the fog of the courtyard, before another near invisible spear comes barreling toward me, which I swat out of the air with my gauntlet. Another comes, then another, and another, from every direction they came. I couldn’t tell just how many of the things there were, but I needed to clear them out a bit before I got stuck with one of those spears.

I dodge and weave my best as the spears came at me from all fronts, until I find a slim opening in the onslaught. I pick out a spear in the air and calculate which direction it came from in my head, picking out a knife from my belt and sending it that way. I saw a few rainbow polygons go skyward over the fog, so I knew I had hit.

I try this with a few more until the rest catch wise. They begin to move immediately after throwing, not letting me send knives their way. Plan B, then. They could move all they wanted, I was always going to be faster. I see where another spear comes at me, and immediately Shift to it, passing by the spear and impaling one of the ice creatures on my blade, killing it instantly. Another spear is sent my way, and I do the same thing, this time slicing its arm off before beheading it.

I do this seven more times until finally, all the creatures were dead. When that happened I quickly located another door on the other side of the courtyard through the fog, and made my way to it, entering it quickly before any more of those things showed up.

I’m placed in another large room that looked almost like a church. Wrecked pews were placed all along the room, and a broken metal chandelier lay in the middle of the room, while another one placed on the other side of the room was actually on the ceiling, although it didn’t look to sturdy. Stone columns lined the room, although they all bore cracks and large chips in the stone, and two of them were actually toppled over.

I look upwards and see an upper level, accessible by a set of stairs on either side of the room. I could see more ice creatures lining up to throw their spears at me.

“Alright, you guys are really starting to piss me off.” I say as I jump away from a spear and Shift onto the upper level, slicing one of them into a bunch of pieces before grabbing the head of another with Gilgamesh and moving it in the way of another thrown spear, throwing it out of the way and jumping up, spinning once and slicing another clean in two.

I catch the spear of another, spinning with momentum and throwing it back, nailing it in the face and killing it, before Shifting to the other side and taking care of the ones there. After that was said and done, I look around. On the far wall, I see a huge painting of some priest looking guy. The painting looked centuries old, and I was surprised that it didn’t look like it had a scratch on it.

I take a minute to think about what it is I’m looking for. This place is huge, and I have no idea what room whatever it is I’m looking for is in, on top of not even knowing what the hell it is I’m looking for.

“Dammit…” I mutter to myself. I really should’ve pressed the matter on that Chronicler guy. It’d really help if I had some more information on all this crap.

And I needed to find Asuka, that was another thing.

I look around the room and notice something on the floor. It was a circular stone engraving on the ground, with two smaller rings inside it, along with pointing triangular designs jutting out on four symmetrical points around it, making it look like a star-like engraving. I hop down to it, and look at it. I feel a rumbling in my pocket that makes me jump slightly, before I reach in and fish out the one rune Asuka had given me earlier. The white deign on it now shone blue, as did the circle under me.

“What is this, now?” I say, looking at my feet.

Suddenly, though, the chandelier above me abruptly snapped from the ceiling, falling right own onto me. Only it stopped in midair just above my head, the thing suspended in a blue aura. I look down at the rune and look back up at the chandelier, holding my hand out and sort of ‘grasping’ the chandelier, moving it from over me and letting it fall a distance away.

“Well I’ll be damned.” I say, inspecting the rune. “This thing is actually pretty cool.”

I step off the circle, but the rune still glowed. I tried to pick up the other fallen chandelier, and sure enough a blue aura surrounded the thing before it lifted up, suspended in the air.

“Sweet.” I say, as I let it down again.

I notice another door that was blocked in by some rubble. I use my newfound power to remove the debris blocking the doorway and tossing it aside, going to the door and opening it up to find another courtyard, covered in fog. This time, though, the rune in my hand glows brighter, and I see an insignia light up in the very center, looking identical to the stone one in the room before, only made of red light, the rune shining the same color. After that, the circle expanded quickly, and in that pulse, I suddenly saw each and every ice creature hiding in the fog, as they readied their spears and aimed.

I have no idea how this stuff works, but hell yeah, it’s awesome.

I quickly rush toward the light, dodging incoming spears before landing right on it,

slamming the rune down onto it and making a large shockwave that surrounded my enemies in a red aura and threw them back and locking them onto the ground. Now helpless, I quickly Shift to each one of them and slice them into pieces before returning to the pad and letting go, causing them all to burst into polygons.

“Damn!” I shout. “This is awesome!”

I then see the light below me shift to white, as well as the rune in my hand. Light radiated over the pad like steam, and I can see the light being attracted to the rune. I take this cue and somehow manage to begin to collect the light into the rune, slowly at first, but it rapidly picked up speed, until the rune in my hand shone brightly, before the light released in a bright burst and instantly cleared the dense fog around. After that, the rune returned to its natural color, while the pad under me shone red once more, and spun slowly.

“Huh…” I say. “Maybe I should go back and try that with the other one…”

So went back I did, through the church building and back into the first courtyard. Here, I see the light pad in the center glow blue, and I step up to it, cautious about any of those ice guys that may be lurking about, and placing my feet on it. The light shone white, and I did the same thing as before, charging up the rune and releasing it, clearing the fog.

“Huh.” I say, after it was done. “I guess I need to do this for all the courtyards.”

So I quickly went back to the red courtyard and went through the door there, leading me into another large building. This one… I didn’t know what it looked like. It was so wrecked I couldn’t tell, but I could imagine it was nearly identical to the last one. Half of the ceiling was on the ground, as well as both chandeliers. Further, part of one of the spires was in the middle of the entire place, making it a wonder how this building was even still standing when an entire tower had fallen on it. Lucky for me, there were no ice guys around here, so I could actually do stuff without almost getting speared. I climb my way around the rubble and decide to just leave the building, climbing onto the wreckage of the tower and exiting out the broken wall into the next courtyard.

This one glowed golden and I notice it looked a bit different than the last two. It had a different, more intricate design, was larger, and it didn’t spin. I walk up to it, noticing there were no ice guys out here either. When I get there, I do the same as I had with the others, charging up and releasing it, dispersing the fog instantly. When that was done, I suddenly notice someone behind me. I take my blade out and quickly slash behind me. My blade strikes off another’s and I swing again, locking blades with Asuka.

“Asuka!” I say.

“Ishi!” She says at the same time.

We pull our blades apart and sheath our weapons.

“God, I’m glad you’re okay.” I say. “This place is crazy.”

“I know.” She says. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m good.” I say. “This rune of yours has come in handy.” I wave the rune in my hand.

“Yeah, I activated these runic circles in the two courtyards on the way here.” She said.

“So did I.” I say.

“Then this was the last one.” She says. “But what was the point of that?”

I look toward the main building, the one that we entered the castle from, and notice a large doorway there, right in the back of the building. It glowed with five circles, identical to the insignias of the courtyards. Five in total, shining in red, blue, green, violet, and finally golden on the top of the pentagon the lights formed on the doorway.

“Look at that.” I say, pointing to it.

“Oh!” She said, running up to it while I follow. She puts her hand on the large stone door when we get there.

“It looks like those circles were locks.” She said. “Five in total. And we unlocked all of them.”

“You don’t suppose whatever we’re looking for is in there, do you?” I ask.

“Well, only one way to find out.” She said. “Help me get this open.”

She backs up and uses her rune to grasp the right side of the door, while I took the left. We telekinetically pried open the door with some effort, and a large gust of cold wind rushes out and blows past us as we do. Soon enough, the door was completely open, and all we could see ahead was a staircase leading off into total blackness.

“Looks nice.” I say.

“C’mon.” Asuka says as she lights up her rune and descends the stairs. I light up mine and follow after.

The stairs didn’t go on for long, and we end up going down a long underground tunnel that looked to go pretty far in. After a point I’m pretty sure we were going inside the mountain itself.

“So you’ve finally found a use for that rune I gave you?” Asuka said after a while to break the silence.

“Uh, yeah.” I say. “Was able to lift some debris out of the way and activate those light pads in the other courtyards. Got to use it on those ice guys too.”

“Yeah, what were those things anyway?” Asuka asked.

“Must be a kind of monster specific to this region.” I tell her. “Or even more specifically this place in particular.”

“Well whatever they are, they weren’t regular fodder enemies, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah…”

We kept walking until we finally hit a large circular room. Our runes were the only source of light in the entire room, and we couldn’t even see the ceiling for how dark it was. Our footsteps echoed off the ground as we looked around the place.

“See anything?” I ask Asuka as we separated a bit to look around.

“No.” She says.

Suddenly, I see Asuka fade into a sort of monochrome and semi-transparent version of herself, as the room began to light up. She looked at me and we ran to each other.

“What’s going on?” I ask her. “What’s up with you?”

“What’s up with you?” She returns. “I can see through you!”

So the same thing happened to me with her… on top of that I see two identical creatures drop down from the ceiling. One was physical, the other was the same transparent form Asuka was in. The creatures were giant and humanoid, made out of ice and stone. They wielded huge axes made of ice.

“What the hell?!” Asuka shouts, jumping back to avoid an overhead swing of the thing’s axe.

I have to look back to my own opponent, though, because he charged at me and tried to shoulder bash me. I jump out of the way in the nick of time and try to throw a few knives at Asuka’s opponent to try to take some heat off her. The knives passed right through as if the thing was a ghost, and stuck themselves into the wall past it.

“Shit.” I say, as I have to dodge a few swings of the large beast’s axe.

I use my speed and agility to my advantage, keeping a lock on my enemy while circling around it quickly while it tried to hit me with its large weapon. I dodge a few large swings before running in and jumping up to its back, stabbing into it with Arondight, and punching down hard with Gilgamesh, making the thing stagger a bit, but it didn’t do much damage. The thing threw me off and I land feet first as it made another swing at me. I manage to Shift out of the way just in time.

I catch a glimpse of Asuka, who was fighting her version with her all, using the fire of her runes to her advantage, although it didn’t look like she was progressing any further than I was.

I evade more monstrous swings of the things axe and manage to get inside its guard, jumping up and slashing at its face a few times, before clawing into its arm and circling to its back, jumping up to prepare to stab it in the back of the neck. The thing is quicker than I thought it was, because it managed to grab me from behind it and slam me down hard into the ground in front of it, almost putting my HP to red. The thing reared up and slammed its axe down on me, and on the ground I have to brace Gilgamesh up in defense, successfully stopping the blow but putting my HP down a bit more.

I push the axe aside and Shift away, trying to recover from that tremendous hit to my HP.

“Son of a bitch…” I mutter as I look to Asuka, who I noticed wasn’t doing so good either.

That’s not good.

The beast comes at me again, and this time, I Shift behind it, throwing four of my knives into the back of its legs to try to reduce its combat effectiveness a tad. The things bounce right off the ice of its leg. The thing sweeps back and nails me with the flat of its axe, hard. I fly back and slam into the far wall, my HP critical. I fall to the ground, face first, unable to move, completely stunned by the amount of damage I had taken in such a small amount of time.

“Ishi!” I hear Asuka shout, before she gets grabbed by her opponent and thrown down into the ground, also sending her HP to red.

I tried to get up quickly before I was finished, but in execution it came out as a slow stagger back up to my feet, uncoordinated and unbalanced. This thing was one hit away from ending my life, and Asuka was in trouble too.

I had to beat this thing.

The creature lunged at me again, raising a fist in preparation for a punch. I use my rune and charge up my own punch, Gilgamesh glowing in a red aura, before I rear back and lurch forward meeting his punch halfway and putting enough power into it to crack his entire arm, and send him back. I use the opportunity to perform multiple Shifts and cut into him faster than the blink of an eye, making it stagger back a bit more, but it quickly recovered and raised its axe over its head to try to finish me off. I Shift up and cut into its arm with such speed and precision it completely bypasses the icy armor and sliced clean through its arm. Its axe fell down behind it as the thing roared and held onto the stump of its arm, before I grab its giant axe with Gilgamesh, using all my strength with the assistance of my rune to swing it back, and with a roar of my own, slam it right into its side, hard, letting go at the moment of impact and watching as it flew into the ground.

Not yet dead, the creature tried to get back up with its own axe embedded into its side, but I give it no chance, as I rush up and grab its head with Gilgamesh, focusing the power of my rune into Gilgamesh once again, before slowly crushing its head, crackling the icy armor under my will before finally and sharply shattering in my hand, causing the thing to finally cease its struggle and explode into multicolored Shards. At that instant, I notice Asuka and her beast become physical again, and I’m quick to rush up and stab it in the back to throw it off an axe swing it was preparing.

With her new opportunity, Asuka sliced upwards, her flaming sword cutting into its face, before coming down and stabbing it right in the forehead, pushing the blade deeper as she flared up her sword with more head, hilting it in its head before pulling it out and backflipping, delivering one last flaming slice that beheaded the thing, killing it.

Once that was finally done, we’re both left kneeling on the ground, our HPs still at critical levels. We take a moment for our HP to begin regenerating before we stand back up and go to each other.

“Holy crap…” Asuka panted. “That was way too close…”

“Yeah…” I say, sheathing my weapons. “Let’s not do that again…”

I look over to the center of the room and see something glowing. I walk over to it and pick it up. It was an amulet of some kind. A lantern looking pendant on a black chain, white light spilling from it.

“Suppose this is the thing he wanted us to get?” I ask Asuka.

“After all that crap, it had better be.” She said.

“Yeah.” I agree. “Come on, let’s get back.

On the way out, the castle returned to being completely spotless. No more broken ceilings, no more fallen spires, no more grounded chandeliers, and everything was calm as we walked out, not looking back.

---

The Chronicler jumped around giddily as we descended the elevator, stepping off and seeing the artifact I held in my hand.

“Excellent, excellent!” He said, reaching out to grab it but I pulled it away.

“Not yet.” I say.

“Ah, of course.” He said, remembering. “Information on Majora.”

“You know what?” I say. “How about we just skip that and go straight to Skeith, if you don’t mind.”

“Skeith!” He said. “Ah, yes of course. After going through so much trouble of retrieving this for me, it’s the least I can do! Come, come.”

He let us back into the library, trying to paw at the thing in my hands, but I wasn’t going to let him have it just yet. Not after almost dying for it. He was going to give us everything we wanted to know with interest for that.

“Alright, let’s see…” He said, stepping onto a large rolling ladder hooked to one of the bookshelves and riding it down to a section, inspecting the books there.

“Skeith… Skeith…” He mumbled.

“Ah! Here we are!” He said, taking a book out and stepping off the ladder, opening it and inspecting the insides. Of course these books were no ordinary books. They were books that displayed digital information in front of the pages, making it look like some sort of hologram.

“Eh?” He said, swishing through pages. “What is this?!”

“What’s going on?” I ask, slightly irritated.

“It seems the data in this book is… corrupted.” He said.

“Corrupted?” I ask. “How?”

“I’m not sure… this… oh this isn’t good…” He stood, almost frozen for a brief time before closing the book and waving an arm. “Just a minute! Let me find Majora for you instead.”

So he did, but when he brought that book out…

“What?!” He said, dumbfounded. “This one is corrupted too? Why are these books corrupted?!”

I then remembered my encounter with Skeith… how it felt to be near it. Then I came up with an idea.

“Find my book.” I say. “I want to see something.”

“Oh!” He said. “Of course, of course!”

He sorted through books until he found my records, sorting through it.

“Ohoh, you’re an interesting one!” He said, before I snatched the book from his hands and looked through the pages.

Just as I thought, the time I spent near Skeith was completely corrupted. Not a bit of it could be read.

“Corrupted.” I say. “This section here, when I was near Skeith.”

“More corruption?” Asuka asked.

“It looks like Skeith corrupts anything that has anything to do with it, be it people, objects… even records.”

“That’s preposterous!” The Chronicler snatched the book back and looked over the section. “Oh…”

“What the hell’s going on here…” I wonder aloud.

“Ah, I’m terribly sorry…” The Chronicler said. “But, I did hold up my end of the bargain… may I have that artifact now?”

I look at the thing, deciding not to inquire just what the hell it was and handed it to him.

“Yes!” He said, taking it. “Finally! You have my gratitude!”

“Sure.” I say. “C’mon, Asuka, let’s get out of here…”

We leave via the elevator, and we follow the compass back to Aurora’s Edge.

After all that, I couldn’t believe we were going back empty handed.

Chatper 13
2 Weeks Later

I sit up in bed, trying to catch my breath. I had that dream again… the one where Yamato kills me. This was the second time I had the dream, only this time, it played out a bit differently. It still ended up with me dying, but I lasted longer, even if it was marginal.

I look out the window and notice its morning, so I might as well get dressed and all that.

I caught breakfast and headed out to Luciad to see if the guild had anything for me. It had been 2 weeks since that whole business with The Chronicler, and since then there hasn’t been much to work with on Skeith. I was beginning to think that it wasn’t worth it to go after the damn thing, but then I’d always remember that the Guardians of Darkness and Yamato were after it as well, so I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.

I got to Pendragon HQ early, so the only ones in the building were Trinity, Kana, and Diana, the latter two of which were training with each other in the courtyard, Diana training Kana against ranged foes while Kana trained Diana against close range fighters. The two definitely trained well together, as well as complementing each other when they fight together. Trinity was there as a spectator, watching the two as they trained, and I joined her, sitting next to her on the bench.

“Up early, huh?” She remarks. “That’s not like you.”

“Eh.” I say, watching as Kana and Diana went at it on each other. “Any news on Skeith?”

“Not that I know of.” Trinity says. “But maybe when the others get here they might have something for you.

“Well it’s been 2 weeks, they’d better.” I say. “We’re losing time.”

“Ishi, you shouldn’t worry yourself so much over it.” She put her hand on mine and looked at me. “You need to relax a bit.”

“Can’t.” I say. “You know what’s at stake here. I wish I could take a break but the Guardians of Darkness and Yamato aren’t going to, so I can’t afford that.”

“Ishi.” She takes my hand and holds it in both her own, looking me dead in the eye.

There was a brief moment of silence, broken up by Kana and Diana, who had strolled over to us.

“Hey, Ishi.” Kana said. “What’s up?”

“Oh, same old.” I say. “You just training?”

“Yeah.” Diana responds. “In fact, we’d like to fight you again.”

“Again?” I ask.

“Yeah!” Kana said excitedly. “We’ve improved a lot! I bet you we can take you on with what we’ve learned.”

“Well I wouldn’t bet on it.” I say. “Then again, overconfidence has led to the death of many a player… alright, let’s see what you’ve got, then.”

I stand up off the bench, my hand slipping from Trinity’s as I make my way to the training ground with Kana and Diana. We face each other a distance away.

“I’m not going to go as easy on you as before.” I tell them.

“Wouldn’t want you to.” Kana returns, readying herself, as her sister notches an arrow onto her bow.

I bring out my sword and gauntlet, taking a stance and initiating the duel.

Kana came at me first, swinging around to approach me from the side, while Diana strung her bow to length, pointing it dead at me. Kana attacked from my left side, and I spin to dodge it, whilst simultaneously avoiding being hit by Diana’s arrow. Kana came at me again, quicker than before, actually putting me on defensive as Diana put another few arrows downrange, forcing me to sidestep as quick as I could to get out of Kana’s onslaught. I use the opportunity to make a quick slash at Kana, but she’s quick enough to jump out of the way.

They were definitely better than they were the first time that was for sure.

Diana began running to circle around me, sending arrows my way as she went, trying to hit me from multiple directions. She was able to fire her bow fast and accurately, and I have to keep her in my mind as I focus on Kana, who was coming at me with her two knives fast and hard. She jumped up in the air in preparation for a downwards stab, but I quickly toss two of my own knives her way, forcing her to deflect the blades with hers and throwing her off her attack, at which point I jump up to her level and grab her by her shirt with Gilgamesh, spinning around with her in the air and throwing her back a good distance. She lands on her hands and pushes herself back up to her feet, but she’s far enough away now so I can focus on Diana.

I make my way to her, evading arrows as I went, and Diana quickly changes to close range, taking out her knife in her other hand but keeping her bow out as I slash at her. She blocks the first two and jumps over the next, landing on my shoulders and kicking off, notching three arrows in the air and sending them my way. I move back and let them pass by me before spinning and slicing my sword skyward, forcing her to block the attack but putting her off balance, landing on her back on the ground.

Before I’m able to go over and slice her out of the duel, however, Kana pounces me from behind, locking my sword in place by crossing her two knives over it, allowing Diana to quickly draw her bow and fire. I think fast and use Kana as a human shield because I’m a total bastard like that, grabbing her and spinning her into the line of fire, causing Diana to put her own sister out of the duel, and in the realization of her mistake drops her guard and allows me to go in and cut her down, ending the duel with me as the winner.

“You are such a dick, Ishi…” Kana said, scratching the back of her head.

“I know.” I say, holding a hand out to help Diana back onto her feet. “Getting better though. You’re a lot more coordinated and skilled than the first time.”

“Well I guess that’s a good thing.” Diana said as Trinity walked up to me.

“Ishi, can I talk to you?” She asked. “In private?”

“Why for?” I ask.

“Come on.” She said, grabbing my jacket and pulling me aside. “You girls are good on your own for now, right?”

“Oh, yeah.” Kana said.

“Yes, ma’am.” Diana replied.

“Okay, then.” Trinity said, dragging me along for the ride as we went back into the building. Once alone, Trinity turned to me.

“Ishi, I’m worried about you.” She came flat out.

“Huh?” I ask. “What for?”

“With Skeith being as dangerous as it is, I just think… I think it’s foolhardy to go in and try to tackle it on your own.”

“I know, but…” Then I think about it. “I’m not alone.”

“Huh?”

“I have Asuka.”

And the sheer fact that I had said that made me realize that I had fully accepted Asuka as my partner. It felt weird, what with me usually going solo about everything, but… I guess it was nice to know I had someone backing me up.

“Have you?” Trinity asked. “Well, that’s good. She’s a good girl.”

“Tough as hell, too.” I say.

“Well she gets that from you.” She smiled at me. “Pretty soon Kana and Diana are going to be diving into stupid situations without thinking.”

“You calling me stupid or something?” I question.

“Oh, no, no, not at all.” Trinity says. “Just… a bit reckless at times.”

“Well I haven’t died yet, have I?”

“You’ve come close.”

“Only a few times!”

“Hey, remember that one time where we got ambushed by those assassins during a field mission and you got hit hard?” Trinity recalled.

“And Knight told me to hang back and I didn’t listen?” I say.

“Yeah.” Trinity laughed. “Went right back in to back Misaki up.”

“Well I didn’t want her getting hurt.” I tell her. “I mean I almost died, but I didn’t.”

“But I don’t know…” Trinity took on a more serious tone. “This mission you’ve set for yourself… you may be in a bit over your head, don’t you think?”

“When aren’t I?”

“Ishi, I’m serious!” She grabs my arm. “You could really die from this!”

A brief silence followed when I looked her in the eyes, and she looked into mine. I could see how worried she was about me, but still.

“I know.” I tell her. “But I need to do this.”

“Why you?” She asks. “Why can’t Knight or Gawain go? Why couldn’t I go, even?”

I couldn’t answer that… I really didn’t know. Instead I pull myself from her arm and walk back towards toe door to the courtyard before stopping and coming up with an answer.

“I don’t want anyone else dying before me.” I say, walking out back into the courtyard to continue training with Kana and Diana.

---

So I trained Kana and Diana for a few more hours until Knigh, Gawan, and Misaki showed up, after which I went back inside to discuss Skeith with them.

“Hey, guys.” I say, stepping up to the table.

“Morning, Ishi.” Misaki said.

“Lancelot.” Knight greeted.

Gawain just nodded in my direction, which is way more than the scoff and look in the other direction that other people get, so hell, I’ll take it.

“Any news on Skeith?” I ask them all.

“Still nothing…” Knight said. “We haven’t been able to pick up on any leads of late.”

“It’s been two weeks, we’re losing ground.” I say.

“Ishi, I know, and we’re doing all we can.” Knight told me. “It hasn’t been easy.”

“Well what about recruitment then?” I change the subject. “How is that going?”

“Well enough.” Knight replied. “Actually, we could use your help with that. You know Iskandar, right?”

“Yeah, he’s an Alpha Tester like I am.” I say. “Why?”

“He has an army of over 1000 members.” Knight says. “If we can talk to him and convince him to join us, we’d have more than enough manpower to fight the Guardians of Darkness.”

“Right.” Gawain says. “The Army of the King.”

“Exactly.” Knight responds. “And Ishi, since you know him personally, I was hoping you could come with us to meet him. We’ve had arrangements made and we can go to his base of operations later today.”

“Ah.” I say. “Well… I guess that’d be okay. But I don’t really know if he’d be willing to-”

---

“OF COURSE!” Iskandar said with a booming voice.

“Oh, well there ya go.” I say.

Iskandar puts his big muscly arm around my shoulders and threatens to crush my shoulders inwards with how damn strong they were.

“I’d be honored to fight by your side!” He says with a roar. “Ishi!” He let go of me, making me spin a bit and try to reassess that I didn’t have any broken bones, before he put both his hands on my shoulders, lifting me off the ground by them. “How have you been, my friend!”

“Ah…” I start. “Fine, I guess?”

He let me drop right onto my back to the ground with a resounding laugh.

Couldn’t say he didn’t have charisma, because he could motivate fucking Gawain to take up breakdancing if he wanted.

“Also, we were hoping you could help us with another matter.” Knight said. “We’re looking for Skeith.”

At that, Iskandar’s demeanor immediately went serious. Much more serious than I’ve ever seen the guy.

“Ah. Skeith… I see.” He says. “We should talk about this elsewhere. Follow me.”

So all of us, Knight, Gawan, Trinity, Misaki, Avro, and myself, follow Iskandar into his fortress, through a bunch of hallways and staircases and other generic castle stuff before we are led into his main chambers, a large room which housed a large table littered with papers and weapons and junk. There were several bookcases lining the walls, filled with many flavors of texts, as well as a fireplace that burned with warm and flickering flames.

Iskandar sat down on the chair at the table and put his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers in front of his face.

“So it’s Skeith you’re after, is it?” He said.

“Yes.” Knight responded. “The Guardians of Darkness are after it as well. We aim to claim it before they can.”

“I see, I see…” He says in a calm tone. “Have you seen what Skeith can do?”

“No firsthand, no.” Knight said. “But-”

“He has.” Iskandar finished for him, looking at me. “I can see it in your eyes, Blade Master. You’ve felt that pain and seen the chaos it leaves behind.”

“You’ve seen it too, then?” I ask.

“I have.” He replied. “And I wish not to see it ever again. I almost died just being near it. The thing wiped out the entire force of 20 other players that was accompanying me at the time. I was the only one who survived.”

“When was this?” Knight asked.

“About 2 months ago.” Iskandar answered. “We were on a scouting expedition when it appeared. I felt this unimaginable pain… it wracked through my whole body. My comrades behind me screamed and collapsed onto the ground, feeling the same pain as I. They died shortly after. It was only with willpower I didn’t know I possessed that I was able to move and escape. It’s something evil.”

“We’re aware.” Knight said. “But it’s been controlled before, and we need to secure it so the Guardians of Darkness won’t. We haven’t been able to pick up on any leads of late.”

“And you’re hoping I have information on it?”

“Yes.”

We stand in silence for a period, the crackling of the fireplace the only thing to be heard, before Iskandar speaks up.

“I do have information on it.” Iskandar says slowly. “But I don’t think I can let you persue this in good conscious. Ishi can understand why.”

“The point stands that we don’t have a choice, Iskandar.” Gawain said. “It’s either we get it first or we all die.”

Iskandar thinks over this, scratching his red beard and looking into the fireplace on the other side of the room past us.

“I understand.” He says. “I will offer what I know. Skeith is the result of a glitch in the coding of the game, and is therefore able to perform game breaking acts that could put all of Aincrad in chaos, and can even crash the game, killing everyone in it. Its sole power is that of pure corruption. It corrupts all game data near it, and in the case of players disables the pain inhibitors in the NerveGear and inflicts excruciating pain upon whoever is in the vicinity for as long as they stay near it. It also leaves player bodies physical and bloodied more often than not. Ishi had no doubt witnessed that firsthand.”

I nod, remembering the total bloodbath I saw, as well as the pain of being near Skeith itself. I saw Skeith in my mind again, and I shake my head to get rid of it.

“Wait, a glitch in the game?” Misaki asked. “How did the Game Master overlook something as big as that?”

“It was allowed into the game by someone in the beta tests, I’d wager.” He said. “I didn’t see it in the alpha tests, and neither did Ishi, I’m sure, so it was created between the alpha tests and the beta tests, and during testing, someone must have found it, but they didn’t report it.”

“Strange…” Knight remarks.

“But containing it is possible.” Iskandar continued. “There’s been word about another weapon, just as powerful as Skeith, with equal but opposite abilities.”

“There’s another one?” Trinity asks.

“Apparently.” Iskandar replies. “It’s been reported to hold just as much power as Skeith. But its abilities are not known at the moment… the only thing we know about its abilities is that they oppose Skeith’s, possibly giving it the ability to cancel out Skeith’s corruption and allowing for its capture.”

“Well where is it?” I ask, eager to get on with it.

“Sadly, there is even less information on it than Skeith. It has never been sighted, and nobody knows if it’s been used. I don’t even know for sure it really exists, to be honest.”

“Well that doesn’t help much.” Knight says. “Is there anything else you can offer? Have you sent any of your men to investigate it?”

“Send any of my- after what happened?” Iskandar said. “Never. I wouldn’t risk a single one of my men for that.”

We stood silent for a few minutes, until he spoke again.

“But I have found something interesting about it.” Iskandar said, making everyone look up at him simultaneously in interest. “Skeith never appears in places where players are, so it won’t be in any towns. Further it won’t drift toward any towns once in a floor either. Also it won’t appear in any places any NPCs are, so it can’t be found in dungeons or any other place that has NPC enemies littered about.”

“It only goes through areas completely devoid of life…” I mutter.

“Exactly.” Iskandar confirms. “I don’t know the reason for this, it doesn’t make any sense to me, but it narrows down the search field a bit. Unfortunately, though, there’s no real way to be able to track it or tell which floor it’s on currently. You can spend years going around randomly and still never find it.”

“Well we also need to know what do to when we find it.” Gawain noted. “Is there any way we can contain it?”

Iskandar thinks on it, before answering.

“I have no clue. Just getting anywhere near the damn thing is a death sentence, I wouldn’t have any idea how to actually capture it. I wouldn’t even want to, really.”

“Yamato would know.” I say, turning everyone’s attention to me.

“Yamato?” Iskandar said. “The Wandering Swordsman?”

“Yeah.” I say. “He knows more about Skeith than anyone. He knew the first person to use it. He was a friend of his.”

“I see…” Iskandar once again scratched his beard in thought. “Well then, best to hunt down Yamato and find out what he knows, then. I wish I could help, but I’ve got my business to take care of. Preparing the troops and all.”

“I can’t take on Yamato on my own.” I say.

“I’ll go with.” Misaki said, stepping beside me.

“You know what we’re going up against?” I ask her.

“Of course.” She said with a smile. “Besides, it’s been too long since I’ve worked with you.”

“Hah, I guess so.” I smile back.

“Well then, you’d best get going.” Iskandar said. “Time’s a wasting. Knight, I’ll need to discuss a few more things with you.”

“Right.” Knight nods. “Ishi, Misaki. You should go quickly. Hunt down Yamato.”

“Right.” We say simultaneously, leaving the fortress and teleporting back to Luciad.

Chapter 14
So with Misaki at my side, my hunt for Yamato began. I figured it wouldn’t be too hard, since the guy usually comes to me whenever I don’t want him to, but judging by how he hasn’t shown up in a while led me to believe he’s been laying low a bit, so we’d actually have to find him ourselves.

And that was going to be difficult, I already knew.

“Have you heard of the Royal Knights, by any chance?” Misaki asked as we walked through Twilight Fields, the last place I saw Yamato, hoping to see any trace of the guy, as unlikely as it was.

“Yeah, actually.” I say. “That one small clearer guild.”

“Apparently they’ve worked up a bit of a reputation.” Misaki added. “I had wondered if they would assist us in defeating the Guardians of Darkness.”

“Well we got Iskandar on our side now, so there’s no point.” I say. “Besides, I’ve heard they’re fighting their own war.”

“Who’s the leader of that guild, do you know?” Misaki asked.

“Some guy. Goes by the name of Galant.” I tell her. “Pretty good fighter from what I’ve heard, but I’ve never met the guy.”

“Huh.”

We come across where the bloody bodies were before. By now they were in the ground, but you could still see black marks here and there on the grass, as well as the occasional hand sticking out of the ground.

“Egh.” Misaki said, looking down at one of the hands. “Skeith did this?”

“I don’t think we’ll be finding any trace of him here.” I say to Misaki as she stood back up and walked over to me.

“Well it was worth a try at least.” She says.

“Can we go now?” I ask. “I don’t like being here…”

“I can understand…” She said.

“How are we going to find him, I wonder…” I say, looking around.

“Well we could ask around the area.” Misaki suggested.

“I doubt that’d work.” I say. “He’s a player killer. He can’t hang around towns.”

“Oh, right…” Misaki said, out of ideas.

I think on it a bit more. If I were Yamato, where would I be right about now.

The answer comes to me easier than I expected.

“I know where he is.” I say.

---

The plains outside Talmia were calm and peaceful as Misaki and I walked up to the hill where Yamato was sitting. His eyes were closed, and it barely looked like he was breathing. He heard us coming from a mile away, I knew.

“So you decide to come looking for me for once.” He remarks, standing up slowly and facing us. “You want to know how to contain Skeith.”

“You’re ahead of everything, aren’t you?” I say.

“Why are you still so insistent on going after it?” He asks. “After you’ve seen what it does. After you felt what it does.”

“I already told you.” I say. “I can’t let anyone else get their hands on it.”

“Well I’m sorry to say that Skeith is beyond your reach.” He says, turning his back on me. “Unless… Ishi.” He turns to face me. “Let’s duel. Just you and I.”

“Why for?” I ask.

“We haven’t fought in a while, have we?” Yamato noted. “We should see how much you’ve improved. I may even tell you how to not only capture Skeith but how to find it as well.”

“Ishi…” Misaki stepped up to me. “Relax, Misaki.” I assure her. “I got this.”

I follow Yamato down the hill to flat ground, where we stand a distance away from each other. We don’t initiate an actual duel, which was fine by me. Misaki stood on the hill, overlooking us.

I drew my weapons, while Yamato placed his hand on his sword, ready to draw.

We stay there, eyes fixed on each other, as the wind rolled by us. For minutes we stand perfectly still, waiting, listening. Then the wind died down, and there was pure silence. A brief silence, but it felt like it went on for minutes. A single leaf fell from the tree atop the hill, and floated in front of us. I felt my blade move with me as the leaf was sliced in two, Yamato and I moving at the exact same time, clashing blades to break the silence. The abrupt strike of metal on metal gave off sparks and sent birds flying, and the sound almost made a resounding bang throughout the fields.

We stayed locked, still looking into each other’s eyes, before breaking off and striking again, locking blades there. I felt… different… fighting Yamato now. I didn’t feel nervous like I would have. I feel my blade move like it knew where I was going to go, giving me insight like I never had before. I could see Yamato’s movements before he made them. We slashed at each other multiple times within just a few seconds, sending sparks off into the air, and sending sounds of metal on metal cascading throughout the fields.

I back up and slash downwards, quick and hard. He blocks the blow and locks my blade at the hilt of his, redirecting my blade downwards and sliding his off mine, giving him an opening. I don’t let him have it, and I quickly brace Gilgamesh up to block his katana, before sidestepping slightly and slashing at him, barely giving him any time to react and dodge the move, before raising his sword and coming downwards. I block again with my gauntlet, before we break off and gain distance. This act played out in just 4 seconds, and I was bewildered at how fast I was moving. I knew I was fast… but this fast…

I could see Yamato smiling, as he sheathed his katana and drew it faster than I could see, forming a spectral blade in front of me that I move out of the way of in the nick of time. He sends another at me, then another. I Shift in between them, circling around Yamato as he sent his attacks my way. His unique skill was powerful, and I didn’t want to get hit. I throw four knives his way, forcing him to fully draw his sword and knock them out of the air, but I’m there in an instant, bringing my blade back below him. A look of surprise takes his face as I slash upwards, throwing my weight into it, and I manage to cut into his cheek as he barely moved out of the way.

We stand at distance, and Yamato takes a stance as blood drips from the scratch on his cheek.

Blood? Why was he bleeding?

The wince he had made suggested he felt pain as well…

I couldn’t wonder on it long, though, because in another instant, Yamato was in front of me, katana in his scabbard, ready to draw. He does, cutting the air in half in a circle around him as I put up my blade to defend, successfully parrying 4 quick slashes before I got in my own 5. We go at this high speed battle for what seemed like hours, nicking each other here and there, before we strike blades again. We stay like that, eyes locked just like our blades, before we shear off each other and spin to gain distance. We don’t go at it again, instead, Yamato sheaths his sword.

“Well, well.” He says. “Looks like you’re finally starting to show that potential.”

He wipes the blood off his face from the scratch I had given him.

“There’s that potential again…” I say, checking my blade for any blood marks on it. “So how exactly do you bleed and feel pain?”

“Well I haven’t used Skeith, but I’ve been near it enough to have that effect on me.” He says straightforward. “Disabled the pain inhibitors in my NerveGear permanently.”

“Okay…” I say. “So how to I find and capture Skeith.”

“Oh that’s easy.” Yamato told me. “Just follow your will and honor.”

“Follow my will and honor?” I repeat slowly, as if I had missed a word or something in there. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well you’ll have to figure that out for yourself, now won’t you?” Yamato smiled, turning to walk away.

“Hey!” I shout. “Will you quit talking in riddles and just give me the answer, already?”

He turns back to me, a cold look in his eyes.

“I can’t put it any simpler than I have.” He said. “There’s nothing else to it. All you need to do is listen.”

He walks away, and I let him. I look down at my blade, my reflection clear in the shining flawless white metal. My will and my honor… what does that mean?

“Ishi.” Misaki says, walking up to me. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I say. “Just don’t feel like we’re any closer to Skeith…”

I look down at my sword again. Listen… listen for what? What was I supposed to hear? I didn’t undertand… my will and my honor…

“Ishi?” Misaki said, breaking me out of my trance.

“Ah, right…” I say, sheathing my sword. “Listen, Misaki. I… I’m going off to train. Is that okay?”

“Oh. Um… sure.” She said. “I’ll see you later, then, yeah?”

I nod, and she teleports herself, probably back to Luciad, while I take a deep breath, and let it out, slowly and drawn out. I decided to head to the Death Region again, see what I could get out of the enemies there.

---

5 Days Later

I impale a Death Knight in the stomach, and punch it back, killing it before jumping to avoid a slash from his friend and cutting into him from above, landing behind him and sweep kicking his feet from under him, allowing me to stab downwards and kill him. I then Shift up to the next one and slash into it a few times faster than it could react before jumping up and delivering a powerful downwards slash that put him out. That had to be the 5000th or so Death Knight I had killed in 5 days. I was camping out in the Death Region only going back to civilization for a sparse meal.

“Dammit!” I shout, pushing my sword into the ground and leaving it sticking upright as I sit down next to it. I had been training my ass off for all this time and I still couldn’t find what I had felt fighting Yamato. I had been out here for 5 days straight with no results. I couldn’t figure what Yamato meant by following my blade, nor how it was I felt Arondight move with me as I was fighting the guy. I was the one who usually guided it through the motions of combat, but when I had fought him… it moved with me. Everything felt more natural and flowing… it was faster and more intense but at the same time calm and soothing… I had tried countless times with these Death Knights and I couldn’t recreate the same effect.

“Ishi.” Misaki said, coming up to me. “Are you alright?”

“Why are you here?” I ask her.

“I’m worried about you.” She says. “We all are. You’re not yourself.”

I don’t answer here, staying sat down before Misaki sits down behind me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing herself to my back. She stayed there with me for what felt like much longer than it actually was. I had almost forgotten how sweet and soft her touch was… how it always seemed to calm me down. She knew this.

“Come on.” She whispered into my ear, letting me go and helping me onto my feet. “We should go.”

I don’t look at her. I just nod and pick up my sword sheathing it on my back and letting her take me away from the place. I felt heavy; weak. I didn’t know why… my will and my honor… it felt like two things I didn’t have.

---

Misaki walked me all the way back to Adeline’s arriving late at night, and walked me up the stairs to my room. The air was clear and the moon was full, so the soft white light shined through the windows, lighting the room in an ambient glow. Misaki had taken off my jacket for me and hung it up on the coat rack, and had taken off her removable armor pieces over her clothes, setting them down neatly next to the closet.

“Ishi.” Misaki said, sitting down next to me on the bed. “What’s wrong?”

I don’t answer, or look at her, practically ignoring her existence for a time, before she puts an arm around me.

“Ishi, please.” She says softly.

“I…” I hesitantly start. “I just… I feel heavy… like there’s this weight on me that I can’t shove off…”

I stop there, but continue shortly after.

“There’s something missing. I feel like I’m blind. For the first time I know there’s something else there but… I can’t see it. I know… but I don’t see… and it makes me feel so weak…”

“Do you know what it is?” She asks.

I shake my head.

“No…” I tell her. “Not at all. Yamato knows. He won’t tell me. I don’t know if I can figure it out on my own.”

“It’s more than that.” She told me. “You’re worried about all this. About us. About Yamato and the Guardians of Darkness and Skeith. You feel the weight of the world on your shoulders…”

She holds my chin up to look me in the eyes.

“We’re here for you, Ishi.” She says. “I know you’re used to being alone but… you aren’t. You’re not on your own, Ishi… you don’t have to do everything alone…”

I stay there, looking at her, her radiant green eyes sparkling in the moonlight, and a look of caring and compassion on her face. It took her wiping my face to realize tears were rolling down my face. I can’t hold it in after that, and I just break out, closing my eyes tight and grasping her shoulders as she brings me in for a hug, pressing me up to her chest and letting me cry it out with her.

The first time I had cried in as long as I can remember… she was there for me, though. Like she always was…

Chapter 15
I wake up slowly, huddled next to Misaki, who was still soundly asleep in my bed.

No we didn’t do it, is the answer to your question.

I stay next to her for a few minutes, just watching her sleep. She had an arm around me and was cuddled up to my chest for warmth, breathing softly. I carefully raise her arm off me and roll out of bed, putting the covers back on her and quietly getting my shoes and shirt and jacket on. I had slept in my pants while Misaki slept in the underwear and shirt she wore under her outfit.

I got fully dressed and outfitted, looking over to Misaki, still sound asleep. I walk over to her and rub the back of my hand against her cheek softly, smiling before stepping back and leaving the room, making sure to be as quiet as I could with the door. It was still early morning and I glided down the stairs, landing softly on my feet, looking out the window. It was foggy, and the sun hadn’t completely come out yet, so the sky was a light morning gray color.

“Ishi.” I hear Adeline call my name as she came out of the kitchen, fully dressed for work. “How did you sleep?”

“Fine.” I tell her. My guess was that she didn’t know about Misaki in my room. Good thing too, because I would never hear the end of that.

“Care for some breakfast this morning?” She asked, gathering some plates and carrying them to the back.

“Sure, why not?” I say, sitting down at my usual table while she brought me my usual scrambled eggs and bacon with milk.

“So you were gone for 5 days.” She said. “What happened?”

“Ah, just out training.” I said. “Hard. Sorry if I worried you.”

“Well I know you well enough to know you’re okay wherever you are.” Adeline said. “Just as long as you aren’t too reckless, that is.”

“Hm.” I take a sip of my milk. After I had finished my meal I asked for seconds. I was eating slower than usual, so by the time I was almost done with my second helping the sun was starting to show over the horizon, and the morning gray was replaced by radiant orange and red, while the fog began to clear up.

I hear the bells over the door chime, and in comes Asuka, looking around quickly and noticing me.

“Ishi!” She said, stepping over to me and giving me a tight hug.

“Agh!” I say, almost choking on the eggs I had in my mouth.

“Where’ve you been for so long?” She asked. “I was starting to get worried! You didn’t answer any of my messages!”

“Relax, Asuka.” I say. “I’m fine.”

“Well you should at least answer your messages.” She said.

“Neh, I’m lazy.” I say, taking another sip of milk and looking out the window.

“What’s going on?” I hear Mizaki say sleepily as I slam my head into the table.

Everyone was silent and Adeline and Asuka had their eyes on her. Misaki, still in her shirt and underwear, suddenly realized what she did and blushed a little.

“Oh…” She said, giving a little wave. “Hi.”

“Misaki?” Asuka said.

“Ishi.” Adeline said slowly. “Was she… in your room?”

“Look, it’s not what you think, okay?” I say. “Misaki was just…”

“I just spent the night is all.” She said for me. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to cause any trouble…”

“Ishi, you’re cleaning those sheets.” Adeline said.

“I told you it’s not like that!” I shout at her.

“Something you aren’t telling me, Ishi?” Asuka smiled teasingly. “I thought you said you two weren’t together anymore.”

“Dammit!” I say, slamming my head into the table again.

“Look, Ishi… just had a hard time last night.” Misaki vouched for me. “I decided to stay the night with him to make him feel better.”

“Oh, okay, as long as that’s the case.” Adeline said in a playfully sarcastic manner.

“Well, alrighty then!” Asuka said in the same tone, nudging me a bit teasingly. “Hey, Adeline, can I get some breakfast too?”

“Sure!” Adeline said. “Would Ishi’s little lover here like some breakfast too?”

“OH MY GOD!” I shout.

“Um… no thank you.” Misaki said. “Actually, I kind of need to get going.”

She quickly shuffled up to her room to get redressed back into her usual outfit.

“You two do make a good couple.” Asuka said.

“Oh, will you shut up?” I snap at her.

She hums a little to herself merrily before Adeline brought Asuka’s own breakfast to the table. When she begins to dig in, I see Misaki at the heighs of the stairs, fully outfitted in her knightly garb once again.

“Knight’s probably wondering where I am right about now.” She said, a little bit flustered. “I’ll see you later Ishi. Nice to meet you, Adeline.”

And like that she was gone. God damn…

But I certainly saw Misaki in a different way now. Before, even when we were together before it felt strange to me… like I was out of place or something… it was one of the reasons why I decided to call it off, but now… I don’t know, it felt different. It felt right.

Maybe we ought to get back together again…

“Hey.” Asuka said, waving a hand in front of me, snapping me out of it.

“Agh… what?” I ask.

“Thinking about Misaki?” She smiled.

“No, god damn!” I shout. “Cut it… well actually, yeah, but shut up!”

“Hey, I’m not judging.” She said, hands up in defense.

“You’re never going to let me hear the end of this, are you?” I ask her.

“Oh, hell no.” She smiles widely, poking me on the nose.

“Gah…” I look back out the window, as people began to come out and the sun began to shine brighter.

Soon enough, I’m done with my meal and I head out, deciding to go after Misaki and heading to Pendragon HQ.

---

Once I’m there, I head for the meeting hall, where I see Knight, Gawain, Misaki, Trinity, Avgravaine, Kana, and Diana. All eyes were on me as I walked in.

“Ah, Ishi.” Knight said.

“Hey.” I greeted, sitting down at the far end of the table.

“Alright, I’ll cut to the chase.” He said. “Misaki told me about some… recent events, and we think you should stay off of looking for Skeith for now.”

“Wait, what?” I ask. “Why?”

“You haven’t been yourself as of late.” He explained. “You’re… different. You may not have noticed but we have. Especially Misaki.”

“Well that doesn’t change the fact that we need to find Skeith!” I protest, standing up out of my chair.

“Yes, and we will, but right now it’s in your best interest to focus on something else for a change.” He said.

“Knight, I don’t have time for that!” I argue. “There’s-”

“This isn’t up for discussion, Lancelot.” He said in a stern tone. “I’m ordering you to belay your search for Skeith.”

I stay silent, and sit back down on my chair, crossing my arms and looking the other way, huffing in annoyance.

“Besides,” Knight continues. “I have something else I need you to do. I need you to meet up with Guren and convince him to team up with us again for the war.”

“What, there’s a war now?” I ask.

“With the way things are going it looks likely it will escalate to that.” Gawain told me. “The Guardians of Darkness are stepping up their game, and things are accelerating quickly.”

“That’s right.” Knight said.

“Well where is he, then?” I ask.

“Floor 51.” Knight answered. “The tavern at Arashi. You know where that town is, right?”

“Shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

“Good. Off you go, then.”

I nod, and get up off the chair and head out, to floor 51.

---

When I landed on floor 51 it took me no time to find the town of Arashi, and from there I got to the tavern and walked briskly in. Unlike Ravenwing, no eyes were on me as I walked in, and it didn’t take long for me to spot out the former Pendragon Court member, sitting at a round table at the corner of the room by himself. The guy waved me over.

“Ishi!” Guren said as I sat down across the table from him. “Long time no see! How’s it been?”

“Eh.” I say.

“Eh?” He repeats, giving me his usual confident grin. “C’mon, give me something interesting!”

“I didn’t come here to catch up, unfortunately.” I told him sternly. “Knight asked me to ask you to join us for the war upcoming.”

“Yeah, I heard.” Guren leaned back on his chair and kicked his feet up onto the table, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. “Things have been going pretty fast for you guys lately, huh?”

“Yeah.” I say. “So are you in?”

“Maybe.” He says, opening one eye and giving me a smirk. “But first I need to get something done. And I need your help.”

“Okay, what’s that, then?”

“There’s this one dungeon around here that’s been giving me quite a bit of trouble.” Guren states. “There’s something in there I need to get for Hephaestus to fortify my weapon with.”

“Hephaestus?” I ask. “You mean that one blacksmith?”

“Best in all of Aincrad.” He said.

“Maybe I could convince him to come along as well…” I suggest. “I mean, we could use someone who can smith like that.”

“I don’t know.” Guren said, sitting back down normally and crossing his arms on the table. “He doesn’t seem like the type who’d leave his place of residence ever. He lives and works in the Vulcan Range on the 14th floor.”

“Why there?” I inquire.

“Well the place is special in that there are these constant lava flows running down it, as well as a natural spring, right in the same place. Someone skilled enough can harness both the lava and the water, and for Hephaestus, he has a little cave right in the mountain that makes the perfect forge. No other place like it, which is why he’d probably be reluctant in leaving.”

“Not to safe being right on a volcano, is it?”

“Well it’s an inactive volcano. Won’t erupt like ever. Not like the Atlas Range on the 44th floor.”

“Yeah…” I remember back to that one giant fire dragon I had to kill at that place.

“So what do you say?” He asked. “You in?”

“Eh, might as well.” I say.

“Awesome!” He gets out of his chair. “Let’s get going, then!”

---

It didn’t take long for us to get to the entrance to the dungeon Guren was talking about. The place was in the middle of the forest outside Arashi, consisting of a hole in the ground and stairs leading down it. I only saw darkness down there.

“Lovely.” I say.

“C’mon.” Guren leaps right down the stairs and I follow shortly after. The darkness didn’t prevail for long, yielding to the lights of bright white lines of light along the walls. We were in a long hallway that once traversed led to a large circular room, five doors, forming a perfect pentagon around the room, including the one we just came in from. The room was lit up by the same strange glowing lines of light circling the room, giving off a white glow that more than lit up the room in its entirety, but didn’t blind us. The center of the room was occupied by a box like structure, on either edge stood a torch about a foot away, a colored fire for each. Red, blue, green, and violet.

I realized the center structure was in fact an elevator, but when I took a step towards it, the torches suddenly went out, accompanied by a strange ghost like figure of the same color over each. They all held similar appearances; spectral bodies and armor plating, as well as large swords to finish off the looks. They each split up and headed through the door adjacent to the torches. After that, the elevator went down, and the box disappeared underground. A cover slid in place to conceal the hole it went down.

“Great.” I say. “So looks like we have to hunt down those things to get down there.”

“Yeah, I figured that much.” Guren told me. “Unfortunately I hadn’t been able to hunt down a single one of them.”

“Well let’s get going after them, then.” I say. “C’mon.”

Guren nods and follows me to a door on the right. I open it and discovered another long hallway, this time lit up by red light, the same color as the ghost that went down it and the same color of the torch the ghost came from. Once I walk down that hallway, I enter another door and I’m placed in a room so large it shouldn’t be able to even fit underground. Three levels and four doors for each. In the center of the room I see a coffin, laid down on its own pedestal. It was made of stone, and had red lights engraved into it. The lid bore a carving of the ghost that we saw.

“Well geez.” Guren says. “What do we have to do here?”

I walk up to the coffin and run a hand over it.

“The ghost.” I say. “This coffin has a carving of it on it.”

Guren steps over and looks at it.

“Yeah… so the ghost is in there?” Guren guessed.

“That, or its body.” I attempt to pry it open, resorting to Gilgamesh to work the claws under the lid, but it was sealed shut, and no amount of force would get it open. “Dammit…”

“Won’t open?”

“No… looks like there’s a lock on it here.” I point at the lock on the side. “We’ll have to find the key.”

“We have to find a key for all four?” Guren asks? “That’s gonna take forever! Look how many rooms there are!”

“Quit your whining.” I say. “You want what’s at the end of all this or not?”

“Well yeah, but I’d prefer to not have to do so much work to get it.”

“Nothing worth doing is ever easy.” I tell him. “C’mon, let’s get started.”

Chapter 16
Guren and I decided to split up to make things go quicker. I took the door to our left, while he took the one to the right. We were to each take half of the room, although with the 11 doors we would both take the 11th on together. I step through my assigned door to have it lock behind me, and I find another circular room. I see a single figure in the room, nothing more. It looked like a Death Knight, but its armor was a bit lighter and was layered with multiple panels. It wielded a single blade instead of a sword and shield.

At my presence, its eyes suddenly glowed red beneath its full helmet, and it moved like a statue awoken from slumber to face me, taking a battle stance.

“Just kill you, then?” I ask, drawing my weapons. “Should be easy enough.”

The thing moved quicker than I expected it to, bearing down on me with power, forcing me to brace Gilgamesh up to block the overhead strike. I throw his blade aside and make my own strike, which glances off his armor, allowing him to get another strike in, which I dodge with a well timed duck before Shifting back and gaining distance. Its armor was tough, so I’d have to find a way to get it off.

The knight came at me again, making a few quick swipes that were slower than me, before I punch into him hard with Gilgamesh during a momentary lapse in its attack. It was pushed back, but unfazed, as it kept up its attack. Through dodging and blocking its attacks, I thought of a way to get through its tough armor. I couldn’t directly punch through it… there had to be some way to get past the defense. I then noticed its neck wasn’t protected.

Bingo.

I choose my target, and throw a solid punch into the knight’s chest, distancing him a bit before I rush up and spin, lunging forward and impaling its neck, taking out more than half its HP, before I withdraw and spin, making a perfect horizontal strike through its neck that finished off the rest, shattering the monster.

“Easy.” I say, as the door I came in from unlocked.

I figured we’d have to clear all these rooms before we could get the key. I knew enough to know that they weren’t all going to be as easy as this one.

I step out of the room and I see Guren stepping out of his as well.

“Oh, hey.” He said. “You fought some spider monster too?”

“No, I fought a knight guy.” I say.

“Well looks like we’ll have to kill everything in all these rooms then.”

“Looks like.”

“You take the next level, I’ll take the last one here.”

I nod and run to the stairs, climbing the curved steps and landing on the next level, entering the door nearest me.

---

So the next 10 or so doors were more of the same monster killing with some variations here and there, but once Guren and I had defeated the big skeleton dude in the final room of the place and we descended back to the ground floor, we discovered that a small pedestal had appeared in front of the coffin. Set upon it was a golden key with a red gem on the head. I pick it up and inspect it lightly.

“I guess this is the key, then.” I say, walking to the coffin.

“Hope so.” Guren said, rolling his shoulder. “Some of those fights were a bit difficult…”

I place the key in the lock and turn it, the tumblers inside making sharp clattering that didn’t sound right for such a small lock, before suddenly the lid flew off and a creature that looked like the red ghost jumped out, forcing Guren and I to jump back as it slammed into the ground. The thing was clad in heavy chrome armor and wielded a giant axe. The flesh in between the armor plating looked more like the ghost we saw earlier, giving off a red aura that made the thing look more like a red spectral being possessing a physical suit of armor. Underneath the thing’s helmet was black, save for the demonic red and glowing eyes that peered out of it.

“Alright, first one.” Guren says, taking his spear in hand and twirling it a bit before taking a battle stance. I draw my weapons and take my own position as our opponent quickly jumped into action, swinging its axe in a wide horizontal arc that forces both of us to jump over. I flank around its right, while Guren goes for the left. The thing makes another wide spinning arc that we both evade as we get on either side of it. I lunge inwards and slice into it twice, but the things armor was too tough for me to make a dent with my blade. I instead tried Gilgamesh, punching hard into the metal. Absolutely nothing. I decide to back off before the thing makes a move on me, signaling Guren to give it a go. With his longer range weapon he takes a stab at the beast, dodging a few swings before making wide arc strikes, making multiple successive jabs before finishing off with a quick and powerful horizontal slash, before he’s forced to back up as well. None of our attacks did anything. It was also worth noting that the space in between the armor wasn’t physical either. Our weapons would just pass right through.

“Ishi!” Guren shouted. “How do we kill this thing?”

I run around, evading a few hard swings of the thing’s weapon.

“Working on it!” I say, narrowly avoiding its axe again.

“What about its head?” Guren suggested, evading his own share of attacks from the monster. “It doesn’t look like it’s made of that ghost stuff!”

“Ghost stuff.” I repeat. “Yeah, that’s some serious ghost stuff.”

“Well how would you put it, then?!”

“Who cares? Just go for the head, dammit!”

Guren moves in, jumping up as I distracted our target and slicing at its helmet. His spear glanced off the helmet armor, but the thing staggered back slightly. The head was definitely physical. That was our target.

“The head’s the weakpoint!” Guren told me. “We need to find a way to get that helmet off!”

“Got it!” I say, Shifting inwards and jumping up, trying to grab at the helmet with Gilgamesh. It catches wise, however, and moves away from me, forcing me to kick off its shoulder plate and away from it. It catches me in the air with a free hand and threw me into the far wall. I land on the wall feet first, making a small crater in the stone before kicking off it, intercepting a hard swing aimed at Guren and slamming Gilgamesh out, clashing with the axe, throwing us both back. I recover first, using the opportunity to rush up and plant myself on its shoulders, grabbing its helmet and tearing it off. The head underneath was of pure black flesh, with the same hellish glowing red eyes, and no other features to be seen. The thing tried to grab at me again, but I jump off and land behind it.

The thing wheels around to try to get at me again, but is stopped by Guren when he throws his spear right into the back of the things head, knocking it right off the body and sending it sailing toward me. I let the spear pass but catch the end of it, before kicking the head off the spear and rushing up, slicing it clean in two, causing it to burst into red flame which circles in the air a couple times before sailing through the door we came in from.

I toss Guren his weapon back, and he catches it, sheathing it to his back.

“And that’s that.” I say.

We both head out the door and back into the main room, where we see the torch directly in front of us was now lit with a red flame, casting an ambient crimson light to this part of the room.

“So we have to do all that for three more rooms, then?” Guren asks.

“Yeah…” I say. “Let’s get going.”

---

4 Hours Later

By the time we finally finished the last room, four hours had passed, but finally when we headed out into the main room all the torches were lit and the elevator emerged from the ground, waiting for us to step on.

“About damn time.” Guren said.

I follow him onto the elevator, and once we were on board it began to slowly descend back into the ground. We hit the floor a few seconds later. We were placed in a lower level that was just under the main room. The place was barely lit, but it was still enough to see with. We spotted a dark hallway and made our way through, coming up to a large black door with red inscriptions adorned on it, written in some unintelligible language.

“Suppose what you’re looking for is in there?” I ask.

“I hope so.” Guren says, pushing open the door with surprising ease.

We’re placed in a large and dark circular room, in the middle of which stood a large black object. I shortly after made out that it was in fact a giant sword shaped like a butcher knife, pitch black with red runic designs along either side of the thing. It blade was planted in the ground.

“That’s it!” Guren said, trotting up to the sword.

“What, the sword?” I ask.

“No, the stuff the sword is made of.” He clarified. “Hellkarium!”

“Hellkarium?”

“Strongest and most durable material in the game. Applied right and it can make an indestructible weapon.” Guren explained. “The metal is so rare, and here’s a giant sword made entirely of the stuff!”

“Yeah, that’s a really big sword.” I say. “I’d hate to see what can use that.”

“Well we can’t just take the sword with us I guess… I was kind of hoping that there’d be a more manageable piece to take along…” Guren turns to me. “Any ideas?”

“No.”

“Agh…”

I close my eyes and put my hand to my face, thinking of what we could do.

“Well we can’t just break a piece off…” Guren said. “The stuff is so tough nothing can even scratch it.”

I take my hand off my face and open my eyes to look back at Guren, who was thinking to himself. I notice the sword that was firmly planted in the ground had floated up, slowly rising up above. I look at it as it flies up.

“Huh.” I say nonchalantly. “Check that out.”

Guren looks back and sees the blade floating in the air.

“Well, then.” He says in wonderment.

Then our disposition towards the situation changed drastically when the blade abruptly turned to face us.

“Oh, shit!” I say as we both move in either direction to avoid the blade swinging down and slamming hard into the ground.

I draw my weapons, as does Guren, and we keep our eyes on the blade as it lifted itself back up and made a swing at me. I Shift out of the way as the blade cut the air and sailed back up, stopping there.

“The sword is trying to kill us!” Guren shouted.

“No, something’s wielding it!” I say.

“Really? I don’t see anything!”

“The way it swings. That kind of arc. There’s definitely an arm behind it!”

The thing makes another swing, this time at Guren, who manages to duck under it and jump back to distance himself.

“Well how are we going to fight what we can’t see?!” Guren asked as the thing made a swipe at me, missing and slamming into the wall, carving a deep gash in the stone.

“I’ll get back to you on that!” I say, running around circling the blade. I could see how the blade moved; it was definitely being wielded by something. The problem was that something was invisible. Guren and I danced around it for a few minutes, dodging its attacks and making it slam into the ground and wall a few more times, before I notice something. In the darkness it was barely visible, but suspended in the air was a small black object, no bigger than a quarter, hanging high above us.

“Guren!” I shout. “Give me your weapon!”

He tosses me his spear and I catch it with my free hand, spinning with momentum and casting it out, throwing it hard toward the object, nailing it dead on even through the darkness. The sword stopped swinging, and in a flash the owner of the blade was revealed. A ghostly blue figure in a dark cloak, skeleton like hands holding the dark blade. The thing seemed stunned a bit by being revealed so suddenly, but quickly picked the spear from itself and cast it aside, leaving Guren to run up and snatch it.

Now fully exposed, it was our turn.

“Guren!” I say. “Let’s do this.”

“Right behind, you!” Guren says, flanking around it as I did the same.

I let loose on the creature, jumping around and using my superior speed to my advantage, not giving the beast an opportunity to get at me. I Shift around the place, slicing into the monster and chipping away at its HP. Guren did the same, staying lower than I and hacking away with his bladed spear. Eventually, I manage to get a hold of its arm, and I clung on, before swing on it and flipping up, spinning around and delivering a clean vertical slice downwards, severing its arm, making it drop its blade and sending it clattering loudly onto the ground. Guren then went inwards and sliced its leg off, making it fall to the ground. I jump off and land on my feet as the beast fell onto its back. Guren quickly jumped up to it and drove his spear into the monsters head, finishing off the rest of its HP.

“Hey!” Guren said, checking the battle results. “Hellkarium shard!”

“Shard?” I ask.

“Yeah! I just got a good piece of Hellkarium I can take out of here!”

“Oh, good.” I say. “So all this wasn’t for nothing, then.”

“Now I need only to take this to Hephaestus and my Arbalest should have a nice upgrade.” Guren smiled, looking at his weapon.

“Alright, well after that let’s get going to Luciad.” I say.

“Yeah, sure.”

---

“Guren.” Hephaestus greeted as we stepped into his lair in the Vulcan Range on the 14th floor. “I see you brought a friend.”

“Yeah, he helped me get what I needed.” Guren said, holding up the Hellkarium shard and handing it to the blacksmith.

Hephaestus was dressed in a gray workman’s outfit, padded leather and heavy gloves and boots. He definitely looked like a blacksmith, that was for sure. He had a shadow of a beard and mustache and had shaggy black hair and calm yellow eyes that sparked with the fires he worked with.

“Ah, yes.” He said, inspecting it thoroughly. “This should do nicely… give me your weapon.”

Guren does so, and the blacksmith immediately got to work.

“How long is this going to take?” I ask. “We got places we need to be.”

“So impatient…” Hephaestus says, heating up the Hellkarium and Guren’s weapon. “These things take time. You cannot rush it.”

Three fucking hours.

“There we are.” Hephaestus said, cooling the metal of the spear, pulling it out of the water to reveal a brand new black finish on the blade. “This should do nicely.”

Guren stepped up and tested the weapon out.

“Wow…” He said. “It feels… more balanced…”

“Would you like your blade to be refined, as well?” Hephaestus turned to me.

“Oh, no.” I say. “I don’t have another three hours to spare. Also my sword’s indestructible anyway.”

“Indestructible?” He questioned. “May I see it?”

I roll my eyes, but take out my blade anyway, handing it to him and letting him inspect it all over.

“Ah…” He said. “Arondight. A truly beautiful blade. Strong, yet flexible and swift. Created to be that way by you yourself.”

“How do you know all that?” I ask.

“Weapons are living things, Ishi.” He said, suddenly knowing my name as well. “They think, they feel. They speak to those who are willing to listen. Your blade is very unique, Blade Master… I don’t think you know exactly what you wield.”

“It’s a sword.” I say plainly.

“Your sword has a story to tell.” The blacksmith told me. “It has a desire of its very own… and it is in conflict with your own.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You cannot hear your blade… you don’t deserve the title you hold.”

“And just who the hell do you think you are?” I begin to get a bit annoyed.

“Ah, I think the more important question is who you are.” Hephaestus said, handing my blade back to me. “Or rather, who you will become…”

I snatch my blade from his hands and sheath it, wanting nothing more to do with the old mountain hermit.

“Come on, Guren.” I say, turning my back and walking away.

Guren follows me as we teleport to Luciad.

---

We both walk into the doors of Pendragon HQ and see Knight and Gawain once again discussing things and waiting for our arrival.

“Ah, Guren.” Knight says upon seeing us walk in. “Welcome back, glad you could make it.”

“Yeah.” Guren nods.

“You sure took your time, Ishi.” Knight noted. “What happened?”

“Eh, nothing worth mentioning.” I say. “Anything else I need to do?”

“Well it’s getting late, but we’d like you to go and pick up Bedivere as well.” Gawain stated. “She should be a bit more simple to pick up, considering she’s always at her clinic in Camlann.”

“Isn’t that on the 49th floor?” I ask.

“Yes.” Knight said. “She’ll be easy to find, but knowing her it might be a bit more difficult to convince her to leave her clinic…”

“I’ll get it done, don’t worry.” I say. “I’ll be right back.”

---

So I arrived at Bedivere’s clinic after just 4 minutes, considering literally everyone here knows her and where her clinic is. I step in and the bells above the door chime cheerily. I see Bedivere at the front desk.

“Ah…” She says, peering at me and trying to remember who I was. “Ishi!” She says in delight after she remembered, brushing her light blue hair out of her deep blue eyes.

“Hey.” I say. “Long time no see.”

She nodded happily with a little blush on her cheeks, like she always had.

“What brings you here?” She asks.

“Well, Knight wanted me to collect you.” I say. “He wants you to rejoin Pendragon Court for the inevitable war against the Guardians of Darkness.”

“Oh…” She looked down and twiddled her thumbs nervously. “Oh, I… I don’t think I can… I have these patients, you see… I need to run this clinic. Besides, Ishi, you know me. I’m not much of a fighter…”

Bedivere was the quiet and shy type, but cared for everyone in equal measure, which is why she decided to open up a clinic to complement her great medicinal abilities. I could see why Knight would want her for the war. Her talents would be able to keep people alive.

“Bedivere, we’ll need you with us.” I say. “You wouldn’t even have to fight. You could stay on the backlines and help wounded.”

“But… I still… I can’t…” She shied away a bit. “I don’t want to be involved with any fighting…”

“What’s going on?” I hear a voice ask.

I turn and see a girl peek her head from another room.

In fact, it was someone I recognized. She recognized me.

“Ishi.” She said.

“Vimana.” I say. “What’re you doing here?”

“Oh, you know… just working here.” She said.

Vimana was an Alpha Tester, like me, and by the looks of it was under Bedivere’s guidance in medicinal practices, helping out around the clinic.

“What’s going on with you?” Vimana asks, closing the door behind her.

“Well there’s this big battle coming up and I was hoping Bedivere could come with me for it.” I explain.

“Oh, right, she was with Pendragon Court for a time, wasn’t she?” Vimana asked. “Right, Bedivere?”

“Oh, yes.” She said. “But that was a long time ago… I don’t think I’d be able to rejoin.”

“Well it’d only be temporary.” I say.

“Even so…”

“I say go for it.” Vimana says, surprising Bedivere. “Hell, I’ll even come along with you two.”

“Wh-what?” Bedivere squeaked. “But we need to run the clinic!”

“Bedivere, nobody around here needs any more treatment.” Vimana said. “Hell you fixed everyone up so well already. There’s no harm in closing shop for the time being. I’m sure everyone will understand.”

“I… I really don’t know…” Bedivere said.

She looked at me, sensing that I wasn’t going to go back empty handed. She sighed and surrendered.

“Alright…” She said. “But only because you might get hurt!”

I nod. “Of course.”

“Alright!” Vimana cheered. “I’ll come along for the ride, too! It’s been getting boring around here.”

“Boring?” Bedivere turned to her.

Vimana simply shrugged.

“Alright, well we better get going, then.” I say.

After Bedivere took the time to close shop and say her goodbyes to some people before I snatched her away before she had to say goodbye to everyone in the damn city, we all headed to Luciad to report back to Knight.

All in all, this trip took about an hour. Better than the 10 hours it took for Guren.

“Bedivere.” Knight said, breaking a discussion with Guren he was having.

“Hello, Knight…” She returned. She seemed nervous, but that was normal for her, really.

“Who’s this?” Knight asked, looking at Vimana.

“Vimana.” I say. “She’s an Alpha Tester. She was working at Bedivere’s clinic and wanted to tag along.”

“Ah.” He said. “Well, nice to meet you, Vimana.”

She bowed to him.

“Nice to meet you as well.” She said.

“Well, that’s about all we have for you, Ishi.” Knight told me. “Unless you want to hang around and discuss plans with us.”

That’s the joke, you see. I would rather hack my arm off with a crowbar than discuss plans.

“No, thanks.” I said. “Is Misaki around here?”

“Yes, she’s training with Kana, Diana, and Asuka.” He said, nodding toward the courtyard door.

“Okay, thanks.” I leave and head to the courtyard, seeing Asuka and Misaki battling each other as Kana and Diana watched on the benches. I sit by Kana and startle her a bit.

“Ah, Ishi.” She said. “You scared me.”

“Who’s winning?” I ask.

“They’re pretty even right now.” Diana told me. “My money’s on Misaki.”

“I’m for Asuka.” Kana said.

I looked at their duel. Asuka was definitely holding her own, even against the superior experience and skill of the veteran knight she was facing. I guess that’s a testament to how well I trained her, but I’m not one to brag about anything.

The two went at each other with pleasure, both loving the heat of the fight. Their moves were swift and hard, with Misaki being a bit faster than Asuka, but Asuka making up for it by having a little bit more power behind hers. The two cancelled each other out and it made for a pretty nice spectacle.

I watched the two go at it some more before the two locked blades and stared each other down, a smile plastered on both their faces, clearly enjoying the even duel. But Misaki suddenly decided enough was enough and let Asuka have it, spinning and letting Asuka pass before slicing her in the back, putting her out of their duel.

Kana sighed and handed her sister a small bag of Col, which Diana smugly snatched from her in an ‘I told you so’ manner.

“Agh!” Asuka yelped, ready to counterattack before realizing the duel had ended. “Dammit…”

“Well, Asuka.” Misaki said, inspecting her blade. “You definitely know how to hold your own. Looks like Ishi trained you well.”

“Like hell.” Asuka retorted. “I was just this good to begin with.”

“Hah. Sure, sure.” Misaki laughed. “Ah, Ishi.”

“Oh, hi!” Asuka waved to me.

“Hey.” I wave back.

“Actually, I’m glad you’re back, Ishi.” Misaki said, sheathing her sword to her side. “I was hoping to talk to you. Do you mind?”

“Uh, no. I guess not.” I say. “What about?”

“Come on.” She said, taking my arm and dragging me off, leaving the two sisters and Asuka to themselves to chat it up.

Misaki led me to a private place so we could talk alone.

“Are you feeling alright?” Misaki asked.

“Yeah, why?” I ask.

“You’re not still stressing out over everything, are you?”

“I think I got all that out for now.” I tell her. “Don’t worry. Honestly, I’m fine, really.”

“Well, alright…” She said. “I just want to make sure, you know?”

“Yeah… I know. Thank you.”

“Hey, you know I’m always looking out for you.” She smiled. “Who else it going to keep you from getting into trouble?”

“Oh, come on.” I say. “I’m not that bad…”

“Yes you are!” She laughed, swiping my nose lightly with her finger. “I know you!”

“Well it’s not my fault!” I protest. “It’s my crap luck!”

Misaki cups my cheeks in her hands and looks deep into my eyes, silencing me as I look into hers. She gets closer to me, and right before our lips touch, she backs off with a teasing smile, and leaves me hanging.

I shake my head and sigh with a smile.

“Ah, geez...”

Chapter 17
5 Days Later

Misaki and I had decided to take an early morning walk together on the Sakura Trail. It was a beautiful morning, the sun just beginning to show up, and the cool temperature of the air mixed with the warmth of the sunlight on us made for a calming sensation. The pink and white pedals of the trees around us floated softly downwards like they always did, silently riding the soft breeze.

“Are you still worried about Skeith?” Misaki asks, looking up at me.

“Well of course.” I say. “It’s kind of a big deal. I’d really rather be back to getting at it, to be honest.”

“Well Knight still thinks you should stay off that for now.” Misaki added.

“Yeah, well I don’t really like that.” I tell her. “The Guardians of Darkness aren’t taking a break. Neither is Yamato. I shouldn’t be waiting up on this.”

“It’s for your own good, Ishi.” Misaki placed her hand on my shoulder. “Once you’re all cooled off you can get back to it.”

“It’s been too long, still.” I protest. “A week. You’d think that’d be enough waiting.”

“Well I don’t have a say in it, that’s Knight’s call.” Misaki shrugged, looking up at the sakura trees overhead, taking a deep breath of the sweet air. “It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?”

I look up at the leaves falling down with her as we walked together, taking a long breath of the same air.

“Yeah.” I say.

We continue walking, but we’re suddenly interrupted when I catch a black figure sweeping in towards Misaki, the shimmer in my peripheral vision signaled a blade was drawn. I react just in time, bringing out my blade and swiping in front of Misaki, my sword sparking off the other blade and sending me back into Misaki, who catches me and swings me around for me to land on my feet while she brings out her own sword, Eternia. We both face our aggressor. He was wearing a black hooded cloak with white hem and trim. He had white hair and piercing silver eyes. In his right hand he held a black bladed scythe, back handed.

He didn’t say a word as he went for Misaki again, I block the first few blows but he sweeps his scythe around my waist and pulls me back behind him, getting me out of his way but leaving me unharmed as he struck at Misaki. Misaki skillfully parried the attack and delivered a few graceful slashes of her own, metal clashing off metal, before he reared his scythe back for another go. I grab the handle of his scythe from behind with Gilgamesh as he attempted to swing down, stopping him and allowing me to place a solid kick right in his side, distancing him from us. I Shift up to him and attack, slicing at him quickly before he comes down with an overhead swing, which I brace my blade up to defend against.

“You…” He says quietly. “You are not my target.”

“Target?” I ask, before he jumps up and flies right over me, spinning his scythe to gain momentum and performing a wide arc towards her, forcing her to back up.

Misaki is forced on the defensive, evading and blocking her opponent’s attacks, before jumping up over a horizontal swing and reaching her hand out in the air, which was my cue to Shift up to her and spin around, using the momentum to propel myself downward at speed, slashing down on him fast and hard, forcing him down to his knees with the force of the blow. Misaki takes the opportunity to slice into his back while I kept his blade at bay, making him drop his guard slightly and allowing me to duck under the handle of his scythe and deliver a powerful uppercut with Gilgamesh that sent him into the air, letting Misaki jump up to meet him and give him a few quick strikes before kicking him into the dirt, landing on a dime.

Our opponent recovers in short order, a sudden ghostly white aura surrounding his blade. He spins the scythe quickly, making a disc of light before charging at blinding speed, too fast for Misaki to react to. I was faster, but barely, Shifting in front of her and bracing my blade up. I could see in slow motion as his scythe grinded along my sword, making sparks and just barely slipped past Misaki before he sailed past us and sliding to a stop behind us.

“Dammit…” He cursed under his breath, his scythe no longer braced up for combat.

“Why are you after me?” Misaki asked.

“You’re a player killer.” He said. “My duty is to eliminate all player killers.”

True, I already knew Misaki was a player killer. Everyone in the guild save for Avro, Agravaine, Kana, Diana and myself has killed a player at least once. It wasn’t something they were proud of, but sometimes an enemy just won’t back down… I was dealt a hand like that before, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Misaki did it for me.

“Even if it was for self defense?” Misaki asked.

“Self defense or not, you’ve still murdered people.” He said, readying himself for battle again.

“And you haven’t?” I ask. “I can tell you’ve blood on your hands as well.”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you.” He says coldly, running at Misaki again. I stand in the way and he unexpectedly stops.

“Stand aside.” He said. “My fight is not with you.”

“You want her, you go through me.” I say, pointing my sword at him.

We stare each other down, completely silent as the wind rolled by, carrying more pink and white flower pedals across us.

“I see.” He says after a few minutes, standing down and sheathing his scythe to his back. “The only way for me to rid the world of her is to kill you… you don’t deserve to die. I can’t kill you.”

“And just who are you, anyway?” I ask.

“Grimm.” He responds. “The Reaper.”

“Grimm the Reaper…” I repeat the name. “I know you.”

“No surprise.” Grimm says. “I’ve worked up a bit of a reputation. As have you, Blade Master.”

“I’ve noticed.” I sheath my weapons as Misaki does the same behind me, stepping up to my side.

“You say you want to kill me because I’m a player killer.” Misaki says. “How does that make sense?”

“My motives are none of your concern.” Grimm says. “You’ve just come up on the list is all. It’s nothing personal.”

“Do you want to kill Yamato as well?” I ask.

Grimm stays silent there, not answering for a good half a minute.

“I’ve tried.” He says. “More than once. He puts me down every time, but never finishes the job… I don’t understand why.” He looks up to me. “Of course, he’s done the same with you, hasn’t he?”

I take on a more serious look as I recognize the similarity of our situations. Yamato wasn’t killing Grimm either, even though he easily could… could he see something in Grimm as well? What is he planning?

“Anyway, I think I should take my leave now.” Grimm says, turning to leave us.

“Hey!” I say. “You think you can just walk away?”

“You won’t kill me.” He turns back. “And neither will she.”

He keeps walking, and I hated the fact that he was right. I didn’t want to just let him go, but I didn’t want to kill anyone either.

“Well that’s not good.” Misaki said. “Someone’s after my ass now. I’ve been hanging around you too long.”

“Oh, come on.” I say as she giggles.

“So what do you suppose that was all about?” She asks, looking in the direction Grimm left.

“Beats the hell out of me.” I say. “But you should probably be careful. He was pretty skilled.”

“I can handle myself, Ishi.” Misaki tells me sternly.

“I know that.” I tell her. “But still.”

“I understand.” She says with a smile. “Thank you for your concern.”

“We should probably report to Knight about this.” I suggest. “Grimm being involved with Yamato. Might be a lead on Skeith.”

“No!” She slaps me in the face lightly. “Bad Ishi! Bad!”

“Come on, Misaki.” I complain. “This is the first possible lead we’ve had in a week. Either way it’s important Knight knows.”

“Well, yeah… I guess so.” Misaki agrees reluctantly. “Guess we should see him then…”

I nod and we both head out, teleporting to Luciad.

---

“Grimm, huh?” Knight says, after we explained the encounter. “Yes… The Reaper, Death, Executioner… those names all revolve around him. He may be just as much trouble as Yamato…”

“Maybe.” I say.

“Do you think he may be after Skeith as well?” Gawain questioned.

“It doesn’t seem likely.” I told him. “Seemed like he’s only interested in killing player killers, ironic as it is. Misaki seems to be his target right now.”

“That’s troubling…” Knight said. “If Misaki is being targeted we’ll need her to have extra protection.”

“I can handle myself in a fight, Knight.” Misaki protested.

“I know, but Grimm is different.” Knight said. “He has the ability to kill in one hit, no matter what. Doesn’t matter where it hits or how deep it cuts, one strike from that scythe with that ability and it’s over.”

“How is that possible?” I ask.

“I don’t know… but that’s what’s being said, and it’s being said a lot, so there must be truth to it.”

“Well that’s… bad.” I say.

“Ishi.” Knight addresses me. “You should stay with Misaki.”

“Wasn’t planning on leaving.” I state firmly.

He nods.

“Misaki, stay with Ishi. I know you can handle yourself but it wouldn’t hurt to have some backup for the time being.”

“Alright, then… if you insist.” She said in a tone that didn’t sound as reluctant as she wanted it to.

“In the meantime, Ishi. I can tell you’re getting a bit antsy with not being able to go after Skeith.”

“Oh, you noticed?” I ask sarcastically.

“We may have someone with information on Skeith.” Knight told me. “If you think you’re ready to go at it again.”

“About time.” I say, jumping at the opportunity. “Who is it?”

“His name is Hao. He’s contacted us and told us that he has information on Skeith, as well as the Guardians of Darkness. No idea how, he wouldn’t tell us who he was exactly, but if you think it’s worth looking into then by all means.”

“We’ll get on it.” I say. “Where is he?”

“He said he can usually be found around the 29th floor, in Fort Maria. I’d look around the tavern there, that might be where he is.”

“Alright.” I say, turning to Misaki. “Ready to go?”

“As long as you don’t do anything stupid.” She says.

“No promises.” I smile, before we move out to Fort Maria.

---

When we got to the town of Fort Maria, Misaki and I headed to the tavern there, and once inside, looked around the place for anyone who may be our guy. Unfortunately we had no real way of identifying the guy since we didn’t know what he looked like. He made himself easy for us to spot, however, by sitting at a table in the far corner of the place and waving at us. We walk over and sit at his table. The guy had black hair and yellow eyes, like I did. He wore a long black overcoat with gold details and matching pants and boots, as well as a red undershirt and red fingerless gloves.

“Glad you could make it.” He said. “Care for a drink?”

“No thanks.” I say. “Hao, I take it?”

“That’s right.” Hao said. “And you must be Ishi and Misaki. Pleasure to meet you two.”

“So you have information on Skeith?” I cut straight to the chase.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.” Hao said, taking a sip of the drink he had. “You already know a few things about Skeith, I’m willing to bet. How it’s a glitch in the coding of the game that breaks the rules for whoever wields it.”

“Yeah, we got that much.” I said.

“Well you may not know who this Majora character is.” He told me.

“No, we do not.” I say. “His name is mentioned with Skeith a lot, though.”

“As it should. He was the first to use Skeith.”

“What?” Misaki asked. “The first?”

“That’s right.” Hao informed. “He was a beta tester for SAO and he let Skeith into the game. That’s how the glitch was overlooked, and how he was able to obtain it so easily.”

“So what happened to him?” I ask.

“Over just a few months he went insane. Tried to completely destroy Aincrad and everyone in it. The power of Skeith eventually overtook him and corrupted him beyond all hope, and he became nigh invincible. He became God of this world. In the end he was stopped and killed, and Skeith was released back into Aincrad.”

“Who was he killed by?” I asked. “Who could kill someone with that kind of power?”

“Yamato.” Hao said with a straight face.

I thought this over. Yamato killed Majora… so that meant that Majora was the friend he mentioned before, the one he said Skeith had killed… I understood now.

“Yes, Majora was killed by Yamato, and after that, Yamato released Skeith back into Aincrad.”

“Wait a minute…” I say, interrupting him. “If Yamato had Skeith then why would he bother releasing it just to go after it again?”

“That, I don’t know.” Hao said.

“Well how do you know what you do know?” Misaki questioned a little suspiciously.

“I have my ways.” He said. “How Majora contained Skeith, I don’t know either, nor how he found it. I suspect that the methods through which these are achieved vary from person to person.”

“Well then there’s no point in trying to find that out from anyone else then…” I say.

“Unfortunately, yes. The way to Skeith must be learned for oneself.”

“So are you after Skeith, then?” I ask.

“Oh, no.” Hao assured me. “I’m not really interested in that. It’s not my problem. I just have information that I thought could be useful to the right people.”

“So why us?”

“You’re the good guys, right?”

“I guess…”

“Well there you go.” Hao stood up from his chair, chugging down the last of his drink and setting it down on the table. “I’ll call you if I have anything else that might be of use.”

With that, he left the tavern, leaving Misaki and I together.

“I don’t like him.” Misaki told me once he had left.

“Me neither.” I concur. “It’s suspicious how much he knew…”

“You believe what he says?” She asks.

“It makes sense.” I tell her. “With everything we know so far. Besides, we have nothing else to go on right now.”

“I guess you’re right…”

“Come on, let’s get back to Knight.” I say, standing up and heading out with her back to Luciad.

---

Once we got to Pendragon HQ, we explained to Knight what Hao had told us. Iskandar was also there to hear what we had to say, as he was conversing with Knight when we walked in.

“Interesting…” Knight said after we had finished the story.

“Indeed.” Iskandar said. “Seems like all this goes much deeper than we thought.”

“Ishi, you should keep on this.” Knight said. “Follow whatever leads you can. We’re getting close to cracking this, I know it.”

“Right.” I nod, turning to Misaki. “Will you help me out?”

“Well it looks like I don’t have much of a choice.” She says with a shrug. “I need to make sure you don’t die or anything.”

“You’re the one who’s being targeted.” I point out.

“Not my fault.” She retorts.

“Well we’ll just have to watch both our backs, then.” I say.

She smiles at me.

“Alright, then.”

Chapter 18
3 Weeks Later

I wake up with a start, once again shaking off the recurring dream of me being put down by Yamato. I sigh and shake my head, bringing myself back into reality. I lazily roll out of bed and get myself dressed, sliding downstairs. It was dark. Unusually so. The blinds on the windows were down, permitting no light entrance. Even with my sharper than normal vision I couldn’t see anything. And then the lights were suddenly thrown on, and multiple roaring voices said something. I didn’t know what they said, because I was busy grabbing the nearest chair and throwing it forward from fright.

It hit Avro.

“Agh!” He said, falling to the ground. “Dammit! What was that?!”

“Oh, geez.” I said. “You scared me.”

In fact, a lot of people were here for some reason.

Avro, Misaki, Gawain, Knight, Trinity, Iskandar, Trinity, Bedivere, Vincent, Gareth, Guren, Agravaine, Kana, Diana, Asuka, and Adeline.

Weird. “Okay, what’re all you doing here?” I ask.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Misaki asks.

I look around. There was a cake, a few presents, and streamers…

Weird.

“Wait, what’s today?” I ask.

“Tuesday.” Avro said.

“The date, jackass.”

“June 14th.” Asuka tells me.

“Oh, wait.” I say. “That’s a day.”

“Happy birthday, you ass.” Misaki told me.

“Oh, right.” I said. “I knew that.”

“How could you forget your own birthday?” Adeline wondered.

“I didn’t.” I inform. “I told you I knew that.”

“CAKE TIME!” Agravaine shouted gleefully, making a run for the cake on the counter, but she’s quickly tackled by Guren.

“Woah, woah, calm your stuff.” He says.

Iskandar steps up to me and roughly pats my head, almost putting me to the ground.

“Happy birthday, Ishi!” He said with a roar. “Nineteen years old today!”

“Geez…” I say, getting my hair back in order. “Never thought I’d be spending my birthday in this game.”

“Nice to know life is still full of surprises, eh?” Gareth called, stepping up. “Long time no see.”

“Yeah.” I nod.

“Cake time, now?” Agravaine squeaked, putting on puppy dog eyes.

“I don’t really like cake.” I say. “Go nuts.”

She squirmed free of Guren’s grasp and went for the cake, quickly taking a big ass piece for herself which might as well have been a whole half of the thing.

So after everyone got settled down and I was forced to get a slice of cake by Asuka, which actually turned out to be pretty good, I got a few presents. A medicinal book from Bedivere, which actually contained some interesting things, a big ass cape from Iskandar, red with black accents and fur lined at the collar, which was way too roomy for me, but I took it anyway, and a black fingerless glove from Asuka, which was inscribed with a white runic marking on the back, which I replaced my original white fingerless glove with. It fit perfectly, and the rune shined a bit as I worked it out.

“Now you should be able to perform runic abilities without actually pulling out your rune.” Asuka explained. “Should make it a bit easier for you to do things mid-combat.”

“Neat.” I say, inspecting the thing. “Thanks.”

She nods happily at my approval, and takes another bite of the cake.

“So what’ve you been up to, Ishi?” Gareth asks, adjusting his collar armor a bit. “Haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“Ah, you know. Same old.” I say.

“Other than the crap ton of new stuff that’s been going on, right?” He smirks.

“Other than that.” I say. “What about you?”

“Same old.” He says. “Doing missions and stuff like always. Training here and there.”

“What about you, Vincent?” I ask, turning to him. “What’ve you been doing.”

“Pretty much the same as Gareth.” He told me. “You’re the one who’s been out doing the fun stuff, and you’re not even in the Court anymore.”

“Funny how that works, huh?” I say.

“Yeah, you could say that.” He said, shrugging taking a swig of his drink, walking over to Knight to talk to him.

“So, you’re nineteen, now, huh?” Kana asks, sitting next to me. “You’re old.”

“That’s not old, Kana.” Diana said, sitting at the other side of the table, next to Gareth. “We’re not too far behind, you know.”

“You’re fourteen and I’m fifteen.” Diana countered.

“You’ll be sixteen on the 23rd.” Kana counter-countered.

“Meh.” Diana crossed her arms.

“C’mon, Diana.” Kana said, getting up. “Let’s go get some cake.”

Diana gets up and follows her sister, and Gareth decides to go. Misaki comes in and sits down across the table with me.

“Sorry I didn’t know what to get you.” Misaki said.

“That’s alright.” I tell her. “I don’t need a whole bunch of presents. Didn’t really need a party either.”

“Yeah, I know you don’t like parties, but I figured why not?” Misaki said with a smile. “It is your first birthday since we got stuck here.”

“Kinda sounds bad when you put it that way.” I note.

“Well if you take it the wrong way it does.” She said.

“I might.” I play, looking to Agravaine, who was trying to sneak another giant piece of cake, but is stopped by Kana, who slaps her hand playfully before taking her own slice.

“Well, I’m going to head out.” I say, getting out of my seat.

“Out?” Misaki asked. “Where?”

I shrug, leaving the building without saying another word, leaving my friends to finish up my party without me.

---

I head to Pendragon HQ, deciding to try out the new glove I got from Asuka, going to the training courtyard and readying myself. I charge up the glove with my blade in hand and swipe at a target dummy, cleanly bisecting the thing with relative swiftness and ease. I slice into another one, my sword making white trails in the air as I cut through again and again. The runes definitely assisted me with my technique, adding even more swiftness and power, as well as making my moves more effective to perform, and since I could use this from the new glove, I could easily switch things up mid-combat to gain an edge where I need it.

It was fun, actually.

I wasn’t into infusing my attacks with elements or anything like Asuka was, but the way I could get more speed and power out of my attacks and combine it with my previous skills makes for even more lethality and unpredictability.

I spin around and slice forward, cutting two dummies in half at once, before flipping back and throwing four knives into another with near instantaneous speed, before Shifting up and slicing it into four.

“Oh, so this is where you went off to.” I hear Asuka say after a few hours of me doing this alone. “Just left your own birthday party, huh?”

“Not really into parties.” I tell her. “This thing you gave me is pretty damn cool, though.”

“Thought you’d like it.” She smiled. “Finding some use out of it?”

“Oh yeah.” I say, cutting into another training dummy and flipping up, slicing another vertically in the air and landing clean on my feet. “I have a feeling I’m gonna like using this.”

“Well it looks like I don’t really need to give you any instruction.” Asuka noted. “You’re pretty quick on the uptake.”

“I’m a fast learner.” I say. “I adapt to new things quicker than most.”

“I can see that.”

A few more minutes of her spectating me while I practice and she speaks up again.

“Why don’t we have a little sparring match?” She suggests. “Me and you.”

“You know you’re going to lose, right?” I ask with a smile.

“You don’t know that!” She argues.

“Yeah I do.” I say, initiating a duel with her.

We stand at a distance from each other, preparing ourselves for the duel. We both move at once, who moved first being impossible to tell, and slam our blades into each other, spinning around each other from the impact and sliding off, rearing back and striking again, locking blades there. Asuka jumps up suddenly, flipping over me and sliding off my blade, landing behind me and attempting to slash at my back. I put Gilgamesh behind my back and reflect the blow with its armguard, before spinning back and delivering my own series of strikes, which she successfully parries before dodging the last swing and distancing herself.

She moves on me again, running to my side before moving in sharply and slicing at me. I brace my blade up to block the attack before she makes another low slash. I kick my foot out, the metal guard on my shoe rebounding her slash before I quickly stomp down on her blade, pinning it down before raising my other foot and slamming it down onto her. She puts her arm up and grabs my leg before it hits her, throwing me back, forcing me to twist around and plant my foot down to avoid falling. I use that to spin around and deliver a quick horizontal slash that she ducks under, flicking her blade out of the ground and sending some dirt into my face. I close my eyes but instinctively hold out Gilgamesh to grab her blade as it came at me, opening my eyes again and going for another attack. She grabs the handle of my sword to hold it back.

Both of us held each other’s swords at bay, as we pushed against each other. I make a move and jump up, kicking he square in the stomach, pushing her back before I jump up and spin in the air, coming down on her with my blade and just barely grazing past her as she lets herself fall to the ground to avoid getting hit. She rolls back and lands on her feet a distance away. She comes at me, infusing her sword with flames by sliding her hand along the blade. I take that as cue to charge up my own rune and run at her, my blade shining white. We strike at once, the metal of our swords clanging off each other loudly, white sparks and red flames flying from the point of impact. We clash blades twice more before I back up and charge my blade up even more, Shifting up and slicing upwards hard, Asuka losing her grip on her sword causing it to fly into the air. I had my blade pointed at her neck before it embedded itself into the ground a distance away.

“Dammit…” Asuka said as the duel ended. “How do you already know how to use that thing so well?”

“Who knows?” I say. “Just… have a natural affinity for it, I guess. It fits in with my combat style.”

“Seems like.”

“Hey.” I hear Trinity say, walking up with Misaki and Avro. “There you are.”

“Here I am.” I say, sheathing my weapons while Asuka went over to collect her own sword, pulling it from the ground and sheathing it to her back.

“Agravaine took the rest of the cake.” Avro said. “We couldn’t stop her…”

“She likes her cake, doesn’t she?” I say with a laugh.

“ISHI!” I hear the thunderous shout say, as if the very heavens were calling down to me.

Iskandar made his way to me, holding the bigass cape that he gave me for my birthday with him.

“You forgot this!” He said, holding it out.

“Uh, yeah…” I say. “Not to look a gift horse in the mouth but… that thing’s way too big for me… and also red isn’t really my color.”

He recoiled a bit, looking at the cape, then back to me, then to the cape and back again.

“Oh.” He said, scratching his beard. “I see. Probably should’ve taken the fact that you’re smaller than me into consideration.”

“Probably.”

“NO WORRIES, FRIEND!” He boomed, patting me on the back, forcing me to put a foot out to keep my balance. “I’ll have you made a better one by week’s end! It’ll be a belated birthday gift!”

“Hah. Sure.” I say with a smile.

My first birthday in SAO and it felt… oddly happy. Even more so than in real life even, considering I have only two friends in real life, and we usually just hang around and have pizza and play games more than have an actual party. But another thing… my birthday here… I felt like I was really living in this world, as if we weren’t trapped here against our will, as if this world was real, and we were all a real part of it.

As if this had always been my life.