The Apathy of a Gamer

Real quick, this chapter is only one half of chapter 8. The reason it is being split in half is because webnovel only allows a certain amount of words to be posted at a time per chapter. The chapter exceeded over 30k, so it must be split. The other half will be posted later this week. 

That said, please enjoy reading it.

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A feminine groan was heard from a red-hooded figure. "I thought we were going to explore the third floor." The figure groaned again as they shuffled in their seat impatiently, clearly upset.

The male in the chair across from the figure sighed. "Quit complaining. You'll have more than enough time to explore it later." He placed his elbows on the table and let his chin rest in his hands. "We won't have this opportunity for long. Once the excitement dies down, this place will start getting filled up again."

After receiving several messages from an excited Asuna, Kirito decided that they should simply meet up. He was the one to choose the place they would meet, which just so happened to be the only restaurant that was in «Urbus» located on the second floor.

Normally, this kind of opportunity would be rare. Considering that good food was still scarce this early in the game, the place was always packed. The only time they were able to dine here was on the first day the second floor opened up. However, the third floor had only been opened a couple hours ago and Asuna wanted nothing more than to explore it, much like everyone else. She continued to shuffle in her chair, obviously unhappy with Kirito's decision. The girl glared at him from under her hood, but said nothing. Another groan escaped her as she then laid her head on the table.

"You're acting like a child throwing a temper tantrum." Kirito commented, shaking his head. He may have found it adorable if he wasn't so tired, but he couldn't muster up the energy to care. He just wanted to eat and go to sleep. "I respect the want to explore the new floor. You're already letting your gamer instincts drive you." He said, a little proud. "If I were in your shoes, I'd be upset, too." He consoled her. If it were the tenth floor, a floor no one had been to, he would be the first in line to explore it. Having already explored eight floors and some of the ninth, he already knew what to expect. "Trust me, its way better to eat here than have to fight for a spot in «Zumfut»."

Kirito idly looked around the restaurant. Yesterday, it would have been packed with people from opening time until closing. Thankfully, the only other people here were them and two other players who sat near the entrance. Kirito had once again led both of them into the corner of the restaurant. Having your back against the wall was much more comfortable than having random strangers sit behind you. 'Although with only a few people here, I suppose it doesn't matter.' Either way, no one should be able to hear them, which was what Kirito preferred. His main equips were replaced with his starting gear, minus the sword. Even if they wouldn't run into many people, it was better to play it safe.

Asuna rose up from her pouting gesture. "I know, you're right..." Her words trailed off. "...again." She didn't even have to look at him to know he was smirking. Even if he was right, it still didn't make her any less impatient. The two of them had already ordered their food a couple minutes ago and were now waiting for it to be served to them. It didn't really make since to her. If there weren't many customers here, shouldn't they be served faster?

"The game will follow the same pattern every time." Kirito suddenly said, catching her by surprise. Did he just read her mind? "Whether there is one person here or one hundred, they'll all be served within the same number of minutes." He said, intriguing her. "The Cardinal System's algorithm follows the same pattern no matter the situation." He continued. "Think about it. Can one system replicate everything in the real world all on it's own?" The boy questioned her. He had her full attention now. "Maybe in the future a system could, but not this one. Cardinal isn't built for that." Kirito explained with a wave of his hand. Asuna easily noticed the smile that had graced his face as he talked. He clearly enjoyed what he spoke about. "Even if we're in a virtual world, there is only so much Argus and Akihiko Kayaba could replicate with a limited budget and technology. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to make the game exactly like the real world, they had to make certain adjustments. Therefore, the Cardinal System was created."

"Cardinal..." The girl said, testing the word on her lips. "So is that the game's engine?" She questioned.

Kirito raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, that's exactly it." He replied. Even though all she did was put two and two together, he was still impressed. "I didn't know a girl like you could piece something like that together." He smirked. "I'm surprised you didn't mistake a game engine for a car engine."

"Hey!" She shouted back at him with a glare. "I'm not stupid!" Kirito quickly put a finger to his mouth, signaling her to quiet down. His gaze shifted and she followed it and noticed he was looking at the other diners in the restaurant. The two players were looking at them with questioning glances before returning to their meal. They seemed to be grateful for the opportunity to dine here, too. Asuna quickly shifted back in her seat with a blush. "Sorry... I didn't mean to yell." She apologized.

The male sighed as he let his head rest back in his hand. "You got to start working on that. Its like every five minutes you spout off something like that."

A small growl escaped her. "Well maybe if I weren't talking to someone so infuriating." She mumbled under her breath.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing..." Asuna sighed. She let her shoulders relax back in her seat "Just tell me more about this Cardinal System." Her words made Kirito raise another eyebrow. He thought she really wouldn't care about stuff like that, but the way she spoke sounded as if she was genuinely interested in what he was saying. "You said they made the Cardinal System because they couldn't fully replicate the real world. So then what exactly does it do?"

Hidden joy flowed within Kirito as he heard those words. It wasn't often he was able to geek out about stuff he enjoyed with someone else, much less with a pretty girl who was genuinely intrigued with what he had to say. He was more than happy to oblige. "Well, the system was created to be completely self-sustaining, meaning that it can adapt to situations without having to rely on external forces." He said. "A normal online game is connected to a certain system that can be operated on at all times by the company so it can be improved on or updated. The Cardinal System doesn't need any of that. It does everything by itself."

"Everything?" Asuna repeated. She looked at an npc waitress that walked by them. "So is that what you meant? Even they are run off Cardinal?"

"Yep. Towns, monsters, villages, npcs, and even quests were all created by the Cardinal system." Kirito replied before raising his head in thought. "Although, Kayaba did say that he wanted his own black iron palace in an interview once, so I'm sure he had a lot of influence on how Aincrad was created." He shook his head. "Still, even if Kayaba influenced a lot, the Cardinal System still has the ability to create and add, as well as destroy and remove things inside it."

"A system can really do all of that?" Asuna asked, shocked at what she had learned. Was all that really true? That kind of ability was both amazing and terrifying.

"It can. That's what is so amazing about it. Its like Kayaba truly did create a new, functional world." He paused as a female npc delivered their food to them. He watched her leave and took a sip of the orange juice he had ordered. "But it isn't perfect."

Asuna gave him a small glance of surprise. "Really? It isn't?" She asked. From the way he talked about the system it sounded like it was. She looked down at her food and felt a small pang of hunger course through her. "But what about hunger? If it can replicate tha-"

"It doesn't." Kirito cut her off. "The hunger you feel in this game is derived from your brain telling you that you are hungry. It isn't the system." He said as he began to eat. "Although Cardinal can replicate things like taste and smell, it can't do everything. It relies on your own mental capabilities to experience things." Insinuating with his fork, he watched as the hooded girl began to eat as well. "It doesn't take everything into account either. Like I said before, it follows certain algorithms. Npcs who work in restaurants are all the same, they just have a different avatar." He gestured to the npc waitress near them. "If you pay attention, you'll see that every npc, no matter the restaurant, will always deliver your food exactly three minutes after you ordered it."

Kirito paused to take another bite of his food before continuing. "It isn't just npcs in towns, but even monsters out in the field." Asuna perked up at that. "Certain monsters will always do certain actions, which makes them very easy to predict. If you know their patterns, you can beat them easily."

"Is that what you do when you fight?" Asuna asked.

"Of course. Predicting is probably the most important thing you can do in any sort of fight." Kirito stated. He felt himself recall the fight against Baran when he thought that. "But you can't just rely on predictions. The system can adapt, so while it doesn't usually change the monster's attack pattern, it can still overwhelm you in numbers. It's important to always be on guard."

"Roger that boss!" Asuna gave him a salute, which made the boy blush in embarrassment. The two proceeded to indulge in their food while making small talk, both greatly appreciating the flavors they tasted. It was mostly Asuna who talked about seemingly random topics as Kirito simply listened, preferring to eat instead of bantering about gossip. "Oh! I almost forgot!" Asuna grinned as she suddenly lit up with realization. "The second boss! Someone beat it!"

Kirito deadpanned at her. "Yeah? Obviously-"

"That's not what I meant!" She quickly shut him up. He gave her a look that said she was stupid by saying something rhetorical, but she wasn't finished. "I meant that no one knows who did it, just like the first." Oh, so that's what she meant. Kirito looked down at his empty plate, hiding the grimace he was feeling. He knew she would want to talk about that. Who in their right mind wouldn't? Players were getting closer to beating the game and being freed, yet none of them knew the people, or rather person, who was behind it.

"Well, what is there to talk about?" Kirito shrugged. If he acted like he didn't care, she would probably drop the subject. "There isn't anything I could tell you that you haven't heard." He remembered how people reacted when the second floor was suddenly unlocked. You couldn't even take a walk without overhearing gossip about it. Engaging in conversation would uphold the same results with people conversing and questioning the mystery about it. He wasn't gonna lie, it was kind of funny to hear what kind of rumors and theories people had, even though they were all false. Although, the ones that involved him weren't all that funny.

Asuna's face shifted irritably, her cheek jutted out from under her hood which made her look rather cute. "I still want to pick your brain about it." Another smile formed on her face. "Come on, you're a smart player, right? Who do you think is behind it?" She said excitedly as she leaned over the table.

It wasn't a matter of who he thought was behind it because he already knew; himself. Kirito sighed. 'Her enthusiasm is killing me.' The way she almost bounced in her chair almost made him want to just come out and tell her, but after mulling it over, he decided against it. Even if she knew his identity, it didn't mean she needed to know everything. The only reason Sinon knew was because she had guessed it was him, and that was only because the situation they were in made it obvious. It wasn't his fault if Asuna couldn't figure it out. 'Then again, she had suspected me before, but I quickly debunked that for her.'

That was probably the only reason Asuna no longer suspected he himself was behind it. Floor bosses were designed to be taken down by groups of high level players with the best strategies. Even with his fame and skill, no one would believe that JUST Kirito could defeat a floor boss. And because Asuna knew he was a solo player, she had already ruled him off the list of people who could be behind it. 'Knowing that, she probably hasn't considered me a suspect again.' Kirito was positive that she had heard some of the rumors about him leading an elite group of players to take down the floor bosses. If she had even the slightest suspicion about him, she was doing an impressive job of hiding it. The way she talked and the way she moved was way too abnormal for someone who was attempting to interrogate him. Case in point: the girl didn't think it was him.

A small tinge of guilt hit him as he knew he would be lying to her face, but he shook it off. Kirito let out a small cough. "Well whoever they are, they gotta be on a whole-nother level." It took a lot of will-power to hide the smirk that threatened to appear. At this point, he was basically stroking his own ego. "They're probably beta testers, too." It was basically an indisputable fact at this point, so there was no real reason to try to pretend it didn't involve betas. The game was still in it's early stages, and the only players who really knew what they were doing were beta testers. A group of new players would never be able to fight a floor boss without at least one beta helping them.

"What else?" She asked, glancing at the npc waitress who took their dishes and thanked them for their patronage.

The male watched a small window screen appear in his view; the bill for their food. It was rather cheap and Kirito didn't have a problem paying for it. He paid and the window disappeared. This would be when they were suppose to get up and leave, but he knew Asuna still wanted to talk. He decided that staying here to finish up their conversation was best, rather than going outside to do it.

He decided to get comfortable and laid back in his chair with his arms crossed. "Well..." Kirito paused, thinking over the various choices he had to reply with. Telling the truth was out, so what lie should he go with? A devious idea came into mind and he decided to roll with it. "I guess there is a chance that some of the front-liners are behind it." The girl across from him shifted oddly as if she didn't understand him. It would be easier to tell if he could directly see her facial expressions. "How about you take off your hood for now?" Kirito quickly brought up. "The other customers have already left." He pointed to the now empty seats.

Asuna gazed behind her and sure enough, they were gone. The only people inside the restaurant were the two of them. She shifted uncomfortably under the boy's stare as he waited for her. She let out a small huff that almost sounded like a whimper and slowly took her hood off. "Happy?" Asuna said as she let her long hair fall down. She had worn her hood so often that it was starting to feel weird not having it up. Still, having it down sometimes was nice, too. "Now, you said something about the front-liners. What do you mean?" Asuna asked, now directly looking at Kirito.

Her stare knocked him out of his stupor. He'd almost forgotten how beautiful Asuna was. The moment she let her hood down, he was captivated. Now that her eyes were focused on him, his cheeks began to warm up. He opted to once more rest his head in his palm, trying to play it cool. He decided to watch the npcs near them mindlessly walk around the diner. That way, he wouldn't have to make eye-contact. "Let me pose a question: is everyone here trustworthy?" A small glance at the girl showed she was still confused. "Think about it. Is it so hard to believe that a group of strong players in the front lines are secretly working together to take down the floor bosses?"

"But that doesn't make since." Asuna responded. "Why would they fight the boss by themselves? Isn't it safer to fight together?"

"Of course its safer." Kirito said, opening up his menu in search of something. "But safety isn't what they're after." He pulled out a small handbook and flipped through multiple pages. It was the most recent update for the player's guide that Argo had released. Thankfully, the sale wasn't direct with the girl and he had managed to snag himself one inside an npc shop. This kind of dealing was actually good for Argo as she wouldn't need to waste time selling her handbook individually, person by person. That worked perfectly for Kirito as well. If he had to approach Argo directly to get it, then he wouldn't have one. He found the page he was looking for and placed it on the table, turning it so that the book was facing Asuna. "They are going for the xp and drops the boss gives; specifically the last attack bonus."

The girl moved closer to the book, grabbing it by the edges. Last attack bonus? She'd never heard of that before. She read over the material both pages had about bosses and drops. The section that was highlighted the most was the last attack bonus. It stated that only the player who gets the last attack on the boss would get it. "That doesn't seem very fair." Asuna commented. It also said that the items could not be duplicated. Since there was only one floor boss per floor, it would be the only item of its kind, whatever the item may be. "So if last attack bonuses are that rare, then they must be super strong, too." Asuna said, looking back up at Kirito.

He nodded. "Yep. In a way, you could say that the last attack bonus they drop is equal to the difficulty the boss has." Kirito placed his hands behind his head in another attempt to be cool. "Since all floor bosses are extremely difficult, all drops are extremely valuable. Its a high risk, high reward payout." It wasn't really something he thought about; mainly because he didn't plan on selling them, but he supposed that both his «Coat of Midnight» and «Baran's Amber» would catch a high price. Nothing short of six digits; just like the «Queen's Knightsword».

"I see..." The auburn haired girl mumbled. She thought about his words for a few moments before a scowl appeared on her face. "I get it now. So people are intentionally fighting the boss alone so they can get the items for themselves." She said angrily. Kirito almost winced. Her anger was technically directed at him. "That's not fair! Other people work just as hard as they do! How could they be so selfish!" She slammed her hands on the table.

Another wince nearly made itself known. "Hey, relax." Kirito once again rose his arms to take his 'I'm innocent!' stance against the angered woman. It was a stance he had the displeasure of getting used to. "Its just a theory! None of that could be true!" A theory that just so happened to be completely false. Maybe something like that would have happened if dying meant they could simply respawn back in. However, not even the best players would attempt it without having some serious backup, much less try to keep it a secret from everyone. 'Only a fool would try to do something like that.' The boy thought. He then scratched the back of his head.

Did he just call himself a fool?

Whatever, he didn't count anyway. After all, he wasn't scared. He was confident enough in his abilities to at least test out the boss fight. If they did end up overwhelming him, he would just escape by running out of the boss doors. It was that simple.

His words seemed to calm the girl down. "Oh, right. A theory." She gave a halfhearted laugh, feeling a little embarrassed over getting upset at nothing. "Well, it's not a pleasant theory. Do you really think it could be true?"

Kirito shrugged. "It could be. You never know." His answer did not satisfy her at all and her face morphed into another cute pout. At least it was cute enough to distract him from lying to her. He then thought about his own words to her. Is everyone here trustworthy? It made him think about his first day back in Aincrad when that guy tried to mpk him. "There are probably more than a few shady players, though. You shouldn't take everything at face value. Second guessing other people isn't always bad." He decided to warn her. She nodded at his words. Although she was already on guard around other people, she would still take them to heart.

'Yeah, except I'm also someone you shouldn't take at face value.' He thought to himself, holding a third wince back. If they kept talking about this, he would only start to feel more guilty. Now was a good time to end it.

Kirito stood up and stretched. He raised his arms over his head, wishing he could feel his muscles pop in satisfaction like they would have in the real world. Sadly, the game didn't emulate that. He could still feel some stimulation by stretching, though. "Is there anything else you want to discuss?"

The girl got up from her seat as well. "No, I don't think so. I guess you told me everything you needed to." She replied, although still somewhat unsatisfied with how their conversation went. She could tell Kirito was one who didn't really talk a lot, so she was happy she had managed to get this far. She was still slightly disappointed that their conversation ended sooner than she wanted it to. However, she had a lot of fun talking to him. Kirito finished stretching and looked at Asuna, who gave him a gentle smile. "I learned a lot from you today." She clapsed her hands behind her back and took a step closer to him, making the boy blush. "We should meet up like this more often!"

Now Kirito was full on red. "U-Uh, y-yeah." He stuttered out, making her giggle. "I d-don't mind." He finished. He mentally berated himself for stuttering. Then again, with a girl like Asuna, this would probably become a normal thing.

As they began to make their way out of the restaurant, the npc waitress told them, "Have a nice day!" It was another trigger that activated with any waitress npc in any kind of restaurant. Asuna took note of that. If what Kirito told her earlier was true, then another waitress would say something similar when she left the place.

Kirito was reaching for the door handle before pausing to turn towards her. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Asuna."

"What is it?" She asked him. He looked at her rather seriously. The last time he was this serious with her was when he was telling her to keep his identity a secret. He didn't appear to be angry, so then what was this about?

"Don't attempt a floor boss, or any boss for that matter, okay?"

She blinked. "Huh? How come?" This was sudden. She already knew they were dangerous but-

"You're still new to the game. Unless you are in a party with people you can trust, don't do it, okay?" He asked her. The look in his eyes told her he was genuinely concerned for her well-being. "Boss fights are dangerous and can get hectic. Some people abandon their comrades to save themselves." She suddenly remembered what he said earlier, about how other people may not be so trustworthy. "Unless you are sure that the people you are with won't let you die, don't try to fight one... understand?" It was more of an order than simply asking. Even so, she could tell.

He really didn't want her to die.

Asuna nodded back at him. "Okay, I promise I won't try to fight one." If the situation were any less serious, she may have blushed at his concern. The pleasant feeling in her belly was kind of hard to ignore, though.

"Alright, good." Kirito turned back around, opening the door. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, Asuna."

"Yeah, see you later Ki- I mean... see ya." She gave out a nervous laugh.

The boy sighed. At least she caught herself before saying his name this time. "By the way, your hood is still down."

"Oh, right." She pulled it over her head. "Thank you."

---

"Yeah, this is getting pretty easy now." Kirito said as he dodged an attack from a «Creepy Critter». Giving a loud grunt, he stabbed his sword straight through the back of the four-legged creature. The grass-like monster shattered into glass-like particles as Kirito sheathed his weapon away after giving it a flick.

The «Creepy Critter» was a mob that spawned inside of the secret dungeon down on the first floor. Specifically, they were the level 22 monsters that he had tons of trouble dealing with back at the start of his adventure. Now, Kirito was breezing past them. Having already explored everything the beginning stage that the dungeon could offer, he didn't have to worry about traps surprising him. All that was left to do now was grind on the left over mobs so he could level up faster.

"There sure are a lot of them left, though." The boy said to himself, looking around the room he was in. This had been the third time he'd cleared this room out, but they just kept coming back after a few minutes. Not just this room, but every room that housed monsters. He knew they would eventually stop spawning because the «Rock Golem» monsters that spawned in the front no longer appeared after he defeated them enough times. They'd of had to have a specified amount of times they could respawn before disappearing for good. Maybe it was so they couldn't be grinded off of indefinitely.

The black haired player opened up his menu and took out a «Small Healing Potion». It wasn't a very good potion for him anymore now that he was a higher level and had good equipment, but it would do. He decided to drink a potion from his inventory and save his quick access potions on his belt for when he actually needed them in an emergency. As his health meter increased, Kirito glanced at his current level.

LV: 25

'The monsters in here have already leveled me up once. I'm already a good way into leveling up again.' He thought as he also glanced at the xp bar under his name. Kirito stretched his arms over his head, letting out a yawn. "Think I should turn in today." He said, beginning to trek out of the dungeon.

It had been a couple days since he'd met up with Asuna. He hadn't seen her since, but they stayed in touch with messages. It was the same way with Sinon, and they were also talking about the clearing of the second floor boss. Even though she knew who did it, others didn't, and they talked about what everyone else was saying. Players didn't really know what to think after finding out the second floor boss had been mysteriously cleared just like the first. Some people believed it was a good thing that they were being taken out, especially those who resided in the «Town of Beginnings». Other people, mainly front liners, thought it was a bad thing because they were missing out on all the benefits the boss would get them. Guilds were now being created left and right and many of them wanted to build up their reputation. It was really hard to do that when they weren't the ones making progress on the game.

There were so many rumors and speculations at this point that no one believed any of them anymore. It didn't matter whether it was Kirito leading the group of 'floor clearers' or not. People just wanted to know who the hell was behind it. There was even a rumor that Kayaba had given them a handicap and had deleted them because they sucked so much they needed some help, but that rumor never really got popular. It was Kirito's favorite rumor because he personally believed they did indeed suck.

Kirito began to retrace his steps towards the dungeon's entrance. Making use of the time used for walking, he decided to organize his inventory. The pro gamer gathered quite a lot of rare materials in here. They were drops more suited to be on floors 8-10. He could probably use some of them to boost the «Queen's Knightsword» up the moment he received it.

The black coated swordsman grinned at his progression against the other players. Most front line players were probably around Sinon's level. He wanted to feel guilty about reaping all the good rewards, but it just felt so good to be so far ahead of everyone. He planned to keep increasing that distance as well. He didn't want to be just ten or so levels above everyone, but to be completely unrivaled so that he could progress through the game with complete and total solitary. Although, he couldn't help but admit that the couple of friends he had made did leave a pleasant feeling inside of him. It made the boy wonder; if he had the option to choose between making a bunch of more friends like Asuna and Sinon, or give the two up completely to be alone, which would he choose?

"...Well, if they're guys then I'll pass. But if they're all girls..." Kirito said to himself before letting out a laugh. He couldn't even imagine being friends with a dozen different girls. The only girls he had ever really talked to in his life were his aunt, Asuna, Sinon, and-

His finger sorting out his menu froze, hovering over one of his potions. The boy frowned. 'I'm sorry, Sugu.' It happened every once and awhile. When he got too deep in thought, his mind would eventually drift towards his sister, or rather his cousin. It made him sick to his stomach to think that he may never see her again...

No, that wasn't going to happen. He was just going to have some fun here. He'd eventually beat this game, getting all his urges out of his system before going back to the real world. Then, he would make it up to her... somehow. Their relationship took a huge nosedive right before he became trapped in here. Now that he couldn't even attempt to make amends, it was bound to get even worse. 'I wonder... does she wish death on me?' If he were in her place... he would... he just knew he would...

Kirito shook his head vehemently, trying to rid those dark thoughts. Thinking that way ended up bringing tears to his eyes. She needed to forgive him... someway, somehow. She just had too. If she didn't... he wasn't sure if he would be able to take it.

In a sad attempt to improve his mood, the distraught boy returned to organizing his inventory, walking faster than before. He was beginning to feel claustrophobic in this dungeon. The walls felt like they were closing in around him.

On the bright side, at least he knew he was still the only player who had found this place. He could tell because when he had returned, the rock golems hadn't been cleared yet. As they were relatively low level, even the other players would be able to win against them. That, and the traps he had gotten past looked exactly the way they did the last time he was here. It made the boy wonder if Kayaba had left any other secrets hidden around the game. The «Martial Arts» skill was actually one of those secrets, but when it was found by Argo, she had sold the info and word spread quickly. It also made him think of the quest he had found in the beta on the fourth floor. Regardless, if there truly were more secrets, then he would have to keep a close eye out for things and search paths most people would not.

Kirito shrugged. Finding another secret would be a total shot in the dark. Maybe he would look when he had some serious free time, but not now. He didn't want to waste time searching for what could be a red herring or something borderline impossible. He would just stick to this dungeon for the time being. He didn't know how large it was, but he knew the massive doors at the end were eerily similar to a boss door. He knew the dungeon had to at least have a second part because there was another pair of doors at the back end of what appeared to be the boss room. No way would he walk inside of the room, though. It wasn't safe to explore yet. He would have to solo the thing and if the monsters outside of the door were around his level, the boss would definitely be tougher. It would have to wait.

Finishing his menu clean-up, Kirito walked until he reached the dungeon's entrance before making his way outside.

---

"What the hell?" Escaped Kirito's lips as he was bombarded with dozens of messages. They were all from Sinon. But why? He remembered that he could not receive messages from friends inside the secret dungeon or be tracked, so they must have piled up and came all at once when he left. Was she worried about him? He would have disappeared in her point-of-view so that was probably why. If that's the case, then why hasn't Asuna done the same? He pulled up her last message to check it out.

Message

Sinon:

"KIRITO PLEASE I NEED YOU!"

...What the? Was she that worried that she had to press the caps lock and an exclamation point? Since she couldn't track him, she may have thought he died. Especially since her messages did not go through until the moment he stepped out of the cave. Kirito chuckled to himself. 'I'm gonna tease the hell out of her after this.' He thought maniacally. He decided to start from the beginning, slowly reading through. He wanted to get the most enjoyment out of this.

As Kirito read on, he slowly began to have a sinking feeling in his stomach. He realized then.

The messages weren't about him.

They was about her.

Message

Sinon:

"Kirito please track me and come here"

Message

Sinon:

"I did something stupid and almost died"

Message

Sinon:

"They all died everyone died"

Message

Sinon:

"I'm freaking out please come quickly"

Message

Sinon:

"Please Kirito I'm so scared"

Message

Sinon:

"I almost died I don't want to be alone please"

Message

Sinon:

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO PLEASE HELP ME"

He continued to read through the messages with dread as he slowly watched her lose her mind. Dozens of other messages were sent to him asking where he was at, why he wasn't coming to help her and that she couldn't calm down.

Kirito quickly looked at the timestamps. Her first message had arrived a little over a half-hour ago and her latest about twenty minutes. She probably gave up on contacting him and was having a panic attack all by herself.

Alone.

He needed to give her some hope.

Message To

Sinon:

"I'm on my way"

Kirito sprinted to the warp gate in «Tolbana».

---

Kirito slammed his fist into the door rapidly. He was back in his starting equipment, having changed on the way and had just gotten to the inn a few minutes after making it into town and teleporting through the warp gate. The door was opened instantly and he felt a heavy force crash into his chest and wrap their arms around him.

He managed to catch himself after taking a step back. Sinon was completely buried in his chest and shaking like crazy, her voice muffled. He'd never seen anyone like this before. Kirito looked down both sides of the small hallway they were in. No one had seen them. He hushed her and led her back inside the room, shutting the door as he did.

She pressed herself into him more. "Don't let me go." He heard her mumble.

"I-I won't." He whispered back cautiously. Unsure of what to do, Kirito lowered them to the ground, sitting down and letting his back hit the door. Sinon laid on top of him silently, the only motion made was the rapid shaking of her body. He felt a wetness hit his shirt. As he expected, she was crying.

The two of them sat there without a word. The warmness shared between them began calming Sinon enough to where her shaking slowed. Kirito was patient as she tried to collect herself, hiccuping several times before raising her head to look at him. Her black eyes were shining with tears that still refused to stop falling. She looked like such a strong girl before. Now, she looked like the most vulnerable being on the planet. "K-Kirito I...I" She couldn't finish as she pushed her head back into his chest.

"Its fine." He spoke softly. Kirito raised his hand in an attempt to rub the girl's back, but he pulled it away. The boy wanted to comfort her like that. To pat her and say everything was alright, but he just couldn't. "You don't need to push yourself." He managed to muster out, trying to find the right words to say. It hurt him to see her like this. Seeing this strong girl in such a state affected him more than he would have thought. Just what the hell had done this to her? "I'm sorry." He mumbled, wishing he could brush her hair. He wished he was the kind of person who could do such a thing, but his body rejected the action. Unfortunately, all he could do was try to talk to her. "You were terrified and I didn't respond to you until a few moments ago. I didn't mean to ignore you." It probably wasn't a good idea to tell her where he was, he would just have to hope that she would forgive him.

Sinon sniffed. "I-Its okay." She choked out, relieved that he had shown up at all. "You're here n-now." Kirito waited patiently, not sure what else he should say. He really wasn't the type of person you go to try and seek comfort from. That said, the boy couldn't help but notice how soft she was pushed up against him like this. It was... weird. It was different, but in a good kind of way. He would even go as far to say it was nice. There was no way in hell he was going to try and take advantage of her vulnerable state, though. He wasn't brave enough and even if he was, he couldn't do that to her. They sat there for awhile, to the point that Kirito had no idea how much time had passed. Finally, her shaking had ceased.

"Are you ready to tell me what happened?" Kirito spoke up. She nodded against him, not meeting his gaze. Kirito let his eyes glance around the room. "Wanna sit down on the bed?" He asked. Another slow nod. The boy tried standing up, but her limp body refused to budge. Did she even have the strength to move? 'I hope she doesn't get angry at this.' It took all his willpower, forcing his arms under her legs to pick her up bridal style and carry her to the bed. He felt his body wanting to throw her away; his social anxiety kicking in, but he held onto her, albeit with a huge blush on his face.

He just wasn't used to human contact.

The girl didn't make any attempt to stop him or complain. Instead, her arms came up to wrap around his neck, making him blush further. Kirito walked her to the bed and sat down, the lamp on the small desk nearby being the only source of light in the room. He tried moving her off his lap, but the arms encircling him were not gonna budge anytime soon. 'She's sitting right on top of me.' He thought with nervousness. He could feel his face burning him alive. It was probably mimicking a tomato right now. He shook himself out of that state. 'Focus on her, not her body.' Kirito reminded himself. 'She isn't doing this out of love or attraction. She just needs someone to comfort her.' He told himself. She probably didn't have anyone else who would do this for her. Hell, almost anyone would have been a better choice than he would.

She had no one else to turn to and trusted him enough for something like this. He wouldn't let her down. "Can you tell me what happened?" He asked again.

"..." Sinon once again did not budge, but this time, her mouth moved. "I... I mean we..." She said slowly. "A bunch of players and I tried taking on the third floor boss."

Kirito's eyes widened. "What?" Was all he could reply. They tried to fight the boss? He knew players would try eventually, but this soon? It hasn't even been a week since the second floor boss was beaten. Why'd they try rushing it? "Start from the beginning." The boy said kindly, despite being thrown off. The boy wanted, no, needed to know exactly what happened.

Sinon shuffled in his lap a bit. "Okay."

---

Flashback

"Come on! We need to wait and get as many players as we can to fight the boss!"

"No man! If we gather up everyone we can, it will give those guys a chance to steal it again!"

Sinon glanced at the two men next to her arguing, as well as their rather large party that had filled up the blacksmith they were in. She was repairing her equipment in «Zumfut» and suddenly they had all gathered in here. 'They found the third floor boss already?' It hadn't even been a week since Kirito cleared the last one and here people were trying to take on the third? How did they even find it? Speaking of which, did Kirito even know about this? Should she message him?

'Wait, are they trying to gather more players?' The girl could easily tell a few of them were beta testers, one of which being the long blue-haired male who was trying to be reasonable to a spiky orange-haired individual. The latter didn't seem like he wanted to listen, though.

"It will be safer with more players! Bosses are way harder than normal mobs!"

"I know that, but we can't waste anymore time waiting around for others!"

Other players in the party joined in the conversation and soon enough the entire blacksmith was filled with their yelling voices arguing with each other. Sinon rolled her eyes. The whole lot of them were complete idiots. They're sitting here arguing with one another when they should be working together. If this was how they were like outside of battle, she didn't want to imagine how badly their teamwork was. She grabbed her equipment from the npc. 'Bye dumb asses.' She thought as she began to make her leave.

"EVERYONE WAIT! I HAVE AN IDEA!" The blue haired one suddenly shouted above the others. Sinon paused, her interest peaked. "WE WILL GATHER PLAYERS, BUT ONLY THE ONES WE CAN FIND HERE IN TOWN!" He declared. "WE'LL LEAVE FOR THE BOSS IN ONE HOUR." The blacksmith was quiet, small murmurs were made between players before they started cheering in agreement.

'It seems they've reached a decision.' Although, from the looks of the spiky haired guy, he wasn't all too pleased about it. Sinon began to leave once more before stopping herself. 'Wait a second, they are recruiting players. That means...' She was a strong player. She knew well enough that even as a solo player, she could hold her own against the best. 'I could join them.' The spear-user told herself. The only problem was: did she want to?

A simple question, but one that posed a lot of different things. There would be risks with fighting a floor boss, but with enough players, surely they could do it. Most of the players in the blacksmith looked strong, but they would not be enough. Could they pull it off?

She suddenly thought about Kirito. He was able to take on two of them all by himself. Sure, he was skilled and had good equipment, but he was still by himself. He knew what to expect from the bosses because he was a beta tester.

And so was she.

The girl let out a small hum. Was it worth it? Maybe. The benefits could be useful. But if there were too many players fighting then she would unlikely get very much loot, much less the last attack bonus. She pondered a bit more before coming to a decision.

A sly grin appeared on her face. Being the most recent town, there were a lot of players in «Zumfut». They should have more than enough players to take it on. Even if they didn't, she still wanted to participate. It would be beneficiary to at least have the experience, and...

She really wanted to see the look on Kirito's face when he found out they won.

---

"There sure are a lot of players here." Sinon said to herself. After asking to join up with the group, she was thrown into a party with a bunch of other spear users. They would be one of the groups to flank the boss and attack it with their long weapons.

A player bumped into her, muttering a short apology. 'That's the third person now.' She thought, her irritation rising up even more. Every direction she looked was a sea of men who ranged from many different colored outfits and a variety of weapons. She was short, at least to those around her, but even she could tell there was a lot of people here. The room they gathered in could fit them with just enough room to have some breathing space. Sinon blanched. Did they all have to be dudes? If there was just one more girl she would be comfortable. Sadly, she did not have that luxury.

Sighing, she stood up on her tip toes and peeked over a man's shoulder in front of her, trying to look at the blue haired guy from earlier who was orchestrating this event. The man withdrew his sword and placed both hands on it, positioning the blade to the ground and standing as if he were some kind of royal guard. Sinon wanted to facepalm. He's trying way too hard to be a knight.

"Alright everyone. I know this is sudden, but I want to quickly thank you all for participating." The man voiced over the crowd of onlookers. "My name is Diabel, and I will be the leader for this raid." Grumbles began emerging from some players who clearly didn't want to follow Diabel's orders, but stopped shortly after. "As you can see behind me, these are the doors that will lead to the floor boss."

The doors behind the man were massive, about five times his height and an even larger width. "Inside is a boss known as «Nerius the Evil Treant». It's a tree-like monster that uses it's branches to attack. It also stomps to try and knock you off balance." Diabel explained with the confidence of a would-be knight. Sinon rose an eyebrow. Just because he was a beta tester didn't mean he had to be so obvious about it. Diabel's face suddenly turned serious. "Finally, once its down to it's last healthbar, it will begin to use it's branches to attack you from under the ground. If you start to feel the ground from under you rumble, then run away as fast as you can."

From his position, Diabel could see a few of the player's confidence falter. They were clearly getting cold feet from there first boss fight. He needed to boost their morale. "Don't worry, as long as you heed these warnings, you'll be fine. The boss moves slowly, so attack when I say, got it!?" He raised his sword high into the air. "Now let's win!" The crowd began cheering, raising their own weapons while others began to bang on their shields.

"Idiots." Sinon muttered, feeling a headache quickly beginning to sprout. She could never understand why people needed to cheer so loud, or even cheer at all. You could appreciate something without having to be so obnoxious.

Soon enough, the crowd died down as Diabel and his party opened up the boss doors. Sinon readied her weapon, as those around her quickly did the same. As the doors creaked open, Sinon began to feel her own nerves creep up on her. She knew she was a good fighter and at least a halfway decent beta tester. However, she never had the chance to participate in a boss fight. This would actually be her very first boss battle. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "If he can do it, I can." She opened them with confidence filling her body. He wouldn't get the best of her. She'd catch up in no time, starting from here!

Once everyone had poured into the dark room, the lights quickly flashed on. The room had a simple round design. The floor was made entirely out of concrete, with dirt aligning the cracks and covering most of the room. The outer portion had grass with trees growing out of it. The trees aligned the walls almost perfectly and had green and violet leaves sticking out of them. Red walls could be seen behind the trees, with a white wispy design embedded into them.

In the middle of the room stood a giant tree. The tree suddenly came to life, having two arms and two legs with branches sticking out of each, with more giant branches sticking out of the monster's back. A red cursor with the name «Nerius the Evil Treant» appeared under it, as well as four health bars. The monster didn't make a sound, as it did not have a face. It simply had a head with green moss covering it.

The treant was tall, over twice as tall as the boss room doors were. Slowly, the monster began to move toward them. "Alright tanks, move ahead! Flanks, move behind! The rest, wait behind until my say!" Diabel's voice rang out as many players with shields ran ahead of the group. Sinon ran with her group towards the right of the beast while another flanking group ran towards the left side of it. She watched from her side view that Diabel and his group took on the first attack with their shields. The treant used it's right arm to swing at them, hitting their shields hard, but not enough to break through their defense.

"Tanks, back up when it uses an overhead strike! Flanks, attack when it does!" Diabel yelled, as the treant did the same attack with it's left arm. The tanks obeyed Diabel and just as he said, the treant raised both of it's hands over it's head for a stronger attack. It missed them completely and the other parties charged at the monster while it was stunlocked.

With a battle cry, Sinon charged forward with a sword skill and plunged it straight into the boss's right leg. The other spear-users in her party did the same, making Nerius move in a jester of pain and doing massive damage to it. She gave a small glance to Diabel when she heard him yell to pull back and obeyed. 'He's doing a nice job leading us all. Hopefully he doesn't screw up.' She thought as he and the tanks got back into a defensive position.

The giant party continued on like this with Diabel leading them without any errors. The tree boss eventually lost a bar of it's health, then two, before finally dropping to it's last.

"Alright everyone! Remember what I said before! Watch your feet!" Diabel yelled, his confidence boosted with how well they were doing. All of a sudden, Nerius stopped moving, almost as if he had turned into a normal tree. It was strange. Not a few seconds ago they were fighting it with everything they had and then it had froze like a statue. People watched it hesitantly. Wasn't it supposed to unleash an underground attack? Slowly, the monster began turning darker and it's leaves falling off it's body. It kind of looked like a dying tree. Suddenly, they heard a rumble, but it wasn't under their feet like Diabel said it would be. Sinon felt the rumbling coming from behind her and turned to see where it was.

Her heart dropped.

The trees that were previously decorating the outer walls were now moving, suddenly coming to life. They each shifted and turned, all of them now having bodies. Although they were only a quarter of the size as Nerius was, there were now nearly a dozen treants in the room, all with a single health bar above them that read a brand new name.

«Nerius's Evil Treant»

What was supposed to be a fight with a single boss suddenly became a fight with a boss and several of its minions.

"What the hell is this!" Shouted a player in Sinon's party. "Didn't you sa-grk!" Was all he could say before the mini-treant kicked him with all its might, throwing him across the room, immediately knocking his full health bar into the red.

'It's fast! Why is it fast!?' Was all Sinon could think as her legs suddenly froze. These new treants weren't slow like Nerius was. Maybe it was because of their size, but they were moving a lot quicker than they should have been able to. "N-no." She muttered out. They weren't just walking fast.

They were running.

"They're running!" One of the tanks screamed as he tried and failed to move out of the way of the treant that charged him. Players in the group began panicking and soon terrified screams filled the room.

"Wait! Stay calm! They don't have strong defense!" Diabel yelled out, trying to get the situation under control. Even with his powerful voice, he could not be heard amongst the players as they scrambled all around the room in fright.

"Die! Just die!" One of the players yelled, pathetically swinging his sword in attempt to defend himself.

"Why is this happening!"

"Liar! You lied to us!"

Diabel grunted as he managed to take down one of the speedy treants, his heart beginning to race as well. Why did this happen!? This is nothing like it was in the beta, so why!? "Stay calm and listen to me!" He hopelessly screamed out, knowing that his voice would not be heard. Hearing glass break, he swiftly looked to his right to see the animation for a player death finish. "No!" He yelled, watching as another player was kicked into a wall, shattering and dying in the process.

"This can't be happening!" He yelled in frustration, his own fear beginning to overtake him. He felt his strength of will start to deteriorate. They weren't listening to him. He couldn't fight them all by himself. No one could. They were all going to die at this rate! "Gah!" He gasped as a panicked player backed up into him, knocking him down straight in front of Nerius. The boss dragged itself toward him before raising it's foot high above Diabel. The man closed his eyes.

"It's over." He whispered as the boss slammed it's foot down upon him.

...

..?

What?

"Get up Diabel!" That voice... it was! "Damn it, get up!" Diabel looked at the man in front of him.

"Kibaou!?" The blue-haired leader said, awed at his friend. The man in question had single-handedly stopped the boss from crushing him with just his shield. "But how!?" He instinctively asked.

The spiky-orange haired man grunted, struggling under Nerius' weight. The giant treant pushed more, easily pushing him onto a single knee. "T-The boss is weaker now." He stuttered. "His little friends must have sapped away some of his power." He swiftly rolled out from the boss's foot, the wooden-structure slamming into the ground.

Diabel scrambled to his feet. "Really?" He said, hope filling him once more. "Then we can really win this!"

"Maybe." Kibaou responded, glancing around the room. Players were dying left in right, a few of them having already run out of the boss room so they couldn't be attacked. He glared at them in anger. They may be cowards, but he wasn't gonna run. He was gonna save the day and be praised by everyone in Aincrad! "We're just gonna have to fight the best we can!" He had the boss in his sights. With it's strength now, even he alone could defeat it. Kibaou let out a blazing battle-cry and charged at Nerius with all his might.

He would win this!

But he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. "Kibaou, don't!" Diabel yelled at his friend to stop him, but it was too late. Kibaou had tunnel-visioned the boss and was completely unaware when a smaller treant rammed into him from the side, knocking him straight off his feet and into another player who was on the other side of the room. His health bar, which was already well into the yellow, slowly dwindled down into nothing before the man shattered just like his comrades.

Diabel stared at the empty space in shock. His friend had died right in front of him like nothing. The friend he had made at the start of the death game. The friend he now considered his best friend. The one who he shared many nights with talking about dreams and how they would get out of this hellhole.

The friend who was now gone.

He felt his arms lose their strength, dropping both his sword and his shield. Having no will to fight anymore, the blue-haired man simply stood their slumped over. What was previously an honorable man who fought for the people he believed in, who had done his very best at leading them, was now an empty carcass who waited to be killed.

He didn't bother moving when Nerius stomped on him, ending his life.

On the farthest side of the room, near the stairway that lead to the fourth floor doors, stood a smaller player who was being body-blocked by two of Nerius' minions. "S-Stay back!" Whose voice is that? "Get away! G-Get away!" They screamed louder. "I-I-I don't wanna die!" The voice cried in fear as the two treants prepared to sprint at them.

...Wait... that voice is...

...my own...

Sinon backed onto the staircase that lead to the fourth floor doors before tripping onto them. She tried getting back up, but her legs refused to budge. Tears fell freely from her face as she looked at the monsters that would soon damn her into the afterlife. The countless screams in the room faded into the background as all she could do was stare at the two treants. The girl's hands were shaking so bad that she'd dropped her spear next to her. The black haired girl helplessly tried to shield herself with her arms and closed her eyes, not wanting to witness her own murder.

...

But as she waited for her impending doom, she found that it had not come. The girl, almost too afraid to look, slowly opened her eyes to see the two treants had turned around to charge another player, killing him on impact.

"W-W-W-Wh-" Sinon tried using her voice to ask why, but it wouldn't come out no matter how hard she pushed it to. The fearful girl tried thinking of all the possibilities why the monsters refused to kill her. Even now, not a single one was targeting her for an attack. She watched as a treant a few feet away had completely ignored her in favor of attacking someone else farther away. Why did she have immunity? Was it because she was a girl?

... No, that's too stupid. Kayaba wouldn't do something like that. After all, plenty of girls have already died in this death game. So then why?

Even though fear still plagued her heart, the spear-user slowly started to come to her senses. 'Okay, think this through, Shino.' The girl thought. She used all the brain power she had as a beta tester and a gamer and she couldn't think of a single plausible answer. 'Is it a bug?' That could be it, but was it really? Would Kayaba plant such a meticulous death trap in a boss room just to overlook something so simple? All she was doing was sitting on the staircase that lead to the fourth floor doorway, nothing more. '... Was this... intentional?'

"Out of range..." Sinon whispered as her eyes widened. That was it! She was on the staircase, not the floor. The treants only attacked players who were in range. If a player left the boss room, they wouldn't be followed out and the boss or its minions would no longer aggro them. She was still in the same room, but not on the ground. That had to explain it. She wasn't even that high up on the stairs. The minions could easily reach her if they wanted to.

But they didn't. They completely left her alone. The girl, now armed with this knowledge, turned to see if anyone else was on the stairs...

No one. She was the only one who had figured out that this was a safe spot. 'T-Then, I have to tell the-'

They won't hear you.

She felt her own mind second guessing herself.

Your voice won't be able to reach them. They are far to gone to listen to you.

"N-No, I can still-

You'll die.

Her fear came back tenfold.

Try saving them and you'll die.

You'll die.

You'll die.

You'll die.

You'll die.

You'll die.

"N-No!" She cried, tears pouring down her face again. She didn't want to die! If she tried getting their attention she would surely be killed. "I-I cant! Not that!" She felt her stomach churn and her body begin to shake again. Her throat felt dry and if she could throw up she had no doubt she would have. Sinon shook her head multiple times, denying that kind of responsibility. She didn't want to risk her life saving others! She wasn't some hero who could do something like that! She wasn't strong! 'They wouldn't listen even if I yelled. They wouldn't!' She tried convincing herself. 'They're going to die and there is nothing I can do.' She thought, knowing deep down it was a lie. What exactly was she supposed to do!? Its not fair!

She wasn't responsible for their deaths. She wasn't. It was a hopeless battle. They shouldn't have even tried.

Sinon began to feel small. It was just like that one time in real life when she had shot and killed a person. She felt so much fear just thinking about that time. It made her feel little and insignificant. Disgusted and awful. It made her hate herself. She didn't ever want to experience something like that again and now she was feeling exactly like she did all those years ago.

No.

This was worse.

She had two options: Lay down her life to save the others; even if it was just one, or she could run away without looking back, saving herself.

The girl didn't even think twice. The choice was clear from the beginning.

Grabbing her spear, the girl ran as fast as she could towards the exit. She ran, and she ran, and she ran, ignoring everything and everyone. 'Just make it! Please, please make it!' She begged. 'I don't want to fight anymore! Just run! Run!' She repeated, doing her absolute best to escape.

Run!

Run!

Run!

Ru-

The sounds of her footsteps changed. What were the clicks of the boss room marble was now the sounds of dirt being trampled. 'I-I made it?' She questioned herself as she felt her energy leave her. The girl collapsed to her knees and began to breath harder than she ever had.

She was so exhausted.

Taking a slow look behind her, Sinon saw a couple other players who made it out watching the onslaught that refused to end inside the boss room. They were motionless, almost like dolls as they watched each of their comrades die with a mix of fear and sorrow spread across their faces. She wanted to go back and save them and was quickly reminded of the man she had killed. She thought it was the right move; picking up that handgun and shooting him. All she got in return for it were looks. The way the kids in her class would look and taunt her, the way the teachers would look at her, judging her with their eyes, even her mother who had witnessed it. She had never looked at her the same way again. It was torture.

Courage had betrayed her.

Sinon let go of her spear, the weapon clanking against the ground. Like everyone else who had made it out, she simply stared at those inside.

And watched...

And watched...

And watched...

Until... finally...

Congratulations!

Flashback End

---

Kirito sat in silence after she finished her story, subconsciously tightening his grip to comfort their embrace. He was wordless. For all the brains he had, the boy just didn't know what to say. What was he suppose to say? That he was sad? Of course he was sad. There wasn't any point in saying that. That he was angry? Of course he was angry. Tons of people had died today. That he was disappointed? No, he thought both Sinon's reaction and the other player's were fair. It's human nature to look out for one's own interest. That he was scared? Hell no, that would never happen. Even though he was speechless, a single thought bared itself at the forefront of his mind.

'It was a complete failure.'

Even though they came out victorious, countless of players died. Although he wasn't sure just how many yet, it had to be at least a few dozen. No amount of loot or experience could replace their lives. It wasn't worth the trade. Not only that, morale would surely decrease drastically. Sinon was an easy example of this. The poor girl began to shake in his arms again after retelling her story, once again crying in his arms. Her confidence had been completely shattered. It was likely that she would never wield a spear again and stay in town where it was safe.

It wouldn't just be her or the few who did survive the raid, either. This would be heard by the ears of everyone alive in Aincrad. It wouldn't take long for them to start second-guessing themselves and giving up. Even those who wouldn't would surely begin to hesitate out in the field which would cripple their fighting abilities.

'This was the worst possible thing that could have happened.' Kirito thought with his fists clenched, almost too overwhelmed by anger and sadness. 'Was this... my fault?' If he had been fighting Nerius, he knew he would have won even with his minion trick. The black haired boy knew what to expect now that he had solo'd the first two bosses and experienced the new changes in their fighting styles. He would have been prepared and stayed focused the entire time. He would have stayed on his feet, dodging and slashing every single treant that tried rushing him. With his level and skill, he didn't have a doubt in his mind that he would have emerged victorious. 'If I had just been there.' Kirito shut his eyes tightly, guilt beginning to fill his being.

Slowly, Kirito realized that he had known that the game had been changed from the original beta. He knew about this crucial detail, but willingly decided to keep it a secret for himself. If he had told her, she wouldn't have had to go through that. No, if he had told anyone, or maybe if he had found a way to tell Argo without compromising his identity, then no one would've had to die!

"Damn it!" Kirito said out loud, more angry at himself than anyone else.

"W-What's wrong?" Sinon asked, looking up at him teary-eyed, surprised by his outburst.

"..." The boy was silent, beating himself up at his own selfishness. Sinon watched the boy's eyes clench in anger before he took a deep breath. "Its my fault, Sinon." Kirito stated.

The girl looked at him as if he were crazy. "Y-Your fault? But how? You weren't even the-"

"But I was aware of the changes in the bosses attack patterns." He shot her down before she could finish. "Don't you get it? I've fought both the first and second floor bosses and the exact same thing happened. Their attack patterns changed and I had to adapt to them on the fly." Kirito ranted, his voice raising more and more. "Even I almost died! And I still refused to tell anyone that information because I was selfish!" He continued, yelling at this point. "If I wasn't so damn foolish, those people would still be alive!" His voice died out.

Sinon sat still as he caught his breath, feeling his shaking rage dim down. Kirito sighed, feeling defeated. "My actions led to this. If I didn't beat those bosses so quickly, then none of you would have rushed to try and defeat it." His voice was low now, as if he had come to terms with what he was saying. "If there wasn't some giant conspiracy about who was taking down the bosses, if I had chosen to work together with everyone rather than against them, then this wouldn't have happened." He stated.

The girl stayed quiet, even after he'd finished venting. It was her turn to be speechless. He truly did regret not telling them that info. He believed that it was his fault that all those people's deaths had happened. That it was his own selfishness that had endangered them all and her. She knew that what he was saying made since, too. He wasn't exactly wrong. None of that probably would have happened if he had did what he said. If she were an outsider; someone who didn't experience what she did, Sinon would probably think it would be appropriate for her to be angry and reprimand him for his selfishness and punish him for it... but she couldn't.

She wanted to blame him, she really did. Just like before, she wanted to blame Kirito for her incompetence, that he should take all the blame for everyone's deaths. That he was responsible. But deep down, she knew she couldn't. She was just as guilty as he was, if not more. She had chosen to run away instead of trying to help. If she had tried screaming for them to run onto the staircase, maybe she could have gotten the attention of at least one person. Still, she didn't even try. It wasn't just her fault, either. Everyone who had decided to take part in that raid. Trying to rush something that needed to be planned and thought out before attempting. They had all decided to be selfish and fight it. Kirito didn't make those players participate; he didn't make her participate. He didn't make her put on the NerveGear. He didn't make her leave the «Town of Beginnings». They were responsible for they're own lives here.

So... she couldn't blame him for it.

"I..." The girl began, catching Kirito's attention. "I forgive you." She said simply, causing his eyes to widen. "As someone who went through that experience, I believe I have the right to tell you how I feel... and I forgive you."

Forgive him? Why? Wasn't it his fault?

The girl gripped his shoulders and lifted herself up to look at him. "Honestly, I wish I could get angry at you, but I can't." She sighed, exhaustion evident on her face. "But deep down, I know it isn't your fault." Sinon gave him a stern look. "And you should know that, too." She said as a matter-of-fact. Kirito wanted to rebut her, but lost the confidence to do so after the stare down she was giving him. It was the look of a tsundere. She was right and that was final.

He couldn't even muster up a sigh. The boy gave her a small nod, but clearly wasn't convinced. If he was going down, then he would at least try to rebut her. "If you're right, then at least tell me why." He said. If she was going to insist that he wasn't at fault, he wanted to hear an explanation. It was only fair.

"I'm sure you've already figured it out." Sinon said back. She was sure that he was smarter than her. If she could come to the conclusion that everyone went in on their own accord, then so could he. Even if he tried deluding himself, she knew he had figured out the truth.

This time he did release a sigh, defeated by the black haired girl. Said girl finally decided to get off his lap and sit down in front of him, leaving the boy with an odd feeling of relief and sadness as her warmth was now gone. He still had the lingering feeling of her body pressed against him.

Damn... for what it was worth, it was kind of nice. But he knew it probably wouldn't ever happen again. Given the situation, this would no doubt be a one time thing.

"Why are you blushing, damn it?" His head snapped towards Sinon, who was glaring at him with a blush of her own.

"Y-You're blushing, too!" Kirito shot back.

"Y-Yeah, but that's only because I know what you're thinking, pervert!" She returned, pulling her arms up to cover her torso. "You're so gross!"

Kirito felt a part of him die. That was brutal. His shoulders slumped in sadness. "S-Sorry." He replied, the girl now defeating him twice in a single day.

Sinon felt kind of bad watching him sit there like that. She'd clearly done a number to his self-esteem and he was still her friend. "I-I was just kidding." She said. The spear-user paused for a moment, realizing what she just said. "Wait, don't get the wrong idea! It's not like I like you or anything!" Her cheeks began glowing. "Just forget about it!"

The swordsman watched her wiggle in embarrassment; he too trying to contain his own. If he were honest, he wished they could have stayed like that longer. There was no way in hell he would ever say that, though. "Y-Yeah, sure." Kirito responded. It was strange. Just a moment ago they were both filled with dreadful emotions about something horrifying and now here they were getting embarrassed over something silly. Even so, he much preferred having a moment like this than the one before.

They took a moment to calm down. After another minute of awkward silence, Kirito decided it was time to call it. "Well, it's getting late." He began, standing up from the bed and approaching the door. "You seemed to have calmed down now. If you need anything, just ask. Unless there is anything else, I'll leave?" He finished, his words sounding more like a question than a normal response.

The girl quickly shot up on her feet. "Wait, you're leaving?" Sinon asked, stunned by what he said.

Kirito looked at her in confusion. "Yeah?" He replied, not understanding her surprise. "You're calm enough and I'm pretty tired. It isn't like I can stay here."

"No, you cant!" She shouted. "I don't wanna be left alone! You have to stay here with me!"

...What? If he was confused before he was borderline dumbstruck now. "Why? Aren't you better now?" Kirito asked. "There's only one bed anyways. You're telling me I'm gonna have to sleep on the floor?" He'd already been through sleeping outside and didn't want to have to resort to something like that if he was already at an inn. Sure, he wouldn't get sick or anything, but it still wouldn't be a comfy night.

"Of course not!" Sinon snapped back. On normal occasions, she would've put his ass on the floor without a second thought. But... just for today...

Her face slowly became red again, befuddling Kirito even more. She knew the words she wanted to say but could not say them. "Y-Y-" Damn it, just say it! "You can sleep on the bed!" She squeaked.

Kirito shook his head. "I'm not gonna make you sleep on the floor."

"YOU IDIOT!" She snapped back. He was completely clueless! "I mean with me! Y-you can sleep with me!"

You can sleep with me!

You can sleep with me!

You can sleep with me!

Those words replayed over and over in the boy's head as they dawned on him. Never in his life did he expect to here them, especially from the girl across from him. The last time he had ever slept with a girl was when he and Sugu were little and she was scared of the dark. A situation like this one may never bare itself again. Kirito looked at Sinon who had her eyes closed and her shoulders shaking. He came to a realization that she was starting to feel scared again. She didn't want to be by herself. He didn't want to leave her here alone like that, either.

In that case, there was only one choice.

Knowing his throat was dryer than all hell, he opted to just nod back at her. He slowly approached the bed once more and sat on it. He opened his menu to take off his sword and boots. Feeling a presence over his shoulder, he quickly closed the screen. "No peeking." He said back at Sinon, who tried glancing at his level. The girl frowned and let out a huff before scooting towards the other side of the bed. He opened his menu up once more and unequipped his gear. He chose to leave his shirt and pants on. Normally he would take his pants off, but that would be a little weird to sleep next to her like that. He would probably be too self conscious to get any sleep. That and she would definitely call him a pervert for doing so.

Kirito heard her menu appear as well. "Don't peek or I'll kill you." He heard her say over the sounds of her menu being scrolled through. Even with the threat, he was still tempted to look at her, but he decided against it. He waited until she was done. "Okay, i-it's fine now."

The boy turned around and saw that she had left her normal long-sleeve shirt on, but had changed her pants into smaller grey shorts that only covered her upper thighs. She sported a heavy blush and covered herself with the blanket. "S-Stop looking and get in already!"

"O-Oh, right." Unsure of himself, he turned off the light of the lamp and crawled under the blanket, putting good distance between himself and Sinon. "Well uh, goodnight then, Sinon." He whispered, keeping his back toward her. Yeah, he wasn't getting any sleep tonight. Even though it wasn't sexual, Kirito knew within his heart that his brain would keep him up all night.

Feeling Sinon shuffle under the blanket only made him more nervous. "Y-Yeah, goodnight." She whispered back, sounding a lot closer than she had earlier. His back felt a little warmer, but he wasn't brave enough to look behind him.

...

"Kirito..."

"...Yeah?"

"Thank you..."

...

"Don't mention it."

---

Again, this is only one-half of the chapter. The other half will be posted later so that the story can hopefully get more retention.

I hope you enjoyed reading.