~from Author's POV 3rd person~
Kirito, troubled by Klein's news, left his inn and found himself wandering yet again to the strange clearing he'd discovered a week ago. Yet again, he found himself trying to image the face of the girl he'd met, but no matter what he did or how hard he tried to stimulate his memory, he couldn't remember her face.
Who is she? he asked himself as he navigated the thick woods, his feet covered in fog until he stopped. There it is again - that question of who. He thought back to his last meeting with the strange girl, recalling that he'd asked what she was instead, and how sad her eyes looked after he asked her.
Wouldn't I be offended if someone asked what I am? Kirito wondered, but seeing as his thoughts only went around in sad circles, he gave up on his thoughts and instead concentrating on retracing his path. At a few different times, according to his map, he should have turned, but he followed his gut instinct and eventually ended up at the clearing after disregarding his map almost entirely. His location was somehow completely different than the last time he'd traveled to this same place.
How is that possible? Does this level...rotate or something? No, Akihiko wouldn't do that.
Kirito put his confusion in the back of his mind as he descended into the clearing and looked around. "Are there any dryads around here?" he called out, hoping to meet with the girl.
He waited for a few minutes to no avail, and just as he turned and was about to head back, a voice whispered behind him, "I am the only dryad in this world."
"Hey there," he said, turning back and searching the clearing for the girl whose voice he had just heard. "Where are you?"
"I'm right in front of you," she whispered, her voice seeming to come from the tree itself and the branches around him.
"Oh, that's right. You can melt into trees."
"I don't 'melt into trees.' My existence is, in its truest form, a single tree," she corrected, and he winced.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. But...could you...come out for a minute?"
There was the sound of a slight gust of wind, and then she was beside him, tall and willowy, her hair framing her face. "Yes?"
Kirito smiled gently. "Hello. It's nice to see you again."
She nodded and tilted her head. "Why did you want to meet with me?"
"I was just wondering some more about what we were talking about the other day. About who - and what - you are."
"I'm a dryad," she said, sounding a bit distanced as though she disliked the topic. "I already told you that."
"Yes, but that's not what I mean. Are you...are you like Yui, an AI?"
"What is an AI?" she asked, confused.
"Hang on one sec." Kirito turned slightly and panned through his inventory before calling out to Yui. A few seconds later, she materialized next to him. "This is Yui," Kirito introduced, gesturing towards her and then towards the dryad. "Yui, meet my friend, who's a dryad."
"Hello, friend of Daddy's," Yui greeted, smiling sweetly and turning to Kirito. "You called for me, Daddy?"
"Yeah. I wanted to know if you could scan her and tell if she's an AI or an NPC."
Yui put her fingertips on her forehead for a moment before opening her eyes. "Nobody else came with you, right, Daddy?"
"Right. But what is it?"
"It's just that...I'm picking up on the presence of two players."
Kirito turned towards the dryad. "Do you mean that she's a player?"
Yui frowned, eyes still closed. "No...that's not it. It's just that she's most similar to a player, but she reads partially as an AI as well."
"So is she an AI that evolved?" Kirito questioned, but Yui shook her head.
"That's not it either. It's like...it's like she used to be a player, but she's not anymore."
"How is that possible?"
"I don't know, Daddy." Yui opened her eyes. "Do you need anything else?"
"No. Thanks, Yui."
After she was gone, Kirito turned back to the dryad. "So, you're not an NPC, and AI, or a player. I'm not sure I understand the role of a dryad in SAO."
"So you're just asking me what I am again," she said sadly before melding back into the tree.
"Wait! Hang on!" Kirito tried, but she was gone yet again. Knowing that trying to call out to her was futile, he left and headed back to the village.
***
"Hey, Klein," Kirito asked casually. "Have you ever heard of dryads?"
"Dryads? Like wood nymphs?" Klein responded, reaching for a napkin before his eyes flicked up to meet Kirito's. "What about them?"
"I'm not sure. I was just wondering if you knew of them."
"Do you think there could be some in level 100?" Klein's eyes widened. "I hope I find myself one. Dryads are supposed to be beautiful." Kirito calmly smacked him. "Ow," Klein joked, rubbing his head as he searched his brain. "I don't know much, just that they might have been created from dead people."
"Are you sure?" Kirito asked.
Klein shrugged. "I might have read it somewhere. Like I said, my memory's a little fuzzy."
Kirito narrowed his gaze. "You never said that."
"See? Exactly!" Klein said, laughing hard and slapping the table.
***
Later that night, Kirito thought over his day. So the dryad is neither AI nor NPC nor human, and she may have once been human and spawned as a dryad due to her death. But that makes no sense...why would Akihiko do that? Unless I'm missing something else...
Troubled and aware that time was ticking down, Kirito went to sleep.