December 2032

One month has passed since the official SAO server launched to the public and trapped 10,000 players inside. Although it was difficult to say for sure, it is estimated that 2,000 people have already died from either inside the game or due to external factors. To make matters worse, the 1st floor of Aincrad has still remained undefeated after all this time.

Currently, a group of players sat in a small amphitheater located somewhere in the outskirts of the Town of Beginnings.

"Okay, let's get started, people!" A blue-haired man clapped to get everyone's attention and successfully did so seeing as everyone settled down and gave him their undivided attention. "Thank you for coming today. My name is Diabel. I like to consider my job as Knight!" He said with his right fist on his chest and an uplifting smile on his lips.

"Pffft! There's no job system in this game!" Someone shouted, his laugh echoed by the players around him.

"A knight?"

"Hahaha, you should take this seriously!"

"Then, is the meeting a joke too?"

Diabel raised his hands to gesture everyone to quiet down before he put on a serious expression. "Today, our party found the boss room at the top of the tower." He announced and everyone stopped smiling and leaned forward, now paying more attention to the man's words. "We need to defeat the boss, reach the 2nd floor, and tell everyone in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game. Everyone present here shares this duty! Do you all agree?!"

The players sitting all looked around each other, all sharing a mutual look of understanding before nodding. Slowly, the once quiet theater thundered with the roars of cheers and the drums of claps.

"Yeah!"

"We can do this!"

"Okay," Diabel nodded with a proud smile. "then let us begin our planning. First, let's divide into parties of six."

"...Eh?" Kirito, who had been watching from the top of the steps, flinched when he heard this and looked around to see everyone else pairing up in groups immediately. A wave of panic washed over him when he realized that everyone here came with their friends and soon there was no a spot for him.

Then, he remembered-

"Suffering builds character... Suffering builds character... Suffering builds character... Suffering builds character..." Y/N repeated to himself as he devoured skewers upon skewers of cooked boar meat, decorated with pieces of vegetable. Even after a month spent traveling with Kirito, he still wore the same starter outfit but he had tossed away his shoes and socks, instead choosing to wear a pair of normal sandals and roll up the bottom of his pants twice, saying it "made him more comfortable."

"Hey, you know you can save those for later, right?"

"I know... But, they were taking up so much space in my inventory and for some god damn reason, if there's even a microsecond difference between when you take them out of the fire, they count as a separate item! My entire inventory is full of skewers!" Y/N angrily shouted.

"I-I see... Er... You know, from what I remember in the beta, there's an option that lets the system auto cook it for you." Kirito whispered to Y/N, the news causing the latter to freeze and slowly look at him with bloodshot eyes.

"...What the hell? Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

"I thought you already knew!"

"I-" Y/N sighed and shook his head. "Never mind. At least I know now. Anyways, we should be looking for more party members." He stood up and looked around to see the same thing Kirito had earlier: everyone already paired up.

Y/N was about to give up on his search when he noticed a lone figure sitting off to the side and decided to approach them. "Hey, you wanna join our party?"

《???'s POV》

I looked up to see someone looming over me, the angle of the sun created a shadow that covered their face until they plopped down next to me. Now that I was able to get a better look at them, I realized that it was the same weird man I noticed upon arrival who looked like he was trying to hold back tears as he ate a seemingly endless amount of skewers. I couldn't help but also notice the warm shine in his E/C eyes that seemed to glow with endless energy and the bright smile on his lips.

How could someone be so happy in this death trap?

"So...? Is that a yes or no?" He asked me.

...Huh? Did he ask me something?

"Look, I can understand not wanting to socialize - trust me, ol' Kirito over there taught me a thing or two about how people with bad people skills can be-"

"Hey!" I heard his friend shout in the background.

"-But, we have a better chance of surviving if we team up. How does that sound?" He offered and sent her a party invite.

This person is... strange. Yet, his words made sense.

With a small nod, I accepted his invitation.

《3rd Person POV》

"Asuna?" Y/N thought to himself and smiled at the cloaked figure. "Nice to meet you, Asuna."

"H-How'd you know my name?" The feminine voice caught the male off guard but he quickly bounced back and pointed to the top left of her screen.

"Up there. You can see your and your party's HP."

"Oh..." Asuna followed his finger and saw their names. "P/N...? Kirito...?"

"Yeah! I'm P/N and Mr. Antisocial over there is Kirito!" Y/N jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Kirito who sighed and, instead of arguing, simply offered a small wave.

"Hello... Umm... Can you help me with something?" Asuna trailed off in a barely audible mumble and looked elsewhere. "H-How do I open the menu?"

"...Huh?" Y/N blinked, his brain not registering her question. Was she making a joke or was she being genuine?

But before he could ask, Diabel spoke up again. "Okay, have you all formed your parties? Then-"

"Just a second!" A man jumped down to the center of the amphitheater. "My name is Kibaou. I wanna say something before we take on the boss. Some of you here need to apologize to the 2000 that died so far." He demanded as the crowd started to murmur.

"Kibaou-san, are you referring to the beta testers?" Despite the unexpected interruption, Diabel was still able to keep his calm voice.

"Of course I am! On the day this stupid started, the beta guys ditched us beginners, and they all disappeared. They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, and even one of them butchered all the mobs in the starting area!"

"Damn. Wonder who did that." Y/N said as Kirito and Asuna looked to see him downing more skewers.

"They took all the resources all of us could have used and then ignored the rest of us newbies! I'm sure someone here was in the beta!" Kibaou continued to bark. "They should get on their knees and apologize, and give up all the items and money they've hoarded. Otherwise, we can't trust them to protect us as party members, and they shouldn't trust us."

"What a charmer." Y/N rolled his eyes and shook his head. He turned to his right to see Kirito balling his fists with his eyes closed, shaking uncontrollably. "Hey," Placing a hand on his shoulder, Y/N snapped him out of his downward spiral of guilt. "Don't let his words get into your head."

"...Yeah, you're right." Kirito lowered his gaze.

"May I speak?" A deep voice followed by a man standing up caught everyone's attention as said man towered over Kibaou.

"My name is Agil. Kibaou-san, tell me if I have this right. You're saying that because the beta testers didn't take care of them, many beginners died. That they should take responsibility, apologize, and provide compensation. Correct?"

"Y-Yeah!"

From his pocket, Agil pulled out a small book (in picture). "You got this guide book, didn't you? It was provided for free at the item store."

"Sure, I did. Why?"

"It was compiled from information given by the beta testers."

"...Tch."

"Listen up." Agil turned to face the crowd. "Everyone had equal access to this information. Yet, 2000 players still died. I seem to recall that the purpose of meeting here was to learn from their deaths and focus on beating the floor boss - not throwing blame around like hot potato." He sat down while Kibaou also reluctantly did too.

"Alright, then can we resume? The latest edition of the guide book Agil-san just mentioned contains important information on the boss. According to it, the boss is called Illfang the Kobold Lord. He is guarded by mobs called Ruin Kobold Sentinels. The boss wields an axe and a small shield. He has 4 health bars and when the last one enters the red, he switches to a curved blade called a Talwar. Naturally, this means his attack pattern changes as well." Diabel closed the book and tucked it away. "With that, this concludes the briefing. Lastly, items will be automatically distributed. EXP goes to the party that defeats the monster and whoever receives an item has the right to keep it. We leave tomorrow at ten in the morning. Is there any questions?"

Nobody raised a hand to his inquiry until a hand in the back caught his attention.

"Anyone want some meat skewers?"

* * * * *

"Honestly, I wonder what goes through his mind sometimes..." Kirito sighed as he watched Y/N sell his, shall we say: surplus of boar meat skewers for a reasonable amount of Cor. "At least they didn't connect the dots."

"You two seem close." Asuna's voice made him turn around to find her sitting on the edge of a planter box in the alleyway they were resting in. "Did you enter this game with him?"

"No. We met the first time a month ago and we've been traveling together since then."

"I... see." She simply said. The secluded spot was devoid of any idle chatter, neither player knowing what to say.

After half an hour, Y/N returned with a victorious smile and a skewer in each hand. "Guess who got paid the big bucks~?"

"Hehe, thanks." Kirito gladly accepted the skewer.

"...Thank you, but I didn't come to this town to eat good food." Asuna coldly brushed Y/N off who didn't seem angry and simply raised an eyebrow.

"Then, why did you?" He leaned down to ask.

"So I can still be myself. I'd would rather fight to the end than sit and rot away in one of the inns on this floor. Even if I get killed by a monster, I don't want to lose sight of the person I am no matter what."

Y/N and Kirito exchanged worried glances, and the secluded spot was filled with a stiffening silence that not even the latter was comfortable with.

"Well... I'm going to turn in for the night. Good night, you two." Kirito stood up and stretched, and left the two alone.

"I'm probably going to turn in for the night too, I'm exhausted from all that selling I did." Y/N yawned and opened his inventory, pulling out a plate. He set it down next to Asuna and placed his skewer on top of it.

"What are you doing? I don't-"

"Oh no no no. This isn't for you. You see, there's a stray cat around here that likes to pretend she isn't hungry when other people are around. Hopefully when we leave, she shows up and can learn to enjoy the meal." Y/N flashed her a smile. "Good night, Asuna. See you tomorrow."

"..." Asuna remained still, listening closely to his footsteps that got further and further. When the only sound she could hear was the wind shaking the branches of nearby trees and rustling the flowers near her, she finally turned her gaze to the plate and picked up the skewer to take a bite. "...It's not bad." She murmured and finished her plate before making her way towards the inn.

* * * * *

"Okay, let's go over the plan again."

Currently, the entire boss fighting army was walking through a rather peaceful trail in the forest with the sun beating down on them while Y/N, Kirito, and Asuna marched a few paces behind the rest. 

"Is it really necessary? It's not exactly rocket science." Y/N yawned, both hands casually resting behind his head.

"I think... it's better to be safe than sorry." Asuna urged.

"Yeah." Kirito nodded. "Our job is to take care of the sentinels. I'll use a sword skill to knock them off balance, P/N will disarm them, and then you, Asuna, will deal the finishing blow."

"You better still remember how to parry, Kirito! Or I'm never going to let you live it down."

"Hehe, of course I remember! How could I forget after how many times you laid me flat on my ass during our sparring sessions?"

Y/N and Kirito laughed and fist bumped while Asuna sighed and shook her head, saying something about boys.

"Oh, by the way..." The H/C-haired male looked over his shoulder at Asuna. "You know what a switch is, right?"

"S-Switch? Like... the gaming console?" She tilted her head and was confused when Y/N broke out into laughter while Kirito slumped over with a sigh.

The climb up the tower was grueling and left some players' breath ragged but after a few minutes of rest, they were ready for battle.

"And, that's basically what a switch is. After a player uses their skill, you jump in and use one of your own to cover their downtime. Got it?" Y/N placed a hand on Asuna's shoulder. He couldn't see it but underneath her hood, there was a faint blush on her face from having him explain to her in great detail as if she were a child.

"G-Got it..." Asuna nodded and her mouth opened to thank him, but the sharp sound of Diabel stabbing his sword into the floor made everyone, them included, turn to look at him and her gratitude was swiped to the sidelines.

"Listen up, everyone. I only have one thing to say. Let's win!" He rallied and pushed open the doors to the boss room. It was completely shrouded in darkness until a pair of feral crimson orbs pierced through the black veil and the room lit up, revealing a massive chamber with pillars. 

The boss picked up its weapon and shield before jumping off its throne, landing with a mighty bellow that shook the entire room and summoned three of its minions. Each of the Sentinels had 1 health bar while Illfang himself had 4 health bars.

"Kirito! Asuna!" Y/N shouted as he charged the Sentinel on the right, unsheathing his recently acquired sword: Lordsworn's Sword.

"Got it! Haaaa!" Kirito yelled as his sword glowed blue and swung his blade. True to his words, he knocked the Sentinel off balance, allowing Y/N to sprint forward and thrust his sword through its left shoulder before twisting. A sickening pop and a pained roar was shortly followed by the Sentinel's left arm landing on the floor along with its weapon, both vanishing into shards of code.

"Asuna! Switch!"

"Right!" Asuna ran forward, her rapier flashing a bright green as she thrust the tip through the Sentinel's chest and killed it.

The dance of blades, sword skills, and switches continued as the boss's health slowly diminished from the main attack force's efforts. At first, the Sentinels were spawning in hordes but as the boss's health decreased, less and less were appearing.

"Huh?" Y/N noticed something falling from the ceiling and watched as a lone Sentinel sneak around until it was close enough to leap down towards an unsuspecting Agil. "Kirito, Asuna! I'll be back!"

"Okay!" They shouted back.

Y/N crouched down slightly, his legs bent and the muscles tensing up. Then, with a powerful explosion of energy in his legs, he jumped up and sliced off the Sentinel's arms and shouted, "Agil!"

Agil looked around him before looking up to see Y/N spin in the air and kick the mob towards him. Immediately, he understood the situation and tightened his grip on his two-handed battleaxe, and swung when it within striking distance, cutting the Sentinel in half vertically. 

"Thanks, man! I owe you one!"

"No problem!"

Y/N and Agil shared a nod before they returned their attention to the battlefield. The H/C-haired male rejoined his companions and together they were an unstoppable force of parries, dismemberments, and fatal blows.

"GRAAAAAGH!!!" Illfang let out a loud roar when its last health bar dropped to the red and tossed aside its armaments.

"Heh, looks like the information was spot on..." Kibaou smirked.

"Stand back!" Diabel rushed forward. "I'll deal the finishing blow!"

"Huh?" Y/N kicked away the last Sentinel and glanced at Diabel. "Hey, I don't think that's part of the game plan!"

"It's not! We were supposed to surround it with everyone and slowly chip away at its final health bar!" Kirito yelled and blocked the Sentinel's attack to which Y/N took the opportunity to finish it off.

"Hey..." Asuna's face was covered by her hood but her annoyed tone was more than enough to convey her disappointment.

"Sorry..." Y/N awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"NO!" 

They snapped their heads in Kirito's direction and could see only pure fear on his face. Together, they looked to see Illfang pull out a black steel nodachi and jumped around at impressive speed, using the pillars as landing spots to make its movement unpredictable.

"GET AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN! THAT'S A NODACHI!"

Unfortunately, Kirito's plea was in vain as Illfang leapt down from the ceiling, raising its nodachi for the finishing blow on Diabel.

"Asuna, hold these for me."

"Eh?" The girl was confused and even shivered when she heard him whisper into her ear. However, whatever feeling she was experiencing was quickly stomped away after she looked down to see what exactly he had given her: his sandals. "What the hell?!"

As for Y/N, he felt a chill run down his spine when he felt the cold surface of the floor, followed by a burning sensation coursing through his veins. An excited grin found its way onto his face as he vanished without a trace - only to reappear right below the boss, landing a powerful kick that sent it flying into the ceiling.

Y/N landed with his back turned to everyone. "Diabel!" When he turned around, his E/C eyes burned with anger and an expression other than a smile revealed itself to this world for the first time in the form of a scowl. "This isn't the time to play hero! Focus! You're the leader of this group so start acting like it!"

"I-I..." Diabel's eyes widened when he saw the boss land behind Y/N, preparing another swing. "Watch out!" He scrambled to his feet but he knew he wouldn't make it time, horror written all over his face as the boss's blade sliced through the air.

However, before the blow connected with Y/N's back, someone tackled him from the left, sending both of them tumbling but also narrowly avoiding the boss's attack. The only thing to disappear into shards of code was the person's cloak.

"You should follow your own advice and save the lecture for later!" Asuna scolded Y/N who was about to make a witty remark until he laid his eyes on her face for the first time.

"Watch out!" Agil's voice snapped him out of his stupor and Y/N looked up to watch him block the boss's follow up attack, sending the massive red Kobold stumbling backward.

"Thanks, Agil!" Y/N thanked as he and Asuna got back onto their feet.

"Just paying you back!"

"P/N! Asuna!" Kirito ran past Agil, his sword glowing a bright blue. "Let's finish it together!"

"Got it! / Right!" Y/N and Asuna shouted and followed his lead.

The boss roared and charged towards them, its nodachi glowing white as it charged up a sword skill.

"Not on my watch! Hyaaah!" Kirito used a sword skill to nullify the boss's attack, both of them sent flying back from the collision. "Switch!"

Y/N took the chance to use his speed and jumped at the boss's head, stabbing his sword into its left eye. The boss let out a pained bellow and flailed wildly, trying to get him off but he managed to hold on. He used its shoulder like a launch pad to throw himself at its right arm, slicing it clean off which also made its nodachi fall to the floor. 

"Asuna, switch!" He shouted as Asuna leapt into the air and unleashed a flurry of stabs with her rapier, one of them managing to poke the boss's remaining eye and rendering it useless as well.

"Switch!"

Kirito swung his sword and left a nasty gash on the boss from its right shoulder to its left hip before he stabbed his sword into its stomach. "Y/N! Together now!"

"Got it!" Y/N leapt up and swung his sword at the right side of the boss's neck and together the pair let out a roar as they summoned all the might in their body to cleave their blades through the boss's body, creating a perfect X and killing the boss.

Illfang let out one last roar and disintegrated into shards of blue crystals, leaving the room with a a heavy silence until a message popped up saying, "Congratulations!!"

"W-We... We did it!"

The room was filled with the cheers of every player and the sound of them patting each other on the back. 

While everyone else celebrated, Y/N was busy with a pop-up.

《Disarm Bonus!》

《Rare Drop Obtained: Illfang's Black-Steel Nodachi》

"Sweet, hopefully it's a good weapon for grinding mobs." Y/N summoned the weapon to his hand and was taken aback when the boss's weapon remained its full size and fell to the floor. "Woah! Guess I should put some points into STR before I can lift it... and it's classified as a katana... and I don't have a skill slot for the << Katana >> skill..."  He sighed, depressed, and dismissed the nodachi before turning his gaze at Kirito who approached him, wearing the drop he received from the boss: the Midnight Cloak. 

"...Pfft."

"Wh-What?"

"N-Nothing, man." Y/N mustered the strength to hold back his laugh. "You look great in that." He said, his voice cracking slightly to which Kirito sighed.

"Nice work out there."

They heard a deep voice and looked to his right to see Agil approaching him with Asuna. 

"Hey, you two also did pretty good today." Y/N greeted them.

"...Thanks." Asuna shyly averted her gaze upon seeing the warm smile directed their way.

"Haha, maybe. But compared to you three, it sure feels like I didn't do much." Agil chuckled. "Anyways, thanks again for the help earlier. I didn't see that one coming."

"No problem. We gotta look out for each other if we wanna beat this game."

"Damn straight." Agil laughed and they fist bumped.

"HOLD IT!!!"

The celebratory atmosphere was quickly destroyed by the angered shout of one man and everyone turned to see it belonged to none other than Kibaou.

"Oh brother. What now?" Y/N sighed.

"You two!" Kibaou pointed at him and Kirito. "Because of you two, Diabel almost died!" He yelled, stirring unrest in the onlookers.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Kibaou-san..." Diabel tried to calm his friend down but he was too far gone to listen to reason.

"You knew what weapon it would use! And, you!" Kibaou moved his hand to point at Y/N. "You knew the timing to intercept and knock it into the sky! You two must be beta testers and purposely spread misinformation to trick Kibaou and us just to make yourself look better!"

"He's right!" One of Kibaou's goons was ready to take his side. "How else could they know about the boss's patterns?! How many other beta testers are here?!"

"So, let me get this right." Y/N stepped forward as everyone turned to him. "Instead of acknowledging your own weakness, you would rather choose to blame others for your subpar skills? Sounds like how losers think."

"Wh-What was that?!"

"You heard me. You sound like those players who complain about a game's difficulty and beg the developers for an easy mode - just so you can avoid confronting the harsh reality that you simply are NOT good enough. Just shut up and be glad that everyone made it out alive."

"As harsh as his words are," Diabel stood up. "He's ultimately right. Today's mission is not to point our swords at each other's throats, but rather to show the people huddled in the Town of Beginnings that there is indeed some hope for us. Hope that this game is possible to beat. Please, Kibaou-san and everyone else, as P/N-san...elegantly put it: don't ruin the mood." He reprimanded his friend who looked down in shame. Diabel turned to Y/N and Kirito, and surprised them by bowing in thanks. "Thank you both for helping us."

Kirito's eyes widened, clearly not expecting to be thanked, and tried to stop him. "No, actually I'm-"

"Yeah, don't sweat it." Y/N swung an arm around his shoulder and had a big grin plastered on his face as he lifted his other hand in a peace sign. "We're just happy to finally move onto the next floor!" He laughed.

Slowly, the tense mood in the room lifted itself as the other players returned to congratulating their party members, leaving Y/N, Kirito, and Asuna alone by the stairs leading up to the next floor.

"It's probably best if we split up from here on out." Kirito suddenly blurted, surprising Asuna but not Y/N.

"Probably. Even though Diabel stopped things from escalating, you and I have targets on our backs now because of that dumbass." He agreed and disbanded the party. 

After watching Kirito go on ahead, Y/N soon turned to Asuna with a reassuring smile. "I meant that I said earlier - you're doing great so far and I'm sure you'll only go higher from here. Try to find a guild and I'm sure you'll manage. But, if you need help," He opened his menu and sent her a friend request. "Just message me and I'll come as soon as I can."

Y/N gave her one last smile and also made his way up the stairs, leaving Asuna behind. He only made it a few steps before he heard her shout.

"Wait!"

Y/N stopped and turned around to see Asuna standing at the bottom of the stairs with an intense stare.

"You..." It was clear as day that whatever was on her mind wouldn't be said out loud, judging by the way she pursed her lips and balled up her hands into tight fists. In the end, Asuna averted her gaze and shoved her hands forward, holding his sandals. "You forgot to take them back."

"Oh, right!" Y/N laughed and jogged over to her, putting them back on. "Thanks, I wasn't expecting you to hold onto them."

"That reminds me, what the hell was the point of taking them off in the first place?" Asuna placed both hands on her hips as she stared the younger man down, a frightening gleam in her brown eyes that would make most people shrink back in fear.

"Most people" apparently didn't include Y/N.

"Nothing, really. I just run faster barefoot than in sandals and there's not exactly any running shoes in this game." Y/N cheekily smiled, earning an annoyed sigh and shake of the head from Asuna.

"Honestly, you're such a scatter-brain. Maybe I should stick by your side - just to keep an eye on you." She crossed her arms with a loud huff and decided to sneak a glance to see his reaction. Immediately, she wished she hadn't.

"Oh?" Y/N leaned forward. He had a confident, knowing smirk on his lips and his E/C eyes shone with a gleam that made Asuna's face heat up from feeling his gaze and his breath on her face. "Well if Asuna-san is making the suggestion, then-"

"Don't call me that! It sounds weird coming from you! Anyways, I have more important things to do!" The flustered girl stomped away, trying to pull up her red hood to cover herself until she remembered what happened earlier and now her ears burned even hotter.

Y/N merely laughed to himself and climbed the steps. 

The gentle breeze of the 2nd floor was a well welcomed change from the stuffy atmosphere of the boss's room and so too was the dirt under his sandals. There was a trail for players to follow but he instead veered away from the laid out path and ventured deeper into the mountainous forest biome.

"I've gotta get even stronger." He summoned his Lordsworn's Sword when he heard the bushes around him rustle. A pack of 8 wolves jumped out of their cover, baring their razor sharp at the lone man before a F/C light blinded them and the painful feeling of being cut in half sent them back to where they came from. "And pave the way for the others to follow." 

Y/N grinned when he saw a group of bears fighting over honey in the distance and charged ahead with a hunger for strength fueling his every step.

《Chapter End》

The next chapter will not be focused on either Y/N or Kirito.

Also, keep in mind that the anime and wiki don't have a lot of information about certain skills and system mechanics but I'll try my best to make some sense of it.

For those curious:

Y/N - Level 16

Stats:

HP - 3280

STR - 20(+15) [35]

AGL - 20(+30) [50]

0 Remaining Stat Points

Skill Slots:

Skill 1 - One-Handed Sword Lv. 101

Skill 2 - Sprint Lv. 90

Skill 3 - Searching Lv. 77

Skill 4 - None

Weapons:

Lordsworn's Sword [Rank E - Requires 16 STR, 10 AGL, and «One-Handed Sword» Skill]

Range: Short

Attack: 135-140

Weight: 90

Type: Slash

Durability: 700

Illfang's Black-Steel Nodachi [Rank C - Requires 35 STR, 22 AGL, and «Katana» Skill]

Range: Far

Attack: 400-410

Weight: 280

Type: Slash

Durability: 1600