As they've reached the entrance of the cave, Kirito chants a magic spell and everyone was given night vision to see in the dark cave.

Leafa: It got brighter!

Akiri: Night vision magic, huh? Pretty neat

Leafa: I guess Spriggans are good for something

Kirito: When you put it that way, it kinda hurts...

She laughs as she puts her arms on her waists.

Leafa: But you should memorize any magic you can use. Of course, the only magic you're good at is illusion magic

Kirito: Illusion magic?

Leafa: You can use it to trick people. Not that it's useful in combat though

Akiri: I disagree. You'll be surprised how useful tricking your opponents could be

Leafa: Then I guess even lame Spriggan magic might save our lives someday

She said with a giggle as she walks away.

Kirito: That hurts even more...

As they were walking, Kirito was looking at the menu and memorizing the new spells.

Leafa: Don't try to memorize them word by word. Learn what the words of power mean and recall them by associating them with the magic effects

Kirito: I never thought I'd have to do something like memorizing spells in a game from a different language

Leafa: Just so you know, the higher rank spells have around 20 words

Akiri: 20 words?

Kirito: No thanks, I'll just stick to fighting then

Akiri: I second that

Leafa: No complaints!

Suddenly, Leafa got a message and she opened it to see that it's from Recon.

Leafa: Recon again? I'm sure it's nothing, but...

She opened the message and reads it aloud.

Leafa: "I was right, be careful. S". What's this? S? Sa... Shi... Su...? Huh...?

Akiri: You can figure it out as you go. We need to keep moving.

Leafa nodded and they continued walking. Several moments later, Yui came out of Kirito's pocket.

Yui: Papa, Uncle, something's getting closer!

Kirito: Monsters?

Yui: No, players! Lots of them. 12

Akiri: Players?

Leafa: 12?! What are they doing down here?

Akiri: l got a bad feeling about this

Leafa: Me too. Let's hide and wait for them to pass

Kirito: But, where?

Leafa: Just leave that to me

Leafa said as she pushes the two of them against the wall.

Kirito: H-hey...

Akiri: What the hell are you doing?

She just giggled and she started to chant a spell that projected an illusion of a wall to hide them.

Leafa: Make sure you whisper as quietly as you can. If you're too loud, it'll break the spell

Kirito: Roger

Yui: We'll be able to see them soon

Akiri then looks down the hall and sees something approaching their location.

Akiri: That doesn't look like a player to me...

Kirito: Yeah. It looks like a bat... It's small and has red eyes...

Leafa: Red eyes?

Her eyes widened when she looked down the hall to see red eyes glow in the dark and she quickly jumped out.

Kirito: H-hey, what's wrong?

Leafa: That's a high-level tracing searcher! We have to destroy it!

She casts a spell and shot out beams of light and hits the bat, killing it.

Leafa: We have to run!

Leafa shouted as she ran away and Akiri quickly follows.

Kirito: Can't we just hide again?

He replied as he joins them.

Leafa: The enemy knows we blew up their tracer. We won't be able to fool them. And that was a fire element familiar. Which means that the approaching party...

Akiri: Salamanders

Leafa nodded as they continued on their sprint.

Leafa: But what is a group of Salamanders doing here?

Akiri: Nothing good, probably

They kept running and they started to make their way across a bridge leading to the city.

Kirito: Looks like we're gonna make it

As he said that, a streak of light flew over them and landed in front of their path and a stone wall emerges, blocking their way to the city.

Akiri: You just had to say something...

Kirito ran over while holding his sword and tried to break through the wall, but it was too strong as his blade bounced right off and he crashed onto the ground.

Leafa: That won't work

Kirito: You should've said something sooner

Leafa: You're in too big a hurry. This is an earth magic barrier. Physical attacks won't break it

Kirito: Can't we jump in the lake?

Leafa: Nope. Supposedly, there are extremely high-level monsters in the water. Fighting without an Undine backing you up would be suicide

Akiri: Then I guess we just have to fight our way out

Akiri said as he unsheathed his sword.

Leafa: Yeah. But it won't be that easy. If the Salamanders can use high-level magic, they have a powerful mage

She then turns around and unsheathed her sword as a group of Salamanders was seen approaching them in a formation.

Akiri and Kirito then looked at each other before nodding.

Kirito: Leafa. It's not like we don't trust your skills as a swordsman... But could we ask you to handle support from here?

Leafa: Huh?

Akiri: We want you to stay in the back and heal us. That way, we could focus on fighting harder

She just sighed and jumped back a few feet as the group starts getting closer.

Akiri and Kirito made their move. They rushed towards the players and started to attack, but the three of them in the front blocked their attacks with shields.

The force of the attack took away some of their HP, but the healers in the middle of the formation cast some healing spells which healed them completely back to full health.

Akiri: Again!

Kirito: Right!

The two of them were about to attack, but the mages at the back started to cast a spell and shot out fireballs straight at them. Unable to get out of the way, both Akiri and Kirito got hit by the flames, lowering their HP to the yellow.

Leafa: Kirito-kun! Akiri-kun!

Akiri: That hurts...

Leafa then chanted a healing spell and heals the two of them.

Kirito: We need to take out the healers!

Akiri: I'm on it!

Kirito and Akiri went back on the offensive. Kirito went over and delivered a strong slash towards the shield users while Akiri leapt over them and ran towards the healers.

As Akiri was running towards the healers, the mages cast more spells and blasted him back towards Kirito.

Akiri: Damn! I can't get close!

Leafa then healed them back up.

Leafa: That's enough, Akiri-kun, Kirito-kun! If we lose we'll just have to fly a few more hours! Let's give up!

She shouted, expecting them to agree with her, but their response surprised her.

Kirito: No way...

Akiri: As long as I'm still breathing, I will not let anyone die...

A memory then flashed through his mind.

???: Akiri! Save her! Please!

A desperate shout for help echoes in his mind as he remembered what had happened.

Akiri: (thoughts) Never again...

The two of them turned towards their opponents and rushes them again while screaming at the top of their lungs.

Back with Leafa, she was still looking at them in complete shock as Yui flew up to her.

Yui: This is our only chance!

Leafa: Chance?

Yui: Use all the mana you have left to block the next magic attack!

Leafa: B-but that won't help

She muttered as she looked back towards them to see that they're still attacking the shield users.

The two of them then saw the mages chanting more spells and they jumped backwards.

Kirito then turns his head towards Akiri.

Kirito: What's the plan, Akiri?

Akiri: We need a distraction, something big

Kirito nodded.

Kirito: On it

Leafa then started to chant a spell to shield both Akiri and Kirito.

Blue butterflies started to fly around them and the mages then shot off more fire spells, but the barrier Leafa made was blocking the attack.

Kirito then raises his sword and starts chanting a spell for himself while Akiri was kneeling down with his eyes closed.

Akiri: (thoughts) Focus, Akiri... You need to go faster...

As Kirito finished the spell, the smoke had cleared and revealed a giant monster emerging from the flames.

The monster roars loudly as it began charging towards the shoulders and takes them out one by one.

The players started to get scared and panic, causing their formation to break.

???: Idiot! Don't break formation! It just looks scary and has a long reach

One of the players shouted.

???: If we stick to the plan and stay in formation, the damage won't get through!

Akiri: Are you sure about that?

Akiri had managed to get behind them unnoticed and started killing them. They panicked and tried to chant their spells, but Akiri was too quick for them as he took them out in an instant.

Leafa could only look in shock as the two of them killed off an entire group of players in a matter of seconds.

She then saw Kirito was about to kill the last player and she immediately stopped him.

Leafa: Wait, Kirito! Let him live!

Kirito drops the player to the ground and Leafa unsheathes her sword and pointed it at him.

Leafa: Now, why don't you explain who sent you here?

Player: K-kill me if you want!

Leafa: Why, you...

Kirito: That was fun!

Akiri: It's been a while since I had to move that fast

Leafa turned to see Akiri and Kirito approaching her.

Kirito then knelt down to the player.

Kirito: Hey, nice fight

The player just looks at him confused.

Kirito: That was a good plan. If I'd been alone, I wouldn't have lasted a minute

Leafa: W-wait, Kirito-kun!

Akiri: Just let him handle it. He knows what he's doing

Kirito: As I was saying, I have an offer for you

He said as he shows the player a menu displaying all of the loot he gained from the fight.

Kirito: These are the items and Yuld I won in the last battle. If you answer my questions, maybe you can have them!

Player: S-seriously...?

Kirito: Totally

They then looked at each other and started laughing.

Leafa: Men...

Yui: He's pretty blunt about it...

Akiri: Hey, say what you want about it, but it works

(Timeskip)

The player revealed the leader's name and that they were gathered to hunt down three players, which he thought was a bit too much until the leader of the party had told the party members that the three players are the same ones who defeated Kagemune's party. He also told them that a large Salamander force was heading north.

After telling them what happened, the player happily left with the money and items Kirito had promised.

Currently, Akiri, Kirito and Leafa continued on their way to the town.

Leafa: Hey, that monster earlier. That was you, right?

Kirito: I think so...

Akiri: You think so?

Kirito: It happens to me sometimes... I just snap in battle and start forgetting things

Akiri: Ah, I know what you mean... It is weird how that happens sometimes

Kirito: Though I do mostly remember this. I used the spell Yui suggested. And then I got huge... I lost my sword too, so I just started grabbing people

Yui: You were chomping on them too

Kirito: Come to think of it, yeah... I got to feel like a monster. It was lots of fun!

Leafa: Did they taste like anything?

Kirito: A texture like yakiniku just before it's burnt

Akiri: That's... Oddly specific...

Leafa: You know what, never mind. Don't say it

Kirito then looked at Leafa with a smirk on his face before biting softly on her finger which causes her to scream and she slapped him in the face.

(Timeskip)

Leafa: So this is Lugru?

She said as they walked through the streets and looked around while Kirito still had a red handprint on his face.

Kirito: That hurt...

Yui: That one was your fault

Akiri: Why did you even try that?

Kirito: I was trying to lighten up the mood

Akiri: By assaulting her?

Kirito: When you say it like that, it does sound kinda stupid...

Leafa: Next time you do that, I slice you in half

Kirito: Okay...

She then walks over to one of the shops and took a look at an item.

Kirito: Didn't you get a message before those Salamanders attacked us?

Leafa: Yeah... I forgot

She then opened her menu and looked through her friends list.

Leafa: What's with Recon? Did he fall asleep?

Akiri: Want to log out and try to reach him?

Leafa: Then I'll go out for a second and check with him. You guys wait. Take care of my body, Yui-chan

Yui: Huh?

Leafa: Make sure these two doesn't do anything to it

Yui: Roger

Yui saluted and Akiri just rolled his eyes.

Kirito: Seriously...

She then went to sit on a bench and she looked out.

(Timeskip)

Akiri was checking out one of the shops when suddenly, he saw Kirito and Leafa running over to him.

Kirito: Akiri, let's go!

Akiri: Huh? But we just got here

Kirito didn't say anything and grabbed Akiri's arm and they dragged him out of town. They then ran towards the cave exit.

Akiri: Care to explain what's going on?

Leafa: So, in 40 minutes, at an area near Butterfly Valley, the Sylph and Cat Sith leaders will have a conference

Kirito: Mind if I ask a few questions?

Leafa: Go ahead

Kirito: How would the Salamanders benefit from attacking the Sylph and Cat Sith leaders?

Leafa: First, they'd be able to prevent the alliance. The Cat Siths wouldn't stand for having their leader taken down because the Sylph leaked information

Akiri: I bet they wouldn't

Leafa: At worst, it would start a war between the Sylphs and Cat Siths. Also, if they kill the leader, they'd receive thirty per cent of her estate and be allowed to occupy and tax the capital for ten days

Kirito: You can do that?

Leafa: With that being said, Kirito-kun, Akiri-kun... This is a Sylph problem. So there's no reason for you all to help. If we go to the meeting, we probably won't get back alive. This means we'd have to start at Sylvane again. No, it's even possible...

She said as she slowly came to a halt and Kirito and Akiri noticed this and they stopped running as well.

Leafa: If you two want to get to the top of Yggdrasil, you'd be better off siding with the Salamanders. If the Salamanders succeed, they'd be in the perfect position to challenge Yggdrasil. Akiri is already one of them and they may even hire Kirito as a mercenary. So, even if you all were to kill me here, I wouldn't blame you all

Kirito: In the end, it's just a game, so do what you want...

Akiri: If you want to kill someone, kill them... If you want to steal, you steal...

Kirito: We've met far more people who thought like that than we would've liked. And in a way, it's true

Akiri: Both of us used to think the same way. But we believe that it isn't true. It's because it's a virtual world that there are things we have to protect. If you let your desires control you in this world, it will change you in the real world. A player and their character are one and the same

Kirito: We like you, Leafa. We want to be your friend. And no matter the reason we would never kill such a person just for our own benefits

Leafa then looked at all of them shocked.

Leafa: You guys... Thank you

Akiri just smiled at her.

Akiri: Let's get moving then, we don't have enough time

Kirito: Yui, we're going to run. Lead the way

Yui: Roger!

They continued running towards the exit.

They were making their way through the tunnels until they stopped in their tracks as they saw something ahead of them.

Leafa: This is bad...

Not far ahead of them, is an army of ape-like monsters blocking their path.

Leafa: It'll take too much time to go through these guys

Kirito: Is there any other way out?

Yui: There is. But it's too far away, we'll never make it in time

Akiri: Don't worry. I'll clear us a path

Akiri said as he took a step forward.

Leafa: What?

Akiri: They look like lower level monsters. I should be able to take them out in just a couple of hits

They looked back towards the army of monsters.

Leafa: S-still... Even if they're low level, there's like, 40 of them

Kirito then places a hand on her shoulder.

Kirito: Leafa. Let Akiri handle this

Leafa: But, there's no way he could kill all of them in time

Akiri just smirks as he unsheathed his sword and took a fighting stance.

Akiri: Watch me

He leans forward and in a blink of an eye, he disappeared from his initial position.

Multiple quick slashes were heard coming from the monsters in front of them before suddenly, all of them burst into pixels in an instant. Leafa was in complete shock while Kirito just had a grin on his face.

Leafa: What the...?

Akiri looked back at them with a smirk as he sheathed his sword.

Akiri: Pick up your jaw, Leafa. We have a war to stop