Floor 27.
Keita was shocked when he received a message from Ducker telling him to meet them in an inn on the 27th floor.
He had just finished closing the deal on purchasing their guild house and was about to return to floor 11 to meet back up with Yuuji, Asuna, and the rest of his guild members.
But here he was now, traversing through the dimly lit streets of Ronbaru, a city of night-elves that served as the main settlement of the 27th floor.
The number of times he visited the floor could be counted with one hand. After all, although their levels now might be adequate to farm here, the Moonlit Black Cats still preferred to farm on the relatively safer lower floors.
It would take a bit longer, sure, but at least, they won't have to worry too much about the danger that they would inevitably encounter on higher floors.
That was the reason he did a double-take on Ducker's message. He didn't expect his guildmates to be on the 27th floor.
Relying on his map, Keita soon arrived at the Evernight Inn.
Like most other buildings within the floor, the inn was carved out of the rocky mountain, indented into the circular construction of the town that sat at the bottom of a circular valley
The door of stone groaned in complaint against his push, grinding slightly against the paved stone floor. It sounded and felt heavy, but as long as the player had permission to enter the building, it wouldn't matter even if it was much heavier.
Upon entering, he saw his guildmates sitting around a table of stone with mugs of drinks barely touched upon it.
Even the usually energetic Ducker and Sasamaru were quiet.
They all seemed to be ruminating, which Keita found strange given their usual rowdy behavior.
"Ah, Keita. You've arrived. Come, take a seat."
Yuuji turned to him with a smile and beckoned him over. Beside him, Asuna only glanced at him—the minimum gesture of acknowledgement of his presence—before refocusing her attention on Sacchi, who was looking down at the table.
As soon as Yuuji uttered his name, the Moonlit Black Cats all looked up from the table, and their faces visibly brightened slightly.
"Hey… What's going on? Why the long faces?"
He expected to return to fanfare. Or at least, faces filled with anticipation and excitement for his good news. Then, they would celebrate when he told them that his negotiations were successful and the Moonlit Black Cats guild was now no longer homeless.
But their expressions now birthed within him a sense of foreboding unease.
"A-Ah… That's… Well, it's a long story."
Sasamaru smiled helplessly, rubbing the back of his head.
But nevertheless, he recounted what had happened.
Their plan to go to the Labyrinth of the 27th floor and farm more Cols to celebrate. The trap they barely survived. And the truth Kirito had been hiding.
Ducker, Tetsuo, and Sacchi would chime in once in a while to recount their point of view as well.
And by the end of their story, Keita let out the deepest sigh of relief of his life.
"...You guys are too reckless. What are you even thinking…?"
""Sorry…""
He wanted to admonish them for their reckless behavior. But the only thing he could feel right now was relief over their safety.
Keita then turned towards Yuuji and Asuna.
"Yuuji-san, Asuna-san. Thank you for saving them. I… I wouldn't know what I would do if I were to lose them."
Yuuji placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's fine. Just take this as a valuable lesson moving forward. I don't doubt there will be more traps just like this in any other floors."
"We will."
Then, he turned towards Kirito, who seemed to shrink under his gaze.
He looked at him for a moment, before a smile bloomed on his visage.
"Thank you for protecting them as well, Kirito."
"O-Of course…"
The unease on his face was apparent. Kirito had always been one to wear his heart on his sleeves.
"And about you being a beta tester…"
Kirito clenched his teeth and fists, like a defendant awaiting his verdict. Things of what would happen if Keita were to condemn him and kick him out of the guild flashed across his mind.
He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. Ready to accept Keita's decision no matter what it may be.
But the inevitable never came.
Instead, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder that made him turn and look.
"I don't mind it. Actually, I've had the hunch that you're a high level player after everything. But I didn't want to pry, so I was waiting for you to tell us yourself."
"Keita…"
Relief washed over Kirito, and Keita could feel his body relax through his shoulder.
"Thank you… Thank you, everyone…"
Keita smiled and patted his shoulder.
"You're thinking too much. We're friends. We don't care if you're a beta tester or not."
"That's right!"
One by one, the rest of the Moonlit Black Cats members chimed in agreement. And Kirito could finally find himself to smile once again.
Ducker and Sasamaru threw their arms around Kirito's shoulder and jabbed his sides playfully as laughter now filled the room.
And with his level no longer a secret, the Moonlit Black Cats began asking him about his experiences as a high level player.
"Oh, right. Kirito, since you're that high of a level, you must be one of the front liners right?"
"Yes. I've participated in several raids before."
Kirito nodded. He had participated in most of the boss raids that got them to their current highest floor.
"Oh? What's it like?"
"Well, it's quite… alot."
Kirito began to share his story. A story from a more "normal" perspective compared to what Yuuji and Asuna went through.
He shared stories of the harshness on the higher floors. The constant fight against death. The brutality of fighting against raid bosses.
And also the wonders he found there. The exploration, the adventure he got to experience.
The beautiful scenery. Unique stories. Curious interests that could be fine hidden and all around the floors.
A privilege only granted to the pioneers of this world.
Ducker, Sasamaru, Tetsuo, and Sacchi soon become mesmerized by his stories. Of the unique quests he took that lead him to a whole new area with its own unique wonders. Of his own personal stories during quests and raids.
And Keita saw within Kirito's eyes, a look of longing and desire for adventure.
He smiled, and patted Kirito on his shoulder.
"Kirito, if you want, go ahead and return to the front lines."
"Eh?!"
Kirito turned to him with shock, almost disbelief.
And before the look of fear and anxiety could fully emerge, Keita clarified himself.
"I'm not kicking you out of the guild."
Keita chuckled.
"You want to go on that kind of adventure right? To become the first one to see the world, and help free players like us from this death game. Besides…"
Keita turned towards Yuuji and Asuna.
"I'm sure the front lines would need skilled players like you. Right, Yuuji-san, Asuna-san?"
Asuna raised an eyebrow, before her lips curled into a smirk.
"A moody pipsqueak like him? We don't nee-"
"Kirito is one of the most skilled players in SAO. He would be a great ally and help to our efforts in clearing the floors. "
Yuuji promptly covered Asuna's mouth as he smiled softly towards Keita and Kirito.
Though, his cover up was proven to be a little too late, given Keita's helpless smile and Kirito's deadpan expression at Asuna.
"A-Anyway, the Moonlit Black Cats won't be doing much for now. We're still recovering from the incident, and now that we just got a new guild house, there are a lot of things we have to do to make it really ours."
Sasamaru, Ducker, Tetsuo, and Sacchi all nodded in agreement to their leader.
"That's right. There's a lot of things we need to buy, so we'll be busy farming."
"Mm. And this time, we've learned our lesson. So we'll take our time."
Sasamaru said, rubbing the back of his head.
"We don't aim to become front liners, so we'll just be doing our best here to survive and live peacefully."
Tetsuo added.
Then, Sacchi placed a hand on his.
"But when you feel tired, feel free to return. You'll always be welcomed here."
"That's right. You'll always be a part of the Moonlit Black Cats!"
Kirito felt tears pooling up in his eyes, before he quickly looked down, letting his hair hid a part of his sobbing visage.
"Thank you… everyone."
He had always been alone since this game started.
He had mistaken solitude for independence. That loneliness was simply a price to pay for solitude that would grant him benefits for surviving by himself, without having others to weight him down, in this world.
Or perhaps, he forced himself to believe that.
He knew there were limits to being a solo player. He knew it would be more efficient to farm together with a party. He knew it would be safer to explore the labyrinth with comrades he could trust.
But he pushed them away. Because of his own fear.
But this time… For the first time, he had a place to belong.
Yuuji stood up from his seat, and Asuna followed suit, and eyes turned towards them.
"Well, it seems you guys will have a lot of things to do, so we'll be going now."
He approached Kirito, and ruffled his head roughly.
"Ow! What are you doing?!"
"Take your time, Kirito. We'll meet again eventually."
Kirito looked up to him, and saw Yuuji's softly smiling face from underneath the hood.
"You have one more reason to survive and return home when you go to the front lines."
He spoke slowly, sweeping his gaze across each member of the Moonlit Black Cats, before returning to Kirito.
"You'll become much stronger. More than ever. Because you have a place and people to return to now. Just like me."
Yuuji turned and took Asuna's hand into his.
Her eyes widened in shock. But before long, her lips curled into a sweet smile as she intertwined her fingers with him, and the two smiled quietly at each other, ignoring the gasps around them.
She was his home. And he was her home.
And both of them had a reason to clear this game and return to the real world.
To meet each other in real life. To truly be together in the real world.
And to meet those beyond this world as well.
Those were reasons enough for them to become stronger.
"See you all later. Let's meet again."
Yuuji waved his hand as the Moonlit Black Cats watched them walk away, out of the inn, with the last glimmer of their figure seen from between the closing seem of the door.
--------------------------------X--------------------------------
A man in a tattered cloak stood with his head low. His hood obscuring his visage.
He looked down at the stone floor, smooth as stone could be without direct workings by humans.
Then, a wet spot appeared. Then another. And another.
Only after the fourth did he finally realize. The wet spot wasn't caused by drippings from stalagmites that jutted down from the high ceilings of the cave he was in. It was his own sweat.
His mind had simply been too preoccupied with fear that kept his body trembling despite his effort to compose himself by clenching his fists.
"B-Boss… Another one of our hideouts… had been raided again."
His voice trembled. The silence was suffocating. And unable to stand the terrifying void of noise, he continued.
"It's the one on the 27th floor… N-No one survived…"
A flash. Then, he noticed his HP bar suddenly dropping to 60%. And after a moment of shock, pain exploded in his mind as a diagonal wound appeared across his chest.
"Arrghh!!"
He stumbled back and looked up to the figure before him. Tall, clad in a jet-black cloak with parts of his dark skin peeking out from his hood, and the orange cursor hovering on his head.
"How! How did they find it?!"
He slammed his feet right before his crotch. A few centimeters more and a crunch and a terrible scream would've echoed through the cave.
"Is it them…? The one on the 32nd floor?"
"I-I don't know!!! It's one of our most secret bases!!! It's literally a hidden hole in a massive cave system! But everyone died!"
His jet-black sword pierced the stone right beside him, its blade only a few millimeters away from his face, cutting through the fabric of his hood.
"Then find out! They must've left something!"
"N-Nothing was left! N-Not even-"
"I don't care! Search for them! Have the rats gather intel on every single player on the 27th floor that day!"
"Y-Yes! I-I'll go right away!"
The man pushed his leg to stand up, only to fumble upon realizing that no strength had actually went to his leg. But he didn't care. The fear clenching his hard overwhelmed even his pain.
He crawled, before finally able to get up to a staggering jog out of the cave.
"Useless!"
The dark-skinned man left behind cursed through his clenched teeth.
He hadn't cared much about those who died in one of his hideouts. Rather, it was the only silver lining in his mind. That more of them had died.
The only thing that bothered him was the fact that there was someone ruining his efforts to spread death constantly.
Without his pawns, killing would become more difficult if he wanted to do it in great numbers.
"I'll definitely find you… Then, I'll find you in the real world too. And I'll enjoy every single moment of you begging me for death you will not get so easily!"
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AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please comment your thoughts~! I would love to hear what you think about it~!!!!
Also, if you'd like to read additional chapters ahead and get a pdf version (Light & Dark), please feel free to check out my at patr_eon.com/verglasx ~!
Thank you~!