Chapter 6

November 6th, 5:00 PM

"So how do you feel?" Kei asked, stabbing another [Frenzy Boar].

"Hmm... I don't think the Rapier is right for me." Koharu sighed, sheathing said weapon.

"Well, we can get you a different weapon when we get back to the [Town of Beginnings]." Yawning, Kei quickly pulled open his [Menu], checking their [Cor]. "I think we have enough for that."

As Koharu approached Kei, he let out a small smile before closing his [Menu]. "Can you repeat how the [Menu] works?"

"Again? Come on Kei, you've asked 3 times already." Koharu sighed. "Okay. You summon the [Menu] by swinging your right index and middle finger down. From there, you have 5 options. 1st is [Inventory]. 2nd is [Friends/Guild]. 3rd is [Communications]. 4th is [Maps/Quest]. The final option is [Settings/Main Menu]."

The two continued down the path, as Kei continued to nod his head.

"[Inventory] has 4 sub-menus. [Equipment], which has [Weapons], [Equipped], [Armor], and [Accessory]. [Items], which gives a list. [Skills], which gives a list that you can use for [Sub-Skills]." Koharu began her cheek. "[Friends/Guild] also has three sub-menus. [Party], which has [Create], [Invite], and [Dissolve]. [Friend], which gives me my friend's list, has [Message Box], [Position Check], and [Profile]. [Guild] only has [Create], [Join], and [Dissolve/Leave]."

"So far so good. You got this!" Cheering Koharu on, Kei grinned.

"U-uhm, [Communications] has 4 sub-menus. [Befriend], [Trade], [Duel], and [Marriage]. [Befriend] sends a friend request, [Trade] sends a trade window where people can give items or [Cor], [Duel] sends a request, which can be either [Total Loss Mode], [Half Loss Mode], or [First Strike Mode]. [Marriage] l-let's you... uhm..."

Steaming, Koharu blushed red before coughing.

"[Maps/Quest] has [Dungeon Map], which gives a map on any [Dungeons] I've explored, [Quests], which gives info on current [Quests] and their progress, and [Field Map], which gives a map on any [Floor] I've explored. [Settings/Main Menu] gives me [Option], which lets me tweak a few things, [Help] which calls for an [Admin] or [Game Master], and [Logout], which lets me... log out."

"Yay! You did it!" Kei cheered, clapping. "You have to remember that, it will be key to life and death in this game."

Koharu sighed, before smiling at Kei. "Yeah, thanks for helping me so much Kei. Without you, I think I would have still been stuck learning [Sword Skills]."

"No problem Koharu." Kei smiled before he squinted. "Wait, I think I see people I know up ahead."

Running ahead, Kei approached the duo, Koharu close behind.

"Klein? Kirito? Wow, fancy meeting you both together!" Kei grinned.

"Whoa! Kei? I see you found your friend!" Klein grinned.

"Yo, how are you doing Kei?" Kirito held out a fist, Kei bumping it.

Finding out that they both lived 3 houses down from each other was a surprise, but the two quickly adapted and introduced themselves formally. They talked about SAO briefly before Kazuto invited him inside and introduced his family and sister, Suguha. To his surprise, Kazuto didn't have issues with his family in this world. They got along surprisingly well, with his sister Suguha even teasing him easily. Keisuke quickly brought Sakuya over, who surprised the Kirigaya family, before they easily accepted her too.

"Yup. This is Koharu, and I'm doing pretty good!" Kei put his hands behind his head. "Koharu, this is Klein, he helped me locate you. And you remember Kirito, right?"

"It's nice to meet you, Klein!" Koharu smiled. "Kirito, it's nice to meet you again!"

"Pleasure's all mine Koharu!"

"Likewise."

"So what were you guys doing?" Koharu tilted her head.

"I was teaching Klein the basics." Kirito sighed. "He tried running straight at the [Frenzy Boars]."

"Hey, I'm getting better!" Klein whined.

"True. You can use [Sword Skills] now." Kirito nodded. "But you should still practice a bit more."

"Got it! Let's go!" With that, Klein charged at another group of [Frenzy Boars].

"Koharu, you should use this time to get used to [Sword Skills] too. Even if we switch your weapon, you should get used to the feeling." Kei suggested.

"Sure!" Grabbing her rapier, Koharu headed straight towards Klein, who was now getting headbutted from multiple sides. 

"Have you leveled yet?" Kei asked, sitting in the grass.

"Not yet, I was mostly helping Klein." Kirito sighed, joining him. "What about you?"

"Level 3. I was mostly teaching Koharu everything about the [Menu], as well as how to use [Sword Skills]." Kei swung his hand down. "Speaking of which."

[Friend Request:]

[Kei]

Kirito stared at the screen in front of him, before accepting it.

"Nice! You only need to make 9 friends now." Kei grinned.

Blushing, Kirito shook his head. "Still going on about Operation: Kirito needs friends?"

"I'm gonna get you 10 friends! I swore it before, and I'll swear it again." Kei slapped Kirito's back. "You're too much of a loner."

"Hey! You're just the really social guy!" Jabbing Kei in the side, the two stared at each other before laughing.

"Man, this sunset is nice." Kei yawned. 

"It matches the real world, so it should be about 5:24 PM."

"What are you two doing?" Koharu walked over, Klein following behind. 

"Nothing much, just waiting on you guys." Kei got up, cracking his back.

"We finished up! I got the hang of this stuff." Klein grinned, before swiping down. Tapping a few times, Kirito and Kei stared at the screen in front of them. "Can I friend you guys?"

"Sure!" Accepting the request, Kei quickly turned to look at Kirito, who looked slightly hesitant. "Stare..."

"... You're just saying it out loud." Shaking his head, Kirito accepted the friend request, before another one immediately popped up. "Koharu?"

"Yes! I would like to be friends..." Koharu's face quickly looked concerned. "...if that's okay with you?"

"S-sure." Accepting that as well, Kirito braced himself for what was coming next.

"Look Kirito! Now you have 3 friends. 7 more to go!" Kei threw his arm around Kirito, cheering.

"...I wish Sakuya was here to stop your nonsense." Kirito sighed.

"Man, I'm getting hungry." Klein held his stomach. "Good thing I already ordered myself a pizza."

"Ooh, what kind?" Kei put his hands behind his head.

"Teriyaki-mayo! I'm gonna eat it with my ginger ale!" Klein clenched his fist. "Alrighty, I'm gonna take off here. You guys are the best! Catch ya guys later!"

"See you around, Klein." Kirito nodded, a relaxed smile on his face.

"Oh yes! Do join us again!" Koharu cheerfully smiled.

"Enjoy the pizza!" Kei waved, yet the movement was slightly stiff.

'...Here we go...'

"Huh..? The heck? Where's the logout button, anyway?" Klein scratched his head.

"It should be... Oh, looks like there isn't one on my menu, either." Koharu frowned.

"It's blank..." Kei frowned, looking at Kirito who quickly found the same problem.

"Ah well, the game just started up today, I guess. I suppose there'll be some bugs. Bet the devs are having a fit." Klein sighed.

"Are you really okay with this? Don't you have a pizza waiting for you?" Kirito's eyebrow raised.

"It's gonna get cold, you know!" Koharu laughed.

"Shoot! You're right! Jeez, cold pizza is worse than a cup fulla melted ice cream..." Klein groaned. "Are there any other ways?"

"There wasn't even anything about that kind of urgent disconnect in the game manual." Kirito frowned.

"So either someone fixes the bug or someone else takes off the NerveGear." Kei grimaced.

"Something's not right. An unexitable game is a huge problem for the dev team and this game." Kirito put a finger to his chin. "Yet there haven't been any announcements or any emergency measures put in place..."

"Maybe they are flooded with so many requests they can't keep up?" Tapping on the [Help] option, Koharu began tapping her fingers on the hilt of her rapier.

"Unlikely." Kei shook his head. "If that was true, why not just boot everyone out until they fixed the problem?"

"Something's wrong." Kirito announced, arms folded.

"Bwah!" Klein screamed out, startling the rest of the group, before he vanished in a blue light.

"It's a forced teleport!" Kirito quickly spat out, before vanishing as well.

"Kei!" Koharu soon vanished as well.

"It's begun, hasn't it?" Kei clenched his teeth before a grin came out.

{Positive.}

"Let's do this, Shiru."

With that, Kei vanished as well.

- Prologue End -