30 We be time skipping

It had been a month since we had been trapped in the game. The food situation was just as bad as I expected. For the first five days it was just bread. It was slightly better after I got the cream that Asuna raved about. It was still shit but at least it was a different breed of shit. If I had to eat bread for another day I would have killed someone. 

I told my plan to place a bounty to get someone with a cooking skill as our personal chef to Ashley. We argued for days about that. She too felt that the food was awful and she was not willing to compromise on that after being starved. The reason we argued was because she was insisting on taking the cooking skill herself. No matter what I tried I could not convince her to take a more practical skill. 

I even told her I was willing to find a chef who was a guy. Bringing up her insecurities to the surface so we could face them. She said it did not matter who the fuck we chose she wanted the cooking skill. It was not about anyone else it was something she wanted to do. That caused me to take a step back. If she was acting out of jealousy I would have continued but she genuinely seemed to want to cook. I accepted that reason, eventually the cooking skill would be useful it would just take a long time.

Once she got that skill the food was getting better. It was still not perfect as all she had access to was lower-tier recipes. It sucked going from eating whatever magical meals the house elves could come up with to this. Still, it was just something I was going to have to deal with.

As we spent more and more time here Ashley started to get increasingly clingy. We had managed to solidify our friendship but that had her increasingly relying on my presence. We fought together, we ate together, we even slept in the same room. I had very little time to my self that was not something I minded. Her being by my side was good for me.

I was a wreck, I knew that and I accepted that. This month long journey was helping me deal with my emotions slowly. As the urgency faded I no longer could run from them. So in those peaceful moments of rest her presence slowly lightened the peaks of those negative emotions. I was truly thankful for that. The issue was that while I was getting better, she was not.

Ashley may have chosen to come on this mission but her pilar being gone was hurting her. It was like her fears were being answered about Andrew leaving her. Even if this situation was in no way his fault. It was irrational but she was not a rational person to begin with. So she was slowly slipping into worse and worse moods. 

I was a stabilizing agent but no matter how I treated her I could not help. While we had a good relationship she could not trust that I cared. No one but Andrew could care for her. That was the truth that she accepted. That care from Andrew was not truly real to her either as she forced his affection. So even if we spent hours talking and bonding it was not really true to her. I once said before that I was not what she needed because I was empty. The truth was I was not what she needed because she could not trust anyone.

I felt helpless as there really was nothing I could do for this girl. So she slipped into a worse state even as she helped me get better. I could only try to distract her and show her that my care was not false.

Ashley and I have been grinding constantly. I had no idea where the best loot or the best spots for grinding was but I did not need to. That was what the map was for. I would think about what the best location for grinding was and throw a dagger at it. Wherever it landed we went. After every level I would flip a coin to see if we were still in the best spot. Most of the time we were but we had to move several times. So our leveling needs were met. Hell, I even saw Kirito at one of the spots.

The boy was sullen and withdrawn. It was odd seeing that type of behavior from someone else. As soon as he saw us he started to walk away. He may not be the misanthrope that I was but he was definitely anti social. I was tempted to go to him and actually talk to the protagonist of this world. Ultimately I thought it was not worth it just yet. I should make a connection with him some time but I'll wait until fate is not breathing quite so tightly down his neck.

The loot side of the equation was solved in a similar manner. I even got that blade that Kirito knew was the best weapon on this level. The Anneal Blade was the only weapon the the floor that could be enchanted eight times. The quest was fairly bland but had a cool down of a day. So it was a limited resource.

I managed to snag the quest when no one was ready to do it just yet. Not even Kirito as he was a little behind levels in comparison to Ashley and I on the first day. What was a dangerous journey for Kirito was a breeze for me. Not because I was just that high level or that skilled. No the reason it was so easy was the rare monster that needed to spawn popped immediately when I went. With Ashley by my side we took care of it incredibly quickly.

I could not recall what the best enchantments for the blade were but I just used my Luck to find out. It turned out to be two quickness and six sharpness. With those enchantments, I was one shotting mobs with basic attacks again. It made grinding incredibly easy.

Thank god I took the blacksmithing skill and was able to enchant it so easily even with basic material. Most of my other equipment focused on quickness to take advantage of my massive reflexes. I was even able to get an amulet that increased my speed by five percent. For a floor one item that was a massive boost. It was given to me after a series of quests that I accidentally started. I was fairly certain not even Kirito knew how to get what I had. 

Ashley was equally decked out in top tier gear. She did not concentrate on speed as she did not have the same reflexes even if hers were getting better. No, she had a strength build that heavily relied on her skill. That skill that had massively increased since that first day again Demi-god OP please do not nerf. I should have incorporated that bloodline into myself but I did not think it was urgent before. Not to mention I had yet to ask her about doing experiments with her blood. 

She did not need a crit to one shot mobs and when she got to the boss she would be a beast. Her spear was able to hold nine enchantments and I really was jealous. The stats on that thing would grow as soon as she struck the floor guardian. Which is what we were about to do.

Someone found the boss room. I honestly could have found it ages ago but I was concentrating on increasing our levels. The plot would move forward and I'd rather us have the best chance at fighting.

Ashley and I managed to reach level seventeen which was frankly scary compared to the other clearers. Level ten was the minimum for attending this meeting and Kirito had just managed to level up to thirteen. In comparison to us he was far behind.

With our levels we had four skill slots. I had One Handed Sword Mastery, Parry, Blacksmithing, Crit Damage Up. I wanted to take battle healing but the mod for the crit damage up was unlocked and I had to take it. So my parry practice was only held up by the fact I could afford to buy endless amounts of healing pots. It was reckless beyond belief for anyone else but I made it work. Even if Ashley glared at me when ever she saw my HP drop from a parry.

Ashley had the skills Spear Mastery, Cooking, Crit Damage Up, and finally Parry. She dropped field treatment for cooking as we had access to far too many pots.

So we were more than ready for this meeting.

Said meeting was taking place in an outdoor amphitheater. The majority of the crowd was oddly in high spirits. I expected these people to be a lot more down. They might not be putting up a false front but they genuinely seemed better than the cattle I saw before. It was certainly better than morale being destroyed because of the countless suicides that have been happening.

Ashley was sitting beside me humming lightly to herself as she polished her spear. As always she seemed carefree about the death game we found ourselves in. If I did not know that she would desperately cling on to me when she was feeling particularly low, I would have been fooled as well. She also might be feeling good about the utter lack of females here. That usually got her to calm down. 

Ashley was the only girl here or at least that was what everyone thought. I knew Asuna was here hiding behind her cloak trying not to interact with the rest of the players. She was not in a good place and did not want to make connections with people who were likely to die. Especially since she was walking into this battle with the thought that she would rather die as her self than cower. Again a dumb sentiment but a beautiful one.

Ashley being a girl in a room filled with gamers had everyone's attention. Or it could be because of the rather public super special spear that everyone was curious about. In which case I would have to worry about someone trying to pull some dumb stunt.

A figure clad in blue armor and long blue hair clapped to get everyone's attention. I got that this was a game but was buying an item to dye your hair really needed? It seemed like a waste of resources for a guy that was participating in a death game. Not to mention that this guy was supposed to be a beta tester.

"Listen up! I will now be starting this meeting!" The man shouted out to the quietly murmuring crowd. He looked around at everyone spending slightly longer on Kirito and Ashley. He also looked at me but I glared at him so he looked away quickly. If he was the one that was going to start some dumb shit then I was fine with him dying. This was the guy who refused to take a potion to monolog at Kirito.

" I would first like to thank everyone who came here on my invitation!" The man smiled lightheartedly at everyone and I had to respect that good guy act he was putting up. Maybe he really was one even if he wanted to steal Kirito's sword. Now that I think about it I might be a target as well. My blade was even better than Kirito's after all even if no one would know it. I had full enchantment while Kirito was only at six. 

Our hero tried to upgrade his blade to eight but it failed. Since Kirito did not have the blacksmithing skill he had to go to a public blacksmith. That got the information out that Kirito had a plus six sword. 

I looked over at the uncomfortable Kirito. I should probably offer to upgrade his blade before the fight. I did not care about a last hit or even making Ashley a hero. I just wanted this to be done and having another powerhouse would be helpful.

"My name is Diabel! And my class is Knight! Or that was what it was in my heart!" Again more false kindness but I cared very little. His joke seemed to increase the mood of the crowd even if I felt like it was not that good. I guess everyone needed something to feel good about. That I could certainly understand.

"Today in the dungeon, my party has found the boss room." He spoke out seriously cutting the rising mood of the crowd. The crowd seemed surprised about this which was odd to me. Why the hell did they think they were called here? To shoot the shit? This was a death game there were only a certain amount of things that would require a meeting like this.

"By defeating this boss and advancing to the next floor we will send a message. Everyone will know that this death game can be beaten!" Diabel spoke out with increasing fervor. Well my opinion of him has elevated. You could not fake that amount of passion. He truly thought what he was doing was for the best. I could respect that as this man really did want to save everyone.

"It is our responsibility to show them that!" The crowd silently contemplated that statement. They would be risking their lives for the betterment of everyone. It still did not make it something easy to do. Still, the crowd seemed to rally behind that message after a while. 

Seeing the acceptance a bright smile appeared on Diabel's face. He may be a dumbass that wanted to steal the best gear but I could respect him.

"Alright everyone let's discuss our strategy. For starters, we should split up into parties of six. The floor boss can not be beaten by a single party we need to form a raid group." Diabel spoke out in authority. I looked around at the surrounding players and was amused. There were thirty other people if you did not count myself, Ashley, Kirito, and Asuna. If the chat mission did not happen then that would be just thirty two. Some party was dammed to only have two members or four in our case. 

So Fate made it so Kirito could only party up with Asuna. That was the cannon choice. Well, it also could have been a choice from Diabel to isolate Kirioto. I was unlikely to believe that as with Ashley and I here that grouping was not quite as bad. It was just two people below everyone else. It would still look like the most dangerous place to outsiders but frankly our party would be the safest. Not only because Diabel did not want Kirito to have the last hit but because we were that skilled.

I suppose I was going to have to talk to Kirito earlier than I thought. I started to walk towards Kirito as the boy just moved over to a hooded figure. Ashley followed me without even a moment's hesitation. She was giving me a questioning look and I could only assume she was not listening.

"We have to form parties and those two are the only ones left." I spoke out quietly to her as we passed others. She looked over at who we were walking towards.

"Oh, it's that kid." Ashley mumbled as we got closer. I never really thought about it as I treated Kirito as the main character but she was right. Kirito was just fourteen a fucking middle schooler. I could not really cast any stones as I was not much older even if I looked it. 

Kirito seemed distracted as he did not notice our approach.

"Yo, It looks like you guys are the only people not already full." I spoke out lightly and smiled. My voice startled Kirito but Asuna just remained quietly sitting there not seeming to respond to anything. God that girl really needs help.

'Great the more the merrier." Kirito spoke out with false cheer. Not in a way to be insulting but like he generally did not know how to seem approachable. Which was entirely expected from the introverted boy.

"Glad to be in good company. I saw you at the hornet's grind spot but you left rather quickly." I spoke out quietly trying not to gather too much attention. Ashley only shrugged and sat near Asuna. Once Ashley sat down she stiffened a little and looked Asuna over. 

"Oh, I did see you." Kirito spoke out awkwardly. Thanks man great conversation.

"It was a pretty high level spot it will be nice to work with someone really trying." I spoke out with a stiffer smile. I did not want to quite come out and say I knew he was probably the third strongest player here. Even if that was something he really should say to his party.

"Was it?" Kirito questioned and started to laugh nervously. All right my guy can't you figure out what it means if I was also there? Don't think about the fact that your beta tester status might get out. Connect basic information instead of trying to protect yourself.

"Fuck." Ashley spat out startling both of us from our stand off. She was looking at Asuna before she quickly stood up and came to my side. She looked over at the other parties but seeing them full cursed again. She then clutched my arm while glaring at Asuna. Seeing that I quietly let her do so. I needed to figure out some way to truly help her or she was just going to get worse.

Kirito was just looking between us and Asuna in confusion. I could not blame him this situation was built off of information that he would have no way of knowing. I could only shrug at him even if it was harder with Ashley having a death grip on my arm.

"Alright, so no more small talk I guess. I'll send out the party invites." Ashley and I were already in a party. Not that we were never not in one. I invited Kirito who was still giving me a confused look but he accepted it. I then walked towards Asuna to invite her. Ashley gripped my arm tighter and threw me a look that screamed do we have to?

"More people means easier fight, Which means faster clearing." I spoke out calmly. She just pouted but accepted it. This was not the first time I had to use that logic chain and I am certain it will not be the last.

"Right so we have not really got your opinion but if you want to fight this boss then you need to be in a party. We just so happen to be the only one left." I spoke out and watched Asuna. She did nothing more than just nod. Again this girl was in a bad place. Should I do something about that? Maybe tell her I could relate to this empty determination she was showing? I let it go for now. I was already placating one girl doing another was just asking too much.

I just sent her an invite that she accepted. Alright, Party formed!

"Okay are you guys finished forming parties!" Diabel shouted out. 

"Hold it!" A man with a stupid hair cut shouted out. He then started jumping from the top of the amphitheater to get to the center. He had to make several jumps so it just looked stupid. He then looked over at Diabel.

"My name is Kiabou, I got something I got to get off of my chest." Kiabou spoke out loudly. He then turned away from Diabel and looked at the crowd. Glaring at Ashley and then moving on to Kirito. I knew why he was doing this but did Ashley really put off beta tester vibes? Or was Diabel whispering in his ears trying to get Ashley's loot? Either way, I might have to arrange for him to have an accident if he became annoying.

It was hard to figure out motives when the character information you had access to was a parody version. Was this guy really a dickhead or was that the abridged taking a trait and running with it.

" I am sure there are some people among us that need to apologize to those who have died already!" He shouted out as he glared at everyone this time. At least this one was not targeted. Kirito gained a guilty look and I was tempted to slap him upside the head. For a guy trying to hide his beta tester status, he sucked at it.

"Kiabou, the people you are talking about are the beta testers right?" Diabel questioned like his dumbass was not one of them.

"Of course, I am!" Kiabou shouted at Diabel. There was some real anger in there.

"On the day the game started the beta testers disappeared leaving all of us beginners alone!" Kiabou shouted out once more.

"They hogged the good hunting grounds and profitable quests. Prioritizing themselves over us! Afterwards, they pretended like they did no such thing!" Kiabou spoke out with a fair amount of bite. Not that he had a good point. 

This was a death game if he expected others to hold his hand when everyone was trying to survive he was a dumbass. Not to mention the resources that were hogged respawned it just took time. It might hurt their sanity to take time but if you grinded slowly and carefully we were bound to clear this game. Plus it was better to have powerful clearers as the boss room had limited space.

The dumbass turned away from Diabel again and faced the crowd.

"I'm sure that some of you are beta testers! We should have them kneel and hand over the items and money they are hoarding! I cannot and will not trust my life to such people!" Kiabou spoke out arrogantly. Great pitch I am sure the beta testers would do exactly as he said. What was even the point of this? No beta tester would fall for this bait except a dumbass with a martyr complex. I looked over at Kirito and yep he looked even more guilty.

If this was part of Diabel's plan to get Kirito's sword then I had to say it was stupid. All this was doing was bringing down the morale of the parties. Some players might agree with the dumbass but to beat down the morale of the only truly skilled players was dumb.

I walked down the steps to take care of this stupid scene. Ashley remained clutching my arm the entire way. The sight of us certainly did not break the growing tension. Kiabou seemed smug. Did he think I was going to do what he was asking? I thought that was a bluff did he really think people would actually go through his dumb request?

I rolled my eyes at him as I reached the center of the platform. Seeing my attitude to him Kiabou opened his mouth to speak again but I went first.

"All right, this is doing nothing but breaking down morale when we desperately need it!" I shouted out towards the crowd that was watching us like a hawk.

"The beta testers may have been hoarding quests and items like he is saying I don't know but I can't blame them!" I shouted out at the rest of the crowd who seemed stunned at that. Kiabou looked like he was about to blow his top but fuck that guy.

"We are all humans trying desperately to live another day! We all fight and bleed not to save our own lives! No, if we wanted that then we could spend our time held up in the city living a false life! We fight with our lives on the line so everyone in this place can leave! Not just to live another day but for everyone trapped in this wretched place!" I shouted out and the mood seemed slightly better.

"So I don't care if the beta testers hoarded shit. As long as they are willing to risk their lives for that freedom I welcome them all! There should be no them vs us mentality! There is only one enemy and we all know who it is!" I shouted out again. The crowd did not seem to like my acceptance of beta testers just yet but they did rally behind hating Kayaba.

'It's not like the beta testers left us out to dry completely either." I brought out the guide book. Argo may be a bad bitch who wanted nothing more than to profit but she was a good person. She wanted everyone in this dumb place to have a good chance at living. 

The book may not have anything truly valuable but it would save countless lives. She could have sold it but instead, she took all the costs on herself. I lent her a lot of Cor to get this done as having more players live would make things easier. Maybe one of the suicides that this prevented would be a gem in the rough.

"I'm sure all of you are familiar with this item!" I waved the brown book for the crowd to see and heard muttering break out. Kiabou looked like he ate shit but nodded with gritted teeth,

"I am sure that all of you know that this item is free. Well, you might not know that this book was produced by beta testers! They took those resources and tried to make sure that everyone had a fighting chance here! Making a book is not cheap so this must have truly set them back!" I was painting it as if the beta testers were using those resources to help everyone. In actuality, I just had a shit ton of Cor that managed to help Argo immensely. She would have kissed me for it if Ashley would not have killed her for it.

I looked back at Kiabou as the crowd digested my words. The rising tension faded finally. The dumbass gritted his teeth and sat his ass back down with the group he was with. I then threw a glare a Diabel who flinched at receiving it. I don't know if this really was a part of his plan but that dumbass also allowed this situation to escalate. My opinion of him was once more in the trash. 

I looked back at the crowd while Ashley was making stupid faces at Kiabou. 

"Now we are all here to discuss beating the boss so let's get back to it!" I shouted out and that broke the mutterings again. I looked over at everyone and decided to do one more thing. I should really give us the best odds after all.

I took out my blade and I heard Diabel gasp as it was an Anneal Blade. He knows exactly how good this sword was as he also had one. The crowd seemed confused but they would find out soon. I revealed the status window for my blade to the group. I heard several gasps from the confused crowd. Likely more beta testers. See this is how you find gamers reveal shinny loot.

"I am a blacksmith and as you can see by my max enchanted blade a good one. I am willing to enchant everyone's gear I won't even charge you just bring the items needed and I guarantee that I will get you the best gear for this raid!" I shouted out and that seemed to bring even more excitement to the crowd. Good, I will be able to gain experience from all the enchants and the raid group will be better off fighting the Kolbolt Lord.

---

Boss fight coming up.