chapter 15

Inside Urbos market district.

Kirito and Asuna were walking around, trying to look for Leonard after he split off from the main group after arrived at the town center where the teleportation gate is located.

It was then that they heard a loud explosion sound along with a minor earthquake accompanying it.

"Huh? What was that?" Asuna questioned as she tries to keep her balance.

"...sound like it was coming from the training area, over there." Kirito quickly opened his minimap and pinpointed the location where the explosion was coming from.

"Let go and check it out, I have a feeling that he's over in that direction." Kirito suggested and they quickly ran toward the training ground.

*****

After the power of [Demon Wrath] was unleashed, it kicked up an explosion that sounded across the entire town of Urbos, while kicking up a storm of dust and debris in the process.

*Cough *Cough *Cough, the old man coughed until the dust has settled down and his vision returned.

The old Blacksmith who witnessed the devastation first handed, after everything settled down he was greeted by countless purple hexagonal icons covering virtually everything within the training ground with the message [Immortal object]

"Brat what the hell was that?!" he cursed at Leonard.

"That was one of my skill," Leonard replied and tossed the broken blade to the old man, to which he managed to catch however it then suddenly exploded into tiny data fragment and disappeared.

"...my baby…" Tears and snots began to run down from his eyes and nose as he watched his masterpiece shattered into a million pieces.

"...oi...oii...why do I feel like I'm the bad guy here…" Leonard thought quickly raced as he saw the old man crying like a baby clutching on the invisible remnant of the "deceased" sword.

"You...you destroyed my baby…you'll have to pay for it!" he looked at Leonard with his eyes full of tears and snots.

"...." Leonard was completely speechless.

"But...we had a bet…" Leonard tries to mutter out and reminded the old blacksmith of the deal that they had previously.

[Quest accepted: Help the grandmaster blacksmith Ingvar in creating best sword a human could ever make] the system quickly informed him of a quest.

"...wait...say what now?" Leonard looked at the quest that forced onto him with a blank and expressionless face, however- one could guess that Leonard felt really dead inside.

"You're going to help me make a sword!" the old blacksmith whose name was Ingvar shouted at him while wiping off the tears and snots that was still on his face.

"...how am I going to do that? I don't even know anything about blacksmithing! Besides didn't we had a bet previously?!" Leonard yelled at him.

"I don't see the paper evidence! So it doesn't count! And if you don't help me I'll report you to the town guard!" the old blacksmith smirked.

"Garrgghhh!!! This shameless old man!!!" Leonard mind was completely blown away by the level of shamelessness the old blacksmith displayed.

"...fine...how are we going to do this?" Leonard asked Ingvar with a face filled with dejection.

"Heh...that's easy...you're going to pay for the materials, bring them to me so I can create the best weapon possible, I decided if the quality that came out, in the end, is passable or not, so you better do your best," Ingvar told him.

"...bullshit…"Leonard lamented his heart while putting up a false smile on this face while replying to the old man.

"al-alright…I'll do that…"

"Then what are you waiting for! Move it! You have three days to get everything ready!" the old man shouted at him.

******

Sitting outside of the training ground on one of the benches.

"Shitty old man." Leonard cursed the shameless old blacksmith under his breath.

"Where am I suppose to find the materials…." he added

"Finding what Leonard?" Kirito came up from the side, along with Asuna and asked him.

"Oh, it's you guys! What are you still doing here? I thought you all went back to the first floor to enjoy some time off." Leonard looked at the both of them is surprised.

"No, we split off to look for you- and what the hell is with that explosion?!" Kirito quickly rushed over and grabbed Leonard by the collar of his shirt.

"well...I had a bet with a local blacksmith you see…"

Leonard then began to quickly fill Kirito and Asuna in on his own plight cause by the shameless old blacksmith.

"...I honestly don't know what to say…" Asuna commented after she heard of Leonard plight.

"How are you going to do this?... I doubt there are any good metals down here on the lower floor of Aincrad." Kirito told him.

"I know a lot of stuff about the lower during the beta, sadly- the best metal and one that was actually documented by the players was only high-grade iron…so this looks like an impossible quest," Kirito told Leonard.

"Damn you system?!" after hearing from Kirito that opinion about the quest that was forced on him, Leonard couldn't help but cursed loudly, it was then that an idea rushed into his head, an idea that put a grin on his face that was ear to ear.

"What happens? Did you go mental or something?" Asuna asked him out of concern seeing Leonard expression.

"No...I think I got an idea of where I can get what I need…" Leonard told her.

"Alright then, I'm off to look for what I need now." Leonard immediately stood up as he proclaimed out loudly.

"Ugh...okay...good luck then?" Asuna told him while having a weird expression on her face.

"Alright then, I'm off on a quest now and I will see you two love bird~ later~" after spitting out those words Leonard quickly ran off.

"Lovebird? Is he talking about the two of us?" Kirito then pointed at himself after he heard those words with a confused look showed on his face.

"Huh…?" now that Asuna thought about Leonard words after he ran off.

Her face started to flushed red.

"Hell no! Lovebird your sister!" she quickly turned around and slap Kirito hard on the cheek and angrily stomped off.

"B-b-but...why did I get hit...I didn't even do anything…" Kirito just looks at Asuna as she stormed off into the distance while covering his glowing red cheek with his free hand and feeling really wrong for some reason.

However he soon quickly snapped back to reality and chased after Asuna while screaming out from the top of his lung.

"Asuna! Wait for me!" he yelled.