The Raid Meeting

Game

Thoughts

"Talking"

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Argo," Ken said, staring at the hooded figure as she approached him. His back was leaned against a large tree, the shadow blocking out the sunlight from shining upon him. He was sitting in the deepest corner of the [Beginning Forest] - which was just the forest closest to the [Town of Beginning].

"Ken." Argo returned the greeting, the petite blonde woman walking toward him. She had a cute thin face with three black lines on each side of her mouth that looked almost like whiskers - giving her a mousey appearance. On top of her head were two wide mouse ears that pushed the top of her hood upwards, making her seem taller than she really was. Despite her epithet of 'Argo the Rat,' Argo had chosen the [Mouse] race.

Eyes of Theia.

[Argo]

[Informant]

Wallet: 35,525,550 Cor

Level: 4 (250/5,000XP)

HP: 450/450

MP: 90/90

STR: 10

AGI: 40

DEF: 10

DEX: 40

ACC: 20

INT: 15

Skill Slot #1: [Enhanced Hearing]

Skill Slot #2: [Enhanced Vision]

Skill Slot #3: [Low-tier Camouflage]

Skill Slot #4: [Silent Steps]

Skill Slot #5: [1% Discount]

Informant already? She works fast.

Informant was one of the many non-combat classes that could be found rarely within Sword Art Online. It was tailored more toward the gathering of information, as well as the selling of items.

"You got the whiskers already?" Ken asked as he pushed himself off the ground, standing up and towering more than a few inches over the girl, "Where'd you find them on the first floor?"

"10,000 Cor," Argo said simply, a coy smile on her face as she held a hand out.

"I don't care that much," Ken replied evenly, "Glad to see you haven't changed a bit."

Argo was one of the many people Ken had met during the beta - and the only one who might've surpassed him in popularity. Ken's name had spread far during the beta test for constantly being at the top of the [Player Leaderboard], but Argo's fame, or infamy to some, was known by practically the entire beta-testing player base. She knew everything there was to know about anything. Any question you could think of she'd have the answer to - for the right price, of course.

"You seem like you have," Argo hummed, a smirk forming on her face, "'Let's Work Together'? Handing out free meals every day? Did you have a coming to Christ moment or something?"

"I'm all for saving as many lives as possible," Ken responded smoothly, then opened his mouth again at her skeptical look, "And, it can only help to have a good reputation. You could learn a thing or two about that."

"If it's not making me money, I don't care," The mousey girl responded, looking him up and down and then smirking, "Time is money, so, what'd you call me out here for? Not for a picnic, right? Maybe to PK me?"

"Shush," Ken said as he dismissed her teasing, "Some of the dungeons are different from the beta."

"25,000 Cor for everything," She said directly, grinning as Ken swiped his hand up and sent a trade request.

"Some Bosses and Mini-Bosses have changed patterns and attacks, primarily in Large and Major Dungeons. In the Major Dungeon, the 50th Floor Boss had more HP and dropped a new item. A Field Boss dropped an epic weapon a few days ago." The girl shot out, telling him all the publicly-known information about the changes so far, "Yesterday a guild reached the 95th floor of the Major Dungeon, and the Mini-Boss was different from the beta. It was a group of 5 Kobold Sentinels, instead of the three in the beta. The difficulty of some of the bosses are higher too - they do more damage and have higher defense. The last part is circumstantial, since there are no definite numbers."

So, the dungeon we went into was the only one with an entirely new boss?

"Thanks," Ken said shortly.

"I hope there's more to this," Argo hummed, "Calling me out here for 25,000 Cor is a loss for me."

"There's more," Ken said, looking seriously into Argo's eyes, "That was just the warmup question. How much for you to join my guild?"

Argo blinked in surprise, "Join your guild? Seriously?"

"Yup," Ken responded, their eyes still locked.

Argo sighed, "I have no intention of joining any gui-"

"How much?" Ken repeated, cutting her off as he leaned in toward her.

"Ken, I can't join a gui-" She started to explain.

"How much?" He leaned in further, their faces inches from each other.

"Why do you even want me-" Argo started to say, blushing slightly from the close contact.

"How much?" Ken interrupted her again, not backing down. Argo stared at him for a few seconds in silence, then sighed.

"1 Billion by the time Floor 10 is cleared and I'll join," She finally said, her face flushed red.

"I'll keep that in mind," Ken said as he pulled his head back, his tone becoming less serious, "Now, how much for you to spread some rumors for me?" 

Argo blinked again, staring at him incredulously, "Did… did you just use negotiation tactics on me?"

"I don't know what you mean," Ken replied innocently.

"You totally did," She breathed out, looking slightly in awe at him, "I didn't think you had it in you."

"I don't do this whole 'social game' that you do," Ken replied evenly, his face blank, "So I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't. Some players are literally calling you 'Saint Ken' on the forums," Argo deadpanned, "You're not bad. Not bad at all. You mentioned joining the guild first so I'd think you have a serious interest in me beyond this deal. You leaned that handsome face of yours in so close so I'd get flustered. Then, you ask something crazy, but it seems less ridiculous after the previous request, so I'll consider it for a high price. I have to respect the attempt. It probably would've worked on someone less versed in information dealing, but I don't do rumors. You know that."

Argo might've been known as a 'Rat,' but that was more due to her greedy nature then anything else. She still had principles and rules that she would never break - one of which was spreading rumors. Her entire business model only worked because her customers trusted her information, and spreading false, or even unproven, rumors would devalue her information greatly.

"It's nothing bad," Ken said placatingly, "Nothing that can be proven false either. I need to expand my guild, but I can't control the actions of every member. If any of them end up having a bad reputation, then I'll need you to spread some good things about them. Boost their image a bit."

"Is this about the new girl?" Argo asked with a raised eyebrow, and Ken nodded in response.

This issue appeared a few days ago when Asuna officially joined the guild. A week had passed since their first meeting, and he'd met up with her twice more since then. The younger girl had been messaging him daily, obviously clinging to her one friend after spending two weeks alone in a dark Inn room, and had become much more comfortable with him. A few days ago, she'd asked to join the guild, and of course Ken accepted her. He took her hunting to power-level her, but that was where the problem arose.

While the girl was still rather shy and nervous, she was still the same stubborn and fiery Asuna who became a Sub-Leader in the Knights of the Blood. While hunting, it wasn't uncommon to have conflicts with other parties over farming grounds, especially if you were moving to a new one. Many parties found a spot they liked and 'claimed' it, acting antagonistic toward any other groups who tried to hunt there. Ken had tried to steer away from any conflicts before they began and keep a good relationship with any other party or guild they ran into, but Asuna didn't have the same restraint.

The forums had been alight with toxicity when the 'Let's Work Together's newest member charged at a party leader for the 'Clearing Warriors,' a top-tier guild sitting within the top 100 on the [Guild Leaderboard], with her rapier drawn after the man made a nasty comment towards Ken. It wasn't a good look for the guild whose whole image was built around being friendly and helping others. 

"It wasn't really a big deal, but when everyone's eyes are on you, they make it seem like one," Ken said, confirming to Argo that the rumor-spreading was about Asuna.

Despite being around the 50th placemark on the [Guild Leaderboard], mainly due to only having seven members, the 'Let's Work Together' guild was by far the most famous guild in Sword Art Online. This was largely due to Ken being the leader, who had risen to become arguably the most popular player in the game over the past three weeks. His real-life celebrity status, constant good deeds, and ascension into the top 10 on the [Player Leaderboard] over the past week had led to him becoming a celebrity within the game. The forums were ablaze daily with talks about him.

And, just like a real-life celebrity, with fame came a microscope. If two guys are fighting on the street, no one cares. If one of those guys is Lebron James, then the entire internet will be discussing it for weeks. Someone getting angry at an arrogant party leader wasn't an uncommon sight, as there were still hundreds, if not thousands, of PK's happening on the daily. But, when that 'someone' is Asuna, a member of the famous Ken's guild, then everyone wants to get a word in about it.

"What do you want me to spread about her?" Argo said, looking conflicted on if she was willing to go against her principles or not.

"For her: just the truth," Ken said simply, "That she's a young girl who doesn't play games. That she put her older brother's nerve gear on. That she spent two weeks hiding away in an Inn and will do anything to defend me, the man who gave her the will to live again."

"Change the conversation around her, huh?" Argo mused, "She won't be an 'aggressive bitch' who tried to PK someone, but a scared girl who was trying to defend her savior."

Ken nodded, picking up that Argo was well aware about how the forums were viewing Asuna after the incident.

"Will you do it?" Ken asked, staring into her eyes again.

"Yeah," Argo sighed, deflating slightly, "If that's the truth, then there's no problem. You're a slick bastard, y'know?"

"How much do you want?" Ken asked, ignoring her last sentence.

"I'll do it for free. Call it a friend discount." She said, a large smirk on her face, "But only because I know there's more to this. I get the feeling that I'll be rinsing you dry in a minute."

"Asuna really is just a nice, shy girl who was standing up for me," Ken said, getting to the main point of the meeting, "But every guild member won't be like that. You know as well as I do that some players are less than impolite. It'd be great if I could convince everyone to have as much restraint as I do when dealing with some asshole, but I can't. I'll need a lot of members to expand my charity work, and I'll be taking a backseat role as I focus on grinding. If someone under me does something stupid, then I want you to cover for them."

"That's a big ask," Argo said with a frown, "My whole business is built off of trust, and you want me to spread propaganda? It'd be pretty hard to prove the rumors false - as you can't exactly prove that someone didn't do a good deed like helping out a newbie, or giving out his old equipment instead of selling it - but it still goes against how I like to do business. It'll cost you a lot."

"What do you want?" Ken asked simply.

"First," Argo said, a greedy smile on her face, "You can give me some exclusive info. What gear did you get?"

"How did you know?" Ken responded, raising his hand to swipe open his inventory and pull out his [Epic] rarity gear.

"You lost a guild member 6 days ago," She replied, "I know you. You're too good to let someone die, especially on the first floor. You must've found a hidden boss or dungeon. Show me the gear, and tell me what happened."

Ken nodded, his mind racing back momentarily to the end of the fight as he started retelling it to Argo.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Flashback - Ken's POV)

"[Jumping Slash]!" Dynamm shouted, leaping in the air and slashing down into Hercules' back.

"How do you like that, you shitty boss? Piece of shit bastard!" The firey man shouted, laughing loudly. His laughing slowly died down as he looked up in horror, watching as the boss turned around, his eyes staring down at him. Ken glanced at Hercules' HP, which was a barely visible sliver of red.

Ken watched as Dynamm fell onto his ass, staring up in fear as the large boss towered over him, not having expected the boss to live. Hercules' raised his fist, a grin on the boss's face as decided to take down someone with him.

"H-Help!" Dynamm shouted, the fist barreling towards him. Ken answered the man's call, diving forward and sliding between Hercules' huge legs as he flung his sword upwards into Hercules' fist.

[Parry - Complete Failure!]

His sword was knocked to the side, Ken's grip barely hanging on as his body was thrown to the side from the impact, his HP decreasing a little.

Dynamm stared in fear as Ken's sword didn't stop the giant's fist, looking in a panic at Ken. His eyes widened in horror as he locked eyes with Ken.

"Why are you smil-" Dynamm's words were cut off as Hercules' fist slammed down on him, his body slumping in a crater for a moment. A second later, his body burst into crystals.

[Party Member - [Dynamm] has died!]

I had to at least look like I was trying, right? Ken thought.

"D-Dynamm!" Klein yelled in despair, the man running at the boss with his katana held high. Hercules' turned back to Ken, their eyes locking, and Ken swore he saw the boss smirk for a split-second before his body burst into crystals as the bleeding debuff knocked his HP down to zero.

[Boss Defeated - Level 30 Fragment of Hercules]

Contribution Rewards - 90% Contribution Rate.

90,000 XP[Epic] [Gauntlets of Hercules]9,000,000 Cor

Last Hit Bonus - [Any [Legendary] Rarity Sword from the Vault of Heroes]

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"An entirely new boss that was level 30? An attack that bypassed your parry already? On floor 1?" Argo asked incredulously, question after question slipping from her mouth after having heard the modified version of the story from Ken, "This is big. This is huge. How'd you find the dungeon?"

No, I failed on purpose, but I couldn't tell Klein and the rest of the guys that. Klein knows I would never miss a parry, especially not such an important one, since I'm FUCKING CLUTCH, so I said the boss's attack bypassed it. Sorry, Dynamm, but you're just slowing the guild down.

"Just found it by luck, I guess," Ken responded.

Well, not complete luck.

Ken hadn't known that the boss would be different, or that it would drop such good loot, but he had gone to that specific dungeon for a reason. He'd cleared it with Koichiro during the beta, and the relatively easy [Kobold Sentinel] that acted as the boss had dropped a decent [Epic] item.

"This is a big deal, Ken," Argo hummed, her eyes lost in thought.

"I think that's more than enough to pay for a few rumors," Ken said confidently as he reached into his inventory, "But I'll show you these anyway. I got 90 thousand XP and 9 Million Cor on top of these."

Ken pulled out a pair of giant bronze gauntlets, which were giant even in comparison to his large hands, and held them as he showed them off to Argo. She leaned in close, observing them carefully.

"What do they do?" Argo asked as she examined the gloves.

Ken glanced down at the pair of gauntlets.

[Gauntlets of Hercules] - Gauntlets worn by the Demi-God Hercules.

Attack: 150-200

+250 STR

+250 DEF

Upgrades (0/25)

Special Effect - [Shockwave] - Creates shockwaves upon impact that cause AOE damage. 

Ken explained the attributes to her, and her eyes widened in shock, "200 damage? 250 strength and defense? These are ridiculous for the first floor! It's probably viable up until floor 20 if you max it out, maybe higher."

"I know," Ken agreed, "It makes sense. Honestly, it's kind of underwhelming if anything. The dungeon boss was insanely tough - I don't think anyone could've cleared it until floor 50ish unless it was a top-level party."

The item was definitely good - especially for a [Epic] rarity. Sword Art Online had a comprehensive rarity system, with [Common] items being the easiest to come by, as they could drop from field mobs. Their easy access also meant that common items were relatively useless - not being viable against bosses or outside of the floor they were found on. [Rare] items were a step above common items, and could only be found through defeating field or dungeon bosses. They were usually viable for the floor they were found on, and possibly the next floor or two if you weren't in a top-level party. Ken was sure that when the first-floor boss room was found at the end of the labyrinth, the entire raid force would be kitted out all [Rare] or higher gear.

[Epic] was where the gear started getting seriously good, and Ken assumed that most of the top-level party leaders would have at least one piece. Epic gear was only obtainable through defeating dungeon bosses or through one-time quests, and it was viable for much longer than rare or common gear. If you upgraded it smartly, it could be usable for the next 10 floors, or even longer if it synergized well with your build. The [Gauntlets of Hercules] potentially being viable for twice that time showed just how good they were.

The next rarity tier was [Legendary], which were near-impossible to acquire. Ken was blown away when he the option for one on the first floor, as even in the beta only two legendary items had been found. One was found by Ken, which was a reward for being the highest-level player a week before the beta ended and wouldn't be obtainable anymore. Kirito found the other, and Ken didn't know how he'd gotten it. Ken only had his own legendary weapons to base his opinion on, but he suspected that they'd be viable until floor 50 at least.

The other two rarities were [Heroic] and [Godly], but no one had found any of them during the beta.

"How would Kirito have done?" Argo looked back up at him with a curious look on her face, bringing his thoughts back to the conversation.

Kirito wasn't just a character from the show - he was also one of the top players during the beta and one of the few people Argo considered a friend. She had teased Ken countless times about Kirito being better than him, and that he could've been the top beta tester if he was more social, but they both knew that was far from the truth. 

In hindsight, I should've realized something was up with the whole 'Argo' and 'Kirito' in the beta test, but I thought they were just roleplayers.

Ken still wasn't sure how the show had become his new reality, as in the beta just a few months earlier there were more than a few roleplayers. The number of 'Kirito' and 'Klein' related IGNs had seemingly no end during the beta.

Ken had never met the boy personally, so he'd thought the IGN was just someone roleplaying as him. Admittedly, he'd met Argo, and probably should've assumed she wasn't just someone roleplaying, but how was Ken supposed to know that a random anime series from more than a decade ago would suddenly become reality?

"Alone? He's probably higher level, and has better gear, so he could've gotten to the last phase, probably," Ken said, thinking about how Kirito would do compared to him. The boy was skilled, but he wouldn't be able to parry the entire last-phase onslaught like Ken could, "If he was with the party I had, he could've won, but only by sacrificing the entire party. The boss's offense was absurd. He would've had to let his party members tank the aggro and die while he killed Hercules."

"A boss even Kirito couldn't beat," Argo said, a thinking light in her eyes, "Some of the other bosses were changed, and even harder, but a whole new boss of that difficulty is crazy. I'll need to include that in the guide…"

Ken watched as the girl muttered to herself, her finger rapidly tapping the air in front of her, in what Ken assumed was a virtual notebook. 

She must be working on the beta-tester guide.

"Is that enough, or do you wanna see the sword too?" Ken asked with a raised eyebrow, pulling the girl out from her virtual typing.

"Y-Yeah! Show me that too!" She said, blushing slightly as she realized she was so lost in thought.

Ken reached into his inventory, equipping his new sword and holding it in his hand. The blade was pure white, with a swirling pattern on it's dark sky-blue hilt. 

[Legendary] [Blade of Zephyr] - Forged by Aeolus, the ruler of the winds, this sword was created from the breath of the West Wind, Zephyrus.

Attack: 400-500

+500 AGI

+500 DEX

+500 ACC

Upgrades (0/50)

Special Effect - [Wind Control] - The West Wind is stored in your blade, allowing you to summon a gust of wind at will.

Ken had spent hours looking through the [Vault of Heroes] - which was just an inventory full of countless swords. He'd finally settled on the [Blade of Zephyr] because of its immense versatility. 

Some other ones looked OP, but this one has the most potential. Being able to control the wind has some creative uses, and the stat boosts work well with my build.

"A legendary?!" Argo breathed out in shock, staring at the sword as Ken gave her the rundown on its attributes, "This is insane… you have the only legendary right now. Probably the only one until floor 25…"

Thanks for the free hint.

The 25th floor was the last floor that the beta testers got to during the beta period, and Ken now knew where Kirito got his legendary sword from after Argo's comment.

"You can sell this information," Ken said smoothly, "But not until the second floor is unlocked. In return, spread rumors for me until the 10th floor. Deal?"

Ken knew Argo would keep this to herself if he wanted her to - as she valued trust over everything. If a client wanted to keep something secret then she wouldn't sell it for any amount of Cor. In this case, it wouldn't be good for his image with the newbies if word spread that he had both a legendary and epic tier item, but that would change once the second floor was unlocked. Most of the newbies would never leave the first floor, or even the [Town of Beginning], so they would have no idea what that meant in comparison to other top players. On the other hand, the only parties heading to the second floor right away would be clearing parties, so having good gear would only raise their opinion of him. 

It was a win-win. Argo would sell the information and benefit from it, and while it probably wasn't valuable enough for ten floors of covering for his new guildmembers, she would think it was. In return, he'd get the rumors spread.

Argo's face squished for a moment as she thought about, "Are you sure? I don't need to sell this… We can negotiate over something else."

She'll assume I don't want this spread - as most players, especially top ones, are secretive about their gear. Especially about something as insane as a legendary item on the first floor. 

Having your gear be known to the world was like asking PKers to chase you down. Even worse, the PKers could plan around your gear - creating a strategy to kill you even if you were over-leveled. Ken having a legendary sword meant that a huge target would be placed on his back - an even bigger one than his fame had already placed on him.

Luckily, Ken hadn't had any attempts on his life yet. The worst he'd had were a few aggressive parties while hunting, but nothing had turned into a fight yet.

Ken's new gear would raise some suspicion among the newbies, but without seeing the second floor for themselves and knowing other top players' gear, they wouldn't have a reason to scorn him. The favor he'd gain with the top players would outweigh a bit of suspicion, but Argo would think he was doing her a favor by letting her sell information about his gear.

"I'm sure," Ken confirmed confidently, giving her a nod. Argo looked worried for a split second but then nodded.

"Fine. We have a deal," She said, holding out her hand. Ken grabbed hers and shook it.

"I take it you're not using the gauntlets, right? Are you gonna sell them?" Argo asked with a raised eyebrow, "I feel bad about making a lopsided deal. I can sell them for you anonymously. I won't take a fee either." 

"No thanks," Ken responded smoothly, "I'll keep them. Instead, can you look out for any promising brawlers that don't have a party?"

"Sure," The girl nodded in response, and Ken started to turn around now that their business was finished.

"Ken," Argo spoke up again, an edge of worry in her voice as he started walking away from the meeting spot, "Are you sure I can sell this?"

"Going back on our deal already?" Ken asked with a hum, looking over his shoulder at her.

"No. I'll still do the rumors," She said, her face wrinkled with concern, "If selling this will get you killed, then I'll just take the loss, alright?"

How sweet.

He would've liked to take her up on her offer, but he knew it would sour any other business they did in the future. Ken waved his hand dismissively, turning his head away from the girl as he hollered over his shoulder, "Just wait until the first-floor boss is cleared, and I'll be fine."

It's cute that you're worried, but I'm not. A bunch of PK shitters can't take me on.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What do you mean I'm not on the list? Check it again!" An annoyed female voice rang throughout the hallway, echoing and reverberating through the small stone enclosure. Her voice drowned out Ken's footsteps as he strode towards the voices.

"I'm tellin' ya, lady, you're not on here! I've already checked twice!" A male voice followed the female voice, sounding equally annoyed, "Just go buy a ticket like everyone else! I can tell you're not a VIP just by lookin' at ya!"

"Huh?! What's that supposed to mean? Is it because I'm a gi-" A hand landed on the girl's shoulder, cutting her off as she spun around angrily, then blushed as she looked up, "Oh, it's you, Ken!"

"Clam down, Asuna," Ken said smoothly, smiling complacently at the girl and then looking up at the man, who was dressed in a set of armor that covered everything but his mouth and nose, "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."

"Oh, Ken!" The guard said hastily, standing up straighter as he held his hand out for a handshake, "Sorry! I didn't realize this girl was with ya! Then you must be Asuna, little lady!"

The guard was standing on the right side of a large wooden door with another guard standing parallel to him on the left side. The right-side guard was holding a notepad as he spoke to Ken, and the left-side guard stood stiff as he was trying his best to not listen to their conversation while he checked in another player.

"It's no problem," Ken said graciously, grabbing the man's hand and shaking it, "What's your name?"

"Ah, it's Beau!" If his southern tone hadn't conveyed where the man was from, his name did, "Nice to meet ya!"

"Nice to meet you as well, Beau," Ken said, a bright smile on his face, "Are you a part of Diavel's guild?"

"Y-Yea!" Beau responded, nodding rapidly. Ken couldn't see Beau's face eyes through his helmet, but he didn't need to. He could tell from the way his head clumsy nodded that the man had stars in his eyes.

"Well, then I'll hope to see you again in the boss raid! Don't be a stranger next time you see me!" Ken said brightly and patted the man on his large metal shoulder guard as he pushed open the door, walking through with Asuna.

"D-Did you see that? He called me his friend!" Beau's muffled voice came through the closed door as Ken and Asuna stepped into the front row of the colosseum. 

"He literally didn't say that." The other guards voice quipped in response.

"S-Sorry Ken," Asuna squeaked cutely next to him, blushing as she looked at the floor, "I know you said not to make a scene again, b-but he didn't believe me when I said I was in your guild! He kept saying that I was just one of the charity workers! That sexist-"

The 'charity workers' were the new members of the [Let's Work Together!] guild. Ken had opened their guild to newcomers - but only one position. He wasn't eager to have thousands of players vying for a position in his grinding party, so he'd limited it to people who were joining purely to hand out food and help the newbies in his stead. Evidently, the top-level guilds looked down on them and didn't consider them in the same light as they did Ken and his party.

Ken chuckled, patting the auburn-haired girl's head as she puffed her cheeks out, "It's fine, Asuna. Just try to be nice until the second floor, even if someone pisses you off, alright? There are too many eyes on the first floor, and we need the guild to look as welcoming as possible. We need the newbies to feel comfortable coming to us for help. We want to save as many people as we can, right?"

This was the excuse that Ken had come up with as to why he was so insistent on keeping a clean image for their guild. He couldn't just tell Asuna, or the rest of his guildmembers, that he was trying to manipulate the entire player base. Instead, they had to stay on their best behavior so that newbies felt comfortable coming to them for help, and so they could help as many people as possible.

"Y-Yeah, sorry, Ken," Asuna responded, blushing and not meeting his eyes as she looked dejected.

"Asuna," Ken placed a finger under her chin, dragging her eyes up to meet his, "It's not a big deal. Once we're on the second floor, we can act more freely. The people we're trying to help are those poor newbies in the Town of Beginning. They won't be able to keep track of everything we do once we're on the next floor, so we can start putting our foot down. I'm still a gamer at heart, y'know? I don't like letting other guilds get away with a lot of the shit they say and do to us either, but we'll just have to pay them back in the future. Remember his name, Beau, and you can tell him off after the boss fight."

"Right, just wait until the second floor," Asuna echoed, her face flushed red from his hand on her chin as she stared into his eyes.

"Good," Ken said approvingly, patting her head again, "Now, let's go to our seats."

They walked out of the small tunnel leading to the seating area, stepping into the stands and seeing the colosseum in its full glory. Compared to the first-floor boss raid meeting in the show, it might as well have been a football stadium. Literally.

While in the show the colosseum had only a few rows of seats, and with few enough people for them to be easily spread out, this colosseum was much more grand. It looked more like the Roman Colosseum than a broken-down one, with thousands of seats extending into the sky, all filled with players. The bottom two rows were separated from the rest while they were used as a VIP area, with the seats sitting near eye level with the round battle area in the middle. The ring of seats stretched around the colosseum, filled with a couple hundred VIP players - mostly comprised of top-level guild leaders and their tagalongs. There was a flat wall behind them, stretching up roughly ten feet until it opened up into the stands, which acted as public seating for any players who wanted to watch the meeting. 

Ken glanced around, taking in the sight of all the top-tier players sitting in the semi-circle surrounding the colosseum battle ring and locking eyes with a particularly mousey woman. Argo gave him a cheesy smile from across the stadium, and Ken returned it, but was more focused on the boy sitting next to her.

The boy was staring at the floor, blatantly blocking out all the noise around him. He had a mop of black hair on his head and was wearing a blue leather-metal chestplate hybrid along with a normal pair of black sweatpants. 

Well, there's Kirito.

Ken was sure the skilled boy was still alive, but his lack of appearance on the [Player Leaderboard] had caused a nagging doubt to appear in the back of his mind. This confirmed to Ken that Kirito had just hidden himself from the leaderboard, which wasn't out of character for the social recluse.

"Ken!" A voice hollered out to him from his right, barely audibly over the loud murmur of thousands of people speaking in the stands above them. Ken looked over, seeing Klein waving his hand from his seat, a small space open next to him. Ken grabbed Asuna by the hand, ignoring the girl's blush as he led her past the various high-level players already in their seats. They reached Klein, and Ken sat a seat away from him, letting Asuna sit between them. 

"I'm glad you came, Klein," Ken said, and he wasn't just saying it to butter up his friend. He was truly glad his friend had shown up.

"Yeah, as the Vice-Guildmaster I had to, right?" Klein responded with bags under his eyes. The mid-20s man looked awful as his eyes were dragged down from the bags and his messy hair did nothing for his image.

"I know it sounds harsh, Klein, but you're under-leveled," Ken said bluntly, locking eyes with the man, "You'll need to do some catching up if you wanna be in the raid party."

"I know, I know," The man sighed, rubbing his eyes as he stared past Asuna at Ken, "I will. Dynamm wouldn't want me to just sit around. I'll do better, I promise."

Three weeks had passed since the death of Dynamm, and none of his guildmates had taken it well. 

Honestly, if I knew it was gonna be this bad, I would've just saved the bastard.

…

Who am I kidding, no I wouldn't have. He would've set us back more than three weeks in the long run.

Ken had spent the last three weeks grinding as a duo with Asuna as the rest of the guild mourned the loss of Dynamm. Ken knew they would need some time - he was their real-life friend for years, after all - but he thought they'd use it as motivation and throw themselves into grinding, or at least be mentally strong enough to know that they couldn't just take a break from leveling up. 

Instead, the collection of men had nearly self-destructed. Dale and Harry spent their days at a bar, drinking away their sorrow, while Kunimittz holed himself in an Inn. Issin had become somewhat of a therapist, accosting Ken countless times over the previous weeks to beat into his head that 'he wasn't to blame' and that 'he couldn't have known the boss would hit through his parry.' Klein was the worst of all of them, as he seemed to blame himself since he was the one to insist on all his friends joining Sword Art Online in the first place. The man had been completely unreachable for a week and then spent the next two weeks barely talking to anyone.

I'm sure they'll get over it eventually, but we don't have that much time. Honestly, I'm not sure if I can go forward with these guys. Klein's my friend, and they managed to be a top guild in the show, but if they don't step it up then I'll be forced to replace them in the party.

Four days ago word spread throughout the forms - Diavel and his guild, the [Banner Eagles], had broken through the 24th floor of the labyrinth and discovered the boss room. 

Still weird that they're called the Banner Eagles. I thought they were Americans, but nope, Japanese guys.

Luckily, Diavel was smart enough to not rush into the boss room and had instead called for a meeting between all the top guilds and players, which was where Ken, Klein, and Asuna were now. 

Other than me and Asuna, the rest of them are way behind now. I guess I'll see if this charity work will pay off. 

Based on levels, gear, and merit: Ken's guild had no chance of being a major player in the raid. Klein, Dale, Harry, Kunimittz, and Issin were now heavily behind in terms of leveling and gear after spending the last three weeks mourning Dynamm, and Ken wasn't sure he and Asuna could make up for their shortcomings enough to justify their party getting an important role. If anything, the other guilds would demand that Ken temporarily joined one their parties for the duration of the boss raid.

But I can't do that. I want that last-hit bonus, so I need to lead the party.

More importantly, there was an even bigger problem in Ken joining a different party for the raid: His ego.

I'm not taking orders from some shitter. I'm the best in the game.

Ken's new sword had allowed from him to dive into some of the harder areas, resulting in him being able to rise into the top 5 on the [Player Leaderboard] and power-level Asuna into the top 50 despite their slow beginning and lack of one-time quest completions. Not that she really needed him to carry her - for someone who had never played a video game before, Asuna was remarkably skilled and efficient in farming mobs.

A top 5 player, a top 50 player, and 5 players outside of the top 500. Even if I somehow get three other top-tier players in, we'll be put in a supporting role.

Ken suspected that the limit in the boss fight would be the same as in the beta - 100 players. Only ten parties would get in, and there were tens of thousands of players sitting in the colosseum right now, all eager to get into the raid. Even worse, Ken hadn't finished filling out the 10-man party yet. He was still looking for two good support players, along with a brawler that could utilize the [Gauntlets of Hercules].

Depending on how soon the raid takes place, I might just need to grab the three highest-level ones I can find.

Ken's guildmates had chosen the worst time possible to become hermits. The top guilds and parties had geared up enough to take on the upper floors of the Major Dungeon, with it being cleared a week ago, as well as be able to easily farm Field Bosses. Some of these parties could also confidently travel to the very edges of the first floor, where higher-level field mobs spawned, to farm and complete quests. The XP and gear ramp-up had happened quickly, and Ken's guildmates had missed out on it.

Damn, I'm so glad I got that sword.

Ken had been able to avoid taking any drastic measures - as in, avoid either leeching off other guilds for gear or having to take less-than-appealing players into his party. His skill allowed for him and Asuna to grind field bosses for the past week, so they at least had all rare gear, even if they had missed out on a few epic items.

"E-Excuse me, are you Ken?" Ken was pulled out of his thoughts as a high-pitched cute voice spoke to his side. Ken glanced over, taking in for the first time the girl sitting in the seat next to him as she nervously tapped on his shoulder. She was a small girl with long blonde hair, big green eyes, and an angelic face. Her ears stretched abnormally far back on the ends, telling Ken that she was likely the [Fairy] or [Elf] race. She was wearing an entirely green tunic that did nothing to conceal the massive breasts attached to her chest.

"I am," Ken said evenly, smiling smoothly at the girl.

"Oh, wow! It's nice to meet you!" The girl said excitedly, stars in her eyes as she looked up at him, "I've heard about what you were doing for the new players! It's amazing! I'm so happy to see there's such a kind soul here!"

"I'm just doing what anyone in my position would," Ken said simply, waving off her praise, "We're all stuck here together, and it's only right to help out someone in need, right?"

"Yes! Yes!" The girl squeaked excitedly, the stars and excitement in her eyes growing even wider at his words as she stared at him in near-reverence, "It's so nice to meet such a kind person here! It's inspiring! I was scared when I found out I was trapped in here, but seeing you be so kind and caring gives me hope!" 

"I'm glad I could help in any way," Ken responded smoothly, holding up a hand to offer a handshake, "You seem to have me at a disadvantage here. Mind telling me your name?"

"Ah, right, sorry! I'm Asia," The girl said, smiling brightly at him, "I'm a healer for the The Hero Family guild!"

The Hero Famil- nevermind. More importantly, a healer? She kind of looks familiar too… Eyes of Theia.

[Asia]

[Healer]

Wallet: 5,220 Cor

Level: 14 (32,600/75,000XP)

HP: 650/650

MP: 3,500/3,500

STR: 10

AGI: 55

DEF: 10

DEX: 55

ACC: 80

INT: 300

Skill Slot #1: [Fast Regeneration]

Skill Slot #2: [Mana Influx]

Skill Slot #3: [Cure Wounds]

Skill Slot #4: [Escape Card]

Skill Slot #5: [Small Heal]

Skill Slot #6: [Angels Restoration]

Skill Slot #7: [Healing Pulse]

Skill Slot #8: [Mana Regeneration]

Skill Slot #9: [Health Regenration]

Skill Slot #10: [Self-Heal]

Skill Slot #11: [Quick Steps]

Skill Slot #12: [Medium Heal]

Skill Slot #13: [Angel's Guidance]

Skill Slot #14: [Angel's Field]

Asia… where have I heard that name?

Ken blinked in surprise as he looked at her stat sheet.

I know she must be at least a decent healer to be here, but her build is amazing. Is this cute girl actually a pro-

"Who the hell are ya talkin' to, Asia?" A loud masculine voice cut off his thoughts, and Ken looked past Asia to see a man sitting next to her. He was large - absurdly large. He looked well over six feet tall, towering over even Ken. His body was littered with massive muscles that were barely visible through the layers of fat on his body. Ken suspected the man must've been some type of powerlifter or strong man in real life. His face was round and ugly, with an abnormally big nose and mismatched crooked eyes.

"Ah, this is Ken, guildmaster! The one who's been helping the new players!" Asia said, leaning back so Ken could lock eyes with the man, "Ken, this my guild master, Bogo!" 

The man stared at Ken blankly for a second, so Ken held out his hand to offer a handshake, "Nice to mee-"

"Hmph," The burly man slapped Ken's hand away dismissively as he glared at him, "Don't talk to this playboy fucker, Asia."

Huh?

"N-No, guild master! This is the Ken who's the guild master of 'Let's Work Together'! The ones who bought the bakery by the guild hall to give out meals!" Asia said panickedly, waving her hands as her guild master glared at Ken.

"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding," Ken said smoothly, restraining himself to try and keep the conversation civil.

"No, It's not, you bastard," Bogo growled, leaning past Asia as he glared at Ken, "Did you think I'd forget what you did to me?! I can't stand you! You probably think you're so cool, huh? Acting all nice and shit so the girls swoon over you, huh, you fucker?! I can't stand you fucking fake nice guys!"

Ken blinked as the man ranted in front of him, spit flying out of his mouth.

"I think you got me confused with someone else. We've never even met," Ken said as he tried to diffuse the situation.

"Oh, trying to play dumb now, huh, you fucker?! I know you remember me! I could never forget you!" Bogo spat out venomously, "All those times you killed me in the beta, and you wanna pretend they didn't happen? As if, bastard!"

Ken blinked as he looked at the man, trying to remember if he'd seen him before.

I killed a lot of players in the beta, man. It's a video game - everyone was doing it, I don't know why he's so pissed.

"This world is so fucked up because of guys like you! Tricking all the girls so they don't date a real nice guy like me! Not today, you pretty bastard!" Bogo continued ranting, "My sweet little angel Asia isn't gonna be your next victim! You might trick the rest of the players with your nice guy attitude, but you can't fool me!"

"You can keep up this nice-guy persona all you want, but you'll never convince me, you villain! I know who you really are! As the protagonist of this world, I'll save us all and defeat you! I'll show your villainous actions, which you hide in the shadows, to the world! I'll be the hero of light, and take you down!"

Bogo raised his hand, jutting a finger at Gray, "Got it? Talk to my Asia again, and I'll fucking kill you, alright?! You and your whole guild, you slimy bastard! I'll take that girl too, such a waifu is wasted on a snobby fucker like you!"

Ken stared back at the man as he huffed, out of breath from his rant. For one of the few times in Ken's life, he was genuinely at a loss for words.

Is this guy insane, or just stupid? 

Asia's optimized build suddenly made a lot more sense.

This guy never touched grass a day in his life. A worthy opponent, truly, but you're still just a shitter.

"Hey, where do you get off lying abou-" Asuna's voice spoke up from behind him, the girl jutting her finger past Ken at the large man.

"It's fine, Asuna," Ken said, raising his hand placatingly to cut her off, "Remember what I told you, Asuna? I'm sure he's just kidding around. The meetings are about to start, so we should pay attention. It was nice to meet you, Asia!"

Ken finished his sentence by smiling softly at the golden-haired girl, ignoring the way Bogo pulled his body back with a huff and looked back at the stage. The girl nodded rapidly in return, a look of nervousness on her face from the interaction.

I wouldn't want to steal a healer from their guild. It'd make me look bad, and ruin my relationship with them. Luckily for me, our relationship can't sour anymore, Bogo. 

Ken turned his attention back to the combat ring in front of him as a blue-haired man and a short girl walked into the center of it. Asuna looked like she wanted to say more, but stopped and blushed as Ken placed a hand on her thigh.

Our relationship also won't matter when I stomp your guild into the dirt. I'll ask Argo about them - The Hero Family. For your sake, I hope you're useful, Bogo. Maybe I'll consider letting you live.

…

Maybe.

…

Probably not.

…

Nah, you're fucking dead, man.

"Welcome, players! I'm sure you all know why we're here!" The man in the center of the ring said, his voice echoing around the colosseum as the female mage next to him cast an amplification spell, "My name is Diavel, the guild master of the Banner Eagles! As of four days ago, we have taken a huge step toward being free from this virtual prison! We have cleared the 24th floor of the labyrinth, and found the first floor boss room!"

A round of cheers echoed through the colosseum as Diavel raised his fist upwards, pausing to let the cheers die down.

"The Banner Eagles will be leading a raiding force into the boss room exactly one week from now! We ask for your support in this endeavor to reach the second floor!" Diavel said, his arms spread wide as he spoke out to the surrounding players, "Through our examination of the boss room, it has been discovered that the room limit is 100! However, the party limit is 5! As the leader of the raiding party, I am looking for the 20 best parties available, regardless of guild!"

"And who made you the raid leader?" A voice shouted out from the bottom row of the colosseum, and Ken looked over to see a large man stand up from his seat a few rows away. Ken grinned, his finger tapping on his thigh once.

Enter, Romanov.

The mid-30s huge Russian man had long silver hair that went down his shoulders, exposed as the guild master had his massive black helmet unequipped for once. His handsome face, set with overly sunken cheeks and a sharp jaw, was riddled with scars. Your natural body couldn't be affected within Sword Art Online, meaning that the man had been riddled with the scars when he entered the game. Huge gray metal shoulder pads sat on his shoulders, leading to a black chest plate. His chest plate was cut off at the waist, leading to long leather pants that stretched to his knees.

The man was the leader of the currently 3rd ranked guild: The [League of Monsters]. Its name was based on the makeup of its members, as the guild only accepted those with a monster-based race. Or, the less publicly known requirement of being Russian, as the man would overlook a non-monster race for his countrymen.

"Romanov," Diavel said complacently, "As the guild who defeated the labyrinth's 24th floor and reached the room first, I believe it's only reasonable for the Banner Eagles to lead the raiding party."

"Hah!" The Russian man scoffed, "You only got there because my party defeated the 20th floor's boss!"

"I'm with Romanov on this one," A female voice countered from the opposite side of the arena, "I don't see why a guild outside of the top ten should lead the raid team."

Enter, Esdeath.

Ken raised his finger, tapping his thigh twice.

A blue-haired woman sat on one of the stone chairs, her legs extended outwards onto a footrest. Said footrest didn't exist for the rest of the VIPs, as it was made of a man on all fours. Her feet idly laid on his back, covered in a pair of large black boots. She wore a set of white leather armor, accented with black stripes that paired with the white captain-like hat on her head. She was leaned back casually, a smirk on her face as she watched her fellow blue-haired player, Diavel, struggle in the ring.

I might not be the biggest anime fan, but I know who she is. She'll be a problem in the future.

The woman led the currently 7th ranked guild: The [Ice Queens]. The guild was known for being comprised primary of female players, with their entire grinding party being all female.

"Eh, who cares who leads?" Another male voice spoke before from a couple dozen seats away, "Who ever gets the last hit bonus gets it. Who cares?"

Enter, Pig.

Ken's finger tapped his thigh three times.

The voice belonged to a giant, round man, who looked similar to a bowling ball. He lived up to his in game name, [Pig], as he had an ugly face with a crooked nose, along with a bald head. His stomach stretched out into a beer belly, straining against the huge metal chest plate. Even as he was sitting down it was obvious how large the man was - as he stood close to seven feet in height. 

The current #1 [Tank] player was lounged back lazily, a finger picking his nose as he gave his two cents as the leader of the [Lazy Bastards], the current #10 ranked guild.

"Guildmasters," Diavel spoke up, the man expertly trying to talk his way around the conflict, "The Banner Eagles are the best choice. We have no conflicting relations with any other guilds, and we are only outside of the top ten due to the non-combative guilds taking up spots."

Ah, here he comes.

"Eh?! What are you trying to say about us, you fucker?!" Another male voice rang out, and Ken resisted letting a grin spread on his face again.

Enter, Kibaou.

Ken's finger stopped a mere centimeter above his thigh.

I've been waiting for you to speak up.

The fiery man glared at Diavel, pointing at him in an accusatory manner. He was one of the few VIPs who wasn't kitted out in his typical armor, instead just wearing a pair of shorts and a sleeveless brown shirt.

The man was the current representative of the non-beta testers, as he was the leader of the largest non-grinding guild: The [Newbie Nation], rank 9. They were one of the 'non-combatitive' guilds that Diavel was talking about, as the guild was full of players who hadn't even left the starting town yet. They were within the top 10 purely because of their massive member count, as even one of their top members, Kibaou, was barely within the top 500 on the Player Leaderboard.

"You trying to say we're not real guilds or something, huh? You beta-testing bastards are trying to keep the newbies out of the boss fight so you can hog all the loot!" Kibaou yelled 

Diavel was stunned for a moment, his face blank, but Ken could see the man's mind racing. Unfortunately for the blue-haired guild master, he didn't think quickly enough, as a murmur spread through the stands above the VIP's. The primarily newbie-filled stands started talking quietly amongst themselves, silently judging the leader of the Banner Eagles.

"N-Not at all!" Diavel finally spoke, his words rushing out quickly as he felt the conversation turn against him, "I'd be more than happy to have a newbie guild join the raid party, but allowing one with poorly geared players would just lead to unnecessary deaths. As a beta-tester myself, I feel that it is my duty to protect the newbies!"

A nice save, but you won't just accept that, right, Kibaou?

"Hah! The Banner Eagles have done nothing to help the newbies out! You bastards took all the good quests and left us to die, and now you wanna act like you care?!" Kibaou raged, jutting his finger out again with a smirk on his face, "If you're so worried about us, then it'd be fine for a newbie party to join if they had good gear, right?"

"Well, of course, but good gear wouldn't matter if they were under-leveled! They'd still be at a huge risk," Diavel explained, his eyes narrowed as he saw the angle Kibaou was hinting at.

He's good. If he just agreed thoughtlessly there, he'd be pressured into giving out gear to Kibaou's guild. A good counter, but not good enough.

After all, Ken had spent the hours at the bar subtly showing Kibaou the direction he needed to take the meeting.

"So, the levels the problem now, huh?" Kibaou's smirk widened, the man not having a subtle bone in his body, "Then if they're a high level, you'd have no problem letting a newbie into the party, right? Since you beta-testing fuckers have been taking all the good gear, it's only right that you share some too, right?"

"Ahem," Diavel cleared his throat, "Yes, that would be fine. The Banner Eagles are all for supporting the new players and would be more than happy to share some gear with any newbie guilds that prove they won't be in danger during the boss fight. Our top priority is protecting as many people as possible!"

An easy thing to agree to. After all, there are no newbie parties that are even close to being useful in the raid.

"Then, as the guild master of Newbie Nation, I would like Brother Ken to represent all the newbies in the boss raid!" Kibaou said, turning and looking directly at Ken, "As the only one of the beta testers who gave a damn about us newbies when the game started, he should represent us! He's high-level and has good gear, so that's fine, right?!"

Good work, Kibaou.

For a moment, the entire colosseum turned their attention to Ken, who simply sat there idly, not making his move yet. He merely nodded his head.

Now, for the next act.

"Yeah! Ken should be a part of the raid team!" A random voice shouted into the quiet colosseum, and another followed soon after.

"Y-Yeah! He's always helping people out! He should definitely be in there!"

"The only one of you beta-testing bastards that cares about us little guys! Give the Let's Work Together guild the last-hit bonus too!"

"Yeah! You guys have been hogging all the loot while the Let's Work Together guild has been sharing! They should get the last hit bonus!" 

"Yeah! Put Ken in!"

"Go Ken!"

A rumble of shouts resounded around the colosseum, and Diavel quickly held up his hands.

"Ah, yes," Diavel stumbled over his words again, "I have no problem with Ken joining the raid party, but the Let's Work Together guild suffered a big loss recently, and their party is under-leveled as a result. Them joining the raid would be putting them in dang-"

"Don't - hah - worry!" A large voice boomed out, overpowering Diavel's voice even with the amplification spell, "Ken can join our - huu - party for the raid! The Brotherhood will wel - haa -come Ken with open arms!"

A few sections over from Ken was a tall, muscular, tan man in his early 20s. To say he was muscular was an understatement, as the man's muscles bulged and flexed with every movement. Said movement was his body falling and rising repeatedly, as the man was in a push-up position in front of his seat. He had a short blob of blonde hair on his head, along with a square-ish face with a strong jaw. His entire upper body was showcased to the colosseum, as he was shirtless with only a pair of white sweatpants on his body. 

The area around him was quite the sight, as the man's guild took up nearly 25 seats, as compared to the 2-5 most other guilds had. It was incredibly easy to tell his guildmates a part from other guilds, as the set of men had extremely muscular physiques, with many of them also being shirtless. Some of them were idly bicep-curling their weapons even though doing so wouldn't give them any more STR. 

Enter, Jim.

[IGoToJim] huffed as he continued doing pushups, shouting out absurdly loud in between each breath, "My brothers will - huff - be honored to let Ken - kaa - take their place!"

The [Muscle Brotherhood] sat near the top as the #2 ranked guild, composed entirely of meatheads. It was no surprise that the guild had been so successful, as the muscle-head-filled guild was adamant about being 'gigachads' as they fearlessly charged into dungeons. This also meant that they had one of the highest death rates among top guilds, as sometimes the 'bond of brothers' wasn't enough to defeat enemies.

"I second that," A much more sophisticated voice spoke up, "My party can create a spot for Ken."

Enter, Fanshi.

The man who spoke was on the opposite side of the colosseum as Jim. He was tall and lanky, wearing a long white coat with flipped cuffs at the top. His fingers were on his glasses, pushing them upwards as he spoke. He had a mop of blue hair on his head and a skinny angular face, giving him the look of a stereotypical nerd. 

[Fanshi] stared directly at Ken through his glasses, his eyes observing him carefully. The man was the leader of the 6th ranked guild: The [Mage Outlaws]. True to their name, the guild was composed primary of mage class players.

"Yeah! Ken cawn awso join ouw pawty if he wants! Thawt wouwd be awesome!" A cute voice followed his, directing everyone's attention to a small girl. She had long blonde twin tails, and was holding up a bejeweled wooden wand. She wore a tight white corset with a short white skirt. Despite her words, this woman was, in fact, not a child.

Enter, SnugglePuff.

[SnugglePuff] was, unsurprisingly, the leader of [Roleplayers R us!], the 8th-ranked guild. Also unsurprisingly, the colosseum became dead silent as everyone stared at her. The silence stretched on, reaching an uncomfortable amount of time.

"Um, yeah, anyway," Diavel brought the attention back to him, "I suppose it would be fine if Ken joined another guilds party."

"Sorry, everyone," Ken finally spoke, standing up as he put his best sadly-apologetic face on, "I would love to join the raid team, but I won't join another party. I've been grinding with my guildmates since the start of the game, and I won't abandon them as they mourn for their fallen friend of many years."

The colosseum was quiet again for a moment, and then Kibaou spoke again.

"You beta-testing bastards really are heartless, huh, Diavel?! The man's party just lost a longtime friend, and you won't let them in because they took some time off to mourn?!" The firey man said, pointing accusingly at Diavel, who stood silent as he tried to think of what to say.

Silence stretched across the crowd again, and then a voice spoke.

"Yeah… that is kinda fucked up, right?" A voice murmured from the stands above Ken.

"They just lost a friend, but Diavel's only thinking about their levels. I get that it's the boss and all, but damn, that's cold." Another said, chatter spreading amongst the newbies like wildfire.

Ken tilted his head to the side, nodding subtly. 

And now, it's your turn.

"Kibaou's right! These beta testers are all heartless!" Someone shouted, encouraging the crowd to start going wild. 

"Yeah! That's super fucked up, man! Let the man lead his own party!" Someone followed up.

"Ken's always so nice, I-I think he should definitely be in the raid!"

"Get Ken in there! If he's gotta lead his own party, then so be it!"

"Personally," A loud voice shouted up from the VIP section, Romanov grinning as he turned to look up at the surrounding crowd, "If I was the raid leader, I'd have no problem letting Ken lead his own party!"

.A cheer rang out at his words, and another voice spoke up.

"The Mage Outlaws agree! If we lead the raid party, Ken will be allowed to lead his own team into battle! Even moreso, he can be in an important position!" Fanshi shouted, raising his giant wooden staff up at the crowd.

Another ring of cheers rang out, followed by a booming voice.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Allow the Brotherhood to lead the raid, and Brother Ken's guild can have two parties join the battle!" Jim's voice boomed as he did one-handed pull-ups on the edge of the railing separating the VIPS from the stands, a massive smile on the mans face, "I can tell just by looking at you, Brother Ken, that you have the heart of a giant! Let us dive into battle together, my Brother!"

"The Iron Dominion is in agreement," Another voice shouted out, muffled by a giant knight-like helmet, "We shall lead the raid party, and the Let's Work Together guild may have the last hit bonus!"

The guild master of the [Iron Dominion], the current rank #4 guild, was covered head to tow in a set of iron knight armor, not an inch of his skin visible. He was simply named [Knight].

"Guys! Guys! Hold on!" Diavel shouted out, his voice becoming panicked as he held out his hands, "I never said Ken couldn't lead his own party - I was just concerned for their safety! Of course he can! The Banner Eagles would be more than happy to have a party from the Let's Work Together guild participate in the raid!"

"SILENCE!" A deep voice boomed out, shaking the eardrums of everyone in the colosseum. The arean instantly fell silent, all the chatter dying down. All eyes turned to directly in front of the ring. A thump rang out as a man stood up, all the seats around him being empty.

The man stood, his giant frame towering over everyone around him - which was impressive, considering the nearest filled seat was multiple rows over. The man was huge as sood at over 7 feet in height, his frame as thick as a bears. He had a square face with a chisled jaw. A mane of long blonde hair flowed down his head, reaching past his shoulders. Dark, tanned skin covered his body. A set of giant pitch-black armor covered his body, mental plates connecting to form a smooth surface. A giant sword sheath sat on his back.

Enter, Sun.

[DarkSun] - the current #1 ranked player, as well as the leader of the [Obsidian Army], who ranked first on the Guild Leaderboard.

I've been waiting for you. Tell me what I wanna hear, big guy.

"In four days," His gravely voice continued, "The Obsidian Army will defeat the first floor boss. We will fill 25 of the 100 spots. Ken's party will fill 5 more. If you wish to join, show up. I will decide if you are worthy."

With that, the huge man turned away and walked into the tunnel behind him, disappearing from view. The arena sat in silence, no one sure what to say. Silently, Ken resisted letting a large grin spread on his face.

Even you folded to the public pressure, huh?

"HAHAHAHA!" Jim's laugher boomed out, the man dropping back down into the VIP section as he quit doing pull-ups, "You heard him, brothers! Let's get outta here!"

"W-Wait, guys!" Diavel said, watching as the entirety of the [Muscle Brotherhood] started streaming out of the arena.

"Better luck next time, Diavel," Esdeath hummed, her foot lashing out as she kicked her human-footrest onto his side. She stood, walking toward the tunnel.

"P-Please ignore them, VIPs!" Diavel said, trying to save the situation, "The Banner Eagles found the boss room, so it's only right that we lead the raid!"

"Sowwy, Diavew-chan! I hope we cawn stiww be fwiends!" SnugglePuff said, waving her hand goodbye as her and two other similarly dressed girls started to leave the area.

"K-Ken! I'll let you have the last-hit bonus? How about it?" Diavel said, sweat dripping down his neck as he panicked. Ken had to resist the urge grin once again.

Ah, poor Diavel. That's a good offer, but…

"What do you think, Kibaou?" Ken said, doing his best to look serious as he turned to the leader of [Newbie Nation].

You can bet your ass I'm getting that last hit bonus no matter who's leading, so why the hell should I look bad to the newbies while doing it?

Kibaou grinned, "What I'm thinking right now is FUCK THIS BETA TESTING BASTARD!"

Kibaou pointed his finger at Diavel, yelling loudly so the entire colosseum could hear him, "That Sun fucker never helped us either, but at least he's honest about it! You Banner Eagle bastards took all the good loot and never gave a shit about us, and now you wanna mock us by acting like you care?! You think we're stupid or something?"

Diavel closed his hand into a fist, his nails digging into his hand as his eyes looked over at Ken peladingly.

"Sorry, Diavel," Ken said simply, nodding his head at the man, "It's nothing personal. The faster we clear this floor, the quicker we'll all be out of this game. I'll be joining the raid party with the Obsidian Army."

Ken's words were the nail in the coffin, as the VIPs around him started standing up and heading toward the exit tunnels. Diavel grit his teeth, glaring at the floor for a moment, before he turned around in a huff and stomped away.

"T-The meeting is over now!" The mage girl who was waiting nearby said, turning and chasing after Diavel. The stands were filled with chatter again as the players stood up, starting to stream out of the colosseum.

"Are you sure about this, Ken?" Klein asked from his side, "I know that Diavel guy kinda seems like a dick, but a week would be better, right? Can me and guys catch up in that time?"

"Catch up?" Ken mused, "Probably not. But, it's only the first floor. Most of the guilds clearing the labyrinth were being overly cautious, so they'll be overleveled for the boss. Even if you guys are behind, it'll be fine."

Granted, Illfang might just end up being way stronger. Whatever, if it comes down to it then I can just tell them to support from the backline.

"Alright, I trust you," Klein nodded.

"U-um, it was nice meeting you, Ken!" Asia squeaked from his left, and Ken looked over to smile and nod at her.

"It was great meeting you as well. I'll see ya around, alright?" Ken said, smiling at her as he discreetly swiped his hand up and sent her a friend request.

"Y-Yes! I'll see you some other time!" She responded, accepting as Bogo glared at him from behind her. She turned around as she, Bogo, and another man walked into the exit tunnel.

"That prick…" Asuna huffed as she stood up from her seat, "Where does he get off making up that stuff about you?"

"When you're getting attention, there's bound to be some jealous people. Don't worry about it," Ken waived off her angry question.

I'll deal with him.

"I didn't realize how famous you were, Ken," Asuna followed up, looking up at him with a bright smile, "I knew a lot of players knew about the guild from all the free stuff we give out, but this was crazy! That was cool, how all the big guildmasters were fighting over you!"

"Yup, having a good reputation pays off something, right?" Ken asked with a grin.

And putting plants in the crowd to cheer whenever you're brought up, but you don't need to know that.

"Anyway," Ken's grin turned overly sweet as he looked at Klein, "Gather the boys, Klein. You got some catching up to do.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You did well," Ken hummed, swiping open his trade menu as he spoke to the two men in front of him. One was short and fat, wearing a set of leather armor with a dagger at his side, and had a round head. The other was tall and lanky with an angular face, a small sword sheathed at his side as he wore a set of gray leather armor. Above their heads were the usual spinning crystals that all players had, with the one difference being their color. Above Ken's head was a green crystal - above theirs was an orange one. 

"Hey, man," The short fat man, named [Darrel], smirked at him, "I think you're cutting us a little bit short, yeah?"

"Really?" Ken raised an eyebrow, "That's 10,000, the agreed-upon amount."

"That was the old amount," The taller one, named [Carlton], said with a mousey grin on his face, "It'll be another 90,000 if you want us to keep this between us, get it? And next week, it'll be another 100,000!"

Ken blinked at the man, "Are… are you trying to blackmail me?"

"We're not trying to," Darrel said again, stepping closer to Ken, "We are, Mr. 'Saint Ken'! It wouldn't look so good if the world knew you paid us to rile up the crowd, ya dig? How would it look for your nice little guild if everyone knew you paid us to sit up in those stands and get the crowd on your side?"

Ken stared at him for a moment. Then, he chuckled 

"What are you laughin' about?" The fat man asked, leaning in with a toothy grin, "Realized your fucked or somethin'?"

Ken's chuckle turned into a full-blown belly laugh, echoing around the small Inn room. 

"Why the fuck are you laughing?!" Carlton asked, raising his fist as he stared at Ken, "We're serious, you fucker! Pay up, or I'll tell everyone!"

"Ah, that was good. Seriously, funny stuff." Ken huffed as he wiped a tear from his eye. He turned around, walking past the two men toward the door.

"Where the hell do you think yur going, bastard? I'll do it! I'll tell the whole fuckin' forums what you paid us to do!" Darrel said as he placed a hand on Ken's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah," Ken waved his hand dismissively, "You guys are going to say that I paid you to shout when I gave the 'secret signal'? Go ahead. Please, I'm serious. Go ahead. You should've just taken the 10,000, cuz you're not getting shit now."

"Is he stupid or somethin'?" Darrel asked, looking at Carlton, "You just want your reputation ruined?"

"No, you guys are the stupid ones," Ken sighed as he reached the door, looking back at them, "Two random-ass orange players are going to accuse me of paying you to yell what I wanted you to when I gave a secret signal? Please tell me how that'll go - wait, you don't need to. No one will believe you, dumbasses. Pray you don't see me in a PvP zone, or I'll kill you both for that shit you tried." 

Ken didn't wait for a response, walking out the door and slamming it behind him, leaving the two men speechless. He swiped his hand up, opening his chat with Argo.

Now, you didn't think I forgot about you, right, Bogo?

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Thanks for reading! The next chapter is out RIGHT NOW on Patreon.com/Koyon , or will be out publicly next month. I'll be updating this story once a month publicly, and twice a month on Patreon.