Chapter 3: Onwards

December 2, 2022

Nearly a month had passed since the launch of SAO, and the start of the death game reality. Two thousand players have already perished. Arthur and his friends had spent their time leveling up, whiles most of the time Häyhä would mourn about me not being ready to face the Templars even though he's a Templar himself. Arthur was even able to test out the ability of his Hidden Blades, to his surprise Häyhä has a hidden blade as well, for some strange reason. Did he where this as a trophy like that Templar that his dad told him about on one of his bed time story or that he was an assassin and he defected to the Templar for some reason. This was the question he had on his head when he first saw Häyhä. When his friends spotted the Hidden blade on his right wrist, his only response was "A secret that I and Häyhä only knows"

Little did he know that he would soon have some explaining to do, something he want to avoid.

When Arthur woke up, he had a message from Edward in his Inbox. Apparently, a party had some information they wanted everyone to know. His heart rate increased; it may be one more step to getting out of SAO and back to the real world. He equipped all of his gear and made his way downstairs. But first, he needed to get Yui.

He knocked on her door, praying she was awake. He had woken her once before and, needless to say, it wasn't pretty what had happened. Thankfully, the knob turned. The door opened to reveal Yui in her starting outfit, but a little blue cloak was draped over her shoulders. "What's the new get-up?" he teased.

"You're one to talk, Mr. Hood," she quipped back. He knew she was referring to the white hood he added to his starting outfit. "Yours serves a purpose, which I guessed would help me, too." She lifted the blue hood over her head, Arthur following suit. Now their faces were hidden and their identities were concealed. The two made their way to the arena to meet up with Edward and Häyhä.

The amount present was a pretty good size. The three sat by each other, listening as a man with blue hair, a shade or two lighter than Edward's, stepped up on stage. "Now that we're all here, let's get this meeting started!" announced the man. Arthur noticed a boy with black hair and eyes, maybe two years younger than he was, sit not too far away from him and his friends. He brought his attention back to the front.

"Hey what took you so long?" Whispered Häyhä. Arthur move his index finger and shut Häyhä's mouth as he was listening. "So anyway, I want to thank everyone for coming." He looked at everyone sitting in the stands. "Good to see you. My name is Diabel, and in this game, the job I rolled is knight!"

The crowd started to laugh at such a ridiculous statement. Even the Assassin silently laughed from behind folded hands. Edward joined in, laughing a little louder. Yui and Häyhä made no reaction. "

"There's no job system in this game, man!" one attendee shouted.

"HEY! Do you all wanna hear this or not?" The laughs faded. Everyone was on edge for what he had to say. "Right. Here's the deal, people. Our party found the boss room at the top of the dungeon tower today." The crowd silently whispered in shock when the news hit their ears. "We need to defeat the boss and make it to Floor 2. The next step is to tell everyone waiting back in town that it is possible to beat this game! The fact is that is our duty as the most capable players here. Agreed?" Everyone looked a little uneasy, but nodded in agreement; they had to beat it.

Arthur was amazed at the amount of applause the man was receiving. He did have true leadership potential. He even found himself clapping with the others. "Great. Now that's one more step closer to getting out of this place!" Arthur silently declared. "I've been itching to see what I can truly do in battle! Let's do this!" Edward shouted loudly. The crowd applauded, voicing their agreement.

Diabel held up a hand, quieting the crowd. "Glad to hear you're all with me on this. Now, let's figure out how we're going to beat the boss. First off, we'll team up into parties of six. A typical party doesn't stand a chance against a boss. We'll need a raid group, built of multiple parties. Understand?"

The parties were quickly being formed; no doubt by people that already knew each other. Arthur sat back up, quickly sending a party invite to both Edward and Yui. "Arthur, you were in the beta," Edward asked his friend as the invite was accepted. "How come we didn't do that when we first got here?"

"W-Well…" Another ping was heard, signaling Yui's acceptance, "I kinda forgot about the whole party deal. I didn't find the people I was with in the beta, so I guess the thought didn't come to mind." Edward's face drooped into a look of disbelief that his friend was sometimes so idiotic.

"Hey." The three turned their heads to find the black haired boy. "D-Do…you have room for one more?" Arthur shakes his head to decline the boy. "Oh that's too bad then." the boy said, peering at the acceptance screen to find someone else. "You were away from the crowd."

"That's the way we like it. We've never been one for crowds, tend to keep to ourselves," Häyhä said. Kirito nodded in understanding. "And who's that tower there?" He pointed to a lone cloaked person that was siting over by the steps. "Another of your friend?"

"No but he or she looks like their alone maybe asked him" suggested Häyhä. The boy nodded then took his leave. "Poor lad."

"All right!" All eyes were back on Diabel. "Looks like everyone is partied up. Now then-"

"HOLD UP A SEC!" a loud voice interjected. Asuna watched as a guy with prickly orange hair, akin to a cactus, jumped down the stand, several rows at a time and land next to Diabel. "My name's Kibaou, got that?!"

"And in enters the stage clown," Häyhä joked.

"Before we take on the boss, I wanna get something off my chest." The boys leaned forward, eager to hear what the walking cactus had to say. "We all know about the two thousand that already died, yeah? Well, some of you need to apologize to them right now!" He declared, pointing an accusing finger at the crowd. They all were wondering what the heck this guy was talking about.

"Kibaou, I think I know who you're referring to. You mean the ones who are ex-beta testers, right?" Diabel asked.

"Of course I mean them! The day this game started, the beta guys just up and vanished, right? They ditched all us beginners!" Kibaou went on about how the betas had snagged everything and took off, ignoring the players. "Hell, I bet there are some of them here! We should make them apologize and give up everything they own! How can the party trust them if they're holding out on the others?"

Arthur's blood ran cold when Kibaou said that. He was one of the betas currently being accused of ditching everyone and keeping his ass intact. But, he knew that he had been with Yui and Edward the whole time. If he did any quests, they were right alongside him. So, yes, I did do easy quests, but it was for their benefit, he thought to himself, referring to his friends. He looked over at Kirito, an equally uneasy look in his eyes, he and his friend moved towards Kirito and the hooded person siting next to him. "You're one, too, aren't ya?" Arthur silently asked Kirito. The boy nodded, not sure what to do. Arthur was at a loss for words when he saw Häyhä stand up.

Häyhä had enough. He stood and made his way down the steps. For once, Yui showed emotion as her lips curled tight, refusing to blurt out to Häyhä to stop. She knows what that man is capable of and she was worried that someone is going to get hurt. "Oh, look. One of them has come to confess," Kibaou chided. "Well, what's your name and what's your loot?"

What Häyhä did next surprised his party. He punch then shoved Kibaou up against the wall, his Hidden Blade out and under the guy's chin. "W-What the hell?" he said in a quivering voice. "Who the hell are you?" There was a small evil laugh made by Häyhä,

"Who I am is not of your concern mate. Who are you to be bashing those who are fighting like the rest of us just to get out of here alive?" Häyhä whispered , just barely loud enough for Kibaou to hear. Diabel made a move for his sword, but held back when Häyhä said his last line. "Beta tester or not, we are all in hell together lad. If you're just peeved that a man or a woman is a level higher than you, then grow the bloody hell up!" He released Kibaou, retracting the blade. "And I'm telling you now I'm more than a Beta player.

"Can I add something?" asked a deep voice.

Häyhä turned around to find a large black guy towering over him. He wore a black sleeveless shirt and pants with a chest plate on his front and an ax strapped to his back. He didn't feel intimidated, though; he knew that whatever he would say was directed at Kibaou.

"My name's Agil. Kibaou, right?" The cactus head nodded, still shaking from his encounter with Häyhä. "I wanna make sure we're on the same page: you say it's the beta tester's faults for the rookie's deaths because they didn't help them. And you wanted them to apologize and give up their winnings. Did I miss anything?" Kibaou shook his head. Agil reached into his pouch, extracting a small leather book. "The shops still sell these items for free. It's a guide book. You got one, right?"

"Sure I got one. What about it?"

"You know who's still handing these out? The ex-beta testers." Everyone was shocked; the man had punched a hole in Kibaou's logic. "Listen up. Everyone had equal access to this information. Regardless, many still died, but I didn't come here to point fingers at anyone. I'm here 'cause I wanna learn from their deaths. I'm here because I wanna know how to defeat the boss."

Arthur and Kirito breathed a visible sigh of relief. Kibaou mumbled something and flopped back in his seat. Häyhä and Agil made their ways back to the stands. "Thanks for backing me up, lad." Häyhä said

"Few more seconds and I'm sure he'd have died," Agil replied.

"By my hand? No; it'd just be a waste. He's not worth it." He looked back at the orange porcupine. "Though maybe smacking him around a bit could teach him some bloody manners." He made his way back to his seat as Agil smiled at the foreign stranger.

Diabel was thankful the tension had defused. "Okay, now let's get back to the meeting." He pulled out his guidebook. "According to the guidebook, the boss is…"

Yui was thankful that nothing had happened to Anyone, but she couldn't believe how reckless Häyhä was up there. "Are you crazy?" she silently shouted. Häyhä looked over with his intimidating cold eyes. "You're an idiot, picking a fight like that, and with your dagger no less!"

"And if I didn't stop him, something worse could've come out of it. All it takes is the thought of a single individual to ignite a riot. That's the last thing we needed, especially for these two," he said, referring to Arthur and Kirito.

Kirito was shocked that Häyhä found him out. "But, I never said I was a beta tester!"

Arthur smiled. "He didn't have to. Your eyes said it all."

"…when the last one turns red, he switches to a curved sword-like weapon called a Talwar." Häyhä started to laugh quietly. "is attack patterns changes, too" Diabel closed his book and looked at everyone but realising that Häyhä was laughing after he said Talwar which raise a bit of suspicion. "That's it for the briefing. As for loot distribution, money will be divided equally among everyone. XP goes to the party that defeats the boss, and whoever gets an item gets to keep it. Got it?" All present nodded. "Then we'll meet at ten in the morning. Meeting adjourned!" Everyone stood and made their way out.

Yui, Arthur, Edward and Häyhä also stood to leave. As their way out, Arthur turned back to Kirito. "We'll catch ya later tonight at the rallying party." Kirito nodded in reply. "We'll be there." Said the hooded person. Arthur made his way back to his friends and went back to the house to rest up.

{Later}

A small, yet equally jovial, party was held later that night in a small square with a fountain at its center. Häyhä raised his glass in cheers with those present, then made his way back into a smaller part away from the crowd with Edward and Yui. She was munching on a loaf of bread, her friends joining her. Arthur sipped from his glass, trying to break up the toughness of the crust in his mouth.

"Those are pretty good." Edward and Arthur looked up to see Kirito standing there next to the hooded girl. "Mind if I sit?" he asked the hooded girl. She gave no reply, which Kirito took as a sign to sit down. She scooted over a little. "What?"

"look at those two." Edward took a sip from his glass. "I wonder who that person is. she looks strong."

"Shush! Big boy kirito is making a move." He loudly whispers. Edward felt a touch on his back which made him squeal, it was Yui and Häyhä back from the party. "So what's happening here?" She asked. "Kirito?" Kirito heard the call and looked at the group that was spying on him. Kirito smiled as he took out his own loaf of bread with the hooded girl. "Well, as I was saying, it's nice to see there's a face under that hood." He sarcastically asked.

"What!?" Arthur realized he forgot to put his hood back up. "Yeah. Meet the real me," he said, raising his glass in introduction. "This yahoo is Edward." His friend also raised a glass. "This is Yui" she bowed in respect. "I guess you know who that is," he finished, referring to Häyhä.

They all munched on their bread, admiring that it wasn't much, but the bread was still somewhat good. "So…" The girl spoke up. "You think these are good?"

"Uh huh," Kirito replied. "When I came to this town, I ended up eating at least one a day. But, I have a trick to make it taste better."

"How can you flavor up hard tack?" Arthur quipped.

"Easy" replied Häyhä

Kirito removed a small clay jar from his back pouch, setting it on the wall. "You two can help yourselves to some, too." The trio all set on a finger on the mouth of the jar, their fingers glowing blue. Kirito followed suit, smearing the substance on his bread.

"Is this…cream?" The girl asked asked. Kirito nodded his answer. Arthur and Edward did the same, finding the smooth buttery substance now on their bread. Arthur bit into his meal, relishing in the sweet taste of butter that touched his taste buds. Yui looked at her friends enjoying their bread. But girl, she took one bite into the cream covered bread and gobbled it up in a matter of seconds.

"Wow easy tiger" Häyhä said. "Damn, that was fast," Edward said to the girl. She shuddered slightly in delight, keeping her face firm and unchanging. Like Häyhä's, her hood was still up, revealing only her nose and mouth.

"I got it from 'The Heifer Strikes Back' quest in the village before this place," Kirito told the group. "I could show you" he then turned to Arthur's group "and your friends how to get it."

"No thanks." She said

"Thanks, but no thanks," Arthur declined. "I didn't come to this town to eat good food." Yui and Edward looked confused by the tone of his voice.

"Okay…so why are you here?" He asked Yui. "Your level isn't that high."

"I'm with these three," she started, referring to her friends nearby, "and…I don't wanna lose sight of who I am. I don't want to lock myself in a room in the Town of Beginnings and slowly rot away." Arthur was surprised to hear this coming from her, but people change when put through hell. "I'd rather stay the way I am 'til the last moment…even if a monster beats me and I die." She clenched her hands together, eyes locked on to them. "I won't lose to this game or this world, no matter what."

"Hear, hear," Edward added, raising his glass. He and Arthur downed the last of their drink through looped arms as comrades.

Arthur walked over to Kirito and The girl and took a glance at her game tag, Asu-na? "I'd say it's time to head back, you two. We'll need all of the rest we can get." He turned to his friend. "And don't you worry." Yui looked up at him. "I'm going to make sure that you, Edward and I leave here alive. I made that promise, and I never go back on them."

"hey what about me!" Häyhä shouted

Edward grinned sheepishly when realizing something. "Although, I'm not sure if I'll be strong enough, but i think Häyhä is the kind of person to tackle most of the bosses alone, so we'll definitely need his, Arthur's and Kirito's help."

"Way to ruin the mood, buzz kill," Häyhä teased from the sidelines. "And hey, my promise was to make sure you trio stayed alive. I never said anything about tackling the bosses alone floor by floor." Häyhä looked at the night sky. "You'd have to be a mad man to want, let alone think, of doing such a thing." Arthur commented at Häyhä's sentence. The group stood and made their way back to their respective places.

{Later}

Arthur looked out of the window in his room, the lights still shining the streets of the Town of Beginnings. He had ditched his armor and was left only in his night clothes: a navy blue sleeveless shirt with white shorts. The only thing that never left his body was one Hidden Blade on his right arm.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," he told the person.

It was Yui, dressed in her night clothes consisting of a blue spaghetti strap top and short white shorts. "Can't sleep either, huh?" she said.

"On the contrary," he replied. "I wanted one last look at the town before we leave it tomorrow."

She stood next to him by the window. "How are you sure we're even gonna beat the boss?"

"I have plenty of faith in Diabel and his abilities as a leader. Despite a few knobheads in the group," he said, referring to Kibaou, "we've got a pretty solid group all around." He absentmindedly flicked his blade back and forth.

Yui took notice of the weapon still on his person. "I still haven't seen a weapon quite like that, and curiosity is eating away at me as to how you got that."

"Like I told you two: I can't tell you, it's a secret that me and Häyhä knows. But, from what I can see, it's not anytime in the near future." He looked at her, seeing the curiosity burning in her eyes. He figured he'd drop a hint. "Let's just say I'm more than meets the eye, and there's another enemy that I have a personal vendetta against here. That reminds me." He turned to her, arms folded. "What was the deal at the party tonight?"

She turned back to the Yui he knew. "People change, and let's just say this game has done just that," she said to him, rubbing her arm. "I've gotta grow up and think like an adult to get out of here."

Arthur laid a hand on her shoulder. "That doesn't mean you have to give up who you are. You'll always be the somewhat closeted, yet still fun, playful, caring girl I've grown to be close to." She closed the distance between them in a tight hug. Arthur returned the embrace, albeit blushing slightly. "W-Well, I think you should go back and sleep. Good night."

"Good night, Arthur," she said, closing his door.

{In dungeon- the next day}

Arthur and his friends felt like a soldier marching towards a battlefield for war as he and the raid group made their way to the boss room. There was a sinking feeling in his gut that told him, despite having a strong group, someone will die today in this battle. He kept glancing nervously back at Asuna, who was listening to Kirito explain the plan he has for the party. Arthur may have been the leader, but he was very inexperienced in drawing up or thinking of a battle plan. He already explained that to Häyhä and Edward; Yui took a while because he wouldn't her room. His palms were feeling clammy the closer they got to the room.

And so, the time had arrived. They gathered outside of the giant wooden double doors. Diabel planted the tip of his blade into the ground. "Listen up! I've only one thing to say: let's win! C'mon!"

Riveting, Arthur thought as the blue haired leader opened the door. He drew his sword, put his hood on and kept his Hidden Blades on standby. Häyhä took out his Rapier and readied himself, Edward stood poised, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Asuna and Yui drew their rapier with a flourish. Kirito had his sword in his sheath, not one for showing off before a fight.

The room had many pillars flanking each wall all the way down the other side of the room. A giant mosaic floor looked like a red carpet leading to the throne. Illfang only looked a large shadowy blob from their distance, only his red eyes gleaming in the darkness. The room illuminated with colors lining the walls like stain glass as the boss leaped to the center of the room, ax drawn and shield at the ready.

"Jesus. Looks like a giant kangaroo," Edward said, crouching into an attack stance. "No shit" replied Häyhä

The boss' four health bars appeared, his three Sentinels appearing next to their master. All charged at the intruders in their space.

"COMMENCE ATTACK!" Diabel ordered. Everyone charged, each attacking their own respective enemy.

In their party, Arthur had paired up with Häyhä whiles Yui is paired up Edward and lastly Asuna paired off with Kirito. The Sentinels proved to be tricky and slick monsters, being slightly faster than the duo. "Switch!" Arthur called. He parried the creature's attack, leaving him wide open to Häyhä's attack. He activated his Rapier Skill and stabbed and slashed the creature three times, bringing its health down to the red for another party to take it down.

He quickly brought his attention to the matter at hand, striking the armored monster and quickly letting Häyhä get a few hacks in before he could take it down. "Switch!" Häyhä called. He sheathed his sword and ran at the creature. He used one of his Hidden Blades to parry its attack, leaving an opening he took. He jumped, flicking out the blade of the other one, activating his skill and sunk the blade into the gap between the creature's helmet and shoulder plates. The body exploded in blue pixels, bringing a smile to the Assassin's face.

Illfang threw away his axe and shield, getting ready to draw his next weapon. "Stay back! He's mine!" Diabel shouted, charging the boss.

What? But the plan was for everyone to surround it, Kirito thought.

"He's got no idea what his what himself into" said Häyhä to Arthur

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the information on this book is wrong" announced Häyhä. He watched as the boss drew a sword that didn't match the description of a Talwar. "That's a Nodachi!" he and kirito quietly shouted. "Wait, stop! It's no good! Get out of there!

It was too late; Diabel had already started his charge. Illfang sprang high into the air, bouncing off two pillars and landing two lethal hits on the knight. "NO!" many of the fighters shouted. The beast leaned in close and growled loudly, intimidating the attackers.

Arthur watched as Kirito rushed over, potion in hand, to save Diabel. He saw the leader deny the potion and whisper something incoherent to Kirito. With a final look of determination to Kirito, Diabel's body vanished into blue pixels. He felt his world grind to a halt; Arthur had witnessed his first death in SAO. He had already seen his mom pass away before, but she went quietly; Diabel was struck down. A fire burned inside his gut, spurring revenge throughout his body.

Kirito slowly stood, his party joining him by his sides. "I'll go, too," Asuna said.

"We've got your back!" Edward shouted.

"So, what's your plan, leader?" Yui asked.

"Follow me." The group charged at the giant kangaroo-like creature. The boss fired up a Sword Skill aimed at the group. He swung, but was blocked by Kirito's party. Asuna switched in, firing up her skill, poised to strike. Illfang's eyes glowed red as he readied a second swing. The sword tore through Asuna's cloak, tearing it to shreds. Häyhä shot the boss with his arrow which done some damage. For a moment, it almost seemed like there was no battle going on. All kirito could see was Asuna. He quickly snapped out of his trance. Now's not the greatest time, he mentally scolded. "He's coming back!" He deflected another strike, allowing Edward and Yui to perform an X Slash combo, knocking its health down even further. Kirito managed to block another slash, but didn't count on the boss to make a second attack. The attack was going for Asuna, but Arthur jumped in and took the full impact of the hit, knocking him into her and sprawling them onto the floor.

Häyhä ran over, seeing a large digitized slash across his friend's chest, his health down in the red. "I know it doesn't actually hurt, but I just had the wind knocked out of mind. So, ow!" he said, drawing out the word. Asuna looked in fear as Illfang raised his sword high. She raised her rapier in hopes of defending herself and the downed Arthur.

A battle cry came from behind her, deflecting the attack. There stood Agil, who had just saved their lives. "We can hold this bastard off long enough until you get your health up!" he told the others.

"Thanks," Arthur said, managing a weak smile. The others attacked the boss while he chugged a potion, bringing his health back up to green. "Okay. We gotta get back in and finish the job."

"There's a little bit of health left, but enough for each of us to get at least one more strike in," Häyhä said, drawing his Rapier.

"Here's what we'll do: same plan with the Sentinels. Pair up and switch until his health is down to the last red. Kirito, you feel good about taking the last strike?"

The boy smiled in reply. "Course I am!"

Arthur stood up. "Häyhä, you're ready!"

"(Sigh) You bloody know it."

Illfang knocked back all of the fighters. Kirito sprang into action, taking another hit off of the boss. "C'mon, Asuna! Arthur says we need to get one last attack!"

"Got it!" she shouted back.

Arthur ran up and blocked the Nodachi with his dagger, surprisingly strong for a small weapon. It opened an opportunity for him and Häyhä to use another X Slash combo. Kirito blocked another attack which allowed Asuna to use a Multi-Stab. The boys threw open his sword strike to give Kirito the last strike, a slash that went from the boss' side all the way up to his head. He exploded into pixels; Illfang was defeated.

Everyone cheered as a large Congratulations appeared. The Col screens appeared in front of everyone, all earning a large sum of money from the victory. The color faded from the room as it returned to its inactive state. Kirito's screen pinged with the addition of XP as did Arthur's and the others. Another item appeared in his Items slot: Coat of Midnight.

"Way to go, Kirito," he heard the boys in his party tell him.

"We did it!" Yui shouted joyfully

"Hell yeah!" Cried Edward

"Nice job," Asuna told Arthur.

"That was some fine swordsmanship. Not just you," Agil said, looking at the group, "but all of you were amazing. I've never seen such teamwork."

"Couldn't have done it without our leader," Yui said, directing the compliment at Arthur.

No, stop. I only rallied you," he replied, blushing and rubbing the back of his head. "If anything, Kirito deserves the credit for inspiring me to do so." Now it was Kirito's turn to blush in humility. Everyone congratulated his new friend for doing an amazing job on beating the boss.

The celebration, however, was short lived. "STOP CHEERING" Kibaou shouted. All went silent and turned the attention to him. "Why'd you do it? Why'd you let Diabel die!?"

"Let him die?" Kirito parroted.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Edward demanded.

"Shut up, you! Fess up; you knew the technique" he turned to face Häyhä "And you knew what exactly the boss was gonna use. You two could have told us and Diabel wouldn't have died!"

Thoughts about Kirito and Häyhä were rapidly changing, not many seeing him as a hero anymore. "I know why!" one in the crowd shouted. "They used to be a beta testers. They knew the boss' attack patterns, but kept it from us." Not a word from Arthur's party was said, but Häyhä grew dangerously close to tearing someone a new one. "And I bet They're not the only one, either! Show yourselves!"

Häyhä was not hearing it as he made his forward once again, but a hand grabbing his stopped him in his tracks. Asuna stood there, shaking her head with fear in her eyes. "Don't," she whispered. Seeing Asuna worry about him made Häyhä remembered something and feel bad about himself. He stood down, hand tightly on to Asuna's to avoid a confrontation.

A low laugh came from Kirito that slowly increased in volume. "So, you all think I used to be a beta tester, huh?" He stood and continued to speak. "It's not cool to put me in the same class as those noobs.

"What'd you say!?" Kibaou demanded.

"Also, hurtful," Arthur quietly added.

"Most of the original one thousand who scored a slot were rookies, so green they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, even you all were better than they were." Kirito made his way through the crowd and stopped a few feet shy of Kibaou. "I'm nothing like those guys. During the beta, I made it to floors higher than any of the other players had. I fought more bosses with way stronger Stats and Sword Skills. And I know even more than you might think, or even imagine."

Kibaou was stunned. "If that's the case…you're worse than a beta tester. You're a god damned cheater!" he shouted.

The crowd voiced their displeasure at the recent statement. "A beta tester and a cheater!? You're a beater! That's what you are!" Everyone then agreed on the term, save for Asuna, Arthur, Edward and Agil.

"A beater…Yeah, I like the sound of that." The group was in shock as Kirito accepted his title. He went through his menu, equipping the Coat of Midnight. He turned for one last look of shock, but he instead was shocked seeing Häyhä march towards the accuser.

Häyhä was through with the crap he was hearing. He yanked his hand out of Asuna's and made his way towards Kibaou once again. "You again?" Kibaou asked. "You a beater like that guy?"

He wound back and socked the guy hard to the floor. Everyone was in so much shock that they didn't know how to respond. None did a thing as Häyhä pulled him up by the front of his collar, once again showing him his dagger. "Again with the fact that you're bitching about a player being better than you! I'm sick of hearing nothing but shit coming from your trap. Diabel's death had nothing to do with my friend." Kibaou's eyes shook with fear as Häyhä brought his face closer, the point of the dagger dangerously close to Kibaou's cheek. "He was after the last attack bonus. If you were in his shoes, wouldn't you want that, too? To gain another level? I'm sure even Kirito wasn't aware of that last attack pattern, let alone Diabel! I saw both in shock. So who are you to be casting stones! Huh!?" Two part of his hidden blade extended opened to the sides, revealing a bolt loaded into the crossbow like blade, then he shot Kibaou in the Shoulder with his Crossbow hidden blade, this damaged him until his health bar turned red. Everyone, (apart from his friends), drew their weapons and aimed at Häyhä.

No words; only small sounds of fear and pain escaped Kibaou's lips. "Y-You're a monster. W-Who are y-you?" he managed to stutter out.

Häyhä retracted his blade and said, "Call me 'Häyhä. No, a better name. Phantom.' And don't forget the name!" He let Kibaou fall to the floor and walked back to his group, who had followed Kirito to the room's exit.

Kirito was stopped halfway up the stairs, Asuna and Arthur a few steps below. Häyhä approached the group, trying to hone in on the conversation. "…look right about here, you'll see other HP gauges with the names of those in your party." He also took a look and saw Kirito, Arthur and Asuna all there with their health at a good level.

Asuna's steel face softened and she started to giggle. "I'm so dumb! It was there the whole time and I never knew," she said.

Kirito noticed Häyhä's approach and decided to speak. "You four are very good. You can get stronger. But if there's a day someone invites you to a guild, don't hesitate to accept. There are limits to what a soloist like me can do, but there is still strength in numbers." He turned to Häyhä. "I thank you for standing up for me and your friend back there."

"It's nothing. Consider it a life debt," he kidded.

"But, I'm afraid I can't be a part of your group anymore. I would like to leave and go on my own." Arthur was shocked, but decided to let Kirito speak. "You four are tight knit. A stranger in your group would only cause problems and maybe tensions. I can't risk that." Arthur didn't buy his excuse, but he remembered that he himself had a personal errand to handle in this game. Kirito may be strong, but he'd probably be reckless as an Assassin. He swiped open his menu and released Kirito from the party. "Best of luck to you all." With that, he walked through the door of the dungeon and vanished to the next floor.

"So, Assassin. Ready to hunt some Templars?" Häyhä asked Arthur.

"It's funny coming from a Templar" he coldly responded. But Häyhä does not have time for another B.S explanation of how he's not afilliated with the Templars no more"

"Former" He corrected.

"So, Assassin, huh?" Yui asked, arms folded. "I think it might have something to do with those daggers of yours."

Arthur sighed. He scrolled to the Items slot on his menu and equipped his Explorer Outfit. His hood remained white, but his clothes changed to a white upper body robe that had a few traces of black added in. In addition to his chest and back plates for his armor, he had leather gauntlets on his shoulders and forearms, adding extra protection. There was also a loop on the back strap to add in a Blowgun on the opposite shoulder from where his sword rested.

"Amazing!" Connor said, admiring the look.

"The look of it is something. It looks like you can blend in anywhere," Asuna added in, looking him up and down. "Where did you get this?"

"From Someone." He answered.