Chapter 36 - City on Treetops

The 3rd floor was nothing like Drifter was expecting. While the 1st floor was mostly composed of grassy plains, and the 2nd was a grand savanna, the 3rd floor was a lush forest.

The exit of the labyrinth was a grove between the roots of a giant tree. All around them was a verdant forest teeming with life. The sound of birds and insects made for a very pleasant background noise. Even though he knew so many trees would only make fighting harder, Drifter thought the change of scenery was a welcome one.

"Wow... This floor is so beautiful!"

"Heh! Wait till ya see Zumfut, Aa-chan. Of all the main cities I saw in the beta, it's by far the prettiest one."

"Zumfut? What a name."

Kirito snickered at Nautilus's interjection. The young swordsman was excited for this floor. He opened his arms, and started walking a path he knew too well.

"Yes, Zumfut. The City on Treetops."

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While Drifter, Kirito, Argo, and the others were making their way to Zumfut, in the real world Suguha stared blankly at the black screen of her cellphone.

She knew the players weren't having an easy time in Sword Art Online, that much was obvious. Over 2.200 people had died already, after all. But the battle against the trio of bosses on the 2nd floor had been something else.

She wasn't impressed by the bosses, however, but by the players. Sure, << Asterius the Taurus King >> had been terrifying. Even just from watching it, Suguha could feel how fearsome the boss was. But if the monster scared her, then the players who slayed it gained her utmost admiration.

Especially Drifter and Asuna. In her heart, she would always consider her brother the most powerful, but even Suguha had to admit that the spearman and rapier-user were the highlights and major contributors of the boss raid. First it was Drifter's unbelievable combo which struck down Asterius. Then, Asuna's lightning-fast offensive which killed the boss. And they were both in her brother's party.

In the following days, Suguha would rewatch the battle many times. And she would never cease to be amazed by how incredibly strong the players were. Not just Drifter and Asuna, but all of the raid-party. Most of them might not have shone as much as the spearman and fencer, but that didn't make the fact that they would willingly fight the strongest monsters in SAO any less impressive.

Maybe... Maybe there was a chance she could see her brother again.

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"Woah..."

Drifter had to agree. Woah.

"City on Treetops, huh? Very accurate."

After crossing a palisade guarded by several NPCs dressed in weirdly lackluster armor, the party plus Argo had entered the city of Zumfut. Though Kirito and the info broker had already described the city as the most beautiful of the first ten floors, nothing could prepare you for a settlement that was literally carved inside trees.

Zumfut was composed not of ordinary buildings, but rather three gigantic trees, each at least thirty meters in diameter and three times as tall. The trunks were almost entirely hollowed out, with wooden buildings occupying almost the entire space. Needless to say, Zumfut was a vertical city, with ladders and stairs carved on the hollowed trunks connecting different areas, and bridges linking the three trees together.

Of the few buildings at ground level, the most eye-catching one was, without doubt, the teleporter. That was partially due to the fact that it was constantly flashing and spitting out wide-eyed players.

"We didn't get the bonus experience this time, what a pity."

"We can't always hog all the benefits, Yuna."

"Eh, I know. I'm just joking, Kirito."

The black-haired swordsman grinned at the songstress before turning to Nautilus to explain something to the older boy. Slightly behind him, Asuna had her head raised, looking at the suspended bridges above them. Seeing her distracted, Yuna showed an impish smile, and winked at Drifter. The spearman raised an eyebrow in curiosity, before seeing her subtle gestures, and smiling back.

Nonchalantly, Drifter slowed down his footsteps, as if he was taking in the view. To avoid bumping into him, Kirito had to move a little to the right. At the same time, Yuna put her hands around Asuna's neck, hugging the girl from behind, and making her accelerate her walk just a little bit. When the fencer threw a questioning glance at her, Yuna just smiled, before releasing Asuna and looping her arms between Argo and Sinon's, dragging the two away.

"Hey, Naut, come take a look at this!"

Faking interest in something, Drifter gestured for the ash-haired blade-user to come with him. At the same time, he also casually bumped Kirito's shoulder with his fist, as if to say they would be right back.

Of course, everything Drifter and Yuna did was calculated - improvised, but calculated. When he touched Kirito, he just so happened to push the boy towards Asuna, who had unknowingly started to walk next to Kirito while they were both distracted. Unknowingly to her, of course, because Yuna had planned exactly for that.

The two teenagers, who had yet to realize how close to each other they were, brushed shoulders.

"Ah, sorry..."

Both Kirito and Asuna apologized at the same time, only to discover they hadn't bumped into some random player, but each other. Then, very slowly, they realized their shoulders were still touching. Almost at once, they split, their faces burning. When they looked around and discovered that everyone seemed to suddenly be doing something else, leaving the pair alone, they became even more embarrassed.

Now, this was the 21st century. There should have been no way such a mundane thing as brushing shoulders should cause such a shy reaction - from both of them, nonetheless! But Drifter and Yuna had known the two teens for long enough now to understand some things about them even without Kirito or Asuna having to tell them.

Kirito was your typical shut-in gamer, who had very little contact with other people, much less girls. And Asuna had very clearly lived a sheltered life until now. Add to that the fact that they were both young teenagers who were just starting to discover romance, and clearly were interested in each other, and voila!

From where he was faking looking at something on a tree trunk, but was actually sneakily peeking at the lovebirds, Drifter covered his mouth with both hands to stop himself from laughing maniacally and ruining the atmosphere. But it was so damn hard not to! He never thought he would one day see a scene that looked to be straight out of a crappy romance anime!

Nautilus had caught on to what was happening by now, and wasn't faring much better. On this his normally quiet disposition was an advantage, as he could control his laughter much better than Drifter, the only sign being his twitching lips.

Others didn't have so many qualms. Yuna was giggling away, and Argo was guffawing so much tears appeared on the corners of her eyes. Even Sinon had to cover her mouth to hide her smirk.

"Yuna! Drifter!"

'Oops.'

Feeling two sets of glares directed towards him, Drifter put on his most innocent expression - which was totally ruined by his cheeky smile. Even though they had been uncovered, he considered their little prank a success on all accounts. After all, even if she had her hands on her hips and was pouting, Asuna didn't move further away from Kirito than it was necessary to avoid accidental touches. And the boy, while flushing, kept stealing glances at Asuna. Overall, Drifter was happy.

The mood, which had been somewhat heavy ever since the boss fight, cleared up, and everyone felt more spirited. They started walking around Zumfut, deciding not to go out again, even if there were still a few hours of daylight. They had just defeated a floor boss, so a little free time was in order.

"Excuse me... You are the Songstress Party, aren't you?"

Ever since they beat Illfang on the 1st floor, the party had grown used to the stares of other players. But this was the first time someone stopped them. All of them tensed up, but thinking that this was a safe zone, Drifter quickly relaxed, and looked at the player.

The one who stopped them was a young girl. Too young, in fact. She couldn't be more than eleven or twelve years old. Her brown hair was styled in a pair of ponytails, and tied up with a cute bow. She was gripping the hem of her shirt nervously, but her eyes were glinting with what Drifter was quickly coming to recognize as admiration.

"Err... Yeah, I guess you could call us that."

Kirito cautiously answered the girl, keenly aware that a lot of people were watching their interaction. Drifter agreed with his cautiousness. While he doubted that she meant harm, he had had his fair share of unhappy encounters with other players. It was better to always be on alert.

Thankfully, it seemed they were overthinking. The girl's smile widened when she heard the confirmation, and her eyes nearly became star-shaped, especially when she looked at Asuna.

"I knew it! You were so amazing today! The way you killed the floor boss was incredible! I wish I could be as strong as you one day!"

"T-Thanks!"

Asuna didn't know how to react, and, truth be told, neither did Drifter. He was just a white-collar worker who hadn't even finished college yet. How was he supposed to deal with a child's worship?!

"My name is Silica! I'm so glad I could meet you today! W-Well, I was hoping that would happen, anyway. That's why I came to the 3rd floor."

Towards the end, Silica's excitement seemed to wane, and she looked down, blushing. The girl had used all her courage to come forward and stop them, and now she didn't know how to proceed.

Fortunately for her, Asuna was soft-hearted. Realizing Silica was timid, she put on a gentle smile.

"Well, I'm happy you found us, then, Silica. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"R-Really?"

"Of course. Though I don't know why you wanted to find us so much."

Two big brown eyes stared back at Asuna, and Silica's answer was almost a whisper.

"You... You gave me courage. I-I... I was too afraid to leave the Town of Beginnings. Until today. Watching you fight, how fearless all of you were... I decided I should do something too."

Asuna's mouth opened, but no sound came out. She was too shocked to answer. And she wasn't the only one. The rest of the party was also looking at Silica, stunned.

Drifter scanned the crowd with his gaze. He saw a lot of people nodding or with pensive expressions. There were also many clenched fists, as if Silica's confession represented all of them. The spearman had never realized how much of an impact they had on the other players.

For a long while, nobody said anything. Finally, it was Kirito who broke the silence. The swordsman stepped forward to stand next to Asuna, and looked at Silica with a small, yet sad, smile.

"We are not fearless, Silica. Not by a long shot. We were all terrified when Asterius appeared. I'm scared every time I face a monster, thinking it might be the last."

"B-But..."

"But, although we're scared, we still have to fight. Because we want to leave this place, and go back to the real world. We want to beat SAO. And no floor boss can stop us from doing that."

Whether Kirito was being honest when he spoke the last sentence, probably not even he knew. But the conviction inputted on it was enough. Silica's shoulders shook, and when she raised her head again, there was a bright smile on her face.

"You are right. We are going to beat SAO!"

Without waiting, Silica waved goodbye and left. Drifter was worried she might try to go out here on the 3rd floor, even though she was obviously under-leveled and clad in beginner's equipment, but luckily Silica went to the teleporter, and shouted 'Tolbana'. It seemed she was going to the 1st floor to grind. Even so, he was still somewhat concerned about the girl, so he turned to Argo.

"Little rat, think you could get someone to keep an eye on her, just for our peace of mind?"

"I was thinkin' the same, Dri-bou. Can't help but want to help a cutie like her. I'll get one of the shinobis to look after her."

"Fuumaningum? I thought you didn't get along with them?"

"Eh. We clashed 'cause I didn't wanna sell unverified intel to them. Now that we know the << Martial Arts' >> quest's still the same - hehehe - I sold it. Furthermore, there was no way I was gonna let go of a bunch of perfect informants like 'em. Even if they're not right on the head."

Drifter raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Where's our commission?"

"Ah, look at that stall over there!"

Shaking his head in amusement, Drifter dropped the topic. He didn't really care about the profit Argo made with the intel they provided her - though he was going to extort a lot of information out of her as revenge for the prank.