Lost Realm Online

"Beater..." Rachael muttered the word to herself. She looked through the crowd. Most of them were stunned by Kirito's revelation, none of them were making any movement toward him. He'd successfully defused the situation, but... Was he really telling the truth? Had he made it farther than anyone else, and purposely hidden the fact from everyone else?

"..." Rachael wasn't so sure. She stowed her weapon and skittered forward, following Kirito at a certain distance. "Wait...! You aren't really going to move on to the next floor, are you?"

Emus closed his eyes by the time Kirito had finished and began walking off. He really didn't believe it. It was a hell of a act but if he had known Kirito at all during this time, this was just a stunt. It had at least dissolved what could have been a ugly situation, but it could have backfired badly in some way Kirito may not have seen. Regardless, Emus already knew what he'd do.

He couldn't let Kirito alone. After all, he'd be a crappy big brother that way.

"Wait, you're going, with him?" One of the nearby players said to Emus.

He glanced briefly behind his back, then shrugged. "What can I say? I guess its a dog thing." Before they could say anything more, Emus jogged up Kirito's side. "Sorry, can't get rid of me that easily. I'm a stubborn bastard that way."

To Rachael, he glanced at. "You coming with us?"

Kirito paused, and glanced back at Rachael. "...Yeah, I am.." When Emus joined him, he had to force himself not to show his relief. It might break the act. Asuna had walked up next to Rachael as well.

"...Be careful out there, okay?" She, personally, wasn't ready to go into isolation like Kirito and Emus were about to do. Kirito had made himself into a leper, and Emus had done the same by going with him. She felt she needed to stay with the group. That she could do more to help others that way.

Rachael rubbed her elbow, considering the situation. While she wanted to continue, it didn't feel like a good idea for herself. She glanced at her health bar. Despite the level up, her health was still below half. She didn't like the idea of seclusion, nor did she think she could stand up to foes on the next level. "...I would probably only slow you down."

There was no way she could stop them; that she knew. "But you both better take care, alright? No getting deleted!"

Emus paused a bit to look at Rachael. "Can't blame you. The path me and Kirito are going through is going to be a long hard one. But, just can't ditch a friend like this. Hard as it is, part of me is eager for the challenge, just to see how far I can really go. Heh...maybe I am a bit crazy though, wouldn't be the first time someone called me that." He began walking again, hands into his pockets as he went after Kirito. "Anyway..I'll hopefully talk to you again. I'd like to actually get to talk to you when things aren't so dire. Don't worry, got no plans in being deleted. Too much to do and I made a promise. See you ya later, Rachael."

Kirito, after a moment, spoke again. "You two... you'll both get strong. So, if someone you trust ever invites you to join a guild, don't turn them down. THere's a big limit to what you can do as a solo player... or even as just a group of two..." He opened up the party menu, and removed Rachael and Asuna from the group; it was just him and Emus now. He then continued through the double doors that led to the second floor. As he and Emus disappeared, Asuna placed a hand on Rachael's shoulder.

"...We'll see them again. Those two... there's something about them."

"Yeah...! Later!" A smile crossed Rachael's face with those words. There was no way this was 'goodbye'.

She quietly watched Kirito and Emus leave, not breaking her gaze until the doors closed behind them. Rachael nodded at Asuna's words. "Yeah... they'll be okay. We should do our best, too. So we don't fall too far behind!"

Emus was silent for a long moment then spoke up. "So...what now?" He was oddly calm despite what had happened not too long ago.

Kirito didn't say anything at first as they appeared in the beginning town of the second floor. He glanced around, then sighed heavily. "I can't believe you're sticking with me after that... you'll just have as much anger directed as you as I will... but... I'm glad you're here, Emus... as for what we do now... we continue as we were doing. We get stronger, as quickly as possible. We have to survive, Emus.... but also... we need to keep the people around us alive, too...." He turned to Emus, and nodded, before moving forward. It was time to get started.

~~~~~

April 8th, 2036

Four months had passed since the first floor had been cleared. That first breakthrough had been exactly what the people in the game had needed to motivate them. While it had taken a month to clear the first floor, in the past four months, the front lines had pushed all the way to the 13th floor; despite this, Kirito and Emus were currently sticking around on the 11th floor in their efforts to boost their levels. It was working; Kirito himself sheathed his Anneal Blade, now a +6 weapon, as he and Emus had just taken out another of the strange cactus men in the desert that took up much of this floor, and the experience window popped up, informing Kirito that he'd reached level 40.

"Haah... Damn."

A player named 'Xeno' cursed as he examined his HP gauge. The shortened orange bar told him it was probably time to take a rest. Xeno hoisted his blackened greatsword onto his back, sheathing it. He was so close to hitting 40... Maybe after a bit of recovery in town. He turned toward the path and started the long trek back toward the 11th floor portal.

It had been six months since he'd started playing this game. Six months of attempting to get stronger and clear it. This was proving no easy feat, especially for a solo player. And the sword he had equipped wasn't making his playtime any less stressful. That wasn't going to stop him from doing his part. "Maybe I'll help push 13 tomorrow..." Xeno mumbled to himself, taking care not to get too close to any other players on his route. He lifted the hood on his cloak and kept a watchful eye as he walked.

"Good job man. At this rate, we'll hit level fifty before we know it." Emus had to admit, besides the life and death edge of things he was more or less enjoying himself. It could have been worse, he always told himself.

Emus noticed another player not too far away, they seemed of a relatively high level, too.

Kirito grinned a bit. "Yeah... I admit, I'm liking this a lot more than going solo...." He paused, noticing the other player in the distance. "...Seems he's going solo... let's leave him alone though. He could be dangerous..."

Xeno felt at ease as he passed players in the area. He was sick of being attacked, and he sure wasn't in the mood for it now. Free of that distraction, he could focus on simply getting back to the portal. That mindset was short-lived, however.

A shrill scream caught his attention. Someone was in trouble, and they weren't too far off. Zeno didn't even think twice before dashing off the path. He fought for proper footing as he raced up a sand dune toward the outcry's origin.

"Maybe." Emus agreed partly after what happened. He was going to say more when he heard a scream as well. "The hell?!" He looked around but didn't see anything. "We should go check it out." He didn't want to rush, but he couldn't in good concious just ignore it.

Kirito nodded firmly, and took off as well. As they reached the top of the dune, around the same time as Xeno, Kirito cursed fiercely. A small group of people, four men and one woman, were huddled together, being attacked by six of the same cactus men mobs that they'd fought earlier. The woman, wielding a sword and shield, had fallen, and was cowering in the shadow of the mob attacking her; her allies faring little better. The mob attacking the woman raised an arm, bringing it down, only to have it blocked by Kirito's blade. He grunted a bit from the force of the blow, but pushed back, making it stumble. Thankfully, these mobs were not too difficult now, considering their levels. This didn't mean they were weak, however, and the injured players were still at risk.

Things weren't going too badly for the group... A couple players he'd seen before were already en route to help them. Those mobs had the potential to be dangerous to weaker players, however. Xeno drew his sword and slid down the dune toward the battle. As he neared his destination he prepared a sword skill, causing the large blade to glow a deep green. Sliding up behind the closest enemy, Xeno spun with a swing and landed a powerful back-strike. The cactus was sent flying into another mob, both of which crashed to the ground. The skill deals decent damage on its own and trips targets temporarily. Xeno raised his sword and readied to keep the heat off of the small group while they recovered.

Damn, trouble already.

Emus didn't fret or worry about it, going straight into things and covering Kirito's back. More to the point, he focused on protecting the weaker players but he couldn't be distracted and risk his own self. He wasn't good to anyone dead after all.

Thankfully, once the three swordsmen had jumped in, the mobs were cleared relatively quickly. Once they were, Kirito moved to start using healing items on the injured players; best not to risk it, after all. he had no idea at the time just how this group of players would affect his life.

With the threat gone, Xeno sheathed his sword just in time to see a small 'Level Up' window come into his view. That last battle was just the boost he needed. He checked over the five party members as Kirito healed them. None of them had statuses from the fight and it looked like they were all accounted for. He slipped his hood back on and surveyed the area, making sure there weren't any other monsters sneaking up on them before the group recuperated.

Emus gave a mental sigh when things were over, nodding to Xeno then walking close to the others. "Everyone okay?"