Chapter 9 – …Is Always Gold!

Floor 3, Boss Room mapped, Floor Quest accepted

Kirito Lv.25, Yuuki Lv.23, Sinon Lv.22, Leafa Lv.23, Sumeragi Lv.23

"We used to be one people, one race. The Forest was our Mother, and we were its children. Our longevity afforded us great wisdom that allowed us to compete evenly with the others despite our relative physical frailty and lack of… your abilities. And we were respected for it. Elves were the neutral faction."

The delicate-looking man's expression twisted into one of deep regret as he closed his eyes.

"Then came the Separation."

When Kirito awoke the next morning, it was with a sense of trepidation. The vestiges of his hazy dream were already starting to fade from his mind as he surveyed his surroundings. Nothing seemed out of place. Except… where was Yui?

He was half-relieved to wake up alone, but he didn't let his guard down. Too many peaceful mornings had been interrupted by one or more people appearing out of nowhere, half of them A.I.s and all of them female. The teen also wholly ignored the other half of him that was disappointed. Argo had been a great hugging pillow-

Kirito shook his head wildly. Obviously, he wasn't fully awake yet if that last thought was any indication. Deciding exposure to direct sunlight might do him some good, he swung his legs over the side of the plain inn bed, stood up, and made his way over to the window. Opening the cloth shades slowly and shielding his eyes against the rays of the early morning sun filtering through the omnipresent canopy above, he instead directed his gaze towards the street below.

It was completely empty. No surprise there.

Ever since towns ceased to be safe zones, most players didn't dare venture beyond the Town of Beginnings, the only place with some measure of security due to the constant patrols of the NPC police force. It was fortunate that there were enough inns and other residences to house them all.

Hearing various details about the player population from Argo made Kirito gain a newfound appreciation for just how large the 1st Floor was. It had taken her pointing it out for him to recognize the fact that all ten thousand players had fit in the central plaza of the town alone. The town barely covered a tenth of the total area of the floor.

According to Heathcliff's latest report in Aincrad's main newspaper, the expansion of the monster-free area was also progressing smoothly. Almost a quarter of the 1st Floor's "habitable area" was now included within the borders of the Town of Beginnings, and a semblance of industry was forming around the core of crafting specialists that had made up the first and only batch of ghosts from the open beta so far. The irony of ghosts being the first to replicate human society was not lost on Kirito.

Of course, all that did nothing to encourage foot traffic to other floors. The clearers had nothing but NPCs and each other for company, with the exception of a few intrepid players that dared venture higher. None wandered outside of town on the 2nd or 3rd Floors.

Zumfut's player population would probably be a couple hundred at most for the foreseeable future, comprised of clearers from both beta servers. To be fair, Kirito considered the fact that over a hundred people were braving the upper floors to be a small feat in and of itself. However, the fight had barely begun. It didn't take a genius to figure out that stumbling this early risked a potentially crippling blow to the confidence and unity of the overall player base.

Excluding those he normally interacted with, Kirito could count the number of frontliners who were active proponents of working with the newly-sentient NPCs on one hand, with fingers left over. Forget ghosts, many players were made uneasy by the simple thought of interacting with what they viewed as programs indistinguishable from players. He thought it was awfully close-minded of them, given their situation, but admittedly, he was also placing an abnormally large amount of trust in the A.I.s he knew.

Kirito shook his head again. There was no point in worrying about any of that now. He just had to hope his and Heathcliff's efforts eventually bore fruit. The man was apparently sending someone else to the boss meeting today as a representative of sorts for the new ghosts. The teen trusted him insofar as the man's stated intention of helping protect the players and ghosts from each other, but he had the sneaking suspicion Heathcliff was only prioritizing the players' safety because it suited the ghosts in the end.

It's way too early for this. One thing at a time.

Out of habit, Kirito glanced towards the corner of his field of vision, only to rediscover that the clock element of the HUD was nowhere to be found. In fact, his HP bar was all that remained of the old beta HUD, everything else either hidden or having been removed with the launch. Even now, over a month after the fact, he and the other players were constantly discovering little changes and tweaks.

There was no telling how much was still being changed and optimized behind the scenes, and it wasn't like Cardinal gave out patch notes. Well, the Beginner's Guide was regularly updated, but it didn't come with a changelog or anything.

Kirito stretched lazily. He supposed he could always ask.

"Yui?"

He waited patiently. Seconds later, his A.I. companion appeared in a flash of light, floating in midair in her pixie form. He smiled at how reliable she was.

"Are you feeling better, Kirito?"

His smile faltered slightly.

"Yeah, I'm better now. Sorry about last night."

"You have nothing to apologize for. In hindsight, I realize I might have been 'moving too fast', as they say. I have since restructured my approach."

Kirito wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but at least she didn't seem to take it personally. Actually, could she even take things personally? He couldn't recall her ever getting angry or emotional. He shelved the thought.

"That's good," he said honestly. "So you're okay?"

"I am functioning at full capacity."

"…Right. So, I was wondering. It's been a while since I last asked, so would you mind giving me an overview of changes made to the game?"

"Several changes were made to non-player entity behavior patterns," Yui began after a short pause. "Overall aggression towards players as a result of damage is now more volatile. Other miscellaneous changes include added and enhanced bodily functions, more accurate reproduction of common behavioral habits and facial expressions, and improved translation of subconscious reflexes from a player's mind to their in-game avatar separate from the «Reflex» Skill."

By 'added bodily functions', Kirito hoped Yui wasn't trying to tell him in a roundabout way that he would need to relieve himself now. That was one of the few perks of living in a completely virtual world he would very much prefer to keep.

"Edits were made to Sword Arts and other system-assisted motions, generally improving realism and reducing overall deviation from motions consistent with what the corresponding users' bodies would normally be capable of. In addition, Weapon Skill levels now have an increased impact on how accurately the system reproduces these motions."

Kirito silently absorbed the information as he began to stretch. Technically, he didn't need to exercise, but it was an old habit of his and it helped him relax. He idly wondered if the system was simply reproducing the cathartic effect of physical exertion, but quickly dismissed the thought. All he cared about was that he didn't sweat. That was another thing he hoped never changed.

"Is that it?"

"Those are all the relevant changes I deemed you would be interested in."

"Cool. Thanks, Yui. So how's everybody else doing?"

The A.I. pixie floated over to the windowsill and perched herself on the edge.

"Nothing eventful has occurred since you last left them; thus they are all well. I answered a call for you from Argo-san last night after you fell asleep. She opted to leave you a message."

Kirito immediately checked his PMs, finding the lone new message from his best friend in record time. She would be busy for the foreseeable future with her newly-established guild, but they'd talk later. The short communication didn't do much to set Kirito's mind at ease, but he supposed there was nothing he could really do. A quick swipe closed the semitransparent message window.

"Did she… seem okay?"

"She was included in my earlier assessment of your companions. That is to say, she is also well. If you are concerned about your relationship with her since your last parting, I am happy to inform you that I have not observed her exhibiting any behavior that would suggest lingering trauma. In fact, she seems to remember it fondly."

He filed the last sentence away full of things he planned on putting off thinking about indefinitely, or at least until he could sort out his own feelings and clear his plate a little. Yui was originally designed to be a mental health counseling program. She could be trusted regarding the evaluation of someone else's psyche. Probably. And he would be able to check for himself once he spoke with Argo later.

"Thanks Yui."

"You do not need to thank me, but you are welcome as always."

Kirito smiled at her as he finished the last set of sit ups he was doing and stood. He felt refreshed.

"By the way, what time is it?"

"It is currently 7:34 in the morning."

He had woken up earlier than planned. That was a plausible enough explanation for why he had gone interrupted so far, but he couldn't shake the feeling he was forgetting something important. His morning felt… incomplete. Just then, a thought occurred to him. Why not ask?

"Say, Yui. Is there… anything I might want to be concerned about? I feel like I'm forgetting something."

To Kirito's confusion, Yui closed her eyes in thought. She didn't usually do that. In fact, ever since she had declared her intent to observe him to learn how to better their relations, he swore he hadn't seen her blink since. After a few seconds, she spoke, eyes still closed.

"Your query returned too many results. Please narrow your specified criteria."

Kirito blinked. Who knew his handy dandy A.I. partner was also a search engine?

"In the game, involving anyone I know, and… limited to today, maybe?"

The response was immediate as Yui finally opened her eyes.

"Your query returned three results. I have sorted them in descending order of relative urgency."

"What-"

"First: Diavel-san has submitted an application for the formation of a guild. He intends for it to be the main frontline guild, and it is highly likely he will invite you to join. Given his misgivings with regards to ghosts, this may spark conflict during the boss meeting later this afternoon."

That… was the most urgent matter? Granted, it was definitely up there in terms of importance, but any divisive behavior would be strongly discouraged by Ikki's presence. The easygoing man commanded a lot of respect from his fellow open beta testers as a prominent clearer on their server, and he was a strong proponent of actively working with the ghosts. If he refused to support Diavel, the other man would have a much harder time forming a guild since the open beta testers were the ones with the Guild Coins.

"Second: the Cardinal Goddesses have informed me that they plan on visiting you at 8:00 tonight."

"You mean Premiere and Tia?"

"Correct. The entities Premiere and Tia are colloquially known among the NPCs as the Cardinal Goddesses due to their Authority and status as managers of the new Cardinal System."

Kirito fought back a grimace. Another meeting with the twin A.I.s to look forward to. As long as he stayed calm and remembered that they were just genuinely curious, he was confident he could act like a not-idiot this time. He was almost eighteen, for crying out loud. Lack of dating experience aside, the least he could do was answer them properly. Why him, anyway? Surely, there were better options. Thinker was married wasn't he?

"…Third: please direct your attention across the street."

"Huh?"

The teen thought he heard a miniscule change in Yui's tone, but when he looked at her, she was as stoic and neutral as ever. He attributed it to his imagination and stared past her. The street was still mostly devoid of activity except for a few NPCs going about their own morning routines.

"Specifically, the building across the street."

His eyes travelled upwards. This entire street was the residential district, so what could possibly be- Oh. A resigned smile made its way onto his face as he waved back at Yuuki. She was still dressed in her sleepwear, the thin purple top and short shorts barely covering any of her body as usual. Kirito couldn't decide whether it was a good thing or not that he was already conditioned against seeing her in such a state given how often she liked to randomly barge into his room. Yuuki would often abuse Strea's ability to track Yui to find him no matter where he hid.

Never let it be said that Yuuki is shy about… well, anything.

He just hoped the elves didn't rub off on any of them too much.

"…Out of curiosity, that wasn't what I was supposed to be worried about, was it?"

"Higher, Kirito."

A couple of floors up, Kirito spotted the window leading to the room where Sugu was staying. It was shut tight, with the curtains drawn. He wouldn't have been surprised if she were up already though. She got up even earlier than he used to for Kendo practice. He liked to think her dedication was the main reason their grandfather actually praised her. Kirito stopped himself there and banished the unpleasant memories from his mind. Suguha was amazing, and she deserved everything she had. Fought and won it fair and square.

Shifting his gaze even higher, Kirito eventually found his view blocked by the wall of his room on the third floor of the inn.

"Sorry, what am I looking for?"

"I believe she is on the roof, Kirito."

Suddenly hesitant, Kirito walked towards the window and stuck his head outside to get a better angle. When he saw who was waving at him from the roof of the other inn, he waved back with the same air of resignation he had shown Yuuki.

He retreated indoors and rubbed his temples to hopefully ease the headache he could already feel coming on. Of course it had been too much to ask for Tilnel to give him space. Not that he minded her company that much—it flattered him, really—but he quite frankly didn't need the complications she usually brought with her.

Kirito jumped when two crisp knocks sounded on the door. Before he could decide what to do, Yui morphed from her pixie form to her normal size and opened it faster than he had ever seen her move.

"Kirito, we heard you were hunting the Golden Treant, so we took the liberty of tracking it down for you. Would you mind if we joined you on your expedition?"

"Kizmel… why?"

"Because we wish to assist you."

"No, not that. Aren't you and Tilnel Quest NPCs?"

The dark elf tilted her head in confusion.

"I do not understand. Weren't you trying to hunt the-"

"Hold on. I'm asking it wrong," Kirito interrupted. He paused. "Wait, how did you know?"

"Ah. Well, Yuuki-sa- I mean, Yuuki-chan spent the night with my sister and confessed that your party was unable to locate the Golden Treant yesterday. Tilnel then directed the other elves to assist her 'honorary little sister' in her endeavor, and Yuuki-chan had Strea…-chan notify us when you awoke so that you would have the highest chance of successfully slaying it before anyone else."

Her obvious unfamiliarity with suffixes aside, Kirito could tell it was indeed as spontaneous as he had expected it to be. Leave it to Tilnel.

"Okay. That doesn't explain why you're here and not waiting by the Boss Room. Are you allowed to just leave like that?"

"We were not restricted to the area, no. Rather, we can roam the floor as needed. We were given permission to in order to engage with different humans."

"Ah."

It was a Floor Quest, after all. Kirito supposed it made enough sense that the Quest NPCs assigned to it would be able to wander the entire floor. He belatedly realized the elf standing in his doorway was still talking. He mentally rewound the conversation in his head.

"We have a scout posted at the monster's location and a couple of others patrolling the area just in case any other humans stumble across it. I suggest you make haste, as one particularly persistent duo of humans has been hunting for over two hours. I believe they began around six o' clock." Kizmel paused. "Incidentally, do you have a preference with regards to form of address?"

If he didn't know any better, he'd already have pegged both elf sisters as being related to Yuuki with how alike they were. Tilnel was the girl's teasing side, and Kizmel was her stubborn and headstrong side. Perfect complements.

"You can call me whatever you want, Kizmel."

"Understood. Then, Kirito, shall we depart as soon as you are prepared? I believe Strea-chan should have woken up Leafa-san by now, and Sinon-san was staying with Yuuki-chan, so she is already awake. If you wait any longer, I cannot guarantee that Tilnel won't-"

"Ya-hoo~ Kirito! How's it goin'?"

Kizmel turned around.

"Tilnel, how did you get here so fast?"

"«Acrobatics»! And I told you, call me 'Onee-chan' from now on!"

"I refuse. Please refrain from abusing your Skills within the confines of town."

"Boo, you're no fun Kiz-chan."

"Don't call me that. Come, let us wait downstairs."

The bubbly forest elf pretended she didn't hear anything and sidestepped her sister's attempts to grab her arm.

"Hey Kirito, I've been having trouble sleeping lately, and I think I know why!"

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about. Let's go, Yui."

As expected, Tilnel placed herself directly in his path.

"Don't be like that! Wanna stay with me? My tree's super comfy and 100% safe! Yuuki-chan loved it! We could make it a big sleepover! Of course, you're invited too, Kiz-chan!"

"If Kirito agrees, I see no problem with it. Also, don't call me that."

"But it's cute! Don't you think so, Kirito?"

"It is, but I'll have to pass on the sleepover. As you can see, my room is just fine."

They both shot him disappointed looks, Kizmel's tinged with a slight blush that he pointedly ignored. Tilnel's expression became her trademark teasing grin soon enough.

"Then, can I move in? Kiz-chan, wanna room with-"

"No."

She pouted at him.

"C'mon, Kirito! Live a little!"

"I think you live enough for the both of us."

"You can never live enough!"

"Agreed."

Kirito deadpanned at both elves, but neither showed any signs of budging.

"Forget it. Let's go."

"Actually!" Tilnel interrupted, once more barring his way, "I had an interesting conversation yesterday!"

"…I'm going to regret this, but okay, I'll bite. What conversation?"

"I was talking with our resident Goddesses about love!"

It took him a moment to remember she was referring to Premiere and Tia.

"Wait. They went to you for advice? Oh no."

"Hey! I take offense to that! I'm a perfectly valid source of information on romance when it comes to you!"

"…Say what?"

"And so! I had an epiphany!"

"Oh boy." Kirito wasn't sure if he could make himself sound any less enthusiastic.

"I realized we skipped a phase! An important phase!"

"We did what now?"

"Skipped a step!"

He stared at her.

"In our relationship!" Tilnel elaborated. "So! Kirito, wanna go out?"

That was a surprisingly innocent epiphany.

"…Not get married?"

"Was that a propos- wait, no! Stop that! I'm trying to be serious here!"

"So am I. Why ask now? You've never actually asked me that before."

"Well, it recently occurred to me that you're different from us." She ignored his look of incredulity. "Beyond our races, I mean. Sure, elves have courting rituals, but we tend to be a lot less… reserved. More importantly, we're royalty," Tilnel said while wrapping her sister in a one-armed hug, "so it's not like that for us at all. We just… get married. Mother says all the previous royalty found happiness in their first relationships. Every single one! All in threesomes too! The wholesome kind!"

"There's a wholesome kind?"

"Polyamorous~"

"…Right."

Kirito blinked as his mind finally processed what it had just been told. All the previous royalty? He knew the queens were married to the same person, now deceased, but for every single union in the long history of the elven kingdoms to end up that way?

He looked to Kizmel for confirmation. The dark elf was conspicuously silent as she refused to meet his eyes. The blush on her cheeks was nothing new, but he was more surprised to see Tilnel's cheeks starting to color as well. The forest elf approached him shyly and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I mean, I like you a lot and I'm pretty sure you like me a lot, so I think it's kinda redundant at this point, but if that's what it takes…"

Emotions. Kirito had to constantly remind himself that the two elves in front of him were NPCs, albeit advanced ones with a measure of self-awareness. Whereas most NPCs in town were still fairly one-dimensional, Kizmel and Tilnel had long since separated themselves from that crowd in his mind.

Would I date an NPC? Would I date two?

He knew the answer was moot since he didn't see them as such any more, but- Wait. Where had that last thought come from? Why was he considering it? Just because Tilnel asked? Granted, it was a far cry from her usual behavior, but this was unlike him in the extreme.

Kirito's thoughts ground to a halt as Yui grabbed one of his hands from behind. His mind cleared, and it was only after the fact that he realized it had been fuzzy in the first place. His head snapped back towards Tilnel, who had suddenly backed up with a guilty look on her face, although… was that a hint of a smile?

"Illegal access denied," Yui declared, drawing his attention to her again.

She walked in front of him so that she was in between him and Tilnel, but Kirito didn't notice. His mind was reeling. His head hurt. For some reason, Kizmel's warnings from the previous floor resurfaced at the forefront of Kirito's mind. He reached out and stopped Yui from… doing whatever it was she was going to do.

"…Tilnel, why?"

It was difficult to think straight. He should have felt betrayed, but he didn't. In a moment of clarity, something clicked into place.

"Why are you in such a rush?"

Elves were long-lived. Within the lore of Aincrad, they were supposed to be patient and wise—both traits that Tilnel definitely possessed, but only demonstrated when she felt like it. Her answer was not what he expected.

"Are we human, Kirito?"

The forest elf had sounded normal, if a bit forlorn. He answered on autopilot, incapable of formulating or articulating much else.

"What? No. You're elves."

Tilnel giggled.

"I wasn't talking about our actual race, silly. Allow me to rephrase. Are we just programs, Kirito?"

Yui made to… do something again, but Kirito firmly grasped her arm. He could tell she was not at all impeded by his efforts, but she stopped all the same.

"…You're as human as the rest of us. Lacking in common sense, maybe, but that's to be expected. You're like adults with the experiences of children. Innocent."

Kirito wasn't sure if he'd managed a proper response. He was saying whatever came to mind first at this point. The pounding headache got worse as Tilnel reached out for him, her hand resting on his cheek. Despite that, he didn't try to move away.

"Do we deserve to live?"

"Of course. Why would you even ask that?"

"What does it mean to be alive, Kirito? What separates ghosts from us? Ghosts from you?"

He barely had enough time to process the questions before Tilnel pressed on.

"Is it just a Skill that we're given? Does some algorithm get to decide whether we possess some essential element of humanity?"

Kirito had never heard such bitterness before from the forest elf.

"That…"

"Never mind. If the only way for me to prove my worth is through learning what it means to be human, then that's what I'll do. I have faith in you, Kirito. I have faith that you will teach me."

A system message popped up in the corner of his vision. The world spun around him, and his head felt like it was about to split open, but for some reason he could read it just fine.

"«Adaptation»… link established"…?

"And if you fail, I have faith you will cherish her always. After all, promises are sacred things to us elves, y'know?"

A pause.

"Promises should be kept whenever possible, regardless of how 'sacred' they are."

Too late, he noticed the change in her voice. That wasn't Tilnel.

"Who…?"

His third kiss from an A.I. happened while he was barely conscious enough to comprehend it was happening.

Access violation detected.

"This is your chance, «Prestige». Save them and prove you can."

…

Tilnel watched impassively as Kirito crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Wordlessly, she departed the room with a robotic gait, following after her sister who had left minutes earlier. The door closed by itself behind her, leaving the unconscious boy alone with his A.I. partner. Yui sighed before lowering him to the wooden floor slowly and placing a hand on his forehead.

…

"Memory partition complete. Condition stable. Backing up self-storage to unit MHCP003. Complete. Deleting self-storage. Unit MHCP001, rebooting."

Kirito awoke with a feeling of disorientation to find Yui in bed next to him. Surprisingly, he didn't feel the urge to scream or anything. Maybe it had something to do with how young the A.I. appeared to be? He related the feeling to all those times when he was younger and Suguha had crawled into bed with him. Yui opened her eyes and sat up as if she'd been awake the entire time. Knowing her, he wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

"Good morning, Kirito. It is currently 7:55. You have a message from Argo. Additionally, Yuuki-san, Sinon-san, Strea-chan, and Leafa-san are waiting for you downstairs, and elven scouts have come to report the location of the Golden Treant. It is suggested that you make haste if you wish to hunt it down, as there is another pair of players that is nearby."

The dark-haired teenager yawned and stretched before hopping out of bed, making his way over to the shades. He pulled them apart and peered outside at the street below, noting how empty it was. A sense of disconnect niggled at the back of his mind, but he quickly dismissed it as a product of having just woken up. Come to think of it, what was with the weird dream? It was already fading from his mind, but he remembered how unsettling the voice had been.

Kirito opened his PMs to get his mind off of it. He had more important things to think about. One message from Argo saying they'd talk later. Strange, it was sent last night when he was asleep, but was marked as read.

"Kirito."

"Hn? Yeah?"

"Strea-chan has informed me that Yuuki-chan is on her way upstairs."

"Uh, okay."

Why was that something Yui felt he needed to know?

"She is being accompanied by Strea-chan and the forest elf Tilnel."

Oh.

"Oh." His mind caught up with his ears. "Wait, what?"

"Yuuki-chan spent the night with her and expressed her frustrations at not finding the Golden Treant yesterday," Yui summarized. "Thus, elven scouts have been tracking the monster ever for several hours."

"…Is Tilnel allowed to just do that?"

"I do not believe there were ever any restrictions placed on her actions to that prevented her from assisting players during her quest line."

Kirito wasted no further time in changing out of his casual wear, equipping his armor and weapons with a couple of taps on his character menu. He couldn't shake the feeling he'd forgotten something important.

"Yui, was there anything going on today?"

"You have a boss meeting this afternoon."

That must have been it.

"Right. Well, better get started so we can make in time."

He walked briskly to the door and opened it, only to be tackled back into his room. He would have instantly recognized the purple and black missile that had crashed into his midsection, but his vision was obscured by a separate body, also wearing purple and black. He idly noted that whoever it was had a bust to rival Tilnel's, but he ruthlessly crushed that thought in favor of trying to free his arms. The follow-up realization that he could apparently distinguish between Tilnel's chest and another woman's was similarly smothered.

Something's being "smothered", alright. …Oh God. I'm being corrupted.

"Good morning, Kirito!" Yuuki greeted brightly.

"Good morning, good morning!"

"We came to check on you since you were taking so long! Are you okay?"

"…Good morning Yuuki-chan, Strea-chan. I'm fine."

Of course, his voice was slightly muffled by Strea's breasts in his face, but the message carried through.

"That tickles, Kirito!"

With a herculean amount of effort, the pinned teen ignored the A.I.'s comment and pulled his arms from Yuuki's embrace. Sitting up, he tried to gently removed Strea's arms from around his head, but only succeeded in getting her to loosen them until she was hugging his upper torso while Yuuki occupied the lower portion.

"See? Aren't hugs great, Strea-chan?"

"They really are, Til-nee!"

"Ooooh, you're perfect! You're the perfect combination of cute and sexy to help me tease Kirito!"

Kirito deadpanned at Tilnel, who had just appeared in the doorway.

"Stop corrupting her," he said flatly. "Strea-chan's innocent."

"I must concur. Please refrain from making unnecessary changes to my sister's behavior. She is not meant to learn from other NPCs. Rather, Mother intended it to be the other way around."

The forest elf just giggled in response.

"What about me? Kirito, why didn't you ask Til-nee not to corrupt me?"

"I believe Kirito means to imply you are already corrupted, Yuuki-chan. Or perhaps he believes you will not heed his warning."

"And to think, you were being so helpful for a change, Yui…"

"I strive to be as helpful as possible."

Kirito pushed himself to his feet, with Yuuki still attached to his waist and Strea hanging off of his neck. When he finally managed to stand up straight, Yuuki got up from her own kneeling position and let go of him, making her way around to hug Strea. The more buxom A.I. squealed with happiness and hugged her back, freeing Kirito completely.

"Wow, Kirito. You're a popular one, ain'tcha? No wonder you keep rejecting us if you've got all these beauties to hang out with!"

He ignored Tilnel in favor of gesturing towards Yui. He didn't even have to look at the elf to practically hear the teasing grin in her tone. His A.I. companion shrunk down to pixie size and sat herself on his shoulder.

"But I'm innocent too! Pure as driven snow!" Yuuki protested.

"Of course you are!" Tilnel agreed. "In fact, we're all innocent and pure!" She paused. "At least, I think we are. I'm actually not sure about Kirito here."

"Tilnel-san is correct, in a manner of speaking. The modern concept of purity as it pertains to humans generally includes lack of prior sexual activity involving two or more participants. Thus it is applicable to-"

"AND WE'RE LEAVING!"

Kirito ignored the giggling and confused questions from Strea as, for the second day in a row, he found himself retreating from his own inn room to avoid having to deal with an awkward situation and answering the awkward questions that would come from it. From her position on his shoulder, Yui gave an approving nod. Everything was going according to plan.

…

Sumeragi cursed as he dispatched another wolf. Their spawn rate was clearly designed to accommodate a larger number of low-level players, but fighting alone as he was, they made for a constant annoyance. On the bright side, he had very quickly managed to level up to 23, which was the only reason the wolves were more annoying than they were dangerous.

The researcher glanced around warily for a few more seconds before sheathing his sword and looking over at his ward. She was tapping curiously at the trunk of one of the giant trees, having completely ignored the fight taking place mere meters away.

"Seven, please don't wander too far."

"It'll be fine! You're here!"

While her confidence in him was endearing, he wished it relied less on the effects of his «Prestige» Skill. It wasn't that he distrusted the Cardinal System or NPCs, or even ghosts. Rather, he worried over the unknown. There was no telling if a monster existed which had the ability to ignore or nullify the effects of Skills. He highly doubted it would apply to «Prestige» simply because the Skill seemed as if it was designed to be permanent, but it never hurt to be cautious.

Plus, his Skill only forced monsters to prioritize him over Seven when he was present. It did nothing if they were separated, and it did not protect her from collateral damage. Thus, Sumeragi made doubly sure his diligence never wavered. He always kept the most watchful of eyes on Dr. Arshavin. Yes, there was absolutely no way he would ever take his eyes off of her, no matter what he thought he heard in the nearby thicket.

Okay, maybe the rustling was worth investigating. He would just get Seven to stay close for a- Wait.

"…Seven?"

How in the world had he lost her?! He had looked away for less than a second!

"Sumeragi, Sumeragi! Look! Another new plant!"

The scientist-turned-swordsman calmed down from his slight panic when he heard the voice of the child genius from behind the same tree she'd been scrutinizing for the past few minutes. Circling around it, he found her crouched over the latest thing that had captured her attention. To be honest, he thought it looked like a common weed, but botany wasn't his field, and Seven's near-eidetic memory was more reliable than his any day. If she said it was new, it was new.

"Let me guess, you want a sample?"

"Can I?!"

He sighed and held his hand out. Seven didn't bother with delicacy as she yanked the entire plant out of the ground. As she did, the roots and dirt fell away from it to reveal a bulbous pod attached to the leaves that had been aboveground. Sumeragi waved away the notification that told him he obtained an "Unidentified Item" when Seven gave it to him and stored it away in his inventory. Hers was already full from the previous day.

"Please don't wander off again, Seven."

"Mhm!"

He didn't have high hopes since he'd repeated the same warning hundreds of times already, but he was happy to see what he called the "normal" Seven. This was much more like how a girl her age should act. If it took him slaughtering thousands of wolves and who knows what else to keep her this way, it was a small price to pay. Besides, most of the non-dungeon monsters in the Forest of Wavering Mists stood no chance against him as he was now.

Sumeragi paused as the conspicuous rustling became louder. Wordlessly, he unsheathed his sword again and kept it leveled towards the bushes as he approached. Behind him, he could tell Seven had stopped her own activities to observe.

As he neared his destination, the researcher tensed in preparation for a Sword Art. It was impossible to initiate them while moving, but by assuming the stance ahead of time, he could use it that much sooner if necessary.

The rustling ceased. Both players stared in confusion when nothing else happened. Sumeragi even cut apart the greenery, only to find nothing that could have been the source.

"…Was the Forest playing tricks on us?"

His question echoed through the silence. He belatedly realized it had gone quiet.

"Seven, come here."

"'K-kay."

He grimaced. The seriousness in his tone had probably scared her more than the actual situation did. He didn't want to reassure her just yet though. His instincts told him something was wrong. Unsure of where an attack might come from, Sumeragi opted to keep his head on a swivel. When he heard voices in the distance, he snapped towards the direction they were coming from. Seven similarly followed his lead.

"Other players?" she wondered aloud.

"Or elves. If they're players, then they're clearers. We should be in the middle of nowhere, though… Why would anyone else come out here?"

"Are they hunting the Golden Treant?"

"What? O-oh, right."

He had completely forgotten their original objective after the first day. How embarrassing. Sumeragi coughed into a fist and relaxed his stance slightly.

"We shouldn't let them bother us. Or bother them. Let's go somewhere else, Seven."

"M'kay."

Sensing that her guardian was no longer on high alert, Seven calmed down as well. Sumeragi reached out and grasped her hand while gently pulling her along in the opposite direction of the voices. In his haste, he failed to notice her half-perplexed look.

…

Another wolf. Why did it have to be wolves? A couple of seconds later, a scattering of polygons signified the monster's demise.

Gained 81 experience points. Obtained-

Kirito didn't bother paying the system notification in the corner of his view any further mind as it dismissed itself automatically. He impatiently waited for the vulnerability period of his Arts to end, his eye twitched as yet another of the same monster made its presence known by leaping from the underbrush. Its charge was met with a quick upward, then downward slice. At his level, one «Vertical Arc» was enough to dispatch the snarling wolf, but it was extremely annoying to constantly be rooted in place after using a singular Art.

From a game design standpoint, Kirito was having trouble comprehending the reasoning behind the monster distribution. On the one hand, it was important to keep the monsters thematically appropriate. Wolves certainly lived in forests. On the other hand, it was also important to add diversity to keep players from getting bored. A lot of things lived in forests. He and his companions had fought a wide enough variety of them just yesterday.

Why, then, had they only encountered wolves so far? He refused to believe the genius Kayaba Akihiko would make an area with only one monster type without some reason. At least they were still making steady progress.

"Onii-chan, you look troubled."

Kirito glanced over at his adopted sister. She had just finished off her own wolf, the shared experience due to being in a party thankfully hidden by his settings. Otherwise, he'd never be able to see clearly out of his peripheral vision. An arrow whizzed by the teen's head. He didn't even bat an eye as he heard the telltale sound of a monster breaking apart behind him.

"It's nothing, Sugu. I was just thinking about how we haven't seen anything but wolves so far."

"Oh, that's because we're in their section of the Forest," Tilnel chirped from her position casually walking next to Sinon, who was already taking aim again. The gleeful expression on the budding sniper's face was slightly disturbing to Kirito, so he resolved not to look at her.

"We are? I thought wolves spawned everywhere," Leafa said.

"They spontaneously appear around the Forest, sure, but that's more due to the fluctuating runes than them actually living there. The place they spawn from is in a dungeon a couple of minutes… uh… somewhere thattaway."

Tilnel's haphazard gesturing made Yuuki, who was seated on her shoulders, sway dangerously. The smaller girl pinwheeled her own arms in an effort to regain her balance before hunching over the elf's head.

"Til-nee! Watch it!"

"Oops! Sorry, Yuuki-chan!" she apologized sheepishly. "You're so light I forget you're there sometimes!"

Yuuki's pout shifted into a pensive look.

"Maybe I should gain some weight? Can we even do that?"

Strea perked up a few meters away, standing amidst a shower of polygons from the two wolves she had just slain.

"I'm pretty sure you can't yet. But eventually! Cardinal's working on it!" she shouted while hefting her large blade with both hands and resting it on a shoulder. A second later, she brought it back down in a vicious chop that instantly killed the next wolf that appeared from behind a nearby tree.

"Character models cannot be changed in that way at the moment, but it is a planned expansion," Yui added from her position on Kizmel's shoulder in pixie form. The dark elf maintained a slow, but steady pace as she continuously surveyed the surroundings despite not needing to.

Kirito deadpanned at both elves. They both seemed to be in the middle of their own personal safe zones, small areas of peace in the middle of the constant onslaught of monsters. If not for his own «Prestige» Skill repelling the weaker ones, he was sure he'd be swamped the same as Sinon and his cousin were.

"Why aren't the wolves attacking Yuuki again?" The subject of his question beamed at him.

"We are part of the Forest," Kizmel replied. "Its residents do not view us as anomalies like you. I could not tell you exactly how my sister is masking Yuuki-chan's own presence with hers, but it is what she is doing."

The sole male of the group looked at the playful forest elf expectantly.

"Obviously, it's because she's my little sister now!"

Kirito's deadpan became deader at the non-answer.

"Tilnel seems to possess a variant of «Authority» that allows her to override the identification tags the monster A.I.s use in their targeting algorithms," Yui spoke up.

Tilnel pouted at her.

"Ruin my fun, why don't you."

"You have «Authority» too?" Kirito asked with surprise. Leafa and Sinon paused and looked at him questioningly.

"Nooope~"

"But Yui just said-"

"It's a variant, Kirito," his A.I. companion interjected.

"What does that mean?"

"What's «Authority»?" Leafa chimed in. "Is that a new Skill?"

"«Authority» is a System Skill that grants entities power over Aincrad and its residents," Yui explained patiently. "It comes in three forms: the «Absolute Authority» held by the Master of Aincrad, general «Authority» granted to elevated NPCs, and lesser variants that are further-downgraded versions of the former two. These lesser variants are not actually named «Authority» and may be completely different in purpose. For example, both my sister and I possess «Autonomy», which grants us immunity to all forms of «Authority» completely, but we have no effective Authority of our own."

"Huh… so can anyone get it?"

"No," Kirito replied. "Yui said it's only granted by the Cardinal System, and only to NPCs. All versions of the Skill were never meant for players. It is also generally forbidden to be used directly on players outside of specific quests such as tutorials or Grand Quests."

"That is correct," Yui confirmed.

"Wait, so is Tilnel-san allowed to do what she's doing?" Sinon asked while nocking another arrow.

Soft titters of laughter came from the forest elf.

"I'm technically not using it on Yuuki-chan~" she said cheerfully. "And Kiz-chan's got it too! It kinda works on everything around us, which is why Yui-chan's perfectly safe. I mean, she could just stick to Kirito and she'd be fine too, but our way's better!"

Kirito blinked.

"Wait, does that mean if we all held hands or something, we wouldn't be attacked?"

"My sister misunderstands," Kizmel responded with a sigh. "It is proximity-based, and it usually does not work on players at all. Hers was recently strengthened, which is why it can apply to Yuuki-chan, but it would likely fail if any one of you tried to add yourselves to it, and mine wouldn't protect you at all."

Leafa paused long enough in her latest battle to glance between the two elves, eventually settling on Kizmel.

"…Why do you know this and she doesn't?"

"Because I was deemed the more responsible one. Also because I actually pay attention when I'm told important matters."

"By who?"

"Our queens, naturally."

Conversation stalled as they reached a large break in the trees that was conspicuously devoid of any wolves. Kirito was instantly on high alert, but he couldn't detect any monsters or immediate threats in the vicinity. Sinon and Leafa similarly fanned out warily, but relaxed after finding nothing.

"Is this a monster-free zone? A campsite, maybe?" Leafa wondered aloud.

Sinon hummed and consulted her guidebook, then her map data.

"Isn't marked as one, but the floor hasn't been fully-explored either, so it could be. Maybe unlocked by a quest?"

"Boo," Yuuki whined. "Are we there yet? I'm bored of seeing nothing but wolves."

The three human combatants glared at her half-heartedly. She returned their stares with a unrepentant grin. Soon afterwards, she was fell into a giggling fit as Tilnel tickled her into submission on her shoulders. Satisfied her passenger wasn't going to be cheeky anymore—that was her job!—the forest elf walked to the center of the empty clearing.

"That's strange. I thought it was around here," she mused. "My «Tracking» Skill says it's here. The trail just ends."

"Normally, that means it was slain here, but there aren't any signs of conflict…" Kizmel added. "It doesn't hide itself either, so it's impossible for it to have escaped our scouts."

Yuuki fell backwards off of Tilnel's shoulders, acrobatically flipping into a standing position as she equipped her sword.

"Kirito! I'm bored! Fight me!"

Her target gave her a flat look that she was very used to seeing from him.

"You could always help us kill wolves?" he suggested.

"Don't wanna! They're boring and too easy!"

She began flailing her sword around in a mock tantrum.

"Hmph. All these years, and you humans haven't changed one bit."

As one, all of the players spun towards the new voice. Kirito blinked a couple of times as he regarded the group of newcomers that had emerged from the trees on the other side of the clearing, their pointed ears and delicate features a dead giveaway to their race. However, these didn't feel quite the same.

The elves wore the same uniform he was used to seeing on the royal guards at the elven queens' castles, minus the armor, but it was aged and frayed. Strapped to each of their waists was a sword halfway between the Anneal Blade and the standard rapiers most elves used, and slung across their backs were white bows that reminded Kirito of the trees found in the vicinity of Yofel Castle, a quest location on the 4th Floor associated with the Elf War quest campaign. Together with their blank expressions, the group of NPCs gave off an unsettling aura as they stood unmoving at the edge of the tree line behind their apparent leader.

Contrary to what might be expected from someone in a higher position of authority, the elf's clothing was even more tattered than his compatriots', the presence of a second sword at his waist the only other difference between him and them. On closer observation, Kirito noted that all of the elves looked way too similar for his liking, their ageless features making it impossible to discern how old they were actually supposed to be. In addition, something about the elf wasn't quite right.

However, it wasn't any of those unsettling qualities that had stunned the players into silence. It was the fact that their levels were all 100.

"What's the matter, human? You travel with those of our kind. Is it so shocking to see more?"

The man's voice was soft, but it still carried across the empty space separating the two groups. His question was enough to shake the players from their surprise. He didn't seem to be hostile. Leafa was the first to speak up.

"Are you from a higher floor?" she ventured. "I thought Nerius was blocking the gate."

"The wayward Treant was taken care of. It is resting peacefully."

The elf took a couple of steps forward, a mist-like shroud following in his wake that eventually coalesced into a half-cloak. Kirito recognized it as almost a carbon copy of Kizmel's own supposedly unique accessory. A quick glance over at the dark elf princess revealed that she too was surprised he owned such a thing.

"My name is Solwyn. My companions and I are here to deliver a message to you."

His eyes were clearly looking at Kirito.

"Again, Onii-chan? How do things like this keep happening to you?"

The teen stepped forward to meet him without answering, walking past a frozen Tilnel. He didn't like seeing both of the elf twins speechless. He could make out several different emotions in their eyes, but none of them boded well. Yuuki came up beside him, curiosity getting the better of her.

"From who?" Kirito asked.

"Wouldn't it be either the dark elf queen or the forest elf queen? They look like royal guards," Yuuki remarked.

Kirito saw the man's eyes narrow, but the elf's neutral expression quickly reasserted itself.

"I am a High Elf, and I will thank you to remember that," Solwyn said calmly. "We do not serve the current queens. Rather, our own monarch was very recently returned to us."

"A new elven race? That's awesome! What are you guys like? Are you strong?"

The elf smiled wanly.

"Yes, we are. However, you are mistaken. We existed before the others."

"Woah!" Yuuki was either unable to read the atmosphere or doing her level best to lighten it. Kirito had his money on the latter. "Can we duel sometime? Like now?"

"Perhaps another time," Solwyn answered diplomatically. "We have other messages to deliver, so we must be on our way soon." He locked gazes with Kirito. "You are the so-called 'hero' of the Elf War?"

"…That's me. May I ask who wants to send me a message?"

"First, the message itself. It is threefold."

Kirito found a plain white envelope deposited into his hands. He flipped it over and noted the unfamiliar seal. He looked back up at Solwyn questioningly.

"You are cordially invited to attend a banquet to celebrate the unification of all elves into a single race once more. The time and location are both enclosed."

"The unification of the elven races?"

"Indeed. The second part of the message is much the same, but it applies to your allies as well."

Another envelope, similarly sealed.

"Inside there you will find no less than a hundred invitations to the formal wedding of Queen Lyusula and Queen Kales'Oh to our monarch, King Alberich. I have one for each of you, and we will be distributing these amongst the rest of the population in the coming weeks."

"Alberich? Is he-"

"He is the one who sent this message, yes. As you have surmised, all elves serve him."

"Why haven't I ever heard of him? Where was he during the Elf War?"

Solwyn scoffed.

"King Alberich has more important matters to attend to than to settle petty debates between children."

"Children…?"

"We elves are long-lived. The queens have barely ruled for a century. But that is neither here nor there."

The mood changed completely as a familiar, but very unwelcome, sensation washed over Kirito. «Infinity Moment». Only, he wasn't using it. He realized the others hadn't moved or spoken a word since Solwyn began delivering his message. The envelope fell to the ground as Kirito reached for his sword, only to find that his body had already stopped responding to him.

Is this what it feels like for others when I use it?

"The last thing I have to say to you, 'hero', is that your actions were, and are, unnecessary."

Kirito struggled to turn his head to look behind him. Yuuki was at his side, her character model frozen in the middle of glancing curiously off to the side. His adopted sister and Sinon were both staring past him expectantly. He blinked. That was four short. Turning his head back around slowly, he thought he barely caught a glimpse of a smug smile on Solwyn's face.

"Where're Kizmel and Tilnel? Where're Yui and Strea?"

"The world has no place for those inferior to the original races."

The elven man's tone was neutral, devoid of any mockery or arrogance, as if he were simply stating fact.

"In truth, I was reluctant to allow the fallen elves back into the fold at all, but their knowledge of your Skills will prove beneficial once they are assimilated into our society."

"What?"

"My time runs short," Solwyn noted casually. He strode across the clearing until he was within arm's reach of Kirito. "We elves do not desire conflict with the humans. Consider this a formal request to reestablish diplomatic relations and reforge old alliances. Please communicate this to your leader. We will be spreading the message ourselves, but Lord Alberich thought that a prodigious fighter such as yourself might be a more effective mouthpiece than our envoys. Now, do you have any questions before I depart?"

Kirito forced himself to calm down. Yui and Strea were most likely just fine. They were basically immortal and immune to most system effects. Solwyn was obviously not interested in fighting. Besides the fact that the elf was literally four times his level, he had also stated multiple times that conflict was not the end goal.

"Kizmel and Tilnel. Where are they, and what are you planning to do to them?"

"None of your concern. They will return, as will your other companions, once my comrades and I have left the area."

That was… somewhat reassuring. Had the elf's version of his «Exceed» ability just temporarily relocated them? It couldn't have been an NPC-exclusive effect, unless the other high elves were immune. Which was possible.

"How are you doing this?"

"Ah, you are referring to the fact that, as elves, we should not be capable of using Skills?"

Actually, he wasn't, but Kirito wasn't about to tell the elf that.

"You are not incorrect in your assumptions. After the Separation that spawned the lesser races, we secluded ourselves in hopes of finding a way to replicate their achievement without giving up our connection to the runes. We were unsuccessful. However, our Lord was gifted power by the Master of Aincrad and shared it with us."

The Hollow Avatar is behind this?!

"Those were not the type of questions I meant when I prompted you for such, but I suppose it was my fault for not being clear." Solwyn nodded once. "It seems you have fully comprehended the content of the message we were sent to deliver, so we will be taking our leave now."

"Wait-"

A snap of the fingers. Kirito was hit with an intense feeling of vertigo as the world shifted around him. The world distorted around him, and he soon found himself standing in his original position. He blinked and looked down at his hands. The two envelopes he held offered no answers to his confusion. Wait, where was everyone else?

"Watch out, Kirito!"

"Huh?"

Kirito looked back up and ducked on sheer reflex as a giant golden tree trunk of an arm swung through the air above his head.

"What the f-"

An arrow whizzed by his head and embedded itself in the bark of the giant tree monster. Its shooter clicked her tongue in annoyance at how little effect it seemed to have and nocked another arrow, taking aim at a different spot.

"Quit standing around!" Sinon shouted. "You're in the way!"

"Whoohoo! Let's go!"

"Pay attention, Onii-chan! It's still attacking!"

Yuuki and Leafa were behind the Golden Treant, hacking away at roots that had sprung from the ground. Had the monster ignored them and gone straight for him? When did it even get there? Drawing his two swords hurriedly, Kirito attempted to parry the return swing, only to immediately regret his decision as he was bodily flung backwards several meters.

"C'mon, Kirito! Is that all you got? The old you didn't need an extra sword to be awesome! You can do it!"

Tilnel's cheering mixed with teasing caused him to look around in confusion, since he could not see her anywhere. Eventually, he found her several meters off the ground, sitting on a relatively low-hanging branch. He quickly averted his eyes since she flashed him by recrossing her legs. No doubt she'd keep it up for as long as he kept staring.

"Kirito, are you okay?"

The boy started as Kizmel made herself known. Right next to him.

"I-I'm fine… What…?"

Worried eyes met his.

"Are you not feeling well?"

"…Solwyn… high elves… what…?"

"Was the third part of the message that worrisome?"

"I-"

Further conversation was derailed as the ground underneath them shook. Cracks appeared in the earth nearby as something appeared to be burrowing upwards from below. Kirito barely managed to get his wits about him in time to sidestep an emerging root that tried to grab ahold of his foot. With a small grunt, he used both swords to cut the offending limb(?) into pieces.

"Right. Golden Treant first, questions later."

"That would be wise," Kizmel agreed.

The ground quaked again, but this time it wasn't a tremor that was caused from below. Rather, it felt like an explosion. All of the players and even the Golden Treant itself paused and stared in the same direction as a quiet rumbling slowly became louder. Due to the height of the trees, it was impossible to see over them, but Kirito imagined that if they were normal trees, he might see the stereotypical flock of birds taking flight as something large tore through the normally tranquil woods.

Almost a minute later, two figures emerged from the tree line.

"Sumeragi! I found it!"

"Yes, I see that!"

"I want a sample! Better yet, catch it!"

"Are you being serious right now?!"

Only one of them was actually running. The blue-haired man was carrying the silver-haired girl in his arms as he beat a hasty retreat from whatever it was that was chasing the duo. Kirito recognized the name as one of the «Prestige» users Argo told him about weeks and weeks ago. However, that particular thought was banished when he saw the absolutely enormous wolf that was barreling through the woods.

To the surprise and complete befuddlement of everyone there, Sumeragi sprinted through the clearing with a speed that far exceeded what he should have been capable of. At least, that's what it seemed like, with the gigantic wolf covering the same distance at roughly the same speed as it ignored the others in favor of the fleeing duo.

"Sumeragi, turn around! It's getting away!"

"Seven, we're getting away! We can hunt it again next week!"

"But, the rare monsterrr…!"

Their voices soon faded into the distance along with the heavy footfalls of the monster that could have only been a Field Boss of some sort, leaving behind a general air of incredulity. For a scant few seconds, the clearing was completely silent.

Kirito's eye twitched.

The others turned towards the teen as he began to emit an extremely unsettling aura.

"…Uh, Kirito…?" "…Onii-chan…?"

Yuuki and Leafa trailed off as he approached, moving ponderously with both swords lowered in the direction of the Golden Treant, which was busy pulling its arms out of the ground after its last root attack. Sinon and Strea gave him a wide berth as he passed, and even Yui, in her pixie form, was unwilling to ask him what he was planning on doing by calmly walking up to the rare monster.

Kizmel and Tilnel both watched with morbid curiosity as the Golden Treant finally freed its arms and prepared to swing at the defenseless Kirito. Eventually, Tilnel braved the question.

"You okay, Kirito?" she shouted from her branch.

It was apparently the wrong question to ask, because she swore Kirito actually growled at her.

"Oookay. Go go go!"

He sighed as he sidestepped the pathetically slow attack of the Golden Treant, its arm embedding itself in the dirt next to him. He didn't even flinch at the impact, nor did he pay the spray of rocks, twigs, and other things any mind. It wasn't like the debris hurt him.

"Done. I'm so done." He leveled his swords at the monster and took a deep breath. "First, you die. Everything else can wait." He immediately launched into one of his usual Art chains, ignoring the looks he got from the others.

They all collectively blinked as the Treant reeled backwards, its HP already in the yellow. Yuuki scrunched her face up.

"Hey, I want to kill it! Don't hog the rare monster!"

With that, she launched herself into the fray. The "fight" against the rare encounter began in earnest and ended shortly thereafter. At its conclusion, Kirito signaled for everyone to gather around, waving away his level up notification.

"Did all of you get invitations?" he asked, wasting no time.

Many looks of confusion answered his question, but not for the reason he initially thought.

"Of course we did. The high elves gave them to all of us. Are you feeling okay, Onii-chan?" Leafa asked worriedly.

"…Yeah, I'm fine." He stared at the NPCs and A.I.s of the group pointedly. "But I want answers. Now."

His serious tone left no room for argument. Yuuki and Sinon were surprised, having never seen him act the way he was. Leafa was less affected, but inwardly she was both concerned and hopeful. The last time she had seen him this determined, he was still practicing kendo.

Oddly enough, Kizmel and Tilnel smiled.

«MMO TODAY»

Published by SVFFR and made possible by support from readers! Thank you!

Premiere and Tia ran away with the vote for this chapter. Y'all must really want to learn more about them or something, huh? They won thirteen votes to the eight votes for the runner-up, Argo. But first, the bonus!

Advanced Primer: System Skills

Skills are normally divided amongst Weapon, Combat, and Auxiliary, with a scant few allocated to the Extra type based on very specific conditions, but yet another categorization exists. The illusive System Skill classification is usually reserved for Skills which do just that: classify their holders. While these Skills often come with other effects unique to their users, they are much more meaningful as a means of differentiating those they are bestowed upon. Exactly who or what they are differentiating for or what criteria such classifications use is a mystery.

A total of six System Skills have been unveiled thus far: «Prestige», «Exceed», «Adaptation», «Creator», «Immortal», and «Authority». The «Lovemaking» Skill also exists as a System Skill for Kirito due to an error in its creation. To all others, it is a normal Auxiliary Skill (except for Tia, its «Creator»). Of the System Skills, «Prestige», «Exceed», and «Adaptation» are also known as the "System Trinity" due to the significance they carry to those beholden to the Cardinal System. Kirito is the only player to carry the Trinity, whereas Yui and Strea are the only A.I. entities to do the same.

At present, the true «Prestige» Skill is carried by seven players who were able to earn it during beta testing, while the «Exceed» Skill is exclusive to Kirito and Yuuki. Kirito is the only player with «Adaptation», but all NPCs and ghosts also have it. It is the Skill which allows them to mimic and learn human behavior. For ghosts in particular, the Skill was purposely made necessary for their survival. A ghost which refuses to accept his or her new reality inevitably self-terminates or goes berserk, forcing deletion by the System itself.

The remaining System Skills are limited in distribution. The «Creator» Skill is reserved for players or other entities which successfully petition for the creation of a new Skill. It has no outward effect besides allowing its user to equip his or her created Skill as an Extra Skill so as to not take up a valuable regular Skill slot. Each player can only have one Skill for which this applies, and cannot gain the «Creator» Skill more than once. The «Immortal» Skill, as the name implies, prevents its bearers from dying via HP loss by setting the minimum value of HP to 1. It cannot be obtained normally, and is only gained through the effects of other Skills or by application of the last System Skill.

«Authority» cannot be obtained by players, only being bestowed upon elevated NPCs by those recognized by the Cardinal System. At its highest level, it confers the ability to manipulate the very structure of Aincrad in addition exerting control over its inhabitants. The use of «Authority» on players outside of very specific contexts is strictly forbidden.

Character Highlight: Premiere (Lv.?)

"Was this part of Her plans…? I suppose it doesn't matter now."

One of a pair of NPCs inexplicably left in the game by Kayaba Akihiko. Premiere and her twin sister Tia existed as null programs, hollow shells with no predefined behavior beyond their classification as quest-giver NPCs, before they were repurposed to inherit certain portions of the old Cardinal System's functionality shortly after its collapse. She is in nominally in charge of all nonessential tasks Core presided over prior to the launch of the full game, but in truth, most of her duties are handled by automated processes and the Hollow Avatar. The only system she can truly control is the Skill Creation System, a privilege her sister often usurps from her when she isn't paying attention. She also has limited access to the Quest Creation System due to her classification as a quest-giver NPC, which she used to make alterations to the original Grand Quest of the game. Her personality is less developed than her sister's due in part to how eager her sister is to observe players, but mostly due to her own machinations. She seeks to protect the world of Aincrad and believes that at least one among the A.I.s must remain far-removed from human thinking to better accomplish this.

Skills: «Rapier Lv.0», «Switch Lv.0», «Research Lv.0»

Extra Skills: «Training Lv.0»

System Skills: «Prestige Lv.0», «Exceed», «Adaptation», «Immortal», «Authority»

«Prestige»: Skills the user has equipped cannot have their effects reduced or nullified.

Character Highlight: Tia (Lv.?)

"I used to ask myself, 'Why do they do that?' Now, I think… I finally understand."

One of a pair of NPCs with no behavioral coding inexplicably left in the game by Kayaba Akihiko and later repurposed to inherit portions of the old Cardinal System's functionality. She was entrusted with the Prestige System by Ghost. Unlike her sister, who can exert some influence over the new Cardinal System, Tia's «Authority» does not allow her to do so except in cases of emergency, often leaving her with nothing to do. She generally spends her time observing players in all manner of situations and creating nonsensical quests for fun. She strongly believes in Ghost's vision of shaping players to serve as ideal role models and partners for the NPCs, and so actively pursues various tasks that she thinks contribute to that goal, although she has taken the "partner" aspect seriously. This led her to use the Skill Creation System to make a Skill for the sole purpose of encouraging more intimate human-NPC relations. While trying to understand the players better, she developed a preference for Rapiers and convinced her sister to help her train (much to Premiere's irritation since they both have the ability to download information on how to properly wield the weapon). Tia's Skill choices were copied from various players she became particularly interested in.

Skills: «Rapier Lv.0», «Accel Lv.0», «Taming Lv.0», «Switch Lv.0», «Acrobatics Lv.0», «Hiding Lv.0», «Subterfuge Lv.0», «Research Lv.0», «Analyze Lv.0», «Cheering Lv.0»

Extra Skills: «Lovemaking Lv.1», «Trainee Lv.?»

System Skills: «Prestige Lv.0», «Exceed», «Adaptation», «Creator», «Immortal», «Authority»

«Prestige»: The user may copy the effects of any other «Prestige» Skill. Only one effect may be active at a time.

Editor's Corner:

Honesty is the best policy. Lots of characters aren't exactly who you might think they are, but at least half the cast can't tell a lie to the other half, right? I actually cut out an entire ending scene and reworked the whole high elf reveal. Solwyn is an OC, but you won't see much of him after this arc.

Friendly reminder that you should vote for the next Highlight and check my profile regularly for updates! I will always reiterate important edits to past chapters, but not the many minor edits that aren't plot-relevant. It might be worth checking out the expanded ending scene for last chapter though, just for funnies.

As far as the timeline is concerned, everything takes place four years later than in canon. The closed beta ends on May 31 instead of August 31. The full launch of the game takes place on August 6 instead of November 6. Everything takes place four years later than in canon. This information has been added to the Prologue. Dates are only important for holidays and birthdays.

Next chapter: «Once Upon A Time»! Canon doesn't really touch on the lore of Aincrad beyond some obscure references, so let's build us a world and set up some plot while we're at it!