Kirito's POV

I pushed the door to the second floor open and saw that we were on a cliff. There were stairs leading down to the town that I knew was Urbus. It was the only decent town when it came to shops on the second floor. Just like in the beta I could see the wasteland that surely had high level monsters like last time. The mountainous terrain of this floor was the opposite of the first floor which meant that the fighting style would have to change. I looked back at the girl who followed me. I was going to solo and avoid everyone as usual but I guess plans change.

I sighed while looking down at the town below. The girl, Asuna, was oddly persistent in coming with me. She was strong though and she was a newbie so she had great potential. With the right training she could easily be one of the strongest players here. I turned to her and saw her looking at me curiously. When she saw she was caught looking she turned her head quickly. "Let's go down to the town and rent rooms at the inn. Tomorrow we should head out to train and do a few quests before more people flood the floor. I know of a few places that have good spawn rates," I said while turning towards the stairs and descending them.

While walking down the stairs I kept going over in my head how this could happen. For the past two months I avoided everyone except to clear the floor. Even in real life I would avoid others including my family and now here I am partying up and with a girl. I'm not saying girls are weak I just never truly had a conservation with a girl in real life except for my "sister." I pushed those thoughts aside and looked towards the inn a few feet from us. It was pretty cheap and in the center of the town. I turned towards Asuna with a slight smile on my face, "You could still leave if you want." I waited for her response when a message appeared on my HUD that caused me to freeze.

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Klein's POV

I sheathed my katana and looked towards my friends who were just finishing up their mobs. Since the announcement of the death game and Kirito's disappearance my friends and I have been leveling slowly to try and help clear the game. I sent countless messages to Kirito but he never responded to them. At first I was worried that he had died but the monolith in the town of beginnings did not etch out his name so I knew he was still alive. 'If only he accepted my request to join us,' I thought while looking through the drops that I received. He seemed lonely and distant. I was broken from my thoughts from my friend, Issin, shouting out my name.

I walked rushed towards him to see what was going on when he showed me a message he received from a friend who was going to help clear the boss. "Just read it," he said stubbornly, "I think it should interest you."

I looked down at his screen and saw the message:

Re: Boss Cleared

We actually did it! We killed Illfang the Kobold Lord and cleared the first floor! We lost Diabel sadly and also found grave news. One of the clearers was a beta tester, can you believe that. He had black hair that went down to about his chin and wore all black. He allowed Diabel to die in his arms then killed the boss for the last attack bonus. This is a warning to watch out for the 'Beaters' as they are now being called. Kibauo is calling for others to help remove the 'Beaters' if you are interested. Maybe we can actually clear this game now that the first boss was proven defeatable.

I finished the message and looked up at my friends. They knew about Kirito and how he helped me in the beginning and offered me the opportunity to follow him. I shook my head in disbelief; the Kirito I knew that first day would have not let someone die in his arms, no matter how distant the kid was he wasn't heartless. "Kirito isn't like that," I said firmly while looking up at my friends. "He wouldn't let others fall for his benefit. I don't know what this Kibauo is planning but we need to all remain united not divided. I turned around to send Kirito yet another message.

Re: Help

Hopefully you decide to at least read this message unlike all the others I sent you. I heard about the boss dungeon kid. My friends and I are coming to the second floor if you want to meet up. Also watch out for Kibauo he is planning something against all the beta players. You can't do this alone let us help you.

-Klein-

I sent the message to him and turned towards my friends. "Well looks like we are going to the second floor to train," I said. 'And hopefully find a certain solo player to knock some sense into him,' I added in my head.

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Asuna's POV

"You could still leave if you want," Kirito said with a small smile on his face. I stared at him in disbelief and opened my mouth to answer when his eyes widened. He opened up his message menu and began reading something almost as if his life depended on it. When he finished reading it he held his head in his hands. "I thought it was worse," he muttered.

"Thought what was worse?" I asked hesitantly. His head snapped up and he seemed to notice that I was still there.

"Oh uhh… it was a message from someone I helped in the first day. I thought he was in trouble because of the subject of his message," he said while showing me the message.

I read it slowly then reread it again. I paused at the first sentence. "What did he mean by hopefully you would answer this unlike the other ones?" I ask a bit harsher than I meant to.

Kirito flinched a bit and ducked his head. "I may have ignored all of his messages since I left him that day…" he muttered and fidgeted his feet a bit.

"That's not the whole story I am guessing," I say softly while leading him to a table at the inn. We take our seats before I continue. "Can you… tell me what else happened?"

He stiffened a little before opening his mouth. "Once Kayaba finished his announcement I pulled Klein towards the edge of town. I told him that he should follow me to the next town so that we would get better spawns and experience but he couldn't leave his friends and I couldn't take them all. He offered me a party spot but I couldn't accept it. Even during the beta I was a solo player so it wouldn't feel right. So I left him and his friends at the Town of Beginnings while I went to level quickly and begin my quest to clear the game." When he finished his story his eyes were locked onto the table and his hands were clenched together tightly. "He surely must hate what I did," he whispered.

I stared at him for a moment before shaking my head. "No he doesn't hate you. Why would he send all those messages to you and warn you about Kibauo if he hated you?" I ask quietly. Half an hour ago this boy helped defeat a boss and had a cold calculating look now he was worried of what someone thought of him.

Kirito raised his head and the same cold look was in his eyes again. "You really shouldn't be following a 'Beater' around you will get a bad reputation," he stated.

I met his look with a hard look of my own. "If I don't follow you I am less likely to survive. You were in the beta so you can help me level and survive," I said while glaring at him.

We continued our staring match for a few more minutes before he sighed. "Fine I'll help. What stats did you distribute your points to while leveling up?" he asked curiously.

"Stats?" I questioned and his face dropped considerably. "What are stats?"

A/N- So here is the second chapter/the first full chapter. Please review I love them :3