"Erkkk!!!"

With a last cry of pain, a << Frenzy Boar >> burst into polygons, revealing Drifter, who still had his sword poised in front of his body, the blade parallel to the ground. He had finished off the mob with the skill << Horizontal >>, the only ability in his skill tab. Needless to say, it did a lot more damage than normal attacks, even if it was just one single blow.

SAO had no such thing as a stamina gauge. You could use as many skills as you liked, however many times you liked. Of course, there were also some drawbacks, the first of them being the cooldown. As far as Drifter could tell, there was an interval after you used a skill during which you could not use it again. He learned that the hard way, when he tried to activate two << Horizontals >> back to back, only to end up frozen, and an easy target for a << Frenzy Boar >>. Luckily the introductory mobs didn't deal much damage.

The second drawback he found was that, while SAO didn't have stamina or mana or the likes, it was very realistic. Meaning, swinging a sword for two hours straight, like he had been doing, left you tired as hell, and your arms burning.

Closing the screen that told him how much experience, cor, and drops he got, Drifter searched for another target. Maybe someday he would get bored of facing the same mobs, but for now, he still found every fight exciting.

"Agh!"

Unfortunately for Drifter, what he found when he turned around wasn't another mob, but rather another player. One who was very close to him. Close as in he almost headbutted her when he turned.

"What the fuck?!"

After jumping back and pointing his sword at the other player, who was giggling, Drifter couldn't help but growl at her.

"Sorry, sorry! I just wanted to talk to you, I didn't think you would turn so suddenly, and... Hihihihi... So sorry, but it was funny how you jumped away. Hihihihi!"

A few seconds of intense staring later, Drifter sighed and sheathed his sword - that he was carrying a sword on his hip still felt unreal. He was not amused by her antics, but at least the girl wasn't a PK'er.

"So, what did you want to talk to me for?"

"Party with me!"

That caught Drifter off guard. Not that he was averse to the idea, but it was very sudden. Instead of answering, he scanned the player across from him. Long blue hair, an hourglass-shaped body, and a face that was too pretty to be real. Clearly someone who had spent their sweet time on character customization.

"Err... Why?"

"I was watching you, and you fight well. I went to that forest over there earlier 'cause of a quest, but almost died. The mobs aren't that strong, but there's a shitton of them. I don't feel like walking back all the way to the town to find a party, so group up with me."

Drifter thought for a second, then shrugged. Why not? He had been fighting wild pigs for the last few hours, a change of pace would be nice. Even if the mobs proved to be too much for them to handle, they could just respawn and find more people to help.

"Send the invite. I'm Drifter, by the way."

"Cool name. I'm Meowlen."

That was a weird name, but Drifter wasn't about to question it. He just accepted the invite, and Meowlen led the way to the quest site. They made some small talk along the way - the girl was very excitable - and killed any of the << Frenzy Boars >> and << Dire Wolves >> they met. Drifter had to admit, having a partner made things a lot easier.

It was during one such fight, after Drifter had just dispatched the last wolf, that Meowlen took something out of her inventory and threw it to him.

"Here, catch."

By reflex, Drifter did just that. It was a spear. A very basic one on top of that. The shaft was made out of wood, and the head of metal. Curiously enough, despite it being bigger than his sword, it was still lighter. Probably due to it not being made entirely of metal. Drifter looked at it's tab, and found out it was called << Old Soldier's Spear >>. Its stats were slightly better than the beginner sword he had. He raised an eyebrow at Meowlen.

"What's that for?"

"I've been watching you fight. You dodge most of the mobs, which means you probably put quite a few points in DEX when you leveled up. You also tend to stay back and only attack when there's a clear opening. That ain't how you are supposed to fight with a short sword. I got that spear from a quest, and I think it suits you more than me."

Drifter maintained his eyebrow raised. That was a very in-depth analysis of his fighting style, for the few minutes they had been together. Heck, she knew more about how he fought than he did. Also, that was the second quest she mentioned. It didn't take too much to figure out who she was.

"You a beta-tester?"

"You caught me. Hihihi!"

Meowlen giggled while launching forward to confront another group of mobs. Drifter followed closely behind.

"I'm guessing this quest ain't so simple, then? If even a beta-tester can't finish it alone."

"Nah, it's pretty straightforward. Exactly what I told you, in fact. Too many mobs for me to deal with alone. I have to kill a << Large Nepents >>, and I need you to keep the lesser ones away while I do that. A spear will also give you more reach to do just that, so I'm being a little selfish here."

Drifter nodded, and thrust the spear forward, impaling a << Dire Wolf >> mid-jump, and shattering it into blue sparkles. He swung the weapon, satisfied.

"Don't sweat it, it's all good. I think you are right, this does fit me more. Anyway, what's the reward?"

"A pretty sweet sword. With the right enhancements, it can last me until floor six or maybe even seven."

"Cool. I will keep the spear as payment for helping you then. Also, you gotta teach me some more later."

"Deal!"

Meowlen grinned, her hands behind her back, and Drifter got the sudden feeling that he had been tricked.

"That sword is worth much more than I think, isn't it?"

"Yes! Hihihihihi!"

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Sighing, Drifter decided not to think about it. He had gotten himself a new weapon and a... Mentor? Could Meowlen be called that? No, should he call her that? Probably not. Anyway, that was something to consider later. Now they were entering the small forest in which the beta-tester said the quest objective was located.

It didn't take long for them to find the mobs that had sent Meowlen running away with her tail between her legs. Standing at one and a half meters tall, the monsters looked like a carnivorous plant that was able to walk, and had also received sharp teeth no plant had the right to have. They were also deceptively agile for something whose way of movement was a mass of squirming roots.

Being just level 3 mobs, the << Lesser Nepents >> and Drifter were technically on the same standing. In fact, they were quite a lot weaker than him. But there were a lot of them. Like, a lot.

"Meowlen! I need a hand here!"

"Coming!"

Drifter lifted his spear to block a swipe from one of the mobs, only to have another grab his leg and pull, causing him to fall down. The large monstrosity approached him, saliva dripping from it's gross mouth. Drifter could almost see the respawn hall in the Town of Beginnings, but before the << Lesser Nepents >> could deal the fatal blow, Meowlen came in clutch, severing it in two halves. Without missing a beat, she turned around to strike at another mob, while Drifter got up. He also didn't waste time into poking the thing with his spear, and emptying the last of it's health.

"Uff... Uff... That was terrifying."

"You tell me. And those aren't even the worst mobs out there. You will see when we get to higher floors. Those are some nightmarish stuff."

"How far did you get into the beta anyway?"

"Not as far as I would like. Just the fifth floor. I was more invested in searching for secrets and hidden quests than climbing. But I know there were some beta-testers who got to floor eight. There was a famous solo player who apparently got to the tenth floor, but I don't know for sure if that's true."

Drifter raised an eyebrow - that was becoming a habit. Maybe the difficulty had been turned up since the closed beta, because with how hard grinding was going, Drifter couldn't see how they were supposed to reach the tenth floor in just a month.

"Well, don't think too hard about it now. Let's get my << Anneal Blade >> and then we can finish up for today!"

Drifter supposed that wasn't a bad idea. He had been going at it for a few hours now. A snack and a bath after finishing this quest didn't sound too bad.

Unfortunately, luck didn't seem to be on their side. Even after killing two dozen more << Lesser Nepents >> and exploring almost all of << Horunka Forest >>, they had yet to find the larger counterpart of the mobs.

"My spear's durability is running out, Meowlen. We should get back to a city and repair before coming back."

"Aww... We wouldn't have time or want to return here. Let's just try a little more. I promise I will buy you a new weapon if yours break."

"All right. But I will hold you to that."

Watching Meowlen do a victory dance, Drifter sighed and turned around, spotting the biggest walking plant he had seen today.

"Uhh... Meowlen? I think I might have found what we are looking for."

He pointed a finger at the << Large Nepents >> which had just spawned. While it looked very similar to it's smaller kind, with was easily three meters tall, and towered over all the other mobs. Luckily, they were out of it's aggro range. Drifter wasn't sure what he would do if it has spawned right next to him. Nothing honorable, that's for certain.

Meowlen, on the other hand, seemed positively ecstatic. Drifter supposed that for a beta-tester, the << Large Nepents >> was nothing too impressive.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes! I thought we would have to grind for days before it spawned!"

"Wait, you did?"

"Never mind the details! It's here, so let's take it down before someone KS's! Aim for the spot just above it's stalk. There's a higher chance of scoring critical hits."

Drifter grabbed Meowlen by the back of the neck before she could rush forward, and pointed a finger to the corner of his vision, where the health bars of his party members was. Both of them were at the lower end of yellow, almost entering red.

"How about we regen our health first?"

The beta-tester pouted, but sat down to eat and recover. Not much later, they were both back at full health, and ready to rumble. Drifter got up and stretched.

"What's the plan?"

"You go in first, catch it's attention, and keep it at range with your spear. I will go around and flank it, then smack it good."

"Sounds good. Let's go then."

Drifter opened the fight with a << Horizontal >>. Although the skill belonged to the one-handed sword category, it still worked with spears. He just had to gather enough momentum to thrust the spear forward with one hand, before pulling it back quickly.

The skill poked a large hole through the outer layer of the << Large Nepents >> body. Drifter saw it's health dip by about 10%, which was worrying. Against the << Lesser Nepents >>, one use of the skill was enough to deplete at least one-fourth of their health gage.

Anyway, though slightly disappointed, Drifter wasn't about to stop. Meowlen had already shared with him that whenever he finished using a skill, he should swap back to ordinary attacks as quickly as possible, lest he be struck while on cooldown. And so that was what he did.

Stepping to the left preemptively, Drifter continued his offense with two quick stabs, one of which hit the weak point of the mob, causing it to screech in pain and rage. One of the vines that passed as an arm for the creature struck the spot Drifter was just standing on with enough power to carve a hole on the ground. Before it could retreat, Drifter brought his spear up, severing the 'limb', and sending sap flying everywhere. Unfortunately, he had focused so much on this particular attack that he didn't notice the other arm of the << Large Nepents >>, which sent him flying.

Though he felt no pain, it was still very disorienting. Also, why did earth taste like earth? Did the developers really need to go that far? Besides, that fucker hit really hard. His health was back in the yellow with just a single blow.

With the corner of his eye, he saw Meowlen signaling him to distract the mob some more - as if the monster already wasn't hell-bent on killing him. Getting up, Drifter groaned, and launched another << Horizontal >>, followed by a swipe and a stab. That brought the << Large Nepents >> health down to half.

It was then that his partner decided to jump into the fray. With a war cry, Meowlen hit the mob with her own skills, right on it's stalk. Suddenly, the health bar above the enemy's head dipped to the red, and the << Large Nepents >> turned around to deal with the new attacker. Seeing the opening, Drifter used the third << Horizontal >> of the battle, and finished it.

"Yay! We did it!"

He raised his gaze to Meowlen, a grin hanging on his face. It was a hard battle, but it was worth it if she got the sword. He was about to congratulate her when he froze.

His partner of a few hours, the easygoing and hyperactive beta-tester, had just burst into polygons mid commemorative jump. He stared at where Meowlen used to be, dumbfounded. A quick glance at his HUD told him that he was not in a party anymore. And considering the << Anneal Blade >> had ended up on his inventory, he didn't think she had ditched him and teleported - if that was even possible.

"What the hell?"

For now, the only option Drifter could think of was that Meowlen had been disconnected. Maybe there was a problem with her connection, or, more probably, someone IRL had pulled out her NerveGear. He let out a chuckle imagining a very disgruntled Meowlen pouting at some family member for doing that.

"Guess I will keep this for her until she logs back in."

Stashing away the quest reward, Drifter quickly made his way out of << Horunka Forest >>. This part of the map was too dangerous for single players at this stage, not to mention his gear was almost breaking.

"Time to get back to the Town of Beginnings and log out. Hah, I can't wait to take a shower."

---------------------------

In a room somewhere in Japan, a spectacled man wearing a lab coat analyzed the many, many computer screens around him. Some were showing prodigious amounts of code running at unparalleled speed. Others showed scenes inside SAO. Others even showed what appeared to news outlets all around the country.

The man looked at the screen right in front of him, where a counter was displayed. As he watched, the rightmost number changed. Putting on a NerveGear, the man spoke to no one.

"That is enough, Cardinal. Start Project Aincrad."