His meeting with Agil was going to happen on the 1st floor, Town of Beginnings. So, Drifter thought he might as well make use of the free time he had before the appointment to meet Sasha and the kids back at the church. He and Yuna had been coming here regularly, but with all the preparations for the 2nd floor boss raid, the battle itself, and then getting wrapped up in the << Elf War >> campaign, it had been a few days since they last showed up.

After spending some time playing with the kids, and promising to teach them how to fight someday, it was finally time.

The spot Agil had chosen was in the periphery of the town, an old dilapidated, and shabby brick building. Drifter raised an eyebrow and entered, only to discover that the interior was much more well-preserved.

"Hey, Drifter! Over here!"

Agil's loud voice attracted his attention, and he saw the big man waving to him. Not that it was hard to miss him, considering they were the only patrons of the bar.

Much to Drifter's surprise, Agil wasn't alone. With him were Orlando and, stunningly enough, the second-in-command of the DKB, Shivata. It took him a moment to recognize the older man without his characteristic heavy armor.

Shivata was closer to Agil in age, maybe approaching his thirties. Though he hadn't had many interactions with the man, Drifter quite liked him. Shivata was a cool-headed warrior, able to control his emotions even in the most hectic situations. If it wasn't for him taking control of part of the DKB during the 2nd floor boss raid, the fight against << Asterius the Taurus King >> wouldn't have gone nearly so well.

Pulling a chair back and sitting down, Drifter fist-bumped Agil and Orlando, before offering his hand more formally for Shivata to shake.

"Hello there. I wasn't expecting to see you here, Shivata."

"Am I unwelcome?"

"Not at all. In fact, you are one of the people in the DKB I feel like I could be friends with."

"Haha... We are not all bad, you know? But I'm glad to hear that."

Drifter just smiled politely. While he could be more casual with Agil and Orlando, he wasn't anywhere as close to the DKB member as he was to the other two. Not to mention, Shivata's inclusion in this little outing made it seem less like just a few friends going out for a drink, and more like a meeting between the higher-ups of some of the most famous player groups.

He also caught a glimpse of something in Shivata's eyes. He had a feeling that the other man had other objectives today other than just drinking.

"All righty! Now that everyone's comfortable, bring the alcohol! I want to see whether the stuff in SAO is as good as it has been made out to be!"

Maybe sensing the slight tension between Drifter and Shivata, Agil slammed his big hands on the table and called for an NPC waitress.

When the order arrived, Drifter appreciatively looked at it. SAO's naming system was as ordinary as always, simply calling the drink << Strong Liquor >>. However, everything from the color to the smell had been perfectly reproduced. He couldn't help but swallow his saliva. Although he was more of a beer guy, it had been truly too long since he drank any alcohol.

"To beating the 2nd floor flawlessly! To clearing his hellish game! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

The four people touched glasses, and took a sip. Feeling the burning sensation down their throats, they all exhaled contentedly. Agil poured more into his glass, and laughed.

"Ahh... It's not as good as what I have back home, but I can't believe they actually managed to reproduce it to this extent."

"Yeah. SAO will never cease to amaze me."

Orlando and Drifter nodded in agreement to Dhivata's words. Though SAO was their prison, and they wanted to escape with all their being, no one could deny that Kayaba had achieved something which would go down in history - and that was before he kidnapped ten thousand people.

"Oh, yes! Orlando, didn't you say you wouldn't come? How come you changed your mind?"

"About that... It's actually thanks to Argo. She... Err... Borrowed Nezha from us, so we decided to take a break."

"Borrowed?"

Drifter raised an eyebrow. Looking at Orlando's expression, it didn't seem like 'borrow' was the original word he wanted to use. Not to mention, Drifter liked to think he knew Argo pretty well, and she would never do something as polite as asking please. Most likely, she had approached the Legend Braves, grabbed Nazha, and dragged him away. That was more in line with the little rat that he knew.

"Did she say why?"

"Apparently she needed an assistant for something, and we still have a debt to pay with her. Anyway, he should return in one piece. Probably. Right?"

Seeing Orlando's pleading expression, Drifter burst out laughing. Whatever it was that Argo wanted Nezha for, it shouldn't be a bad thing. And if it was dangerous, she would have come to him first.

Drifter didn't know when, but he started to get tipsy. He was not drunk, and the icon blinking on his HUD ruined the feeling a little, but he was certainly not as stable on his feet as he was before. Unfortunately - or thankfully, depending on how you looked at it - the intoxication status caused by alcohol only lasted for half an hour after you stopped drinking.

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"Yo! Shivata! Where are you going?!"

"Just taking a breather. Be right back."

"What?! Such a lightweight! Nevermind! Agil, fill it up!"

It was well into the night when the DKB player got up to go outside. Orlando, who was by now well and truly smashed, yelled incoherently, and quickly changed his focus. Drifter looked at the back of the player, then at the other two at the table, and got up to follow Shivata. Agil glanced at him, but Orlando didn't even notice.

He found Shivata sitting on a bench outside, fiddling with his menu, as if waiting for him. Taking a deep breath to clear his head, Drifter slouched down next to him.

"What's up? You looked like you wanted to talk to me throughout the entire thing."

"I do."

"Why not just send a message, though? Why go through all the trouble of getting Agil to be the middleman?"

"Ah, you noticed that?"

Drifter snorted. He knew Shivata didn't mean to sound condescending, that was just how he normally spoke. It was still a little infuriating, however.

"Hard not to, when both of you have been sneaking glances at me the entire night. It sends mixed signals, y'know? Besides, I've never seen you and Agil speak more than a few words, but suddenly he invites you to drink with us? Strange, don't you think?"

The player sitting next to him chuckled, and nodded.

"Yeah. I wanted to talk to you face-to-face, but I didn't think you would accept if I just sent a message asking. Lind hasn't exactly made his best effort to establish a good relationship with your party."

"He's kind of an asshole sometimes, yeah. But we know he's pretty much gotten over the beater problem already. It's mostly pride and the need to look strong that keeps him away. That goes for both of our groups, actually."

"Heh."

For a few minutes, they both said nothing. Each player had their own difficulties. They, even more so. As frontliners, they weren't only responsible for their own lives, but also for the remaining 7.500 players still alive. Willingly or not, they had taken up that burden when they chose to go against Illfang, and this was not a ride they could get off midway.

"Well, what is it that you couldn't say through a message?"

"Two things. One is something Lind wanted me to pass on, the other something I myself want to talk about."

"Lind's first."

"This is something both he and Kibaou discussed, mind you. We are all pretty sure you and your party are going to form a guild of your own. But, in the off chance that's not the case, they hope your party can split up, half to each the DKB and ALS."

Hearing this, Drufter was startled. He first stared at Shivata, to make sure he was being serious and this wasn't just the alcohol talking. It wasn't. Opening his mouth, Drifter enunciated each of his words clearly.

"Not a chance."

The player wasn't offended nor surprised by the flat-out refusal. He was already expecting it.

"I told them that was what you were gonna say. Alas, your party is smaller than us, but each of you is too unique, so they can't help but be tempted."

Drifter just snorted. First they shunned Kirito, now they wanted them to dissolve their party? Lind and Kibaou better wake up if they think there was any chance of that happening.

"My personal suggestion is that you create a guild. There are only benefits and no downside, after all."

"We will see. What's the second thing you wanted to talk about?"

"Ah, that. You see, I'm the mediator between our guild and Argo the Rat. I was talking to her about our progress in the << Elf War >> campaign yesterday - we sided with the forest elves by the way - and she mentioned your party. Apparently not only you are further along than us, but you also triggered some sort of special sequence and managed to acquire info about the floor boss?"

Drifter furrowed his eyebrows. Where was Shivata going with this?

"Something like that."

"I bought the intel she was selling, and it was damn expensive. But if it is true, it was worth it. How sure are you?"

"As sure as we can be without actually going into the boss room."

"Good. I have a proposition for you, on behalf of the Dragon Knight Brigade."

Hearing this, Drifter straightened his back. Though Shivata seemed to be contradicting himself by saying this was something he came up with, but then mentioning it was on behalf of the DKB, Drifter took it very seriously. That was because Shivata's position in the DKB was very similar to his. Both of them could be considered vice-leaders of their respective groups. So, Shivata had all the right to speak for the DKB, while Drifter could very well answer for his party.

"My proposal is that the DKB will withdraw from the << Elf War >> campaign, and focus on clearing this floor and finding the boss room. If possible, I will convince Kibaou and the ALS to do the same. On the other hand, I wish your party can focus all your efforts on finishing the campaign on this floor as perfectly as possible, and before we raid the boss."

"Why?"

"Two reasons. First, because Kayaba is obviously aiming at putting players at odds by having us choose different camps in this campaign. Though I don't believe we would ever truly fight over it, it would certainly create an even bigger rift between players, and waste time we do not have. Secondly, I know your party managed to unlock some special NPC or trigger some sort of secret quest or event. You are our best bet at finding out how much the floor bosses from here to the 9th floor have changed since the beta."

Drifter didn't respond immediately, and Shivata also didn't rush him. He knew this was an important decision, which couldn't be made lightly. After all, if he agreed, Drufter would be basically confirming that his party wouldn't participate in the clearing effort of the labyrinth for the next seven floors. While some might see this as a good thing, for the frontliners who were always striving to upgrade their levels, skills, and equipment, it was not necessarily an advantage.

"I need to speak to the others first. But... I believe they will agree. I'm in favor of it, at least."

It was only five minutes later that Drifter finally spoke. Even though he didn't give a direct confirmation, it was as good as, so Shivata smiled happily, and shook hands with the spearman.

"Great! Thank you very much, Drifter. As long as we all band together, I believe we will beat this game one day."

Drifter merely nodded, and followed the DKB player back inside. Soon after, Shivata bid farewell to them, and Orlando also left. As fun as it would be to drink until the next day dawned, none of them forgot their situation. Tomorrow would be another day of fighting. At least, SAO didn't have a hangover mechanic.

When only Agil and Drifter were left, the black man glanced at him.

"Shivata told you what he wanted?"

"Yup. It was a good thing."

"Great. He is a nice guy, and much more level-headed than Lind."

"Hmm, I saw that. Thanks for the help, Agil."

"Nevermind that. I just wanted to drink, it reminds me of the real world. Let's get together again when we clear this floor, how about it?"

"Definitely."