When Sword Art Online was released, it had three separate servers: the Japanese server, the European server, and the American server. This is the story of the American SAO, a VRMMORPG. The first of its kind, SAO was a virtual reality fantasy game. The player goes full dive into a virtual world, left motionless in the real world. There's one catch to SAO, however. If the you die, the nerve gear you wear to go full dive destroys your brain by essentially "cooking" it with the microwaves it uses to stimulate your brains. The problem? No one knew that part before logging in....

It had been over a year since launch. A year since Eric had left the real work behind for the virtual world of Aincrad. The strange thing was, part of him was starting to like it. His family had never thought much of his lifestyle, spending almost all of his extra time on video games and online forum sites and video game community events. He was making 3-D models and animating them at twelve years old. He never had any real friend IRL, and his one older sister was one of those popular people who played sports and drank protein. This world sometimes felt like it made more sense that real life, but then some one would do something careless and get themselves killed. That was why he didn't like clans, or "guilds" as his Japanese friends had called them before. There were clans for all things. Army-like clans, front line clans, even skill-based clans like the Hades Kitchen. The most famous clans were the Knights of he Blood Oath, a clan of paladin-like players crusading to beat the game; the Legion of Heaven, a frontline clan takes with running frontline strikes; and Clan Sleepy Hollow, a player-killer clan who was more infamous really.

Eric thought of all these things as he sat on the edge of a small cliff. The sun was rising, spilling golden light through the floor gaps of Aincrad. It felt warm against his face as he ran his hand through his shoulder-length light grey, unruly hair. IRL, before SAO, Eric had used that hair dye for old men to keep nice grey hair to dye his own totally grey, which translated in-game when he was scanned. He was glad because it made him look like he belonged in that world. He leaned back as he stretched, then stood up, grabbed his staff and headed toward the Blood Oath encampment that was set up near the entrance to a dungeon. That meant there was a boss room in there. He adjusted his battle coat, a long black coat trimmed in bright red and placed his staff, the Staff of the Crow on his shoulder, balanced with his right arm. It was smooth, black metal and had a gnarly axe blade at the end. Some people had tried to tell him that made it a pile or halberd, but he refused to accept it. The name said "staff" case closed. He walked down the hill to the giant white and red tent, walking straight into the commander's tent.

"Hey guys, what's up?" He asked, feeling out of place as he always did. He was only sixteen while the others were in their twenties. The thing was, despite his age, Eric was known amongst the higher ups of a few clans as a valuable member of any boss raid. He was a fierce fighter and had earned a lot of loot and money from working with other guilds, but he had always preferred to work with the commander. Plus the Knights of the Blood Oath paid the best.

[okay ladies and gents, if you know me you know he rules.

One! I want clean but realistic thread, no profanity and no inappropriate content. Keep it pg-13 people.

Two! If you're gonna post, write at least ONE PARAGRAPH. It's hard to respond to anything less and frankly throws off my groove almost as bad as when people don't spell out numbers -.-

Three! Post at least once a day, and if you can't put anything good, just use out-of-character-text signified however you choose to let us know you're having an off day 🙃

Four! Have fun! This is many as a relief from the more serious threads I'm entangled in so let's not get super carried away.

and I would be honored by your participation! WOOOO!]

Staring at the map of the labyrinth in front of him, Sebastian shook his head. "Why are there only forty-six of you here! Where is Eric!", pounding his fist on the wooden table in front of him. He seemed to always do this at the most inconvenient times. He needed forty-eight players to run a full boss raid and he couldn't allow himself to fail a single boss raid given to him to command. He sat back down in to the chair at the head of the table. He couldn't really blame him, unlike most of the players, he was one of the few with a military background.

Sebastian was an FMF Corpsman working out of Camp Pendleton, CA when his unit was given special orders. They were to test out a new full dive system to be used for training new recruits and their unit, having just returned from deployment, was tasked with the job. Falling in love with the system, Sebastian bought a copy of SAO. Unfortunately, SAO beta was never released in the American server.

After the devastating losses taken on the twenty-fifth floor to one of the four quarter-bosses, Sebastian was asked to join the Knights of the Blood Oath as a new commander. With his successful defeat of several floor bosses, he is called upon often to lead boss raids, because of his more serious nature and leadership experience.

A light burst into the tent, reflecting on the the individual chains of Sebastian's light chain mail as well as glinting red along the blackened blade of his one-handed short spear, "Blood Surge". The signature grey hair of Eric entered the tent first, followed by the rest of his body. "It's about time you showed up, how many times do I have to tell you that ten minutes early is five minutes late? Now pay attention, you've put us behind schedule." Scratching his own signature red-dyed hair that was long and combed to the side on the top and faded on the sides, Sebastian began to sort out where to begin.

[Liberties taken per the consent of Mr. OP, , come and join us!]

((( aka Spud... and I will join you, this one is just gonna take me a moment longer to figure out, I'll try and get something up tomorrow night, promise. )))

[cool, cool. I'll send you some ketchup in smail. ]

Eric shrugged, taking his place around the table with the others. He was one of the few non-Blood Oath players in the tent. He guessed that had something to do with the history he had with the commander. They had fought together on some of the first floors then parted ways. He was joining the Knights and Eric decided to stick to playing solo. It was better that way, and he didn't hear from commander again until floor thirty-seven. The commander had need of a fourty-eighth man to complete his raid party, and so began Eric's new "job". Five thousand col for every successful raid wasn't an amazing deal, but if it meant preventing the deaths of about fifty players and getting to the next floor, Eric was all over it. Besides, he got to keep whatever drops he got, so even if five thousand wasn't much of a payment, it made it worth being there. Studying the other players, he saw that the guild's front liners were catching up. Sebastian and himself were level fifty-two, but the rest were between forty- eight and fifty. He was impressed, this could actually work. Mostly though, he was excited to show off his new skill. He quietly waited for Sebastian's brief, interested to see what had become of the Blood Owl in the last few months.

"Alright, so as you all know, I've hand picked each of you for this boss fight." Looking around the room, he saw several nods of affirmation at his remark. "According to info retrieved from the quests on this floor, the boss this time is "Killer Kroc King". Simply a strong boss who uses a curved sword, however, the catch is that he continuously spawns waves of Kroclings until he is defeated, so the speed at which we do this is essential. Also, tacked on to that is the fact that the stage is supposed to be a swamp, so we will have to deal with fighting knee deep in water." Gasps could be heard across the room. A younger member exclaimed from the side of the room, "So how are we supposed to fight the boss and its infinite underlings all while be slowed down by water, I mean, who's stupid enough to fight a Kroc in the water?" Thankfully, Sebastian was well prepared ahead of time with an answer. Dan, the man who posed the statement of doom disguised as a question, stared intently waiting for a response. Flipping through his inventory, he pulled out a plank of wood and tossed it onto the table, "Luckily for us, physics in this world is fairly accurate, so we will be using this for our plan." The room grew quiet as Sebastian explained the plan to them.

"Alright lastly I'll discuss the squad layouts. Three squads will be well rounded squads that will be taking care of the Kroclings that spawn; Kevin, Billy, and Trevor, I trust you three to each take charge of each of the three squads." The three of them nodded an affirmative at Sebastian. "Good, The rest will be attacking the boss and I will be leading those myself. Get your assignments on the way out, your now dismissed, meet outside the labyrinth at zero seven hundred sharp. Don't be late." Watching as the members filed out, he calls out to Eric to make sure he doesn't leave.

Looking at the kid that he used to fight along side, his steel colored hair earning him his nickname The Steel Crow. It made him reminisce about his old clan, The Flock of Aetos Dios. Eric and himself were front runners together for the first few floors, until a fatal accident while fighting one of the bosses. Shaking his head clear of the tragedy, he spoke up to Eric. "I'm gonna need your help again." Looking at the weapon on Eric's shoulder, Sebastian couldn't recall ever seeing it before, he must have had some kind of extra skill. He'd be sure to wring the answer out of him later. "Time is of the essence with this boss and I'm going to need the Steel Crow and Blood Owl duo for this battle. Your one of the few front runners who can match up with me in damage output right now and no one knows how I fight better than you, so it has to be you." Looking over the young kid in front of him, he came to wonder how he ever needed to rely on him, but this was a different world. "So how 'bout it kiddo, besides, you should quit being a solo player anyways before it kills you." With a tone serious enough to put a damper on any party, Sebastian waited to hear out his friend.

Eric's usual chipper expression turned dark as he hung his head. The memory of what happened to the rest of the flock on floor twenty-five was still fresh in his mind. "Look, I'll help you like we agreed before, but I can't join your clan. I can't be a part of that again." He said with disdain for the idea. "Clans are about politics and scrambles for power. I just want to get out of here." He half-lied. He just wanted to protect people. Noticing that Sebastian was eyeing his weapon, he regained his usual demeanor with an over confident smirk. "Like it? It matches my old nickname! It's the 'Staff of the Crow'! I haven't unlocked its upgrade tree yet, but I got an extra skill when it dropped. Just wait till you see it!" He exclaimed as if he was bragging to an older brother. His imaginary rivalry with the Commander was his way of dealing with what happened.

"You know, I'm surprised you didn't call in the Legion of Heaven. Where are they? Tripping over themselves on floor ten?" He joked with a childish laugh. As he went out to wait the couple of hours until the raid.

Sebastian brings his hand up in front of Eric and flicks his forehead, leaving a resounding thump in the air. "Still the same as ever, eh. Well, make sure you put it to good use, we need to defeat this boss quickly and a variety of obstacles seem to be hindering that right now." Thinking on all the Intel that they had gathered over the last week, it was lucky that they managed to get that much. Some levels they never even got the name of the boss. In fact, it seemed like an almost too convenient amount of information. His life in the military taught him much about conveniences, especially the fact that they didn't exist. "Anyways, make sure your on time tomorrow, we can't be waiting around for one stray solo player." With that, Sebastian made his way out of the tent and headed towards the town a kilometer away.

Sebastian made his way toward town. The thirty-seventh floor had a heavy earthly smile too it and a large portion of the area was a swamp. Luckily the trap that the swamp was hadn't claimed the lives of any front runners. Monsters tended to drag players unwittingly towards it before they knew about it and found themselves waist deep in water and surrounded. Finally arriving in the town of Fallholt, he made his way to the inn on the east side. Fallholt was full of wooden buildings, a lot like the log cabins you would find in the woods of Oregon. Thinking about it remind Sebastian that this was a game. Something that needed to be cleared, not enjoyed. He had spent enough time during his career being near death, but this was a whole different experience. The rules had changed on him. All his medical training, all his physical training, non of it had any influence on this world. The only thing he had that could help was his leadership experience and his experience facing death.

A grim look on his face, Sebastian opened the door to the inn. The downstairs was full of loud and boisterous players. Many just returning from the meeting and others here to cheer on tomorrow's raid. Kevin calls over to him from across the room, "Hey Commander Blood Owl! Come join us for once, let's celebrate tomorrow's victory early." Blood Owl, the nickname had stuck with him for a long time and had become an inseparable part of who he was. All of his old clan members had received similar nicknames, much like Eric who was the Silver Crow. His own was a descriptor of his personality as well. Blood for his blood red hair, and owl for his "wise-old-man" gig. Atleast it stood for that until that fateful day on floor twenty-five. Now people look on him as a harbinger of death. Respected of course, but still feared. However, recently his reputation has gotten a little better. Though it didn't change his lonesome but personality. "No not tonight, but I'll see you in the morning for the raid.", he called over to the group. He was never in the mood for such things, he just wanted to escape this hell by any means necessary. Ending his night early, he got up three hours early for the raid.

Eric sauntered up to the meeting point, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. He knew he was "late" again, but that was a perk of being a solo player. The Knights' rules didn't really apply to him, especially since the commander /needed/ him. He approach the group, many of whom were clearly annoyed by his timing, with a childish, tired excitement. He checked his inventory again, making sure he had in fact replenished his teleport crystals, status effect release crystals, and healing potions in Fallholt the night before. As he finished his check, he came to the side of a likely fuming Sebastian with a headstrong grin. "Wanna see who kills more ads?" He challenged, placing his staff on his shoulder with its glorious blade up high. He could hear many of the members behind wondering quietly aloud why such a small person was in the front rank. He did, after all, look a few years younger than he actually was. He also heard the more Plentiful gasps and realizations that he was higher level than most of them, if not on equal ground. It was unheard of for a solo player to be on par with the elite of the Knights of the Blood Oath, but he wasn't just any solo player. He swore he hear one guy realize who he was, the "Steel Crow". He had earned the name both for his hair and his choice in weapon, but the meaning was sealed by all the experience he had pooled into his character's strength and resistance. Even if he didn't have the protection of his battle coat, his avatar was capable of absorbing huge damage without crossing the yellow threshold and the damage bleed-over for blocks was greatly reduced by the "birds of a feather" perk on his weapon. He was built specifically for taking down huge threats. "Let's go, grandpa." He poked at the commander.

It still surprised Sebastian. The fact that the game even generated a heated feeling in his face when he got angry. It really was well thought out. He could still feel the heat on his face minutes after entering the labyrinth. Of course they were way behind schedule. First with Eric being late and then even worse after the uncontrollable scolding he had dished out. Still questioning whether anything had gotten through to the dense kid, he had started to lead the party into the dungeon. Thankfully, the trip was short compared to the time it took to find the boss room. Despite the size of the door, it took nearly three days in the labyrinth to find it. Sauntering up to the door, he halted the party. "Alright, school circle everyone!", he called out while making circular motions in the air with his finger. "I know I do this every time with you guys, but it will be stated every single time. My four rules for the boss raid. First, protect your face! A hit to the face can mean certain death for you and your teammates. Second, stay on your feet and keep moving! Don't be a sitting duck or you will get killed along with your team. Third, hit hard! The harder you hit, the faster he falls and the more likely it is that we all return alive. And lastly..." Before he could finish his final rule, the party cheered out in unison, "When in doubt, haul your butt out!" A rolling laughter emitted from the group of forty-eight soldiers in front of him. "Good good, I'm glad you guys understand." Turning around to face the giant door, he couldn't help but sprout a smile across his face. There were few other people that he would gladly face death with. Pushing open the door to the boss room, the party steeled them selves for what lay inside.

The inside was dark and Sebastian could barely see inside, but as the party stepped in the light level quickly rose. The source of the light came from a plant hanging from the ceiling. Other then the ten meter tall boss standing up from his mangrove-carved throne, it was a beautiful sight. "Set up the boards in the water, as many as you can!", Sebastian shouted to standby party. As he had described to the players at the conference, the boards where able to float in the water, but as this was still a game, some physics were left out. Because of this, the boards didn't sink if stepped on, making for an excellent platform to fight on, completely eliminating the loss of movement from the swamp. "Let's hope this plan works out properly.", Sebastian muttered under his breath in a silent prayer to whoever would listen. Raising his two-handed spear "Blood Surge" into the air, it's black metal bladed glinting bloodlust at the enemies in front of him, he shouts for his comrades to commence with the plan. Looking over at his long time comrade, he extended his fist towards him as was custom for the two before battle. "You ready for this?"

[for some reason my fist post said one-handed short spear, I think I messed up, but I changed it to what I originally intended, sorry for the confusion :P ]

Eric was nothing but smiles the whole way to the boss room. He was joking around with some of the younger players and dishing out his particular brand of antagonistic prods at the older ones. The scolding he had received from the commander was typical, and he half listened to it as usual... Thing was, Sebastian was important to him. He was usually late on purpose just so he could get scolded. The armored military leader reminded him of his father who always scolded him for never going out and being "weird". He had gotten a right good chewing when he used the man's grey hair dye. All those years he dreaded getting yelled at by his dad and now he was seeking it out just for a taste of the family that he honestly could barely remember. He kept all of this behind a front of clowning around and being care-free. When they got inside he boss room, however, his entire demeanor changed. He was nothing but focused the moment the humanoid crocodilian stood up. He looked over to the commander and fist bumped him with a look of determination.

"It's going to be a while before the ad squads get those crocs cut down." He said. "Guess I better clear you a path."

Eric had just recently discovered a new skill specific to his weapon type. It was called "whirlwind" and it allowed him to chain consecutive attacks with great speed. Paired with his previous obsession with martial arts films, he treated his weapon more like a bo staff than a typical battle staff. With the Staff of the Sparrow he could put out serious DPS thanks to the axe blade on the end.

As the plan launched, Eric lunged forward as the board crews threw down planks to stand on. Readying his staff, the sword skill activated and he began clearing he path, spinning and twirling his weapon in a flurry of chained attacks. The speed alone was blinding as he made it to the boss. It swung its enormous weapon at him, but he was ready. He blocked the strike and swiped aside as he shouted "Switch!"

Rushing forward Sebastian initiated the first skill. "Full Rush", he shouted. Driving his shoulder into the boss monster and pushing out with his arm, a martial arts skill that was good at stalling monsters and created a little bit of distance to follow up with another skill. Having pushed the monster back several feet, he ignited his next skill with "Blood Surge" glowing a deadly red, "Vent Forth!". Stabbing four consecutive times, he hit the monster in the right leg and thrice in the stomach. Managing to shave of an eighth of one of his four health bars and reducing his evasion for a few seconds, it was an impressive attack. With the defense squads doing excellent work tanking Killer Kroc King and the ad squads managing the Kroclings, the boss battle was going well. Two minutes into the battle and the boss was already almost to three health bars left. Yet, even then, things could change at any moment.

The battle was going nicely, so far there weren't any hiccups or surprises and his health was down almost a whole bar. "Only three bars left!" He called out to the party. There was a roar of cheers as they fought even harder. Sebastian was coming back from his attack, so that meant it was Eric's turn. He launched up off his plank, noting the brilliant idea from the commander, and began sprinting up the croc's belly as he charged another skill. He leaped from the beast's chest and activated the skill. "Blinding strike!" He shouted as he brought the axe blade down on its forehead. The stun effect would last about thirty seconds. "Commander!" He alerted his friend after landing back on a pair of planks. "Let's do this together! Twenty-five seconds!" With that he went forward again, unleashing a barrage of attacks, chaining together as a damage multiplier counted up his bonus damage in the corner of his player HUD.

"Alright, twenty five seconds is plenty, everyone unleash your skills now!" Sebastian shouted at the boss team. Letting off many skills of his own, they managed to put tremendous damage on the stunned boss. After the stun lifted on the boss, there was only a sliver of health left on the boss, enough for one attack to finish it. "I got this one!" Sebastian shouted. Making a headlong charge he began to activate his Spear Rush skill. A blue glow rising from the delicately engraved runes on the shaft and extending along the blade, his body lurched forward with the activation of the skill. But, just before the tip of his spear reached its mark, the boss shattered into a million brilliant specs of blue and silver. And standing amongst the defeated remnants of the boss was the figure of a woman.

Runa slid the katana back in its sheath and looked at the pop up that had appeared on her screen. "You got the last attacking bonus!" It exclaimed. Clicking the accept item opened up a second screen to indicate the item she won from the boss. Smirking, she navigates the menu and equips the new item. Suddenly, appearing around her was and emerald cloak that seemed to shift and blend with the swamp background. Dropping the hood from around her head and adjusting the pony tail of her long brown hair to the front of her body, she looks at the group of players standing there in awe. She looked at the stunned Sebastian and gave him an enthusiastically puts up a peace sign. "Again Runa? You always do this!", shouted Sebastian. "Well of course! I just love to see that look on your face.", Runa stated with fondness. With his face in the palm of his hand, the Commander gave an exasperated sigh, "Between you and Eric, I really do have my hands full, don't I?"

Runa has long been under the command of the Blood Owl Sebastian. She was originally a solo player that had been solo since the first floor, but one day on the twenty-eighth floor, she found herself surrounded by mobs. Being surround was a death sentence to a solo player and she was in no different of a position. Luckily, Sebastian was able to single handily save her. Since that day, she has admired the Commander greatly and has followed him along ever since. She became a great asset, even enough to consistently steal the last attack bonus from most bosses. "That makes eight for me!" Runa exclaimed excitedly. "Yah, yah", groaned Sebastian, "Let's just go open the gate to the thirty-ninth floor already."

Eric opened his eyes lazily. The virtual sun creeping its way up the morning sky, spilling rays of light through the windows of the castle. The Knights had made this their new base of operations on account of its Royal, almost Rivendell-like structure. It looked official, a fitting outpost for the most powerful and purest-hearted clan in SAO. Eric had come on business. Sebastian's business. "Why did I come all the way up to floor seventy-four?" He quietly asked himself, lifting his head from his arms that rested on the marble table at which the escort had told him to wait. He had fallen asleep, he didn't know for how long, but he hoped he hadn't missed his appointment. Sebastian would be upset if he was late again. He couldn't help but think of Sadie. She always made him report on time. She had been the best thing to happen to Eric in that death game.

"Sebastian will see you now." A voice said. He saw it was the new commander upon turning around. He couldn't believe the man had made it to Vice Commander, but then again he could. He adjusted his new Knights of the Blood Oath battle coat and pushed through the council room doors. Sebastian was there alone, looking out at the rising sun.

"Vice Commander." He said, announcing his presence. "Lieutenant Steel... Reporting for duty." He said, holding back his sadness as he came to the man's side. He would not allow himself to lose it in front of this superior.

"Your late again...", stated Sebastian with a serious look on his face. Turning around to look at Eric, "You know what I always tell you about being late..." Plopping his hand on the boy's head and bending over to look him in the eye, he grins a huge smile on his face, "Just kidding." Slapping the boy's back, he exudes a hearty chuckle. "You need to relax at let loose a little, in fact, your the one who taught me more about that then anyone. But anyways, I called you in here for a good reason, so make sure you get some of that grouch off your face. Before we get to business though, we need Miss Emerald Flash herself to get here."

A few minutes later, the Emerald Flash, Runa, made her entrance into the room. The emerald cloak that became part of her name sake long gone, was now replaced by the jacket of a commander in KOB. "Hey Eric!", she exclaimed. "It's been awhile!" Giving her trademark peace sign, she strode over to the two bathed in the glow of the rising sun. "Good, now that your here, we can get started, Eric, you are being promoted to Vice Lieutenant and will be working directly under Runa from now on. As always, I expect great things from you when we clear this floor's boss." Runa, being unable to contain her excitement as usual, jumps up and down. "Alright! I get to work with old friends again!" Admiring the youthful demonstration of the woman who rivaled his own age in front of him, he motions to calm her down. "Alright, alright, I do need one more thing from you guys though. We need more data on the boss, so im tasking you two to retrieve it with me. However, we will be doing that tomorrow. Today is a much needed day off for you two. Now get going, I'll see you tomorrow." He motions for the two to leave, indicating that he was done with the conversation. "Alright Eric! Let's go meet the rest of the crew!", dragging Eric along with her, Runa proceeds to leave the room. "This should be good for him after all he's been through.", Sebastian mutters under his breath as the two leave the room.

"Alright!" Eric said as he and the rest of the raid party emerged from the boss dungeon and out into the world of floor thirty-nine. It was nothing but hills and mountains as far as he could see, and what seemed to be a town built into a mountainside. It was majestic to say the least.

He hadn't really taken the time to pay mind to the Boss Stealer, but he knew who she was. Everyone knew about the Emerald Flash. She was the fastest player in Sebastian's command, and capable of devastating DPS. The stories said she was so fast that she could glitch the game into "forgetting" to animate her movements in battle. Not that he bought into that, but he couldn't deny he hadn't seen her before the boss was destroyed. She was undoubtedly fast, but in the Steel Crow's opinion, speed wasn't everything. She was pretty too. Eric saw why the commander kept her close to him.

Deciding his work was officially done for the time being, Eric rested his staff on his left shoulder and put his left hand in his pocket as he started toward the mountain town. He hadn't been paid yet, but he had enough from the drops to pay for food and repairs. He figured he was doing this more for old time's sake than for the money. Five-thousand col was nothing to him anyway.

[its not much but it's something ]

[weak sauce :P]

Stepping out of the labyrinth just behind Eric was Runa, Sebastian, and two guards that accompanied them. The sun scattered across the landscape. Hills covered in golden daisy-like flowers stood in stark contrast to the craggy mountainous terrain all around it. It was easy to see right away that this floor was lined around the edge with mountains, hills and plains filled the center, and in the very middle was a large mountain. In the side of the mountain they were now staring at was a gargantuan city of marble. "That place is even bigger than Opal on floor twenty-six!", Runa exclaimed. Opal was a city that stood next to a large lake and hosted some of the finest fresh water fish cuisine.

Upon arriving into the city known as Crester, Sebastian directed the two guards to open the gate. Directing them to hurry it up, he turned to Runa and Eric. "Why don't we go get something too eat. It's one of my traditions to try out the food of a new floor before anything else. It'll be my treat if your worried about that Eric. After all, there are a few perks you get from being in a guild." Turning around once more, Sebastian made his way towards a faintly familiar scent. "He can be so rude sometimes.", protested Runa. "But you know, he really is excited to see you, he usually doesn't act like this around others. Invite them to do things with him that is." Quickly falling behind Sebastian, she waved at Eric to follow along.

"Yeah, there's a reason for that." Eric said darkly, but he quickly returned to his cheery self. "Don't worry, I won't turn down a free meal!" He added giving Runa a "good game" pat and following the commander. The "town" as he had thought of it before was more like a thriving city. There were markets and stores and all manner of new items and gear. For a moment, Eric almost forgot he was in a death game until he looked back at the other players who had made it through the boss battle. They had lost a third of the party. To ads alone. Eric felt a tinge of sadness, but nothing compared to what the commander had to be feeling. He didn't know how the commander could keep doing it. After the fall of the Flock, Eric gave up clans and guilds. They only brought more pain to the evil in the game. It hurt less when the people who died weren't your close friends. As Eric pushed past the commander to drop off his weapon to be repaired he nodded toward the raid members who still had vacant, shock eyes, and the two female potion holders who hadn't made it to some breaking down in the arms of stronger player. Eric wiped reminiscent tears from his virtual face as he retorted to Sebastian's previous comment.

"Perks of being in a guild." He said.

He dropped his staff off, and headed for a tavern called Donald's Brew. It had to be a play in a popular RL fast food place because of the red and yellow color scheme and the Golden Arches everywhere. Marketing always had a way didn't it? He wondered how hard they were getting it IRL. The place had a big, mustached man as the bar keep. He seemed to be a cliche jolly man, so Eric stepped up and ordered a drink. The game's UI allowed for certain items to alter the mind's perception of the environment. There were blinding and hallucinogenic poisons, as well as liquor and beer. Unlike RL, however, these alcoholic drinks didn't taste as such. They had odd combinations of flavor a that didn't seem to match what they looked like or what he thought of as beer or liquor at all. He ordered an equivalent of a scotch that tasted full and almost warm in a way. The best way he could describe the taste was like if the color Amber had a taste. It was spiced but smooth. It was his favorite drink because it reminded him of the spiced hot tea his mom usually made during the cold months.

His relationship with his mom was vastly different than with his father. Where his father would chastise and scold him, his mom would hug him and encourage him. Before SAO, he resented the way she was. He felt smothered, babied, like she didn't think he could take care of himself. He included her in his rebellious actions. He had said terrible things to her. He was a rebellious teenager before, but not anymore. He just wanted to hug his mom and thank his father. That was his goal and his drive.

[edited]

Runa, fuming from the "good game" pat she received, sat next to Sebastian at the bar, on the opposite side of where Eric sat. She could see it on both of there faces. Eric's comment to Sebastian had been evident on his face and in his temper. The toll of losing so many during the boss battle weighed heavily on Sebastian. He felt responsible as a leader, but even then he tried his utmost to hide it. Eric's comment had hit him hard. He sat there, looking at the counter without ordering anything at all. She had heard his stories of "real war" and "real death" from him, but it seemed that even experiencing it doesn't make you completely numb to it. It was the reason she followed him so faithfully. She felt she needed to be there for him. He was there for everyone else, but he always shoved everyone else away, but she wouldn't let him do it to her. As for Eric; he seemed so young. He probably never understood these feelings until the start of this death game. And too top it off, he also went it alone. The same as Sebastian, but completely isolated from everyone. It must have been tough for him.

She understood these feelings of loss already. She was able to cope and it was what allowed her to still smile. It was the only way that she knew of that had always kept her going through the rough times. Losing her parents from a young age, she lived in foster care most of her life. Constantly drifting between families, she eventually was old enough to take care of herself. Ever since, she has lived alone, from part time job to part time job, trying to make a living. She found her self secluded in video games just as many others have. Helping her to avoid her life by living many others was all she had. This is what made her feel as if she needed to be with these two sitting next to her. The two loneliest players in SAO. Ordering her own "scotch", she wished that she could really get drunk. In order to wash away some of the sadness she hid behind her smile, to really feel happy for once. But for now, she could only feel happy when she saw those two genuinely smile together. She wanted to see it more.

Eager to slip out of the serious mood, Eric downed his drink and ordered another. "Don't worry, commander, I'll keep helping as long as you guys keep paying!" He said with a bigs mile and a slap on his friend's back. He put one arm around the man's shoulders and the other around Runa's squeezing them both in a demonstration of both his immense STR stat, and his observation of the woman's subtle admiration of Sebastian. "And don't worry, I won't come between you two love birds!" He added with as boisterous a laugh as a sixteen year old kid could emit. One couldn't get drunk like one could IRL, but enough "alcohol" and one would find their inhibitions fading and a drunk-like status effect came into play, altering your perception. It was similar, but not the same. This made no difference to Eric, who had never sought out RL alcoholic drinks. He kept drinking and enjoying himself. For the sake of those lost.