*???'S POV*

???: "Thanks Agil, speak to you later!"

Agil: "Sure thing, but uh- don't go too hard on them, alright?"

After speaking to that girl Sinon for a little while longer, it seems like she's just like that green girl as well as that girl that Argo said U/N encountered a year ago on Valentines Day. 

They all appeared in Aincrad after the initial day that we were all trapped in here, but none of them seem to know why. I asked Argo for a refresher on the incident with U/N back then and the girl they met, Yuuki was her name, was trying to play another VRMMO game but somehow found herself in SAO without realising it. 

But that girl got logged out by the end of the day by her doctors, but it doesn't seem like either of our two new friends have that option available to them, although Sinon does seem to have amnesia of some form so perhaps she has someone looking after her too?

Regardless, I think it's about time the two of us have a proper chat again, especially considering the major events that occurred today... and that they managed to sneak off in the confusion of Sinon's entrance.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

U/N: "C-Coming!"

Agil actually purchased the Inn whilst U/N was out on the Field, the NPC's can still handle the day-to-day tasks and serve the influx of players who are now without a home whilst Agil can just make the managerial decisions and assumedly receives a decent amount of revenue out of it too!

But it was useful here, because with so many players without access to their homes they had to rely on the Inn for a room for the night, meaning I couldn't just assume that U/N had Room #00001 like usual. So I asked Agil first to check, and I guess I completely forgot that U/N was actually the first person on the new Floor and of course the first thing they do is relocate their Inn Room to the newest Floor! So they did in fact have Room #00001 like usual, but it was a good idea to check nonetheless!

*CREAK*

U/N: "A-Asuna?! ... oh... uh- ah... to what do I owe the honour?"

Asuna: "Hello U/N. Can I come in, please?"

U/N: "...i- I... Yeah, I suppose you can. Come on in..."

Asuna: "Thank you.. I see that you haven't moved your furniture around still, you should try and shuffle it about maybe? It could give your room a fresh feeling and new look!"

U/N: "Eh... not really that important though, is it? I don't really have spare time to spend loitering in here for it to matter... at this point I might as well just have a bed and a storage unit for my equipment, items, and food- everything else could go, would save me a bunch of Col too!"

Asuna: "No! You can't do that! We all have too many fantastic memories in this room! And we can't reach any of the other places anymore... this is- sniff this room is like a memento of all we have fought for... and all we are still fighting for!"

U/N: ". . . i-if you feel that strongly about it, I promise I won't remove anything... unless you want to take this room off of me? You and Kirito could safeguard the memories of this room and I could just go and get another, cheaper one?"

Asuna: "I appreciate the thought and the gesture, but no... No thank you. This is YOUR home, I'd feel awful replacing you like that!"

U/N: "...heh. Thanks, I suppose. But I'm guessing this wasn't the reason you came to visit, was it? Would you like to take a seat?"

Asuna: "No, it wasn't the reason I came to visit you. But I suppose I can get easily distracted with you can't I! Would you mind taking a seat too?"

*Y/N'S POV*

Y/N: "Sooo... w-what did you want to t-talk about?"

Asuna: "You know exactly what it is I want to talk about! Where exactly did you go earlier this morning? Whilst we were at the Teleport Gate and you just vanished."

Y/N: "Well I uh-... I went out to the Field to-... to do some grinding."

Asuna: "Uh-huh... so, did you forget how we all agreed that we weren't going to head out to the Field for a while? And that we were going to do it as a group for safety, at least until we'd managed to re-grind all those lost skill levels!"

Y/N: "Well... I heard all of that, yeah. B-But I never you know... agreed to it?"

Asuna: "U/N!"

Y/N: "I'm still alive though right? So clearly I took the risks seriously, right?"

Asuna: "That's not the point! We really have to-"

*knock knock*

Y/N: "Did you call for reinforcements for this?"

Asuna: "I didn't, no! I promise!"

Y/N: "I wonder who it is then, those knocks were a little weaker. Kind of like when Silica would come to visit... it's a shame I can't go down to the lower Floors and see her anymore..."

Asuna: "What do you mean? She's up here on the 76th Floor, she came up just after Lisbeth did. But you would have known that already if you didn't sneak off earlier!"

Y/N: "S-She what?!"

*CREAK*

???: "U/N! Hello!"

When I opened up the door, I definitely didn't expect to see this face beaming up at me!

Y/N: "Y-Yui?! But... how? I thought that..."

Yui: "-It seems the Cardinal System, which is responsible for all operations within Sword Art Online, is under quite a lot of stress since the 75th Floor Boss was cleared. A lot of its data has been fragmented and discarded to be able to retain a stable and playable state that doesn't unfairly endanger its players... one of these several million lines of code that was lost was actually the depiction of myself as foreign entity! So now I get to live in this world with Mama, Papa and all of their friends!"

Y/N: "Huh... well, that was quite a mouthful- you've definitely grown up quite a bit since I last saw you Yui!"

Yui: "Hehe! Thank you U/N! I've been looking for Mama, is she in here perchance?"

Y/N: "sigh She is. Would you like to come in?"

Yui: "Huh?... Yes please! Thank you for your... uh... your hospitality, that's the word right? Hehe!"

* * *

Asuna: "Yui? What are you doing here?"

Yui: "I came to find you! What are you doing? You're not being mean to U/N, are you?"

Asuna: "No! Of course not! I'm just telling them that we're all a little disappointed in them for running off into the Field when we all agreed that we wouldn't for a couple of days."

Yui: "Mama, that's being mean! And didn't Papa say that U/N technically never made that promise anyways?"

Asuna: "Well... yeah, but that's besides the point Yui! It was dangerous to go out there alone like they did!"

Yui: "But I thought you said you could trust U/N to do anything they set their mind to!-"

Y/N: "-huh...-"

Yui: "-And anyways, U/N came back completely unscathed and actually managed to level up too! Plus they managed to level up their Spear Mastery skill several times on top of that!"

Y/N: "You can see that sort of information?"

Yui: "I can see that you've levelled up, and what attributes you've increased today- but I can't see the specific values either... well, at least for you: because you have your stats set to private display only."

Asuna: "Huh, that's really interesting, so can you see my exact levels then Yui? Because I don't hide my stats at all."

Yui: "Oh? ... Yep! I can see your stats Mama!"

Y/N: "Hmmm... it's probably better that you don't do that anymore Yui, we don't want you to get flagged up as some malicious foreign entity or something, right?"

Asuna: "That could happen?!"

Yui: "It is possible. The Cardinal System is under a lot of strain so it might not even notice me, or it might see any irregular interactions and wipe them it out indiscriminately to see if it could amend the issues it's currently facing... b-but I should be okay! Papa saved my data into his local storage system, so even if I... if I get purged again by the system I'll still be safe when you all get logged out."

Asuna: "I... I don't want to lose you again Yui, so you can't use any of those things, okay?"

Yui: "What about accessing my menu? I can still do that, right?"

Asuna: "No! You can't! I-"

Y/N: "-I think Yui means her general access menu. You know, like the one we use to access our inventory. You should be okay to use that Yui, just no using any of your administrative tools, okay?"

Yui: "Yes, I think that makes sense. I'll do that then U/N!"

Asuna: "Huh, you're pretty knowledgeable on the subject... didn't you say a while back that you used to do something with computers back in the real world?"

Y/N: "Yeah, I did... in the other world I did a little bit of software development... b- but I think a lot of my knowledge on computers and admin tools just comes from all the time I used to spend on my computer."

Yui: "Just like Papa!"

Asuna: "Huh, well that's interesting to know! But I guess I've said all I wanted to say... in front of Yui at least, and it's getting quite late- so I think I'm going to take Yui back to my room for the night. What will you be doing U/N?"

Y/N: "Hmmm... I might go and look for Silica, if she really is here... I want to check in on her I guess?"

Asuna: "Okay, that sounds fine by me. As long as you don't plan on heading out to the Field again until tomorrow! And even then, before you head out: could you come and let me know?"

Y/N: "Sure thing. Goodnight Asuna, goodnight Yui."

Yui: "Night night U/N!"

Asuna: "Goodnight U/N, see you tomorrow."

*TIMESKIP TO NEXT MORNING*

Asuna: "Hey U/N, good morning! Did you manage to track down Silica last night?"

Y/N: "Good morning Asuna. I did, yeah. She told me that the reason she came up here despite me warning her not to was because she was worried she wouldn't see us again unless she came up here with us... so I told her she can't head out there onto the Field unless I, or someone else in our friend group are with her."

Asuna: "Well hopefully she's better at listening than you are!"

Y/N: "I hope so too! Although... her level isn't that far off from being safe for solo ventures, but I'd rather she waited until someone was there to watch her back."

Asuna: "Well, I'm sure she'll listen to you. I think she really admires you! Speaking of which... are you planning on heading out to the Field again today?"

Y/N: "Uh-... yeah, I wanted to try and get some more of my Spear Mastery Skill levelled up again. Is that-... is that okay?"

Asuna: "Well I mean... I can't really stop you, as much as I would normally like to."

Y/N: "Normally?"

Asuna: "You're one of the few players up here who didn't get their weapon skill affected by whatever affected the rest of us. With your Archery skill you can still deal with the mobs out there pretty well, right?"

Y/N: "I'd say so... yeah. Why?"

Asuna: "Well... I was wondering if uh-... maybe you could perhaps... babysit me out there whilst I try and get my Rapier Mastery Skill back up to a serviceable level?"

Y/N: "R-Really?"

Asuna: "...y-yeah. ahem That's because I know you're not really the sociable type who would want to be approached by everybody else for help out there on the Field- so instead I'll handle the retraining of our front liners but I need you to give me a little help first, if you would be so kind?"

Y/N: "...Sure, I don't mind hanging out with you out there, and I've got a pretty good system down for quickly levelling up our Weapon Mastery Skills... although it'll only work for a little while longer, until I level up too much!"

Asuna: "Sounds perfect! So... do you want to head out now?"

Y/N: "Uhm... sure. But first, here: you should take this."

. . .

Asuna: "Wait... is this complete mapping and mob info for this Floor?"

Y/N: "y-Yeah."

Asuna: "How did you get that all already?! You were only out there for a few hours or so, weren't you?"

Y/N: "Well, yeah... but I've been doing this for a couple years now, I'd like to think I'm pretty good at it now!"

Asuna: "Well, I suppose that is true!"

Y/N: "But I've never had to do the whole giving info to other players thing, I sent a message to Argo yesterday but I don't think she's seen it yet... You could probably do a better job than me with spreading this info around, right?"

Asuna: "Sure thing U/N. I can get this spread around as I help with the retraining, then once we're all back up to normal then I'm sure everyone will have a copy for them to use!"

Y/N: "Thanks Asuna, to be honest... I was really dreading the idea of going up to other players and having to talk to them to give the info! So I'm glad you said you'd do this!"

Asuna: "Hehe! You really are hopeless, aren't you U/N! But now that's sorted... want to get going and get started with the grinding session?"

Y/N: "Sure. Lead the way!"

*TIMESKIP*

It's been just under a month now since we reached the 76th Floor, the Second of December 2024.

After that initial expedition with Asuna out on the 76th Floor where I looked out for her and tried to give her an easier time with grinding up her Rapier Mastery Skill, she managed to get back to a safe level so that she could handle herself out in the Field with little issue solo.

And within a week she was hosting training sessions with fellow front liners, helping everyone else to get to a point where they could also handle themselves out there, although there was still an imposed rule of nobody heading out into the Field unless accompanied by at least two other players.

... Of course, I was made an exception of this rule, Kirito too. As the two of us were the lone wolf type of players, we could be trusted to safely grind out there solo.

In fact, I was on my way to the Fields again now, I've almost managed to get my Spear Mastery Skill back up to 768/1000 when it was reduced to 600 upon reaching this Floor. So I'm making good progress to getting back to where I was. I'm sure by the end of the year I'll have it maxed again!

But I have to head out to the Field for that to be possible, so I should head out there no-

???: "Oh? Hey! It's you again! Hey!"

Y/N: "Oh... uhm, uh- Hello? You okay?"

???: "Oh Haha! Kazu-...Kirito said you were quite shy but I didn't really think someone so strong would be so awkward around others!... Oh! Sorry! That was rude, wasn't it?! Let me try that again..."

???: "Hey there! Do you think I could get some help with something?"

Y/N: "Uhh... sure? w-What can I do to help?"

???: "Great! I know you're probably heading out to grind outside the Safe Zone, right? So do you mind if I just walk with you whilst I talk at you?"

Y/N: "S-Sure?"

???: "Great! Lead the way!"

* * *

???: "So, you see... the thing is, they're being super strict about who can or cannot actually go out and fight mobs right now, and you have to wait your turn for the training sessions... but it's been almost a month now and I still haven't heard anything about it! I don't even think I'm in the queue at all!"

Y/N: "So... you want me to check if you're in the queue?"

???: "I... well, I suppose you could. But I was uh- kinda hoping you'd offer to take me out yourself? You know, with you being the strongest player and all! I bet if you were the one to take me out for my first expedition then I would have no problem heading out later!"

Y/N: "Well... I think there's still a rule that you have to at least be in a group of three to head out if you aren't either me or Kirito."

???: "Huh... W-Well anyways! Do you think that maybe you could at least give me a helping hand just this once? I'm feeling so cramped being stuck in this town!"

Y/N: "...hmmmm... what's your level right now, and what weapon do you use?"

???: "82, I've been stuck here for a month now! And I've been playing with a one-handed sword- I got a new sword from the smithy a while ago, so I should be all set, right? Please!"

Y/N: "... Sure, come on then. I was only going to work on my Spear Mastery Skill anyways..."

???: "Yay! Hehe! Thanks so much... uh... Sorry! I completely blanked on your name!"

Y/N: "Oh, that's okay. My name's U/N, and yours?"

???: "U/N huh? I like it! Well, my name's Suguh-... I mean my username is Leafa! Nice to officially meet you!"

Y/N: "N-Nice to meet you too, should we uh- head out now?"

Leafa: "Yeah! Hehe! Let's go!"

*TIMESKIP*

*STAB* - *STAB* - *STAB*

Y/N: "Leafa: Switch!"

Leafa: "Got it! Hyaaaah!"

*SLASH* *SHATTER* - *SLASH* *SHATTER* - *SLASH* *SHATTER*

Leafa: "Yay! I levelled up again! I'm really catching up fast! Thanks again U/N!"

Y/N: "Congrats. And It's not just me, you're surprisingly good for a new player... was the game you came from similar to Sword Art Online?"

Leafa: "Well... sorta I guess? To me at least, SAO has less available to do... but the stuff you can do is super in-depth and really fun! But I really do miss flying around like I used to in ALO..."

Y/N: "I remember you mentioning that before... so you could fly in this other VRMMO? How did that work?"

Leafa: "It was actually super simple, really! It was almost second nature to me after all the time I spent in that game... which made transferring to this world so jarring as I end up just jumping on the spot and not going anywhere!"

Y/N: "Oh haha! Sorry to hear that!... but did you say transferring? Does that mean that you... you didn't end up in here by accident? You're not wearing a NerveGear... are you?"

Leafa: "...ummmm-... ehe! That would be silly, wouldn't it! Ha... Haha!"

Y/N: "r-Right... yeah, I suppose most would see it that way. For sure..."

Leafa: "Most? So... does that mean you don't?"

Y/N: "Absolutely not. If I was on the outside looking in to this whole SAO debacle... I would have found a way in within a month of everyone being trapped initially a couple years ago!"

Leafa: "Huh?! Really? Why?!"

Y/N: "Life's better in here. I actually feel like my time and effort are valued, not just by the numeric stats in my menu but also by the people around me... for the first time in years I've been surrounded by people of similar interests and people who actually want me around... even if it's just because of my stats! I still appreciate it... and I wouldn't swap this experience for anything in the other world."

Leafa: "Huh... But wait! Didn't you guys almost get logged out of this game early just a few weeks ago? When Kirito beat that uh... Heathcliff guy?"

Y/N: "...mhm... so uh-... you mentioned that in this... ALO? You could do more than you could in SAO, what sort of things could you do in there?"

Leafa: "O-Oh? Well... I guess the main difference is the Flight Mechanic, which means that the terrain is way different, with floating islands all over the world! And there was stuff you could do all over, like Hunting and Gathering materials. Then there was a lot of races you could participate in, to see who was the best flier... I hadn't lost one yet! I was a total speedaholic!"

Y/N: "Huh, sounds fun! I guess when we eventually have to get logged out of SAO I'll have to give this ALO game a try!"

Leafa: "Hehe! Well if you do, come and find me and I'll show you the ropes. Okay?"

Y/N: "Sounds good Leafa, I'm looking forward to it!"

Leafa: "Hehe! Me too! And there's a bunch of things you can do in ALO that you can also do in SAO, so I guess you won't be entirely lost! There are boss monsters to fight, you can tame animals, there's life skills like cooking and sewing, treasure hunting in dungeons and-

... treasure hunting... Philia... w-what happened to you?

Leafa: "-and even though it's frowned upon in here, you technically can still do PvP right? Well in ALO it's basically the main feature, pretty sure everybody has gotten involved in some PvP at one point or another in ALO!"

Y/N: "h-huh... it does sound quite... fun. i... uh- I can't wait to give it a try!"

Leafa: "Huh? You okay? It's like you completely shut down, was it something I said?! Sorry!"

Y/N: "n-No, it wasn't your fault! I just remembered I had something I needed to do back in town, you don't mind me taking you back now, do you?"

Leafa: "Nuh-uh! We've been out here for a while now, I could definitely do with a meal to recharge! I'll treat you! As thanks for helping me out today."

Y/N: "Thanks Leafa, I appreciate that... but I uh- I can't tonight."

Leafa: "Oh, okay... well, we'll just have to have a meal some other time! It's been nice to talk to someone with your... well, your more positive views and beliefs! ... s-So, are we going to head back now or...?"

Y/N: "Oh I was going to use a Teleport Crystal, do you-... do you not have one?"

Leafa: "A Teleport Crystal?... I don't think so, no. Is that a problem?"

Y/N: "Mmm... I only have one on me right now, I guess I forgot to resupply on those... but we can still both use this one to get back. You just have to uh-... get a bit closer to me, it's got quite the short range. But it can teleport any connected players."

Leafa: "Oh okay, so like this?"

I guess Leafa took that a little too literally... she had approached and stood to my side so close that her shoulder rested on my own, and then she wrapped one of her arms around my waist and pulled herself closer in to me... I didn't even realise that was possible, she was already so close to me as is!

... And huh, with our sides pressed so close to each other, I can't help but notice... they're uh- soft, huh?

Y/N: "t-t-t-t-that's uh-... we don't really have to be t-t-this close!"

Leafa: " But it's better to be safe than sorry, right? This way then I'm definitely within range to be teleported and you won't leave me stranded out here on my own right? He He!"

Y/N: "i-i-i-I suppose so... a-anyways, y-you ready to go?"

Leafa: "Yep yep!"

Y/N: "T-Teleport: Arc Sophia!"

* * *

Y/N: "Umm... Leafa? We're back in town now... y-you can let go off me now... (if you have to...)"

Leafa: "O-Oh! Of course! Sorry about that!"

Y/N: "t-That's okay..."

Leafa: "Well today was fun! And thanks again for helping me out with the whole catching up thing! I'd love to do this again if you have the time, but I'm sure you're super busy- being the superstar of the front lines and all! Hehe!"

Y/N: "S-Superstar? I... I wouldn't say that-"

???: "-LEAFA!"

Ah... here we go. I'd recognise that voice of exclamation anywhere!

Leafa: "Oh? Hey Asuna, what's up?"

Asuna: "Kirito and I were really worried about you! Where were you?!"

Leafa: "You were? Oh, sorry! I guess I forgot to mention it to you, but I really wanted to get out there and start levelling up, but nobody would take me up on that- even Kirito shut me down every time I asked! So... I asked U/N, and they took me out there with no hesitation!"

Asuna: "Huh, is that so... hang on a minute, would you?"

Asuna then navigated through her menus, and opened up what seemed to be a message draft, but it was really long- that must be the queue right? I can't think of any other reason there'd be a message draft with a scroll bar that big!

Asuna: "Your name's not on the list for a training session, sorry Leafa. I guess we forgot to add you to the list!"

Leafa: "Oh. Well it's fine now I suppose, now that U/N's given me their time for a personal training session I'm almost all caught up! I'm level 94 now!"

Asuna: "R-Really? Weren't you level 80 earlier though?!"

U/N: "We did most of our grinding near the Labyrinth entrance, the higher levelled mobs were there and I could almost one-shot them, so we ended up with a system of me weakening and Leafa finishing them off for the best exp gains."

Asuna: "Uh-huh... say U/N, you wouldn't be up for another session together sometime would you?!"

U/N: "Sure, I don't mind... but not today, I got something else I want to do today. So I guess I'll see you around?"

Asuna: "As long as it's nothing too risky! I'll come find you when I have time and we can figure something out? See you soon!"

Leafa: "See ya U/N!"

I started to walk away from the two girls, I don't really know where I want to go... should I head back to my room, or can I just find a quiet place somewhere out here in the city?

The weather is quite nice after all, the sunshine feels warm and there's a pleasant breeze blowing throughout the city... maybe I could go to that small park with the fountain?

Leafa: "Hey U/N! Wait up!"

Y/N: "h-Huh? What's up Leafa?"

Leafa: "Asuna told me the reason they didn't know where I was: it was because they didn't have me added as a friend, so Asuna just added me and I'll add Kazu-... Kirito when I next see him. But would you mind adding me too? So then maybe we could organise another outing sometime?"

Y/N: "Sure, I don't mind that. Today was pretty fun!"

[Leafa has sent you a friend request ]
[           ACCEPT [O] DECLINE [ X ]           ]

Leafa: "Glad to hear it! See ya around friend!"

Y/N: "Yeah, see you around Leafa!"

*TIMESKIP*

It's interesting to see how quickly people have adapted to their new lives stuck on Floor 76...

It's as peaceful and normal-looking up here as it was back on the First Floor with all the players who were all trying their best to live their lives.

But I'm not here to admire the community... right: Philia.

[COMPOSE MESSAGE - RECIPIENT: Philia]

"

Hey Philia,

It's me again... it has been a little while since my last message, hasn't it?
Although you probably don't know that, as none of them have actually managed to send yet... I hope you're okay, wherever you are. And I hope that you're doing well.

I suppose I kinda hope you never get these messages, because then you did actually get logged out back then in that dungeon...

But just know this: if you are still in Aincrad, and you need help. I will do everything I can to bring you back to us. I promise.

- U/N

"

And... send.

ERROR: MESSAGE COULD NOT SEND. STORING MESSAGE IN OUTBOX.

... Damn it. Philia... just where are you?

PHILIA → TRACK: LOCATION UNKNOWN

Y/N: "DAMN IT!"

PHILIA → TRACK: LOCATION UNKNOWN
PHILIA → TRACK: LOCATION UNKNOWN
PHILIA → TRACK: LOCATION UNKNOWN
PHILIA → TRACK: LOCATION UNKN-
PHILIA → TRACK: LOCATION UN-
PHILIA → TRACK: LOCATIO-
PHILIA → TRACK: LOCAT-
PHILIA → TRACK: L-

At this point I was just spamming the Track button listed under Philia's additional options. Just hoping for a different answer. Something. Anything at all. So that I could find her... and bring her back to us.

PHILIA → TRACK: L-
PHILIA → TRACK: L-
PHILIA → TRACK: L-
PHILIA → TRACK: L-

As I was spamming the button, I noticed that my finger and the menu I was spamming on were being surrounded by orange pixels... the same orange pixels that stole Philia away from us... from me.

PHILIA → TRACK: L-
PHILIA → TRACK: L-
PHILIA → TRACK: L-
PHILIA → TRACK: L-

If this is my chance to find her, I won't stop! You hear me Aincrad! I'm calling for the location of my friend Philia. Give her back to me damn it!

PHILIA → TRACK: L-
PHILIA → TRACK: L-
PHILIA → TRACK: L-
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

My menu... it's not reacting to my clicks anymore... wait! It doesn't say 'Location Unknown' anymore!

But I can't tell what that says... it's covered in orange pixels! Do I-... Do I have to wait for them to clear off or-?

PHILIA 🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

That seems to be it! It looks like it's slowly revealing her location!

PHILIA → TRACK: Ser🟧🟧🟧🟧

...

PHILIA → TRACK: Serpentis🟧🟧🟧

...

PHILIA → TRACK: Serpentis: Templ🟧🟧

...

PHILIA → TRACK: Serpentis: Temple Front🟧

...

PHILIA → TRACK: Serpentis: Temple Front Plaza

Serpentis? I've ... never heard of that place before... not even somewhere on the first 75 Floors...

And that's a point, it doesn't list the Floor that she's on either, it normally does that unless the location is unknown, right?

Who cares! I can at least give it a try at the Teleportation Gate, and if that doesn't work I can send Argo a message about it and if it's on the Lower Floors then a rescue team can be made to save her!

Finally! I got the hint I needed to find you Philia.

*ASUNA'S POV*

Asuna: "Hey Kirito! I found her! I found Leafa."

Kirito: "You did?! Where was she?"

Asuna: "She was with U/N, they took her out to the Field to train. Turns out we forgot to add her to the queue for training!"

Kirito: "Oh... so she's okay, right?"

Asuna: "Yeah, she's fine. She's actually level 92 now I think, U/N really helped her out!"

Kirito: "Huh... that's not bad. Sugu- I mean Leafa could technically head out into the Field by herself and she'd be fine at that level against the normal mobs... but I'd rather she only went out there with someone we trust..."

Asuna: "Yeah, that makes sense... still, I can't believe that she's your-... U/N?"

Kirito: "Huh? What about them?"

Asuna: "Over there, see them? They're running to the Teleport Gate with their menu open... do you think something happened?"

Kirito: "I don't know, but we should probably go and check it out, right?"

Asuna: "Is that because you're worried or because you just want to be out on the Field again?!"

Kirito: "No time for that, U/N will teleport away at this rate!"

The two of us quickly dashed over to the Teleport Gate, only a couple seconds behind U/N's arrival to it, fortunately we were a lot closer to it than they were when we noticed them.

Asuna: "Hey U/N, everything okay?"

U/N: "..."

Kirito: "What's up, can we help at all?"

U/N: "Teleport: Serpentis: Temple Front Plaza!"

And just like that, U/N had teleported away from us without so much as even acknowledging that we were there.

Kirito: "Did that look like U/N didn't even notice we were here?"

Asuna: "Yeah... it did. And the tone of their voice, it sounded... really determined."

Lisbeth: "Asuuuuuuuuna! huff puff Hey! Have you seen U/N anywhere?"

Asuna: "Hey Lisbeth, yeah we did... they just teleported away somewhere... Kirito, have you ever heard of that place? It didn't sound familiar to me at all."

Kirito: "I heard them say Temple Front Plaza... Well, the Temple Front Plaza part could be almost anywhere... but I've never heard of the key- location they said before."

Silica: "Lisbeth! huff huff Did you find them?"

Lisbeth: "No, they teleported away before we could catch them..."

Leafa: "Oh hey guys! What'd I miss?"

Kirito: "Hi Sug- Leafa, just a second... Why were you girls chasing U/N?"

Lisbeth: "Well, Silica and I were taking a stroll through the park when we saw them sat on a bench under the shade of a tree."

Silica: "We were about to go and say hello when all of a sudden they jumped up to their feet and sprinted away!"

Lisbeth: "Yeah, we tried to give chase but we waited too long to make a decision and we didn't really have a chance at catching up!"

Asuna: "Huh... Hey Leafa, did U/N mention anything to you earlier whilst you were out on the Field with them?"

Silica: (no fair... they haven't taken me out there yet!...)

Leafa: "Uhmm... they did mention there was something they wanted to do, which is why we teleported back... they said they almost forgot about it until I started mentioning the things I could do in ALO."

Kirito: "Huh, what sorta things?"

Asuna: "Kirito! Is now really the time?!"

Kirito: "I don't mean it like that! If we know the things Leafa mentioned then maybe we'll be able to figure out what it was that triggered U/N and then we could figure out where they went maybe?"

Leafa: "Hmmm... well I mentioned a few things: like there being boss monsters to fight, tameable animals, life skills, treasure hunting and PvP... would any of that matter?"

Lisbeth: "Could it be... the PvP stuff? Maybe?"

Silica: "But I thought that Laughing Coffin were finished? Didn't your Guild and Kirito beat them?"

Oh right, I forgot that U/N doesn't want Silica to know about their involvement with the Player Killers and how they had to kill other players in the past... hopefully that's not the reason now. It seemed like U/N really wanted to move past all of that mess...

Kirito: "I don't think its the PvP stuff... U/N's not an idiot, they'd have come and asked Asuna and me to help... because of our experience in the past, but it was like they didn't even hear us talking to them!"

Asuna: "So it was something else then?"

Kirito: "...Do you remember back a couple days before we cleared the 75th Floor Boss Room? When we all had a picnic on Floor 22?"

Lisbeth: "Huh, yeah. What about it?"

Asuna: "Ohhh... you think maybe it's about their treasure-hunting friend?"

Kirito: "Philia, right? Yeah, I think it is. She went missing didn't she? And the orange pixels they talked about back then... don't you think that the weird portal that Sinon came out of looked similar to how U/N described it?"

Leafa: "I didn't know that U/N lost someone... do you think maybe it was a glitch that caused it then, like it did with the Sinon girl?"

Kirito: "It's certainly a possibility... although I have no idea where U/N went to try and find her, I've never heard of the place they teleported to..."

Yui: "I can help a little bit with that Papa!"

Asuna: "Yui? What do you mean?"

Yui: "Hello Mama, I was just sat over there when I saw U/N run over. I heard where U/N said they wanted to teleport and I have been processing the information but I can't find a single repository that lists Serpentis: Temple Front Plaza as a teleportable destination."

Kirito: "So an unexplored location... Serpentis: Temple Front Plaza huh? Great job Yui!"

Yui: "Ehehe! Thanks Papa!"

Asuna: "So... what are you planning?"

Kirito: "Well... we don't know how dangerous this place is, so it'd be best for a smaller group of experienced players to go... but I don't mind heading in there solo if I have to."

Lisbeth: "I want to help!"

Asuna: "No, no... Kirito's right. It could be a really high-level area. So I think just Kirito and I should go and find U/N, and then the three of us can scout around for Philia, and then we can bring her back home!"

Silica: "I... I guess I can't really do much to help at my level huh..."

Leafa: "Well, we can arrange for a get-together, right? ... I'm not actually too versed in SAO, we can right?"

Lisbeth: "We can do that! You guys go and give U/N a hand and bring them both back here, okay?"

Asuna: "We'll do our best! You ready Kirito?"

Kirito: "Yeah... but remember though: if it gets too dangerous, I want you to worry about yourself over anyone else, okay? I can't lose you Asuna."

Asuna: "The same goes to you! But I'm sure the two of us combined, we can handle anything out there!"

Kirito: "Okay. Well, I guess it's time we go and try and catch up to U/N. Yui, what was the name of the area again?"

Yui: "Serpentis: Temple Front Plaza! Be careful Papa, and Mama!"

Kirito: "We will Yui! We'll see you later today I promise!"

* * *

Kirito: "Teleport: Serpentis: Temple Front Plaza!"

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