Author's Note: Hey folks, sorry for the delay in the publishing of this new chapter. I was a little hesitant as to what approach and plotline to follow for the Overworld arc, but I think this should be a decent start :) As always, feel free to let me know what you think through reviews or messages!

When Ellea greeted the two of them at the front gate of the East Caestus Swordsmanship Academy the next morning they couldn't help but notice how nervous the girl seemed. After guiding them to the sparring hall, they realized why. There were six sparring duels between trainees taking place. With several dozen more cheering them on from the stands. Overseeing the matches were Master Heldrom (surprisingly, in full plate armour) and judging by their attire, three other instructors.

Upon the three of them entering the training hall, Halia came running up with a nervous smile and greeted them. It wasn't lost on Kirito how several of the trainees in the stands shot questioning glances their way. As the four of them walked up to the side of the of the sparring fields, Heldrom gave them a nod, acknowledging their arrival, while signifying he had to oversee the duels first.

After the decent, if simple, duels were completed, the trainees waiting for their turn were told by the other instructors to wait. Heldrom made their way over to them as he smiled "Ah! Welcome to our humble sparring hall, Prime Swordsman Kirito and Integrity Knight Alice. My apologies for the delay, but these sparring duels were already scheduled".

Internally he cursed at how loud Heldrom was speaking. More than a few curious gazes were pointed in their direction from the present trainees. Somehow he managed to calmly reply "Not a problem, of course, Master Heldrom. Should we get started?". The older man chuckled and gestured for him to follow. While quickly storing the cloak he had been wearing not to stand out, he followed him to the center of the hall.

Ellea had barely been able to sleep that night. The challenge of Master Heldrom, head of the Academy and former Royal Knight, had come as a surprise. She had really just been expecting to get some extra duties for the coming week, and that would have been fine. She had had a very enjoyable day with Halia and their new friends, after all. Before she was able to protest, however, Kirito had already accepted the challenge. As they said their goodbyes, he even seemed to look forward to it!

That morning she had panicked a little when noticing the large amount of trainees sparring in the normally deserted training hall at this time of day. Seeing all the Academy's swordsmanship instructors present made her realize that Heldrom had wanted there to be plenty of spectators... The worried glances she exchanged with Halia next to her, didn't escape Alice her attention however, as she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder as the golden haired knight calmly said "Don't worry, Kirito is more than up for the challenge".

She quickly turned her gaze towards the ground as she nervously replied "I don't doubt his abilities, b-but Master Heldrom used to be a Royal Knight! I've never seen him duel before, but everyone knows he is skilled. He is the headmaster of the Academy after all...". Completely contrary to Elleas her own worried self, Alice just chuckled.

"Then perhaps this duel may be more entertaining than I expected". If Alice noticed their shocked faces, she didn't let it show as she just calmly crossed her arms over each other and patiently awaited the start of the duel. Also focusing her gaze back in front of her, she couldn't help but feel a little more at ease when Kirito drew his longsword. The weight of it still fresh in her mind from the day before.

The crowd seemed a little confused at the oddly coloured blade. More gasps could be heard when the fully plate armour-clad Heldrom unsheathed his own sword. As the girls were quick to point out to Alice, since Master Heldrom came to the Academy, he has never actually dueled anyone. Not in plain sight at least... His blade shone with a slight bluish tinge. It wasn't overly fancy, but instead clearly displayed being of a high priority.

The large, two-handed blade elegantly swung into an offensive stance. Kirito took a moment to appreciate his opponent. His stance was confident, but not over-confident like Elite Disciple Levantein. It was clear that the older man was or still is a Knight, with actual combat experience. With a soft smile, he took a stance he rarely used. The strongest opening stance of the Serlut Style...

As soon as another instructor gave the signal, Kirito dashed forward, but was taken aback a little by the speed at which Heldrom shot towards him as well. Few two-handed sword techniques he had ever seen revolved around speed... Just in time, he managed to parry the heavy blade coming for him in a diagonal slash. He had chosen to use the Serlut Style mainly because he didn't want to expose his more unique Aincrad Style, but now he was glad that he picked the two-handed style... With just one hand, he would not have been able to parry it at all.

Gritting his teeth, but with a smile on his face, he steeled himself while Heldrom let loose a torrent of fast, two-handed strikes. It wasn't often he was actually challenged in combat, let alone against another player... Or.. well, not a player. But an AI... He had to remind himself, but quickly shrugged off the thought as he parried yet another strike that reverberated throughout his arms. He couldn't let his first opponent in Overworld beat him... Damn it, Alice was watching after all! Faster... He needed to be faster!

"Oh wow, he's keeping up with Master Heldrom! Is this the Aincrad Style you were talking about yesterday, Alice?" Halia asked in awe. Alice chuckled and softly said "Hmm, no, Halia. This is actually the Serlut Style. One that he picked up from his mentor at the Academy, Sortiliena Serlut".

The girls both gave her curious looks, but before being able to ask anything, their focus was drawn back to the duel in front. Kirito, instead of actively blocking and dodging, was now gracefully dancing and whirling around incoming strikes, before shooting behind Heldrom and unleashing fast, two-handed strikes himself. The older man was just able to raise his sword in time to catch his slashes, but seemed visibly taken aback by the sudden speed of his opponent.

Using several wide slashes to make him jump backwards, Heldrom laughed softly as he said "This is quite the fight, Prime Swordsman! Not only have you weathered all my attacks, you almost managed to get the better of me there...". Kirito just smiled back and calmly said "My compliments to you as well, Master Heldrom. It seems your talents have been refined in actual combat, most unlike the instructors at the Academy I myself attended".

Heldrom nodded appraisingly and said "Your own style is peculiar, to say the least... But I don't get the feeling your heart is in the motions, Prime Swordsman. Perhaps you're holding back? In any case, as a Royal Knight of Caestus, I will not lose this bout. Let's end this!". Before he took the opening stance for the Horizontal Arc Sword Skill, although it was undoubtedly renamed here, much like the skills in Underworld.

Upon seeing the stance take effect, and the large, two-handed sword taking on a bright, dark blue glow, Kirito could feel something else. Faint, blue flames started to erupt from Heldrom's blade, an aura of righteous fury burning around it. Realizing this was caused by Incarnation, the art of fueling your attacks with the power of... essentially you're imagination, he knew he couldn't just use a standard skill. He focused on what he was fighting for as he flicked his eyes over to the stands for just a fraction of a second, meeting her gaze- and a smile crept over his face. He could hear Heldrom kicking off of the ground and shooting towards him with the first of two strikes that are part of the Horizontal Arc.

"Why is Kirito just standing there!?" Halia almost shouted incredulously. She had only seen the Caestus Style secret move 'Righteous Cleaver' once or twice before in high level demonstrations between the other instructors. It was an almost deadly finishing move, that none of them could ever truly defend against...

Then, right before being struck, Kirito whirled in place, taking the opening stance for... for what? Halia had never seen a technique that started like that. His black blade, which had seemed a little too short to use two-handed, almost seemed... to... grow? Having a firmer grip on the blade's handle, it almost instantly shone an almost blinding green light. While Halia, Elleas, Alice and most others in the stands behind them did their best to keep watching as they partially shielded their eyes, a resounding clang of metal nearly deafened them.

The two, now equally long, two-handed blades collided on the first strike of Righteous Cleaver. They stood there, wind billowing Kirito's jacket. Wind that they at the edge of the hall could still feel rushing past them. The sheer force of the two of them being enough to cause it... But only for a split moment, before Kirito seemed to pull back, letting Heldrom's blade unceremoniously slip into its next position for the second strike. Before it could actually move again, however, the still brightly green shining blade of Kirito slammed against it, pushing it back.

Heldrom was clearly struggling. Sweat was glistening on his forehead, illuminated by the green glow of Kirito's sword. His own blue glow was starting to falter... Halia could just make out Kirito's face. His lips formed a small smile, while his eyes seemed to burn with a yellow light of their own... But that must just be her imagination... Right?

Right when they could see Heldrom freeze up as his own technique was cancelled out and his sword lost its blue glow, Halia expected Kirito to also freeze in place. But to her, and most of the attending crowd's shock, he simply pulled back and unleashed another strike, his weapon's blue glow not faltering for a second... A three strike technique!? Halia asked herself incredulously. That blow was powerful enough to slam Heldrom's blade out of his hands and it went flying to the edge of the hall where it harmlessly lodged itself into the wooden wall with a resounding clang of metal.

After following the flying blade, they almost missed another shocking development. A fourth strike... As the literal and figurative dust settled, Kirito was standing in front of Heldrom, his blade somehow having shrunk back to its former size, the green glow finally starting to fade, as his sword's tip lightly touched the shocked Master Heldrom's throat.

It took a few seconds, but then the instructor seemed to clear her throat and with a shaking voice declared "P-prime Swordsman Kirito wins!". Several seconds passed, before the crowd erupted in loud applause and chatter. Kirito casually sheathed his blade. The older Knight in front of him still looked stunned, but then exchanged a formal bow with him, before saying "That... Was unlike anything I have ever fought or seen before, Prime Swordsman. I suppose the world is larger than even an old Knight would know".

Kirito chuckled sheepishly and replied "Don't sell yourself short, Master Heldrom! I myself have... traveled extensively, and apart from my partner, I haven't encountered any two-handed sword wielders with such speed behind their strikes, especially in full plate armour. It was an exhilarating fight".

The older Knight seemed to graciously accept the compliment, but then said with a hearty laugh "I would very much like to discuss our Styles at a later date, perhaps tomorrow, the same time? Can't fault a Knight for being intrigued at such extraordinary swordsmanship, can you?".

Kirito couldn't help but chuckle in agreement and reply "I believe that would be possible, although I would need to check with my partner first. In any case, we are not from Caestus... So you might be able to answer some of our questions as well, Master Heldrom. If that is not too much trouble?".

The older Knight happily agreed and said his goodbyes, returning to guiding the sparring duels. As Kirito let out a satisfied sigh, he turned to find Alice, Halia and Ellea walking his way. The former with a warm smile, the latter two looking starstruck. Surprising him with a welcome, if uncharacteristic public display of affection, Alice gave him a loving kiss, before returning to her more stoic Knightly expression.

A bit flustered, he chuckled and asked her "H-how about an early lunch?", which the golden haired girl received with a happy nod and smile. He turned to the two girls, who were still stunned as they stood next to them "Would you care to join us?".

Ellea sadly had training that day, so she stayed behind. About half an hour later, the three of them had taken seats on a small terrace not too far from the Academy and had ordered some food. Once again it took some convincing to let him pay for Halia as well, but eventually she nervously accepted.

Alice and Halia had unequipped their armour for comfort and he couldn't help but be distracted by the sight of Alice, with her flowing golden hair draped over her blue and white surcoat and dress. A little flustered, he noticed she clearly took note. And gave him a teasing smile, if with a slight blush of her own. Eventually Halia carefully asked him "That was an incredible fight, K-kirito... I have never seen such a technique, the Serlut Style must be powerful...".

He chuckled sheepishly and said "Well, as my mentor explained it to me, her family was not allowed to use the more noble High Norkian Style because of some transgression they made generations before. So they developed their own style, meant to counter the High Norkian one. Seeing how the Caestus Style closely resembled it, I thought it might make a decent strategy".

While Halia was soaking up his words with interest, Alice chuckled and said "And yet you finished with an Aincrad technique, Horizontal Square if I'm not mistaken?". Even though they had never discussed the 'secret techniques', or Sword Skills of SAO/ALO, he wasn't too surprised that Alice had studied it herself.

"Master Heldrom had plenty of practical combat experience and extraordinary speed, something the Serlut Style is not made to counter. A little improvisation goes a long way I suppose...".

He noticed throughout his following discussion regarding styles and sword skills with Alice, that Halia was building up the courage to say something. Seeing her look somewhat ready, he calmly asked her with a warm smile "Yes, Halia?". The girl looked a bit flustered, but then with more resolve asked "W-would it perhaps be possible for me to study under you for a while?".

Upon seeing the pondering gazes of Alice and Kirito meet, she quickly added "I know I'm... just a trainee, but your style is unlike any in Caestus. A-and it might help with my being recruited into an Order, despite my... heritage". It was clear she felt shame while nervously averting her gaze.

He still wasn't really sure how to respond. Considering they were in Overworld not to just play a game, but to investigate... And yet he couldn't help but be reminded of his own apprentice, once upon a time. She had been so eager to improve upon herself, and prove her worth. And he saw much the same potential in her as he did in Halia. Alice put a warm hand on his and calmly said "She reminds you of Ronye, doesn't she?".

Barely having noticed how his own mood had darkened a bit, reminiscing about his long dead friends, the warmth in Alice her eyes seemed to lift him up. After calming down a bit, and a deep sigh, he turned to Halia with a small smile and said "Well... As we said yesterday, we're not really sure how long we'll be staying in this area.. But we were planning on exploring the Wild Lands a bit after this, you could join us...?".

Checking to see if Alice even agreed, she just shot him a shrug and a smile "We're not quite sure how dangerous the Wild Lands can be, but I'm confident we'll be able to protect her if things take a dire turn". Meanwhile Halia had nervously been eyeing the both of them. It took her a few seconds, but then she enthusiastically agreed with a wide smile on her face.

After finding their way out of the city of Caestus, into what the locals referred to as 'the Wild Lands', they stopped to admire the sight. Now, without the hundreds of buildings and tall walls clouding their vision, they had a beautiful view. Caestus seemed to be located on a massive, floating island. While they couldn't see for themselves whether it truly was floating, judging by the many floating islands in the sky and on the horizon as well as the maps they bought, they probably were on one too. Many of the floating islands, including what they could see of the central one they were on, had vast mountains and dense forests.

They were stunned for a few seconds as they just took in the sight. "This... Is a lot different from Underworld..." Alice softly muttered. Kirito next to her nodded slowly, still in awe and added quietly "Although, it's going to be a pain to get around... I can see a few bridges between some of them... But most of them seem to be free floating. And we're Humans here, not fairies with wings like in Alfhe...".

Alice wondered why Kirito suddenly trailed off, but then she noticed what he was looking at. Almost straight above them, a large, looming shape moved out of the city. It took a few moments before she realized what it was. A ship... A wooden sailing ship. They had no oceans or seas in Underworld, so Alice had been in awe when she was shown a variety of sailing ships by Kirito and his friends in ALO, but this... This thing was massive. And it was flying through the air.

The two of them just watched in awe as the two-mast 'airship' flew over them and departed heading west. Eventually Kirito asked, with clear hope shining through his voice "Should we buy or rent an airship...?". Alice sighed and frowned for a bit "Maybe... Or we hatch and train Amayori and Takiguri..".

He shot her an understanding glance and calmly said "You don't have to if you don't want to. Really, Alice". She took a deep breath, but then just smiled at him and calmly replied "No, I... I think I want to. And if this game is truly safe, I think I'd like spending more time here".

Kirito gave her a curious look and carefully asked "Why here specifically, and not ALO? Because it reminds you of Underworld?". He didn't fail to notice the blush creeping over Alice her face as she nervously looked at the ground in front of them. After a few moments, he put his arm around her and hugged her a little as he calmly said "You don't have to tell me, Alice, but you know you can, right?".

She hugged him back and buried her face into his chest. After a few deep breaths he heard her quietly say "We'll talk about it tonight, alright?". He just patted her head in response and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead, before the two of them went ahead and caught up with the enthusiastic Halia.

After two hours of walking along a dirt road without encountering so much as a trader, let alone anything to fight, Kirito was getting bored. "So Halia, I take it that most of the Wild Lands close to Caestus aren't exactly all that 'Wild', am I right?". The girl turned around and nodded "There are some creatures and dangerous animals, but most only come out at night".

A little confused he asked "Sooo... This might be a stupid question, but if there isn't that much danger around here, why are there so many Orders? Are they all just waiting for war?". Halia gave him a strange look and carefully replied "Well, I haven't done it myself, of course, but there are contracts that can be fulfilled that offer rewards. The more or the higher the contracts fulfilled, the higher the rewards for an Order". He hummed a little as he cursed himself internally for leaving the town without picking up any 'quests'...

He gestured for the girls to pause for a moment, while he took out one of the maps they had bought. According to the map, there were several smaller islands, floating a little lower next to the Caestus Island that weren't too far away from them. Those would probably be a little more challenging. But how would they get there without transport? It's not like hatching dragons and growing them to the size of mounts would be that quickly. If only they could get a better overview of the area...

He sighed deeply and said "I suppose we better just hire a small airship or something and make for one of the 'wilder' islan-". He froze as he realized something. He and Heldrom had used Incarnation during their fight... So could he...? Alice raised an eyebrow and gave him a worried look "Kirito, everything alright?".

He almost giggled, but managed to twist it into a more manly chuckle as he said "I suppose not... Because it's taken me this long to realize we don't necessarily need an airship to get from island to island...". Alice sighed a little and said "You know Amayori and Takiguri haven't hatched yet, right?".

He grinned from ear to ear before taking a few steps back. He calmly stated "Remember that final battle with Vector?". His partner frowned a little and started saying "Yes, of course Kirito... That fight was terrifying to wat-". Then she froze too, before her eyes widened. "Are you going to do what I think you're going to do...?".

Halia stared at both of their faces in confusion and carefully asked "My apologies, but what are you two plann-". Before she could finish, she yelped "What is happening!?". Even Alice took a step back as Kirito closed his eyes and moments later the hems of his coat started to shimmer and move. After a split second, his coat had transformed into two large, feathered black wings protruding from his back. "Aaah... I've missed my wings...".

Alice chuckled and shook her head before deeply sighing "You really do like showing off, don't you?". He just shrugged and gave his wings a few test beats. "Well, everything seems alright. The two of you ready?" he said while opening his arms wide. Alice snugly cozied up to his side. Halia was still staring at him with a pale face "H-how... How are you doing that!?". She almost shouted it, and probably would have if she hadn't been so shocked.

He chuckled softly and said with his best comforting smile "It's essentially a very high Sacred Art, I'll try to explain it on the way. Now, my apologies, but I'll need to grab hold of you to bring you along". It took a few seconds, but eventually Halia carefully stood next to him, while he gently, yet firmly, wrapped his arms around both girls at his side.

He put all his strength into taking off with his wings, but soon noticed that especially Alice her equipment may be a bit too heavy. Only a few meters off the ground he groaned a little in frustration and as calmly as possible said "Alright, I'm a little out of practice, I guess... I'll give us a boost till we're high enough up to glide for a while. Hold on tight!".

He concentrated for a moment and felt the pressure on his wings drop. Aerial elements formed a shell around the three of them, while even more generated underneath their feet. For a split second they almost started to fall down as he stopped beating his wings to concentrate on generating elements, before he let the elements underneath them burst, causing them to shoot up into the sky. Alice yelped briefly while firmly hugging his chest and Halia screamed loudly as she clung to his arm - all the way up. Feeling confident about the height they had reached, and also starting to feel the mental toll of such a powerful incarnation, he immediately spread his wings as wide as he could manage, before giving them a final outward push and starting to glide.

He noticed they were still falling a bit faster than he would like and concentrated. If Vector, or Miller, could do it... With a slight grunt, two more sets of wings rapidly grew out of his back. With six black wings spread wide and occasionally beating to regain altitude, it actually felt rather relaxing to him. As he turned his head to look at Alice, he could see a little panic in her eyes, but as they met his she blushed and calmed down. He could see the fer and panic making way for trust, before she chuckled and managed to teasingly say "If you drop me you're sleeping alone tonight".

He just chuckled and pulled them both a little tighter, before turning to look at Halia. The girl was clinging to his arm for her life, eyes closed. "Halia, open your eyes" he calmly said to her. Slowly the girl opened an eye, and then the other, before marveling at the sight. They were flying high above the central island and it was beautiful. "I know it can be scary, but please try to relax. I should be able to keep up our current pace for at least several hours".

The girl managed to calm down a little bit and carefully asked "Where did you learn such an incredible art?". He laughed sheepishly and said a little hesitantly "Well, I sort of just... Did it when I first needed to I suppose". The girl could only give him a wide eyed, incredulous stare.

On his other side, Alice hummed in thought for a few moments, before asking "Say Kirito-kun, how are we not feeling heavy winds this high up? And how did we get this high, this fast... Flying was never this smooth on a dragon's back, and I think those generally fly even somewhat lower than we are at the moment...".

He smiled teasingly and said "I actually got the idea from watching you heat those meat buns on the side of the Central Cathedral that night". She gave him a questioning look, after which he added "I'm using aerial elements to form a wind barrier around all three of us, basically the same thing you used to contain steam around the buns. Taking off was a little hard with just my wings, so I used a large number of aerial elements under our feet to propel us upwards".

The next hour or so as they soared through the sky, the two of them did their best to explain the workings of the Sacred Arts and Incarnation to Halia. He was glad to see the younger girl ease up a little after that, and eventually she even seemed to somewhat enjoy flying - even if it would take a lot longer for her to grasp the basics of Sacred Arts herself. As they made their way towards the edge of the rather large island, they started to see white marks on the woods below them. Straining his eyes, he could just barely make out silverish white threads.

"Are those... webs?" he asked carefully, to no one in particular. Halia confirmed it for him "Y-yes, some of the further out forests are plagued by large spiders... I believe their webs are actually quite expensive materials in Caestus". He hummed for a moment and then looked at Alice, who shrugged "We were stupid enough to not pick up any 'contracts', but a spider infestation could be a good place to help Halia practice. Put us down at the edge though, not right in the center...".

He teasingly grinned "As you command!" and steeply dove down towards the ground. This time, both Halia and Alice screamed as they barreled down. A reasonable distance away from the ground, he slowed down and gradually lowered the three of them. Carefully putting them down, Halia immediately collapsed, almost hugging the grassy forest ground. Alice just panted for a few seconds, before punching him in the shoulder.

"That was unnecessary!" she pouted as she furiously glared at him. Kirito carefully took a step back and held up his palms in defeat "Sorry... It was a little fun too though, right?". She huffed a little, but didn't seem to protest. After helping Halia back up and apologizing she seemed to have calmed her nerves as well.

Taking a better look around now, they were standing in a small forest clearing. In front of them was a much denser part of the forest, and in the distance between the trees they could clearly see large, white webs sprouting up...

As they stayed on the edges of the cobwebbed area of the forest, only up to three or four large, dog to horse sized spiders engaged them at a single time. Kirito and Alice quickly learned they weren't much of a threat to them, thanks to their extreme stats. Having found a perfect test subject for Halia's training, Kirito did his best to teach her what he could.

while her fighting style was centered around blocking with her shield, Kirito encouraged her to focus on dodging and moving around her target, something she barely made use of. He limited her to only using Sword Skills as finishing moves, giving him plenty of time to judge her regular techniques. For a moment it felt really strange to him. Who was he to judge someone's talent and skill with a sword? He was just a gamer... But Alice, a Knight, soon commended him on his training techniques, which helped him barrel through it nonetheless.

Half an hour into their training, Halia admitted shamefully to only knowing the Horizontal Skill. Kirito decided to try and teach her some different Sword Skills, although he wasn't quite sure how... In SAO and ALO you'd need to have an appropriate Skill Level for the Skill associated with the Sword Skill you wanted to perform, as well as flawlessly taking the opening stance for it.

Deciding to just give it a go, he performed various simple Sword Skills. The one hit skills Slant (diagonal cut), Vertical (downwards slash) and Rage Spike, the simplest of charge skills that followed a leap to the target with an upward slash. The first two seemed to be doable for the girl, who took to her training with fervor and enthusiasm. Four out of five times she managed to perform the Skills, or Secret Techniques as they were called here, but there still were a few corrections to her opening stances that needed to be remedied with training and repetition.

Rage Spike, being a little tougher to perform correctly, was something she had trouble with. The red glow faltered every time during her leap. A few attempts at the two part Horizontal Arc, sadly also failed - for now. Halia seemed to get frustrated at her inability to perform some of the Skills he had displayed but while they took a break he reminded her "These Skills might look simple, but that's only because I have performed them hundreds, if not thousands of times. You'll get there Halia. There's a saying where I come from; Rome, or.. eh, any large city, isn't built in a single day".

Halia, panting as she leaned against a tree to catch her breath seemed to regain her enthusiasm a little and replied with confidence "Understood. And I already used two new Secret Techniques, so I guess I can't really complain!". She finished it off with a bow and a strong "Thank you, master!".

Alice laughed behind her hand a few meters away and he chuckled nervously "Ehh.. Halia, Kirito is just fine. No need to 'master' me all of a sudden". The girl seemed to accept it, but with some sadness in her eyes. He wasn't quite sure why, but right when he was about to ask, Alice raised her hand and quietly, yet firmly stated "Something is approaching... Something large. Get ready!".

As the three of them formed a circle facing outwards, they patiently and in Halia's case nervously, awaited whatever Alice had sensed. The webs along the trees surrounding the small clearing they had rested in, all started to shiver ever so slightly... Skittering noises, and what sounded like the clacking of mandibles could be heard all around them. Groups of small, beady red eyes started to appear in the shadows of the trees.

"They're... They're everywhere..." Halia quietly whimpered. Before either of them could try and comfort her, however, a bone chilling, hissing voice rung through the clearing "Who daresss ssslaughter my children... My children in their homesss...".

Right in front of Kirito, an even larger and darker spider whirled through the maze of webs with an evil elegance. It's chitin-like shell seemed more like armour plating than anything naturally occurring. Eight burning, crimson red eyes glowed in the shade. It was hanging upside down from the large web cover as it approached their group. Once more the voice reverberated out. No mouth could be seen moving on the monstrosity before them, however.

"Sssspeak, filthy Humanssess! Who daresss face Ssssurgosssa, Queen of these woodsss". Halia was trembling, but Alice just eyed the surrounding treeline, on the look out for any spider that would try and attack them. He was confident he and Alice could handle this, they had faced worse after all. But could they keep Halia in one piece while doing that? He cleared his throat and did his best to confidently state "I am Prime Swordsman Kirito, and I have led my companions here. We were not aware there was a Queen among... Your children. By your leave, Queen Surgosa, I would humbly ask permission to return home and leave you and your spawn in peace".

The large spider took a few 'steps' closer, but stayed out of the clearing "Interesssting... But I'm afraid that ssssuch sssweet wordsss will do you little good here, Ssswordssssman... No... You will be dinner for my children!". At that point, the large number of Spiders surrounding them started to get restless and inch closer.

"Alice, use your sword to take care of the little ones! I'll deal with the Queen. Halia, be careful and stay close to Alice. Shield her from any that slip through, alright?". The both of them nodded, while Alice already seemed to be muttering the Armament Full Control art. Right as the first spider shot out of the treeline aiming for Halia, Alice shouted the final part of her art; "ENHANCE ARMAMENT!".

The blade of Fragrant Olive Sword in her right hand fell apart into hundreds, if not thousands of golden petals, that launched themselves clean through the spider and proceeded to form a whirlwind around the clearing. The Queen screeched out and jumped into the clearing towards Kirito.

Rushing forward to keep his fight away from his friends, he charged and slid underneath the charging body of the Queen. Dragging his Night Sky Sword clean through the softer underbelly as he continued to slide along the ground. Quickly jumping back up behind the ungodly monstrosity, he was just in time to parry a kick or stab really, from one of the legs and jump back. To his dismay, however, the Queen kept charging forward, towards Halia.

The girl shook for a moment, but then seemed to steel herself. With determination burning in her eyes the girl stood her ground as two large spider legs tried to crush her. In an instant, her blade started to shine a violent, bright blue. With a flawlessly performed Horizontal Arc, she cut off one of its legs, resulting in a screeching wail from the Queen.

Seeing Halia freeze up after the higher Skill than she was used to, Kirito quickly jumped over the Queen and landed in between it and the wide eyed Halia. As the furious monstrosity came charging towards them, large mandibles clacking in front of the vile 'mouth', Kirito swung his left fist straight into the burning red set of eight eyes. His hand glowing an even more violent shade of crimson red, before he immediately followed it up by charging with his Night Sky Sword.

A blinding, deep purple glow came off of it, as he started the sword dance known as the Deadly Sins. Having done so on instinct, it being one of his more commonly used Skills in ALO, he only vaguely registered Underworld had been limited to four strike Skills. Deadly Sins instead being a seven part Sword Skill with incredible speed and damage potential. The sudden and powerful barrage forced the Queen back towards the edge of the clearing, while her mandibles and some of its red eyes were gashed out. Arriving there, it got caught in Alice her petal whirlwind, shaving off part of her back legs, but seemingly not doing enough damage to take them off completely. Once again it screeched out - this time, however, clearly in fury instead of pain, before it seemed to ready itself, followed by a high jump - presumably intending to land right on top of the three and crush them.

Right when Kirito and Halia were about to jump out of the way, Alice calmly stated "I've got this". Pointing her sword hilt upwards, she formed what could only be described as a shield of spinning gold above them. Quickly scanning the treeline, there were dozens of dead spiders and spattered, murky red blood. Even some of the trees were cut clean through... Looking up, the Queen was screeching in pain as it landed on top of Alice her insane Armament Full Control art.

Somehow however, as it was screeching angrily, it almost seemed to grow in size... The remaining five red eyes burned more intensely, with trails of glowing red streaming from them. What looked like acid was starting to drip from its mouth and Kirito was just fast enough to pull Halia out of the splatter that burned through the ground where she had stood moments before. "I won't be able to hold it forever... Finish it Kirito!" Alice groaned towards him.

Focusing, Kirito shouted "System Call! Generate thermal element, adhere!". As he gave this command, numerous small fire elements formed in the air around them. He wasn't even sure how many he was producing, only that he wanted to overwhelm this monstrosity. Upon uttering 'adhere', all the elements coalesced on the Queen's body and started to burn their way through its armour. Meanwhile it was screeching and screaming, trying to fight through the hurricane shield of Alice her petals. With a cold look in his eyes as he met the remaining eyes of 'Queen Surgosa', he quietly finished his Sacred Art ritual. "Burst element".

A fiery explosion took place above them. The force and most of the heat being contained by Alice her whirling petals, but they still had to shield their eyes from the intensity of the blast. There wasn't even a screech of pain as the Queen's body was incinerated. As the smoke cleared, there was nothing left above them, but they could hear and see parts of the enormous spider crashing against the trees around them.

Alice reformed her sword and sheathed it again, before taking a knee and panting. After a few seconds, while the others also either sat down or took a knee, she chuckled and said "That was risky, Kirito... Over thirty thermal elements. A few more and I wouldn't have been able to contain the blast...".

He sheepishly laughed and rubbed the back of his neck as he nervously replied "Honestly I wasn't even sure how many I was forming... I just wanted to take out that Queen as quickly as possible. It seemed to be... making use of Incarnation to fight through your petals".

Alice nodded slowly as she hesitantly admitted "I did find it strange that her shell was able to withstand my Armament Full Control, yes... It shouldn't normally have been possible. Each and every petal has a priority of 48 after all". He whistled appreciatively before incredulously stating "Damn Alice... I'm really glad you didn't just run me straight through on the 80th floor that day...".

She huffed a little teasingly and said "Where's the honor in that? I prefer beating my opponents with the skill of my sword, not my Sacred Arts".

As the two of them laughed and calmed down. Halia eventually asked nervously "Is... Is this normal for you? You don't seem too... shaken". Kirito and Alice realized this must have been terrifying for the girl, so Alice quickly walked over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder as she said "My apologies, Halia. I suppose we have been fighting together long enough to know each other's abilities and limits".

The blonde Knight shot him a warm smile, which he couldn't help but return. Upon seeing Halia calm down a little, Alice chuckled at him "Although adhering and bursting the elements, instead of discharging them as arrows is a new one for me... It seems to be rather overwhelmingly powerful, good to remember. Although it would only work on stationary targets".

Suddenly, the three of them were all startled by a loud, high pitched voice shouting "That. Was. AWESOME!". Jumping back up on their feet, the three of them turned to find a girl, maybe eighteen years old happily leaping over the corpses and shattered trees to meet them in the clearing. Her shoulder length, dandelion hair was bouncing along with her movements, much like her short and billowing blue cloak. Her blue tube top and thigh exposing black shorts left little to the imagination, and Kirito was only able to keep a steel face due to his many years of dealing with the various girls in his friend group.

Stopping a few meters away from them, the girl bowed and grinned "Hiya, I'm Philia. Treasure hunter extraordinaire! Pleasure to meet you". Her blue eyes seemed to glimmer with a teasing light as she looked up at the somewhat stunned trio. "Ehm... Yeah, nice to meet you, Philia-san. These are Alice and Halia. And I'm Kirito".

Now it was the girl's turn to blink a little, stunned. Before she carefully asked "K-kirito? The Kirito? The one who cleared SAO...?". Kirito chuckled sheepishly and said "Well, at least I won't have to ask if you're a player... And yes, I suppose that's me, although it was really a team effo-".

Before he could finish his sentence, the girl had suddenly lept forward and was now hugging him tightly. Her face stuffed up against his chest, he heard her say "Thank you for that...". A little perturbed he awkwardly hugged her back with one arm, but then he realized why she probably showed this sudden display of affection. Carefully he asked "You're an SAO survivor too?". He felt her nod.

At that point, Alice loudly cleared her throat and he could hear the slightly dangerous tone in her voice "Nice to meet you, Philia-san. I am Alice Synthesis Thirty". As the girl let go of him, he could see she had a blush on her cheeks, but she kept her grin as she exchanged greetings with Alice and Halia.

"I suppose you're here for the Queen's hoard?" the girl eventually asked them. The three looked at each other, before Kirito sheepishly said "Ehm, honestly we mainly came here to train Halia a little" and he gestured towards the girl. Philia gave him a curious look, but then grinned from ear to ear and clutched on to his arm.

"Well if you'd like to help me, I'll give you a share of the treasure... With my own hero tagging along it should be a breeze!". Eyeing Alice her somewhat jealous look he couldn't help but chuckle nervously as he carefully slipped out of her embrace. "I guess we have some time. And I admit treasure always sounds good".

It didn't take them long to find a large cavern, littered with husks, bones and pieces of equipment covered with thick cobwebs. After easily slaying the present spiders, they made their way out of the Spider infested woods, finding themselves in a large field. Deciding to stop for some food and rest, the four of them sat down in the burning heat of the sun.

Halia fell flat on her back and muttered "It was eerily dark in that forest, but it's far too hot here...". Alice meanwhile was inspecting her sword and stated "I can help with that, my sword needs to recharge anyway". The knight sprung up to her feet and planted her sword into the ground while muttering something under her breath. Moments later, the Fragrant Olive Sword started to shimmer and expand, into the shape of a sturdy Olive tree.

While Alice casually sat down, leaning against it in the shade, Halia and Philia gasped. Kirito just chuckled and sat down next to his partner, putting an arm around her shoulders. Beaming happily, Alice leaned her head down against him. Halia and Philia were both still staring at them in shock, not really believing or understanding how a sword changed into a tree. "I don't know how you got this high leveled in just the few weeks Overworld has been released, but at least I'm not the only one that's stunned" Philia said while gesturing towards Halia.

The lilac haired apprentice was even more confused at this and carefully asked "what do you mean, released?". Carefully changing the subject and explaining that Halia was a 'native' to Caestus, Philia seemed to understand and apologized. They explained 'released' as the opening of the Travel Gate between where they were from and Caestus.

"That still doesn't explain the tree, though... But I suppose you can tell me about that later. First, its time to take a nap!" Philia exclaimed as she stretched and laid down in the shadow cast by the tree. Internally, Kirito sighed in relief at how the girl at least seemed to stop hugging him. Angering Alice was never a wise idea after all... Halia also seemed to accept the situation and crashed down as well.

After a few minutes, he and Alice noticed that the both of them had actually fallen asleep. They chuckled a little and Alice quietly said to him with a slight frown on her face "The first player we run into is of course a pretty girl. I suppose I should get used to the competition, Kirito". He just pulled her a little closer and gave her a kiss. A little surprised, she blushed and looked up at him. He couldn't help but laugh softly as he teasingly replied "Don't worry Alice, I've only got my eyes on you after all".

Philia had refrained from playing any VRMMO's the first years after being freed from SAO. While she herself had never fought on the front lines, or in boss fights, she did pride herself on her treasure hunting abilities and had found her own role in clearing the death game that way. Readjusting to regular life in the Real World had been tough, but without having made any actual friends in SAO, her first online game, the allure of Alfheim Online wasn't that big.

When others at school had started talking about this insanely realistic new game, that was completely free. However, she had decided to at least try it out. Her own life had been... boring compared to the thrill of treasure hunting, and it wasn't long before she had found her place in Overworld. There were many monsters in areas that resembled field dungeons and the like and there were numerous contracts to be found to retrieve items from them if you knew where to look. To her shock, many of the 'NPCs', if she could even still call them that, had been very nice to her. And after a while she stopped trying to figure out how they could be so advanced, and just accepted it.

One day she had been strolling through town, just doing some exploring, when she found her way back to the Teleport Plaza. She hadn't run into too many players, only about a handful. When a swordsman dressed in black, around twenty or so years old, accompanied by a beautiful girl in golden armour arrived there, she had been intrigued to say the least. She had heard that if you traveled far enough, you could unlock additional teleport destinations, and she had decided to tail the two of them.

When most of what they did had been shopping, she was just about to return to her treasure hunting, but then she noticed the two of them walking around with two... NPCs? Sure the NPCs were a lot more advanced than in SAO, but she hadn't interacted that much with them. Mainly just 'questgivers' and shopkeepers. It had been dumb luck when she found the two of them the next day as well. Trailing them into an Academy, she witnessed a stunning duel between a high level NPC and the black swordsman. Because she always stayed in the shadows, hidden from sight due to her cloak, she hadn't heard their names.

Still, even more intrigued at how skilled these two apparently were at Overworld, she trailed them all the way out of the city. The two, accompanied by one NPC that seemed to have had an equipment upgrade, seemed to aimlessly wander around the wilds. Did they have any idea where they were going...? She had asked herself incredulously. But then... They flew away. Leaving her behind, hiding in the bushes.

"What the hell..." she carefully uttered. Deciding that this was worth even more of her attention now, she darted off after them through the forest. Every now and then she could see them gliding overhead through the dense treetops. When she came to the field dungeon occupied by numerous large spiders, she had made use of her talents at staying hidden to make her way deeper into what must have been the trio's destination.

The intense battle she just managed to witness stunned her in place. Seeing how friendly they interacted with each other, she had decided to make herself known, and hope for the best. When it became apparent the black haired swordsman was actually Kirito... The one that had essentially saved her life, she could barely contain herself. Only because of how annoyed the quickly revealed AI from Underworld, Alice, seemed to be at her affection, did she let go and try to stay modest.

After scavenging the quickly found cave lair of the Spider Queen, Philia couldn't have been happier. So. Much. TREASURE! She would need to stick to this pair as often as possible... She was beat though. Running after them through the dense woods had taken a lot of energy, and she had run into plenty of Spiders herself. Lazing in the shadow of a suddenly appearing tree... Was very much appreciated. She did her best to feign being asleep as quickly as possible and maybe pick up some of their conversation. Confirming her suspicions, Kirito and Alice kissed as they were cuddled up to the tree. Internally she sighed a little, he was quite handsome after all... Oh well, can't get every treasure... She had grinned internally.

Seeing how the three of them didn't seem to know how to get back to Caestus, Philia offered to lead them back after their rest. Three hours later, without encountering as much as a stray wolf, they found their way back through the large city gates of Caestus. Happy that she had inspected the job board thoroughly before leaving town, she suggested "We should meet my contact at the Grey Hunter's Tavern. We can split the reward for the contract on the Queen if you want?".

Seeing no objection, the four now cloaked individuals made their way towards their destination. Arriving in the rundown tavern, Philia quickly led them through the present drunkards and wayward Knights to the bar. There, the always friendly barkeep greeted her with a smile "Ah, if it isn't our resident treasure hunter! Any new contracts you want to fulfill today, Philia?".

She chuckled and said with a grin "Yup Bardy! That one, right there" and she pointed towards one of the central job offers on the board next to the bar. It read 'Queen Surgosa - Broodmother of the Eastern Woods - 30.000 S'. It also showed a crude drawing of a large spider. The barkeep, Bardrim as she had learned a few days prior, gave her a shocked stare as he muttered "Y-you mean you managed to slay the Queen...?".

She just chuckled cheekily and gestured towards the three trailing behind her "With the help of some new friends, yup! Kirito?". Understanding her hint, he opened his inventory and materialized a large, chopped off spider head. One mandible and three eyes remained, but its sheer size was convincing enough. With one hand he casually plopped it down on the bar's surface. "There you go" he said calmly.

Bardrim stared at the four of them in shock for another few seconds, before he tried lifting it. It took him a few tries and two hands to eventually move it into a backroom, after which he came back with a large sack with clinging coins in it. "Well, there's no arguing with that, Philia... Here you go".

As Philia accepted the reward, she now noticed that the entire tavern had fallen silent and was staring at their little group. Bardrim cleared his throat and said loudly "As you've all witnessed, the Queen has been dealt with... A drink on the house for everyone!". Almost immediately, the tavern's patrons erupted into loud cheers and conversation resumed a little, taking the spotlight away from the four of them.

Kirito was a little stunned at the warm welcome they received in the tavern, as they were quickly urged to take a seat at a table, where some of the already seated patrons quickly made room for them. After a few rounds of congratulations from a number of Knights and other patrons, he was relieved to find the focus of attention shifted away from them again a little, as everyone went to get their free drinks.

Gazing over at the 'job board' he noticed several dozen contracts, although their fulfilled one, which was subsequently removed, had been one of the larger sheets of parchment. As Philia a little later materialized three sacks of 7.500 Shears, their shares. He and Alice shared a look, before moving their shares over to Halia. The girl got a little flustered and carefully asked "A-are you not keeping your shares? I didn't do nearly enough to deserve this much!".

Kirito just chuckled and waved her protest away "Don't worry about it, you improved a lot. Not to mention that you pulled off that two strike technique for what I think was the first time. In the heat of battle no less! That takes guts, and talent". Alice nodded with a warm smile and calmly added "And besides, it's not like we really need it after all". With some trepidation, Halia eventually accepted the 22.500 shears and stored them away in her inventory.

At that point Philia cheerfully asked him "So how long have you been play-... I mean, how long was it since you arrived here in... Caestus?". Glad that she kept the facade up for Halia's sake, he shrugged and said "Not too long ago...". Not really wanting to explain the connection to Underworld and their equipment...

Philia clearly seemed suspicious for a few seconds, but seemed to shrug it off and continue to cheerfully chat with them. "What are your plans while you're here? Are you going to start an Order, or maybe a town even? I heard some players were starting a colony somewhere far out into the Wildlands...".

Kirito couldn't help but get excited at the prospect "I can already picture it... The Dragon Knights of the Kirito Empire, with a thousand floating islands under our control!". Alice just sighed as she watched his eyes glaze over before she sighed and teasingly said "Considering you don't have any Dragons, it's only fair it would be the Alice Empire".

She had to stifle the laugh that boiled up when Kirito looked at her with sadness and betrayal clearly visible in his eyes, before she turned to Halia and innocently asked "What do you think Halia, would you rather be a proud and powerful Dragon riding Knight of the Alice Empire, or running around on the ground as a Knight of the Kirito Empire?".

The girl just nervously looked at the both of them, stuttering, not really sure what to do. "E-ehm... Well... I'm sorry Kirito, but Dragons do sound really cool...". Kirito was defeated. Slumping his head on the table, he heard Alice and Philia were now unable to contain their laughter. Knowing it's all in good spirit, he sighed and chuckled along. Then he had an idea and turned to Halia "But... I could teach you how to fly without Dragons...".

Alice her eyes narrowed as she pouted "That's an incredibly high level Sacred Art. Don't make promises you can't keep". He shrugged and thought it over for a while, before carefully theorizing "Well... If I'm honest, it felt like Incarnation was different than in Underworld. It was... simpler, took less mental effort. I think if you're System Control Authority is high enough and you know how to do it, you should be able to fly almost indefinitely with a clear sky and the sun in the sky".

After half an hour or so, and a few more free drinks as an added reward, Philia carefully asked him and Alice "So... Will you be sticking around here for a while? Now that I know who you are, I... uh, well I realize you're usually in Alfheim".

As Kirito and Alice were thinking about their response, Halia carefully asked "What's Alfheim?". Alice shrugged and replied sheepishly "I suppose its another region, far away". The girl nodded thoughtfully and later added "I hope I'll be able to explore the world someday as well...".

The three players around the table shared worried glances, but silently nodded along. Then, to change the subject away from something... difficult to explain, he replied to Philia's earlier question "I suppose you could say we wanted a break from Alfheim? And since the uh... Travel Portal to Caestus opened up, we've been exploring a little".

Alice nodded along and eventually said a bit ruefully "I think we'll be sticking around for a while. Starting next week I'll have other duties though, so I won't really be around during the day...". He put a comforting hand on hers, which she received with a warm smile. He calmly replied "We have most of our evenings free, Alice. And I'm sure we can convince Koujiro-san to make your schedule a little less hectic. You've been working non-stop after all". That luckily seemed to cheer her up a little, and he could see the clear look of gratitude in her eyes as she squeezed his hand a little.

Halia asked curiously "What kind of duties do you have? If I might be so forward..". Alice chuckled and said after a few seconds of considering how to explain it "I suppose I'm sort of an ambassador between my homeland, and where Kirito is from".

Philia carefully asked "How has that been going? I've seen some news articles here and there, but I have to admit I haven't been following it too closely...". As Alice frowned a little, Kirito just squeezed her hand again and sighed, before confidently saying "It's an uphill battle, but I have no doubt that we'll get there".

At this point Halia asked puzzled "I thought you and Alice were from the same place, Kirito? She did say that as Prime Swordsman the Integrity Knight Order listens to you".

He didn't fail to notice Philia's inquisitive look, but he just shrugged and carefully said "Well... No offence to Philia-san, but I'm not entirely sure how much of my experiences in Alice her homeland are open to the public. I will say that I've spent a significant amount of time there and one thing led to another...".

As he trailed off a little in his thoughts, trying to explain it in some way that made sense to Halia and didn't give too much away to Philia, Alice just chuckled and said "Kirito-kun... Tens of thousands of people from your world fought in the war, it's not truly a secret anymore". She then turned to Philia and Halia and calmly spoke as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Kirito actually found his way to my homeland by accident. Being the man he is, he saved my life, defeated the demi-god ruler of our Empire and vanquished the Dark God Vector. After that he was appointed Prime Swordsman as the head of the Council that then governed the Human Empire". She finished by giving him a quick peck on his cheek, before cheekily adding "He also made me explode my eyeball, but that's a story for another day".

"Wow.." was all Philia could mutter, while Halia froze up in her seat. Before she nervously said "S-s-so you are... you.. My apologies, your highness!" she stood up and did a hasty, but formal bow. Looking around, he was relieved to see nobody else seemed to have heard it and quickly urged the girl to sit down.

"No need for that, Halia, as I said before. We're not here on any official business, nor am I royalty. It's more like... eh, a representative for the council... Not to mention that I don't even really like titles" he admitted sheepishly. "I tried to deny the position as well, but they.. eh, insisted" he sighed deeply.

After a little while, Philia incredulously said "I don't think any of that was really public information... Are you sure you won't get in trouble telling me that?". Kirito had already slouched down in his chair, silently groaning in frustration at Halia's clear adoration. But Alice just eerily calmly stated "I'm sure that if you try to spread that information, the Japanese government will find you. So it should be alright".

Philia just laughed sheepishly, but upon not seeing Alice her expression change even the slightest, and seeing Kirito's apologetic look, she quickly added "W-well I guess I'll keep that to myself then!".

After that, Kirito was glad that the conversation took a different turn again. Philia and Halia seemed to get along really well, and when it was time for dinner those two went off to meet up with Ellea, while Kirito and Alice made their way back to their rented accommodations. He was looking over some of the options Philia had pointed out in her menu. The Construction tab seemed especially interesting, but there were only a few simple options, like a wooden cabin. Eyeing over his friend list, now also including 'Philia' and 'Halia' he incredulously muttered "It's still weird to see an NPC have access to the Player Menu. Even a friend list with message functions... How do they still explain that as a form of 'magic'?".

Alice hummed for a moment but then said "Well, the same could be said for Sword Skills and the Stacia window in Underworld.. It's just a little more advanced here in Overworld. If you grow up with it as a normal and accepted part of life, I suppose you could get used to almost anything". He couldn't help but see the logic in that. "Oh well, we should log off, it's almost 8PM after all".

Alice nodded, but then seemed to pause for a moment as a blush crept over her face. Carefully waiting for what she wanted to say, Alice eventually asked him "Kirito-kun... Could we.. eh, maybe lie down here for a while before we log off?".

"Sure Alice, I don't mind. But... why?" he carefully replied. Alice looked down at the floor and sighed a little before saying "I feel more like myself here. This body, its truly mine... Not like the metallic one in the real world, or the Caith Sith body in ALO. It truly feels like I am back in my own body. Even though I know its just a copy...".

He immediately pulled her in for a warm hug. As he gently stroked her hair he added "But that's nothing to be ashamed of, is it? I know it's been difficult for you, adapting to the real world and that body...". She sighed softly and without moving away from his chest she quietly added "It's just that... The metallic body is... missing some.. eh, parts".

Kirito hesitantly said "Well I suppose not being able to eat and drink is pretty awful, yes... But I have to admit its a near perfect replica in terms of how you look". She sighed a bit louder into his chest now and with clear annoyance and nervousness in her voice she said "I mean... very specific parts... Womanly parts. Do I really have to spell it out, Kirito? It's a little embarrassing".

The gears in his mind stopped for a moment. After a few seconds he cleared his throat and nervously asked "A-are you.. Are you asking to... eh.. right now?". The girl in his arms pinched him in his side and sighed into his chest "Not right now, idiot... But we could maybe just lie down in bed, and... cuddle for a little while?".

Slowly having regained his composure after that, he put a kiss on her golden hair and teasingly said "Alright then, my love" before he picked her up, bridal style and proceeded to walk towards the bedroom. She yelped, but quickly smiled as she looked up at him. With a few menu manipulations, she unequipped her shoes, golden armour and blue surcoat, leaving only the white dress underneath. After he put her down on the bed and gave her a loving kiss, he too unequipped his coat and shoes, before climbing into bed next to her.

Alice almost instantly snuggled up to his chest underneath the blanket. As he was calmly stroking her beautiful, golden hair, he noticed her opening her menu again, with a little quiver in her hand. While it wasn't set to public mode, he could see her hovering in place for a moment, as if she was hesitating. But then pressed down and moved her menu away. It took him a moment, but then he realized the shoulder straps of her dress were gone...

Quietly he heard her say "Aren't you going to take off your clothes, Kirito?". With a little quiver in his own hand this time, he carefully opened his menu and removed everything but his underwear. Immediately, the cloth covering his skin was replaced by the warm sensation of Alice pressed up to him. She moved a little more onto her back, pulling him on top of her. Those beautiful blue eyes and the blush on her face made him stare for a few seconds, before she put her hand on his neck and pulled him in for a warm kiss.