Within the Death Game (SAO; Kirito X Reader)

Hunting for Wolves

Author's Note - I apologize for the last chapter and this one being so short! I promise the next chapter'll be much longer than these.

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You awoke to sunlight shining through the blinds, where it dappled gently on your face. You shifted on your side, peering at Kirito. He was still asleep. Sitting up, you put your arms in front of you and stretched, a soft grunt escaping your jaws.

Swiping with your right hand, you squinted at the menu's bright light. As you adjusted to the light, you made up your mind to hunt for some EXP and Col. Going into your Tools inventory, you re-equipped your armor. With another quick swipe of your hand, you made the menu disappear. You watched Kirito for another moment. Swinging out your legs, you stood up, stretching out your legs. The black-haired boy shifted, but he still didn't wake up.

Slipping out of the room, you gently closed the door behind you with a soft click. Looking at the top left corner of your screen, you checked the time. It was only 8:50 in the morning.

Heading down the hall and walking down the stairs, you exited the Inn. You looked around before pulling your sword from its sheath. You made a note of where the Inn was before going out to hunt some wolves.

It wasn't long before you found the plains again, and the monsters that were in it. A wolf charged at you from behind with a snarl, biting your leg. Squeaking in pain, you sliced at it with your sword. It pulled back, and leaped forward again, scratching your side. A long and glowing red mark appeared in its wake. Activating a Sword Skill, you charged, finishing off the wolf. You looked nervously at your health bar. It was orange, and the numbers below it were alarming. HP: 105/300. You closed out the winnings screen, and began to jog back to the village, putting your sword away on the move.

You managed to find the village Inn you were staying at. Glancing at your health bar, you frowned. In the time you searched for the Inn, you had regained health, though it wasn't full. 220/300. Shaking your head, you pushed your way through the curtain, and headed up the steps. Carefully, you opened your room's door and slipped inside. Kirito was on the bed, typing something. He jumped as you entered.

"Oh, there you are, (u/n)! I was just about to send you a message. You had me worried for a while." He peered at you while closing out his text box. "Were you out in the plains?"

"Yeah," you admitted. "Maybe I should take my own advice and not hunt while you're sleeping." You gave Kirito a cheesy grin.

He didn't grin back. "Please don't do that again. It scares me, thinking you might be dead." You sit down on your bed, gently bouncing.

"I'm sorry. I should have waited for you to wake up. But I'm almost level three, now. I got some more items, too. We could probably create a fur coat."

"Probably. Maybe we could find a tailor sometime. Let's go sell those tusks from yesterday." Kirito stood up, stretching his arms behind his back. "Let's go. Okay, (u/n)?"

"Okay." You followed him out into the town's main square, where he showed you the best places for gear. You and him both sold your boar's tusks, in exchange for Col.

By the time you and Kirito finally set out for the plains again, you had gotten a lot of new gear. You felt more confident than you had that morning. You glanced at your friend, who was searching the grasses for a monster. One spawned in front of him, which he took out in one hit.

"Behind you!" Kirito suddenly yelled. You whipped around, sword ready. A very large dog-like animal stood there, its deep red eyes menacing. You yelped, stumbling backwards.

"It's a rare monster!" you cried. Kirito ran to your side, sword ready. The monster let out a coarse growl, its yellow teeth bared. This one was level four, instead of level two like the others.

Letting out a snarl, the wolf leaped forward, jaws snapping precariously close to Kirito's face. He jerked back, and, with a yell, swung his sword at it. The wolf howled, and I watched as its health bar went down.

"Switch out!" he yelled, pulling back. You leaped forward, bringing your glowing sword crashing down on its skull. Red blood pixels squirted out, and the wolf reared back, yowling. The creature's health bar vanished, and it exploded into blue-green crystals.

You stood there for a moment, panting. You stared at the EXP panel, smiling. "Wow! I raised two whole levels!"

Kirito put his sword away. "So did I. That's a lot of Experience. Did you get the rare item?" He came over, looking at your screen.

You opened your inventory, finding it. "Yeah. 'Fang of the Beast'." Pulling up the info, you read aloud, "One use. Raises strength by 40% for one minute." Kirito let out a whistle.

"Forty percent, huh? That's pretty powerful. You should hang on to that for when you need it." Kirito crossed his arms. Nodding, you closed your menu and sat down in the grass. With a hefty sigh, you lay on your back, arms splayed out in the grass. You closed your eyes, enjoying the breeze.

"Now, now. This isn't the place for taking a nap." You felt a finger poke your cheek.

Opening one eye, you waited as his face settled

into focus. "Oh, fine," you grunted. You sat up, pushing yourself to your feet. "You owe me a nap, though," you teased.

"I'll keep that in mind. C'mon, let's go back to the Inn." Kirito moved ahead a few steps, and paused, looking over his shoulder. "Coming?"

You broke into a jog to catch up. "Yeah, I'm coming."