Sword Art Online - Alternative Reality

The Vice-commander and The Scout CHP.3

September 30th, 2023 – Floor 38 – 8:00 AM

After just barely managing to force myself awake at the sound of my alarm, I met up with Asuna in the joint living room. With a hearty and satisfying breakfast, we began to make our way back to the main town of the 38th floor, Novix. Normally the trip would take a bit over half an hour, but between my good night rest and Asuna's absurd power, we cleared our way through in just 20 minutes. Although I do plan on camping out in labyrinths, if necessary, I will be making a bigger effort to sleep in at proper inns from now on, next time with a smaller bed.

Since we had already been on the floor for a bit over a week and most of the clearing group would be stationed at one of the frontier towns, the streets of the main town were rather empty, with only the occasional tourist passing us by. Since this floor was on the gloomier side on the design scale, most people would likely be out and about on the 34th floor, where we were about to head towards. Realizing we might have to shove our way through a crowd to get to the shop, I groaned while I wondered if wearing a hooded cloak might make the trip a bit easier.

"What's the 'ugh" for?"

"Eh, just thinking that the 34th floor is normally still packed at this hour. I wonder if I should put on my hoodie and activate my hiding skill to see if I can sneak by."

"Really? You know you ARE a key member of the guild; you should show your face around town more often before people forget you're a front runner. In fact, you should put on the actual KoB outfit when we're in town."

"Please spare me. This coat is flashy enough as it is. Besides red and white don't go well on me, they suit you a lot more Asuna."

Briefly stopping for a moment, I looked back to see the fencer stare right at me blinking several times. Of course, she was in her dazzling red and white KoB uniform with some light metal armor covering her chest and a reinforced skirt covering her legs. We recently managed to update the guild's armor, so along with her rapier, the 'Wintry Stroke' that housed the soul of her previous weapons, she currently had the best gear of the entirety of the clearing group. My coat was starting to reach its limit, but some of the quests on this floor hinted at some pretty rare mobs showing up a few floors from now, so I'll hold off till then.

Asuna suddenly turned her head away in a huff and in a low voice,

"You...sometimes I wonder if you even realize what you say half the time..."

"Wa-wait did I say something weird?"

"It's nothing, anyway, no hoodies or running through crowds. Besides you were the one that invited me out today, so how can the escort just go running off?"

"Ha, yes ma'am"

Just when did this turn into an escort mission? With a small smile, she slapped my shoulder and began walking towards the teleport gate.

"Good, now come on, we still have time before Ashley and the others open, so let's get our maintenance out of the way so we don't intrude on their regular business hours."

Steeling myself for the inevitable stares I was about to get, I found some comfort in knowing we were at least going to see some mutual friends. Following the fencer to the gate, we both teleported off to the main town of the 34th floor, Mejorna.

With the teleport effects wearing off, we were greeted with a much brighter atmosphere than was present in Novix. Mejorna was not only larger, but also had several waterways going through the town seemingly at random. With lush greeneries and several popular restaurants, the town was still bustling with tourists from the lower floors despite having been cleared a while ago. That of course wasn't the only reason Mejorna stood out, with its special circumstances likely making it the most populated town only after the Town of Beginnings way back on the 1st floor.