Sword Art Online - Alternative Reality

Dragon Hunt CHP.1

"Hm, so I have everything...for the strew and...but what can I use for the main dish..."

Looking over to the fencer clad in red and white as she sat by the window, I could only raise my eyebrow at her continued mutterings that had lasted during our entire lunch break. Sitting across from me still in her iconic brown hood and a mouth full of the cake the fencer in question had brought over, the 'Rat' of Aincrad had a glimmering light in her eyes.

"Hey, Liz, what do you think A-chan is going on about over there?"

Finishing my tea, I took a look around the room. It was December 2nd, and I was comfortably relaxing in the living area on the second floor of the shop I had partial ownership over with the other girls. Sachi had fallen asleep on the couch, while Ashley went out on some 'errands', which normally included some sort of motherly harassment.

After a regular morning of work, we got a visit from the more famous info dealer, although Ky calls her infamous, Argo the 'Rat'. That wasn't too much of a surprise since we had asked her to drop by with information about the new farming points that were popping up on the higher floors. What really was a surprise was the surprise visit from Aincrads growing idol, vice-commander of the KoB, and 'Unifier of the Clearing Group', as well as my personal best friend, Asuna. Although it wasn't rare of her to visit...

"Probably has to do with that guy right?"

After saying as much and receiving a knowing smirk from Argo, we figured there was only one reason she ended up coming alone today, and that's because she was hiding something from the just as popular 'Black Swordsman.'

"It looks more like she's planning a boss raid than anything else, know anything Argo?"

"Hmm...."

Taking another massive bite out of the cake, her cheeks puffing up like a squirrel, Argo leaned her head back as she looked through the countless files of information stored in her brain to find the answer. Even though we were on opposite sides of the room since Asuna moved over to the window seat after finishing up her lunch, she should still be able to hear us, but since she hadn't made any reaction, that meant that whatever she was focusing on was something we had to know more about.

"Hmmmmmmmmmm... I've got nothing actually... from all the info she's looked into recently there's nothing that links up with Kibou, and it's not like they're a special...date..."

Stopping abruptly, Argo immediately opened up her menu and began scrolling through what I assumed was either her memos or calendar. After swallowing her food down practically whole, her whiskers shot up in a smile as she looked back up at me.

"Hey Liz, how much do you know about the time when A-chan and Kibou first started making a name for themselves?"

"Hmm..."

I had met Asuna back in February when I first started trying to do business with the frontrunners to up my blacksmithing skill. She was kind, but not someone who I thought I would get along with since she was so serious and solely focused on clearing the game, especially after the tragedy of the 25th floor. Both being girls, we did end up friending each other and hanging out on occasion, but it wasn't until around the end of April where she really started to open up, and since then we always tried to find chances to meet up. Funnily enough, that was also the time I found out she was connected to that irritating excuse of a swordsman who I had met at the end of March and started to put 2 and 2 together.

"Well, I know they were a duo from pretty much the beginning of the game, and they were already pretty famous since they managed to be part of the clearing group despite not being part of any of the major guilds. Afterward, I know they joined the KoB and since then they've only become more known, although a certain someone is still trying to hide in the shadows."