Sword Art Online - Alternative Reality

Dragon Hunt CHP.3

"Sorry I'm late darlings, but I've brought our guests!!!"

It was just a bit after 7:00 AM, Argo and I had just finished discussing the route we would take during today's hunt. We were in the main town on the 44th floor, and it would only take about 20 minutes to reach 'Draconic Valleys' but since it occupied close to ⅓ of the floor, we would have to follow Argo's information to ensure we didn't enter into any of the dangerous areas.

"It's about time Ashley, so, who did you end up dragging along with you?"

Appearing from behind were two familiar faces with distinct levels of energy.

"Good morning everyone, a pleasure to see you all again!"

"Hey, guys..."

The first one to enter with the formal greeting and bowing towards us was the familiar figure with a boyish face and one of the most uncommon weapons you can find on the frontlines.

"Good morning Nezha, it's been a while since we meet outside of boss fights."

"Good morning to you to Miss Asuna!"

Nezha, one of the 6 members of the Legendary Braves, who although had started as fraudsters to catch up the front runners on the 2nd floor, revealed their schemes and rejoined us later down the line. They were among one of the most skilled guilds despite their small size, and although Nezha had an FNC that affected his depth perception, he had been an invaluable player and friend in clearing the game due to the rare weapon Kirito had given him all that time ago, a chakram, a ranged weapon that would return to its user after each attack. Chakram users were a rarity since the weapon itself could only be obtained either through rare drops or by reforging the weapon at special shops, and required two skills to properly equip.

Argo: "Mornin Nez, so how come you're joining us today? What happened to the rest of the Braves?"

"Ah, my guild is currently making preparations for a celebration we're having tomorrow. Since we already have everything we needed, and Ashley told me about why she needed my help, they practically pushed me out the door to come to join you guys."

Lizbeth: "Well thanks for joining us Nez, so, what about you master samurai? You look like you were forced out of bed to come here."

Ashley: "Because he was. I would have rathered grabbed the chocolate ax instead, but he was busy today so instead, I decided to collect on a debt that this buffoon owes me."

Asuna: "Debt? Klein don't tell me..."

Klein: "He-hey don't look at me like that! Ashley asked me to try and get a rare cloth that was being raffled off in a gambling tournament last week and she gave me the money to participate. I would have won it too if it wasn't for that lucky idiot... I swear I'll get him back for that one of these days..."

Ashley: "I already considered it a sunk cost, but since he asked for an upfront payment for the favor and I didn't get what I wanted, now he'll be helping us as the other front guard in today's hunt!"

Klein: "Yeah, yeah always happy to help out. So we're hunting dragons today huh? Well we got a good group for it, but I don't think we'll be able to get into the inner zone that easily..."

Asuna: "We will be staying in the outer layers and hunting the weaker variants. Although we're a bit lacking in tanks, Argo and I already have our route planned, so as long as we stick to it we shouldn't have any problems."

Nezha: "As expected of the KoB vice-commander and the legendary info dealer! But, Ashley said we would be going after some of the rare drops that come from the dragons. Wouldn't it be better to get a bigger group together so we could enter the inner area? Also, I don't see Kirito around..."