Lisbeth logged on before everyone else to help with the team's gear maintenance. Kaito picked up the M3 that Lisbeth was using and performed maintenance on it. He deconstructed the shotgun and cleaned the parts from any residual moisture before reconstructing it. He cleaned Kirito and Asuna's gear before working on those who weren't coming like Silica's gear.
"Hey, Kato," Lisbeth spoke.
"What's up?" he asked while cleaning the barrel of the shotgun.
"Do you like the PvP in this game?"
"I like it a lot. This helps me get better with my other passions. What about you?"
"It's a hit-or-miss experience. Everything's great and all, but there are some nitpicky things about the guns like the trigger weight and ergonomics. But the customization and uniqueness of guns make me lose track of time. The number of customization options is just mind-boggling."
Kato assembled the M3 shotgun and racked the charging handle to chamber the first 12-gauge shell. He then grabbed the Type 64 and noticed all of the nicks near the magazine well. Kato understood the durability of a Type 64 rifle so he gave it a clean before returning it to the staging area.
"But I always hesitate when I raise my gun and put my finger on the trigger," Lisbeth spoke.
Kato picked up his REC 7 and chamber-checked the weapon. He consoled, "It is hard to pull the trigger at times, even if I know for a fact that this shot won't kill them in real life. But I can't worry about that during a firefight where every bullet and second counts."
Kato placed the rifle on the table and checked everyone's status. Everyone was logged on and heading over to the Akogare warehouse. Lisbeth finished working on Asuna's and Kirito's photon swords and placed them on the table. A knock on the door signaled that everyone was here. Kato opened the door for everyone and they situated themselves around the holographic table. The raid party today only had Kirito, Asuna, Zeliska, and Sinon. Lisbeth had to cancel her invitation due to unforeseen circumstances.
"Welcome to the warehouse," Kato introduced, "Today we were going to go deeper in the dungeon. There is some good news and some bad news we need to discuss, however. Which one do you guys want to hear first?"
Everyone voted for the bad news. Kato continued, "Well the bad news is that we have hit a roadblock in our investigation and if you're afraid of the supernatural... well I guess the bad news is pretty bad."
"D-Don't tell me that there are...g-g-ghosts," Asuna whimpered.
"The targets in question are ghosts. We believe that these so-called ghosts are an important part of solving this case. We don't know how, but it's a detail that we can't overlook. The good news however is that we know the locations they're at and the layout of the entire dungeon so seeing said locations should be a cinch."
Kato shifted his glance over to Asuna who was crouched on the ground and holding her head. Kato asked, "Is she okay?"
"Eh... Asuna has a fear of-" Lisbeth explained.
"Don't say it, Liz," Asuna complained.
"Fear of ghosts," Lisbeth continued.
Who would've thought that The Lightning Flash Asuna was afraid of ghosts? Kirito told Asuna that she didn't have to go through with the quest, but she decided to tag along regardless. Before they left the dungeon, Rei had come back from meeting with her mom. Her fresh attitude gave everyone energy as they went to the Frozen Frontier.
"Second time the charm," Kato thought while opening the door to the ruins.
They repeated the process of getting into the dungeon but they strayed left at a certain crossroad. The left path led to the first ghost sightings that were recorded. Kato stood at the front with his shotgun raised. He felt a chill on his spine but he couldn't discern what was causing it. Kirito noticed Kato gripping the handguard of his rifle tightly.
