An Englishman in Castle Aincrad

Floor 4 - Chapter 1 - The Lake in the Arid Sands...

December 18th, 2022 - Floor 4, Teleport Gate

''Well, in the beta, this was a desert...'' - Kirito looked around at the giant lake that now stood in front of them, along with a climate more suitable for the northern hemisphere, and disappeared off into his own little world... he wasn't insane, right? This had definitely been a desert in the beta, hadn't it? Yeah, of course it was, he and Argo had had to take shelter in Bedouin tent to escape a particularly vicious sandstorm. That had been awkward... it wasn't a very large tent, even for the two teenagers... and hang on, was everyone staring towards him?

Some of the group were staring at him in confusion, or mild amusement... but only one was currently giving him a look that could pierce right through him - ''Bloody beta data, now I look a right prat!'' - On Kirito's recommendations, Jet was now wearing what he'd taken to calling his desert gear, which was the gear he'd had since about day two, covered over with a sand coloured poncho, a grey scarf covering a large portion of his face, and bandages over any exposed skin he might have otherwise, in case they encountered a sandstorm. Both Koharu and Asuna had fought valiantly not to outright burst into laughter at Jet's complete lack of fashion sense, with Koharu's effort being the more successful of the two... whilst Asuna faltered literally only a second after starting. Jet, on the other hand, had spent the past hour since rendezvousing with them, sulking after that, and before they reached the floor... where he'd been adamant that he'd be proven right. He couldn't have been more wrong if he'd said that an apple was a Czechoslovakian parking warden... - ''It's not really a desert, is it?'' - Speaking of things that were so far from correct, Koharu pointed out the current state of the fourth floor.

''It's a lake. A pretty one, at that.''

''Yeah, this is as close to a desert as the Lake District is.''

''I loved my trip there...'' - Asuna's response took Jet completely by surprise, as a million questions raced through the wide open spaces in his head, and past the entrance marked 'Useless information only'. His only response though... ''Huh.''

Kirito had finally returned to Aincrad, and had noticed the purple elephant in the room... ''Wait, I've just realised... Jet, why do you look like you've come from Tattooine?''

''Because you told me it was a desert!'' - Kirito stifled a laugh at his friend's expense.

''And now, you know it isn't... and you look absolutely ridiculous'' - Leave it to Asuna to summarise a situation without any care for a person's feelings.

''You know you can change outfits without needing to change, right?'' - Koharu questioned, as a faint purple blur disappeared behind a nearby tree - ''Huh, turns out a person can move faster than the speed of light...'' - Kirito thought to himself...

Jet walked out from behind the tree with all the grace of someone who believed themselves to be on a catwalk... but in reality was still in their bedroom. His gear had changed significantly though, there was no denying that. His old purple starter gear was swapped out for a dark grey shirt, and black trousers, whilst the small armour that covered his upper torso was replaced by a more substantial piece, covering the majority of his torso, a faint silver glimmer coming from it in the light. A purple, sleeveless overcoat covered up the torso armour, whilst additional pieces of armour covered his sword arm and shoulders, providing more defence during strikes. About the only thing that remained of his earlier equipment was a scarf around his neck, and the black boots he'd worn since day one...

''So, how'd I look?'' - Jet was pretty pleased with himself, if he was at all honest, and gave a small pose, twirling his Anneal Blade in his hand, whilst smirking...

Asuna looked like she was fighting off laughter again - ''Like a child playing dress up.'' - Jet ignored her, and not for the first time.

''You look ridiculous.'' - Jet shrugged off his male compatriot's comments... who was he to talk about looking ridiculous! The day he wore an outfit that didn't consist mostly of black, was the day that hell itself froze over...