The Crystal Swordsman: Alfheim's Awakening

High Price

"So, K. You ready to tell that story now?" Liz addressed as we all sat at the large booth seat.

She had clearly gotten a head start in terms of drinking as she was more prepared to take a hit than the others.

"Yush, you're in for a treat. Take my side, my Queen. This' from the good old days of GGO." I began to reminisce.

In that instance, I felt not just one, but two heads fall upon both of my shoulders. One was Sinon's, naturally. But the other, was Zeliska's. I froze and looked at both of them, taking care not to alarm either of them as their eyes remained closed in comfort. I took a deep breath in and tried my best to keep my composure as if they both weren't there. I knew something like this might happen but I cleared my throat to tell the story anyway.

"Back when I was grinding hard at GGO, I had a fireteam that I would always go out with." I began.

"A Fireteam?" Everyone questioned, including Sinon and Zeliska who both sat up simultaneously, making them not see each other on my shoulders.

"Yes, a fireteam. Kirito? Could you pour me a shot?" I asked him.

"Of course, brother. Happy to help out." He smiled.

"Thanks." I nodded nervously and downed it quickly before returning the glass to the table.

"This Fireteam consisted mainly of me, Zeliska and Itsuki. There were times where we had someone else to back us up, but that part is not as important. What is important, is that we went on many great raids together and had an excellent rapport that was unparalleled by any who opposed us. It was quite the tall tale as you might imagine." I told them.

"Oh, K! Tell them about our action packed bounty hunts and our ultimately victorious dungeon crawls!" Zeliska was enthralled by the memories.

"I'm sure no one wants to hear a story with no real plot." I was honest.

"We did ask for the whole thing." Leafa agreed.

"Yeah! Spill it!" Liz burped.

"I wouldn't mind hearing about your past in GGO." Kirito spoke up.

"I wouldn't either." Sinon added next to me.

"Nor would I." Asuna leaned on the table, intrigued in what I would have to say.

"Come on, K. Everyone wants to hear it." Kureha smiled, encouraging me to go on.

I cleared my throat again and took another deep breath.

"Okay, well... there was this bounty on this one player. Real high end, kill or be killed type player. He was good, really good. We almost didn't take him down." I thought back to the long stored memory.

"You think this is the place?" Itsuki asked first.

"Yeah. This is his usual spot. Let's just get this over with. I don't want to waste anymore time here than we have to." I primed my assault rifle.

The most distinct and familiar part of my GGO gaming past. My favourite assault rifle; the G36C. Chambering 5.56 millimeter ammunition with a fast fire rate and built in fast mags, this old thing packs a serious punch to the dome.

"Why not have a little fun, K? This is a game after all." Zeliska reminded me.

"I'll have fun when we kill this guy." I spoke and began to lead the way forward.

We reached an industrial zone with a distinct radio tower overhead and supply containers scattered all over the place. It wasn't long before we spotted our target. He had just opened a type of futuristic looking treasure chest when the three of us readied to catch him by surprise.