Chapter 57

Toyo cocked his head angrily. "Are we sure? Do we look like idiots to you? We wouldn't be limping out of the shadows with half our armor destroyed and our health at fucking zero if we had been able to teleport. Yes, we found a fucking place where they don't work."

His face going red, the blue haired player looked ready to knock Toyo to the ground.

Quickly stepping in between them, Jae spoke up, trying to think of something positive.

"If the Boss is dead, there's no longer any reason to come back here, so there's a chance we won't run into something like that again."

The spiky haired player shook his head as he handed them both a health crystal.

"If there's an area on Floor One that negates the use of teleport crystals, the odds of finding more anti-crystal zones as we go up each Floor will only increase." He shook his head as he gazed out at the walls of the room. "This makes things even more dangerous than before."

"Speaking of Floors," another player to the right said suddenly, "Floor Two should be open now right?"

Jae nodded. "As soon as the Boss of a Floor is defeated, the Floor above it is unlocked." He pointed to the stairs at the back of the room. "That guy in black probably went to activate the first Portal of Floor Two."

The spiky haired player offered a small smile to the other players. "Once the Portal is activated, the Floor One Central Portal in the plaza, back at the Town of Beginnings, will activate as well. Everyone waiting, hoping to see if we did it will be waiting by that Central Portal." He turned as he began marching towards the stairs purposefully.

As one, the raid party followed after, their steps buoyed by excitement and triumph while he continued to shout encouragement.

"We lost a player today, and discovered just how fucked up some of the beta testers really are, but we did what we set out to do." He looked over his shoulder as he led them on. "We've won a great victory, the first of many more to come!"

Walking beside him at the head of the group, the player with the blue bun began speaking out as well.

"We are the players that proved this game can be beaten! Out of everyone, we alone had the courage to do what had to be done! And this is just the beginning! We are the heroes of this game, and we won't stop until every Boss is dead!"

Walking along with the inspired group as best they could, Toyo could feel Jae's eyes light up as he listened to the two players at the head of the column. He drank their words in, and Toyo understood why. Here were people with the same relentless drive, the same unstoppable commitment, to finding the Floor Bosses and killing their way out of SAO. More than anything. Jae was a man who wished to work together with others, particularly those of the same mind as him. Since the Massacre of Floor One, he had dedicated himself to the idea of beating each Floor. Toyo wished he could feel the same way, for Jae's sake.

But he couldn't.

In his mind, all he could see were innocent people dying as they attempted to live, to survive, within the game. The weaker players needed help, and he seemed to be the only one who remembered that. He had lied to Jae when he proposed going to the Boss fight. He hadn't meant a word of his change of heart. But at that moment, he had felt as though he needed to pay Jae back for breaking his word to his brother's face. He had hoped that after the Boss was dead and Floor Two opened, Jae's fervor would ebb. Instead, it had only intensified.

He's not going to stop now. Toyo realized as they began marching up the stairs. These players will soon choose a new leader, and their numbers will grow. Like madmen, they will throw themselves unceasingly against each new Boss, slowing up only long enough to level up and find the strongest items. This isn't the end. This is the beginning of something entirely different. And I can't be a part of it. Not when there are those who need protection. Not when there are those whose lives are at risk. I will not let them die.

His mind now clear, Toyo knew what he would have to do. Sooner or later, he would have to let Jae know that he didn't believe in his brother's views, that he couldn't follow the path the raid group was about to take. Looking over at Jae, Toyo decided to enjoy as much time as possible with them both on the same page before starting up that kind of argument.

*****

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sorry for the late chapter had some trouble with my laptop