Chapter Six

The girl and Kirito raced off to the boss, leaving the rest of us behind. I watched them for a split second before facing the others.

"I want everyone to focus on the sentinels. Don't face one by youself. I am not losing anyone else today, you hear me?" I called over our troops.

"And who put you in charge, little girl?" A guy with overly long hair asked.

Kuro snarled at the guy, who immediately flinched away.

"Do you hear me?" I repeated, glaring at him.

He quickly nodded. I grunted in acceptence and whistled for Kuro to back off. The black wolf reluctantly moved to my side.

No other words were said as we rushed forward to the battle. Katsu moved to my side and we took up the technique we had been using earlier. We cut down the sentinels as fast as they could spawn, leading to us having the upperhand.

The sentinels were quickly eradicated, and we all stopped to watch Kirito and his companion fight the boss. They were faster than my eyes could follow. They showed no mercy, not stopping until the beast finally shaddered into a billion colorful shards.

Cheers filled the now empty hall. Katsu was laughing and high-fiving Agil, everyone happy the first floor boss was defeated. The girl was silent, watching Kirito who stared around at everyone.

"Stop cheering!" Kiabou suddenly yelled, catching everyone's attention. He turned to face Kirito. "Why'd you do it, huh? Why'd you let Diabel die?!"

"Let him die?" Kirito asked, a frown of confusion covering his face.

"That's what I said. Admit it! You knew the technique the boss was gonna use. You could've told us! Then Diabel would've stood a chance! He wouldn't have had to die!"

I gaped in shock at the audacity of this guy. What was his problem?

"I know why he knew! He used to be a beta-tester! Think about it!He knew the boss's attack patterns! He knew, but he kept it from us!" It was the same guy who had questioned my authority. Kuro recognized his voice and growled lowly. "And I bet he's not the only beta-tester here! Come on, show yourselves!"

"Why don't you just shut your mouth, before I shut it for you?" I growled, narrowing my eyes at the guy.

"Come at me, Little Girl." He sneered. I took a step forward, but the sound of Kirito's voice stopped me.

"So, you guys think I used to be a beta-tester." He said, looking around at everyone. "It's not cool to put me in the same class with those noobs."

"What'd you say?" Kiabou asked, seemingly taken aback.

He wasn't the only one, however. Everyone seemed to be awaiting Kirito's explanation.

"You heard me. Most of the thousand people who scored a slot in SAO's beta were rookies. They were so green, they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, even you guys are better than they were." Kirito paused to laugh, "But me, I'm nothing like those guys, man. During the beta, I made it to floors that were higher than any of the other testers. That's a fact. I knew about the boss, 'cause I fought tons of monsters with way more sword skills on higher floors! I know a bunch of other things, too. More than you can imagine. More than any info broker."

Everybody stared in amazement at him. Nobody dared to say anything for a few seconds.

"W-What the hell?" Kiabou finally stuttered. "If that's true, then you're worse than a beta-tester! You're a goddamn cheater, that's what you are!"

"He's a beta-tester and a cheater! He's a Beater!" The same guy yelled out, causing a bunch of murmurs to break out.

"Man, you are really getting on my nerves today." I told him. He glared at me, but took a step back when Gurē snarled.

"A beater...yeah, that's good. I like it. Okay, you can call me a beater. Just make sure you don't confuse me with those beta-testers anymore." Kirito said, a small smile on his face.

He turned and started to leave the room. However, he was soon stopped.

"Wait!" It was the girl in our party, "When we were fighting the boss, you called me by my name."

"I wasn't trying to be rude." He quickly told her, "Did I mess up the pronunciation?"

"How'd you even know it?"

"If you look right about here, you'll see another HP gauge under yours, Asuna." He motioned to her menu, "There's a name written right next to it, yeah?"

"I'm so dumb." She muttered, turning red, "It was there the whole time and I never knew."

He smiled down at her. He turned to walk away again, but stopped.

"You can become powerful here on your own. But if the day comes when someone you trust invites you to join a guild, don't turn it down, 'cause there're limits to what a solo player can do."

"But, you're solo." She answered.

Kirito didn't say another word. He pulled open his menu and sent us a notification to disband the party. We all agreed.

He pressed another button. This time a dark coat appeared on his avatar. People gasped, staring at it, mesmerized.

"Beater, eh?" He muttered to himself, "Yeah, I like that a lot."

Then he was gone.

Asuna paused to look around at the rest of us. When her eyes fell on me, she nodded and then turned to leave the room as well. The rest of the people started helping the wounded and get things around to leave as well. I turned to Katsu.

"It guess this is goodbye. Again." I told him, smiling a bit.

"It doesn't have to be, you know."

I didn't bother answering. We both knew I wasn't going to change my mind anytime soon about being a solo player.

"What will happen to you?" He asked, when I was about you turn and leave.

"I guess I'll move to the next floor." I replied. I saw his expression and grinned, "Don't worry about me. My boys will watch after me."

I reached down to pat Gurē and Kuro. They leaned into me, seeming to know I needed support.

"I'll see you around?" He asked.

I smiled back, but didn't answer. I couldn't honestly tell him that we would ever see each other again.

I turned around to leave, and this time he let me. As soon as I was out of the room, I hesitated.

There're limits to what a solo player can do.

Kirito's words echoed in my head. I frowned, ready to turn back and return to Katsu's side, but Diabel's face flashed in my mind.

I shook my head. I couldn't have anyone relying on me. I'm not going to be responsible for anyone's deaths.

Without another thought, I started walking forward, Gurē and Kuro trotting at my side and determination coursing through my veins.

There was a new floor to beat.