《The Black Swordsman》

“Lisbeth!” The blacksmith entered the cozy store owned by the very person he called out to. He grinned as he walked to the counter. Lisbeth came from the back, making a brand new sword for mid-level players. She blinked upon seeing the black swordsman.

“Kirito? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the frontlines with Asuna?” She asked, a bit confused as to why the strongest solo player would come all the way back down to her store. Surely it wasn’t for another sword, was it? Let’s hope not, the last time he asked for a sword, it broke her prized sword. Which, was oddly in her hands after reforging it, and re-enhancing it.

“I sent in a few days leave notice today, however, there is something I’d like to go with me.” He said bluntly. Now that Lisbeth looked, he wore...surprisingly casual clothing. a simple long-sleeved black shirt and pants. He walked to the counter and opened his inventory. After selecting the misc. item, he’d place it face up.

“What is this..?” Lisbeth asked herself. She picked up the flyer. “Blacksmith Avenue Museum... Come and view all the famous swords, recreated in front of your eyes...” As she read, Lisbeth grew more and more excited. “Enter the ‘Mightiest Hammer’ competition to win a... S RANKED MATERIAL!?” Lisbeth practically screamed the last. part. But.. The only high ranking material was dragon poop. No, seriously, her highest quality of sword was made of dragon poop.

“Kirito! What are you suggesting?!” She had twinkle in her eyes, a huge smile plastered on her face.

“Well, I know you usually stay on the mid-range floor... I thought I’d invite you to an event..Take a look.” He pointed at another part of the flyer. “Every contender gets 5 days of buff. Increasing the quality of their crafted goods, as well as some rare materials.” He told her. From a logical stand-point, any blacksmith would take this up. Lisbeth just looked at him in awe. Kirito looked at her.

“So, you want to go?” He asked casually. Soon, the girl cheeks were as pink as her hair.

“Y-yes! Of course! I’d love to go! When is it?” Lisbeth stated, smiling brightly before asking the question.

“Tomorrow.”

“Kya-!?” Lisbeth almost fainted.

“He WHAT!?” Asuna yelled over the com-link Lisbeth and Asuna had established later that early afternoon. Lisbeth was currently taking the rest of the day off, for a few obvious reasons. Some practical..Some to impress a certain raven haired boy. “I knew it was odd of him to ask for a few days off...” Asuna sighed, almost pouting that it wasn’t her who he invited.

“You too, huh?” Lisbeth sighed with Asuna, for another reason. Probably because she thought Kirito as an air-head, however, she also knew the reason why Asuna sighed. “Well, I suppose if it was a cooking exhibit and compitition, he’d invite you in a heart-beat.”

“Are you implying something, Liz?” She asked, skeptically. Normally Lisbeth was teasing about how she had won his affections by this point, but it was quite the opposite.

“No! I’m saying you’re a good cook. After all, you ARE the only player who maxed it out.” Lisbeth defended herself as best she could.

“So you ARE implying something!” Asuna whined on the other side, following by an audible, defeated ‘Mou’. Lisbeth couldn’t help but giggle.

“Anyway, Asuna, could you erm...perhaps help me?” She asked. Asuna gave a small sigh.

“Date cloths?” She asked, almost knowing.

“Date cloths.” Lisbeth confirmed. 

“You WHAT?!” A red-color schemed samurai yelled at his friend. Cioncidently, while the girls were having their girl time, Kirito managed to get ahold of Klein and catch up with him. Agil was with them as well as he gave a big laugh at the samurai’s reaction. The trio was currently on the 50th floor in Agil’s home.

“I invited her to the Blacksmith Event on the 70th floor tomorrow.” Kirito said bluntly. Still not seeing what he may have triggered. Klein just sunk back into his chair and gave a sigh, face-palming at his younger friend’s inexperience with such things. “Agil... Would you please?” Klein asked their even larger friend.

“Sure sure..Have some Sake.” Agil said as he brought out a bottle of the alcoholic drink for Klein, who grabbed it and poured himself a saucer full.

“Kirito, you asked a girl out, correct?” Agil told the Beater in a gentle-tone, almost like a parent talking to their kid.

“Yes.. I did, why?” Kirito, still ignorant of his actions.

“You know what they call that don’t you?” Agil asked once more.

“No-” Kirito started

“FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST KID, YOU JUST GOT YOURSELF A DATE!” Klein finally snapped as he slammed his fist onto the table, causing the Beater to flinch and Agil to sigh heavily.

“...Is that bad?” Kirito asked. Apparently the concept of a ‘date’ over a VRMMORPG was quite over his head. 

“No. But.. We just never thought..well..To put bluntly, we thought you’d go with the lightning flash.” Agil finally told him the truth. Kirito just blinked.

“But she and I are partners. Having any sort of feelings would cloud our judgement, right?” He asked, blinking. Kirito, you blissful child.

“We...Have a lot of stuff tonight, don’t we Agil?” Klein asked the shop-keep. Agil heaved a sigh and nodded. Kirito looked between the two, confused out of his mind.

It was the day of the Blacksmith Event. Kirito was standing by the Teleportation gate waiting for his lady friend. Kirito was drilled with tips and nice details about how this should go down. Klein, who boasted about being in more than 1 date, compared to Agil’s married life. He gave a sigh and looked at the cloak in the upper right corner of his hub.

“...I’m 10 minutes early..” He muttered. Just then, someone came through the gate. It was a girl wearing a rather cute sun-dress. It was pink tipped and it went down to her shins at least. The girl also wore a cardigan to cover what skin showed. It stopped just above her stomach however. Kirito himself wore a black button up shirt, and some better looking black pants. He also had a grey-sweater like thing on him. To be honest, being given an article of clothing that resembled his real life self was...Soothing in a fashion. The pink haired girl ran over.

“Kiriiiitooo~!” She greeted the swordsman as she smiled. She was smiling brightly. Kirito blinked. Either the female players have invented make-up, or she was naturally this bright in the cheeks, he couldn’t tell. The man didn’t really want to think about as he gave a smile. “Did I keep you waiting?” She asked, almost timidly as she grasped her hands in front of him.

‘Remember, Kirito! If she asked you ‘Did I keep you waiting?’ in a cute shy voice, NEVER say yes. Say you just arrived yourself’. A small flashback of Klein’s Dating Lecture reappeared in his mind as he smiled. He shook his head.

“No, I arrived myself a few seconds before.” It wasn’t a total lie either. He had arrived aproxmintly 46 seconds before she came by. The man smiled as Lisbeth couldn’t help but smile about how dashing he looked in normal clothing. Not that she minded his overly dark color scheme. Kirito sighed and smiled. “Shall we?” He asked. 

“Yes!” Lisbeth said as the two began to walk side by side towards the area of the event.

Lisbeth and Kirito arrived on Blacksmith Avenue to see that there were people already here. All mainly in rather normal clothing, some being blacksmiths conversing. Lisbeth gasped at all the NPC goods were being sold. Kirito also looked at the swords, being interested in such things. The couple would go from stall to stall, looking at items, either jewelry, or even to armored masked. They had a decently good time, Kirito putting on a goofy metal-plated mask, as Lisbeth was holding her sides laughing.

They eventually found the food area and noticed a common theme with the snacks. Every type of food was named after a flavor and a weapon time. Kirito rather enjoyed the cornbread lance, which was basically a hot-dog. Lisbeth quite enjoyed the ‘Molten Bronze Ice-cream’. Kirito commented on it after stealing a bite from Lizabeth’s cone. “Taste like hot-lava cake.” This, of course, got Lisbeth attention, and accidentally ate off the same bite Kirito stole. An indirect kiss that Lisbeth came to realize later.

Kirito, of course, paid for it all. Klein and Agil were kind enough to show him a spot where low-ranking mobs gave off tons of money. However, it seemed like he ended up reaching below the point where he had stopped. It wasn’t much this late in the game, and if translated to Yen, it was roughly the same pricing. 

“Ah! That was fun!” Lisbeth exclaimed. Lisbeth and Kirito finally settled down. Lisbeth bought a few suvioners to place around her shop and her bedroom, while Kirito bought a bamboo sword, which was meant for artistic value rather than an actual sword. Kirito had to admit, being on this sort of venture was new, and was his first.

“I’ve almost forgot what going out feels like..” Kirito said with a smile, seating himself down next to Lisbeth, who was eating a cone of Mixed Alloy. Which was basically mint and cookies. Lisbeth blinked.

“Do you go on dates often?” Lisbeth asked. She prayed for an answer, however, with how close Asuna and he were, she figured it’d be at least once every two weeks.

“Honestly? This is my first time on a date with a girl.” He scratched his cheeks as Lisbeth did a spit take with her ice cream, coughing horridly. green ice cream dripping from the corner of her now smiling lips. She hadn’t expected to be his first!

“Weeeell...I hope you treat me out some more, Black Swordsman~” She teased as she scooted closer to Kirito, snuggling into his side. Kirito cheeks flared up. 

“S-sure...” and of course, Kirito couldn’t say no to a girl who depended on him at the current moment.

After their short break, Kirito and Lisbeth made their way to where the competition was being held. Lisbeth entered as Kirito noticed Lisbeth softly glowing. The buffs were currently in effect. The NPC told her that she must compete in the competition in order to keep these buffs for 5 days. Lisabeth smiled. She would open her inventory and changed on the spot to her black smiths cloths. Kirito sighed as he smiled. There was a familiar Lisbeth look.

Kirito stood in the crowd as the competition grew fierce. Hammers were being slung down onto the anvil, the sizzling noises of burning hot metal dunking into the water, and fire snapping and cracking. 

One by one, volunteer NPCs tested the might, durability, and legitimacy of all the weapons made. One by one, the competition become more and more fierce. Lisbeth sticking to the final 4. This time, the price was much heavier. Craft a sword, with materials provided, and get it to +5 enhancement. One blacksmith flinched. Kirito recognized him as an early blacksmith that was part of a scam in the early floors as he sighed. However, the competitors had to empty their inventory for this event. So, if he were to cheat, an NPC would undoubtedly catch him.

Lisbeth made the sword with gentle care, where as other blacksmith were going for how fast they could make it, the illusion of ‘time’ deluding them from their perfect work. Elizabeth had worked with some rarer materials, even the material made for Dark Repulser gave her more EXP in her Blacksmithing skill. Kirito crossed his arms, his grip tightening.

Soon, after the sword competition, and a shield competition, it was down to Lisbeth, and Nezha. He finally locked onto him, seeing his name. The man frowned. He remembered how Nezha made Asuna cry...However, he was quite happy to see he was independent. The weapon.

Rapier.

Kirito almost laughed at the sheer irony of it all. Nezha instantly locked up from the sound. 

The competition went as planned. Both careful in their craft, Nezha being slightly faster, having started his carrier as early as the 2nd floor. However, Lizabeth had friends who used her rapiers, and gotten a lot of feedback. Kirito knew it’d be very close.

There was a surprised however. Apparently the NPC were smart enough to have a PLAYER be the final judge. Kirito racked his brain for a famous rapier user, however, it was pretty obvious.

Out walked Asuna, in all of her K.o.B armor, walking across to the table where the finalist were. Lisbeth and Nezha were both shocked.

“...As much as it pains me to say this..I’m glad to see you still alive, Nezha.” Asuna greeted as Nezha straighten. Lisbeth still in shock.

“And hello to you, Lisbeth. How was your date~?” She asked in a teasing manner. Lisbeth blushed brightly, causing a few players to chuckle. Kirito couldn’t help but smile. Regardless, Asuna got right down to business.

Both rapiers were beautiful, and excellently crafted. Asuna had entered a dual with an NPC guard, who would calculate the damage and the over all quality.

After a decisive decision, Asuna turned to the crowd, the blacksmiths right behind her.

“Both Rapiers are built to their max potential, both are well crafted. Both have excellent attack, with Nezha’s being slightly stronger. However...” She grabbed their wrists, and raised Lisbeth’s above her heads, causing Nezha to sigh softly. Lisbeth, however, was slightly shocked.

“Lisbeth’s rapier had max enhancement, all dedicated to speed. Although Nezha’s was stronger with each jab, this doesn’t add up as quickly as Lisbeth’s. Where her blade is thinner, causing less wind resistance, and over all, geared towards rapier users everywhere. I hereby declare Lisbeth the winner.”

And thus, the first annual ‘Best blacksmith’ title has been awarded. Everyone cheered as Kirito gave a thumbs up, which made Lisbeth’s smile grow twice as wide that night. Lisbeth was on the verge of crying.

“You did good, Lisbeth. I’m proud.” Asuna whispered.

“It’s all thanks to my best friend, and best customer.” She teased. Nezha had disappeared within the excitement, however, he had bumped into Kirito later, telling him he’s happy he cut off connections.

“I still can’t believe I won.” Lisbeth muttered the 47th time that day when she and Kirito were walking back to her shop. Lisbeth rare materials rarer than she originally thought, as the S material was quite rare, apparently, according to the NPC, it was a mineral for a huge weapon, and currently, the material could be found on the 97th floor. Luckily for Lisbeth, she had the level required to make anything with the rare material. However, Lisbeth told people she wanted to show case it, as a trophy, as the competition didn’t have one.

“You did good, Lisbeth. It really tested your mantel.” He smiled. Lisbeth looked at him.

“Was that a pun, mister?” She question, as her hand found his, and Kirito didn’t flinch, as they held hands now.

“Maybe.” He said, laughing as Lisbeth laughed.

“...I had fun today, Kirito.” Lisbeth said.

“Same here.” He nodded in agreement.

“Wanna do it once we’re back in the real world?” She asked, almost pleadingly.

“....Just remember that money in the real world isn’t as easy to get as it is in here...” Kirito said softly. This cause a giggle of excitement from the blacksmith.

“Well now. It seems my black front-liner has a reward to look forward to when he beats the game~” She gave a giggle as Kirito blushed. 

Once at her door step, Lisbeth turned to Kirito, and pulled him into a kiss, having enough courage, and the extra adrenaline to do so.

“Goodnight, King Arthur~” she teased as Kirito was confused as to what she meant.

However, Kirito smiled and nodded. “Goodnight, milady.” He mimicked a nobleman bowing to their queen. 

He wouldn’t understand that reference until the 76th floor. However, he felt confident they’d reach all the way to Floor 100. After all..