Alexander Lewis Meanks's Story

The Large Black Axe Swung threw the Air cutting the wolf that had charged him in half with a single swing. As it began to denigrate another wolf Lunged at his open back. As it was only a foot away from his back a bluer of black and red moved across snatching the wolf. As the animal hanged limply from the jaws of the mighty beast its life fading way, the mighty jaws broke the poor thing in half. " Good work Efreet, nice job." Eferon put his axe on his back into its holster as he counted the loot he got from the wolves. No money just some hides that he could not do anything with. "Guess I can sell them when I get back into town." He knew he would not get much from these low lvl monster's. He had been killing every monster he could find near his home city of Skyfall. He liked it there it was dark.

Efreet looked back at his master You may have become my master recently, but do not be surprised that i can handle such week monsters such as this, if you do so I may have to reconsider following you

Eferon shrugged "Sorry, Sorry I did not mean to upset you" He turned his back to his pet and began walking back to town. As he was about to enter the Safe zone of Town He felt himself being warped.

As Eferon looked around he found himself in the middle of a very large crowd in another city altogether. He recognized it from the log on screen when you were suppose to select a base as Tower, the largest populated City in the game. Well damn He thought to himself as he looked up into the sky and saw the dark figure hovering there. As it was giving his speak Eferon was just shaking his head i knew this was going to happen i just knew it, with my luck of course this was going to happen. Well with my power I think I should be able to survive and be able to move on easy enough if I am careful. Eferon took a look at those around him, most of them were panicking and freaking out.

It was pointless to freak out like they were doing, now was the best time to move out and take advantage of this time to gather as much power as he could and leave them to run around like chickens...is what he would like to say. The dark figure in the sky had gone away after finishing there speeches so now was the best time. "Everyone!" He yelled out to the masses, "Calm yourselves, now is not the time to panic, you all must remain calm and keep your heads about you! Dont do anything foolish just because you are scared and panicked, think of plans find friends and ally's to work with, keep yourselves alive, after all we have a game to beat!" His worked seemed to work as a lot of people around him began to calm down and started to think. Afterwords He began his walk to the Tower, that were the monsters he had to kill awaited him.

As he made his way to the tower a message appeared. It was a mass email sent from someone called Wolfblade. After skimming it a smile appeared on his face. A guild was going to be needed, even with his army's he would need help to beat this game. Although Eferon was never the kind of person who liked the idea of working for someone. "If the guild is forming there is nothing saying that the one who sent out the message needed to be the leader. I think i will try my hand at it, see if i can be the boss and hey if i cant then ill just find a way to become the boss latter on, ether way the best chance to gain power in a guild is when its first forming so I think its worth a shot."

After around half an hour he found were everyone who had responded to the mail had gathered. There was a good sized group gathered there. Walking strait up to the group he put on a rather nice smile to them. "Hello my fellow gamers" He said as he raised up his hand to greet them. "I take it you all came here in response to the mail that was sent out?" He asked them looking at them one at a time taking a better look at who he was going to be working with. "I am Eferon, a pleasure to meet all of you. I am hopping that this guild we will be forming works out." He said as he took a seat on a nearby barrel.

"Are you sure this is safe Isabella? I think i remember hearing about another online game that trapped its players in the game....." Elizabeth said in a small voice to her only friend Isabella."Why of course its safe Elizabeth the nerve gear has gotten much safer with its security protocols" Isabella said with a confidence that she herself didn't feel but how else was she to get Elizabeth to be social and come out of her shell?"Now all you need to do is just create an account and log onto Labyrinth Tower Online and then ill meet you in Skyfall city okay?" Okay Isabella if you say so....



"Hello and Welcome to Labyrinth Tower Online! now fair player all you need to do to play the game is create an account and character" The digital game creator said to Elizabeth"Well okay i guess......ill be know as.....what should i be called?" She asked herself. She thought about it and came up with a gamer tag that she would be okay with. "I guess you can call me RiverQueen" Elizabeth said with a conviction that surprised herself "Great name! now what city shall you start in?"The digital being asked "I shall.....I shall start in Skyfall!"



"This city is truly amazing Isabella I am so happy you showed me this game!" Elizabeth said with giddiness that has become her default tone in this world. Glad you like it hear Elizabeth so you wanna grind some more pigs? Isabella asked her friend wondering what had happened to the shy girl she once new. The two friends went down to the place they had been grinding at for the past few hours and started looking for something to kill when Isabella saw a large pig "I call it!!" Isabella shouted "Better luck next time slow poke" She said to Elizabeth with laughter in her voice. Elizabeth watched with a little bit of jealousy as Isabella attacked the pig it looked to be a good fight......well as good as a fight with a pig could be. The pig was lucky and landed a hard blow on Isabella.

"Hey you need any help with that pig?" Elizabeth asked Isabella giggling at her own commit "No why would i ne----" Isabella started turning to Elizabeth but then the pig attacked killing Isabella "HAHAHAHA you got killed by a pig i cant believe it my best friend was killed by a pig HAHAHA I....I cant stop laughing" Elizabeth said rolling on the ground "Well i guess i should pm her.............that's wired? I cant find her name anywhere oh well i guess she just logged off maybe i should as well" she said as she brought up the screen to logout "........that's weird there's no log-out option........what does that mean that....." Elizabeth started to think as she was transported to Tower Doman as she looked around in panic she noticed a giant grim reaper

"To every player still alive in LTO. I am sure you all are aware that the log out button is missing. Don't panic, It is not a glitch or a problem. I made the game this way so no one can log out." He then gives out a chuckle as he lets what he said sink in. "I see that 320 of your fellow players have died already. Permanently. I am positive all of you know what happen in SAO. So I hope you are all prepared to go through it here. The rulers are simple for people that have not played SAO. Your mission, is to live, clear every floor labyrinth and defeat the boss. If you all die here, you shall die in reality. I wish you all luck and I shall await for you at the top floor."

No this couldn't be happening how no why her, why was she chosen to be a member of this sick game why..... why do I have to play this demented game why why why why why why. Elizabeth thought to her self with her mind slowly shutting down in disbelief ".........Wait Isabella no it cant be true she cant be dead no no ISABELLA!! She shouted at the top of her lungs with all her pain and sorrow she started to roll into a ball as small as possible to escape her pain. My only friend why......why did she have to die and i just stood there laughing as she took her final breaths......im a horrible person i deserve to die don't I mother. I really do Elizabeth thought to her self as she wallowed in her self pity

"Calm yourselves, now is not the time to panic, you all must remain calm and keep your heads about you! Dont do anything foolish just because you are scared and panicked, think of plans find friends and ally's to work with, keep yourselves alive, after all we have a game to beat!" someone said with a voice that screamed confidence Elizabeth herd over the sound of the crowd "That's right i cant be crying Isabella would be strong in my position she.....she would........she would be strong for my memory. She said to her self as she stood up and wiped her tears out of her eyes. "Just like i should be strong for her memory" Elizabeth said with a look of sadness in her eyes. She started thinking back to the book she always read as a way to bring her a small comfort "wait that's it" Elizabeth thought to herself I GET FIRST DIBS ON THE GAME MASTER UNDERSTAND!! She shouted at the top of her lungs. panting she then started to leave

*Message
I use to be a solo-player and know how far one can get. You won't get far without help. So if you value your life or anyone else's in this game, or maybe you just want to beat the game. Then please come and join me. We will go and beat the game and save everyone in this game. I shall be waiting at the entrance to the first labyrinth.
- Sent by Wolfblade

Well i hope that this isnt going to go bad I don't really know much about games but i think its okay.... Elizabeth thought to herself as she stared at the entrance to the first labyrinth. When she got the courage to actually go to the meeting place there was already quite a few players there "Well hello my name is RiverQueen i hope that we can end this nightmare as soon as possible" She says with a small voice as she takes a seat on the ground next to the player who looked like a white mage

Loyd Loveheart

Loyd quickly ran back to his apartment holding a very distinctive bag from the local game mart, the contents of this bag to him was very valuable it was a copy of the game known as Labyrinth Tower Online or LTO for short. He was stoked, static and very anxious to play this game, finally something other than those crappy shooters or second rate RPGs. He had read lots and lots of positive reviews of LTO and he had to get his hands on this game and play it he just had to experience it for himself. He quickly dusted off his Nervgear and connected everything, he placed it on feeling a very nostalgic feeling similar to the first time when he played SAO; he sat on his bed and then laid down.
The Nervgear turn on and did its normal analysis, Loyd took a deep breath and gulped, "Lin-" he stopped remembering the incidents of SAO, a small smile erupted in his face but he quickly shrugged it off something like that couldn't happen again right? Even if he did this time he'd be prepared for it and without another second thought and with a large smile on his face he said it....



A very nostalgic feeling took over him, he was happy and static to be back. "Welcome to Labyrinth Tower Online! We hope you enjoy your stay." The digitized voice said, Loyd quickly did flew threw his Character creation as he already knew how to make one, he reached the point where the Computer asked him "What will be your class? And what will be your starting domain." Loyd smiled looking at all the classed out of all of them two of them really peeked his interest the first one being the Ninja Class, second one obviously being the Swordsman class; he was a fan of the rouge type classes sneaking around and doing preemptive strikes and jumping all around the place, but the swordsman class was his main passion he loved to use swords as a weapon so he had a hard time choosing, until it occurred to him well more like he remembered that in this game he could multi-class, "Hah! I'll just have to go for Ninja and Swordsman Multi-class! And as for Domain hmm... The Dark Forest seems alright." He said choosing them; "The Agility and sneakiness of a Ninja and the power and defense of a Swordsman not a bad combo if I do say so myself." Loyd thought to himself. The computerized voice confirmed this and finally log him in.

Appearing in The Dark Forest Loyd took a deep breath taking in the atmosphere he had grown so accustomed too, "I'm finally back after all that." Loyd said to himself, he smiled once again "Well first things first! Lets get in some levels and test this multi-class system out!" Loyd said and quickly ran to begin his hours of grinding. The mechanics where similar to SAO so he quickly got accustom to it it was a no biggy for him, he did give a few newcomers some tips and tricks to how to play it was in his nature though he loved to help others out especially people new to the game. Loyd grinded and did quests non stop, he was having a blast, the time of his life just like before in SAO, a few hours in he had already made it to Level 14 a small milestone to what his level was before in SAO. Though he did learn a lot about his classes and mastered them quickly gaining little equipment along the way as well, albeit not that good of an equipment but it was reliable at his level. He still had his beginner equipment on, the only notable things he got was a Ninja Mask which he currently had equipped, and his secondary Weapon which was his Dagger, he had beginner longsword equipped but it remained untouched as he was already used to using swords from back in SAO so he was trying out how a Ninja works and decided to use his dagger for more precise and quick attacks, he was still a bit flimsy using a dagger but he held his own though one should not mistake his Dagger skills with his Sword skills which where in different levels.
Loyd took a small rest and after a little while he decided to go back to grinding since he decided to play a full day when this game came out if he like it and of course he loved it! He quickly spotted a Goblin that was around his level "Bad luck for you!" Loyd said taking out his dagger and dashing towards his still unknowing target, he quickly brought his weapon to the Goblin neck; but before he could strike he felt something pull on him this was also a similar feeling from back in SAO.... A Forced Teleport. Quickly opening his eyes Loyd found himself in a crowd of people in the largest capital of the game the Tower Domain, Loyd imminently looked up seeing the Reaper like being, he guessed that was a Game Master.

"To every player still alive in LTO. I am sure you all are aware that the log out button is missing. Don't panic, It is not a glitch or a problem. I made the game this way so no one can log out. I see that 320 of your fellow players have died already. Permanently. I am positive all of you know what happen in SAO. So I hope you are all prepared to go through it here. The rulers are simple for people that have not played SAO. Your mission, is to live, clear every floor labyrinth and defeat the boss. If you all die here, you shall die in reality. I wish you all luck and I shall await for you at the top floor."

Loyd gulped as the GM dissipated, he chuckled while still a bit in shock, he looked down still laughing a bit, " Hehe... Well isn't this nice? Where back to this again..." Loyd was beginning to sink into depression, but a voice echoed in his mind "Try your best!" it said Loyd's face shot back up full of passion and with a small yet very reassuring smile, "Well no use mopping around right? This time its going to be different!" Loyd said.

[/color]Beep Beep - Beep Beep Incoming Message.
"To all players wanting to live or keep moving on. My name is....Wolfblade. I am looking for players interested in joining a guild. I use to be a solo-player and know how far one can get. You won't get far without help. So if you value your life or anyone else's in this game, or maybe you just want to beat the game. Then please come and join me. We will go and beat the game and save everyone in this game. I shall be waiting at the entrance to the first labyrinth.”
- Sent by Wolfblade

"Hmm... A guild he says, well I was planning on going solo for a while, it couldn't hurt try out a guild again.... I wont let the same mistake happen twice, either way I can always just quit if it get demanding." Loyd said to himself. With that Loyd quickly made his way to the entrance, upon getting there Loyd saw a pretty large group already formed there "So I wasn't the only one interested eh?" Loyd thought. There was about 10 players give or take including himself, this brought a smile to Loyds face, "Well I see I'm not the only who took in the reality quickly and decided to step up before anyone huh? Hello all my name is Setsugie, please to meet you all future guild mates!" Loyd said to the group pulling down his Ninja Mask and walking up to the group, his beginner sword could be seen on his lower back and on his thighs there was his secondary weapons two ordinary Throwing Daggers, it was easy to tell that he was a Ninja Class, not that anyone new he had a little something else in there, I mean his Swordsman class of course.

---

"That's me, and its a honor to meet you as well. I thank you for risking your life to join me." said Wolfblade. He continues greeting people as he looks at all of us with a sense of fear. Lisa looks around to see other players looking around attentively for newcomers. "At least I'm not the only girl here..." she thought. He explains his circumstances.

Being the son of the maker of LTO, the plane crash, surviving knowing someone actually went through with this crazy plan. All of this made Lisa feel uneasy. Wouldn't Okami want to avenge his father? Lisa raised her hand hesitantly as Wolfblade pointed at her. "So i want to voluntary vote..." He then points to Lisa after another last minute player comes. "I want to nominate Lisa, from my time being stuck in SAO. I know she has the skills to lead as she works straight under the "Lighting Flash" Asuna. Second in command of the Vanguard of the Knights of the Blood Oath, The strongest guild in SAO. I believe she has the leadership, skills, and qualities it takes more then anyone...."

She was honored and yet confident. She knew firsthand how to lead. Ever since Kirito married Asuna in SAO, she was left with the duty of leading the vanguard. Never had a task fallen before her, and now it seemed to pay off in the long run. She takes out the mirror from her inventory, clicking the "O" button, using it to reveal her real life appearance. "I think this is better." She lets her pink hair fan out as she smiles. She walks up to stand in front of the group, giving a speech. "I know I may be an inexperienced leader or not as reputable as Discharger the Lightning Beserker, Loyd, leader of the "God Sword" Guild or Haven, the Savior, but a game is a game. It has weaknesses that can often be exploited. The most efficient way is to find all those glitches and weaknesses and use them until the game falls. I believe my prior knowledge can get us through this, but I can't do it alone. But if we decide on another person to lead. So be it. Let's just work hard, together everyone!" She cutely smiles as she walks back into the group, looking around for anyone else who would want to lead.....

Neondrick pushed himself up finally, laying there for a few minutes to let the pain seep its way out and finally got to his feet thanks to Okami, dusting himself off as he walked to the group that he saw slowly forming by the numbers. He didn't even really know what was happening since he never truly made it over there. He was a bit confused at first but remembered the message sent by the username WolfBlade and so proceeded to go over there to the group, angling himself away from the females he stood by who he thought and just dramatically assumed was the leader, probably breaking up whatever shenanigans and or protest and or voting, yeah from the looks of it it was. He rose his head up right next to Okami and rubbed his nose a bit, his cinnamon hair drifting around his face, he probably wasn't even noticed, seeing some sort of conversation going on, I mean he wasn't really a stand out person in the crowd but at five foot three what do you expect? Plus and this equation is getting bigger, you got to take in account that his attire isn't really something that stood out either. His sleeveless grey shirt and baggy cargo shorts, about beige colored while e looked around at the people.

Whoa these guys look tough, huh, I guess Mr. Cloaky really thought that we would take this seriously, I might thank him sometime later on...gotta' love this world...these girls look scary though, eh not her she looks like she has milk to deliver. I wonder if there is chocolate around here...hmmm wait am I doing something? I can hear my own brain...ECHOOOOOO! Echo, I am Ironma..I...oh crap wait, I'm doing something here!

Now that he was out of his own head he rubbed his temples a bit and got closer to Okami to see what exactly was going on here, seeing the team and figured he might be able to do something here. He got his red rope and tucked it into his pocket, balling the thin crimson fabric up and put his hands on his hips, trying to look more heroic, didn't really know at the time if he was pulling it off or just looking really awkward, probably the latter, he was used to it though. He dropped his arms just in case after a few seconds, beginning to rock on his heels now while trying to listen but he got bored quick. "I guess I should start by showing my face, huh?" That caught his attention quickly, looking up at it and expecting a horrible deformity but the normal face made him disappointed a tad bit but he took it all for what it is, wondering how Mr. Cloaky looked without his. He didn't really recognize him but for some reason the name really struck a bell in that void head of his. He remembers vaguely hearing his Uncle mention something about it, he couldn't really remember anything about it though. He decided to toss it into the void and just waited for him to talk about the group. "I like that name!" He spoke about the name, The Knights of the Phantasm and rocked on his heels some more, deciding not to really vote on the matter, he didn't wanna' be the leader though so for sake of it he remained silent.

"Welcome RiverQueen. Thanks for joining us and I hope so too." The one who Elizabeth assumed was know as Wolfblade said in response to her entrance. Well at least theirs a decant sized party hear already that bodes well for our chances in the Labyrinth......I hope Elizabeth thought to herself as she waited sightly for the other games that she assumed Wolfblade had messaged.

"I guess thats everyone. Let me say thank you all for coming to my request to make a guild. As I said in my message. I been a solo-player and to beat this game, you are gonna need support. You can't beat this game alone." Well I guess that makes sense after all this is supposed to be a multiplier game after all is-int it? RiverQueen debated in her head.

"I guess I should start by showing my face, huh?" That would be nice after all how can i trust someone who wont show there face. Elizabeth thought as Wolfblade removed his hood and threw it off as if in a dramatic reveal. Why did he throw his hood as like that is it supposed to be a huge surprise?......Wait is he famous WOW i got stuck in a guild with a famous person this is so cool She thought to her self starting to drift off in to fantasy's about living life as a famous person

"Some of you might be thinking if my face is the real me or not. So i am gunna be blunt about this. Yes, my real name is Okami Kitsune, I am the son of the programmer and game maker of LTO. If you have questions about me I will answer them all and I will answer honestly. But before you ask me. Lets decide who will lead The Knights of the Phantasm. I would lead this group since I called you here, but I bet you have questions and are now questioning to even be in a guild with me. So I want to voluntary vote... ..........Well I guess i was right about him being famous but i really should stop jumping to conclusions like that Elizabeth scolded herself in her mind for thinking that he had it made. She started thinking back trying to remember if she herd anything about someone called Okami Kitsune but couldn't for the life of herself. Well i guess i really should catch up on my news shouldn't I

"As I was saying, I would like to nominate Lisa, from my time being stuck in SAO. I know she has the skills to lead as she works straight under the "Lighting Flash" Asuna. Second in command of the Vanguard of the Knights of the Blood Oath, The strongest guild in SAO. I believe she has the leadership, skills, and qualities it takes more then anyone. If you all agree she should lead. Raise your hand, If you think someone else can lead. Speak up now and give us a reason why that person should lead and we shall decide in a vote." Oh a vote i like that concept now who should i vote for? Wolfblade is voting for Lisa but i really don't know anyone hear or what separates them from the others Elizabeth mentally debated with herself

"I know I may be an inexperienced leader or not as reputable as Discharger the Lightning Beserker, Loyd, leader of the "God Sword" Guild or Haven, the Savior, but a game is a game. It has weaknesses that can often be exploited. The most efficient way is to find all those glitches and weaknesses and use them until the game falls. I believe my prior knowledge can get us through this, but I can't do it alone. But if we decide on another person to lead. So be it. Let's just work hard, together everyone!" Lisa said to the group and it somewhere rang a cord in Elizabeth "Well that sold me ill vote for you Lisa only one who has humility can truly lead......well that my thought." She said with conviction as she walked next to Lisa and sat down next to her. Well i think that went rather well........Isabella would be proud of me speaking up that that wouldn't she. She thought to her self as she got a little more well seated

Eferon Continued to listen as Wolfblade gave his speech. He is not bad, not bad at all, he talk's to us openly and honestly. Eferon then turned his attention to the girl Lisa. She seemed to have a good recorded and a was modest. He looked at everyone is else who had assembled. It was a rather good amount of people seeing as it was a mass email. After taking a closer look at the other players a lot of them had sub classes as well meaning even if it was only the first day they had some skill. That and they did not die to any of the beginning monsters. A small shiver went down Eferon's spine remember that over one hundred souls had passed away, killed by the madman who had done this to them. After the chill there was anger, so many lives ruined for some madman's game. It was unforgivable.

I must bring that madman to his end Bracing himself Eferon stood up from the barrel that he had been siting on and took a step foreword into the ring of players. He took a deep breath preparing himself. "I know it may be silly for me to throw my name into the wring along side someone as experienced as Lisa but I believe myself to be fit for the job. I am Eferon. I will fully admit that I as a player have less experience then most of you and if you do chose for me to lead I will constantly rely upon all of you for help as we take on the task of beating this game. But I still think I can lead us. My power that I have gained from this game was build for someone who can take command. I seem to be quite skilled when it comes to making plans, strategy's and management." After he had finished his speech he stepped back and took in a breath. looking around at everyone who he had spoken too. Eferon believed himself with the skills and knowledge he had gained from commanding the demon army could very well be what was needed. He had given his say and now it was up for the others to follow whom they wished to lead.

"If you have questions about me I will answer them all and I will answer honestly. But before you ask me. Lets decide who will lead The Knights of the Phantasm. I would lead this group since I called you here, but I bet you have questions and are now questioning to even be in a guild with me. So I want to voluntary vote..."
'Vote, eh?'
Aelin was resting against a barrel and listened in to who people were voting for. So far the majority had leaned towards Lisa. Aelin had smiled to herself as she stood up from the barrel.
"Well, no offense to Lisa but I have an idea on who I'd like to be leader and..."
Aelin had walked up to Haven and then put her hand on his shoulder.
"This guy, right here, could be perfect for the job. Now I've seen some pretty heavy shit go down when the GM revealed that all of this was SAO all over again. Everyone was panicking, people hitting each other and collecting their stuff, the usual deal. Nothing like that from Haven over here. No, what he did was pretty nice. He asked his friends to set up centers to help out traumatized players. When they wouldn't listen, he told them about how he handled things in SAO and they wised up real quick. Now, I'm not going to say what his past was like because in all honesty, I don't even know myself. But for someone to be that selfless and that efficient, that's definitely leader material."
She then added silently so only she and Haven could hear.
"Besides, you'd also be good Husband material~"
Aelin could feel her avatar blush a bit. It was true. She had a bit of a crush on Haven since SAO and was actually hoping that she could marry him one day instead of some random player. She then shook off the blush and said aloud.
"And as for if you want me to be a leader... That's not happening. I'm more of a supporting party than anything else. I heal if necessary, I deal damage but I don't lead people. Even if I wanted to, I never lead a guild before so I have zero experience. So, that's my two cents. Listen to me or don't. Either way, I'm cool with whoever leads and will lay my life on the line for that person if necessary."
Aelin then took her hand off of Haven's shoulder and walked back to the labyrinth entrance, leaning against the wall, and looking at the group curious for their reasons and answers.

---

He simply nodded his head at Wolfblade's reply. He turned to the others, and said, "There's no point in looking for a leader now. We'll all realize who can be the only possible candidate as leader, once we enter the labyrinth". He turned to the other members and looked at them with a raised eyebrow.
"Well? If we choose now, we'll never know if the person you have selected may have the required skills to be a leader. But then again...". Detols turned to Wolfblade with a questioned look. He was supposed to be the guild master. Is he seriously allowing the rest of them to choose a new leader?

Suddenly, Detols felt a strange, painful sensation come up to his mouth. Coughing into his hand, he looked at his palm. It was blood. He gritted his teeth.
"I guess that area boss got me after all....", he quietly murmured. On the top of his screen, a little purple logo was flashing, and the top right corner read: 'Poison. Cause: Arachne of the Black Thorn Forest'. He had entered that forest a few minutes before the game master teleported them all to the square.

Wiping his mouth, Detols looked at the members. Some of them still looked like beginners. Some of them looked like decent players.
"....I hope there's no revolt against beta testers, like it was in SAO", he said. He turned towards the 'Current' leader of the guild, and asked, "So? How are we going to do it? Shall we enter the labyrinth first before choosing a leader?". He knew what most of them would say. Possibly 'But if we don't have a leader, then how are we going to make it?', or 'We need a leader for purposes like these....', etc. Yet, it didn't matter. They didn't need a leader right now. Not this instant. They had to rush, otherwise the online world would plung into chaos. There would be riots and force log-outs everywhere. Not to mention, even suicide.
"It'd be quite foolish if we waste our time deciding on a leader. We need to give the players who are still alive, some motivation. A step of hope. That's all we need to do for now. We can decide on a leader once we conquer this labyrinth".

---

Haven watched on silently, trying not to show much emotion when the man unmasked himself and revealed himself to be the game creator's son, who is supposed to be in a coma. He listened intently as they started a discussion on who should be leader. There seemed to be three choices, Lisa, Eferon, and Wolfblade, though it seemed like Wolfblade would prefer to have Lisa as leader. Lisa seemed like a pretty good choice, though he never heard much about her he heard a lot about Asuna, the thing about their leader having been the madman who trapped them all in the game king of decreased his trust of the Knights of the Blood Oath though. Wolfblade seemed to know how things worked, but otherwise almost nothing was known about him. Same goes for Eferon, he had sound reasons, but nothing was really known about him either.
When Aelin walked up to him and suggested him as leader though he was genuinely surprised. He hadn't lead a guild since SAO and had never thought about it. He blushed and blushed even deeper at what Aelin whispered to him. It was at these moments he was glad his helmet covered his face. As soon as the blush was gone he lifted it. He tried to say something to her but, like usual, he failed to talk to a good-looking girl and she walked away before he could respond.
Before he could say anything about his sudden nomination, two others talked and he listened. "Well, I have to agree with Detols and Discharge, we need to clear this floor first and get the people's moral up. For those of you who heard about it or were actually in SAO, you remember all of the chaos and death in the first few days. We need to get their moral up to stop this, this would also give us each a chance to get to know each other better to better decide a leader. As was said, I took some measures to try and prevent it, but it will only buy us some time before it begins."

The man named Wolfblade began to to talk explaining his real identity, Loyd felt like he had seen him somewhere before but he could quite place his finger on it. Wolfblade then said he was the kid of the creator of LTO, that's when the pieces connected Loyd remembered he was the child that was in rendered in a coma after a plane crashing; who would have though he was in this game, this could be similar to the ALO incident, but Loyd simply disregarded these facts since it's not like he would be in fault or that he may know much, and honestly Loyd cared little about it. Soon the serious talk began, Wolfblade nominated Lisa to be the leader of our guild, The Knights of the Phantasm, "Lightning Flash Asuna...What a nostalgic name." Loyd thought remembering his time in SAO he never actually spoke to her out of strategic conference the same with Lisa who served under Asuna but he had seen and fought along side both of them in the front lines, they were.... reassuring. By that time Loyd was still the Leader and sole surviving member of the Sword God Guild after the tragedy that befell his guild. Just by 1 error in judgement in his part while they where clearing the 64th floor in SAO, the Floor Boss completely annihilated the elite front line guild known as the Sword God guild, they all fought to the bitter end, in the end he alone cleared the floor... Reinforcements arrived shortly after this only to see the Sole surviving member their Guild Leader Loyd, this incident was dubbed the Massacre of the 64th floor. He was in shock he saw all his friend die right before his eyes, he was unstable, quickly he was brought back to rehab, he took a few weeks off from fighting in the front lines, no one though he would go back to the front lines after what happened; but he did only a few weeks passed and he was back on his feet with more resolve and passion that he showed before, he never accepted anyone else back into the guild and he never disbanded it, he remained the only member to remind him of what happened. Loyd was dubbed the Fallen Knight after his return to the Front lines, he was better than ever some might say he was another person because in truth he showed no fear just because he actually wanted to die but he also wanted to atone for his sins this is what drives him forward until the game was cleared by the Hero Kirito.

As Lisa undid her avatar form and showed her true self he was sure it was her he could remember that face from the little time he had seen it in the front lines. She did a little speech as well:
"I think this is better...I know I may be an inexperienced leader or not as reputable as Discharger the Lightning Beserker, Loyd, leader of the "Sword God" Guild or Haven, the Savior, but a game is a game. It has weaknesses that can often be exploited. The most efficient way is to find all those glitches and weaknesses and use them until the game falls. I believe my prior knowledge can get us through this, but I can't do it alone. But if we decide on another person to lead. So be it. Let's just work hard, together everyone!"
Just what he would expect from her to say, she had experience, Loyd knew this very well and out of everyone here to him she might be the most trustable to him because he'd seen her fight before. But it wasn't fair to rule everyone out just because of this, she had spoken very nostalgic names such as Discharger, Haven and himself, Loyd had heard of these players from SAO as well.

Others gave the their opinions on the matter, one of them also voted for Lisa, and one other Nominated himself as Guild leader his name was Eferon he also gave a little speech:
"I know it may be silly for me to throw my name into the wring along side someone as experienced as Lisa but I believe myself to be fit for the job. I am Eferon. I will fully admit that I as a player have less experience then most of you and if you do chose for me to lead I will constantly rely upon all of you for help as we take on the task of beating this game. But I still think I can lead us. My power that I have gained from this game was build for someone who can take command. I seem to be quite skilled when it comes to making plans, strategy's and management."
From what Loyd heard he deducted that Eferon wasn't that sure of himself, he and a promising look on his face but this wasn't enough to lead a guild especially when people lives are on the line this was Loyds opinion though.

Then another one spoke this one made some good points better than the others to a certain point.
"So? How are we going to do it? Shall we enter the labyrinth first before choosing a leader? It'd be quite foolish if we waste our time deciding on a leader. We need to give the players who are still alive, some motivation. A step of hope. That's all we need to do for now. We can decide on a leader once we conquer this labyrinth".

Two quickly agreed to this and it seem like it was actually a great idea, " I also agree with Detols statement, if we where to choose an unfitting leader right now we would just crumble and die, and that is not an option. After we clear out the first Labyrinth and get to know ourselves a bit better we can choose for a leader its quite simple and easy. " Loyd said. If he had to vote even after what happens he'd probably vote for Lisa since out of the lot she was knowledgeable in leader big assaults on the front lines, and honestly enough Loyd had never seen a team crumble under her leadership, she was a better leader that Loyd himself but at this point almost anyone was...

Loyd took out from his inventory the mirror and looked at it "Here we go again...." Loyd thought and used it by pressing the "O" button shedding his avatar skin, and showing his true face, taking a deep breath he was back to his normal body; as he thought having an avatar body felt a lot different than his own, right know everyone could recognize him, The Fallen Knight of SAO, the one responsible for the 64th Floor massacre, " I was once the leader of a famous guild back in SAO, I know fully well what it takes to be a guild leader and the responsibilities you need to be one.... I have experienced a comrade dying under my leadership, its... horrifying...I know that there are some people here that have witnessed the horrors of SAO, but, I for one have seen hell..." Loyd said before stopping for a moment remembering about his past guild mates, Loyd looked back at the others " I am Loyd, the Leader and only member of the Solo Guild, Sword God, The Fallen Knight and sole survivor of the 64th Floor Massacre.... I want to remind you all that just 1 tiny error can cost you your life, that this is not a game anymore I experienced this myself as I let all my comrades die right before my eyes just because of a error in judgement, although you all might know this.... I wouldn't mind trying a guild again and this time I won't let such a mistake cost the life of anyone in my presence... " Loyd said knowing he had said a mouth full but he had to get it out of his chest before it began to eat away at him again. "I say this to our future guild leader, I just hope your ready to hold all our lives in your hands, and do your best to protect all of us in LTO... " Loyd then added. Loyd above all else didn't want to be the guild leader though, he wasn't going to nominate himself as a guild leader, even though he had the experience to lead one, he couldn't he still feared that he might make another mistake and get everyone killed.

Loyd then took a few steps towards the Tower Domains entrance and stopped turning around to look at the group and see what they had to say.....

(OOC: Deleted...Apparently we're all supposed to have the equal amount of posts each time in order for the rp to move on. To everyone that has posted twice: DO NOT POST ANYMORE, UNTIL NOBLESSE AND NANO COMPLETE THEIR FILL)

((Be patient you two! I have things that take priority!))

---

---

Detols nodded his head. It looked like some of the players were eventually agreeing with his statement.
"Good. Some understanding in this group will definitely help in co-op missions", thought Detols. He paced back as the other players started to murmur once again. He stopped, and looked at Wolfblade. Indeed, it wasn't so surprising to him that someone like him would come to his senses, and start playing VRMMOs. It was, to Detols, the simplest moral and action in his generation. It happened all the time.

He turned once, then twice, thinking about the possible stats of all these players.
"As a spy and a ninja, I have to know all the information about this guild as a caution booklet, in case anything goes....wrong", he quietly said after the short pause. He looked to all of them, once again.

"D1scharJ: Definitely someone to look out for. A famous, yet reckless, show-off and renown gamer. It's only been a few hours, and already, he looked like such a dangerous player. He was definitely, someone who could end up beating an area boss with his own powers.

Wolfblade: His identity, indeed, confirms the one who just had woken up from a coma. The creator's son. Interesting...but could he have some possible perks given from the game master? I need to watch him.

Lisa: Her name sounds so simple. Her armor was one of the simple clothes combinations, used on many avatars. Her level was the only thing that peaked my interest. Not bad.

Aelin: Her character design is....pretty good. Her only job is a Chaos Wizard, which raises her potential AND skill in magic. She looks like a tough one. One thing that disappointed me: She is too easy to read. Her crush for the large knight is easy to tell. It's pretty clear if your seeing the group from quite a length of distance, and if you notice her blushing madly while looking at the guy.

Haven: His sword and shield are some rare equipment he got there. If he got them in just a few hours...seems like another tank that can handle lots of power. Though...he looks like a normal knight. It's simply his weapon and blocker that makes his avatar look impressive.

Trinity 13: His weapons are one of a kind. I haven't seen finger blades since Rogue Legends! His stats also show me that he's a summoner. With that power...he can manipulate his finger blades without having to move. Looks like someone dangerous. I'm definitely watching him.

Noblesse: She looked like a common cleric. What she wore, was the common cleric outfit. Her shyness will be a big flaw against her, when she's facing PKs or possibly Spawned Monsters, but no matters. She looked like someone who could handle that. She'll definitely help this group, since there's no other clerics.

Lloyd: He's a neko. Quite uncommon in this VRMMORPG. Seems like he got a rare find, and managed to become a neko. He also looks somewhat....sage. His words somewhat does not prove my theory, but he still looks pretty cool to me.

Eferon: My goodness. His summoning skills skyrocket. He seems to have some powerful comrades he can summon whenever he wants. Other than that, his axe-holding stance was....wrong. It looked like even as his summoning skills excel his current level, his strength level is pretty low.

RiverQueen: RiverQueen? Such name already proves what kind of power she could possibly use. Probably a lot of water-based abilities and skills. Anyhow, the aura around her is somewhat of the aura you would feel in a maritime-climate location. Seems very tempting, to immediately assume that she uses only water-based abilities

Crazyneon87: This child...is not what he looks like. His character is so simple-based, but the gleam on his eyes are the ones of a devil. His abilities may be hidden in his pockets, but he may be, a dangerous being to us all. Possibly a hack? Or maybe even a hidden CPU? That'll be something I need to find out...".

He looked back at all the thoughts he had, and reflected while watching the other players carefully.
"...I think that'll do for now", he said. He jumped over to the roof of an NPC restaurant, and opened his memo on the menu. As he pressed the 'Record' button, he started listing all his thoughts to the mike, and then making a final mental note. Finishing up his recording, he quickly closed the menu and jumped back down in ease. Landing on the tip of his toes, Detols watched as the neko, Lloyd, said, "-protect all of us in LTO". Hm. It looked like he didn't hear the first part.

Detols quickly stood apart from the group.
"I know, and I'm pretty sure we all know, that merely running into a labyrinth is pure suicide without having any info about it, any info about each other, any info on the boss and monsters. But..". He took a quick pace towards the door, where Lloyd and Trinity were. "Like I had said before, we need to be reckless in these first moments, in order for us to move on. Taking it easy at the beginning, only leads to worse and worse outcomes in the end. Have you ever heard of this; 'Starting off in an RPG slowly, will only make your character too weak to move on to their next quest'?. This is exactly, the same type of situation, and that isn't how we can do things in this....hell-powered madness".

---

Okami looked around at the surrounding group. Their arguments each valid yet straightforward. He listened back and forth to the arguments. One side wanted to rush in for the peoples morale and the others wanted to stay with the election. And....that other guy with the cargo shorts was just there, but it was alright. As more rebuttals and concerns came through, Noblesse had vouched for Lisa, sitting next to RiverQueen.



Okami takes a deep breath as he looks at everyone. "So by majority, Lisa shall lead us. If anyone has something against that, then you can take it up with me. As for Vicecaptain, I hope no one has a complain about that being me. Okami let what he had said sink in as he watched the others, waiting for a reaction.....

---

"So by majority, Lisa shall lead us. If anyone has something against that, then you can take it up with me. As for Vice-Captain, I hope no one has a complain about that being me." Lisa watched on as others gave their opinions about group leader versus none. Eferon seemed to also want to lead as well as some others but the decision was clearly made by Wolfblade. That the leadership point of view was his way of doing things. She looked back at the girls who voted for her. RiverQueen and Noblesse They seemed to agree with her on her argument.
"Well...I guess with that said and done, we will start venturing into the labyrinth. A guild cannot be created without a leader under it's name according to LTO's system. So for now I will assume the role of guild leader, and after the first floor, we will hold an official election. Therefore, as Detols said, my ability in the first floor labyrinth will decide whether I will retain the title of leader or not." She opened a notification window as she put everyone on the guild interface, activating lootshare, to not let anyone be left out of rewards. "I believe we should do a pairing system. Although it has its drawbacks, each pair will consist of someone to compliment your skils. Therefore there will be 6 pairs. Squads A-C will be the frontlines while D-F will provide long ranged attacks as well as cover fire and support. The squads will also let us switch formations easily as well as let Noblesse heal us while she has time to switch out. Well now with that, I will let you select your pairs on our way inside the dungeon. I will let you guys prepare while we enter the labyrinth. Since Loyd and Trinity have already started moving, I suppose they are a pairing already." She walks and stands next to Eferon and taps him lightly on the shoulder. "Hey, I admired your speech about wanting to guide the guild and all. And I just wanted to say no hard feelings, alright? I was wondering if you wanted to pair up with me. I think my close-range combat and your summoning skills compliment each other nicely." She smiled at him and then looked around. She knew that everyone was impartial about her being guild leader so she let that feeling sink in for a while. She was bound to have some disagreements here or there. She looked at the rest of the group, waiting for the pairs to assemble as she walked near the entrance waiting for the others to start moving.

Aelin listened in to other discussions. Everyone's reasons were valid although the three elder players agree that a group without a leader will only increase our chances. Listening to Okami's argument, Aelin nodded to herself.
"So by majority, Lisa shall lead us. If anyone has something against that, then you can take it up with me. As for Vicecaptain, I hope no one has a complain about that being me."
Aelin smiled to herself.
"Hey, like I said, I'm nothing more than a supporting party member. Well then, Captain Lisa and Vice Captain Wolfblade, I'd be more than happy to lay my life on the line for you and my fellow teammates over here."
Although something was scratching at the back of her mind.
"Hey, is our strategy to just attack and attack until our bodies give out? We're all talking about leaders needing to lead or charging in the place guns and knives blazing but all that's useless unless we're mentally and physically prepared. So, after this floor, I'm gonna think we're going to need a place to rest. So we can decide this after we clear the labyrinth. Listen to me or not, I don't really care. Just throwing out my two cents for anyone who will listen."
Aelin walked over to Haven and stood next to him. She finally got enough courage to start talking to him so she whispered over to him.
"Hey. I meant what I said earlier, you know. You'd be great husband material. Tall, mysterious, a real knight in shining armor. Plus you're pretty famous since SAO so that would inspire people alone. Same with Discharge and Loyd but you especially since you've got a good personality to back your status up. Heh, it's almost funny... I've been waiting to be in a guild for so long and when I do join one, you're in it too. I don't know if it's God helping me along with this group or playing a cruel joke because of my plainness compared to everyone else."
Aelin looked at Haven's face, awaiting his response.

---

Detols just stared at Lisa, with dull eyes after Wolfblade had made a conclusion. She, interested him with her level and choiuce of words...but was she really the type to actually be able to command the whole guild? Her 'Pairing System' and her commanding decision, indeed, nicely engraved into the minds of the other group members that listened to her. Not a bad plan. She looked like someone who could already handle a guild...then again, how is she going it to control it with all the consequences? He then, looked towards Wolfblade.
"....show-off", Detols said, watching as Wolfblade pulled his large blade back out of the ground. He had no doubt, that their rushed decision was basing on his own moral. That they had to start quickly. And given the fact that Wolfblade immediately made assumptions, and without the consent of the rest of the characters, chose Lisa as guild leader...it gives him the idea that this guild wasn't such a good one. But...he wondered what would happen if Lisa took command, and actually proved herself to be a formidable someone?

Then he noticed Rinslet. She was...flirting with that knight again. He could tell from her amused face. He turned around, away from the group.
And facepalmed.
"This guild....", he muttered. He watched as the girl talked to the knight. Then he remembered something that happened in the real world.
"....this isn't a time to love", he quietly said. "We're stuck in a big situation. There's no time for love, unless we wait for the next set of plans, and if you want to lose someone too precious". Something like that had happened to Detols (Takashi) in the real world...and that's why he forbid himself to love anymore. Then, he turned back to the group. He couldn't allow himself to occupy his mind with past thoughts. What was the past, is the past, and won't happen again.

The corner of his lips started to curve. This was turning out to be a very, very weak guild. But...it interested him somehow. He watched, as the group started to form an agreement. Foolish. No doubt, foolish indeed. But..
"Well. That's quite the decision your making, Wolfblade. Nevertheless, I will follow it, simply for the sake of this hellhole".
He turned to D1scharJ, and asked,
"What do you think about this....Lightening Berserker? Would you agree along with such a decision? Or are you going to pull out from this....guild?".
He awaited for a response. Such an interesting player should have quite the answer for Detols to enjoy.

Eferon watched as the other members of the guild augured amongst themselves. After a bit Mr wolf drew a....very large sword out of no were and slammed it to the ground. Eferon was so surprised he almost Summoned His demons. Good thing he did not, infighting was not a good idea. After he gave his speck, Eferon felt a little sad. He was fine with the face he was not elected over those who are veterans at this but.....he wanted at least one vote! Did he look that incompetent? Sad. Well no use mopping about it he was still the leader of a mighty demon army and that felt nice. If they don't think i can be a good leader i will just show them otherwise!

He was a little annoyed that he declared himself vice captain just like that but once again things may change with time. He realized his had was resting on the hilt for his axe and had been there seance Wolf had draw that sword that made him look like he was from a cartoon. Then again they were in a video game, that was ok. The real thing that surprised him that he was reedy to fight someone else so readily, Eferon may be being effected by this situation more then he thought, he was a little paranoid.

As our new leader gave her speech, about new partners and such he could only think one thing. Things were not going to go his way. His special power was something a lot of people disliked, they look it as a bad omen. are they were right. The reason he had his own power was because when his character was spawned he had the worst luck factor in the game. So...they were right. After the little meeting dispersed for everyone to find there partners Eferon began to look around for someone to Pair up with. To his surprise Lisa approached him.

"Ya no hard feelings" He said despite the light blow to hit pride he suffered "but you may not want to pair up with me i might one up you" He said in a joking manor. "My magic is my strong point but im up close, with your skills am sure we will be hard to take down." Eferon paused for a second " If we are going to be fighting side by side you should know my summons are a bit unlike other summoners." He took in a breath for the harder part "My summons are.... Packs of Demons. Unlike other summons that focus on groups or solo big monster I have large numbers and elites. They can be a bit tricky to work with.