"Urgh..." Kirito groaned, as he trekked through the forest. "This journey is taking forever!" He paused, and grinned. "So, let's turn up the speed!"

He jumped up, and sped through the forest, using his speed and agility stats to zoom all around the forest. Kirito laughed. Even if he was trapped, it's nice to let loose and fly around.

Reaching his destination, Kirito slowed down, taking a shovel out of his inventory. The area he had stopped in was a small clearing, with trees lining the outside like a circle. If Kirito looked up, he would be able to see the sky surrounded by a perfect circle shape. The floor was all dirt. There was no grass at all! Wiping sweat from his forehead, he smirked at the dirt in front of him.

"Prepare to get dug!"

He slammed the shovel into the ground and whipped it up, using his strength stat to get it done quicker. Mud flew around him as he dug deeper and deeper, in the entire clearing. Eventually the clearing turned into a valley, as Kirito just kept digging.

"Just... a little... more..."

He paused and reached down into the dirt to grab a small handle. Smirking once again, he grasped the handle, and started running out of the valley he had dug, in one massive yell. He only paused once, feeling a sense of Deja-vu, reminiscing his time in SAO, where he helped the fisherman catch the fish, and dragged the fishing pole back up-stream. Once he paused, he just shook his head and kept running. The past is nice when you are with friends, re-living memories. Right now, he is not with his friends, he is busy with a job to get a sword to beat all the monsters and escape this world. He can't focus on the past now!

Dragging the handle to the top of the hole he dug, he turned to look at it. It was a chest. Kirito carefully opened it, praying that it was what he needed to complete the quest. He sighed in relief. It was the gem. He picked it up and pocketed it, deciding to walk back to return it, so he could enjoy the scenery, to help regain the strength he lost while digging the hole.

___________________________________________________________________________

Dropping the gem carelessly on the counter, Kirito lifted his head to the girl standing behind it. Lucy, Kirito remembered.

"So, can I have my crystals or what?" He asked her.

"Sure!" She replied chirpily, handing him a small bag. Inside was 100 crystals. Kirito sighed happily. Finally, he could buy the Infinite Sword. He pocketed the crystals and walked out of the jewellery shop, towards the weapons shop.

Entering the shop, he immediately spotted the Infinite Sword. It was glowing and had a long blue handle. Great reach! Kirito thought. He walked towards it.

"Hello there, good sir! Are you interested in buying something?" A man said, popping up from what seemed like nowhere. Kirito sighed. He was hoping to avoid human/AI interaction.

"Hi..." Kirito sighed. "Would you mind telling me about this sword?" He waved his hand in the direction of the sword.

"Oooh, the Infinite Sword!" The man cried out, excitedly. "Our most expensi- I mean most valued product!"

"Uh-huh." Kirito muttered, not believing what the man said for a second. "Can you just tell me about the sword, so I can leave?"

The man frowned, while he muttered "Fine. The Infinite Sword can increase your strength by 38, and it has an infinite magic barrier which protects not just your health from magic attacks, but also your sword from breaking – ever! It's extremely durable. It will also increase your defence by 15, and your speed by 7."

"How much?" Kirito asked, making the man turn giddy.

"759 crystals" He said, praying this swordsman standing in front of him would accept his offer.

Exactly as Yui said... Kirito thought. Kirito slapped a bag full of crystals on the table.

"I'll take it."

___________________________________________________________________________

Okay, who does Sugou not know yet?" Asuna asked. "He obviously knows me and Yui, so we can't be the one who call his number."

"I think he knows me, he would have seen me and Kirito through the online media talking about GGO." Sinon replied.

"He would know me Lisbeth and Silica from SAO. Don't forget, he based the entirety of Alfheim off of SAO." Klein said. Asuna nodded in agreement.

"That just leaves... Suguha!"

"What?! Me?! How can I-"

"It will be fine, Suguha. Just trust us, Sugou will not recognise your voice." Asuna assured her. Suguha sighed, knowing she couldn't get out of it.

"Fine."

___________________________________________________________________________

"Hello?" Suguha asked.

This is Sugou Industries, how may we help you?

"Umm... Actually..." She turned to Asuna, who gave her a thumbs-up, mouthing at her: remember what I told you!

"I... umm... have a problem with my Alfheim memory card, I want to save more pictures, but they just glitch out, and then the entire game crashes, which gave me a really bad headache."

Well, what do you expect us to do about it?

"I don't know, but you better do something – I went to my lawyer about the massive headache and pain the glitch caused me – not to mention the hour-and-a-half it took for the game to allow me to take my headgear off without causing a seriously sharp pain in my head. He said I should be able to sue you for this – if you don't fix it."

Well, where's your proof that we were called by you in the first place, and that we denied fixing your headgear?

"I've been recording the entre conversation."

... That... That changes things. Alright, mail over the Nervegear, and we'll try our hardest to fix it.

"I'm not falling for that! You could just 'never get around to it' or 'will do it later'."

... Fine. Meet me at Sugou Industries, I'll send over the address.

"Alright, but you better let me watch over you for the entire time you're fixing my Nervegear!"

The phone call ended.

"Suguha, that was awesome!" Asuna shouted, while running up and hugging her. Everyone else quickly followed suit.

"That was amazing, Suguha!" Klein yelled.

"Now we have a way in!" Yui cheered. Suguha chuckled nervously.

"It was Asuna's plan, I didn't do too much..." Suguha explained. "All I did was say what she told me to previously. I honestly didn't do anything..."

"The whole 'sue' idea was all your idea, I had no input. You did really well Suguha!" Asuna smiled at her. Suguha smiled back.

"Okay, lets save Kazuto!"

Next update up! Okay, so next week (wed-thurs) I have an important school trip that I will stay at for two days, so I probably won't update next week. Sorry for any inconvenience!

So – will Kirito have a crack at Mount Grat? Will Asuna and the others be able to gain more information to where he is? Find out in the next episode.

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊