Kazu, a Gnome Faery, just couldn’t believe his luck when he chanced upon a unique quest right after wishing his farewells to his party members who he was just now on a really adventurous dungeon raid with.The NPCs with the unique quest were the two old timers right in front of him. The bald old man who was wearing some bizarre orange robes that went surprisingly well along with the strange black sunglasses was currently giving him the mission as he went on,

“So I would like you to confess to your loved one on that small island on the 24th floor as it is the place where my ancestor Arthus was born... If you succeed, I will pass onto you the family heirloom which has been passed on from father to son in my family for generations... Behold, Excalibur!” The old man dramatically announced as he took a golden majestic sword out of nowhere, showing it to the suspicious Gnome, but upon further inspection, he was shocked to see that it was the real deal as the familiar player panel appeared before him with a ding, alerting about the weapon details, quelling his suspicions of being the victim of some ill-humored trolls.

He was embarrassed. He had to admit he did have a crush on Yulolo21 but he didn’t even know her real name as they were only acquaintances who only met inside the game because they were in the same guild. She wouldn’t look at guys like him, would she? He was content with just spending time with her — killing monsters — Ugh.

“But I thought the Excalibur was already taken by some strong player?”

The old lady who was kindly smiling at him replied, “oh, you must be talking about the Caliber? Natskashii na... I haven’t seen it in a while... It’s pretty powerful, but in the end, nothing more than a fake. I don’t know where that ‘player’ as you said got one, but the true Excalibur always stayed at the hands of our Pendragon clan. The reason we were willing to give a faery such as yourself our most cherished sword is because my dear husband and I sadly have not been blessed with an heir. As we have no one who we can pass this family heirloom onto, we decided to choose the exact time and location where my husband’s glorious ancestor Arthus Pendragon sacrificed himself to protect Alfheim. And you just happened to pass by the exact same place where he used his Excalibur for the last time to defeat Gaia at the cost of his life... This has to be fate! We would have liked to give you the sword right away, but as it so happens, this sword can only be passed to those who have the courage to get rejected as it is in the nature of everyone and everything to get rejected. Even nature gets rejected sometimes, mostly by humans but thankfully there are faeries to balance it, am I right?” The old lady let out a brief laugh as her husband nodded his head, “Well said dear, wise words as always,” and put his one hand over his wife’s back and said with his shaking voice, “yo, adventurer! We hope that you have the courage to obtain this sword and protect Alfheim when the time comes! Do you accept?”

The familiar quest menu appeared before the boy who didn’t even think twice before accepting it. The old man then added one more thing, “You have until sunset. If you do not accomplish it by then, not only will you not get the sword, you also will not be welcomed at the round table! Now, off you go, my faery adventurer. May the force of nature be with you...

The now confused Gnome nodded, shy about confessing to his crush but determined enough to complete the quest as soon as possible, so he left, taking off with his wings, to the place where once a passionate Imp had peacefully drifted away in the arms of her crying sister, which ironically was the same place where the two met for the first time...

As he was out of sight, the old woman suddenly barked out a hearty laughter, “round table? You said he will not be welcome in the round table? And what was with that goodbye? “May the force of nature be with you?” That is just so silly! Hahahahahaha, Kirito-kun!”

The old man slowly transformed into his original form. When his transformation was complete, there stood a boy of 12-13 years, with black hair down to shoulders, with more prominent pointy ears then his previous avatar. He was wearing a black robe with some white and gold patterns here and there...

“Urussai-na! I just thought he needed another push to strengthen his resolve...” He replied while rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed.

Asuna too was reverting back to her original state, as her transformation too was complete, there stood a similarly aged girl, with long orange-brownish chestnut hair reaching all the way to her tighs, her hazel eyes full of life. She was wearing a dress similar to when she was the vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood in SAO.

”Hahahaha, I haven’t laughed like this since the time you proposed to that guy as an old lady, saying that you’re very rich and asking him to marry a rich old lady like you, and that it will be beneficial for him in real life if he was to be your husband! His expression then was priceless! Hahaha!”

“Well, I had to do it since I’d lost that bet hadn’t I?... Wonder whose fault was that?” He sulked.

“Well? Have you learned your lesson then?” She innocently asked, looking at him sideways.

“What lesson?” Retorted an irritated Kirito.

“Don’t make a bet with me, if you do, you’ll only taste the bitter flavor of defeat, well I won’t stop you if you like to lose. I guess everyone has their own unique hobbies...” Asuna pridefully finished while looking at him passively with a single eye.

“Ugh... Asuna, someday...” He sighed.

“Nani?” Asuna said with her sweet-sounding voice, smiling innocently at him which only made him sigh for the second time that day, making Asuna laugh as she suddenly jumped at him who was of course not expecting her to do such a thing, making them both fall... As they lied down on the grass, enjoying each other’s company, hugging each other, watching the blue sky... They were happily thinking about the same thing: Their last three months... What they did with the Gnome just now could be summarized as these last three months. Hopefully there will be many more to come... Hopefully...