Scene 05

Apologies, but we saw you enter and couldn't help but follow.

Hehe... Sorry about that whole dying thing earlier.

But hear me out! We got PK'd by some player called Stella!

I believe she's one of those despicable streamers who farm views by doing awful things.

The video of our deaths will likely be uploaded for her subscribers to laugh at.

I imagine she'll title it something like "Noob Slaying in SAO!" or some such.

Urgh, how horrible can you be...?

Still, I should apologize.

You'd only just joined our party, and we abandoned you...

Are... these your party members?

Heya, I'm Saayu!

And my name is Wyzeman. What may we call you?

It's Iori. I ran into this guy after you were taken out.

Oh, so did they find you too?

Nah, we made it out.

Really? That's quite impressive!

Well, my plan was to catch them, but they were able to scurry away...

You tried to capture them?!

You're kidding...?!

Well, we'd cleared the ruins, so—

What?!

Just the two of you? That doesn't even seem possible.

Not sure what else to tell you...

That's so awesome!

To have such acumen as a beginner...

Oh man, that's pretty embarrassing for Clark and his whole leader thing.

Oh! Speaking of—apparently he can't take part in the beta test anymore.

Said he had some urgent work to deal with and logged off.

He seemed pretty torn up about it... and it means we won't be able to go on dates for a while, either...

Ah, must be rough having a proper job.

He said he was excited to come back for launch day, though!

And that he really couldn't stomach being beaten by Stella and that lackey of hers!

We're gearing up so we can really show 'em who's boss next time!

That reminds me—Iori.

What's up?

Would you mind showing our friend here around town?

We had planned to do so ourselves but, well... As Saayu said, we have other matters to attend to.

Wait, you want me to handle that?

I mean, not that I mind.

Aww, thank you!

You're a great help!

Feel free to call on us whenever you wish to embark on a quest!

We'll join you after we find some super strong gear!