Sword Art Online : Integral Factor rewrite

Miyurin and Ulrik

A week had passed since the game began and things were somehow going well, considering the fact that thousands of lives were at stake. Koharu had grown much more confident which you were glad to see and you had been taking on quite difficult quests.

You were currently in the merchants district filling up on all the necessary supplies before heading out into the field. On the way out, you were interrupted by two players you've never seen before.

???: "Hold it right there! You two! With gear like that, you must be quite the warriors!"
Koharu: "Oh, uhh... do you need something?"
Miyurin: "Yeah I uhh... Ahem! I'm Miyurin. Just your regular ol' town dweller."
Ulrik: "And I'm Ulrik. Me 'n him are partners, I guess. Nice to meet ya."

A short and stout male player as well as a thin taller male player approached you. You couldn't help but notice that the thinner one had female clothes on suggesting he was one of them people who tried to catfish other players by pretending to be a girl.

That caused your mind to wander to the possibility of Koharu being a catfish and actually being a middle aged man. You had to shake your head to get rid of those thoughts and began listening into the conversation.

Ulrik: "Truth is, I got a little something to ask. Think you could maybe, you know, help us out a tad with a little quest?"
Miyurin: "It's just a quest to deliver a letter to an NPC, but it keeps sending us here, there and everywhere. A real pain-in-the-butt fetch quest"
Miyurin: "It doesn't even offer that great of a payout either, so almost everyone has skipped it."
Ulrik: "But once we pass a certain threshold we'll unlock another quest and THAT will give us some better rewards."
Miyurin: "The quest itself is a piece of cake. Just picking up drops."
Miyurin: "The problem is WHERE the drops come from. The first place is Origin Plains, that we can easily handle."
Ulrik: "But the other item, it only drops in Quest Plains."

Quest Plains was a place you and Koharu would frequently visit, as most of the higher level quests involved killing mobs in that area.

Miyurin: "We can't go there! We'd be toast with this paper-thin armour!"

He wasn't wrong there, you were pretty sure he was still wearing the beginning gear. If he even stepped foot near the high levels mobs, he'd be finished."

Ulrik: "That's why we've been hanging around asking players with better gear."
Miyurin: "No one seems to be interested, though..."
Miyurin: "Some of them even flipped out on us. So we're not really keen on asking super strong looking people anymore."
Ulrik: "Anyone whose ever played a game knows grinding monster battles is best to level. But here, we're talking real life and death."
Miyurin: "What's gonna happen to us now that we're trapped inside this game? How long are we really gonna last?"
Miyurin: "Oh, uh... Sorry 'bout that. Putting a damper on the mood and all"
Ulrik: "Sitting around dwelling ain't gonna change anything, so let's just forget about it! We gotta be more upbeat than that!"
Ulrik: "Is what I wish I could say, but it's kinda hard to get over..."
Koharu: "I know just how you feel. Somewhere deep down, I know I'm still just waiting for someone to rescue us."
Koharu: "But if we just leave it to that, we'll never get anywhere right?"

You were glad to see that Koharu was having a positive outlook on things

Miyurin: "Yep. No matter how crummy it gets, we still gotta make the most of it."
Ulrik: "We've all gotta work together! So on that note then... You think you guys might wanna help?"
Ulrik: "We can all split the rewards. Whaddya say?"
Koharu: "Joshua... These two seem like good people. What do you think?"

You were thinking about turning them down, thinking that a simple task like this wasn't really worth the time. But one look at Koharu's hopeful eyes was enough to get you to agree

Joshua: "All right then"
Ulrik: "Oh thank goodness!"
Ulrik: "Alright, get me five Wolf Claw from the Dire Wolf out in Quest Plains, would you?"
Miyurin: "We'll probably be back at the Teleport Gate before you, so just come look for us there. Good hunting!"

They left to go do whatever it is they do

Koharu: "I know we just kinda of happened upon this, but it doesn't seem so bad. At least we have a goal now."
Koharu: "It's kind of hard to aim for level 100 straight from the get-go. So having some smaller goals sure helps, I think."
Joshua: "Can't fault that logic. Alright then, Let's go this together"
Koharu: "Yeah!"

Before heading out, you accepted a few side quests that you could complete whilst getting the Wolf Claws to maximise efficiency

Upon reaching the wolfs, you recalled to watching those players dying at their hands, but you quickly shoved that thought back down and hoped it wouldn't remind Koharu of that as well.

You and Koharu had developed a technique for fighting mobs together, where one of you would distract the mobs and the other would then kill it with a sword skill, limiting the danger posed to both of you. It was barebones at the very best, but hey, it worked

Ulrik: "Woah! Thanks! You really saved us!"
Miyurin: "I'll go grab our rewards. Just wait here!"

They went off somewhere and came back not too long later

Miyurin: "Okie dokie! Here's our lovely little reward! Oh I'm so happy I could burst, Miyurin!"
Ulrik: "Mi-chan... No one's gonna fall for that act with that avatar..."

You cringed so hard you were surprised your face didn't collapse in on itself

Miyurin: "Gah, sorry... Okay guys, come reap the rewards of my... Man, it's harder to drop the girly avatar act than I thought."
Miyurin: "Anyway! Thanks a bunch! This might sound like an exaggeration, but you guys helped me find some confidence."
Ulrik: "You know, I've played a lot of games. And I always thought I was just like the heroes in them! Thought I had it in me"
Ulrik: "But I guess I was wrong. Now that it's all so real. I've lost all the fight in me."
Ulrik: "I've been just pecking at battles right outside town, running back when I lose HP..."
Miyurin: "We should have been able to go to Quest Plains ourselves. But the thought of it was so frightening..."
Joshua: "There's nothing wrong with being frightened, I'd call you crazy if you weren't. But you try, and that's enough"
Miyurin: "Thanks... but, you two though, you're something. You could have turned us away, but you went right out there and pulled it off."
Ulrik: "We really need to try harder, too. Just... while staying alive."

You found yourself yawning, looking at the time, you realised night was quickly dawning and were feeling slightly tired. You heard Koharu quietly giggling next to you

Koharu: "Well it looks like we should turn in for tonight, see you guys later"
You waved to them and began walking towards the inn you were staying at