[h1][center][u]Floor 1 boss, prior to the battle[/u][/center][/h1]

The majority of players seemed too timid to even attempt the first floor boss. Given the game had 100 floors it was doubtful the first boss would pose any challenge, correct? On top of that they had the "Beaters", beta players with knowledge of the boss mechanics and the battle as a whole. Yes, Sword Art Online becoming a game with real death certainly made it more intimidating but it wasn't as though they were heading into this blind. Despite those meager reassurances it was almost impossible to rouse popular support for a clearing party, and ultimately only about 50 people agreed to go. A sizable enough group to do what was needed, it just went to show the caliber of person that most players had, which wasn't much. 

So where did that leave them now? After having progressed through the rest of the dungeon the group now stood on the precipice of the boss room, staring at an ornate set of iron doors, engraved with what appeared to be Kobolds, and giant golden door knockers hanging overhead. It hadn't been easy reaching this point as combat was quite different now, yet they had managed to get here without so much as a single casualty. Not much optimism could be gleamed from that though, they had only killed trash monsters up until this point and the real battle lay beyond these doors. Knowing what was to come in mere moments the room was tense, barely anyone speaking as players tried to mentally prepare themselves for the oncoming fight. Victory meant getting one step closer to freedom, while defeat meant everyone would be made to suffer remaining on floor one, and only another clearing party could potentially get everyone out of this virtual prison. Simply put, failure was not an option.

"Let's go already... I'm sick of waiting around!" Suto moaned, laying on his back and sprawling out as he stared at the high arched ceiling above, "We got this far didn't we? We can kick the boss' butt no problem! I want to see what the next floor is like!" He didn't get what the big deal was, they had such good momentum coming up here so shouldn't they continue that? Everyone present save a few was acting like they were at a funeral or something, not a single person had died though on their way here. Seriously, they were going to be fine, no reason to get all bummed out and nervous.

Doku rolled his eyes at his brother's complaints, looking down at him as he lay on the floor. "Then run in there and fight the boss one-on-one, I'm sure you'll do fine," he retorted, smirking when Suto puffed up indignantly, "No? Then be patient. We need a strategy for fighting the boss anyways, can't be too hasty." The Beaters had shared their information earlier, best to just go over again though to make certain it was clear. There was reason for concern too even with their prior knowledge of the boss; games in the past tended to change from beta to release, and there was no guarantee this boss was exactly the same. Bravado had gotten them here, but if they wanted to actually make it out alive they would have to keep on their toes.

"Well... How much longer is it going to be? I mean we're right here, we can finish this now and get to the next floor," Suto began again as he sat up and crossed his legs, "Everyone seemed so excited for us to beat this thing, you know? I mean at first people doubted we could do it, no one was showing up to see them off or anything; leaving today for the boss battle it seemed like most of Aincrad had turned out for it, as though everyone believed they were capable of doing this. Suto couldn't wait to return after the battle then with a big grin on his face, able to tell everyone that this game could be beaten and they made progress. "Don't you want to do that? I mean look how bummed out people were when we started this, now people are smiling again!"

Yes, people did seem to be a little more cheerful since this venture of theirs began, but it was still far from over. The hardest part of the whole effort was just beyond the doors here and as the floors progressed so too would the difficulty. It was easy for someone like Suto, always optimistic and fanciful in his view of things to look at this and say it was nothing but up for them, yet they had to be realistic here; floors would become harder, fights would be unpredictable, and people would die. "Well we'll have to give it our all here then, no mistakes. I'm sure everyone will be happy to see our return though," Doku agreed, smiling slightly as he looked to the doors, "Provided we return," he added to himself.