Saturday, November 06, 2021 9:00 AM
Harry hitched his silvery-blue dragon scale shield a little higher up on his back as he followed Agil through the streets of Grandum (located on the fifty-fifth floor) towards the Knights of the Blood (KoB) Headquarters where a number of Solo Players, small Player Parties, and Guilds were gathering to join the fight against the boss Monster on the seventy-fifth floor. It had taken them two years to get as far in the game as they had and during that time Harry had grown mentally, emotionally, magically, and socially. Physically, he still looked much like a seven or eight year old though he wasn't quite as scrawny looking as he'd been right after his Avatar had been converted to match his physical appearance.
As his eyes took in the various buildings, Harry let his mind wander through the memories that he'd collected during the time that he'd lived inside of the game. During the past eighteen months, he'd continued on much as he had during those first six weeks of the game; hunting rare items, plants, and creatures throughout the various floors as he steadily leveled up. After facing his third wyvern, two months after his tenth birthday, he'd become known as Dragon Slayer James the Reckless due to the fact that he always sought out and faced the dragons and wyverns alone.
Most just called him Dragon James for short (Dragon becoming something of both a surname and a title for the eleven year old much like Tracker had been prior to the glitch that had seen him striped of his adult Avatar).
Despite the increases in his Stats, Abilities, and confidence, he still worked part time for Agil and continued to live with the merchant; Harry had come to see the older man as a father-figure by the time he'd turned ten (though he'd never once told Agil how he felt about him). Agil had supported and encouraged him to grow stronger as well as made certain that Harry took proper care of himself and didn't neglect his education. So it was only natural that Harry had come to see the only man who had treated him in a fatherly manner as a father.
Harry in turn helped the older man help the lower level Players level up so that they would survive the game; bringing in rare Items that could be sold for a tidy profit which in turn was used to help equip the Players with proper weapons and armor. Harry never kept more than five percent of the profit and only when he needed to stock up on supplies or save up to purchase new or replacement equipment.
Kirito, on the other hand, had practically disappeared around the time that the Guild he'd joined had been killed in a Dungeon trap; at the time, the teen had suffered from a guilty conscience because he'd been the only survivor. It wasn't until after their second Christmas in the game that the teen once more began to turn up regularly; though still nowhere near as often as he had before the death of his Guild. After he turned back up, the teen had taken to teaching Harry a fourth Skill; that of Blade Throwing since Harry still refused to use any sword that was longer than fifteen inches in length (the hilt not included).
By that time, Harry had also added three more friends to his list; Klein, Asuna, and Lisbeth.
Klein was the same man that Harry had seen Kirito with on the day of the game's launch. Harry had run into the man and his Guild shortly after defeating the Shady Wyvern (his third lesser dragon boss) and it was Klein that had dubbed him Dragon Slayer James the Reckless after he and his Guild had witnessed the tail end of that fight. The loud and friendly man had then tried to take him back to the church in Hajimari no Machi on the first floor (where the younger Players that were still under the age of fourteen were being watched over).
Harry had instead dragged the man to Agil so that his self-adopted father could explain to the man that Harry was not a lost stray. Klein eventually became something of a cross between a fun uncle and an older brother to Harry as he tended to make certain that Harry had fun every once in a while and the man loved to exchange stories with him about various adventures and battles they'd experienced in the game.
Harry had met Asuna through Agil when the talented teen had come to Agil's shop looking for rare cooking ingredients in order to improve her Cooking Skill around the one year mark. Asuna had been the first client that Harry had taken with him on a Search since he'd reached level thirty (at Agil's insistence) and one of two girls that he'd met within the game that didn't automatically dismiss him as a helpless child just because he was young and short (the other being Lisbeth).
She had developed a tendency to mother him though; constantly delivering 'home cooked' meals, snacks, and treats to the shop for him at least four times a week. She also willingly passed along rumors and hints regarding the locations of rare or highly sought after Items and other Boss Dragons (as opposed to the small, pet-like dragons raised by the Tamers in the game) in exchange for uncommon or rare cooking ingredients; that was her way of acknowledging his abilities.
Asuna had been the one to introduce Harry to Lisbeth, a skilled blacksmith, after she learned that he was looking to get some of the dragon bone, fangs, and scales he'd collected made into armor, weapons, and tools. The pink haired teen had let out a squeal of excitement the moment she'd set eyes on Harry and pulled him into a hug (to his shock) before Asuna had even finished introducing the two of them. She had also repeatedly raved over how adorable he was, how gorgeous his jewel green eyes were, and how sweet and brave it was that he was escorting Asuna.
When Lisbeth learned that he wanted her to make weapons, tools, and armor from dragon parts she'd squealed a second time before demanding to see the quality of the materials he had brought with him. She had immediately demanded to know who he'd purchased the materials from (because of their high quality) and when he'd told her that he had collected them himself, she'd been shocked. The moment she had recovered from the shock, she'd immediately ordered him to add her to his Friend List and allow her to go with him the next time he faced a dragon before agreeing to make the items he'd requested.
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