Matsu hadn't really prepared for a response - at least not such an immediate one. And not by a cute girl. There weren't many of those around. There used to be only beautiful people in Aincrad, when people could design their own character. However, Akihiko had made it so everyone looked like how they did in real life. There weren't exactly a plethora of cute girls in the hardcore MMORPG-community. For a moment, Matsu could only stare at her outstretched hand. Matsu didn't really have any experience talking with girls. It was one of his short-comings. He'd spent most of the last ten years stuck in his parents' mansion, where the only female was his mother and their forty-eight-year-old cleaning maid. She looked at the girl in front of him. What had she said? He couldn't recall. Realizing too much time had passed, and not wanting to make a further fool of himself, he quickened to and shook her hand. 

"I'm Matsu. It's… nice to meet you", he said, steeling his somewhat shaky voice. He cursed himself for being so shamefully introvert. That's the price of solitude, he figured. "So, uhm… you want to join me on this quest?" He asked, but immediately reddened a bit, as he realized it sounded cheesy. They weren't in a fantasy flick, either. "I mean, you're willing to go? I don't know what we'll be facing. Here…", he said, and opened his quest log to indicate the obvious lack of information. He noticed then that the other players in the room had all ignored him. Dungeon-rated quests usually required a full group to complete. Matsu was quite skilled, though. When meeting Rare creatures in the wilds, he had always managed to defeat them. In previous dungeons he had been in, which weren't many, he had been the one carrying the team. 

Matsu didn't put much confidence into her abilities, and began wondering if this was such a good idea. No way a girl gamer could be both cute and skilled. That was just not metaphysically possible, in Matsu's mind. They would need to get more group-members, if they were to succeed at this thing. Still, he invited the girl to join his party. He would have to take whoever he could get. A girl like that, though, would maybe be more of a burden than help. Focusing on downing mobs quickly, he wasn't very good at protecting others in battle. If he was forced to focus on defending her, then he wouldn't be as effective in combat. On the other side, if the mobs were busy targeting her, he would have free reign to deal as much damage as possible. Matsu shook his head. Sometimes, he lost himself in the game completely. It had only been three weeks, but real life already felt far away, as if it didn't exist. Another world, out of time. It wasn't like that, though, he had to remind himself. Real life didn't have stats, or gear, or any of that stuff. Aincrad was making him more cynical by the day. He had to keep a grip on what was real and what wasn't. This was still just a game, albeit a lethal one. If he had to protect her, so he would, like any decent person. If they didn't look out for each other, who would?