/ 144 Days Ago…
/ Game Version: 0_1_337_Alpha_Build_ver42 (Code Name: Double Double Cherry)
"Skill analyses complete." Came the somber voice.
"I'm sorry that skill at this level is way to strong. Make a note CALClito, consider raising Purge Blade skill by ten levels, or maybe drop skills effectiveness by around twenty percent."
Gee the dev team put way too much power into some of the skills.
"So what do we have next on the check list?" I turned back to look at the small baseball sized silver sphere floating only about a meter away. The little sphere floated a little closer taking up position just to my right hovering at head level.
"That is all for the day Miss Zero, we need only to sync our findings with the Cardinal for review."
I nodded and took one last look around the plains area CALClito and stood in and smiled. I had always loved gaming when I was younger, I didn't have many friends then. It was hard living in a country that you were not born in. My mother was in the US Air Force and her duty station was in Japan, so I was military brat, but unlike most I made an effort to learn about the lands I was living in. To the language was no problem for me these days, but I don't think my mother ever expected me to stay when she retired. It was just before I was starting my last year of high school. She wasn't upset, and relented with very little protest. Then again it wasn't like she or I had any family other than each other, both her parents had past and she had no family, and my father had no family. He himself had died when I was only four, and the wreck almost took me with him.
The wind started picking up and I looked to the setting sun. I pulled a few strands of virtual white hair out of my face curling it instinctively behind my ear. This would was virtual, it wasn't real. The sights, smells, soreness from taking a hit were all simulated. Even so the joy of accomplishment, of seeing something new and the thrill of exploration, adventure that was all real, you can't fake that.
"I guess we should call it a day then, go ahead and start syncing the date with my terminal I'll be there in just a moment."
"At once miss." Replied CALClito in his best human sounding voice, a ripple of color flashed across the sphere, and then just as quickly was returned back its not reflective silver color. Then the sphere winked out of existence as I looked on to the distance again.
I switched classes becoming a Lancer; the armor was lighter, but allowed for much greater movement. While my strength was not as great as a Lancer my dexterity and reaction time was superb. That was something that I had complained about on several reports, the fact that dexterity would play a greater role in say a characters ability to jump just didn't set right with me but I was over.
Truthfully be told I'm glad, dexterity is my highest stat, so the acrobatics I can do where amazing."
I started to run, the grass was passing me so fast, I wanted to take one last crack at the rare spawn here on this level, it was still work just need to test it out. It was as good an excise as any, I reached the coastline in just a few minutes. In the distance I saw my target, the rare spawn the working title for the quest was (I Just) Died in Your Six Arms Tonight. I thought it worked well seeing as this was a large crab you had to fight. Old Crabby was the working name for him and he only appeared at sun down, I really shouldn't have been taking it on my own but I was at present ten levels higher then him.
Not to mention I really wanted to play more with my Lancer Acrobatics Skills. When I was about ten meters away I leapt to the air well over anything human in the real world could, and drew my Lance activating a skill as I feel head first towards my target.
"Spineshatter Dive!"
I have no idea why I always screamed my class specials but it just seemed like the thing to do, it's what people in anime and movies did so just a good example of how fantasy imitates reality or was it fantasy imitating fantasy?
As the force of the fire like explosion vanished and swiftly I pushed off my Lance jumping back several meters away, just as a large claw swiped where I had just been. I landed on one hand and sprang back a few more meters then stood ready. Crabby was tall, probably over three meters and he was pissed off.
I had to grin, this was what I lived for, the thrill of the challenge myself. I went back in, dodging left with a hard thrust to one of the legs. Again and again I dodged each time working up more, getting faster, jumping higher. Granted it couldn't hit me not as long as I watched what I was doing but at this rate I was never going to kill it unless I wanted to spend all night whittling away on it.
"So this is what's taking you so long." The voice caught me off guard and that momentary distraction is all it took. My head whipped to the side to see Akihiko standing there in his usual full plate armor. Then I felt the impact as I was slammed to the ground eating a mouthful of dirt. I quickly rolled over to see the claw coming my way, but then he was there standing over me shield raised. There was a large clang as Crabby's claw impacted Akihiko's shield and I had to smile.
"My knight in shining armor." I said with a smile, most would never notice it from his monotone face but I saw the slightest twitch of a grin as he looked down at me. All too quickly it was gone and he simply shook his head. I rolled back wards tumbling and righting myself, Lance ready as he too jumped back and taking to my left flank.
"You do know we have been working on the stats of the rare spawns bosses right?"
"I did notice that he did seem a little Crabbier than usual." There was no response and I couldn't look at his face because I knew it would be one of distance in my very sad since of humor. "Just means that I need a partner to take him down." Then I did look and the slight grin returned and he nodded and dashed toward the Crab and the two met half way.
A shield bash and he was stunned, Akihiko took advantage of the moment and attacked the closest leg while I went to work on the opposite leg.
"Look out!" Akihiko shouted.
Crabby was really living up to his name sake. He had started to skitter in my direction, instantly I jumped backwards doing a hand plant then jumping back farther. Akihiko came to my side.
"Ready?" He asked.
"Let do it!" I said taking off a step behind him as he raced toward the Crab. He lead in with a shield bash, the followed through with heavy upwards slash exposing the monsters underbelly.
"Switch!" Quickly our positions were reversed. "Doom Spike!"
My strike was true and within an instant that was it Crabby was down with a digital poof. I turned to look at my boss, this time with a real gentle smile on his face. I cheered a little and then walked over to him giving him my usual thumbs up and he just shook his head.
"So I take it your don't playing around now?" He asked.
"Sorry I forgot we were in a game," I teased. "can't be playing around here this is super serious." He just chuckled, as long as I had known Akihiko, which was really a little over a year I had never seen him smile or laugh around anyone other than myself. I would be lying if I said it didn't make me feel special. It did.
"Come along Menolly it's getting late and you have been logged in all day. You shouldn't over work yourself."
"Yes, sorry. I'll try and remember to take better care of myself." I said, thinking about it now I had missed taking my medication and hour ago. Dang it. "Let's teleport and log on this floor here for the night."
"Yes."
We both accessed our administration interface and teleported to the local towns inn. After a moment of scrolling through the menu I found the logout command and after a kaleidoscope of light I was back in my office at Argus.
Unlike most people that wanted to work for Argus I was recruited. You see while I am a decent programmer I was not brought on for programing I was brought on because I was a gamer. For years I would play games, any game I could get my hands on really, it was only later that I was able to start going to competitions and gaming professionally. My mother frowned on my profession, but it was my passion. I couldn't stop I loved it, so that's what I did and I was good at it. For over four years professional gaming was my life and then I met Akihiko. He came to me and asked if I wanted to keep playing games or if I wanted to make new worlds.
At first I was skeptical, but after speaking with him for a while we both learned of each other's passions for games, but in truth for a game that surpassed all others, a game that you didn't just play but a game you lived. A quick taste of what he had to offer and I was hooked. That's all it took to get me on board.
One of my fondest memories, my title at Argus is Lead Developer of Combat Mechanics and System Balancing, but what it really boiled down to was I was setting that base level of all skills for combat and test out the raid group balancing so that Cardinal knows how players might react. Today was the last test of many of the combat skill systems. Meaning now I have paper work to start on tomorrow.
I sighed, I really hated all the paper work but that was just part of the job. I removed my NerveGear and felt a little better as I recalled that next week I would be testing the Raid's to make sure that bosses were beatable or to balance them a little more.
I sat my NerveGear on the table beside my desk and looked up at the computer screen, the small silver glowing sphere was bouncing on the desk top.
Great CALClito was going to be miffed that I had taken so long to log out.
I reached over and turned on the speaker and immediately I head the little AI chastise me for making him wait.
Not that he needed to.
"Hello CALClito have you uploaded the date to Cardinal yet?"
"No I have not. I do wish you would carried me along on your little side mission it could have provided invaluable information. I would like to run analysis the data from today using the mainframe but I am waiting in the queue. It will be later tonight when I can process it. I will have it for you first thing in the morning." The little 3D sphere flashed a few colors then returned to its none reflective silver.
I pinched the bridge of my nose followed by a good old rubbing of my eyes. I do need to spend less time in there. I leaned my chair forward from it more reclined position and stretched my arms. There came a knock at my door and standing there with his gentle grin was Akihiko.
"So the Weapons Master of SAO is finally awake." I chuckled at my unofficial title.
"Good day Akihiko-senpai." I smiled back obviously much brighter then him. In the game I had gotten him to smile and even chuckle, but here in the real world. Never.
"Well Springfield-san, it seems that you have not left yet." Well duhh we just killed a rare spawn less than ten minutes ago. "Nor did log out for lunch—Neither did I."
I know I must have had a dumb look on my face but did Akihiko just ask me to go to dinner with him. I was swoon, I didn't know I could swoon. He was a few years older than me five to be specific, and I would be lying if I said that I did not like him but I always assumed that our playful banter never really meant anything.
Is this really happening?
"Yeah!, I mean yes sir I would love to. Like too! I um sure, sure." I looked at him after my prattling and he smiled. He smiled, I flicked my hand and no menu appeared, I was still in the real world he is really smiling at me.
"Good, I was worried you might have to get home since it's so late." I shook my head as I reached over and grabbed my purse setting it in my lap. I reached around the sides of my chair and unlocked the wheels, then rolling my way to the door to me Akihiko as he stood back to let me through the door and he walked beside me as I pushed the wheels of my chair and we reached the elevator.
That was one thing that I had always liked about Akihiko, he never tried to overly 'help me' out like most of the team did. You see I was paralyzed from the waist down when I was young, the same day that my father died. So games were my outlet to the world, I couldn't get out as much as a kid and mom was always working on the base so it was what really thrilled me. It happened at such a young age that I can't really remember what it was like to walk in the real world, to not be restricted by my chair.
But in SAO I can outrun the wind.
That's how he got me, I logged on to the demo land scape for the NerveGear and that was all it took, I was hooked, it was exciting, invigorating, and best of all. I was free.
"So what would you like to eat? I know a pretty good Ramen shop nearby." He asked.
"Hmm ramen sounds great, I wonder if they have a bowl with crab?"
Fun Facts:
(I Just) Died in Your Six Arms Tonight
The quest the Menolly refers to a real FATE Quest in FFXIV with the same name.
Zero / Menolly
In SAO she is known as Zero, for player Zero. While people at Argus have played the levels that were in development Menolly became the first player that started the closed in house only Alpha test phase.
She is the only American on the development team (That I know of.) and has lived her whole life in Japan where here mothers duty station was. She speaks perfect Japanese as a native and English thought she does have an accent when speaking English.
CALClito (CALK 'Lie ' tow) is an acronym for a tactical data gathering AI that Menolly developed to help her judge and balance the character skills and the coming raid bosses and mobs. It stands for:
Computational
Algorithm
Leveling
Consultant and
limited
interaction
tactical
operator
Also sometimes called CALC for short, and by other development team members as it's hard for some to say. CALC is also the program name for the calculator in the Windows OS with the .exe removed.
CALClito cannot interact with the world but can gather data on what is happening much like Yui can analysis the data fee d in SAO. However CALClito tends to make suggestions on strategy and what a person might do against monsters, but this is only useful after he has enough data to analyze. Veritable also on the number of players, attacks used, skill level, and actions taken by both the players and the monster.
Software Version Info
0_1_337_Alpha_Build_ver42 (Code Name: Double Double Cherry)
The is meant to translate to 'leet' (1337)
The code name Double Double Cherry is one of the first sugar free mixes of Cool Aid
Well that's that, I hope you enjoyed and it wasn't too boring of a read. I'm not sure if I will do more at the moment as I need to finish two other stories right now, but maybe after the first of the year. If I do I might open this story up to collaboration with others or asked for people to submit some more OC's for the story as when the SAO Beta launches I will need some other people rather than just the Main cast thought I would expect to meet them later and get involved with them some.
Well drop me a review and let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading.
.
.
.
Do it.
.
.
\/