FATAL ERROR: SYSTEM REBOOT
Final Reset
Chapter One: Fatal Error
A/N:
NOTICE: I will NOT abandon the original Fatal Error. I just thought I should say that for those of you who are hating on me because they think I am. (Believe me, there have been a few already.)
This is just something I whipped up for a project in my writers' workshop, where I'm supposed to revise something I've written. Naturally, I'd choose this! So yeah, this is my third and FINAL rewrite of my first story, and I'll be making this a harem. Don't worry, though, I'll still update the original FESR, so those of you who like that one will still be reading new chapters every once in a while. Of course, that means that both the Kirisuna-only lovers AND the Harem Lovers will get what they want! Hooray!
So yeah, I hope you enjoy this! Of course, if you want to show me how much you like or dislike it, you can do that by reviewing, faving, or PMing.
EDIT: I made some edits to the initial release of this chapter, but that hasn't slowed me down. Expect the next chapter to be revised and out within a week from 3/7/2014!
All right, I'll see you at the bottom!
"Kirito-kun. I feel you deserve some kind of reward for deducing my identity, so… I'll give you a chance."
I looked at the man before me, an angry but puzzled expression on my face. "A chance for what?"
"The chance to fight me one-on-one. Right here, right now. Of course, my immortal status will be deactivated. Defeat me and you clear the game. All the players will be able to log out from this world, no strings attached. What do you say?"
I gasped quietly, my mind racing.
Something is off about this. If he's doing this, he must be extremely confident in his power. He may deactivate his immortality, but he might still have another hack programmed into his character. Even so…
"Don't do it, Kirito-kun," Asuna said quietly from my arms, looking at me pleadingly. "He's trying to get rid of you before you become a threat. For now… for now, we should fall back."
Memories from my time in SAO flashed before my eyes. Memories of everyone who died in front of me, appearing in my mind one by one.
I saw Diabel, perishing in my arms.
I grit my teeth, rage building up inside me.
Then came Ducker, Sasamaru and Tetsuo, dying to the horde of mobs in the trap room on the twenty-seventh floor.
Sachi, my first love, dying as she said the two words that gave me the will to live.
I lowered my head, my bangs covering the tears of fury building up in my eyes.
Then came Keita, committing suicide after I told him of my status as a «Beater».
Corvats of the «Aincrad Liberation Force», perishing at the hands of the «Gleam Eyes».
Godfrie of the «Knights of the Blood», dying to Kuradeel of the «Laughing Coffin», who happened to be the next person to die… by my hands.
Yui, my beloved in-game child, being deleted by the «Cardinal System» for stepping out of line.
I clenched my teeth even harder, the tears of rage threatening to fall from my eyes.
I saw Asuna at the guild headquarters, crying in my arms at the thought of my death.
"Don't underestimate me…" I whispered, a primal rage just under the surface of my flat tone. "That's fine with me. Let's end it here."
"Kirito-kun!" Asuna whispered, her tone pleading me not to fight him.
"Sorry, Asuna," I told her, looking down at her softly. "But I can't run away here. Not with these stakes."
"If you die, I'll never forgive you," Asuna replied.
"No, I'm gonna win. I promise I'll end this world," I reassured her, getting up and laying her gently onto the ground.
I began walking towards Heathcliff —no, Kayaba Akihiko— the demon who created this world. As I unsheathed my swords, I heard my friends calling my name.
"Kirito! Don't!" Egil, my only African American friend, shouted at me from where he lay, paralyzed on the ground.
"Kirito!" Klein, the first friend I made in this world, shouted from his own spot as he struggled to get up and stop me.
"Egil," I said, turning to face the dark-skinned giant.
He gasped, and I could see his mind racing to figure out my next words.
"Thanks for supporting all the players here, since the very beginning," I told him, cracking a smile. "Yeah, I knew. You act all tough, like you only care about the money, but I know you spent everything you had on helping the mid-level players level up."
Egil responded with another gasp, and I knew what he was thinking: that I might not survive, so this was my final goodbye.
It just might be…
"Klein," I said, my voice tinged with sorrow and regret.
Klein's face showed the horror he felt quite clearly, and I knew that he had figured out the purpose of this speech even faster that Egil had.
I looked down, my expression grim. "I'm sorry I left you behind that day… I think about it all the time."
"D-DAMN IT, Kirito!" Klein shouted, tears streaming from his eyes. "Don't you apologize! Don't you dare apologize now! I won't forgive you… I'll never forgive you until we're on the other side and you're buying me a meal, god damn it!"
"Of course," I affirmed, trying my best to comfort him. "I'll see you on the other side."
I looked to my beloved Asuna and smiled softly. I watched her face as she, too, began to realize what I thought might happen. Horror filled her face, and I could see tears beginning to fill the corners of her eyes. I turned around to face this world's demon creator, my smile replaced by an emotionless look.
"Sorry, but I have one last request to make."
"What is it?" he asked, looking at me with mild curiosity.
"I have no intention to lose here… but if I die… I want your word that you'll fix it so that Asuna can't commit suicide."
"Oh? Very well," Heathcliff said, closing his eyes and smiling softly, almost as if he pitied me for being in love. "I'll set it so that she can't leave «Salemburg»."
As soon as he finished talking, Asuna started screaming desperately.
"Kirito-kun, no! You can't…" Asuna shouted frantically. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"
I put all my effort into ignoring her pleas, putting my swords into my fighting position. As I did so, Heathcliff —no, Kayaba Akihiko, the devil that created this cruel death game— opened up his menu. After a few seconds, I saw a window appear next to his head.
«Changed into Mortal Object»
Then, both of our HP bars lowered into the Yellow zone, just above the red.
One blow from either of us will end it.
He drew his sword from its slot in his shield.
"KIRITO-KUN!"
I ignored Asuna's desperate scream, focusing all of my attention on the demon king not more than five meters in front of me.
This isn't some in-game duel… it's a fight to the death. But that's fine with me…
I tightened my grip on my swords, every virtual muscle in my avatar screaming for me to charge at Heathcliff.
'CAUSE I'M GONNA KILL HIM!
I charged at him, my «Elucidator» raised high into the air in preparation for a strike. In turn, Heathcliff raised his sword to block.
"HAAAA!" CLASH!
I hit his sword with my right, sending it flying back with the aid of my massive STR stat.
"HA!" CLASH!
I swung my left sword at him, and he raised his shield to block just in time.
"AH!" CLASH!
I swung both of my swords at him simultaneously in a double leftward strike, the force sending him skidding back about a meter before he recovered. He swung his sword at my head, and I ducked just in time to avoid any damage sans a sole strand of hair getting cut off.
I slashed at him with my left sword, moving his shield slightly before he backed away. I ran after him, slashing my right sword at him in a downward strike… which, of course, was blocked by his shield.
He made another strike for my head, and I parried it with my left before making a diagonal downward strike. I immediately transitioned into an upward left strike with my right, than a horizontal rightward strike. My left sword followed suit, the recoil giving me the push I needed to avoid a thrust to the chest from his sword.
He can block any skill I throw at him—
I slashed my left sword once rightwards, then reversed its direction and slashed it at his head, where he ducked and blocked with the top of his cross-shaped shield.
'Cause he designed the «Dual-Wielding» skill!
He swung his sword leftwards at me, and I blocked it with my right. I swung at his head with my left sword once more, making him duck and back out of the way.
And he knows all its combos!
He sent a thrust for my head, and I redirected his sword with a cross-block from my two blades. I pushed his sword down, jumping back in order to go back on the offensive with a clean start.
I have to beat him with my own power… without using any «Sword Skills»!
I jumped back in, hitting Heathcliff's shield in a downward slash from my right blade. He aimed an attack at me while I was crouched down, and I jumped over his head to avoid the strike, even slashing at his back in the process. He turned around and raised his shield just in time to block, but that block gave me the spin I needed to twist in midair until I landed on my feet.
Faster…!
I ran at him once more, hitting his shield twice before I went all the way past him and had to turn around. Yet again, I charged at him, hitting his shield four times with my «Dark Repulser».
I GOTTA GO FASTER!
Responding to my need, my blades began to give off a near-invisible glow. It startled me for a second before I realized what it was doing: making me faster.
I swung my left sword in a diagonal upward slash, followed by a diagonal downward slash. As I slashed over and over, he began to back off, making me chase after him with my swords blazing.
The power of our strikes kicked up a massive cloud of dust, obscuring our vision. Even so, I kept striking, determined to land the finishing blow. As soon as Heathcliff saw the tiniest of openings, he seized the chance, slashing at me and making a small scratch on my cheek. Even that much was enough to send me over the edge, enough so that I acted completely on instinct… by activating the strongest skill I possessed.
«The Eclipse».
No!
"RAAAAGH!"
And so the skill began.
CLASH, CLASH, CLASHCLASHCLASH!
He blocked each strike with blinding speed, bouncing my every hit off of his shield.
A strike from my glowing blue «Elucidator» hit his shield diagonally, followed by a spin that lead to another downward strike from the same sword. My «Dark Repulser» swung in a wide diagonal arc that hit the center of his shield, then reversed into an upward diagonal strike.
My right swung rightwards, hitting the top of his shield before bouncing off and leaving an explosion of bluish-white light. My left came next, going into an uppercut that sent me skidding back a little before I continued with a slash, and then a jab from my «Elucidator» once more.
Heathcliff deflected another thrust with a mere sway of his shield, then swayed it again to block another incoming slash.
He's toying with me…!
I hit his shield yet again with a diagonal downward strike from my right sword which quickly reversed into a horizontal outward strike, then another downward hit from my left blade, then yet another from my right. Two slanted strikes from each sword hit his shield, closely followed by an uppercut, and then a two-hit spin.
I'm sorry, Asuna… but you… you have to live!
"HAAAAAAAAA!"
When the final hit of «The Eclipse» launched, a thrust from my left sword to the center of his shield…
It broke.
A loud ringing could be heard throughout the entire boss room. My left sword, my «Dark Repulser», had shattered at the hands of the «Liberator».
No…
The post-motion delay kicked in, freezing my movements and effectively making me a sitting duck for Heathcliff's next attack.
"This is it!" Heathcliff said, a wide smile on his face as he raised his sword high into the air. "Game over, Kirito-kun!"
His sword began to take on a light red hue, signifying the activation of one of the «Divine Blade's» one-hit skills: the «Holy Sword».
Goodbye… everyone… I've failed… I'm sorry.
Something large moved into my field of vision, blocking the sight of Heathcliff's incoming sword. After only a few milliseconds, I recognized the shape as—
Asuna! No!
Asuna had somehow overridden the paralysis, jumping in front of me to take the blow that would have ended my life.
And she did.
A sickening cutting sound could be heard throughout the boss room as Heathcliff's sword slashed through Asuna's chest. The sound deafened me with its meaning.
She fell into my arms, as the post-motion delay ended just a fraction of a second before.
I looked on in horror, tears building up in my eyes as her health bar depleted past the Yellow, past the Red, and finally…
It completely disappeared.
As her body started to glow and flicker, my eyes widened in absolute terror. "Asuna… Asuna…! You can't… you can't be…"
A solitary tear rolled down her face, and she smiled up at me from her spot in my arms. She looked like she was struggling just to hold her head up, as if her body was getting heavy with each passing second as her life force started to dissipate.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered, still forcing a sad smile.
No! No, no, NO!
"Goodbye."
With that, her body began to glow brighter, expanding ever-so-slightly before it exploded into white polygons of all shapes. For some strange reason, her rapier fell to the ground un-shattered, as if it still had business in this world even after its owner died.
I desperately chased after the polygons as they floated away, hoping against hope that if I brought them back together, she would come back to life.
When I realized my efforts were futile, I fell to my knees, tears streaming down my face.
"Kirito! Catch!" I heard Klein shout before feeling the wind rushing as an item flew at me from his direction.
Catching the item, I looked at it for a second before recognizing the item as the «Divine Stone of Returning Soul», the revival item from when I fought «Nicolas the Renegade».
He kept it all this time…? Wait a second! With this, I can revive Asuna!
Looking up with newfound hope, I shouted, "Player Revive: Asuna!"
The polygons slowly started to form back together, and soon her body had completely reformed, laying on the ground. She slowly sat up, looking at me curiously.
"K-Kirito-kun…?"
I met her gaze, looking down with wide eyes. "You're alive… right?"
"Yeah… I'm alive."
She got up, grabbing her «Lambent Light» from the ground next to her. "Let's beat him… together!"
It was then that I was made painfully aware of the agonizing feeling coming from my chest. I slowly opened my eyes, finding Heathcliff's sword pierced through me.
Was it… only a hallucination? Is Asuna… still dead?
I looked around the boss room, seeing no signs of her presence. She was really dead.
I guess it really was… just a dream… and nothing more.
At this point, I realized, I should have already received the «You are dead» message in the center of my vision. I looked up at my HP bar, then widened my eyes in shock.
My HP… it's going up! But why…?
Then it clicked.
My «Battle Healing» skill! It's regenerating my HP faster than being stabbed is draining it!
Heathcliff also seemed to have realized this, so I took full advantage of his shocked stupor. I pulled his sword out of my chest, and in his shocked state, he didn't even notice.
I turned around, walking back to where my «Elucidator» had fallen next to Asuna's rapier, picking them both up and slowly walking back to Heathcliff. My speed slowly began to increase until I was in a full-on sprint, and when I reached him, I stabbed him with each of the weapons in my hands.
"HAAAA!"
His HP began to drop. A few seconds later, when it his zero and disappeared, everything around us started getting brighter.
What's going on?!
He smirked devilishly. "I'll be seeing you again very soon, Kirito-kun. I hope you'll have the courtesy to wait for me."
"Wha—"
The room started getting brighter, and after a few seconds, I realized exactly what he meant. It was only too late that the entire room was engulfed in a white light.
Then everything, all the memories of my time here in «Aincrad», started playing in reverse.
I felt myself slowly losing consciousness, succumbing to the white void just as my memories stopped rewinding.
When I awoke, I rubbed my eyes tiredly, then looked around. Seeing absolutely nothing, I instantly realized that all of the events in the seventy-fifth floor boss room had not been a dream.
"What… what happened?" I whispered, looking around for any signs of… anything. "Did the system shut down…?"
"Yes," a female voice said, its source seeming to originate from behind me. "And it is slowly resetting to SAO's launch date, along with time itself. In a few minutes, you will find yourself in the day of the official launch two years ago, with no memories of what is transpiring here."
I quickly turned around, my eyes widening with shock. "You mean to tell me that all it takes for time itself to rewind is a system meltdown?! Is the «Cardinal System» really that powerful?!"
"Yes. It is more powerful than you could ever imagine."
"Wait…" I said, looking at her with a new hope. "If time is rewinding, does that mean that everyone who died in SAO will come back to life as if they never died?"
"Yes."
Then that means that Asuna will be alive again!
"Would you like to ensure your loved ones' survival?"
Huh?
When I realized what she was implying, I jumped at the chance. "Of course! But before I really accept, I need to know… what's the catch?"
"You will be given a task. The task of defeating Kayaba Akihiko and ending this world. You and four others have been given this task, ant they have all have accepted already. You may even know some of them," the mysterious woman told me, giving me a warm smile.
"All right…" I whispered, gaining a determined look. "If it means saving my friends and loved ones, I'll do whatever it takes! I accept!"
"A wise choice," she said. "Very well. Now, I have a few… gifts… for you."
"Such as?"
"The first… you will start the game with the «Dual-Wielding» skill, though I recommend keeping it a secret, even from your closest friends. The second gift is two swords from mini-bosses on the ninetieth floor. You won't be able to use them until the fiftieth floor, and even then I suggest you be discreet.
"The third and final gift is the ability to use «Dual-Wielding» skills without the system assist, but only when you master it," she finished.
I looked at her, my eyes narrowed. "So every gift you're giving me has a catch," I said dryly.
"What were you expecting?" she said, giving me a smile contradictory to her tone. "Now, time will resume soon, so I must be going. I wish you luck, «First Champion»."
And with that, the woman walked away, her body turning to a wisp of smoke that blew away in the nonexistent wind.
Everything went black.
"Take care… I'll be seeing you, Klein." I said, feeling terrible for not being able to help more. I started to walk away further into the dark alleyway.
"… Kirito! You look way cooler than your avatar ever did!" he said playfully.
Obviously, he was trying to lighten my spirit, with little success. I smiled bitterly.
"And that rugged look suits you ten times better!" I replied as I swallowed my sorrow.
I wonder if I'll ever see him again…
I ran a bit down the alleyway, and when I was about to reach the corner, I began to have second thoughts about leaving Klein. When I looked back to see if he was still there, I was greeted with an empty alley, with no signs that he had ever been there.
He was gone.
Tears built up in my eyes, and I ran. Past the alley, past the «Starting City», and into the field beyond.
I remembered my cousin and aunt earlier that day, who were being so nice to me. They were probably crying for me, planning to stay in whatever hospital room I had been moved to until visiting hours closed. They must have been hoping in vain that I would wake up, take off the «Nerve Gear» and be just fine.
A «Dead Wolf Cub» spawned seven meters in front of me, growling ferociously. I drew my sword with a shout, my rage unwavering. I wouldn't let the pitiful mob slow me down in the slightest.
I got this!
I put my sword into the position to activate a dashing «Sword Skill».
I can do this!
I jumped, the skill having just finished charging. The mob started to run at me, baring its teeth viciously.
This world can't beat me!
"HA!"
My skill made contact with the wolf, sending me flying past it as it shattered into hundreds polygons.
I will survive!
"HAAAAAAA!"
Three weeks later
The «Dead Wolf» was, without a doubt, the deadliest mob on floor one. When attacked, one of them will transition into «Alpha Mode», howling to spawn five more that follow its command. Not to mention that they were level nine, second only to the floor boss.
At that moment, I found myself surrounded by five of the beasts, having taken down one of the pack already.
Skill time!
«End Revolver»
With a double-spin attack, I sent them all flying back, the stunning effect of the skill making them fall to the ground due to paralysis. I proceeded to hack one of them to pieces, the resulting polygon explosion blinding me briefly.
With four left, I waited until they had all come out of the paralysis, then started to back away slowly. They all came towards me, falling into a perfectly straight line. As soon as I backed into a tree, I decided it was time to let loose.
«Dance of Wind»
I dashed forward with a speed that made me look like a blur, hitting the first «Dead Wolf» with two strikes to the chest before phasing through it and doing the same to the one behind it. This process repeated until the skill all the mobs had been hit by two strikes, and when I appeared behind the last one, I turned around. I swung each of my swords outwards in a powerful cleave, creating a shockwave that went through the wolf mobs, shattering each of them into polygons upon contact.
After the shower of white polygons dissipated, I unequipped my second sword due to the possibility that I might be seen, then walked up to where the last one was destroyed to inspect my winnings.
"That was exciting," I said, opening the window. "Looks like I gained two levels from all that grinding. Puts me at level eleven. Now, time to check the drops list."
I scrolled down the list of items dropped from all the «Dead Wolves», finding both items I was looking for at the top of the list.
"Looks like I got both my «Werewolf's Blade» and her «Dead Wolf Claws». She'll be pretty happy when she sees this."
I heard rustling in the bushes nearby, and when I looked over, I saw a cloaked brunette jump out at me, landing only centimeters from my face. She backed away, giving me a smirk as she watched my flustered reaction.
What the hell?!
"Hey, Ki-bou!" she shouted cheerfully, giving me a peace sign. "Did I hear you say, '«Dead Wolf Claws»'? I really hope I did!"
I sighed, putting a hand to my forehead. "Yeah, I just got them, Argo. I trust you'll keep up your end of the deal?"
"What do you take me for? I'm not a liar," she replied, waving her hand dismissively.
"True enough."
I opened up my menu, sending a trade request through to Argo, putting her claws in my end. She quickly offered up several items used to do major upgrades at a smith shop, and we both hit the «Accept Trade» button. The window then disappeared, having served its function.
Now I'll be able to upgrade both of my swords to the max level without a hitch.
"I just have one question, Argo," I said, causing her to look up from her menu. "How the heck did you get all those items so fast? It's only been three days since we struck the deal."
"Trade secret, Ki-bou!" she said happily, giving me a smirk. "But if you really want to know, I'll tell you… for a price."
"Nah," I declined, beginning to walk away. "I'll be seeing you, Argo."
"Wait!"
I turned my head so that I could see Argo out of the corner of my eye. "What's up?"
"I have some info for you that I think you might find interesting. I'll tell you free of charge as a little thank you for getting the claws faster than I expected."
If she's telling me anything for free, she must want me to do something about it. Well, let's hear what she has to say, I guess.
"Okay, I'll hear what you have to say."
"All right," she replied, and I could see in her eyes that she was doing a little victory dance inside her head.
Oh, boy.
"So, while I was on my way to check on you, I found a rapier-wielding player that looked almost as strong as you in the fields just east of here. I watched her for a little while, and even though she was really skilled, she completely overkilled every mob she faced. I think it might be in both of your best interests if you were to go check it out. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to teach her a thing or two."
Actually feeling interested in this one, I said, "Thanks for the info. I'll go check on her."
"Don't mention it!" she replied turning to walk away. "I'll see you around!"
"Yeah, I'll see ya," I whispered.
With that, we parted ways.
As I walked through the fields east of the «Dead Forest», looking for the player Argo mentioned, I sighed deeply.
Maybe she's already gone… it's about midnight, after all.
Just as I was beginning to lose hope, I heard the sound of a sword thrusting into the virtual flesh of a mob. I broke into a run, hoping to catch the supposed rapier-wielding girl in action. When I reached the scene, I skidded to a halt, ducking behind a large rock as I watched the amazing fight in front of me.
There was a cloaked girl no more than five meters away from me, fighting a «Dead Wolf Cub» with ease. She thrusted her rapier so quickly that I couldn't even follow her blade, hitting it with several normal hits before starting a chain of «Linears».
She's leveled her «One-handed Sword Skill» enough to unlock the «Rapier» skill, and she's using it decently, so she must be the girl Argo was talking about.
After about five «Linears», she stopped, gasping for air as the cub finally shattered into hundreds of polygons. I could almost feel her fatigue radiating off of her, so I materialized a flask of water before walking up to her.
"Nice kill! You have some real potential," I told her, giving her a small smile as she turned to face me. "Care for something to drink?"
She met me in the middle, and I could feel the thirst radiating off of her body as she said, "Thank you."
Before she grabbed it, I pulled it away. "Not so fast. We need to sit down. I can literally feel your exhaustion."
We walked over to the rock I had hidden behind while I watched her fight. I let her sit down, since there was only room for one person.
I handed her the flask, watching her drink from it greedily. "Like I was saying, you showed some real promise," I told her. "There are a few things about your fight that worried me, though."
"Like what?" she asked me after successfully emptying my flask.
"Well, you started spamming «Linears» near the end. You were going so fast that the system didn't have the time to react, so you ended up with massive overkill. The cub's HP actually dropped to zero on the second «Linear», which only proves my point. Spamming skills on a single mob will get you killed if you're fighting more than one at a time, since using too many skills too fast will result in a longer post-motion delay."
"I killed. I got the EXP. Isn't that all that matters in getting stronger?"
"I don't think so, but I'll save that for later," I said, putting my hand to my forehead once again. "I know this is a bit random, but do you think you could tell me your level?"
"I'm level ten. Why?"
What the hell?! She should've been able to kill it on only one «Linear», then!
"If that's true, then it should have only taken one skill to kill that mob… wait, I think I get it now."
"Get what?"
I was almost afraid of asking the next question, but I knew I had to do it anyway. "Do you know how to distribute «Stat Points» correctly?"
I was expecting her to say no. To have distributed them horribly. Anything but what came next.
"«Stat Points»? What are those?"
I slouched in exasperation, thinking, this girl… is hopeless.
I turned my gaze to the cloaked girl, looking at her intently. "Okay, we need to talk… but not here. Come with me."
I grabbed her hand, earning a small squeak of surprise as I began leading her through the field.
This is gonna be a long night…
When we arrived at a large, ornate white building with silver trim and marble pillars surrounding it, I turned around to face her. "This is a house I earned as a quest reward for beating the hardest quest on this floor. Come in, you'll be welcome."
She walked in wordlessly. A few seconds later, she stopped in her tracks. The inside of the house had a more extravagant look to it, with crimson and gold-colored walls. It had two floors bridged by two spiral staircases that led up to two upper sections. The left staircase led to the kitchen, bathroom and dining room, and the right led to my one bedroom, which only had one piece of furniture: a crimson-hued bed.
I walked to the left one, turning around once I reached it to give the cloaked girl a gentle smile. "Well, I'll bet you're starving right now, so let's get something to eat before we talk. Sound good?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
A few minutes later, as I cooked a meal for this girl I barely knew, I began to think about all that had transpired.
Man, this has been a crazy night…
Not much later, I was snapped out of my thoughts by a timer going off, signaling that the meal I had cooked was finally done. I pulled it out of my small oven that came with the house, setting it down on the table. I put its contents onto two plates, passing one to the cloaked girl before sitting down myself.
"Eat up," I said, laughing nervously. "I'm not expecting much, since I haven't leveled my cooking skill that much, but I hope you can get it down…"
"Don't worry, it's good. Thanks for the meal."
I watched as she resumed eating at a breakneck pace, an amused smile tugging at my lips. I was soon snapped out of my gaze by the girl saying, "Are you going to eat anything?"
My stomach growled with more fury than I had ever heard in a mob, making my face turn red with embarrassment. "Yeah, I'm starving!" I exclaimed, trying to cover it up.
The cloaked girl giggled in response, making me scowl as I hastened my pace in eating my food.
After we both finished eating, I decided it was time to get down to business. "All right. First, you need to bring up your menu."
"Okay."
"Right. Do you see the plus sign in the center of your stat screen? There should be a number next to it. That's how many «Stat Points» you have. You gain four for every level you have, not counting level one. What's the number?"
"Thirty-six."
So she really is level ten.
"Okay, push the plus sign next to the number thirty-six."
"Got it."
"Good. You should see smaller plus signs next to the three stat numbers below the first plus sign. You're using a rapier build, so… for every level, put two points into VIT, which increases HP and defense. Then put one point into AGI, which increases your evasion rate and overall movement speed, and one point into DEX, which increases your physical control slightly. For now, just put eighteen points into VIT, nine into AGI, and nine into DEX."
After a few taps, I heard her say, "Okay, done."
"Hit the confirm button that popped up where the first plus button was, and it'll keep your «Stat Point» distribution."
One more tap and she closed her menu, turning her hooded face towards me. "Thanks for the help. If you don't mind, I have one more favor to ask of you, though."
"What's up?" I asked her, looking into her hood curiously.
"Could… could I maybe spend the night here? I don't have enough money left to buy another night at the inn I was staying at…"
With all the leveling she's been doing, that has to be a lie, but… still, I want to help her. I don't know why, but I feel like I'm drawn to her… weird.
Against my better judgment, I found myself accepting. "Well, that's fine, but… there's just one problem."
"What's that?" she asked me nervously.
"Well, I only have one bed, and I don't have any furniture for me to sleep on."
"That's all right… just don't do anything, okay?"
I had to stop myself from choking on my own tongue. Luckily, I was able to do so before saying, "You have my word."
Well, I was going to offer to sleep on the floor, but if she's okay with it, then…
I had let my new cloaked friend to go to my bed first, seeing as I had to clean up in the kitchen. When I got back to my bedroom, I wasn't surprised to find her asleep under the covers. I slowly lay down next to her, careful not to wake her up as I crawled under the blankets. As soon as I finished, I fell deep in thought.
Man, today was the most eventful day since the official launch day. I found the sword I was looking for, completed the trade with Argo for the upgrade items, met a skillful rapier-wielding girl who doesn't even take off her cloak when she falls asleep, taught her how do correctly use her «Stat Points», and now…
I looked over at the girl, a light dusting of pink spreading across my cheeks.
Now she's sleeping in the same bed with me. I'm not sure what's gonna come next, but I do know one thing…
I looked up at my crimson ceiling, smiling softly.
Life is gonna be really interesting from now on.
With that, I fell into a deep sleep, filled with dreams about the day's events.
A/N:
How'd you like it? Is it better or worse than the last? You can let me know by reviewing, faving or PMing me! If you don't like it, you can tell me that, too!
So, for the pairings in the harem, I think I'll tell you which pairings will be added with each passing chapter, just so that you know who's going to be in it.
All right, that's enough about that! It's time for the disclaimer!
I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series or any of its adaptations!
Ciao!