Before meeting the wolves, Kirito thought he knew everything about the first floor. Guilt still plagued his heart after abandoning Klein, but he had continued to travel away from the [City of Beginnings]. Moving towards the west, Kirito had migrated to more untouched fields farther out, away from the now frequently farmed woodland to the rolling, hilly plains of the country side on the first floor. There, he had focused on nothing but grinding his dexterity stat on foxes, and his HP points of wild pigs, the equivalent of slimes. Both, unknown to the people outside of beta, were the easiest monsters to kill and yielded among the highest ratios of [EXP] and [Stat Points].
Kirito had moved on after hitting his fourth level, and acquiring his first practical sword skill, [Step-Sword]. He had already mastered it in the beta, now, executing it was a piece of cake. However, despite of his deep understanding of the game, Kirito was not ready to face the wolves, developed into something completely different from the original monsters in the beta. Their hp ratio had risen from three hundred to six hundred, and from the speed of their movement, their [dexterity] had clearly been risen at least four stats. Kirito was starting to doubt his decision of moving on.
Sure he was a beta tester, but now SAO had turned from the newest VRMMORPG into an all out death game. Just in the past two days, over four hundred players had taken the axe. Facing an unknown enemy put Kirito in a dilemma. What if he took too much damage, or was ambushed on his way back to the inn by a Beta Player Killer, or PK?
Kirito was almost sure only Beta testers had made it this far out into the first floor, and many of the beta players were not as friendly as the main group of players had hoped. Most of them, like Kirito, had decided to solo.
Wearing nothing but a long-sleeved slim shirt and the recruit-level long black pants, Kirito was clearly at a disadvantage. The wolf growled, a low hum emanating from deep in his throat, a sound guttural and menacing. Froth dropped from the corner of its mouth, and its eyes glowed a dull red, the color of dried blood. Just like in many games, emotions and expressions were enhanced in SAO, but the feeling of fear from fighting a monster was just as real as facing a real one, in the real world.
Kirito's arms shook, and he assumed a comfortable stance. Keep your body at ease. Tensing will only paralyze you. The wolf pounced, and Kirito's blade, the [Metal Shortsword], deftly flew upwards to ward off the incoming attack. Rolling backwards, Kirito braced his back against the ground and kicked upwards, landing a clean strike on the wolves body, propelling it over his head and through the air, before it landed with a loud whine on the ground.
Suddenly, Kirito's body went cold. His forehead was wet and clammy, and his hands shivered in cold sweat. He wished for his old gear, the old familiar sword skills that he alone had mastered. The power of his [Dark Claymor] that had brought him farther than anyone else, all the way to the eighth floor. When his character had been reset after the Beta, Kirito felt like he had lost a big part of his life in SAO.
Before him, the wolf looked different than before. It's eyes were no longer a dull red, but a bright red, glowing, menacing. And, as though human, the wolf's mouth was curled upwards, as if in sight of a clear victory, just like a humans. It barked, as if telling Kirito, "You're fresh meat now."
Suddenly, the wolf's fangs glowed the same red as its eyes, and it opened its mouth up wide. Shifting its stance, and lowering its head, the wolf seemed like a cat.
That's exactly what it is. A monster with the power of a wolf, but the nimbleness and agility of a cat, Kirito thought.
In desperation, Kirito threw his sword arm back, as if charging up some special attack. At this, the wolf's eyes only widened, its smirk extending all the way to its ears, a disgusting, almost other worldly expression. Kirito realized his mistake. He had been charging up for [Horizontal Square], a sword skill not achieved until the late twenties, a bad habit of his from the Beta. Stumbling backwards, Kirito was wide open for attack.
The wolf leapt, clearly knocking Kirito to the ground, chomping at his shoulder. His shoulder was torn up, the wolf ripping out shreds of his flesh before jumping away, assuming the same stance. Kirito screamed with pain. His shoulder was punctured, and gleamed a red, laced with a gridded pattern, showing the data he was made of. Kirito glanced at his HP bar. Only 1/2 left.
Dragging himself up from the floor, Kirito jumped away, his left arm limp from his injury. Drawing arm back behind his head, sword still pointed forwards, Kirito looked as if he were poised to stab forwards. His arm, tight like a bow, slowly was building up energy, and the system, sensing an initiation sequence, began to surround his [Metal Shortsword] with a blue glow.
The air crackled with tension, and both Kirito and the wolf, despite being an AI, could feel it. At the apex of the tense atmosphere, the wolf pounced, and Kirito stepped forward in one fluid motion.
Kirito's black boot hit the ground with amazing force summoned up a mini-shockwave, and dust flew up around him. In a flash of blue, so fast it left an after image,Kirito had passed the wolf and ended his attack, frozen in the final motion of the sword skill. His arm was fully extended, left hand holding his elbow as if to provide support. Behind, the wolf was levitated awkwardly in mid-air, before exploding into a million crystalline pieces.
Under his breath, Kirito whispered, "Step-sword."
