Raptor Gang
by: Omegasaxon
Chapter 1
"Link start!"
Disembodiment. White, pure white. Yet not painful to the eyes. Then, colors. Speeding past, leaving nothing but vertigo. A status check on all five senses. A set-up and log-in screen.
Well, I say screen, but it wasn't quite that simple. I was experiencing a room so-to-speak, where the transition to Virtual Reality took place. It looked like a screen in front of me, but you couldn't touch it. It wasn't in a specific place in front of you, it simply was there.
There was the fact that I'm a disembodied consciousness to take into account, therefore I had no arms and hands to reach out and touch it with. I would like to say it was a weird feeling, but that would require an ability to feel. Yeah, it really makes no sense to me. I just roll with it.
Anyway, after consciously thinking my account and pass info, the system logs me in, and immediately prompts me with this screen:
"Character Creation"
"Beta test data still available. Would you like to use it?"
"Saxon"
"Yes" | "No"
I hit the affirmative. I didn't need to spend another half-hour playing with the Character Creation system. It was surprisingly detailed after all.
And besides, knowing Oden, he probably beat me to Aincrad, and he was starting fresh too.
"Welcome to Sword Art Online!"
Vibrant blue distortion. A flash of white. A plaza – Romanesque in style, with variations. I knew this place well. I looked to the clock at the center, where I had told my two friends to wait for me at, and then quickly sprinted out to the nearest store. It was only really a block from the plaza, a small booth with real necessities. Primarily small health potions, and the starting sword, Short Sword. All of it relatively cheap too. Further, everyone started with a substantial amount of col, the currency of Aincrad. I bought six small health pots and three Short Swords before a free item caught my eye. A Beginner's Guidebook. Interesting, I see Argo managed to get it written after all. I grabbed two, since I already knew most of what should be in there, before returning to the plaza.
Tons of people had since logged in the five or so minutes it took me to make the transaction. As I was returning I had passed a black-haired player, who I recognized from the beta, sprinting out. I smiled and gave him the "sup" nod, but I don't even think he noticed. He was in quite a hurry, apparently.
Kirito, I believe that was his name. We had partied once in clearing the third floor boss during the beta. He was quite a solid swordsman at the time, if rather quiet.
Reaching the clock at the center and taking a quick look around, I saw that neither of my buddies had made it yet, so I flipped open the guidebook and started skimming through it. As I figured, it was a lot of really important stuff, like how to use Sword Skills, when new Skill Slots opened, mob areas and levels, and so on and so forth, but nothing I didn't already know.
She also included the quest to get the Anneal Blade, which most the Beta Testers I talked to agreed it was one of the best one-handed swords available on the first floor. I imagine that would persuade a lot of people to play one-handed sword style, at least for early game. Which I'm totally cool with. I didn't find that category of weapons particularly appealing when I eventually picked up a two-handed sword.
At this point, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to face a sword drawn in my face.
"Situational awareness bro, I would've fragged you if this wasn't a safe zone." the person said as he sheathed the sword. I recognized him readily enough. Like me, he changed little from his normal appearance. His hair was black and cut short, his skin sported the same dark tan he had in real life, and his face was clean shaven.
"Good thing the game told me this was a safe zone when I logged in. Welcome to Aincrad brother." And with that, we clasped hands before I immediately sent him a friend and party request.
Oden was not my actual brother in real life, but he was one of my closest friends along with his neighbor who was the only other person we were left waiting on.
"You beat Jando here, obviously... I imagine we're going to have a tough time figuring who he is out if he doesn't find us first." I told Oden. "Even though I told him not to vary from his 'pretty face' too much, I imagine he's having fun with it."
Not as soon as I said that, someone approached us and spoke in a voice I recognized all too well. "This may be the coolest thing ever."
"Hahaha, I know, trust me" I replied, turning to look at the speaker while pulling up my menu again. "Huh, you didn't change as much as I thought you might've."
To my surprise, Jando didn't change too much either. Buzzed hair, fairly tall, and white skin compared to me and Oden's tan.
"Nah, I figured it would have taken too long to get something I probably would end up not being happy with anyway." Jando replied.
I nodded, and brought up a trade window for him, before offering two potions, a Short Sword, and a guidebook. Confirming the trade, I did the same with Oden.
"I'll prolly end up explaining everything in the guidebook anyway, but its free, and the girl who wrote it may've added some things I didn't know about to it." I told them as we were making the trades.
Jando picked up on the irregularity there, "Wait, a girl wrote this?"
I laughed, "Yup, her character's Argo, and I actually think I may have contributed to her writing this, or at least confirmed some things for her." Which seems about right as Argo did ask me quite a few questions on mob mechanics and two-handed sword skill info the last time we had talked in the beta. "And before you even ask, she's cute."
Oden snickered as Jando was already through the words "Is she-" the word coming next being "hot?"
We had already started moving towards the gates to the mob fields as we had all agreed that since all 10,000 players were most likely logging on, we needed to start killing creatures fast since the game did not actually have a channel system, and that – as big as even the first floor was – most of the close fields would probably be crowded soon. It was truly a unique situation for us to be a part of a game's launch.
"I remember that the developers stated the leveling system and boss difficulty of the beta were modified to be easier than the final product, to account for the difference in the amount of players. Still, we should have no problem reaching level 2 or 3 on the boar mobs outside the Town of Beginnings easily enough, partying definitely should help us level faster. I'm not sure how much harder it is now, but I think we can still make it to the next town before we call it." I told them. Calling it referred to whenever any of us were finish gaming for the day, or night, or whenever.
Oden had thought about this as we walked, "You sure two potions are going to be enough?" Though reviving came at no cost, you had to start back at the Room of Resurrection in the Town of Beginning's, and Teleport Crystals wouldn't be available for awhile.
"Yeah, trust me, the most dangerous thing between us and the next town are wolves, and if we stick to the main path, we won't encounter packs. And its possible to one-hit wolves even at level one, provided they didn't get stronger which I don't think so." I told them. "Once you get a good handle on the Sword Skills, fighting is going to become wickedly easy, trust me. You don't even tire for the most part."
"That's awesome, so wait, why aren't we running right now?" Jando asked.
"Because the game somehow forces you to need to pant, and if you try to stop it by holding your breath, you suffer damage from a lack of oxygen. It'll even happen as you run and will be more severe if you hold a sprint for too long." I explained.
"Wow, that's pretty detailed." Jando said.
"Yeah. Anyway, we're at the gates, so lemme explain Sword Skills real quick. If you try to fight by just swinging randomly, you're not going to get far."
"How necessary are these Sword Skills for fighting?" Oden asked me.
"Fairly important. I mean, you deal damage without them based on your stats and weapon, but Sword Skills – even the basic ones – add a considerable amount more damage. And even the basic ones also allow you to move faster than possible otherwise, and come with no immediate cool down. If you can think fast enough, you can effectively chain them together for some sweet combos."
"Think fast enough?" Jando emulated.
"Yup. That's how you activate a Sword Skill. If you haven't seen them in your Skill menu yet, the basic one-handed ones everyone starts with are: Slant, Vertical, Uppercut, and Horizontal. To use them, hold the sword in the starting position of the skill you're using," I position my sword across my back to demonstrate, "consciously think the skill you're about to use right then and there," my sword glows a cyan color, "and start the attack and follow through the motion. The system will actually do the attack for you, its a weird feeling at first." I add as I perfom a clean Slant attack.
I loosely hold the sword at the end position and watch my two friends mess around with their swords until both of them get a Sword Skill off fairly quickly.
"Great! Now, this is important, when you want to chain the basic skills together, you have to think each separate skill right before you use it. You can't simply just think about the entire chain at the beginning, or you might not even get the first skill off. This will take a bit of practice, so make sure you can do it now. Two Horizontals are the easiest, but a Vertical or a Diagonal followed by an Uppercut are good too." From where my last attack ended, I perform an Uppercut immediately followed by a Vertical.
That took a couple minutes for Oden to get down, but Jando was struggling with the concept. After five minutes of trying again and again while Oden was practicing chaining four or five attacks together, Jando finally pulled off a Vertical-Uppercut.
"Dude, you gotta time your thoughts, haha, that's weird!" He exclaimed.
I replied, "It is, but trust me, you'll get a lot better with it after some practice. For the boars coming up, focus on one attack at a time, and dodging."
"Hey, what's this Final Thrust skill?" Oden asked me as he was looking through the menus.
"Its currently our strongest skill. It has high damage output and also forces you to travel forward about five or six feet insanely quickly, but it leaves you unable to perform another Sword Skill for about five seconds. Which is dangerous when you starting learning defensive or dodging skills. I imagine you'll really enjoy those." I reply to Oden. "By the way, as far as primaries go, you guys got confirmed on that yet? I'm def sticking to Two-handed Sword. Emphasis on Agility over Strength."
We had, before the official server service launch discussed styles and weapon classes we were going to use. We agreed that sticking to one class was for the best, because even in one month of solid playing, I only got my Two-handed Sword skill to 50. Barely. It was one of the last things I achieved before the beta ended. Of course, I was going to continue Two-handed Sword with an emphasis on Agility over Strength. A few beta testers thought this to be incredibly limiting as many two-handed swords had high Strength requirements, so many two-handed users wore heavy armor. However, I reasoned that many enemies in floors after two and three started using Sword Skills and were also considerably quick as well. High Agility would let me parry (which was a Sword Skill by itself that you didn't need to activate by performing a skill – it went up by simply blocking an attack, and succeeded based on character stats, sword parameters, and the parameters of the enemy and it's weapon) and dodge better which I figured would allow me to be more versatile overall. And it was more fun than shielding too! I know, I tried.
Oden also knew what he was going to do right from the get-go, based on the information I provided them from the beta. "Claws, definitely. You said Agility affects all sorts of speed-related things including dodging, right?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm not sure how it works, but the NerveGear recognizes when you're trying to dodge something and the system will assist you based on your parameters." I explained. "But ultimately, you need quick reflexes. All that Agility is useless if you don't react fast enough."
"You know me bro, I'll definitely be able to."
"Ha, I know. Jans, what about you?" Even though his character name was Jando, and we all agreed not to use our real names in-game, Jando still agreed that we could use at least Jans if we wanted.
"I dunno, I want to give everything a try first before I come to an actual choice." he said.
"Sweet, sounds good. The market in the next town has a wider variety of weapons and better swords than what it is available here. There is a shield available here if you wanna run by a shop and grab one?" I inflected the last part as a question.
"Nah, I should be good, I want to practice dodging too. Seems like fun." Jando responded.
"It totally is! Anyway, lets go kill shit."
Unfortunately I realized after the first Blue Boar died, that leveling was indeed scaled down drastically. We would be incredibly lucky to get to level two before we called it. Oden noted it too.
"Dude, its going to take a while before we get to level two at this rate"
"I know, that was scaled more than I expected. Still, lets keep killing boars until you two are real solid with Sword Skills, then we can start moving on to more rewarding mobs." I replied.
Oden adapted quickly, taking out the boars without sustaining damage, Jando took a couple hits before he could read it readily enough. We spent quite a bit of time actually just killing boars, relishing in how awesome it was to be an virtual reality. Even for me, having had a month's prior experience, activating a Sword Skill and taking out an opponent was one of the most awesome things ever. As we continued to dispatch boars left and right, I noted that the feeling better had stay because grinding was something we would be doing a whole lot of if we were serious about this game.
Watching Jando eliminate the last Blue Boar in the immediate area, I looked back and noted that other people were starting to filter out of the Town of Beginnings and that we should probably start moving on if we wanted elbow room and more mobs to kill.
"What do y'all think, try something tougher?"
"Hell yeah!"
"Definitely." came the replies. Sheathing our swords, we continued down the path towards where I knew wolves started spawning and we speculated on what to expect as far as monster encounters, quests, and even Floor Bosses. I had explained what to look forward to as far as the first boss went, which was the hardest one of the beta, and mentioned that, unless we catch word of a raiding party, the three of us shouldn't attempt it until we were at least level fifteen, though fifteen would make it a lot easier. I also explained the Last Attack Bonus that was unique only to floor bosses.
As the day drew on and we had made considerable headway into combating wolves, I noted that we should start to focus on getting to the second town so we wouldn't have to worry about our item supplies. None of us had used a potion yet, but all three of us had beaten down over half the durability of our first Short Swords and I estimated at this rate we wouldn't get to Horunka Village before our second sword breaks.
Ten minutes later, after we were celebrating each other over tackling a pack of wolves for the first time and overcoming them easily, a flash of light enveloped all of us and the next thing we knew, we were back at the starting plaza, and it was still crammed with players in every direction. And more were appearing by the second.
After the last flash of light died away, and the bell stopped tolling, everyone quieted down as we noticed the flashing red "WARNING" symbol above it. It expanded out, and from the web it formed, a red ooze substance descended, before forming slowly into a red-cloacked figure, several stories tall, high above us.
And we realized, as it spoke, that from that point on, our lives were changed. Forever.
"Attention, players. Welcome to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko.
As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world. I'm sure you've already noticed that the logout is missing from the main menu.
But this in not a defect in the game. I repeat... This is not a defect in the game.
It is a feature of Sword Art Online. You cannot log out of SAO yourselves. And no one on the outside can shutdown or remove the NerveGear.
Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life.
Unfortunately, several players' friends and families have ignored this warning, and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever, from both Aincrad, and the real world. As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting this, including the deaths. Thus you can assume the danger of a NerveGear being removed is now minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game.
But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost. And simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain.
There is only one means of escape. To complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, Floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game.
And finally, I've added a present from me to your storage. Please see for yourselves.
Right now, you are probably wondering 'Why?' Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of the NerveGear and Sword Art Online, do all this?
My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason... To create this world and intervene in it.
And now, it is complete.
This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. Good luck, players."
Author's Notes
Hi. I'm Omegasaxon. You just read the first chapter to my second fanfic: Raptor Gang.
My first fanfic for Fire Emblem is currently on extended hiatus. One day, I'll get back to it, but not for a long time. I do believe this story is easier, and more fun to write.
The story will be primarily focus on the trio introduced, Saxon and his two closest friends Oden and Jando. I do not plan on introducing more Original Characters that last longer than serving one basic function. I will be using characters such as Argo, Klien and more pretty often. And I feel like I should go ahead and say this:
DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. Except Saxon. d=
I plan on following the canon Aincrad. However, events will not play out the same. I guess that's makes this story an Alternate Universe. So be it. I'm the one writing it.
Further, I has no beta. All mistakes are mine. Feel free to point them out to me. I appreciate all reviews and will do my best to respond to any Private Messages that prompt an answer.
I hope you enjoyed the first story! Keep an eye out for the second chapter soon, and thank you for reading! =D