Cinis was speechless. Akihiko Kayaba had created a whole new world in this place! Linking thousands of minds into a single place was simply mind boggling! Of course, he had already seen this, he and four others had been the beta testers who possessed the greatest skill. Kirito, Silver Saiyan, Monkey_Money, and Frosted_Phoenix, and had all been major beta testers. Cinis, under the alias of Cinnergy, had cleared seventy floors on his own without a single death to his name. He had only been stopped there because Kayaba wanted to keep some of the games contents hidden. But Cinis hadn't seen this much detail the last time he was here.
He shook his head to clear it, this wasn't reality. He shouldn't pretend it was. "Although," he thought. "I guess for me this is reality, the real world isn't where I spend most of my time anymore." He had graduated high school at a young age and not gone to college. Now he was a fourteen year old orphan living in an old apartment in Tokyo with a weekly paycheck at an online job and a genetic mutation that had given him a grey devil tail. It wasn't much but it paid for his food. So why shouldn't he feel more at home in this world. Especially with his lot in life. His primary skills were gaming, coding, and fighting. That summed it up.
Cinis walked out from his shady spot under a tree and started attacking boar. There wasn't much challenge in it, but he was only level two. So he had to do a little grinding. He was about to do this when he realized he was teleporting! He appeared in the center of the Town of Beginnings. He looked around to see at least ten thousand people appear around him. He was looking around confused. Then he looked up. He saw a giant floating person with enormous red robes and yellow highlights. His face was covered in shadow. He told everybody that his name was Akihiko Kayaba. He informed them he had disabled the logout button and if you died in the game you died in real life. Cinis didn't know what to say. "I have a gift for you all." Said Kayaba. He added a strange mirror to everyone's inventory. Cinis looked at his. He realized he started glowing. He felt a sharp pain as something extended from his back. He realized in horror that he had just grown his tail. Kayaba was looking down at him and a two others. A boy with blue hair had grown large blue wings, yet another boy had grown a long black tail. Kayaba was taken aback by this. "Those are biological... How do you have these extra appendages?" The blue haired boys response was to fly up towards him and attempt to slam his spear into him. Kayaba simply teleported him back down to the ground.
Cinis steps forward. "Born with it. I'll be out grinding. I suggest you all do the same. We may be stuck here a while." With that Cinis starts running towards the fields. He knew of a few quests there. Kayaba stared after him. "Interesting… I urge you all to follow his example." And with that. Kayaba disappears.
One month and two thousand lives later, Cinis sat in the meeting of the guild. He listened to the leader Diavel prattle on about the info in the manual some of the other beta testers had handed out. Then Kibaou started ranting about how beta testers were the scourge of the people Blah Blah Blah. Then a big man stood up. "Hey. Names Agil. Kibaou right? Lemme just make sure I understand what you're saying. The beta testers should have helped out the other players and it's there fault they all died, so they should give up their items because of that?" "Yeah, that's what I'm saying. What is that?" He said pointing at the book Agil was holding. "It's a guidebook. The shop gives them away for free. You know who was handing them out? The ex beta testers. Everyone had equal access to this information. So the people who have fallen died because they did. It was no ones fault but their own."
Diavel nods at the big man. "Thank you Agil. That's good information for all of us to have. Now, we are going to need to split into six person parties. Anyone who gets an item keeps it. Experience is given to the party who defeats the boss. Now get partied up. We are having a party tonight to celebrate our victory tomorrow." Cinis shrugged. It's not like he would go to the party. Hell he doubted he would be in a party tomorrow. He was a freak with a tail. No one ever accepts people who are different. Be it autism or a physical deformation those people were shunned at best, and targeted at worst. He was surprised when someone tapped him on the shoulder, rousing him from his thoughts and pulling him back into the virtual world. "Excuse me? Would you be willing to join my party? I normally work solo and from what I've heard you do to. So it would just be a technical party." Cinis was rather surprised. "Umm sure, uh." He snapped his fingers and looks at the boy who asked him. "Kirito." The boy supplied. "Right Kirito. Oh! You're like me then. I'm Cinnergy." He offered Kirito his hand and shakes it. "Weren't you the one who made it all the way to floor seventy in the beta?" Asked Kirito. "I don't like to brag but yes." Responded Cinis. "Impressive. You see anyone else sitting alone?" Cinis pointed to a player in a red cloak. "Over there." "Thanks." Cinis stood. "I'll be in the forest grinding a bit before the big day tomorrow. See ya then." And with that Cinis jumps. Using his tail to wrap around one of the columns and run up it. People stared after him as he leaped from rooftop to rooftop.
Cinis was having a blast. Laughing and jumping from monster to monster as his tail stabbed into their heads. He dodged a boars attempt to ram him and sent it slamming into a wolf. Then he stabbed them both. That's when he heard a loud call. "HELP!" Cinis didn't even blink as he leaped into the trees and jumped towards the voice.
Silica was in trouble. She had at least fifteen level ten wolves in front of her. She was only a level five. She had accepted death. It didn't make her any less scared, but at least she had accepted it. She held her dagger in her left hand and was ready to die. That is exactly when a tall boy with ash grey hair leapt in front of her and brandished a deadly looking short sword in his left hand. He had an arrogant little grin on his face and a… tail? Silica was completely confused but before she could ask a question he ran towards the wolves. He spun the arrowhead like tip of the tail to stab into the leading wolf. Destroying it as he spun with his dagger to slam it into the next wolf. The carnage was over quickly and without mercy. The boy killed the wolves, collected the items, then hit level fifteen. Then he grinned at her and said, "Follow me!" Before leaping into the trees again. Running in the direction of the town. Slaying every monster that got in the way of the path he was carving. Silica ran after him.
Cinis ran into town with the girl on his heels. "We're in town! Now you can get healed and shit! Here's the cash for it! Good luck!" Cinis climbed up the nearest building and leapt from rooftop to rooftop. From nearby in the pavilion Agil walked towards the young girl. "Excuse me? But how do you know that kid?" He asked her. "He just saved my life from a bunch wolves. I was cornered in the forest and he just leapt from a tree. I don't know who he is but I owe him my life." Agil nods "What's your name?" He asks. "Silica. Your's?" "Agil. I think I should inform you that his name is Cinnergy. He is going with me and the rest of the guild he and I are in to defeat the first boss." Silica's eyes widen. "Oh my god. Is there anything I can do to help?" Agil looks at her conspiratorially. "Thank him. He is discriminated against in the guild because of his tail, I think someone thanking him for his help would go a long way." Silica nods and sets out to find him.
Cinis was lying on a bench when someone walked up to him. "I hear you were busy when you were in that forest." Said Kirito. "Busy? Nah I just helped a girl out of a jam. Anyone would do the same." "I guess so." Cinis sat up a bit. "What have you been doing? Enjoying the party?" He asked "Hardly. I prefer to be alone." "Yet here you are talking to me." "I guess you got me there." Cinis pulled himself into a sitting position and pulled out a small loaf of bread. "You eaten yet man?" He asked Kirito. "Yeah me and the other party member ate together." "Cool." Cinis finished his meal and stands up. "I'm gonna head out. I'll see you on the big day." "See you tomorrow Cinnergy." "Don't refer to it as tomorrow Kirito. That makes people realize how close the chance of death truly is. Refer to it as the big day. That way people can just think of it as a day. Maybe tomorrow, or maybe next year. Or maybe it's just me being weird." Cinis climbs up a building and leaps a few rooftops away. It was quiet and more comfortable than the ground. He wasn't allowed to use the in because people ran him out of it.
"Cinnergy!" Called a voice from beneath him. Cinis looks down to see Diavel. "Up here." Responded Cinis. "I heard you saved someone's life in the forest earlier." Said Diavel. "Yeah, so what? That's what our guild does. We save lives and push back monsters. That's the only reason the guild can stay together. It's not because we respect or like each other. I am despised by most of the guild. The only reason I was allowed in was because of you. It's not because we're the strongest players. It's because we want to save lives and get out. Maybe some friendships are forged, but for the most part we just stay together to help people." Diavel nods. "You are not wrong. However there is someone who would like to speak with you. Would you come down here please?" Cinis sighed and climbed down. "Who would want to speak to me?" He asked. Diavel turned around and called out. "You can come out now." The girl Cinis had saved steps out of the alley next to the street they were on. "My name is Silica. I just wanted to thank you for saving my..." She paused as Cinis held up his hand. "I don't accept thanks. Thanks is for something you went out of your comfort zone to do or for something like a favor. Thanks is never given for a job, and it's especially never given for saving a life. That's what any good person would do. So if you're just here to thank me than there is no need." Silica stared at Cinis. Then she walks up to him and hugs him. "I don't really care if you don't think thanks is necessary. I do think it is so you should just accept that." Then she stopped hugging him and turned to go. "I'll accept thanks this once. Never again though." Said Cinis before he climbed up the building again.
Cinis was walking behind Kirito and Asuna. "What's a switch?" Asuna asked Kirito as he went over their battle plan. "Ok level with me. Is this the first time you've been in a party?" Asked Kirito. "Yes." She said. "A switch is when one party member calls switch while fighting a monster then another party member jumps in to take their place while they step back to regen their health a bit." Said Cinis. "It typically works best when their is an even number of party members. So you guys are probably gonna be the switchers while I do my thing." "And what exactly is your thing Cinnergy?" Asked Kirito. "For one thing call me Cin. Easier to say and takes less time. And my thing is stabbing monsters with my tail. It's a little pointy." Responded Cinis as he used his tail to chop down a tree in a single swing. Kirito smiled at him. "Good style." "Thanks."
Diavel gave a small speech before everyone pushed open the door to the boss room. Before them stood Illfang the Kobold Lord. His Sentinels stood beside him. The parties began the raid. Kirito and Asuna dispatched the first two Sentinels. Cinis chopped the head off the third using his tail. In the mean time Illfang had reached his final health bar. "I've got him!" Yelled Diavel. Cinis and Kirito both watched with triumph and amusement as Diavel charged the enormous monster. It was quickly replaced with horror as they saw the Kobold Lord draw not a Talwar, but a Nōdachi!
"Diavel get out of there! That's not a Talwar, it's a Nōdachi!" Yelled Kirito as the enormous monster finished drawing the massive katana. Everyone watched in fascinated terror as Illfang made three powerful slices and dropped Diavel down to red health. Before leaping onto the ceiling and hurtling back down to slam the blade into Diavel. It didn't work out for it. The blade stopped above Diavel as Cinis stood with his hands grasping the blade of Nōdachi. "Kirito! Asuna! A little help! I can't hold this thing back forever! And someone help Diavel!" He yelled as he reinforced his grip with the flat of his tail. Kirito and Asuna began their attack. They slammed into the monster with incredible power. Sending Illfang flying. Only a small amount of health was left. Cinis stood behind Kirito and Asuna. "Charge." Said Kirito. The three let out a fierce battle cry and charged towards the Kobold Lord. Cinis stabbed his tail into the stomach of Illfang and started running up him. Kirito sliced left, and Asuna sliced right. Ending the beast in perfect sinc. All of them were part of the last attack and got the bonus.
Cinis crouched as he equipped his new items. His dagger disappeared. Replaced by a pair of arm blades that attached to his elbows and extended out past his hands. Kirito equipped a black cloak. Asuna equipped a new necklace. A cheer went up from the players surrounding them. Cinis stood up. A crowd surrounded the three players. But Cinis and Kirito just pushed through them. Cinis didn't stop to accept congratulations or thanks. Neither did Kirito. They just walked away. Until Kibaou yelled at them. "I overheard your conversation yesterday. You're both ex beta testers. Surrender your items and apologize. Cinis and Kirito looked at each other and nodded. "Don't associate us with those noobs." Said Kirito. "Me and him are two of the five greats that managed to reach floor seventy. We know all about the floors. Including some on the boss room locations. Some of the others didn't know how to level up." "Of that's the case then you're both worse than beta testers. Your also cheaters. You're Beaters." Cinis smirked at Kibaou's verbal abuse. "I like that name. Beater. Kinda rolls off the tongue. Oh and Kibaou. If we Beater's are as bad as you say, we would have left Diavel to die. Think on that." Cinis then walked away. Kirito walked near Cinis. "You're eyes went from grey to orange when you were holding back the Nōdachi. How did you do that by the way?" Cinis looks at Kirito with confused eyes. "I'm not too sure. It just happened. It was fun though." They kept walking through the exit. They only stopped when they heard Asuna ask them. "You called me by my name earlier. How?" Kirito pointed upwards. "If you look right about here on your display then you'll see the name of everyone in the party." Cinis hadn't stopped walking as Asuna thanked him. He just left everyone and walked away. He left the guild as he did so. He was a solo. It was foolish to be anything but.
