Hello, all! Welcome to the double chapter of Herald of the Dragon!
Before we begin, and I hope I'm not breaking any rules, here, I want to admit something. I only started this because I was hooked on the SAO TV show. But, that's not all. I was also playing an MMORPG called Dragon Eternity and thought they would make a good cross-over. Plus, I think it would be cool to play this game in virtual reality, wouldn't you?
Problem is, this site doesn't have a Dragon Eternity category available so please bear with me a moment and please don't be mean and flag this story. If you think this is a violation of the rules, please let me know. I don't know how far I'm willing to take this and I don't really have a plan so I'll probably either not finish it or I'll just remove the story entirely.
This is still an SAO fanfiction. In fact, most of the characters you'll meet in this story is from SAO. But, the rest of the story line follows quests and stuff from Dragon Eternity.
For those of you who don't play DE, I've included some footnotes to help you guys along just so I don't have to take the time to explain everything in the actual story itself. Also, if anyone knows how to add categories to the site, please let me know so I can request the addition of DE to the game category.
Anyway, everyone enjoy. And please R&R.
ˁ Prologue ˀ
Date: October 31, 2022
I sat quietly on the couch with my eyes glued exclusively to the TV screen. Colored lights flashed before my eyes. I watched as the setting changed from a fast run through a forest trail to a high mountain overlooking an enormous chasm. Through the thick cirrus clouds, we could just make out the outline of a floating city.
The screen went black except for bold, white text in the middle of my sixty-four-inch flat screen:
"DRAGON ETERNITY ONLINE".
Once that was over, the local news began broadcasting the latest news developments around town. Helicopter footage, voice-overs, and real-time video showed everything as far as the eye could see. Every shop was bursting to the seams with people waiting for their copy of the new VRMMORP that had released today. Sadly, only tens of thousands of the games were available for purchase.
I had already gotten mine.
"Hi there! Time for this weeks MMO stream." Said the perky news lady. "You just saw a promo of today's featured game. And this is what today's launch day looked like. Can you guess what everyone's waiting for? Dragon Eternity Online!"
I spaced out after that and raised myself off the couch.
"I'm going to go play now." I told my mother who was busy in the kitchen.
"Okay, honey." Mom said. She had the usual tired look to her.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing." She answered, flipping through her collection of recipes.
I knew it was best not to push my mother into speaking her mind. She was stubborn and never wanted to push all her worldly problems on her children.
I took her short responses to mean she would eventually be okay with me starting the new game. I had pre-ordered it months ahead of time and it had just arrived in the mail this morning.
I headed upstairs to my room and shut the door behind me. Just before I laid down with my NerveGear in place, I checked the clock.
Almost one o'clock.
I had four hours of game time before dinner.
I at least had plenty of time to do some exploring and making it through the first few levels. That was good enough for me.
I booted up my PC, inserted the Dragon Eternity Online disk into the drive, and jammed the NerveGear headset on. After I got settled into a comfortable position on my bed, I watched the digital clock on the NerveGear face shield. I could hear the headset warming up.
Just as soon as the clock hit 1:00, I closed my eyes and smiled in anticipation.
"Link start!"
Rods of colored lights flashed before my eyes. They were all replaced by the usual system checks, all of which turned out okay. Then, I chose my language and applied.
Character registration.
Choose Faction:
Sadar[1]
Vaalor[2]
Choose gender:
Male
Female
I picked on the Sadar clan for their ferocity in battle and clicked on Female.
Character name:
Must not contain vulgar or course language!
I thought about this and decided to go with the same game I used in every game I've ever played.
Cessra.
After clicking okay, the screen went dark.
Welcome to Dragon Eternity Online! flashed before my eyes. Then, I was transported to the Academy of Sadar[3].
The town that appeared before me was surrounded by a high, brick wall. Vines and other creeping, green plants went all the way up over the balconies. I could see other players on other non-player characters milling around about me. I took a moment to check myself out.
Half-naked, wearing only a bra, and bikini. A leather band was wrapped around my wrist. I did a quick check of my inventory. My only weapon, so far, was a recruit's mace and a recruit's shield. I had thirty Lesser Orb of Strength[4], and an Adventure Seeker's Chest. The Orb I could use right away if I needed to. The chest I couldn't open until level 4.
I sighed. Like all users on launch day, I was expected to start at the bottom. That was fine. It wouldn't take me long to get everything I needed to beat this game.
"Hello, Adan[5]! I'm here!" I said.
ˁ Chapter One ˀ
I heard a beep and a quest icon appeared in front of me. I clicked on it and a window opened up.
You have received a new quest!
Saboteur in the Academy.
Report to Crown-Legate Crimm for details.
I looked around and found what I was looking for. An imposing fellow in impressive-looking battle gear. His long, black hair flowing down his back. The only reason I noticed him was because he was outlined by a jagged, green circle and a chat icon floating above his head.
I closed the quest window and approached. Crimm didn't seem to notice me until I was just at the edge of his circle.
"Welcome, recruit." Crimm said. "I have a mission for you. There's a saboteur in the academy. Deal with him at once."
I didn't need to talk to Crimm. NPCs didn't interact that way. Instead, I left his company and went looking for the saboteur. It wasn't that difficult seeing as there was only one person by the academy; a cloaked figure carrying an axe and shield. He was outlined by a jagged, red circle and an attack icon hovered above his head. He stood over an NPC that was dressed in a guard's outfit.
I only paused just to equip my shield and mace. Once I was within the figure's circle, a fight initiated between us.
The fight didn't last very long. First level missions really were not that difficult. While I took some damage, I didn't feel any real pain thanks to the pain absorber program tied into the game made sure of that. When it was over, I heard bugles sound and a window opened in front of me.
Congratulations!
You have received the following Item:
Recruit's Boots.
I grinned and closed the window only to have two more pop up. One informed me the boots had automatically been equipped and the other ordered me to report back to Crimm. Once again, Crimm didn't notice me until I was in his circle.
"Your combat performance was outstanding, recruit! The scared saboteur was going to kill the guard and escape. If it wasn't for you the poor fellow would be dead by now." Crimm said.
He held out his hands. In one gloved palm, there was a green arrow with the number 50 engraved in it, and in the other, there was a sack of gold. When I took the items, a small window informed me I had gained 50 experience points and 50 copper pieces.
Not bad. I thought.
I closed the window and Crimm spoke again.
"No one can tell when the enemy will strike next. But we are the army elite and we are always ready for combat, so get used to wearing your armor all the time, soldier. Go to the shop and spend your salary on a pair of Leggings."
I didn't have to leave Crimm's presence this time. With a snap of my fingers, a menu opened in front of me. After scanning the selection of options, I found the shop and opened it.
So far, the only item I could see was a pair of brown pants worth only 2 silver pieces. Since I already had 5 silver, I paid for them and heard the bugles sound again. Once more, I was presented with 50 XP and 50 copper pieces from Crimm's hands.
A loud orchestra sounded in my ears as a window informed me I had already reached level 2 and my reward was a Recruit's Cuirass and 10 pieces of silver.
Thank God! Armor!
After equipping my armor, I went on to complete a few more missions; all from Crown-Legate Crimm.
I was having so much fun defeating creatures and NPCs outside and below the academy, that it didn't take long for me to reach level four. Then, I was instructed to see Crimm again.
"In order to use Magic in combat, you will have to purchase a special Amulet of one of the three Classes: Berserk, Paladin or Witcher. The equipped amulet determines your Class. Each Class has its special properties and different Magic that is available.
"A Berserk neglects defense in favor of the ability to deal critical damage more often and wields Fire, Air, and Chaos Magic. A Paladin blocks enemy attacks more often than the other Classes and deprives the opponent of the ability to reduce taken damage. Paladin's Schools are Order, Water, and Air. A Witcher is capable of reducing taken damage and avoiding critical blows. Witcher is allowed to use the Spells of Earth, Water, and Chaos." Said Crimm.
A window opened in front of me with three options.
I'll take the Berserk Amulet for 2 silver.
I'll take the Paladin Amulet for 2 silver.
I'll take the Witcher Amulet for 2 silver.
I took a moment to think about it, then selected Berserk—I liked the thought of dealing more damage. The cha-ching sound in my ear told me I had lost the required money.
Crimm held out his hand, presenting me with the amulet, more copper, and XP. After taking care of one more quest from him, I was done with his chain of quests.
Then, it was nearly 5:30.
I sighed and stretched. "Well, time to log out." I told myself; snapping my fingers together.
The menu appeared but there was something off.
What the- Where's the log out? I wondered.
"Hey!"
I turned around and saw someone just a few feet away from me. He was obviously a player but not one from Sadar because his armor was green and not blue. I wondered if it was okay for him to be speaking to me at all. From some of the game details I read, Vaalor and Sadar were supposed to be rivaling factions who could never see eye-to-eye.
"Yes?" I asked.
"Are you trying to log-out, too?" He asked.
"Yeah." I answered, truthfully. At this point, I didn't care about factions anymore. Not when there was something wrong with the game.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" He asked again, looking back at his menu in front of him. While his face was turned away from me, I took a moment to glance at his name. Klein.
"Yeah, I saw. There's no log-out button." I said. My voice sounded calm, but I was both confused and getting very close to panicking.
The other player shrugged. "Oh well. Today's, what, the first day out of beta? Bound to be some bugs! I bet the server people are freaking out right now!"
"Yeah." I said. "How about we just contact the game master?"
"I already did but he's not picking up."
"Huh. Now that is strange." I said.
I hadn't played any VRMMORPGs, but the online games I did play made sure any and all Game Masters were available to contact in case there was a problem. And this was a serious problem.
"Yeah, totally." The other player said. He clicked out of the menu. "But it's just a bug."
"This isn't just a bug." I said. "If we can't log out, it's going to cause some serious problems for the game."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I wonder if the developers even know what's happening, 'cause they could just shut down the server and log everyone out. But why haven't they made an announcement?"
"Hmm..."
Before we had time to react, there was the sound of a large bell ringing. Klein and I glanced at each other, then in the direction of the bells. Suddenly, Klein vanished in a flash of blue light. More blue light flooded my vision and I appeared in the middle of Sadar Academy.
The entire Academy grounds were flooded with people, all talking at once to each other until the noise became deafening.
"What's going on?"
"Does anyone know what's happening?"
"How did we end up here?"
"Who initiated the transport?"
I looked around, stunned. I didn't understand any of it either.
Just then, the bell stopped ringing only to be replaced by a loud, klaxon alarm blared overhead and we all fell silent and looked up.
1Sadar- One of the villages of Adan; the inhabitants of Sadar are known for their blood-thirsty nature.
2Vaalor- One of the villages of Adan; the inhabitants of Vaalor are known for their wealth.
3Academy of Sadar- The starting point for first-time players that choose Sadar.
4Lesser Orb of Strength - Increases damage of your current physical attack by 36%. Only one Orb can be used at a time.
5Adan- The place where Dragon Eternity takes place.