Disclaimer: I do not own SAO or any of the associated matters. I do not own The Prince of Swords; that belongs to ToumaFF. I am merely drawing further inspiration from his writings and using similar events to his second and third chapters in this opening chapter.
A/N: I do not intend to do this the whole story, but there will be moments where I go into first person narrative. Like the dream sequence you'll be reading in a few seconds. Enjoy. Also, I have taken creative liberties with regards to player character stats, since I can't find any listed anywhere. I went with strength (STR), agility (AGI), defense (DEF), vitality (VIT), and dexterity (DEX). Each stat goes up three points per level with an additional three points that can be distributed by the player.
Here's a breakdown of the character's current equipment, stats and skills. This won't have specific numbers of things like HP or Attack, but then again, you aren't reading this for that anyways, right?
Username: Ryzo
Level: 2
Stats: STR 11, AGI 8, DEF 8, VIT 8, DEX 8
Skills: «Dagger» Proficiency 12/1000, «Acrobatics» Proficiency 20/1000
Equipment: «Iron Dagger», «Basic Armor»
And now we begin. Welcome to Sword Art Online: Deadly Huntress, Ferocious Dragon!
The First Chapter: Path Towards Tomorrow
Once more, my mind went back to that day when my eyes shut as the sun began to peek through the window of my room. I was exhausted from training all night long...it was all I could do to avoid being a target of hate or envy as a beta tester. That first day came back every single time my eyes closed for more than an instant.
November 6, 2022-Nightmare
Location: Starting City, Central Plaza
[Players, welcome to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world.]
Great, this again; why did I have to have a nightmare about this? The plaza stretched out around me, filled with faceless players except a few familiar faces, from the beta test. The silent horror engulfed me again as they all turned to face me and the beta testers, swarming us like the monsters that roam the fields of Aincrad.
[I think that most of you have discovered the fact that the [Log Out] button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug; it is a feature of «Sword Art Online»]
Why do I have this dream every time I shut my eyes? This is what, the fourth time tonight? I found myself buried beneath a violent maelstrom of fists, feet, and faceless bodies. My legs stopped working, just like they had after that accident. My screams died in my throat as I found it impossible to breathe under the enormous weight of the thousands of faceless players pummeling me and each other.
[Until you get to the top of this castle, you will not be able to log out...in addition the disruption or dismantling of the Nerve Gear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted...]
We will die. They relent, as always, and I feel as though I'm falling. Then I see that statue from the plaza floating in the air higher and higher...and realize I am. The horde of players above me falls after me, flailing their limbs in a pointless attempt to catch up to me.
[...the signal sensors in your Nerve Gear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions.]
Then came the bit with the mirrors...that cruel, sick monster's way of giving us our faces back as some kind of gift after doing all that to us. One by one they all shatter into tiny little blue polygons of data. One by one they all die.
[You will all most probably be wondering, 'Why?' Why am I - the creator of the Nerve Gear and SAO, Kayaba Akihiko- doing something like this? Is this a sort of terrorist attack? Is he doing this to ransom us?]
Even then, I didn't think of you as the type. No one would waste so much time, effort, and money just for that. Not even terrorists. I see the beta testers die next. It hurts more than the rest when a young teenaged girl with whiskers painted on her face shatters mere feet away.
[None of these is the reason I am doing this. Not only that. Now, for me, there is no longer a reason or a purpose in doing this. That is because... this situation itself was my purpose in doing this. To create and watch this world is the only reason I have created the Nerve Gear and SAO. And now, everything has been realized.]
Yeah, and now all I want to do is shatter it. I can't believe I let you kill so many already. Crazed monster – no, I can't just call you that. It's a disgrace to even you. There's something more to this, some point you're making through all this. I am left alone in this pit of eternal darkness, falling and falling and falling for what seems an eternity.
[...Now, I have finished the official tutorial for «Sword Art Online». Players- I wish you luck.]
You just wanted to remind us all that the internet isn't where we go to hide who we are…it's where we can truly be ourselves. Is that it, Kayaba? That's kind of sad if it's really the case. You didn't need to make it a death game if that's all you wanted to do. You just had to trap us here. So why kill us, Kayaba? My dream fades into reality as I, too, shatter into blue polygons and finally, finally, finally die. Why?
November 7th, 2022
I woke with a start, one name echoing through my mind: Kayaba Akihiko. The man who trapped 10,000 people in this death game, responsible for so many suicides and deaths that had occurred in the first month alone, who deserved hatred, but for whom I ended up only pitying. After all, he had gone to such great lengths to trap 10,000 people in a sick and twisted world he made himself. If anything, he was probably lonely, or else actually a madman. But somehow, I can't imagine a psychopath going to such great lengths. No, Kayaba is just a lonely and misunderstood genius who wanted people to have an emotional bond with him. Even if it was only hatred. But why must we die?
Third Person POV:
The second day of Sword Art Online started out with a sickening reminder that his life was on the line, as many more would for almost every one of the player. He was a relatively quiet boy in his late teens. He had slept in till noon and was now approaching the edge of «Medai», a small fishing village on the first floor that was located between the eastern mountains and the lake region. He had come here as soon as that nightmarish tutorial was over, grinding the first day away till dawn as his sleeping habits began to be shifted more nocturnally. His name, or rather his username, was Ryzo.
There were few others in «Medai»; it was a rather little known village still, since the death game had only begun just one day ago, but even the other beta testers seemed to have avoided it for the most part. Those who had come numbered twelve at most. Ryzo stood out from among them like an eagle among pigeons. He had snowy white hair that reached his shoulders in length which was tied back in a short ponytail. He wore with basic gear they had all begun the game with, a dark red shirt and pants and tough looking black boots. At his right side hung an «Iron Dagger» that he'd gotten as a rare drop on his way to the village on day one. This was the day he intended to reach level three and his top goal for the time being: the unarmed skill «Taekwondo». He had used the skill in the beta, so he knew that of the unarmed skills it was the easiest to gain and the best for the start of the game. It was also the only one that he could use and still keep a weapon in hand for.
"Hey, that guy..." "Isn't he the one who's been...?" "...the white haired solo player." Such were the comments that drifted to Ryzo's ears. It was to be expected. He was a ferocious and deadly fighter in the beta and had become even more so now that his real life was on the line. The snowy white haired teen clearly had some sort of martial arts training and a lot of actual fighting experience. In a game like Sword Art Online such things were as good as cheat codes on the first floor.
At the moment Ryzo was making his way towards the eastern mountains, where he had been fighting against as many «Ruin Kobold Scouts» as possibly ever since he had arrived in «Medai» the previous day. A few of the other players had followed his lead, but none of the dozen or so others who had so far reached the small fishing village had even attempted to go solo. All were of the same mind though. Each and every beta tester was trying to ease the guilt they felt. Unreasonably felt guilt, at that. It wasn't their fault they hadn't realized Kayaba would do this, and knowing that made any guilt Ryzo might have felt dissipate like steam. A private message alert chimed and Ryzo expertly manipulated his menu to see who it was from. It was SAO's number one information broker…Argo «The Rat».
PM: SENDER: Argo /Where are you Ryzo?/
Argo...should I respond? There were reasons not to. He didn't want the girl to feel any need nor obligation to him. She would do fine on her own. Ryzo hadn't gotten into the beta or gotten the game based on the avid joy she had spoken to him about it with during their time together in the months preceding the beta test. Yes, he knew the information broker from real life - a fact he kept closely guarded. He decided to respond, to tell her his thoughts, and to encourage her to find new friends to trust. He couldn't burden her with his steadfast need to regain the skills he had used in the beta test as quickly as possible. He had to for him to feel safe at night.
There were other reasons for it though, because he knew that if he didn't respond she would find out where he was and come to see him, thereby endangering her life unnecessarily. Another reason he had turned down her friend request before parting ways the day before. He hadn't told her he was leaving the city in the first place. He felt like what he was about to write would be made of partially of nonsensical lies, but it didn't bother him too much.
/Argo, I'm staying in «Medai» right now. I know you want to meet up, but I think it best to stay away from things for now, in my case at least. You find someone you trust and stick with them; you can't go it alone in this game. I'm not saying this because you're weak; I'm saying it because I don't trust some of the other betas to work for the benefit of anyone but themselves. Even you can't escape a well set MPK. Form or join a guild as soon as you can. I'll see you some other time. Right now I need to get stronger. I've almost got «Taekwondo», and then it's just a matter of time till I get «Martial Arts». You're like a little sister to me, Argo. I don't want to see you get hurt. As soon as the second floor is reached, I'll be able to get what I want and then I'll gladly party up or friend you, okay? Just know that I think it best for you to do things your own way. I can't bring myself to drag you around with me, nor would you find it easy to have me around all the time. Partying together was fun in the beta, yes, but neither of us wanted to do it all that often after the first week. Now it is important to find people who you do want to stick around with more than to worry over me. You shouldn't. You know how capable a fighter I am. I just hope Kayaba didn't up and move the «Martial Arts» skill on me. ^_^ Good luck, and don't forget to write. ~R./
/Baka! Why would you be a burden?! Look, Ryzo, I know I can't change your mind about this, so...at least promise you will do the same. Please. Find someone you can trust your life to. I'll find someone I know from the beta, someone who I really trust, like I trust you, and stick with him. Maybe you've heard about him. Kirito, that's his username. I call him Ki-bou~ though. It's really fun to tease him. ^_^ Stay safe, okay? I'll see you around, Ryzo. ~ A./
Ryzo chuckled at Argo's rapid reply. He had spent a full ten minutes crafting his reply, walking slowly and typing it out as he went, and yet she could read and write a response to it in such a short amount of time...
/I will. Thanks for the concern Argo. Oh, and one last thing. Don't tell anyone about our connection! Even if they pay you all the col in the world!/
Ryzo hit the send button. Argo never sent a reply to that particular message, but she didn't have to. He knew that she would always agree with him on that till the day they died. That, he hoped, wouldn't be anytime soon.
Ryzo made his way up the rugged rocky mountainside. Eventually, a pack of «Wolves» surrounded him. The teen's pale blue eyes looked for a route of escape, but saw none. This is bad. It was a battle that had to be fought. At least I know this'll get me to level three Ryzo thought to himself as he sized up the mobs pacing around him. He looked at them and calmly drew the «Iron Dagger» with his right hand, leaving his left up and ready to grab hold of whichever one came at him first. This won't be too hard. The first of the «Wolves» charged in, receiving a slash to the face with the dagger and then a series of rapid, successive stabs from it into a weak point on its right shoulder as Ryzo fought to hold its jaws shut with his free hand. As it shattered into polygons of blue light he remembered his nightmare. In that split second of hesitation he almost died. A wolf came from his left, snarling angrily and trying to avenge its fallen brother.
"Don't think I'm that easy a target!" Ryzo shouted as he struck the beast mob down with a single well-placed «Thrust», a basic skill for any dagger users. He was unable to move for a precious split second, but no wolves attacked him, miraculously. There were four more of the wolves left at that point when an «Alpha Wolf» appeared. Ryzo took up a defensive stance, ready to fight the higher level mob off. To say that he was pleasantly surprised to find its health had already been depleted considerably by someone or something else. He hoped it wasn't another player. If it had been, why did this wolf survive? Ryzo could only think of avenging this unknown fallen comrade and immediately charged forward, finding himself charging up a «Thrust» while running at the rather fierce looking mob. It fell in an instant, and in the moment he was unable to move the other four wolves rushed at him. If he hadn't chosen «Acrobatics» as his second skill, Ryzo doubted that he would have escaped that situation with his life. He swiftly scaled up the nearest rocky wall, falling on the confused wolves with a new sword skill active: «Feather Swift». He took advantage of the dagger's speed and low cool down times to dispatch the wolves while falling, launching the sword skill at their weak points repeatedly to weaken them and then spinning in a circle with the blade as he landed in their midst. One had hung back and leapt at him with its jaws wide, arcing through the air at his throat. Reacting entirely on instinct, Ryzo spun around into a roundhouse kick that sent the wolf flying into a tree a few feet away. It got up and Ryzo began to move about in a circle, the last «Wolf» mob doing the same across from him. His health had dropped considerably without his noticing. The mobs had been biting at him during that spin move and likely while he was finishing the «Alpha Wolf». The white haired teen ran at the mob with a ferocious, bestial battle cry that startled all the beta testers in and around «Medai». With one last clash Ryzo was left in the red. The last enemy was dead now though. He pulled a health potion from a loop on his belt and drank it slowly, letting it heal him gradually. The post-battle windows popped up.
-Congratulations! Level Up!-
You are now -Level 3-
~New Skill Unlocked: Extra Skill «Taekwondo»~
Ryzo smiled and put the three bonus points for leveling up into his AGI. He looked at his skills menu with a satisfied smile as his health finally reached full on the third potion. Now not even those wolves can give me any problems. Ryzo continued to grind for the remainder of the day, closing in on reaching level 4 by the time he went back to «Medai» at sunset. Yesterday he had spent so much time running from «Wolves» and stalking lone «Ruin Kobold Scouts», but now he'd gained two levels relatively easily. He went to sleep satisfied and took his time leveling over the coming few weeks, getting to level seven on the eve of the two week anniversary of the death game's opening ceremonies. That was when he received a certain message from a cheeky information broker.
November 18th, 2022
/Hey. Remember that guy I mentioned? Kirito, in case you forgot already. He's holding a meeting about the first floor boss in the next few days just outside of the Starting City, if you're interested. Best hide your peculiar skills and knowledge though. Quite a lot of hate for betas going on here right now. I'll send you the location later. I'm going to go meet with him now. Ki-bou's such a serious person, but he's just so adorable every so often! I can't get enough of the look on his face!/
Ryzo smiled at this message, picturing Argo giggling with her whisker face-paint seeming to come alive, twitching like real whiskers with the movements of her face. He sat on the rickety wooden chair he had sat at every day this week during breaks in his grinding for sleep. He hadn't had a real break since he had started, and taking a week to wrap his head around things and get to know some of their other betas and proactive newbies that had reached «Medai» besides him seemed important. He had promised Argo he would find someone he could trust his life to, after all. Ryzo's pale blue eyes focused on the virtual keyboard, his fingers tapping out a response as quickly as they could.
/If I do come, don't look around for me. I'll probably just watch to see what happens. If someone starts saying stupid things though, I may have to shut them up. Thanks for the concern, Argo, and for the warning. I'll keep my guard up, don't worry. Good luck./
Ryzo decided, after sending that, to at least head back there to join up with the frontline and make himself more visible was now mandatory. Knowing Argo, she always found a way to get back at him for not heeding her call. Plus, since there were likely a good number of other players who would attend, he could gradually gain good friends, maybe even form a guild. Then he could do what he really wanted to do more than anything. Help. Even if he only ended up teaching newbies who wanted to learn. On his way out of town he picked up a free guidebook. Sure, he had been in the beta, but information was a valuable weapon. He was pleasantly surprised to find the extensive combat section in the player made book.
The Meeting, November, 2022.
Pale blue eyes danced lazily around the gathering place, counting up the various people who had come to this supposed 'First Boss Information Session'. Though, considering Argo had told him about it, the odds of this being anything less than absolutely on the level were practically nil. Ryzo counted up forty-two, excluding himself. Judging by the hushed conversations that were taking place throughout the gathered groups the players all averaged out to levels 5 and 6, one level lower than he himself. That guidebook had been a big help for a good number of them, it seemed. During the beta, Ryzo's time had been devoted mostly to the pursuit of finding and unlocking every unarmed skill. Since the mastery level transferred between them, he could simply unlock them, switch back to «Taekwondo» and then change it up as he pleased. As such, he hadn't devoted much time to exploring Aincrad or finding the best spots for grinding, things like that. So, it wasn't all that surprising that he had overlooked this beautiful spot that existed only a short, scenic walk away from the starting city. The players were lounging on rocks and logs scattered around on the ground in the shade of a large tree that had served as the landmark they all looked for when leaving the safety of the city to attend this 'information session'. A small area was left empty, save two figures. One, an effeminate boy with dark hair and the other was the infamous Argo. Ryzo figured that the boy was the one she had told him about, Kirito. The boy was being bold, given all the beta-hating Argo had told him about. He didn't seem to be intending to hide his status as a beta tester considering that only a beta tester could have intel on the first boss. Ten minutes past the appointed time Argo elbowed Kirito in the side. Ryzo suppressed a grin at this sight. The effeminate boy stood, slightly adjusting the sword on his back. Despite his nervous exterior, Ryzo could FEEL an aura of inner strength and confidence that came from the younger boy. Something about him was...familiar. The black haired swordsman coughed once, quietly.
"Alright then, thank you for coming to this informational session," Kirito began, pausing to make sure that he had everyone's attention. Ryzo looked around and found that there were a good number of surprised faces amongst the crowd. Some recognized the boy's name, he could tell, but they put on neutral masked expressions, neither happy nor discouraged by Kirito's presence. "My name is Kirito," which told Ryzo that he had assumed correctly, "I'm pretty sure none of you know me, but that has nothing to do with why we're all here today. This is a meeting to talk about how to bring down the first floor boss." Kirito stopped again and was interrupted immediately by a rude and arrogant sounding player with a cactus shaped hair style.
"Oi, who the hell do you think you are? I've never seen you on the front lines!" The arrogant oddly hair-styled teen was sitting front and center, right in front of Kirito and Argo. Kirito seemed to be considering how to respond to this kind of reaction. Ryzo decided to say something first.
"Shut it, cactus head. Who cares who he thinks he is so long as he has intel? Plus, you should know who Argo is by now, so if she trusts him, why the hell can't you?!" Ryzo shouted, and it was clear that he had said it since he was the only other person standing. He had stayed on the edge of the clearing since arriving quietly. He was easily angered however, and now it played to his advantage. It kept things from deteriorating further by shutting up the cactus head idiot. Kirito gave him a surprised yet grateful look. Argo simply grinned in his direction for a moment. Guess I did what I said I would, ne, Argo?
"Wha-" The cactus head was interrupted in his response to Ryzo by a large black man with a huge battleax on his back. He shook his head no and the teen scowled but closed his mouth. It seemed a large number of those present agreed with the man as any other attempts to protest were slowly and quietly overwhelmed over the course of several minutes. Argo gave Ryzo a grateful and pride-filled glance before elbowing Kirito in the leg to stir him back into action.
"So, moving on, the first boss, it's called «Illfang the Kobold Lord». Its main weapon is a Tulwar. It has four health bars. Given that it's a «Kobold» type mob and a boss, it shouldn't surprise any of you to know that it has the ability to summon «Kobold Sentinels». It will use this power each time one of its health bars depletes. I would recommend three people per «Sentinel», considering the large health pool they have." Kirito paused, waiting for the players to not only hear the information, but also to understand and memorize it. This was vital intel if they wanted to stay alive. Ryzo appreciated the thought put into all this. Kirito was a natural born leader judging by his performance so far. "Now, once the last health bar is depleted almost entirely, «Illfang» will enter a second phase where it uses large AoE attacks and moves much faster than before. This part has to be taken slowly and carefully. A direct hit will likely be fatal."
"Question." Ryzo looked around, spotting a blue haired man who looked far too good to be a hardcore gamer. Something struck him as decidedly wrong about the player. "I'm sorry for doubting you on this, but how can we trust this information?" Ryzo realized where this was going. Only a hated beta tester could know this stuff, so either he was one, or Argo was. Ryzo knew both were, given what Argo had mentioned about the dark haired teen in the center.
"I'm a beta tester." Kirito said it without hesitation. Ryzo admired that courage, but he couldn't help but wonder just what this would bring. He felt that something incredibly stupid and shortsighted was going to go down any second.
"You bastard!" Again, the arrogant cactus head from earlier stood up, this time along with several others. "I can't listen to anything this guy says!" Ryzo saw Kirito pull a subtle grimace, silently agreeing with the young swordsman's unspoken sentiments.
"Well, that's just great..." the white-haired player mumbled. What should have been a peaceful meeting was now deteriorating into hatred and chaos. Ryzo's eyes flickered to the blue haired player who had instigated this whole thing. The blank expression on his face, neither approving nor disapproving Kirito's statement confirmed his suspicions. That guy is planning something.
"How can we trust a guy that abandoned us and got so far ahead?! Look at his gear, it's probably way better than ours!" The cactus head's stupid pointless anger and resentment lit a spark in Ryzo.
You only just noticed that...? Pathetic. Ryzo began to growl, and those around him were intimidated by the bestial sound coming from him. It sounded like something from a monster rather than a teenager. Ryzo's eyes had a dark look that would have made some kind of aura of darkness suddenly appearing around him totally believable.
"Who knows how high his level is!"
"He must have been keeping all the best areas for his own use!"
"He left us to fend for ourselves while he took the easy ways to level up!"
"Selfish bastards, I can't work with people like you! Beater!"
"BEATER SCUM! Go die!"
"WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP AND LET THE GUY TALK?!" Ryzo suddenly yelled out, his voice sounding like some kind of monstrous roar. Kirito nodded his thanks, finally having a moment to talk. A few minutes past silently before Kirito spoke again.
"So, you guys hate beta testers because you think we're better off in this game than you?" Kirito received glares and nods from the cactus head and his cohorts. "I have to say it. That's pathetic." Ryzo quirked and eyebrow at this, but noting how Argo had stood up silently and was now standing very close to the boy for some form of comfort, he didn't pass judgment just yet. "You're acting like a bunch of kids caught with your hands in a cookie jar. Pointing fingers at whoever it's easiest to blame...it's sickening. Grow up. Do you ever think about how many beta testers could actually survive going solo like I have? I bet not. Out of all the 1000, about half probably had previous MMO experience. And of those, far less would be good enough to survive SAO on their own. There's probably a good number of beta testers here, trying to survive just as hard as you are. In fact, from that 1000, every single one got a copy of this game. I wonder...how many names I could recognize crossed out on that cold black rock in town with the word 'suicide' written next to it. Quite a few, I'd imagine. And the number seems to be growing each day. So go ahead, blame the beta testers for 'not helping you' or 'not helping newbies' or stopping those people who jumped. Just keep in mind that that isn't entirely true." A severely subdued protest came from the players who were against Kirito and beta testers. Kirito sighed and then continued to speak, loud enough to drown them out.
"You've all received this guidebook, free, from the NPC stalls, right?" Kirito swept his eyes over the gathered players, making sure he had all of their attentions. He held up a copy of the guidebook, which had provided a wide variety of information on the first floor, the game mechanics, and a sizable and very detailed section on SAO's combat system. "This was written entirely by beta testers. I, myself, actually wrote the combat portion." A stunned silence fell over the crowd. Ryzo noticed a number of those neutral expressions slip for a brief moment as Kirito made eye contact with most of the players Ryzo suspected of being beta testers.
"So, even if you hate us so-called 'beaters', I hope to see at least some of you here next week. We have the same goal, to take down the first floor boss. Then the second floor boss. All the way up to the «Final Boss». If you can grow up a little, I hope to see you here next week. Those of you who can...I look forward to working with you. For the rest of you…well, we'll just have to clear it without you." Kirito finished with a very serious expression on his face. The lack of any more words coming from the teen signified that the meeting was over. As the players quickly dispersed, some no doubt to reconsider their stances on the beta testers. After a moment the black clothed swordsman suddenly dropped his gaze, as though he had just realized that the players he'd been...well, scolding, for lack of a better word, were at least a few years older than him on average. Ryzo approached as Argo began lightly clapping looking at Kirito with awe on her face. Then the two began conversing with two other girls, one with pink hair and another that seemed a bit too young to be in this world. Not wanting to intrude, Ryzo took his leave to wander the merchant district in search of a good merchant.
"Buy cheap, sell cheap! That's my motto!" claimed the large, muscular black man before him. Ryzo paled at the thought of this man being a hardcore gamer. Keeping THAT fit, managing a job, and gaming just didn't seem possible to him. His words weren't directed at them, more at the general populace. Ryzo hadn't gone looking for a player merchant, he truly hadn't. What he found, regardless of what he intended, was Agil, the large man of African-American descent who had been one of those that helped quiet down the initial opposition at Kirito's information session. Ryzo remembered that he had kept the cactus head in line after Ryzo had told the guy to shut up the first time. The man's motto caught Ryzo's interest.
"You were at the meeting. Guess that must mean you've got a good selection of wares. Any daggers?" Ryzo walked up to the intimidatingly muscular man and tried to keep an upbeat look on his face as he himself was being sized up.
"I do, I do. You were the one who started yelling at those idiots earlier. You've got guts and spirit kid, I'll give you that. I'm Agil. It's a pleasure to meet you." Agil held out a hand. Ryzo took it and shook it firmly; glad he had put his points into his STR and AGI stats equally thus far. "See that grouping of tables back there? Head right on over, I'll be along shortly. It looks like a few more customers are coming."
"Will do. Thank you, Agil." Ryzo walked over to the grouping of tables covered in armors, swords, spears, axes, potions, and yes, daggers. Ryzo began to carefully examine each dagger, investigating the individual stats by bringing up the item window. He didn't pick any up, nor did any catch his eye yet, but he froze as he overheard the conversation between Agil and his next group of customers start.
"Kirito, when I told you to relax, I didn't mean it like this...seriously, this could get you killed." the bald, muscular man muttered instead of a greeting.
"Eto...anyways, Agil, could you help me out with something?" Kirito rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Oh, you need my help, eh, Kirito? Sure. Anything I can do to help such a good customer." Agil laughed a bit at his own words, confusing the five who were only just meeting him greatly. Ryzo went back to busily study the daggers, feeling Argo's eyes boring a hole into him. The information broker couldn't have NOT noticed him. Ryzo would have to watch his words.
"Well, these three need to get some new gear. Silica's the only one in need of a full set. The other two just need better armor." It was definitely Kirito. Even though he had heard Agil say the name, he had hoped he was simply mishearing him and that the feeling of Argo's eyes on his back was just a hallucination.
"Alright, come right this way ladies!" Agil led the way over to the small grouping of tables.
"Don't mind us, Ryzo." Argo muttered to him as she passed by, looking for a weapon herself. A second set of footsteps approached him from the same direction.
"Excuse me, but…you are him. The guy from the meeting earlier who yelled at that weird cactus head. I wanted to thank you for that." Kirito was suddenly at his side. Ryzo figured he had been trying to get to the table past the one with the daggers, which had one-handed swords and throwing weapons. Ryzo turned his pale blue eyes to the younger teen, his hopes of going relatively unnoticed dashed. With his snowy-white hair, how could he be mistaken for someone else though?
"Oh, no, it was no big deal. I have a short temper and I tend to blow up at idiots." Ryzo heard a loud crash and turned to see Silica on the ground pouting with a pile of heavy red armor in front of her and Lisbeth consoling her. Ryzo turned back to the table of daggers chuckling. He picked one up that had finally caught his eye. It had a crimson blade on each end of the hilt. A «Dragon's Talon» if he ever saw one, that was certain. Kirito apparently knew about this weapon too.
"Ooh…you've got a good eye for daggers. That's the...«Dragon's Talon» if I remember correctly. An extremely rare drop from the «Frenzy Boar», but a higher leveled version is supposed to be available on later floors once dragon-type mobs start showing up." Kirito's detailed information startled Ryzo so much that he almost jumped.
"Man, you know a lot about this game, Kirito. You...well, it's obvious that you startled me, huh? No point in saying it." Kirito raised an eyebrow as his smile showed up. Ryzo's odd sensibilities, like starting to say something obvious, then stopping and commenting on the fact, always had made his male friends laugh and any women flat out hate him. He suspected Kirito, Agil, and Argo were the only reasons the other girls hadn't been repulsed by his presence. That and their shopping seemed to be taking up a lot of their attention. However, what Ryzo was distracted by was the fact that he had picked up a fourth girl along the way between the meeting and coming here. "You really do have some harem aura thing going for you though...oh, sorry, I meant royal. You have the air of a prince about you. Some princes have harems and all; that was the connection I made there."
"E-eh?" Kirito looked at Ryzo, very confused. That look made something click in Ryzo's memory, though he regretted phrasing his last sentence the way he had. No, scratch that, he knew that he shouldn't have just said something like that to someone he barely knew.
"Are you, by any chance, a martial artist? Perhaps you are a kendo practitioner…dual wielding maybe even?" Ryzo's questions caused further and further furrows on Kirito's brow to crease as the boy's eyebrows slowly rose up and up and up at the sudden and abrupt shift in conversation topic. "No need to worry, I'm just wondering where I've seen you before. Two years ago, mixed martial arts regional championship, were you facing off against a practitioner of the Ryuu no Nagareru style?" Kirito's eyes gleamed with understanding.
"So then you're..." Kirito had a look of surprise in his eyes after a moment though as Ryzo shook his head 'no', though he was clearly happy to have finally placed where he had seen Kirito before. He had met the boy only once, if you could even call it meeting, two years prior, in his final martial arts competition before the accident. It had been a great match to see, a student of the Ryuu no Nagareru style facing off against a prodigy of dual blade kendo. The match had been very close, but the kendo prodigy had won after an hour of constant dodges, parries, and blocked attacks. The only thing his opponent had lacked in was experience. In martial arts, age doesn't matter. Experience and mastery does. However, Ryzo hadn't been the one to fight Kirito that year. He had participated in and won the division level above the young kendo prodigy. Ryzo had seen the match though.
"No, I was in the higher level division. That was the student just below me in the school who fought you. Once we clear this game, we'll have to find some way to have a VR match, see how you and I match up. I can't exactly fight any more in the real world, but a VR match is possible. I'll assume you've heard what happened after the tournament, everyone who took part was supposed to be notified...anyways, that match. Sound good?" Ryzo held out a hand to shake, to seal the deal. To get to face off against someone even stronger than the toughest opponent he'd ever faced…that thought seemed to excite the black-haired swordsman.
"Neither of us can die until then, got it?" Kirito was definitely excited about it. He shook the hand, and the two martial artists broke out into friendly banter about the match and about the weapons on the table, though Ryzo was set on the «Dragon's Talon» it seemed. They heard a commotion further back and turned to see Argo in a heated argument with Agil over something. After moving a bit closer Ryzo found that it was over the claw weapons she preferred. Agil didn't have any apparently.
"Ah...excuse me?" Asuna interrupted them, and Agil immediately went from an angry and intimidating merchant to a calm and helpful one. Argo got under everyone's skin it seemed, when she wanted to.
"Oh, are you ready to check out?" Agil eagerly set about ringing up the girl's choices with Kirito's money. Ryzo returned his attention to the daggers, remembering using a few during the beta. The «Dragon's Talon» had been one such dagger, the last one he'd used. It fit his brutal style of fighting mobs very well. The martial art he practiced, Ryuu no Nagareru, had two sides to it: the competitive version, far less deadly and violent, and the original version, which was created to fight large numbers of attackers and kill them. After the other five had left Agil turned his attention to the odd white haired customer. He didn't know what to make of Ryzo, but the guy seemed to get along well with Kirito considering that he had witnessed the white-haired teen accept the black-haired swordsman's friend request, and the girls had sent him one after seeing how well the two got along as well. Since he wasn't going with them though, it made sense that he was probably going to be grinding on his own. Agil had been at the meeting earlier, and as he had mentioned earlier, he remembered that this particular player had been the one to flip his top on everyone who was acting like children. Agil had been glad someone was there to do it, but Ryzo had been giving off a pretty dangerous air at the time. Agil was worried for the teen. "Eto...are you ready to check out?"
"Yeah, I'll be buying this «Dragon's Talon», if that's all right with you." Ryzo held up the dual bladed dagger for Agil to see. The merchant opened up a transaction window.
"That'll run you 800 col, just so you know." Agil looked at Ryzo, wondering how he'd handle such a price. For the first floor, that was pretty expensive.
"For a «Dragon's Talon»? That's pretty cheap. You really do stick to your motto." Ryzo immediately agreed to the transaction before Agil could change his mind about the pricing. Being a solo-player who sold most of the drops he got to NPC merchants in a higher level town than the Starting City, Ryzo had plenty of money. "Thanks, Agil. Have a nice day. See you next week?" Ryzo had phrased that last bit as a question. The merchant nodded, smiling at the dagger user. Ryzo left the storefront with a wave and Agil moved on to deal with a few other clearers who had shown up to 'buy cheap and sell cheap'.
"Thank you." Ryzo quirked an eyebrow; was that a feminine voice with a foreign accent? He wasn't surprised, though. Pretty girls, especially foreigners, attracted a lot of attention in Japan normally. If one was found inside a game world with a bunch of hopeless nerds, well…hiding one's identity would be perfectly reasonable.
"You're welcome. How long have you been out here? Better yet, miss, what level are you?" Ryzo's questioning was met with hostility. The girl cautiously raised her weapons, taking a step back from Ryzo.
"Why do you ask?" The hostile tone the girl had used caused Ryzo to sigh inwardly.
"I ask because this is a level three field. These boars are all level three. I'm level seven. Sorry if I frightened you, miss. I just wanted to make sure you weren't in over your head out here." Ryzo's explanation and unexpectedly kind intentions, since most males simply wanted eye candy to ease the pain of the situation these days, relieved the girl.
"Level...three? I'm only level two, but that explains why they were so tough to kill." The girl had neglected to mention how long she'd been at it, but Ryzo could estimate that it had been a few hours at least. He opened up his menu and initiated a one-sided trade with the female player, giving her some of his surplus healing potion. "W-wait, what are you doing?!"
"Women shouldn't have to fight for their lives. No one should. You didn't deserve to be put into this situation, and I also personally hold any woman with self-respect as deserving of kindness and respect from those around her. Therefore, I am giving you these extra potions I have. I got them in case I came across someone who needed one in the first place." Ryzo waited until the cloaked player hesitantly accepted the trade, immediately using one of the ten potions to restore her health. "How's about we party up until you can fight these guys off on your own, okay?"
"Are you sure? I don't want to hold you back."
"Well, I'll be the one holding you back if we actually party up...how about I just hurt them really good and then you finish them off, okay? No need for an actual party and then we both get the normal amount of experience points." Ryzo's suggestion was met with a pair of grateful reddish-brown eyes. The two worked as he had described for a few hours, leading to the girl reaching level four. As the sun began to set they parted ways and Ryzo got down to business for real. The girl turned back to watch him from the city limits for several minutes, temporarily entranced by the sight of Ryzo carving through the «Frenzy Boar» with his «Dagger» and «Taekwondo» attacks. It was a multicolored show of light in the growing darkness, leaving a trail of blue polygons that faded into the air in its wake. The sword skills he was using had practically zero immobility time after use, resulting in his nonstop ravaging of the «Frenzy Boar» mobs in the field. The area was large enough that the respawn rate was faster than his kill speed, but the amount of EXP he was gradually racking up was minor as a side-effect. He'd be lucky to reach level eleven by the end of the week. He'd have to do this for at least ten hours a day for the next week to reach at least level ten, possibly eleven, and that would take a lot of mental strength.
The next day the cloaked girl, who had introduced herself as Kira, returned to the field about noon to find Ryzo at it again. She watched him for a few minutes before realizing that there was a portion of the field he had left untouched, just for her. She felt very touched by the gesture and took advantage of the small amount of «Frenzy Boar» in the section left to her. Kira's slower speed resulted in her not needing to worry about the respawn rate taking too long in her case, and the two kept grinding constantly till sundown. Once more they parted ways. Ryzo had reached level eight, much to his satisfaction. Ryzo's build was an equal distribution of the bonus points between STR and AGI, resulting in him currently having a balance of 37 STR and 36 AGI. The two chatted for a bit, and Ryzo found that the girl wasn't easily put off from her new friend by his way of speaking. Of course, not having anyone to make fun of might have had something to do with it.
"You really are incredible at fighting." Kira's words brought a light flush to Ryzo's face, her accent from the day before barely noticeable. It had been a few years since anyone had complimented his fighting. During the beta, the closest he'd ever gotten to one was being called a true 'monster'.
"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself. You'll get pretty good one day. You hoping to join the front lines?" Ryzo had been wondering about the girl's intentions since the previous day. She was a late starting newbie, so if she had heard about the meeting yesterday he wasn't too sure she'd reach the levels she needed to in time for the first boss fight. It wasn't like he wanted to discourage her, but he wasn't so sure she'd be able to do much good in the tough battle to take place in less than a week's time.
"Maybe not on this boss fight, but the next, I hope. After all, that Kirito guy's going to lead the first fight to victory, right?" Kira's words surprised Ryzo. He hadn't seen anyone cloaked at the meeting, and if he had seen a girl with a sword and an axe equipped he was certain that he would have remembered it. Though with all the commotion, he could have missed her.
"Yeah, he is supposed to lead us to victory. Well, it's getting dark, so I'm going to call it a night." Ryzo got up from the spot just outside the city that the two had sat down at and went in. Kira sat there for a while, picturing that ferocious fighting style of Ryzo's.
"Like a dragon...deadly and ferocious, yet beautiful," Kira muttered to herself before getting up and heading into town to the inn that she had been staying in these past few weeks.
A week passed like that, with the two barely saying a word to the other after that day.
December 4, 2022-The First Boss Fight
The final meeting for the first boss battle was tense. A lot of players held some resentment against Kirito for his words the previous week. Left to stew over it...well, somehow that blue haired guy named Diabel, according to those supporting him, ended up in charge in the end. A lot of players were against this, but the majority sided with Diabel rather than Kirito. Kirito had accepted the decision rather than fight against it, to avoid any kind of rift forming in the group. Ryzo noticed that he'd had to quiet the small harem to keep a fight from breaking out. Ryzo couldn't help but think I knew that blue haired fire-starter was up to something. Ryzo also felt like he had changed, slightly. After spending a week constantly keeping another person's efforts in mind he was more aware of all the things around him, of all the players around him, and that was something that he found decidedly useful.
"I, as well as these groups, will be leading the charge against the boss, since in my opinion we are the best equipped groups. I of course will command the forces, being level 10." Diabel had several groups standing in the front of the boss raid party, comprised mostly of those who had sided with him. "As for the rest of you...take care of the «Sentinels»." Those who had remained opposed to Diabel's leadership were apparently cowed into acceptance by the player's level. Ryzo had managed to avoid getting into any party without anyone noticing. He would work better on his own in the fight than if he was constantly keeping an eye on only a few particular people. Diabel sounded the charge and left with the order to deal with the «Sentinels».
The initial wave of clearers, as planned, forced their way past the mobs while a few of the clearers rushed forward to deal with the three that had initially spawned. Kirito and Asuna took one in what would later be described by those who witnessed it as a perfect harmony of black and white. Ryzo paid it no heed, however, focusing all of his attention on the lizard-like «Kobold Sentinel» that he had taken on the far left. He vaguely registered the other three girls on the opposite side of the room tearing into the last enemy as he miraculously parried the sword skill of the «Sentinel's» two-handed mace. Ryzo assessed his opponent with a cold methodical stare.
"You have quite a few chinks in your armor, perfect for me, and your helmet isn't attached to your armor...double bonus." Yes, Ryzo spoke to the mindless AI mob he was about to kill this one instance. Ryzo began to execute a series of basic «Thrusts», which had zero immobility time afterwards. The main reason he preferred to use daggers in the first place. Ryzo immediately began to aim the blades of the «Dragon's Talon» into those armor chinks, tearing the «Sentinel» a new one. Then, having reduced the mobs' health to almost nothing through a series of weak critical hits, Ryzo flipped up over it, taking advantage of his growing «Acrobatics» skill. At level eleven, Ryzo had chosen to keep the «Dagger» skill and the «Acrobatics» skill and added «Sprint» in as his fourth skill, with «Taekwondo» being his third, obviously. The sword skill Ryzo was about to execute was a little know unarmed sword skill only usable if you had both «Taekwondo» and «Hand-To-Hand Combat» unlocked called «Eclipse End». Death from above would be a good, clean, and not too descriptive way of telling someone what the sword skill did. Here's a more in depth run through of what, exactly, Ryzo DID to that poor «Sentinel». And yes, the other players who were supposed to be rushing in to deal with the «Kobold Sentinels» pitied that particular one. Ryzo had effectively stolen the show with this move. As he flipped up and over the «Kobold Sentinel» he twisted in the air to land on its shoulders, crouching down to tightly grip the helmet with his knees as his legs began to glow black. His lower body suddenly twisted to the right, carrying his entire body weight after it and leading to him leaning back and dangling off its back before the head came clean off following some surprisingly sickening sounds. Those weren't there in the beta...perhaps he wanted to discourage the use of this branch of sword skills. The head hit the floor and turned into blue polygons that vanished into the air along with the rest of the mobs' body. Ryzo looked around to see a mixture of shock, disgust, fear, admiration (which scared him, to be honest), and confused awe at what he had just done.
"More «Sentinels»!" Everyone looked forward to see what Diabel was shouting about and saw at least twenty more of the armored «Kobold» type mobs heading their way. The rest of the clearers rushed forward, eager to show their stuff after seeing the show put on by Kirito and his girls and the rather sickening scene shown by Ryzo. As each party engaged a «Sentinel» Ryzo ran around among them, doing what could be considered the equivalent of a mixture of drive by doing his chinks in the armor routine and occasionally using «Eclipse End» on a mob when a party had ended up with two as they kept flowing in. The sheer number was making it almost like a war. Over time though the numbers decreased and Ryzo noticed that Kirito had run forward to save a near-dead Diabel. He had apparently begun giving the player a short sermon as his health slowly stopped at a mere sliver of red. Kirito had, in his rage at the other player's recklessness, forgotten the boss for a brief instant. In that instant both Ryzo and the boss closed in on the two players. Ryzo interrupted the boss's forceful attack with a giant nodachi by using the simple «Taekwondo» sword skill «Roundhouse Kick». He knocked the weapon aside then followed up with an «Ascension Kick», a «Taekwondo» sword skill only available with «Acrobatics». It had a knock-back effect, though against «Illfang» it hardly counted. He heard the harem and its prince stir to action behind him after a quick session of 'let's ignore the deadly boss in front of us to worry about the guy it almost killed and hate on him for endangering our perfect man'. They went at it like clockwork, Kirito taking the lead, Lisbeth stunning it and interrupting counters, Asuna and Argo dancing about like fairies, and Silica, tiny, young, weak looking Silica, taking on the role of a pseudo-tank for the party. Kirito danced about with the girls until a spinning move sent them flying. Agil put a hand on Ryzo's should and shouted at the rest of the players about letting a bunch of girls do all the fighting for them. Ryzo found himself serving as the stunner, using his «Taekwondo» attacks to interrupt or divert the boss in the midst of an attack. Agil helped out in that aspect quite a bit. The sight of all the players working in cohesion like that was inspiring. If they could record this battle on a crystal it would definitely move the hearts and minds of a multitude of the residents in the city. Suddenly they were all blown back again. Ryzo began to look at the other players. Despite hesitating to head back in, a good number were grinning slightly. Though our lives are at stake, most of them are hardcore gamers after all. Even I have to admit...breaking that «Kobold Sentinel's» head off earlier was pretty satisfying.
"Asuna, Argo, let's go." A voice, a familiar voice, sounded to his left. Ryzo looked over and saw Kirito, Asuna, and Argo charging the boss and breaking out into what he would describe as a freaking hurricane of bloodied blades, gut spilling, and throat slitting madness. Others might prefer less violent terms, but Ryzo wasn't particularly shy about his speech to begin with. It shouldn't be a surprise that he described it completely differently, yet inherently the same. Lisbeth and Silica joined in at the end, leaving it up in the air as to which of the five had gotten the «Last-Attack Bonus». Ryzo and most of the players watched with admiration as the five opened the door to the next level, making their way up onto the stairs to the second floor. After about twenty minutes the rest of the players had recovered their health and congratulated themselves on their success at winning with zero casualties. Agil and Ryzo had been in the middle of a heated debate on the point of selling cheap to all players rather than just those who needed it. Agil wasn't entirely convinced, but as Ryzo projected the increased level requirements of the items the players would sell him increased Agil began to understand his point of expanding his clearing group clientele base. Ryzo had to excuse himself though, to deal with a PM from Argo.
/So, Ryzo-pin, I'm thinking of getting the girls to force Kirito into a guild with us. I suspect he intends to try and leave us high and adorable boy dry after we reach the top of this rather long staircase. So, I was wondering if you had any adjectives I could go with?/
Argo's habit of calling him by an affectionate nickname when she really needed his help set off alarm bells in his head. It was rare, but when she needed his help, she really needed his help. He began rapidly typing out a reply consisting entirely of names that came to mind.
/The «Monochrome Blades»
The «Sword Concerto»
The «Sword Crown»
The «Swords of Hope»
The «Eternal Blades»
The «Dawn Swords»
The «True Blades»
The «Regal Blades»
The «Heroic Blades»
The «Final Blades»
The «Light of Hope»/
And send. Ryzo immediately returned to his discussion with Agil and the two parted ways after a few more minutes. Ryzo turned to head up the stairs himself, having been informed by Argo that his list was useful, and not much else other than that the second floor has nice weather.
/Honestly, Argo, I was expecting some more high level information based upon your stature as the best in the business in this whole flying castle. Any hints as to whether «Martial Arts» has changed locations?/
/We haven't even reached «Urbus» yet, relax Ryzo. It'll be there. So few attempted it in the beta because of me, so Kayaba had little reason to move it, meaning it's still there. Probably thinks I'll share to save lives or something. I don't even know why you use such infuriating sword skills. Argo-chan out!~/
Knew she'd do that eventually. Ryzo sighed and resigned himself to the climb, as he would for the next few floors on a path towards tomorrow. Ryzo was struck with a philosophical thought similar to that last sentence, which was odd for him, but he shrugged it off and kept moving.
A/N: So, this came out as an amalgamation of my own original scenes and both some of the second and third chapters of ToumaFF's The Prince of Swords. It's as original and changed as I could manage, given my intention with this first chapter was to have a similar start as The Prince of Swords before taking off in an OC direction. I'm even planning on involving Agil a good deal more than he was in the canon, and also to use this connection to explain some things from the canon, such as why he really had a copy of ALFheim Online. That's WAY off in the future though. After writing and rewriting the chapter about two or three times, this is what I kept coming back to; a combination of The Prince of Swords and original moments. It was the only way to do it. Brutal fight scenes and more visuals on a certain OC are on the way. I hope you enjoy what comes next and can forgive me for writing a fan fiction of an SAO fan fiction instead of just making my own completely original work. Starting with the first words of the next chapter things will get far more original and go off in their own direction, borrowing very little of the things seen in The Prince of Swords. Even Kirito's guild will have a different name for the required presence in the front line related scenes I'll refer to it in.
Ryzo's stats as of the opening of the second floor:
Username: Ryzo
Level: 12
Stats: STR 53, AGI 56, DEF 38, VIT 38, DEX 38
Skills: «Dagger» Proficiency 50/1000, «Acrobatics» Proficiency 90/1000
Equipment: «Dragon's Talon», «Leather Armor»
I'll try to keep the stats updating up, don't hate me if I forget.