Chapter 1 – A New Beginning
Floor 1
Death game? Don't make me laugh.
The whisper from a nearby player struck a sour chord within him. Kirito glared at the red sky long after the menacing figure of the Game Master vanished from it, the multiple news screens vanishing one by one with the red hexagons until he could see nothing but the white marble base of the floor above. All around him, mirrors shattered as they hit the floor, the people holding them staring in shock at each other as one-by-one, everybody's carefully-crafted avatar characters faded away to reveal their true selves, their real life bodies faithfully reproduced by the game engine of SAO.
"Ki-bou…"
"We don't know if it's telling the truth, but there's no reason to leave anything up to chance. Are you coming with me?"
"I… I don't know if I can, Ki-bou. I have a friend who's new…"
"Then she can come with us too," Kirito interrupted. "But we don't have time. Resources aren't exactly limited since this is an online game, but I don't want to risk competing with other players."
"She won't be able to keep up. We both know yer a much better player than even me. We'd just hold you back."
"I don't care!"
Argo smiled wistfully at him, and he knew she had made up her mind.
"See? I knew ya liked me," she teased. "Yer a good person at heart, Kazuto. Now, go and do what ya gotta do. And don't let me hear that ya went and died, okay! I better not see yer name crossed out on the Monument!" She broke away from his weakening grip and gave him a thumbs-up. "Keep in touch, okay? I'll come see ya as soon as I can, but it… it may be a while."
"Argo…" he choked out, his voice cracking. For once, he didn't complain that she had tricked him into revealing his real name without returning the favor.
"Don't you go crying, too! Yer gonna make me cry…" the mousy-haired girl rubbed at her eyes. "Just get goin' already! And, hey… I always did like yer real appearance more. Makes ya look more honest, even if ya are kinda girly."
Kirito couldn't even muster the strength to get angry at her. Before he could reply, she was gone, lost in the chaos of the crowd. His arm fell to his side. He looked down at his feet, ignoring the way his vision blurred. He wanted to follow her, his only friend in the game, the only other person he knew, but his experience with the game told him that was a horrible idea. He would be much more helpful to her if he got strong. Stronger than anybody else. Then, he could return to her and keep her safe. Her and her friend and anyone else he wanted to. He would never lose to anyone ever again.
"…'Do what I gotta do', huh."
When he raised his head again, his eyes had hardened. He turned around and began running. Since he was only level one, it took him several precious minutes to reach the edge of the Town of Beginnings. The open plains outside the town's walls suddenly seemed like they were closed off. The sky wasn't as inviting as it was when he first logged in just under an hour ago. Without hesitation, he dashed off down the path to small town nearby.
None of the towns other than the main town of each floor had names, but he remembered this one. The first hour of the game had been spent searching for the NPC cartographer in the Town of Beginnings and spending what little starting money he had on a map of the 1st Floor to see if it matched the either of the betas. The developer had sprung a surprise when the open beta started, redesigning every single one of the first ten floors. The NPCs and quests had also been changed, although most were just relocated.
Fortunately, the same had not happened this time around, and the layout seemed identical to the open beta. This, combined with the familiar monster spawns, meant that in all likelihood, at least some of the information gathered in the second round of beta testing was still accurate. Kirito was hoping one quest in particular was still in the same place. The reward would set him up nicely for the first few floors.
As he ran, he opened his in-game Status menu. The change to the level cap had also changed the way Skill slots were gained. Instead of getting one every ten levels, players now had to reach the cap just to get one additional slot. The option to Prestige one's own character was not available in the beta, but he knew it was supposed to be a feature. How else were players supposed to customize their Skills? Kayaba Akihiko might have been certifiably insane, but a bad game designer he was not. Kirito could only hope that using Prestige did not mean restarting from level one with the same base stats every time.
He turned his attention back to his Status screen, navigating to his Skills. He had already picked his starting three, but with the added risk of death, starting with «Detect» was no longer feasible over something that might assist him with healing, speed up his monster kills, or give him access to much more useful Skills later on. Since he had not leveled any of his Skills yet, now was the time to replace them. He swapped «Detect» for «Critical Hit». He would need to level «Detect» later to actually identify weak points until he got the upgraded «Vital Point Piercing», but with knowledge from the beta and a little common sense, most monsters would give him little trouble.
Case in point: the wolf currently charging at him. Most monsters resembling animals shared weak points with their real life counterparts. Kirito calmly drew his sword mid-dash and didn't even bother to dodge the jaws of the wolf as they tried to close around one of his legs. Now was as good a time as any. He spun on his heel and kicked the beast in the side of the head, inflicting Stun on it. There were many things to be praised about SAO, but the realism it imparted to combat without Sword Arts was definitely one of its highest points. He swapped «Carpentry» for the widely-regarded as useless «Mercy» Auxiliary Skill, one of the only Auxiliary Skills with a combat-oriented effect. Building his own house could wait.
What he had in mind would require some effort at level one, but he knew from experience that it was possible. It was one of the first things he did in the exclusive server for closed beta testers during the open beta. With the extra stat points he had thanks to his semi-unique Extra Skill, it would be even easier than last time.
The sword in his hand descended on the wolf, pommel first. The Sword Art «Bash» activated and covered his hand in an orange glow. As long as the blade didn't make contact, everything was fine. The wolf lost over half of its HP instantly and was left Stunned once more. Kirito reared his right leg back. When he felt the system start to move him, he followed through and activated «Drop Kick», punting the wolf much farther into the sky than should have been physically possible. A sliver of HP was left in its health bar.
And now…!
He unequipped his sword and also swapped «Mercy» for «Hunting». Right before the wolf fell to the ground and lost the rest of its health to fall damage, Kirito caught it midair with a straight punch that shattered it into multiple polygons. A system notification popped up in the middle of his field of view.
Gained 2 experience points. Obtained Wolf Pelt x1.
And below it:
«Martial Arts» unlocked.
Perfect.
…
There she was, the kindly old lady NPC who wanted Wolf Pelts. Usually, NPCs with quests had big yellow exclamation marks floating above their heads and actively sought assistance from nearby players. Hers was one of the many unmarked quests in the game, meant to reward those that paid attention to the world around them.
Several NPCs in the Town of Beginnings would mention a nearby village that had trouble with wolves attacking their sheep. Those same NPCs, when prompted, would happily point players in the direction of said village, suggesting that they slay any wolves that appeared on the way there. If a player listened to these NPCs and then took the road to the next village from the gate closest to it, they would always come across the right amount of wolves with a guaranteed drop of one Wolf Pelt each, and the old lady would meet them at the gate and ask for the pelts outright.
The only way to start the quest early was to gather the pelts using the «Hunting» Auxiliary Skill, offer them to the NPC as a trade, and accept nothing in return. Doing so skipped an entire backtracking portion where the old lady asked players to find the NPC that had originally told them about the problem.
"Thank you, young man! Truth be told, there's one wolf in particular that we've been having a lot of trouble with…" the old lady admitted.
"Where is it?" Kirito asked impatiently.
"Why, it lives in its den right outside of town in the nearby forest! We hear it growling all the time when we draw near, and it always frightens us so!"
"I'll take care of it. I won't accept a reward."
He didn't bother to stick around to hear what else the old lady had to say. All he needed to do was verbally agree to slay the beast after hearing about its den in the forest. Sure enough, as soon as he ran out of the village gates and got close to the tree line, he heard growling. Before he ventured into the forest, he was careful to unequip the «Hunting» Skill, replacing it with his signature «Solo» Skill. Carrying the former into the coming encounter would alert the wolf to the player's presence and make it more powerful.
It didn't take him long to locate the larger-than-average Dire Wolf. Its red eyes glared menacingly from the darkness, darting back and forth as it searched for the foreign presence in its den. Kirito knew to wait until it began sniffing at the ground to attack, or else it would lock on to him immediately and summon allies. His earlier wolf-slaying had barely been enough to get him to level 2, and the Dire Wolf was a level 6 monster in the beta. Its smaller Dire Wolf minions were level 3. By all rights, this was a quest he was destined to fail. But he had an ace up his sleeve. Several, actually.
The month-long open beta period had not been any longer than the closed beta, but Kirito had gone into it more prepared from day one. To date, he was the only known player to have soloed not one, but two floor bosses, having slain both the first and second floor bosses by his lonesome. His reward for doing so?
«Exceed». An Extra Skill bestowed upon him by the Cardinal System for accomplishing a task thought impossible by even the game's programmer. It alone was the only known Skill that was impossible to be discovered among a player's active Skills, also conferring that ability to other Skills with "Prestige" in their names. One of its effects was that it would never be removed, meaning that it carried over from the beta like all «Prestige» Skills. Its full effects were unknown since the description had already changed itself twice from its initial blank state, but the two effects that were listed were already powerful enough.
1. The user gains one bonus stat point for every level of «Prestige» he or she attains.
2. The user may equip all «Prestige» Skills as Extra Skills.
Many questions about the Prestige System had been answered during the open beta, though only those who played on the exclusive server were privy to the information. The biggest questions were: was a non-Weapon Skill eligible for Prestige? If so, what happened? Just as before, one month was not long enough to Prestige the vast majority of the non-Weapon Skills, but there were exceptions made possible by the fact that it was the second pass. By dedicating the entire month to grinding it, Kirito had managed to Prestige again not one, but two Skills only someone like he could have. Those two Skills were «Predict» and «Art Chain». Upon maxing them, he had chosen to Prestige and was rewarded with «Prestige: Predict» and «Prestige: Art Chain». They were functionally the same as the originals, with one important difference. They no longer lost levels if unequipped, though they also gained levels much, much slower. Even now, Kirito had «Predict Lv.5» and «Art Chain Lv.3» among his Extra Skills.
Kirito spent upwards of four weeks in the closed beta doing nothing but slaying monsters. He spent the first week with a random assortment of Combat Skills that he thought were the most useful. After his association with Argo, she had looked over his Skills list and berated him for passing over some of the better Skills in the game for his playstyle. With the discovery that his «Prestige» Skill had carried over, she had immediately demanded that he follow her instructions to the letter, and he did. Gone were «Parry», «Detect», and «Critical Hit». In their place, he used «Predict», «Momentum», and «Art Chain». His lone Auxiliary Skill was «Solo», a Skill added to the game by the Cardinal System for him after he petitioned for its creation. The reason he equipped it in a Skill slot rather than as an Extra Skill was because he had actually created another Skill at Argo's behest. His Extra Skill was «Pioneering».
Though the game already had an Extra Skill called «Exploring» and another called «Inventing», Kirito's creation of the «Pioneering» Auxiliary Skill was recognized by the system as being a unique categorization of his accomplishments for being the first to do many things both known and unknown to the wider playerbase. Thus, the Skill gave him a choice between several bonuses every time he was the first to do something out of all of the players. The system was also smart, so while he could be the first to swap ten skills, then eleven, then twelve and so on, he would only receive a reward for the first achievement. At the Skill's current level of one, it only gave him a measly ten-percent bonus to experience points from his next kill, but as he pioneered more things, it would expand the available pool of rewards, along with the quality of those rewards.
But that was all unimportant at the moment. All that mattered now was that the Dire Wolf had finally lowered its muzzle to the ground. Kirito sprang into action, activating «Sonic Leap» after stepping out from behind a tree. His trajectory caused the blade to bite deeply into the large wolf's flank, slicing a bright red line across it and causing polygons to leak out like blood.
A roar of pain rang through the small clearing, but Kirito ignored it in favor of starting his next Art. With «One-Handed Sword Lv.1», he didn't have many options, but «Vertical», «Horizontal», and «Slant», the three basic directional slashes, conveniently transitioned into each other rather smoothly. He struck out with each in turn before activating «Sonic Leap» again to create some distance. «Art Chain»'s side effect froze him in place for several seconds, the combined amount of time he would have been stuck if he had used each Sword Art separately, since he used an Art more than once in a chain. As he was vulnerable, the Dire Wolf summoned help in the form of two more, smaller Dire Wolves. As one, the trio of beasts charged at him.
Kirito lamented the fact that the experience curve for all Skills seemed to have been increased for the main game. «Horizontal Square» would have been nice right about now. Heck, anything more than the basic single-hit Arts he had would be nice. A quick flick of his wrist discouraged one small wolf from its attack, but did nothing to deter the two others. «Critical Hit» boosted his damage as he sidestepped the other small wolf and ran his sword through its skull, but he found his left arm clenched in the jaws of the larger Dire Wolf. Said wolf shook its head viciously, throwing Kirito back and forth like a ragdoll and dropping his HP to the halfway mark, but a quick «Bash» Stunned it long enough for him to free his arm. Meanwhile, the smaller wolf he had originally warded off jumped at him from behind. Like he had eyes in the back of his head, Kirito dove to the side in a roll to avoid it.
He saw the glow of light signifying a Sword Art and hurriedly backed away. A moment later, the larger Dire Wolf executed its own «Sonic Leap» and was met with a «Horizontal» to the face, abruptly ending its Art. The smaller wolf tried to follow suit, but found its path blocked by the body of its larger brethren when Kirito used «Drop Kick» to launch one wolf into another. His tactic succeeded, sending both remaining wolves sprawling.
The stopper of a healing potion was carelessly spat on the ground as Kirito downed its contents at record speed. He eyed the monsters warily, making sure to keep track of their movements as they started pacing in opposite directions to try and attack him from both sides. The Lv.3 Dire Wolf had more than three-quarters of its health left, having only been damaged by the collision with its kin. The Lv.6 Dire Wolf had about a third of its own HP bar left. If he had a better weapon, it would be dead by now. Alas, the quest he was on was supposed to provide him with said weapon, so complaining about it was rather pointless.
He readied himself to meet their next assault. Backing to the edge of the clearing would have caused the wolves enter the forest, making the fight much harder, so Kirito instead took up position in the middle, facing the mini-boss of the quest. If he killed the remaining small wolf, the larger one would just summon more, with one additional wolf showing up every time it called for allies. While continuously killing the weaker wolves was a valid grinding tactic back in the beta, it was reserved only for those who could handle multiple enemies at once, meaning mostly groups. Even back when the beta started anew, Kirito hadn't dared try and grind the quest boss' minions on his own. The risk of being overwhelmed wasn't worth it.
His «Predict» Skill failed him as he felt the wolf behind him latch onto one of his legs, but he ignored it in favor of tracking the Dire Wolf in front of him as it drew nearer. Once it was within range, Kirito raised his sword to meet its jaws, successfully deflecting them to the side. If he had «Parry Lv.1» equipped, he would have dealt bonus damage with his next Sword Art to the target as well as possibly Stunned it for good measure, but he didn't. Still, that didn't mean he didn't have other options. His fist lashed out with a quick «Jab», striking the wolf in the face. He then chained it into «Haymaker», the only other Sword Art «Martial Arts Lv.1» gave him access to. It was enough to send the wolf reeling backwards.
Waiting for the vulnerability state to end as one wolf continued to gnaw on his leg, Kirito smiled. Even in this life-or-death situation, SAO still managed to be fun. In what other game could you punch a wolf the size of a small bed in the face and actually launch it backwards? Once he was free to move again, he plunged his sword into the body of the wolf using his leg as a chew toy. It wasn't a weak point, and it wasn't a Sword Art, but it freed him, and that's all he needed. The wolf vanished into the background as Kirito activated «Sonic Leap» once more. His strike landed on the opposite flank as he had initially slashed open, scoring an identical mark on the boss Dire Wolf's other side. He followed up with one last sequence of «Horizontal», «Slant», and «Vertical», finishing with another «Slant».
He watched as the wolf's HP hit zero as it shattered to pieces, floating away in a nonexistent breeze. He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins even though it was supposed to be just an online game. It felt so real.
Congratulations! You have leveled up to 3!
Congratulations! «One-Handed Sword» has leveled up to 2!
Congratulations! «Solo» has leveled up to 2!
A stream of notifications filled his vision, but he swiped them aside as soon as he was able. He had to remember to change the settings later. The last wolf was growling at him as menacingly as possible, but he found it difficult to care. He prepped himself one last time as the wolf attacked him the only way it knew how. Its forward lunge was met with sharp steel as a «Slant» cut cleanly across its face, followed by a «Horizontal» to finish it off. He didn't even look at the experience points and drops, opting instead to edit the system message settings before he forgot.
Satisfied with his changes, Kirito made his way back to the village to pick up his Anneal Blade.
…
Almost two weeks later, Kirito walked through the Town of Beginnings, noting the despondent looks on many players' faces as he passed by. Twelve days, and only now had the boss room been discovered in the depths of the nearby mountain range. It was the only difference from the beta that he had found so far. The mountains were home to the toughest monsters on the floor, monsters that were actually a full five levels above every other monster on the floor. They were supposed to be part of a tutorial quest to teach players not to get in over their heads, which was the reason he had not thought to check there earlier, instead scouring the rest of the floor.
News that someone else had braved the mountains reached his ears from town the day prior while he was staying in a remote village on the outskirts of the floor. He had to rush to make it in time for the meeting that was announced a couple of days in advance to allow for the information to circulate properly. He secretly hoped he would find Argo there, as the two of them had somehow been unable to find each other after they separated. His friend was apparently not openly peddling information just yet, though he had heard whispers about "the Rat" making her return every so often. The private messaging function was locked for players who had not yet reached level 10, so Kirito could not contact her even though he had managed to pass the required level already.
In time, he arrived at the small plaza reserved for the first boss meeting since they had been trapped in SAO. His quick survey of the gathered players was disappointing in more ways than one. None of them looked particularly strong except for a bare handful, and there couldn't have been more than a hundred people there out of the ten thousand players trapped in the game, a fraction of a percent of the overall population. He also didn't see Argo, though there were three hooded figures in the crowd. He tensed.
Three hooded figures… It can't be…!
Kirito calmed himself. Closer examination revealed that only one of them was male. Another was too tall to be the petite girl he sought. He met eyes with taller girl, but she quickly looked away, her face hidden behind a veil of chestnut-colored hair. The remaining figure had long black hair bordering on purple, disqualifying her from being Argo unless the other girl had decided to use hair dye.
Slightly disheartened, Kirito sat down in an empty spot near the top of the auditorium-like steps leading down to the plaza's center and waited patiently for the meeting to begin. He didn't wait long.
A blue-haired man stood up from the front row of the audience, gesturing for the smaller hooded girl to join him. The girl shook her head wildly, and the man laughed mildly before nodding in acceptance. Other conversations quieted as the man cleared his throat and met eyes with each of the audience members in turn. When he got to Kirito, he blinked once before nodding imperceptibly. Kirito blinked and nodded in return, but internally wracked his brain to try and put a name to the face in front of him. It was always possible that his avatar looked nothing like what he did in real life, but something about him seemed familiar. After a couple of minutes of silence, the man finally spoke up.
"Hello! And thank you for coming! My name is…"
"…Diavel! I like to consider myself a Knight!" the enthusiastic man proclaimed.
"Player classes don't exist in this game!" one of the other clearers jeered, clearly joking with him.
"Yes, well, that won't stop me! I'll uphold the code of chivalry even if I have to do it all on my own! Hahaha!"
He laughed for a long time. His was a boisterous laugh, the sort of laughter that made you naturally want to join in even if you had no idea what everyone was laughing about. It made you not care even if the joke was on you.
Kirito snapped to attention as the scene in front of him distorted from his memories. A man with spiky brown hair was standing up and pointing at Diavel accusingly.
"You left us to die! I won't follow you!"
Diavel wore a resigned smile, his arms raised in surrender. The people around the spiky-haired man were nodding in agreement with his words, shooting spiteful glances at the surrounding audience members.
"I bet there are more of you beta testers out there too! C'mon, show yourselves! All of you are to blame for the people who have died over the past two weeks!"
"Kibaou-san, please calm down."
"No!" Kibaou shouted in response. "It's people like you who deserve to die! Where were you when all of us newbies were stuck in this town, not knowing what to do?!"
He advanced down the plaza steps until he reached Diavel, drawing his weapon as he did so. The man he threatened with it stared at him coolly, unaffected by the blade of the axe in his face.
"Kibaou-san, you know that violence is not permitted in the Town of Beginnings. I will not report you for harassment, but please step back."
"I challenge you to a duel, you prick! You and the others think you're so high and mighty! Well, fuck you! I'm level 10! I've got my «One-Handed Axe» Skill to 3! What've you got?! Huh?!"
Kirito facepalmed. Spikes-for-brains just gave his future opponent all the information he needed to formulate a counterplan, not that there was much to do by way of countering since everyone was still so low level and restricted to one skill of each type. Diavel continued to try the diplomatic approach.
"Kibaou-san, with respect, I am also level 10, and my own «One-Handed Sword» Skill is at 4. In addition, as you have pointed out, I am a beta tester. Do you really think that challenging me is wise?"
"There you go again! Fuck you and fuck all you beta testers!"
Kibaou attempted to shove the other man, but was repelled by a system barrier. He raised his axe and tried to smash it with a Sword Art, but only succeeded in causing the system to throw him back with even greater force.
"Kibaou-san, please stop."
"Shut up! SHUT UP! I challenge you! I challenge you, Goddammit!"
It was disturbing watching a grown man throw a tantrum. Diavel also seemed to be at a loss as to what to do about the man that kept throwing himself into the purple warning barrier generated by the system. Even though players could not take damage inside of designated safe zones like towns, it was still disorienting to be thrown around like the spiky-haired man was currently doing. What's worse, the man's friends were getting worked up into a frenzy by the way Diavel wasn't reacting to Kibaou's provocations. Surprisingly, he was interrupted by a female voice.
"Enough already. You're just embarrassing yourself."
"What was that! Say that again, I dare you!" Kibaou shouted, looking around for whoever had spoken.
The shorter hooded girl sighed loudly before standing up.
"I said, you're embarrassing. Quit being a baby and grow up already."
"You! Who do you think you are?!"
"If it matters, I'm a beta tester too. Are you gonna challenge me to a duel?"
Kibaou's face turned a shade of red Kirito didn't know the game supported.
"YES! I CHALLENGE YOU! FUCKING WHORE!"
The plaza went silent. Even Kibaou's friends were taken aback by the man's vehemence towards the girl in the hooded cloak. Kirito saw the ghost of a smirk on the girl's lips.
"Alright, I accept. I was getting bored anyway."
She skipped to the center of the plaza and bowed to Kibaou before pulling off her cloak in one smooth motion. Kirito almost jumped to his feet. Standing in the center of the plaza was the only other player who possessed «Exceed», having been awarded it for the achievement of going the entire beta period undefeated in the PvP arena despite fighting over a thousand matches in total. Even he was unsure of his chances of victory against the petite teenage girl smiling cheekily at her would-be opponent.
"My name's Yuuki! Konno Yuuki!" she chirped happily.
"YER GONNA BE DEAD ONCE I'M DONE WITH YOU!"
"Geez. You're a feisty one, aren'tcha? Well, I'm ready when you are!"
Kirito saw the small duel notification pop up in front of Kibaou for a second before he angrily smashed the "accept" button, readying his axe. Several of his friends had made their way to the front and were trying to talk some sense into him, alarmed by the fact that it was a duel to critical HP that the man had just accepted, but he ignored them all. Kirito made his own way to the center of the plaza, taking a more roundabout route to the bottom utilizing his AGI. He made it in time to hear Diavel ask the person they both knew as Zekken back in the beta a question.
"Konno-san, are you sure?"
"SHUT UP! YOU STAY OUTTA THIS!"
The girl giggled, infuriating Kibaou more as the thirty-second timer ticked down to zero.
"Yeah, don't worry! What am I gonna use my Aux Skill slot for, anyway? «Solo»'s more that Super MonHun guy's thing."
Kirito suppressed a groan at the nickname the girl had developed for him out of the blue one day. Somehow, it had caught on over his equally bad but slightly less embarrassing nickname in the final days of the open beta period and had leaked onto the Internet, so now most of the gaming world knew him as "that Super MonHun guy".
"Still, you just gained a level in «Medicine». To give that up with the new experience curve…"
"Eh, I've got it Prest- uh, I mean, I can just Prestige it again later! No biggie! One level isn't that big a deal!"
The timer ticked down to five seconds.
"Anyway, I gotta focus now, so I'll talk to you in a bit, 'kay?"
Her hands moved in a blur, swiftly bringing up her Skill menu and replacing «Medicine» with «Mercy». If he hadn't been focused on exactly where he knew the names of her Skills would pop up, Kirito would have missed them. The timer reached zero just as she reached for the sword strapped to her back, something she copied from the person standing at the edge of the bottom plaza level watching her.
Kibaou rushed forward, his axe held high above his head in preparation for a «Vertical». In response, Yuuki stood casually in her spot until he got close enough. There was no glow that signified the activation of a Sword Art. Rather, most of the audience didn't realize that a Sword Art had even been executed. Only the scant few closed beta testers present knew the true terror behind Yuuki's Sword Arts. They were actions allowed to her by the Combat Skill «Freeform», a Skill she was well-known for taking to its absolute limits the same way Kirito had eventually become known for his mastery of «Art Chain».
Where «Art Chain» allowed a user to chain all of his or her Sword Arts together in sequence regardless of cooldown periods and save their combined vulnerability state for the end, «Freeform» removed the vulnerability state from all Sword Arts in exchange for also removing the system assist feature. Users were rendered unable to use system-assisted motion to execute Sword Arts. This had the unintended side effect of removing the starting motions as well, allowing any Sword Art to be executed from any stance, but since Kayaba Akihiko felt the effect was fitting, he left it in.
It was rumored that if someone were to master both «Art Chain» and «Freeform», they would become truly unbeatable, but many had tried, and failed, to do so. The issue was not one of actual player skill but instead in how each Skill was designed to gain experience. «Art Chain» gained experience each time a cooldown was skipped from its effects. «Freeform» gained experience each time a vulnerability period was skipped from its effects. If both were equipped, neither gained experience. Since Kirito and Yuuki each owned Prestige versions of their respective Skills, they were the only ones eligible to use both simultaneously, but they opted to max out their Prestige Skills first.
Kibaou stared at his health bar in disbelief. The display told him he had 1 HP left.
Winner: Konno Yuuki!
"Hehe! Maybe next time, old man!"
She was about to celebrate with Diavel, but was stopped by Kibaou standing in her way.
"What the hell! You cheated! Fucking cheater!"
"Aw, quit being such a sore loser already."
"You…!"
"Ah, am I late?"
The new arrival caused a momentary halt in hostilities. Kirito perked up and eagerly looked up at one of the entrances to the plaza, seeing the familiar whisker marks on the newcomer's cheeks immediately.
"What'samatter? Did the meeting start or not?"
"Argo! Hi!" Yuuki yelled up at her.
"Oh! Hiya, Yuki-chan. How're you?"
"Good!"
"Mm! Good, good! So, about that meeting…"
"Another one! ANOTHER ONE!" Kibaou shouted feverishly.
Argo blinked in confusion and looked around in an exaggerated manner. She stopped and pointed to herself.
"Are you talkin' to me? 'Cause I'm sorry, but Iunno who ya are. Were you a client o' mine at some point?"
"YOU'RE A BETA TESTER TOO, AREN'T YOU?!"
Kirito stifled a laugh at the "Are you stupid?" look that crossed his friend's face. Argo had a way of making people who did stupid things around her feel like the dumbest people to have ever lived. He knew from experience. Kibaou was not completely immune, since his expression of utter hatred had a sheepish undertone to it after he was exposed to the look for almost half a minute straight.
"What?! You got something to say?!" he demanded heatedly. "Don't just sit there, all judging and shit!"
Argo sighed loudly and pointedly.
"…So, about that meeting."
"DON'T IGNORE ME!"
"Alright, alright, fine. I heard ya the first time, cactus-man. What's yer deal?"
"CACTUS-MAN?!"
"He's being a sore loser," Yuuki supplied helpfully.
"Oh is he now? Did he actually challenge you?"
"Yep!"
Yuuki's enthusiastic reply got a wry smile from all of the beta testers who knew the chipper girl had spent the last couple of days depressed since nobody bothered to challenge her anymore. When she was sad, everyone was sad. She radiated an aura of "abandoned puppy sad" that affected the entire server like a magical spell. Kirito had weighed the pros and cons of revealing his avatar's name to the world at large just to get the girl to smile again.
The issue was circumvented when Argo marched up to her and just invited her to tag along on a dungeon excursion before passing her off to Kirito. He remembered how she had spent the entire day talking his ear off and asking him all manner of questions, most of which he answered honestly. Their one-day association had been enough to earn 'Super MonHon guy' the gratitude of the entire closed beta testing community for cheering up their mascot. It was almost enough to make up for the fact that Argo had given her his name before leaving the two of them alone in a dungeon. Almost.
"Well then he deserved it, obviously."
"FUCK YOU! YOU BETA TESTERS-"
"Beta tester this, beta tester that. I've heard it all before, so don't bother. Ya wanna know what beta testers did for you? Look no further than the girl in front of you!"
Kibaou and his friends looked at Yuuki, who held up a peace sign. Before anyone could explode again, Argo went on.
"That Beginner's Guide ya'll got from every vendor in town? The combat portion? Written by her and yours truly. Yer welcome, by the way. The dungeons part? Written by the girly-looking guy hiding over there."
"Hey!" Kirito protested, inadvertently drawing even more attention to himself. He glared balefully at Argo, who just smiled unrepentantly back at him. He almost missed the way Yuuki was muttering to herself.
"Dungeons part…? But that was written by Kirito. Kirito? Wait, you're Kirito? You're the Monhmmph?"
The others stared at the black-haired teenager that had just dashed across the plaza and now had his hand pressed over Yuuki's mouth.
"Don't. Please," he pleaded.
The girl blinked at him cutely a couple of times and nodded rapidly in acceptance. He sighed and removed his hand, only to be suffocated in a hug a moment later. How much STR did this girl have? Oh wait, «Exceed».
"Kirito! Hi! Why didn't you say something sooner! I barely even recognize you!"
Despite his utter stupidity in most areas, Kibaou's brain apparently functioned enough to put two and two together.
"ANOTHER ONE?!"
"Oh great, here we go again," Argo grumbled. "We just shut him up, too."
"Kibaou-san, please… This meeting was supposed to help us clear the first floor," Diavel tried again.
"Can we just gag him?"
Everyone turned to stare at Yuuki.
"What?" she asked innocently. "It works, doesn't it?"
"…Does anyone have a gag?"
"Argo-san!" Diavel cried indignantly.
"What? If it works, it works!"
"Argo!"
"Relax, Ki-bou. I was only kidding. Mostly." At his deadpan stare, she had the decency to look slightly cowed. "Alright, fine. I was totally gonna do it if someone gave me the chance. Ya happy now?"
Kibaou was on the verge of going nuclear until someone else stood up and cleared his throat. The hulking giant of a black man who calmly made his way over to the much shorter man had a stern expression on his face. When he spoke, his voice was low and gravelly.
"My name is Agil, short for Andrew Gilbert Mills," he introduced himself. "You're Kibaou… right?"
"Y-yes. What? You wanna go? I-I'll take you on! I'm not scared!"
"There's no need for that. As Argo-san said, if you are truly angry at beta testers for leaving you behind, then you need look no further than the free booklet offered to all players. The same booklet was distributed at the gates every day from sunrise until sunset and even later for the past week and a half. What else would you have them do?"
"Th-they should have stayed and guided us personally! It was their duty to keep us alive, as the more experienced ones!"
"No player could have stopped the others from committing suicide in the middle of the night, and all of the other confirmed deaths recorded on the Monument were beta testers who risked their lives to locate the boss room for those who stayed behind. To give them hope. If you had attended the funeral services, you would know this," the much larger man retorted in a gentle voice that was at odds with his appearance.
Kibaou winced.
"That… that's a lie! There's no way that all of the deaths were from beta testers! There's more than two thousand names crossed out! Everyone knows only two thousand copies were given to beta testers!"
"My patience is running thin, Kibaou-san. I never said that everyone who died was a beta tester. Of the 2,129 deaths, almost one thousand were confirmed suicides. Some even left notes or told others of what they planned to do. Of the remaining deaths, several hundred died on the first day before anyone could have possibly helped them, and about three hundred hundred more are unconfirmed. The remaining one hundred or so were beta testers."
"So beta testers make up the minority! Of course they do! They look down on us from-"
"ENOUGH!" Agil roared. "You stand there and mock their sacrifice! What have you done to help us?! I run a shop that sells equipment and materials at cost to new players! I give free packages to those who were scammed by the scum of the earth who would dare to take advantage of others in a time like this!"
The man's tirade didn't stop even as he stepped up to Kibaou and towered over the much shorter and smaller man. All of the spiky-haired man's friends deserted him, though two of his more faithful lackeys showed more spine than the man himself and stuck next to him.
"Argo-san has spent the past two weeks compiling all of her knowledge from the beta into the book that has saved countless lives! The book that I know you have a copy of, because I SAW YOU TAKE ONE from the merchant across from me! TWICE! Argo is an information broker! THE information broker! Have you ever heard of the Rat? Look at her face! Who do think the most famous information broker of the beta testers is?!"
As the rest of the plaza turned to look at her, Argo actually blushed and scratched her cheek timidly.
"So I ask you again! What have you done for us? Except bring your petty complaints to a forum meant to inspire hope in the community? You are a disgrace to players and human beings everywhere! If you don't get out of my sight, so help me I will toss your sorry ass in the boss room myself!"
"Y-you can't do that…"
"MOVE!"
Kibaou practically tripped over himself on his way out of the plaza. His lackeys followed behind him, leaving the rest of the people shocked into silence at the sheer volume of Agil's last command. Diavel was the first to recover.
"Ahem. So… we've been sidetracked, but I suppose we should get down to business now. Since all of you are already standing, why don't you help me out?"
"Meh. Well, I guess it is what I came for…" Argo fake-drawled.
"Uh, I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but I guess I can try?" Everyone paused for a moment again. Yuuki blinked. "What? What is it? Do I have something on my face?"
"Yuki-chan. Get offa Ki-bou's shoulders. That's my spot."
"For the record, my shoulders are not reserved for anybody," Kirito stated flatly. When he was summarily ignored, he sighed and said "I can't help, sorry. I don't know anything about the new floor boss listed in the book."
"That's okay, uh… 'Ki-bou'?" Diavel said easily. "Your experience will surely be helpful."
"If you think so. My name's Kirito, by the way."
"I know the least out of everyone standing here, but at the least, I can keep order. Ha ha ha!"
The giant man's laughter echoed through the plaza, a sparking of wave of nervous chuckling in agreement with his assertion.
"Great! Then, let's get started!"
…
"Argo, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"
"Oho! Is that the beginnings of a confession I hear, Ki-bou? Wait, I have to properly prepare myself! Alright, go on."
"Argo."
"Yeees?"
"I think I prefer Konno-san."
The bright-eyed girl still seated on his shoulders beamed down at him and hugged his head.
"I like you too, Kirito! Wanna go out?"
"Oof! The love of my life, taken from me before my very eyes…!" Argo lamented theatrically. "I don't think my poor maiden's heart can take such a tragedy!"
"I'll give you a thousand Cor for the name and address of the poor maiden you stole that heart from so that I can go apologize to her and give it back."
"Ha ha. Yer a riot, Ki-bou, you really are."
"I think you're both fun to be around!"
"Why, thank you, Yuki-chan. I like being around you too! You're just so darn happy all the time! It's contagious!"
"Yep!"
The trio eventually made it to the hotel Kirito was staying at. He knelt down to let Yuuki off of his shoulders, but found that she didn't budge.
"Uh, Konno-san?"
"Hm?"
"Can you get off of my shoulders now?"
"Why?"
He stared up at her incredulously.
"What? What do you mean 'why'? This is my stop. I'm staying here."
"So?"
"So, I'm going to go to sleep. Which you should be doing too, since we're practicing the raid in a dungeon tomorrow."
"Pfft. No dungeon could stand up to the mighty Super MonHunMan!"
"S-super MonHonMan…?"
"Pfffffahahaha! It got better! I didn't think it would, but it did! Good job, Yuki-chan!"
Kirito directed a half-hearted glare at the information broker doubled over with laughter at his expense. He tried to do the same to the girl sitting on his shoulders, but found that no glare he could muster could possibly override the aura of innocence and optimism that Yuuki radiated. He gave up and smiled at her in resignation.
"I know, right? It's so much better than just being some random guy. Now you're like a superhero!"
His smile dropped somewhat.
"…How old are you again?"
"Fifteen!"
"Ki-bou, you know better than to ask a lady that," Argo chided him. "Yuki-chan, you should be offended."
"But I'm not that old?"
"It's not about being old, Yuki-chan. It's about the spirit of the question. No man asks that question and means anything nice by it."
The dark-haired girl's mouth opened in a small 'o'.
"Really? Huh. Kirito, were you trying to be mean to me?"
"Konno-san. No, Yuuki-chan. Look me in the eyes. Could I ever be mean to you?"
She did as he told her to and stared down into his eyes hard. She blushed slightly as her heart began to beat faster. After three seconds, she looked away and crossed her arms.
"Nope!" she declared confidently. "Kirito's the nicest guy I know! That's why I like him so much!"
"And how many guys do you actually know, Yuki-chan?"
"A lot!"
"Konno-san. I want you to think very hard about what Argo just told you about impolite questions. Then think about what she just asked you."
"I liked it better when you called me 'Yuuki-chan'…"
Kirito bit his lip at her pouting expression but was unable to stop himself from capitulating instantly.
"…Yuuki-chan. Please think about what I just said."
"Okay!"
Five seconds later.
"Argo, were you trying to be mean to Kirito?"
"Why, Yuki-chan! I'm offended ya would even think me capable of such a thing!"
"…Don't be mean to Kirito, Argo. I thought you said you really liked him."
Argo choked.
"O-of course I like him! Girls always tease boys they like!" she said a tad faster than usual.
"Oh. I guess that makes sense. Hey Kirito, should I tease you too? How about if we go to your room first though? It's a little exposed here, and I don't like being in public that much if I'm not fighting…"
Why did that sound so innocent and so naughty at the same time?
Kirito blinked.
Why am I thinking about Konno-san like that? We've met like, twice. Maybe three times? Doesn't matter. Bad Kirito. Do not corrupt innocent little girls. Begone impure thoughts. Corruption bad. Bad bad bad. Bad bad bad bad bad…
"Argo, I think I broke Kirito."
"Ufufufu. You broke him in one way, alright…"
"How do I fix him?"
"I have a couple of ideas."
Yuuki leaned backwards on her perch on the absent-minded Kirito's shoulders, the teenage boy subconsciously shifting his center of balance to keep them from tipping over. She listened attentively to Argo as the grounded girl whispered into her ear.
"Okay, got it. Here I go!"
"Go for it, Yuki-chan! I'm with you all the way!"
Kirito blinked again as he felt his passenger tap his head a couple of times.
"Yes, Konno-san?"
His response threw her off slightly.
"You went back to calling me 'Konno-san'… Do you not like me anymore, Kirito?"
"Grk. I-I mean, yes Yuuki-sa…chan?"
"Yuuki!"
"What?"
"I want you to call me Yuuki!"
"But, Yuuki…chan, we don't really know each other that well."
"That's okay! I'll tell you all you wanna know. I'll even show you everything I'm hiding!"
BEGONE IMPURE THOUGHTS. BAD BAD BAD!
"Uh, Yuki-chan. Ya better go with Plan B before ya permanently break Ki-bou."
"Oh no! Please don't break, Kirito! There's so much more I wanna do with you!"
Argo watched as Yuuki was forcefully removed from Kirito's shoulders as the boy rushed off in the direction of the nearest exit gate out of the Town of Beginnings. If she recalled correctly, and she did, there was a shallow stream in that direction.
"…Are you doin' this on purpose?"
"Doing what on purpose?" Yuuki asked innocently. Her smile was a little too wide.
"Ooh, I knew we were best friends for a reason Yuki-chan!"
…
Kirito stopped once he was a fair distance away from the town. He looked behind him to make sure neither of the girls followed him. He wouldn't put it past either one to continue to torment him, one with her innocence and the other completely on purpose, though he had grown resistant to Argo's antics over time. However, Yuuki's childlike mannerisms just pierced his defenses instantly. Maybe he was a closet lolicon?
NO. BAD KIRITO. STOP THINKING THINGS!
"…If you're done with your one-man comedy routine, it's time to die."
He paused. His face set itself in a grim smile. So, Argo had been right all along.
"I thought you were smart for running from Agil, but since you're here, threatening me of all people, I guess I have to take that back."
As he spoke, Kirito turned around to face the three men on the dirt road separating him from the town in the distance. Kibaou and his two lackeys stood with their arms crossed. They were doing their best to look intimidating, but after facing giant monsters the size of houses, any apprehension Kirito might have experienced fighting against regular players ceased to affect him. His only concern was whether he would need to sacrifice his hard-earned levels in «Solo» to equip «Mercy».
"Hmph. You're just like all the rest of the beta testers. So full of yourself. Well, today's the day you find out who the top dogs really are. Boys!"
His two lackeys grinned viciously as they each drew different weapons. The one on Kibaou's left held a curved scimitar, a weapon that was normally unavailable on the first floor, while the one on his right held a halberd. Kibaou himself drew a much larger battle-axe from his back than the small one-handed one he had wielded against Yuuki earlier.
"Compensating for something, Kibaou-san?"
"Talk all you want. You'll be six feet under soon."
He sighed. Scum like this wasn't worth it. Oh well, someone had to do it. He was the one who had accepted the job in the first place to hunt down those that were responsible for the deaths of the beta testers. Players that were intimately familiar with the basics of SAO would never put themselves in a situation that resulted in their deaths, especially not on the very first floor, a floor that was functionally identical to the first floor of the beta said players had just come out of. The natural conclusion was that these beta testers, who often operated alone using the «Solo» Skill, were dying to causes outside of simple monster attacks. Since this was the first floor, the only other possible causes of death were suicide… and PK.
It was not widely-known, nor would it be if Argo got her way, but of the unexplained deaths on the Monument, there were a bare handful of eyewitnesses who saw three hooded figures attack the poor players who had been mistaken for beta testers. His initial reaction upon entering the plaza was due to his mistaken belief that the killers might have been hiding in plain sight. Common sense thankfully saved him from blowing his cover right then and there. He and Argo had indeed been unable to meet ever since they separated, but he had received messages through random other players, starting with the request. The reason he knew they were from her was because each and every one knew some piece of information that only he and Argo would have known.
Kirito shook himself from his thoughts as the scimitar-wielding man was the first to attack, leading with «Sonic Leap». The skill's trajectory was simple to predict, especially for someone who had maxed the «One-Handed Sword» Skill six times over. A quick sidestep put him out of range of its user, no matter if he used a thrust or swung the blade in any direction. Meanwhile, both Kibaou and the remaining lackey advanced on him more cautiously, noting that he did not attack the vulnerable man when he was immobilized by the recovery period of using an Art.
"What's the matter, boy? Too scared to attack?" Kibaou taunted.
"Are you saying you have a death wish?"
"Tsk. Big talk for someone who's gonna die! «Smash»!"
The telegraphed downward swing was avoided just as easily. Kirito wondered if Kibaou thought it was cool to act like an idiot and tell your opponent everything you were going to do. He also wondered how the other beta testers had ever been killed if this idiot was the one behind the killings.
"Stay still, brat! This won't even hurt!"
The halberd swung through empty air as Kirito continued to backpedal.
The teenage boy took his time weighing his options. He was still unarmed, and neither he nor his assailants had made any headway in their short fight. The prison crystal in his inventory would suffice if he wanted to capture them, but… there was no guarantee Kibaou wouldn't try something like this again. Maybe he'd hurt him just a little? There was the issue of having to hold back, but he could also treat it as another challenge. Rather than aim at the glaring weak points, strike only at the spots that won't outright maim or kill. His course of action decided, Kirito shifted his stance.
The next time Kibaou's scimitar-wielding lackey tried to execute a «Sonic Leap» at him, he stepped into the trajectory instead of away from it. His action surprised the lackey mid-Art, and caused him to break his own stance, cancelling it while he was still flying through the air. The lackey's face transitioned comically slowly from triumphant victory to panic as he realized his forward momentum hadn't stopped with the Art. Kirito threw a «Haymaker» into the man's face as he sailed by, flipping the man head over heels as he tumbled to a stop, clutching his head.
"You idiot! Ignore the pain! It's all a game!"
"It's a lot easier to tell someone else to do that than it is to do it yourself. Ever heard of 'easier said than done'?"
Kirito executed his own «Sonic Leap».
"Wha- GAAAH!"
He pulled his sword out of the other man's leg, making sure to cut off one of the man's feet. Real life conditions like being hamstrung did not exist in SAO. Therefore, the only way to reduce an opponent's mobility or other abilities was often to slice off a body part. This also caused the Bleed status effect, but so long as the exposed part was covered with something, usually a hand, the player would not lose HP.
"Boss! You- AHHH! MY HAND! MY HAAAND!"
Of course, if one lost a hand, unless they pressed the stump of their arm against their chest or something, their other hand would also be occupied stopping the HP loss from Bleed.
The man's halberd clattered to the ground as he clutched at his right wrist. Nearby, Kibaou was rolling around with both hands on his right ankle. Kirito plunged his sword downwards point-first next to the lackey he had laid out with a «Haymaker» seconds earlier, discouraging him from reaching for his discarded scimitar. The lackey raised both hands in surrender immediately, begging for his life.
These can't be the assailants.
Kirito frowned as he looked at the three men he had dispatched effortlessly.
"Kibaou," he addressed the leader, not bothering with honorifics, "am I the first person you've attacked?"
"FUCK YOU!"
He drew his sword and walked over, placing the point on his other foot.
"YES! YES! YOU ARE! YOU'RE THE FIRST!"
"You wouldn't happen to be… lying, would you?" Kirito asked as he traced a shallow line on the man's ankle.
"I'M NOT! I SWEAR! PLEASE! I'LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN! I'LL GO TO JAIL! JUST PLEASE DON'T HURT MEEE!"
Kibaou fell silent when the point was leveled at his throat.
"Alright fine, but only if you shut up."
Kirito's frown became more pronounced. If only the player indicator had carried over from the closed beta. Back then, all players had a tiny inverted pyramid floating above their heads, the color of which signified whether the player had attacked another in the past twenty-four hours. It was green if the player did not engage in PvP outside of duels, orange if they caused significant damage to another player outside of a duel, and red if they killed another player in an unsanctioned manner. There were loopholes such as being able to lure monsters over to PK an unaware or unprepared player, but the player indicator as a whole did its job well.
Once the open beta period rolled around, this feature was inexplicably removed.
A choked gasp interrupted his thoughts. Kirito turned around from where he had unconsciously paced to and saw three figures in black hooded cloaks obscuring their eyes and blood-red scarves hiding their mouths, each standing over the body of one of the men he had incapacitated earlier. They all held wickedly-curved knives in one hand, the other having already plunged a knife into the men's chests. All at once, he realized what was about to happen, what he had failed to prevent.
"NO!"
The knives descended. Over and over. He wasted no time in rushing over with sword in hand, but his path was barred by the closest figure.
"Mmmm… hehehe… You're too soft, boy…" a male voice murmured from within the makeshift lower face mask, slowly growing in volume. "They were going to kill you, y'know…? We did you… a FAVOR!"
A lightning-fast «Slant» was deflected by his own «Slant». Kirito tried to step past the man blocking his way, but had to dodge two thrown knives. One scored a shallow cut on his cheek, barely dealing any damage, but he forced himself to wait and see if any status effects popped up on his HUD. None did. One of Kibaou's lackeys shattered to pieces.
"Hehehe…! One down…!"
The hooded figure that had been crouched over the now-deceased man retreated into the darkness. Once again, Kirito found his path blocked by the mystery man, two more knives ready to throw.
"Get out of my way!"
"Why do you try and save them, boy…? We are delivering justice…"
"You're no better than they are!"
His forward advance was halted by three knives this time, two from the person in front of him and one from the hooded figure crouched over Kibaou's remaining lackey.
"Hahaha…" the male laughed. It was a dry, rasping sound that made it seem as if he were coughing at the same time as trying to express amusement. "Spare us the contrite arguments and the accusations of hypocrisy. We are… justice…! We do not answer… to YOU!"
To Kirito's surprise, the man retreated. To his dismay, Kibaou's other lackey shattered into hundreds of polygons as the hooded man planted the two knives he was holding in Kibaou as he ran away, one in the man's forehead and another in his neck. He shattered to pieces instantly.
"Goodbye… boy… Maybe we will see each other… again…! AHAHAHAHAHA…!"
Kirito saw red. All he could hear was the man's cackling. Something in him snapped. «Art Chain» would let him reach. Two «Sonic Leap» Arts chained back-to-back put him within striking distance of the retreating man.
"How… FOOLISH!"
There was a clang of steel as, against all expectations, Kirito moved during the supposed vulnerability state.
"Wha-?"
For the first time since he'd appeared, the man showed a hint of uncertainty. Not good enough. Kirito wanted to see fear. The same fear he had seen in Kibaou's eyes moments before he was gone forever. Numbers, words, and symbols flashed across the teenager's vision, their meaning lost to him. System messages flashed in the corner of his field of view, but he ignored them all. Nothing else mattered except that he had failed to protect someone again. He had failed not once, not twice, but three times. And it was this man's fault.
Kirito felt his body seize up as the system tried to assert control. «Art Chain» was trying to force him into the immobilized state of vulnerability due to using two of the same Art in a chain. His actions, or lack thereof, did not go unnoticed.
"Hehehe. So it was just a fluke. Well, boy. If you are so eager to die, I will happily oblige!"
He saw the blade descend towards him. He blocked it again.
"What?! How?!"
He didn't care. The man was wide open. His body remembered what the system had forced him to forget. Four consecutive slashes culminated in a rough square as they spread out from his position. The man he fought was durable it seemed. He still had half his health left. Kirito followed up with a heavy thrust that threw the man several meters backwards. His body moved on autopilot as he cycled through his favored sequence of Arts.
When Kirito came to his senses, he was swinging at empty air. The landscape of Aincrad had transitioned from sunset into nighttime. He looked around in confusion until he saw the notification that he had failed to dismiss who knows how long ago. As he read it, his eyes widened to the size of saucers. He swiped downwards to bring up his Status menu and navigated to his Skills.
"No…"
…
"…way!" Yuuki cried excitedly.
"What's up, Yuki-chan? Somethin' good happen?"
"Something amazing happened! Look, look!"
Argo hummed noncommittally as she walked over to sit down on Kirito's bed next to the other girl.
"What do we have here? Your Skills? What's so interesting about… wait."
"It gets better! Look!"
"How do you… but that's not… Ki-bou…!"
"Yep! It's gotta be! Maybe I should tease him until he runs off more often?"
"Stay still, Yuki-chan. I wanna read all of it."
"Oh. Right. Mkay."
Argo settled back down, draped over the other girl's shoulders with her head resting on one of them. Yuuki nuzzled against her cheek playfully.
"Stop that, Yuki-chan. My whiskers are ticklish, y'know."
"…Those are real?"
"…Yuki-chan, I was joking."
"Oh. Right. I knew that," the girl mumbled sheepishly.
"Sometimes, I wonder about you Yuki-chan. I really do."
"Stop bullying me, Argo. I'll tell Kirito."
"Puh-lease. I'm not scared of anything he'll do to me. He's too nice."
Yuuki smiled mischievously.
"I never said what I'd tell him."
Argo paused and examined her friend critically.
"…You're bluffing."
"Am I?" Yuuki chirped. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I saw you writing 'Kirigaya Ar-'"
"AAAAAH! NO! WHEN? WHERE? HOW?!"
"Never. No idea. Didn't. But, thanks for telling me!"
Argo stared open-mouthed at the other girl, who just beamed brightly back. The information broker slowly came to the realization that this was the second time she had made such a critical blunder in the world of Aincrad. In her haste, she didn't even register the fact that Yuuki clearly meant to say "Argo", which obviously wasn't her real name.
"You… you could be even more terrifying than me…"
"Ah. You're bullying me again, Argo."
"If anything, you're the one bullying me here."
A knock on the door interrupted their banter. The two of them looked at each other before Argo made a graceful bowing motion and gestured towards the door. Yuuki giggled at her antics and hopped off the bed. She bounced over to the wooden door and threw it open, wrapping the person on the other side in a warm hug.
"Kirito! I missed you!"
"Um."
Yuuki blinked at the clearly female voice. She drew back and looked at the girl in her arms. She had a soft, delicate face and short blue hair with some streaks of black in it indicating that it was dyed, rather poorly at that, unless the streaks were intentional.
"Who're you?" she asked in her usual innocent tone.
"I'm-"
"Sinononononon!"
"Too long!"
New Skills:
Weapon Skills
«One-Handed Axe»
Combat Skills
«Art Chain»: Enables the use of Sword Arts consecutively, but enforces a combined vulnerability period afterward for all Arts used. Using the same Art more than once in a chain immediately ends the chain. Level up to increase execution speed and reduce vulnerability.
«Freeform»: Enables the use of Sword Arts without their vulnerability periods or starting stances, but disables system-assisted motion. Sword Arts executed in this way must still follow predefined motions in order to receive the damage bonus. Level up to increase damage dealt with all Sword Arts.
«Momentum»: Boosts damage dealt by Sword Arts for every successful Sword Art. The effect is reset if a Sword Art is interrupted or fails to hit anything. Level up to increase damage bonus per Sword Art and stacking limit.
«Predict»: Highlights and displays warning indicators for incoming attacks. Level up to increase likelihood and precision of warnings and expand range of detection.
«Vital Point Piercing»: Derivative of «Critical Hit» and «Detect». Reveals weak spots and enables additional damage bonus when attacking them. Level up to increase damage dealt to weak spots and widen their surface area temporarily after they are struck by the user.
Auxiliary Skills
«Carpentry»: Enables the automated creation and renovation of buildings using appropriate tools and materials. Level up to increase durability and maximum size of structures and unlock new blueprints.
«Exploring»: Improves overall mapping and terrain traversal abilities. Grants various bonuses when mapping unexplored regions. Level up to increase variety and potency of bonuses.
«Hunting»: Boosts the quality of dropped materials from organic monsters. Level up to increase drop rate.
«Inventing»: Enables the creation of new item recipes through trial and error. Grants an experience bonus upon success. Level up to increase potency of bonus. New recipes can be manually shared via a unique recipe item.
«Medicine»: Increases HP recovered from consumable items and increases resistance to physical status ailments.
«Mercy»: Prevents the user's attacks from reducing any entity's HP below 1. Does not work if an entity is already at 1 HP. (Cannot be leveled up.)
«Pioneering»: Grants various bonuses upon being the first on a given server to accomplish certain tasks. Level up to increase variety and potency of bonuses. Created by Kirito (Extra Skill).
«Solo»: Boosts the user's character and Skill experience gained when alone. Level up to increase magnitude of effects. Created by Kirito.
Extra Skills
«Exceed»: Bestows various effects. (Cannot be leveled up normally.)
A/N: Kirito has not yet met Klein. For all intents and purposes, all ten thousand people logged in within an hour of each other and the fateful announcement took place shortly thereafter.
This chapter is more team-building, introducing the second member of the invincible core duo that will eventually tear its way through Aincrad with support from the game's other top players. That the main ones that help out tend to be female is entirely coincidence. Really.
Next chapter: «Return to Form»! The first floor boss is defeated! Asuna reveals herself! Kirito goes to everyone's favorite pink blacksmith to get his sword serviced! …I'm simultaneously ashamed and totally not sorry. Send help.
