(Resubmitted with minor amendments and detail improvements)
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Chapter 2: Stand aside, Rookie Swordsman here!
It had been almost a week since I had been sent into Sword Art Online, and every day I expected to wake up back in the lab with Eila worrying over everything that happened and explaining how she managed to get me out.
I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up over it, whatever caused the malfunction with the Dive Machine must have been much more severe than I first thought. At least I was getting used to daily life inside of the death game.
Well… I guess I was managing about as well as someone who can't speak with any players can get anyways.
The NPC's and menu systems were in english, but I could only chalk that up to that being Eila's work with the language setting. I guess actual people didn't count, since they all spoke in their native language anyways… How does that even work inside the Dive Machine from the real-real world? Shouldn't I understand them anyways, or…?
This is making my head hurt… Moving on.
It didn't take long before the area surrounding the Town of Beginnings was dominated as the main hunting grounds for a majority of players looking to fight back against their virtual prison. After the third day since the start of SAO, it was impossible for me to benefit from staying around the starting city, so I followed my plan and headed towards the next village I could find.
Using my limited map data and my memory of where Kirito planned to go during episode one, I fought my way to Horunka Village.
Ahem… I SLOWLY fought my way towards the village.
It took nearly an entire day of hopeless wandering and fighting off monsters to make it to the small village. And calling it small was pushing it.
The place had maybe ten different buildings and really only one quest to my knowledge. It was the same quest that granted Kirito his Anneal Blade, and I didn't feel confident enough to try my hand at it just yet.
Even with the idea of acquiring my very own super-sword, I couldn't let go of the indecisiveness over what type of weapon I wanted to use. I mean, it's only one of the most important decision of any MMO ever!
If I spent too long using a weapon type that I wasn't comfortable with, eventually it would be too late to switch to something I'd rather use!
Maybe I'm just overthinking it. I mean, I could always just sell the sword to an item merchant or melt it down into crafting materials for my own use or something…
I let out a sigh and stood to my feet with a stretch. I had been laying on the soft grass outside of Horunka village for nearly an hour now after fighting off a pack of Frenzy Boar's that afternoon. The damn things didn't even drop a single Cor for me. Cheapskates.
Well, I really should return to the Inn and get some rest, I can always start the quest in the morning if I'm feeling up to it.
Thankfully, no one aside from some beta testers had made it to the village yet, and they usually were in and out pretty quick, so I never really had much interaction with them. Not that I could talk to them anyways, but whatever… They mostly ignored my presence when around.
The walk back to Horunka was still pretty boring, but at least the sunset looked nice, virtual or not.
"AAIIIIEEEE!"
I stopped mid step, nearly losing my footing in the process as a loud scream cut through the air, "What the hell?!" Even without any real detection skill, locating a cry that loud was fairly simple, and I rushed in the origin's direction immediately.
I brought my sword out as I reached the top of the nearby hill, ready to fight off any monsters in the area. This world may not be real, but I'm not about to let anyone die because of that reason alone.
I play the hero route in most games anyhow.
Laying face-down on the path in front of me was short, brown haired player with a line of pixels emitting from her back. Standing on the path beyond them was a second player holding an Iron Sword similar to mine, his eyes scrunched into a furious looking expression.
I stood rooted on the spot, I could hardly believe it. Hardly a week in and players had already begun to turn on eachother. Did PK'ing really travel back this far in the timeline?
When the attacking swordsman began to step closer to the girl, I shook myself from my stupor and dashed down towards the two players, sliding to a stop between them and catching the boy off guard.
"Back off, blondie!" I brought my sword up towards the attacker, causing him to back off. His cursor had already changed to an orange color, easily identifying him as a criminal to the rest of the world. "You'll just make it worse on everyone."
I watched the shaken look on the boys face as he brought his sword up with both hands, his response matching it with a tone of confusion. Right… he has no idea what I'm saying.
I put on my best 'angry glare' face and brought my sword down to the dirt, tracing a line between the two of us and taking a step back, daring him to step forward.
It didn't take words to get my point across, and it seemed as though this guy was considering calling my bluff. I decided to up the ante.
I flipped my Iron Sword around and jammed it into the dirt, causing it to stick straight up on its own as I crossed my arms, my eyes never leaving his.
It really was a total bluff, but he didn't know that.
I could see his sword-arm shaking out of the corner of my vision, he wasn't exactly brimming with confidence anymore.
After what seemed like hours — but was really only a few seconds — the near-PK'er lowered his blade and shouted what I could only assume was a curse at me before turning around a running off into the nearby forest. I hope the Little Nepent's get him.
I retrieved my sword from the dirt, a little bummed out that its durability was dropping the entire time it was stuck there, and placed it back into its sheathe before turning around, "Hey, are you alright?" I reached down to help the player to her feet, noticing the yellow of her health bar hovering beside her.
I immediately reached for one of my Health Potion's, passing it to her, "Here, this will help." I couldn't tell why, but she seemed familiar somehow… Was she in the show at some point?
It was pretty early in the game, so a lot of the characters were unlikely to have the same equipment they had when they were introduced on higher floors, but I couldn't quite place my gut feeling…
Hesitantly, the fellow player accepted the bottle, "Arigato…" (Thank you...) Hey! A word I knew~
I nodded in response, slightly smiling to ease any worry she had about me. Understandable, given the circumstances.
Like me, she was wearing mostly beginner equipment, though with a lighter hue to her shirt as opposed to my darker crimson. She also had a white skirt and brown boots, though I didn't see a weapon which was odd.
"Are you okay?" I asked once she finished drinking the red liquid. My only response was a confused tilt of the head.
I let out a sigh and spoke slower, "Are. You. O-Kay?" I pointed at her and put a thumb up before turning it downwards and then back again.
With a nod, she pointed her thumb up. So she was okay. Good. Though, after a moment she began to speak to me in Japanese. I waved my arms back and forth in front of me to make her stop.
When she did, I pointed to myself, "Eng-lish." Man, I hated this game of 'guess-what-the-heck-I'm-trying-to-say'. I suppose this is why I never struck up a conversation with the beta-testers… Yup.
Thankfully, she seemed to understand the communication problem and resorted to using simple gestures to communicate as well, such as nodding.
I looked up at the quickly falling sun and pointed towards the direction of the village, and then the sun itself. I repeated this action a few times. She looked at where I was pointing, but charades never really was my best game, so I guess it didn't work as well as I had hoped.
Instead, I turned in the direction of town and tried the universal, 'follow-me' sign.
Again, she seemed uncertain of whether to follow me or not, but she didn't exactly have a lot of options, so she eventually agreed and walked up beside me as we started our trek to Horunka village.
As we walked, I did my best to at least keep the awkward silence away. I looked over at the girl and caught her attention before gesturing to myself and a little of the japanese I knew, "Uh… Hajimashite- No, no- Hajimemashite!" (Uh… *Indecipherable*- No, no- Nice to meet you!) Great… now I sound like an idiot in another language. Eila's right, I am a baka. I let out a sigh.
At least my introduction elicited a chuckle from my new acquaintance.
She mimicked my gesture in response, "Hajimemashite." It sounded so much more fluid with how she spoke it. Maybe I could get her to teach me- No… that's asking WAY too much…
I did my best to keep the mood light and went to try and tell her my name, "Watashi wa… Hiro… desu." (I... am… Hiro.) My speech was very forced, but at least I said it properly, I think. I continued, "Watashi wa Amerikajin desu." (I am American.)
I was already reaching the extent of what I knew about introductions… I really should have paid more attention to that online language course…
"Ohhhh…" The girl let out an understanding sound, the language barrier finally explained. I nodded in response, motioning for her to continue.
With a smile she nodded, speaking clearly enough for me to understand, "Kon'nichiwa, Hiro-san. Watashi wa Lisbeth desu." (Hello, Hiro. I am Lisbeth.)
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[CROSSING FIELD ~ SAO INTRO 1]
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[Hiro_Lvl. 3]
{Equipped Weapon}
-Iron Sword
{Equipped Gear/Armor}
-(Hands) Adventurer's Gloves
{Skills}
-One Handed Sword [11/1000]
-Sprint [15/1000]
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CrapCrapCrapCrapCrapCrapCrapCrapCrapCrapCrapCrap-
I did my best not to outwardly panic once I learned who it was I had just saved.
Did I regret saving her? No. But I most definitely screwed up the timeline in some way, I was sure.
I never really knew what happened to Lisbeth prior to her meeting Kirito on the higher floors, so maybe she was supposed to escape some other way or maybe be rescued by another player… Oh geeze.
And adding onto that, how did I not realize that this was THE Lisbeth from Sword Art Online?! The only thing different was her outfit and hair color, what am I blind?! Worse… I'm a baka.
Needless to say our conversation on the way into town was nonexistent as I tried to keep a straight face while my mind beat itself up over its lack of awareness. Though, I'm sure she must have realized something once I clammed up, but It's not like I could explain it in a way she would understand even if I tried.
The two of us walked into the town inn —I had a room already paid for — and I prepared to part ways for the night to think this over.
As I turned to walk away I noticed the nervous look on Lisbeth's face. I sighed and made a 'what's wrong' gesture against my better judgement.
She rubbed the back of her neck and opened her player console, opening a specific window before turning it towards me. I leaned in for a closer look.
{Cor: 0}
Ah… That would be a problem.
I waved my hand nonchalantly, I was more than okay with lending her some money for a room. I proceeded to open my own player console to the 'Cor' tab, only to have my face twist into embarrassment at the sight as well.
{Cor:47}
A meagre room at the inn was 50 Cor a night.
Why did I have to buy those Adventurer's Gloves earlier… It's my own damn fault for being a compulsive spender this early on in the game…
I let out a sigh as I closed my menu, scratching my head in an attempt to figure out a solution. I wasn't about to let her sleep on the street, that's for sure. I guess there was always…
I rubbed my eyes, "Lisbeth-san." I did my best to get her attention. It worked, as now her head was up to look at me instead of the floor.
I motioned for her to follow me and led her up the small flight of stairs, the wooden floorboards creaking at our steps every now and then. As we walked, I opened my menu once more and produced a small key from my inventory. I counted the doors as we passed by them, stopping at one labelled, "7". The key fit snugly into the lock and we entered the small room.
Inside the space was a small desk, window, and a single bed. Perfect for the random adventuring hero, not so great for a PAIR of adventuring heroes. I could tell from the look on Lisbeth's face that the situation was a bit awkward considering that we had just met.
"Go ahead and use the bed, I'm usually okay with taking the floor." At this point I was pretty tired, so I didn't care for trying to use my poor japanese skills to get across my point.
Besides, I usually opted to take the floor whenever on the road with friends or family. No one really understood how I could sleep so easily on such uncomfortable surfaces, but I would just shrug it off. If it didn't bother me, why complain.
I slid down onto the floor beneath the window and folded my arms, getting settled in for the night with a yawn. I only had my eyes closed for about 30 seconds before I felt something tap me on the shoulder.
Lazily opening my eyes, I met Lisbeth's as she glared down at me. I cocked an eyebrow in question.
Lisbeth huffed and placed her hands on her hips as she began to speak to me. I just stared at her with a neutral expression until she eventually realized that I was unable to understand whatever she was trying to tell me.
Her cheeks turned pink in embarrassment while I let out a chuckle. Based on my usual experiences with sleeping at friends houses, it was obvious that she wanted me to take the bed. I shook my head and then pointed to her and then the bed in question. I could see her fume slightly as she shook her head in refusal. I merely shrugged and settled back into my spot, eventually earning me an exasperated sigh as she gave up. Not being able to communicate with words made the argument more effort than it was worth, to be sure.
Though, in place of what should have been the sound of her climbing into the open bed, I instead heard the thump of something hitting the floor across the room.
I cracked an eye towards where Lisbeth now sat similarly on the floor near the desk. Was it really that hard for people to take an offered bed when someone else is on the floor?
I shook my head, I wasn't about to force her to sleep somewhere she didn't want to. At least she was safer in here than anywhere else.
I closed my eyes once more and finally let myself drift off to sleep.
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I awoke to the sound of my personal alarm system going off, telling me that it was time to wake up.
I kept my eyes shut tight and rolled over, waving my arm around to slap my non-existent alarm clock in a vain attempt to get a bit more sleep. When my hand met nothing but air, I let out a groan and forced myself into a sitting position.
I opened my menu and dismissed the alarm as I rubbed my eyes, letting out a stretch as I tried to shake off my sleepiness.
I yawned, "Doesn't matter if it's a game or real life… Waking up still sucks…" I mumbled to myself and looked around the room. Aside from laying down on the floor, I hadn't moved an inch since I fell asleep.
Lisbeth, funnily enough, had actually moved onto the bed sometime during the night and was still sound asleep, my personal alarm silent to her ears.
Oh right… Lisbeth…
I ran my fingers through my hair as I tried to get a grip on what was happening. I had surely destroyed several events that should have occurred in the timeline. The fact that I was sharing a room with one of Kirito's future fangirls normally would have been something one would find as a positive thing.
Unfortunately, I was banking on a lot of the known future events to play out normally so I could have at least a small advantage in this world. Well, there goes that plan.
Not wanting to wake her, I shuffled past the bed and out the door, my stomach grumbling slightly as I went. Virtual hunger really was a bit of a drag.
I made my way down to the small lobby where a few wooden tables with chairs sat around for the occasional traveler to use. Being this early in the morning, no one else besides the Innkeeper NPC was there.
It was a bit unnerving at first how they would just stand there wordlessly awaiting new patrons of the Inn, though, I did get used to it after a bit. The female NPC was there to provide rooms and meagre food rations to travelers. The food really only consisted of bread and water, unfortunately, but it was better than nothing.
I opened my inventory and materialized a Bread Roll and Water Flask for breakfast, "Man, I wish they served coffee here…" I must have said that every morning so far, but alas, I had no luck on floor one finding any of the delicious elixir…
Digging into my "meal", I opened up my system menu once again and selected the "Memo" tab. It had become a daily ritual of mine to write down everything I could about my day, usually during meals, as well as making plans and personal goals for me to accomplish. I added a quick description to the previous entry of my meeting with Lisbeth and the PK'er that was no doubt still roaming around before checking the schedule for the day.
The only things on the list was to rack up some more Cor from enemy drops, and to start the quest for the Anneal Blade. That quest had been on my to-do list since I arrived in Horunka, though I was still hesitant to try and complete it yet.
I thought it over as I closed my eyes and took another sip of water, having finished my bread at this point.
I suppose I could start the quest and take my time with it. If it seemed like too much to handle I could always pull back out and grind some more Exp before I made a second attempt.
My train of thought was cut short as I felt a presence appear beside me. I opened a single eye and found Lisbeth standing next to the table with the sleepiest expression I had ever seen across her face.
I rose an eyebrow but said nothing, instead simply gesturing to the open seat across from me. She lazily took the offer and rested her head on the table, not quite as ready to face the day as I was.
I let out a sigh and materialized another set of bread and water for her as well, setting on the table before her. She mumbled something akin to "thanks" before slowly taking the offering to eat.
"What am I going to do with you…" I muttered. As amazing as Lisbeth may have been in the upper floors, at this point she was barely able to look after herself in this death game. She must have been able to do it somehow, having met Kirito on floor 40+ if I remember correctly.
...ah, whatever. She can tag along or leave if she wants. It's not like she's an NPC or something.
...or wait, technically she was… right? I didn't even know anymore.
I ran my hand through my hair with a sigh, "Okay look. I know you probably don't understand a word I'm saying, but I have things I need to do before more players show up here." I waved my menu open as I spoke, depositing a handful of Cor on the table for Lisbeth before standing to my feet.
I stretched out my arms as I continued, "Don't worry about paying me back, consider it a small investment to an eventual blacksmith. Now if you don't mind, I have a quest to accept. Jā matane(See you later)." I let out a small wave as I made my way to the door of the inn. I could feel Lisbeth staring at me as I left, but I didn't feel like playing charades every time we had to communicate. She would have to manage on her own like she had in the series.
The cool morning air hit my face immediately as I stepped outside, aiding in waking me up for what was bound to be another long day. I could hardly believe I was leaving Lisbeth in favor of going it alone, but I pushed the thought out of my head as I walked along the sparsely populated road to the quest-giver's house.
There was only a few NPC's and players wandering around the street, going about their morning routines or preparing to head out to fight monsters for cash. The house was the only two story building in the village, so it was easy to spot even from a distance.
"How long did it take Kirito to complete this quest again…?" I pondered as I walked along.
In the anime, it didn't exactly go over this part of the timeline, having skipped an entire month after day one. So I had to rely on my knowledge of what I read online about the in-between-episode happenings, which was pretty minimal in terms of specifics.
What I did remember, though, was that he had nearly been killed during a Monster PK, which is when a player lures enemy creatures to kill someone for them.
"Hiro-san!"
My hand stopped just shy of opening the door of the building. I turned and watched as Lisbeth jogged to catch up with me. I guess I might as well add "Lisbeth Escort Quest" to my daily memo.
Once she caught her breath we more or less just stared awkwardly at each other, the language barrier doing little to assist our situation.
Eventually the small girl let out a huff of frustration and opened her menu screen. After a moment, a message appeared before me asking if I wanted to join Lisbeth's Party.
I just rubbed my eyes and thought it over. While I didn't want to get her involved in a potentially dangerous quest that could severely ruin the timeline if she were to be killed, I knew that I would need all the help I could get in order to complete it.
In the end, I decided to accept her offer, as much as I wanted to keep things as they should be, it wasn't like this place was real anyways.
"Alright, fine." I hit the 'accept' button. "But I have first dibs on any reward we get here." Lisbeth smiled. She may not understand what I was saying, but accepting the Party invite was good enough I suppose.
I motioned for her to follow me inside as I opened the door. Inside was a small yet quaint living area decorated with ornate furnishings and potted plants. Across from the door was an attached kitchen area with a single female NPC toiling away at various cookware.
Lisbeth looked at me questioningly, given that there was no quest marker in the vicinity, it was a reasonable response. I just smiled and walked up to the NPC.
As I neared, the woman turned to me and gave a weak smile, "Oh, travellers! What a surprise." Her voice was smooth and easily understandable, though if I listened closely, I could hear a similar japanese translation that was likely being broadcasted for Lisbeth to hear.
I gave a slight bow, playing my part as though it was a role in a play, "Pardon our intrusion, ma'am. We were simply seeking a place of rest amidst our travels." Mom was right, I should have taken drama in high school.
"Well I'm afraid I don't have any food at the moment, but would you care for a glass of water dears?"
I nodded, "That would be most appreciated, thank you."
It was obviously not true, as there was clearly a pot of something stewing on the stove, but I didn't press the matter. I moved to take a seat on the small couch, leaving room for Lisbeth to join me with skepticism. A feeling which I ignored.
While the NPC prepared us our drinks, the sound of coughing could be heard from an adjoining room. An audible sigh came from the kitchen area as the woman seemed to take up a more sullen expression. As she turned back to us with a pair of small water cups, a small quest marker appeared above her head.
Lisbeth stirred at the sight, and I caught her mutter something under her breath, with the term "Kuesuto(Quest)" being the only thing I recognized.
I nodded and accepted the water, passing a cup to Lisbeth before activating the quest, "Is everything alright, ma'am?"
The NPC took a seat across from us, shaking her head, "Actually, journeying swordsman, my daughter has recently been affected by a terrible illness. The medicine I acquired from the market doesn't seem to make her condition any better either…"
The woman continued to explain her troubles to me and Liz. I found myself listening along to her story quite intently, almost forgetting that the world around me wasn't real for a minute. I knew the basic premise of the quest, sure, but the sadness that she expressed seemed more lifelike than I would have ever guessed.
The quest itself was simple enough to understand. The medicine in town wasn't working, so her only hope was a very special plant found in the forest that could be used as a cure for her daughter's sickness. Unfortunately, this plant only happened to grow on the head of dangerous creatures known as Little Nepent's. These ironically large plant-like monsters were over a meter and a half tall walking terrors; they walked around on their roots and had large carnivorous mouths on their tall, bulbous bodies. The most difficult part of this quest had to be the fact that the plant that grew on its head was extremely rare, and I was never able to beat more than a group of three at a time. Hopefully having Lisbeth with me would help a bit.
The sound of Lisbeth speaking shook me from my thoughts.
Across from us, the desperate mother had looked up in surprise, "You travellers would be willing to do that for me?" Lisbeth and I nodded in unison.
"Of course!"
"Hai!"
The woman broke into a grateful smile, "Thank you so much. If you truly can help me, I would gladly reward you for your troubles."
Bidding the NPC farewell, the two of us left the house and made our way from the town in the direction of the forest.
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"There's another group of them over there!"
I ran top speed towards another trio of Little Nepent's, quickly slicing through the first one with a combination of basic slash attacks. Unfortunately, sword skills were still not something I could pull off, so I only managed to bring its HP down to 50% before it was able to retaliate by flinging one of its sharp vines at me.
"Hrgh!" I quickly brought my sword up to block, but the force of the strike still managed to push me back a few feet. Knocking the appendage away, I began to slash away again.
As I attacked, the remaining Little Nepent's began to shuffle in my direction.
"Hah!" Before they could reach me, Lisbeth finally burst through the nearby bushes, slamming her glowing Iron Hammer into the nearest approaching monster, knocking it away and causing a bit of stun damage.
I would have thanked Lisbeth for the save, but she was currently spewing various Japanese phrases that sounded strangely similar to chastising. Probably due to my reckless attack strategy, but who knows, maybe it was a compliment.
After a bit of back and forth, I was able to defeat the first Little Nepent, causing it to explode into the usual dissolving pixels. There was no time to celebrate as I turned my attention to Lisbeth and her current enemy.
Surprisingly, Lisbeth had already defeated her first Little Nepent and was fighting the last one, which began to swing both of its sharpened vines down at her. Reacting to the attack, Lisbeth swung her hammer upwards, activating a sword skill and deflecting the attack.
"Kaeru(Switch)!"
"Got it!" I took the chance opening and leapt in front of Liz, performing another basic combo on the creature and bringing it's HP down to a sliver before Lisbeth was able to recover and land the final blow, shattering the beast to pieces.
After a moment I let out a sigh of fatigue, allowing myself to fall back onto the grass. We had been fighting all morning and had little success in finding anything other than the normal Little Nepent's, the ones without a flower on them. We were accumulating a decent amount of Cor and Exp at least, but it was really starting to wear me out.
"Alright Lisbeth, let's take five…" I groaned, wanting to enjoy the softness of the forest floor for a bit.
The quest started out pretty rough, with us being unable to communicate very easily during combat we had struggled against only one or two enemies at a time. We eventually got the hang of switching at least, which was a start. I definitely needed to figure out the trick behind the sword skills though, because I was pretty ineffective at inflicting damage. Luckily I had the knack of stringing together several basic strikes without losing my momentum, but that only helped so much.
Lisbeth, on the other hand, was nearly the exact opposite. She was great at using her sword skills and Iron Hammer to deal heavier attacks, but usually left herself wide open afterwards, which left me to intervene long enough for her to recover and attack again.
All in all, we made a pretty okay team.
The feeling of my mind drifting off was interrupted by the sound of what I could only guess was Lisbeth nagging at me. Probably something along the lines of, 'We can't rest now, we have a quest to complete!' or something.
"Look," I waved my hand in the air uncaringly, "this quest isn't exactly something we can just grind through like this. We just need to be lucky enough to find the ONE Nepent with a flower, and running around without rest is only going to get us killed. Take a break." I returned my hands behind my head and took a deep breath.
I wasn't planning on resting for too long, but even our virtual bodies couldn't take the constant work, especially at our level. Heck, Lisbeth had only just achieved level 3 THAT MORNING! She needed to chill out.
I hoped that my tone of voice got through to her, because I wasn't going to act out my point this time.
A huff of annoyance reached my ears as I listened to the sound of Lisbeth pace about the clearing, frustrated I'm sure. I could hear her murmuring under her breath, but it mattered little as I wasn't standing up for another three and a half minutes.
I take my breaks very seriously.
Once I had figured that my five minutes were up, I returned to my feet with a stretch, groaning slightly as I did so. Lisbeth had taken to sitting on a nearby rock, waiting for me to continue on with the quest.
Wow, I had actually out-stubborned Lisbeth. Fancy that. I took a quick check of our current HP.
Both of us were faring decently well, only having lost about 30-40% of our points during the course of the morning. That left us with plenty left to get back to town and buy a few supplies before heading back out again.
"Alright, Lisbeth, let's head back to Horunka Village so we can-"
"Hiro-san!"
I was interrupted as Lisbeth pointed off into the foliage. In the shade of the tall trees, a lone Little Nepent could be seen shuffling around. My eyes went wide as I saw the splash of red adorned on the top of its head, could this be our lucky day?
"Awesome!" I readied my Iron Sword and turned towards Lisbeth, "C'mon, let's beat this sucker and collect our prize!"
Lisbeth made an affirmative sounding grunt as we charged at the walking plant. Having a slightly higher speed allowed me to get the drop on the poor creature first and I quickly took a chunk out of its HP by myself. Before it even had time to turn around I was already calling for Lisbeth.
"Switch!" I hopped back and watched as the hammer wielding girl took a heavy swing at the Little Nepent, and then another.
"Alright, this quest is as good as-" I froze in realization of a crucial detail. While indeed, this wasn't the usual Little Nepent variant we had been fighting all morning, it was also not the one we wanted to find.
Atop the head of the creature was, not a flower, but a large red fruit. Something that did not bode well for us as Lisbeth's final attack came crashing down towards it.
"No, wait! Lisbeth stop!" I was to late with my warning as the hammer made contact with the red orb, causing it to explode and emit a foul smelling odor moments before the creature dissolved into fragments.
This was bad.
Like, really bad.
Bad squared.
As the two of us coughed away the horrible smell, the sound of several screeching creatures met our ears. That fruit had attracted the attention of every enemy in the area, and by the sound of it, we were in WAY over our heads.
I held a hand over my mouth and nose as I grabbed ahold of Lisbeth with the other, "Run!" I choked out, pulling her along away from the area. With my eyes tearing up, I could barely see where we were going as we ducked and dodged around trees and rocks. Honestly though, anywhere was better than there.
I could hear the stomping of monsters behind us, and I had no intention to find out how many there were.
Unfortunately for us, our bad luck seemed to get worse as we shoved through a set of bushes only to come face-to face with a cliff wall.
"Shit!" I cursed out loud as I pushed Lisbeth behind me, turning to face what might have been a small army of Little Nepent's heading our way.
"Hiro-san!"
"Stay back, Lisbeth. We're about to have company." I tensed up as I prepared for the worst.
What transpired next was eerily similar to how the Moonlit Black-Cats would meet their fate. The treeline was filled with carnivorous plant monsters, all of them practically drooling from their disgusting oversized mouths. Each and every one of them was a level 3 monster, and as luck would have it, none of them had a flower, not that it mattered at this point.
We were about to get completely and utterly ripped apart. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars.
Like the calm before the storm, silence filled the surrounding area for several seconds. Then all hell broke loose.
"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAA!"
The army of Little Nepent's began to charge a few at a time, swarming towards us like a horde of zombies.
There was nothing we could do to stop them, there was simply too many, and I didn't have the power to take on more than a couple at a time, let alone dozens!
This grass in front of the cliffside was where we would die as level 3 scrub-players. Would I actually die for real? Or did my existence transcend the rules here in Aincrad? I wasn't sure, but Lisbeth wasn't in the same boat as me, and she would certainly not be coming back in this instance. Damn, I wish I knew how this world worked, what if the malfunction left my body comatose while my mind would simply disappear in this place?
I didn't want to die! I didn't want anyone to die!
I grit my teeth and raised my sword. If this truly was the end, I was going down swinging.
"You want a piece of me you bastards?!" I charged forwards at top speed towards the closest Little Nepent, "IKU-ZE!"
"Hiro-san!"
I could hear Lisbeth shouting behind me, but I didn't stop. I sliced and cut my way through the first enemy in record time, only for it to be immediately replaced by three more. I slashed at the lot of them, making sure their attention was on me and not Liz.
"Lisbeth! Run, NOW!" Lisbeth seemed to be rooted on the spot, either from not understanding me or from fear, I didn't know.
A portion of my health bar vanished as I felt a razor-vine slice at my shoulder, to which I returned the favor in kind before ducking around and swinging at another pair of monsters that were trying to head towards Lisbeth, bringing their attention to me instead.
"Oh no you don't you little-OW!" Another bit of health disappeared as my offhanded arm was struck, allowing red pixels to escape from the open wound. It seemed for every Little Nepent I managed to defeat, another bit of my HP was chipped away. Soon I was barely hanging on with 10% of my HP remaining, and yet I was no closer to victory than when I began. My breathing was labored and I was bleeding pixels all across my body. I stole a glance at Lisbeth's HP gauge, finding it around the 30% area as well.
We were practically back-to-back at this point and there was no chance of escape. Dammit. Kirito himself couldn't magician himself a victory here. I could only hold a shaky guard as the Little Nepent's began to advance once again.
"I hope Eila doesn't dissect my body once I'm gone." I would have chuckled at the fact that this was what I thought in the face of death, but I couldn't bring myself to do so.
"Sorry, Kirito. Guess I won't catch up to you after all."
As the space between us and the monsters grew smaller and smaller, a message box appeared inches from my face, making me jump in surprise.
[Connecting…
...
...Connected!
Admin_Pass
...Login_Accepted!
User: EILA_HAYSER
Command_Reset
Player_10001
Settings
Preferences
Sword_Skills
Set_Active
Working…
...Complete!
Player: Hiro Sword Skills Activated
Command_Add
Player_10001
Combat
Sword_Skills
ID_1615787
Working…
...Complete!
Sword_Skill: Retaliation Added
Session_Interrupted
User: EILA_HAYSER Disconnected_by_GM
Terminating_Session
]
The words slid up across the screen quickly, but I was able to catch most of it before the console disappeared from existence. Was Eila trying to help me?
I shook my head and steeled my nerves, not about to let this small blessing go to waste. Slipping my hand into the pouch on my waist, I removed and downed my only healing potion, slowly bringing my health up and out of the red. I cringed at the bitter taste in my mouth, but continued to drink until it was empty. I practically dropped the container the second I had finished, taking a deep inhale I raised my sword to deflect another attack.
*Whiiiiiiir!*
The sound and change in color that came from my Iron_Sword was recognizable in an instant as I deflected the vine and tore through the Nepent diagonally with a satisfying Slant Skill.
…
…
…
...I smiled, the elation from the strike pure and noticeable on my face.
"All right! Now we're talking!" I shouted and followed up with a Horizontal to the next enemy, and then a Vertical to the next. Each enemy was quickly falling as my attacks tore through their defenses and eliminating whatever HP they had left.
My feet planted to the floor following an Uppercut sword skill, my excitement having me try every single one-handed beginner skill I could think of. My smile faded quickly as I realized that, in my haste, I had still taken a few hits from the remaining enemies, and I was now stuck in a Delay. My reckless use of Skills resulted in disabling my movement for a few harsh seconds.
Seconds I couldn't afford, having noticed that my HP was once again back down in the red. If I took more than maybe a single hit or two, I was a goner.
I flinched as a pair of Little Nepent's swung at my immobile form.
"Hrrraaaahh!"
I watched as my fate was averted by the swing of a hammer, Lisbeth sliding in front of me and knocking the two back long enough for me to move again. I quickly stepped up beside her and readied my sword once more.
Lisbeth nodded at me, "Dōtai ni."
"Together." I nodded back.
Unwavering, the both of us began fighting our way forward. I would unleash a combination of sword skills, and while I was delayed, Liz would step in and finish them all off with their hammer just quick enough for me to step in and restart the process.
The number of Little Nepent's dwindled, leaving only four left. Though at this point, we were both exhausted, and the closest Nepent took full advantage of our momentary pause to catch our breath. Lisbeth was struck and her HP dropped from 30% to 10%. I regained my footing and cut down the offending creature with what little energy I had left. That left us with three more, and I was out of steam.
I brought my sword up to block another strike and felt the sword fly from my hands, leaving me defenseless. The Nepent wound up for another attack and I could only stand there, too exhausted to move. Just as the vine came flying down, I heard the sound of a sword skill power up as Lisbeth shoved me aside and slammed the attack away. She then followed up with a powerful downward slam that stunned them both before collapsing to her knees.
"Hiro-San!"
I struggled towards my fallen blade, raising it back up and into a fighting position before winding up for an attack. As I did so, the sound of a sword skill could be heard again, one that glowed red instead of the usual blue from before. Retaliation.
"Here I come!" I swung at the Nepent, unaware of the fact that I spoke unintentionally.
My attacks started slowly, slicing the Nepent a few times before it was noticeable that my attacks were getting faster and faster with each hit. I quickly cut through two of the remaining Nepents single-handedly before the skill ended and I was delayed. The last one caught its chance and slammed me onto my back, leaving me to emit more red pixels as my HP dropped to a sliver. Lisbeth and I struggled to our feet as the flower headed Nepent pounced again. I could barely raise my sword up to my stomach, which left me completely open to the attack.
Just before it reached me, I felt something warm clasp my hands as my sword was given the extra lift it needed to pierce the beast through the center, stopping it in its tracks before finally exploding into countless pieces.
Then it was silent. Lisbeth and I stood for only a few seconds more before we collapsed onto the cold grass in a heap.
"It's… over."
-========EEEEEEEE###########_
My eyes creaked open slowly as the light of the sun filtered through the open window. Having forgone the use of my alarm for once, it was my only way of telling that a new day had risen over Aincrad.
I unwillingly forced myself to a sitting position, stretching my entire body out from the comfort of the wooden floor. With a groan of content I let my head loll back onto the mattress of the bed softly, using the wooden frame as a backrest while I slowly woke up for the day.
Behind me, Lisbeth had once again taken possession of the bed for herself, and had splayed out quite ungracefully during the night. She had practically collapsed onto the bed immediately and fell asleep almost as quickly when we finally returned for the night after the events in the forest.
We had crumpled to the forest floor after the battle and did not move for nearly an hour. Once we were able to regain our strength enough to stand, the afternoon was already upon us with the orange tint from the sun just beginning to fade into view.
The clearing that had been the location of our last stand should have been littered with debris and carcassas, were this real life. Instead, every item drop, every experience point, and every piece of Cor had been automatically sorted into our inventories evenly. There was plenty of materials to last me a while through to maybe the second floor, and enough Cor to facilitate a small party for some time as well.
I was also thrilled to find out that I had actually levelled up to level 4. Not exactly worth almost dying for, but it was something.
The most important thing, however, was the item that sat on the midst of everything else.
The Little Nepent's Ovule. The item we nearly lost our lives to retrieve, was ours.
There was no major celebration, no cheering, no excitement. We were completely DRAINED.
We weakly shared a single high-five and began the slow walk back to town, where we opted for sleep rather than completing the quest just yet.
I tilted my head towards where the smaller girl lay slumbering peacefully. I didn't have the heart to wake her just yet, and instead just took in the sight of her sleeping form. It reminded me how Eila and I would pass out after a long night of games and movies growing up. It was strange how even in this death game there was a sense of familiarity that could be found.
It made me smile as I quietly rose to my feet, my virtual body yearning for something to fill itself. That reminds me, I need to stock up on supplies today. Better add that to my list during breakfast.
I silently left the room and went down to the lobby. Surprisingly, there was actually a few other patrons sitting around the dining area today. It wouldn't be long until most of the determined players swarmed the town and took on the quest. That means my time here was almost up, I needed to stay ahead of the main group if I wanted to keep my advantage.
Geez. I was starting to sound like a true Beater now, not that the term existed yet.
I made my way up to the innkeeper to pay her the Cor needed for a couple rolls of bread and some water. Before I closed the shop window, however, I noticed an extra item that wasn't there before.
It was labeled Read Me Hiro, which took me by surprise. The item itself was free, and seemed to be little more than a piece of paper. I accepted the costless item immediately and sat down at my usual table.
I materialized a bread roll and some water before opening the curious item. I took a bite of my breakfast and began reading.
[Dear "Hiro",
I hope this message gets to you without trouble. I left it here in hopes that you would get it before you wandered off again. Seriously, can you calm down with the recklessness a bit? I nearly had a heart attack today when I saw your HP go below 20 percent. I practically went and announced to Kayaba that I can access the system like that, and he oh-so-easily locked me away from admin access again.
I'll try and help when I can, but every time I find a hole in the system, it gets blocked out almost as quickly. I'm still able to make minor adjustments at least, like writing this message to you. But I won't be able to help you again like I did before, not for a while anyways.
...that reminds me. I probably don't have to warn you about this, but…
Due to the severity of the situation and my lack of control over the machine… death is a very real issue. To put it simply, your mind is basically floating inside the machine, like data. And, well, if the system was given a reason to delete you... it could.
I'm sorry... I guess I lied when I said that it was only a game.
It feels like forever since the machine locked your mind inside SAO. I'm loaded up to my nose with reports and inquiries about the malfunction that I haven't been able to even leave the lab to sleep.
Not that I want to. I won't leave until I can get you out of there, I even made a bed to sleep on using one of the old gurney's so I can keep an eye on you.
Also, I made it so that if you sell a written message labelled "To Eila" at any shop, it'll be redirected to my console so I can see it. I really want to hear from you. Mom and dad do too.
So please… don't die.
If you're mad about the whole thing, I understand. But please…
Don't die.
-Eila
]
Don't die…
Since I was trapped in this game over a week ago, I had a feeling that death could be a very real thing for me, even being from a different reality than what it was.
But for some reason, those words struck a chord in my heart that made the feeling of fear well up inside my chest.
The fear of death.
I hadn't been afraid to die, not like I was now, for as long as I could recall. What's worse, was that there were people on the other side waiting for me to wake up from this dream I was trapped in. Or perhaps, it really was a nightmare.
One I might be trapped in for two years.
I thought of Lisbeth, the girl who, since I met her two days ago, was nothing more than a character in a story that was made for my enjoyment.
Now though, I was no more real than she. I was simple ones and zeros in a game that could kill me like it was nothing.
I gripped my head in my hands as I slumped over, letting the note fall to the table alongside my forgotten meal. I didn't know what I was going to do anymore.
"Hiro-san..."
I looked up, finding none other than Lisbeth's worried face staring across from me. It hurt to look into those eyes of hers. I had nearly gotten her killed as well, and yet she stayed.
She placed an arm on my shoulder hesitantly as she took a seat at the table. Her hand was warm, making it seem even harder to think of her as anything but real.
She smiled gently, trying to silently cheer me up.
I smiled back and rubbed my eyes, rubbing any essence of tears from my eyes before looking back at her again.
I had made it a week no problem, what was another couple years… okay, that was a bit of a stretch, but I guess it helped knowing that I had Eila to watch my back from the outside.
Lisbeth's hand fell from my shoulder as I opened my window and materialized the food I had gotten for her as well. She smiled brightly.
"Arigato gozaimasu!" she thanked before digging into the food. It was a shame they didn't taste that great, and she was probably only trying to cheer me up even more by doing so.
I patiently waited as she finished her meal, placing the message from Eila into my inventory and filling in my to-do list of things-to-do. Mainly consisting of finishing the quest and buying a stock of supplies for the road ahead.
Lisbeth let out a sigh of content and leaned back in her chair.
I chuckled and stood to my feet, "Come on. We've got a quest to complete."
I practically had to drag the small future-blacksmith behind me all the way to the quest-giver's house.
-========EEEEEEEE###########_
We handed in the quest with no problem, though I was a little hesitant to do so at first.
We had walked in and interacted with the woman, who immediately started thanking us profusely for everything we had done, handing over the Anneal Blade as the quest reward. We earned some extra Exp and Cor as well, which was graciously accepted.
Lisbeth immediately refused the sword when I offered for her to take it, shoving it back into my chest in emphasis. I guess she couldn't really do anything with it, her being a hammer wielder after all. So I decided I would just use it as materials for a new weapon, whenever I decided what it would be.
After giving us our reward, the woman opened a door to the side of the room. Lisbeth and I shared a look before following, though I was pretty sure I knew what was inside.
Laying on a bed as we peered in, near the middle of the small room, was a young girl. Her pale complexion emphasized the severity of her illness. I felt Lisbeth bump against my shoulder as she made her way to the side of the bed. I stepped off to the side, watching as the caring mother lifted a spoonful of the medicinal concoction that we had help make to the poor girl's mouth.
At first, nothing happened, and I could see the look of despair hint at the edges of Lisbeth and the mother's faces.
Though after a few seconds, the girl's eyes opened and wandered over to the side of the bed.
"M… Mommy…"
The mother choked back a sob and reached out to embrace her daughter, who was finally showing some signs of recovery.
"I'm so happy you're feeling better." She said, tears appearing in her eyes.
I fought back tears of my own, instead smiling at the happy reunion unfolding before me. Lisbeth didn't fare as well, and her face was already filled with tears of happiness.
When the two finally parted, the young girl turned to look at Lisbeth curiously.
The mother gestured to the two of us, "These travellers were kind enough to help make you feel better sweetie." The young girl smiled.
"Thank you… very much." She spoke softly, just loud enough for me to hear.
Lisbeth said something in Japanese in return and gave the child a hug as well. I chuckled and walked up beside the, ruffling the young girl's hair as well.
"We were more than happy to help." I said.
Soon, Lisbeth and I were back on the town road, having said our farewells to the happy family.
Having completed the quest at long last, it was time to go shopping. And boy, did we have PLENTY of Cor to work with. After all of the events during the quest as well as the reward itself, I was set up with a sweet 1,834 Cor. Not exactly a fortune, but much better off than what I had started with at the beginning of the quest.
"Hiro-san..."
I looked over at Lisbeth who was currently walking beside me on the way to the town's shop.
"What's up?" I asked.
Lisbeth stopped, causing me to cease walking as well as I awaited her reply. She shuffled her feet back and forth a little bit while her face seemed to twist into one of concentration. After a moment she looked up at me, a tinge of red just visible on her cheeks.
"Th… Th-ah-nk… Ye-ou."
Thank you.
I felt my face heat up a bit. Dammit, why did all of the girls in this show have to be so adorable at times?!
The determined look on her face only added to the effect it had on me, and I had to force my mind to focus on saying something back before I looked even more like a baka.
"It- It was nothing." I smiled, causing a huge grin to appear on Lisbeth's face as well.
The two of us shared a friendly hug, with her head just barely reaching my chin, before we made our way to our next destination.
-========EEEEEEEE###########_
Next time on, 'A Machine Between Worlds'...
"Whoa- This thing weighs a TON!"
[I might have a small solution to your language problem.]
"Thank you all for showing up today. My name is Diabel."
"Diabel dies during the boss raid. I can stop it from happening."
[You can't go playing with the timeline like this.
You might just make things worse than they already are!]
"I'm going to show you the true meaning of fear, just you wait."
"This wasn't how it was supposed to happen… What have I done?"
Next time… 'When You Challenge Fate'
...END