[ Begin A/N ]
This chapter will be the first of my attempts to change or add things that I think would improve the story a bit (in this case, to bring Klein into the story like he deserves). Expect to see more of Klein (our lord and savior). I also used him as a handy method to explain some of the game mechanics as I imagine them, and went a bit more in-depth with how basic fighting mechanics are done. Long story short, unlike the anime, I intend for the game mechanics to actually matter in this fanfiction, or at least have some bearing in how the story is told, since I think the anime missed a lot of the cool reality of "holy crap this is a game" and skimped on a lot of the awesome details that the LNs included with regards to how SAO actually works.
I also want to reiterate that this meant to be a fanfiction fixing problems with the anime. The second part of this chapter is an adaptation of part of one of the light novels, "The First Day." As I mentioned in the first A/N, the LNs don't particularly interest me as reading material, so I just read a summary of "The First Day" and wrote my own interpretation of it based on what I read. If you want to find out how it actually went down, I heavily encourage you to read the LNs. I'm going to say this pretty much every chapter, because I really want to hammer home that my goal isn't to create a clone of the LNs, but rather my own take on the series in text form while perhaps bringing some psuedo-LN material to people that have trouble with it like I do.
Writing this chapter was a lot more enjoyable than the last chapter, because I actually got to use my imagination instead of the first chapter which was effectively transcribing SAO Episode 1 into text form. Hopefully it's also more enjoyable to read (since the first chapter is rather dull if you've watched the anime), and hey, here's to it getting better from here on out!
[ End A/N ]
As Klein approached the plaza, part of him regretted returning—it was complete chaos. Confusion and depression reigned, and Klein figured that a large portion of the players present had already resigned themselves to their fate. Gritting his teeth, he resolved to make sure that his friends weren't among the players that had already decided to die.
His eyes scanned over the crowd, looking for his friends. The mirror item Kayaba had provided would make sure he recognized them, but with so many people here, it was almost impossible to pick any one person out of the crowd.
"Damn," Klein thought. "If only I'd stuck around long enough to add them as friends before going off with Kirito, this would be so much easier…"
An idea occurred to Klein all at once. Though it might attract some unwanted attention, he quickly decided it was his only real option. He unsheathed his sword and held it up into the air, calling upon a sword skill as he had done earlier versus the boars. As Klein had hoped, the sword began to glow a bright red, preparing the skill necessary to strike. But striking was not his intention—instead, he kept the sword hoisted above him and walked through the crowd.
The intimidating display of a sword ready to attack caused many to move out of his way on their own, while others simply looked in awe, not understanding how he had made his sword glow. Klein knew through Kirito's explanations about combat mechanics that his sword attacks wouldn't do anything where he was; all towns were known as Safe Zones, and player characters could not be attacked by other players in them, save for duels. He simply used the glowing red sword as a beacon… hopefully it would draw the attention of who he was looking for.
"Is that him…?" he heard from behind. "It is! Guys, I found him!"
Klein whirled around to find the source of the call, and was greeted with the familiar faces of his five friends. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's damn well near a miracle you found me," he said to the gathered group. "I guess my sword really did work. It's good to see you all're alright."
"Hey, you're not getting off that easy, Ryo—err, Klein!" the one in the lead said. "We'd been waiting for hours! Eventually we just gave up and explored the city a bit, but then we ended up back here like everyone else…"
Klein sighed again and nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said. "I met this guy before all of you logged on and he was teaching me how to play." Klein's eyes quickly shot over all of his friends, taking in their character names. Issin, Harry One, Dale, Dynamm, Kunimittz. He'd need to remember them, because referring to each other by real name would get start to get confusing.
Issin, the one who had initially called over the rest, spoke up. "Is that how you made your sword glow?"
Realizing he was still holding his sword, Klein quickly sheathed it and reached to scratch the back of his head. "Yeah, he taught me how to do that, but it's more of a game mechanic, really. It's called a sword skill."
"A sword skill, huh?" Issin asked. "Is this guy you met still around? Maybe he can teach us, too."
Klein looked down at the ground. "No, sorry," he said. "He went off on his own. He prefers staying solo."
Dale was next to enter the conversation. "What? A solo player when his life's on the line? You should've just dragged him with yo—"
"Don't you think I wanted to?" Klein interrupted, looking up from the ground at his friends. "But I didn't. He's a damn good player, we'd probably just drag him down anyway. I'd have gone with him, but I came back to help you guys."
Dale crossed his arms. "Good to know at least someone cares about us."
"Hey!" Klein yelled, catching his friends by surprise. "You haven't even met the guy! His name's Kirito, and he's a better guy than you give him credit for. It's just something… you have to get to know him to understand."
Issin stepped forward to change the subject. "Well, what's done is done. I think we have bigger problems, like how none of us know what to do and are as good as dead if we mess it up."
With abruptly newfound confidence, Klein pointed to himself. "That's where I come in!" he exclaimed. "Kirito might have left, but I still know what he taught me. Just leave it to me!"
"Klein being the one to teach us?" Dynamm remarked, chuckling. "That's something new."
"Hey, shut up!" Klein said, but he soon cracked into laughing, and his friends joined him soon after. "Ha! Yeah, it is weird, isn't it?"
After a few moments of laughter, the group sobered up to the reality of the situation. Everyone's gaze settled on Klein. "So where to first?" Issin asked.
Klein scratched his chin in thought. "Hmm… did you all get weapons while you were exploring the city?"
Each of them shook their heads. "Nope. We didn't even find a good weapons vendor," Issin admitted.
With a slight laugh, Klein waved his friends over to the plaza exit. "Ha! I had the same problem. Kirito showed me where to get some good ones. Here, come with me," he said.
After a few glances at each other, the group decided there was nothing to lose and walked closely behind Klein, carefully making their way through the crowd and making sure they kept sight of one another. By now, the town center had calmed down—at least compared to what it had been. A large portion of the players headed to inns or vendors to stock up and rest for the night, while a small minority had entirely left the city in the same vein as Kirito. As they exited the plaza, Klein led them right down a street lined by massive buildings of pure white stone—a temple, houses of all sizes, an inn. More importantly, however, the cobblestone road led them to an open-air market.
Once Klein laid eyes on the dozens of vendors scattered through the market, he broke into a brisk walk. "We're here, guys," he said. "Let's hurry it up."
Behind him, Issin raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? There are weapon vendors here? I figured it was all food and drinks like most open-air markets are…"
Klein looked behind him and grinned. "You just need to know where to look, my friend."
Though it was nighttime, the market was packed with a variety of players hoping to stock up on supplies. Most of them, however, hadn't spotted a particular vendor in the far corner of the market, obscured by the lack of lighting in that corner. As Klein proudly approached the vendor, his friends hesitated.
"You sure, man?" Dale asked. "This looks shady."
"Oh, come on!" Klein said. "This is the beginning town, and it's where Kirito made me buy my sword! How bad can it possibly be?"
Despite multiple frowns, the group soon followed their red-haired leader and opened trade with the vendor.
"Welcome to my shop," the vendor said in what was almost a whisper. "Find anything you like and I'll see what I can do."
"Alright!" Klein abruptly said, causing his friends' eyes to turn from the vendor to him. "You guys know how weapons in this game work, right?"
Each of them shook their heads and Klein hung his head. "Jeez… I think I know how Kirito felt right about now…"
"Ooh, I like the look of this spear," Kunimittz said.
"Hold it!" Klein yelled, once again drawing his friends' attention. "Before you buy anything, let me explain to you what Kirito explained to me! Listen up…"
"Pretty much all the combat in Sword Art is done with melee weapons," Klein started, holding up his hand as he did. "There are a few different types." Counting off with his fingers, he started listing them. "Most common are the swords, which get divided into straight swords, curved swords, and rapiers. Straight swords are the jack-of-all-trades type that do pretty much everything well but aren't great at anything. Curved swords hit hard but lose out a bit on speed, and rapiers hit really fast but don't do a lot of damage on each hit. There are two-handed forms of straight and curved swords, too, which hit a lot harder but are a lot slower."
"What about that spear I mentioned?" Kunimittz asked.
"That's with some of the other classes of weapons, all of which are harder to find compared to swords but also have some unique things going for them," Klein explained. "Spears are slow, but they're good for attacking from a distance and get a bonus versus armor. Hey, refresh my memory, what other types of weapons do you see there?"
Issin opened up the shop and his eyes ran over the options. "Uh… axes, maces, daggers…"
With a nod, Klein continued. "Right. Axes only come two-handed, and they're slow as hell but probably the hardest hitting weapons out there. Maces are pretty much sword clones that have their own movesets since they focus on blunt damage instead of piercing or slashing. Daggers aren't too good for open combat, but they also attract less attention, so they're good for sneaking around and having a backup weapon."
"Shields?" Harry asked, reading the last uncovered item he saw.
Klein shrugged. "They're what you'd expect. Normally, you can only carry one weapon at a time, but if you've got a straight sword, you can get a skill to carry a shield with it. You gain a hell of a lot of defense, but while you're walled up behind your shield you can't really do much damage."
All of his friends turned back to the vendor, satisfied with his explanation of how weapons worked. He smiled slightly and gave a mental thanks to Kirito, but quickly realized there was something he had forgotten. "Oh, real quick, guys," he called. "The party system in SAO is perfect for us—maximum of six players, which we've got all right here. But that also means that we should spread out what weapons we're using so we can keep changing it up and cover each other in a fight."
They all nodded their understanding. "I've already got a curved sword," Klein said. "Every group could use some heavy-hitters, like spears or two handers. We could definitely use someone with a shield. Balance it out with me and someone else that can hit fast with a straight sword or something too."
Kunimittz made his decision quickly. "I'll take that spear I was looking at earlier."
Issin followed. "I think I like the axe."
Harry spoke up. "I'll take the shield and a basic straight sword."
Dale was next. "Straight sword for me."
Dynamm finished. "Harry can't be alone on the front lines. I'll take a shield, too," he said.
Klein nodded, and all of them turned toward the vendor to purchase their equipment. The beginning money given to them by the system was just enough for each of them to purchase what they wanted, and after they had all equipped their weapons and played with them a small amount, they all turned back toward Klein.
"So, what now?" Dale asked.
Truthfully, Klein didn't know what to do next. He shrugged. "It's up to you guys. We could go out there and train a bit, or call it a day until tomorrow."
Harry abruptly interrupted. "Wait… I've got this shield, sure, but what about armor?"
After a moment of staring incredulously, Klein brought his hand to his forehead with a loud thump. "Dammit! I forgot about armor! Alright, it's pretty simple," he began. "The game starts us all out with some basic leather armor—it's light but doesn't protect against much. There are two types of metal armor: light metal—which is sort of like chainmail and is a bit heavier than leather but also protects more—and heavy metal, which is usually plate. It weighs a lot but also provides the best protection. Kirito said that most people go for light metal since it's a nice compromise between the two, not slowing you down too much while also giving you good protection. People with shields are usually the heavy metal users since they're up close and personal."
"So, uh… where do we get it?"
Klein awkwardly smiled. "Yeah, well, like I said, we start out with basic leather armor. There's an armor vendor over there, but those weapons you just bought may or may not have used up too much money to be able to afford new armor…"
Harry groaned. "Are you serious, Klein? We need to go out and get more money before we can buy some decent armor?"
Raising his hands in pseudo-surrender, Klein laughed nervously. "Hey, it didn't cross my mind! The leather armor you start with should be fine to begin with, anyway. It's what Kirito was using."
Issin narrowed his eyes. "He also apparently knows what he's doing way more than we do."
"Don't worry about it," Klein said. "We've got advantage in numbers, at least at the beginning. We can back each other up."
His group of friends let out a collective sigh. "Alright, fine," Issin said. "We'll handle the armor later. Back to what we should do for the night…"
All eyes rested on Klein. Though he wanted to say outright he wasn't sure what to do, he remembered something he heard from Kirito. "First come, first serve," he had said. That's why he had rushed off.
With a sigh, Klein met his friends' gazes. "Alright, it's important we get a head start on everyone else. According to Kirito, a lot of things in MMOs like these are on a first come, first serve deal. Getting to other places early on will be better for us in the long run."
"So… we're going to the next town?" Issin asked.
"That's the plan, yeah," Klein responded. "I know you guys aren't sure how combat works, but the enemies around the Town of Beginnings are easy practice. We'll get the hang of it pretty fast, then we can get moving."
"And what do we do after that?"
Klein grinned. "I have absolutely no idea," he proclaimed proudly.
His friends stared blankly at him. "You seem pretty happy being so clueless," Dale observed.
"Well, this is pretty much it," Klein said. "Kirito taught me a lot about how the game works, but not about how to actually play it. We'll have to figure that out as we go along, like everyone else. We've got good information to go on, but that's about it. From here on out, I'm just as clueless as you guys."
Issin laughed. "Good, because I don't think I could handle you leading us for very long…"
"Yo, not cool, man!" Klein yelled, but his cry was drowned out by the rowdy laughter of his companions. He hung his head awkwardly.
With a clap of his hand on Klein's back, Issin halted the laughter and smiled. "I kid, I kid," he started. "I think it's about time you step up to the plate. Lead the way."
Klein looked up and noticed all of his friends smiling at him. His confidence swelled at their encouragement, and he quickly stood up with his chin held high.
"Alright, our band of idiots leaves now! Let's beat the hell out of this game!"
Kirito trudged past the simple wooden sign marking his entrance to the Village of Horunka and breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally here," he thought. His eyes scanned around the village for somewhere to sit, as his legs were nearly ready to give out from under him after the long run here. A nearby bench came into view and he rushed over to it and let out an exasperated gasp as he sat down and relieved his tired legs. Kicking his feet upward and allowing his head to fall sideways, he laid down on the bench and closed his eyes for a few moments in thought.
"Alright, I made it to the first village safely. They must have upped the difficulty from the beta... there were way more monsters on the way than I remember."
He flicked his hand and opened the player menu to take a look at his skills so far. From the monsters he had killed, his One-Handed Sword proficiency had increased considerably. His baseline Sword Skill, Slant, which directed his sword in a diagonal slash, had quickly found itself supplemented by Horizontal and Vertical, slicing sideways and upwards respectively. These were the three basic Sword Skills that most other skills were born from, and combos relied on executing a series of these simple directional attacks quickly and effectively. Though these were the only three skills Kirito had come to know so far, he knew quite a few more that he should learn sooner rather than later. Just directional slashes weren't enough; he needed dashes, leaps, and acrobatic moves as well. And given that he refused to use a shield, the Parry skill was a must.
But skills, no matter how strong, were useless without a proper weapon with which to use them. He had remembered while practicing with Klein that, during the beta, there was a quest in this village that rewarded one of the best early blades in the game. Given its importance for early success, however, Kirito had no doubt that others would rush to this area and slow him down as they did the quest themselves. It was imperative that he get the blade as soon as possible so he could worry about leveling his skills properly.
With that in mind, Kirito sat up on the bench and began examining his surroundings. It was still nighttime, given that it had only taken him a few hours to get here with few rest stops. Torches were lit around the village, illuminating its small, spacious nature. Wooden houses were dotted around the dirt roads of the village, and in the middle of town was the inn and market for those who were passing through. Kirito doubted the market here sold anything better than he already had, and sleeping in the inn would waste precious time.
With a blink, his black eyes shined a dim green as he scanned the town for the telltale signs of a questgiver. From a distance, he could just barely make out the faint glow of a question mark floating above an NPC's head. "That must be it," he thought. Pushing his legs to hold him once again, Kirito stood up and walked down the street to the house holding the questgiver.
His polite knock on the door was hastily answered by a woman with short auburn hair wearing a simple white dress. She looked him over momentarily, then smiled. "Please, come in," she said softly.
Fully aware that this was a scripted quest introduction, Kirito accepted her invitation and stepped through the doorway. The inside of her home was as nondescript as the outside, largely being composed of simple wooden furniture with a small kitchen complete with a stove and a dining room with a tiny round table sat upon a woven carpet, heated by the nearby stone fireplace. The only thing that implied the house was bigger than he saw was a closed door on the edge of the dining room.
"Make yourself at home," the woman said. "Would you like some water? I apologize, but that's about all I can offer."
"Water is fine, thank you," Kirito responded. As the woman shuffled over to the kitchen to pour him a glass, he noticed a steaming pot on the stove and raised an eyebrow. "So what is that for, then?" he wondered to himself. Kirito sat himself at the table near the fireplace and was soon joined by the woman, who offered him the glass of water.
As he took a sip, Kirito heard a fit of coughing from behind the door at the room's edge.
"Excuse me," the woman said as she rushed over to the door, opened it and eased her way in silently, closing it behind her. The coughing died down gradually, and before long, the woman emerged once more and sat down across from Kirito at the table.
"I do apologize, but I fear my daughter is deathly ill," the woman said. "She is in constant need of my attention."
"Well, I guess that's my cue," Kirito thought. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said to the woman. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
The woman pursed her lips. "I've tried every medicine offered around the marketplace; nothing works. The local apothecary said something about a healing flower that grows in the forest nearby, but it is a savage place inhabited by monsters and I am hardly capable of looking for the flower myself."
"I'm not worried about monsters. I could get the flower for you," Kirito offered.
She looked up at him with a newfound light in her eyes. "Truly? Thank you so much! I have little to offer you as thanks, save for a sword passed down in my family for generations. For saving my child and allowing that legacy to continue, I would gladly offer such a weapon."
Kirito gave a small smirk at his good luck. "That's more than enough of a reward," he said. "I accept."
The woman bowed her head. "Again, I cannot thank you enough! The forest is nearby, to the west. Please be careful; you may not be afraid, but the monsters there are nonetheless dangerous. Return safely with the flower and you will have my eternal gratitude, sir!"
Kirito nodded. "Your child will be fine. I'll get the flower and be back before you know it," he boasted. With that, he lifted himself from the chair and walked to the door, escorted by the smiling mother. As he left the house, she waved him good luck and shut the door softly.
"So, you're after the blade, too?" a voice to Kirito's left remarked.
A quick glance on Kirito's part revealed the source of the voice: a figure as tall as Kirito himself and similarly built, but with short brown hair, was learning on the wall to the house directly outside of the entrance. Kirito could swear he recognized the boy from somewhere, but couldn't quite place it. The boy's cocky expression lent itself to some suspicion, but for now, he seemed to be no threat.
"Yeah, what of it?" Kirito responded.
"Oh, nothing. I'm just surprised at how fast you got here. You must have been in quite a hurry. Beta tester, I assume?"
Kirito flinched and opened his mouth to respond, but the boy continued before he could. "Don't worry about me knowing that. I was a beta tester, too. That's why I got here about as fast as you, and why I know you're here too."
"I thought I recognized you from somewhere," Kirito said. "So I saw you in the beta test..."
"Guess so. By the way, my name's Coper."
"Kirito."
Coper lowered the leg he was using to lean on the house's wall and stepped forward. "Alright, then, Kirito," he started, "we're both after the same thing. What say we team up to hurry it along?"
Kirito narrowed his eyes. "Just from the quest details, I figure we're looking for a pretty rare item. You sure you want to share ownership of a rare item?"
Coper shrugged. "Hey, it's better than competing for it. We'll tear through whatever monsters are around faster when we're together. Once one of us gets it, the other sticks around until both of us get it. Shouldn't be too hard."
After giving it a moment's thought, Kirito relented. "Yeah, alright, that makes sense. Let's team up, then." With a swipe of his hand, Kirito opened the menu and navigated to the Social options. With a click of the "Invite to Group" button, he sent his offer to Coper, who accepted as the message appeared.
"Alright, then," Coper said. "Shall we?"
The forest was densely packed with trees many times larger than Kirito himself, and unsurprisingly, the leaves had formed a forest canopy that barely let any light through. Odd shafts of moonlight made it to the ground, but otherwise, the only nearby source of light was the torches Kirito and Coper held. They had entered the forest a few minutes ago, yet it already felt they were in deep enough that Kirito wasn't entirely sure he would be able to run back to the village without getting lost.
Kirito glanced over at Coper, who nodded at him. Both of them then turned in opposite directions, looking at separate sides of the forest. Their eyes flared a dim green as they scanned for any sign of monsters of the quest item they sought, but found nothing.
Coper sighed behind him. "Nothing," he said. "Guess our Tracking skill needs some work."
"Hey, it's a bit early to be worrying about that," Kirito replied. "We've only been here for a day."
"And that's why, even this early on, I already know what skills I need to work on. Tracking would make this much easier."
"It being daytime would help too," Kirito remarked.
"But I'm sure you agree that waiting for a day would be a waste of time."
Kirito turned to Coper, who by now was also facing him, and nodded. "True. Can't say I enjoy the forest at night, though."
To their right, a bush rustled, and within an instant, they had their hands on their swords. Before long, a squirrel revealed itself as the source of the noise, and the two of them relaxed. "I don't think that can kill us," Coper said reassuringly.
Suddenly, the squirrel shot upwards into the air at a speed that defied whatever strength its small size would imply. Squinting slightly, Kirito saw that a vine held the squirrel by its hind leg and was tossing it around in a variety of directions, likely to disorient it. But what was the vine coming from?
It wasn't long until Kirito had his answer. A rustling noise quite similar to the bush from earlier reached his ears, but a deep hum accompanied it, the force of which nearly seeming to shake the ground around Coper and Kirito. From behind the bush slid a disgusting monster that Kirito instantly recognized from the beta as a Nepent. The plantlike hybrid's roots were torn from the ground and used as legs to support its almost comically large white head and mouth that ran down to a thin stem in an array of mismatched proportions that didn't seem physically possible. The Nepent was at least twice Kirito's size and at the top of its head was a bright red sphere, reminiscent of a cherry. Though its size was intimidating, Kirito knew that one wasn't a threat... it was a swarm.
"Alright! Let's get this started!" Coper yelled, jumping into the air.
"Wait, don't!" Kirito called, but it was too late.
Coper executed his attack, something which Kirito recognized as Sonic Leap, to strike from above. His sword glowed a bright green as he swung a Slant attack. With the added force from his leap, he easily cleaved through the Nepent, cutting through the top of its head, including the strange red sphere on top. With a guttural groan, the monster split in two. As its top half fell to the ground, the red sphere exploded, releasing a cloud of strange pink smoke. The Nepent shattered into the air to indicate its defeat, but the smoke remained. Kirito and Coper both covered their noses at the stench.
"What the hell is this?" Coper asked angrily.
"It was a trap," Kirito explained. "These things sometimes have fruit on their heads. If you kill them without dealing with the fruit first, it explodes when they die and releases this stuff."
Kirito caught a glimpse of a grin under the arm covering Coper's face. "Oh, it just smells bad? I'm not worried, then."
"No... it doesn't just smell bad. See, it smells bad to us... but it smells damn good to..."
The deep hum assaulted their ears once again, this time with an intensity that sent Kirito's head spinning. One by one, more Nepents emerged into the torchlight, each attracted to the very particular scent. Before long, they were completely surrounded.
"...them," Kirito finished.
Coper's eyes widened. "This doesn't look good," he said.
Kirito shook his head. "These things are individually weak, but strong as a group. Just don't let yourself get swarmed and you should be fine. Be careful with the ones that look like they have red spheres on their heads and we can get out of here."
"Look, Kirito," Coper said, pointing to a Nepent that looked different from the rest. Instead of having a red sphere or nothing growing on its head, it almost seemed as if a flower was blooming there. "What's that thing?"
He had an inkling of what the flower was, but quickly opened his player menu to make sure. "Those things might be carrying the item we're looking for," Kirito confirmed. "Read the quest. We're looking for a 'Little Nepent's Ovule'... since these things are called Nepents, the ones with flowers on their heads must have some special thing going for them. They probably have a chance of dropping the item."
Coper grinned. "Alright, so this was actually convenient! It brought them to us, eh, Kirito?"
Kirito smiled back. "I definitely wasn't enjoying the search, that's for sure," he said. "Prioritize the ones with flowers, stay clear of the ones with fruits, and we've got this."
"Right on!" Coper yelled, jumping into the fray.
Prepared to make his way into the fight himself, Kirito broke into a sprint. "He had the right idea with that leap strike, but they've got a weak point..." Kirito thought to himself as he rushed toward one of the monstrosities in front of him. Its malformed arms made of thin remnants of leaves and stems swiped at him, and he ducked below the slow, telegraphed attack. With a strong step forward, his sword shined blue for a moment before unleashing a Horizontal strike on the Nepent's thin stem, rendering it unable to support its bulbous head and sending its cumbersome frame crashing to the ground. Not losing his momentum, Kirito followed through with his strike by jumping into the air onto the next Nepent, letting lose a Slant at where its stem was thickest, cutting it clean in half.
Kirito turned to Coper to see him faring much the same, albeit in a far more unnecessarily complicated way of attempting to chop off their different parts, like roots and arms. "Coper!" he called, to which the boy momentarily glanced over to indicate he had heard Kirito. "Their stems are their weak spot! Target them!" Kirito yelled. With a nod to indicate his understanding, Coper advanced upon the next Nepent and proceeded to horizontally slice it in half at the stem.
"Making progress," Kirito thought. "The fruit odor doesn't last forever, we should be able to handle the ones that came so far," he said. A shadow appeared over Kirito and he quickly tumbled to the left to dodge the Nepent's arm slamming attack. Kirito turned around and saw the fruit growing on its head and grit his teeth. Unable to find a way to the top of the monster's head, Kirito quickly adjusted his stance to intimidate it. It swiped its arm at him, which he ducked under. As the arm passed over his head, he grabbed and clung onto it, feigning having been struck by the slow attack. The monster, thinking it had caught its prey, brought Kirito toward its mouth, but at the last second, Kirito used the arm as leverage to leap toward the fruit, severing it from the beast's head and ending its threat. With a Vertical slice down the beast's mouth, he finished the monster itself, leaving its guttural sound as it withered to attract the other Nepents, who could not see, but rather smelled and heard their prey.
Coper and Kirito continued in this fashion of dispatching one Nepent to attract others through dozens of the beasts, until a series of flowered Nepents appeared. Seeing the chance at an item drop, Kirito charged toward them before Coper could react. After quickly severing the stems of two and receiving the loot from the defeated enemies, Kirito realized that one had contained the item he had been looking for.
"Coper! I've got one! You're up next!" he yelled over to his companion.
A grin appeared on the boy's face acknowledging that they were almost done, but then he did something that surprised Kirito. He ran off to the right, into a horde of trapped Nepents with fruits on their heads. "Coper?! What are you doing?!"
As Coper dispatched the Nepents one by one and caused their dying odor to permeate the area, he turned to Kirito and smiled. "Sorry, Kirito... it's nothing personal," he yelled.
Kirito's eyes widened. "Are you crazy?! You might as well be committing suicide by attracting so many of them!"
Coper's smile turned to a devious grin and he became nearly transparent before Kirito's eyes. "I said I knew which skills I wanted to level up, didn't I? Tell me, Kirito, how high is your Hiding skill?"
As Coper disappeared from sight with what could only be described as a maniacal laugh, Kirito yelled back. "Bastard! You're going to let me die for a damn sword?! You can't even hi—"
A Nepent's strike abruptly cut Kirito off, and he ducked to dodge the lumbering monster. With Hiding not being an option, he quickly severed the stem of the nearest Nepent to clear a path as the horde behind him grew. He broke into a frantic sprint, not thinking of whether he was running out of the forest or further into it, but hoping anywhere he ended up would be better than here.
"If he stays and waits... I might have a chance..." Kirito hoped. He could feel his stamina running low, but the sheer will to survive pushed him further until his legs gave out from under him and he tripped over himself, landing face-down on the forest floor.
"Damn... guess I couldn't make it..." he lamented, ready for the Nepents to advance on him. He would try to put up a fight, but he could barely move as it was. Kirito resigned himself to his fate... until he heard screams from the direction he had come.
"No! How the he—" Coper's voice yelled, soon cutting off midsentence to give way to a bloodcurdling scream of pain. There was only silence afterward. Kirito waited for the Nepents' arrival, but they never came. It could have only been that they had forgotten about Kirito in fighting Coper, as Kirito was sure they would have continued to chase him had they not stopped to attack his traitorous companion. Regardless, it was apparent that he would stay alive... if only he could keep moving before other monsters found him.
Reinvigorated by the knowledge that he would live and with his partially regenerated stamina from remaining still for a short while, Kirito brought himself to his feet and pushed himself to walk in the direction he believed the village was. In his fatigue, he nearly blacked out and lost track of time during the walk, but after what could have been no longer than a few minutes, he regained enough awareness of his surroundings to recognize the torchlights of the village. Relief flooded his body and urged him still forward. Though he wanted nothing more than to rest, he couldn't risk delaying the quest until tomorrow, and as such he pushed himself toward the woman's house. Nearly collapsing at the front door, he pounded the wooden frame, hoping the woman would realize it urgently needed to be answered. Sure enough, within a few moments, the door opened and Kirito nearly fell inside at the doorway.
"You're back!" the woman exclaimed. At the sight of Kirito hanging onto consciousness, she gasped. "Oh, are you tired? Please, come in and sit down!"
"Yeah..." Kirito muttered, trudging inside and falling into the chair. The woman quickly placed a glass of water in front of him, which he hastily drank in one large gulp, following it with a gasp of satisfaction.
"Thank you," he said in a whisper, not quite possessing the energy to talk normally. "I found... your flower..." he said, flicking his hand to open his inventory. The flower appeared in his hand, its crimson petals catching the light of the nearby fire to glow a brilliant red. The woman gasped at the sight. She took the delicate flower from him and smiled.
"It is I that should thank you. I will fetch your reward," she said. Reaching behind her to the fireplace, the woman grabbed a small wooden box which Kirito had initially assumed was a footstool. She placed it on the table in front of him, revealing to him that the box was a masterpiece of woodwork with perfect, delicate wooden carvings outlining all edges of the chest. After unhinging and unlocking the box, she opened it to reveal a brilliant silver sword with a pitch black onyx hilt.
"This blade has been passed down the Anneal family for generations," she began, "and you have proven yourself more than worthy of possessing it. Thank you again, brave hero."
The sight of the blade returned Kirito to some semblance of consciousness, and he lifted it out of its back and smiled. "It's heavier than I expected. I like it," he said. His eyes shifted from the blade to the woman as he lifted himself out of the seat to leave. "I hope your daughter feels better," he said.
She simply nodded and smiled as he shambled out and closed the door behind him.
"One room..." Kirito whispered to the innkeeper, slamming down all the money he had on the counter. The innkeeper raised an eyebrow and counted up Kirito's change.
"This is enough for one night, mister," he said to Kirito.
"That's all I'll need. Thank you," he responded, walking up the stairs to the room that had automatically been assigned to him.
Kirito opened the door and collapsed into a nearby bed with no regard for undressing or even taking his sword off. Though he knew he was tired enough to let the darkness take him at any moment, something ate at his mind, preventing sleep from consuming him.
"That kid... died. Idiot thought he could hide from monsters that don't even use sight..." He frowned at the thought. No matter how much he may have deserved it, Coper's screams would no doubt haunt Kirito's dreams for a while yet. It was the first death he had experienced since Sword Art Online's true purpose had been revealed, and it was more harrowing than he expected. Not only had he been betrayed, he had almost died as well.
Kirito took a few moments to wonder whether Coper had believed that dying in the game actually meant dying in real life. Though he found it hard to believe himself, the price for being wrong and dying from being careless was too high. It was far safer to assume dying was the final price... but Coper had left Kirito to die as if he was just a stepping stone. And despite it all, Kirito couldn't bring himself to hate Coper for it; was he so different, preferring to remain solo, abusing his beta knowledge to outwit everyone else? Briefly, Coper's dying screams rang again in Kirito's ears and he pulled the bed pillow over his head to drown them out. "Whether he thought I would die or not, he's gone now... for good," he thought. "And it could've just as easily been me..."
As Kirito's thoughts considering his own mortality twisted and turned in his head, he finally allowed his fatigue to take him on the way to what was undoubtedly a haunting series of nightmares... as the result of his first day in Sword Art Online.
