2X2 Swords by Kirito'sDarkRepulser
A/N: Yes, I know I'm taking FOREVER to update but I don't really get any spare time at all. In the meantime, enjoy the second chapter
A/N #2:No, they are meeting Asuna yet. They will soon though.
A/N #3: Whenever I feel like, there will be a stats update so that people know the approximate strength of characters in the story
Stats Update:
Kirito: Level 6, 1400HP
Ryuken: Level 6 1400HP
Chapter 2: First Encounter
Floor 1: Entrance to the Dungeon
The metallic sound of Anneal Blades crashing could be heard from a metre away if anyone bothered to listen. The creatures of the forest had long since fled considering that this was the 3rd hour of Kirito and Ryuken's Dual Blades training.
Double Circular, Double Vertical (with both hands), Double Slant…
It was quite obvious that Kirito had the upper hand in this particular duel. The score was 9-9, and this would be the final battle before they took a break. That was until Max suddenly smiled.
'Let's try this one now…" Starburst Stream!
Floor 1: Entrance to Tolbana, After 10 hours of Solid Grinding
A/N: For those who are not familiar with terms like grinding used in games. Grinding is continually gaining experience by doing the same thing repetitively many times. It is generally done in medium-low to medium-high risk conditions to gain experience and, obviously, to level up
"You cheated, I would've won that" complained Kirito who had the face of a child who had just been denied candy.
"I always keep my trump cards until last. That is the only difference."
Kirito pouted. "You just don't want to admit that without Starburst Stream, I'm the better warrior by FAR."
"It's not like you don't have that skill or anything… you just don't use it"
"For your benefit"
"Liar"
Unfortunately for the duo, they hadn't noticed that area around them had just turned red and that a mini-boss was standing in their way.
"Ouch" A typical reaction for crashing into a monster that probably had slightly more than double your defence.
They looked up and instantly smelt the foul stench coming from within the monster's mouth.
The Wild Boar Lord.
Instead of getting scared and attempting to run away like normal players would if they encountered a mini boss, Max and Kirito grinned. After all, this was the perfect opportunity to test how good Dual Wielding really was.
If one decided to listen close enough, they would hear two simultaneous whispers of the Dual Blade skills.
"Starburst Stream"
The Wild Boar Lord seemed to be stunned, as if it didn't expect any sort of Dual Blades skill. Of course, Dual Blades wasn't just any skill so it was to be expected. But…
With surprisingly fast reaction, the Wild Boar Lord adapted to the new situation, preparing for another Dual Blade attack. The trouble for it though, was that it didn't have NEARLY enough equipment of any sort to be able to counter 2 Dual Wielders (probably not much can).
Kirito lashed out with Vorpal Strike which Max was about to copy when suddenly he felt something new, as if he was losing control over his virtual body. By now, Wild Boar Lord had lost 2 of its 4 bars of HP.
Max's blades glowed blue. A dangerous blue. The blue of a skill which should require lv 500 of a skill type to use. An ultimate skill.
"MOVE, KIRITO!" That was the first thought. Whatever this skill does, if it hits Kirito, he would almost definitely die.
Kirito raised his eyebrows and almost instantly understood when he also saw the blades. He used Flash Step, a lv15 sprint skill which allows instant movement within 3 metres.
The sky seemed to turn black for a moment. Darkness surrounded the whole area. Max closed his eyes. He raised his swords.
"THE ECLIPSE" His eyes flashed open again. The system dragged his body into an unfamiliar sword skill. A whirlwind of slashes continued relentlessly striking the boss. After 10 seconds, Max had stopped counting the number of attacks in the skill. There were just too many. It seemed like a skill which only ended the moment your enemy died.
Despite the situation, he glanced at Kirito. Kirito's eyes were the size of dinner plates and his jaw had decided to drop to the ground. He then checked the mini-boss's HP. He adopted the same expression.
After another few seconds, which felt a LOT longer than it lasted. A definite concluding motion was made and the skill had finally finished. The reward screen appeared in front of him.
"27…" it was barely a whisper but Max had heard it.
"What?"
"27-hit combo skill. What was it called again?"
"The Eclipse"
"A name worthy of such a long-lasting and dangerous skill"
A long moment passed.
"Hey…" Kirito was slightly startled at the sudden speech.
"Do you want to create a guild with me?"
"…What?"
"Do you want to create a guild with me?"
"Umm…."
"You'll be guild leader because I'm not good at management and those kinds of things…"
"What would we call it?"
"Um… how about Shadow Swordsmen?"
"Hm… I don't like the name but I can't think of anything better so I say let's do it."
A little while later… Torubana
"There, finally registered as an official guild of 2"
"Who would've thought that registering a guild in a game would be so official?"
"A 2-man guild? Could it be that you guys are looking for more members? If so, can I please join?" A blonde man who looked in his mid-twenties had appeared behind the duo and looked really excited.
"Sorry, but we aren't looking for any members…"
The man didn't seem satisfied with the answer.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS? A 2-MAN GUILD NOT RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS? WHAT IN AINCRAD IS THAT LOGIC? WHAT'S MORE, YOU GUYS ARE SO YOUNG YOU COULDN'T BE OLDER THAN 15, YOU NEED AN ADULT'S HELP TO SURVIVE IN THIS GAME"
"Umm… sir… everyone's staring at us…"
It was the truth. Literally EVERYONE within a 10 metre radius was staring at the duo being scolded by a man who was probably a stranger to the pair. Whispers started between players.
There was both criticism
"Seriously? A 2-man guild which isn't recruiting? In a death game like this?"
"What arrogant kids. Carrying around 2 swords each…"
And praise
"A 2-man guild? Wow… they must be SO strong… probably past level 4 already…"
"2 swords? So brave… defying the system and not using the set sword skills"
"Wait… aren't those Anneal Blades? Wow… I thought that quest could only be done once but it looks like they decided to repeat that suicidal quest and made it out alive"
After another few moments, everyone returned to what they were doing before and the blonde man continued interrogating our golden duo.
"C'mon, what level are you guys? I'm level 3 (almost 4) and proud of it. You can't say no now, can you? You guys look level 2 or 3 to me. What level are you guys?"
Max didn't know what suddenly sparked inside him. He wanted to reveal his true level and shut this guy up for the next few hours. It seemed like Kirito had the same idea in mind and had already started speaking.
"I'm level 7, I have 1600 HP"
Max smirked for a brief moment, but Kirito, with his pride as a beta-tester on the line as well as most likely being older that his partner, caught the smirk and instantly glared at his fellow dual-wielder.
"I'm just barely level 8, I have 1750 HP"
The amount of shock the blonde man received was probably close to the same amount Klein received when he learnt that Kirito and Asuna were in a party together.
"HOW IN AINCRAD ARE YOU GUYS LEVEL 7?!"
If the last one caught everyone's attention within a 10 metre radius, this probably caught the attention of everyone in Torubana, if not some of the people in the outskirts as well.
Max and Kirito gritted their teeth. The blonde had done it now. They were most certainly going to reduce his HP to single digits until he had sold all of his gear and was 1 Col away from bankruptcy. That was actually quite a small price to pay considering the amount of shame they would receive for people calling them cheaters.
Surprisingly enough, the blonde man's future was spared when many people started voicing their approval of such high-level children.
*Whistle*
"Wow, you guys must be hard workers; it explains why you guys keep to yourselves and why you guys have 2 Anneal Blades each"
"How long do you grind? 10 hours a day? That must be true commitment."
"It's nice to see such young boys showing such manly qualities"
The Inn which Kirito and Max are staying in
"Well, good night, see you tomorrow at the same time?"
"Yeah"
"WAIT"
A cloaked figure has stopped our favourite duo from finishing off this chapter. She had 3 red whiskers on both cheeks and was breathing pretty heavily.
"Who are you?" asked Kirito
"I'm Argo aka The Rat. I sell information at cheap prices and buy it at high prices. I can give you more information than any information booklet can and will tell you anything as long as you can afford my services."
"What do you want from us?"
"Well, 2 things. First, I want to make a deal. It's a deal I don't make with most people and you guys should be considered lucky that I have decided to offer you it. I call it the Equal Questions Deal. Second, I want to add you two both to my friends list assuming you guys accept the deal"
"Equal Questions Deal?" our golden pair were confused.
"Have my ways not travelled to your ears yet? Equal Questions Deal is when I ask you a question and you answer to the best of your ability and then we do vice-versa. If you don't have anything you want to ask, then that question is simply wasted and you cannot save it. If you want to know something and I don't need any information from you, you either leave without knowing or you pay the full price for the information."
"Should we?"
"It seems pretty unfair…"
"But there are certain advantages to doing so…"
"I admit that too… so… for now…"
"We accept"
Argo grinned. Our favourite duo friended Argo.
"Well then, I'll be leaving, have a good night. Please remember I could ask you for information at LITERALLY any time." And she disappeared into the city.
A/N: If this chapter looks rather awkward to you, that is because I wrote this in the span of 2 weeks, in which I lost inspiration half-way through.
A/N #2: The Encounter was supposed to be about Heathcliff but then I decided it was slightly too early to introduce him and made it about a mini-boss instead. I needed to introduce Argo because I have big plans for Argo in the later chapters (related to the Equal Questions Deal)
A/N #3: Thank you for reading until this point, I must admit, I update REALLY slowly and English isn't exactly a subject I excel at. I can understand if you readers have a LOT of criticism for me
A/N #4: Last A/N, PLEASE do me a favour, review this story because I have no idea what people think of it (it could be that I didn't allow comments, if that is the case, please someone PM me so that I can learn how to allow comments)
Until next time
Kirito'sDarkRepulser