AN: Right, I just re-checked some information and it turns out you get three stat points per level so the redone status is-
Level 5
STR: 8, AGI:13, VIT: 6
FYI, Kirito's level was Level 19 by the end of the first floor. Naturally, my SAO Avatar won't reach that high. MP will only change drastically at the INT 50 threshold. As for Kirito's harem, canonically it was Asuna, Leafa and Sinon post Alicization I think… I may swap things around depending on what you guys suggest in the reviews. From the video game I will probably introduce Rain at some point so that her sister can be part of events after SAO. Tell me how much you guys want to time-skip through after this boss battle.
Critical hits are weaker the higher level you get unless there are special items to compensate so the SI isn't that OP around mid-game wise. That said, swords will break and fighting is reserved for raids and Kirito's HAX mode. Some part of me isn't sure how much fantasy or crossover elements I want to mash in, but I decided to stick with The Gamer's world for now including the Abyss Auction. The ALO arc might or might not go in a similar fashion... but that's not your problem as Yuna's father mentored Sugou and he's at least a little bit grateful you know. Drop rates can only get you so far as stats is still King... meaning Kirito is King.
Thank you all very much for your support and questions! Thanks guests, AuraAngeloid, Saint and everyone else! Do let me know whether I am going to fast and need to focus more on the character's interaction and thoughts, all right? See ya soon!
The Counter-Gamer and The Diva
"You do realise that I'm older than you by almost half your age, right?"
"Is that so?"
"What do you mean 'Is that so?' I literally told you I'm 22 and you're 16."
"So?"
"Just because you're cute doesn't mean you can get away with stupid answers."
"Uhuhu, a mean adult is calling me stupid!"
Bloody hell, it's like dealing with my sarcastic best friend, my mother and my sister combined into one person… my dad as well if you include his obviously fake 'Boohoohoo! My son is so mean/grown up now he doesn't want hugs anymore!', in which I promptly gave in for more family hugs.
Not that I ever disliked them, I like them… but not in public.
"Is this some secret life lesson Japanese females teach males about? The whole, you can't win an argument with a woman without looking bad thing?" I asked rhetorically.
"Ah, so you're learning! You pick things up quicker than my dad!" Uta replied, putting her fingers in the V for Victory sign.
Uta's dad, whoever you are, you have my condolences for having a troublesome daughter.
"God have mercy on his soul." I said, closing my eyes solemnly.
"Jiiiiiii… Don't make it sound like a bad girl! I'm a model daughter, you know!" Uta declared.
"Hahaha… well, I guess I can see that. A daddy's girl at it's finest, am I right?"
"Hmm, yep! Right on the dot, and I'm proud of it."
I clap in an unimpressed manner, making her blush as she realised she just said that in public.
Some depressed players were shouting at us to get out of here because they want to get on with wallowing in self-pity.
I took out a bag of Col and began shaking it like a rich asshole.
I casually went off to the middle of the plaza where I saw quite a few people gathering towards a short person with a hood.
"Yo! Any news?" I asked as Uta walked up to my side.
They didn't seem so happy to deliver the news, grumbling the usual nonsense about dozens of people committing suicide yesterday.
"Thankfully, no one has committed suicide this morning. Although…*Sigh* I'm sure someone will jump off by noon." The short person, Argo, said in a partially disinterested yet resigned manner.
To most it would seem neutral but I could tell that she clearly was saddened and furious by the turn of events.
Ah, she was the information broker that never appeared again, right?
Well, except for the Progressive Novels which I never read much of.
"I'm betting that at this rate there'll be at least 2000 deaths by the end of the first month." I say, mouthing off a statistic I remembered from the books.
"Nick! How can you say something like that!?" Uta looked mad.
"I didn't mean anything by that. I was just stating an estimate. It's not like I can stop people from falling for lethal dungeon traps, bosses, getting PK'ed, dying via crime, suicide and general stupidity." I responded defensively.
"The Butcher here is right, you know? There's nothing we can do about it except pooling our knowledge together … I'm using one of SAO's data logging features to make a guidebook to help out the new players. That's the only way we can do something to give others hope and a better chance of survival." Argo told Uta, with two other guys around her nodding solemnly.
"Eh, Butcher?" I picked up on that. "Me?"
"Didn't you go around saying you're 'fucking roast every one of you fucking monsters over a fire and chop you all up into little pieces before feeding your corpses to my dog?'" Argo quoted me word for word, apparently hearing such a tale from someone else.
"Huh… you would think they would just call me a maniac." I grinned as Uta made an unimpressed look before elbowing me.
"A few players said they saw a man in a Wild Boar set one-shotting Frenzy Boar's and Dire Wolves while shouting about eating them." Argo elaborated, surprisingly for free.
"Oooohhhh… To be fair, I have an equipment set buff called [Pig's Bane] and this sick sword a black haired boy told me how to get." I show off the Anneal Blade.
"Woah shit, you got that so quickly!" One of the guys exclaimed.
"Eh, not as quickly as the other guy did. I bet he was the first one to get it. I have him on my friends list but it looks like he's in a dungeon."
"*Sigh* Typical Kiribou~" Argo sighed, shaking her head.
In the end, I shared some information about the possible loot I could get from the monsters I fought, privately with Argo.
She was rather surprised that I wasn't a Beta Tester but made me pay her some money for more information on hunting grounds anyways.
I gave her 1000 Col, much to her shock as it was a lot of money at this stage of the game.
Whee! Info getto!
Naturally, I was the epitome of polite and calmness despite my inner excitement. Gamer Mind FTW…
"All right. It looks like we need to learn Carpentry." I tell Uta, who was waiting at the Plaza munching on some tasteless white filth.
"Why's that?"
"It's because we can make musical instruments with that skill! Hell, I would like to make myself a Violin and use my horrible skills to make monsters commit suicide by the sheer monstrousness of my music!"
"Yeah… that's not going to happen. If it did my dad would have died years ago." Uta giggled at my nonsense before asking her next question.
"How are we supposed to get wood?"
"Elementary, my dear Uta! We take an axe, find a tree outside the town and kill it until it's dead."
Unfortunately the thought of leaving the town left her petrified, so I took her around town to go window shopping and generally anything to take her mind off things.
We gained some weird looks but people were too busy being mopey to care.
The next day, November the 9th, Uta saw me off as I left the town gate.
Well, progress!
Nothing particularly unusual happened until I went to Horunka, killed some Scavenger toads, got to Level 6 (along with a new skill slot) and noticed a particularly large Scavenger Toad… a Traveller Toad, Argo did say it was a rare yet non-aggressive monster.
Hmm, I wonder…
I took out a lot of the meat I had in my inventory and placed it in front of the frog, who shot out it's long tongue at the food, snatching them all into it's mouth.
*Ping*
You have gained a skill due to a special action!
[Taming] – Passive – Lvl.1/100 EXP: 10%
Description: A skill that allows the user to tame animals and monsters. Makes monsters into your Familiars. Within the SAO system, this registers them as a Familiar. At higher levels, this can imitate Familiar Communication and Recovery.
Ooooh yeah!
Wait, did I just get a giant toad that can jump really high and has 'travel' in it's name?
Hmm, its orange coloured and it looks a bit derpy so…
"Your name is going to be Gamatatsu, all right?"
The friendly looking monster nodded along… well, since it was pretty big I decided to give it a shot.
I attached a piece of meat to some rope I bought before tying it on the tip of my sword sheathes. I hopped on to the back of Gamatatsu and dangled the meat in front of him, continuously pulling and swaying the meat around so it couldn't catch it with it's tongue. Making it attempt to jump at the meat.
30 minutes later…
"Trololololololololololololololol-" I sung out loud.
"AHHH!"
"WHAT IS A MONSTER DOING IN THE TOWN!?"
"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"
"SAVE ME!"
"TrolololololololololololOLOLLOLOLOL!"
I Trololol'ed with glee as I terrified the innocent citizens of the town before jumping off and explained how I tamed the monster, exaggerating the dangers of it and how I eventually learnt to tame my new Familia with food.
That assuaged the fear of the populace and incited some genuine interest… hopefully that would give people something to talk about and distract them from committing suicide.
"Hey Uta! Meet Gamatatsu!" I introduced the Traveller Toad to Uta, who gave a disgusted look which morphed into loathing as the toad shot his slimy tongue at her face.
"Get… rid of it!"
I put de-summoned Gamatatsu and happily talked to her about how we now have a special mount.
She glared at me as we ate dinner only for her to eventually share my enthusiasm in the form of genuine smiles. I don't think for a second she will come to like my toad familiar but I think she liked having something to talk about.
Argo, who was on my friends list, opened the door to our inn and negotiated some information trading for my notes on Taming.
After she was satisfied, she left behind a draft copy of her new guidebook.
I sped read through it and gave it to Uta for her own use.
The next morning…
"I want to fight alongside you. At least I can keep an eye on you, god knows what you get up to when I'm not there." Uta said with gusto, looking extremely prepared.
"Uhhh… I Level up?"
"You came back with a toad… on the fourth day of being trapped here."
"Is that so wrong?" I ask patiently.
She shook her head and smiled. "No. I see it now. A non-Beta Tester going off somewhere and tamed a monster equal to his Level on the fourth day? Everyone sounded… excited, as if they are looking forward to something again and… they stopped sighing." Uta said, reminiscing on something.
"My father, there are times when he looks sad but… I would take my guitar or whatever I could get my hands on and play him something to cheer him up. He would always smile and laugh, praise me and… ah, I guess I want to give others the same time of 'hope' that things will get better. But… I can't give others the courage to leave this town without even leaving it myself. So that's why-" I interrupted her then.
"'Let me fight with you' huh?" I finished her sentence, partly worried yet glad that she found some bravery. "I would normally avoid saying something cliché like 'I promise that I will get you out to the Real World to your father' as that is a death flag itself… so, I'll settle with this."
"I promise that you that I will help you fulfil your dreams of singing in front of a wide audience. Is that alright?"
"You don't have to." She said, stunned… before looking down with an odd sense of happiness.
"Yeah, but I may as well do. Think of it this way, purpose is something a creator can give. I cannot give myself a purpose but as I keep searching for one I'll settle with making my temporary purpose as 'Fulfil the dreams of a friend'. So bear with my selfishness, alright?"
I may as well get something done until I get out of here… and perhaps after I get out of here.
Honestly, all I have is a to-do list and I was very much a go with the flow kind of person.
I levelled up to Level 10 that day through a lot of social quests relating to Uta and levelling her up.
Name: NickLZH Age: 22
LVL: 10 EXP: 468/1242
Title: Seeker of Purpose Affiliation: THE FAMILY
Race: Human/Spirit
HP: 300/300 Regen: 3 per hour
MP: 160/160 Regen: 80 per minute
STR: 4
END: 5
AGI: 4
INT: 23
WIS: 50
LUK: 50
Points: 0
Col: 23100
I added points to INT and WIS, gaining a bonus skill for getting WIS to Level 50.
[Cyclical Revelation] – Passive –
Description: Changes the nature of your MP regeneration to 1% per minute for each point in WIS. Once per Lunar Cycle you may receive a [Revelation] regarding a topic.
Mana regeneration… not needed for anything other than spamming [Observe] so that would only become useful later.
Hmm, what to ask for?
[Unique Skills] that we can unlock?
*Ping*
Knowledge floods to my mind about two Unique Skills that I and Uta can gain.
Uta is already on her way to get it by simply practicing her singing, but she'll need to perform a few times in front of people along with singing while travelling through town for it to trigger.
As for me?
I actually have to do something stupid looking.
Specifically-
"Nick? Why did you equip a heavy metal gauntlet onto your left arm while the rest of your body … doesn't match? Are you actually a Chuunibyou?"
"I can't answer that. Just… give me two weeks."
I can't believe I have to use one sword and gauntlet for two consecutive weeks in battle.
I must look fucking edgy.
Days turned into weeks.
During this time I levelled up more and much more slowly. Sigh, I don't think I will get my fifth skill slot until the first floor boss is cleared as I need to be Level 20 for that.
Still, I and Uta got a lot closer as we travelled and fought together. I regularly sparred with her, increasing both our skills, although it was pretty obvious that Uta wasn't a natural fighter and my LUK had somehow ingrained the 'right' way to move instinctively until I understood it consciously.
Uta would play her Guitar or Ukelele as she walked through town, cheering people up while I decorated Gamatatsu with colourful clothing to serve as our animal mascot.
The saddle helped Uta get over her aversion to singing on top of a mount.
I played bodyguard to her as she sang some cover J-pop songs and some more classical songs in the centre of town.
Finally, after the third week, we both unlocked our Unique Skills together.
I had to act as if I wasn't surprised.
It wasn't that difficult as I was genuinely surprised at the usefulness of both our abilities.
Uta's skill was called Chant, a skill that allows her to buff allies through singing.
Her first and only skill is the Wind Sound Concession, a song that increases defence, poison resistance and stun resistance.
Aka, damn useful.
As for me? I equipped this ability in my fourth slot.
Counter Gauntlet, a skill that allows me to parry attacks with my heavy metal gauntlet and counter with my sword. Its better skill is one that allows me to 'catch' an attack, reducing its damage at the cost of some of my Gauntlet's durability.
It was a skill that sacrificed a something for a chance to inflict a heavy counter attack.
"Have you heard? The labyrinth to Illfang is being cleared. We'll be fighting the boss next week." I told Uta as we were about to turn in for the night.
"It's crazy, isn't it? The both of us will also be showing off our special skills then… what do you think will happen?"
"Free advertisements for Uta-chan's concerts!" I declared, making her giggle.
"Ehehe, I guess so. But really, we don't know how they'll react and… well, they might not like the idea that we don't intend to help clear the floors outside of boss battles." Uta repeated our decision that we made, as we intended to focus on protecting each other along with continuing on Uta's budding 'career' as a bard/idol.
Also, she wanted to focus on her Tailoring and Cooking skills anyways. She already got to the point where she made a nice white hat and cloak for her casual wear… still, there's always better. Other than that, she had the One-handed sword skill and Chant skills set up.
I had Blacksmith, One-Handed Sword, Sprint and Counter Gauntlet set up. We decided to outsource the other crafting and gathering skill sets to others for now.
"It'll be alright. As your first friend I'll be with you until we beat this game, Uta-chan."
"Yuna."
"Sorry?"
"My name is Yuna. Shigemura Yuna. It's nice to meet you."
"… Nicholas, as in named after Saint Nicholas aka Santa Claus. You'll butcher my last name since it starts with an 'L' but it doesn't really matter, does it?"
"No, it doesn't… so, I can call you Santa then?"
"Oh hell No."
"Oh hell yes!"
"Please don't copy my words, it makes you sound like a child."
She stuck out her tongue in response… sigh, cute girls get away with everything, don't they?
Except Rosalia, she can get BTFO'ed for all I care.
Yuna, Level 13
STR: 15, AGI: 26, VIT: 10
Skills: One-Handed Sword (18), Chant (5), Tailoring (15), Cooking (15)
NickLZH, Level 16
STR: 20, AGI: 30, VIT: 10
Skills: One-Handed Sword (25), Counter Gauntlet (10), Blacksmithing (20), Sprint (25)
Name: NickLZH Age: 22
LVL: 14 EXP: 2/3640
Title: Diva Manager Affiliation: ZA FAMILIA
Race: Human/Spirit
HP: 380/380 Regen: 3 per hour
MP: 200/200 Regen: 100 per minute
STR: 4
END: 5
AGI: 4
INT: 43
WIS: 50
LUK: 50
Points: 0
Col: 83280