KNIGHTS IN THE NIGHTMARE
Chapter Three
Beginning Anew In The Starting City
[Remnant Connections]
First Stratum. November 2022.
Kirito grumbled to herself, she had long delayed this for a while now, and her apprehension had once again made her try to convince herself at the dead of night. But she really, seriously, needed to check and couldn't put this off any longer.
Gingerly, she manipulated her menu and brought up her Friend's List.
With a gulp and a lick of her lips, her eyes gazed at it. When her mind finally processed the information, she let out a relieved breath that she didn't know she was holding.
Klein's name was still there - meaning he had not removed her - so he was still definitely alive. A few quick taps later she opened up the option to check on the samurai's position: he was currently at the Starting City.
Kirito lightly smiled, 'He's still there...'
It was nearing the fifth day since the death game began and Kirito had already completed a majority of the things she had set out to do. Now, it was time for her to meet up with the first player that she had ever met and befriended in SAO; she had promised herself, and him, that they would definitely meet again.
She was both wary and excited to see the red-haired man once again; even though it was only five days, it felt like it had been five months since they had last met one another.
Opening up the message box she left Klein a message:
"Let's meet at the central plaza."
[...]
It was early morning; the sun was barely rising and so dyed the world in an orange and red hue.
There, sitting on a bench in the central plaza, was Kirito who had arrived early - not that she had specified a time to meet, but she could wait since she had nothing better to do - and was idly passing the time by watching the couple dozens of other players that roamed about with forlorn faces and sluggish movements.
She guessed that probably around eighty-five percent of the population was still here and refused to leave the Safe Zone of the Starting City. It was a rather depressing knowledge to know that so many players, so many people, were simply wasting away in the confines of the digital city.
Though she had spotted a few groups outside hunting the Frenzy Boars, those players were the small exceptions from the norm. The fear of death was a mighty deterrent to those who wished to escape. 'We're slowly rotting away...' she grimly thought.
"KIRITO!"
A familiar voice called out loudly and caught her attention. Kirito turned her head and the image of a person dressed in red was running towards her, right behind that person was also a group consisting of five others.
He had slightly better equipment now but his appearance was still the same as she had remembered. Klein, with his spiky reddish-brown hair and a small bearded stubble, stared at her with emotional brown eyes. "Kirito...!" He gazed upon the girl as though she was an illusion that would soon disappear. The man was truly at a lost for words, "...Welcome back," was what he finally settled on.
"Mmh," she hummed, "It's nice to see you again, Klein." She gave him a light smile which he returned with a big grin.
Kirito stood up from the bench as a group of people arrived. They were all older men, just like Klein, being at least five years her elder. These were the people that Klein could not abandon during the first day of SAO and true friends that he would risk life and limb to protect; they, too, were equally prepared to lay down their life in defense of one another.
She could easily see the strength of their friendship just by looking at them and, in a way, she was a little envious of that.
"Kirito, let me introduce you to my pals," Klein pointed to the group who all responded with various forms of hello. "This is Dynamm," the player had a clean small moustache and stubble, wore a red bandana wrapped over his head, and used a sword and buckler combo. "This guy is Harry One," this player was the tallest but youngest looking of the group and appeared to be going for a tank-build.
"Dale," he introduced the shortest and roundest player who had a tiny afro and was equipped with a two-handed sword. "Kunimittz," the man seemed to be the closest to Klein's own age and had his own stubble, his weapon was a spear. "And this is Isshin!" the last member was the second tallest person but also the thinnest of the group and had a spear in his hand.
Klein then gestured to her, "Guys, this is Kirito, the player who taught me how to play SAO."
Kirito nodded at them and they chuckled, smiled, or nodded back as well. They were friendly, but they were just friends of a friend; it was a bit hard for her to interact with them without knowing them better.
So she turned to the red-headed man, the only person she knew well enough, "How have you been?"
"Been fine," Klein chirped his answer, "Mostly just hunting those nasty boars everyday."
"I see... Well, let's find somewhere to eat and catch up," Kirito suggested and then walked off without waiting for an answer.
"Sure thing," the samurai nodded and simply followed along, Come on, guys, let's go!"
[...]
The group of players found themselves settling into a generic NPC-run restaurant. The menu was extremely basic, consisting of mostly bread, noodles, and a few drinks. There was nobody inside the building besides the two NPCs - the chef and waitress - and them.
"Order anything you like, I'm paying," Kirito's statement was so blunt that the older men couldn't refuse her. They all graciously chose to spend little - ordering a light meal and a cup of water - and she herself just wanted sweet tea.
"So, Kirito, what have you've been up to these past few days?" Klein started curiously. Even though he had always checked his Friend's List everyday for Kirito's name, the two of them had never sent the other a private message and keep in contact; it was a silent agreement that the two would talk when they would meet again, face-to-face, five days later.
She took a sip of her drink before speaking, "After had I left the Starting City, I went around completing quests for Col and EXP," she quickly brought up her menu and sent a trade to Klein, "and also to find an apology gift."
Klein gasped, "Wha... this is...!" He was looking at the One-Handed Curved Sword, Black Wolf Sabre, a rare item drop located on the Level 6 Black Wolf in the 1st Stratum. Unlike most RPGs, Sword Art Online did not have level nor stats requirement to equip an item, so it was entirely possible for a even a Level 1 player to be using higher-level stratum gear as long as he or she could get it.
Kirito smiled at the man's not quite so hidden joy. She had a strong inkling that Klein preferred curved-swords because he was trying to appear like a noble samurai of some kind, therefore types like the Sabre, Scimitar, or Cutlass were the best choices as weapons to give him as they were the closest in designs to a Katana - which may or may not exist in SAO.
"Kirito, I can't take this!" He finally stated. As a person, he was the kind of guy that preferred giving gifts than receiving them; this was especially true concerning Kirito who was clearly his cute junior - though, in reality, their roles were in reverse because she was his senior in terms of SAO-experience. She merely glared at him darkly, clearly not taking no for an answer. "Ugh... uh... A-Alright! I accept, I accept!" He weakly completed the trade and his friends all chuckled at his expense.
"Hard to believe that they had only known each other for a couple of hours," Harry One whispered to the group.
"Yeah, they really get along," Kunimittz agreed.
"Like brother and sister," Dale commented.
Kirito took another sip of her tea and then spoke slowly, "Klein... what do you plan to do now?"
The player opened his mouth and then stopped when the waitress and chef walked over to the table with their meals. When the NPCs had left, Klein spared his friends a glance, "You guys can eat first, I'll do the talking," after receiving their nods he continued, "Well, you see, Kirito... We've decided to fight and get out of here. So, we need to get much stronger to beat this death game."
"There's a chance you'll die if you leave the Starting City," Kirito quickly warned, she knew where this conversation was heading, "Are you and your friends truly prepared to take that risk?"
"Yeah," Klein responded seriously in a crisp tone, "We're the kind of guys who just don't like to sit around and do nothing. That's why I know this is shameful and a lot to ask, but please, Kirito, can you help us train?"
Kirito gazed into her cup. Her answer would decide the fate of these men. She wanted to refuse them and leave them be, but she knew that even without her they would continue on and forge ahead. If something happened to them then it would indirectly be her fault. 'Nonsense, you owe them nothing. Whatever they do is their own choice. Let them do whatever they want.' She shook her head to get rid of the apathetic thinking.
"Alright," she answered softly. With those simple words they were her responsibility now, their lives and futures were in her hands.
Klein, Dynamm, Harry One, Dale, Isshin, and Kunimittz bowed their head, "Thank you; we'll be in your care."
"Likewise..." Kirito wryly smirked and then finished her drink in one final gulp, there was no point in letting the fear weigh her down, "You guys better hurry up and finish eating because we're leaving now." She stood up and moved towards the counter to pay. With the exchange done, Kirito turned around and sweetly yet devilishly smiled at them, "Oh, and don't thank me yet, the fun part has yet to begin."
They all felt a chill run down their spine.
'You're right, Klein, she's really scary!'
'I told you guys so!'
"Hm, oh? Before I forget, take these," Kirito swiftly sent a trade to everybody, including Klein again, and they all froze at the items she was simply giving out to them.
"W-What the heck?! So much?!" Isshin raised his voice, "Sharp Edge Trident, Smooth Leather Boots, and Smooth Leather Vest?!"
"Hard Buckler, Black Iron Blade, and Steel Chestplate," Dynamm stated his items.
"Gray Wolf Gauntlet?!" Klein said in awe, "K-K-Kirito! What is all this?!"
"These are all just random items that I picked up during the past few days," she responded disinterested, "I don't need them, so I was just going to sell them. Since that's the case, then it would be better if I just gave them to you and your friends; they're certainly better than anything you might have found dropped from a Frenzy Boar." Kirito glared at them sharply, "You will take them, won't you?"
"Y-Yes, ma'am..." They meekly replied, exchanging wry chuckles amongst each other, and accepted their trades.
"Well, let's get going then," said the commanding raven-haired girl.
[...]
It was an unusual sight to see a group of grown men follow sheepishly behind a young teenage girl as they headed somewhere together. Or at least that would have been the immediate impression if there were actually more players out and about the streets, but a majority of the players inside the Starting City did not have the energy nor motivation to move about.
"Klein, what level are you and your friends?" Kirito talked as she walked.
"We've been taking it slow and easy, so I'm Level 2 while the rest of the guys are Level 1 but we're all pretty close to leveling up again."
"And how good would you say you're all at with using Sword Skills?"
"Uh... We're still getting the hang of it," Klein scratched his chin.
"I see, so you haven't gotten used to the auto-guidance or cooldown yet. Well, don't worry about it, you and your friends will get the feel for it eventually."
The group of players arrived at the market area - the bazaar - of the Starting City. Since nobody currently had the money to open up their own private store, it was in this area that other players would sell their services and goods to the masses.
Expectedly, the area was extremely bare and there were hardly any other players here. Whether it was buying or selling there was simply no demand and very little profit to be made when everybody could make due of whatever they needed within the relative safety of the city.
"What are we doing here?" Klein asked. The last time he was here was when Kirito was giving him a tour of the city on the first day; it was empty then and it was pretty much still empty today.
"There's a player I'm looking for, though I'm not sure if they're here or not," she answered.
"Not sure if they're... You mean you met them during the beta?"
"Yes," Kirito confirmed, "They were an Information Broker and knew almost everything and anything there was to know about Sword Art Online during the beta testing."
"And you think that person is here in the market?"
"Well, that's if they're still in the city, anyways."
Klein nodded with a grin, "No point in worrying if they might be here or might not be, we can just deal with that after we at least tried searching for them. So what does this player look like?"
Kirito sighed, "It'd be rather pointless to look for them by their previous avatar and I don't know what he or she would look like now."
"O-Oh, right." Since everybody now had their true appearance, it would be nearly impossible to figure who was who. The older man scratched the back of his head, "Then how do we find them?"
"Nishishishi, you don't have to worry your fiery-red head about that," an unknown voice responded to Klein's question and the group turned around to face the speaker.
Only a short distance away from where they were standing was an approaching player. It was a girl, around the same age as Kirito but perhaps a bit older, dressed in the basic leather equipments and a hooded cloak that gave the sense that the player was a bit of a traveler. She had short golden-brown hair with rich brown eyes and sported three dull red marks, whiskers, on both sides of her cheeks.
A twinkle sparkled in Klein's eye and he walked straight up to the girl, "Hello, my name is Klei-" but she simply walked right past him and he froze on the spot. Kunimittz and Dynamm came over and merely patted him on the shoulder.
"Better luck next time, Klein," Kunimittz said to his stiff friend.
"Hey, there! Heard you were looking for me, Ki-bou," the newcomer said with a playful grin.
"So, the lanky and shady looking guy, Argo The Rat, was really a girl," Kirito commented, "What a surprise."
"Oh? Am I hearing those words coming from the person whose avatar used to be such a cut-throat thug?"
Kirito snorted and spoke pleasantly, "...It's really nice to see you again, Argo."
"I was looking for you too, Ki-bou. I was wondering where my favorite customer was!" the information broker said with a grin. She placed a hand on her hip, "So, what do you need to know?"
Kirito sent the other girl a trade, "I'm looking to sell off all of these for a good sum of Col. So I want you to find me some buyers."
"Oh-ho, I see you've been grinding quite a bit; just like the old days," Argo smirked, "So how much is my finder's fee?"
"Fifteen-percent," the two-handed sword user answered immediately.
"Nishishishi, how generous of you, Ki-bou," Argo then completed the trade, "Alright, I'll let you know when all of it has been sold," and she next sent a friend's request that was also readily accepted, "Stay in touch, Ki-bou."
"I will."
"By the way..." Argo moved close enough to sling an arm over the other player's shoulder, "I thought you didn't like working in groups," her eyes flitted from Klein and his friends and then back to Kirito, "Why the change of heart?" she said with an insinuating sneer.
"...I don't like older men," Kirito stated flatly.
"I didn't say you did," the Rat replied in a sing-song tone, "But I'll be sure to take note of that for future reference, Ki-bou. Nishishishi."
"Whatever," Kirito sighed out. She was somewhat used to Argo's antics since their time together during beta. The two of them had a pretty good friendship then and, as far she was concerned, the two of them were still good friends. 'I guess I do have a friend apart from Klein...' she realized; Argo was someone that Kirito could easily entrust her life with. "So, what do you plan to do now, Argo?"
The golden-haired girl snickered, "Nishishishi, well, Ki-bou, I'm already spending a good portion of my free-time to write a book. In fact, it'll be published tomorrow in all the NPC stores of the Starting City."
"A book, huh? About what?" She could already imagine what kind of book it was though; definitely something that befitted the Rat's status as a reliable information broker.
"Nishishishi," Argo rubbed her fingers, "1000 Col."
"No thanks," Kirito waved off, "I can wait. I'm not that interested," and inwardly mused to herself, 'You'll probably make me pay for a copy of my own anyways.' Kirito paused and spoke more quietly, "By the way, I have another request."
"Ah, business is booming," the Rat jokingly commented then spoke in more a hushed voice, "You've got that look on your face, the one where you're thinking about humiliating someone real bad. Whose on your mind, Ki-bou?"
"I'm looking for a player by the name of 'Coper'."
"Hmm, I'll keep an ear open for it," Argo winked and giggled, "Well then, bye-bye, Ki-bou. See you around!" and took off, disappearing into one of the many alleys of the bazaar.
"See you around," Kirito lightly waved goodbye. 'If there's anyone that will survive this death game... it's her.' She let her eyes linger at the spot Argo had disappeared from for a short moment. "Alright then," she turned around, "Let's get started on your training now."
Klein sniffed his nose and quietly whimpered, "Y-Yeah... Lead the way, Kirito..."
[...]
"HAAA!" Klein shouted as he performed a Linear - a Sword Skill that was essentially a powerful thrust - on a Frenzy Boar, wiping away the rest of the monster's HP. The man took in a breath and then turned to his instructor, "How'd I do?" He was the last person of the group to be tested.
Kirito hummed, "Well, better then when I had seen you last, but here's a tip: Don't use Linear."
"Huh, why?"
"Klein, do you know what the four types of weapon damages are in SAO?"
"Uh... No."
She turned to face the rest of Fuurinkazan - a guild-name that the group apparently used often in other video games when they played together - and asked them, "Do any of you?" The older men simply shook their head. "Listen up then. The four types of weapon damages are Blunt, Slash, Thrust, and Pierce," she eyed Klein, "Linear is a Thrust/Pierce type, and your weapon, the Black Wolf Sabre, is a Curved Sword, therefore a Slash type."
Klein shuffled his hands in front of him, "Wait, wait, wait! What does that all even mean?"
Kirito exhaled a deep breath, "It apparently means that we're going on a field trip."
"Say what?" Dale voiced.
"You're all newbs," she stated bluntly to them and they winced, "You don't know the basic mechanics of SAO and that could prove fatal here. That's why we're all going to visit the Bibliotheca."
"And that's...?" Klein questioned. He couldn't pronounce the strange English-spoken word and didn't bother trying to fumble over it.
"A library," she answered.
Isshin quirked a brow, "I didn't know SAO had those."
"It's the equivalent to a Help Desk or FAQ in other games, since SAO doesn't have a proper tutorial level to teach you how to play."
"We've walked through the Starting City plenty of times before and I don't think any of us have seen it," Dynamm stated curiously.
"Not marked on our maps either," Kunimittz added.
Kirito folded her arms, "But have any of you actually explored the Starting City? Like really explore it?"
Fuurinkazan looked at each other. "Nope," they all answered together.
"Thought so. Well, all those houses and buildings in the Starting City isn't just for show; you can enter each and every single one of them." She got a 'Wow' from Harry One and a 'Seriously?' from Klein. "Most of them are nothing important, but some them are - like the Bibliotheca for example - and won't be marked unless you visit them personally or someone gives you the map-data."
"Besides the library, is there anything else in the Starting City?" Kunimittz asked.
"There's the grand prison; Black Iron Fortress, the grand hospital; Healer's Clock Tower, and the royal castle; Boleteria."
Klein scratched his chin, "Hospital? Can we get sick in this game?"
"If you count getting Poisoned or Paralyzed as being sick, then yeah, you can get sick," Kirito shrugged her shoulders, "It's also possible to literally disarm another player, and a hospital is the only place to regenerate lost limbs."
"Y-You can lose limbs?!" Klein gulped.
"It doesn't hurt that badly," she remarked coolly, which only made the man grimace at the confirmation that pain was indeed involved.
Harry One raised his hand, "Besides losing our arms-"
"And legs," Dynamm reminded.
"-can't we just use an Antidote to cure Poison or Paralysis instead of visiting a hospital?"
Kirito nodded, "You can, but Antidotes only work for basic status ailments, otherwise you would need Greater Antidotes or Pure Antidotes for the more advance ailments, and even then those won't cure some of the more troublesome afflictions. For example, on the First Stratum there's a rare Level 6 monster called Tri-Horned Caterpillar and the tips of its horns is laced with a powerful poison. Using any kind of Antidote only slows down the damage, so you'll need to visit a hospital to actually get rid of it."
"Sounds nasty," Isshin grimly commented.
"It is," her lips turned downward slightly, "According to what I heard once from Argo, the Tri-Horned Caterpillar's poison can lower the level of the Pain Absorber."
"P-Pain Absorber?" Klein muttered even more disturbed.
She looked at him, "Klein, do you remember the first time you got hit by a Frenzy Boar?"
The red-haired samurai cringed, "Urgh, yeah." He distinctly recalled that nose-butt had sent him flying and rolling.
"And how much did that hurt?"
"...Uh, not a whole lot now that I think about."
Kirito nodded. "That's the Pain Absorber, it's a feature meant to control how much pain a player can feel. Generally, it's not something detrimental enough to make you stop fighting; maybe only enough to make you wince and be aware that you've been hit. However, the exception to that are status ailments which can heighten the pain felt." She paused to let it all sink in, "And the Tri-Horned Caterpillar's poison drops the Pain Absorber by two."
"Oh. OH! Oh..." Klein understood the implication that getting poisoned by that monster would be a severely bad idea. "That's bad, Kirito. Real bad."
"Don't worry though. Your training won't be anywhere near their spawn-area." The older men sighed in relief from her statement. "Well, enough chatting. It's time for you guys to hit the books."
[...]
The perimeter of the Starting City was that of a large circle - as most cities in Sword Art Online were; they were rarely in the shape of squares or anything else - and was large enough to contain easily over five times the current player-population all at once with still plenty of room to spare. By a player's map, it could be easily seen that the Starting City was separated into about three primary districts: the north, the west, and the east.
To the north there was Boletaria which, according to the lore of Sword Art Online, was the royal palace of the Titanslayer family who were the first to settle and establish their presence on Aincrad. Eventually they had called forth adventurers - in other words, the players - to conquer the floating labyrinth. Meanwhile, to the west was Black Iron Fortress run by the warden NPC Arthas and his faithful soldiers and guards, and, finally, to the east stood the Healer's Clock Tower established by the Virtuous Order.
The sole Bibliotheca - not owned by the Titanslayer or the or the Virtuous Order - of the Starting City could be located in southern-center of the eastern district. The building itself was not drastically different from its neighbor - its only sign-mark, a book, revealed its different status - and could be easily overlooked for another generic structure.
"Welcome!" The chipper female NPC greeted Fuurinkazan and Kirito as they entered, "How may I be of assistance?" She had brown twin-braided hair, freckles, green eyes, and wore square glasses. The name Louise was below her yellow cursor.
"We're fine," Kirito answered as she moved further into the building. Though, she had not notice that Klein was actually holding up the rest of the group by introducing himself to the NPC.
"Hey there, my name is Klein!"
"Hello, Sir Klein. My name is Louise and I'm the librarian of this little place," she answered informatively.
Fuurinkazan collectively groaned and simply pushed their way inside, leaving their leader to his idle devices.
"This place... is pretty small," Harry One commented. The size of the library was probably only able to hold about twenty other players. "It's more like a bookstore than a library."
"Why's there only one library in this big city anyways?" Dale questionably asked but went unanswered.
The men dispersed themselves, taking various random spots, to provide a bit more breathing room and space for one another. Kunimittz had the unfortunate luck of walking into Kirito's direction and was dragged around to help carry the many books she was pulling out from the shelves.
Eventually the group was called over to a small table.
'Is this going to be a thing?' Kirito thought to herself as she saw Klein chatting awkwardly with the NPC woman. She clearly remembered the day that they had met and the moment where Klein seemed to just glow with positive energy when she had mentioned that she had a younger sister - apparently the guy really wanted a girlfriend. "Klein, get over here," she spoke loud enough to immediately grab his attention.
"R-Right; I'll be right there!" the samurai answered. He muttered an apology to Louise before breaking away and arriving at the table. He wryly eyed the desk full of stacks of books.
Kirito gestured to said books, "Here, I want all of you guys to read these books."
Klein randomly shifted through the pile, "Forms and Motion: Sword Skills Technique Guide - Basic Edition. Combat: Weapons Guide - Basic Edition. Illnesses: Status Afflictment Guide - Basic Edition..." He groaned without reading the rest of the titles, "All of them?"
"All of them," she replied sternly. 'Knowledge is power,' though she didn't feel like expressing that in words; even if they couldn't memorize everything, reading would at least make them a little bit more aware of where they stood on the food-chain.
Dynamm smoothly reached out and picked up a book, Monsters and Beasts: Behavior Guide - Basic Edition, and flipped through the pages - though players also had the option of simply reading through a panel-screen instead - he had an aura of a well-learned scholar.
Kirito nodded in approval and then turned to looked at the rest of Fuurinkazan with a sharp glare. "Well?"
Kunimittz, Dale, Harry One, Isshin, and Klein quickly picked up their books and started reading.
[...]
"Ah! This is so boring!" Klein moaned out as he flicked away the floating screen of his most recently finished book, Body Training: Stats Guide - Full Edition, "How long have we been here just sitting and reading?"
"Thirty minutes?" Dale hazarded a guess.
"Seriously?! Feels like its been two hours now!"
"Well, have any of you read a total of five books yet?" Kirito asked as she tapped her finished pile of five books; she didn't so much as read - since she already had her fill of knowledge back in beta - as she did skim but that was good enough.
Most of the men shook their heads, the most they had read was about three books each. The exception though was Dynamm who closed his fifth book and quietly nodded his head.
"Good, then its time about for it to start."
"It?" the red-haired samurai questioned.
"A quest."
Louise walked over to their table with a smile, "My, my, you all are certainly enthusiastic about reading!" Above her head was a golden exclamation mark.
"Huh, what? I don't remember accepting a quest yet," Klein stated confused as he checked that his quest-log had somehow suddenly and automatically updated with the quest for 'Reading Books (Starting City)'.
Kirito explained, "This is a Trigger Quest, which means it only appears in the right conditions. In this case, after someone has finished reading five books," she placed out a hand to stop Klein from asking his other question, "And for some Trigger-Quests, the trigger is also the quest-requirement. Again: reading five books."
"Oh, okay. So what now?"
The two-handed swordswoman sighed and then turned to face the librarian, "Yes, it was a nice learning experience." She finally answered the question that was left hanging for too long now.
Louise smiled, "I'm glad you all enjoyed yourselves." The NPC walked over to her desk and pulled out several books from the shelf behind it, "This is a free book that is given to those adventurers who find joy in gaining new knowledge. Here, help yourselves."
"Thank you," Kirito said as she took a book for herself.
The members of Fuurinkazan looked at each other before taking their own copy. "Thanks," they all told the librarian and promptly received their EXP and Col reward for completing their quest.
"Encyclopedia: Aincrad," Isshin read out the title as he flipped through the book.
The NPC adjusted her glasses, "It's a magical self-writing book that records nearly everything seen in Aincrad. It was created by the Master Librarius to help adventurers when exploring the strata," and bowed lightly, "Safe journeys to you all, and may you fill your book with wonderous knowledge, adventurers."
[...]
"Now what?" Klein asked. Kirito had given him and his friends a copy of her immense Encyclopedia Data - it was filled to the brim with her previous and accumulated five day journey - and they were now all just sitting around inside a restaurant while eating their meals and occasionally - or at least Dynamm was - looking through the book.
"Well, there's honestly not much quests here in the Starting City worth doing," the girl hummed, "Maybe one or two."
She had in mind: 'The Retired Warrior (Starting City)' which rewarded a player with a basic two-hit Sword Skill and 'A Healer's Request (Starting City)' which gave a permanent discount towards future purchases of Potions or Antidotes; both were decent choices but not really anything that needed to be immediately prioritized.
Most quests simply didn't provide big rewards that couldn't be gotten just by stocking up on spare weapons and potions and then grinding out in the fields. In fact, for the early strata it was simply better for a player to ignore quests and focus on leveling up as high as they could get - the strongest regular monster on the 1st Stratum was the Level 7 Dire Wolf and the Level 8 Kobold Minion, so EXP would begin to wane for a player around Level 10 or 11 - and afterward a player could then complete quests and receive the full EXP reward.
This was something that Kirito was actually planning to do later on, since hunting monsters barely affected her experience bar now.
Klein mumbled, "Two, huh...? Guess it won't be too bad..."
"Don't worry, We'll be finished before the sun goes down," and she added, "The hard part comes tomorrow."
"The hard part, eh?" He lightly mused about it and then blinked, "You know, I forgot to ask but what's our training plan, Kirito?"
The girl sipped on her tea slowly before speaking, "Learn as we go. I'm going to teach you guys the fundamental and have you familiarize it until it becomes second nature. Hopefully, you'll all be Level 10 within the next two weeks."
"L-Level 10 in two weeks?!" the red-haired man stammered in surprise, "What's the rush, Kirito?!"
"It's almost been a week since SAO has launched... By now most of the beta-testers should have completed their safety-net," she stated soundly. For certain, she knew that she herself and Argo were comfortable at their current standings - for now, that is. "However, feeling and being safe is secondary to the underlying goal... What we all want, what we all need to do, it's to escape Sword Art Online."
"Yeah... that's right," Klein nodded solemnly, "We're not fighting to level-up, we're leveling up so that we can continue to fight!"
Kirito agreed with his sentiments. "Yeah, so now that a majority of them have finished leveling-up, then the next task - naturally - is to find the boss room, so it'll only be a matter of time before it's found."
"I get the feeling you want us to be a part of the boss-raid, Kirito-san," Isshin stated his thoughts politely.
"Us?" Dale tensely piped up from the side-lines. He could barely handle Frenzy Boars, so he could hardly imagine fighting a boss two weeks from now; it was frightening.
Kirito sighed and spoke strongly, "No, I don't. I want to keep you guys safe, so if I had my way, then I wouldn't let any of you fight the boss, at all."
"So we why do we need to be at Level 10?" Dynamm spoke in a very questioning tone.
The raven-haired girl licked her lips from indecision to speak. It was a purely selfish reason; she wanted the resources - the rewards - that came from beating a boss. Kirito knew it was completely unreasonable but she simply couldn't help but feel insecure and had the urge to keep getting numerically stronger; her safety-net was fine for now but it needed to expand sooner or later.
As much as she wanted to be friends with Klein, as much as she wanted to trust him and his friends, in the end she was still looking out primarily for herself. Level-up, fight, and survive; her constant-drive could be summed up as such.
"Kirito, tell us," Klein softly urged.
She winced at his gentle voice. After a long silence, she looked at each of them straight in the eyes and answered as firmly as possible with a few simple choice words, "No matter what, when the boss room is discovered, I plan on being part of the raid."
Fuurinkazan pondered over her words before they realized what the younger girl had left unsaid: 'If I don't survive then at least you guys will be a high enough level on the First Stratum to take care of yourself.'
Klein visibly frowned and clenched his fist. "Kirito," he called out seriously, "We're friends, right? And you know what friends do?" He tapped his chest, "They help each other! That's what friends are for! Kirito, when the day comes, you're not going alone! And do you know why? That's because we're gonna be there too!" Klein knew that all his words were corny and sappy but what truly mattered was that he was getting his point across. "Believe in us, Kirito, because we're going to be friends until the end!"
Kirito paused as she took in the man's word with a slightly stunned expression. Slowly her face loosen up and she started laughing happily while Klein waited patiently for her answer. "Thank you, Klein," she replied sincerely with up-turned lips. There was just something about him that made it easy to feel comfortable and safe. "I'm really glad that you were my first friend in SAO."
The samurai's face was red as his hair as he turned his head around and spoke in a flustered voice, "O-Of course! Same here!"
"Hey now, that's pretty rude! What about us? Right, guys?" Harry One teased. An 'Indeed' could be heard added in by Kunimittz.
"Oh shut up! You guys know what I meant!" Klein began to playfully bicker with the rest of Fuurinkazan.
Kirito finished the rest of her tea and watched the friendly scene before her in peace. She had not shown it all day but gathering the courage to meet Klein again was a mentally exhausting task for her - absolutely draining and nerve-wracking, so without even knowing Kirito quietly nodded off and fell asleep on her chair.
Author Notes
I suck as making names, so I tend to borrow them from other works... Say hello to 'Boletaria' from Demon Souls! And I am making up Fuurinkazan's personality as I go... I also have a feeing that I end my chapters rather badly...
Minor mechanic stuff: As a player levels up, the Experience Points required to level-up increases, likewise, the EXP earned by fighting monster decreases against lower-leveled enemies; meaning a player will have to constantly fight even or stronger monsters to gain EXP. If a player fights a monster that is signficantly stronger than them (Magenta or Red Cursor) and defeats it, then they get bonus EXP. In word others: EXP is consistently scaled. The exceptions are Quests and Bosses who always give the same amount of Full EXP and bonus if applicable.
Review Notes C2
Ourania Aella, I'll keep the name-the-same thing in mind, but it probably won't come up since players mostly keep to themselves about in-real-life stuff.
Kojiro Kun, Asuna will be female. I don't know why but I felt like doing a 'You have two moms!' relationship with Yui, Asuna, and Kirito.