Hello everyone. I, Sentinel07 am back along with ThisWillBeFun to bring you Chapter 4 of Curiosity.
Well, by far, this is the largest amount of reviews and favorites I've gotten to start off a fic ever, and that is nice to know. I look forward to seeing where it goes from here.
Disclaimer: Neither of us own Sword Art Online or any other anime/video game we reference. If we did, well that would have been fun.
Last chapter saw us finally get back the big moment in SAO's beginning. Now, just how in the world will our protagonists handle the news? Let's find out. Hit it!
(BEGIN)
Chapter 4: Repercussions
The cries and shrieks of the players echoed throughout the area, as they all experienced the cold-hearted news that they were now trapped in this game, if they didn't die soon.
"You got to be kidding me!"
"Let's get out of here!"
The range of emotions was vast. Some still tried to find the illusive "Log Out" button, while others just collapsed to the ground in stunned silence. The majority of the trapped players started running around like headless chickens. It was hard for Kirito to keep track of any of the others as the crowds kept getting even more chaotic. By now, he could barely make out Leafa and Klein in the crowds. Reaching out as far as he could, he miraculously managed to grab each of their hands.
"Follow me!" Kirito tugged on both of them, trying to plow his way out. Before she was completely dragged away, Leafa also grabbed the hand of the stunned Silica and pulled her out with her. Silica hadn't spoken a word since the announcement ended, obviously having trouble taking in everything around her. As much as Leafa was worried for the little girl's mental state, they needed some space to clear their heads. Kirito ended up dragging all three of them towards a nearby alley in one of the few areas of town that weren't being overflowed with panicking players. After letting his company go, he gave a long sigh and faced them.
"Alright, first of all, I don't know what you're doing here, but you will give me an explanation once we're out of town." Obviously, he directed that comment squarely at Leafa, who he gave a passing glare before turning to the team as a whole. "Now, we need to leave town immediately. With close to ten thousand players logged in at the same time, these grounds will likely be used for farming and grinding. There won't be much left for us, so we should head to the nearest town. There, we can perhaps start on some early quests and perhaps level up a bit."
"Then maybe we should try to get more people," Leafa suggested. Kirito just shook his head.
"A larger group means a larger target. The less people we have, the easier it'll be to move." Ironically, it was only then that he noticed Silica behind Leafa. He reignited his glare at Leafa. "You brought her with you?"
"She's a friend," she defended. "I'm not leaving her on her own. We all heard what's at stake now." Kirito took one more look at Silica, who was still rather mute, and gave a defeated sigh.
"Fine..."
"Um, Kirito," Klein said, nervously raising his hand. "If a large group is bad, then I think I should split here. I logged into this game with some friends of mine. It wouldn't be sporting of me to abandon them here." Kirito nodded his head in understanding, offering a handshake with Klein, who accepted with a smile.
"Good luck then," Kirito said.
"Same to you." Klein then looked over to the two girls behind his friend. "Good luck to all of you."
"Yeah, yeah," Leafa said, trying her best to keep some good humor through all the stress suddenly put upon her. "Just try not to mess around with the other girls here. I doubt they'll be as lenient as I was."
Klein couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. "If that's considered leniency, I'd hate to see what could really go wrong. Oh well, at least I can be sure about who's a girl now." Leafa's face did not show amusement. "Okay, I get it, don't flirt with every single girl, got it." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "So...I guess I'm gone then. Uh...see ya." He then nonchalantly strolled out of sight slowly and nervously.
Now, it was just the three of them. With nothing else to say, Kirito took it upon himself to just lead the merry little group through the alley, with Leafa barely holding Silica along. It wouldn't be too long until they were out of the town. Luckily for the girls, Kirito put it upon himself to take out any boars in their way so that his sister could continue holding onto her load.
Within all of the people stunned into silence by the news, one girl with short brown hair and a red standard uniform, sat there motionless on her knees, barely avoiding getting trampled by the more active players. She felt as if her short life just flashed before her eyes and her legs just felt numb. Even the noise of the crowds around didn't rouse her; they were deaf to her ears. At least, they were until….
BONK!
The poor girl happened to get run right over, hitting the concrete hard along with the person responsible. Needless to say, the girl's quick temper got her out of her trance.
"Hey! What the hell was that for?!" Lisbeth barely got a look at the figure before it was nearly out of range. However, she could still tell that it was a girl, wearing similarly red armor and having long hair. Apparently, the other girl didn't hear her, as she didn't even turn around to acknowledge her after her outburst.
"Hmph, of all the nerve…." Still, at least it got Lisbeth out of her funk, enough for her to get up on her feet at least. Sitting around wasn't going to do any good, but where was she to go now?
...did it matter? If this was truly now a game of life or death, did it really matter where she went? This game was so huge, she could go practically anywhere and the consequences would be the same. She'd be equally unprepared whether she went north, south, east, or northeast. This game was so full of uncertainties, she needed something to feel sure in.
It was then that Lisbeth ultimately decided that above all, she needed to be prepared for anything. Okay, what was the one thing in a game that would secure her safety? From the few RPGs she had played before, she remembered always getting thrashed by a bunch of the enemies once the game just got hard out of nowhere, forcing her to go back to the last time she saved. Unfortunately, reloading wasn't that much of an option now.
However, whenever she had to, she always just decided to upgrade and buy every item that could help her. Luckily, one always had plenty of money to spend by taking out the earlier, easier enemies that were barely a hassle. Yes, that was it. Lisbeth needed to stockpile and upgrade at every chance. Of course, that would still require more money, or Col, or whatever, along with more experience before she'd be able to do any of that.
She opened her inventory and and looked up her Straight Sword, deciding to inspect its stats. They weren't good, to say the least, but the thing had been able to kill a few beginner enemies earlier. It would have to do for now. Hopefully this game had some sort of weapons shop or forgery system.
As the opening chaos began to settle down somewhat, a girl with light blue clothing and short black hair observed the remains. The girl's name was Sachi and she was looking for her friends. Since the announcement of this "game", she was worried if any of them could have been among the 213 players that were already dead. She had to constantly shake her head to clear it of those horrible thoughts. They had to be alive. They had to. The only thing she could even consider fearing is that they had already gone out to the fields without her.
As luck would have it, that fear soon faded once she scanned the horizon again and smiled as her eyes landed on a familiar group of boys huddled near a shop.
"Everyone! I'm over here!" she cried out.
The boys looked towards the voice calling and quickly shouted back. "Sachi!" one of them with short brown hair called out. The girl quickly ran up to the group and was ready to collapse upon finally reaching them. Shuffling through the crowds and running all throughout the incredibly expansive town. "Thank God you're okay. You are okay, right?"
"Yes, thank you," Sachi answered with a weak smile. "How about you, Taka-, er, Keita?"
"Alright, all things considered," the player known as Keita chuckled nervously. "I guess the gang's all here then."
"Cool," another one of the players, one with long, curly brown hair and the player name of Sasamuru said. "So...now what do we do."
"I take it deciding to level up solo is out of the question," the blond-haired player known as Ducker said.
"Exactly," Keita said sternly. "So, I hope I speak for all of us when I say we should start forming our guild immediately."
"Yeah, that sounds about right," the boy with longer and lighter brown brown hair labelled as Tetsuo agreed. "You really think what that Kayaba guy said was true?"
"Are you kidding?!" Ducker shouted. "No way anyone could fabricate all those news reports, all those articles, all that...stuff."
"Calm down, man," Sasamuru said while placing his arm on his friend's shoulder. "At least we got each other. As long as we stick together, we'll be fine."
"He's right," Sachi said timidly. "We just need to form a guild right now, right T-Keita?"
"Correct," he concurred. "Seems like the Moonlit Black Cats will have to be formed sooner than originally thought."
"Well, lead the way then, leader," Ducker said confidently to Keita, who nodded before opening up his own menu.
"It's going to be impossible to keep up with you all. Now, just wait a little while so I can get everything set up."
"Go ahead," Sasamuru said before looking at the rest of the scurrying players throughout the town. "It's not like we don't have much time."
It took Asuna forever to escape the perpetual crowd of strangers, especially in her dazed state. Her body kept on bouncing off one person onto another, barely able to keep her own balance or consciousness. To say this whole thing was a shock to her system would be an understatement. Not even she was able to understand how she managed to make it to one of the local inn's. It wasn't until the woman at the reception desk of the place greeted her that Asuna arose from her trance.
"Hello there," the woman smiled serenely. She appeared to be a fairly young woman with what looked like a modest maid's outfit brown hair that was neatly tied into two long, braided pigtails, a style Asuna was not sure was completely possible to have. Then again, she remembered that this was a fantasy world, so almost anything was possible now. All except for why this girl was so damn calm despite everything going on around her. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Can you help me with anything?" Asuna repeated to the innkeeper in disbelief. "Can you…? Do you have any idea what's going on?!" Her face grew flustered in her anger, her thoughts barely more than a blizzard of various worries. Deep inside, she knew she needed to feel some anger, as at least she could identify that. "What is wrong with you?!"
"Uh, sorry, miss," the innkeeper said with a shocked expression on her face. "I understand that the current high population of the town may be stressful to most adventurers, but I assure you that-"
"WHAT THE HELL DOES POPULATION HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?!' The whole situation was just giving her a massive headache. How could this woman not be aware of any of this? Was she completely disattached from reality? No way this person could be real.
"Again, sorry, miss. I do not know what you are talking about, but I can tell that you are stressed. Perhaps you'd like to rent a room? Only 100 Col a day."
"This isn't-!" Asuna paused a moment as her anger helped clear the fog in her head to clear just a little bit more. Whether this woman was insane or not, she was offering a new option. Either she goes outside and get killed by something or other, or she stayed inside a safe, secure building with no one to bother her. No threats, no death. That sounded good about now.
"Fine…" she ultimately grumbled. "I'll take a room."
"Perfect!" the woman chirped before a menu option appeared in front of her, asking for confirmation of the transaction.
Now this threw Asuna off. The woman didn't pull up a menu or anything like she'd seen the other players do. Combining that with the innkeeper's seeming obliviousness to the true world outside, she was beginning to think that maybe this woman was just part of the game.
"Say, are you part of the game?"
"Pardon? I'm not sure I understand your question."
"Forget it." Asuna simply pressed the confirmation button and slumped as she saw it disappear.
"Perfect!" the innkeeper chirped once again. "Your keys are within your inventory. Your room is Number 208. We thank you for choosing the Rolando Inn."
"R...right…" Slowly walking to her appointed room, Asuna's mind began to race once again. Was this really the reality she was stuck in now? Was she really just at the mercy of a bunch of computers and complete strangers insane enough to fight against them? Damn her curiosity. She just had to pick up that stupid helmet of her brother's. Damn it all...
Floor 1: Outside Town of Beginnings, 6:00 AST
As it was already nearing sundown, Kirito, Leafa, and Silica rested against a tree on the side of the road. Leafa held Silica against her, stroking her head gently. Silica was just uttering words now, but they were mostly incoherent. Still, it seemed better than her previous nothing. Meanwhile, Kirito was looking at his status screen, while also apparently sending a message.
"Who are you messaging?" Leafa asked.
"An acquaintance of mine. Her name's Argo. I knew her in the beta, so I was able to hook up with her quickly." Kirito using the phrase "hook up", while not in a certain sense, still reminded Leafa of her chat a couple months ago with the girl. Just thinking of it made her shiver.
"Oh yeah, she's a real character… " she grumbled back, causing Kirito to raise an eyebrow.
"You know her? Since when?"
Leafa gulped a bit as she answered that question. " Since about a couple hours ago…..yeah, about two months ago…"
"What? How could you have known her before the game? As unlikely as it was for you to play this, I'm certain you're not a beta tester."
A nervous laugh was her first response. "Funny story about that…"
And so began the story of how this came to be. Leafa recounted everything from her video chat with Argo, to securing a copy of the game and a NerveGear, including having to "borrow" money. She could have sworn she heard Kirito mumble something along the lines of "So that's where my money went" or something like that.
"How did you hide that from Mom?" he asked as soon as the story caught up to present terms.
In spite of herself, Leafa laughed a bit. "I couldn't, actually. She found out the next day. She wasn't mad or anything, but she was disappointed that I didn't ask. I got double the amount of chores for 2 months."
"Heh heh, you're quite the troublemaker." Leafa looked down to see Silica giving her a cheeky smile.
"You're one to talk, little missy," she retorted. Silica actually laughed a little, which seemed to lift the tension a bit.
With the atmosphere lighter, Leafa back to Kirito. "So, what are you messaging her about?"
"I just want to know where she is. She can be pretty handy in a pinch after all. That, and we could use as much information of the area as we possibly can, which she'll know by memory. Right now, though, we should be heading to Horunka Village. There, we can at least get some rest and see what quests they have."
"What are those again?" Leafa didn't really have an idea, which made both of her partners to sigh.
"They're extra missions where you could get cool extras, like more money or items or anything really," Silica explained. Kirito wasn't quite sure what to say to the question. Not only did he have to survive this game, but also keep up with his relative who didn't have so much as a clue about videogames in general? The very thought made him groan both internally and externally. Still, whether he approved or not, both of these girls were undoubtedly his responsibility now. Figures how he'd end up trapped in his one escape with one of the many things he had been trying to escape from.
Without much else to say, the group continued on their way to Horunka Village. Kirito insisted that they would make it within the half hour, which worked just fine with the girls. According to the time displayed on their menus, it was only about 6:00 now; just half an hour since Kayaba's announcement. The trail pretty much consisted of nothing but boars, to which Kirito took out most of them, insisting he could get them down faster.
"You know Kazuto, I can take care of boars myself. I'm at a pretty good level," Leafa boasted, even showing Kirito since he was unaware of both girls' levels right now. In all honesty, Kirito was surprised. Level 4 was higher than his own, since he mostly took a backseat from fighting to teach Klein.
"Maybe, but you're still a newbie. Maybe later," Kirito replied calmly. Now, coming from him, he was likely just being honest, but the smart-ass tone of it still irritated Leafa. Without warning, as Kirito took out another boar, she charged past him and took out the last one on her own. She just smirked at Kirito once she was done.
"How's that for a newbie?"
"Hmm, not bad."
Floor 1: Horunka Village, 6:25 PM AST
Horunka Village was a quaint little town, just a few miles away from the Town of Beginnings. It was amazing to know how far you could travel in this game in just under an hour. Personally, Kirito had wished that he got there a little sooner, but he kept that to himself. He knew his sister well enough that…..
Actually, just thinking that made Kirito pause. He was now stuck in a death game with her. She was still blissfully unaware of what he learned not too many years ago. Perhaps it was the increased risk of death, but the very idea seemed to creep up to the forefront of his mind.
"Kazuto? Hey, snap out of it! I'm hungry!" Kirito woke up to a pair of snapping fingers in front of his face, as well as Leafa's stern face in front of his.
"Oh, um, sorry about that." With Kirito back down to earth, he began to think about something. "Say, uh, Suguha, you might want to stop calling me by my real name."
"What?" she said incredulously. "Are you seriously that embarrassed by me?!"
"W-what? N-no!" her brother said hastily. "Look, it's just...we're stuck here now in this world and it's basically considered rude to call other players by their real names."
"And why is that, exactly?"
"It's just rude to everyone else. The whole point of an MMO is to build a name for yourself, your character."
"But we are our characters now," Leafa retorted while motioning to her body, the same one she had before entering the game. "There's no hiding who we really are."
"You'd be surprised…" Kirito murmured before returning to audible volume. "Look, I don't make the rules. Point is, it would be rude to refer to ourselves as anything other than the names we gave to ourselves. Besides, do you really need someone unfamiliar to know your real name?"
"I guess not…" she grumbled. "So, I guess I'll just have to call you Kirito now?"
Said Kirito gave a nervous smile. "Correct, Leafa. No idea how you came up with that name."
"Well, at least my name isn't just an anagram of my real one, Mister Originality."
"It's a common method of naming," he defended. "At least mine makes sense."
"At least I put some actual thought into mine." Thus began a series of constant string of petty comebacks, each more annoyed than the last. Inwardly, Leafa was actually rather amused. The two hardly ever interacted in the real world, but now they were having their longest conversation in what was probably years, even if it was more of an argument. Silica could only watch the two in wonder. She could obviously tell the two knew each other well outside the game, but wasn't quite sure how. Whatever relationship they had, it seemed to be a little...strained.
As it turned out, arguing actually helped make the trip seem shorter. The group entered the village which appeared to already house a few other players already, but only a little more than a handful. One could tell that Kirito wanted to do a quest before hitting the sack by his restless appearance, but the rumbling in his stomach betrayed his thoughts. Both girls laughed a bit at his embarrassed face before they found a nice little restaurant. Much to Leafa's disappointment though, the place offered little more than assorted breads.
"Is this really all they've got?" Leafa groaned at the menu.
"Lesson Number One: Beginning levels in RPG's are usually the cheapest, both literally and figuratively," Kirito explained in a matter-of-factly manner. That didn't make Leafa, or Silica for that matter, much happier. They ended up ordering what he got, which was little more than a loaves of buttered bread
"Wow, eating food in a game. Heh heh, that's new," Silica sheepishly laughed, to the point where it almost sounded forced. However, Leafa wasn't in such a mood at this point. She had something she wanted to say to her ever since the tutorial.
"Eating is the least of your worries now! What are you even doing in this game? Last I checked, this was a C-rated game." Upon hearing those words, Silica immediately peered at her lap, a bit of a shameful look on her face. It was obvious she had a lot of thoughts she'd been trying to suppress for awhile were just beginning to break away.
At that moment, Kirito's eyes widened in realization. "Silica...do your parents even know you're playing this game?"
There was a long pause where everything seemed to go silent. "...They probably do now." Right as she said that, a few tears leaked down her cheeks. The sight of it brought down some of Leafa's frustration, but definitely not all of it.
"You gotta be crazy," Leafa said as she offered Silica her napkin to wipe her face. "Even if this game was normal, it's too much for a little kid." Unfortunately, those words seemed to have the opposite effect on Silica than intended, as she looked up at Leafa in anger.
"Oh, what do you know?! You're just one year older than me, so how is that much different?!" Silica's little burst got the attention of the rest of the restaurant guests, but no one really cared. Emotional outbursts were rather understandable, after all. Both Kirito and Leafa were taken back by her shouting, until Silica's face once again turned sorrowful.
"I-I'm sorry….I didn't mean to shout." Silica took a second to wipe her face again after that. "My parents have always been strict on what games I can play. They take those ratings very seriously, so all I could really play were kiddy games most of the time. My dad only bought me my NerveGear as a present for when I got older."
"So how did you get the game?" asked Kirito.
"When the game came out, after I finished my day of school, I snuck into a line at the game shop and bought it with my allowance. The people at the store still didn't believe that I was old enough, but I convinced them by saying that it was a present for a friend."
"And you kept this a secret?" asked Leafa.
"Of course. I kept it hidden in my room until I could play it. My parents were out on errands today, so I thought that I could use that time to be in the game from the beginning."
"So when you said your parents needed you back by four, that was just your estimate before they got home?" Silica's nod pretty much affirmed that. Leafa couldn't get too mad. Heck, she pretty much pulled the same wall over her brother too, though her mother caught her in the act.
Once Silica finishing her story, Kirito stood out of his chair. "Well, nothing can be done now. Nobody is getting out for quite some time."
"You believe what Kayaba said about death being real?" Leafa asked, despite really not wanting to hear the answer.
"Let's just say that I don't plan on testing that theory," Kirito responded. Satisfied enough with that answer, Leafa kept her mouth shut until she finished her bread. It was plain, but satisfying enough, as Kirito described many of SAO's foods. After everyone was done, Kirito began walking towards a bulletin board right next to the restaurant.
"What are you looking at?" Leafa asked. Kirito simply pointed to the board.
"Boards like these are where we'll be finding most of our quests."
"Oh, so we officially get to tag along?"
The very thought made him sigh. "Personally, I prefer being on my own, but I know that no matter what I do, you'll just end up following me anyway. I know better than to try and argue with you."
"Well, it's nice that you know your place," Leafa smiled while patting her brother on the shoulder. Silica just looked at the scene with her head tilted.
"Those two really seem to know each other well…" she mumbled to herself.
It didn't look like there were many quests to begin, but there were at least a good handful. Both Kirito and Leafa scanned over the board, though Leafa really felt an urge to pick something first. She could tell that Kirito didn't totally trust her in this game environment. It wasn't long before she saw Kirito seeming to eye a certain quest, apparently titled "Secret Medicine of the Forest". Catchy name, but she wanted a say.
"That one!"Just wanting to make a point, she immediately jabbed her finger at whatever it happened to land on. Kirito and Silica leaned over to see where she pointed: "The Dungeon's Treasure". The reward for such a quest seemed to be unknown.
"What's the reward for that one?"
"Hmm, not sure actually. I didn't get to do all of the quests in the beta."
"Then we have a winner!" Leafa cheered, suddenly feeling very excited to see her first true quest. Kirito didn't seem bothered too much, though he did wonder just how this would go with Leafa trying to put herself in authority. Such a thought filled him with equal parts curiosity and dread.
Still, Kirito went along with it, looking up the instructions for the quest. The dungeon was nearby, so maybe they could get it all done before it got too dark. Once he got the directions and engraved them in his head, the group decided to head off. Although they did not see it, a rather desperate-looking player came up to the board behind them and eagerly took the quest Kirito was just looking at.
Oh well, Kirito wasn't too concerned over the mission they had chosen. If it didn't work out, he knew how to make up for it. The dungeon only required a short walk, about 10-15 minutes or so to make it, so it wasn't too long before the trio was standing in front of the entrance. From Kirito's view, it was just your typical standard beginning dungeon, no big deal. Even with the new death penalty in mind, he wasn't too worried about such a breezy quest. Although, he still thought about the two girls he was in charge of now. If he slipped up now, he'd mess things up for all of them. That was what weighed the heaviest on his mind right now.
Of course, both of the girls were worrying the exact same.
(END)
And so we have the events of the first day, as well as the introductions of Lisbeth, Asuna, and Sachi. Criminy, there's a severe lack of males in this game. Oh well.
Just as a note for those of you who don't know, Leafa's point of SAO being a "C-rated"game is part of Japan's rating system. A C-rating means "15 and above" which is closest to how the anime described SAO as a "14 and above" game.
I'd also like to say something else, since I've seen a message or two about certain events. The primary source that TWBF and I are using is the anime adaptation, along with any major points we can find on the Sword Art Online Wiki. Neither of us are well acquainted with the novels (though I have read some), and neither of us have read the Progressive novels. So, we might not be doing those specific events if we don't feel like they fit into the story structure. Just to put that out there.
So, we hope you enjoy it all. We're just getting into the meat of this story. Please review and share your thoughts!
This is Sentinel07, and I'm signing out!
...and ThisWillBeFun signing in. Well, looks like we've just begun truly beginning to begin. We actually had to save what was supposed to be a good part of the chapter for the next for both time and proper execution. Anyway, we both can't wait to do what we plan to do and I hope you plan to wait to see.
That being said, I'm out!
