Chapter 4 – Training Day
Authors notes: Longer chapter today guys! Some people have been asking for some more action, so here it is in this chapter! EDIT: I'll be keeping track of the dates as we go one. It might not seem too important now as I am writing on a day by day status. I.E The party goes to sleep and it's the next day and so forth. But this will be rather important later on in the story, or at least I hope so.
Aincrad 28th Floor, June 14, 2023
Morning was here and the start of a new day began. Sachi was awoken by the light rustling of the bed next to her. She opened her eyes and looked to see if Norie was awake. Norie was busy putting her shoes on. "Get enough sleep?" she asked with a smile.
Sachi simply nodded and smiled in return.
"Not sure if I can say the same about Ellen" she replied with a smile. Getting up to a sitting position, she stretched her feet. "Boy my feet are killing me" she commented
"Now you know the life of an adventurer" Norie noted as she finished tying the laces on her boots.
"So what's going on today?" Sachi asked sliding her feet into her boots.
"Let me see... like I said yesterday, I'm going to take you to train." Norie said flipping through the party menu. "Oh?" she noticed another player was in their party. "Keshiga?" she asked
"Oh, erm..." Sachi said getting nervous. "He asked to join, so I asked Ellen because I didn't want to wake you up."
"Hmmmm okay" Norie said. "Thanks for not waking me up, though, it's better to trust your own judgment rather than Ellen's" she joked.
"Hey! I heard that!" Ellen said forming next to Norie.
"Thought you were asleep." Sachi said getting up and putting her hands on her hips.
"Not with your loud voice" Ellen said sticking her tongue out playfully.
"Hey!"
Norie chuckled. "Alright, let's go. " she said sheathing Ellen. "And I want to meet this Keshiga person. Tell him to meet us at the transfer gate" she added as she closed the door behind her.
"Will do" Sachi said sending a message to Keshiga. "Meet us at the transfer gate" it said.
"So? What's he like?" Norie asked Sachi.
"Well, he's a spear wielder; he also plays the lute and guitar" Sachi said counting with her fingers.
"Why did he want to join us?" Norie asked.
"He heard that we were going to train today and he wanted to come along because his guild members can't help him out." Sachi explained.
"Yea, and he's also trying to flirt with her" Ellen said eavesdropping
"You heard that?" Sachi said getting red.
"I heard everything!" Ellen said laughing.
"I can play for you if you want. If we both make it out alive that is" Ellen mocked making a lovey dovey expression on her face. "I'd love to! Hahahaha! You're just too funny!" Ellen started bursting out laughing.
"Why you little..." Sachi muttered squeezing Ellen's cheeks even harder.
"Owowowow! Stop it!" Ellen said
Norie sighed as she smiled. "What a bright future this is" she said sarcastically as the party made their way out the inn and towards the transfer gate.
Norie and Sachi made it to the transfer gate. "Hmm, I wonder where he- there he is!" Sachi said pointing to a figure running as fast as he can.
"Huff huff. Sorry I'm late! I just woke up, so I didn't get your message until now" Keshiga said trying to catch his breath. He noticed Norie crossing her arms. "I'm Keshiga"
"Norie" Norie replied doing her signature two finger flick tap on the forehead greeting. "So Sachi tells me you need some training right?" she asked.
"Yea, most of my guild is busy, so they can't help me out" Keshiga replied.
"What level are you might I ask?" Norie asked.
"Level 26" he replied.
"Perfect, now both of you guys can train on level with each other. " Norie said patting him on the shoulder. "Anyway, welcome to the group. Glad to have you on board."
"Thanks!" Keshiga said.
"Now, let's go" Norie said leading them into the transfer gate. "We ready?" Norie asked as she opened up the destination menu. Everyone nodded in reply. "Okay, Wolf Plains here we go!" she said pressing the respective name. Everything was a blur that moment forward; it only lasted a couple of seconds, but by the time Sachi's vision restored, the scene was all but familiar.
"Well, been a long time" Norie said taking a few steps into the courtyard. "Alright, I'll go book us a room at the inn. Then after, we'll meet at the north gate of town in half an hour." Norie said about to part ways.
"Wait! What do you want us to do?" Keshiga asked.
"Go take a look at the market, Sachi's wanted to collect more pieces of the Aqua Set" Norie replied smirking before heading off.
"Wha- hey!" Sachi said getting red.
"U-uhm..." Keshiga said rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Wanna go?" he asked to break the awkward silence. He held his hand out
"Eh eh!" Sachi asked abruptly surprised. "Umm... er... sure..." she submitted; blushing as she took his hand. Keshiga opened his map to look for the market, and after setting a waypoint, he followed the line. Eventually, they reached the little market place. People were browsing through outdoor stands and little shops looking for a good deal while others tried to haggle.
"Wow..." Sachi said in wonder at the items some players were selling. Some were so extremely lavish that only the rich could attain.
"Is this your first time in a market?" Keshiga asked.
"No, but it always amazes me to see what other players have" Sachi said admiring some fancy looking accessories. Taking a look at the price, she was dissuaded from even thinking about buying it.
"Erm, don't forget why we're here" Keshiga pointed out.
"Right!" Sachi said remembering that she was hunting for the rest of the pieces of her set. "Umm..." she said to a shop keeper of a nearby stand, "Do you happen to have any Aqua set pieces?" she asked timidly.
"Aqua set? Hmmm, let me check" he said opening up his shop window. "Aqua...Aqua" he muttered scrolling through the list of items he had listed. "Ah here we go, Aqua Bow" He rummaged through some boxes until he pulled out a light teal hair bow.
"How much for it?" Keshiga asked.
The shopkeeper pointed to the price in his shop window, "It's below the normal market price, so it's a good deal; especially for this piece of the set."
"Hmmm, a little pricey, but I'll take it" Keshiga said pressing the buy function on the shop window.
"Wa..wait! Keshiga!" Sachi said. "It's something that I want, so I need to pay for it"
Keshiga simply smiled. "Don't worry about it; this is a gift for you"
Sachi simply blushed at his statement. "F..fine"
The shopkeeper simply chuckled. "You two seem like a cute couple" he said. "I'll upgrade it one rank for you as a gift"
"Thank you!" Keshiga said very grateful for his generosity.
"Don't sweat it." he said handing Keshiga the bow. "I wouldn't know what I would do if I made a face like that sad" he teased Sachi a bit. "Anyway, have a good day now okay?"
"Will do!" Keshiga said waving.
"Thank you again!" Sachi followed.
"Here, this is yours now" Keshiga said placing the bow in her hands. "Try it on!"
Sachi took the bow with a blushing face. She hesitated a bit before dragging it onto her equipment. "So? How does it look?" she asked.
"Cute" Keshiga said. The bow was on the back of her head flowing with her cloak in the wind.
"Re-really?" Sachi said as her face turned a complete hue of pink.
Keshiga simply laughed, "It's funny to see you like this"
"H-hey!" Sachi said starting to punch him on the shoulder out of embarrassment.
"Ow! Cut it out!" Keshiga said still laughing. After he stopped, he said "Well, it's about time we met up with Norie."
Sachi nodded after her little tantrum ended.
"So how did you meet Norie anyway?" he asked as they walked through the courtyard.
"Um..." Sachi had to think of something quick. "I needed some help on a quest since I had no one to help me. And she saw me sitting alone and asked me if I was in a party." She lied.
"Oh" Keshiga said satisfied with her response. They were both silent again until they made it to the north gate. Norie was there waiting for them.
"Alright, you guys ready to go?" Norie asked tapping her fingers on her hip. Everyone nodded. "Alright then, let's go!" Norie said as she led the way down the path. "That bow looks cute on you" Ellen whispered in Sachi's ear. She started to turn red and her head started to steam comically. Norie laughed as she walked backwards examining the pair. "Sachi and Keshiga..." she thought to herself.
Eventually, Norie led them to a fork in the road; then she stopped.
"Are we there?" Keshiga asked pulling out his spear.
"Not yet" Norie said as she stepped off the path and started heading towards the thick forest. "Hey wait!" Keshiga said going after her. Sachi followed in pursuit. "Why are we heading into the forest for? That's the danger zone isn't it?"
"Of course it is" Norie replied. "Just follow me" she said leading them through the seemingly endless trees and brushes.
"I don't like the feeling of this" Keshiga noted.
"Don't worry, if anything happens, me and Ellen with protect you two" Norie reassured. She was right, after a little more walking; they eventually made it to a clearing.
"Wahhhh..." Sachi said as she gazed at the landscape in front of her. She was in a plain of grass that was flowing gracefully with each gust of wind. The waterfall in the distance added a sense of serenity as the sound of water splashing added a feeling of peace. "It's beautiful!" She started spinning and spinning spreading her arms out as she fell into the soft grass of the plains.
"Wow.." Keshiga said in amazement, "You sure are something Norie; I don't even see this place on the map!" It certainly wasn't; when you looked on the world map, they were nowhere to be seen.
"Told you I knew what I was doing. Ahem, now to the main business." Norie said clapping to get everyone's attention, "There are plenty of mobs around for you to fight. They are rather mid-leveled, but nothing you guys can't handle one on one. I set the experience share so that whoever kills the monster gets the experience, that way you guys get more training done. If you meet something you can't handle, just run away and call me. Meet at that tree over around noon and I'll have lunch ready." Norie explained pointing at a tree upon a hill a little farther away.
"What kind of mobs are around here?" Sachi asked.
"There are wolves roaming around the plains. They won't aggro you unless you really seem like a threat, so don't worry." Norie pointed out as she showed them the monsters in the distance. "Right, Keshiga, you can get started. I need to show Sachi how to use her weapon"
"Got it" Keshiga said as she pulled his spear out.
"Be careful" Sachi said.
"I will" he replied giving a thumbs up as he charged through the plains.
"Now Sachi, we'll practice on that wolf right there" Norie pointed out.
Sachi nodded as she pulled her sword out getting ready to fight.
"Have you ever fought with a sword before?" Norie asked.
"Yes" she added looking her sword a little bit nervous.
"From?" Norie asked.
"Erm, someone named Kirito" Sachi replied timidly. Kirito had taught her the basics sword and shield fighting, not sword only. "But I need a shield."
"Good, so you know some basics" Norie replied as she shook her head. "No, a shield does protect you, but if you hide behind it too much, you'll never be able to muster up the courage to strike. You need to rely on your sword to defend, if you do that, you won't need a shield to fend off attacks." Sachi was a bit surprised that Norie knew Kirito.
"You know Kirito?" She asked
"I've fought alongside him before. But that's not important right now, concentrate." Norie replied tapping her on the shoulder.
"Okay" Sachi said getting ready to dive at the wolf. He hands were trembling and she gripped it tightly with both hands to try to stop it from shaking.
"Calm down Sachi. Forget about how scary it is, and let the fear flow out of your body until all of it is gone. "Norie said holding her hand and straightening her sword so she would stop shaking. Sachi felt a better with Norie by her side guiding her.
After taking a deep breath, she charged forward using Horizontal on the wolf; ending up with the wolf presumably dead behind her. She was wrong, it wasn't dead and it pounced on her from behind. A powerful force pushed her forward as she tripped and fell. Looking back, she saw the gnarling face of the wolf waiting for her to make her move. Its Hp was a little less than half. She had lost about 1/5th. She started to back away from the wolf in fear. She didn't want her HP to drop to 0 again.
"Don't get scared if your HP drops a bit, you still have plenty left! Attack again! Don't let it hit you again!" Norie called out.
Sachi did as she was told. She got up, mustered a bit of courage and charged towards the wolf, again using Horizontal on it. It squealed and smashed into a flurry of little polygons. A little bag was left over and a notification told her that she had gained some experience.
"Not bad" Norie said as she walked closer to Sachi. "Now I want you to follow up a little more. This isn't a turn based game where you allow the enemy a chance to retaliate, because if you do, it might end up killing you. You need to be able to kill your enemies without giving them the opportunity to strike back." she explained. "And don't be scared if you get hit. Okay? Just get back up and give it to them twice as hard!"
"Got it" Sachi said setting her sights on the next wolf. She charged again towards it using Slant on it. She wasn't as scared as before.
"Now! Strike now while it's stunned!" Norie said.
Sachi hastily used Diagonal again in the opposite direction causing the wolf to get knocked back, bursting into polygons. Sachi was panting because she was so nervous at Norie's instructions, but she knew that the only thing Norie wanted was only the best for her.
"Good!" Norie said clapping. "Now, keep practicing that some more. Feel free to improvise and create your own techniques okay?" Norie said turning the other way. "I'll be hunting some myself also" she said pulling Ellen out.
"Do I have to do anything?" Ellen yawned.
"Leave it to me. These are low level mobs after all" Norie said dashing away. "Be careful"
"Create my own techniques..." Sachi thought to herself gripping her sword with both hands. She had her sights on a nearby wolf; using a skill that Kirito had taught her called Sonic Leap. She dashed towards the wolf slashing downward. She didn't stop in front of it though, because she wasn't used to using this skill before and stopped a little bit away from the stunned wolf with her back turned to it. "Don't give it a chance to strike back..." Norie's voice rang in her head turning around, tilting her blade forward and using Sonic Leap again, ending up back where she was standing before she engaged the wolf. It burst. After calming down a bit, she sat down to take a short break. Huffing and puffing, she glided her hand over the surface of her sword. The moment of resting passed, and Sachi was back on her feet fighting, fighting to get stronger. She hacked and slashed at the wolves, taking them down one by one, just like the monsters did to her friends. Eventually, she didn't even keep track anymore, she just fought. She acted on an instinct, she didn't really think about anything. After slaying another, she found herself standing in the middle of the plain panting and sweating. She heard a low growling that seemed to come from every direction. She was surrounded by wolves. They were growling lowly ready to pounce on the one who had slain so many of their kin. Sachi looked around her unsure of what to do. "Stay calm... stay calm Sachi..." Her voice rang inside her head trying her best not to panic. The first wolf had charged forward and pounced at Sachi; she forcibly used Vertical; slashing upward to force the wolf into the air. She then held her blade straight parallel to her face and lunged forward stabbing the wolf. As it burst into little triangles, a second wolf pounced at her from behind. "Shoot!" She thought to herself because she knew she couldn't react in time. She braced for a hit, but instead, she heard someone shout followed by a loud thud that was heard from right behind her.
"Need some help?" A familiar voice asked.
Sachi looked behind her only to see Keshiga pulling his spear from the ground. "Uh.. yea.." she said still a little surprised.
"It was a rhetorical question" he replied with a smirk as the wolves surrounded them. "I'll take half, you take half?" he asked with them back to back.
"Sounds like a deal" Sachi replied as a wolf charged towards her. She was more confident now that Keshiga was fighting by her side. She promptly cut it down with a Vertical down slash and looked up. There were about 5 wolves on her side and assumed the same more or less on Keshiga's side. She looked at her sword. With enough force, she could one shot the wolves. The only problem is that she could only strike so fast.
Keshiga on the other hand handled it a bit differently. After stabbing one wolf, he spun his spear around at the ones surrounding him to keep them at bay for a second. Then, he jumped and used Leap a skill unique to spear users; one that Sachi was quite familiar with at that matter. It involved the user to jump upward and land on top of the foe bringing a downward stab with a spear into the enemies' skull, most likely causing a one shot kill with most normal mobs. After killing the first wolf, he then spun his spear around to keep the wolves around him away. It was a dual headed spear after all, so it made hitting enemies that got too close easier. One wolf managed to conjure up the courage to dive at Keshiga. As it ran in to bite at him, he spun around to hack at its face stunning it for a second before he spun slashing the wolfs face again with the opposite blade. Immediately after slashing, he then got into a charging stance in burst forward with a stab effectively slaying it. Of the three remaining wolves, two of them decided to team up on him running towards him from the same direction. The first one jumped up to pounce on him. He darted forward ducking and stabbing the wolf from under with his spear. Not forgetting about the other one, he brought the bottom of his spear forward and made an uppercut bringing the first wolf slamming into the ground impaling the spear deeper into it. The second one was in mid air and Keshiga jumped over it using it as a boost to get him higher by kicking it down into the ground. This was followed by a loud battle cry that he used as he leaped into the last wolf, impaling his spear into its head. When he got up, all the wolves that he had slain burst into countless shapes, only leaving bags of loot behind.
Amidst of this fighting, Sachi had her own problems to deal with. After she struck down the first wolf with a down slash; she looked up to see a wolf charge at her. She got into stance, and used Sonic Leap to charge right past it delivering a killing blow. She felt a wave of adrenaline sweep up in her system. Another wolf managed to bite her arm, and without thinking, she cut it down mercilessly. "Two down, three more to go..." she thought as she shook off her wound. That bite caused about a fourth of her health to go down. The other three wolves were ready to move if she did, so there was a small stand off for a couple of seconds. One of the wolfs decided to start moving forward as it dashed towards Sachi. This time, Sachi managed to concentrate and execute her abilities in more control. She used Sonic Leap dashing past it delivering a killing blow to the first one. The second and third decided to attack Sachi from both sides. One was going to pounce in the air while the other charged from the ground. Sachi had to act quick, and without thinking, she used Vertical on the wolf charging on the ground. Then she ducked to cause the one pouncing to jump right past her giving an opening. She herself charged towards it and used Uppercut followed by a downward Vertical
The adrenaline disappeared from her system as she wiped the sweat from her brow. The fight was over. "Haha" she chuckled to herself falling on her bottom taking a little rest. The Level Up notification sounded. She had hit level 27.
"Good job" Keshiga said sitting down next to her patting her on the back. "Here's your share" he held a small bag out to her which contained all her loot compiled into one.
Sachi took the bag with a smile, it contained some cor, crystals and potions; nothing too rare.
"Drink some" Keshiga said holding an HP potion up to her. She had remembered that she had taken a hit from the wolf. Taking the HP potion, she sipped slowly being careful not to drink too much as her health slowly went back up to full.
"Those were some cool skills you pulled out there" Keshiga commented. "Where did you learn them?"
Sachi was quiet for a moment putting the half full HP potion back in her inventory. "A guild member of mine."
"Guild? But I thought..." Keshiga tried his best not to say died.
"Well, he is the only remaining member alive other than me" Sachi replied in a tender tone looking up at the noon sky.
"I see" Keshiga said getting up and dusting his back off. "I think we should meet up with Norie now. I'm getting a little hungry"
Sachi almost forgot about that, especially when all these things were happening. Her stomach growled rather loudly and she said "Yea! Let's go"
Norie was sleeping at the base of the tree with her cap over her eyes. She had a piece of straw hanging out of the corner of her mouth while she snored lightly. The hill had a good view of the area, so it was perfect for the picnic that she had laid out for them. A classic red and white blanket was spread out with a picnic basket right on top of it. Ellen tip toed to the basket and peeked inside. "I see you" Norie muttered even though her cap was over her closed eyes.
"Bawww, you're no fun" Ellen complained as she hovered up to a branch on the tree to relax a bit.
Sachi and Keshiga made their way up the hill, only to see this rather subtle scene.
"About time you guys got here" Norie said pulling her cap back over her head and yawning.
"GWAAAAAHHHH" Ellen said popping out from the tree with the same mask on her face the first time she tried to scare Sachi, and it worked.
Sachi squealed as she run away hiding behind Keshiga.
"Hahahah!" Ellen laughed holding her sides. "Oh... oh this is too easy..." She wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Hey, I thought I took that away from you" Norie said snatching the mask again.
"You little runt!" Sachi said pinching Ellen's cheeks with her eyes filled with rage.
"Owwww!" Ellen complained yet again. "I'm sowwie, I can't hep et"
After the little bit of messing around was over, everyone sat down to enjoy a nice lunch. Norie had prepared some sandwiches for everyone to eat along with a bottle of apple cider that she had bought from town.
"So? How is everyone's training going by?" Norie asked after she finished chewing.
"Pretty well" Keshiga said finishing off a sandwich. "We were kind of surrounded by wolves before we came here"
"How did that go?" Norie asked a little surprised.
"Good actually" Sachi replied sipping from her cup.
"You mean you two were fighting off a pack of wolves?" Norie asked pointing at the two.
"Err yea" Keshiga said getting a little full of himself through the praise of a higher level.
"Well that takes care of my next lesson for you Sachi." Norie said patting her on the shoulder. "I'm proud of you; taking on multiple foes isn't easy."
Keshiga half heartedly smiled. "She didn't even say anything to me..." he thought as he grinned.
"Well I wouldn't know what to do if Keshiga wasn't there to help me out" Sachi said a little timidly. She wasn't used to receiving praise from people that were more skilled than her.
After finishing their lunch, they took a little break to let the food process. Norie was a sleep again and Ellen was hanging out in the tree while Sachi and Keshiga sat next to each other in awkward silence.
"Okay, back to training" Norie said getting up and dusting her back off. "We'll train for a couple more hours and then we can call it a day."
Both Sachi and Keshiga nodded in reply and got back to training. Nothing very eventful occurred that is worth mentioning. After a couple of hours, Sachi decided to take a break and check the time. It was about 5:30; getting closer to the evening. She certainly got a lot of training done today; she was proud of how much progress she had attained. Two days ago, Sachi was level 25, now she was level 29 after the training she underwent. As she sat, she thought about her guild members.
"Someday we'll go up to the ranks of the Knights of Blood and the Holy Dragon Alliance!" Tetsuo's voice rang in her head.
"Oi oi, now slow down a moment. We have to reach level 30 first" Keita's voice said.
"But that's impossible!" her own voice rang as she said it through her mouth at the same time. She smiled bitter sweetly; she was glad that she did what she thought was impossible, but at the same time, she couldn't share that joy with them. After a little more silence, the alarm rang to tell her she had a message. It was from Norie. It read:
Alright, meet up at the inn at 6:00. That way we can have dinner and get some rest for tomorrow. Don't go into the danger zone alone, stick together. Sorry I can't guide you guys myself, but I have some business that I have to tend to. I sent an acquaintance of mine from the past to guide you guys through. You'll find him on the outskirts of the forest around where we entered.
"I wonder what business she's talking about..." Sachi said to herself as she opened her map to try and locate Keshiga. Eventually, they found each other and headed towards the designated point. As they made their way there, they saw a young man waiting around.
"Umm, are you the one sent by Norie?" Keshiga asked.
"Ah, you two must be Sachi and Keshiga" he said. "My name's Taru" he introduced himself. He had rather longish blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore full plate armor in addition to his shield and sword.
"Nice to meet you" Both of them replied.
"Norie told me that you guys were training here, but didn't know the way to through the danger zones" he said signaling them to follow. "So, as a former pupil of hers, I was more than glad to give her a hand"
"So you two have met before?" Sachi asked following him along with Keshiga through the forest
"Yea, we were actually classmates in high school" Taru replied as he jumped down from a large tree trunk.
"Did you like her?" Keshiga asked. "Like, like like her" he quoted using his index and middle finger of both hands.
"No, she was a really close friend, but I have a girlfriend in real life." Taru replied stopping a bit giving a hefty smile.
"What was she like?" Sachi asked curious to see how Norie was like in the real world. Even though she can ask Norie herself, it would be nice to find out from other people that know her.
"Not much different from here" Taru replied as they exited the danger zone and back onto the path. "She's kind, caring. She's always there when you need a shoulder to cry on. Just come to her and she'll hug you tightly and cry with you; your problems are her problems." There was something wrong though, it was as if Taru was fighting back tears. "Sorry, I tend to cry easily" he said wiping his eyes. "Where was I? Oh right. I always go to her for any sort of help; she's the most reliable person I know." Taru suddenly stopped as he started tearing up again.
"Umm…" Sachi said moving her hand to place it on his shoulder, but he cut her off halfway. "I'm fine" he said wiping his tears again.
"What's wrong? You can tell us" Keshiga reassured.
Taru took a breather and closed his eyes. "Everyone goes to Norie for support, but she can't go to anyone for support." He said walking again. Sachi and Keshiga simply looked at each other confused by this statement. He looked back at them with a rather saddened look on his face. "Norie's family was broken."