Chapter 7 - The Grind
It had been a week since my encounter with the orange players. Over 400 people had died. The boss room hadn't been found yet. What's more, I hadn't seen Argo in a few days now. She hadn't dissolved the party, but I respected her privacy enough not to go looking for her.
I heard the rustling of bushes behind me. My sword was already drawn, the leather-bound hilt creaks under my grip. I hear the low growling of a high level «Dire Wolf». The area I have been grinding for EXP in for the last 4 hours was full of them. Most players would be familiar with the smaller variants littering the fields around the «Town of Beginnings», but these larger wolves sat a comfortable 3 levels above them.
It bared its teeth, razor-sharp fangs dripped with saliva. I got ready for its attack, sword at the ready. The wolf pounced, its powerful jaws opened wide in preparation for its bite attack. I parried it easily, my blade connecting with its muzzle in a quick downwards slash. It whimpered loudly, skidding across the grass before growling at me once again. I readied my blade, the familiar 'wind-up' SFX of a sword skill ringing in my ears. As soon as the wolf lunged, my blade ran it through with a «Slant» skill, its limp form toppled to the ground behind me, the sound of its model shattering and the inevitable pale reward window popping into view to serve my congratulations.
I smirked. It was getting easier. It was starting to feel like a game again. It was really all I could do to rationalize my behavior. From dawn till dusk, I left my temporary home at the inn and slew any monster that crossed my path. Day in, day out. It was a vicious cycle which, as a solo player, would probably get me killed one day but that didn't matter.
I was making good progress.
"It's not progress at all if you die alone somewhere, how are they going to get your progress then?" Was the last thing Argo said to me after I tried rationalizing my irresponsible grinding habits with 'Making good progress'. I, of course, agreed with her….in my head. On the outside, I was probably more standoff-ish. Saying something along the lines off.
"I don't see anyone else trying to beat this game?"
Personally, I could have handled that better. She didn't stick around for long after that, she travels a lot between the 'frontier' which is my fancy name for 'the areas that I spend grinding alone' and the «Town of Beginnings». It was the life as such for the «Sword Art Online»'s most revered 'Information Broker'. In the beta-test, Argo was described as someone who would 'sell her own grandmother for the right price', but those who spread such a rumor didn't really know the real Argo. She was much worse.
But back to me. Today I had spent the better half of 12 hours killing Dire Wolves alone. It was definitely the most boring part about SAO, due to the lack of EXP quests. Now, the most efficient way to level up was to mass murder field monsters. I had already completed all of the dungeons on this floor, sans the boss labyrinth, and grinding out dungeon monsters was an unnecessary risk.
I quickly pivoted on my heel as another growl came whirling past my head. Another wolf is here to meet its doom. I chuckled to myself. I stepped quickly, my glowing red blade thrust out before me as I executed the «Rage Spike» skill. I really loved this skill back in the beta, it was always handy at closing distances due to its unnatural increase in lunge speed. Luckily it was still useful in the full release judging by the sound of glass breaking once again, it brought a smile to my face. Ding! The window showing my rewards appears, I notice my level rise once again. Maybe I can finish early today?
I opened my menu, pinching my forefinger and thumb together and dragging the menu down from non-existence. Allotting my available skill points into my dominant attributes, Strength, and Agility. I should probably use this opportunity to check my weapon proficiencies. 60 One-handed Sword and 15 Throwing Weapons. I hadn't dabbled with any other weapons as I had previously. In the beta I had spent a solid two days using every possible weapon I could get my hands on, trying out every combination, I even stupidly ran a 'Dual Weapons' build for a day or so, but the inability to use any sword skills became a problem. Eventually, I just settled for One-handed Sword and have stuck with that ever since.
Coming back to reality, again. I return my trusty «Anneal Blade» to its sheath and prepare for the long walk home. «Horunka» was roughly an hour's trek away from my current position and I would surely encounter a few monsters lurking around the area on the way home.
"Good day, sir!" I noticed one of Horunka's town guards saluting in my direction. I half smiled and extended the same politeness back. The longer I spend here, the more the NPC's start feeling like real people. Shaking the strange thought from my mind, I trudged slowly up to the well-weathered Inn I had been spending my nights in, pushing open the heavy wooden doors into the Tavern below.
"Kii-bou!" My eyes searched for the owner of the voice in the crowd.
"Hey, Argo." I half smiled at the hooded girl, allowing my feet to automatically usher me over to where she was sitting. "I suppose you're after some map data and Intel?" I asked, shuffling into the booth seat opposite her and raising an eyebrow in question.
"Hey! It's like I'm not allowed to come to see a friend without an ulterior motive?" Her voice feigned an accusatory tone. Her hand lifted from the table, combing its way under her hood and pulling it back over her head showcasing her unruly blonde hair. "But your map data and floor intel would be nice too." A sheepish grin graced her lips, her whisker blessed cheeks pushing it upwards until it reached her eyes.
"I thought as much." I opened my menu and copied the map data into a tradable item. "You're gonna pay me though right?" I opened a trade window and deposited the item quickly, pressing the accept button as soon as I saw the «Col» appear alongside it.
"Of course I'd pay you, who do you take me for?" She grinned mischievously. "A Rat perhaps?"
I recoiled a bit at her comment. She never was fond of her beta-test nickname, so for her to suddenly embrace it was a surprising development. "You never liked that name, why are you using it now?"
She leaned back against the dark weathered wood of the booth, closing her eyes in contemplation. "Well, I thought about it." Her forefinger climbed to a comfortable resting point on her chin in mock thought. "The name is, unfortunately, what made me memorable in the beta. If people wanted info they came looking for «The Rat», while it isn't a very flattering name, you can not deny its effectiveness."
"It was always better than «The Black Swordsman»." I chuckled lightly, waving my hand outwards to summon a bar-waiter. "It always made me sound like some mid-teen edge-lord."
Round after round of drinks, we laughed together for what seemed like forever, surprisingly sinking back into a comfortable back-and-forth that I had missed since she left the frontier a week ago. I always liked playing solo, but something about laughing alongside someone in this bleak world kept the dark thoughts at bay.
"Hey, Kii-bou?" Argo's voice crackled into existence, just barely drowning out the ever playing Tavern BGM.
"What is it?" I downed another mouthful of ale before setting the mug down to be taken away.
"What level are you?" Usually, when Argo is after a piece of information for her collection, her eyes would twinkle and her fingers would comically patter together like some evil mastermind. But this Argo was concerned, like she was expecting to be told something awful.
"10? Just reached it today, why?" It's as if her worst fears were confirmed, her shoulders slumped and her hands fell limply into her lap. "Why, what's wrong with that?"
"Y'know, what you said earlier in the week… It really got me thinking." As she spoke, her eyes wouldn't meet mine, paying attention only to where her hands sat in her lap. "That someone would have to stand up and start pushing the frontline." Her voice cracked as she spoke, fingers knitting together until her knuckles paled. "I just didn't want it to be you, y'know."
I laughed. Her head popped up from its slump, her eyes mixing together a concoction of irritation and curiosity.
"What? What is so funny about that?!" The annoyance in her voice was palpable, her fist banging on the table quickly, triggering a little purple «Immortal Object» flag.
"You forget that I love these kinds of games." My face shifted from amusement into something more tender. "True, this game is really far from what someone would consider a 'Game', but it still plays like one, which means I love playing it."
Her face softened at my words, even though to be honest, I was fooling myself with the same words just as much as I was fooling her. I love playing games, and this was just another game with lethal stakes, but I wasn't out there grinding every day because I love games. I stand by what I told her. I don't see anyone else trying to beat this game. I wasn't trying to be pragmatic, I've never thought of myself as 'a go-getter', we're just never going to get out of this game and see our families again if we do nothing.
"You're really something, Kirito." She smiled warmly at me before waving out down the Bar-waiter for another round of drinks. "And you're level is definitely going to earn me some big bucks."
"Why am I not surprised."
