FATAL ERROR: SYSTEM REBOOT
Chapter Seven: The Race Begins
A/N:
I know the summary said that I'm on hiatus due to NaNoWriMo, but inspiration hit me, and here we are! I literally typed this up in less than a collective six hours!
Okay, the title of this chapter is more symbolic that it is literal. You'll understand that later on in the chapter, when the— whoops! Almost spoiled you!
Also, you guys won me over. This story will NOT be a harem, but I'm still contemplating making it Asuna/Kirito/Lisbeth or Asuna/Kirito/Sachi.
Also, there's going to be a bit of a time-skip here, but there's a reason for that. Hopefully you guys can forgive me for that.
Well, I think that's about it! See ya at the bottom!
Once we were a good distance from the door to the fourth floor, Cirdan stopped walking and said, "Kirito, we need to talk."
I wonder what he wants to talk about…
"What the hell happened to you back there?!"
"Huh?"
"When the boss started to head for the shadow Lisbeth was at, you went freaking berserk! You ran towards him, activating skill after skill until he was down to the last HP bar, and even the few times that he actually hit you, you just kept going! And your eyes… we locked eyes once, and all I saw was the look of a furious beast. Then, when you were in the middle of activating the strongest one-hit skill so far in the game, it's like you snapped out of a trance! Something happened, and I want to know just what it was!"
I looked to the ground, my expression hidden by my bangs. "I… I don't know what happened. I just remember my vision turning a bloody red, and then the next thing I knew, I was activating the skill you were talking about."
Cirdan sighed. "Well, I guess it can't be helped. We'll figure out what it is later. Now, we just need to activate the «Teleport Gate» and get the house on this floor."
I smiled softly. "Yeah…"
And we moved on.
As I walked through the «Forest of Nightfall», dressed in a cloak to hide my identity, I looked around for any mobs to slay.
I found none.
Strange… this place used to be full of mobs in the beta… I wonder what happened. Maybe a bunch of players went through here a few hours ago and cleared the place out.
It was then that I heard a scream that resounded so loudly that it might have damaged my ears in the real world.
I unequipped my second sword, running in the direction of the scream.
Damn it! Why would someone be in a dangerous forest at night? The monsters are twice as strong!
When I arrived at the scene, I saw two players surrounded by seven of the second strongest mobs on the fourth floor, «Crimson Fox Princes».
"Duck!" I shouted at the players. They did as told, and I activated a new skill I had been dying to try out.
«Wind Cutter»
I made a powerful slash in the direction of the mobs, shattering their bodies in one hit.
I walked over to the players. "Are you two okay?"
Upon closer inspection, I noted that one of them, the female, had midnight blue hair, a medium-sized bust, midnight-blue leather armor, and a spear that looked like it had seen better days…
So familiar…
And the other player, the male, had medium-length blond hair with a winter cap covering the top, a small frame, and a cloak similar to mine for concealing whatever weapon he used.
"NOW we're okay! Thanks a million!" the blond said. "We would've been monster meat without you! My name's Ducker, by the way."
"No, it's no problem. Nice to meet you, Ducker," I said, my cloak hiding a frown of disapproval. "You shouldn't be out here at night with only one other person, though. The mobs here are known for their ability, «Swarm»."
"Oh, we were with three others, but we got separated about half an hour ago. Wait, wouldn't going solo be even more dangerous than having only two people?" Ducker replied.
"Well, I grind a lot, so I'm a couple of levels higher than most players. Plus, I only target one enemy at a time, so I have a lower chance of getting killed. There aren't many mobs without the «Swarm» ability in this forest, but everything gets you high EXP. It's worth it."
A total lie. I'm almost double the level of the average player at this point, and I only target large groups of mobs, just because of the high EXP turnout.
"Ah, I see," Ducker responded as if he was getting advice from a veteran.
Well, I guess he kinda is.
"By the way," said Ducker, "this girl over here is named Sachi. She's kinda shy, so she doesn't really talk to people she doesn't know. Sorry about that. Anyway, what's your name?"
"Don't worry about it, I used to be the same way. My name is…"
Should I tell them who I am? They might freak out, so I'd better not.
"My name is Black."
Of course, I was making a small reference to my nickname, the «Black Sword». Ever since people found out about our guild on the fourth floor, they gave us nicknames based on the color of clothing we wore.
"Cool!" Ducker said, a wide grin on his face.
"Well, do you want me to help you find the rest of your party?"
"Yes, thank you!" Sachi exclaimed, talking for the first time since I met her.
Her voice… it's so cute… and kind of familiar… but I know I haven't met her before. Weird.
Deciding to put my thoughts away for the moment, I said, "All right, let's go."
Walking through the forest with my new friends, I found myself thinking about my guild.
Ever since people found out about our guild on the fourth floor, they started calling us the strongest players in the game. I don't know how they made that connection, but they did. Now, whenever I go solo for a little while, the people I meet shy away, as if I'm unapproachable or something. That's why I got this cloak to put on top of my «Coat of Midnight», but then… I feel like I'm lying to everyone I meet like this.
"What'cha thinking about?" Ducker queried.
"Nothing… just about lies."
"What do you mean?" Ducker asked me, his voice starting to shake. "Don't tell me you're a PKer!"
"What?! God, no!" I shouted.
"Sorry… " Ducker apologized. "It's just that when you say something like that, and you have a cloak that hides your face…"
"No, I understand where you're coming from. My second friend in this world wore a cloak when I first met her. I thought it was kinda weird, too. Maybe a little scary, because of her skill, but… well…"
"Well…?"
"… She's one of my dearest friends now," I finished.
"Cool!"
"Well, I think we should keep searching," I said. "It's still night, and the mobs are stronger. Wait a second…"
"What is it?" Sachi asked me.
"We could just use our «Tracing Skill»!"
I activated said skill, and I immediately saw footsteps leading northwest from where we stood.
It looks like they were running from something!
"C'mon, guys! Something's wrong!" I said, sprinting forward. They followed, and I tried to stay just slow enough to keep pace with them.
When I reached the players whose footsteps I had been tracing, I found a truly terrifying sight.
Three players, all with almost fully depleted HP bars, were cornered by the second strongest mini-boss on the fourth floor, the «Crimson Fox King».
The «Crimson Fox King» stood on two legs, and all its limbs had giant muscles. Its fur looked like it had been stained with blood. Giant claws protruded from its hands, each claw as long as my «Anneal Blade».
Suddenly, images flowed into my head—images of each of the players around me dying, including Ducker and Sachi.
No… NO!
I sprang into action, sprinting as fast as I could.
"RAAAAAAAH!"
When I reached the mini-boss, I hit it with a «Blade Bash», stunning it and allowing me to activate a new skill I learned.
«Howling Octave»
Thrust, thrust, thrust, thrust, thrust, down, up, UP!
Remembering the long cooldown just in time, I chained it into another «Blade Bash», allowing me to activate yet another powerful skill… my signature skill.
«Lunar Wing Beat»
Left, right, diagonal up, diagonal down, flip-spin, thrust, thrust, up, down, THRUST!
The last thrust had a knockback effect, pushing the «Crimson Fox King» back into a tree.
"KURAAAAAH!"
Once the cooldown ended, I charged at it again, delivering a series of attacks that were too swift to follow.
Left, right, up, down, «Parry Strike», left, diagonal up, diagonal spin—
I dodged a downward strike from its left claw, jumping onto its arm and running up it until I reached its shoulders, stabbing my «Anneal Blade» through its head. It shook around violently, trying desperately to get my sword dislodged from its head, until…
The «Crimson Fox King» shattered into countless polygons, signifying my victory, as well as showing a level-up sign…
With my name on it.
"What the…?" Ducker said, undoubtedly looking at my name on the level-up window.
Ignoring his question, I walked over to the other players, saying, "Are you three all right?"
"Y-yeah, we're fine," one of them said. He looked at me with a smile. "My name's Keita. I see you found Sachi and Ducker. Thanks for that!"
"No prob. Well, I'd better get going," I said, turning around to leave.
"Wait!" Ducker exclaimed.
"You're the «Black Sword», right?" Sachi asked, shocked.
"Uh, yeah… just call me Kirito, though."
"So you're the leader of the clearing group?" Keita asked, looking at me with an unreadable expression.
"Unofficially, yeah. We haven't really established a leader, but my guild runs the boss meetings… and I'm the one who maps out the boss dungeons."
"You mean you do it by yourself?" Ducker said incredulously.
"Most of the time. Anyway, I gotta go grind."
"Wait! At least let us treat you to dinner for saving us!" Keita offered.
I weighed my options, eventually deciding to give in.
"All right, where to?"
After we ordered our food at the diner, we started to talk about random things before Ducker said, "Y'know, Kirito… you're the reason we left the «Starting City»."
I coughed, my drink spraying slightly. "W-what do you mean?"
"You inspired us. We wanted to get to your level, to see what the front lines were like," Keita continued. "But now that I've seen your strength, I know that we might never have what it takes to get to the front lines."
"Trust me, the front lines aren't all they're cracked up to be. The front lines are dangerous, and you never stay on one floor for more than two weeks. The fourth floor only took four days," I told them. "But still, you can make it if you have the courage to fight."
All were silent. Then, Keita broke the silence with, "Well, when you put it that way, I think it's possible! Does everyone here want to make it up to the front lines?"
Everyone gave their own sign of confirmation aside from Sachi, who just looked down, a scared expression on her face.
She looks bad. I think she'll kill herself if they force her.
"Well, I guess… if you want…" I started.
"What?" Ducker asked, looking at me with a curious expression.
"I could stay back here and help you guys out. I can give you a few tips and help you guys train in different builds. No offense, but your current team setup is really unstable."
A tall, brown-haired teen, who had earlier introduced himself as Tetsuo, said, "That's what Keita keeps telling us! He says that just having me as a forward isn't enough. I told him I can handle it, but…" he trailed off.
"That's the thing, though. You can't. There's no way a party with only one person out front can function," I said.
"Let's see… Ducker, you have a dagger build, right?" I asked the blond in question.
"Uh, yeah!"
"There's a quest on an earlier floor, the one that allowed Kamiko the «Emerald Edge» to use a claw with her dagger."
"What's the quest?"
I smiled. "Well, it's called the «Shadow Game» quest. You have to dodge or block fifteen consecutive attacks in complete darkness from the quest NPC. The thing is, you can only use a dagger or claw. No other weapon will allow him to give you the quest. Oh, and if you activate a skill that allows you to see in the dark, then you fail the quest. The lucky part about the quest is that you can take it an infinite amount of times.
"If you're up to it, I can tell you the attack pattern the NPC has. Kamiko told me about it one time."
"All right, I'll do it!"
"Okay, that takes care of that. Now we have another problem."
"What's that?" Keita queried.
"Both Sachi and Sasamaru use spears, right? Well, we need to have everyone a little different. Sachi seems to be a bit scared of being forward, so I suggest we switch Sasamaru to another build… how high is your STR stat, Sasamaru?"
"Pretty high, but my VIT stat is a little higher," he said sheepishly.
"Perfect. We'll set you up with a one-handed axe and shield build. Think you can handle it?" I asked.
He looked at the ground for a moment, contemplation evident on his features. When he looked up, I saw a smile on his face. "Sure!"
"All right, last thing on the list. Keita," I said, looking at him.
"Yeah?"
"What build are you? I didn't even see a weapon on you when you were under attack," I said, slightly annoyed that the apparent leader of the group didn't seem to fight alongside them.
"Oh, I used to use a curved sword, but its durability ran out a while back. We don't really have much money, so we couldn't afford to get any new weapons," Keita said sheepishly.
"Well, you need to be more careful, then. If you just flail your weapon about without any control, you're bound to break it a lot sooner than if you stick to even the most basic skills."
I pulled up a trade window, sending some mid-level armor for all of them.
It's still better than what they have now. Have they got any new armor since they got in the game?
"Sorry I couldn't give you guys better armor, but I just did an inventory cleaning. Anyway, who needs a new weapon?" I said, noting the shocked expressions on their faces.
Everyone's hands shot up instantly.
I sighed. "Well, I guess giving my drops away is better than selling them."
Thirty minutes later, we had decided to spend the night at an inn. We had divided into three people per room, to save money. And of course…
I was grouped with Sachi and Ducker.
"Since you already know them pretty well, I think it'd be best if you stayed with them for the night," Keita said, the night's events catching up with him.
"I know it's true, but…" I mumbled.
Ducker is a little overenthusiastic. Sachi's cool, though.
"What's true?" Ducker asked me, coming to sit beside me.
"It's nothing. Anyway, I have to PM my guild-mates to tell them I'll be leaving the front lines for a bit to train you guys."
"Oh, all right."
I began to type out a message to Argo, knowing that she would get the info out to the rest of the guild.
To: Argo
"Kirito here. I'm going to be training a group of people for the front lines. I might not be back up to the fifth floor for more than a week. Please tell the rest of the guild mates so that you guys can map out the dungeon together.
—Kirito"
I closed out my menu, yawning loudly. "Well, I'm gonna get up early, whether you guys do or not, so I have to sleep. Night."
"Night!" Ducker said, laying down on the floor.
Ducker had let me take the bed, but since Sachi had apparently gotten paranoid because of the night's events, I had allowed her to take the bed in my place.
I don't know why they wanted me to have the bed anyway… well, at least I can get some rest now. You can't be uncomfortable in «Aincrad» when you're asleep.
Just as I started to nod off, I heard a shifting sound come from the bed, and I felt a light poke on my shoulder.
"Kirito?"
I groaned softly, then gently whispered, "What is it, Sachi?"
"I… I can't sleep. Could you… could you lie down with me, at least until I fall asleep?" Sachi whispered in a timid voice.
Trying to be as gentle as I could, I whispered, "Couldn't you have asked Ducker? I mean, you've known him a long time, right?"
"I could have, but… you're really strong… I'd feel safer with you."
Sighing in resignation, I got up quietly. "All right, but only for tonight."
"All right. Thanks."
When we got settled, I immediately fell into a deep sleep.
I soon found myself in a black void, with nothing but darkness as far as I could see.
"Where am I? This place seems oddly… familiar."
"Oh, you're awake!"
I turned around to face whoever it was, finding a white humanoid frame, with thousands of letters and numbers flashing through its insides. In an instant, I knew what… or who… it was.
"You're the «Cardinal System», right? The letters and numbers inside your form… only the «Cardinal System» would have such a complex code."
"You're smarter than you look. Then again, you did hack me several times, although I'm embarrassed to admit it."
"What are you talking about?"
Somehow, I just knew that it was smiling, even without a mouth to define it.
"Well, you wouldn't remember it anyway. What I came to tell you has nothing to do with that."
"Then what do you want to tell me?" I asked, an edge in my voice.
"I came to tell you about the one flaw within me. I have a flaw in my power supply that makes me slowly deteriorate until I fully shut down, which will happen again… less than two years from now."
"What will happen to the players if the game isn't cleared by then?" I queried, the edge in my voice replaced by a quiver of fear.
"You will all be deleted."
My blood turned to ice. "W… what?"
"You are playing this game for the seventh time since it launched… because of this flaw."
Suddenly, my own voice resounded through my head.
"So let me get this straight. A mere system meltdown caused time itself to rewind?!"
"It looks like you've remembered something important!" the «Cardinal System» said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Yes, I've used the remains of my power several times, just to give you all a second, and then third, and then fourth, and then fifth, and then sixth, and then… seventh… chance.
"As you could imagine, I'm growing tired of this. I've decided that I'll only do it one more time, and that's it. That's why that woman decided to give you your nifty skills a little earlier than normal, because she didn't want to push me over the edge."
"Are you going to take them away?"
"No. That wouldn't be fair of me, would it? You've already gotten so far in your training, it would be a waste to take your gifts away now. No, I've come up with a different approach."
"A different approach?"
"I'll give you one more edge, another gift for use in combat. In turn, you have to clear this game before November seventh of the year two-thousand twenty-four. That's my projected day of 'death'."
I knew I had no choice, so I said, "You're on. So, what's my new edge?"
"Good. You know, it's kind of funny, though. You're always the one standing before the final boss. You, and you alone."
"Wait, what about the—"
"You'll find it soon enough. Now, goodbye, Kirito. I wish you the best of luck."
When I woke up, I remembered everything from the dream, much to my disbelief.
I got up and went through my inventory, looking for anything unusual.
I don't see anything different. Maybe it's a skill.
When I looked at my list of skills, I still noticed nothing out of the ordinary.
«Cardinal» said it would be of use in combat, so it couldn't be a non-combat skill like cooking or fishing. I don't see any new attack skills, and my buffs are unchanged as well. That means there's only one place left to check… my «Passive Skill» list.
When I opened my «Passive Skill» list, the first thing that popped up on my screen was…
«SECRET SKILL: INFINITY MOMENT»
After I finished checking the skill description, I smiled to myself.
Things are gonna go a lot faster from now on.
A/N:
What did I tell you? The chapter title was symbolic. So, what do you think will happen? Will they clear the game in time? Will they all be deleted trying? You'll just have to wait to find out!
Anyway, I introduced Sachi and the Black Cats early, didn't I? What kind of impact will this have on the story? Some of you have probably already guessed, and who knows if you're right? :P
Lastly, I bet some of you are wondering what this secret skill does, eh? Well, you'll see in the next chapter.
All right, I think that's about it!
I don't own the SAO light novel series or any of its adaptations!
See ya!
