Chapter 11 Bringing Home the Bacon
I don't know how I felt about being on a date in a video game. It sort of made me feel like a weeb. Then again, the avatar sitting in front of me was an attractive girl. And in real life, too. And rather than doing some video game esc thing, we were getting dinner.
Maybe I was just nervous because it was my first date in over two month. With a girl that lived three doors down from me. With Blast in between. Ya.
Right now, I was sitting on me bed in our inn room on the second floor. We figured there was no point in moving quite yet. Saving a few minutes of walking was not worth the extra col. Maybe one day we would buy a player owned house.
Frenzy plopped down on my bed next to me. "You ready champ?"
"I guess," I replied. "Not the first time I've been on a date. It has just been a while."
"Just remember," he said, "if the date goes bad you will still have to see her every day."
"Thanks," I said dryly.
"And if the date goes too well," he continued, "Blast might kill you in your sleep."
I grabbed my pillow and smacked him upside his head. "Why are you only nice to girls?"
"Why are you such a douche when it comes to Blast," he teased back.
I figured it was safest just to say nothing at that point. Everything that I would have said could and would be used against me.
I check the time and saw that it was 5:29. One minutes to go. I was happy for an easy, and legit, reason to get away from Frenzy.
I hesitated in front of the twins' doors. Dang was I dumb for offering to pick up a girl at the door that stayed 15 feet from me. I didn't know if I should have shown up early, late or on time. I didn't want to seem too eager but being late would clearly have been rude and without excuse. I should have opted for meeting in the lobby. Much safer. I would have just needed to arrive first.
Whatever. Screw it. I knocked and called out Soul's name. The door cracked open and a faced appeared.
"Hey, Soul," I said trying to sound natural. "Ready to go-"
"I'm Shine," she interrupted. Dang it, stupid twins. I blushed slightly-something Aincrad did not allow players to hide. "Give her a second."
Shine walked away from the door without closing it. I heard a mixture of excited squeals and nervous words. A few seconds later, Soul flew through the door and crashed into me.
Shine popped into the door and said, "Have fun. Bye." And with that she slammed the door.
It all happened so suddenly that it took Soul a few seconds to realizes she was still pressed up against me.
"Oh, sorry," she said stepping back.
"Ya, no big deal." Now that she was a few feet away from me, I was able to get a good look at her, and dang did she look good.
She was wearing a full light blue dress with a leather vest. One of the benefits of living in a game is that items were more priced on stats than looks. Fancy clothes were cheap as long as they were cosmetic. Of course, if made of high-quality materials, a full tux could be worn into battle just as easy as a suit of armor.
Instantly, I realized that I was underdressed. I was just wearing a pair of nice black pants and a white short sleeve button up. Luckily, Frenzy, despite all the crap he gave me, helped me pick out my outfit. He had insisted, despite my protest, to expect the need to be formal. I opened my menu and after a few seconds equipped a black blazer. I was now very grateful for Frenzy insisting on being a gentleman.
No longer feeling too causal, I complemented Soul on her appearance. She smiled and told me I looked good as well. There was still a bit of awkwardness between us, but we set out anyway.
As was just stepping down that last step to the lobby, I turned, grabbed Soul's hand and went back up a few steps. I motion for her to be quiet and, luckily, she did not freak out. I thank the many times we had ventured into dungeons that had retrained her instincts.
"Blast is waiting down there," I said quietly.
She nodded her head at me and gave me a look that basically said seriously. "She doesn't bite," she said.
"I know," I replied, "she stabs."
"It will be fine," Soul reassured. "She would not break the sister code and ruin a date before it even starts."
"Girls do that too?" I asked.
"What? I can do what I want. She is not my mom."
"No, I mean the code. Guys have the bro code and such."
"Oh, ya, totes. I send one message with one code word and Blast will come dislocate some shoulders."
"She does that?" I asked, my nerve showing.
"Only once," she insisted. "It was because a guy was getting too handsy with Eon. Normally the threat will send guys running."
"I could have guessed that."
She smiled at that. To my surprise, she took me by the hand and lead me down the last few steps. Instead of heading towards the door, Soul led me right to where Blast was sitting. She dropped my hand in order to give Blast a hug.
"You look so pretty," said Blast. She turned to me. "Have a good night, Hydro."
The shock on my face must have been obvious because she said, "What? I know you will be respectable. I have no need to threaten you."
"Uhhh, thanks," I managed. And with that, Soul and I left for dinner.
"No meat," I asked flabbergasted. What kind of restaurant didn't have the best type of food? I'd be danged if I went to some vegan place. Just then, the quest mark appeared above the NPC waiter's head.
"What can I do to help," I said with a sigh.
The NPC went on a long rant about how the restaurant had run out of pork and recent economy had caused the price to skyrocket (I didn't know how true that was, but I guess it was an explanation) beyond the pay grade of the owner. The NPC then lamented about the abundance of wild boar but being too weak to hunt any. Obviously, the quest was for me to do it for him.
"I'm great at killing stuff," I replied. "How can I help?"
"Oh, really?" the NPC said. "Please bring me 23 boar meat."
I check my inventory. "Dang, only 17."
I saw Soul also going through her windows. "I have 5."
"Too bad," I complained. "I guess I'll go finish the quest tomorrow."
"You could do it now," Soul suggested.
"Are you sure?" I said. "I would hate to leave in the middle of a date."
"It is no big deal," Soul insisted. "I would wait a few minutes to get some pork chops."
"I'll be fast," I said, not giving her a chance to change her mind. "Be back in ten or less." I said racing out the door.
I ran at full speed to the city gates. One of the perks of an VRMMO was you didn't get tired by sprinting. Sure, you could run out of energy after not eating for too long, but physical limits were much higher. I ran an 800 (about the length of the city) in about 2 minutes, but in game I could keep up a dead sprint the entire length. It took me just over 90 seconds to clear the gate and find the first group of pigs. Luckily, there was not too many people hunting at this time. With a few swipes of my fingers I equipped my sword and charged into battle.
At level 11, the weakest mobs in the game crumbled before me. A stab in the head was enough to one shot the first one. A back hand finished a second. I did a full spin as three approached me and took them all out. An overhead slash took out the sixth. With only one left, I jumped up as high as I could and stabbed my sword into the final boar's back.
I was unlucky and didn't get the drop. It was to be expected as it was about 10% drop rate. Hopefully I would get it from the next wave.
The next group that I found was already being fought by a small party. Once they finished, I called out to the party leader.
"Hey, got any boar meat. I have a fetch quest."
A middle-aged man, responded positively.
I told him I only needed one and offered double the market price. The guy must have thought I was desperate because he countered with five-time market price.
"Are you freaking kidding me?" I said brandishing my sword. "I would sooner gut the four of you before paying that much."
The party leader did not recognize my sarcasm and took a defensive stance. "What makes you think you can take the four of us."
I lowered my blade. Looking threatening was not a good choice at the moment. "I took on the boss without much trouble. Four noobs shouldn't be that much harder if I really tired. "
"Uh, uh," cut in a tall skinny dude. "Do you have any kobold hides?"
"Yes, I do. I will trade for the meat and half the difference in col."
"Deal," he said without a second thought. His party leader did not seem happy, but what did I care. I made the trade and headed back to the restaurant.
"Nine minutes forty-six seconds," Soul said as soon as I sat down.
"You kept track?" I asked.
"Not like I had anything better to do."
"Sorry," I apologized.
"No worries. You were still under 10. I have waited longer for dates before."
"I just hope the food is worth the wait. Yo waiter," I called out, "I got the goods."
The waiter came over and was very gracious. As small window opened asking if I wanted to turn in the items. I press accept and another window opened saying congratulations and listing the rewards.
"Some exp, a bit of money," I said reading the reward out loud, "new dishes unlocked: boar stew and pork chops." I flashed Soul a smile at the mention of the new meals. "And free desserts with purchase of two meal. Heck ya."
"Now that was worth the wait," said Soul.
We both ordered pork chops. While we waited for our food, I was able to learn a bit about Soul's personal life. She was a first-year university student studying computer engineering. Her twin sister was at the same school studying animation. Soul met Blast during her first semester, and they all did yoga and the computer club together. Even though they were about the same age, Blast was a full year ahead. Blast was studying mathematics and planned to go into neurology (figures she was going to be a brain surgeon) Morg and Eon were roommates with the twins their first semester and the five of them had all become fast friends and decided to move in together after that.
Blast was fascinated with the nervegear and showed it to Soul. As a computer engineer naturally, she was impressed with the specs and showed it to her sister. Shine was literally pulled into a new digital world and it became her dream to design VR worlds. Eon was a bit of a closest gamer (VR did not give her the seclusion that she found in past MMOs) introduced the gang to SAO. Morg, well she was studying to be an elementary teacher and was just along for the ride because she didn't want to be left out.
All of them had a hand in getting stuck in the game. If one person had been slightly different, they might have dodged the bullet (though to be fair, Eon probably gotten the game regardless) but now they were in it together.
It was quite a bit longer than my story. Hydro and I were in our last year of high school. My older brother was three years older and already in university. Hydro was a beta tester and snagged an extra copy for my brother. I won mine in a regional math competition.
Just then, it occurred to me that I hadn't talked to anyone aside from Frenzy about my brother. Now was not a good time, but maybe I would open up about it on a later time.
Our food came and we stopped talking to eat. It was worth the wait indeed. However, just as I was getting close to finishing, a new loud party entered the restaurant.
"All rejoice," call the man in front, "for the first-floor boss has fallen." I guess such a spectacle should be expected. We had beaten the boss only a few hours ago so word was still spreading. Being the first night, many-such as myself-would be out celebrating.
"Rejoice for the mighty heroes," came a second man from the party.
"Pay your dues to your deliverers," came a third. Typical, trying to make money from the situation. The thing was, I didn't recognize any of them.
I was disgusted, no furious, that someone would try to capitalize on this situation when not even being there. A man had died to gain that victory and I was not about to let his sacrifice to be mocked like this.
"Wait here a second," I told Soul standing up.
"Wow," I said faking amazement. "Are you the awesome party of tanks I have been hearing about? Party C that stood their ground against the boss when everyone wanted to retreat?"
"Yes, we are," replied the first guy. "We sta-" I didn't give a chance to finish. I gave him a nasty uppercut that knock him flat on his butt.
"Filthy liar," I called out dropping my facade. "Tanks were party A and B. Plus," I stared down at him, "C was my group."
"Get him," the leader commanded from the ground. Some of his party mates tried to grab me, but the anti-criminal code did not allow them to move me. Who would have thought that all the times Blast beat up on me would teach me how to get around the system? A sudden blow could knock a person off balance, but once your feet were set, no player could move you. That being said, grabbing someone would start a stalemate. The attacks couldn't move from their spot without releasing their victim while the victim was very limited in movement by the bodies of their attackers.
I knew I was in a bit of a bind at this point. I did not want to be stuck here unable to move until these posers got bored. I just hoped they didn't understand the anticriminal code and wouldn't try to capitalize on the situation I was in. I would have to choose my words carefully to start a controlled fight I could win rather than a brawl.
"Look at you," I started. "A grown butt man unable to handle a 17-year-old punk. You could have kids my age for all I know. You're such a push over. I hope your wife disciplines your kids as there is no way they would take orders from you."
"What did you say?" the leader said. He stood up and got his face real close to mine. I had a man on both sides of me holding my arms, but I didn't give at all.
"Do. Your. Worst," I challenged.
The man punched me in the gut. To his up surprise, it did nothing. Of course, I didn't feel any pain; my balance was set, so I didn't move at all.
"That all you got?"
He punched me again, this time in the face. There was a loud smack, but I didn't even flinch. Instead I just smirked at him. He fit me a few more time.
"I can do this all day," I said. "Why don't you challenge me to a duel and fight me like a real man."
He sent me the challenge. I was still in a bit of a bind because both my arms were being held. Luckily the guy on my left was only holding by upper arm and I was able to extend my arm far enough to accept the challenge. Once I had my combat reenable, I was able to shake them off. Noted. I'm going to have some fun with this.
I set the duel to half finish and set the stakes to max. To be fare (probably to avoid loot scouting) the system allowed you to wager the total worth of the poorer player but did not reveal how much that was or even who was the poorer player. As one of the highest-level players, I was also one of the richest. One of the nice things about Aincrad economy was nothing would ever lose its value. The only investment a player could lose money on was buying an item above market value or on consumables. As a paper thin dps build I bought lots of potions but also got lots of kills. Basically, I had lots of money.
I stepped outside and equipped my armor. I didn't want to lose here, plus it would suck if my low durability fancy clothes broke during the fight. That thought also helped me formulate a strategy for this fight.
My opponent came out and squared off against me. I sized him down. He wore some metal chainmail and leather pants. It was better than the most basic equipment but was far weaker than my leather coat. He opted for a onehanded mace without a shield. He would have less reach and speed than a sword but higher damage. I guessed he was about level five. Based on his boast from earlier, I guess he was a tank build as well. For my strategy, I opted for my new knife over my sword. Getting it repaired as soon as I got back into town paid off.
As soon as the clock clicked to zero, I charged the man. A useful trick that I had learned was the easiest way to circle an opponent was to stay on their weapon side. If I stayed closer than arm's length to someone, they would not be able to effectively swing their weapon at me. Not to mention, most sword skills did have a hit box in that area.
Boaster-man started with a basic axe skill that completely missed me. I took advantage of his short cool down by swiping him once in the back then jamming my knife thought the bottom of his pants pocket.
The first attack was just to judge his armor levels (after all, I didn't want to accidently kill the guy) but my real objective was to get some DOT on his armor.
I equipped my sword and faced off against the man once again. My attack had done about 5% to him so I was right about him being a tank. My knife was not doing damage to him, so I don't even think that he noticed what I had done.
By this point I was stalling for the DOT to stack up so I tried to my opponent on his toes with manual stabs and swipes. Most of them were to keep him from using skills and I didn't expect to hit him much. He caught on after a few seconds and started to use manual attack rather than sword skills. I wanted to keep his focus on the fight, so I let him get some chip damage in here and there while also get a few hit in myself. My lack of defense let his attacks damage me a bit, but my superior strength allowed me to stay ahead in damage. Had the man been a higher level, he probably would have out paced me. Man did I enjoy being over leveled.
After about a minute or so into the duel, my plan can to fruition. With the sound of breaking glass, my opponent's pant shattered. He let out an embarrassed shout as he realized everyone around could see his tighty-whiteys. With his guard down, I got clean vertical swipe right to his head. The first clean blow of the duel knocked him well below half and won me the match. He flashed again as all of his items and inventory—including what he was wearing—transferred to my. He was so embarrassed that he just ran. His party members followed after him.
I have more to write, but I want to get this uploaded. Next chapter will pick up on the date.
I want to do a bit of a soft reboot of all my characters skills and levels. I will start leaving their profiles at the end of each chapter once I figure out how to reassign all the skills.
Current
Hydro 10
Frenzy 9
Blast 9
Soul 8
Eon 8
Shine 5
Morg 6