Title: Two Brothers
Summary: We don't speak the language. We can't read the words. The menu is a troll. Half the time something wants to kill us and the other half is us trying to kill it. In short: Sword Art Online is the worst thing ever. OC Duo First-Person Narrative
Author's Note: I cannot express how many amazing reviews I got for my last chapter. I mean, seriously, you guys are the epitome of awesome. Awesometacular to the extreme.
Love every single one of you and I hope I keep working to your expectations on good writing.
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START 'THE FIRST MONTH'
November 7, 2022
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We're still in the game.
How did I figure that out? It was actually pretty easy. For starters, I don't remember a full, blue sky above me when I FullDived in the hotel. The stone floor, warm but hard, was definitely not the suite's very nice bed. No walls around me, plenty of open space, left and right, if I didn't account for my brother and a few hundred Japanese surrounding me that decided to form around my campfires and have themselves one of the weirdest sleepovers ever. First virtual sleepover, probably, and I partially organized it.
Can't say I feel too proud of that, actually. Remembering how I'm being held prisoner alongside my brother inside a virtual video game, with the prospect of death hanging over our heads occurring at every moment, does tend to put any personal kind of self-praise or happiness through a meat grinder.
Conclusion: it's been, looking at the clock in the middle of the Courtyard, almost fourteen hours since Kayaba basically tied a noose around our throats. Fourteen hours and I'm still in here. Ethan is still in here.
I shouldn't be panicking.
This is advanced software and hardware. Who's to say how long it might take to safely find us an off switch. In the next five minutes, I might just feel myself being torn from this prison without warning or issue.
Just gotta stay positive. We'll be fine.
I almost want to let Ethan sleep in. Virtual sleep was…weird, actually, because of how normal it felt. When we put on the NerveGear and Dive into the game, we're essentially putting our bodies to sleep/into a coma for the duration of play. It's supposed to be harmless and safe.
However, that brings up sleeping in the game. How does that work? Does my body get tired? This digital, pixelated thing? I admit, I felt the need to sleep last night after all my work of pulling the fires and players together (that worked out way better than I thought it would), but I can't say whether it was more of a mental or physical exhaustion. Whether I imagined my body being tired because my head was, or because the game reacted to me being tired and then made sure my fake body responded appropriately.
Either way, it was different.
Back to subject. I nudged Ethan in the side. He's a sleeper, takes me a few times to pull him awake. His reaction, minus the language, was as I expected it would be.
"Ah, shit," he groaned, eyes roaming. "Still here…" I gave him a hand up to stand. He stretched, getting his fake body in order, then turned to look over the hundreds of sleeping players. "This is weird." Couldn't tell if he meant the surrounding area of players or that we got stuck into a game by a genius video game maker who decided to take up a hobby of playing God. Maybe both.
I don't even know how to comment on it all. "Hungry?" I ask instead. Breakfast never hurts, and if I could avoid any kind of conversation on what we should be doing next – until such a time where I can even figure out what the best next move to make is – then I would be very appreciative if God could do me a small favor and keep Ethan's questions to a minimum.
Ethan stared at me, needing a second to register just what I asked him in his still waking head, then brought up his menu. "According to," he yawned, "according to this, I'm good." He swiped to the side, his Personal and menu disappearing with the wave. He was quiet for a second, "I could go for a drink, though."
I can work with that. Don't know for certain, but I'm willing to bet the Thirst parameter falls faster than Hunger. "Let's go find us something, then."
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TB – J
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Sometimes you need a kick-me-up in the morning.
Yes, I said kick. I don't drink it often, and I couldn't find it at the street vendors – found it actually in what I could only call a restaurant of sorts – but coffee does have its moments. Cream, sugar, pouring me a cup in an almost medieval building where the service provided plastic menus, modern lighting, and served everything from burgers to steak.
I found that a little funny.
Anyway, coffee. It tastes like coffee. Feels like coffee. Goes down like coffee. All for 104 Cor.
Expensive coffee.
Ethan's following me. Got himself a cup, 126 Cor. He wanted some milk added in, too. Seriously, when did he start drinking? "Things are happening," he whispers, bringing the cup to his lips. We're sitting out on some feudal awning, our behinds enjoying a pair of rough wood chairs. It overlooks the main road north, right into the thick of it all. A nice spot to watch the more active players waking up for the day. "Players are starting to head out."
Heading out. Onto the plains. "You think so?" I ask, but I already know the answer. I can see it, too. How some are holding their weapons out instead of sheathed. How that pair is stocking up on four health potions. How more often than not, a single boy or rare girl decides to throw caution into the wind and run their way out on the grass. I prayed for them. "Why do you think that is?" Small talk. Keep Ethan distracted. Don't think I don't know my own brother. I know, in the pit of my gut, what he'll want to do sooner than later. And, by the rules of this game, it's not like I could stop him if he tried to.
"Money," he answered honestly, lifting his coffee. "Money for food, drinks, other stuff. Comforts. It's expensive," it was, "and I don't know what will happen if those sections dip down to nothing." The Personal parameters. "People need to keep them up. To probably keep living. But to live, it's the same as anywhere. It has costs. Money. Cor. And the only way to get it is," he gestured down the road, "out there."
This wasn't exactly a second life sort of game. I doubted I could find a job here. The made-up characters at the stalls took up those positions. I could probably sell the stuff in my item section from the boars and the wolves from yesterday. Not sure how I do that, but I can't imagine it's rocket science. Might make some cash – Cor – off it.
But how long would that last us?
Few days? A week? We'd be out by then. Have to be. Every mind from here to Ohio would be all over our situation. Figuring out a loophole to disconnect us from this.
Akihiko Kayaba is just one guy. One mind with one twisted scheme. We got an entire world working on getting us out. No one can beat that kind of brain power, no one.
We'd be fine. Absolutely. We'd be just fine.
"We need to get you some clothes." I say, looking him over. It's my way of making small and being distracting, but there's truth in what I'm saying. Might just be my imagination, but those rags look even worst then yesterday. Durability down? "Wanna walk around. Find somewhere that might sell us some?" Which, come to think of it, I need a change myself. The shirt's fine and the pants are a little tight but don't do much to work against me. Underneath the pants, though…let's just say, I could use a replacement.
I make to stand, finishing the last of an admittedly okay cup of joe, but Ethan doesn't seem to notice. He's watching the players walking off. Down to the plains.
And shoot, if my eyes didn't wander with his.
"Okay," Ethan answers finally, still watching the road's occupants, "let's go."
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TB – J
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Finding the right store was easier than I thought it would be. A small sign hanging over the street, with a needle and thread and a shirt symbol etched into it. Telling, but it also helped that the window showed some fine threads through it, definitely high-quality clothes. Bit too fancy for me, but there's a look to 'em.
Anyway, I'll skip the boring details and get to the moral of the trip.
Clothes are expensive. A pair of dark pants and a single, male piece of underwear (I made it a point of hiding them from Ethan) was all we could afford. As it turns out, clothes are a bit on the affluent side for the inworld experience.
Pants – 700 Cor.
Oh, we got Ethan a good pair. Comfortable, fit him nicely (though I expect he could have been two-hundred pounds heavier and they would have fit like a dream), a good pair. Had to pass over some of my own Cor to him, which took a while to figure out the controls for money transfer, but we got them.
Male underwear – 105 Cor.
And like that, I'm practically broke. But, I can breathe easier beneath the pants, so thank the Lord for that. Didn't realize how tightly knit I was until I made the exchange in my equipment slot.
Now, Ethan's got pants. Good looking ones, too. However, his shirt is still hanging by threads and he's barefoot.
Good shirt – 470 Cor. Boots – 180. Pair of socks – 40.
"We're homeless. I'm barefoot. Our breakfast was coffee. And now, we can't even afford to buy me some socks." Ethan laughed. It actually sounded like he found some humor in all of this. "Could we be more white trash?"
I tried to laugh with him. I did. Sad fact of the matter was that a lot of the humor is taken out when the basic idea of making money is essentially putting your life on the line for it.
Item selling might get him a shirt. I have a vague recollection that first level sellable items in games are usually worth next to nothing, but who knows. Still doesn't change the fact I haven't got the means of paying for anything beyond that. And, like Ethan, I really don't feel like testing any of these Personal stats on their potential lethality once they hit empty.
My hunger is fine, for now. Thirst is practically full. I imagine it won't be a problem till well after noon before I'd need to look at them again.
Now, what do we do next?
It's not even nine. An hour gone and all we had to show for it was coffee, pants and underwear. Barely any cash to our name and we still had basic necessities to worry about.
There's the obvious option. The one swimming over every head that holds a weapon in this game. But I gotta think of Ethan. One bad hit from anything out on the plains, over a cliff or just a nasty critical, and that's it. Done. Forgive me if I lost a bit of sleep last night with that thought rolling through me.
I could do this myself. Put Ethan somewhere, go out for a few hours, make some money and come back. Sounds good on paper, until you realize that you're telling a teenager to sit tight for some hours while you go into a video game world to cut down monsters and earn money, experience and the means to survive another day. No way my brother would go for that. Adrenaline junkie tendencies aside, the kid's likely to burn this town to the ground while I'm out harvesting Blue Boars. Maybe out of boredom or rebellion, take your pick. Plus, who's to say what's in this town that I'd rather not have my brother touching with a ten-foot pole.
Nah nah. There's no way I'm letting him out of my sight.
All thoughts lead back to the cold, hard fact. This is a tricky situation. One which, to this day, I can't say whether I took it as a positive or not when Ethan stepped towards the exit of the shop.
"Jon," he gets my attention, "we're going out. Come on."
"Where?" I ask. Or, I mean to. It came out more like a demand.
"Come on."
"Ethan. Where?" No answer. He's speed walking, I have to make up the distance. "Ethan!"
"Come on!"
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TB – J
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"Now, the benefit of a shield and spear is that it has length and defense. But there are very few Sword Skills to use and they're mostly stationary. Very tanky. It's a safe option for one, maybe two enemies' tops. Any more and you're screwed. Best guess, the spear-shield combo works better in groups. Focus the enemy on the shield, while others stab the unwary in the back. Working singular, like that guy, won't work."
"Makes sense."
"Those two, they're not bad. Not on strategy, but they're playing the pigs. See, got them to hurt the other. Playing conquistador. Seems getting the pigs to run into the other makes them stunned…enemies can hurt each other, that's good to know. Quick death for the two of them. That's actually pretty smart-oh, Dire Wolf. Now, the hammer and two-handed axes are slow. Low mobility. Defense-breakers. Speed is the disadvantage. Everything from moving to swinging is a trip."
"Need speed. Right. They should group up with the spear-guy."
"If he put away the shield…yeah, that could work. Spears have pinning effects. Smash some brains out when a monster can't move."
"That's gross."
"But pragmatic."
"Pragmatic? Look at you and your fancy words."
"Shut it. Check out her."
"What about her-oh, she's scared."
"Scared shitless. That's only one boar. She keeps ducking back. Probably doesn't even have a Sword Skill yet. Noob, complete noob."
"Why is she out there alone?"
"Who knows. She's pretty. She's scared. Alone. And she's staying that far away from even the closest other player. Either she's shy, terrified of others, or maybe even just doesn't trust anyone. She's not even defending herself right – run, you dumb girl!"
Her health just dipped into the yellow. Barely keeping her hands around her spear and the shield, the girl turned quickly south. The boar tried to keep pace, and was doing so fine, but we're not exactly far from the north gate. I kept my eye on her till she made it back to safety, screaming even when the boar gave up a good ways back. Might have been a funny sight from our spot on the hill looking over, if it weren't for the idea that this is all a game which can very well kill you now if you lose.
"Look," Ethan got my attention back, "more are going into the woods."
Ah, the woods. The dark, thick forest on the outskirts of the plains.
Four someones. Not together, not partied. Separated, two far right, one slightly to our left, and a last one I only just caught as he skirted by the trees. It was kid, actually, probably just about to enter his teens.
I wanted to run after him.
"That's thirteen."
"How lucky." Ethan's sarcasm follows up with a drink of what water remained from yesterday's black bread fun. "So that makes nine before. Seen any of them come out?"
"No, not yet," and I've been looking. Hoping, after the sixth.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Another hard drink of water. He removed it from his lips, gave the sack a toss and watched as the thing broke up in the air into an all too familiar shatter of glass and light. With fitting sound effect, too. "People are going in. Not coming out. Going off the main roads. That's where the trouble is."
The six wolves came to mind. And that was just aways off. Either that was a serious unfortunate event or the difficulty really spikes off-road. Even this spot, a small walk from the road and garnering a lot of player attention, isn't even a hundred yards from the main paths. And the Blue Boars, with a couple Dire Wolves spotted here and there, just keep spawning.
"None of them can be higher than level two. Going in there alone, you might as well jump off the Overlook."
"Jesus, Ethan."
"What? It's true!" He shouts. "They're being stupid. It's not hard, it's basic. Level up, play it safe, go in groups, survive. This isn't," his hands go up to rub his eyes, groaning. "People are not invincible. They are going to die because of the stupidest of reasons because common sense has otherw – fuck it, I'm done."
Ethan stood up, pulled his knife out and ran down the hill.
…What?
"E-Ethan!"
See? See?! This is the kind of sh-crap I did not want to happen! No fighting, no putting your hand into the bag full of snakes, keep it safe! Survive! Wasn't he just criticizing people for not following that?! Hypocritical teenager!
He was aiming for the spear-shield player. Three boars around him. Guy was stiff as a board trying to figure out which one would move first. Awkward positioning, he looked ready to flee back to the town at the clearest sign that one of them was going to move. His health was just over the threshold for green, nearing yellow.
That's when Ethan came in, rammed his dagger into the spot between one of the pig's shoulder and head. The throat was a thick thing and easily hit. I could see it even from here; the Blue Boar's health fell like a rock. Another critical, those knives are serious things. Didn't even require a Sword Skill for that to do the trick. The boar went pop before I even got beside him, and even still he was already going after the second.
He got their attention. The second one took a swing at him with its tusk. But those things are small, easily avoidable. Simple step back, Ethan's knife glowed green, and then a strong cut from the boar's shoulder to rear.
"Weeigh!"
It squealed, still living. Up until I came by and brought my sword down on its head.
To be honest, it was more like I beat the thing down then cut it, but the health still vanished the same. Another fantastic pop.
Then the final one.
The spear user, a man roughly my age, had his weapon jabbed into the back leg of his beast. It squealed, but could not move. Like a man thirsting for blood, Ethan went for the belly. Easy cut, twist the small thing, carve into it with vigor.
"Wauoo…"
And victory.
Result
Exp – 79
Cor – 97
Items – 2
Ah. The victory popup. With a little triumphant toon to go with it. I'd check the fine details later.
Right now? What?!
The spearman's breathing hard. Less tired and probably more around falling stress. He's still a little stiff but not looking ready to break for the gates anymore.
I guess, technically, that's thanks to Ethan. Not that it's gonna stop me from sending him my best 'I thought we agreed on not being stupid anymore' look, which he promptly ignored in favor of looking around to the surrounding players, fighting and attempting to best these low-level things.
Teenagers, I swear.
Instead, I go up to the spearman and hold out my hand.
"You alright?" I ask. Probably doesn't understand me, but the gesture of a handshake mixed in with a light nod isn't anything too complicated to get. Sheathing his spear, which apparently is a gesture of moving it to one's back and letting it float somehow behind the player and out of the way, the man gives me a good shake and a nod back. I'll take that as the positive. His health will need a bit of time to return fully, or some food would help, but he's in no immediate danger. Not unless Kayaba decided then to release a dragon or drop a meteor down on us in the next-
Quick look to the sky.
All clear.
I want to take a second to just breathe. Just…I got a speech going through me that I really need Ethan to hear. Because running off to stab pigs works well and fine when it works, and helping people is nothing wrong, making a little cash won't hurt when we need it, but I cannot stress the importance of sticking togeth-WHERE DID HE GO?
A player on the right. Alone. Fell to the ground, squirming. He lost his shield. Sword looked ready to go, too. Two Dire Wolves circling. All these players, so close together, fighting in pairs or singularly. No one even seems to notice him, even as I'm sure he's screaming the Japanese equivalency of 'help me.'
But there's Ethan. He noticed.
"God…argh!"
Oh, I am going to give him…earful! Such an earful! Words cannot express the level of earful I will rain down on him!
I bring the sword to my side, reared back. I can feel the pull on my skin. The power of the gesture. Only confirmed I'm not going crazy by the shimmer of my weapon beginning to glow as the system registers my wanting to perform a Skill. The game is practically pulling me to the wolf now.
But before I finish anything, I notice something on the side.
Spear-guy's following me. Weapon pointed forward, shouting for the world to hear. Moving to the wolf.
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TB – J
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"Waurgh…waur…wagh…"
Pop.
Result
Exp – 52 (EXP to nxt LVL: 63.1% - 63.6%)
Cor – 77 (2182 - 2259)
Items – 1
Okay, fun fact: if I just leave the victory screen up for a second, the popup will update a few pieces of info for me. Money, level, it's nice to have some updated numbers on those fronts. Always going to Personal to check, especially with how the menu is an absolute bane of my virtual existence since my first five minutes here, would likely become a quick annoyance.
I can work with this. As I can work with a moment to breathe.
Because that. Was. Fast.
Yes, fast. I can't think of another word to describe it. One second, I'm there. The next moment, over there. Slash, stab, head lobbing, repeat. Ethan has been busy dragging me around. Busy making himself acquainted with rolling around the grass and the dirt with the intention of seeing anything on four legs massacred with extreme, violent prejudice. Only consolation is that he mostly just stuck with the occasional player who he decided could use his version of a makeshift cavalry. Which…yeah, I guess we kinda were.
Spear-guy is still with us. Kept following beside me most of the way. Battle cries and screams – is there an ability for Warcry? Well, either way, it's effective in jazzing us up. Nothing more interesting to watch then a Japanese guy performing his Spartan routine and raining unmerciful death on all surrounding pigs and dogs.
After that, we shanghaied the kid with the sword and shield and kept him with Spear. And I do mean that a bit literally, since Ethan pulled him towards Spear, pointed between them, yelled 'stay' and went back to cutting up more pigs. And, as it turns out, having a pair of shields around is useful. Kid still looked stressed, but having an adult by him was helpful. At least he didn't look about ready to wet himself anymore.
Ethan took to calling him 'Twitchy' at one point, and since I did not otherwise know his name, I just stuck with the bequeathed title, too. He responded to it easy enough.
Then came a kid, probably in his later elementary school years, carrying a hammer as big as he was. He didn't say much and, if I'm honest, I didn't even notice he was in our group until one of the boars was literally crushed in front of me. Wasn't too comfortable with a child moseying around with us, but if there's any way to join a makeshift group of unknowns jumping back and forth between groups of monsters, then I'd say liquifying the insides of one of them is as good a way as any to earn some favor.
Ethan dubbed him 'Japanese Kid Thor.' Or simply 'Thor,' for short.
After that, I stopped keeping track. I think we're up to ten, fifteen people now. More players just sort of followed after seeing us running around. Must have looked mighty easy to kill things when five other swords, various sharp objects and a particularly aggressive hammer were helping to kill everything around.
It was our own little pig-slaying, dog-reaping, multi-regional party.
We've been doing this for the better part of an hour. We'd probably have been done in just five, ten minutes in the real world. Benefits of virtual bodies, I guess. So long as we had our health, we just kept moving. We might have even feigned an appearance of looking organized, if only by way of following Ethan wherever he started running off towards in that moment. Even I lost the will to complain with or talk to him after the fifth or sixth successful cut down. When it works, it works, and yelling at him about doing something right isn't exactly a conversation I could probably sell.
Oh, I'd have words on deciding to run into the fray, willy-nilly, without telling me first, but I'll save that conversation for later.
For now, we just got done picking through a group of seven pigs with minimal effort, the experience being spread out amongst the great number of us, before Ethan fell to the grass, breathing in great bits which I was all but too inclined for following along with.
And apparently, so did everyone else who decided to follow the crazy knife kid for the last while.
Right now, though, I think we're done. Or, at least, there are no more enemies to be found in this zone. We might've helped pick it dry, for a while. Not a Blue Boar or Dire Wolf to pop up out of anywhere, save maybe a couple around the forest's edge (which I have no intention of going towards). Not sure how other people appreciated us running around, killing anything they looked to be having trouble with, but if they were upset, they weren't bringing it up with us. Helps to have a dozen others standing beside you to ward off complaints.
We were just sitting here, middle of the battlefield, before Ethan spoke up.
"Okay," he breathed out, rising to stand, "I'm good. Let's go."
He waved to everyone looking his way and started off towards the gates.
Spear-guy, Twitchy, Thor and everyone else just watched him leave. As unceremonious as the group's makeup started, it ended just like that. Ethan came, Ethan went.
Then they turned to me. Waiting. Curious.
I don't have much in the way of leadership skills, or language abilities, to work through this. All I could do was wave to them and follow after my brother.
What else was there to do?
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TB – J
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I guess that's how some games are. Meet new people, make small connections, then maybe never see them again. Can't even say I feel too bad about it all. All those guys, they're alive, got experience, plenty of cash to make it now. Might've even learned that the solo shtick is a one in a million chance of survival.
Still, even by the standards of my brother, that might have been a bit harsh to leave them like that.
"They'll be fine," Ethan waves me off, taking a bite of an orange apple. "We showed them how to play. I'd say I'm more than allowed to leave them high-and-dry without worrying about hurt feelings."
We were helping them? Was that what we were doing? "I feel like I should smack you for that," I admit, taking a drink of water. "Seriously, little warning next time you decide to run headlong at something which can kill you, okay? Nearly gave me a heart attack…"
I try to sound desperate, sarcastic, annoyed or even angry. But I never was much of an actor. Can't fake the fact that it all worked out surprisingly well and I've never been one to argue with something done right, if unorthodoxly.
Which stinks. This is a game that can kill you. I should be allowed to be angry.
But right now, all I can really think of is that my brother is probably right. That we probably helped those guys, even if he just did it because he was mad at their 'lack of skills' or trying to steal some kills to get money and exp. Might have even done it like he did to escape my growing ten-mile long list of rules behind how we would maybe, possibly, potentially start on our first, single boar post-imprisonment. Start it slow, just to dip our toes in the pool and test the temperatures before event thinking of anything else.
But Ethan? He dived headfirst into the shallow end. He just had to rebel against the authority beside him, the little turd.
"Yeah, sure. Swear I won't do it again," why do I doubt the truth of that? "But seriously, we got, what? Four grand? I think I'm allowed to be a little suicidal when it makes us serious bank." That's what I love about kids. Severe lack of guile. Talking about suicide like it's nothing.
"How about we just try to play it safe rather than 'make bank.'" Sounded stronger there. "Less sprinting the game and more marathon. Not…"
Oh. I just said marathon. That suggests a lengthy bit of time.
We'd be fine. Couple days, tops. We'd be out of here by then. And the money today could last us on food and whatnot. We didn't need to run out of the safe zone anymore.
"Let's check this place out," Ethan jumps me from my thoughts, turning suddenly to the right.
A shop. A large building with a stack of smoke coming out of its chimney. Its structure was made of stone and dark-colored wood, bit contrasting to the more light-colored places around it. And hanging over the street by the front door was a sign, engraved with an anvil and hammer.
A blacksmith (or is it black smithy?).
I'm not that shrewd with the way of gaming anymore, but I'd have to be two-kinds of stupid not to recognize that. And, yeah, okay, maybe going into a shop filled with cool, sharp weapons in an almost too-realistic video game scenario is something I can chock off my bucket list now.
The first thing I notice was the smells. Metals, smoke, thick heat. Bit hard to breathe in, but I'd get used to it. Not like these are my real lungs I have to worry about, though my eyes did water a bit from the soot in the air.
The second was the walls. Weapons on top of weapons. Lined up, held tightly, prostrating to all customers. Some kept in glass cases or strapped to some pieces of armor. Oh, and the armor was nice. Full plated figurines. Some definitely a more European knightly look, while a couple other pieces were lighter looking but fierce still. A nice looking double-sided axe had my eye, a curved sword with polish and some engravings, even that spear looks troubling but very effective to have on.
We weren't alone here. Couple guys were messing with a shorter-looking sword on the side, giving it a few swipes. A popup, like the one I had whenever I picked up the waters yesterday, was next to the wielder. I'm guessing that means I can test the thing out before using it, which works just fine with me.
I could really go for something a bit more my size then the starter sword…
Third and last was the lady at the side. Sitting behind a counter, she smiled brightly to everyone, though I had a feeling she was also watching us. Don't figure we can steal in this game, but it might actually be possible. Guessing she's the store owner and doesn't want any of her merch 'misplaced.'
That's fine with me. I've got no intentions of stealing.
"Oh, baby." My eyes wander down to Ethan. "Bro, I think I might've just found something awesome."
He's excited. I look over his shoulder. "Ooh, nice."
Tucked into a glass case, locked by key, is a silvery-blue dagger, long and sharp and curved resting over red silk. Tiny little incisions and markings into the weapon's steel; not sure the purpose they served, but they were pretty. This think looked like it was made for ceremonial purposes, but I could tell it would work just as nicely on the plains.
"How much?"
Ethan taps his finger to the weapon case.
MIL'SARUNE +0
Long Dagger / One Hand
Range: Short
Type: Slash/Stab
Attack: 130-140
Durability: 230
Weight: 15
Requires: 17
Equip +9
Agility +14
Strength +2
Hiding+ (Between 18:00 – 6:00)
Made by Cisern
54,000 Cor
"Is any of that good?" I haven't even looked at my own weapon's stuff. For all I knew, that's an amazingly expensive piece of crap.
"It's named, so it's a rare weapon," my brother informed me. "SAO works only under two stat types, Strength and Agility, and each level a player gets allows for one of the stats to be upgraded by a single point. That right there, 'Requires,' means that, because this is a dagger and a speed weapon, it requires the user's Agility to be at least seventeen points before use. Otherwise, it'd just feel weird."
Not sure how it would 'feel weird' but I'm sure he doesn't know exactly what that means either. "How's it match up to your knife?" I'm almost tempted to measure it with my sword, but something tells me I'd be here for a while getting the menu up.
Ethan waves his open like it's second nature. "Um…Iron knife: 7-12 attack. Durability 30. Weight 5. Requires 'none.' No bonuses on anything." He waved the screen away. "This is better."
Yeah, it was. "And costs an arm and a leg." 54,000? We had four thousand, but we still needed money for food and I'd like to actually find someplace to sleep tonight that isn't cold stone-wait, I don't even need to be considering this. We don't need it.
Two days. Two days, tops, and we're out.
"From my experience, things that cost a lot in-game are worth it." I think that logic works for most things, real world or otherwise. "Let's see what else is here. Maybe something nice."
It's not a big shop so I let him go. Kinda curious what else is in here.
I mean, I wasn't planning to buy anything. I wouldn't need to. Two days, I'll say it as many times as I have to. We'd be out and back in Japan with time still for our vacation. This would all be a bad memory to have, if that.
We just needed to survive. Money for food, water, period. And maybe some comforts. That's all.
…But, what's the harm in a looking around? Just a little?
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TB – J
\
One of the cheaper mannequins of armor. Basic iron stuff. The torso was simple, leaving the arms open. The helmet was crude and didn't look like it had much in the way of comfort. But the mannequin's hands and feet? Those pieces came lined with fur. Soft, warm fur. And they breathed so nicely.
Pair of Iron Gauntlets – 570 Cor.
Pair of Iron Boots – 640 Cor.
The 'gauntlets' were more like gloves for the hands while the wrists and forearms were covered with some kind of knitted animal fleece. Wrapping around them was, as I believe they are called, 'vambraces' (don't quote me on that, I'm not armor-savvy). They were hard, tough and worn-looking things, but didn't offer any discomfort. I liked them, and the gloves did make griping the sword a little easier, though I will say the gruffer appearance of them was a bit distinct with my green shirt.
Anyway, the boots were easier. Dark leather padding with metal shin guards wrapped over. Nice, comfortable fur inside, too. Like throwing on slippers, with the added protection they could stop a knife if needed. Comfort and utility; best things in the world have those two qualities.
Now, half my Cor is gone. In two minutes.
I can't even say why I took them. Just…they're crude pieces of armor. Heavy armor, by the description, even if they weren't too weighty. Just felt like padded weight. Nothing aggravating about them.
Can't even say if Ethan's giving me a 'ha ha' or 'it's fine, I'm glad you like them' smile. When he's happy, he usually looks like he's laughing at you. I just can't win.
"I just got distracted," I defend. "I mean, I still have half my Cor, you know. Food, water, and we can afford a place to stay at now. Isn't that good?" My words fell on deaf ears. I think my brother thought he won some fake battle over my spending. He probably did.
"That's fine!" His tone suggested otherwise. "It's your money. And it's not like we're going to need more." Oh, that tone. "Like you said: food, water, we got money for it. It's not like we're going to be here long, right?"
His tone dipped there. Some of that enjoyment gone.
I put my hand to his shoulder. Dad used to do this all the time when I'd get upset. It's comforting, at least it was for me. "Hey, Ethan. I promise – me and you, you and me – we'll be out of here in no-"
"Shirt." He interrupted, moving away from me. "I can buy a shirt. And shoes. Socks, maybe. I miss socks, didn't even know I could. Seriously, stones and the cold are murderous. God bless the guy who made socks."
He starts moving down the roads. Not sure yet if this is even in the right direction to the clothes shop, but that doesn't stop him from making his way forward.
I follow behind. Maybe he just needed some space.
One grey shirt, a pair of black boots, and some brown socks later, and Ethan actually doesn't look so homeless anymore. "Okay, clothes? Clothes are awesome. Clothes are now on my top ten awesome things ever made." Can't tell if he's just putting on a show for my benefit, but I can't imagine not-wearing rags will be too irritating for him either.
"Glad you like 'em." I comment for the sake of commentary. "Alright, so, lunch. What were you thinking? Fruit, vegetables, meat?" Was there any place to get some seasoning? Maybe cook the quickly growing number of boar's meat we had on hand with some flavor? Or maybe a rentable kitchen – is that a thing?
"I was thinking of going back to the fields," Ethan says with about as much nonchalance as a teenager walking into a pool full of sharks might have. "I kinda need some money and I'm almost ready to level up." He was? I thought we were close to the same experience. And money, for that matter.
Speaking of. "How much money do you have?" I almost comment on just wanting to take a break. I can feel it now; the emptiness in the pit of my gut. But the money thing came first. "How much were those clothes?"
"Not much," he says, "but this little guy was a bit more expensive." Ethan reaches over to his side, handing falling over the handle of his knife and pulli-that's not his knife. "Steel Dagger. 1040 Cor. Basically a higher grade, level one player weapon." He gave it a few swings. "No requirements, better damage, bit heavier, but I kinda like it that way."
Steel Dagger. Well, the color is duller than the iron, but the shape of it definitely illustrates a sharper, more lethal tool than the starting one he had. The handle is smoother, less rough leather. Some insignia to make it seem somewhat articulate, worthy of its price. A smaller cross guard, but it's not exactly like a knife is going to be used for much defense. Ethan told me himself; dagger defense is crap. DPS all the way.
Still, 1040? With clothes? "How much-?"
"I can't afford socks."
"Are you kidding me?" A thousand Cor? Between us? We'd barely last the day.
"Nope. So, I need money. And how do I get money?" He waved his knife in the direction of the plains. "Take a guess." He turned to start walking.
But I wasn't having it.
I reached out and took his arm. "Jesus, Ethan, just stop." He listens. Doesn't even struggle with me. I have his attention, "Don't you get it? I don't want you going out there."
"That's not really an option." I let go of his arm. He wasn't running. "I mean, we could sell our stuff, but low-grade loot isn't gonna bring much to the table."
"Doesn't matter. Sell it. Get some food, water, let's find someplace to relax. We don't need to run out there anymore."
"Uh, yeah, we probably do." He points to me. "I thought you got that. Dude, you bought armor. And I don't think it was to set a fashion statement."
I am hating this really comfortable armor more by the minute. "I was," I have no idea what I was thinking, "doesn't matter. Look, stay away from the monsters, alright? We don't need them. A week. A week, and we're done. We'll be out of here, okay? So just, just stop running off." I'm getting worked up over this. My mind goes back to the plain from this morning, with all the boars. A twist of my memory, and one of the boars Ethan skewered now got lucky and drove it's tusk into his stomach. Twist, critical, and his health goes from green, to yellow, to red, to nothing.
Shattering glass.
I'll admit it, the image shook me a little.
Ethan noticed. How could he not? He puts the dagger away and I think I got to him then. He lifts his head up, looking to the sky-ceiling, takes a deep, long breath then looks back at me.
He doesn't say much for a second. Just stares. Pursing his lips and looking tired. I imagine I probably look the same.
"Dude, I'm gonna ask you something," he walks up to me, slowly, putting his hands on my shoulder. Didn't need to, I was already focused on him, but it's definitely a gesture which says 'I have something to say.' "And I want you to be honest with me." I'm always honest with him…or, at least, ninety-percent of the time. I nod, regardless. "How often am I the voice of reason?"
"Less often then I wish you were." The answer came naturally. Ninety-five percent of the time, I'm the parent. I'm the one who has to make the right choice instead of the fun choice. Not always an easy thing to do with a very vocal teen, but I get that it has to be done.
Ethan seemed to agree. "Exactly. So, when I tell you that you're in denial, that you're looking like you're going to go into a full panic at anything that even looks funny, or how maybe you're taking this whole 'protective guardian-brother' thing a bit too far for even the remotest bit of comfort? Then take my advice."
He grips my shoulders a little harder.
"Relax. I have no intention of dying here.
"I get it. Really, I do. It's not that hard to get, actually. This. This whole, stupid place is basically a terrible, horrible thing painted in a real nice color. Seriously, I get that anything can kill me here. At maybe any second. For all I know, the floor will glitch and I'll fall down to my death. Hell, we saved someone from screwing the big one just yesterday, only for someone else to go for it anyway. That was beyond shitty. Completely shitty. Fuck, all of this is complete and utter shit!"
He takes a second before stepping back. Any good, active cheer of jumping back on the plains is good as gone. Now, he actually looks how I feel.
"I am trying not to freak every second we're in here. I'm trying not to think on anything and everything that can happen in a game – bugs, glitches, errors, a screwed-up bit of code that erases my lungs, whatever. Half the reason I'm still going is because I just love the idea of shoving this knife so far up Kayaba's asshole that I could tickle his brain with it." He tapped his dagger pointedly. "But most of all, I don't want to think about just sitting around if this whole 'stuck here till you beat the game' thing is legit and we're fucked. Yeah, sure, maybe someone will get us out of here, heck, in the next five seconds. I'd love that! But I am not going to sit around waiting. I'll fucking lose it."
He took his hands to his hair and started to pace. Might just be how I'm feeling, but I swear he's shaking. He turned and went over to one of the benches lining the street, sitting down and keeping his head low.
"You don't have a clue, man. Even staying right here, knowing I could be doing something right now, is driving me nuts. The only reason I'm not out there, trying to solo this all to win by tomorrow, is because you're with me. Because I know you'd fucking follow me into whatever hell I'd choose to go full-assault on. And I'm the only one who's allowed to be stupid here. And don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're stopping my nuzlocke-suicide run of this. But…I can't just stay here, Jon. I, I just, I won't." He was quiet for a moment, rubbing his eyes. "I'm sorry, man. Really, I am. But I can't stay here. I need you to have a little faith in me. Believe me that I won't just go and die out there. To have a little faith that I will try to make it out of this and I will be going out there…and I, I need you to be okay with that…"
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TB – J
\
What else was there to say after that?
What could I say after something like that?
Obviously, it's the easiest thing to say 'tough luck, my rules' but I don't think that's going to even remotely work in this sort of place. Ethan would just run. I'd never find him in all of this. And besides, I'm just not that kind of adult to do something like that to him, either.
Because I get it. He laid it out for me. I can respect that.
I didn't even see how this was getting to him. He's a teenager, shouldn't be surprising. Expression is usually quiet and controlled, not as blunt as what he just spewed at me. Because that was definitely a spew.
I know he wants to go out there. It's obvious. I know he's going to go, with or without my blessing. He's going to get into fights, stab things in the throats, try to fight his way out of here one minute at a time, and he'd do it alone if he had to. I had no doubts of that. He's stubborn that way, and a bit hypocritical. He knows he'll die if he goes alone, but he'll do it if there doesn't look to be another choice.
Yeah. Maybe in five minutes, bam. We'll be done.
Or maybe it'll be tomorrow. Or the day after that. Or maybe in a month. Or two. Or maybe even in a year.
Maybe not even then.
Ethan knows it. I…I know it, even if I hate to admit it. Kayaba's a genius. Stone-cold brilliant. He made everything from video games to satellites. That takes skill, talent and ingenuity.
My brother believes he could keep us in here. Tied to a little bomb on our heads in the real world.
He believed we were stuck here. Wholly, truly believed it.
And maybe…maybe I'd need to believe it a little, too.
We'd need money to survive. We'd need it for food. For water. Basic necessities. But to make money, you need to fight. Like any other action game. And this is a game, as terrible as it is now. And to make money, we might need to fight monsters. And eventually, when we got to higher levels, Ethan will want to go further from town. Further into Aincrad. Maybe even into the woods. He'll want to move and progress because that's how I was once. I had the drive, once. To beat a game. To throw myself at the challenge, whatever it was. I knew that, vague as the memory might be.
I knew. He's just like me.
I sit down at his side. I don't have the words yet, I'm thinking on how I should say this straight. Ethan keeps his head down, breathing deeply. Calming himself down. Maybe even waiting for my big 'no, you won't do anything and that's final' speech.
Dad would have given him one. I know he would. And as much as I might try, I know in the end-
I'm not Dad.
"If we go out there…" Ethan turns his head a little. "If we go back out there…I'm not saying we have to be the heroes here. We don't even have to save anyone. We don't have to do all the floors, we can leave that to someone else, if we want." This is surprisingly hard. "But if we do go out there…there's gotta be rules. No more running like before. You stick close to me. We stay together. And more importantly, we work together. Making it out alive is what's important here. Not being the best. Not beating everything that comes our way. We win by surviving."
I don't know how much he agrees with me. He probably wants to beat the game. Like most people probably running out into the fields. But I won't call him on it, I'll just offer him the option. It's his choice. I'm following his lead.
"You were right, though. You fight a monster, you'll have me right beside. Need me to bail you out of something bad, you won't even need to ask. You jump off a cliff, I'll jump with you. What I'm saying is, I will follow you wherever. Which means you've got to be smart for both of us. We go out there to make it out of here. Together." I reach out, putting my hand to his shoulder. He doesn't flinch from it. "Can you do this for me?"
"Yeah," he didn't even hesitate. I didn't expect him to. "I mean, yeah. Yes. Definitely." He nods. "I've got your back."
And I've got yours.
After that, we're quiet for a bit. Just taking in everything. The players passing by us, the cool winds coming through, just the relaxing place that was the Town of Beginnings. And, for at least a few minutes, this place didn't feel so…entrapping. A definite weight is off this place that was hanging over it since last night. Or, maybe it was just hanging over me, and I refused to acknowledge it till now.
Either way, Ethan's not breathing so hard or looking ready to roll himself up into a ball. A definite improvement.
I looked to a nearby clock on the wall, judging the time. "You wanna…you thinking we could wait another hour before lunch?" I made a choice.
Ethan looks to me, then to the clock, then back to me. "See if the plains have filled back up yet?"
I try to be casual about it, even when my heart's starting to pick up the pace. "Couldn't hurt."
He looks back to me, then down the road. Down to where the players are, probably, turning a right, then a left, then moving straight on past the large exiting doors of town.
Ethan looks down the way.
"Yeah. Let's check it out."
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Numbers of players remaining in Sword Art Online:
9,702
Major Changes in Jon's Character:
Purchased 'Iron Gauntlets!' Increased Defense!
Purchased 'Iron Boots!' Increased Defense!
Major Changes in Ethan's Character:
Purchased 'New Clothes Set!' Increased Cold Resistance!
Purchased 'Steel Dagger!' Upgraded Weapon!
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Author's Note: Originally, I wanted a big, long skit with conversation on the emotional stuff each brother was feeling.
Either further down the road...or today in-story.
The reason I got it out of the way? Well, first, I watched Shawshank Redemption recently and saw on the first night the new inmates cried. That got some of the emotional crap out of the way early on. The extremities of being in prison are made bare. I figured it wouldn't be much different in this place, though maybe a bit placated by having your brother around for help. Second, I suck at emotional scenes. Seriously, I am absolutely horsecrap with them. So, I just wanted to get it over and out of the way. Focus on the good stuff that this story is for and what SAO canon lacked.
The fun. The intensity. The thrill for survival and besting this game.
Let's enjoy this story. The emotional stuff will still come, but it will come on my terms. When I feel it needs to be here.
This story is about hope. Fun. Adventure. The thrill of the unknown, which I intend to give.
Folks. This is Two Brothers.
Next Update: 8/10/2017
HEADS UP. NEXT UPDATES AFTER CHAPTER 15 WILL TAKE LONGER TO UPLOAD. I AM ALSO WORKING ON THE BEAST OF GREMORY AND HEART OF AN ARC.
WILL STILL WORK ON CHAPTERS. JUST NEED MORE TIME. WILL CONTINUE TO POST EXPECTED NEXT UPDATE TIMES.