Author's Note: For whatever reason, I've had the complete opposite of writer's block so I've been churning out chapters faster than I thought. I don't know how long I can keep this up, so if the frequency of uploads stalls at some point, don't be surprised. However, I have no intention of dropping this project anytime soon, and if I do I will definitely let you all know. With that in mind, please enjoy the next entry in the ramblings of a novice fanfic writer!
All things considered, they made good time.
It had only taken about an hour for the unlikely trio of Kirito, Sinon, and Leonn to reach the town of Horunka, but to them it seemed an eternity. Even with the knowledge of two beta testers in tow, the run to Horunka was terrifying. Knowing that any of the monsters they ran past were capable of actually killing them was enough to keep them alert and on their toes.
Now, the trio found themselves standing outside of the Horunka front gate, trying their best to take a rest. Their hearts were pounding, but whether it was from the run or from the realization that they were prisoners caught in a tower built by a madman, it was hard to say. Kirito was the first to break the silence.
"It's getting late. We should get ourselves some rooms in the inn here. We should also check out the quests that are available now before other players arrive."
"Sounds like a plan," Leonn answered. "Sinon and I can go get some rooms for us. You go ahead and find out what quests are available. There's no telling what changes Kayaba made after the beta. After checking in, we'll see if we can grab some healing potions." With no magic systems in SAO, support items like healing potions were crucial, especially with actual death on the line.
Good. Kirito thought to himself. I need to grab the quest for the ((Anneal Blade)) as soon as possible. Only one person can be on the quest at any given time. I feel bad that Leonn and Sinon won't be able to get it too, but the reward is a sword. Neither of them seem interested in a weapon like that. Kirito gave his new party members a nod before running off.
It didn't take him long to find the quest. He entered the same house as in the beta, talked to the same old lady, who told the same story about her sick daughter, who had the same illness which could only be cured with the rare flower found on a plant monster called a ((Little Nepenthes)). Kirito considered himself very lucky. The reward for this quest, the ((Anneal Blade)) was a great weapon for a level 2 like him. It would last him for a few floors at least, and if he could fight better as a result of this new blade, he could keep Sinon and Leonn safe. He hadn't known them very long, but if they died while in his party, it would be his fault.
After grabbing the ((Anneal Blade)) quest, Kirito spent the next 10 minutes running around the village of Horunka and grabbing every quest he could find. Fortunately, these quests he could share with Sinon and Leonn through the 'quest-sharing' function available to parties. Apart from the whole 'strength in numbers' thing, that was another added benefit of partying with others: accessibility to quests. With that out of the way, Kirito entered the Horunka inn and found Sinon and Leonn sitting at a nearby table.
"Hey, how'd it go?" Leonn asked once Kirito pulled up a chair.
"I picked up a handful of quests," Kirito began as he pulled up his menu. With a series of swipes and taps, he began to share the quests he picked up - minus one quest in particular - with the rest of the party. "Mostly monster killing quests and your standard fetch quests. There's even an escort quest that leads us to Medai, but we should probably save that for when we've finished all the quests here."
"Makes sense," Sinon agreed after perusing the quest list. She closed her quest menu and opened her inventory before sending Kirito a trade request. "Here. We were able to buy six health potions with the Cor we had. I already gave Leonn his two."
"Thanks." Kirito accepted the trade request, making sure to give Sinon some Cor as reimbursement. Assuming the Cor value of healing potions hadn't changed since the beta, the amount he put in should cover the cost.
"Before you came in, I was just telling Sinon that monsters tend to be more dangerous at night, so we should call it a day now. Maybe get an early start on those quests come early tomorrow morning." Leonn said.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Kirito said with a sigh. I wanted to finish the quest for the ((Anneal Blade)) as soon as possible, but I guess that'll have to wait.
The trio spent the rest of the evening planning out the next day's activities. They would prioritize the fetch quests, as some of them coincided with the monster slaying quests. Having finished most of the quests, they then would spend the rest of the day grinding to hopefully level up and earn some Cor. With the planning out of the way, they retired for the evening.
"Good night guys," Leonn said as they entered their rooms. "We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Right," Sinon said.
"Yeah… good night." Kirito tried his best to hide his hesitation, but luckily neither of his companions caught on.
Kirito looked up at his clock displayed on the HUD. Almost two hours had passed since his party had retired to their rooms. Looking over to the party member display, he saw that both Leonn and Sinon had a status effect that looked like three Z's drifting up. Well, that's new. Not that anyone ever slept during the beta since they just logged off. Kayaba really thought this out. Kirito would have praised the man for his attention to detail if he weren't a victim of it.
Kirito sat up in his bed and stared out the window. This quest is dangerous. If the ((Little Nepenthes)) now are the same as the beta, then the rarer fruit-bearing plants will still attract more Nepenthes when the fruit is struck. That could end badly. Even with three of us, I don't think we could fight off a horde of man-eating plant monsters. Leonn probably knows about the fruit already, but if Sinon threw a pick and accidentally popped a fruit, we'd be dead. She's still new to this, after all.
Kirito stood up and began to equip his gear. It'll be dangerous at night, but if I go alone then at least if something goes wrong only I die. I won't be putting them in danger. I can deal with the fallout in the morning if I survive this. It's risky, but I need that blade if I'm going to help us survive.
It was decided.
Kirito carefully, as quietly as he could, left his room and made his way down the stairs to the front door. Glancing over, he could the NPC innkeeper sorting through some paperwork behind the front desk. Knowing the NPC wouldn't react to his presence until he approached him, Kirito walked out the door into the moonlit night. The night air was crisp and cool. Looking over in the distance, Kirito could just make out the outline of the Town of Beginnings. His mind began to wander to Kayaba's announcement and Klein's departure.
No. I need to focus. He started into a light jog heading into the forest on the outskirts of the village. Expertly weaving through the forest, Kirito drew on his beta experience and soon enough found the ((Little Nepenthes)) spawn area. It was an arrangement of clearings connected by natural corridors. It was a common method in MMO game design to make quest areas large and segmented enough to discourage competition and kill-stealing. By making it near impossible to view the entirety of the spawn area, rare monsters could spawn in without getting immediately pounced on by every player in the area.
However, Kirito knew that the rare flower-bearing Nepenthes wouldn't spawn unless its ordinary brethren were sufficiently cleared away. Only a set number of monsters could exist at any given time, so removing the regular Nepenthes would only increase the chances of the rare one spawning. With that in mind, he went to work.
It wasn't easy work. Each ((Little Nepenthes)) roamed around using its numerous appendage-like roots as feet, which of course it could flail about to attack its opponents. On top of that, they each had a hideous mouth filled with strangely human-like teeth, below which sat an enormous gullet that it would undoubtedly use to engulf and digest prey with. Kirito wasn't sure if the designer for these things should be praised or slapped, honestly. Regardless, Kirito knew their attack patterns well enough and started making his way from copse to copse, clearing away the man-eating plants with relative ease.
About a half hour into his grind, Kirito heard someone approach from behind him. Quickly glancing up at his HUD, he could tell that it couldn't be Leonn or Sinon; both of his companions were still asleep. Finishing off the monster in front of him, he turned to find a boy with brown, almost ashen grey hair emerging from the treeline. He must have been using his ((Hiding)) skill, because Kirito felt he would have noticed him sooner without it.
"Looks like I didn't get here in time. You're looking for the flower too, aren't you?" the boy asked.
Kirito gave the boy a once-over. He was dressed in similar garb, consisting of basic leather armor pieces and adventuring style clothing underneath. A sword, not unlike Kirito's, was sheathed at his side. "The flower?" Kirito tried to play the clueless card.
"Come on. I've been watching you long enough to know that you're not out here in the middle of the night just grinding. You're after the flower for the quest." The boy looked at Kirito expectantly.
"... Yeah. I am." Kirito sighed. He still wasn't sure how people would treat beta testers. Wait, he knows too. He's a beta tester too!
"Well, how about we work together then?" The boy asked with a smile on his face. "We can't share a single flower, but with the two of us working together we can clear this field faster and increase the chance of the flower spawning. You were here first, so you get the first flower, but you gotta help me get mine afterwards."
He wasn't wrong. Just looking at the numbers, two players working together would increase the spawn rate of the rare flower. It was a solid plan, albeit one built on trust between two players who were effectively competing for a rare drop.
"Alright. Seems fair." Kirito nodded.
"Good! Name's Coper."
"Kirito."
"Nice to meet you." Coper unsheathed his sword. "Let's get started, then!"
Unlike her best friend in the next room over, Sinon was not sleeping well.
For years, Shino had been plagued with nightmares of her past. She'd only ever told one person about her traumatic encounter with a robber at a bank, and that confidant was sitting in the next room. In a moment of desperation stemming from the will to survive and protect her mother, poor Shino was forced to use a handgun and end someone's life. She'd seen death first hand because she caused it. Recently, the nightmares had begun to subside as she'd found friendship and the wisdom that comes with maturity. She'd even gone 2 months without an incident.
The prospect of death, even in this virtual setting, had caused those nightmares to rear their ugly heads again.
Dreaming while effectively unconscious twice-over, counting her real and virtual bodies, made those nightmares seem all too vivid. While Shino was physically incapable of doing so, Sinon was tossing and turning in her bed. If cold-sweating were possible in SAO, she'd be doing it right now.
The grin on that man's face. It was manic, insane.
There. The gun. Now it was in her hands.
She took aim.
She felt the trigger on her finger.
"NO!"
Sinon awoke with a startle. Actually, 'startle' might not be the right word for it. Sinon awoke in a panic. All of that progress, gone in a single night. It took her a few minutes to calm herself down. Looking out the window at the moon seemed to help, letting that stationary, albeit virtual, object act as an anchor for her emotions.
Gotta calm down. Maybe some water might help. A nice splash or two on my face should help. Wait, will that even work here?
Sinon got up and walked over to the modest little restroom adjoining her bedroom. Looking over at the mirror above the sink, she was presented with a bit of a conundrum. Not even 24 hours ago, Asada Shino had jumped headlong into a game, crafting a virtual persona that she thought would help bury her ugly past. Yet, the fearless warrior that was to be Sinon was now staring in the mirror at the spitting image of Shino, the fearful girl who couldn't stomach the sight of a gun.
Which would she become in the face of this game of death? Which would prove more valuable in survival?
Not finding the answers she sought in her reflection, Sinon reached down and brought the water up, splashing her face with cold water. Her entire body stiffened at the sensation.
Well, I'm awake now.
She glanced up at her in-game clock. She'd been asleep for almost 3 hours, by her estimate. After drying her face with an in-game towel - which worked instantly to remove any drop of moisture - Sinon walked back over to her bed and sat down with an unceremonious *plop*. Not quite sure how to pass the time, since that splash of water had made the idea of falling back asleep impossible, Sinon decided to become more familiar with her menu and HUD. There was a lot of important information here, information she knew could mean the difference between life and death. After five minutes of scrolling through the menu, she looked up at her HUD at the party display. Leonn was asleep, based on the sleep status icon next to his name. Kirito, however, seemed to be awake. Maybe he was having trouble sleeping too.
Were they plagued by nightmares just as she was? Perhaps not of past traumas, but the new brand of virtual fear brought on by Akihiko Kayaba?
Her eyes stopped and narrowed.
Wait, that can't be right.
There's two of us here. Why is it taking so long?
While Kirito had taken a couple of hits from the ((Little Nepenthes)), he was sitting at about 80% health, well in the green and safe from any immediate danger. However, the constant fighting had begun to take its toll mentally. After all, he hadn't slept in well over 18 hours, by his estimate. He glanced over to his right and saw Coper was starting to show signs of fatigue as well. The two novice swordsmen had been at this for almost an hour, and despite killing dozens and dozens of the blasted plant monsters, not a single one that spawned had a flower on its head.
They had spotted one bearing fruit, which they both were doing their best to avoid. Hitting that fruit would attract and anger many more monsters, and undoubtedly spell doom for the duo.
"Man, they really nerfed the spawn rate on that flower, didn't they?" Coper sighed as he finished the plant monster on his left.
"Yeah, we may be here all night." Kirito said, slumping his shoulders from exhaustion. "We should head back and rest, try again in the morning."
"I hate to say it, but you're probably right." Coper started hacking away at the plant monsters in his way.
Kirito sighed. As much as he wanted to finish this quest before tomorrow, sleep deprivation would only hinder his performance in the morning. I can't afford to be sloppy. If I slip up and make a mistake, they could…
He almost didn't see it.
In his peripheral, Kirito saw a different color among the ((Little Nepenthes)). It was white. White like a flower. There! Finally!
Kirito found his second wind, dashing and darting between the plant monsters he's spent far too long slaughtering. Fortunately, these low-level monsters weren't particularly attentive and paid Kirito little mind, letting him weave through in pursuit of his elusive prey. Stopping in front of the flower-adorned ((Little Nepenthes)), Kirito brandished his sword and prepared to strike.
The flower monster seemed to notice the change in attitude and hurled itself forward, attempting to engulf Kirito in its toothy maw. Fatigued though he was, Kirito was still able to side-step the haphazard bite. Twisting with the momentum from the side step, Kirito lashed out with a ((Horizontal)), striking the plant in its flank. It immediately lashed out with its roots, which Kirito was not expecting.
Kayaba buffed the speed, Kirito thought to himself.
He was able to barely jump back in time, receiving a glancing blow as the tip of a root grazed his cheek. Taking a moment to regain his balance and read his opponent, Kirito began to circle the rare spawn. It lashed out twice more with its roots, which Kirito dodged easily enough now that he'd adjusted to the increased speed. When it struck out again with a root attack, Kirito jumped to dodge the swing and brought his sword down in a ((Vertical)), rending a crimson pixel-filled gash across its face. It screamed out and attempted a bite, but Kirito was ready for that. As it lunged forward, Kirito slashed out another ((Horizontal)), cutting the toothy plant monster across the mouth and sending its health plummeting to zero. After a brief pause, the flowery ((Little Nepenthes)) exploded in a shower of blue shards and a single, small white flower floated downward. Kirito reached out and caught the flower before it hit the ground. As the flower disappeared, Kirito could see its icon fly to the bottom-right corner of his HUD, and his quest updated.
Phew. That was way too much work. Kirito could feel the fatigue from earlier catch up to him again. He then turned towards where he last saw Coper.
"Hey, I found one! There might be anoth - " Kirito started before stopping. Where did he go?
Kirito looked around desperately, craning his neck upward to see a glimpse of the ashen-haired boy. Maybe Coper had left already.
*POP!*
Kirito's face blanched. He'd heard that same sound once before, during the beta. That sound could only mean one thing.
Someone hit the fruit.
Kirito wheeled around towards where the sound came from. A shower of pixels rained down next to a very smug-looking Coper. The ashen-haired boy looked over towards Kirito.
"Sorry bud. Nothing personal, but I need that sword. You understand, right?" Coper shrugged.
Kirito couldn't believe his eyes. An MPK?! Seriously?! A Monster Player Kill, otherwise known as an MPK, was a tactic where one player manipulates the behavior of monsters to kill another player. Since the monster(s) would be doing the killing, the MPK-er wouldn't be directly killing the other player and as such, would avoid the repercussions of killing another player. Once the other player was dead, the MPK-er would swoop in and steal the victim's items and money. It was a dirty tactic made even more despicable given the context of Akihiko Kayaba's new Sword Art Online.
Coper sheathed his sword and took a few steps back as his body seemed to grow transparent. Kirito remembered this as the ((Hiding)) skill, which allowed players to avoid detection from both monsters as well as other players. However, it was reliant on sight. One thing Coper hadn't counted on was the fact that the ((Little Nepenthes)) didn't have eyes. They relied on other means to detect their prey.
His screams would haunt Kirito's dreams for many nights to come.
"Wait, what? No! Get away! NO! NO!"
Coper's ((Hiding)) skill wore off as he began to wildly swing at the horde of ((Little Nepenthes)) that were now quickly surrounding him. To his credit, Coper managed to kill three of the plant monsters before the sound of shattering glass echoed through the clearing.
Kirito didn't have much time to process what just happened, as every nearby ((Little Nepenthes)) was now converging on Kirito's position. Someone had just tried to kill him, albeit indirectly. No, he needed to focus. Kirito looked around, desperately trying to find where in this rapidly shrinking circle of plant monsters was weakest. Somewhere in the layer where the number of monsters was the fewest. One monster thick was ideal, two was acceptable. Three would likely mean death.
He found his opening.
Charging into the chink in the Nepenthes phalynx, Kirito hacked and slashed his way through, all the while playing defensively. He knew that fighting to kill would only get himself killed in return. He had to play smart, play tactically. If I can just make it to the edge of the clearing, I can make a break for it. With a series of ((Horizontal)) sword skills, he began to simultaneously keep the plants at bay and carve a path towards the treeline. Once two Nepenthes shattered, Kirito leapt through and prepared himself to run…
… Only to find himself in another circle of the plant monsters.
Damn it.
The lack of pain in SAO was something Kirito was, for the most part, thankful for, but in cases like this it was not ideal. Looking up at his health, Kirito could see that he'd already lost 70% of his health, dropping him into the low-yellow zone. In the heat of the moment, Kirito didn't realize he had taken so many hits. Grimacing, Kirito took a swipe at the nearest Nepenthes, forcing it back, which was enough of a reprieve for him to fish out a health potion and drink it. Glancing back up, his health was now slowly rising.
That was good. More time alive meant more time to figure out how to stay alive.
He looked around while fending off the plant monsters again. Scanning the perimeter of this circle of death, all the while dodging and parrying root attacks, was proving to be tiresome. In his haste to find a thinning of the wall of plants, Kirito hadn't noticed one of the Nepenthes strike at him from behind, knocking him forward onto his hands and knees. All Kirito could do was look up to see a mouth hurtling towards his face.
Is this how I die?
Without even meaning to, Kirito shifted his weight to the side and pushed off with his hands and feet, narrowly avoiding the hungry maw that slammed into the space where he was. As he rolled along the ground, he found himself on his hands and knees once more.
No. I refuse to die here!
Shifting his weight again, this time backward so he was crouching, Kirito grabbed his sword and swung out again in a haphazard ((Horizontal)), which allowed him to simultaneously ride the momentum upwards into a standing position and force the hungry plants back once more. Glancing up yet again, he saw that his health was sitting at 40%, back in the yellow. It sure felt like he was in the red, though. That was the thing about health potions. They restored your health, but did nothing about fatigue.
I have to find a way out! But where?!
Hearing another root attack lashing out from behind, Kirito spun on his heel to parry the vine-like appendage away from his body. Unfortunately, the momentum behind that left him open, and he found himself yet again on the receiving end of a root slam, this time from the right. He staggered, trying to keep his footing but failing miserably.
He was tired.
Tired, but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to take a few of these things down with him. Looking up from his kneeling position, he readied another sword skill. With so many Nepenthes in such close proximity, it was a risky move, but he had to try. Bringing his sword back, Kirito readied himself to punch through the wall.
Something heavy slammed down on the Nepenthes in front of him, crushing and shattering it into a cloud of pixels.
...
What?
"You havin' a party without us? And here I thought we were friends!"
There was a grunt as a glowing, yet familiar maul swung out upwards, crashing into the mouth of a Nepenthes, sending it flying upward, where it was met with two picks that flew right into its open maw, shattering it.
Kirito could hardly believe his eyes. Leonn and Sinon ran into the opening they created and raced to meet him. Within seconds, the trio stood back to back, weapons at the ready.
"Leonn? Sinon? What are you doing here?" Kirito asked as he knocked away a vine.
"Pretty sure we're saving your hide." Sinon quipped, drawing out a dagger to slash at a plant monster that got too close. Throwing picks were hardly appropriate for close-quarters combat.
"We gonna stay here and chat or are we going to get out of here?" Leonn said with some difficulty as he blocked a vine with the handle of his maul.
Kirito glanced over at his friends. "How? We're surrounded."
There was a chuckle from the maul wielder.
"Together."
Leonn suddenly broke away, charging right up to the wall of hungry plants. He came to a stop, planted his feet, and took a mighty swing at the Nepenthes in front, knocking it to the side and, most importantly, out of the way. He then took another step forward, planted his feet, and did the exact same thing. Over and over, falling into a rhythm, Leonn began clearing a path through the horde.
Kirito saw what he was doing. "Sinon! Cover our backs!"
"Right!"
Kirito rushed up behind Leonn and lashed out at the Nepenthes aiming at his friend's flanks. Being someone who only used a sword, Kirito was naturally faster than Leonn, which allowed him to bounce back and forth from side to side with relative ease, covering their flanks. Sinon took the rear, using her throwing picks to dissuade any Nepenthes who decided to follow them and using her dagger to harass any monsters that managed to get too close. Over the next few minutes, the trio slowly pushed their way through the horde of Nepenthes until they finally reached the tree line and the end of the spawn area.
"Go!" Kirito shouted.
All three took off in a dead sprint, racing back to the village and never looking back.
They were alive.
Kirito sat on the bed in his room, staring downward at the floor. "How?" He looked up.
"Sinon woke up in the middle of the night and saw that your health had taken a hit." Leonn said as he leaned against the wall, arms crossed, all the while staring at Kirito.
"I went and woke Leonn. He had a feeling you went for the flower-plant-things." Sinon was sitting in a chair near the window, practically staring daggers into Kirito.
"Nepenthes." Leonn corrected.
Sinon shot him a look.
Leonn quickly shifted his focus back to the swordsman. "Anyway, was it worth it? You almost died, Kirito." Leonn's tone, usually very friendly, had changed to a much more serious one.
Kirito looks down at his new ((Anneal Blade)). It was a good-looking blade, and it would serve him well in the coming floors. With it, he could better protect his friends, keep them alive.
But it came at a cost. More specifically, the cost of a human life.
Coper died because of this blade.
"No." Kirito said, plainly. "But I didn't want to put you two in danger. That quest is dangerous. One wrong move and…"
"... And a horde of hangry plants swarm you. I know. We know." Leonn corrected himself. "Look, I get that you were a solo player in the beta, but we can't do that now. I mean, you probably could, hypothetically, but it's risky."
"We need you just as much as you need us." Sinon interjected.
"Probably more so. You got further in the beta than I did, and Sinon's new to the game entirely." Leonn continued. "We need to stay together. Like it or not, Kirito, we're a team now."
Kirito stammered, trying to find the right words. He tried to form an argument against them, but their teamwork fighting through the horde of Nepenthes only served to invalidate his point. They had worked like a well-oiled machine, reading each other's movements and compensating for each other's weaknesses. Alone, he had nearly died.
Together, they lived to fight another day.
"You're right. I'm sorry." Kirito said as he looked up. He could see a smile forming on Leonn's face and the start of a smirk from Sinon. "It's only going to get harder from here on out, though. Are you sure you want to stick with me? Even after I almost got us killed?"
Leonn shoved himself off the wall and walked towards Kirito before holding his hand out, palm face down. "Absolutely. We're a team."
Sinon sighed before walking over and placing her hand on top of Leonn's. "For better or worse."
Kirito smiled. "Alright. Let's escape this death game, then." He placed his hand on top.
"Together."