Okay, so it's time for the fortune teller chapters.
And yes, I said chapters, as in there'll be two of them. It's the same old story: I thought this would be relatively short, and to be fair, the first part is short, but the second part got a little bit out of hand due to all the ideas I had when I watched the event in HF again as preparation.
So, for now, there will be only the part about the first fortune teller event, and this time, it's kinda like a prequel. Well, for the most part, that is.
There's also an introductory part with another idea I wanted to put in at some point.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online Re:Hollow Fragment or Sword Art Online in general.
It was an afternoon in late May. The Assault Team had cleared the 91st floor a few days ago, so now it was the small clearing guilds' turn on the 92nd floor.
This meant that Akinym and Sinon had the opportunity to shine. Well… theoretically. In reality, clearing the floor was mostly a lot of tedious work.
For instance, they had just returned from a mission to hunt dragon-themed monsters to collect items called "Dragon Blood of the Descendant". They had learnt early on that the floor boss was a powerful dragon, which was said to originate in the "chaos" on this floor. Apparently, it was insanely powerful, but there was a quest at a temple on this floor, and clearing it would significantly weaken the boss, and that was what the Dragon Blood of the Descendant was for.
According to the lore, weakening the boss would require a ritual that would last a week, and they had to offer up one hundred of these items every day, which was what the quest required them to do.
The quest was very important, and they could only attempt to do it once, so the Assault Team Council had decided to treat it with utmost care, and they had a fixed schedule for hunting the dragons, which were supposedly the offspring of the floor boss and would drop the Dragon Blood. That plan specified which parties would be on "Blood duty" on which day.
The dragon monsters they had to hunt weren't too strong, but there was a catch. The dragons spawned at random spots in the sky across the map, and they had a few gathering spots. They would fly to the nearest gathering spot, and it was basically impossible to intercept them.
As a result, the gathering spots were often cramped, and the dragons had Swarm Aggro, meaning that it was extremely difficult to lure smaller groups of them away from the others. As a consequence, Akinym and Sinon had fought them in groups of four or five.
That alone wouldn't have been all that bad, although it still would've been a hassle. The worst part, however, was that these dragons also had the Random Aggro Reset mechanic, which was probably the most troublesome aggro mechanic SAO had to offer on the upper floors. The monsters could reset their aggro parameters and change their target at any given time, so they might just randomly target another party member. Given that Akinym and Sinon's fighting dynamic was based on the principle that Akinym kept enemies busy while Sinon was shooting arrows at them from afar, this was a major problem for them.
Whenever a monster had suddenly turned towards Sinon and charged at her, Akinym had chased after it to intercept it, and this had put him off his stride pretty much every time. While he had been busy drawing that one monster's aggro again, the other monsters had managed to hit him several times. Or worse: Another monster had started to attack Sinon instead.
In addition, Akinym wasn't particularly good at keeping an eye on several enemies at once, and he had lost sight of some of them in crucial moments, and Sinon had switched to close combat in these situations out of necessity. It had really thrown them for a loop at a few points.
There was also another, completely unforeseen issue. Some strange, floating, red spheres had appeared across the floor. The players had noticed that touching these spheres teleported them back to the main town. Some players joked that teleporters were everywhere these days, but the situation was actually pretty serious.
Kirito and Yui had taken a look at these spheres, and they had come to the conclusion that they existed due to a system error. A system error that Cardinal apparently couldn't correct in its current state. The instability of the system seemed to get worse…
Anyway, at some point during their hunting mission, Akinym had accidentally touched one of these spheres, so he had been teleported away. As a consequence, all the dragon monsters they had been fighting had attacked Sinon, and it had only been thanks to her quick thinking that nothing bad had happened. She had jumped straight into the nearest sphere to escape, too. It had still cost them a lot of time.
Thankfully, Akinym and Sinon had had a good idea on the way back. With her Sniping skill, Sinon was the only player who could reach the dragons in the sky. She had shot at them shortly before they could reach the gathering spot since they came into range around there, and this way, they could avoid fighting large groups at once. Instead, they had fought one or two of them at a time, and even with the randomised aggro, that was doable without too much trouble.
In the end, Akinym and Sinon had managed to get around thirty Dragon Blood of the Descendant that day, which was actually a good haul. There was also the fact that the dragons dropped other things, such as Dragon Scale of the Descendant, which was an enhancement material Sinon needed for her armour, so it had been a productive day.
Nevertheless, they had needed significantly more potions than usually, so they had to restock now. Furthermore, Akinym wanted to repair his gear since today's battles had taken a toll on its Durability. Due to all that, they had to go to the market street in Arc Sophia before they could call it a day.
Akinym and Sinon had split up for their "shopping tour". Akinym had the Purchase Negotiation skill, so he was in charge of purchases. Accordingly, Sinon had learnt Sales Negotiation to sell items they didn't need. She had learnt the skill only recently, so it was still at a pretty low level, but it was still better than nothing.
Sinon had just finished her part of the job, and she arrived at the agreed meeting spot before Akinym did. To be honest, that was fairly normal. She usually took the time to check the nearby shops for special offers that caught her eye.
While she was taking a look at a display of daggers, she noticed a strange man approaching her out of the corner of her eye. When she turned towards him, it became obvious why he had caught her attention. The man wore a strange habit, and the hood covered most of his face.
Hooded Man [slightly solemnly]: Greetings, young woman! You see, I am a well-known fortune teller, and when I saw you looking at those weapons, I had a premonition about your future!
Sinon looked at the man in bewilderment. What kind of cringy show was that supposed to be? It wasn't even just the man's looks, even his entire demeanour was utterly clichéd.
For a moment, Sinon wondered if she had triggered an event, but when she checked the man's cursor, it turned out to be a player cursor. Was this guy roleplaying or something?
Hooded Man: I've seen a fierce battle in your future, and whether you wield the right weapon might decide your fate! It is an unclear future, but…
Akinym [interrupting, slightly annoyed]: You have exactly the right charm to guarantee prosperous purchases or something?
Both Sinon and the hooded man were startled by Akinym, who had approached them quickly and suddenly. He looked at the hooded man sternly.
Hooded Man [slightly defensively]: Well, I have foreseen a vague future, but with the right talisman…
Akinym [interrupting]: You should seriously stop. She's not going to buy it.
Hooded Man [to Sinon, slightly desperately]: A good eye for quality is helpful, but having the power of destiny on your side…
Akinym [interrupting]: Listen, I don't know how else I should put this: Nobody here is going to buy whatever fancy accessory you have!
The hooded man took another look at Akinym. Despite the hood covering most of his face, Sinon could still see that the man frowned. He nodded and left in a grumpy mood.
Akinym looked after him with a stern expression until he disappeared from his sight. Sinon did the same, albeit with a somewhat confused expression.
Sinon: What was that about?
Akinym: In short, that guy is a self-proclaimed "fortune teller", which means that he walks around the market street reading people's fortune.
Sinon [slightly taken aback]: There are seriously people wasting time on this?
Akinym [slightly exasperatedly]: You'd be surprised about the amount of nonsense players have tried to pull over the years. [slightly sternly] If this guy only roleplayed as a fortune teller, it wouldn't be a problem, though. He's also selling lucky charms based on whatever prophecy he comes up with. Needless to say that they're just overpriced low-quality accessories or other decorative items.
Sinon [slightly exasperatedly]: What a pain… Are there even people who fall for this?!
Akinym [dryly]: Well, he's still doing this, so… [calmly] Anyway, I'll gladly spend col on useful stuff instead. [opens his menu] Speaking of which, here's your share of the stuff I've bought.
Sinon: Ah, thanks.
At the end of these shopping trips, Akinym gave Sinon the items that were reserved for her while Sinon gave Akinym his share of the col they had earnt due to their sales. Akinym sent Sinon a trade request, and she checked the list of items.
Akinym: I've also bought some items against status ailments.
Sinon [slightly surprised]: Why? I actually have enough of them left, and so should you.
Akinym: There was a sale, and you know what they say: Never miss out on a sale! It's better to stock up on these things while they're priced down.
Sinon [slightly teasingly]: Heh? I didn't know you had housewife one-oh-one down.
Akinym: Meh, it's all about planning your purchases efficiently. [playfully] After all, without saving the necessary money, who's going to buy lucky charms and other knickknacks to keep the weirdos fed?
Sinon chuckled a bit, albeit slightly awkwardly. She also finished the trade transaction, so they could get going.
Sinon: I guess that's one way to put it. But still… I can't believe someone would try to act as a fortune teller in SAO. How did you even learn about that? Is that guy well-known or something?
Agil's inn wasn't too far away, and they would be there within a few minutes. On their way there, they kept chatting about the weird fortune teller.
Akinym: I wouldn't call him "well-known", but a few people have complained about him to the Council.
Sinon: Seems legit. [slightly curiously] Can't you guys do anything about these shenanigans?
Akinym [slightly doubtfully]: I mean, we could try to, but we all agreed that he's basically just selling a "service", and prohibiting that would be a bit too harsh. Not to mention that the Council isn't an all-powerful institution in this world. If we told this guy to stop and he just didn't care, there wouldn't be anything we could do about it.
Sinon [slightly exasperatedly]: Well, fair point, I guess.
Akinym [slightly contemplatively]: To be fair, we asked Argo-san to look into that guy in order to see if we should be wary of him.
Sinon: I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be surprised if she has made a deal with this guy to tell people that "buying info from Argo the Rat brings good luck" or something like that.
Akinym [chuckles]: I mean, I wouldn't put it past her, [slightly doubtfully] but that's at least not what she reported. [hesitantly] She… said that his divination could be "fun", and she looked at Asuna-san with a cheeky grin while saying that. [slightly exasperatedly] Knowing her, she probably has some kind of plan to troll Asuna-san. Or Kirito-san. Probably both.
Sinon: Sounds like something she would do… [calmly] Well, I'm not sure if that plan would work, though.
Akinym [slightly contemplatively]: I'd say it depends on the circumstances. I don't know how superstitious Asuna-san is, but my guess is that she wouldn't believe in the ramblings of a so-called "fortune teller". [slightly doubtfully] Although it would probably still get to her if it's something that matters very much to her, or maybe something she feels insecure about. [slightly contemplatively] You know, as you'd expect from… anyone, actually. As for Kirito-san, I…
Akinym was about to say that he wouldn't fall for it since he'd see this from a purely technological point of view. How would a person be able to predict what the system would do? Well, or anything actually. He couldn't really see Kirito as the kind of person to be superstitious.
As for these lucky charms which that fortune teller was selling, he'd probably doubt that these items would have whatever effect they would be said to have.
However, while thinking that, Akinym wondered if that was truly a given. Some things in the game were randomised. Item drops, for instance, were random. It would be possible that certain items could change the probability of certain events in the game.
Akinym: I think it would actually work, even if it's only because Kirito-san would be curious if there really were items that could alter the probabilities of specific ingame events. [dryly] He would see that these so-called "lucky charms" can't, though, and he'd look like an idiot as a result.
Sinon chuckled about the mental image. She could totally see that happening. Maybe that was what Argo was going for…
Akinym: I'd say a sure-fire way for the fortune teller to mess with Kirito-san would be to wait for a time when he's with any of the more gullible girls around him. If he tells said girl that "something terrible" will happen unless they… [exasperatedly] I don't know, unless they do something weird, I can never tell what it's going to be.
Sinon: Well, yeah, I'd say that would work. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what will happen either. [slightly playfully] Speaking of which, wanna make a bet what shenanigans we'll see today?
Akinym: I just said that I can never tell, so why do you think I'd make a bet about that? [dryly] But I'd say some girls will drag Kirito-san into something against his will, he will complain, but in the end, he doesn't get a say in this because he can't bring himself to actually tell them off, he will suffer, and maybe a misunderstanding will occur when Asuna-san barges in, and he will suffer even more.
Sinon [slightly taken aback]: Well, that's… vague.
Akinym [slightly playfully]: Sounds like I might make a good fortune teller. Let's see… [feignedly solemnly] I see a great challenge in the future. The Black Swordsman will be at the mercy of several deadly foes. The Flash might chase them away, but the true challenge may lie beyond that point…
Sinon: Yep, totally vague…
They reached the inn, and when they opened the door and entered, they were immediately greeted by the sight of Silica, Lisbeth, Leafa and Philia clinging to… something. It was hard to tell what it was – or if it even was an "it" - since they covered it almost completely. Whatever it was, the girls had trouble sticking close to it, though, although that might be because they almost seemed to try to push each other away.
When they noticed Akinym and Sinon staring at them in bewilderment, they stopped almost instantly. Once they had stopped moving, Kirito peeked out from the space between them, trying to struggle free. When he noticed the "newcomers" as well, he stopped, though, and he put on an expression of panic and embarrassment.
Sinon [dryly]: I get the feeling we've come to the wrong place.
Akinym [dryly]: I don't know. I see Kirito-san surrounded by girls doing something weird. I'd say this means we've got the right place.
Kirito: Wait! It's not what it looks like!
Lisbeth: Yeah, this… This is in Kirito's best interest!
Sinon: Heh? So it has finally come to this?
Leafa [worriedly, slightly determinedly]: This is no joking matter, Sinon-san! Something terrible could happen to Kirito-kun, [determinedly] and I won't let it come to that! I'll keep my brother safe no matter what it takes!
Silica [mutters, slightly nervously]: Hrrmm, such a bold statement! [determinedly] But I won't fall behind this time! [says aloud] I'll protect Kirito-san, too!
Philia [slightly upset]: Besides, I wish you wouldn't call it "weird". I mean, this… [mutters, slightly happily] isn't that bad, actually.
Kirito [desperately, slightly exasperatedly]: You guys aren't helping! I swear, I didn't get a saying in any of this!
Akinym: So you didn't? [slightly sternly] I'd guess you probably had a few opportunities to object and fight back if you really wanted to. Am I wrong, Kirito-san?! It makes me wonder what nonsense happened today to get you into this situation… [hastily, exasperatedly] Although, no, don't tell me! [slightly annoyed] I bet I would regret knowing it. It's probably better not to judge… [to Sinon, calmly] Tell me how this ends next time, okay?
With that, Akinym headed straight towards the stairs.
Sinon: Will do.
Kirito: Wait, there's a reason for this!
Akinym didn't stop. He just looked over his shoulder while replying.
Akinym [casually]: And I'm sure it's stupid!
Akinym disappeared from sight, and Sinon wondered what she should do in this situation.
Sinon: If you really want to explain, you can explain to me what this is about.
Silica: A fortune teller told us that something terrible would happen to Kirito-san unless a girl sticks close to him the entire day!
Sinon wasn't sure if she should cry or laugh. Akinym had been so right about this… It was all because of a fortune teller!
Wait a moment… A fortune teller?
Sinon [slightly nervously and curiously]: By any chance, was it that guy that hangs around the market street reading other people's fortune?
Silica [excitedly]: Yes, exactly that one! You've seen him, too, Sinon-san, right? [seriously] He was so authentic, I knew that he was the real deal the moment I saw him!
While the other girls joined the explanation, Sinon had to suppress a sigh. She couldn't believe that this was really happening. Had this been Argo's plan?
While she wasn't sure what she should even look at (she couldn't bring herself to look straight at the strange bundle of Kirito and girls), Sinon caught a glimpse of Asuna standing outside the inn through a window. Apparently, Asuna was discussing something with a bunch of KoB members, and it looked as if they had just returned from a mission.
Sinon smiled mischievously. This gave her an idea as to how to make the most of this situation.
"The most" means what you can see in the event in HF. Frankly, I don't really see the point of an exact retelling here, so I'll skip the rest.
When I watched this scene in preparation of writing this chapter, I wondered why the fortune teller would come up with the "something terrible will happen unless a girl sticks close to you" prophecy. I mean, doesn't the game state that his goal is supposed to sell overpriced charms? That honestly doesn't make sense to me.
When I tried to come up with a possible explanation, I noticed that this might be something Argo might come up with when she's in the mood for teasing "Kii-bou and A-chan", so that's where that idea comes from.
By the way, a major point of these fortune teller chapters is to show what Akinym and Sinon's interactions in casual situations are supposed to look like. The second part will go more into detail about this.
Speaking of which, part two will probably be up tomorrow, so you won't have to wait long for the adaption of the second fortune teller event.