Chapter One "Player Shirou"
Shirou grabbed the NerveGear and placed it onto his head before shouting, "Link Start!"
His surroundings soon changed and he was no longer in his room. He was not too surprised by his new surroundings when compared to the other players that logged into the game for the first time. Afterall, Shirou had watched some of the game's advertised video such as the character creation menu to know where he was.
"No wonder Magecraft Online has the reputation of rendering the Virtual Reality so realistically that it can be mistaken for the real world. This is a perfect replication of reality that only Moon Cell is capable of." Shirou muttered as he recalled his time during the Moon Cell Holy Grail War and compared it to his new surroundings. "What I am seeing is just another proof of evidence that the rumors Akihiko Kayaba won the Moon Cell Holy Grail War and in control over the alien supercomputer."
Shirou quickly skipped over the character creation menu. None of the options to alter what would become his player avatar mattered to him. He just simply chose his avatar to be an exact replica of his real-life appearance and entered his player name as "Shirou."
Anyone else might be concerned about using their real name appearance or name, but that was the very last thing Shirou was worried about. In fact, anyone wanting to take advantage of his appearance or name in the real world to steal his identity would soon regret it as he had many enemies that were some of the most dangerous and ruthless people on Earth. They would love to target anyone that might mistake the identity thief for him.
He suddenly felt disconnected from his body for a moment before Shirou found himself in a completely different location.
As Shirou looked around, he found himself in a room not too dissimilar to that a student would live in. At the same time, the room possessed nothing but the bare essential that told nothing of its owner's personality. What someone could learn was that the room's owner had a fair amount of money by the worth of whatever little there was in the room. The objects were valued beyond what most college students would have.
"Shirou, are you okay? Why are you taking so long? Don't forget that your transportation to your mission is scheduled to arrive within several minutes." A familiar voice echoed through the door leading to Shirou's room, snapping him out of his musing.
"It can't be…" Shirou muttered in denial as he walked up and opened the door. It really is…!
"Are you feeling okay, Shirou? You're looking at me as if I am a ghost." The woman spoke in a curious tone.
He scrutinized the woman before her and compared that to his memories. Shirou wondered if he was actually talking to the real Touko Aozaki, who was playing Magecraft Online as well, or an NPC created in her likeness using the Moon Cell data on the legendary Puppet Master.
"Which Touko Aozaki are you?" Shirou asked bluntly, carefully observing Touko's body language.
"Is today a bad day for you, Shirou? Not only are you not ready for the upcoming mission but you're questioning which 'Touko Aozaki' I am." Touko replied in a very concerned tone.
Shirou frowned at Touko's reaction but he continued to press on. "Do these words, 'Earth,' 'Moon Cell,' 'Shiki Ryougi' ring any bells?"
"No." Touko shook her head. "Are you confusing me for another person that has the same name and appearance as me? If so, why didn't you tell me that you met such a person. I had always heard that there is always one or two other people who look and have the same voice that are not your twin or related to you existing in the world. I have always wanted to meet such people before."
I am definitely talking to an NPC based on Touko Aozaki. Shirou concluded. "No, I am just joking with you." He smiled. "What are the chances of me finding someone that has the same name, appearance and voice as you? If I did then I would have told you, Touko."
"Oh." Touko's shoulder slumped slightly in disappointment."I will help you out this once but don't think I will do it again because I am your teacher." Touko sighed as she snapped her fingers. "Success or failure of the mission is not as important as your life. So please come back safely."
He was confused by what Touko meant and was about to question her when he felt space warp around him. Shirou was about to move when he felt his surroundings change. A curse came out as Shirou prepared to fight for his life.
Why don't I sense any hostile intent? Shirou thought in confusion as he looked around at his new surroundings for any possible danger and to his surprise there was no threat. Right, why did I think NPC Touko was out to kill me? Even the real life Touko wouldn't have as I have never done anything to cause Touko to have any motive to kill me.
He nearly prepared to fight as he noticed a huge dark shadow blocking the sun. He looked up to see what was casting the shadow. It was a flying ship.
Shirou finally got a good look as the flying ship started to descend. The ship was not the same as one would expect to see sailing the seas. It had a wide, flat bottom and an exquisitely built and spacious three floor tower, but there wasn't any mast or sail seen on an air powered ship. He was surprised by how quickly the flying ship slowed down or how quietly the three hundred meter long, eighty meters wide ship touched the ground.
That is one huge flying ship. Shirou noted in awe as it was so large that he couldn't help but compare it to an american supercarrier. At least it is unlikely such a large flying ship belongs to someone out to kill me. I might as well be an ant before them.
"This is Touko Aozaki Tower. All passengers take care that you have everything on you before you depart and please watch your step."
Several planks came down from the flying ship. Dozens of passengers with bags started to get on or off in an orderly manner from/towards what Shirou spotted was a thirty or so meters tall stone tower that Shirou presumed was Touko Aozaki Tower.
He pondered what he should do. Shirou didn't know what was exactly going or what Touko had meant earlier by mission but his instincts told him that he should get onto the flying ship.
Thus, Shirou also made his way onto the flying ship via one of the many wooden planks.
The spacious deck of the ship was crowded with people. Each and every one was a human, or at least what Shirou could tell at a glance. Shirou could tell that each and every of the passengers were a mage or possibly a magical creature taking a human appearance. The Od that leaked from their bodies, a normal sign of active Magic Circuits, were how he had come to such a conclusion.
He also managed to get a good idea of how powerful each passenger was. Experience taught him that the amount of Od leaked out was a good, but not always reliable, indicator of how powerful someone was. Of course, there were exceptions like those trained or had a habit of hiding their true strength. That was when he relied on his vast combat experience to look for other signs to gauge someone's strength such as their body language.
Shirou was snapped out of his musing when he heard loud yells from dozens of boatmen, who dressed like sailors, the flying ship trembled, and a loud buzzing noise came from the bottom of the ship. The ship gradually ascended into the sky.
He was quickly surprised by the flying ship's propulsion. The flying ship didn't use turbines like the airplanes in the real world. It instead used magic crystals imbued with simple wind magecraft. Such a thing would never have happened in real life to protect the secrecy of magecraft.
The flying ship streaked through the air, leaving a cloud-like trail of fading magical energy behind it.
"Hey!" A massive and bulky african-american man with a brown goatee and brown eyes shouted as he made his way to Shirou. "Are you a Player by any chance?"
Shirou nodded. "What gave me away?"
"The way you looked at your surroundings. It was like you were a foreigner seeing new things for the first time. I know because that was how I also felt after logging into the game for the first time." The man replied. "My name is Agil. What is your name?"
"My name is Shirou…" He bit his tongue half-way through as he remembered he was playing a video game. "I was wondering if you can answer a few questions of mine."
"Ask away. I will answer to the best of my abilities." Agil replied.
"You probably had a couple hours head start before me, having started when the game launched so that makes you a veteran compared to me. What can you tell me, a new player such as myself?" Shirou asked.
"Oh, boy…" Agil shook his head. "I don't have just a few hours head start of you. It might have been a couple of hours since Magecraft Online was released in the real world but time flows faster in the game. By ingame time, I have already played what clocks up to about several weeks." He spoke in a serious tone.
"I didn't expect such a feature in the game." Shirou muttered in surprise. He looked at Agil and asked, "How much time acceleration do you think exists between the game and the real world?"
"I think time flows 1000 times faster in the game compared to the real world." Agil replied in an unsure tone.
Time acceleration…Shirou said in his mind. It made sense in his opinion given the rumors going around the world of magecraft about the purpose of Magecraft Online. The most popular rumors going about was that the game's goal was the Magecraft Online was a training stimulator to find new blood to usher into the ranks of mages after the devastating Mage Civil War that had torn apart the supernatural world post Mage Reformation. Time acceleration fitted perfectly into the rumors.
Shirou added the time acceleration feature to the many growing list of questions that he had about Magecraft Online before deciding to move onto another question as he walked over to the railing preventing passengers from falling overbear and looked at the land below.
"What are your thoughts about this fictional world, Aincrad?" Shirou asked.
Agil shrugged. "It's your usual high-fantasy world where humanity co-exist with some species and are enemies with other species. Much of the Aincrad is still unexplored and teeming with animals and magical creatures."
It's definitely not as simple as that. Shirou disagreed while remembering that it was incredibly likely Moon Cell was stimulating a virtual reality. He had seen firsthand Moon Cell simulating possible timelines of Earth with nothing more than its unimaginable computing power alone. It even had the ability to peer into other timelines if it chose to.
"At least that was what I thought during the first few ingame days." Agil continued as if reading Shirou's mind, or more likely in Shirou's opinion via his body language. "Aincrad doesn't seem just realistic with what we can feel with our five senses. It feels like it's a world that has real people with their own personality, aspirations and beliefs that makes me doubt that I am actually inside virtual reality and not on Earth. How the game developers, ARGUS, had been able to achieve such realism is beyond my comprehension."
"Tell me more about your experience so far in Aincrad," Said Shirou. "I am intrigued that you have been willing to stay several weeks ingame time. Any ordinary player would have likely logged out after playing an ingame day."
"Let's start with some basics you should know." Agil replied as he pointed at the crowd around them. "Besides the people keeping this flying ship running, every single one of the passengers is a mage. Mages make up the ruling class of Aincrad and the professional elite of their chosen fields."
Interesting… was this a result of Akihiko Kayaba, the other game developers that might be mages or both of their egos wishing that mages were the ruling elite of the real world? Shirou wondered in amusement.
"There are two groups of mages in the game; Apprentice Mages and Circle Mages." Agil continued, not realizing what was going on in Shirou's mind. "Apprentice mages make up a vast majority of the passengers here. Their education in magecraft ranges from middle to high school level. And by the way, regular humans in general receive primary school level education in magecraft."
An outburst of laughter nearly broke out but Shirou barely suppressed it. He found the very thought of describing the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of a mage by using the education system as an example was too hilarious. That still didn't prevent him from smirking.
Agil's raised brow nearly caused Shirou to crack up in amusement as the african-american man didn't seem to understand Shirou's humor.
"I suppose Circle Mages are the college level education?" Shirou asked. Agil nodded his head. "Does that mean all the NPCs are capable of primary school level magecraft?"
"Yes–" Agil abruptly stopped and quickly hissed, "Don't ever get into the habit of treating the inhabitants of this game like they are NPCs! They have feelings of their own. To treat them otherwise is wrong."
Shirou was surprised by Agil's reaction. No, it should have been expected as Shirou recalled his own experience during the Moon Cell Holy Grail War. If Agil's behavior was anything to go by and his own admission that he had been in the game for several weeks then in Shirou's mind that Agil had fallen in love with the fictional world of Aincrad.
"Okay. Thank you for your advice." Shirou smiled as he glanced over at the passengers that leaked out the least amount of Od. "Tell me more about the Apprentice Mages."
"An apprentice mage is divided into the following ranks: Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Pseudo-Circle. Pseudo-Circle mage apprentice being those ready to conduct the risky magic ritual to transform their body and soul to become a 1st Circle Mage."
His brow twitched as Shirou heard Agil. Besides Pseudo-Circle, Agil had told him what the newly reformed Mage's Association following the Mage Reformation had used to describe a mage what level of education a mage received before being considered ready for 'college-level' education for mages.
Given that ARGUS's founder and CEO, Akihiko Kayaba, is a mage and his fellow game developers are also likely mages too, it seemed that they decided to copy the reformed Mage's Association's rating standards for the game. Shirou pondered in amusement before turning to Agil. "What sort of transformation is done to be considered a Circle Mage?"
"Give me a second…" Agil scratched his head as if he had forgotten something. "I think the transformation process creates a unique organ called… a Magic Core…?"
Shirou's eyes widened and his heart began to pound. Very few humans had ever possessed Magic Cores. Humans that had Magic Cores were incredibly rare given that Magic Cores were normally a sign of non-human ancestry such as being a demigod or possessing divine blood.
Is Kayaba trying to collect data on how to create Magic Cores inside the human body and soul? Shirou wondered as he recalled his Servant, Arturia Pendragon, from the Moon Cell Holy Grail War. Moon Cell should possess the data of how Merlin had given Arturia her Magic Core thanks to the Moon Cell's ability to record everything that happens on Earth. Yet, not everyone is like Merlin. So maybe one of the main points of Magecraft Online's existence is to collect data in creating Magic Cores for use in the real world? That might be why Kayaba created the scenario with 'Pseudo-Circle mage apprentice undergoing a magic ritual to become Circle Mage' in the game.
Shirou was about to ask Agil a question when a voice warned of an unexpected danger that caused the passengers to rush towards the closest entrance. He was dragged away by the crowd and when he tried to look for Agil was not able to find the african-american man, likely dragged away the crowd like he had been.
Any attempt to find Agil again stopped when the voice announced the situation was even more dangerous than expected and urged all the passengers to remain indoors. Shirou pondered if he should look for Agil but decided against it. It wasn't like Agil was going to disappear anytime soon and he could find the african-american man another time.
He didn't know what sort of danger had caused the crew of the flying ship to ask the passengers to head inside but since all the passengers were he would do the same… Or that had been what Shirou had been intending to do when he detected the presence of several non-human entities surrounding the flying ship in great number.
Is this the danger that was being used to urge the passengers to safety? Shirou wondered as he surveyed the newcomers.
The newcomers revealed to be harpies. Creatures with the upper body of a humanoid and the lower body of a reptilian creature, with scaly legs, clawed feet, and clawed hands with knotty fingers. Their powerful leathery wings, which they could fly and carry away their victims, beating loudly in the air.
Hmphm, the harpies individually are not powerful but their numbers concerning. He noted.
For a moment, Shirou considered if he should step in. After all, he was a passenger and it was the duty of the flying ship's crew to make sure the safety of its passengers.
Yet, the situation didn't look too well for the sailors. The sailors compared to the average human on Earth were far ahead in terms of physical abilities such that they were at the minimum twice as physically capable, and all of them had some basic magic training.
Just as Shirou worried for the sailors, several people entered his vision. These people were clearly well trained and equipped soldiers if their behavior and gear was anything to go by. Their equipment seemed to vary from person to person as to match each individual's fighting style but they all bore similar coloring and symbols on their equipment as the sailors, clearly making them likely the security force employed by the flying ship's owner.
"Sir, please enter the ship. We will handle the situation." One sailor said respectfully as she approached Shirou.
"No, I wish to observe." Shirou shook his head. I want to know how Magecraft Online replicates combat and the best way is to see it for myself.
Was this good, bad or meh? Please tell me what you think. I accept all criticism as long as it is no flaming.