Three years ago, I couldn't say with certainty we'd make it this far.
If anyone back on the first floor said to me, "Jaymes, you and your partner will make it to the ninety-ninth floor of Aincrad," I would have agreed with them in spirit, but not truly believing it. If those words were uttered every floor up until the sixty-first, I might've believed it heartily, and as the higher we scaled, the greater my belief. All I wanted was for my partner Koharu for live, even if it meant I couldn't.
After the sixty-first floor, I made it my sole mission to escape this world with Koharu, and now we're so close. Tomorrow morning, we'll take on the boss rush across the floating islands of the ninety-ninth floor. There's no quests, no towns, nothing but a series of reskinned bosses from the past between us and the Ruby Palace.
I'll admit, I'm more than nervous. I'm scared I'll die, or that Koharu will die, or that Kirito, Asuna, or any of my close friends will die. But if we live, I'm more nervous that our vicotry will be the last time I see any of them. Besides Koharu and Asuna, who used their real first names as their usernames, I don't know any of their names. I may forget their likeness. That scares me more than dying because the bonds I've forged, be it the love between me and Koharu or the friendship of the couple whose home we come upon in the lakeside forest of the twenty-second floor.
The only thing calming me is the warm hand interlocked in mine. For ninety-nine floors Koharu's been my rock, whether she knows it or not. When I met her in the SAO beta, she was a newbie player to video games, and she asked me to play the official release with her. Back then, I was a solo player who stayed in the background of the beta and kept to myself as I did in the real world, yet I wasn't bugged when the black-haired, green-eyed girl poised me this question. My answer was surprising to myself, but it set in stone the adventures we'll have together. Through those adventures, I watched Koharu mature and grow into a fine young, strong woman, worthy of her place as the second strongest woman in the game; there's not a shade of the weak, pitiful girl I met in the beta left. I've matured myself as well, but the fruits of that won't bloom until I return home.
As we silently walk hand in hand to the wooden cabin in a clearing of the woods, a figure completely covered in black notices us and steps down from the porch. He greets Koharu first, then gestures to the cabin behind him, saying that Asuna might need her help inside. Koharu nods and makes her way towards the cabin. With us guys alone, the boy holds his right hand out in greeting, saying, "Thanks for coming."
"Thanks for inviting us," I saw as I clasp the other guy's hand and shake it. "Are you sure we're not intruding, Kirito? Tonight's...probably the last one you'll have."
He shakes his head and ushers us towards the front door. "Of course you aren't. I've been too busy lately these days to meet with you, anyway. I want to chat a bit."
"So do I." I follow Kirito up on the porch but we don't go inside. Instead, we remain there, the Black Swordsman leaning against the railing while I fall back against the exterior log wall. "Tonight's the calm before the storm, huh?"
"Yeah. To think, three years later, we're finally here. If I told my younger self that I'd make it and the entire story behind it, he'd find it unbelievable."
"Which part of it is most unbelievable?"
"Hmm... That I'd find love here with Asuna, I guess. And...a child in Yui. I can't imagine making it this without Asuna." Kirito chuckles to himself as he turns around, holding his weight with his hands holding the railing. "What about you?"
"I guess I can say the same with Koharu. There actually was a girl who I liked back in the real world. We grew up together, she was my only friend, but then she moved away. Koharu's not my imagined type, yet she's everything to me."
"Yeah. You two mean a lot to me as well. You three were the first people I trusted with my life in this world to this day."
I lower my head to hide my expression, but it's unavoidable to mask the happiness in my voice. "You're just embarrassing yourself now, buddy... Yet I feel the same. Wouldn't trade the day we all met for anything in the world."
"Which time?"
I 'met' Kirito three times long ago; the first time was the same I met Koharu, just moments later. I (with a much cooler-looking avatar) was helping Koharu fight in a dungeon, but the fighting got a little tough for me. That's when Kirito (albeit, a more mature, cooler looking Kirito) appeared. The second time we met would be on SAO's launch day, in which we helped Koharu and another guy named Klein get used to the combat system. But the most important meeting happened a month after the death game began, the one I bet Kirito is referring to.
"In Tolbana, of course."
"Yeah... You met Asuna right before that, huh?"
"Yes... A difficult moment that was..."
Jaymes meets Koharu
Today's the last day of the Sword Art Online beta test, and as one of the lucky thousand, I'm doing all I can to make the most of the final hours.
I could join the players up on the tenth floor in an attempt to clear the labyrinth, but I decided to not take part in the conquests of the towers between floors. I have a high enough level, the right skills and equipment, and good enough knowledge of the game, but I want to play the game at my own pace. Also, I'm playing purely solo for the most part, so there's that too. I have little interest in working with others.
Right now I traverse a first-floor dungeon just to waste some time. The enemies here are easy to defeat if one understands how to fight them, but even if I didn't know their patterns, I have the strength to do so almost without using a sword skill. I don't need assistance here; another string player will sap the fun away as we'll breeze through this place, and a weak player will hold me back.
Ironically, that lands me in the situation I am in now.
While taking stock of my inventory in a safe zone of the dungeon, I hear footsteps approach the square area. Figuring its another player, I ignore them and focus on myself. There's plenty of players on the first floor who still have a lacking understanding of the game, this one's probably no different. But because it is the two of us here, I have no choice but to hear their murmurs echoing off the stone walls.
"Today's already the final day of the beta test... But still, here I am..." A girl, huh? I subconsciously look up from the hologram that is my system window, accidently locking eyes with the girl. At first glance, she's cute; black medium-length hair, bright green eyes, and a desperate expression on her face. I gauge she's not much younger than I am, an actual girl rather than a boy playing a girl, and her avatar must be close to her true likeness rather than a older appearance like mine.
I try to look away, but I see a lightbulb flash over her head. She cautious approaches me, waving her right hand. "Uhm, hiya! Can I talk to you for a minute?" I say nothing or give an aura to sway her from coming to me, so once she's within arm's reach, she holds her hand out in greeting. "Nice to meet you. I'm Koharu."
"Koharu." I repeat her name on my avatar's tongue, though I have no intention of remembering her name. I won't see her again once we part ways. No, forget that; I barely remember the names of many of my classmates since I came from America to Japan this past spring. I made little effort to make friends in the real world, and none at all to reconnect with a childhood friend who made the same move three years earlier. Why engage with this Koharu more than necessary? "Name's Jaymes."
"Jaymes... This is embarrassing to admit, but well... I'm absolutely terrible at this game. And I'm talking really bad. This is my first VRMMO and my very first video game. I made sure to look up some stuff online before starting, but it's all so different from what I was expecting, you see. "I can't land a single attack, so I've just been leveling up speed to run away. Everyone else around me is getting stronger, but I just can't keep up with them. I did get a little better, though! So I was looking forward to playing a bit more, but today's the last day and... Well, so, that's why I came all the way out here, but... Now I'm just lost..."
This girl probably did not take a moment to breath, so I interrupt by saying, "You alright?"
She makes a face of realization, inhales, exhales, and bows to me apologetically. "Guess I was rambling, huh? Sorry about that. I've just been so hopeless until now... I know today's the last day and all, but I don't want to end it like this. So..." She puts her hands together and drops her head. "Think you could teach me how to battle?"
"I'm so..." I want to deny her, but my earlier mental argument that I'll never see her again is countered by the idea that just because I won't see her again doesn't mean I can't be nice. I am a nice person in the other world, so why pretend to be any different like other bozos when playing MMOs?
Reason winning out, I sigh and close the menu, then take a quick audit of her gear. She wears the female starting tunic, and behind her is a small Iron Dagger. Not sure how much help I can be with a weapon I'm unfamiliar with, but I'll try my best. I lift off from the wall and take a couple of steps towards the depths of the dungeon. Without looking back, I wave the girl to follow me. "I'll teach you."
"Oh, thank you!" she says excitedly, skipping over to walk side by side with me. "Let's get started, then!"
Kirito meets Asuna
He doesn't know why he saved her. Actually, he knows why he saved her, but it was not for anything other than the valuable map data she has on the labyrinth. But for Kirito, that feels like a shallow reason to go out of his way to carry the girl (who collapsed in front of him after going ham on monsters) to the forest, lay her on the ground, and watch over her a few respectable feet away.
Before her collapse, he ran into her, noticing her haphazard rapier technique. It looked like she was going to die, so he interfered by eliminating the kobolds encroaching upon her. He tried to give her some advice, but she told him to butt our her business and let her die just as everyone else will. That's when he told her to give him the map data before she suffered such a fate, and they fought off more kobolds together. Once they were in the clear, she passed out.
He would say he was impressed, but there's more to it. Her speed and precision... It was like watching a shooting star dash across the night sky.
That was earlier in the morning, back when the night sky filtered through the aperatures on the side of the floating castle. Now the afternoon sun lights the first floor, and Kirito enjoys a comfortable rest against a tree, his Anneal Blade wrapped by his left arm, until he hears shuffling slightly to his left. Opening his eyes, he notices the passed out girl had awakened. "Good morning, Miss-"
"Why? Why didn't you leave me behind?"
Sighing, Kirito looks away for the moment. "You're free to pursue your glamourous death all you want, but as I told you, I want that map data first." He looks back at her, seeing the girl's scowl under her crimson hood, and smirks. "Then again, there are ways to get around that stuff when the other person is asleep-EEP!"
Quick as lighting, Asuna draws her rapier and thrusts it at the boy. If she didn't stop an inch from his nose, Asuna would have a human skewer. "What did you do to my body?"
"N-Nothing! Nothing at all! Cross my heart, hope to die, don't stick that needle in my eye!"
"You... Y-y-y-you liar! You used my map data as an excuse to do things to my body, like...like things! Things!"
"N-No way! It's a bum rap!"
"Draw. Your. Damn. Blade-" The girl's stomach, inconsiderate of whether Kirito touched her body, makes its presence known that it has been neglected by its owner. Her temper shifts to embarrassment and annoyance as she turns away. "Stupid game! Stupid game! Stupid game!"
Kirito takes a deep breath and chuckles, relieved he gets to live...for now. "First, we'd better get you some food."
"I-I don't need it! I'm not going to die from a lack of food here!"
"No worries. Think of it as an exchange for your map data." He opens his menu and selects an item. "Plus, you can't say for sure that your passing out had nothing to do with extreme hunger. If you're going to try your best, it's worth eating, right?" Kirito hands her a piece of bread, the same Black Bread everyone else finds disgusting to eat. "Plus, this is just plain tasty."
"...Now I'm questioning your sense of taste."
The swordsman takes a vial and hands it to fencer. "You just need to throw in a little wrinkle."
"What's this?" The fencer takes the recommended amount out on her bread, seeing a gooey white substance flow on her bread. Wait a moment, can this be... "Cream?"
"Go on, just try it out." Intrigued and ravenous, the fencer doesn't hesitate a moment longer to bit into the bread. As expected, Kirito watches as the girl's whole attitude momentarily changes as the creamy delight mixes with the bread, giving it a whole new taste. The girl begins to scarf it down, which brings a smile to Kirito's face.
"Want another?"
"...I'll pass. I didn't survive this long just to eat good food."
"Why then?"
The girl stands up, keeping her back to Kirito. "So that... I can be myself. If I was just going to hide back in the first city and waste away to nothing, then I'd rather fight with all of my strength until the very last moment. And then-"
"You can 'die satisfied,'" Kirito completes.
"I mean, it's a hundred floors. After two months, we haven't even beaten the very first one! Do you know how many people have died in that time? Two thousand! It's impossible... We're never going home."
And the unsaid blame lies with the couple hundred beta testers who made it to the official release. Ironically, it may be those beta testers who are dying. They know where to hunt, which quests give what rewards, and because they know the frontier, they're out there, risking their lives to be the strongest. At the same time, they've done little to assist the people who don't know the game, who brave the unknown frontier, and died because of their ignorance. Kirito himself abandoned someone who wasn't a beta tester, partly because he didn't want to be responsible for so many lives. "...I'm sorry."
"Did you just-" A distant bell rings three times in the forest air, gaining their attention. "What's that? A bell?"
"That's the town. Tolbana's close by." The swordsman gets up and places the scabbard on his back. "The bell struck three o'clock. Let's go."
"Go where?"
"To the second floor," Kirito says, pointing up, "before anyone else. It's time for the boss battle. You wanna come?"
Asuna, Kirito, Jaymes, and Koharu up for the first time
"All right, I think it's time to start planning! First, we have to form a proper raid party. Now team up with your friends and others around you."
F-Friends? Party? Asuna clenches her teeth. She has no friends here...and has none in the real world. She recalls a moment prior to a field trip this past school year, in which she heard other girls assigned to her talk about her. How she had no good stories to tell, how all the boys would try to pick her up instead of them. All her life, Asuna's social life has been stunted by academics, so maybe those girls had a point, but-
"So...you got left out too-I mean, no you didn't! Of course not... Ha ha..."
"I'm not a castoff," Asuna says immediately. "I just didn't want to butt in, bevause it seemed like everyone else already had their own friends."
"Hey, Kirito!" The other girl steps over between the boy and Asuna. "Um, if you'd like, why don't you party up with Jaymes and me? Four heads are better than two, right?"
"Hmm, we can't join the raid unless we're in a party... Why not?" He turns to Asuna, gesturing to the girl and her partner. "If you're not convinced to party with me alone, why not with these guys? What do you say?"
"Again, no thanks," Asuna states sharply before turning away, holding her head down "But... I might consider it if you send the invite since the girl asked." Shortly after, she sees the party invite prompt and presses the blue circle. Facing the boy in black, she remembers what happened when they entered town. "In exchange, you were saying something before we got here. I couldn't hear it through the wind. If we both survive the battle, tell me again."
"So Jaymes, you made a party with these three?" Diavel waves and walks up to the four. "Forgive me, but can I ask that the four of you back up the team handling the boss's Kobold guards?"
Jaymes, the boy in red, nods. "Sure thing. We don't exactly have a full raid party, do we?"
Diavel sighs in relief. "Thanks for understanding."
The other boy, the one the other girl called Kirito, chuckles. "And you can't just ignore those cronies. It's an important job."
"I see. But... As a knight, I'm jealous of you guys, that you get to guard the princesses."
The other girl blushes. Asuna glares her hood while the boys laugh. Jaymes, however, doesn't laugh with a chill down his spine. "Haha, yeah... It's an important job."
"Mhm. Actually, Jaymes, can I speak to you privately after we end the meeting here?"
Jaymes is quiet for a second, yet he nods. "Sure thing." As Diavel steps away, Jaymes sighs and turns to the Asuna and the others. "Not that I want to fight the boss, but the back? If it wasn't so vital we hold off the mobs, this would be disappointing."
Kirito chuckles and pats Jaymes on the shoulder. "Well, you two have gotten stronger after all. I'm quite impressed. Argo was not embellishing those rumors."
"So it was her? Remind me to give her a piece of my mind."
The black-haired girl lets the boys talk to each other as she faces Asuna, who remains silent and guarded, and sticks out her hand. "Hello, my name is Koharu. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable joining a bunch of strangers."
Asuna hesitates but takes Koharu's hand. "Anything is better than being stuck with him alone. He's been a nuisance recently, plus... It's nice to know there's another girl around in this testosterone-filled raid."
"Yes. Jaymes is fine to be around, but sometimes I get tired of being around a boy all the time. So, Asuna, I hope we can become good friends and survive together."
"Great," Jaymes says sourly, "Koharu made another friend. What's the story with you two, you save her from death, and now she owes you?"
"Well, I did save her earlier today..."
Asuna steps up to Jaymes. "I owe him nothing! Ugh, boys and their belief girls need saving from them... C'mon, Koharu, let's get away from them." Koharu is speechless as Asuna drags her away up the stairs against her will, but it's not like Koharu fights against it either.
"Don't you want to join the practice session?"
"An 'important job'? You're kidding. And we're only the backup henchmen killers? If we're not a big part of their plan, they should just say so."
"What else can we do," the black swordsman argues. "There's only four of us. We probably could switch in and last enough for pot rotation, sure, but..."
"Simply put," the red swordsman continues, "Koharu and I know how to work as a unit of two, not four, and we can't learn it in a day or two. Diavel recognized that, I bet. Yeah, switching and pot rotating would be tough."
Asuna lets go of Koharu and turns to the boys. "Switch? Pot rota... What?"
Kirito sighs and laughs. "Tell you what, tomorrow, I'll explain party combat. There's a good quest to practice that. But it's active in the morning. I think we should go over the basics tonight, so we could stop at the nearby pub-"
"No." Asuna turns away, this time without Koharu, and finishes the climb up the stairs. "I don't want to be seen with you."
The boy in red sighs. "Where did you pick up the spoiled princess?"
Asuna stops, looks over her shoulder, and glares at the boy. "What did you say?"
"Sp-oil-ed. Pr-in-cess. Do I need to spell it out for you?"
"Wait, before you do something you regret," the other swordsman says while standing between Asuna and the outspoken asshole. Taking a deep breath, he faces Asuna. "If you'd prefer a location where no one will see us, an NPC house is out because anyone can walk in... Hey, I know! Your room or mine? We can lock the door and the walls are soundproof."
Before Asuna can retort, Koharu makes a disgusted face and points in Kirito's face. "Kirito. Think about what you just said! Come on, Asuna."
As the girls step away, Kirito thinks about what Koharu meant. "I... Oh, right, who'd want to hang out at that crappy inn? Not me. My place is at a farm, pretty cheap at eighty Col a night, plus it's an entire spacious floor to myself, with all-you-can-drink milk. There's even a bathtub, though I barely use it-"
"What?" Asuna and Koharu make their way back to Kirito. "What did you just say?"
"Huh? What? The entire floor?"
"Not that!"
"Plenty of milk?"
"After that!"
"You mean...the bath?" Asuna and Koharu nod, in which Kirito laughs nervously. "There's a bath...you want to use it?"
"YES," Koharu exclaims, then glares at Jaymes. "How come you never ask if I want to bathe?"
"How come you never said you wanted to?" Jaymes sighs and crosses his arms. "Whatever. I'll stick here until Diavel comes to speak with me. You three can go."
Kirito nods. "I'll have Koharu send you the location. See you later. Girls, follow me..."
