Okay, on to the next chapter.
Well, it did turn out to be longer than expected. Who would've guessed? Oh, right, I did...
Anyway, this chapter is mostly just a little insight in Akinym and Sinon's training. Well, mostly just the two of them talking about stuff. There are a few somewhat important parts, but a considerable portion of this chapter is actually just transitions between these parts, so it's probably not going to be the most interesting chapter... It will give a bit more insight into Akinym's character, though.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online Re:Hollow Fragment or Sword Art Online in general.
About a week later, Akinym was training with Sinon at their usual spot outside town. It was afternoon, and Akinym had finished his work with today's trainee group a while ago. After that, he had picked Sinon up at her inn room for her daily training.
Currently on schedule: dodging. Akinym attacked with rather halfhearted thrusts of his spear. Sinon wasn't ready to dodge his serious attacks yet, so he had to hold back.
She was doing pretty good for a while. She managed to dodge most attacks, although some of them grazed her arms, and one blow hit her left shoulder.
They didn't use a First Strike duel this time, so Sinon was only pushed back slightly by the attacks without losing HP.
It didn't take too long until her movements became a bit slow and sluggish, though. Sinon tried her best to ignore the feeling of exhaustion, but she really wasn't used to the exhaustion effects in VR yet, and she couldn't handle them well. In the end, Akinym's hit rate increased a lot.
Akinym [doubtfully]: Your movements have become quite slow. We should take a break.
Sinon [out of breath, slightly determinedly]: I'm good! If I can't deal with a little exhaustion, I won't have a place in the Assault Team, will I? I have to get over this, so keep going!
Akinym sighed in exasperation. Things like this had happened almost every day since they had started these private lessons. He had really grown tired of Sinon's "I'm going to overwork myself whether you like it or not" attitude.
He took a more relaxed stance for a moment.
Akinym: Well, if you say so, I'll do…
At this moment, he suddenly thrust his spear forward at remarkable speed. In her tired state, Sinon couldn't even react at all.
Akinym [fiercely]: ...this!
Due to the speed of the attack and the fact that it was performed without any preparation, aiming was insanely difficult. It was mainly thanks to luck that Akinym's attack hit. It would've been quite embarrassing if it had missed…
He hit Sinon's throat, and the feedback of the strike knocked her over while she shrieked in surprise.
She looked up at him with displeasure. Did he really have to do this? It was at times like this when she started to feel kind of uneasy around Akinym.
Meanwhile, Akinym pretty much ignored Sinon's reaction and took a completely relaxed stance again. He looked at Sinon with a calm, almost casual expression.
Akinym [slightly teasingly]: Good, now that you're sitting, we might as well start the next exercise: [sternly] taking a break when you need it!
Sinon huffed and reacted in an overall peeved manner for a moment, but deep down, she knew that Akinym was right. More than anything else, hitting a wall like that during such a simple training exercise dampened her mood.
Sinon: Fine… I'll do that.
Akinym sat down next to her with a sigh.
Akinym: If you really want to do something useful, we might as well use that break. Have you come across anything that is unclear? Any questions about anything?
Times like this were perfect for explaining all kinds of things about the system to Sinon. Explaining the basics of the system was more or less a waste of time when Akinym had to work with Silica and Lisbeth, who already knew most of this stuff, or Leafa, who had at least an idea of that, too. Sinon, however, still had to get used to it, so Akinym couldn't leave her questions unanswered. Another reason behind these private lessons was to make time for that.
Sinon usually explored Arc Sophia or experimented with the system, for instance trying certain skills, when Akinym was busy. She usually came across things she didn't know yet about SAO, and she ended up having questions.
Akinym gladly supported her "scientific curiosity" (as he liked to call it). He even encouraged her to continue that when she expressed worries about being a burden – something that, by the way, happened far too often in Akinym's opinion.
Sometimes Sinon seemed like an inexplicable enigma to him… On the one hand, she was dead set on becoming a top player. Not to mention that she seemed awfully eager to start a fight whenever anything annoyed her – much more than Akinym liked, that's for sure. On the other hand, she seemed to have nearly no self-confidence quite often.
That was quite bad, though. Akinym hadn't realised it right away, but it had begun to remind him of the most suicidal – and, by extension, worst – kind of students he had worked with so far. He really had to keep an eye on all students of that group…
Anyway, today's Q&A session was mostly about the differences between NPC and player-run shops. Sinon was particularly curious if there really was a point in choosing the shop of a player over one of an NPC.
Akinym could answer such questions right away with the insane amount of information he had gathered over the years. He could answer some questions from memory, while he used his personal database for the rest. Well, a lot of information he had was about locations, monsters or quests on the lower floors – and therefore virtually useless here – but he had also made sure to acquire as much information about any known game mechanic as possible.
There were questions, however, that were rather hard to answer. That wasn't because Akinym didn't know the answer, it was just that he would have to show the answer rather than explaining it. They always found themselves in that situation when the combat system came up – which, unsurprisingly, happened very, very often.
Akinym could demonstrate some things in a duel, and Sinon could test certain skills, especially Sword Skills, via certain practice exercises, but there were things that she could only understand when fighting a monster in the field.
Speaking of which…
Sinon [sighs, tiredly]: Still, are you sure we need to keep training like this? Like, just dodging and practice swings and all that?! I have a feeling that it doesn't really help me improve by now. I mean, I've been doing that every day, and it feels like I can do all of my Sword Skills without thinking now. [mutters] Well, that's actually pretty accurate.
Akinym: You're getting better. As I've said multiple times already, you're already doing better than the beginners when SAO launched. However, I still don't think that you're ready for a real battle on this floor. Say, have you practiced trying to keep control over your body when using Sword Skills?
Sinon [slightly insecurely]: Well, a little… I think I've started to get what's the trick, but actually pulling it off is… difficult.
Akinym: See? There you have your room for improvement!
Sinon sighed in defeat. She didn't mind putting effort into training, she'd gladly put as much effort into getting stronger as humanly possible, but it was just frustrating that said effort didn't seem to pay off.
At this point, it felt as if she was merely holding Silica, Lisbeth and Leafa back. Akinym had started field training with his other groups, but their group had to wait until he considered Sinon ready. She hated that feeling with a passion.
It actually wasn't even a long-term problem, though. Akinym just gave their group lessons he'd normally give later on. For instance, he had told them about information trade last time, including giving them a list of all trustworthy info brokers he knew as well as telling them about known signs that someone offering them information might just try to scam them or even to lead them into a trap.
Sinon: If you say so…
Akinym [dryly]: You know, it's not very convincing if you say that in such a sullen manner.
Sinon [slightly upset]: Pardon me, but it's frustrating if someone tells you that you're merely good enough for practice swings inside the safe zone! I get that I'm really just the weakest player on the upper floors right now, and yes, it's probably for the best if I take it slow, [frustrated] but I want to make myself useful here, and even if I'm training to become stronger, I'm just sitting in the safe zone while others do the work, so I'm just ballast right now! Yet you're telling me matter-of-factly that I should improve by doing such simple exercises… It's so easy to brush all these concerns off like that if you're already so strong that you don't have to worry about any of this yourself!
Akinym had listened to Sinon carefully, and now that he thought about what she had said, all he could do was to sigh in exasperation.
Yes, he understood her concerns to a certain degree, but why did she have to be such a handful repetitively? This issue came up over and over again, and Akinym never managed to get through to her.
To be honest, he had the feeling that, in order to really get through to her, he had to make his way through a wall with a jackhammer, only that this wall wasn't made of cement but rather of armour steel…
He tried to think of something he could do this time. Now that he thought about it, since regular methods of reassurement didn't seem to work, this might be the right moment for a little storytelling session.
Akinym [slightly reassuringly]: Sinon-san, what do you think I did during the early stage of SAO? I mean, do you really think I've always been as good at this game as today? [slightly awkwardly] Well, obviously not, [calmly] but the point is: Do you think I've joined the Assault Team right away or anything like that?
Sinon thought about it for a moment. She didn't know the details, but she knew that Akinym had been a member of the Assault Team for a while. And she had seen what a strong fighter he was, one with a strength that wasn't just a matter of ingame skills or stats, so the answer seemed obvious to her.
Sinon: W-well, I can't say for sure, obviously, but if I had to guess, I'd say so. I mean, judging from what I've seen you do and say, for instance about training beginners after launch, I've figured that you'd have to be a top player from the beginning.
Akinym had to think about this for a moment. Now that she mentioned the whole "training beginners after launch" thing, he could kind of see where she was coming from…
Keeping aside Sinon's remark about him being "a top player from the beginning", which seemed to ignore that he had quit the Assault Time a while ago (so he wasn't really a top player right now, at least in his own opinion), what she had said was reasonable.
Akinym [hesitantly]: Right… [calmly] You see, I haven't been, though. [slightly reassuringly] In fact, I haven't been good at this game at all at first! Well, maybe I was... in comparison to the average player back then, but that just says how much they sucked at what they did. I just had a… [slightly hesitantly] little advantage that I used. [slightly reassuringly] That allowed me to teach others the basics of this game, but nothing more. Back then, I didn't have any fancy techniques or deep knowledge of the game mechanics. I was just another run-of-the-mill player.
Sinon [surprised]: B-but… If that's true, how did you… Where do all your techniques and abilities and observation skills come from? You had to have some of that from the start, it can't all be training!
Akinym [slightly contemplatively]: Hm, you're not wrong. There are things I've been good at from the very beginning. For instance, I've always had a good memory, and this came in handy, very handy. It helped me gathering all the information I have. I mean, I have my database, but I hadn't had it before I joined the Assault Team. Besides, I've memorised the most important attack patterns in Sword Skills or monster attacks. After all, I can't check my database all the time when I have to fight.
Akinym tried to figure out a way to lead this conversation into the "right direction". Sure, talking about this was nice and probably educational in its own way, but it wouldn't help him to get the actually important point across.
Akinym: However, I had to figure a lot of things out, especially my own fighting style. For instance, I could use my aikido and judo experience, but I had to figure out how to use it here in SAO.
Sinon [curiously]: What do you mean? I mean, isn't it just using the different holds and other techniques?
Akinym [hesitantly]: Well, it is, but… The thing is that I wasn't sure that I could use them normally here. You see…
Akinym had to think about how to explain the issue for a moment.
Akinym [calmly]: I'll give you an example: If you bend someone's arm backwards or twist it or their wrist, people can't just use all their strength to move it back into the normal position. It's a matter of how joints, tendons and such work. [slightly doubtfully] However, there's no reason why this couldn't be the case in VR. The rules here are programmed – completely discretionary. [calmly] There is no particular reason to believe that an opponent with a superior strength stat wouldn't be able to overpower you under any circumstances.
Now Sinon had an idea as to what Akinym had been worrying about back then. Well, he had a point, the physics in Aincrad could've been completely arbitrary.
Sinon [doubtfully]: But isn't its realism a big point of this game?
Akinym: It is, and this also applies to the anatomy of humanoid monsters, apparently, but the point is that I spent months testing this. [slightly reassuringly] There you have it: After I… [hesitantly] had to stop training beginners – [flatly] a long and honestly not important story – [calmly] I had to work on my own style before I could do anything.
Akinym thought back of that time for a moment. He had… experimented with different kinds of monsters, especially human-like ones.
There were elven-themed monsters on… the 5th floor, if he remembered correctly. He had tried all the aikido and judo techniques he knew on them. In addition, he had paralysed and poisoned them to get a feeling for how long these debuffs lasted and what exactly they did to monsters. When he had learnt that it was possible to destroy certain body parts of the virtual foes, Akinym had even studied the Lost Limb debuff that way.
He had also checked if he could deal damage with his regular body, namely by punching or kicking monsters. He had even tried strangling them. However, it hadn't worked, and he had discovered that he'd need a special skill for that. He hadn't had a free skill slot at that time, and by the time he had got a new one, he had already figured that it simply wasn't his style anyway.
His experiments had caused… some rather awkward encounters, though. Even if the monsters weren't actual living beings, they had such a strong resemblance to humans and animals that several other players, who had seen Akinym when he had… done his thing back then, had been utterly crept out by the sight of Akinym cutting of the limbs of elf monsters and then punching them in the face just to see what would happen.
Akinym considered telling Sinon about what exactly he had done. It might've inspired her, giving her ideas as to how she could find her own style, which was something Akinym couldn't really teach her. However, he figured that this probably would do more harm than good, so he decided against it.
Akinym: Aside from specific techniques, I'm also using the general principles and tactics, such as using the strength of an enemy against it or preparing countermeasures against certain actions and then provoking the foe to take these actions, essentially setting a trap.
Sinon nodded. This was another fighting method she might use one day.
Akinym: The choice of my weapon wasn't that easy either. I've never even held a weapon in my hands before I entered SAO, so I couldn't use any experience from the real world here. It was all trial-and-error, and it took a while.
Incidentally, Akinym had chosen relatively short spears in the end because he considered them relatively versatile in terms of different damage types, variety of Sword Skills and usage for both offense and defense – as well as a few other things.
Sinon [slightly contemplatively]: I see. I get it, you needed some time do adapt to this system, [worriedly] but what should I do, though? [insecurely] I don't really have anything I could use, and all I do is practice swings and the like. What you did still sounds a thousand times more productive than that.
Akinym thought about that for a moment. One thing for sure: He didn't consider Sinon's training exercises unproductive or anything like that. Thanks to that, she could reach a certain base level in combat abilities, and the proficiency of her weapon skill increased so that she would get a few new, more powerful Sword Skills.
The question was how to bring that across, but the thought about Sinon getting new Sword Skills this way also gave Akinym an idea as to how he might do that.
Akinym: Well, how about a different story in that case? It's about a player I met one time on the first floor, someone who, by the way, even became a member of the Assault Team at one point. Do you wanna know what this player did that caught my attention?
Maybe this would be inspiring and helpful, so Sinon was looking forward to hearing this. She nodded determinedly.
Akinym: Practice swings.
And just like that, Sinon's expression changed from "eager" to "dumbfounded".
Akinym: Don't look at me like that, that's just how it was! When this player got up in the morning, he went out and did practice swings. After meals, he did practice swings. The last thing he did before going to bed was doing practice swings. Practice swings all day, every day! From what I've heard, he did that over the course of several months.
Sinon: But… isn't that extremely inefficient?
Akinym [slightly contemplatively]: It is, but it was also a safe method to get ready. [calmly] You see, I heard stories about this guy who was – allegedly – a "total coward" who "just swings his sword in a safe zone" instead of "fighting for real", and I became curious. I wondered what this person might really want, what he's really trying to achieve.
Sinon: So you went and asked him?
Akinym [nods]: He told me that he had learnt about powerful Sword Skills that would be available if his weapon skill reached enough proficiency points, and that he could gain them just by doing practice swings, even if it would take a while. He had realised that it was better to spend a long time preparing for battle than to make careless mistakes in this death game. He told me that there was a person he wanted to protect at all cost, and that he obviously couldn't protect her if he died, so…
Sinon could understand this easily. While she had trouble being patient herself, desperately wanting to become stronger, she knew that every player had only one chance in this world, so they had to use it wisely.
Akinym: To be honest, I've always seen this guy as a perfect example for careful preparation and a levelheaded playing style. Frankly, it's been ages since I last saw him, and I don't even remember clearly what he looked like. It… just hasn't been important enough. I might meet him again one day and would probably not even recognise him. I mean, if he's even still alive, I don't know…
Sinon [slightly curiously]: Speaking of which, what happened? I mean, you said he was a part of the Assault Team once. Does that mean he isn't now? W-what… Just what happened?!
Akinym [contemplatively]: Well, I met him one more time, I think it was on the thirty-eighth or thirty-ninth floor. Back then, I could still remember his appearance a bit, and I ran into a party of the Knights of Blood Oath, Asuna-san's guild. I noticed that the player in question was with them. It turned out that, once he had acquired sufficient skills and knowledge, he had put all his preparation and careful planning to good use and leveled up extremely efficiently. He was scouted by the KoB, and he caught up with the Assault Team eventually. As far as I know, he was supposed to take part in the battle against the boss on the fortieth floor, although he didn't show up there. I don't know why that happened, and to my knowledge, he left the KoB shortly thereafter. I have no idea what has become of him since then.
Sinon [worriedly]: That's… honestly not reassuring. I mean, it didn't work out for him, right?
Akinym [slightly reassuringly]: You're focusing on the wrong things here, Sinon-san. As I said, I don't know what happened, and I don't see any reason why you should worry just because something happened to that person. The point is that he took it slow, improved slowly but steadily and made his way into the Assault Team.
Sinon: Be that as it may… You said it took him months, right? And that was after the game launched, not now… Don't get me wrong, but it sounds like I don't have that much time, do I?
Akinym: Admittedly, that's true. You won't need that time, though.
Sinon nodded hesitantly, merely acknowledging that Akinym said that. It obviously didn't really convince her. At this point, Akinym wasn't at all surprised about that.
He thought about the situation some more. The problem he had observed since the very first day of their training seemed to be Sinon's desperation to see results. Akinym had thought about that ever since, and he had one idea as to what he could do about it.
Akinym: You know, Sinon-san, maybe you're just looking at this on the wrong scale. I say it clearly: You're making progress. However, I could understand that you think you wouldn't if you're only seeing your long-term goals. One thing that I've always tried to do and that helped a lot of my students is to distance oneself from the long-term goals and to focus on short-term goals for the time being.
Sinon could see what Akinym was getting at, but she didn't really agree with him.
Sinon: I don't know. That doesn't sound wise to me. Sounds a bit shortsighted. [slightly determinedly] Shouldn't our long-term goals reflect what we want to do and who we want to be?
Akinym: They should, and it is true that you should never forget them, but that doesn't mean that you have to evaluate everything only based on them. Long-term goals are more like general guidelines, saying what you actually want, but also rather vague and not easy to reach, not to mention that it's usually hard to measure how close you are to fulfilling such goals. It is wiser to derive smaller, more specific and reachable goals from them to determine what path you should take to fulfilling them.
Now that was something Sinon could agree with.
Sinon: I see… So… What do you have in mind? What should these "short-term goals" be?
Akinym could easily give her some instructions, kind of like assignments, and be done with it, but he had other plans. For the sake of long-term success, Sinon should understand herself how to set the right short-term goals.
Akinym: Well, the question is what you have in mind! We're talking about your goals, after all. All I'm saying is that you should keep in mind what you're trying to achieve, as far into the future as you can plan for. Then you derive mid-term and short-term goals from that.
Sinon: Well, my long-term goal… That would be getting stronger and joining the Assault Team, wouldn't it?
Akinym [hesitantly]: Well, not quite. At least it shouldn't be.
Sinon [surprised]: Huh?! W-why? What do you mean?
Akinym [contemplatively]: I… can't tell you what to aim for, of course, but I've always believed that every player's long-term goal should be "Clearing SAO".
Sinon: I-isn't that a bit too unreachable? I mean, hardly anyone could pull that off! [slightly doubtfully] Sounds more like a goal for Kirito…
Akinym: Don't get the wrong idea, Sinon-san, I'm not talking about something like beating the final boss or anything quite as obvious as that. If anything, clearing the game isn't really an individual goal of single players, it's more like a joint project of all players.
Sinon [slightly hesitantly]: Okay, so that's what you mean. In other words, it's the task of the Assault Team, isn't it?
Akinym [shakes head slightly]: Closer, but not quite there yet. I know a lot of people only think of the Assault Team when speaking of clearing the game, but if you take a look at SAO in its entirety, you'll realise that the players are basically forming an army.
Sinon [surprised, slightly doubtfully]: An army? I think that's a bit of a stretch. Sure, the players are essentially fighters, but I can't really see them as military forces…
Akinym: Well, it's mostly a figure of speech, but I think it fits very well. The players are an army, besieging and conquering Aincrad. The Assault Team is merely the frontline unit, certainly important, but a working army needs much more than just that. It requires commanders and administration, logistics, supplies of all kinds, recon and reserve forces. Hell, even relaxation and recreation are important. There are players taking all these roles throughout Aincrad, and they're all contributing, not just the Assault Team. For instance, my personal role is training new recruits.
Now that she knew what Akinym meant, Sinon was actually willing to agree. Akinym basically saw SAO as a war, which seemed a bit absurd to Sinon, but she could see where he was coming from.
Akinym: The role you've chosen is to be part of the Assault Team, and this is how you derived a mid-term goal from the long-term goal: joining the Assault Team. It's a lot more specific and easier to achieve, a means to an end, but it's still nothing you can directly work on, and you won't do that within a matter of days. Now, to become a member of the Assault Team, you need to get stronger, and this is how you derive your short-term goals from your mid-term goal. The short-term goals should be what you actively work on for the moment, something simple like "Reach x proficiency points on skill y".
Sinon [hesitantly]: I see. You really make that sound methodological… [slightly dryly] I could see someone conducting research that way. [slightly doubtfully] Do you always handle things that way?
Sinon was mainly curious if it was levelheadedness like this that made Akinym seemingly stand above it all.
Akinym: To be honest, I do. Like… My long-term goal is to clear SAO – among other things – and to do that, my mid-term goal is to strengthen the Assault Team and the playerbase in general by training mid-level players. The short-term goals are mostly about what I have to teach them. Besides, it's not as complicated as you might think. Let's be honest: It's actually quite straightforward, it's just that most people don't plan ahead like that, at least not consciously.
After that, they discussed Sinon's short-term training goals. Akinym treated them pretty much like assignments. It was a good way to give Sinon some "homework".
Sinon actually appreciated the thought once she had accepted it. Achieving these small-scale goals would give her a certain sense of accomplishment, and it gave her something feasible to work on.
After they had settled for a few simple milestones that Sinon should start with, they continued talking about various goals Sinon could try to reach. She couldn't really believe that having only one objective in the long run was… desirable.
Akinym mentioned that, as another mid-term goal, he had continued tackling quests on relatively high floors to polish his own skills and to learn as much as possible about the game and what would await his students.
In a sense, it was another mid-term goal, which was supposed to support his "main mid-term goal". Eventually, they got on to the question if Sinon could/should set such a goal for herself, too. The initial idea, finishing Akinym's training, was quickly dismissed since it was a no-brainer, nothing that would "guide" Sinon.
Akinym [contemplatively]: I think if you want to have a mid-term goal that is not so… far away, you should focus on something simple, maybe getting ready to fight in actual battles. If that's still to straightforward, you can do something more elaborate. I'd suggest something along the lines of "Figuring out your role in your party". There are different roles in combat to focus on, such as tank, DPS or support. We can go over that once you've had your first combat experiences, and I'll help you test…
Sinon [interrupting, slightly nervously and hastily]: Um, excuse me, about that… [hesitantly] I… think you should know that…
Sinon had to swallow the lump in her throat before she could say what she wanted to tell Akinym. She had been thinking about this – this whole "teaming up business" as she called it in her head – for a while now… To be more precise, she had had a certain intention from the very beginning. Now it was time to tell her instructor about it.
Sinon: I'd like to ask you… how I can become strong. I mean myself, without anyone else!
Akinym felt a strange mix of surprise, worry and annoyance when Sinon said that. His facial expression showed that clearly.
Sinon [nervously]: I don't intend to ask you to change your plans or your training schedule! I'll continue the lessons with the others if you want, and you don't have to go out of your way there, I promise! [slightly dejectedly] I… just want to become stronger… myself.
Akinym needed a moment to take in this request. Sinon understood it more than most of his students to pose a challenge time and time again… He had to figure out how to deal with this issue first.
Akinym [slightly exasperatedly]: Sinon-san, is there a special, specific reason why you want that?
Sinon averted her eyes. There was a reason, but… she couldn't tell Akinym about it. She wouldn't tell anyone here about it. They… probably wouldn't understand.
She had to come up with something else, preferably something that was… let's say as true as possible.
Sinon [hesitantly]: There is. I… [slightly worriedly] I don't want to impose on the others. I… only met them by chance, and they took me in, but it's not right for me to depend on them. [nervously] I can't rely on them. I just… can't.
Akinym [sighs, slightly annoyed]: You don't just "depend on them". You team up with them, [sternly] for mutual benefit!
Sinon [doubtfully]: But that only works if I can help them! [stands up, frustrated] How can I help others if I can't even take care of myself?! I can only help others if I can do something myself… on my own. [worriedly, slightly desperately] I have to become strong, I need to! Otherwise, there is no point in fighting in this world! [desperately] So please, teach me what I need to know! You can do it during these private lessons, at any time! Please…
Akinym [interrupting, very sternly]: No!
Akinym's swift and direct refusal left Sinon completely dumbfounded.
Sinon: H-huh? Wh… What do you… Why…?
Before he answered, Akinym stood up as well. He looked at Sinon with a fierce, stern expression, one that usually made all of his students back away slightly. It brought across clearly that he wasn't willing to tolerate dissent this time.
Akinym: I never train solo players! That's final, so perish the thought!
Sinon [defensively]: But why?! You're a solo player, aren't you? So…
Akinym: That's a completely different issue! I have my reasons for that, which are none of your business, but you absolutely shouldn't attempt to play solo if you can get a spot in a functional party! Do you actually have any idea what playing solo in SAO is like?!
Sinon had a few vague ideas about it, even if some of them just reflected the fact that she had never played an MMORPG before. Right now, however, she couldn't even put any of them into words, so she just struggled for words helplessly.
Akinym: I thought so! Listen, as a solo player, you have – unsurprisingly – to do everything yourself, which limits your options! You'll need every single skill slot for combat skills, and you'll hardly have any money for anything other than the most basic necessities of life and your equipment.
Sinon: I'm fine with that! I don't intend to live a fancy life here anyway!
Akinym: This isn't about "living a fancy life"! If you have a good party, you can share tasks and responsibilities. Take Lisbeth-san, for example: With her, your party already has someone who can take care of crafting equipment, so you don't need to rely on NPC or player blacksmiths, who usually have their own interests. Not to mention that the knowledge about materials is helpful, and farming materials and crafting equipment yourself is simply more cost-efficient as long as you know what to do.
Sinon: Fine, I get that! But I could still do without it, couldn't I? Not to mention that I can go to Lisbeth anyway if I need a new weapon or something!
Akinym: Maybe, but it's not just that! Parties have a wider variety of skill sets, which makes them more flexible. The big guilds even tend to have specialised players for farming particular items, dungeon raids and whatnot, not just personal craftsmen! Even small groups can afford the luxury of having some members stay behind, let's say to run a shop for additional funding or just to collect ingredients and cook, which, by the way, can be more beneficial than you might think!
They argued back and forth about the use of crafting and hobby skills as well as the meaning of R&R in general. Neither of them was backing down at all, although Sinon was clearly on the defensive here.
Akinym [exasperatedly]: Ugh, let's keep that aside for now! You're only interested in combat? Fine, let's talk about combat! [sternly] Teamwork can be a lifesaver in this game! There are various team-based tactics in this game, both basic and elaborate ones, and you'll see that soon enough! As a solo player, you can forget about that, and about having someone to back you up, too! This isn't even about convenience, it can easily be about survival. Just think about paralysis for a moment! It is dangerous under any circumstances, but for a stable, well-rounded party, it's pretty much just a bit of a hassle. For a solo player, it can easily be a death sentence! Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get decent paralysis resistance on my gear?! Not to mention that it came at the expense of other stats such as Defense!
Sinon couldn't really argue with that. To be honest, she didn't have any idea of the struggles Akinym had gone through as a solo player.
Akinym: Speaking of which, I'll sum it up for you: As a solo player, you'll need to be good at everything you do whenever you do – just to survive! And you need to be insanely good at it if you want to play solo successfully enough to join the Assault Team! You'll need twice as much skill and thrice as much preparation! Despite what some players think, there is nothing actually desirable about being a solo player. The only real advantage is that you don't have to share with any allies, but in all honesty: That's not much of a problem for a team with an actually good dynamic. Or are you telling me that you're secretly so selfish that this would bite you in the back?
Sinon [insecurely]: N-no, that's not it… I-it's… just…
Akinym didn't let her finish stammering. As far as he was concerned, he had said everything that was there for him to say. He picked up his weapon and took position for their training again.
Akinym: Good! Now this discussion is over! For good! If you want to do something actually useful, take up your battle stance, and we'll continue your dodging training!
With that, another discussion – one of the more meaningful ones – during one of their breaks came to a close.
And so does this chapter.
The obligatory imaginary cookie goes to anyone who recognises the player Akinym told Sinon about. It actually shouldn't be too hard, even if you don't know his entire backstory.
So, yeah, this chapter was quite dialogue-heavy. The next one will have it's fair share of dialogue, although the inner monologues are probably going to be more important. It will provide even more background on Akinym, for instance something that was hinted at in this chapter, and there will be a bit more action, too. Speaking of the next chapter:
Little Preview: Akinym and Kirito make a trip to the Hollow Area. They happen to be a bit curious about each other.