Chapter 2: The End of the First Day
"What do I believe is the biggest advantage you can get in this game? Hm, well… if I had to answer truthfully… it would be a strong will."
—Interview with Kayaba Akihiko.
"Huff… Huff… Ugh, how… far… is this… village… ?!"
I heard one of my party members struggling as we ran across a sunset-lit forest.
Real life athletic ability applies in this world, however depending on how you allocated your «Primary Stats» («Strength», which is how strong you are and how much you can carry; «Agility», which is how fast your overall travel speed is; «Dexterity», which is how fast your burst speed is (quick things like swinging a sword, punching, jumping, parkouring, etc.); «Vitality», which is how much HP you have; «Perception», which is how well you see things; and finally «Charisma», which is how well you can convince AIs to do your bidding), said athletic ability can improve, as long as it's a stat that you can change. It's one of the really cool things about this game… well, before it was able to kill people in real life.
However, stamina is not a Primary Stat. The upside is that we have technically infinite stamina, since our virtual avatars can't get physically tired, but the downside is that we can still get mentally tired, as well as still have thoughts about breathing, eating, drinking, sleeping, etc., even if we don't have to do any of those things and still survive just fine. This means that if you get tired easily in real life, you'll still get tired easily in virtual reality.
I thought that Yuriko (or apparently «Ken» as he adamantly wants to be known as now. Makes sense, considering Yuriko wouldn't quite sound right with his new appearance) would be the one to tire out the fastest, but the person who was huffing and puffing behind me was actually Fayse.
"Come on you two! We gotta at least get to Horunka Village before the sun fully sets!" Darius yelled at us from way ahead. Ken was running right next to him. Either they had really great stamina in real life, or they were just used to running long distance in the beta.
Either way, this was our current situation: running to a village where we could level up quicker than we would fighting beginner enemies near the «Town of Beginnings». From what I gathered from some brief conversations, Darius and Ken (but more Darius) decided not to stay in town like most people because they don't want someone being stronger than them. It's probably a beta tester thing… or maybe just a gamer thing to be stronger or better than your peers. Maybe it's a fear that someone stronger could control them, steal from them, or worse…
"Ah, I see Horunka up ahead!" Ken yelled out. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked forward. We entered the forest dozens of minutes ago from the vast grasslands of this «First Floor», and just now we're reaching the end of it. The reason why traversing through the forest took so long was because we had to focus on not attracting any «Hate» (basically aggro) from the monsters inside the forest. Apparently monsters in this forest will immediately attack you instead of waiting to be provoked like the monsters back at the grasslands (I still don't know how I aggroed so many boars though).
I focus my perception forward and see a small exit from the forest up ahead. Then, ahead of said exit, I could see a few small buildings, which as a whole is likely «Horunka Village». Upon exiting the forest and reaching the village, the first thing I notice is the village's size.
It's really small.
Well, at least compared to the Town of Beginnings. This village looks like it's bigger than Riverwood but smaller than Whiterun from Skyrim, at least in terms of size. Even in its looks, the village looks more like your stereotypical poor village than the cleaner-looking beginner town.
After exploring the village a bit, I counted that there's ten buildings in total, with houses and shops surrounding the entrance. Darius, Ken, and Fayse are still searching for new equipment in the weapon shop, leaving me alone to look around the village. I went in the weapon shop along with them earlier and bought a simple «Bronze Greatsword» and «Bronze Chestplate» to replace my «Old Greatsword» and «Old Chestplate» (I still kept both beginner items in my inventory just in case either bronze equipment breaks, since I was told by Ken that bronze stuff break easily), but that's everything I was able to afford in there, so I left early to buy some potions from the tool shop. I never liked shopping for long periods of time, so I only bought the bare essentials and nothing stylish. Either way though, buying the equipment and all of those potions brought my Cor down to an absolute zero.
Upon exiting the tool shop, I noticed Darius and Ken entering, with Fayse sitting outside of the shop.
"Why aren't you buying any potions?" I asked.
"Er, well…" He paused before continuing, "…I splurged on buying new equipment, so I have zero Cor…" He looked away for a second and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before looking back at me. Now that I look at him, it looks like he has much better equipment. Instead of the beginner equipment he had before, Fayse now has a really fancy-looking dark brown leather jacket, along with a bronze chestplate. He also has what looks like a bronze sword strapped on his back.
I start to smile a little. Not that he splurged his money and made a mistake, but because…
"What?" He looked over at me with a pouty face.
"Nothing. It's just that I'm glad, well… that you're 'normal'." I say with sincerity, having an even wider smile than before. Fayse just got more confused though.
"Err, what's that supposed to mean?" He questioned. I froze for a bit and realized that I made the wrong word choice.
"Oh! U-Uhhh…! I-It's just y-you also get embarrassed at your wrongdoings." My face probably looked really flustered right now.
"Doesn't everyone get embarrassed like that?"
"Well…" I look away and try to recompose myself, "Nearly everyone around me seems so confident in themselves. Even if they made a mistake, they always corrected it immediately and went back to their daily lives. I always feel like the mistakes I've made stick with me, even years after I've fixed them…"
Well, it's not just that. For nearly all my life I've been surrounded by people who were better than me. My dad makes lots of money overseas. My mom carried the entire household practically all by herself when I was still a kid. My classmates in high school and college were always smarter than me. My co-workers likely worked harder than me. Whenever I'm somewhere important, I feel like I don't belong there, and that someone much better can be there in my place. I feel useless, so maybe that's why I wasn't panicking all the way back at the Town of Beginnings…
"I always feel like I'm leeching off of someone, one way or the other. That, or I'm not contributing to anything." I looked up to the sky. We arrived at the exact second before the sun went fully down, so now the skybox is completely pitch black, with some stars shining in the distance.
I just realized that I completely went off topic though and said something completely different, so I try to bring the conversation back to what I was talking about.
"A-Anyways! I-It's good that you got embarrassed! That means you recognized it, a-and can learn from it, a-and—"
"You don't have much confidence in yourself, do you?" Fayse simply stated. I closed my mouth.
Seconds passed.
Fayse looked like he was waiting for me to respond. I thought a bit, before finally speaking up.
"I… Yeah. It's what I learned over time. I don't think it's a bad thing though. If I allow myself to stop being self-conscious and doubtful… I could end up selfish and not help anyone. M-Maybe I can even harm others if I go overboard." I tried to say as smoothly as I could, but Fayse suddenly leaned forward with a pretty angry face, making me jump a little.
"That mindset is bad. It makes you disregard your own life. It blocks out what you can be capable of." He stated with serious conviction. It was as if a switch flipped in his head that turned him from a goofy nerd to a guy with years of experience.
I was taken aback, however, I still leaned forward to argue back, feeling the heat rise up within me.
"What am I capable of then?! What can I even do when I feel like I screwed everything up and it's all my fault!?"
I suddenly paused and realized I used more emotion than I intended. I looked down and away from Fayse, who, from what slight glimpse I saw of him, had a shocked expression on his face. Just before I thought he was going to yell back however…
"…You can keep on going, that's what you can do." He responded calmly. I looked back at him for a split second. He had a neutral expression on his face. He continued to talk when I responded with silence.
"Do you have people you deeply care about in the real world?" He asked out of the blue. I was still looking down, but I began to think… and then respond.
"Well… of course I do." I mutter out. That much is pretty obvious. My mom. My dad. Even the friends I had that didn't have the same interests as me.
"Then don't you think those people would care for you back? Don't you think they'd want you safe and sound in the real world?"
"…I…"
"You matter to people. You've made an effect on other people's lives, I'm sure of it. You're living right now because deep down, you know people will mourn for you. You want to keep going because you want a happy ending, don't you?" He's saying all of this as if he's had someone in his life experience what I'm experiencing before… or maybe he went through the same thing too. Either way though, his words hit right at home.
'I do, but…'
I stay silent. He does as well; waiting for my response. Eventually, after a few seconds of deafening silence, I look up, and our eyes meet. I then opened my mouth to speak.
"…Why are you going so far for me?"
Silence. It was just us looking at each other, with Fayse looking a bit more in… awe? Surprise? Either way, he looks stunned. I don't know why though.
Suddenly, his face looked like it turned red, as if he realized he was staring for too long. He looked to the left for a second before meeting me in the eyes once again.
"Well… it's because—"
Suddenly, the tool shop door swings open.
"Man, that took longer than usual." Darius said as he walked out.
"Yeah, but the catalogue changed a bit from the beta. There's so much more stuff in there!" Ken looked a bit more excited, before likely realizing that we're trapped in this game, and calmed down.
'God dammit I got cock blocked!'
I look over to Fayse, who looks like he too was a biiiit peeved that the two came out of the tool shop at this specific time. Ah well, we can just continue the conversation later.
In any case, we continued onwards. A bit of walking in the village later, we reached a certain humble little abode. It didn't look like a special house. Hell, I don't even think I'd recognize that this was a quest building unless I actively peeped through every house (which I probably would in a regular RPG…).
"Alright, the quest is in here. Since this is a one-player only quest, and the interior of the house is an Instance, we should temporarily disband the party so we can all get the quest." Darius said before looking at me, "It wouldn't be worth it if you took the quest though. All the quest gives you upon completion is a one-handed sword; something you don't even use."
"…Right." I say a bit quietly.
And so Darius, Ken, and Fayse leave the party and enter the house one-by-one (Ken taught Fayse what to say to the quest giver beforehand). Upon stepping indoors, they suddenly disappear, even though the inside of the house is clear for me.
This is because the inside of the house is an «Instance», which generates a new copy of a certain location for each person or group that enters the place.
Usually these are restricted for dungeons, but it makes sense for one to be here. It'd be awkward for people to wait in line for the quest giver to give them their quest. It'd be immersion-breaking, though that shouldn't really matter now.
"Well, while they're doing that, might as well think about what's happening in the real world right now." I say to myself.
Obviously there's tons of uproar and drama surrounding this event. Knowing social media, this event probably also reached international levels, especially now that a bit more than an hour has passed since the game turned into a death game.
Families and friends are all likely trying to get us out as we speak in any way they can. The government is also obviously doing the same, but considering nothing has happened to log us out so far, it looks like they've made little to no progress.
Speaking of family though, what do my parents think about this situation? They know I bought a NerveGear; at least my mom does anyways.
Would she have rushed to my apartment after hearing the news? Maybe.
Would she have tried to rip the NerveGear off my head? Well, considering I'm still here and not dead yet, I can safely say no to that.
Then…
…Would she even care if I was trapped in here?
I thought about this option for a few seconds, before remembering what Fayse said previously.
'You're living right now because deep down, you know people will mourn for you.'
That's right. For my entire life so far, my parents have been supportive and caring for me. Even though they were strict with my schooling, they were always understanding of what I wanted.
Yeah, they only wanted the best for me. They wanted to be there for me— be with me. Today I was supposed to go and eat with them at probably another fancy restaurant and dad would blow all his money just for us.
I slowly look down at the pavement, before remembering the final text message my mom sent me, just a few hours ago…
'Don't force yourself, I love you.'
And then, my heart began to cry in pain upon a sudden realization.
"…Did I…"
…Did I ever say 'I love you' back…?
A couple of minutes later, Darius, Ken, and Fayse exit the house. Then, soon after that, we headed into the forest.
It was best to clear my mind right now. Yeah. This was still a life or death situation.
"I have to clear my mind… I have to."
"Hm? Did you say something?" Fayse looked over to me. I immediately jumped and shook my head.
"A-Ah, nothing."
"Mm, alright then."
Phew.
Darius said that the quest was called «The Secret Medicine of the Forest», and it requires us to kill monsters called «Little Nepents», specifically one with a large flower blooming atop its head, to obtain the quest item, «Little Nepent's Ovule» to cure a sick girl of her illness. Apparently the appearance rate of the Little Nepent with the flower is less than 1%, but these monsters also apparently give good EXP and Cor, so it's not a waste to fight them.
He also warned me and Fayse that there could also be a Little Nepent with a round fruit atop its head. Attacking that one in its round fruit will let out unpleasant-smelling fumes that will call all surrounding Nepents to our area, so it'd be best to avoid that kind of Nepent at all costs.
Speaking of avoiding those kinds of Nepents, Darius and Ken decided to use their one empty Skill Slot to get the «Hiding» Skill to increase their chances to hide against these enemies. They didn't use this Skill in the beta, but they heard it's extremely useful for situations where you have to sneak by areas. On the other hand, Darius commanded Fayse to use the «Search» Skill so that he could see Nepents in the distance better, specifically so that it would also be easier to spot the flower-headed Nepent. The way Darius said it sounded pretty forceful, but I guess it makes sense for someone to have that Skill, else it'd be pretty hard to spot the flower Nepent.
"Hey, is that a Little Nepent? Over there." Fayse said, pointing straight ahead. Unlike Fayse, who has better vision (or can see the enemy's «color cursor» better) because of the Search Skill, we have to focus our eyes forward to see ahead.
"Yep, that's it." Ken said, unsheathing his sword with a hint of wariness. Ken did say that Nepents in a group are extremely dangerous earlier, so it makes sense why he's being so cautious.
But damn, I didn't know Nepents looked so… weird. When we got closer to it, I began to notice its features more. Despite the "Little" part in the Nepent's name, it looks like a human-sized fat plant with dozens of vines as legs… and a giant mouth in the middle of it.
'Geez, it looks like the thing came straight out of a hentai.'
Ignore that previous sentence.
In any case, the color cursor was a slightly darker red than the monsters back near the Town of Beginnings. The darker the cursor, the harder the enemy is compared to your level, with dark red, nearing black, being impossible to beat at your level. This is of course the opposite for lighter cursors. I noticed this fact the hard way through fighting boars, wolves, and wasps back at the grasslands.
Anyways, Darius and Ken were already dashing towards the Little Nepent ahead before me and Fayse could do anything.
Darius activated a Sword Skill called «Slant» (as Fayse taught me the name of), slicing diagonally towards the Little Nepent. Then, Darius yelled out "Switch!", prompting Ken to rush in and activate the Sword Skill «Horizontal» (something Fayse also taught me the name of) to slice the Little Nepent straight across its stalk.
The Nepent let out a loud howl. That stalk is probably its weak point. The human-sized plant then looked straight at Ken. It raised one of its sharp vines in the air and thrust it towards him. Ken couldn't do anything however, because he's in the Sword Skill's post-motion.
Before the strike could get anywhere close to him however…!
SLASH!
Darius came in and sliced both the vine and the Nepent at the perfect moment with the Sword Skill «Vertical» (the last Sword Skill Fayse taught me the name of). What remained of the HP gauge soon turned to zero, and the Little Nepent's large form was frozen in blue. Then, it burst apart into dozens of polygons. Both Darius and Ken fist bumped each other afterwards.
With just three precise strikes and teamwork, the two slain what was supposedly a tough enemy with ease.
Me and Fayse look at each other wordlessly, but we know we both have the same thought. This is the part where we think at the same time…
…How the hell are we gonna compete with that?
And so our Nepent farming began. Me and Fayse worked together on one side of the forest while Darius and Ken worked together on the other side, though all of us weren't that far apart from each other.
With a combination of learning the monster's attack patterns and Ken teaching me and Fayse the basics of fighting Nepents, the two of us learned how to effectively farm these hentai monsters.
As for its characteristics, since Little Nepents don't have any eyes, they rely more on sound. Thus, flanking doesn't work on these types of enemies. The main tactic to kill a Little Nepent is to just attack it head on at its stump, since that's its weak point.
As for attack patterns, the average Nepent only has two attacks.
The first attack is where it thrusts its sharp vines at you, and that kind of attack is pretty easy to dodge, since the monster telegraphs the attack pretty obviously. Of course I didn't put any points into Agility, so I have to either block the attack or slice the vines off as it's coming towards me. I always chose the former choice though since my reactions are utter rubbish, even if that means my HP lowers a bit each strike. Me and Fayse learned this one pretty easily on our own.
The second attack is where the plant inflates its pitcher; telegraphing its motion even more than the vines for firing corrosive fluids from its mouth. Ken stated that it's range is five meters long, so it's extremely difficult to dodge it by running backwards. Apart from getting damaged and having a drastic drop in equipment durability, your movement will also be lowered through the attack. However, the effect is limited to a narrow range of 30 degrees, so if you dodge forward and to the side of the blast, you won't get hit at all. Because the telegraph for the move is a bit bigger than the vines, I could actually dodge this attack pretty easily.
"Alright, I see another Nepent. Up ahead." Fayse points to the general direction of the monster. I focus my vision ahead to see it. Apparently Fayse's Search Skill works by extending how far you can see a thing's color cursor, not extending your vision. I guess that makes sense though. You should only be able to see far distances if you level up the Skill, not have that immediately at level one proficiency.
I grip my greatsword tightly, then dash forwards towards the general direction of the human-sized plant. Fayse followed suit a little behind me. We both devised a strategy that has worked pretty effectively so far.
Once I'm in aggro range I immediately activate the Sword Skill «Cascade», a heavy overhead slash similar to the One-Handed Sword Skill «Vertical», though with more power and a longer post-motion delay. I'm faster than the Nepent because I dash into its aggro range and immediately activate the Sword Skill, so I can get it in most of the time.
SLASH!
The blow slices directly down the plant's middle! It howls before raising multiple vines to attack me. Because of my long post-motion however, I can't do anything to stop them. Some of the quick vine jabs manage to hit me, trickling down my HP with each cut. However, before all of them can hit—
SHHIIING!
A horizontal streak of light cuts through them, as well as the Nepent, making it send out another howl. Unlike my Two-Handed Sword Skills, One-Handed Sword Skills have a shorter post-motion delay, allowing for some extra hits to be landed. Fayse is already out of his post-motion by the time my own post-motion ends.
Suddenly, the Little Nepent begins to inflate its pitcher.
"Liquid liquid!" I yell out frantically as I attempt to dodge the blow at close range. Fayse attempts to do the same.
BUSHUU!
A pale green fluid shot out in a spray, forming a white vapor as it fell onto the ground. Fayse was able to barely make it out with no damage because of his Agility stat, however I got nicked a bit since I was so close to the blast. My HP is exactly at 64% right now from both the vines and this attack.
"You alright?!" Fayse yelled out worryingly. I give him a thumbs up.
"Just finish it off and I'll drink a potion!" I yelled back. Fayse then readied Horizontal, and aimed the Sword Skill to the stump!
However, because we took just a split second longer to hit the plant, it was able to react to the blow and move a bit backwards, leaving only a nick in the stump. It still did good damage since that area is still its weak point, but not enough to kill it.
"Dammit!" Fayse said while waiting for his post-motion delay to end. Meanwhile, I looked over to Darius and Ken in the distance for a split second. They seemed to effortlessly slay their Nepent without taking any damage, while we have to use the strategy of me being tank to absorb the damage while Fayse hits it. Even then though our chances of killing the monster quickly aren't that high, since our levels are behind those two and we're not being used to working together that much.
Our battle with the Nepent ends with both of us just using Sword Skills at the same time on opposite sides of the Nepent to finish it off. Upon it exploding into polygons, our reward screen pops up, showing how much EXP and Cor we got, as well as what items it dropped.
It usually takes us around twenty to thirty seconds to kill one Little Nepent, while Darius and Ken can take one out in much less than half that time— about five to ten seconds. Darius is an extremely aggressive fighter, constantly going offense, while Ken seems to be the more defensive— maybe even paranoid at times.
Well, game knowledge and good coordination really does do wonders for efficiency after-all, so all me and Fayse need is practice. Eventually, we'll be able to cut our time down, lose less HP, and work together more effectively. I mean, we've already made slight progress in the final category anyways. The first Nepent fight basically consisted of both of us flailing our weapons around and constantly moving in hopes that we won't get hit, which of course failed because it's impossible to flank this type of monster. That's when Ken had to come in and give us some pointers.
"Hey, wanna take a short break?" Fayse looked over to me as he sheathed his blade.
"Hm? Oh, sure." I replied back. We've already killed about a dozen Nepents already and leveled up to level 3, so it was probably a good time to rest.
Little Nepents are getting a bit easier to kill now since we're stronger and their color cursors are just a regular red instead of a dark red, though our synergy is still pretty bad.
We both sat down at a nearby tree and opened our menus. I began to distribute my Stat Points, while Fayse looked like he was checking the stuff he unlocked in the One-Handed Sword Skill Tree.
"Nice, my proficiency level has increased a lot!" He exclaimed with excitement. I smile.
"With all the beatings I've been getting, maybe I should've chosen an armor Skill instead of a blacksmithing one. I would've leveled that up preeeeetty quickly." I joked a bit. Maybe that would've been the better choice anyways, though I can always switch «Heavy Metal Armor Forging» out for something like «Heavy Metal Armor» at any time. The only downside to switching out a Skill for another Skill is that your proficiency level for your previous Skill will reset, forcing you to level it up again if you want it back. However, I have a wonderful whopping zero in my Heavy Metal Armor Forging Skill, so there would be no downside to switching it now.
With that mindset in mind, I switch out Heavy Metal Armor Forging Skill with the more combat-oriented Heavy Metal Armor Skill. I'll probably come back to blacksmithing Skills once I have another Skill Slot and learn how to craft stuff, but for now Heavy Metal Armor just seems more practical to have in this one-life scenario.
Actually, speaking of one-life scenarios…
"Hey, what do you think about our current situation?" I asked out of the blue. It's probably a good time to resume the conversation that we had earlier in Horunka Village.
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Well… The 'death game' part n'all. Do you think it's true? What do you feel about this in general…?" I don't know why I'm initiating a conversation. Maybe it's because I got comfortable with him or something. Maybe it's because I'm just curious to know what other people think. Or maybe I want to know how others feel so I can shape my opinions around that… I don't know.
Silence for a few seconds. Fayse looks up into the night skybox for a bit solemnly before responding.
"I believe what the creator said is true. I want to disagree badly— really badly— but at the same time, I also feel like he's not lying. We can't log out, and I don't wanna test dying obviously." Fayse paused and looked at me before continuing, "That said, I can't forgive him for this. If it really is true that over two-hundred people are already dead, then that's horrible. That's two-hundred people who have loved ones that are mourning for them right now. I can't imagine the sorrow and guilt a parent must feel for practically pulling the trigger on their child because they tried to take the helmet off of them in desperation…"
I looked over to Fayse and looked down for a bit.
…I looked down, and envisioned that scene with my parents. What if… they did try to take off my helmet?
A scene where my mother tried to pull off the NerveGear, only to have my brain fried.
A scene where for the rest of her life, she would have to live on knowing that she could have prevented my death.
A scene where she would be wracked with grief, repeating 'I'm sorry' dozens of times with tears in her eyes.
A scene where I would try to comfort her but to no avail as a spirit, crying alongside her saying 'You did nothing wrong mom… It's okay. Don't cry… please.'…
"Hey, are you… crying?" Fayse suddenly said while getting a bit closer to me.
"H-Huh?" I snapped out of my thoughts and realized my eyes were a bit watery. Virtual tears were falling from my face. I tried wiping them as quickly as possible.
"N-No! I-I wasn't… shut up…" I said that last part silently, still wiping my tears. God why do I get so emotional easily?
Fayse smiled faintly and suddenly wrapped his arms around me. I let out a small "Huh—?" before realizing what he just did. I could feel my face getting red.
"It's okay…" He pauses for a few seconds, "You care for others, but think your life isn't as valuable, right?… But that's exactly why…" He pauses for a second, "…I want you to cherish your own life too. I want you to know that there's more people in the world who care about you— more than you probably think. Or at least… more people will eventually come to care about you. I know I might just be assuming things… but I feel like I was once at your point too, where I thought that I was disposable. I may have thought I had nobody before, but now I definitely know there's people who I care about and want to reunite with in the real world. Heck… you've already got someone close to you that cares about you now…" He tightens his hug a little.
Seconds pass. I stay in silence, digesting his words carefully. He has people caring for him in the real world. Maybe lots of people.
…No, the number of people doesn't matter. As long as one person cares about you, it's okay if the rest of the world turns against you… at least for me.
In that case, if I really think about it… at the bare minimum.
My mom.
My dad.
My family.
They will all mourn for me if I died here. They'll all miss me.
It would be selfish of me to think staying here in this world or dying would be better. I have to get back to the real world— I have to not die. I have to not die so that I can see those faces again; so that I can smile in-front of them again; so that I can hug them again; so that I can laugh with them again; so that I can have good times with them again.
…I want to go back.
I finally embrace Fayse like he's already doing and pull him in closer; tightening my hug.
"Thank you…" I respond as quietly as possible. He made no reaction, so I have no idea if he heard it or not. Nonetheless, my action still speaks for itself.
'He really hit the nail on the coffin huh?
…
…Wait… Now that I think about it, what was his last sentence?
…Something about… You already got someone close to you that… cares… about… you…?
…
H-Huh?!'
I suddenly pull Fayse back enough so that I can make eye contact with him.
"I-I-Is this an i-indirect confession o-or something?!" I can feel myself getting red again. Fayse just looks at me for a couple of seconds, then begins to turn red as well.
"W-Wait, did it really sound like that? M-My bad, I was just saying I care about you n'all!" He responded back hastily.
'Oh.'
Why do I feel slightly disappointed?
"How about… we start off as friends? Not just friends as in people in our friend's list in-game, but just… friends in general." Fayse suggested while still looking a bit awkward. Me, with equal awkwardness, nods.
"Y-Yeah, sounds good."
'Y-Yeah… course. It would be too early to confess. Stupid Seiko. Get your mind out of the gutter.'
We quickly let go of each other and got back up. Well that was a pretty good break, albeit a bit emotional and awkward… which will probably last a bit.
"We shouldn't let awkwardness get to our fighting. Let's try to stick with our strategy." Fayse said seemingly as cooly as he possibly could. I nod.
"Right." I respond equally as cooly… I hope.
'Well, I guess it's back to farmi—'
"Wait, hey, what's that over there?" Fayse pointed in the distance. I squinted my eyes.
A sword— specifically a «Small Sword»— was stabbed deep into a root of a tree, illuminated by the dim light of the moon. Next to that was a buckler from the village, and…
…A small item on the ground. I can't make out what it is from this distance.
Me and Fayse looked at each other before walking towards the items.
Once we got closer, I inspected the sword and buckler, while Fayse inspected the small item. He put it in his inventory, and checked its name.
"I-It's…!" Fayse exclaimed.
"Hm?" I turned to him the second before he shouted out in excitement.
"It's a Little Nepent's Ovule!"
I turned to him in shock.
"W-Wait, really?!"
He nods rapidly.
"Damn, this is lucky!" He said while looking at the item description one last time before closing his menu.
"Yeah, this find is pretty lucky, but what's the small sword and buckler doing here?" I look kind of worried.
"Hm… that's true. From what I saw back in the village, they don't sell small swords…" Fayse's looks like he's trying to decipher what's going on.
Suddenly though, I start to have a horrifying realization.
"Hey… would there be any other players that arrived here ahead of us…?" I asked cautiously.
"Mm… you would think so. We took quite a bit of time to… get… here…"
Looks like Fayse is also beginning to realize what this could mean. We both look back at the small sword stabbed in the tree root and buckler right next to it.
"Are you sure this can't be an NPC's equipment? Or just a randomly generated occurrence?" Fayse looks over to me, wanting to believe what he said is true.
"I want to believe that too, but like you just said, they don't sell small swords at the shop in Horunka Village, and there's a high possibility that other players could have been here before us. So that means…"
"…These used to belong to a player. The equipment, and the ovule…" Fayse said solemnly, spelling out exactly what this could be.
I look down in sadness for a few seconds before shaking my head and looking back at Fayse.
"He or she must have fought for their lives to complete the quest. We're doing the same too, so I'd think that they'd want you to have that," I look back at the sword and buckler, "We can leave those there as a grave marker, but you need the ovule more, so…" Even though it pains me to say that, from a logical standpoint it makes sense. Since this supposed player is dead, and since Fayse is still alive, he should take priority and have the ovule. Else we'd just waste time for who knows how much longer, and our equipment may not even last us a few more battles, considering they're bronze, and they're at the tail-end of their Durability already. If this were a regular game I'd definitely say we should keep the ovule here, but since we only have one life to spare, all we can do is quickly mourn for the loss of this player and promise to carry on the quest; for their sake and for ours.
Fayse looked at the equipment on the ground one last time before nodding silently, agreeing to take up the ovule and move on.
"Alright. Let's go tell Darius and Ken about this?" Fayse suggested. I nodded.
And so, after a short time of silence to mourn for the loss of the player, we both began to walk over to our other two party members. They were close by, so it wasn't that far of a walk. When we were close to their location, I noticed that Darius was close to finishing off a Little Nepent. Not just any Little Nepent though.
SLASH!
The sound of the Sword Skill Horizontal burst through the air, slicing through a Nepent with a flower atop its head. Upon it exploding into light blue polygons, Darius opened up his inventory and checked out an item he got.
"Yes this is the one! A Little Nepent's Ovule!" He said with an ecstatic look on his face. It looked like he was gonna jump up in glee. Honestly it's the first time he ever looked like that. His ecstatic self soon turned back to his serious mask however when he saw us approaching. Fayse seemed to not mind that however, and waved over to Darius.
"Hey! You got an ovule too? I just got mine too!" Fayse said while taking it out and with a wide smile on his face. I look at him and smile as well. This just goes to show that we're all gamers here; happy about getting a rare item after a long time. It made us forget about our current situation, at least temporarily.
"Really?! You guys got one but I didn't yet!?" Ken suddenly blurted out shocked.
"Well you just have to keep on farming then right?" I said.
"Erg… Guess so." Ken replied back before letting out an exaggerated sigh.
And thus, just one more person had to get an ovule. How long could that take?
Forever, that's how long.
Me and Fayse watched Darius and Ken continuously fight under a tree for the past hour. At this point I think I even saw a few other players enter the forest a fair distance away. We fought a few Nepents a bit ago, but just recently our bronze gear broke, so we both resorted back to using our starter equipment.
"They both have really good teamwork huh?" I simply commented.
"Yeah…" Fayse said in a bit of awe. The two were really good at fighting together. Just watching one draw aggro and play defensive while the other attacks the stump aggressively with flawless precision pretty mesmerizing.
"They must have known each other pretty well for a long time to be able to do that," I turn to Fayse and smile a bit, "Think we can catch up?"
Fayse shrugs.
"Maybe eventually our skill will catch up with theirs, but for now we can't even kill a single Nepent without getting hit."
I sigh.
"True, true."
I look over to Darius and Ken. It's obvious that they look irritated and tired by this point.
Ken especially looks like he wants to get this thing done and over with, and will probably do anything to get his quest item. On the other hand, their gear must also be running low on Durability, so maybe they'll stop and we can finally go back to town now.
Suddenly though, Darius turns and looks at me and Fayse from where he's at.
'Hm?'
As suddenly as he looked at us, he just as quickly looked back at Ken and began to talk to him. The two of us obviously can't hear what they're saying from this distance though.
"What do you think they're talking about?" I say curiously. Fayse just shrugs again.
"I dunno. Maybe they're planning to go back now."
"Maybe." I say silently, still looking at them. They don't seem like they're planning to return. More like they seem to be planning something.
Ken's expressions change drastically throughout the conversation we can't hear.
It goes from shock.
To refusal.
To reluctance.
To contemplation.
Then…
…To shaky agreement.
Whatever Darius said must have been pretty important to get those reactions out of Ken.
Suddenly though, Ken points forward (which is left in our perspective) and yells out what I assume to be "there's one!" to something in the distance. Instinctively, me and Fayse turn our heads to the source as well.
It was a Little Nepent with the round fruit atop its head.
"Hey, didn't they tell us to avoid that kind of Nepent?" Fayse questioned. I nodded.
"Yeah, so shouldn't they be running?"
Well, I'm glad one of them was. After Darius and Ken nodded their heads together as if they were agreeing about something (Ken still looked a little hesitant), Darius began to run the other direction and into a thicket up ahead. Afterwards, his color cursor suddenly disappeared.
'Hm? He shouldn't have gone that far already…'
I internally thought. I would've definitely seen his color cursor still, since there's quite a bit of space. Does your cursor disappear when inside of a bush or thicket?
Actually, now that I think about it, didn't Darius and Ken pick the Hiding Skill?
"Hey Claire, don't you think Ken is getting a bit close to us? He's aggroing the fruit Nepent too." Fayse said while getting up, halting me from my thoughts. I get up as well.
Ken is slowly moving towards us while defending against the Nepent. His moves are quick and agile despite his build, as expected of him by now. However, he usually made a Nepent stay in one spot until now.
Once Ken got in speaking range, he dodged one final vine attack and moved in a position where he could escape easily. However, we were in-between the Nepent and the tree behind us. Then, me and Fayse heard Ken's voice from behind the Nepent.
"…Sorry, you two."
Ken then raised his sword upwards. The blade begins to be enveloped in a light blue color. It's the Sword Skill Vertical.
"Wait, that'll hit the fruit!" Fayse yelled out, but it was too late. The Sword Skill was already activated, and the system began to control Ken's body, slicing downwards at the Nepent.
BAAAN!
An explosive sound suddenly erupted from the strike. A sound me and Fayse never heard before… but we know it's bad.
The Nepent died by the slash, but the odor and green fumes from the fruit still remained; spreading throughout the area. The smell reeked, but that wasn't my concern. I instinctively stepped forward and let out an, honestly quite pitiful, response to the action Ken just did.
"Why…?"
Ken just looked at us for a brief second before replying back with a shaky, almost regretful, voice.
"…W-We can't trust you with that ovule."
Right after that, he turned around and ran away, entering a thicket near Darius, making his color cursor disappear as well.
Dozens upon dozens of Little Nepents began to slither toward the odor— to us.
"Hey, hey… this isn't good…! There's at least twenty… thirty… no, even more than that coming!" Fayse drew his sword out in a panic. I did the same.
We were surrounded. With this many, we can't even push through the blockade and break free.
This was when I realized what Ken was doing. I widened my eyes at the realization.
'Murder…?!'
This was an indirect PK. Darius likely fed Ken thoughts that we couldn't be trusted with the ovule, and we would just leave them. By killing us, it would save time, and they could have two ovules to finish their respective quests.
I begin to panic and yell out in desperation.
"We won't run away from you guys! We stuck here all this time, so why now?! Why are you trying to kill us now!? We won't leave, so please—!"
'At least help Fayse!'
No response.
The Nepents drew closer.
"Please! Like she said, we won't run! We wouldn't have run!" Fayse said equally as desperately.
Still, no response.
The Nepents were finally just a few meters away from us.
There would be no help. The two would hide until we're dead and pick up what remained, including the ovule. They both— or at least just Darius— had no qualms about killing us. But why? They seemed like decent people, so why? I can tell Ken was being stressed, maybe even paranoid throughout this whole quest, likely because of the fear of death, but I didn't expect him to go as far as to do this!
Was it the pressure of this being a death game? The stress of not getting the quest item for a long time?
Or maybe it was both of those things plus a different reason. A mindset they both had all along, ever since we left the Town of Beginnings…
…To become the strongest they could possibly be, and not let anyone else take that spot. If Darius and Ken believed someone was incompetent, like someone new to the game, and if that someone became stronger than them… it makes sense for them to try and surpass that someone… even through malicious means.
Either way however, I didn't have time to dwell on that. I also realized I had something else; something— no, someone more important to focus on.
If those two weren't going to help Fayse out of this, then…
I looked to Fayse, who clearly looked like he was in a panic, and touched his shoulder silently. He turned to me, and I looked at him with a serious expression. A silent gesture.
A gesture that meant that I'll stay with him until the end.
If this was how I'll go out; betrayed and all on our own, then I'll accept it.
As long as I can hope to protect him; even him only… then I can rest easy.
…Because now I know I have at least one person other than my parents who cares for me.
Fayse seemed to recognize my gesture, and wordlessly nodded. However, he still looked at me as if he was reminding me to cherish my life as well. I manage to smile a little, and I nod back as a thanks for the reminder.
The second as that exchange ended, the battle to protect each other's lives began.
Our expressions changed to utter seriousness. And as the second the first wave of Nepents slithered an inch closer…
"RRROOOAAAAAAHHH!"
…We yelled at the top of our lungs as a desperate battle cry, dashing towards our enemies.
I dashed head first towards a Nepent in-front of me. Like all of our previous Nepent encounters, me and Fayse focus on one enemy, with me being the tank while he's the DPS.
Upon reaching melee range, the plant in-front of me was already in its telegraph motion for its vine attack. I prepare the Sword Skill Cascade like I usually do, since it's faster than all of my other Sword Skills.
SHHHING! SPLAT!
The Sword Skill runs straight down the middle of the plant, making it let out a large screech. My attack canceled out most of the vines because I interrupted the Nepent before it could finish, however some early vines from the sides still got me because my swing wasn't fast enough. My HP dips a slight bit. Since I was at full HP before all of this, I'm still in the «green zone», however that probably won't last for long.
"Alright I'm going in!" Fayse yelled as I moved out of the way, allowing him a perfect shot towards the Nepent's stump. He activates the Sword Skill «Slant» and immediately goes in for the diagonal slash. Before he can successfully land the attack however…
"Watch out!"
I dash straight towards Fayse, but it's too late.
Two Nepents came from the right of Fayse, out of his field of vision, and attacked with their vines.
"ERGH!"
Fayse hisses as he's struck by about a dozen vines, and his Sword Skill is interrupted, making him fall to the floor. His HP dips into the «yellow zone»; nearing 60% HP left. A third Nepent came from behind the one Fayse was about to attack, intending to stab him with all of its vines as well.
However, just before they were able to connect…!
TING!
Fayse slowly looks up, only to see my figure pierced by vines. Red particles are coming out of the areas that were stabbed. I bite my lip. It doesn't hurt because the game has a «pain absorber», but I can still clearly feel how uncomfortable it is. Once the vines retract towards the Little Nepent again, I take a look at my HP.
80 out of 100% from that one direct blow.
"This isn't going to work!" Fayse yells out as he gets up to barely deflect another vine attack from the side.
"We can't fight how we usually do. If we keep our focus on one then another will take us out!" He continued.
"Then what do you suggest?!" I retort emotionally as I barely manage to dodge a liquid attack from a nearby Nepent and strike back with Cyclone with as much strength, momentum, and willpower as I could muster, killing it immediately upon slicing off its stump.
I don't know how I killed it in one blow, but I'm just glad I did.
After noting that the Nepents around me are closing in but too far to worry about right now, I turned to Fayse to check his condition. He's desperately fighting off three Nepents at once, barely dodging and weaving every telegraphed strike as much as possible and dealing chip damage whenever he can.
"I… I don't know! I'll figure something out! Please… don't worry about me!" He says with an extremely stressed and panicking tone.
Another Nepent was aiming to strike Fayse, but the would-be attack was quickly interrupted by me dashing in to slice it with a Sword Skill.
"I will worry about you dammit! If you tell me to take better care of myself, then you better follow that rule too! We'll get out of this mess together—! Alive!" I say while emotionally slicing down at the plant once more in-front of me, however because I forgot to activate a Sword Skill, it didn't do as much damage as it would have. Then…
I stare straight at the giant plant in-front of me with panic as its fly trap-like mouth opens up…
It's going to chew me in half.
My face begins to don an expression of fear.
However, before the fatal blow can happen—
SHANK!
The plant suddenly exploded into polygons right before my eyes while its mouth was still agape. I turn towards the one who saved me.
It was Fayse of course.
He came in just in time to kill the Nepent, and it seemed like he handled the other three Nepents as well.
"T-Thank you." I blurted out.
"No need for thanks. If anything, I should thank you." Fayse raised his body and went back to a neutral fighting position. He looks more calm than before now, which is a relief. Him looking calm makes me worry a little less. We looked around at the Nepents surrounding us. For some reason they seem less in amount, but that should be more of a blessing than anything else.
"We both want to survive and protect each other. To do that, we'll need to watch each other's backs. We'll switch in-between every attack, but while one person is attacking, the other will watch for any enemies and counter them if they try to get close." Fayse says while the next wave of Nepents are quickly approaching.
"Got it." I say with conviction, raising my sword a bit higher to make it easier to settle into Cascade.
"Alright…" Fayse took a short pause, taking a combative stance, "…Ready?"
I simply nod. Fayse recognized my gesture, and looked ahead towards the enemies in-front of us.
"Then… let's do this!"
Fayse dashes forward towards the right, where there's the least amount of Nepents, releasing the Sword Skill Horizontal as he does so. I quickly follow suit behind him, making sure to end up on his right side to protect him while he's attacking.
There's about a dozen in-front of us, not counting those on the sides. That's how many we have to kill to open a path up to escape and get out alive.
SLASH!
The first Nepent is struck with Horizontal, interrupting a vine attack before it could be released. Three Nepents— one on the left and two on the right— aim to strike Fayse. I manage to swing my heavy greatsword in diagonal motions, barely deflecting the blows from the two on the right as best as I can while Fayse is in his post-motion state. Then, when the Nepent on the left released its vine attack, I quickly turned around, ran to its position, and activated Cascade, slicing down at it with as much force as I could muster, making it go down to half-HP.
Fayse got out of his post-motion phase and immediately cut through a corroding liquid attack that was aimed towards me with Horizontal, however some of the liquid got on him, lowering his equipment Durability.
"Keep going!" He yelled out. Once I got out of my post-motion phase I kept to his left this time, where the Nepents were closer to him. I was the one to strike first, using Cyclone to narrowly dodge a vine when spinning and sliced the half-HP Nepent directly in the stump, killing it instantly. Meanwhile Fayse managed to predict and dodge half-a-dozen of vine attacks without getting hit, then counter attacking with Vertical, striking a Nepent straight down the middle, killing it too.
Next one.
SLASH!
Next one.
SLASH!
Next!
SLASH!
Again!
SLASH!
I use all of my might to cut down another Nepent. As it explodes into polygons, I look around me. The rest of the dozen Little Nepents were taken care of by Fayse, and the closest ones left are those on the sides, about five meters away from us. However the way in-front of us is mostly up. I look at my HP bar, then to Fayse's.
40 out of 100%. Fayse looks like he's 45 out of 100%.
After the adrenaline rush, I can feel my mental fatigue settling in, and my breathing becomes heavy.
"We… really did it huh?" I say with relief. Fayse looks at me with a quick smile before donning a face of caution.
"Yeah, but we don't have time to waste. More Nepents will block the exit again in a couple of seconds. We gotta get out of here now."
"R-Right."
And so we quickly begin to rush out, with Fayse being just a few meters behind me.
But…
Why do I feel like we're missing something?
…
… That's because we did.
It all happened so fast.
I hear a familiar revving sound. The sound of a Sword Skill being activated. Before I'm able to react however, it was too late.
SHAAA!
I heard a blade get violently sliced into someone. When I turned around and looked at Fayse's HP bar, my heart sunk.
35 out of 100% and rapidly dropping.
Fayse and I aren't able to produce that fast of a Sword Skill right after the pre-motion. From what little experience I had boosting a Sword Skill, you have to both not fight the system controlling you (which is harder than you'd think) while also pushing yourself along with its momentum, which at least requires having pre-knowledge on what the Sword Skill does. The only two people I know who I'm sure are capable of doing this nearly 100% of the time are…
"Damn Ken, he didn't know that the Hiding Skill was useless against these types of monsters huh…?! I knew I should've taken Search." Darius said with an utterly ticked expression as he kicked Fayse off of his blade, which was stuck in his shoulder. The red gash spewed equally red particles, and Darius' «color cursor» turned from green to orange.
I widened my eyes and reached out my hand towards Fayse, even though I know I'm too far to reach him.
"N-No… wait… stop…!" I meekly said aloud. Darius ignored me.
"But hey, he got what he got. He was too weak, so that means you two should be weak too… So then why the hell are you two still alive!?" He raised his sword again. I ran towards Fayse desperately. Time seemed to slow to a halt only for me. I felt as if my movements were getting slower and slower, forced to watch this scene play out.
STAB.
25/100%
I keep on running towards them.
SLICE.
15/100%
I get more desperate.
His blade rises one final time.
"I'll survive! I'll survive no matter what! YOU HEAR ME?!" Darius exclaimed with widened, bloodlusted eyes as he went into the pre-motion of the Sword Skill Vertical.
I ran as fast as I could.
Please no…
This can't be happening.
I won't let this happen… please…!
"STOP IT, PLEASE STOP!" I yelled out as loud as I can, extending my arm out as much as I can for reach.
As if bound under a spell, I felt as if I was able to go faster. What I assume to be adrenaline kicked in once again to get me to my destination faster.
The next moment felt like it all happened within less than a second.
3 meters.
2 meters.
1 meter.
I drop my greatsword and extend my hands outward. Darius turned his attention towards me genuinely shocked.
The instant I was in range, I used all of my strength to push Darius off of Fayse during Vertical's motion, deactivating the Sword Skill, but still cutting a deep gash on Fayse's chest, right where his heart is.
5/100%
Darius is thrown back meters away.
"You BITCH! Fine! If you want, I'll kill you first!" Darius exclaimed as he began to walk towards me in anger. However, he didn't notice what was behind him…
"I would focus more on my surroundings if I were you." I simply stated, holding in as much of my rage as possible.
"Huh?! The hell are… you…"
Then, as Darius slowly turned around…
… He was greeted by half a dozen Little Nepents, already about to finish their telegraph phase for their vine attacks.
He was too slow to react.
STAB.
CUT.
JAB.
SLASH.
PIERCE.
I began to wince as I heard him scream. Not even a few seconds after I pushed him, his HP dipped to 0, and he began to shatter into polygons, just like everything else that dies in this world.
It took a bit to process what I had just done, but when I did, my hands began to tremble. I took a step back. My legs were wobbly, and I almost fell back if not for me repositioning at the last second.
'I really…'
'…I really just murdered someone, didn't I?'
I began to feel regret rising up from within me, but I bit my lip to stick to the present. There is someone much more important to me right now.
I turn to Fayse after seeing that it'll take time for the Nepents to set their sights to us. His HP is dropping. The gash on both his shoulder and his chest are too big.
I kneel down and grasp his hand tightly.
"Fayse! Stay with me!"
2/100%
My virtual heart began to beat faster. Fayse opens his mouth to speak.
"H-Hey… it's okay. I was just carele—"
"It's not okay dammit!"
1/100%
"That's right! A-A potion!"
I hurriedly grabbed my last HP potion from my pocket and immediately opened it.
However, when I stared at his figure again…
0/100%
My face slowly formed to one of despair. His figure was starting to become static and glow a bright blue.
Time seemed to halt. The background around me turned white.
In these short moments, I quickly picked up his slowly disappearing figure and made him drink the potion in desperation.
"Come on, come on…! Please..! Please!" I yell as I hope the potion would work.
…But it didn't. His form is still disappearing. The potion shattered into polygons after all of the liquid left the bottle.
…HP potions don't work when someone's at 0%.
Tears begin to fall from my face.
"Don't go, don't go please!"
The first person who made me realize my life is worth something.
The first person who I felt gave me purpose.
The first person who said they cared in-front of me.
That person was disappearing in slow motion in my arms.
I close shut my eyes to not see the sight. I don't want to see the sight. I can't…!
…
Then I feel a cold hand clear the tears from my face, then touch my cheek with gentleness.
"Don't cry…"
I open my eyes.
He was still there.
My eyes widen.
The lower half of his body turned to polygons and disappeared, but he was still there, trying his best to smile.
"Don't cry… Survive… in this world. Make friends… Live long… kay'?" He said to me; his smile quivering a little.
"But… but what about you…?!"
For a split second, there was silence. Then, he spoke again.
"I know… I don't… want to die…" His tone was one of uncertainty, or even fear. It was as clear as day in his eyes. However, even though he was scared, he still tried his best to keep a smile, "But… you still have to live on… You still have a long life ahead… I'll be gone, but I know you'll meet a lot of people that will care about you… and say they'll care about… you."
Tears slowly begin to fall from his face. Only his head remains where I can see it. At the same time, my tears begin to come back.
"…You dummy… I-If you say don't cry… then don't give me a reason to cry…" My tears begin to fall faster. I continued when he wasn't saying anything, "I-I will. For you I will. I'll survive in this world. I'll find people who I can consider friends! T-Then… I-I'll say how great of a person you were! I promise!"
His sad smile became a bit more genuine.
"I'm… glad…" He sounded more weak. He was giving in. He closed his eyes for a second before opening them again and looking at me with a genuinely happy expression. Then, after that… he said his final words.
"…I'm glad… that I met you."
Upon uttering those words, the last remains of Fayse transformed into polygons and disappeared into the air, leaving traces of beautiful light blue particles in the still white background around me. The only things that remained on the floor were Fayse's small sword and the Little Nepent Ovule.
I hung my face down and smiled sadly, clenching the area where my heart is.
"…Me too."
The time and scenery around me seemed to return to normal as I slowly began to look up again.
That's right. I'm still in the forest where I could die. Those trash plants could already be within melee range.
I wipe my tears and look at my party list at the top left of my vision.
None.
They're all gone.
I had a sinking feeling in my chest, however I quickly discarded it as I slowly got up while gripping my greatsword once more.
After-all, I have a promise to keep.
A promise to live.
I looked up to see about two-dozen Little Nepents left surrounding me. The first dozen are almost in melee range while the others are a couple meters away.
They're all almost done with their telegraph motion. I don't have time to think.
No… I don't need to think here…
…I just need to survive!
I dash forward, not caring to plan things out. My instincts immediately take over. The first set of vines are released. I practically forced myself onto the ground, ducking over all of the vines and slicing those too close with a rough horizontal strike. I launched back up, stepping forward and going into the pre-motion of Cyclone. The second set of vines are released. They were too slow. The power of Cyclone ripped through all of the vines coming towards me during the spin and completely splitting the stump of the trash plant in-front of me, instantly killing it.
However, the moment I was in the post-motion, corrosive liquid was shot out of another Nepent nearby, lowering my armor's Durability.
34% HP left.
I turned to the source with pure rage.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
I will survive.
I dashed towards that Nepent as if the post-motion had no effect on me and immediately struck down with Cascade with all my might, following the Sword Skill with my own momentum and weight to completely slice through it, one-shotting it as well.
I will survive!
I turned around to see multiple vines striking towards me. I narrowly dodge most of them, however some managed to knick my armor, managing to completely deplete the rest of its Durability and shatter it, leaving me only in my beginner clothes. That's fine. Even more plants begin to telegraph their motion for a vine attack.
29% HP left.
I brandished my heavy blade with both hands and swung as quickly as I could to cut apart as many vines as I could coming towards me.
Dozens must have been severed by my blade, but I paid no attention to that.
24% HP left.
Survive!
I raised my blade towards the nearest plant and began to slice downwards.
SLASH!
CUT!
PIERCE!
I delivered three slashes that were faster and more powerful than I ever thought I was capable of, immediately killing the Nepent in-front of me. I don't care about how I did that.
All I care about right now is to keep my promise.
Keep going!
SLASH!
One dead.
Keep going!
SLASH!
Another dead.
SURVIVE!
SLASH!
As if my mind blanked out and only had one function left, I stubbornly continued to face death in the face as my body dodged and weaved through as many attacks as possible while striking at any time it can.
Polygon after polygon after polygon after polygon.
20% HP left.
15% HP left.
10% HP left.
But I don't care.
As long as I have a chance of getting through this, I will.
DODGE.
DEFLECT.
CUT.
SLICE.
There's no strategy; no meaning to my movements. Just pure instinct and will to live.
I yell at the top of my lungs as I continue to slice with and without Sword Skills. The sky around me was only filled with polygons and crimson red particle effects as both my HP and my enemies were being cut down.
Half of them down, a dozen left.
Multiple Nepents shot out corrosive fluids at the same time. I jump and twist my body using as much of my Agility as possible, managing to narrowly slip through the opening in the fluids and slicing apart the Nepent in-front of me with sheer vigor.
As if on pure reflex, or possibly fear if AIs can feel that, the Nepents around me began to back up, attempting to chip at me at range.
That won't stop me though.
The moment a vine lashes towards me, I release one hand from the handle of my greatsword and grab the vine. I looked at it with pure, unbridled emotion.
"COME HERE."
I pulled on the vine, dragging the overgrown plant over to me, then immediately stabbing it in its stump.
Next.
I kicked a Nepent into the ground and swung my blade down into its mouth.
NEXT.
I pinned a Nepent on the side of a tree and stabbed it chaotically in its stump.
AGAIN.
I tanked straight through corrosive liquids and repeatedly struck down at the Nepent.
AGAIN.
AGAIN.
AGAIN.
AGAIN.
AGAIN.
AGAIN.
AGAIN.
AGAIN.
I swung down fiercely at the final Nepent, slicing it cleanly in two. After it exploded into polygons, I at first instinctively looked around for any other attacks or things to kill… before all I haphazardly staggered back and looked up into the night sky.
I paused for a few seconds before slowly opening my mouth.
"Is it… over…?"
I look at my HP.
4% left.
My senses slowly began to return as I looked at the empty forest around me once again.
The only sounds that I could hear were the ambient background noises of the night and the fading battle music [1], returning back to the generic night music loop.
I slowly allow myself to collapse on the ground, dropping my low Durability greatsword.
I'm tired.
I'm tired but…
"I did it… Fayse."
I'm still alive.
I'm still…
…Still…
I feel my eyes begin to water once more. I clench my fists, keeping the tears in as much as I can.
"Stay strong, Seiko."
…
'Stay strong, Claire.'
END
EXTRA
I saw a pitiful sight in the middle of the night as I was walking back to Horunka Village.
A young-looking girl picked up a small sword and an ovule in the middle of the forest, looking like she was trying her best not to cry as she did so.
She stabbed the small sword into the root of a tree. Then, right in-front of the sword, she gently placed the ovule down.
And after that… she just stood there for minutes on end, looking at the grave.
It was a pitiful sight to see… because I can almost feel what she's going through.
But it's not my business to intervene.
She'd likely want some space anyways.
End of Chapter 2
Author's Notes:
References/Trivia:
[1] The battle music that was playing during Claire's solo fight against the Little Nepents wasn't the generic battle theme like it would have been for a normal fight against the Nepents. Mysteriously, the music was instead Swordland, the main theme of Sword Art Online. Claire was just completely focused on the fight with a one-track mind, which is why she didn't recognize the theme song playing in the background.
Changes from canon:
Perception and Charisma (as far as I know) are original stats, as well as the term "Primary Stats". These are simply to expand upon the system already in place in-canon rather than changing anything.
Introducing (or at least hinting at) Incarnation earlier in the story rather than later.
Claire's Stats (Level 3):
Primary Stats:
Strength: 7
Agility: 3
Dexterity: 5
Vitality: 9
Perception: 3
Charisma: 3
Secondary Stats:
HP: 800/800
Level: 3
EXP: 563/600
Stat Points: 0
Skills:
Heavy Metal Armor
Two-Handed Sword
Sword Skills:
Cyclone
Cascade
Back Rush
