Sword Apocalypse Online

Chapter One

Three months later...

Asuna Yuuki hadn't wanted to be a survivor, nor had she wanted to have people relying on her. Both things just kind of HAPPENED. And now she was just doing her best to carry on...

"Nothing weird going on, Boss," Argo the Rat reported as they finally made it through the gate at Tolbana, the town nearest the Labrynth Tower.

"Don't call me Boss," Asuna sighed as the three women advanced.

"Sure thing, Boss," the other young woman teased.

"Yuk it up, Liz," Asuna said dryly.

Argo the Rat kept a wary eye out even though they were in a town's 'safe zone.' Understandable, as folks had tried to kill her not all that long ago.

In the aftermath of the failed boss fight, several players blamed Argo and her guide books for things going wrong. The angriest group of people even got together and tried to hunt her down outside of town. Thankfully Asuna and Agil had also head about it, and the group wasn't willing to kill them, too. And they knew that Agil would probably take a few of them with him.

(In this Asuna was unaware of her own growing reputation in the players of SAO. Her leading the retreat was already becoming well known, as well as the speed and power of her attacks. 'Meteor' and 'lightning' were both names that were being applied to her by fans. It was entirely possible the gang was as scared of her...)

Agil also pointed out that if anyone was at fault, it was the players. They knew Kayaba had deliberately trapped them in this death game, so why would they assume he'd just leave things like they were in the beta test? It would have been stupid of him to give a huge advantage to the testers. So of COURSE he'd screwed around with them.

The other player survivors accepted that, reluctantly. Or they were just too scared of Asuna and Agil beating them up to act. Either way they dispersed, but after that Argo stuck to Asuna like glue...

"We should probably check into a inn, then re-supply," Liz noted as they moved through the crowded streets. The three women stayed close together, both to cut through the crowds as well as for mutual protection.

Another side effect of the failed boss fight was the rapid decay of the general social order. Things were already starting to go before, of course, with player killing becoming a thing as well as a growing knowledge that the only 'rules' they faced where the built in game ones. But after a group of the top players of SAO failed to beat the boss and break out of the first floor, a lot of folks fell into simple despair.

"Thank goodness we're not in the Town of Beginnings. It's becoming a total dive," Liz added.

"Hey, we found YOU there," Argo teased.

Lizbeth was working as a blacksmith in the Town of Beginnings, but was having trouble building a market. She was also looking for players to build experience with, so when Asuna hired her to maintenance her weapons, she asked to go along with them. And they did need a tank, anyway.

Somewhat more seriously Argo added, "Well, we are better off staying out of there. I heard there are even brothels opening up."

Asuna blinked. "How..." she started.

"Someone figured out how to turn the Morality System off. It's buried fairly deep in the options menu," Argo noted. She sighed, "And I suppose it's safer than fighting."

"Ewww," Asuna said flatly as the group walked into one of the Inns. Despite how packed the town was, the Inns usually had rooms available. Or, if you liked, you could rent rooms from NPCs. Liz stepped up to book a room as they waited.

"One room?" the innkeeper asked.

"Ooooh," a passing player noted.

"Don't get any ideas, buddy," Asuna scowled at him as Liz paid for their room.

"Besides, we're her harem," Argo purred as she took Asuna's arm.

"Yup," Liz agreed as she grabbed the other arm.

"Ack," the man hurried off.

"Hey!" Asuna yelped as she pulled free. "You two are going to totally ruin my reputation," she added as they went to their room.

"WHAT reputation?" Argo teased.

"Yuk it up...," Asuna sighed.

The three headed out into the town first. There were a lot of folks sheltering in the safety of the town, hanging out in the streets and so on. Players were understandably cautious about going out and adventuring. You could get killed...

"All right, that's the healing potions," Argo noted.

"Check the NPC armor and equipment shops. We've bought all the current gear, but something may have unlocked," Liz suggested optimistically.

"That's doubtful," Argo said with a sigh but they checked the shops anyway. No, there was nothing new added.

The three ended up back at the inn, and grabbed a table in the common room. They ordered food, then sat down and ate. It still annoyed Asuna that the game made you spend money on food... trapping them here was bad enough. But making them spend money on food, when they could be saving up for better equipment? Ugh.

"You like baths though," Liz teased, having heard Asuna's food rant more than once.

"Oh shut up," Asuna blushed.

Argo looked profoundly amused, but didn't add anything to that.

"We've all hit level fourteen," Argo said somewhat more seriously, "and we're not gaining much experience any more, even from killing powerful monsters on this floor. I think we've hit the level cap for this floor."

As Argo was their gaming expert, they all nodded. Plus she was a beta tester, though that wasn't something they brought up in public. The backlash against suspected beta testers had been building even before the level boss battle, and afterwards it had gotten worse. Asuna had even heard rumors of player killing, though she hoped those were false...

"We need to get people organized and make another attempt at the floor boss," Asuna said grimly, "or we'll never get out of here."

"A lot of folks have just given up," Argo noted. "They assume we'll never finish the game anyway, so why risk our lives?"

"The problem is, just staying in the game puts our lives at risk too," Asuna pointed out.

"Huh?" Liz blinked.

Asuna fiddled with her drink. "Out in the real world, we're functionally in comas," she explained, "but there's only so long we can stay like that. Eventually medical issues set in, even if you have the best care. And we don't know how long we have until that happens."

Liz looked blankly at her a moment. "Well, shit," she blinked.

"Crap," Argo agreed, then looked at Asuna. "How do you...?"

"My father's company is involved in medical technology," Asuna said vaguely.

"So basically... even if we just camp out on the first floor, we're still screwed?" Liz summarized.

"Exactly," Asuna agreed.

"Well, that should get some of the quitters off their asses," Argo mused. "We need a way to get the word out too. Especially in the Town of Beginnings."

"I'm sure you have a plan, information broker?" Asuna teased.

Argo grinned back, "Oh, I have some ideas, yes..."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The updated 'Argo Guide' appeared in the NPC shops for free a few days later, titled 'Emergency Medical Update.' They also managed to track down a MD to explain what would happen and why. He also estimated they had about three years, though that might be on the high side.

They spread the word in the Town of Beginnings via old fashioned posters on walls, though there was also a crude 'newspaper' starting up too. Thinker and Yulier, two partners, were running it along with trying to drum up support for another run at the level boss.

They announced a meeting in Tolbana in two days, ironically in the same theater that the first meeting Diabel organized was. They contacted Agil and got his word he was coming, and they put out the word to as many top players they knew. HOPEFULLY there would be a good turnout.

After they ran around preparing, they ended up back at the inn. "Argo, can I talk to you alone for a few minutes?" Asuna asked.

"Right," Argo nodded. "She turned to Liz, "If I scream 'Rape!' come save me."

"Will do!" Liz thumbed up.

"You two..." Asuna groaned as Argo just laughed.

Argo and Asuna went into the room they had rented, while Liz stayed down in the common room. "You want me to go into the boss chamber with the raid," Argo guessed.

"Figured you'd realize that," Asuna admitted.

"I'm NOT a combat build," Argo said flatly. "Why?"

"I need you brains," Asuna admitted. "We have no idea of Ilfang's new attack patterns or abilities with a katana. But you've seen the levels where katanas were used and can hopefully tell us."

Argo closed her eyes, her expression pained. "I wish Kirito-Boya was here. He made it all the way to the tenth floor and fought katana users...," she sighed.

Asuna reached out and squeezed her shoulder, "Me too."

Argo puffed out a breath, "I'll come along, but you realize a lot of players are not going to want to hear anything I say?"

"I trust you," Asuna said seriously, "and they WILL listen, or they'll answer to me."

To be continued...

Notes: So, I'm dumping Asuna into a leadership role a lot earlier than in canon. Which I think makes some sense, with the original leaders all dying. I'm going to bring in canon characters in general much earlier, as well as other changes.