Chapter 3: Waves

In a recent interview with Akihiko Kayaba, creator of the upcoming VR experience Sword Art Online, He gave a response to the public outcry for the game being delayed.

"I want to make sure that this game reaches its full potential for perfection. The game is delayed again to make it so that the player won't be able to tell it apart from the real world, from a light breeze on their faces to the inhabitants of Aincrad. I assure you, this delay is meant to ensure that players won't get a new game; They'll be receiving a gateway to a new world."

As I flipped through the pages of the latest issue of Game Informer, the image I saw that took up a full page made my thumb halt. It depicted what looked like a giant ridged cone in the sky, with a ring of swords surrounding it as if they were its only foundation. I knew what it was the second I laid my eyes on it.

"Aincrad…" I whispered, barely audible. I shifted around in my swivel chair as I sat and observed the picture before me. My eyes then shifted to the next page, where Game Informer had an interview with Kayaba, the head developer of SAO.

"I see, so that's your reason. I like a game that's worked on to where it's past the point of perfection, don't get me wrong, but I was wondering; is the delay also caused by the recent shortage of staff on the SAO Dev team?"

"No. While it is indeed a sad loss that a number of our team left, we have been able to find new replacements for them to continue our ongoing work."

When I read that last sentence, a small part of me wanted to crumple the magazine up then and there and throw it across the room, but the other part of me didn't. I don't know why.

I simply kept reading on, eventually reaching the next page, which left a hint of surprise in me from what I saw.

There were two photos of a letter Kayaba wrote to the public regarding SAO and its delay. What was odd though was that the letter was written in both English and Japanese, one in each picture.

I brushed it off as him wanting to seem personal to everyone who was eyeing SAO, not just Japan. The letter comprised mainly of him saying what to expect from SAO: A perfect masterpiece to soon join the halls of Video Game History, how much work and dedication he thanks his team for, appealing to certain requests he received from fans in prior months for the game, and an apology for the delay, mostly what he told Game Informer.

At that point, I could have gone to the next page and continued reading, but for some reason that I can't really explain, I stayed where I was. I kept reading the interview and the letter over and over again, as if my mind was locked in a museum exhibit, and I couldn't move to see the rest of the exhibits.

Every time I re-read the SAO article, I could feel my ecstasy heighten, and yet I had no idea why. "A new world…"

...Was I really that done with the current world I was in? Was I truly subconsciously finished with this messed up city, this messed up world that I had lived in for 14 years?

Was that the reason I felt so much ecstasy?

I couldn't say for sure, honestly. I couldn't differentiate my emotions and my thoughts correctly at that time.

Shaking off my confusion at my emotions, I read Kayaba's English letter for what seemed to be the Nth time, when I observed something truly odd about the writing.

It seemed to have been printed and then signed by Kayaba, that much made sense. However, little letters dotted throughout the lines in the letter stood out to me.

Why did some letters, that were typed in what seems to be a normal font, have little niches in them?

Upon closer inspection, this seemingly innocuous detail was correct. They were faint, very faint, but they were there. Fonts weren't supposed to do that. They were supposed to be printed without error, so the tiny imperfections in some of the letters should have been impossible. The page looks like it was printed perfectly without issues also. So then why…

Unless He was hiding something.

…Stop. You already 'observed' too much. You need to stop.

Why are the letters like that though?

I told you. You need. To stop.

But-

STOP. Stop being such an observant idiot.

My mind was at war with myself. I wanted to stop observing and detecting the smallest things, but my other half of my being won't let me. It's as if I'm chained to another person and we're in a massive tug-of-war to make the other fall.

"…" The seemingly impossibly niched letters were standing out to me now like a sore thumb. My mind was going crazy. It was an itch I the back of my head that I couldn't make go away. Unless this puzzle was resolved. "…One last time. This is it. No more after this."

Scooting my chair over to my desk, I grabbed my journal and a pen from one of the drawers while placing the magazine down, still open.

Referring to the letter every few seconds or so, I began to write down every individual letter I saw that had a small niche in it. I didn't pay attention to what exactly it was I was writing until I finally wrote the last letter down. Satisfied with my progress, I looked down at what it was that I wrote.

My shock couldn't have been greater.

I slowly stood up from my chair and backed away, pushing the chair out of my path. My mouth had dropped open, my eyes wide. Kayaba DID hide something in the English letter. But…for it to have been…

The odds of him coming up with that are…astronomically low!

I don't remember what happened after that. That day just kind of…flew by for me. My discovery however, was and is forever burned into my mind.

…

My eyes slowly fluttered open as I gained consciousness. Sitting up and stretching a bit, I realized that I didn't really feel well.

Looking around the room, I saw that nothing was really out of place. My gaze went to the window, where I saw rain lightly hitting the glass. Well, at least significantly lighter than it was yesterday.

Letting out a small yawn, I tried to recall what happened the previous day, as my mind was currently blanking.

I blinked a few times as the events of yesterday came back to me. Meeting Mataras and Saphira, me asking them to assist me, our argument. Their relation.

When I remembered that they were brother and sister, I should have broken down, or at least started crying, sitting there on the bed. Yet, I wasn't. I put a hand up to my face to see if there was anything at all. I was met with simply my own dry skin.

This…made me confused. Very confused. Even after sitting and thinking for a while, my mind could come up with nothing, and I eventually brushed it off.

It isn't like I want to cry…

As I got myself ready to leave for the day, I wondered about the two players I met. Mataras and Saphira…

Looking back on it, I doubt that Mataras wanted to even see my face again. That much I knew. I can't say for certain about Saphira though. She was massively different from Mataras, yes, but it's much harder to read someone who is trying to be polite than to read someone who looks to be angry a good amount of time.

As I walked down the stairs of the hotel, I realized that I should…no. I NEEDED to apologize to them. I acted irrationally, and at what? An insult of all things? I mentally kicked myself. If I blew up like that every time someone insulted me, I'd be soon the most hated player in the game.

I mean, if I actually knew that many people at least…

At this point, I recalled that I didn't even friend either of them. For all I knew now, they had long since left the floor to do their own thing. Didn't know for sure.

…

Entering one of the shops from the rainy weather, I realized that it was a well-kept shop. Nice, clean, the nice smell of polished wood entering my nose. It was refreshing, to say the least. There were a few weapons on display, along with a few other items like seashells or gems for jewelry.

Walking past all of it and to the front desk, the young man who owned the shop seemed to be focused on something else, not noticing me as I approached. I gave a small cough as to let him know that I was here. I also mentally told myself to try not to stutter. When he didn't notice me, I tried again. "Beautiful mor-morning, is it not?"

"Hm?" He looked up from what looked like some type of crossword puzzle. "OH! I'm so sorry that I didn't notice you, Sir!"

I just slightly waved my hand at him. "It's perfectly fine, Sir-Sir." Crud. I looked around to see if there was some common ground I could talk to him on. Eyes landing once again on the crossword, I spoke rather quickly. "Is that a-a crossword puzzle?" He seemed surprised that I was interested in what he was doing, looking back down at the puzzle before looking back at me. A smile then made its way onto his face. "Actually, yea it is!"

Giving a small chuckle, I ask, "Are you finding all the correct words ok then?" He nods his head.

"Yes, Thanks for asking, Mr…?"

I hold out my hand to him. "Phantom. Nice to meet you!"

He accepts it. "Jakob. Nice to meet you too, Phantom!" He pulls up his menu and flips it to my direction. "So, how can I help you, today?"

I quickly browse the list, hoping to find what I'm looking for. Smiling, I tap the Oceansun Stone. "This is all, thank you."

Seeing what I selected, Jakob raises an eyebrow while grinning. "Not many people get this stone unless they want to put it in a weapon for decoration…or for jewelry."

I wave him off. "I assure you, this gem can be used for more than what you suggested."

"Hm... Well, that'll be 2,000 col, Phantom."

Opening my own menu and paying the required amount of col, I opened my palm and extended my hand to Jakob, who placed the gem in my hand. It felt nice. It was cool like the ocean water, but it had a weight that I wasn't expecting.

I nod to Jakob. "Pleasure doing business with you, Jakob. And good luck on the rest of that crossword!"

He waves me goodbye. "So long, Phantom! Have a good day!"

I exited the door and into the briny and rainy weather. Most people I knew would wear coats or have umbrellas, but I found it much more refreshing to let the rain wash over you if it was as light as it was now.

I started to make my way down to the docs, but a bit of conversation made its way to my ear that I found rather interesting. "Why the heck are you going to this shop, man?"

Turning around, I saw two players, both guys, talking with each other as they walked up to the shop I was just in. One of the players shrugged his shoulders at what I assume to be the other person's question. "Because this shop is closer. I need a new dagger to replace my other one fast."

The other person crossed his arms. "Giran, you can get a dagger that is much better in quality if you go to a shop run by a player instead."

The person just named Giran shrugged his shoulders once again at his friend. "Well, let's see what this one carries first, since we're already here, 'kay?" With that last word, Giran walked in the shop, his friend protesting and following close behind.

I merely turn around and continue my way to the docks.

…

Many people here in Aincrad thought that actually buying a boat rather than renting one was a pointless waste of money, mainly since a majority of the world was land rather than sea but I begged to differ in favor of it for a couple of different reasons:

For one you don't have to share it with another person, another is you can go out on the sea on floor 5 whenever you want, and since I was a person who loved the ocean in general, this was a big win. Lastly, we were only 10 floors cleared. You never know when there might be another major water floor.

Anyways, I owned a small sloop that was nice. Cost me a good amount of col, like 200,000 or so, give or take. It took a lot of grinding to get this, but in my opinion, it was worth it. I just need to get a bit more col. I even was able to spend a little extra to personalize it. A royal blue hull really made the black sail pop out in my eyes.

Sailing out on the ocean, the wind in my hair and the rain on my back felt marvelous. Thankfully the rain wasn't so heavy that it influenced the waves all that much. They were tame for the most part. Nothing too big. Checking my notes in my journal from time to time, I kept on sailing outwards, re-adjusting my path every so often.

Eventually, after checking a few things here and there in my map, in the sky, and a few key lines in my notes, I believed that I was out far enough in the right place. Furling the sail, I quickly turned my sloop around so that I would coast into the direct area that I needed to be.

Once I finally made it to a stop, or at the very least trying to stay in the correct area with the bobbing waves moving me around, I opened my menu and checked my in-game map and coordinates. When compared to my journal, my coordinates shown in the system matched the ones I wrote next to the area I circled several times.

I took a deep breath as I retrieved the Oceansun Stone from the pocket of my coat. I held it up to my eye as if I was checking to make sure I got the right object, even though I knew that it must be it. As I looked at it, nearly touching my eye lens, I swear that I saw roaring waves within the gem.

Walking to the edge of my Sloop, I took another deep breath. "Welp," I said to myself, holding the stone over the surface of the water. "Here goes nothing." And without hesitation, I dropped the precious stone into the bobbing waves, sending it to the depths. I silently prayed that I interpreted all the info I got from around the area correctly.

Ten seconds. Thirty seconds. Sixty seconds.

Two full minutes passed before I let go of a breath I realized I was holding. Running a hand through my rain-soaked hair, I wondered to myself if I truly overthought it. As usual. Turning my back and walking to take the helm, a tremor shook and I fell onto the deck.

The sloop was rocking dangerously side to side, and in that moment I feared that my ship would capsize. Eyes widened, I tried to make it back to my feet, but I was thrown back down again due to another wave hitting the side of my ship.

Crawling over to the ship's railing, I managed to hoist myself up and secure my footing. Looking over the side to where I dropped the stone, an incredible sight greeted my eyes.

It's as if someone opened up a large area of the sea, because the water was parted in a perfect circle. The water was sloped in such a way, like a funnel, that it looked like one could ride down if they so choose. But it was what was at the bottom that made my heart leap with joy.

There was what seemed to be a temple at the bottom, like a large gazebo almost.

I couldn't tell what exactly waited for me down there, but being the logical person, I did the logical thing.

I walked up to the wheel of my ship, and directed it to where I would slide down the cone of water, too ecstatic in the moment to care whether or not I hit or entered the temple structure.

...

At first, I debated with myself on whether I should make a giant chapter with the secret dungeon, or if I should split it into two. I realized that if I wrote the entire thing in one go, it would be 20 pages or so, so I decided against it. Mark my words though, I intend to make the next chapter longer than normal, so look forward to that!

As usual, thanks so much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!

-Silver