A/N: Man, I'm pumping out these chapters fast. I'm trying not to rush, but since these chapters are short I can just type them so quickly. Enjoy!
Kirito's Point of View
Year 1, Day 3
Floor 1
Northern Lights
-To: Klein
-I don't know if you've thought about our offer any longer, but… I have another small request, and it has nothing to do w/ the offer. Do you know where Stone Tower is? Like, just a general direction would be good. Please answer back,
-Kirito
This ought do something to help, I think. I'm still in Lightning Bar with my fellow guild mates that will be travelling alongside me to Stone Tower.
"Did you send it?" asks July.
"Just sent it," I reply. "Hopefully he won't take a billion years to reply."
"Alright, I have to go and check if Laker's done anything stupid. If any of you need me, send me a message."
Yeah… She totally has a crush on Laker. I can tell by the way she looks at him, even without Gabe telling me beforehand. Gabe just seems to know everything. He's a very observant person.
Then there's Lonius, who's sitting across from me in the booth, and next to Gabe. He has short, black hair like his brother, Laker, but is taller, older, has more freckles, and is generally quieter.
"You two wanna spar?" I ask. They look at each other, then back at me, and nod.
Us three walk outside and wander around town until we reach a relatively open space. It's a town square-like place, with NPC shops made out of brick, wood, and stone surrounding it in tightly-packed rows… perfect for a spar.
"Who's up first?" I ask.
"I'll go," Lonius replies, almost sounding confident.
"The only rule is no killing each other. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Okay… three, two, one!"
Lonius immediately hops forward and slices at me, and I successfully block it; I shift to the side and land a jab on his chest. Then, he jerks backwards, and quickly grabs a dagger from his inventory, and throws it at me. It lands in my left arm.
"Nice," I say, as we continue sparring. He can't land any hits on me, but I can sometimes land hits on him. He tries to block, but to no avail. I duck under one of his jabs and trip him, stand back up, and point my blue Restructor 2.0 sword in his face.
"GG," he says, as I hold out my hand for him to get back up. "I know you were a beta tester, but how are you that good? I take real life katana lessons and you still beat me."
"Dunno. Guess I'm a natural."
A few seconds after that last sentence, a receive a message.
-From: Mell
-Open?
-Yes -No
-From: Mell
-what are you doing?
I type in response, "just assume its something dangerous and will get me killed"
-Mell: well july is supposed to be training but shes kinda flirting with laker
-Kirito: if she wants to flirt then let her
-Mell: why its making me uncomfortable
-Mell: and i dont want to tell her what to do
-Kirito: why are you asking me i dont even know you people very well
-Mell: touche
-Kirito: ok gtg i gotta keep sparring and doing dangerous stuff
-Mell: ill kill u
-Kirito: k
When I'm done chatting with Mell, I look back at Lonius and Gabe. Gabe, for some reason, is smiling in an odd fashion.
"What?" I ask.
"You know."
...?
"Nevermind," he says, still smiling. "Let's spar."
. . .
I hear a knock on the door of the apartment. The time's nearing noon, but the rest of my guild won't be back until the afternoon. They're stocking up on weapons right now, and told me that I have to watch over the apartment.
So, naturally, I unsheathe Restructor 2.0, and carefully walk towards to locked wooden door until I'm standing directly in front of it.
"Who is it?" I ask aloud.
"It's Klein."
"Alright, hold on," I reply, sheathing my sword and opening the door just a bit to see if he's brought his other guild mates. There's no one else, so I go ahead and let him in. He takes a seat on one of the many couches we have.
Klein. I'm guessing he's in his early twenties… he has red, semi-spiky hair and a bandana, and is pretty tall.
"Let's get to the point, Kirito. Why are you going to Stone Tower?"
"Curiousity," I quickly reply.
"...fair enough. How you getting there?"
"I don't know, uh… teleport to Alexandria and then keep going on foot."
"That's your plan?"
"I don't know! I don't even know where this town is! How do you expect me to think of a plan when I don't know where to go in the first place, genius?"
"Damn, kid. You need to chill."
"Just tell me where it is."
"Southwest of the coliseum. You teleport to Alexandria and sprint out of that bloodbath as soon as possible. Sneak through the coliseum while continually pushing south, then when you exit go west and you should see the city somewhere along those lines."
"Alright."
"Also… I'll accept the offer. After we make it to Stone Tower."
"You're coming too?"
"Me and my guild-mate, also IRL friend Sko."
. . .
-From: Mell
-Open?
-Yes -No
-dont leave just yet, ill be there in a bit
-Kirito: hurry up
-Kirito: what are you even doing
-Mell: i found some potions at this npc shop way across town, thought you would need it
She seems much nicer in chat than actually talking to her. Strange.
I used to be like that as well until I stopped talking to my family and people at my school altogether.
"Who was that?" asks Gabe.
"Mell. She has some potions she found, we'll have to wait just a bit longer."
"Don't you mean potions for you?"
I give Gabe a long, cold glare. He bursts out laughing before July changes the subject.
"Alright, guys, there's this thing my family likes to do when a family member is going to be gone for a while, or is doing something dangerous: write a note to a person or a group of people in case they die. Y'all wanna do that?"
"Wait!" Mell shouts, coming out of nowhere. "B-but nobody will die, right? R-right?"
"Hopefully not," I tell her. "But hey! I can't predict the future, can I?"
She slaps me, like really hard.
"You idiot! Be serious about this! If you die, I'll - I'll -"
"You'll what?" I ask her, laughing. "I'll be dead, so it won't matter!"
She slaps me again, but not as hard. Then, she points in my face, and says, "I'll find a way to bring you back to life just so I can beat the shit out of you."
I continually laugh in response.
Laker eventually comes around and we all chat away before saying our goodbyes, and then Klein and his friend Sko walk in on the scene.
"We ready?" I ask.
"We ready," Klein replies.
Just before all of us excluding Laker and Mell teleport, Mell exclaims, "BE SAFE!"
And then we're there. In that city.
Back in Alexandria.
Year 1, Day 3
Floor 1
Alexandria
I quickly scan the premises; the overarching gate is behind me, shops and such are off to the left and right, and out in front of me is a concrete road and a group of players running about. I turn my head to see my guild, Klein, and his friend all doing the same. I then spot Gabe, and we make eye contact before we nod at each other, then begin running for the exit from Alexandria. And our guild follows us.
That is, until Klein's friend, Sko, suddenly appears with an arrow jutting from his upper chest. He collapses onto the ground in front of all of us as his health begins draining fast before he eventually splits into a million pieces and disappears. I turn my head back to the road that leads deeper into Alexandria to see a player with a bow, standing there, looking on at us. He grabs another arrow from his quiver, before I say, "Wait!"
I hold my hands up and slowly walk towards him. A couple of his guildmates are watching a bit behind him, and look as if they want the archer to shoot an arrow through my virtual skull.
"We're not here to fight anybody! We're leaving right now, so please, don't hurt us!"
"Then why the hell did you geniuses teleport here?"
"Shortcut to Stone Tower."
"The hell's Stone Tower?"
"A city southwest of here. Did you read the newsletter yesterday?"
"Newsletter? The shit? People actually read those? Well, whatever. Get outta here before I impale anotha' one of you bastards with an arrow."
I'm filled with relief and turn back around, until Klein starts screaming.
"YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!" he abruptly screeches, charging at the archer. I begin running after him until the rest of my guild does as well.
"YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHO HE WAS! WHO HE WAS GOING TO BE AFTER WE MADE IT OUT OF THIS DEATH GAME!"
He continues charging at him, pulling out his sword, and attempts to land a jab on him; the archers sidesteps and lands a nasty kick on his side, launching him off to the side. I rush over to him and put my hands up again, mouthing the words, "shit, shit, shit, shit."
"You lot are more stupid than I thought," he says, shooting another arrow at us. In an instant, I unsheathe my sword and slice the arrow out of midair, splitting it into two perfect pieces.
"You shoot again, you'll regret it. You just killed his best friend, it's only natural for him to have that kind of reaction. We'll be on our way - without any further problems. Are we clear?"
There's about a minute of silence. Awkward, tense silence, until the archer, whose name is Tero, starts speaking.
"Y'know, for a moment, I thought I was having a bit of a revelation. I was like, 'I'm actually letting people live, for once. Am I a good person now, or what?' and then this asshole was like, 'you spared most of us instead of killing us all so Imma kill you!' so now I'm gonna kill ya."
"Did you not understand any of what I said? If you shoot, you'll regret it. And it'll be the worst decision you'll ever make, and it may very well be your last."
Why am I being so over-confident? I think. Like, I don't even know if I can take this guy, but this just feels like a natural reaction. Like this has been my attitude towards things for years.
Interesting.
"Kirito, just run!" July yells out.
"Nah," I reply to her. "This'll be easy."
Tero, the archer, shoots another arrow and I slice it in half; I try to rush Klein back to my guild, but instead, he chooses to fight alongside me. We make our way towards him, and he pulls out a dagger, as his fellow guild mates message for backup. Tero tries to stab me, but I duck under his swing and trip him; before he tries to stand back up Gabe appears out of nowhere, and throws the last of the cripple potion on Tero. Lonius and July arrive on the scene as well.
"July, keep your bow pointed at this asshole, alright?" I request of her. She nods.
"Hey, you two!" I shout at the two of Tero's guildmates messaging for help. They look up at me in panic.
"If you don't want him dead you'd better cancel your messages."
"We've already sent them," one of them says.
"Then tell them it was a false alarm."
"O-on it."
I look back at Klein, who's still processing his friend's death. His sad expression suddenly changes into a furious expression, and he grabs Tero's dagger lying on the ground and stabs Tero in the forehead; he instantly dies, and disappears.
"K-klein… what the hell? Do you know what you just did?"
"I don't care. You don't understand."
"I don't care if you think I don't understand, and frankly I don't care if I think I understand! Now we're all dead!"
He realizes what he's just done after his blind rage ends, and closes his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't save our asses. Get up."
I'm angry, and worried, at the same time. The two other guildmates of the now deceased Tero and furiously typing on their virtual keyboards, probably telling their guild to come back. I turn back, and yell, "RUN!" and we all sprint for the Alexandria exit. Three players teleport there just as we approach the arch, and we come to an abrupt stop, and start running in the other direction. They all begin chasing us, further and further into Alexandria.
. . .
It's been two hours since we teleported to Alexandria and we've already screwed up big time.
We're hiding in a shop with a convenient room hidden to the public eye; Gabe said he had found some kind of invisibility potion that hides doors. I haven't messaged Mell or Laker yet, and honestly I'm kind of scared to, especially on the former.
But I decide to anyways. I form a group chat with Mell and Laker and send a message.
-Group Chat
-Kirito adds Mell and Laker to the group.
-Kirito: guys
-Laker: whats going on
-Kirito: we're in kind of a bind
-Mell: huh? why did you add me to this stupid thing?
-Kirito: to put it bluntly we're being hunted by one of the major alexandrian guilds because klein killed one of their members out of rage when said member shot sko in the chest and killed him
-Mell: can you stop doing this i know you think its funny to make me worried but its really annoying
-Laker: haha
-Kirito: no im being serious
-Kirito: i'm not lying, we're hiding in a restaurant right now
-Kirito: look ill even add july to the chat
-Kirito adds July to the group.
"July, tell them what's going on," I tell her from across the dimly lit room.
-July: yes we are being hunted and kleins friend died
-Laker: hey july
-July: heyyy
-Laker: wyd
-July: chillin, wbu?
-Laker: same
-Mell: CAN YOU GUYS PLEASE STOP THAT
-Kirito: ^
-xGabrielx adds himself to the group.
-Kirito: what
-July: what
-Laker: what
-Mell: KIRITO ARE YOU REALLY BEING HUNTED I SWEAR IF YOU'RE LYING ILL KILL YOU
-xGabrielx: what
-Kirito: how did you add yourself
-xGabrielx: magic
-Mell: IF YOURE NOT LYING ILL STILL KILL YOU BECAUSE YOU GOT YOURSELF INTO THAT SHIT
-Laker: so he dead either way
-Mell: yes
-xGabrielx: if it werent for my invisibility potion we would all be dead
-Kirito: tru
-July: gabe where do you even find all of this stuff
-xGabrielx: lol i explored town at one point and found all of these really cool stores no one has ever visited
-Mell: But are you guys seriously okay? Can you all make it out of there? Or should we come?
-Kirito: no were fine
-July: not really
-xGabrielx renamed the group "lol we're all dead"
-xGabrielx has left the group.
-Kirito: let's hope we see the light of day come tomorrow. cheers
-Kirito has left the group.
"Well, do we have a plan?" I ask my guild, and Klein. We're all sitting in a sort-of circle; the lighting is dim, as the only light source is coming from the cracks in the door leading into the shop. We're in some kind of storage room, I think. Weird for a virtual shop to have physical storage, but whatever.
"Kirito, Mell's freaking out in the group chat," July tells me.
"In other news, grass is green." I jokingly reply. Gabe chuckles.
Klein, still seeming a bit "off," pulls up a map from his menu.
"What's that?" I ask him.
"It's - um… the map of Alexandria, why?"
"Alright. Do you know where we'll be heading?"
"That's why I pulled up the map. But honestly, I think we should just teleport back to Northern Lights so no further damage is caused."
"Can't do that," Gabe interrupts. "Their guild has, apparently, 'declared war' on our two guilds, and we can't teleport away while we're 'in war'."
"Since when is that a feature?" July asks.
"Dunno. But I guess the three main guilds fighting for this city have all declared war on each other so none of them can escape, at least not easily. There's exactly three exits to Alexandria, but we can only teleport to one since we've only been to one. They all control one exit/entrance, but regularly cross each other's boundaries."
"How do you know this?"
"Oh. I added myself to this one group chat. Pretty interesting stuff."
"How do you do that?"
He puts his hands up in a wavy motion and looks at me with this strange smile.
"Magic."
We continue chatting away, unaware of the imminent danger lying all around us. Sooner or later, we'll have to find a way out of here, but how… I don't know.
But we will.
And that much, I know.
A/N: Had a lot of chat stuff in this one. Hopefully this story won't get taken down because of that, because I think stuff like that isn't allowed, but I'm not sure. Maybe it's for stories with only chatbox-dialogue. Dunno.
Twitter: byzeldro
Tumblr: zeldro
Review Response for Chapter 3: The Item
Guest "Hopeful Guest": ...Not EVERYONE has to die... :{
Besides, isn't the whole point of a restart to hopefully end up with a better result than the first time?
(This isn't "Stee1 & Sw0rds" by the author Crysina, which is directly tagged as a "Tragedy" and more than delivers on this.)
If not, then I suppose you could have multiple restarts, but given the slow pace with Floor, Year, and Day emphasis, I doubt you are planning on going this route...
Also, as one word of advice, people may be more familiar/comfortable with canon characters than OCs. In other words, more tears may be shed for a canon death than an OC one. In fact, lesser-developed canon characters can serve as de-facto OCs. Just some things to keep in mind.
I'm not sure what made you think I'd be killing everyone off, but I'm not. This ain't gonna be no Game of Thrones. However, for the sake of the plot characters will die. New OCs will come, and also canon characters will come into play as well. But don't expect a major death every couple chapters.
Your comment about multiple resets just gave me a great idea for part two, BTW.
And I'll take your advice into consideration. Thanks for the review, guest.
Gussy Phantom: You introduced Klein! Whoo! I can't wait to see what other cannon characters you introduce! It'll be cool to see what happens if Klein's guild ends up staying with Mell's guild. Things would get pretty interesting. I can't wait to see what happens! Keep up the great work!
Klein's my favorite, so naturally I had to introduce him first. I guess if Klein shared Northern Lights w/ the Strikers (kiritos guild) then they'd be much safer, but that require communication and cooperation, something Kirito isn't too good at, at least for now. But hey, who knows what will happen? Wait. I know. But still! You get the point! Thanks for the review!
