Chapter 1: Bonds
"Now, I have finished the official tutorial for Sword Art Online. Players – I wish you luck."
The hooded, robed figure representing Kayaba Akihiko slowly turned around, addressing that final statement to the whole of the plaza. As the avatar turned to face Kirito's direction, the black-haired swordsman tensed.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Kirito thought that the empty space under the hood stared at him for a little longer, an unnatural pause in the Kayba's rotation. He felt a sense of satisfaction emanate from the creator of Sword Art Online, as if a wry smile had been placed on Akihiko's face.
Kayaba Akihiko slowly rose into the sky. The heads and shoulders of the avatar liquefied as they neared the bottom of the 2nd floor, assimilating into one pool of blood. The rest of the robes followed. Giving off a quick sucking sound, the stain vanished into the hexagonal pattern of SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT messages.
The system messages vanished, leaving behind the blue color of the ceiling. Birds chirped as they flew overhead, and the clock tower gave off a reverberating chime as the hands indicated 6:00 PM.
An eerie silence descended upon the occupants of the square. From the big and bulky axe wielders to the lithe and thin thieves, all the players stood stunned, not wanting to believe what they just heard was true.
A cry echoed through the silence, and the spell was suddenly broken. Everyone began to protest, scream, and run wild at the same time.
"What…. What is this!?"
"It's a joke right...? The hell is this? It's a joke right!?"
"Stop joking around! Let me out! Let me out of here!"
"No! You can't! I've got a big business meeting soon!"
"I don't like this! I'm wanna go home! I want to go home!"
"We… we're really gonna die? I don't wanna die!"
When the last exclamation reached Kirito's ears, his mind abruptly cleared.
Real death.
If your HP reached zero in game, the NerveGear would fry your brain and stop all your basic functions, thus killing you. Virtual death meant real death.
This is no longer a game.
The NerveGear has turned from a revolutionary game device to a cage, a trap that held ten thousand people between life and death. Even though he actually couldn't, Kirito thought he could feel the helmet on his head, a crouching insect embracing his head.
Ready to kill him.
No escape.
"...Klein."
"..."
Klein simply stood there, mouth slightly agape. As a result of Kayaba's conversion, his previous handsome, youthful face had been replaced by a crooked nose and a small beard.
Kirito himself had reverted to his real life appearance as well. His eyes had turned back to their original black, and his face was once again quite feminine. His hair, customized to be short, now hung between his eyes. His body was no longer as strongly built as before; Kirito probably had lost about 10 pounds in virtual muscle.
In fact, everyone around them looked like they did in reality. All the exotic hair colors from before, such as blue, green, and the like, had disappeared; only black, brown, and the occasional blonde remained.
Disturbingly, some guys were also dressed in female armor.
This… is reality.
"...Klein!" Kirito repeated, with more force.
Klein's mouth moved. "...pizza."
This time, when Kirito smashed his hilt into Klein's face, a bight purple system effect flashed out, and Klein jerked back. Due to the AREA CODE, Klein's HP didn't decrease one bit.
However, Klein didn't know this yet.
"Hey! You do know you're bringing me closer to my death, right!?"
Kirito's hand shot out, grabbed Klein's collar, and forcefully dragged him out of the plaza. Since they were lucky enough to have been transported to the edge of the plaza, Kirito was quickly able to navigate them both out between the hysterical players. As he passed by a group of young boys sobbing quietly on the ground, crying for their mothers, Kirito's mouth tightened.
When they stepped out onto the street, it was deserted. Nobody else had exited the plaza yet; most of the players were still in there, too distraught to act. Kirito, still dragging Klein, quickly walked halfway down the road.
Kirito looked around. Satisfied that they were alone, he released Klein's collar.
"...Klein. Klein, listen to me." The words came out tense.
Klein, looking slightly punch drunk, stared blankly at Kirito.
"Listen. We have got to get out of this city right now... I'm heading over to the next village, Horunka Village. You should come with me."
Klein didn't say anything, simply gesturing with his hand for Kirito to continue.
"...You know about MMORPGs. It's a battle between players to build up the strongest character... When those in the plaza recover from their shock, they'll most likely begin to hunt all the monsters around starting city. It will take forever for the monsters to respawn... and that would mean people training here would most likely fall behind, and there might even be fights over the experience and col. If we go to the next village, there will be less players, and it'll be easier to train. Even if the average monster level there is 3, I know all their weak spots and any dangerous areas, so we should be fine even though we're still level one."
It was the first time Kirito had talked for such a long time. However, Klein still hesitated.
"...I have some friends that I bought this game with. The five of us... we stood in line all night. They're probably in the plaza right now. I need to help them... I can't just leave them. They're my pals." He looked at Kirito hopefully. "Could you... bring them along?"
"..."
Kirito hesitated. Not because he was against the idea of helping more people, but because having too many people along would make it harder for him to protect them.
If it were just Klein and possibly one more person, Kirito would have been reasonably confident in protecting them from the higher-leveled monsters in Horunka Village. However, with the burden of protecting 6 people, including Klein, Kirito's confidence dropped substantially.
Had Sword Art Online still been a normal game, Kirito would have had no problem taking the entire party along, but with the new rule of death, he wasn't sure he could keep them all alive. Since all revival items and abilities had been disabled, once a man died, he died. There would be no way to bring him back.
If one of Klein's friends died, under his care... it would fall on Kirito to accept the blame of his death. Such a responsibility... Kirito could not handle the idea of it.
Klein studied Kirito's face, reading his hesitation. In an uncharacteristic moment of clarity, he understood why Kirito was hesitating.
"If you don't feel alright, it's okay... I used to be a guildmaster, you know, in the previous game I played. I guess I'll make do with what you've taught me so far. I can't rely on you forever... I have my pride as an adult to uphold, you know." Klein smiled slyly. "So don't worry. I can take care of myself. Go on to the village." He waved his hand. "I'll catch you later."
Still, Kirito hesitated.
Now that it had come to it, he realized that he didn't want to leave Klein. Klein had a light, easygoing personality, and it was clear that he valued his friends. In the short time they had known each other, Kirito found he actually liked the man.
Kirito, as a solo MMORPG player, was more accustomed to solace than quest parties. Now, he wanted Klein to stay with him; a partner that he could rely on, especially in this world where death was real.
But, he knew, Klein had his friends to take care of. They had known him for far longer than Kirito had. It was irrational to believe that Klein would abandon his friends just to go along with him.
But all the same...
"...okay..." murmured Kirito.
Klein patted him on the back, saying a few encouraging words. With a smile, he manipulated his menu and caused a notice to pop up in front of Kirito.
|| Klein would like to be your friend!
|| - Accept
|| - Decline
Kirito quickly selected "Accept" and the notice vanished. With a small chime, the message, "Klein has been added to your friends list!" appeared.
"Well, here we part." said Kirito. If one listened carefully, they maybe could have caught the slight sadness in his tone. "If anything happens... send me a PM. I'll help in any way I can... Let's meet again someday."
"...Kirito, you're not the kind of person to be alone."
"...?" Kirito looked at Klein with one eyebrow raised.
"What I mean is... you don't have to always go by yourself. I'm sure being a solo doesn't suit you... I'm sure you'll find someone you can relate to."
Kirito simply stared at Klein, not comprehending.
"Ah, well... see ya later. Maybe we can share a pizza. Do they sell them anywhere in game?" Klein instinctively ducked.
Kirito paused, then simply chuckled. "Perhaps the ingredients do, but you would have to cook them yourself." He turned around. "Farewell."
It sounded very final, that farewell.
Kirito had taken ten steps when he heard Klein call his name. "Kirito!"
He turned to face Klein.
"You look pretty good in real life! Quite stylish!" Klein called with a smile. He waved.
That set a sad smile on Kirito's face. He shouted back:
"You too, Klein! You look ten times better in reality!"
Then he whipped around and ran off, down the streets of Starting City. Leaving behind Klein, still waving silently, the first friend Kirito had made in Sword Art Online.
He didn't look back.
An odd pressure squeezed Kirito's heart. Despite not knowing consciously what it was, his body seemed to recognize it.
It felt rather familiar.
A voice whispered in his mind, What a big fool you are, Kirito.
Kirito's goal was the northwest gate. Past that, he would race through the plains area surrounding starting city, the forest beyond, and finally arrive in Horunka Village.
The quickest way to the northwest gate was to simply head that way from the plaza. Unfortunately, the plaza was completely packed with players, and as luck would have it, Kirito and Klein had exited the plaza out the Southeast passage.
Silently mouthing a curse in his mind, Kirito swiped his hand to draw an elaborate symbol in the air, bringing out the map.
Maps were usually not available, as players had to either buy the map data from an NPC or map an area themselves. While buying the data was relatively safer than mapping unknown territory, most of areas in Aincrad were not available through NPCs. Instead, they had to be mapped by a player first, then circulated through player merchants. There were exceptions though: the Starting City map was provided to all players, and many villages had NPCs outside that instantly awarded players with the map data.
In order for a player to map their own data, they had to level up their scan skill. Once they did so, they could toggle the Map Recording function in the skills menu, which automatically recorded maps as the player explored. The higher the level, the more accurate the map recorded would be.
Of course, one could physically draw the map on a piece of parchment with some kind of writing utensil. However, players were usually advised not to due to the fact that actively mapping the area made players vulnerable to monster ambushes.
Drawing his finger across the floating image of Starting City, Kirito instantly refreshed his memory of the place from the Beta period. From his position, the fastest route would be through one of the inner circle paths of the city.
Logically, he should walk back to the plaza and walk around it to the Northwest street, but people would have been exiting the plaza by now. There would be a huge crowd; that would slow him down.
Also, Klein was most probably there, and Kirito did not want to meet Klein at the moment.
In the end, Kirito ran through the smallest inner circle of Starting City. As it was a popular place for people to wander, many NPC stores lined the streets. Usually, they would hawk their wares to the many players passing by. However, as there only Kirito was there, most of the NPCs were silent. Several of them had even closed their shops for the day. Even as Kirito passed by the stalls, shutters were closed and CLOSED signs were hung.
Pretty soon, the street was completely deserted.
Which would have suited a solo player like Kirito just fine, if he hadn't had such an alien feeling of longing in his chest. Ever since he left Klein, there seemed to be a tight band wrapped around his heart.
Kirito tried to ignore the sensation, but he eventually stopped in the street, breathing deeply. He leaned against a nearby column and and took a deep breath.
I feel so lonely.
The thought stunned him. As a solo player, he had always preferred to be alone. He had welcomed the feeling of isolation.
Parties and friends had always been considered a burden.
But now, in Sword Art Online, he felt lonely... something he had never experienced before.
He actually wanted a companion, someone like Klein.
Sighing, Kirito shook his head. Not the time, he thought.
Right now, he had to hurry on to Horunka Village. There, he should immediately take the Secret Medicine of the Forest quest, allowing him to obtain an Anneal Blade, one of the strongest weapons one could have on the first floor.
Survival first.
Kirito pounded his fist against the wall he leaned on.
Survival is the most important in a death game such as this.
Grimacing, Kirito pushed his loneliness aside. He shook his head, straightened up, and took off running-
-only to trip over something and promptly fall flat on his face.
"Ow... what..?"
Muttering exclamations of surprise, he turned his head to look at what had tripped him.
It was a girl.
A girl Kirito could have sworn had not been lying there a second ago.
Shifting into a crouching position, Kirito got up from where he lay and studied her incredulously. Covering a thin and petite face, her hair was a dark shade black, flowing smoothly from the top of her head to her shoulders. Perhaps a little shorter than Kirito, she possessed a light, slender build. A peaceful, neutral expression lay on her face. It seemed improbable, but Kirito thought he recognized her from somewhere.
As he focused on her, her cursor appeared above her head, a bright green color, signalling that she was a player.
Her armor was that of a beginner's, a basic chest plate along with a leather shirt and pants, color customized white. However, her weapon, a one-handed sword, appeared to be of very high quality. The handle was dyed a deep blue and the hilt was interwoven with intricate golden designs; the sheath was a simple white color. It glowed dully in the late afternoon sun.
The girl was apparently asleep, but in Aincrad it was hard to tell; people didn't naturally breathe, nor could one feel another person's heartbeat. A player could deliberately take a breath, but Sword Art Online avatars had no subconscious instinct to do so. She was definitely not dead; the HP bar next to her was still full.
What nagged at Kirito was the fact that the girl had not been there when Kirito was leaning against the column. He vividly remembered straightening up, taking a step forward-
-then tripping over something that had appeared in his path. No matter how he searched his memory, Kirito could not find any sign of the girl being there before he took the step that tripped him.
It was as if the girl had come into existence at that very moment.
People did not just appear out of thin air, not even in Sword Art Online. Instant transport could only be achieved by a moderator's Mass Recall, or a teleport/corridor crystal, but those were accompanied by flashy effects. In this case, no sounds or lights had been made.
It then struck Kirito that he had been staring at the unconscious girl for over fifteen seconds.
What should I do? flashed across his mind.
He could either help the girl or just leave her there.
I should just leave her, I need to hurry to Horunka Village and quickly complete the Secret Medicine of the Forest quest...
But I've heard enough Inside-Area PK stories for me to consider her unsafe... not to mention now that death is real.
...maybe... I could just take her to the nearest inn.
Deciding on that course of action, Kirito took a deep breath, then picked the girl up. He staggered, not expecting her to be so light.
As if in response to his action, the girl stirred.
"Ugh..."
Startled, Kirito nearly dropped her. He quickly reaffirmed his grip, and held her in a vertical position, leaning against the wall. He carefully watched her.
The girl's eyes slowly flickered open. Her eyes were a deep black, sparkling slightly. She took a large, shuddering breath.
"..ah..."
Her eyes wandered off for a second, then refocused on Kirito's face. She cocked her head as if trying to remember something, then shook it.
"...I...um..." she muttered.
Kirito frowned slightly. "Are you okay?"
The girl blinked several times. "Um... who are you?"
Her voice was soft, melodious.
"My name is Kirito... who are you?"
She opened her mouth to answer, then paused. "I..." She clutched her head. "My name... Wait...who...?"
Kirito began to grow concerned. "Is there.. something wrong?"
"What.. no... why? I'm... I am..."
The girl looked up. Though it might have just been his imagination, Kirito thought he could see fear in her eyes.
"I... I..."
She swallowed and managed to choke out, "I... don't remember... anything."
"Wut."
The word came out exactly how it was spelled.
The girl cringed, then whimpered, "I... who...I am? Where...I...? My...remember...?"
Wordlessly, Kirito looked down at her as the girl shook her head, trying to clear it.
Memory loss... it was possible to have one's memory damaged by excessive radiation. The NerveGear operated by redirecting the signals sent from the brain to the body, sending it's own waves in response to stimulate the 5 senses. The NerveGear sensors, as explained in the earlier tutorial, could also emit high frequencies of some kind of magnetic pulse, which would burn out the human brain.
But what if someone could survive that electromagnetic pulse? If by some slim chance the player could resist most of the waves, they would still certainly have received some form of brain damage...
Was this girl someone who had died in game, but managed to survive the having her brain burnt out?
"Do you... remember anything? Anything at all?" Kirito asked tentatively. "Any names? Places? Faces?"
She screwed her eyes shut for a moment, then shook her head once again.
"..." Kirito's eyes narrowed.
Damn you, Akihiko.
A girl like this, unaware of even her own name, would not have lasted a single day in Aincrad now that death was real. No memory... she probably had somehow survived having her brain burnt out.
The weapon on her back looked to be of very high quality, but Kirito could not recall ever seeing such a sword during the beta. Perhaps it was from a quest he didn't know about yet... Most likely she had been questing out in the wilds on the first floor, and accidentally died there.
But if so... didn't Kayaba say that all revival items and methods had been disabled?
Even if someone survived the pulse, how would they find their way back into the world? After all, the revival platform in the Black Iron Castle had been disabled, and all revive crystals were gone from the game. A survivor would have returned to the real world, their NerveGear deactivated.
And how did she just appear in front of him? Even if revival was enabled, the only revival platform in the game was in the Black Iron Castle.
"Um... your name... was it Kirito?"
The girl seemed to have given up on trying to recall her memories. She looked sadly at Kirito.
"Er, yes. It is Kirito... do you remember anything now?"
"...no... but, Kirito... do you know who I am?" A hopeful tone crept into her voice.
Kirito was silent for a while. Then he asked, "I'm sorry... but no."
The girl seemed to deflate, letting out a long sigh. She looked at the ground.
"...anything?" Kirito tried one last time. "Do you remember anything? Any names? Your name?"
The girl lifted her head and gave him a long, searching look. She seemed to be deep in thought.
"...my name? ...Mane?"
"Mane?"
"...that's...I remember...I think."
AN: Mane is pronounced m-äh-ne, in Japanese, まね. Not mane, horse hair.
Kirito laid his hand on her shoulder. "So... your name is Mane?"
She hesitated. "Mane... Mane... I think so."
Mane, as she was now known, looked around. She seemed at lost at what to do next, thinking about her new name.
"Mane, do you know about Sword Art Online?"
She looked up. "Sword... Art... Online?"
"Yes."
"Um... I think so... first virtual reality MMORPG? ...a game?" She blinked twice. "What's an MMORPG? Virtual Reality?"
So she did know about Aincrad. She must have been a player...
But her memories appear to be randomly fragmented and erased... she remembers some things, but not others...
"...Mane, this world around you, is Sword Art Online. This is a game."
"A game? ...a form of play... so... this is fake?"
"...yes. There's a real world. But the creator of this game has trapped all the gamers in Sword Art Online."
Mane shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "But... this isn't a the real world? So nothing here is real?"
Kirito sighed. "Nothing... but our minds and death. The creator has also made it so that if we die here, we die in real life."
Mane's eyes widened. "If we die here... Hp gone? Die in real life?"
"...yes."
"...what is real life?"
The question caught Kirito off guard. She has no memories of reality... That's bad...
"Real life... it is a world that is free. Everyone trapped here used to live there, you, me, and all the players... it's reality, our original world. Our physical bodies are still there... People can do whatever they want... but if they go against the rules they will be punished... but they can still do what they want. It's a world with... no limits."
"...free? No limits?" Mane sunk into a deep silence. "...I...would like that..."
Kirito studied her face for a little while longer, then looked around. He suddenly realized, that the sun was far lower than before. He quickly swiped out his chronometer; around 15 minutes had passed.
Darn it, I need to get to Horunka Village!
"Mane... I need to go."
"What?" Mane snapped out of her daze.
"I have to go, there's somewhere I have to go... do you know where's the nearest inn?" Kirito set his map to public and showed Mane, who was silent. "Here... you'll be safe here."
"...Kirito?" Her voice was small.
"...yes?" I need to go!
"I...can I go with you?"
"No." Kirito instinctively belted out. As a solo player, it had always been his response.
Mane's face froze. She seemed surprised.
"Look, there's somewhere I need to go to... It's a dangerous place. I can't have someone weighing me down..."
The words rang cruelly in Kirito's ears. Is this how I'm always like? As a solo player?
No... I need to do this... this is survival. She'll be safe in Starting City.
Mane's tone became desperate. "But... I... I...want to see... the real world. I... want to learn..."
Kirito looked at her in silence.
"...I...don't want to... die. But.. I want to help."
"Stay in starting city. Go to that inn. You should be fine. You'll be free someday."
"I-I... I want to help! Please... can you help me?"
He turned his back on her and walked away.
Before he had even taken 5 steps, he stopped and looked over his shoulder.
Mane was still standing, leaning against the wall where Kirito had propped her. Her head hung on her shoulders, and-
-Kirito could just make out tear tracks lining her cheeks.
Abruptly, the memory of the first day Kirito had tried an MMORPG swam to the front of his mind. As a level 1 newbie, he had had absolutely no idea of what to do.
When he did try to ask people about the game, they just said things like "Buzz off, noob", "Go away. You're too weak", or even fake instructions followed by a "Trollolololol."
However, by far the most common response, and the most hurtful, was "F*** u B****. Ur jst a n00b. U suk."
It wasn't the bad grammar and spelling that made Kirito sick; it was the fact that people actually dared to say those kinds of words to other people.
To him.
Kirito recalled that feeling.
He had never really excelled in real life. His grades were average, his uncle gave up on teaching him Kendo, and he never really felt that he fit in reality. He felt a sense of no purpose.
Then, Kirito started playing MMORPGs. Quickly becoming proficient, he became a top level player in many different games. Those games felt like a second, successful life to him.
But when he had first started, those players who treated him like scum nearly made him quit that game on the first day. Kirito had actually teared up when he saw how the other players viewed him.
Those other players nearly killed off that second life before Kirito could find his happiness... They gave him that feeling of being alone, with no one to help.
Despair. Uselessness. The feeling of no purpose in life.
Certainly that was what Mane was feeling.
As Kirito continued to look at Mane's tear-streaked face, he realized-
-not only did she know nothing about the game, she didn't have any knowledge about herself either.
Aincrad was not like the other games. It was a life and death situation. The slightest mistake could get you killed.
Sword Art Online was the only world Mane knew. She didn't have another world she could escape to. She had no idea what to do. She had no idea who she was...
But what she did know was that she could die very, very easily. She was scared.
And the person she asked for help turned her down and basically called her a burden, useless. The same as those players did to him many years ago.
Kirito felt ashamed of himself.
When..? When did I become like this?
Then he remembered Klein's words.
"You don't have to always go by yourself. I'm sure being a solo doesn't suit you... I'm sure you'll find someone you can relate to."
The words still didn't really make that much sense to Kirito.
But at the same time, he did understand what they meant, at least unconsciously.
The sight of Mane, silent with tears tracking down her face, reminded Kirito of himself. When he had received all those hateful and dismissive words from those players, he had cried as well. He had wondered, How could people be so mean?
Now, Kirito realized, he was the mean one.
Now that he was the one with the knowledge of the game, Kirito denied to help anyone as long as it inconvenienced him.
Replacing the memory, a twisted figment of Kirito's imagination popped up. It was the same as the memory of his first MMORPG day, except for the fact that the elitist players all had Kirito's face , and Kirito's old avatar had changed into Mane.
Mane was pleading for help, tears in her eyes.
The faces all bent into unrealistically grotesque forms. The mouths opened.
"Buzz off."
"**** u. Ur jst a useless n00b!"
"Trololololololol!"
Kirito clutched his head with one hand. I... why?
A voice echoed in his mind. Do what you think is right.
Kirito didn't move for several minutes.
Then he turned around and walked back towards Mane. He stopped in front of her, and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Mane..."
She looked up, her face streaked with liquid. Her face looked exactly like the one the Mane in Kirito's warped memory wore.
That heartbreaking look broke down the last of his selfishness. "...I'll help you."
"...ehh?" Her eyes widened. The tears that were trapped in there spilled out.
"Do you...want to come...with me? I...I'll help you..." Kirito managed to stutter out.
"Really?"
"...I...yes, really..."
The tears were let loose, and they flowed without restraint down Mane's face. "Thank you!" she squealed.
She hugged him viciously around the waist, burying her head in his chest. Stunned, Kirito fell over backwards, landing with a "oomf!" on the pavement.
He lay still for a few moments, then tilted his head to look at her. Mane had both her eyes squeezed shut, and the tears on her face were quickly drying.
Strangely, the act of offering help to her seemed to have removed a large amount of stress from his heart; like an iron band had been removed from his chest, a band he had never known was there. An emotion Kirito didn't recognize welled up in his chest.
As a solo player, the only emotions he had really experienced were disappointment and satisfaction. Disappointment, when thing didn't go his way, and satisfaction when they did. He didn't have anyone to care for, anyone to care for him. Kirito usually stayed far away from everyone around him, playing only to obtain the satisfaction of being a successful player.
He had never really helped another player in any game in the past.
It was only now, when he agreed to help Klein, and then Mane, that he realized the feeling he had felt was happiness. Happiness at being together with others.
Offering to help Mane made Kirito feel happy. It was a feeling he had never experienced before.
Kirito lay there for a while, then suddenly realized time was slipping away. He quickly reoriented himself into a vertical position, dragging Mane with him. "Mane, we have to go"
"mmmmf?" Mane muffed through Kirito's leather armor.
Kirito gently peeled her off and set her on the ground. "We have to leave for the next village... Horunka village. I need a do a quest there to obtain a pretty good sword, the Anneal Blade..." His eyes lit upon the sword on her back. "um... Mane, do you remember anything about the sword on your back? It looks to be of pretty high quality."
Mane appeared to be relieved, albeit a bit flustered. Her cheeks were tinged with pink. "Umm..." she twisted her head to look at the blade. "..I... dunno."
"Can you show it to me?" Kirito reached out with his hand for the weapon.
Mane obliged, unhooking the plain leather scabbard from her back skillfully, then pausing as she tried to remember how she did that. She cocked her head, mouth slightly open, forgetting she needed to hand the weapon over.
Kirito raised an eyebrow. Clearly, she used to be a player of SAO. Anyone could draw their weapon easily, but not many beginners could unhook their sheaths in a single fluid movement. He gently took the sword from her hands, and examined it.
The scabbard was a plain one, simple leather with decorative thatching along the sides. It had been dyed a dark shade of gray. In Sword Art Online, weapon sheaths automatically fit themselves to the weapon contained within them, as long as they were in the right category. For example, this sheath could be used for a myriad of swords, but a dagger-type weapon would not fit in it. While they provided some minor combat stats, sheaths were generally used for decoration and utility.
The sword inside however, was a different story entirely. Kirito drew it out; it flashed once in the fading sunlight. It was obviously of a very high quality. A light, iridescent blue, the blade seemed to shimmer and waver in the afternoon sun. The handle was of the same color; it felt to be of wood. Golden threads weaved about the hilt, giving it a unique sheen. All in all, it gave the impression of a shifting wave of water, or some other glossy substance.
It was certainly a fine weapon, but how did Mane manage to obtain it on the first floor?
Tapping it twice, Kirito selected the weapon details info menu. A small window with the stats popped up.
Name: Historica
That was interesting. A weapon with a unique name was extremely rare on the first floor. All sword users started out with the Basic Sword, the Iron Sword was available at all shops, and the Anneal Blade was available from the Secret Medicine of the Forest quest, but there were unlimited quantities of those weapons.
Weapons with personalized names, a real name, were virtually unheard of on floors beneath the 30th. For a weapon to have it's own name on the 1st floor, that was impossible... yet here it was.
The next few lines of text surprised Kirito.
Stats:
Attack Bonus: 0-0
Strength: +0
Agility: +0
Vitality: +0
Sharpness: 0
Quickness: 0
Accuracy: 0
Heaviness: 50
Durability: 9999
No combat base stats at all. This was never heard of before. Even the basic sword had an attack bonus of 10, +1 in all three basic stats and some accuracy. The Anneal Blade had an A.B. of 30, +5 in the first 3 categories, and 3 sharpness, accuracy, and quickness. This weapon had a zero in all combat stats... in effect, a "dead weapon". It didn't enhance anything; all it did was serve as a medium for attacking. Another curious thing was the fact that it appeared to have max durability, which meant it would never break...
Such a beautiful weapon... It was almost impossible to believe a unique weapon could be completely useless.
Kirito glanced up, looking at Mane. She was checking her armor, grasping at memories that should have been there, but weren't. He looked back down at the information again.
His eyes widened.
Enhancements: 0/999,999
Infinite Enhancements.
Impossible.
The enhancement system in Sword Art Online was similar to that of most MMORPGs. Collect the reagents, bring them to a blacksmith, whether player or NPC, and have them increase the stat of your choice: Sharpness, Quickness, Accuracy, Heaviness, and Durability. Strength, Agility, and Vitality were preset to every weapon, and could not be changed. Enhancing heaviness would decrease the weight. Durability determined the stability of the weapon; increasing it did not require an enhancement slot, but the rest of the process was the same. There was a chance of failure during enhancement, though, therefore wasting the reagents and a player's precious time. Additional reagents used past the minimum amount decreased the possibility of failure.
However, weapons had an upper limit to how many times a weapon could be enhanced. For example, the basic sword could be enhanced up to 3 times, and the Anneal blade could be enhanced up to 8 times. A failed enhancement would take up one slot as well; therefore, it was possible to have enhanced a sword up to it's maximum and still have no extra stats.
But this blade, Historica... it had an infinite enhancement limit. That meant it had infinite potential - it would never become obsolete towards another sword, as it could enhance itself past that point. It would always be sharper, quicker, and more accurate...
It's weakness, however, was that it didn't provide any base stats: Strength, Vitality, or Agility. Therefore, the wielder would have to rely on his or her own stats...
Looking down at the requirement for the next enhancement, Kirito saw that the blade required Little Nepent Leaves to be enhanced. Ah... what a coincidence.
Slightly punch-drunk, Kirito closed the information window. He tapped Mane's shoulder, getting her attention, and handed her Historica. "That sword... it's a very good one. Take good care of it."
"I will..." Mane murmured. Then she looked up. "...I feel like I remember this sword..."
Kirito felt mildly surprised. "You do?"
"I think so... Historica..." She gently ran her hand along the hilt.
So she remembers it? Kirito silently watched her. Well, then, she doesn't need to complete the Secret Medicine of the Forest quest... or any quest for a weapon, actually.
"Mane... I have quest I need to take." He reached out and grasped her hand. "Currently, this blade is not very strong... I need a better one to survive. I'll take you along... I can teach you along the way, get you some experience as well."
"Experience..." Mane shook herself out of her stupor and reequipped the sheath holding Historica. "Game experience... level up? Help me get stronger?"
"Yeah..." He suddenly had a thought. "Mane, you know about leveling up? Do you remember anything else now?"
"I think... some things about this world... like..." Mane drew a small symbol in the air, and her menu popped up. "And some other things... like... guilds... friends... oh!"
She quickly tapped several options on her menu. A notice popped up in front of Kirito:
|| Mane would like to be your friend!
|| - Accept
|| - Decline
So her username in-game is also Mane...
Kirito stabbed the accept option, and with a small chime, Mane was added to his friends list.
2 people on his friends list. That was a list bigger than that of all his previous MMOs combined.
And one of those friends was an enigma. Too many unanswered questions.
How did she loose her memories? How did she just appear in front of Kirito? How did she obtain that sword?
Who was she?
She was definitely a player, she did have residual memories of how the game worked.
"...We need to go now. If we go later, there would probably be too many people there. That would make the quest harder to complete."
"Okay, Kirito." She stepped closer to him. "Let's go... I trust you."
Trust...
Kirito felt strangely elated. Generally, as a solo player, he was viewed with distrust, a "selfish solo". To have another player trust him... he felt that tinge of happiness again.
But...
"Mane... why do you trust me?"
"Mmm?"
He gestured, indicating himself. "I... said no you at first. I... made you cry..." He paused. "Why do you trust me?"
Mame was silent for a while, then she simply said, "I don't know."
"...what?"
"I really don't know... but I just feel... I like..." She hesitated. "I think you're the first person... who..."
Kirito tilted his head.
"...treated me like a real person...you came back for me..."
Kirito silently gazed at her for a while, not completely comprehending what she said.
"...I feel like... I... can know you?"
He suddenly raised his head, alerted by a small gaggle of noises coming from the direction of the main plaza. Looking around, he confirmed the street was still empty. Pushing his residual thoughts aside, his sense of urgency increased.
"Come on..." Kirito grabbed Mane's hand. "I still don't understand... but I'll thank you for your trust by getting you back to reality."
They ran out of the streets together, headed towards the Northwest Gate.
Author's Note:
My birthday came and went... I'm 16 now! I'm getting old... (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
Sooo... I think I did my best... what do you think?
Historica is a reference to the DS game Radiant Historia... It's a time travel RPG, and contrary to what you might think, it has quite a deep storyline. I rather liked it. Plus, the music was really good. Historica, the endless potential of time... endless potential of enhancements :)
I would really, really appreciate any sort of constructive criticism... improve future writing, you know. Maybe I'll update past chapters too as my skill somewhat grows. So yeah, please review! I thank you all for your reviews last time!
To the two of you who asked about the pairing, I'm not completely sure... I have no experience in romance (Real life or Writing) but perhaps that pairing would be nicest... and cutest :P
I cannot emphasize how much I would appreciate reviews. Please take the time to give me some advice in writing... pretty please?
Next chapter should resemble the First Day chapter of Volume 8, Early and Late. I have several ideas for a twist...
A big thank you to Rainbowlalaland, for being the beta reader for this story.
~Vic
Disclaimer: As I just started writing 2 weeks ago, I could not possibly own Sword Art Online...