Artificial Mirror

by Victory3114

Kirito, a solo player who has traversed the passage of life unaccompanied. He has never built any ties, preferring the freedom of solitude. Until he meets one who is like him, one without memories, one who reminds him of himself before he traveled down this path of desolation. And from then on, things change. For better or for worse?

3. Chapter 2: Resolution

Chapter 2: Resolution

In Sword Art Online, a player generally does not tire from strenuous physical activity, since movement isn't really driven by muscular activity, only their movement speed value and agility.

However, players still get tired from thinking a lot. During an extended sword fight, for example, when someone calculates attacks, defenses, and counter-attacks at the speed needed to respond efficiently and survive, they could easily get worn down and become exhausted.

Running around and other random exercises, on the other hand, don't tire someone as much as they do in real life. Thus, Kirito and Mane were able to run the full distance from Starting City to Horunka Village without breaking a sweat.

Of course, along the way, many of the common mobs on the first floor were encountered. The most common, the «Blue Boar», had already appeared and been dispatched several times.

Once Kirito quickly explained the basics of fighting along with the weak points of the boars to her, Mane rapidly learned (or maybe remembered) how to use her blade in combat. Unfortunately, since Historica had no base stats, currently it pretty weak even compared to the Basic sword handed out at the start of the game. When it hit the weak spot, only around 20% of the boars health was shaved off, as opposed to the 52% done by a basic sword, or even the 104% if the attack did a critical.

If Historica didn't hit a weak spot, Kirito guessed it would probably do around 10-15% of the boar's HP in damage.

However, that didn't stop the pair from cleaving through the mobs like a hot knife through butter. Kirito held the lead, mashing his blade into the backs of the boar's neck, their weak point, dropping them extremely low. Mane then cleaned up after him, gaining the brunt of the exp.

All this was done without a pause in their sprinting. They reached Horunka village and dashed under the entrance arch just as the village clock tower chimed 7:00.

Horunka Village was an area generally recommended to players level 3 or above, as many of the quests located there were quite demanding. The surrounding area also teemed with monsters of that level. As they neared the village, Kirito had noticed that the «Blue Boars» there had noticeably more vitality, tanking three or more hits to it's weak spot and still only just entering the red zone. In addition, the single time one of them managed to deal a blow to Kirito, it had shaved off a quarter of his health.

The Horunka village area was definitely a dangerous area for those under level 3.

Fortunately, Kirito had been a beta tester, one of the fortunate 1000 who had played the game before it had been released, before it had become a death game. While the area might have been perilous for another player, he already knew how to avoid all the dangerous places and the easiest ways to complete the quests situated there. The monster attack patterns and weak points were common knowledge to him.

As the village and nearby mobs dropped high profits in both col and exp compared to the mobs around Starting City, if you survived the risks, the reward was great. And for a tester like Kirito, the risks were marginally reduced.

They slowed to a fast walk, Mane slightly lagging behind, as they neared the center of the village.

Currently, the village was still empty of players. Most people would still be at Starting City, since only beta testers would be coming to Horunka village this early in the game. The road echoed with their footsteps as the two paced down the deserted street.

Kirito idly waved his hand, calling out his menu. Selecting the player data option, his stats and level popped up in a separate window in front of him.

Along the way, Kirito's exp bar had filled up to 95%. Almost level 2, which was most likely the highest amount of experience any player had so far. In addition, he had netted a respectable amount of Col, which was Sword Art Online's main currency.

A thought occurred to him, and he halted, turning around to face Mane. "Mane, can I see your stats? I want to know how much experience you've gained so far..."

The girl hesitated, then nodded, her black hair waving slightly. She drew out her menu and called out her data. Then she paused. "Umm... do I just tell you? You can't see this, right?"

Kirito reached over. "I think you can set private windows to public... there should be an option in the corner."

"Really?" Mane looked over her window, which appeared blank to Kirito. "Ah... here."

She tapped something once, and the blank screen suddenly filled up with Mane's stats. Kirito leaned over to take a look.

Surprisingly, her experience was still only at around 50%, which meant she must have started out at near 0% when they had left Starting City.

The girl mystified Kirito. He had guessed Mane was someone who had been completing some kind of difficult quest, died in-game, but somehow survived having her brain burnt out by the NerveGear. That would explain her scattered memory loss, as well as the potentially powerful blade, Historica, on her back.

However, such a weapon could have only come from a difficult quest, which in turn would have given out hefty amounts of experience... which in turn would have raised her exp bar.

Yet her exp had still been zero when they first met.

Also, Kayaba had claimed that all forms of revival had been disabled. If she really had died in game and survived the pulse, she would not have been logged back into the game, but ejected back into the real world...

In addition, she appeared to remember many things about Sword Art Online, such as the fact that stat screens were blank to all but the player whom it described, that only a Beta tester would have known. On the other hand, she also didn't know things a Beta should have known, such as the weak points of the boars and basic sword skills. Which might be explained by the random memory burn, but still didn't add up.

Such an enigma. Kirito could not understand much about Mane at all.

For some reason, Kirito thought he knew her from somewhere before, but he just couldn't place his finger on it.

Perhaps, maybe it was because of that he felt he should help her...

Focusing back on her stats, he noted that she had not allotted her skill or stat points into any category yet. The counter beside Stat Points still read 5, and the one dedicated to Skill Points was still at 2.

He looked up at Mane. "You still need to allocate your stat and skill points, Mane."

She stared back at him with blank eyes, an questioning look on her face. "What?"

With a sigh, Kirito proceeded to quickly outline the stat and skill system to Mane. "When you get a lot of experience, you level up. When you level up, you get stat points. Every ten levels, you get a skill point to allot. You can - no, should - use these points. The stat ones make you stronger, and the skill ones help you learn to do more things."

He brought out his own stat window. "For example, I have 3 stat points into «strength» and 2 into «agility», because I prefer quick, strong slices. I placed a skill point in «1-Handed Sword» category, and the other in «Searching». The «1-H Sword skill» gave me the basic skills, «Horizontal», «Slant», and «Vertical», and «Searching» allows me to be more perceptive... though, it's really up to you how you invest these... be careful though, the stat choices you make stay with you forever."

Mane took a moment to digest the information, then turned towards her own stat window and viewed the choices. "Hmm... stats and skills..." She scratched her head, just like how Kirito did when he was thinking.

Kirito continued, "Skills are a little different from stat points. You start out with two, and you gain one every ten levels. You can spend these to learn things... after you use the points, you have to train yourself in that category in order to raise your proficiency in it. As you grow stronger, it'll automatically teach you new skills... and perhaps will branch off into different sub-categories. Proficiency can go up to 1000, a Mastery. If you decide to quit a skill, you can get the point back, but you lose all your training in it."

Mane gave a "mm-hmm" while still looking thoughtfully at her stat window.

A variety of different skills were available to players at level one. «1-H Sword», «2-H Sword», «Searching», «Hiding», «Merchandising», «Blacksmithing», «Knives», «Wrist-blades», and «2-H Mace/Axe» were available, to name a few.

Thinking she might have been indecisive, Kirito ventured, "You should invest at least one in the «1-H Sword» skill, since you already know most of the basics for that... also because your blade is a 1-Handed Sword, and it's pretty good, so..."

His voice trailed off, because Mane had quickly tapped on her window 7 times, distributing her points, then pressing the save button. A small ding reverberated through the air as her changes were finalized.

"...um, you know these are somewhat permanent, right?" Mane nodded, and Kirito let out a deep breath. "Which choices did you make?"

She brought up her screen to show Kirito. "ah...I put 2 in «strength», 3 «agility», and one in 1-H and «Searching»."

Kirito closed his slightly gaping mouth. "...That's almost the exact same set as me, except you switched strength and agility..."

Mane giggled. "I... think you made good choices... but... I sort of felt like I shouldn't copy you completely... and I think I like speed, so... I chose agility."

Kirito suddenly remembered his first experience playing MMOs again. At the time he first learned about the skill/stat system from a kind player, he had asked that guy about his configuration. Afterwards, he distributed his stats and skills to look almost exactly like that of the player... but he had felt bad for copying, and switched a fourth of his speed points into strength before finalizing, due to the fact that he had liked the feeling of a good, solid hit.

It was almost the exact same situation as with Mane, except Mane had transferred a point from strength to agility, instead of the other way around.

...The same as me...

Kirito shook his head to clear it. "Well, it's all up to you in the end." He looked at the setting sun peeking over the edge of the floor, and turned to continue. "Come on, we can get ourselves to level 3 today, probably, if we hurry."

"Okay!" Mane quickly minimized her stat window and chased after him.

---

Upon entering the private house, Kirito immediately made a beeline straight for the kitchen, Mane following slightly behind. She looked around, curious, running over to the grandfather clock and examining it.

Kirito looked over his shoulder. "Do you... remember anything about houses?"

"Yes..." Mane replied offhandedly. "But I don't know about these things..."

Darn random memory loss... "It's a grandfather clock. It's just another kind of clock, except it's taller and apparently looks better in a house." He ran into the adjoining room.

"Mmm..." She gave the clock a last look as she followed Kirito into the kitchen.

The NPC in front of the stove, a woman in her early twenties, gave a bright, if tired, smile as the two entered the room. A weird reaction, Kirito thought, when you find two strangers in your house. A pitch-black, iron pot simmered on fire behind her.

"Good evening, traveling swordsman... and swords woman." The woman tacked on, noticing Mane. "I'm sorry, but I currently do not have any food for you at the moment... all I have is some water... would that be alright?"

The pot on the stove behind her shuddered twice, whistled, then fell still.

"That would be fine. Thank you." Kirito intoned clearly. He motioned Mane over and they both sat beside the table.

The NPC brought over two stout mugs full of water. Placing them on the table, she nodded to both occupants and returned to the stove.

Kirito took his cup and sipped the drink. While drinking water was not really required to survive in-game, over time, if a player did not drink, they would get a parched feeling in their mouth and throat that would not go away until more water was consumed. They wouldn't die of dehydration, but the feeling was supremely uncomfortable. It was the same with food; a player could survive without any, but he or she would get a horrendous stomachache. Thus, players strove to drink and eat for three full meals a day.

Mane took her cup with both hands and drank greedily. Interested, Kirito watched her as she chugged down the entire cup in one gulp, set the mug on the table, and wiped her mouth.

"Thirsty?" He asked mildly.

She looked wistfully at his still-full cup. "Sort of... can I have yours?"

Kirito pushed his mug over with a wry smile. Mane quickly snatched it up and annihilated the liquid contents.

Watching her swallow, Kirito was vaguely reminded of when he was a little kid. He had loved to drink large amounts of water, several cups at a time... until his sister, Suguha, taught him that water made him go to the bathroom a lot more. Then he stopped drinking too much.

Thinking of the past made him suddenly remember his family. It was hard for him to believe he had just eaten dinner with them only 2 hours ago, and now he probably wouldn't be able to contact them for a good 3 years.

A sudden pang of homesickness struck his heart. Kirito wondered what his sister was doing at that very moment...

But the fact that he still existed in Aincrad meant she and his mother had taken Kayaba's warnings seriously... which meant they really believed that he would come back.

Kirito hadn't been all that close with his family... he had spent most of his time on the internet, playing MMORPGs. While Suguha had spent her time practicing the Kendo and hanging out with friends, Kirito rampaged out in the various games, alone on the net and in real life. Suguha had always cared for him, helping him sometimes with his homework, trying to get him off the computer sometimes for some family activity... but Kirito had usually refused.

Now, being trapped in such a game and most likely for a very long time, Kirito felt guilty that he had not spent as much time with them as he felt he should have.

I'm sorry, Suguha...

I promise, when I get out of this... I'll be more of a brother to you...

Mother, I'll be more of a son...

I'm sorry...

"...ito? Kirito-kun?"

Mane's voice brought him back to reality... figuratively. Kirito blinked twice, then focused. For a moment, he saw Suguha calling his name; then he blinked twice and it was Mane sitting in front of him.

What surprised him the most was the ease at which he got along with Mane. Kirito had never fancied himself a social person, and had never actually made many friends at in real life. With Mane... he felt more comfortable.

He felt like he could understand her.

"I was wondering..." Mane indicated the woman at the stove. "Why is she just cooking? Shouldn't she be trying to get out?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean..." Mane hesitated. "She wants to get back to reality too, right?"

Kirito stared at her. She... doesn't know about NPCs?

"Ah... uh... Mane, that person isn't a player, she's an NPC... a Non-Player-Character. If you look closely, you can see her cursor... it's yellow, that represents an NPC. Green means a real player, while red is for a hostile monster. She doesn't really exist; she is an Artificial Intelligence."

"Artificial... Intelligence?" Mane repeated.

"Basically, she's an... an artificial being, limited to what the creators of this game program her to do... she doesn't have a mind of her own. She's a part of this game. She does not physically exist in the real world." Another long speech for Kirito.

"No... mind? Only what others tell her to do? ...can she return to the real world as well?"

Kirito noted that she had understood the meaning of the word program. Maybe the NerveGear really did just kill off random memories... she didn't ask me about the cursor, she must remember a little about it... she knows the definition of program, but not computer...

"...no, Mane. She is confined to this world."

Mane's expression turned sad. She looked at the woman. "So... she'll never be free?"

"No... but, Mane, she'll never feel sadness or anything about not being free... in fact, she's happy doing what the creators tell her."

"But she'll still never be free..."

Both of them fell into an awkward, sad silence.

"She said there's no food... what's cooking in the pot?"

Kirito raised an approving eyebrow. "You're very perceptive. That's part of the quest she's been programmed to give us."

"What? Really?"

Just then, a golden "?" flashed into existence above the woman's head. Startled, Mane jerked back.

Kirito, who had both expected it and recognized it as a quest symbol, simply called out, "Is there something wrong, miss?"

That was one of the many phrases a player could use to start a quest. Other examples included "Do you have anything for me?" or "Can I help you?". On the other hand, if a player wanted to decline a quest, they could say "Don't mind me" or just keep silent.

The NPC woman turned to face the two at the table and began a lengthy quest description about her daughter being extremely sick. None of the medicine from the market (Which was cooking in the pot) had any effect on her condition. A traveling merchant had told her the only way to cure her was to boil out the sap from a Little Nepent's Ovule; However, the plants were both predatory and the ovule was pretty rare among them, so the woman, by herself, had no chance of procuring one. "If you two could bring back an ovule to me... I would be very grateful. There's a longsword that had been passed down in the family for a long time, I could never wield it myself... I would gladly present it to you if you could help my daughter."

A quest log opened up on the right side of Kirito's vision. Reading, «Secret Medicine of the Forest», there was a bullet point underneath bearing "Little Nepent's Ovule: 0/1".

Beside him, Mane blinked several times, also receiving the quest. This time, it seemed she recognized the quest log, because she didn't ask Kirito for an explanation.

"So... Mane, you don't need to complete the quest, since you already have Historica... I'll need it, since I only have a Basic Sword, and the Anneal Blade is a lot better." Kirito stopped as a thought struck him. "Though, if we find a second ovule quickly, we can give it to you so you can earn some bonus experience and col..."

He looked up and saw that Mane wasn't paying attention to him. She was still looking at the NPC woman, with the same expression of sadness on her face.

"...Mane, there's nothing we can do to help her..."

She glanced back at Kirito. "I know... but..." She looked back at the NPC, who was quietly humming a folk tune while stirring the contents of the pot.

"..." Kirito remained silent.

He took Mane's hand and rushed out of the house.

---

The sun began sinking below the floor of Aincrad, signaling that night was soon to follow. Kirito hastened as the sunlight began to fade.

"The target mob, monsters, for this quest is called the «Little Nepent»", he lectured Mane. "They're pretty dangerous, since we're both still level 1, almost level 2, and they're all level 3. However, they have a serious weak spot on the stalk that holds up the bulb, or mouth, or head..." Kirito shrugged while jogging faster. "Since they're mostly offensively built, their defense isn't good, several good strikes to that stalk should be enough. They give hefty exp too, so it's a good spot."

Mane took a while to think, then asked, "But since they're offensive, won't that mean we would take a lot of damage?"

"True, but their attacks have a large wind-up and as long as you dodge their acid, you should be fine. They draw their head or vines back when they strike; pretty easy to avoid." A pause. "There are three types of them... the first is just normal, nothing special. The second carries an ovule, a large, heart-shaped bulb thing. That is our goal, to kill that one and take it's ovule."

"And the third one...?"

Kirito grimaced. "That one is very dangerous, especially since we're still level 1. It carries a perfectly round seed. It acts, attacks, and defends normally, but..." He waved his arms for emphasis. "If you slice the seed, it will attract every single «Little Nepent» in a wide area... almost certainly a death sentence for us."

Mane paled. "Okay... don't attack the seed one... got it... I hope."

Kirito began to slow down as the trees loomed closer. He patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay. The ovule and seed are both located on the top of the head... well out of way of the weak spot. If you just concentrate on defense and the weak spot, you should be okay..."

Mane stayed silent, but gave a weak smile.

She really is scared...

"It'll be alright... we'll survive. You'll definitely get to return to the real world. Eh, Here we are..."

During sunset, the shadows from the trees stretched several meters across the main road running parallel to the forest. The shades and real vegetation both reached out with their branches, as if to snare any traveler trekking down the dirt path. Kirito knew that Treeants did not appear until the 5th floor, but he still shivered at the sight.

Mane also seemed unnerved by the twisted positions of trees. "Um, Kirito..."

"Yes?"

One of the trees, moved by the wind, let out a long, drawn out creaking sound, startling both of them.

"Can we finish this quickly? This place is creepy." She shivered. "Night is falling too..."

Kirito agreed whole-heartedly. "Alright then... But at night, there's this glow that lights up the area evenly... the area won't be so scary after that."

"I hope so... I'm scared."

Kirito awkwardly patted her on the back. "It'll be alright..."

They turned off the dusty road and vanished among the undergrowth.

---

*Chk!*

*Psssaaaa!*

The sound of Nepent combat soon reached Kirito's ears as he and Mane moved closer to the forest clearing.

Kirito frowned. So someone got here ahead of us. Most likely, it was another beta tester.

Abruptly, the vegetation ended, leaving a grassy hill area surrounded on all sides by the forest. As they both stepped into the open, the sun finally descended behind the edge of Aincrad, and the last rays of light faded away.

Of course, the forest was not as dark as it would have been in real life. A bio-luminescent glow pervaded the area, bathing the clearing in a soft blue luster. It had no discernible source; as if the air itself gave off light. It was enough to see by, but not bright enough to view things clearly.

The lighting revealed a player in the starting equipment, color customized red, bringing his sword to bear against a «Little Nepent». This time, it was a player, recognizable by the floating green cursor above his head.

Despite the name, the «Little Nepent» towered at a height of over one and a half meters, a repulsive weed propped upon vines, with a large, bulbous pitcher-head resting upon a thick stalk resembling a very long neck.

Drool, or maybe digestive juices, leaked out of the "mouth" of the Nepent. Upon focusing upon the monster, Kirito noted that it's hp was in the red. The deep magenta cursor denoted a formidable foe, one above his level.

Rearing, it brought its vines down in a deadly arc.

The player standing before it swiftly leaped to the side, swinging his sword as he did so. The blade shined a bright red, and curved horizontally towards the unprotected stalk of the Nepent.

The Horizontal skill unleashed by the player sliced squarely into the monster's weak point, instantly depleting the rest of its Hit Points. The Little Nepent froze, glowed blue, and fractured into countless shards of data.

Breathing deeply, the player lowered his blade, looking with a baleful eye into the distance. However, it seemed the Nepents in the area had not rePOPed yet, and there were no hostile targets in sight.

Abruptly, the player straightened up and whipped his head around, focusing on Mane and Kirito. He raised his blade; Kirito quickly put his hands up in an "I surrender" gesture.

"W-wait!" He called. "I'm just here to do the quest too."

The guy studied them for a few seconds, then relaxed his stance somewhat, keeping his sword at the ready. "You can never be too careful. There are always those who would PK to obtain a dropped ovule."

Kirito acknowledged that. "True... but I'm not that kind of person."

"We'll see." The player walked towards them. "I'll trust you for now... Only because I know I can handle you easily. You both do not look like much of a threat."

Kirito's eye twitched. "Thanks... I guess."

There was a pause.

He indicated himself and Mane. "I am Kirito... this girl here is Mane."

Mane, who all this time had been closely examining the man, gave him an innocent look. "Hai."

The man looked at them sternly, then his mouth twitched into a small smile. His face, slightly lined, looked hard and battle worn. Light brown hair, with a hint of gray, lay combed back over his head with the exception of a single braid, running down the right side of his face.

He also had a manly ponytail.

Towering over them, his tall, muscular stature, along with his Plate Armor, gave him the appearance of a Tank, or a Paladin. Customized red, the armor accented his regal appearance.

Most prominent, though, was his commanding aura. Everything, from his tone, his appearance, to his very presence, radiated authority. As if he constantly broadcasted a message: You had better salute.

He contemplated them for a while. "Granted, you two don't look like a bad sort... I can see honesty in your faces."

What a cheesy line, Kirito thought.

"Are you two siblings?"

"Huh?" Kirito blinked. Mane tilted her head.

The man raised an eyebrow. "You two look very similar. Your faces and bodies greatly resemble each other, and it's far too early in the game for anyone to have visited a customization shop, so these must be your real appearances. Twins, by any chance?"

Kirito turned to look at Mane, just as she turned to look at him.

His eyes narrowed. Now that the man had mentioned it, he did see traces of his face in hers. The same nose, eyes, and mouth. The hair was the exact same color... if he let his grow out to shoulder length...

It was as if his face was copied to Mane's and the feminine features amplified.

Even their bodies were similar... the same height, build, both preferred their right hand, though Kirito was ambidextrous... by a coincidence, the colors of their armors were polar opposites, black and white.

He turned back to the guy. "Umm... no, we're not siblings... just friends." Mane nodded several times in agreement, though she had a thoughtful expression on her face.

The player nodded sagely. "I see." He pointed with his sword in the direction of the clearing, where several Little Nepents were appearing via pillars of azure light. Changing the subject, he announced, "I have already been doing this «Secret Medicine of the Forest» quest for a while already... no sign of an ovule. I'm almost level 2 by now... The drop rate has definitely been lowered since the beta."

"Really... shoot." Kirito squinted in the direction of the Nepents. "Well, thanks for the info. It was nice meeting you... we won't bother you anymore."

He turned away, but before he could move, a gauntlet lay on his shoulder and firmly held him there. The man's voice reached him from behind. "I was wondering, would you like to party together?"

"Eh?" Kirito faced the man.

"With the drop rate so low, it would take forever to find an ovule. However, I have heard rumors that drop chances increase the bigger the party is; also, we would be able to clear the area relatively quickly if we work together." He held out his hand. "So, how about it? The first two ovules we find will be yours, but you'll have to help me obtain a third as well."

Kirito hesitated. "...uh... I... I-"

It wasn't that he didn't want to party with this player; on the contrary, it did make sense. With more people, it would have been easier to kill off the Nepents. Even if the drop rate of the ovule was extremely small, if many monsters were killed, the chances of one bearing an ovule rose. Plus, it was more experience for all three of them.

However, it was Kirito's old solo instincts telling him to back off. Two people is enough, they argued, since Mane doesn't need an Ovule. It won't benefit you in any way to party with more than that.

There was also the suspicion of him willing to PK for the ovule...

"Kirito?" Mane cut in. He looked at her in surprise.

She considered her words for a moment, then continued "Um... can we party with him?"

"Uh, you want to?"

"Er..." She moved closer to Kirito, and her voice dropped to a whisper. "I.. think you don't trust him?"

Kirito glanced at the player, who was quietly surveying them with a knowing smile. "...no, not really... but to some extent. How do you know?"

"...I just... have this feeling... Kirito, I think we can trust him." Mane bit her lip. "I... I feel he's a nice guy... like you. He's helping to get us back to reality too, right? Can't we all work together?"

"...I'm a nice guy?" Kirito immediately responded. Then he slapped his head. "Ah... well..."

The infamous puppy-eyed look came from Mane. It seems she remembers how to use female charms to persuade people...

They maintained eye contact for a few seconds, then Kirito couldn't hold any longer.

"Argh...uh... alright..."

Mane's face broke into a smile. "Thank you~!" and she hugged him.

Kirito stood stunned for a moment, then became conscious of the man watching them carefully. Blushing slightly, he quickly pried Mane off of him, and conveyed to the player, "Then... er, we'll party with you."

The guy examined them closely for a few more seconds, which unnerved Kirito. An awkward silence arose.

Then: "Very well..."

He held out his hand once again for a handshake. This time, Kirito accepted it, then Mane leaned over his shoulder and laid her hand on his.

It was another awkward moment, with Kirito frozen, staring decidedly ahead, while Mane's head rested on his shoulder with a giant smile.

She gently squeezed the back of his hand, and Kirito flushed.

The player gave a wry smile. His red armor glinted purple in the cyan light.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance", he said formally,-

"-My name is Heathcliff."

---

Two hours passed.

Like Kirito had guessed due to his appearance, Heathcliff had worked his skills around the role of a front-liner, a damage soaker with moderately high sword skills.

Heathcliff turned out to be extremely proficient the blade. Even though he had at most one or two points in Agility, he still moved swiftly, dodging many attacks and parrying vines with his blade. Even though Sword Art Online had been out for only a few hours, his mastery of the «1-H Sword skills» had already reached 10, which was extremely quick compared to Kirito's skill level of 7, and Mane's of 4.

What Kirito truly admired him for was his unbreakable composure. Once, even as several vines dashed in under his guard and dealt him massive damage, he didn't flinch, nor did he hesitate. He punished the Nepent for overextending itself and sliced it into pieces, all without a change of expression. Then, as if nothing had gone wrong, he nonchalantly unhooked a potion from his belt and took a deep draft.

Potions, purchased at any store in the game for a cheap price, slowly regenerated the player's health back. It took up to 15 seconds for the effects to completely take effect; therefore, most players preferred crystals, which had instantaneous effects. This was advantageous in a dangerous area, where one needed immediate first aid. Crystals, however, were way beyond anyone's budget at level one.

Before they had left the village, he and Mane had done some quick shopping in the local apothecary. With most of their col, they stocked up on large amounts of this item, using the rest of their money to purchase some leather armor from the armory.

Potions also tasted like apple juice, which was a huge bonus.

Both Heathcliff and Kirito leveled up to 2 somewhere during that time. Whereas Heathcliff politely refused to give out his stat info, Kirito guessed he had specced more points into vitality. Kirito himself placed two points in strength and three in agility, bringing them to equal levels.

15 minutes later, Mane also leveled up. She immediately copied Kirito, raising her both Agility and Strength to 5 as well. When Kirito looked at her with a "Really?" expression on his face, she only looked at him innocently.

When Heathcliff first saw Mane draw Historica, he had asked her where it had come from. Mane replied, "I dunno", with a smile, and Heathcliff left it at that, after commenting to Kirito that they would only have to find two ovules after all.

Eventually, they settled into a routine. For each Nepent, Heathcliff moved in, grabbed it's attention, and then Kirito and Mane speedily began hacking at the stalk. In this way, they took down a Nepent every twenty seconds with hardly any damage.

However, even after these two long hours of intense farming, not a single one of the slain plants carried an ovule; or one of those deadly seeds, for that matter.

"...when will the thing drop?", Kirito muttered.

The night had grown deeper, and all traces of sunlight had vanished. The moon was visible, but stars could not be seen unless one was standing at the edge of the floor. Lighting was dim, but due to the trio's searching skills, it was enough to see by.

The clearing was free of Nepents; they had cleared the area so fast they could easily keep up with the respawn rate, and even surpass it. As a result, they were resting against a tree on the edge of the forest, waiting for the next Nepent to come by.

Kirito lay against the tree, resting. He looked through his inventory, counting the number of Nepent vines he had for enhancement. While Historica might have had infinite enhancement slots, the requirements were outrageously high. Compared to the Blue Boar Tusks x10 needed for a basic sword's 95% successful enhancement, Historica ate up 80 Little Nepent Vines for a mere 60% success rate.

Mane looked half-asleep, her head on Kirito's shoulder. She was probably pretty tired, her eyes closed, and breathing calm.

Heathcliff, on the other hand, was standing guard, sword planted in the dirt and his hands upon its pommel. He surveyed their surroundings, alert to any slight noise that might signal a hostile monster.

"I don't know... but we are acquiring large amounts of experience." Heathcliff replied in that soft, firm tone of his. He drew out his menu and checked his level. "I am at 85%, level 2... almost level 3. How about you, Kirito?"

Kirito brought out his stats. "The same. We should level up soon." He closed the window, looked up at Heathcliff, and sighed. "This is so tiring..."

"...Kirito."

Something in Heathcliff's tone made him take notice. "Hmm?"

Heathcliff didn't answer for several seconds. He stared straight ahead, his face unmoving. Kirito raised an eyebrow.

Then: "Kirito, what do you think of what Kayaba Akihiko has made of this world?"

"Ah?"

"This world is now a death game. Loss of HP in this world brings you closer to oblivion." His armor clacked as he turned to face Kirito. His face, if anything, looked twice as serious. "Are you scared? What do you feel?"

For a while the only sound was of the virtual crickets chirping. Kirito looked deep in thought; Heathcliff looked serious. Mane murmured something unintelligible and snuggled closer to Kirito.

Finally, Kirito answered, "I... I feel scared, definitely. But... I have a family, a sister, to go back to. Because I'm still here, they have not attempted to take off my NerveGear... which means they believe that I'll come back, someday."

An image of Klein fluttered to the front of his mind. He glanced back down at Mane's sleeping form. "...and... I have friends I want to save. I want to help them. So I'll get stronger." He gritted his teeth and continued firmly, "I don't want to be afraid... I don't want to think about death. I want to think ahead... believe in the future."

Heathcliff considered his words for a moment, then asked, "What will you do?"

Kirito looked up. "I'm going to help clear this game, get everyone back to reality." He glared at Heathcliff. "Any more questions?"

Heathcliff smiled. "Perhaps one more. If one asked you to join a clearing guild, would you join it?"

"...no."

"Hrm? Why not?"

Kirito shifted. "I'm not that kind of person... I don't like to be confined... within this game, a guild, or otherwise."

The sound of a rePOPing Nepent interrupted them. Both looked to the left in unison, to witness yet another predatory plant rise out of blue light. After a brief moment of scrutiny, both players confirmed that this Nepent also lacked an Ovule.

The mood rapidly became less tense. They sighed.

"Let's hope the RNG Goddess bestows a blessing upon us." Kirito muttered.

---

In a burst of shattered polygons, another Nepent bit the dust.

Panting, Kirito and Mane lowered their swords. While they were not physically tired, the mental strain of combat was starting to get to them. Kirito warily checked the chronometer; it was already 9:30.

They had been farming nearly nonstop for two and a half hours.

Even so, Heathcliff's unbreakable composure stood resolute. His face and figure did not show the slightest sign of fatigue. While Kirito and Mane were both worn out, he looked as fresh as he had been when they started.

Their blades, on the other hand, looked to be in a dismal shape. Kirito and Heathcliff were still wielding the starting items, which, sadly, had a pretty low durability level. Even now, one could easily see rust stains and cracks along the blade, and the edges were pitted.

"...What really is the drop rate, do you say?" Kirito gasped.

Mane sighed, "I don't know... I think we should stop for today."

Heathcliff took a moment, deep in thought. "It was announced during the beta that the original drop rate was 3%... now that it's been lowered, it is probably close to around half a percent, or perhaps one." He glanced with a neutral expression at their tired avatars. "...Let us do another thirty minutes or so, then try again in the morning."

Kirito looked to Mane, who shrugged. He turned back to Heathcliff. "Fine by me..."

With perfect timing, another group of Nepents POPed, pillars of light fading away. Just another group of 5 average plant monsters, nothing to worry abo-

"...!" Heathcliff and Kirito suddenly straightened in silent surprise.

The Nepent at the back of the group had an irregular bump resting on top of it's head. As their eyes adjusted, both of them could see that the lump was actually a bulb, resembling the petals of a tulip. It was colored a bright green, speckled with a deep red.

An ovule.

Kirito immediately pointed that one out to Mane, who, after a moment of squinting, noticed the ovule and nodded. Drawing their blades, they leaped towards the group-

-then Heathcliff caught them by the scruffs of their necks, dragging them to an unmerciful halt and nearly choking them.

"Gck!" Kirito's momentum swept his legs from underneath him and he fell flat onto the ground. "H-Heathcliff! What...?"

Without a word, Heathcliff simply pointed a finger at the mass of Nepents. Kirito followed his line of sight; he could just make out another Nepent at the back of the group, behind the target.

"What's wrong with tha-" he began indignantly.

Then his focus cleared, and Kirito could see the large, perfectly round shape resting on top of the "mouth" of the second Nepent.

He stared at it in complete dismay. The Nepent rePOPing right next to the target just had to carry a trap, the seed that would attract every Nepent in a half-mile radius. Such a situation would be a definite death sentence.

It would be extremely difficult to be able to engage and kill the one carrying the Ovule without attracting the attention of the seed carrier, as they were only a few meters apart.

The ovule on the Nepent waggled invitingly, while the seed bobbled gently on the Nepent's head, as if taunting them.

What do we do...

The best solution would have been to wait for the two to travel different ways, but Kirito had heard a rumor during the beta that, if the ovule was left unattended for a few minutes, it would morph into another trap. Even as he watched, he thought he could see the ovule slowly becoming more spherical.

Kirito clenched his fist.

Tch... What do we do?

Mane, who had still been searching the crowd of Nepents, finally caught sight of the Fruit.

She balked and squeaked, "That's... that's... death seed?"

Mane took several rapid steps back.

Kirito turned and frowned. "Mane?"

Something was wrong. She was clearly hyperventilating, eyes wide. The color seemed to have drained out of her face. She stuttered out, "I-I..."

Her entire body quivered as if experiencing an electric shock. She collapsed to her knees.

Kirito quickly knelt next to her. "Mane! Mane, what's wrong?"

Heathcliff, also knelt, closely looking at her.

Mane swallowed audibly and whimpered, "...death... I... don't...Kirito..." She gasped.

Heathcliff turned his head to look at Kirito. "This looks like... fear."

"Fear." Kirito repeated numbly. He gently held Mane's head in his hands.

"Excessive fear... Hyperventilation... Incoherent speech... I think..." Heathcliff listened closely to her words, confirming his thoughts. "...the fear of death. Thanatophobia."

Kirito stayed silent, patting Mane on the back, trying to calm her down.

"She fears death." Heathcliff put it bluntly. "This looks to be an extreme case, however... every cell in her brain is probably telling her to be afraid. I think, her mind must have associated that Nepent seed-trap with certain death."

"If you slice the seed, it will attract every single «Little Nepent» in a wide area... almost certainly a death sentence for us."

Kirito remembered those words, the words he had said when explaining the Nepents to Mane.

Ngh... I never thought she would react like this... fear of death...

Mane shuddered violently. Kirito could see tears on her face.

"Mane... it's okay, Mane! It's okay!" He gritted his teeth as Mane groaned. "Mane... Mane! You'll be okay! You're not gonna die!"

Those were the first words that came to the front of his mind. Even as he spoke them, he berated himself for the useless words.

Yet, as impulsive as they were, they seemed to have a marginal effect. Mane stopped thrashing, and she lay limp, panting. She clutched at Kirito's arm like a lifeline, eyes screwed shut. "Kirito..."

She remained prone for a while, then suddenly shakily pulled herself into a sitting position. Leaning against Kirito, she opened her eyes, which were red from the tears.

Mane looked utterly exhausted, completely opposite her energetic form a few moments ago. She murmured, "Kirito... I... I'm sorry..."

Kirito gently put his arm around her. "It's okay, Mane. There's nothing to be sorry about."

"But... death..." She weakly gestured. "I... I can't think... about death... I don't want to... I..."

"Mane." Kirito lifted her head and looked straight into her eyes. "Mane, fight it."

"I... I-I can't..."

"You can." Kirito had never felt this resolute before. "You can. You will get stronger. If you're stronger than the enemy, you won't die. If you're not, I'll protect you."

Mane slowly looked at him. "You... will protect me?"

"I..." Kirito nodded. "yes. I...I swear you will not die."

She gave a weak smile, and with Kirito's help, gradually stood up. Taking several deep breaths, she somewhat calmed down.

More to herself than to anyone else, she said quietly, "Well... if Kirito will protect me... It will be alright..."

Kirito finally realized what he had been saying, and froze. His cheeks were tinged with red.

Heathcliff, who had been watching with his usual stoic expression, finally broke the silence. "Kirito, that ovule will probably change into a trap soon. We will need to slay it quickly."

Suddenly remembering the circumstances, Kirito suddenly became anxious. "What should we do? I don't think Mane can fight in this condition..."

The red-armored player stepped towards the Nepents, drawing his sword. With his never ending calm, he ordered, "Kirito, take the one with the Ovule. I'll handle others... Mane, rest. The Nepent's should not attack you there..." He pointed at the edge of the forest. "Rejoin us when you feel better."

They both nodded. Kirito sprinted forward with Heathcliff, as Mane slowly sat down leaning against the tree, closing her eyes warily.

Heathcliff charged directly at the group. All 5, including the Ovule and the Fruit, both locked on to him as he presented himself as a hostile target. They hissed in unison, a seething cacophony that rattled Kirito's ears.

Diving forward, he nicked all of them but the one carrying the ovule with the tip of his blade, ensuring that their attention would stay focused on him as he drew them to the east.

Kirito followed suit, holding his blade in a ready position. The system recognized it, and the blade flashed a dark blue, signalling the beginning of a sword skill.

He focused on the last Nepent, the one with the ovule. It's cursor popped up, shaded a deep magenta. The closer the color to violet, the more powerful the monster was compared to the one viewing it. In response to being targeted, it hissed and raised its vines threateningly.

With a mighty yell, Kirito swung his sword in an underhand vertical arc, slicing the underside of the bulb with the blade. While next to no damage was registered, the force of the swing forced the Nepent's head back, exposing the stalk.

Even with a spawn rate of around 1%, the Ovule Little Nepent was, in a combat sense, no different from the regular Little Nepents that lived in the area. Immediately bringing his sword around, Kirito activated the sword skill Horizontal, drawing a neat line though the stalk, causing massive damage.

A vine whipped around from the left; Kirito tilted his blade and deflected the blow. A gurgling sound came from the mouth area; Kirito immediately dodged to the right and narrowly avoided the stream of acid. Steam and fumes rose from where it hit the ground. Rolling forward, he used the Slant skill to deal an attack while edging himself into a better position behind the monster.

Spinning around, he used Horizontal again to deal the death blow to the Nepent, cutting the stalk cleanly in half.

The pitcher-mouth on top gave one last screech, then it flashed and shattered into countless shards of data. The mass of vines that made up it's body also fragmented.

A small, tulip-shaped object rolled out of the light, coming to a stop at Kirito's feet. He quickly picked it up and stashed it in his temporary inventory, or a miniature pouch mounted on his belt. If the game was still normal, items in the temporary inventory would have been deleted if the player logged out.

Whirling around, he raced back in the direction Heathcliff had lured the Nepents.

Along the way, he returned to where Mane was resting. She was waiting for him, eyes open and alert.

"Did you get the thing?", she inquired.

Kirito quickly showed her the ovule, then asked, "Do you feel better? Are... are you still afraid?"

Mane seemed to deflate. "I... I'm still very scared, yes."

Kirito sensed a "But...".

Her face still looked sad, but her eyes shined resolutely. "But... I don't want to be scared all my life... I'll get stronger, so I won't have to be afraid anymore. I don't want to be afraid... I don't want to think about death. I want to think ahead... believe in the future."

Kirito blinked several times in surprise.

Those were the exact words he had mentioned to Heathcliff earlier during their conversation about Aincrad's situation. He was sure Mane was asleep at the time; she could not have heard them. Yet... to have said the exact same words, in the exact same tone, that was too much of a coincidence.

Nor did she realize she seem to realize she had copied Kirito's earlier phrases. "Kirito? Um... Kirito?"

"...nothing." Perhaps it was just coincidence. "We need to help Heathcliff.. he's distracting the other four Nepents right now."

He raced towards the east, following the path where Heathcliff had ran. Mane followed closely behind, wanting to help.

"Heathcliff! Are you..."

The words died in Kirito's throat as he reached the top of the hill, witnessing Heathcliff driving his blade into the pitcher-head of one of the two remaining Nepents. A scream rent the air, and the plant scattered into polygons.

The last Nepent, slowly swaying back and forth, was the one carrying the seed-trap. Heathcliff had managed to kill the other 4 Nepents without laying a hand on the trapped one... As Kirito focused on the armor-clad player, the green cursor blinked up, as well as his 4/5ths full HP bar.

To have been able to do all that, as well as sustaining minimal damage... Kirito was even more surprised.

Without looking at him, Heathcliff called, "Kirito, did you get the ovule?" His sword waved a lazy trail in front of the Nepent's face.

"Yes, I did... Mane is feeling better too. Do you..?"

The sword swung back as a red halo surrounded it, heralding the use of a sword skill.

"No need..." Heathcliff muttered. "Stand back!"

With a monstrous crash, the blade smashed into the stalk of the plant, instantly depleting a little less than half of it's HP. It shrieked in pain, vines flailing wildly.

Kirito and Mane watched as Heathcliff drew back his weapon for another blow. Crimson energy once again surrounded the edge.

Time slowed to a crawl.

The tendrils of red power arced off of Heathcliff's blade as it began it's journey to the Nepent's stalk. The vines slowly whipped through the air, acid dripping from the Nepent's mouth.

A silver line flashed itself at the edge of Kirito's vision.

His eyes glanced right, catching sight of a gray projectile hurtling towards the battle taking place below.

...!?

A thin, steel needle. Conically shaped. A dark light trailing behind it denoted the system-assisted Throwing Skill.

A «throwing pick». It was a common item in many stores on the first floor, and one of the only forms of projectile weaponry in the game. While being relatively cheap and ranged, it was almost never purchased by many players due to the fact that it had next to no base damage.

Then Kirito glanced further back to focus on a figure standing by the trees, whose arm was stretched out as if he had just thrown something. A green cursor floated above his head.

With his enhanced vision due to «Searching», he could see a satisfied smile on the figures face, the rest of it cast in shadow.

His eyes widened.

What!? How did I not notice him?

Kirito's searching skill should have alerted him to the figure a long time before he could have gotten this close.

He whirled around, arm outstretched, mouth open to deliver a warning. Mane looked at him, surprised.

Too slow.

Time unfroze.

The pick hurtled across the clearing, whipped past Heathcliff's head, and accurately buried itself in the seed resting on the head of the Nepent.

---

The blast exploded outwards with deafening force, popping Kirito's eardrums. A massive cloud of fumes spewed out, carried by the virtual wind to the entire forest. The area quickly took on the smell of rotten eggs.

Heathcliff had been blown backwards, landing on his back with a surprised grunt. He immediately twisted around and got back to his feet. "What...!?"

Kirito was already running towards the trees, searching frantically for the thrower. He couldn't have ran more than 5 meters yet-

Yet no matter how hard he looked, he could not find the cursor, nor the rest of the player. Kirito was sure his Searching level enabled him to sense the cursors from up to 20 meters away, but the green cursor was nowhere in sight.

He could have escaped using a «Teleport Crystal», but that was impossible. They didn't drop from any monsters on the first floor, nor did any shops sell them. Besides, they cost 3 times the starting amount of Col.

The only other reason... «Hiding». Concealing the avatar and cursor from both players and monsters was one of the first skills learned in the Hiding skill tree. However, it rendered the user immobile while active, which meant the player was still in the general area.

It would also explain why Kirito had not noticed him, even with the Searching skill.

The mass of fumes was spreading out over the forest, alerting every single Nepent to their general location. Even though he couldn't sense the player, Kirito could see the numerous cursors quickly heading towards the clearing.

MPK.

A common tactic. Lure the victims into a high-level area, and set the aggression of single monster on them. With the Nepents, it had been a simple matter to attack and trigger the seed. Focus over 20 monsters onto a player at once, ensuring no chance of survival.

The player's Hiding skill had not only been intended to be used to escape the players, it had also been intended to avoid the Nepents. With a triggered seed-trap, there would be a huge crowd of Nepents in the area, attacking everything. It would be impossible to escape, to run away, as the plant monsters actually had a higher movement value than the average player.

But then one could use the «Concealment» skill in the «Hiding» skill tree to conceal themselves from monster aggression.

"Kirito!"

Eyes twitching due to the smell and fumes, Heathcliff and Mane ran up to him. Mane was coughing, while Heathcliff now looked three times as serious as before, if that were even possible. His face was like a rock, his gaze hard as if his eyes could fire lasers.

Worried, Kirito looked over Mane, but she seemed to be stable. Though, she was shivering a little, eyes wide in surprise and fear.

"Kirito, what happened?"

Heathcliff gritted his teeth, interjecting, "I saw another cursor behind you, then it vanished. Was that...?"

Kirito nodded and quickly described to them what he had seen. "That guy's trying to MPK us. He's still around here somewhere... but he's currently using «Concealment», we won't be able to find him until our searching skills are higher."

"MPK?" Mane didn't understand the term.

"«Monster Player Killing». It's when a player uses a trap of some kind to lock in a player against some very strong monsters... to..." Kirito hesitated. "...kill them."

"...Kill them..?" Mane swallowed. "But... but players... we're supposed to work together! Get back to real life!"

Heathcliff's hardened voice interjected, "Humans are selfish. Some will do anything to get stronger... even to kill other humans. Kirito." He drew his sword and surveyed the forest behind him. "There are around twenty approaching on this side."

"Twenty cursors on this side as well. Forty in total..." Kirito grimaced. "No escape. We'll have to fight..."

Mane suddenly froze, her respiration becoming ragged.

Kirito tensed. Thanatophobia!

She shut her eyes and held her breath for a moment, then let it out. Her was face strained as she tried to rein in her fear.

Taking another few deep mouthfuls of air, she seemed to calm down. Her shuddering stopped, but her facial expression still showed anxiety.

She said with a shaky voice:

"W-wait...this player... we... why would he try to kill us?"

Both Heathcliff and Kirito looked at her.

Kirito said slowly, "Mane... there will always be a good person and a bad person... this person really wants to go home... he doesn't want to risk dying. So he's using us to help him get home... by killing us and taking the ovule. That way... there would be no risk to him. He would get stronger without any danger."

"Why... wha..." She took a shuddering breath. "Why... how can he... kill others? He should be helping everyone get back home!"

Heathcliff forcefully dragged Kirito and Mane to face the legion of Nepents coming from the west. With an unmerciful tone: "He wants to go home. He wants to go home so badly he doesn't care how many people he kills to get home. He wants to go home so badly he doesn't care about which method he uses to survive."

Mane looked devastated. "...how... why..."

"There is always an opposite side. There are good people and bad people. Some people will even kill others just for the fun of it. Listen," Heathcliff pointed as Mane flinched at the idea, while Kirito tried to soothe her. "we should be able to survive this if we eliminate that group of twenty before the twenty behind us begin to target us."

As he tried to comfort Mane, Kirito drew his sword, then frowned. "Why won't they target us first?"

Heathcliff thinly smiled. It was a sarcastic smile, with no warmth or humor in it whatsoever. "Our good friend the «Hiding» PKer will distract them."

Mane, tears leaking out of her eyes, looked up. "But... he's invisible? He'll... just..." Blink blink. "...wait... for them too... kill us." She shrunk a little at her own words.

"«Concealment» isn't airtight... literally. His scent will still reach the Nepents, smell is how they sense their surroundings. He must have not have used «Hiding» before in the Beta... I have, and it doesn't work against Nepents, at least not at his level." Heathcliff glanced behind them. "Look."

Observing the detachment of plants behind them, Kirito noted that Heathcliff was right; the entire group was veering away from the trio and heading directly towards the thicket where Kirito had first seen the player. There was a shout of surprise.

Mane, eyes still fixated on the plants locked onto them, shivered and asked, "Kirito... we won't...die...right?"

Kirito gritted his teeth as he surveyed the approaching group. We can do this. "Yes, Mane. We'll get through this... None of us will die."

The young girl let out a deep sigh, as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Drawing Historica, she faced the Nepents. Her brow was furrowed, face tense, and her entire body shook periodically, but her eyes glared.

"Now..." Heathcliff settled into a sword stance, raising his blade. "...cover me. Attack any you can. Drink a potion if you sustain any sort of damage."

His basic sword flashed a deep, blood red. With no further words, he leaped at the nearest Nepent, who drew back its vines.

"Come on!" Kirito shouted to Mane. After a moment of hesitation, Mane quickly followed.

Kirito rushed to Heathcliff's side, blade blazing a violent blue. With a primal yell, he flung himself at a Little Nepent who was trying to attack Heathcliff from the side.

The Horizontal neatly caught the Nepent as it drew back its head. With a horrendous ripping sound, the head was violently torn off the stalk. The critical hit depleted its HP instantly, causing both halves of the monster to dissolve into light.

Next to him, Mane's blade gleamed with a silver glow, shakily drawing an arc in the air as it looped underneath the pitchers of two Nepents, dealing a respectable amount of damage to each. Kirito's blade flashed out in a backhand Horizontal, dispatching one of them before he focused his attention to another, leaving the second to Mane.

Mane looked extremely strained, her knuckles white as she gripped Historica tightly. Still wrestling with her inner turmoil, her next attack missed, barely making contact with the stalk and whacking against the pitcher.

A vine looped around Historica and whipped her on the shoulder, carving off 15% of her HP. Flinching, she instinctively sliced upwards, and the system recognized it as the activation movement for the Slant skill. The attack cut deep into the stalk and smacked the underside of the Nepent's head. Although ineffective, it was enough to reduce its HP to zero, and the Nepent vanished from the world.

Suddenly releasing a large, pent-up breath, Mane quickly grabbed a potion from her belt and drafted it in a single gulp.

I'm not afraid. She told herself. There's nothing to be afraid of... we won't die.

Kirito will protect me...

Gritting her teeth against the fear pounding in her heart, she raised Historica again and attacked another Nepent.

Heathcliff was charging through the crowd of monsters, calculatingly swinging his blade through the monsters over and over. His higher vitality and strength allowed him to best the Nepents with a greater efficiency than Mane and Kirito, often taking on two or three at once. Primarily using Horizontal, he cut a large swath through the enemies, red afterglows lingering in his wake.

However, through sheer numbers, the three were soon forced back-to-back, surrounded on all sides. Their HP had dropped significantly, potion supplies running out.

Six Little Nepents remained, hissing and waving their vines. Sticky strands of liquid hung from their pitchers, burning minor holes in the grass.

Suddenly, a wordless scream rent the air. The Nepents turned to look, AI registering the sound. Kirito and Mane also paused.

The player Kirito had seen earlier, armed with a basic sword, was finally overwhelmed by the Nepents. He had only lasted this long due to the sparse space in his thicket; only 2 Nepents could engage him at a time, while the rest impatiently waited for their comrades to fall to take their place.

With a howl, he activated a Slant skill, driving it into the stalk of one Nepent. As it shattered, another one attacked from behind with both its vines in an X pattern, cutting through his leather armor and skin, revealing the red wire frame of his character.

His back arched due to the force. He screamed again.

The red bar representing his HP hit zero, and the indicator faded with a sinister "Beeeeeeeep".

His voice trailed off into nothing. The player's avatar slowly froze, and took on an azure tinge. The edges of his character blurred, then the entire body fizzed as if his data had been bugged.

With absolute finality, he burst into countless polygons that slowly evaporated into the air, leaving behind tiny stars of light that lingered for a while longer.

The sound of shattering glass split the air.

It had all taken only seconds. Not even two minutes had passed since the seed had been destroyed.

Both Mane and Kirito swallowed painfully. Turning their attention back to the enemies at hand, they viciously attacked. With Heathcliff's help, they made short work of the remaining Nepents.

All three of them had less than half their HP. As a result, their bars had turned a sickly yellow, indicating they were in the 25% to 50% zone. In the brief respite they had, they quaffed their remaining potions and turned to face the last of the monsters.

Only 12 cursors remained, which meant the PKer had managed to fend off and slay 8 of the Nepents before finally falling. An impressive amount.

"Good job." Kirito whispered, an honorary compliment to the dead.

A small explosion of particles rose from Heathcliff's hand: he had finished his last potion. Plucking his sword from where he had stuck it in the dirt, he settled into a defensive stance. His HP bar slowly regenerated, heading back into the green.

Mane was panting hard, eyes half closed. While her HP was relatively higher than either Kirito's or Heathcliff's, she was also a lot more tired. Unnecessary tension due to fighting her fear had left her exhausted, her mental fatigue compounded as she fought the predatory plants. She rested on one knee, trying to regain her composure.

Kirito was also beginning to feel the strain of combat; yet, he forced himself onto his feet, blade at the ready.

Quickly helping Mane to her feet, he held her eyes with his for a moment. A reassuring message passed between the two, and Mane dredged up her last reserves of mental energy, drawing Historica.

Silently, he nodded to Heathcliff, and they attacked the remainder of the monsters.

Out of the twelve, two of the Nepents carried a large bulb on top of their heads. They had already sustained some damage, leaving them at around 60%.

If the PKer had just farmed normally, without resorting to PK, he would have gotten his ovule even after Heathcliff took his.

But now he was dead. He had tried to kill, and died for it. Those were the consequences of his actions. Time and history could not be changed.

Three of the Little Nepents flung their heads back, signalling they were about to cough up their corrosive acid. Charging forward, Heathcliff and Kirito dealt dual Horizontals to their exposed stalks, instantly obliterating their HP. All three were silenced before a drop of liquid could be spilled.

With Mane's help, the last 9 were brought down in half a minute, thus leaving the trio alone in the clearing.

---

Their HP bars had all dropped dangerously low. Heathcliff in particular had taken a lot of damage, being in the front all the time. None of them had more than 35% of their health. Kirito was already in the red, hovering at 20%.

All three of them had leveled up to 3 sometime during the chaos, even almost reaching level 4, but they were in no shape to be thinking about stat points.

Mane collapsed as soon as it was all over, finally succumbing to her exhaustion. Holding back her fear and the normal mental strain of combat had taken its toll on her. Historica clattered as it fell from her loosened grip, and she lay sideways on the ground, breathing hard.

Her face no longer looked tense; instead, she looked completely worn out. Her eyes were shut.

Kirito was in no better shape. He plunged his basic sword into the dirt and leaned on it, gasping for air.

We're still alive..., he wondered.

Heathcliff looked as solemn as ever, though weary. He also leaned on his sword, breathing hard.

Slowly, Kirito walked unsteadily towards the thicket where the PKer who started it all had died. On the spot where he had been killed, his basic sword and a buckler he must have purchased from the village lay on the grass. Both were pitted and corroded, stains of acid still steaming on them.

His two skill points had evidently been used in the «Hiding» and «Knives» skill tree, as shown by his actions. Knife skills could still be used with swords, but with their effectiveness diminished immensely. To have been able to dispatch eight of the Nepents with knife based skills, Kirito faintly admired his talent.

Strangely, he felt no resentment towards the man, even though he had nearly killed all of them. It was as if Kirito could understand his desperation, his fear. He understood why the PKer had been driven to this point.

If he had not decided to PK... what would he have become? Would he have rose to be one of the top players? Certainly, his swordsmanship had been remarkable.

Taking the fallen items, he impaled the sword on the spot, and hung the buckler on its hilt. A makeshift gravestone. The durability of the items would slowly drop, eventually disappearing as the system deleted them, but it would stand for a good amount of time.

The player had died... to be exact, his HP had reached zero. Whether his consciousness returned to the real world outside or not... there was no way to find out. There were no means to confirm whether the man behind the avatar had arrived back in reality or been consumed by the void.

With a heavy air, Kirito stumbled back to the other two. Heathcliff was waiting for him.

"We need to go now... if another group of Nepents were to rePOP, we would be in serious trouble... let us head back to Horunka village."

Kirito silently nodded, not trusting his tongue to speak coherently. He walked over to Mane, who was still curled up on the ground, half-conscious.

He warily laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Mane... are you...alright?" Kirito softly asked. His voice was barely audible.

She shifted, opening her eyes. She looked utterly defeated.

"...Kiri-to...kun...I..."

She strained to lift herself up, but inexorably flopped back onto the ground with a deep sigh. She was so mentally exhausted she had no control over her avatar.

Mane...

Kirito knelt and picked her up, arm around her back and under her legs. Like the first time, he was mildly surprised at how light she was.

Still, his fatigue made his knees wobble. He nearly fell over.

He panted out, "Heathcliff... let's... go?"

Heathcliff nodded, and pulled out a small, incomplete map from his menu. Tracing the path with his finger, he motioned for Kirito to follow him as he stashed the two ovules that had dropped in his temporary inventory.

Fortunately, perhaps because all the monsters in the area had been attracted by the seed and killed by the players, the trio did not encounter any hostiles on the way back to Horunka Village. They made it as fast as they could, taking their stamina into consideration.

The village bell chimed just as they entered the village. 10 o'clock, the chronometer read.

Lit torches lined the streets of the village, and unlike before, they weren't deserted. Several players, identified by their green cursors, were walking around looking for places to spend the night.

Those were probably also Beta Testers, as they had the resources and knowledge to arrive here. Most of the other players were still at Starting City, at level one... If this went on, there would be a huge gap in between testers and newer players... but Kirito stopped thinking about that as they neared the private house in the corner of the village.

The flickering lights coming from inside the house danced on their faces, suggesting a roaring fireplace had been lit. Mane, who had fallen into a uneasy slumber somewhere along the way, seemed to relax and loosen up under the dancing and warming glow.

Heathcliff stopped outside and turned to face Kirito, his face half cast in shadow. "Here we part ways."

He slipped out the window and entered several commands; a notice popped up in front of Kirito, glowing in the dark.

|| Heathcliff would like to be your friend!

|| - Accept

|| - Decline

A tap, and Heathcliff was added to his friends list. 3 friends in less than half a day... 3 more than the amount of friends I had in all my previous games combined.

Heathcliff then sent the invite to Mane as well, the system storing it for future reference as Mane was still asleep. Then he opened up another menu, and the message "Leader Heathcliff has left the party. Your party has been disbanded." appeared in front of him. Mane and Heathcliff's health bars disappeared from the top left corner of Kirito's vision.

The red paladin rummaged in his belt pouch for a second, then withdrew one of the ovules. Handing it to him, he said "Give that one to Mane when she awakens. She won't need the «Anneal Blade»... but the bonus col and experience is not negligible either. Perhaps she can give the weapon to one in need..."

Kirito nodded numbly. Gently lowering Mane, he shouldered her back and retrieved the ovule with the freed hand. Slipping it into his inventory, he hoisted her sleeping form up again. Mane murmured, then let out yet another deep sigh.

"...I have a question. Kirito."

The statement suddenly came out of the blue; Kirito grunted an affirmation.

"Who is Mane?"

Kirito blinked. "I... what?"

Heathcliff frowned and repeated, "What is she to you? Where did you find her? She seems... different. Feels strange."

"..."

Kirito was reluctant to answer. For some reason, he believed the matter of Mane's memory loss was a private matter... Not to be mentioned to anyone. He felt she might be in danger if he spoke of it to another...

Then he remembered: "Kirito, I think we can trust him."

Well, if Mane trusted him... perhaps it would be okay. Besides, it seemed Heathcliff already knew something.

"...I found her in the streets of Starting City. She has no memories."

Heathcliff raised an eyebrow. "No memories?"

"Her mind had been randomly burnt out… she remembers some things, but not others. For example… Mane knows about the friends list system, and the stat screens… but she doesn't remember the skill categories nor anything about sword skills…"

Heathcliff stayed silent, staring at Kirito. However, it seemed his focus was not on Kirito himself.

"She doesn't even know anything about reality… real life. All she knows is that this is a game… and a game of death. She's very scared…"

"…me too."

"Huh?"

"…I have no memories either."

Kirito nearly dropped Mane. "What?!"

Heathcliff, with his ever-stoic composure, murmured, "I still remember what is real life… I remember the beta test and many things about Sword Art Online and Aincrad… but I don't remember any personal memories. Just my name, Heathcliff."

Kirito wordlessly contemplated the red-clad player.

"…I had thought… something was similar. Her manner of bearing…her drive to clear the game… and childish innocence to believe the best of everyone." Another of his thin smiles. "I… feel the same... considering the game. I feel my sole goal in life is to clear Aincrad. I cannot explain it."

Kirito still did not say anything.

"…I woke up in Starting City today… just as Kayaba Akihiko began his tutorial. That is my first memory. Before that… is nothing."

He finally regained control of his vocal chords. "Heathcliff… you…"

Suddenly, Heathcliff groaned, then fell to one knee. His hands clutched his head.

Startled, Kirito dashed over and knelt next to him. "Heathcliff!"

Heathcliff's head shot up. His eyes flashed as they caught the light, causing Kirito to freeze.

"...Heathcliff?"

That stare... it was as if Heathcliff had become a whole different person. Completely different from his previous calm looks, his sight pierced Kirito and held in in place.

Heathcliff straightened up slowly, as if testing his strength. All the while, he continued to fix Kirito with his scanning gaze.

Then: "Take care of Mane. You two are more alike than you think... you rely on each other more than you think."

He turned and began to walk away. "I will turn in the ovule tomorrow morning. Farewell."

Still holding Mane, Kirito stared after his retreating form. What...?

Without looking back, Heathcliff waved his hand. "Thank you for partying with me. It was very enjoyable... Let us meet again."

The red paladin vanished into the night.

---

The golden "!" above the village woman's head vanished as she accepted the two ovules from him. With a winning smile, she traversed the length of the kitchen to a chest stored at the end of the room. With a small huff, she heaved it open, and withdrew two longswords sheathed in red scabbards. While looking old, they gave off the feeling of a regal weapon, of far better quality than the «Basic Sword».

"Thanks" Kirito said to the woman, more out of courtesy than anything else. With a smile, she bowed and thanked him once again for the ovules.

Returning to her position behind the counter, she opened the pot and dropped the two bulbs inside. Shutting the lid with an iron clasp, she went back about her business.

A victory chime echoed in his ears as a Quest Complete notice popped up. The experience awarded boosted both him and Mane to level 4, and a second message appeared in his vision denoting the occasion.

Mane was sitting in one of the chairs, noisily drinking the water the woman had offered her. Kirito walked over to her and also sat down. One of the «Anneal Blades» was equipped on his back, and he handed the other to her. It disappeared into her inventory, and Kirito rested his head on the table.

Mane looked at him. "Kirito-kun? Are you...?"

"Yeah... I'm alright... thanks."

By the time Kirito had carried her inside the house and then gently prodded her awake, Mane had apparently recovered from her fatigue. At least, she seemed normal again, her breathing even and stress gone from her face.

She had asked where Heathcliff had gone, and then noticed the friend notice and accepted it. Then, she asked for some water.

Still, Kirito had neglected to mention Heathcliff's strange action. He remembered the spasm, that stare, the look that had pierced through his face.

That... that wasn't Heathcliff.

Kirito was sure that the person who had stared at him was not Heathcliff. He didn't understand why, but it wasn't the stalwart warrior who had given him that look.

It bothered him.

"Kirito... Kirito-kun?"

Kirito looked at Mane. "When did you start calling me -kun?"

Mane hesitated. "Um... I dunno."

Kirito gave her a deadpan stare, then sighed. He stared at the NPC woman, who was busy ladling a serum from the pot into a large wooden bowl. She picked it up and left the room.

Following some instinct, Kirito got up and followed her.

"Kirito-kun?" Mane stood up and watched, slightly bewildered, as Kirito exited the kitchen.

He trailed the woman into the hallway, and the NPC curved right into a room, holding the medicine. He remembered he had tried to follow the NPC during the beta period, but the system had locked the door as soon as the woman went inside. Now, the door stood open.

Despite his misgivings, he stepped in front of the door, and looked inside.

A small bedroom. A simple bed, drawer, and chair. Upon the bed lay a child, a young girl.

She looked to be about seven or eight years old, but her skin lay stretched on her bones. The sickness was apparent in the bloodlessness of her skin, the thinness of her arms. Even as he watched, the girl broke into a coughing fit.

The cursor above her head was a sunny yellow, denoting another NPC. The name underneath that read Agatha.

The woman who had given the quest knelt next to the bed, holding the bowl of medicine. She held it out to the young girl, saying, "Here, this traveling swordsman brought you this medicine. It will heal you for sure... so please drink it."

With a small, faint voice, Agatha murmured, "...okay..."

The tone and volume of her voice reminded Kirito of Mane when he had first met her.

Taking the bowl in her hands, helped by the woman, she slowly consumed the medicine. Perhaps it was just Kirito's imagination, but her face seemed to have more of a flesh-like tone to it after she gulped down the serum.

Then Agatha noticed the young man in the doorway, looking at her. She gave a weak smile.

"Thank you, traveling swordsman-sama." She said with that soft tone of hers.

A sudden memory appeared in his mind, and a wave of emotion welled up in Kirito's chest. Suddenly blinking a lot more, he managed to reply, "You're welcome... please get better."

Her smile, if possible, became brighter. "I will."

Kirito turned and walked back to the kitchen. Mane was still there, still standing at the table, waiting for him. Surely she must have heard their words, as the room was only a few meters away.

His face must have looked pretty sad, because Mane asked worriedly, "Kirito-kun... are you okay?"

Kirito finally broke, falling to his knees in the middle of the kitchen. He gritted his teeth, looking at his upturned hands, and his cheeks felt strangely wet. His breathing became ragged.

Mane limped over to his side and stood on her knees in front of him as well. "Kirito..."

Her voice... was so much like Agatha's... and Suguha's. The tone, the feeling...

His emotions finally overwhelmed him, and he cried. Even when his eyes were squeezed shut, the tears were let loose, spilling out and collecting in the palms of his hands. He made strange hiccuping noises.

Mane awkwardly hugged him, trying to placate him. "Kirito-kun..."

They stayed like that for a minute.

Kirito began to whisper, just loud enough for Mane to hear. Every few words, his speech was punctuated by sobs.

"In the real world... in reality... my sister, Suguha... she got sick. A long time ago... our parents were away... I had to take care of her."

"It was a cold... her head was extremely hot... and I was placing wet towels on her head to... cool her down... it sort of helped..."

"Then... she asked me... for some ginger tea."

"I didn't know how... I had to ask my mother... and I made some for her... it was very hard... for me... with no... cooking experience."

Mane silently listened.

"I... I brought her the tea... I had cut my own fingers... pretty badly... while making it... the tea probably tasted bad... anyways..."

"But... when I... got it to her... she... I..."

"She was usually quite... spiteful and... condescending to me... but she... she looked up at me... and... she... she..."

"Thanked you."

Mane filled in for him. The memory brought more fresh tears for Kirito.

"Kirito-kun...you miss your family."

It wasn't a question, but a statement. A simple fact of truth.

"...yes..."

Kirito sobbed in silence.

Mane finally broke the impasse. "We will definitely get back. Kirito-kun... don't worry. I... I will protect you too."

Up until he finally stopped crying, Mane never stopped comforting him.

A single tear made it's way down her cheek.

---

Kirito finally realized the reality of Sword Art Online.

A cage.

It wasn't the death that Kirito feared.

It was the fact that he was imprisoned. Caged. Cut off...

He was trapped. In the parallel dimension of Aincrad.

He would never be able to return to life again... at least, for an extremely long time. Perhaps even never.

Perhaps his sister and mother were right next to him. Perhaps even his father was there. Yet, he could not speak with them... See them... Hear them.

He was alone. Alone, in the darkness of this world. In Aincrad.

No, not alone.

He had friends.

Mane, embracing him, comforting him. Someone he cared for and who cared for him.

Klein, the raffishly humorous, reliable friend, pillar of support.

Heathcliff, righteous and solemn, unbreakable.

He had friends. People who would stand by him.

Kirito was trapped. But he could get out.

With the help of his friends.

With the help of his friends, Kirito believed, he would return home.

He would help everyone return home.

Help everyone get back to reality.

---

Kayaba Akihiko smiled. "Imagine my surprise when I saw my avatar walking and talking all by itself."

Koujiro Rinko frowned. "I would think it was quite astonishing for you."

They fell silent. Kayaba Akihiko sat on the cot, holding a NerveGear in his hands. Rinko stood in the doorway, silhouetted and cast in shadow as the only source of light was behind her, out in the hallway.

Both of them knew what the other knew, yet nobody spoke it and put it out in the open. It was a sort of game they played.

Finally Kayaba asked his question. "How did you get past the firewalls and encrypting I set up around the TAIC?"

"It was moderately challenging, but I know your patterns from university. I guessed and I was right." Rinko shrugged. "My hacking and programming skills have improved as well."

Despite the light tone of their banter, the air between them contained a tension that was as frosty as ice.

Another question: "Who did you copy?"

"It is not for you to know."

"How did you change it? I noticed the improvements."

"I programmed a separate patch."

"I always knew your skills were top notch. In such a short amount of time, too. How did you get it into the system?"

Rinko's brow furrowed. "There were loopholes. You locked the system to interference, but your coding was worded so nothing could be removed or changed. I simply added."

Kayaba nodded, looking somewhat pleased.

Koujiro's eyes narrowed. "What's there to be happy about? Shouldn't you be angry?"

"Angry? Hardly." Akihiko chuckled. "My goal was this situation itself. Aincrad. A parallel dimension with death. Had you interfered with the production of the castle, I would have been moderately upset... but something as trivial as this puts an interesting twist in things."

Rinko stayed silent.

"I am, however, a little peeved about how you don't trust me to help the players, Rinko. Am I really that untrustworthy?"

"You've fooled the entire world with your game." she spat out.

Kayaba raised his hands in surrender. "Ah... you've got me there. But truthfully, I really planned to help the players."

"No matter what you planned, to help or not, it will help clear the game. That's the goal I programmed for it; to clear the game. You can't help anymore."

"How so?"

"I've locked the system the addition of programs now, too. I've sealed the loophole, so no more active logins can be made. With your current avatar occupied by it, you no longer have any means to enter Aincrad."

"Ah, I thought this might happen." Kayaba waved a relaxed gesture. "So I wrote in a clause that allows me to take over the avatar as long as the NerveGear recognizes my brain signature. It works, I've tried. I'm not logging anything in, just rerouting the avatar's consciousness."

Koujiro's leaned against the doorway, hand on the side of her head. "But... its mental state?"

"It will continue to generate memories. They will be altered so it believes it made the decisions. Another ingenious piece of code, if I may say so myself."

Silence.

"Don't worry Rinko." Kayaba reassured her. "I'll let it play. I might interfere now and then... but I'll mostly leave it alone."

Koujiro Rinko turned and left the room.

Kayaba Akihiko smiled, then donned the NerveGear in his hands. What had just transpired between him and Rinko had already left his mind.

"Now... Players of Sword Art Online."

"Let me see how you all face reality. The reality of death."

"Let me see... the strength of your resolution. What paths shall you take?"

"Link Start."

---

Author's Note:

All legends have to start somewhere.

Hey, have you guys watched the anime? Episode 10? Remember that look Heathcliff gives Kirito after the duel? That's the look he gives Kirito here too.

I worked pretty fast on this chapter... actually surprised myself... I thought it would take more than 2 weeks to finish this. Determination Ftw.

I've learned how to place these «» brackets around game terms...

...after I wrote this chapter. I looked through it and tried to place it around every term, but I've probably missed some... please bear with me :P

I probably won't be able to write next week, due to finals. I'll think take a break and resume writing after those ungodly tests... *shudder*

Review Answers:

Sooo, maybe I'll have this section from now on to answer reviews... am I doing it right? I'm still quite green at this...

Thank you all for the reviews!

Don't worry, Historica won't make Mane a Mary sue. She has weaknesses... Thanatophobia, an extreme fear of death. She can hold it back, at the cost of extreme exhaustion. She is also a little naive.

Plus, wait until you see the later enhancement requirements (Ragout Rabbit Pelt :O) Maybe the enhancement gatherings could be a train of side stories... maybe.

There is no time travel... Mane's appearance is simply the same as Kirito's GGO avatar. There's a reason for that though.

Frog-kun, you're very perceptive. That's all I'm going to say.

Asuna is an alright character, but I feel she fits the "Mary-sue" thing too well. Basically, after combing through all 11 Light Novels, the only setback I found about her was that she had her bout of depression at the beginning of the game. After that, perfect personality and looks, pinnacle swordsmanship, etc etc. Kirito himself narrates her as a perfect person. Fearless, top guild, blah blah blah... No, I don't hate her, but she's sort of a bland character.

I plan for Klein to return, though. Probably Kirito would warm up to him more, now that he is sort of a "duo" player. Solitude really hurts, you know.

Please review some more! Constructive criticism really helps (though if you just want to praise my awesomeness, that's fine too :3).

---

Why do I always remember to do the disclaimer AFTER I PUBLISH the chapter!? I do not own Sword Art Online or any of it's Characters... I only own the story itself and any original characters.