A/N: There will be spoilers to my Neptunia story in this chapter, which will be taking place in a future chapter of that story. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read this chapter until the corresponding chapter of Neptunia is uploaded. Based on my estimates, this story will become parallel at around Chapter 15 of Neptunia, though it could be more or less. (Not what the site recognizes at 15, my version, which would be 16) Also, for reasons unknown to me, I am apparently doing this story solo as my co-writer is more or less AWOL.
Lastly, the title of this chapter roughly means (based on what few sources I have): Objective change.
Real Life Standard Time: [12:00] June 12th 2026
Location: [New Aincrad - Floor 1 Field]
"Well, Sylvia" Miharu begins as we fly over New Aincrad, the ground awash with vibrant greens and blues "This is your party, and you're the ones who know this place. Where should we go first?"
"Hmm" I twist over onto my back, soaring blindly forward as I ponder our options. Obviously, we'll need to find and defeat several bosses to get anywhere truly exciting in Aincrad, but for now, on floor 1, it can't hurt to clear a few dungeons and level up Madoka some since her levels are very low; normally she'd never be able to get into this castle if it weren't for XANA and Cardinal bypassing the restrictions "I'd say a dungeon, if we can find one."
Hikaru scoffs a little before joining the conversation "Yeah, if. This whole reset of the floors' layout is seriously throwing me off." I'm heavily drawn to agree with him on this one; we keep wandering in one direction with a clear goal in mind, only to realize that the location has either been moved or removed outright-it's infuriating in the worst way possible- to go in foolish circles in a place you once thought to be familiar. We spent three years in the old Aincrad and we got rather accustomed to the layout of all one hundred floors, though the last twenty five were a bit hazy since we had to force our way through because of XANA, so Hikaru, Keiko, Kana, and I all thought that it'd be easy to find everything, but Ymir must've been planning this for a long while. I imagine that Cardinal and XANA played a big hand at rebuilding this place.
Yui actually informed us not too long ago that each floor in Aincrad has been lengthened by at least ten times. I guess Ymir did it to account the matter of our unlimited flight; it would be too much of an advantage if the layouts were exactly like Old Aincrad, so the brand new [New Aincrad] is massive to even the playing field.
"Well then, I suppose you'll have to rely on those of us whose minds haven't been tainted with prior information!" Sachiko says with a playful smirk; our reactions are divided between rolled eyes and forced laughs at her commentary, since she was unintentionally insulting the memory of each and every person who died in Aincrad; Miharu's little sister being one of them "See, not having been a victim of SAO the first time around has it benefits after all, don't ya think, Miharu?"
"I hardly think that's necessary-" Miharu tries to say, but Sachiko cuts her off, saying "Aw, come on! Whose side are you on? Don't leave me all alone here, pal!"
Miharu stammers for a few seconds; I decide to intervene the moment her cheeks turn as red as her crimson red armor "Sachiko, don't push her. Miharu, you don't need to pick any 'side'-we're all a team. Together. Got that, Sachiko?"
"Yeah, whatever" she grumbles, slowing down just enough to sink back into formation behind me. I see Miharu gratefully mouth thank you before falling back into formation as well.
We continue to fly around New Aincrad a little when a monster lunges at us in mid-air, scattering our formation.
"Woah! What the hell was that?!" I shout in utter shock. That creature was able to lunge at us over fifty feet in the air; to do so would require a massive skill in jumping.
"No idea, but it seemed familiar somehow!" Keiko says, her voice reflecting my own surprise.
After about a minute, the creature leaps at us again, catching Madoka by the heel and dragging her back down to the ground. I turn around sharply, managing to catch a glimpse of the monster before it disappears with Madoka below the clouds.
"Madoka! Wait...that monster...Rakshasa!" I exclaim in shock, recognizing the field boss that killed nearly three hundred people in Sword Art Online's first month by itself.
"Rakshasa?! I remember that field boss! It was one of the most deadly monsters in the first month-Haruka lost her parents to that monster, and Katsuo and Karen nearly died there as well! I even heard that Karen got her Sleuth unique skill that day!" Kana further exclaims in shock, apparently remembering the monster as well.
I scowl very fiercely as I recall that Rakshasa killed around three hundred people back in SAO, and quickly go into a steep dive after the brown furred lion-like monster; Miharu and Keiko flying close behind me as we chase down Rakshasa.
"Sylvia, what's going on?!" Miharu asks, apparently agape at how I lost my composure at seeing the field boss that was responsible for so many deaths.
"That abomination and I have history. I want payback for all the deaths that monster caused back in Aincrad!" I snarl rather angrily, with my thoughts going back to Shima, who died protecting me back in Aincrad against Rakshasa, which was nicknamed the Kaishi Slayer [Beginning Slayer].
I continue to chase after Rakshasa with my group following me and when I find its lair, I notice Asuna's group outside a cave, apparently having chased down Rakshasa too. I guess that Morita and the others finished their funeral rites and continued traveling throughout New Aincrad.
"Sylvia?! What are you doing here?" Asuna asks in surprise, apparently having not expected to reunite with my group again so soon.
"Rakshasa took Madoka!" I say rapidly, dashing into the cave.
"W-Wait! Sylvia!" Asuna shouts, with me hearing her beckoning my group and hers to follow me further into the cave.
Real Life Standard Time: [13:30] June 12th 2026
Location: [New Aincrad - Rakshasa's Cave]
My group, combined with Asuna's, has reached the main chamber of the cave where I see Madoka pinned against a corner, with Rakshasa's AI perhaps being designed to capture victims and bring it to his cave to kill them there. I can see the appeal of this particular decision because not only would the person probably die from Rakshasa's usual brutal attacks, the chances of escape or rescue becomes more slim. I was just lucky that the necklace I got from Kana back in January has a 40% flight speed increase, which allowed me to catch up so quickly with Rakshasa. Kana thankfully gave us all these special necklaces which prevents imbalance in our flight speed.
"Rakshasa, pick on someone your own size!" I shout angrily to Rakshasa, trying to divert its attention from Madoka to myself.
It works as Rakshasa turns from Madoka and to myself as I draw my two-handed sword to prepare for combat as I see Asuna to my right with her rapier: Lambent Light, which Rika recreated early January, and Miharu to my left with her sword and shield set: Cerulean Guardian.
"I'm a little ashamed of you Sylvia, you've always been the more level-headed core member of Senryaku aside from Karen." Asuna says to me with a mixture of scolding and concern.
"Don't lecture me right now Asuna." I say with a mild scowl.
"Sylvia, Asuna has a point here. I will not claim I know your history, but going off on your own is extremely dangerous. Consider how you said 'We're all a team.' Teammates never abandon their comrades, no matter what. We need to stick together to accomplish our goals." Miharu says with a calm disposition, clearly having experience talking to comrades in such a manner, probably from her time when XANA was fighting against us "Let's take this guy down, together." Miharu continues with a smile, as I see everyone else in our two groups showing up and taking up arms.
"Okay. I'm not as knowledgeable with tactics as Karen but I've learned from a talented tactician." I say, trying to project a serious note but with a hint of optimism since I want to slay this boss for Shima. For everyone who died to this monster. Even if this monster is not the same one from Sword Art Online, it shares the same name and appearance so it will suffice to me "Hikaru, Miharu, work with Asuna, Morita, and Cobert and buy me time to get Madoka. Kana, Keiko, Rika, snipe this guy from afar. Sachiko; work with Haruka, Thinker, and Yulier on healing."
"Got it." They say in unison.
I quickly see Hikaru and Miharu dash toward Rakshasa to keep it distracted with help from Asuna, Cobert, and Morita. With it distracted, I sidestep it and get Madoka and bring her to the back ranks with Kana and Keiko. I then go attack Rakshasa with the others when it breaks through our formation to attack our back-rank mages and Haruka is suddenly enveloped in a bright light which utterly surprises all of us, but that's nothing compared to what happens when the light fades: Our friend vanished and was replaced by a girl with blue hair, indigo eyes and is wearing a green coat over white armor. She seems to be a Cait Sith based on the fact this girl has cat ears and a tail. However, her sudden entrance utterly surprised us, allowing Rakshasa to slay Miharu, Asuna, Cobert, Morita, Kana, and Rika since our guard was utterly destroyed by this sudden change of formation.
"Damn! Ulkaios, Silica, we need to keep Rakshasa from moving! Liatris, Thinker, Yulier, get the others back into shape ASAP!" I scowl, charging in sword drawn to try keeping Rakshasa stationary and remedy the fact that only Hikaru, Madoka, Keiko, Sachiko, Thinker, Yulier, this mystery girl, and I are left; it's pretty bad that only Hikaru, Keiko, and I are the only front-line fighters still alive.
We then try to turn this battle around, it ending with me driving my sword through Rakshasa's chest, while Hikaru and Keiko kept it distracted from the left and right, and destroy it. I try to hide my smile since I've finally put a major obstacle behind me. While I made sure never to let it get in my way, this one monster caused me a lot of pain in Aincrad and I have finally killed it by my own hands. I look toward my comrades and they've been revived though we all glare toward this newcomer.
"Who are you and what have you done to our friend?" Thinker asks, walking toward this mystery Cait Sith girl.
The girl waves her hands in a panicked manner when Thinker asked his question "Trust me, I have no idea. I was supposed to be sent back to Gun Gale Online or Earth." The girl then looks at all of us and simply blinks once "Wait, isn't this Alfheim Online?"
"Yeah, this is ALO. Now what did you do with our friend?" I ask seriously, wanting to know where Haruka went. She would've told us if she was going to logout, and even then she never would leave us during a battle.
"I...er...Look, you just won't believe me if I tell you."
"Try me. We've been through a lot." I say with a simple chuckle toward this girl.
I would've tried asking more questions but a Krab approaches us rather suddenly "What's going on here? I detected abnormal anomalies here in this cave."
"That's what we're trying to figure out XANA. Who is this girl anyway?" Kana says rather calmly before asking this question of XANA.
"Let me see." XANA quickly replies, with there being a minute of silence before we hear what it discovered "For some reason, her electronic signal originated from an MMO called Gun Gale Online and vanished through methods beyond a logout an hour and a half ago. As for why she is here in Alfheim Online, that is unknown to me at this time. I must do some investigation."
"Okay, who are you?" Asuna inquires seriously, apparently trying to hide her surprise.
"I'm Sinon. Okay, since you guys asked for it. I was working with a group of six when we suddenly got forced out of that game. And wait...did he say only an hour and a half passed? It's been six months!" After this girl made a claim of six months passing, we simply glare in disbelief, since apparently none of us buy this story at all.
"Okay, you're just messing with us now." Rika says rather solemnly toward this Sinon.
"I'm not! I'm serious!"
"Group of six in Gun Gale Online. Vanished through unknown methods. I shouldn't be making assumptions but…" I say to myself, my mind trailing back to what Kayaba had said to us 'Karen, Katsuo, and the others will be facing their own trial very soon' "Sinon, what's the name of this group of six you were working with?"
"They said they were part of a group called Senryaku. Their names were Karen, Katsuo, Kazuto, Mamoru, Ophelia, and Yuuki."
We all gasp in horror when we hear this Sinon list off their names since they seemed to have gotten themselves wrapped up into trouble again, and apparently Haruka has been taken as well.
"XANA, can you check if Karen and the others are still in GGO?!" I ask very rapidly, wanting to make sure that they're okay.
"Let me see." After hearing this from XANA, we begin pacing about though Morita, Cobert, and Asuna are keeping a glare toward Sinon which apparently petrified her since she's not moving in the slightest or even blinking "They're not in GGO. They vanished at the same time as this Sinon and...wait, what's this?"
"What's wrong XANA?" I ask, wondering what has the AI worried.
"Someone introduced subtle errors in the runtimes of GGO's Cardinal program. The internal schedule program has been manipulated to make this course of path unavoidable."
"In other words?" Hikaru meekly asks, and I'm feeling a little lost myself since I'm not too big on learning about all the technical stuff of MMOs.
"In layman's terms, someone intentionally modified Cardinal to ensure that Karen's group went about a specific path. They're just not in Gun Gale Online anymore. You should question this Sinon about their location."
"Right. Sinon, tell us everything, right now." I say to the girl very solemnly, wanting to know what exactly is going on.
"I was in some world called Gamindustri for the last six months. I just recently had the ability to return here. Ophelia did say that there'd be a problem with me being sent back. It was more of an exchange system. Whoever was here before me must've been taken. Look, not that I don't feel bad, but I'm returning to reality. Later." Sinon says with a mildly cold tone before opening the menu, though she remains stationary and simply closed it as she groans "Urg, now I know what you SAO players went through. I can't log out."
"Heh, go figure." I say with a simple sigh and based on the expressions I see from everyone but Miharu, Sachiko, and Madoka, they all practically said the same thing in their minds.
"XANA, can't you do a forced log out?" Keiko inquires, apparently wondering if the AI could simply force the girl out of the game.
"I can't. She doesn't have an active link to her AmuSphere. I will attempt to repair the link, but it'll take a few days at least." XANA responds, with the Krab vanishing afterward.
"Ugh...just my luck." Sinon groans as she looks in our direction "If I'm going to be stuck here, do you guys have a place for me to stay while this issue is being dealt with?"
"Would Grandum suffice?" I inquire, wondering where we should have Sinon stay while XANA and Cardinal try to find a way for her to return to reality.
"Grandum's too far away. I have a house in Yggdrasil City where she can stay." Kana voices her recommendation rather quickly for the girl.
"Oh goodness, I need to go guys! The second preliminaries start in ten minutes! Ulkaios-san, we need to hurry." Keiko exclaims as she looks at the time and rushes out of the cave so she can log out.
"Oh crap!" Hikaru equally exclaims as he follows Keiko. Considering that a good part of our combined rents comes from these tournaments, it's important for them to take part and rank high; especially since Katsuo is apparently in this 'Gamindustri', so it got a little tougher to secure placements in that tournament.
"Amaterasu, you mind escorting Sinon to your house?" I ask rather seriously, with a nod in response, seeing her leave with Sinon in tow "Okay guys, I think we ought to call it quits for a little while. I have...sudden business I need to take care of."
"But what about us?" Miharu asks, apparently being utterly fazed by our sudden departure plans.
"Hm...Miharu, Sachiko; do you guys mind helping Madoka level up a little? She's pretty weak since she just recently began playing MMOs. Feel free to ask Asuna and the others to help if needed. I just...I just need to take care of something." I despondently say as I gently pat Madoka's head, and leave the cave.
Although Gun Gale Online isn't my cup of tea, it looks like I have to take the bull by the horns to deal with whatever is happening in that virtual world. I know my friends and they wouldn't all leave Alfheim like they did unless something big was happening. I don't want to lose all my stuff by transferring and at the same time, I've heard rumors about that MMO and it's steep learning curve, but I was part of Senryaku, I'm confident that I can handle it. When I exit the cave, I open my system menu to call for XANA, with another Krab appearing in front of me
"What is it?" XANA inquires as I see his possessed staring me down since it's taller than I am.
"XANA, could you transfer my items to my storage in Grandum? I'm going to convert my account to Gun Gale Online and figure out what's going on." I ask in a calm manner. Considering that Karen, Katsuo, Kazuto, Mamoru, Ophelia, and Yuuki were all asked by that Undine guy to check out GGO, it must mean something major is happening and I'm getting to the bottom of this myself. That means contacting the person who gave them all this mission: Kikuoka Seijirou of the VR Crime Division.
"Are you certain? I would have thought you'd want to focus your efforts on New Aincrad."
"I am content for the time being. I got revenge against Rakshasa and now I want to prevent a new 'Sword Art Online' fiasco. According to your report, Karen and the others are gone; so we need someone else to take the reins and stop it." I say with a firm smile as I was finally able to get a deal of grief off my chest with Rakshasa defeated.
"Even with your skill from Aincrad, you're still human; you can't become a master within a day. According to what my monsters in Gun Gale Online heard, they planned on attending the tournament: Bullet of Bullets. That tournament begins in two days and the learning curve of the game demands months of learning and acquiring sufficient equipment, it is impossible by normal means right now."
"Then I scavenge for what I need to get and improvise."
"Ha. You certainly are determined. If you wish to handle Gun Gale, you'll need weapons and armor that you can handle. Even then, you need top-grade equipment to handle the tournament. Also, be aware that converting your avatar will randomize its appearance, and it will stay that way if you convert back to Alfheim. Although Nakasone Mamoru, Takara Ophelia, Konno Yuuki, and Kirigaya Kazuto kept their appearances largely the same via external bypass, Zaskar, the company that made the game, caught wind of it and sealed any possibilities of such things occurring again. Are you certain that you wish to do this knowing what will happen?"
"Yeah. I need a change of pace, and besides, if I want to look like myself in a game, I'll join Tirella." I chuckle amusedly as I see my weapon and armor vanish and when I check my inventory, I notice everything in it gone as well.
"Done. All of your items have been transferred to storage in Grandum."
"Thank you XANA." I lightly smile before looking up a little bit and lightly chuckle "Wow, I sometimes can't believe we have this level of friendliness between us. Anyway, this is all moot until I can get a copy of GGO."
I take this time to log out and when I return to reality, I take off my gold AmuSphere and pull my cellphone out of my pocket to call Kikuoka "Kikuoka-san, it's Sylvia Miyagawa."
"Ah, Miyagawa-kun. Is there a reason why you're calling?"
"I need to speak with you, in person."
"Ah, I see. Is it urgent?"
"Extremely."
"Very well. I know a quaint little cafe in Higashikurume. We'll meet there. I'll send the address to your GPS application." Kikuoka says as he arranges the meeting place for the both of us.
"Got it. See you there."
I hang up and I walk down to the main living room to leave a note of where I'm going and tell them that I'll take charge of getting groceries with Karen gone. It may be tough to do with school and work already being time-consuming ordeals, and if I decide to involve myself in whatever's going on in GGO, that'll be one more complication. But I'm no stranger to things like that, so I'll throw my life to the sword. Thankfully, my contract to Koizumi Designs in lieu of Madoka was surprisingly relaxed, and I could do my accounting job over their personal VR server which is a bit of a godsend since I don't need to spend hours traveling all over the place and I can keep close to my friends and this dorm.
Real Life Standard Time: [15:00] June 12th 2026
Location: [Higashikurume - Cafe]
After taking a train from Kodaira to Higashikurume, which took about an hour, I walk to the cafe Kikuoka arranged to meet me at. I find that the place is surprisingly empty. I half expected him to pick a place that actually has people in it, but considering the apparent urge for secrecy, I can let it slide and perhaps even applaud him for this. When I walk in, Kikuoka waves for me to join him at his table, which I do rather quickly.
"I should be honored that a young lady is interested in dating a man my age." Kikuoka chuckles though I fail to find it funny.
"Cut the crap Kikuoka, I'm not here to be humorous." I retort with a grave frown as I'm not interested in joking around right now.
Kikuoka quickly loses his smile as he simply nods "Of course, of course. What did you wish to talk with me about?"
"It's the project you put Karen, Katsuo, and the others on. I want in." I say rather bluntly, wanting to get to business ASAP.
"You must know that I can't do that. Their mission is highly confidential and I can't assign any more people to this."
"Kikuoka, while I don't like to insult my friends, you must know that I have far more experience than nearly half of the people in the group, you know that from my reports in SAO and Alfheim."
"Harsh, but my decision stands. I can't legally assign anyone else to this mission. There would be too many complications if I do."
"Then treat me as a volunteer who is concerned over the deaths in Gun Gale Online. There isn't any problem there right?" I ask with a mild smugness in my voice as I try to word my way into what's going on here without getting Kikuoka in trouble.
"Quite perceptive. There is nothing that forbids outside assistance to a degree, but I can't provide information about the case. If you want to help, you'll need this." Kikuoka says as he pulls a game case from inside his coat and passes it to me.
"Thanks, but...you carry stuff like this with you? That's a little weird." I say as I inspect the game case.
"It helps being prepared for any situation, and there is one small piece of news I wish to give you before you jump in Gun Gale."
I put my left hand around my waist and smugly smile "What happened to 'You can't provide information about the case'?"
"It's not. Merely a detail I noticed." Kikuoka calmly retorts as he shoots me down rather big time "I have heard that an old friend of yours: Nanak, plays Gun Gale Online with his converted SAO account. If you make contact with him, he will most certainly lend his assistance to you considering your past history."
"Nanak? I haven't talked to him since we were trapped in Alfheim. Nine months is a long time."
"Also, the final preliminaries start in three hours, so I would hurry. Finally, you may want to exercise caution. You and your friends have a knack for attracting trouble. Lieutenant Amano and his team learned that the hard way."
"Yeah...I know." I despondently say as I remember the bloodbath that particular day, with me getting up from my chair afterward. I then politely bow in Kikuoka's direction in appreciation for his assistance in this matter.
"Best of luck Miyagawa-kun."
Real Life Standard Time: [17:00] June 12th 2026
Location: [Kodaira - Dorm]
After I concluded my business with Kikuoka, I quickly hurried back to Kodaira and after getting groceries, I notice Rika and Asuna in the kitchen cooking for those of us who are left here: Myself, Hikaru, Kana, Rika, Asuna, Madoka, and Tsubasa, since Karen, Katsuo, Kazuto, Mamoru, and now Haruka are apparently gone.
"Sylvia, why did you leave so suddenly? You had us all worried." Asuna says as she rushes toward me with a sad frown on her face.
"Sorry to worry you. But I'm going to investigate what happened to Kazuto and the others. Don't worry about waiting on me for dinner, I'll warm up whatever you make later." I say with an apologetic frown as I walk past Asuna and put the groceries on the kitchen counter.
"You're throwing yourself into trouble again aren't you?! We talked with Sinon and Gun Gale Online is a difficult game. She also told us about why Karen and the others were there in the first place." Asuna says, with her obviously holding back the desire to shout at me about this matter.
"Then tell me why they were there in the first place. And you know you won't be able to keep me from this. You know I've become incredibly stubborn during the three years of Aincrad."
"I...Very well, I don't want to start a fight." Asuna admits as she gestures for me to sit down on a couch in the living room. When I sit down and glance in Asuna's direction, she resumes talking "She told me, Kana, and Liz that Karen and the others were investigating an individual known as Death Gun. He's been capable of killing people in the game, just like the SAO incident. Just...promise me that if you plan on chasing after him, be careful, okay? Kazuto and the others are gone, and I don't want to lose friends again. Aincrad and Alfheim took too many from me." Asuna's concern of my safety is rather obvious and I appreciate it big time.
"Heh, don't worry Asuna; I'm Senryaku's top warrior. I was sickly since I pushed myself a lot when I was younger, but I've been training my physique since we left Alfheim and my skill in the virtual world has never been better." I confidently say as I try to reassure both her and myself with fake praise, especially me since I have my own share of fears and concerns over this.
If this crisis is just like SAO, that means that death is a big deal and I shouldn't take it lightly. After all, back in Aincrad, I had to keep myself fully aware of the surroundings at all times when I left town or else monsters could ambush and kill me. Even though I tended to assume that we were always together, that was far from the truth, especially since I've had plenty of times where I worked independently, same with Katsuo, Hikaru, and even Karen.
"That overconfidence worries me the most Sylvia, but...I trust you." Asuna nods with a small degree of uncertainty in her voice as she walks back to the kitchen to help Rika with cooking.
"Thanks Asuna." I say with quiet appreciation as I walk to my room to install Gun Gale Online so I can wrap up this dilemma as soon as possible. My first priority should be to find Chomei and acquire his help.
Getting to work with my old boss again will be interesting as well. Although I was in Karen's Senryaku unit, and even though Haruka and Mamoru technically weren't part of our group, they were informally part of us; I associated myself with the Divine Dragon Alliance with Hikaru and Kazuto since we focused on the more offensive oriented positions; Katsuo worked with the Knights of the Blood Oath; Kana, Keiko, and Rika were with the Silver Valkyrie; and Karen, Haruka, and Mamoru worked with the Aincrad Liberation Force.
When I enter my room, I quickly start up my computer, take Alfheim out and put it back in the case, I take Gun Gale Online out of its case and put it in the computer to install it.
After I see the game fully install, I pull out my AmuSphere and plug it into my computer so I can play GGO
"Link Start!"
I'm greeted with the familiar darkness of the login screen before noticing a menu appear in front of me
Will you cross over a character from a different game or create a new character?
I see the two choices available to me and I choose to convert my Minatoya avatar from Alfheim Online to Gun Gale Online since I need every advantage I can get, and if I want Nanak's help; I need him to recognize me.
This option will permanently randomize your character's appearance, are you certain?
I press yes on the option knowing the circumstances of what will happen with Minatoya. Besides, considering my history with virtual reality, the human warrior: Elena should look like me, not the fairy bard: Minatoya. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while now but never had the interest and ability to do it. I then see my character appears in front of me and the appearance is randomly changing before it suddenly stops with a drastically changes. Before, my appearance was practically identical to my real life, but now my character's orange hair has been lengthened from my upper chest to below my waist and has changed to a bluish black, my gold eyes has changed to blue and my wardrobe is a lavender colored shirt and a black coat, with it finishing the appearance randomizer once the clothes are decided "Geez, I look like a feminine Kazuto." I groan in my mind as I see Minatoya's new look.
"Welcome to Gun Gale Online"
I then find myself in what appears to be the main city for this game: SBC Glocken and I get a few messages from XANA in my private message screen after I exit the entrance portal
"Excellent, I have recognized your entrance within Gun Gale Online. I have run into an irritant with my plan to provide you with equipment. The system is preventing me from doing it directly, but I have alternatives. I am punching in the coordinates of a weapon cache in an abandoned area of the city in your FoV. I do have to take precautions in case someone else approaches it, so if any other player gets close, I'll have to delete it until you arrive. I have scanned your statistics and they prioritize Strength, Vitality, and Dexterity significantly, but has lower priority on the other three statistics. I'm providing appropriate equipment. Best of luck Miyagawa Sylvia."
After reading this message from XANA, I see a cursor appear in my FoV telling me to go to a specific location, which should lead me to the weapon cache that XANA made for me. When I begin walking I remember that I should contact Chomei so we can coordinate our efforts against this Death Gun. I open my menu to check my friend's list, with the fact that its empty is no surprise since I'm in a whole other world, and I punch in each character of Nanak and I press the player confirmation button before sending a friend invite since I want to see if he's using the same name as before, and there is a confirmation of there being a player with that name, but I've learned from MMO history that players having similar names is as common as the stars in the sky, but we SAO players have a good number of codes and riddles to help distinguish each other from the average individual which range from seemingly simple questions with a complex underbelly to statements which are just plain confusing to the normal person. I start a chat with this Nanak and plan to ask him one of the riddles I made for my boss and see if this is the same person.
"Am I speaking with the progenitor of the alliance of the divine dragon?"
"Indeed you are, avatar of vengeance: Gold Valkyria. What brings you to this world?" Chomei chuckles amusedly and I can tell that he sounds glad to hear my voice for the first time in nine months, though he is obviously curious on why I'm here in Alfheim since I'm more suited to the fantasy setting and not this cyberpunk kind of game.
"Long story. If you can meet up with me, I'll explain in person."
"Certainly, where do you want to meet?"
I give the coordinates of where XANA created the weapon cache for me to Nanak and I get a rather quick response
"Got it, I'll be there in ten minutes. Wait for me there."
After I get the answer, I rush to the area since I don't want the weapon cache getting deleting before I acquire the necessary weapons and armor needed to handle this Bullet of Bullets tournament.
Real Life Standard Time: [17:25] June 12th 2026
I ran as fast as I possibly could and thankfully managed to reach the cache before Nanak showed up. When I open the cache, I found what appears to be a highly customized assault rifle and shotgun, several boxes full of ammunition for the two weapon types
Since I have a little bit of free time I decide to lightly hum the song Haruka and I used to help defeat Geocrawler, since Haruka got me into the habit of practicing my singing whenever I could ever since we fought that boss two years ago.
"Nice song lass, where'd you learn it?" I see an armored figure, with the same white and blue color scheme as his DDA armor, approach me and even though the voice is muffled, I can easily recognize it since I worked with the guy nearly three years; besides, who would come this far out? XANA said this area was abandoned.
"I learned it from a NPC. We called it Ruru's Melody, and its sole use was to slay a truly troublesome boss. You were there Chomei." I chuckle as I lean against a nearby wall.
"Sylvia Miyagawa. I know the Seed has an appearance randomizer, but I never imagined your appearance would change this dramatically." Chomei admits as he stands next to me.
"And what about you Chomei? Why are you fully armored?"
"Urg...I hate what I look like in this game, so I am wearing full armor to hide my hideous appearance." Chomei groans as he looks down to the ground since I think he's truly disturbed by what his avatar looks like underneath that armor "Why are you out here anyway? And where did you get such high-class equipment? It takes months getting that kind of stuff."
"XANA gave it to me just now through that weapon cache."
"Alright, that answers that question, but why are you here in Gun Gale? Based on what I've seen from you in Aincrad, you aren't the cyberpunk type."
"I'm trying to find someone called Death Gun. Karen and some of my friends were investigating it but went missing. I'm putting myself on the trail, and my contact told me that you were here and advised me to seek you out."
"Death Gun?! Oh dear lord. I've heard of that bastard. I've been trying to find him myself!"
That surprises me more than I'd admit. I was hoping big time that Chomei would lend me his help, but I never did expect that he had been doing his own investigation into this guy.
"What do you know about him?"
"Er...not as much as I'd like. Information gathering was never my forte. I always left that to Hyotaru and the other blokes in the ALF or Argo prior to that."
Almost immediately, I see a brief flash of hair from the other side of the wall I'm glancing in the direction of.
"I know you're there, come out already!" I scowl angrily since I don't want anyone peeping on our conversations.
The person quickly walks toward us with a sad frown on his face. I take notice of his short silver curly hair and gold eyes, though nothing about this person is familiar to me, which is hardly a shock since there are a lot of people who play VR games, but I'm not letting this guy leave, he heard too much.
"My apologies. I didn't mean to intrude on your conversation. Nanak. Elena." The person says in a quiet apologetic manner, with that frown seemingly paralyzed on his face. The fact he knew my SAO avatar name is a little suspicious. I want to say I'm surprised he knew Chomei's but he kept his name the same, so any potential suspicion went down the drain.
"Okay, how the hell do you know our SAO names?" Chomei demands angrily, wanting that piece of info, and I want that info myself.
"Cause I was there. Everyone was aware of the name Nanak, even me, even though I spent most of my time in my prison cell; and I watched the Ragnarok tournament in Alfheim with a different account, so I know that Minatoya is the famed Elena from Sword Art Online."
"In a prison cell? The only prison in Aincrad was the Black Iron Castle, and the only people kept in that place were...You're part of Laughing Coffin!" I mumble as I try to ponder some facts in my mind before realizing the story here. After I make the revelation, I see Chomei scowl as strongly as I am.
"Woah woah woah! I'm not part of them! I never wanted to be one of them, they threatened to kill me if I tried to leave!" He rapidly stutters as he apparently is trying to defuse the situation.
"Talk." Chomei says with a solemn snarl since he was never fond of the guild himself, little shock there.
"Okay look. My avatar name is Korenaga, just like in SAO. I've spent the last six months going through extensive therapy sessions. Day and night. I'm a different person now. I heard of the killings here in this game so I dropped everything and came to investigate roughly a month ago. I want to stop this. I don't want Gun Gale Online to become a new Sword Art Online. I didn't want to back in SAO, but now...I...I have no problem dying since I'll be helping innocent people. People who don't deserve to die. I know you have every reason to not trust a word I say, but I am speaking the truth. I want to end this and I have no problem having my life ended to do it." Korenaga says, with his voice mirroring the lack of interest of self-preservation.
"Nice speech, but why should we trust you?" I ask with a reasonable degree of uncertainty, since I don't want to work with Laughing Coffin unless there's a damn good reason, especially with how they tried to kill me and my friends during the Ragnarok tournament.
"I worked with criminals. I know how they work. We also have a common enemy here: Death Gun. I actually encountered him once when he confronted me. I know who to find and where to find him."
"Okay then, give us your information." Chomei retorts with a ice cold tone in his voice.
"No dice. If I tell you now, you'll do this solo. Swear we'll work together and I'll give you what I know."
"Hell no! I am not trusting anyone from Laughing Coffin. You guys tried killing me and my friends in real life a month ago. You tore half a hospital apart in a big gun fight!"
"Look, we can discuss this later. The final prelims start in a half hour, and if we miss it, you won't be allowed into the tournament Minatoya." Chomei says as he uses his solemn tone to shut down any further possibility for deliberation.
Oh crap! How long does it take to reach the tournament area?!" I exclaim worriedly as I look toward Chomei.
"On foot; an hour." After I hear Chomei say this, I become extremely depressed since I just missed my only chance to find this Death Gun before this got worse "Don't worry though. I bought my own buggy a month after I got this game, and even though it took me six months to get the hang of it, I'm confident I can get all three of us to where we need to be." Chomei says, with him walking around the corner and drives his buggy forward, though the size of it hardly looks like it could fit two people, let alone three. He then gives a pair of gloves to me and Korenaga via trade which I noticed as we both equipped them upon getting them "Those are sticky gloves, they're often used by beginners who are unaccustomed to handling guns since they reduce recoil, with it declining as your get better. I'm wearing metal armor so who ever is behind me will be kept firm with those on. Sylvia, you'll be second; Korenaga is in back."
I nod as I hear Chomei's order though I glare toward Korenaga "You had better not get handsy."
"What do you take me for?! I may have worked with killers in SAO, but I'm not a pervert!"
"Silence!" Chomei snarls very angrily, which sends shivers down my spine out of minor fear, with both me and Korenaga weakly apologizing and shaking hands anxiously out of fear. Chomei was one person you never want to make mad in SAO as he was not afraid to beat you to a sliver of health and was one of the noble orange players since he would do this rather frequently to maintain discipline.
We quickly follow Chomei's request and get on the buggy as he kicks it into overdrive to make it to where we can register for the Bullet of Bullets tournament.
A/N:
This will actually be one of my more diverse stories since there'll be a good number of settings: Alfheim Online, Gun Gale Online, and real life are just three of the shown ones. Whether or not it'll expand beyond that is unknown to me at the current time. And if you haven't noticed by now, there is a major theme to this story: Dealing with all of the accumulated stress that SAO forced on people, directly or indirectly. They lived years with few if none chances to let the stress out and it's been building and building.
Also, I will be making things more realistic in that Heiko will be switching members on a frequent basis. While the first grouping was Hikaru, Sylvia, Madoka, Miharu, Kana, Keiko, and Sachiko; the next time we see the group, Hikaru, Keiko, Kana, and Sylvia will be busy elsewhere; with Madoka, Miharu, and Sachiko working with Shino and Suguha. In Gun Gale Online's field, the team will stay constant with Sylvia as leader, Chomei as the powerhouse, and Korenaga as the lancer.