Of Mouse and Man

Phase 3— His Plight

..

Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ & Sword Art Online(ソードアート・オンライン)

Original Concept by: Tamiki Wakiki & Kawahara Reki

written by: wrathie

Author's Notes: A Crossover where Keima was not approached by the Weiss Capturing Squad and the Events of the Goddess Arc is non-existent.

Author's Notes: What have I unleashed upon this world I wonder.

Thank you bowpurity and itscomplicatedokay for the betas and the discussions.

..

'Keima-kun, how are you doing?'

Meizun asked cautiously as she took a seat directly opposite of Keima. The Capturing God had spent the better half of the week going about life as usual, that meant that he was doing nothing and simply whiling the day away interacting and speaking with the NPCs.

Although a majority of them had fixed NPC dialogue which would be repeated in a predictable loop, Keima wasn't really doing nothing. He had been able to identify a few special NPCs which had more than just the NPC dialogues. They were typically NPCs who gave quests and as such had a small story dedicated to them.

Keima wasn't interested in those NPCs as well, he was however obsessed with the rare few which had 'learning' components built into their programming.

Those NPCs were able to pick up and learn from the players to better 'interact' with them over the long run. It was something that was not available in the beta and without Keima testing this theory out by sticking and interacting with them, it might not be discovered as well.

One of those NPCs that were built with the 'learning' function was the governor of each town. Even in the first floor, there were several small towns littered throughout the floor and each town had their own 'governor'.

This governor NPC was also the one who issues and rewards players for quests that were available in each town. Unlike other games, where players could turn in rewards to any available 'quest' counter, if one accepted a quest from a particular NPC, they must return to him for the reward.

There were still a few things that weren't realistic. Players do not need to compete with each other to accept quests, nor were there a limit on the number times one could do the repeatable and common 'fetch' quests.

The governor NPC himself/herself could also provide updates on what was going on around the town and the surrounding areas.

One thing that was particularly helpful for Meizun was how he could give an accurate account of how many players were in the town at any given time. Also of note was a 'prosperity' level that the governor would persuade the players to help raise for his town.

Argo surmised that it would have to do with an invisible counter that changed depending on perhaps the profits generated by the town?

..

Another thing that was different in the beta was the prices of raw materials and items in the town could and would change depending on what was going on in town. There was an economy going on in Aincrad that was influenced by the players interaction with the town. The prices of the basic healing item – 'Small HP Potion' had almost doubled by the end of the first day but apparently the item had dropped in value in town furthest from the beginning city.

The selling price of materials like 'Boar Skin' or 'Wolf Fang' had also decreased a little in the beginning town – a standard case of supply outstripping demand for the product.

Although the economy wasn't fully replicated in SAO – There were games that limited players from buying items based on what they sold back to the merchants, players couldn't take the NPC merchants for granted any further.

Prices for bartering of items would change by the day, and sometimes it might even be affected by a single player bringing a bulk of items that they were about to sell to the merchants.

..

But all of that wasn't as important as what the Players themselves were doing. In the first day, the only players who died were the few tens who had their Nervegear removed in real life despite warning from Heathcliff.

In the second day, there were reports of several deaths due to the players themselves taking on monsters beyond their means.

But on the end of the second day, an item was made available in all the merchant stores for 1G, that was the – Argo's Field Guide to Aincrad.

It was compiled and published by Argo with her knowledge of being in the Beta which taught the basics of combat in Aincrad, a listing of quests available in the beginning city as well as a breakdown of monsters that spawned in the first floor.

The guide had helped. Players started to get a little better and confident with the guide to feed them knowledge on what to expect.

Keima naturally read through the book just as a side note – his goal was to know what kind of person Argo was and the detail in which she put in her work.

He had been sufficiently impressed by the attention to detail of Argo and his opinion of the girl rose.

On the third day, the second edition of Argo's Field Guide to Aincrad was released, only this time it was renamed to 'Field Guide to Aincrad' instead as the revision had been compiled with the help of several beta-testers. Argo steadfastly refused to give up their names no matter the price and it had caused quite a bit of friction to appear between the players and the information broker.

They could not alienate her though, not when she was the fountain of knowledge and information of Aincrad. Not to mention that she was in the same guild as Meizun whom had already made a name for herself as a top player.

She was already level 8 in three days, quite a feat considering that the common monsters within the first floor rarely got past level 5, and the difficulty curve to level up was reasonably steep.

With just the two of them working together, the exp gain that the two had were substantial. Though, perhaps alternatively, the two of them were grinding quests that gave them a good exp return.

..

For Keima however, he hadn't even passed the level 4 mark by the third day when Meizun dropped by once more to speak with him.

'I'm doing well.'

Keima replied while drinking the tea that the NPC waitress had poured for him. No, that wasn't right, she wasn't a NPC, she was Jessica, one of the few NPCs who could 'learn' over time.

It had only been two days and he had already struck up a chord with the pretty brunette waitress who had lived her whole life here in Aincrad on the first floor.

'I see... have you been training, at all?'

Meizun asked after placing an order with Jessica for a cup of coffee, past experience visiting him had shown that if she treated the waitress as an NPC or just ignored her she would get chewed out by Keima for that.

As expected of the Capturing God? He was trying to 'capture' the NPC waitress, wasn't he?

'No, I don't see the reason to. I get by every day with the quests that I finish for the governor. Taking down 4 boars by myself is simple enough.'

Keima answered with a bored expression, it was like being on the clock for 2 hours before he could spend the day doing exactly what he wanted.

He couldn't play his PFP here, but there were other things to do in its place – getting to know the history of Aincrad was fruitful as well. Although he disliked physical activity, especially the time and effort needed to go from one location to the next, Meizun was right to say that the experience of SAO was different.

He truly felt that he was earning all the achievements here, which was a good feeling.

'And it's dangerous outside. I saw a few players almost get killed because they fought a wolf pack. Those are dangerous monsters, isn't that right, Jessica?'

'Mm, that's right, Keima-kun. Just yesterday I heard a [player] got killed by a pack as well.'

Jessica replied dutifully as she served Meizun the cup of coffee. Though for her benefit, Jessica looked upset and apologetic when she said those words. Unlike Keima who simply shrugged as if it wasn't his concern.

But it was, a person had died in SAO.

'But if you don't get stronger, you'll be left behind, Keima-kun... wouldn't you want to... make a difference?'

..

Meizun was a beta-tester and as one, she was very knowledgeable of the best places to grind and to level up in the first floor. But levelling on stronger monsters carried their own risks even if she knew what she was doing. With Argo heading out to gather more information for the next edition of the Field Guide, Meizun took the opportunity to visit Keima to try and persuade him to join their cause.

Keima had been provided his own share of valuable information on the 'affluence' level of the town, the quests that were given out by the governor of the starting city and lastly, provided at least some current news from what he had gathered from the NPCs.

'Make a difference? And risk my neck? It's too dangerous and risky, and if there's one thing I hate, it's not being certain. The odds are stacked against us in this game, if it's best to wait it out and see if there's any progress from the government outside of SAO.'

That was the crux of Keima's belief, that with such low odds, it's better to consider self-preservation rather than throw caution to the wind like what some of the players are doing. They are getting stronger, yes, but the rewards for all that was to take part in another endless rat race to be the strongest.

'The title of being strong or the strongest means nothing to me, Meizun. Even if I am God, there are things that I would not even consider doing.'

Keima sounded extremely pompous here, and terribly arrogant. If the NPC waitress recognized it, she didn't comment even as Meizun looked pained. She definitely looked upset at what he was saying.

'Th-That's... irresponsible of you, Keima-kun.'

Meizun replied slowly, trying not to set Keima off as he narrowed his eyes at her.

'In what way am I irresponsible, Meizun? Please, tell me your reason for saying so.'

'Well...'

Meizun paused, closing her eyes to gather her courage before she pressed a hand against the chest plate she was wearing to explain to Keima.

'… Because Keima-kun is better than that. Keima-kun could do much more than what he is doing now. Even if it doesn't seem much, what Keima-kun has discovered just by doing what you like is helping the players in Aincrad. All of us are trapped here, Keima-kun, we are in the same boat... so we could really use your strength?'

Keima's eyebrows raised slightly at her words, he didn't know that the wikia administrator had so much faith or trust in him. Perhaps she was just projecting her own success onto him? Meizun was doing very well, there had been much discussion about her – how she was probably going to lead the charge to the boss of the first floor.

Discussions like this wasn't lost on Keima, he didn't feel much from those discussions even if he should.. Perhaps it should? Meizun had a point here, he was proud of his title as the Capturing God and if he was being dismissed or no being acknowledged – no, that wasn't right.

He had nothing to prove here, and he didn't need to risk his neck like this.

'I owe them nothing. You might say we are in the same boat, but we aren't. There are many players who value their own skin more. You've heard of them, didn't you, Meizun. Not all the beta-testers are as concerned for the entirety of the player population.'

It was just the fourth day so far, and there were already rumours being spread of players being tricked and conned of all their equipment and gold by unscrupulous players. There was even a story of how a player, claiming to be a beta-tester, had abandoned a group of newbie players to their deaths after getting over their heads in the higher level training grounds.

Beta-testers were also ruthlessly guarding their levelling areas and not allowing other players to have their turn. They put their lives first and foremost and in Aincrad, in SAO, one's survivability was measured in one's level and strength. He also had his suspicions that Meizun and Argo were doing the same, as they were high leveled as well.

It was something that Keima thought was the most stupid thing in the world – being ranked and put in a place where survival of the fittest was determined by pure numbers really pissed him off, even if those numbers were earned by physical effort.

But it was also something that Keima couldn't deny or to fight against, the god of SAO had declared it so.

'T-That's true, but that means that if we have your help, we could tip the balance! You saw how Argo's guide had helped many of the newbies right? They are getting better, we are getting stronger. You're the Capturing God, Keima-kun. You can, I'm sure you can lead us all to clear this game.'

..

Keima should be flattered by Meizun's insistence and worship, but he wasn't. This was something that he had made up his mind and was firmly staying with. He was not risking his life and using his time for others who would all be interested in saving themselves in the first place.

It wasn't a fair trade-off, and one could call him hypocritical all they like. Keima was interested in his own life as well – no one wouldn't and so there wasn't any reason for him to put himself at risk if there wasn't a significant return back on his effort.

Especially when he was getting decent returns and was surviving without even trying.

'I refuse. This is not my fight. I'm the Capturing God of the ideal, not the Clearing God of MMORPGs or anything similar. Jessica, could you please get me a refill? This is really good tea.'

Keima gave the waitress a smile and a wink that caused her to giggle while leaving to get his request.

'… I won't give up, Keima-kun. I know you could do so much if you just put your mind to it.'

Meizun shook her head sadly as she got up, dropping a few coins to pay for her coffee. Giving Keima one last expectant look, Meizun bowed to him and took her leave, exiting the cafe before Keima could say his own good byes.

'Perhaps it's a mistake to accept her as a 'friend'.'

Keima mumbled but then dismissed the thought, even if he was not going to fight in the front-lines like what Meizun had hoped he would, he could still contribute something, only if he felt like it.

..

'So... he refused.'

Argo spoke before Meizun could say anything back to her friend who had been waiting for her near the exit of the beginning city.

'Yeah... he refused. Guess I'll try again tomorrow.'

Meizun gave a helpless smile while shrugging before she exited the town, Argo following behind her quietly while typing a PM and sending it out. She was frowning though and biting her lip slightly before she sighed.

'Are you going to continue wasting time on... him? I know that you said that you don't feel comfortable fighting on that field without backup, but you could be levelling on the next best one. You're good enough to handle it.'

Argo started but was interrupted when Meizun raised a hand and told her to stop.

'Don't, Argo, don't... just, don't. You know how good he is supposed to be.'

'I... I know, I know! That's the only reason I didn't stop you from trying... but it's been four days and he's still lazing about! If he really is good, if he really cared he should have done something.'

'He did do something, he discovered the 'affluence' level and the way the market worked right?'

Meizun brought up a valid point, his discovery had made it possible for the players to understand some of the workings of SAO.

'And he's been giving us updates on what rumours were spreading about in the towns right? That quest of a new dungeon was also thanks to him.'

Meizun smiled as Argo bit her lip in defeat. It was true that Keima had helped a little despite not being out on the fields. He was still useful even if he didn't have the level to back it up.

'But that doesn't mean you have to go back there every day to... to try and persuade him! If that's what he want to do, stay holed up and all safe and sound while other people fought and bleed, that's his call!'

Argo lashed out but was silenced when Meizun shook her head and said that was the same route that Argo was taking.

'You're an information broker, Argo, and you were never in the field by yourself... well, now you are, but only as support.'

'That's different! And you know it! I'm putting my reputation and life at stake here with my information! Keima he, he, he's just doing what he want! Whatever information he gets is not what he wanted. I have pride too, Ne-, Meizun! And my pride is that my information is as the most accurate and up-to-date! Isn't that our motto too? That we will match him or be better when it came to the ideal?'

Argo demanded angrily and her outburst made Meizun pause before her shoulders slumped.

'I... I know, I'm sorry... I shouldn't defend him so much like you said, but... but...'

Meizun don't know the words to explain her feelings, but she tried anyway, bravely as she shook her head.

'But I don't want to see him waste away like that. It's... our loss, Argo... he... I know he would make a huge difference if he tried.'

'If he tried. I'm not holding my breath for that!'

Argo snorted before following Meizun's lead as she started clearing a path to the next town in the most productive manner, cutting through fields of monsters with her longsword.

..

'Any news from your side, Argo?'

'… No, none. The 'affluence' level has changed again. There are some new potions that are only available in the starting city now... the more they sell to the merchants in the town, the better. But there are also the players that are starting to be merchants. They're buying monster loot at the fields to sell to the merchants to turn a profit. That matches up with what we heard from Keima at any rate.'

Argo reported back with a scowl on her face. The fifth day hadn't been different from the others, only she was concerned that panic would start to kick in after the fifth day of being trapped here in SAO. It was only a matter of time before the players all realize that help was not coming, she had been in the minority in that she knew that no help was going to come.

Because if there was, contact would have been made from the outside world. The fact that it didn't simply meant that it even their hands were tied.

Argo had no doubts that Keima would not panic seeing how easy he was taking the whole situation. He didn't even seem anxious or worried about his life outside of SAO. Well, she herself was if he wasn't. But... she really should have expected that out of him, didn't she know what the Capturing God was like?

'I see... Keima-kun reported that he saw some...'

Meizun paused in her words, looking very nervous and that caused Argo to turn and look at her in confusion.

'What is it, Meizun?'

'… Keima-kun said he saw a few players jumping off Aincrad, Argo.'

Argo paled at that and she looked just as sick as Meizun when she continued after swallowing.

'The... players were listed as 'deceased'. The cause of death was recorded as well...'

Argo couldn't stop herself from choking out a small muffled sob at the news. Meizun was taking the news well, at least on first glance but Argo could see that she was trying hard not to throw up and she reached over to hug her instead.

'T-They... h-how could they?'

Meizun choked out in disbelief and Argo agreed, no one should in the right frame of mind could have done it! They had effectively taken their own lives, and their own chance of clearing the game out of their hands!

That... was just incredibly irresponsible and crazy of them.

'Th-They, probably couldn't take the stress of being stuck here, and this was just the fifth day... if this continues on.'

Meizun replied slowly, almost in slow motion and Argo looked up to see her reading from a PM.

'Was that, Keima?'

It had to be him, only someone like him could just ignore such a fact and not be affected! He, he wasn't human at all if he could just report and not help those people!

'Yes... Yes... it was Keima-kun... and he said that unless something changed, it was only going to get worse.'

Argo had to agree with him on that – now that there were people who had taken their lives, it was like the first crack on the dam that been holding back an entire river. Although there isn't any proof that dying in Aincrad would cause them to die outside as well, people would normally never put their lives at risk to test such a theory out. But in desperation, one just might if they convinced themselves that they would be set free from this madness if they 'died'.

It wasn't just the fear of death that made people stressed out, although it definitely was a contributing factor, the most stressful part was the helplessness that one felt when and if they tried to do something. Even if they were doing something, they were still unable to do anything that could help them out of this place! Hope was running thin here, and for most people just waiting for help would slowly driving them mad with anticipation.

Most of the players who were fighting on the fields were trying to survive, or were trying to distract themselves from their newfound vulnerability by getting stronger.

Those that were left behind, or hadn't ventured out of the beginning city, not all of them were like Keima.

They were all normal people too afraid to leave the 'safety' of the city after all. And if a few cracked, then the rest... might follow in their footsteps if things didn't change.

'The players they are losing hope. If something doesn't change, more...will try and then everyone...'

Argo spoke softly in dread even as Meizun struggled to her feet, her face set and determined.

'I'm going to try again, Argo. This time, for sure.'

..

'All I'm asking... is for you to reconsider, Keima-kun. I know that you aren't experienced in MMORPGs, I wasn't at the start but I got better! And SAO makes it easy, you will pick it up with the assist system helping you.'

Meizun smiled encouragingly as she followed Keima outside of the town. Anything could happen in SAO and Meizun made sure that her sword was drawn and ready behind Keima. She believed that Keima knew what he was doing – but there was no such thing as being too prepared in SAO after all.

The fact that they were heading to a field that was populated by lower level monsters only reinforced that thought as this quest would be too easy if there wasn't a catch somewhere along the way.

Unfortunately for Meizun, she would be proven right in the most terrible way possible.

..

Meizun was on guard the moment when Keima retrieved the lost item in the field, that was the most common cue for a monster to appear to ambush the party or the quest taker. It was just so clique that she was basically twitching and waiting for a monster to appear that she must have looked silly to Keima as the Capturing God raised an eyebrow at her.

'What's wrong?'

'N-No, nothing. I was just... expecting something to happen. You know, it's quite clique and common that quests this easy, would never be easy.'

Meizun replied sagely and she smiled when Keima agreed with her. That's true enough – if it was that easy to activate the quest and to finish it, the reward for the quest shouldn't be as high as this.

There got to be a catch somewhere and Keima looked around cautiously while Meizun did the same. With her sword drawn and ready, the two of them started to move cautiously towards the direction of the beginning city. Of course it had to happen when their guard was lowered, when they were within viewing distance of the beginning city.

With a deafening roar, a large wolfman monster howled while it crashed through the shrubbery that was to their right. Meizun would have engaged it immediately if not for how she noticed that it's target was Keima instead. The monster was probably fixated on the item that Keima had retrieved and she would have told Keima to run away if she had the time.

But she didn't have the time, it was just too sudden and it was going to take all that she had in her to save him.

Meizun did not hesitate, the scale that was being weighed in her mind did not include herself in the picture, only Keima and all the faith and trust she had in her.

'Keima-kun – watch out!'

So she moved, and pushed him out of the way, exposing her back as she did so.

..

Keima's eyes widened as he was pushed away from the path of the monster, away from the one that had howled fury.

The person who had pushed him away was the girl who had put so much faith in him, possible the strongest female player, or player of the game.

And he watched as her HP bar dropped to zero as her body was struck twice by the wolfmen whom was meant to attack him.

'M-Meizun?'

Keima spluttered out in shock as the wikia administrator smiled at him, not even noticing or perhaps just plain ignoring the fact that her HP had reached zero.

That she was dead.

She was, dead.

'I'm glad... that you're alright, Keima-kun.'

Her final words were spoken to the stricken Capturing God as she burst into endless polygons, killed out on the field.

Author's Notes: None, I'll reply your reviews though!