November 9th, 2022 (Floor 1: Horunka Village)
"I should learn a trade," I murmured, watching the NPC smith of Horunka work over his forge. The NPC, hearing me and understanding what I was saying thanks to SAO's incredible AI technology, smiled at me.
"Would you like to help me around the shop? My last apprentice decided to move on to Tolbana after his sister recovered from that awful illness and I could use a pair of steady hands. I'm sure I could teach you a few tricks of the trade in exchange."
A new window popped up in front of me. Quest Started: Smithing Apprentice Level 01-05. Would you like to accept this quest?
I glanced at Blake, who only sighed tiredly.
"What am I going to do while you play smith? Maisie and Heidan won't be back from that Secret Medicine quest for hours."
"I think you can amuse yourself for a few hours. Can't you?" I begged, pouting at the younger girl. She held firm for just another moment before throwing her hands up in the air, surrendering.
"Fine! Have fun getting dirty, Riva. I guess I'll just wander around."
"Stay in town if you're by yourself!" I shouted as she started to head out. I turned back to the smith once she was out of sight. "So, Master, what do you want me to do first?"
"My back isn't strong enough to work the smelter anymore. Could you shovel some coal into the fire and work the bellows?"
"I'm on it!" I grinned, picking up the shovel the smith was pointing towards.
The smith kept me busy for the better part of the day. While I worked in the forge most of the time, I had an opportunity to snag Blake and go into the local fields searching for raw materials and do some basic levelling. At the end of the side quest, my forge slash weapons skill was pushed up to level twelve and my armorcraft was up to level nine.
I discovered a lot of different skills during the beta, most of which were on the crafting side. While fighting was fun and exciting, sometimes it was more fun to test how customizable crafting tools were within the game. During the beta, I took various crash course-type quests in smithing, drug mixing, sewing, cooking, and wood crafting. I was glad that I could repeat even some of that experience in this death game.
If fighting was going to be less fun and a lot more stressful, I would manage by keeping up with my non-combat skills.
December 2nd, 2022 (Floor 1: Tolbana)
As time began to crawl by, factions formed among the players that were still alive. There were the five thousand-odd players that were still desperate for outside help. Those players remained in the Town of Beginnings, never setting foot out of the safe zone for fear of death. They scraped by on what little cor they had at the beginning of the game, spending it only on necessary food and lodgings. The second group, around three thousand strong, was actually made up of several symbiotic groups that slowly clumped together into one mega-guild that eventually became known as the Army. Then there was around a thousand players who lived like a cancer in the Town of Beginnings, who squandered their money quickly and didn't want to go fight monsters to keep up with their expenses. A few of these players eventually joined the Army, but others were content to set up slums and start thieving guilds, targeting groups of players that were coming in from the fields. Everyone else was... basically the rest.
Around fifty guilds, including the Hunters of Artemis, were created. Other players turned to merchant and craftsmen trades that made their way following the guilds, supplying them with new weapons or items whenever they were needed.
Outside of everyone else, there was a group of around a hundred people that existed only on the fringes of this new world: the solo players. The Hunters ran into one of them every now and then but no one seemed worth our attention. They lived only for themselves and for their own survival and, despite that tactic allowing for faster levelling, it often caused the premature death of a player due to their own arrogance.
Over two thousand people were dead, and it wasn't even a full month into the game, with more and more names being crossed off on the cruelly-named Monument of Life each day. It was nauseating that players still believed they were better off alone.
Another awful facet to the solo players was the fact that many of them were publically declared as beta players. This, of course, made the non-beta players feel as if all of the betas were being intentionally stingy with their information and knowledge of the game, which gave all of us a bad name. The truth of the matter was that there is always a limit to what betas can do. Heidan, who was trying to become an information broker all throughout the beta, gave up on that dream entirely. He got together with several of the other info brokers and released a guidebook designed for the new players, who were entitled to a free copy. It never seemed to be enough, unfortunately.
The Hunters of Artemis were stationed out of Tolbana for now, as were most of the other guilds. Tolbana was the town closest to the labyrinth, and so had quickly filled with players, both clearers and merchant/craftsmen. When we weren't actively levelling or exploring the labyrinth, I spent my days dragging someone around to the different shops and asking around for side quests. I was only level eleven, meaning I only had five skill slots I could keep equipped, but I didn't need to have my support/crafting skills active all the time so I tried my hand at as many skills as I could.
Not everyone felt the same about taking some time off. One group in particular, led by a guy named Diavel, kept going into the labyrinth looking for the boss. There was supposed to be more information released about the first floor labyrinth today; apparently someone had stumbled upon the boss'ss room. Diavel, according to Heidan, had been one of the betas but I hadn't seen him before. I could trust Heidan's intel.
"Okay, now that we're all here we can get started!" Diavel started. I was sitting with the other Hunters, watching from a row close to the back and wondering exactly how he knew everyone was present. There was a solo player next to us, a kid in all black who looked familiar but I couldn't quite place him. "Thank you all for coming out today. My name is Diavel and, in this game, I like to call myself a knight!"
Everyone was quick to laugh but I glanced at Heidan and shrugged. Heidan's noble streak had really shown through over the past month, especially when one of us girls was in any hint of danger. It was a pain to get him out of trouble that he threw himself into, but that was my job as leader, right?
"Come on, focus! Today, my party and I discovered the location of the boss room. We need to defeat the boss and make it to the second floor so we can go back to the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game. The fact is that it's our duty as the most capable players here to beat the game for everyone else. Do you agree or not?"
"Insert clapping and cheering here," I murmured to Maisie, who snorted and then promptly hit me as punishment for making her make a sound as Diavel quieted the amphitheater once more.
"Now let's figure out how we're going to take on the boss! First, we should team up into parties of six. A typical party wouldn't stand a chance, so we need multiple groups to make up a raid."
I glanced around at the Hunters- we all knew we weren't breaking up for the world- but then I looked a little further and saw that solo player looking around in a panic. Feeling bad for the kid or at least not wanting him to get himself killed trying to go at the boss by himself, I called for him.
"Hey, kid. Come on over, meet the gang. Looks like you're with us. Hunters of Artemis at your service: Riva, Maisie, Blake, and Heidan. What's your name?"
"Kirito," he stammered unsurely. Maisie narrowed her eyes at him and, glancing at his back, snapped her fingers.
"That's it! We saw him in Horunka," she explained to the rest of us. She tapped her Anneal Blade, which was worn at her waist. "He's the reason we had to wait for the quest to respawn."
"Oh... Yeah... Sorry about that," Kirito chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. I frowned. This kid didn't seem like a bad guy; why was he a solo player?
"Guys, shush. I can't hear what Sir What's-His-Name is saying," Blake hushed us.
"You listen for me. There's someone else that's on their own," I noticed, glancing further down the row. "Hey, you!"
"Is she always this loud?" I heard Kirito murmur to Heidan. I was going to let it go until he chuckled.
"You've got no idea-"
"I'm not loud!" I growled, placing one hand on my naginata, slung across my back. Both Kirito and Heidan raised their hands in quick surrender, stammering apologies, and I grinned.
"Hold up a sec!" A new player jumped down from the amphitheater, joining Diavel in the center stage. "My name's Kibaou, you got that?! There's something I got to say before we take on the boss and it's this: we all know about the two thousand people that have died so far. Well some of you need to apologize right now!"
"You're talking about the former beta-players, right?" Diavel asked carefully. I glanced at Heidan, who was nodding at me. Definitely a beta.
"Of course I mean them! When this damn thing started, they all up and left the Town of Beginnings, leaving us new players to fend for ourselves! They took all the easy quests and all of the easy hunting grounds, which forced the rest of us to fight for their scraps. They've ignored the rest of us while they keep levelling. And I bet there's some of them here! Come on out, beta-testers! We should make them apologize to us, and give up the money and rare items they've hoarded."
"Heidan. You've got that copy of the guide book, right?" I asked quietly. This wasn't fair at all. It's the actions of a few that are tainting the name of the whole and I wasn't going to stand for it. I was a beta, but I am just as stuck as every noob in this death game.
"I got it," he hummed, passing it to me with a knowingly look. I accepted it silently and, as Kibaou was scanning the crowd, I stood up.
"Heh! I knew it! Come on down, beta!" he jeered. I walked down quietly, making each as carefully and purposefully as I could until I was standing right next to Kibaou. Then, before he blink, I twisted at the waist and launched my clenched fist into his jaw.
"Shut up!" I yelled at him as he went flying. The amphitheatre silenced for just a moment until the entire crowd started roaring angrily. All of the other players got up to their feet, unnecessarily drawing their weapons and glaring at me. "Now I want all of you to listen to me, right now!
"I think most of you—and most of the people trapped in this stupid game—are forgetting that non-beta players outnumbered betas ten to one during the initial launch. Right now, two thousand people later, three hundred of those deaths were beta players. I know that because I am friends with several of the info brokers. I am friends with several beta testers. I am a beta tester. And before you all start calling for my blood, I want you to actually think. And look at this."
I held up the guidebook as high as I could for everyone to see.
"Item merchants all have these, right? You all can get these for free, no cost at all. These are guide books that explain all the ins and outs of what is known about Aincrad. Where do you think that information came from? The game masters? Hell no. Every footnote, every glint of information on each page of this book was provided to rookies from the beta testers. It was beta testers that subsidized the creation of the book so that all rookies could get a copy free of charge. Beta testers were the ones who distributed these around.
"The fact that the beta players had prior information doesn't matter. That same information was provided to the rookies, but two thousand people are dead. I'm not here to point fingers because no one can point fingers. Maybe there are some betas who abused their prior knowledge, but the majority of them didn't so you all need to get your heads out of your asses and stop yelling at everyone. It isn't worth it! We all need to stick together if we want to survive this and that won't happen if you keep up with unreasonable demands!"
I lowered the guide book and glanced at Kibaou, who looked a little shocked from his place on the ground. Once he had a moment to recover, he got to his knees with a scowl.
"If you have a problem with me, fine. Don't have a problem with me because I'm a beta," I said to him. I glanced back at the rest of the players present. "The name is Riva. If you have an issue with me, tell me outside of the meeting and we'll settle it like adults. Otherwise, shut up."
I pocketed the guide book and leapt back up into the stands, reclaiming my seat with the Hunters. Kirito looked like I'd grown another head but my guildmates were just shaking their heads. The new member- who's name was registered in the party roster as Asuna- had her lips pursed but that's all I could see of her face thanks to her heavy hood.
"Too much?" I murmured to the group.
"Just a bit, yeah," Blake sighed back.
"Well, it looks like the meeting is adjourned! Group meeting time! You two aren't escaping that easy," I said, grabbing Kirito's jacket and Asuna's cloak. "We've got to learn what your skills are so we can function as a party during the boss fight!"
Since SAO worked like its own virtual reality, there weren't caps on how many people could share one room in an inn. As a result, all six of us were sprawled over one of the biggest suites. It was more money per room, but much less than if all of us got separate rooms or even if we got two rooms so the boys and girls slept separately. Along with the people, there were wrappers from the town's sweet bread and cream- freshly collected by Kirito in the last town.
"You know, Asuna, you're really pretty. Why do you bother wearing that cloak all the time? I'm sure it doesn't raise any of your stats," I said with a frown. Asuna, who had only shed the cloak once Heidan and Kirito left to get more food, crossed her arms defensively.
"I didn't come here to get my cloak stolen," she grumbled, eyes glued to the floor. I raised an eyebrow.
"Let me guess? You're in the group of players that is still clinging to the real world." She looked up at me, startled out of her downward gaze. "I knew it!"
"Damn it," Maisie hissed, taking out a few cor and tossing the coins my way. "I pegged you more for a 'clear the level because no one else can' type."
"I... I don't want to lock myself in a room in the Town of Beginnings just to slowly rot away. I'm still me. Even if something comes along and beats me, it doesn't matter because I'll have died being me. And the game wouldn't win, then. I won't lose to this game or this world."
"You think we're going quietly into the night?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Blake laughed.
"I can't imagine you doing anything quietly. Even when you sleep, you're loud!"
"Get over yourself, Blake," I joked. Asuna frowned, looking between us and Maisie.
"Did you three... I'm sorry, it's not polite..."
"Did we know each other in the real world?" I guess. Asuna blushed, which I took for a yes. "Yep. Maisie and I have been friends for ten years and Blake's been along for... seven years now?"
"Something like that. What about you?" Maisie asked Asuna. "None of your friends wanted to join SAO? I mean, in hindsight I'd agree, but still. You're a cute girl. I'd tap that if you were a couple years older."
"Sis," Blake warned, blushing. I shrugged.
"Eh, not my type. Maybe in a few years. She seems more like the 'growing into her own' type. I doubt she'll be all meek and mild for long," I said nonchalantly back to Maisie. She hummed thoughtfully. Asuna, by this point, was red as a tomato.
"We're back!" Heidan announced, all but kicking the door open. "Did we miss any girl-on-girl action?"
"Heidan!" Blake blushed brighter than I'd ever seen her and my eyes darted over to Maisie to see if she'd noticed too. Maisie's eyes were already wide and laughing and a smile was threatening to quirk at her lips.
Oh goodness. Blake decided to get her first crush here. Good lord.
Updated 21:59, 1.27.2022