Chapter 1
THE EMPRESS, THE HIEROPHANT and THE FOOL
-:-
November 5, 2022
-:-
The dark ceilinggreeted the boy awakening, a clear indication that it was still way too early to rise. He laid perfectly still as his mind debated on waking up completely or falling back to sleep. In his indecision, the alarm clock pounds his ears mercilessly, forcing him to rise.
The display reads a very irritating 4:30 AM
"*Sigh* Normal people don't wake up this early…"
He stops the alarm, puts on some random clothes and heads out of the room. The corridor is pitch black but he finds no trouble navigating through it. He walked till the end of the long corridor and descended the stairs. At the 1st floor, he traced the wall with his hands until he felt the light switch. He flicks the switch, and was blinded by the simultaneous activation of the lights. The mirrors reflected the intense light, forcing him to cover his eyes in agony.
The familiar smell of metal and rubber flooded his nose. At the same time, the familiar sight of scattered gym equipment greeted his slightly pained eyes. In his frustration, he can also see some sweat marks on the floor.
"As much as I appreciate the business, those overstaying bastards should atleast clean up their own mess"
And so, he began his daily routine of putting everything back to where they should be. He removed the weights from the bars and stacked them by size. He took all the dumbbells and placed them on their respective racks. He used a wet sponge to clean the rubber mats, then stacked them one on top of another. He took out a mop and cleaned the floor, which also marked the end of his morning ritual.
"Done in 27 minutes? That's a new record"
Having done this work for nearly 5 years, he practically memorized everything about the place. He rest at the reception's counter and waits for the employees to come in. 2 minutes 42 seconds later, 23 year old receptionist/cashier, Karami Yokasia dashes to the punch cards and times in.
"*Exhale* 18 seconds to spare…. " She laughs in relief. To her horror, she finally realizes the presence of the young boy sitting on the counter. "Eh…..Raph-kun…. You're were here?"
"Oh no nono. I'm currently upstairs bathroom, taking a very long and very agonizing dump. Why do you ask?"
"Eh…. Um…. How much did you see?"
"That depends…. My lucky item this week is supposed to takoyaki…."
"That's a lie! Your lucky item is a black cat chain! Don't trick me coz I checked"
"Hm…. I could have sworn a beautiful young woman was nearly late…. I wonder what father would think-"
"Gr….. Fine! When you get back from school, I swear I'll buy you a set! Happy?"
"Hmm … I must have woken up too early … I guess I was just imagining things" The boy named Raph-kun replies with a shrug
The other employees entered one by one, and eventually, the early weight lifters started their morning workouts. With his work as the opener done for the morning, he heads back upstairs to prepare for school. Before he could reach the top of the stairs, a sleepy girl of ethereal beauty descends the stairs her eyes closed, she slowly walks down the stairs until softly bumps into his chest.
She takes a deep breath and exhales. In a sleepy voice, she says….
"Ani-sama …*yawn*… breakfast *grumble** grumble* ready" Angelica said, as if she recognized him by his scent
If someone would use a color to describe her, it would be WHITE. Nearly every hair on her body is white, from her straight waist long hair to her eyebrows. Her pearl white skin, combined with her petite body, she normally mistaken for a fairy. Ironically, their parents added a word that meant white to her name. Her full name is Angelica Shiro Norton, Ange for short.
On the other hand, the boy had short brown hair and a bit of a tan. He was a full head taller than the white girl, with a slightly muscular build thanks to the family business. The only physical characteristic he shares with his sister is their sky blue eyes. His full name is Raphael Arisato Norton, Raph for short.
It is clear from their name that they are not pure blood japanesse. Despite not resembling each other, they are, without a doubt, biological siblings.
'Get real! There is no such thing as natural white hair IRL! Those only exist in anime and manga!'- That is the typical reaction of a typical person, which is typically a wrong assumption.
Angelica suffers a genetic disorder called ALBINISM. ALBINISMis a congenital disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes due to absence or defect of tyrosinase, a copper-containing enzyme involved in the production of melanin. Because of this disorder, she gets sunburned easily, removing majority of outdoor activities from her can-do list.
"Thanks for the heads up" He replied. He tries to move up the stairs but Angelica continues to lean on him, preventing him to ascend. "Hey Angelica, can you get off of me?"
"No" She said in a spoiled brat manner
"How are we suppose to go get breakfast if we're stuck here?"
"Carry me"
"Well…. You see…. NO. You have two legs, use them" Raphael said, which was effectively ignored. His sister wraps her hands around his neck, then hangs on it.
"CA! RRY! ME!" She said in an even more spoiled brat manner.
"*sigh* Man… what will the other students think if they saw Angelica Shiro Norton ,aka THE ICE QUEEN, acting like a spoiled brat"
"Ani-sama is here…*yawn* don't care… zzzzz"
He heard a bit of suppressed laughter behind him. The early gym enthusiast can't help but be amused at their display. Luckily, they were all nice people, thus none of his sister's disgraceful actions are unknown to the public.
He sighs while accepting his fate. He picks up his sister in a princess carry, and then headed to the dining room. The moment he entered the room, the sweet aroma of fried rice and hotdogs hit his nose.
"Morning kidos! …."Said the man using the stove. When he turned around and saw Raphael carrying his sister ."I stand corrected. Morning Kido."
"Morning Pops" Raphael replied
His father, Thomas Norton, is the perfect example of the phrase NEVER JUDGE THE BOOK BY ITS COVER. He sports brown hair similar to Raphael. His face and his body are commonly described as a mountain of muscle, lacking any sign of excess fat. Despite his fearsome appearance, he is currently wearing a pink apron with hello kitty prints on it. This is not exactly what one would expect from the owner of the GYM RAT gym.
"*sigh* And here I thought that there was still hope for that girl…. I guess like mother like daughter" His father said with a shrugged.
Raphael puts his sister down on the chair, right across her mother. Both of them had their heads on the table in a very unwomanly fashion.
"Yeah… like mother like daughter" Raphael agrees
His mother Ayime Yuuhi (now known as Ayime Norton) is similar to Angelica in many ways. Appearance-wise, the only real difference between them is age and people would say that one is the younger/older version of the other. Personality-wise, both are a bit arrogant due to their beauty and talent.
"Dad…. Sometimes I wonder how you got mom to marry you" He said while reflecting his mother's overbearing attitude.
"Hahaha! You have no idea how hard it was! It was like taking on a tank with nothing but a pair of nail cutters!"
His father began retelling, for the Xth time, how he (a 28 year old navy captain assigned to the Tokyo base) met Ayime Yuuhi (A stuck up genius, who was about to graduate college at the age of 20). Back then, Thomas Norton had a very dark secret that he kept buried from all his comrades.
He was, in fact, a closet otaku.
He, who grew up with a father who was just as eccentric as he is, was influenced into watching anime at a very young age. Both were closet otakus and, more surprisingly, both ended up in military installations. It goes without saying, when Thomas Norton was assigned to Japan, he was ecstatic beyond moment he reached Japan, he wasted no time and searched for a Japanese teacher.
Back then, Ayime Yuuhi was entering her last year of college in Tokyo University with the course of business administration. Despite her genius intellect, she was born into an average income family. Even with her scholarship, living in Tokyo was expensive beyond words. Thus to make end meet, she took up a part time job as a language teacher.
At this point, Thomas Norton cant help but brag about his accomplishment.
"Let me tell you son, trying to get her to talk about something else aside from the lesson was like trying to make a rock bleed….. no…. that would have been much easier. At least the rock doesn't give you a death glare with a failing grade" Thomas Norton said. If anything, this was his favorite line.
For 3 months, he suffered under her tyrannical teaching method, but on the flipside, he did learn at an astounding speed. By the end of their 3rd month, he can comprehend and speak 80% of the time. During this time, he also began having a decent amount of conversation with her. He also discovered her financial problems and promised to help her. Incidentally, he was planning to do what his father failed to do, to settle down in japan and find a hot Yamato Nadeshiko wife. Using every last bit of money he saved up and a bit of support from his father, he started up a business called the GYM RAT in Tokyo, with Ayime Yuuhi as his manager.
Back then, he had absolutely no intention of seducing the girl. This was his way of showing his appreciation to the one that helped him in his otaku quest. But after 1 year of solid partnership (4 months of that was also spent learning Japanese), the weird teacher-student/employee-employer relationship slowly changed into something else.
One thing led to another… and 20 years later, they now have 2 children. Oh… GYM RAT also now has 5 branches nationwide, but Thomas Norton only considers it as a bonus.
With both mother and sister still half asleep, breakfast proceeds peacefully. After bathing and school prepping, the true state of the family is revealed.
Her mother looked vicious with her navy blue business suit and thin rimmed glasses. She is currently analyzing yesterday's records with the eyes that would make little children pee their pants. She can only spare a glance and a very cute twinkle of her fingers to her children as they left for school. Despite the lack of any motherly response, the siblings know that Ayime Norton is horrible at intrapersonal relationships, and the small wave was probably one of the best displays of affection she can force herself to do.
Angelica Shiro Norton looked just as sharp as her mother with her black school uniform. She also wore black leather gloves that covered her entire arm, making her look like a high class lady. Note: she wears them out of necessity, which helps reduces her skin exposure to the sun. She normally brings a parasol with her for the same reason as the gloves.
They said good bye to their parents and everyone they know, then headed to school. The moment they stepped out of the gym, they met a fellow student from their school.
"HONEY!" He said. He dashes to Angelica with arms wide open but was quickly stopped when Raphael blocked his path. "Uh…. Oni-sama? Why are you standing between me and my love?"
"I just saved your life…. Be grateful Gino" Raphael said in a hushed tone.
Gino Karasuba is a young Japanese male with slightly long black hair and brown eyes. As their next door neighbor, he Norton family has known him and his family ever since the gym started. With his looks, he could easily be labeled as an "Incredibly Handsome Protagonist" from some shounen manga
"Eh? Why?" the boy named Gino replied, his face filled with confusion
"Ange was about to bash your head with her new, heavy duty parasol"
Behind him, an angelic yet very sadistic voice said….
"Ani-sama, there is a pest in front of you. Please move aside, I will exterminate it" Angelica said while preparing to swing her parasol like a bat.
"Is that any way to treat your boyfriend?" Gino said in despair.
"Boyfriend? HA! Don't fool yourself! Ani-sama's insistence was the only reason I gave you a 1 month trial run. Without him, I wouldn't even give you a second glance" Angelica replied cruelly
Gino turns to Raphael with puppy dog eyes.
"Raphael Oni-sama! Please help me!"
"*sigh* I told you from the start, my words can only get you so far." Raphael replies, much to Gino's disdain.
These type of overly exaggerated conversations are every day occurrences for the trio as they head towards school. As usual, Raphael and Gino walked next to each other while talking about MMORPG stuff, while Angelica walked 3 paces behind them, clearly not understanding one bit of their topic.
"By the ways, hows that VRMMORPG you were beta testing back in September?" Raphael asks
"Its called SWORD ART ONLINE…. And its AWESOME! No…. the badassery of it cant be described by mere words alone!" Gino replies with enthusiasm
"Tch…. Lucky bastard... I even submitted an application form…. Why the hell did it choose you and not me?"
"HAHAHA! Damn right I'm lucky! I am luck personified! Praise me! Call me Gino-sama!" Gino said exaggeratedly.
Raphael cant help but be jealous of Gino. Among tens of thousands of applicants for the beta testing of SWORD ART ONLINE (SAO for short),his retarded friend got the winning draw. As the very first VRMMORPG of its kind, SAO ignited the gamer souls of countless MMORPG players. To no ones surprise, the company Argus was swamped with letter of applications for beta testing after 10 minutes of its announcement. Raphael reminisces at the memory where he and Gino took out their phones to submit their application….. in the middle of class. They got into some serious scolding after that… but its worth it in the end.
At least for one of them
"Fu fu fu" an angelic laugh came from behind the duo. "Luck Personified? And here I thought Harold Camping's claim that the rapture was coming was retarded. Congratulations Gino, you just impressed me" Angelica said sarcastically
"Easy on the insults Ange. He still has feelings you know" Raphael softly tells off his sister.
"….. fine…." Angelica replies, clearly displeased.
"A-anyways, don't hold back Gino, give me the dirt" Raphael said in an attempt to change the subject.
Fortunately, Gino is a gamer to the core and the opportunity to gloat about one's superiority is the essence of being a gamer. His face turned from depressed puppy eyed look to arrogant prick in .5 seconds flat.
In the corner of Raphael's eye, he can see his sister face turned from calm and composed bishoujo to something disgusting is nearby face and back to calm and composed bishoujo in .5 seconds flat.
"*sigh*…. Maybe setting them up was a mistake…." Raphael thought but decided to disregard the issue
"Fu fu fu! Be thankful Raph coz I am Gino-sama! I shall teach you all I have learned during the beta testing!" Gino said, then began explaining to his partner-in-crime the basics of SAO
Gino explained that as the name suggested, SWORD ART ONLINE is a game that puts heavy emphasis in the beauty of sticking a thin piece of steel up someone's hindquarters. Unlike the past games the duo has played, SAO is a VRMMORPG running on a hardware called Nerve Gear, thus no more mouse clicking marathon in front of the monitor. The Nerve Gear completely controls player's consciousness by redirecting the signals the brain sends to the body and sending its own waves to stimulate the five senses. In short, the player feels like he is truly in the fantasy world, doing inhuman feats like fighting bigger monsters.
"In even shorter short, the player is actually doing what every man dreams of doing….. BEING A BADASS!" Gino exclaimed
"Wooooo! That sounds so hardcore! How about the battle system? A badass game must have some sort of badass battle system" Raphael said in a very pumped up manner
"Hold on hold on, I'm getting there" Gino said in delight
Gino continued his explanation.
In SAO, there is no MAGIC except for the different colored crystals that bring instant effects, instead players can fight using their SWORD SKILLS. SWORD SKILLS are programmed movements assisted by the system after a player performs the initial movement. In short, the player must move his avatar perfectly in order to activate the skills. On the other hand, it is possible to fight without them, but such attacks are weak and normally ineffective.
"Anyways, you'll have to experience it for yourself to appreciate the badassness of the game. Lucky for you, I know someone from Argus. He agreed to reserve us copies! " Gino added
Raphael drops to his knees and bows like he was worshiping a god
"Oh Great and All Mighty Gino-sama! The world is truly blessed with your existence!" Raphael exaggeratedly said
"MWAHAHAHA! Praise me! Glorify me!"
Nearby students heading the same direction cant help but laugh at their display
"*giggle* Looks like the Empress and her fools are at it again" Said a couple of passersby.
Unfortunately for the poor girls, Angelica heard it. She shot a death glare at them, filled with hate and malice that could turn a man into a pussy. The girls shook uncomfortably then quickened their pace as if to run away from her glare
No…. they were really running away from her glare. The other passersby decided to keep their comments to themselves and move on.
At school, Raphael and Gino were widely known as avid gamers. Add the fact that both enjoyed acting like idiots from an anime show, they were lovingly dubbed as THE FOOLS. Of course, the nickname has no malice attached to it, simply because both of them are in good terms with everyone.
On the other hand, Angelica clearly states that she hates such nicknames were connected to Raphael. She makes an effort for everyone to feel the same, usually forcing them to shut up using her death glare. Add the fact that she has an aura of superiority around her, she earned the nickname THE EMPRESS. Raphael takes great effort to convince everyone else not to hate her.
Raphael stops acting like a retard and approaches his sister.
"Relax Ange, no harm done"
Angelica looks back at him with an annoyed expression
"Ani-sama, why do you allow this to happen? I don't mind if Gino gets called a fool-"
"Hey! I resent that!" Gino inserts but was effectively ignored by Angelica
"- but you are far from being a fool. I don't like it when people call you that"
"It's something similar to how men freely insult each other. I guess fun to act like a fool" Raphael replies
Angelica looks at him confused yet dejected face.
"…. I really don't like when I don't understand you…."
Raphael pats her head affectionately
"Hmm… sorry, I really cant think of any words of wisdom for that…."
Angelica blushed and allowed him to pat her head
"…. Its…. Fine…"
"Oy… It really hurts to be ignored you know…" Gino meekly inserts himself to the situation
"Anyways" Angelica turns her attention to Gino" So… when will my copy of this… SAO thing arrive?"
"Eh?" Said the two boys
"You heard me! When will my SAO thing arrive?"
"Err… didn't you hate MMORPG's?" Raphael asks
"I do…. But if I'm ever going to understand Ani-sama, I might as well try this online games that you love so much" Angelica replies. "Now, when will my SAO arrive?"
After a few minutes and a few more insults, Gino calls his contacts from Argus and secured another copy for the launch happening tomorrow.
"Fu fu fu…. I am in your care then, Ani-sama" Angelica said with a curtsy
The duo cant helped but be worried about their future in SAO.
-:-
November 6, 2022
"Hmm…" Raphael takes a quick look at the manual before returning to his assembling project. It didn't really take that much effort to assemble 2 Nerve Gears at the same time, and he didn't really need to read the manual to do it.
"One can never be too sure" He thought to himself.
Raphael has a habit of researching every bit of information about a topic of his interest. In his previous MMORPG, the 2D AESIR ONLINE, he tried every class just to get a feel how they work. Unfortunately, it resulted on a long delay before he could decide which of the avatars was his main character. Thanks to his curiosity, he was able to form tactics on how to attack and defend against those classes. Gino and Raphael soon became gods of pvp because of their effective tactics.
"Ani-sama, hurry up" said Angelica who was reading a fashion magazine on her bed.
"Patience sis. Assembling things isn't really my strong point" He replied calmly
"Hai" Angelica replied and returned to her magazine. "But I'm impressed, Gino actually kept his word. Our very own SAO and Nerve Gears arrived 6 in the morning, right?" Raphael nods without looking back "I now see that insect in a new light."
"Ha ha ha, can't remove the insults from your system can you"
"I'm not insulting him. I'm just stating the obvious facts"
"Ha ha ha" Raphael laughs in futility. He cant help but be a bit sad for Gino. Despite Raphael's best efforts, he simply cant change Angelica's attitude.
After a few minutes of connecting cables and manipulating the programs, he hands a nerve gear to his sister and walks back to his bed.
The Norton siblings share the same bedroom with only their computers separating them.
"Remember, just as we agreed on yesterday"
"Yeah yeah…. The retard's name is GAWAIN, mine is CZARINA and Ani-sama's avatar is named FAUX. Correct?"
"As expected of the child genius who could be in high school right now if she felt like it"
True enough, just like their mother, Angelica is also a genuine genius. With an IQ of 179 (-1 of their mother's IQ), she is known to constantly find the subject matter in school as TOO EASY. The Norton siblings are both in 2nd year middle school but majority of the teachers believes that Angelica's knowledge could easily cope up with 2nd year high school subjects.
The main problem is she is emotionally unstable…..just like her mother.
Her councilor once talked to Raphael in secret, and told him that he was probably the most important emotional support she has. He also told his family (Angelica excluded) that separating them from each other would probably result on her being crushed by whatever insecurities she has.
Of course none of them believed it at first, but the councilor presented one concrete proof: Angelica's perfect manipulation of her grades to keep her at the same grade as Raphael. At times, she would get a perfect score in her test, but the moment that she felt that her grades are getting too high, she would pass a blank sheet of paper on the following tests, effectively lowering her grade to match his.
After many discussions, they consulted the principal of the school and he agreed to keep the siblings in the same class as long as both maintain their grades in a reasonable level.
Raphael hoped that by setting up Angelica and his best friend Gino, she would be able to overcome her emotional stress.
So far, it was a complete failure
"Well…. I'll figure something out" He thought as he placed the Nerve Gear over his head
After giving Angelica some final advice, he lied down on his bed and said…
"LINK START"
-:-
After the darkness, there was light.
The moment Czarina recovered her sight, the world overwhelms her through sheer beauty. She was in the middle of a massive circular medieval plaza that simply did not exist in the real world. Everywhere she looked, the fantasy themed world kept her jaws glued to the floor.
"This is one of the video games I labeled as THE WORLD FOR THE CHILDISH AND NO-LIVES PEOPLE? Really?"
No matter how much she looks at it, the world around her looks as convincingly real as the real world. She admits to herself, she has underrated the gaming industry far too much.
"Oh yeah, the meeting place"
She turns around and follows the directions given to them by Gino- no, its Gawain now.
"Exit the plaza through the largest entrance….. then take a left at the first corner…. And a right at a small alley…. Then follow it until you reach a small fountain…. Easy enough"
She went past merchants and thousands of other players and noticed something
"So many pretty girls…."
Nearly half of the people she passed were girls with the beauty equal to the ones she sees in her fashion mags. She can't help but be worried of the large number of possible competitions she might have regarding her special person.
"Oh yeah! What did Ani-sama said about this issue?"
She remembers Raphael's very 1st advice about MMORPGS
Out of the entire player population, 98% of them are MALE, regardless of what they say or their avatar's gender. Out of the 2% true FEMALE players, 99% of them have looks ranging from plain to something out of a zombie film.
"Then what about the last 1%?" Angelica asked her brother
"The 1% would be the incredibly beautiful girls that shouldn't exist in the virtual world. You know… girls such as yourself"
"I see…." Angelica said in a disinterested manner while pretending to read the SAO manual to hide her embarrassment.
That was a few minutes before full dive.
"Speaking of appearance"
She looks at her reflection from a nearby window. What stared back at her looked nothing like her original appearance. She sports long black hair, red eyes and pinkish glowing skin. Following Gawain's advice, she maintained her real height to prevent disorientation. She took a good 10 minutes in reconfiguring her looks in an attempt to make her look like a Yamato Nadeshiko.
"I hope he likes my look"
She navigates the small streets for a few more seconds until she reaches a modest looking fountain in a small corner. On the edge of the fountain sits a tall beautiful girl with short wavy cobalt blue hair. Despite her looks, she wears the default male clothes instead of the mini skirt that females normally wear.
Surrounding her are 2 abnormally handsome male players, attempting to flirt with her.
"Isnt it a waste for such a beauty like you to wear pants? Why not show off those perfect legs of yours" said a guy
The girl kept her arms crossed in annoyance
"*sigh* Girls are too liberal these days. Anyways, if that's your pick up line, then you guys must be virgin failures IRL" The girl said in as a matter of fact way
"W-what? Just because your pretty doesn't mean you got the right to get cocky"
The girl face palms and sigh out of pity
"Good lord…. Not being able to take a harsh rejection clearly indicates that you boys lack the social exposure to even get laid... I feel so sorry for you" The girl is clearly trying to piss them off, and its working
The 2 men draws their one handed swords
"You bitch! Who do you think you are?" One of them points his sword menacingly but the girl continues to fan the flames of hatred
In a panic, Czarina draws her two handed sword NOVICE HEAVY BLADE and readies herself to come to the girl's aid. A hand grabs her shoulders, stopping her movements. She turned around and saw a tall muscular man with blond hair, sporting a friendly smile.
"Calm down, I'll handle this" He said as he moves forward without the waiting Czarina's reply. "Oi Faux! Sorry I'm late!" He shouted to the girl
"Took your damn time Gawain…. Let me guess, you flirted with a girl didn't you?"
"Guilty as charged"
"And you got shot down"
"Ugh! That's harsh"
The 2 men turns and realizes that they were cornered causing them to panic a bit. One of them suddenly realizes something
"Faux? Gawain? No way… the gods of the colosseum from AESIR Online?"
"Hey Gawain…. Were we famous?" The girl named Faux asks
"Hmm… we may have pvped too much…. I mean, one time, we turned the colosseum in Terapron city into a graveyard" Gawain answered nonchalantly
"Oh yeah… we did do that once… well, whatever" Faux turned her attention back to the men. "Well, there you have it. Even if we are in the same level right now, me and Gawain have massive experience in PVP." She puts her hand behind her and draws her dagger. Gawain does the same and draws his shield and sword. " So… what now?" Faux calmly asks the men.
The men look at each other then bolted out of their sight. Faux lets out a small giggle at their performance.
"Ha ha ha, I bet they were MMORPGs noobs even back in AESIR. Everyone knows that you cant fight in a town" Faux says
"All's well that ends well" Gawain said as he walk towards Faux
"Faux? Gawain?" A small voice finally escapes the girl's lips. "Ani-sama? Gino?"
-:-
The trio has currently exited the town and is heading for their first training field.
Raphael… no, right now he is using the female knife wielder Faux, so he shall refer to himself as a female from this point onwards.
Faux is currently in a pinch. Her sister Czarina, though silent, is furious at her. Czarina calmly (though she used her death stare) demanded an explanation for her gender change.
Faux main reason is simple, to abuse the fact that majority of men becomes dumber when it comes to females. With a bit of cool beauty acting, she could get lots of help, party invites to boss raids and eventually, high level items.
"You….. Ani-sama…. You would trample on the good will of others just to make yourself stronger? That's disgusting." Said Czarina
"Oh no no no. You misunderstand 1 simple thing. I always return the favor one way or another"
Czarina suddenly makes a horrified face
"*sigh* She's letting her imagination run wild…."
"D-d-don't tell me…. You d-d-d-date them?" Czarina said hysterically
"Yup…. Her imagination is running wild"
"*sigh* Of course not. I share information with them and I sometimes temporarily join their guild to help out. But more importantly, I'm useful to anyone coz I know him" Faux points to Gawain
"Why?"
Faux cues Gawain to speak, which he has been dying to do
"Because I am one of the strongest players in AESIR online." He said with his chest puffed
In AESIR Online, Gawain, AKA "The Knight Of The Sun", is a tanker type Paladin. With the ability to heal himself combined with his absurdly high defense, he became the most sought off tanker in boss hunts. Faux hates to admit it, but her assassin type Rouge cannot win against Gawain, no matter what.
"I see… Though I still find changing your gender as disgusting, I guess I'll let it slide for now." Czarina said with a sigh. "Oh by the way, why did those to rejects call both you as the Gods of the Colosseum?"
"Hahahaha! Now that is mostly thanks to Faux!" Gawain said loudly
Terapron Colosseum is a massive labyrinth accessible only by high level players. Though exceedingly hard, it is possible to memorize the entire area, which is exactly what Faux did. Using the well known Gawain as bait, Faux would use the thousands of small passages to attack and disappear before anyone notices. At one point, they were able to reduce the normal population of 100+ daily pvpers to 2 for 1 hour, which gained them the unofficial title of Gods of the Colosseum.
"Hmm… I guess I truly underrated the video game industry. Who knew you could get rock star status in a game." Czarina said while in deep thought
"Give it a chance, I'm sure you'll see our world in a very different light" Faux replies
"…. If you say so Ani-…. Faux"
-:-
In the previous generation of keyboards and monitors, the only thing that gamers ever moved where their hands. Though there was the occasional trip to the kitchen or bathroom, but hands, eyes and brain were the only ones exceedingly active during gaming sessions.
Thanks to the Nerve Gear, players are given the experience of actually moving their body when fighting an opponent. Button mashing ill compares to the exhilaration of literally facing off against the enemy.
Faux exhales and reassess her situation. She currently fighting a blue boar, official name is FRENZY BOAR, and is considered the weakest of the weak. In AESIR Online, it would be the equivalent of a PORING minus the cute appearance. Thanks to Gawain's precise SWORD SKILL tutorial, she could easily beat the boar if she wanted to. Unfortunately, she enjoyed the feel of moving her own body while dodging, thus delayed on killing it. Thanks to her show boating, she accidentally lured 2 more boars.
"1 with red hp, 2 with full…. Now.. how do I do this?"
A full health boar charges from her right and the one in the left followed 1 second later. She swings her dagger at the boar's tusk at the right to force it into the path of the left. The one of the left crashed into its ally, taking 20% of its hp.
Faux capitalizes, she puts her dagger into reverse grip and she readies to lunge. The dagger shines blue as the system recognizes her stance and finally, her body moves with inhuman grace. She lunges with her dagger raised and activates the basic dagger skill [STAB]. The blow lands at its weakness, the back of the head, killing it instantly. She changes grip back to normal and sidesteps to avoid the boar from the left. The moment the boar moves past her, her dagger is raised with a white glow, then lets loose a sword skill shared by light weight weapons with a stabbing edge, [LINEAR]. Once again, the blow lands at the back of the head, effectively killing it.
"For the win!" Faux thought.
She sets her eyes on the boar with the red hp. It charges at her with reckless abadon, which she prepares to meet head on. She reverses her grip and lowers her body, then lunges at it while using [STAB]. The blow lands right between the eyes as it breaks into blue polygons.
With a large grin of satisfaction, she twirls her blade in her hand before slipping it back into its sheath. She looks around and spots her partners already waiting for her.
"Damn Faux…. Just damn…." Gawain said with a face of awe. "And here we were, getting ready to help you out. Seriously man, are you sure you didn't go through the beta period?"
"I wouldn't ask you any tips if I was a beta tester. Besides, I don't think I even did anything special back there. I bet anyone can take down those boars without breaking a sweat"
"Youre right, but no newbie can take 3 at the same time. Not to mention, you're using a dagger for gods sakes!" Gawain exclaimed
"I guess its just a matter of play style" Faux said with a shrug
In SAO, there are many types of weapons to suite the players preference.
The one hand sword is the most used because of its perfect balance of weight, reach and killing range. In addition, its biggest advantage is the use of a shield for tanking purposes. Other commonly used one hand swords are those that use overwhelming speed and accuracy at the price of damage and shield protection, such as rapiers or estocs.
Gawain belongs to the people who prefer tanking over anything
Next up are the two weapons such as two hand swords, axes and spears. One of their main advantage lies in their long reach, allowing the wielder to strike beyond the opponents reach. Polearms such as spears are the ones that make full use of this advantage. Another advantage of two hand weapons is their weight, which allows them to smash through the opponent's defense with sheer power. Due to their weight and length, it takes a bit of time to set up one move after another.
Czarina currently wields a two hand sword
"Hmmm…. Now that I think about it, why did you choose a two hand sword?" Faux asks Czarina. "I guessed you as someone who prefers being graceful, was I wrong?"
Czarina remains silent for a second
"Ani-… Faux, didn't you say that girls with large swords are cute?" She said without looking at Faux
"Yeah… I did say that. What about it?"
Czarina takes peek at Faux then quickly looks away
"….. Nevermind…." Czarina said. She then refused to talk anymore
"Weird girl…" Faux said with a shrug
Back to the topic
The final weapon class is the small, light weight weapons, knives. It isn't as popular as the swords due to its small reach and damage, but dagger wielders turned these to advantages. Its compact size and light weight allowed it to launch consecutive attacks with little to no delay. The greatest advantage it can offer is its perfect synergy with the support skill [ACROBATICS], allowing the user to jump high without any fear of weight restriction.
Though the thought of jumping around like a ninja is very attractive, Faux has other plans, thus she avoided learning [ACROBATICS] at the very get go. She will eventually learn it, but not right now.
"Well then, how do you like the gamers world Czarina?" Faux asks
Czarina stays silent for a second then sighs.
"I admit, I have been biased in my views. SAO exceed even my wildest expectations. Whoever created the Nerve Gear and this world deserves to be filthy rich"
"So…. Do you have any plans of continuing this game?"
Once again, Czarina becomes silent for a second. She looks straight at Faux and asks
"Ani-…. Faux,will you keep playing this game?"
"Ofcourse! My gamer soul wont let me rest if I don't play"
"….. Then I'll continue on as well." She faces Gawain and bows. "Despite my discomfort…. I'll be in your care"
"Oy! That hurts you know!" Gawain replies
They continued their meaningless talk as they moved to their next hunting ground with gusto.
-:-
Faux has to give Gawain a lot of credit, his way of teaching is not only precise, but also easy to learn. Faux's ability to learn fast is not surprising because of her large exposure to anime and online games. The one with the surprising fast development is Czarina. In just a few hours of playing and a few pointers from Gawain, no one would believe her if she told them that SAO is Czarina's first MMORPG.
Faux and Gawain has already finished killing off their respective mobs, and now are watching Czarina finish off her current enemy.
She stands at the ready with her sword resting over her right shoulder, waiting for the boar to charge. The boar makes its move and charges at her. Her sword glows brightly in red as she puts both hands on the handle. The moment the boar comes within her range, she executes the basic two sword art [BASH] and violently swings down, slicing the boar in half and causing the ground to shake a bit. Thanks to her high burst damage, hitting its weak spot wasn't even necessary.
"Nice work sis. Without a doubt, you're gonna be a top player in this game." Faux said as she pats Czarina on the head
"Hmph. That's already given. If I get serious, I will be sitting at the very top soon enough, and that is a fact" She said arrogantly, but she doesn't shrug of the pat
"Yeah… Even I'm impressed" Gawain said. "If you keep this up, the name CZARINA might end up as a name that everyone knows"
"Fu fu fu… Naturally" Czarina said as the two inflates her ego non stop
"Anyways, I need to logout for a bit. I still got a bit of work to do" Faux said
"Work? I thought we already finished our homework back at school yesterday?" Czarina asks.
Seeing how they belonged to the same section, it was natural for the siblings to do their homework together
"Oh no no no. I've got some stuff at the gym to take care off. A couple of bikes snapped their chains. I already brought the replacement chains, so the repair wont take long. 20-30 minutes tops"
"Cant you do that tomorrow or something?" Gawain complains
"Dude…. You know how my mom is right?"
Their faces drain of color as they recall all the times Ayime Norton went berserk
"…. Right…. Might not be a good idea to piss your mom off. I guess me and Czarina will go at it for a while. Make it quick Faux, we might leave your level in the dust" Gawain said
"I'm logging out as well. You can level up by yourself, Gawain" Said Czarina
"Eh? Why?"
"Obviously, I'm going to help Ani-sama to make the repairs faster. And besides, do you really expect to leave a delicate flower such as myself alone with a..." She looks at Gawain. "… virgin brute such as yourself?"
"Delicate flower….. yeah right" thought Faux
"Ouch it hurts! Why cant you be act like a delicate flower for once" Gawain said
"What did you say?" Czarina puffs her chest and makes a threatening posture. "Are you implying that I am not a delicate flower?"
They then entered their typical cycle. Czarina throws heavy damaging insults just like her two hand sword, while Gawain takes it all, like a tank that he is. On the sidelines, Faux laughs at their display.
"Fu fu fu. Dad did say the more you hate, the more you love. I do hope that their bickering will blossom into something else" Thought Faux
Faux waves her hand to access the menu. Her hand moves automatically to the bottom of the menu….. then her hand freezes
"Eh…. Where's the log out button?"
At that point, the world and its rules have changed.