SAO-X: The Lost Tales
Disclaimer: I'm a huge fan of the SAO series. I really enjoyed it and I feel it was a great story. However, what was an amazing concept got caught up in the restrictions of its genre and lost out on the huge potential it had. This story is intended to build on the ideas and questions introduced in the original show from the perspective of an OC. Constructive criticism is more than appreciated as this is my first time putting my work on the web, and I figured here is as good a place as any.
Stage IV: Concept of a Sword
TIMESTAMP: 31 October 2022, 15:38:40, Floor 001, Town of Beginnings
"Wait!" called a voice from behind them.
Auran pulled on Balti's sleeve, slowing him down as he turned his head. Standing not ten feet away was a little girl, hands behind her back, no more than eight or nine years old. A huge sword—no, it was standard-sized, it just looked huge on her tiny frame—was strapped to her armored back. She looked up, staring into Auran's hazel eyes, her hands trembling in their fingerless gloves.
"I…" she stuttered, breaking eye contact. "I…can I come with you guys?"
Auran considered it for a moment, but he was only able to spit out a "Well…" before Riku jumped in.
"I'm sorry, but we need a small party. You'll have to find someone else. Didn't you say you had a brother?"
Auran stepped forward to protest but Balti beat him to the punch.
"Riku, look at this kid," interjected the ponytailed swordsman. "She's not even out of elementary school. If we leave her here, she'll get wiped within a week. We're taking her with us."
"Absolutely not," replied the pudgy gamer. "We can't afford to have a little girl slowing us down. I, for one, don't plan on dying here. Besides, a party of four is generally the peak of efficiency in terms of drop distribution and DPS. I'm not putting our lives at risk for some schoolkid in a different coun—"
"Shut up," Auran scowled. "The kid is coming with us." Balti looked over in approval and nodded decisively, though the fierce look never left his usually cheerful face. Riku looked around for support, and, finding none, suddenly discovered just how interesting the ground was. The Worm coughed miserably and brushed his hair out of his face again.
A smile broke across Balti's face and he walked over to where the little girl was standing. Her eyes were wide with some sort of intense emotion—he couldn't tell whether it was terror or curiosity. She fidgeted with her hands back and forth as his friend knelt down in front of her.
"Hey, don't be afraid. My name is Balti, and I am a knight of this land," he said proudly. He picked up her tiny hand and touched his forehead to it before asking, "To what fair lady may I have the honor of pledging my services?"
The little girl giggled in happiness and made a small curtsy, or as close as she could come in the leather armor. "My name is, ah, Elia—yes that's right, Elia," she responded.
"Very well then, Miss Elia," cried Balti, standing up, "let us be on our way to begin our journey. To the top floor and beyond!"
"To the top floor!" Elia cried, her small, innocent voice sounding weirdly out of place in this death game. Riku crossed his arms with a frown. Auran couldn't help but let out a small smile at the sheer enthusiasm radiating off of this grade schooler. He certainly hadn't sounded like that in the fourth grade.
"So, Sir Riku," Balti proclaimed, "how about you lead the way? Out of all of us, you are the only one with any experience with games, so you should be the one to lead us. Where to?"
"Now hold on," interrupted Auran. He didn't like where this was going. "Why should Riku have to take the lead? I mean, sure, he many have played some online games before, but this is something totally different. We're fighting for our lives now."
"If I may," said Riku, "while you three were busy fooling around I've been investigating the menu. You say this isn't a game anymore, and that's where you are wrong. This is more of a game than it ever was. It is the ultimate game. And thus, everything works just like a game. Take a look at your menus. Yes, they still work."
Auran hesitated for a second before pulling up the translucent screen. Numbers and terms rattled off in front of him, character diagrams and equipment sheets. He understood about half from his time casually playing, but the rest was gibberish. If he was going to survive he would have to familiarize himself with exactly what everything on the menu did. Everything. Riku held a huge advantage over the rest of them—no, why was he thinking that? They were a team, they'd share everything, and all four of them would make it out and go back to school in a week, and tell their friends what happed in Sword Art Online. They were a team now.
"Now, as you can see," continued Riku, "your character consists of two main parameters, STR for Strength and AGI for Agility. Every time you level up you can add one to either on of those. So what we need to do is—"
"Just get to the point already," snapped Balti. "I know you love to talk about this stuff but we need to plan and fast. I have no idea what I'm doing so I need you to tell me what to do and I'll do it. Understand?"
Auran was taken aback. His friend—Marcus—would never talk this way in real life. He didn't care what happened, in fact he probably would have been more at home in a hippy van from the 60s. Why was he being so blunt all of a sudden?
Riku's frown deepened. "Fine, fine. The point is, the best party is a balanced one. No two people should share the same role. Everybody's stats are roughly equal at the beginning of the game, but there are some slight randomized differences."
That piqued Auran's curiosity. "So, uh, how did you find this out exactly?" he asked.
His chubby friend's face reddened slightly. "Well, I, uh…"
"He was peeking over people's shoulders at their status windows," Worm stated matter-of-factly. Riku whirled around, mortified.
"Hey! You were watching?"
The Worm shrank back a little. "Well…uh…just, uh, kinda…"
Riku looked like he was going to blow a fuse. One fist clenched and Auran prepared to step in again, but it was unnecessary. The gamer relaxed.
"Alright. Yeah, fine. I've been observing people's stat distributions. There's some more detailed parameters, so I need to look at each of yours. Auran, bring up your advanced character sheet."
Now, let's see. He scrolled through the options, looking for that. It would probably be under his Character menu…there it was. Advanced Stats. His gloved finger tapped the button, and it blinked yellow and slid to the side with its usual smoothness.
Riku was already peering over his shoulder, his finger tracing lines and numbers in midair. There were some thoughtful noises coming from his throat, but to Auran they didn't make any sense. As quickly as he had started, Riku finished with a clap.
"Sounds good," he stated. "Balti, I need to see yours."
"Of course," his friend answered. Riku stepped over to the other side of the circle their group had unconsciously formed and began poring over the figures again. He finished in another ten seconds before moving onto Worm without saying a word. The black-haired boy kept scooting a couple inches away, forcing Riku to move closer to read the permanently affixed screen. Auran would have laughed if the situation hadn't been so serious. Finally, he finished his mysterious appraisal. He brushed off his hands and—
"Okay Elia, you're next."
"Wait, what?!" sputtered Auran.
His friend looked up at him with a blank expression, like he was doing what had to be done. Auran thought he could see the faint twitch of a smile in the corner of his mouth, but it must have been his imagination.
"Oh, no you don't. No way. Elia's stats have nothing to do with this."
"Ah, but they have everything to do with this. You see, we can't just take on another party member without expecting them to contribute to our survival somehow. Otherwise, it will be just another mouth to feed. She must play her role just as we play ours. After all, this is a role-playing game."
Auran desperately wanted to come back with some genius retort, but his brain felt like it had shut off. Instead he was only able to stammer out, "She's just a kid! You can't seriously expect her to be fighting with a sword! I mean, come on!"
"I'm sorry Auran, but this is where I put my foot down. We are not carrying around a child who can't defend herself in trouble."
He couldn't think of anything to say. Freezing, he turned to Balti for support. But the brown ponytail only shook back and forth.
"Sorry, but I've got to agree with Riku on this one. As much as I'd like to take care of her, if she's coming with us she'll need to know how to defend herself."
His mouth gaped open and shut like a fish. How could they do this to a little girl? How could they—
"It's okay, Mr. Auran!" came a bright voice.
All four warriors looked down at the tiny figure in surprise. A huge smile was plastered across her face. She bounced on her toes once. "I'll be able to fight. That's why I came here anyway, right?"
Elia's huge eyes beamed up at him. In an instant, Auran felt all the breath go out of him. She was so…optimistic. Why couldn't he feel this same way?
"I…" he stuttered. "I guess. But you have to understand, she stays at the back. Maybe as an archer or something?"
Riku pursed his lips solemnly. "Nope, no bows in this game. Who knows, she could be cut out for stealth though. It's all up to her stats." With that, he stepped over to where Elia stood on the cobblestone of the central plaza. The little girl gave him an odd look before bringing up her menu. Auran was slightly surprised that she operated it just as quickly as any of them. Riku examined her stats, making a few "hmm" noises as he did so. Another minute passed before he rose from his kneeling position. He made a few quick adjustments to his own menu before turning to face the party. He had the first confident look Auran had seen in a while.
"Alright. I've been through everyone's stats and I've decided on the roles that will best suit the party's needs, no ifs ands or buts. Everyone got it?"
The four nodded, Worm maybe a little too enthusiastically. Riku turned to him first.
"Worm. You're our stealth man. I want you to run daggers, concentrate on cloaking and tracking skills. We're counting on you to get help if things go to hell. That's your primary objective. Sometimes we might need you to take out a strong enemy unit, but that's secondary. Of course, if this was still a game, that would be your job, but…" His eyes snapped back into focus. "But it's not. If we're overpowered, you get out alive and find help. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" yelled Worm before quickly realizing his mistake. "Uh…I mean…got it." He brushed his hair out of his pale face again. Riku continued without hesitating.
"I will be running front-line tank with a hammer or axe. I will be taking the hits for the most part. You should be thanking the RNG that you'll have someone who knows what he's doing tanking. Balti—you're our second line of attack. You have extremely balanced stats, so I think you'll be best off with a one-handed sword. Which means you're the only one who won't need to buy a new weapon." His best friend nodded, his hand unconsciously reaching for the stone blade on his back.
"Wait—buy a new weapon?" Auran interjected. "I don't understand."
Riku sighed like he was speaking to a toddler. "Let me explain," he began. "Weapons are divided into classes. In order to be able to wield the next level of weapon in that class, you must first master the one in the level before it. Thus, any time you spend working with a one-handed sword will be wasted, since the weapon is not in the category you should be working towards."
"I think I understand," Auran said. "So—what category will I be using?"
The pudgy shut-in smiled. "You, my friend, will be our spearman. You will stay on the back lines and provide support—which, since there's no magic, means keeping the enemies as far away from our front-liners as you can. Plus, sometimes you have to take a hit so we can switch in."
Auran's eyes narrowed. A spearman? This was supposed to be Sword Art Online. Riku knew what he was doing, so it must be best for the group, but still, a spearman? Could he really fight with a spear? He'd have to, once they made it to the next town. Assuming they made it to the next town. He wanted to argue, but…now was not the time. Maybe he would have a discussion with Riku later…
"And lastly, our new friend Elia." If Auran could have gritted his teeth even more than he was, he would have. The sarcasm on the word friend was almost tangible, but the little girl just kept on smiling. Riku grinned in return.
"You will be our front-lines sword and shield user."
"No!" yelled Auran. "I won't have it!"
Four faces turned to stare at him in shock. He was bothered for only a moment but quickly brushed it off. "Elia will not be on the front lines. I will take personal responsibility for her leveling, but she will not be tanking. That's final."
"Auran…" muttered Worm. But the brown-haired boy didn't hear him.
"I said, is that clear?" he repeated.
"Sure, Auran. Whatever you say," responded Riku. "But I'm warning you, we're going to be at a huge disadvantage without a shield user…"
Auran pointedly ignored him, instead turning to his right and speaking to the short armored figure below him. "Come on, Elia. Let's go."
He walked off a few steps before thinking, Shit. He could almost feel Riku's smug grin on his back. He heard the inevitable.
"You have no idea where you're going, do you Auran?"
He wanted to growl at the gamer who had just become infinitely more knowledgeable than he ever had been in real life. But he washed it down, covering it up for at least the time being. He didn't want Elia's first impression of their little group to be one of anger and argument. Besides, they would never argue like this in real life. They hadn't been in this game twelve hours and things were already breaking down.
"No, I don't," he replied in a sickly sweet tone that made himself sick. "Sorry about that Riku. Why don't you tell us where we need to be going?"
"Well, first we need to purchase the starting weapons in each of our lines. Which means you're going in the opposite direction."
Auran held himself back from throttling his friend again. The guy was treating it like it was still a game, like this was still some city of fantasy you could walk around in. Didn't he see that this wasn't anything like a game anymore?
"Fine," he growled. "Lead the way, Riku." The sarcasm was almost tangible. The leather-armored warriors seemed to ignore it, though. With a small force in each step he rejoined the four of them as Riku turned and began walking down a side street.
TIMESTAMP: 31 October 2022, 16:30:51, Floor 001, Town of Beginnings
"So. These are the starting weapons in each line," Riku announced. The other four party members surrounded him in a sort of semicircle, each with the new purchases equipped. Worm was staring halfheartedly at a small metal dagger, a vague look of disappointment on his face. Balti was standing proudly directly across from Riku, hands on his hips. Auran glanced again at the weapon on which he had expended every bit of the game's starting money. For all he could tell, it looked more like a bit of sharp metal stuck onto the end of a stick. On the bright side, it worked great as a walking staff.
"Alright, Sir Riku, where are we off to?" Balti asked grandly.
"Well, most of the regular players are probably not going to attempt leaving the Town of Beginnings for a few days at least. Which means that the experienced people—beta testers and the like—are going to be hauling ass to the next town over. In fact, we need to get over there ourselves before all the good quests and items are snapped up. Everyone ready?"
"Wait—you mean we're leaving now?" Worm sputtered.
"Of course we're leaving now. We've already wasted a good—" he looked up in the corner of his eyes—"three hours. We've got to move."
"You heard the man," Balti announced. "Let's march!"
The swordsman turned with a smile on his face and began deliberately walking towards the huge gates of the Town of Beginnings. Riku quickly fell in behind him, eager to secure his place as leader. Worm game Auran a look equal parts confusion and terror before hurrying to catch up with his senior.
Auran stood alone a second, staring at the ground. He went to follow his friends, but—his spear felt heavy. Why was it so heavy? He could lift it fine just a moment ago. He couldn't move now—what was happening? His eyes felt heavy, so heavy—
There was a tug on his leather armor. Elia stood there, smiling up at him, barely half his height. The starting weapon on her back had been replaced with the shortest sword they could find, and even that reached down to the back of her kneecaps. Her eyes pierced into his, and his body felt frozen for a second before—
"Come on, let's go," she said, her high-pitched voice ringing across the now-empty plaza.
Auran looked down at the child. Whatever he did, he had to make sure that innocent smile didn't disappear. No matter what it took, he would get it out of here.
He forced the serious look off his face and pushed a smile out. "Of course," he said, grinning. "Lead the way."
The two of them ran forward to catch up with the rest of the group.
A/N: Writing this just for fun, updates will be scarce and as time permits. Thanks for reading and reviewing, I have a lot of fun writing even though I'm not very good at it. I hope to use these short chunks to improve a little.