I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters. I'm adding a special event because SAO could have totally had this and rocked it. Now, my OC will have to do it.
Death Day
Michael looked around again and sighed. He had been waiting for well over an hour after Klein had told him Kirito, Klein's possible supplier, had reached the town. No sign of Kirito. After a few more minutes, Michael stood to leave just as someone called out his name.
"You must be Kirito," Michael guess turning to the person.
He was a teen, roughly the same age as Michael with short black hair, a black trench coat, black boots, and a black longsword that Michael recognized as the Elucidator.
"Yes," Kirito nodded. "You're not the right level for this floor. Klein didn't mention that he gave you a head start. However, you're a bit late for the boss bonuses. Which means you'll need as much help as possible. Alright. What type of armor do you want?"
"I actually like the looks of that jacket," Michael stated. "And the sword, but mostly for the power."
Kirito smirked and opened his inventory, scanning through the items before sending Michael armor. Michael put it on and was suddenly wearing a black trench coat with studded blue shoulders, black fingerless gloves, and black combat boots with shiny metal studs.
"Not bad," Michael admired. "I like the endurance and speed boosts."
"There's a smith on Floor Forty Eight," Kirito stated. "She'll upgrade your sword for you if you have the money, or you're with me. Good luck getting there, though."
"At this level?" Michael snorted. "No way. But I'll level up as I go."
"I knew a guy that played like you," Kirito noted. "He died. Take the time to level up. A day per level should be fine since you should still be on level two."
"If you say so," Michael nodded. "See you around Kirito."
"Yeah," Kirito nodded. "I have to go. See you."
Michael nodded and Kirito left. Michael looked around then headed out of the city and toward the dungeon to the next level. Just as he reached it, the sky turned dark and storm clouds began to gather. Then, a glowing white screen appeared somewhere near the middle and an announcement wrote itself out on it.
"Attention: Day of the Dead event shall begin in one minute."
Michael blinked in confusion, having no idea what Day of the Dead was. He went into his inventory and got out the info handbook the betas had made and he had been given. Just as he got it out, the announcement flashed and he looked up.
"Day of the Dead event beginning in thirty seconds."
He flipped through it until he found the event.
"Day of the Dead: zombies and skeletons rise for twenty four hours," the handbook read. "All city safety boundaries are restricted to inns. All NPCs will be removed and will respawn after the event."
Michael groaned and looked up at the announcement as it began counting down from ten.
"Nine...Eight...Seven...Six...Five...Four...Three...Two...One...Day of the Dead commencing. Have a nice day."
Michael snorted at the irony in the last statement. Then, he lowered his eyes to the ground as the screen disappeared and hands began to break out of the ground. Slowly, zombies and skeletons began to drag themselves out of the ground, all groaning and moaning like stereotypes, which they really did look like. The zombies were all green or grey with tattered clothes, muddy hair, blood stains everywhere, and chunks missing from their skin revealing muscle and bone, where they had supposedly been bitten, despite having been buried. The skeletons, on the other hand, were all bleached white, despite the mud, carried chipped and worn, yet still sharp, double-edged bastard swords, and some had a helmet, chest plate, boots, or a round shield about two feet in diameter.
Michael backed away from the undead then spun, using his shield to block a skeleton's and killed it, happy to find they were relatively weak. Then, he spun, using his shield again to block a zombie from biting him. Michael growled in annoyance, backing away to gain enough time to switch to offense then stepped forward, ducking under a skeleton's sword then slashed it and the zombie. Then, he spun, slashing another zombie trying to kill him. He ducked, switching to defense and blocking another skeleton's sword. He stood, sprinting at a zombie and blocking it, continuing to run forward, using the zombie to plow through the horde. After several minutes of running without finding an end, and the zombie having been killed by a skeleton's sword, Michael finally stopped, ducking under a sword and switching to offense again. Then, he turned, slashing three zombies in quick succession before a skeleton behind him slashed at him. He managed to mostly avoid it, but it still carved a gash in his shoulder. He grit his teeth, spinning and slashing that creatures before ducking under another sword and slashing that skeleton before a zombie behind him grabbed him, biting him. He shouted in annoyance, killing the zombie and carefully watching his life, the zombie's poison eating away at it for exactly five seconds before it stopped, his health halfway gone.
He spun, slashing a pair of skeletons then spun again, slashing a zombie. He stabbed a skeleton on his right then ripped the sword downward, carving it through the ground then upward through a zombie. He switched back to defense and blocked a sword just as a row of zombies to his left exploded and Klein and his guild ran over, killing the skeleton attacking Michael and those around him, giving him room to get out a health potion and drink it. He also took the time to sort through the two level up notices he had gotten while fighting.
"Nasty bite huh?" Klein grinned as he and his guild slaughtered the creatures.
"Yeah," Michael nodded. "This event sucks. There's a lot of them."
He turned and slashed a skeleton that had slipped past the guild. One of the other members began to run low on health after being bitten twice and backed away. Michael stepped forward, stopping the undead from getting through. As he fought, not needing to worry about what was behind him, he was able to kill creatures right and left. After a few minutes, he decided to test out a new ability and switched to defense. The moment a skeleton's sword hit his shield, it began to glow red. Then, he stepped forward, pulling the shield back and swung it at the skeleton. When it hit, the skeleton was blasted backward, taking down several other undead as it flew. Michael switched back to offense, his energy bar dropped down to near nothing by the ability. He slashed two zombies and backed out of the way of a skeleton's sword then split its skull. Just as he slashed another skeleton, a zombie stepped forward, tackling him. Michael stabbed it and the other member took his place again. Michael stood, sorting through his level announcements, still not many, then through his acquired loot, finding that he had gotten a bone shield from one of the skeletons that was better than his shield. He had also gotten a pair of boots that lowered his defense a bit but increased his speed. He decided for the time being he would go without the new items and stood turning toward the nearest gap as a skeleton stepped forward, slashing at him. He raised his shield but the sword split it in half and removed his arm. Michael shouted in surprise and switched to offense, slashing the skeleton as his shield and arm both shattered. He pulled out a healing crystal and restored his arm then took out his new shield. It was a kite-shaped tower shield with the border being upper arm bones and the rest being a mix of bones with a skull in the middle. With the shield equipped, he swapped out with the guild member with the lowest health.
Finally, there was only maybe fifteen minutes left. Unfortunately, everyone except Michael was out of health potions and healing crystals and was low on health. Klein had half his health bar but was also out of recovery items. Michael, who had made full use of the lack of a recovery item limit, still had a few crystals and a couple of potions. He also had full health and two back-up bone shields. Which was good. Because when the undead began to drop back into the ground with time to spare on the event, it became obvious he would need them.
He switched to a fresh one as the guild members all grouped together and Michael sent Klein a healing crystal so he would have help if what he suspected was about to happen.
"What's going on?" Klein asked.
Michael glanced up at the sky and saw an announcement.
"Congratulations. You've reached the event boss."
"Event boss," Michael reported returning his eyes to the ground as something began to push it up. "Hopefully it's not massive."
The ground exploded up, forming a massive hole and a single creature flew out of it, the hole repairing itself before the creature landed on it. The creature had massive leathery bat wings spanning a good ten feet, a muscular build, tattered black shorts, claws a few inches long on each hand and his toes, legs shaped like a dog's hind legs, and a face looking like a cross between a human's and a bat's with glowing red eyes. Its right hand was closed around the grip of an eight foot arming sword made out of shadows.
"What is that thing?" Michael asked.
"I think it's a vampire," Klein stated. "Fits the undead thing."
"Right," Michael nodded giving Klein another healing crystal in case he needed it. "You want to start or should I?"
"I'll go," Klein said sprinting forward.
He slashed at the vampire but its sword blurred around and blocked his, sending it flying as its ability to disarm displayed itself. Klein leapt back and shouted in annoyance as Michael stepped past him.
"Go get your sword," Michael sighed. "I'll keep him distracted as long as I can."
Klein nodded sprinting for the sword. Michael saw the creature turn toward Klein and charged. It turned toward him and Michael looked to his energy bar. He had just enough energy to use his new ability again so he switched to defense and raised his shield and charged at the creature. It spun toward him, slashing. Michael leapt forward, activating his ability. His shield glowed red and he slammed it forward into the creature's sword, then both into the creature's chest, the sword burying itself in its chest. Then, the creature flew away and Michael's shield did the same. Michael backed away as Klein sprinted past, jumping and slashing at the thing. It wrenched its sword out and slashed at Klein. both blades hit, Klein's health dropping to near zero as he was thrown backward and his chest plate sailed into the air.
"Oh what!?" Michael scoffed. "That's such bullshit!"
He sprinted forward, equipping his new sword and looking up at the creature's four health bars. Together, he and Klein had dropped its health by half a bar. Michael switched to offense and ducked under the creature's sword. The sword arced through the air, flashing at Michael from the other side. Michael stepped past the creature, sword slicing through the creature before blocking the creature's sword. Michael flew backward, flipping over and landing on his feet as the his sword stabbed into the ground between himself and the creature. Michael watched the glowing gash in the creature's side for a moment before looking up at the life bars, seeing another fifth of a bar had disappeared.
"This is going to be difficult," Michael growled, opening his inventory and equipping his new boots. "Since he's a one-hitter anyway for me, defense isn't going to help me."
He sprinted forward, shooting over the ground and grabbing his sword then jumping, tucking his knees to his chest as the creature's sword flashed under him. Michael activated one of his sword abilities, spinning and shooting forward like a drill, blade hitting the creature and launching it backward. Then, Michael landed on his feet and sprinted forward, activating a basic ability, his sword glowing blue before he jabbed it forward, slashing the creature across the side. He stopped behind it, spinning a hundred and eighty degrees before closing his eyes as his sword glowed red. He activated the ability and spun in a blur, his sword blade turning into a red ring as it tore into the creatures. After three slashes, the creature was hurled away and Michael stopped, panting as he had run out of energy. The creature's life had dropped a full bar, leaving just over two bars.
"Way to go man!" Klein called out. "My guild is healed though. We'll take over."
"They're too slow," Michael stated simply pulling out an energy crystal. "So are you Klein. I may be low level, but thanks to Kirito and you, my speed is already higher than yours. I'll finish this thing myself. You would just get yourselves killed."
"Don't pull that one man army crap on me," Klein snapped. "I know you're not as fast as you say."
"You specialize in strength, HP, and endurance," Michael stated as his energy bar refilled itself, the crystal shattering. "I specialize in speed."
Klein sighed and rested his sword on his shoulder.
"Have at him then," Klein sighed.
Michael sprinted forward, activating the stab ability again. This time, just as he finished, he spun and used it again, carving another gash through the creature's other side before stopping, spinning and activating a bit stronger ability. He darted forward, sword glowing blue as he began to slash wildly at the boss. It suffered three slashes before slashing his sword and canceling his ability while launching it away. Michael growled in annoyance and ducked switched to defense, activating his newest ability and launching the creature away, giving himself a chance to get to his sword then the first shield he had lost. Then, he turned back toward the creature as it stood, half its health bar gone. Its sword faded and it roared in rage, claws extending. Michael gulped and glanced at his empty energy bar. The creature shot forward, the announcement "DEF down" appearing over its head. Michael sighed and sprinted at the creature as it became airborne, wings kicking up a cloud of dust. It slashed at Michael and he blocked the claws, shield blessedly remaining with him. He backed away as the other hand's creatures slashed the shield, then the other, and the other, and so on. Michael backed away before spinning around the creature, switching to offense as he spun in a half circle. He activated that ability, spinning as the creature did the same. Michael's sword carved into the creature's arm, then shoulder, then head, blasting it away after three hits, a limit Michael hated about the eight-revolution ability. When Michael stopped spinning, his energy began to regenerate again and he grinned, seeing the sliver of health the creature had left. he sprinted forward, the creature flying at him as he did. He held his sword up, pointing it at the creature as it glowed blue. Then, he streaked forward and the creature slashed.
The dust from the creature's wings obscured Klein's vision of Michael and the boss but after a moment, the sound of shattering glass reached them. After a moment the dust settled, revealing Michael standing, barely, with four glowing red gashes across his chest.
Damn, Michael thought. Should have waited and used a safer ability.
He watched as his health bar slowly emptied. When it reached critical, it moved to the center of his vision, enlarging itself so he would know he was going to die. But he didn't. The bar stopped with one health point left. Michael sighed in relief, falling backward and passing out. When he awoke, his health had recovered most of the way and he had a lot of level requests, some from the undead that he hadn't gotten to, and a few from the boss. He also had an award box for killing the boss. He selected the box and saw he had received two items. One, was a Bone Shield, which made him roll his eyes. The other, was a pair of gloves that increased his strength, endurance, and HP. He equipped both items, the gloves being black with metal splint backs, and and then sorted through his level alerts. Then, he grinned. After the event, he was now at level twenty eight. With his items, he was about the equivalent of a level forty.
"That was a close call," Klein stated. "You had me worried for a moment. So, now what?"
"Now I'm off to meet Kirito's smith," Michael stated. "I'll probably level up a dozen times on the way the way I play so I should make it there no problem."
"Good luck," Klein smirked. "I gotta head back to the front line. Hope you find your friend."
"Me too," Michael nodded. "Thanks for all your help."
Klein nodded and he and his guild all teleported away. Michael turned toward the floor's dungeon and went inside.
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