Chapter 2: Meetings

Sinon couldn't really recall what she did for the remaining hours of the day after the announcement. She had the vague feeling she rented a room in one of the inns and spent the night huddled on the bed before sleep overtook her in the early hours of the morning. Not the best way to establish her reputation, but she doubted anyone would have noticed anything short of a bomb exploding in their face after Kayaba had presented his message.

The next day, she had a choice to make. The first option was to stay in the starting town, waiting and praying that somehow they would be rescued. The second was that she could accept Kayaba's announcement as reality and work towards clearing the game. In her mind, there was no doubt which of the two "Sinon" would pick. But Asada Shino was a different matter. She mulled over this for half the morning.

Eventually, her dislike of doing nothing and being left behind overrode her insecurities and she set off, burdened by as much gear as she could carry without exceeding her character's «Maximum Weight Limit». Instead of her pistol, she now equipped a musket, having found out to her surprise that her skill level had increased sufficiently during the first day's hunting with Kirito and Klein to use a special accessory alongside that weapon-type; a muzzle clip that allowed her to attach dagger-class weapons just below the mouth of the weapon.

Buying all her new equipment once again put her finances into dire straits. Without a successful hunt, she would not have enough to afford lodgings tonight. But that was part of her plan, to force herself to become strong. To become efficient. To be rid of the weakness that was Asada Shino.

Strapping the combat knife Kirito had given her the day before to her gun, her thoughts turned to the two players who had helped her the day before. Even though their time together had been brief, she hoped the two were doing well. After all, what Kirito had shown her would very likely save her life today. As if to reassure herself, Sinon thrust her weapon out, cutting through the air with a «Linear».

Several bystanders looked towards her momentarily, drawn by the sound effect, before turning away. Sinon had taken a page out of that information dealer's book and had bought a hooded cloak with which she now concealed her face. In a world where the vast majority of players were male, a female player would naturally draw attention. Attention she did not feel like wasting the energy rebuking on this day.

-o-

"Ah, it's stuffy," Sinon complained to herself a half hour into her hunt.

Even though the cloak didn't get in the way of her reloading using the «System Assist», Sinon felt that it hindered her motions. She also felt that it distracted her needlessly whenever she was trying to aim. She needed to find a place where she could move around without worrying about others seeing her face. Looking about, Sinon was surprised by the number of players in the field. She would have thought that more would be cowering in fear after Kayaba's grim declaration.

She shook her head. Of course there would be a lot of players outside. 25,000 players total: Even if only 5% of them took Kayaba's announcement seriously and decided to work towards clearing the game, that would be 1250 players. That wasn't even counting all the players who still thought this was just a bad joke. No doubt all of the good spots to gain experience were taken by now.

Then out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the runoff from the street was running into a large pipe. Something Kirito had said yesterday now came to mind.

"Once a district is clear, you can always continue fighting in the sewers if you need the drops from a certain district. But I wouldn't recommend going in there now. The atmosphere is unnerving if it's your first time and there're enough spots out here for us to hunt."

Well, it couldn't hurt to take a peek, Sinon thought. So long as she took it slow and made sure she wasn't surrounded, there should be no danger. Besides, she was more worried about what players desperate to get an edge over everyone else might resort to than the monsters in the first district. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Sinon stepped into the darkness.

The first thing she noticed was the stench. It reminded her of…actually she couldn't put a name to it; far too many intermingling smells overwhelmed her ability to separate them apart. Grimacing, she turned the scent sensitivity setting on her character all the way down. Kirito had mentioned that it was a good way to detect enemies, but with the sewer masking their scent, that advice wasn't helpful here. Not to mention she couldn't stand it any longer. Once she had accepted the new settings, Sinon cautiously took a small whiff of the air before proceeding further inside.

Ten meters in, the lighting had dimmed considerably. There were torch sconces located at regular intervals, but over half of them were burned out. The sound of water dripping, innocuous from outside, sounded vaguely threatening in the dark.

Progress was slow at first. The ground was slippery, wet, and covered in slime, refuse, and unidentified substances which reflected the pitiful amount of light the torches provided. Sinon winced every time something squelched under her feet; whether it was because she was afraid that the noise would bring enemies down on her head or because she didn't want to think about what it was she had stepped in, she couldn't say for sure.

At least the experience was good. The sewer pipe Sinon was currently navigating was too narrow for more than one enemy to approach at a time. That allowed her to save a lot of ammo by using «Linear» with her bayonet. She was starting to feel good about herself when she realized that she had no idea how far she had wandered. Her map data revealed a confusing mass of twists and turns wherein her path doubled back on itself repeatedly. However, Sinon couldn't recall seeing a familiar looking intersection before. Either she really was walking around in circles and just didn't realize it, or she was progressing deeper and deeper underground.

"Maybe I should backtrack…"

Just as that thought entered her mind, Sinon's stomach began to growl. She took a piece of bread out from her inventory. It was impossible to tell right now, but the thing was dark-grey in color. It wasn't particularly good, consisting of dry texture, bland taste, and the occasional lump that supposedly mimicked eating something made of whole-grains. All in all, not the most delectable of meals, but filling enough when she had eaten it last night. Plus, it was cheap; she was on a budget, after all.

She was halfway through her meal when she heard a nearby splash and a groan. Another zombie? Sinon hastily readied her musket, dropping the remainder of her bread in her rush to arm herself. She made a grab for it as it fell but missed, and it landed on the ground with a plop. Looking down at what was floating in the wastewater alongside her meal, she quickly lost any remaining appetite.

Her irritation mounted. How dare that «Lesser Zombie» ruin her meal like that? Here, far from the eyes of other players, Sinon could act as her emotions dictated without fear of being judged. As the undead that had interrupted her rounded the corner, it was met by a bayonet stab to the eye, followed with Sinon pulling the trigger. The sight of its head exploding in a colorful burst of particles before the rest of the body followed suit did little to salve her annoyance.

That was when she realized just how much noise the gunshot was making as it echoed through the tunnel. She ran, moving as swiftly as she could in order to put some distance between herself and where she had fired the shot. Unfortunately, she slipped while turning a corner and the resulting motion caused her to skid into a downwards angling offshoot pipe.

Sinon grasped desperately to the side as she tumbled down the pipe, trying to slow down. The gesture was useless as there were no available hand holds and she felt herself picking up speed as she rolled along. Feeling the slimy substance that coated the pipe on her skin as she slid only heightened her sense of discomfort.

After what seemed like several minutes, her trip ended when she went flying out the end of the pipe and soared through the air. For a few brief moments, Sinon experienced freefall before the impact with a hard surface rendered her unconscious. Just before she blacked out, she heard the insistent warning sound which signaled that her hit points were at dangerously low levels.

Kirito made his way through the winding streets of the first district, quickly dispatching any enemies that came his way. The «Lesser Zombies» that inhabited much of the first area were appropriate targets for beginners. Slow and backed by only the most basic of behavioral programming, they were no threat as long as one didn't panic. But they also provided only a paltry amount of experience per kill. Kirito was heading deeper into the first district in order to hunt undead suitable for players two levels above his current one.

The first district featured monsters reaching up to level 7. As you went further into the zone, your chances of encountering higher level monsters increased. Most players would take the slower and safer route of fighting at an area appropriate for their level, but the rewards for those who took a risk were high. Not only were there quest givers in more difficult zones that provided only a limited number of quest offerings, but the monster drops themselves were more useful and valuable than those from lower ranked enemies. A small advantage now could build to become an insurmountable one in the future.

«Rotted Hounds»

Those were the names of his current prey. Each canine had a randomized appearance, such that different parts of their bodies were rotting away. One might have exposed ribs while another permanently showed the teeth on the left side of its face due to decay. Some even had fewer limbs than normal, with the fourth leg rotted away and discarded. Regardless of their appearance, they shared an affinity for pack behavior. It was rare to encounter them in groups of less than four. They also happened to be the target for the quest Kirito was doing, «As Faithful in Life».

The quest-giver was an old explorer who lamented losing his faithful dog in the ruins of the city years ago. If Kirito was able to find and retrieve the collar of his companion, the wizened old man, now too weak to go searching on his own, would reward him with an appropriate piece of equipment from his adventuring days.

This particular quest wasn't too difficult to do, but the starting point was difficult to find if you didn't know where to look. Also, few players would be coming this deep into the first district on the day immediately after Kayaba's announcement. Those two factors combined meant that Kirito had the area all to himself, making his hunt less competitive, but also exponentially more dangerous. Or he would have had the area all to himself, if it weren't for—

"I didn't expect to find anyone else here."

The young man, maybe one or two years older than himself, who had interrupted Kirito's session about half an hour in. He wore the same light armor Kirito had on and carried the cheapest long sword available in the starting town sheathed at his side. The air of confidence around him told Kirito that this person knew what he was doing in coming out this far into the first district alone.

"Neither did I," Kirito replied, narrowing his eyes slightly.

The older boy, taking Kirito's expression to be hostile, held up his hands and chuckled.

"Whoa there, no need to be suspicious," he said with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "I'm probably here for the same reason as you. You know, that quest for the old man. I don't mean you any harm."

Kirito relaxed a little but kept on guard. If the boy in front of him knew to come here for this quest, it was likely that he too had been a beta tester. The odds of stumbling upon the old man by chance, hidden away on the third floor of a run-down home no different than any of the other dozen houses on the street, were astronomically low.

"And? What do you want?" Kirito asked.

The older boy chuckled again, as if his show of amusement would diffuse the tension between the two. "I was hoping we could work together to complete this quest. After all, it's safer to fight as a group, right?"

"No need," Kirito replied. "Only the person who gets the kill will get the drop. Working together will only cause unwanted strife in the end."

"Alright," the stranger answered, holding his hand out. "If that's what you want. But let's hunt in the same area so that we can look out for one another if needed. And no hard feelings to whoever gets the first kill on the collared mob, ok?"

Even though he was still wary of the other player, Kirito saw no reason to object and shook his hand.

"Oh! Didn't mean to be rude," the other boy exclaimed, making a show of politeness, "I'm Coper."

Kirito hesitated to give his real name, but felt uncomfortable working with an alias. "I'm Kirito."

Coper looked stunned at the name for a second before regaining his composure. "Well then Kirito-kun, best of luck to you."

True to his word, Coper stayed close enough to keep enemies from taking Kirito's back, but far enough away that the two of them weren't competing for the same pool of monsters. Despite himself, Kirito found himself admiring how efficiently the other boy was dispatching his foes.

«Rotted Hounds» were much more dangerous than the «Lesser Zombies» he had been hunting alongside Klein and Sinon yesterday. The ones that still had all four limbs attached were far faster than the humanoid zombies located closer to the starting point. They used that speed to their advantage, using hit-and-run tactics which would frustrate those who were unused to fighting them. But their most dangerous aspect was an ability to cripple their prey. They were the first enemies one usually encountered in «Aincrad» that would actively try to debuff players; a bite to the back of the leg could inflict a «Slow» effect, halving the victim's movement speed until it was removed. For a solo player, this debuff could prove fatal.

About an hour into their session, a furious howl echoed from the alleyway to Kirito's left. Dispatching his current foe with a quick sidestep and a «Vertical», Kirito turned to meet this new threat. Another pack of five was heading his way, led by a slightly larger beast. Slavering and drooling as it ran, the leader's red eyes glowed menacingly in the dark. Kirito caught sight of something glinting at its throat, a small metal tag that told him this was the target of his quest. He lowered his stance to meet his enemy head-on.

Roughly two minutes later, the hound gave one last whimper before collapsing to the ground. The leader had been the last to die. As the sparkles from its «Death Effect» shimmered in the air, Kirito checked the loot drop to make sure he had the item required to turn in to the old man.

«Wan-chan's Collar»

Despite himself, Kirito couldn't help but laugh. It was just too difficult to picture anyone calling the crazed beast from before a cutesy name like "Wan-chan," let alone that old quest-giver.

"Sorry, but it looks like I'll be leaving first," Kirito called out to Coper.

The other boy looked over to him in surprise. The surprise was replaced in a moment with something Kirito couldn't identify and subsequently with a look of resignation.

"I'm sorry too," he said, barely audible to Kirito's ears. He lifted something in his free hand. Before he could identify what it was, the other boy hurled the item to the ground where it exploded with a loud bang and a burst of smoke.

Kirito recovered from his shock almost immediately. The item that Coper had used was named «Smoke-screen». As its name suggested, it created a confusing burst that helped to conceal its user. But in a game where enemies were attracted primarily by sound, it had unintended effects in the field. «Smoke-screen» was nicknamed something else by the beta testers after those effects were discovered. Because it attracted enemies while simultaneously allowing the user to hide, it was derisively called «MPK's Best Friend» by players.

Monster Player-Killing, abbreviated MPK, involved luring enough monsters in to an area to overwhelm the intended victim. Afterwards, the perpetrator could kill the «Player Zombie» that arose for more valuable loot. While it was regarded as a highly frowned upon practice by the player community, there were few enough incidences of this occurring during the beta period that nothing was done to prevent it. But in a game where the rules had changed, it seemed that there were those desperate enough for an edge that they were willing to use it.

Kirito gritted his teeth and ran for the nearest building. Coper was trying to kill him. That he had the resolve to do so showed not only the older boy's determination to survive, but his willingness to do so at the expense of others. Kirito was too shocked to be angry. More than anything, he was annoyed at himself for actually giving some measure of trust to someone else. He now recalled another reason why he had preferred playing as a solo during the beta test. You didn't have to worry about being backstabbed if there was no one at your back to begin with.

As he had suspected, Coper's player indicator had disappeared from his vision. But knowing what the other player intended, Kirito suspected he was hiding nearby. Just before entering the shelter he had reached, Kirito turned towards the last direction he had seen Coper's green indicator.

"To think that there were players willing to resort to MPK'ing this early on after Kayaba's announcement," Kirito called out, knowing Coper was listening in. "You know, I can actually respect that sort of will to live. It might even have worked, if it weren't for two factors. First, while «Rotted Hounds» eventually wander around and scatter around this area, their spawn point is close to where you were killing them."

Indeed, several howls could be heard from the direction Kirito was speaking towards; the sound of new monsters entering the world.

"And second," Kirito concluded, turning and opening the door in front of him, "while most zombie-type monsters are attracted by sound alone, «Rotted Hounds» are one exception. They're far more likely to go after strong scents. And the stench of smoke is heavy on your clothes right now…"

Kirito closed the door and barricaded it behind him just as the growls and screaming commenced.

Sinon regained consciousness slowly with a loud, repetitive, and annoying sound ringing out from somewhere in the distance. "Give me five more minutes," she mumbled as she fumbled around for the snooze button on her alarm clock. It wasn't until her hand had struck hard stone that she realized that she was not in the real world and that she wasn't laying atop her bed. The sound she had been hearing was the warning that her hit points were low and she was currently on a small ledge near the top of a large cave. Groaning, she sat up and drank a health potion. After a few moments, the warning signal stopped as her health bar changed from red to yellow and finally to green.

She took note of her surroundings. Above and across from her was a sewage pipe, most likely the one she had fallen from. Looking down below her into the darkness, it was lucky she had hit this ledge rather than fallen all the way down. The floor was too far away to see. As she strained her eyes, a sickly green light flared up from beneath her. It flickered and danced about. It resembled the ghost lights that fans of the paranormal often claimed to see around cemeteries at night.

"A hitodama?" Sinon wondered, although the color was different from the usual depictions.

More soon joined the first and the cavern floor below was illuminated in an eerie sea-green light. The bottom must have been at least 40 meters away, too far to drop down safely. Not that Sinon would have wanted to, considering what rested at the center.

The beast slumbering there was roughly the size of a bus. It resembled a wolf or rather, what a wolf might look like if someone had torched its hindquarters, stuck its head in a grinder, and left the body to rot. Sinon held her breath, hoping that it wouldn't wake up. Of course, this being the type of game it was, she had no such luck.

It opened its golden eyes slowly, blinking as its pupils narrowed in response to the dancing lights atop its head. It then picked itself up off the ground with deliberate slowness, looking about the room before spotting Sinon perched atop the narrow ledge. The beast raised its head high and roared; shaking the cavern around it to such a degree that Sinon was afraid that the entire area would collapse in on itself.

A name appeared atop the monstrosity's head as Sinon focused on it. «Fenris the Devourer». Three health bars then appeared underneath the name. Although Sinon had no idea what this meant, she knew it couldn't be good news.

«Fenris» roared again and charged, leaping at Sinon's position. It collided with the rocky wall halfway up with a resounding thud and fell back to the ground. Sinon stumbled a little with the tremor from the impact, but was otherwise fine. The beast scrambled at the wall, unable to reach her. Once she had gotten over her initial shock, Sinon picked up her musket and kneeled down in a stable firing position.

"If I'm going to die here," she said to herself. "I'm not going down without a fight."

Looking down the barrel, she took aim. Her field of vision narrowed and a red cone appeared from the front of the gun, pointing in the direction of her aim. The diameter of the cone increased when her heart beat and shrank during the time in between.

Sinon took a deep breath and calmed herself. Cold as ice, she told herself. Look for a weak point before shooting. She saw it; where the forelegs joined the body, «Fenris»'s hide was rotted away to reveal a pulsating mass. Sinon pulled the trigger and felt the kick of the musket as the recoil hit. A thunderous clap echoed throughout the chamber and with unerring precision, her bullet struck home. The massive wolf gave a howl of rage and tackled the wall again in a futile effort to reach its attacker.

-o-

*Bang*

Sinon opened her equipment menu and added more ammunition from her inventory to her ammo pouch. It was odd that items had no weight until they were materialized or equipped, but Sinon wasn't complaining as it allowed her to carry much more with her than if the alternative were true.

She had lost track of how long she had been locked in battle with the berserk wolf. It had to have been at least two hours. She could fire at a rate of once every fifteen seconds, which included the time for reloading and aiming. Taking into account that she had brought over a thousand bullets with her and had now depleted all but one hundred, it had been a long battle indeed. Slowly but surely, Sinon had whittled away all three of «Fenris»'s health bars. Only a single sliver of health remained. She was the eye of the storm. She was ice. Sinon was death. She pulled the trigger once more.

With one final roar of defiance, the great wolf fell. A congratulatory tone played out of nowhere alongside a message which read « You got the Last Attack! » in English. Sinon felt numb, her hand operating independently of her mind as it accepted the spoils of her battle. She didn't even look through the items that she had received due to her exhaustion. She rolled onto her back, her musket falling silently to the ground beside her. With a laugh meant only for her own ears, she closed her eyes. Cold as ice, she thought to herself. That was the key to changing from the frail Asada Shino to the warrior Sinon.

-o-

She awoke feeling very refreshed despite the terrible sleeping arrangement. Sinon accessed her map data for the first time since falling into the cavern and found that she had no idea where she was. The cavern below had many entrances, but none seemed linked to the path she had taken to get there. But her first problem was how to get down from the ledge. The face of the wall looked rough enough to provide handholds and she decided that climbing down seemed a lot safer than jumping.

As she carefully inched her way downwards, keeping an eye out for enemy movement, Sinon marveled at how much easier it was to do this in the game than it was in real life. She had tried rock-climbing once before and it had not been a fun experience at all. Within minutes, she was back on solid ground and faced with another dilemma. How was she going to get out of here? There were just too many exits to choose from and any one of them might lead her back to the surface…or deeper underground. She shuddered at the thought of the latter, realizing that she barely had any ammunition left.

In the end, she chose her path by closing her eyes and spinning in a circle. It wasn't the best of methods, but Sinon couldn't afford to be indecisive. She was happy to note that the ground seemed to be sloped upwards and even happier when she realized that there weren't any enemies. At least, until she rounded a corner and bumped into something.

"Waah!" she screamed, thrusting her musket out with the motion that would initiate «Linear». That is, if she hadn't been so startled that the «Sword Skill» failed to activate.

Her target only gave the blade of the bayonet a dismissive glance as it passed by centimeters away from his chest. With her heart pounding away so loudly that it resembled a drum to her ears; Sinon realized that it was another player.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled an apology as best she could. "I thought you were—"

"Don't worry about it," the man replied in a deep baritone. "This deep into the sewers, I'm not surprised you lashed out. Not much else except for the undead around here. Though I suppose you should count yourself lucky you missed. Wouldn't want your player indicator to turn orange now, would you?"

An orange player indicator; a mark showing that its owner had committed some sort of crime against another player. Sinon shuddered to think of what the reaction might be if she walked into town with that atop her head. Now that she had calmed down, she noted the appearance of the other player for the first time.

He had sleek gray hair tied back in a short pony-tail and wore heavy armor that left his muscled arms exposed. His other equipment consisted of a basic long sword and a kite shield. But what was remarkable about him wasn't his gear, but the man himself. The person before her exuded a self-confidence that Sinon wished she had; the way he carried himself told her that he did not consider anything in this underground labyrinth a threat. I'd bet he could go toe-to-toe with that monster I fought and come out on top without breaking a sweat, Sinon thought.

"That being said," the man continued. "What are you doing this deep in the sewers? I didn't expect to find anyone here. Anyone alive, that is."

"I—um…got lost," Sinon answered sheepishly.

Sinon immediately gave herself a mental kick in the rear. Why was she being so demure? Sure, the man in front of her gave off an air of command that all but demanded subservience, but Sinon had never let that affect her even in real life. As if making up for her earlier show of weakness, Sinon focused her stare into a narrow glare.

"You got lost," the man repeated, sounding amused rather than annoyed by her rudeness. He had an almost fatherly quality to his smile now. "Well, if you would like, I can show you the way out. I was just about to return to the town myself and if you don't mind, doing so in the presence of company would not be unpleasant."

Normally, Sinon would have declined. But after the mishap that had landed her here, she was willing to rely on someone else if it got her out of this mess.

"Well then, I'll be relying on you to watch my back on the way out," the man continued, taking Sinon's silence for acceptance. "You may call me Heathcliff."

He strolled off into the dimly light tunnel, not waiting for Sinon to answer, nor looking behind to see if she was following.

It was now one month into the death game.

"Damn it," Kirito muttered as he looked at the «Monument of Life».

With the faint noise of stone chipping away, a horizontal line drew itself from left to right across another name. Moments later, the cause of death appeared beside the unfamiliar name. «Died from fall damage». Kirito sighed to himself; yet another suicide. He checked over his gear and gave the monument one last look before turning on his heels and heading out.

The name of every player in the game was listed on that monument. Kirito made it a point to go and take a look at it every few days in order to remind himself of what was at stake. Only thirty days into the game, 2800 names were already crossed out. The players were no closer to killing the boss of the first district than they had been on the first day.

This time around, Kirito set out for an area deeper into the first district than he had gone before. He was now level 11, strong enough to take on anything short of the district boss on his own. But there was still the matter of developing a large enough safety net so that entering hostile territory would be less dangerous. During the beta, the rule of thumb was that so long as you were 5 levels above the district you were in, you stood a good chance of surviving even if alone. But the beta was a joke compared to how the game was now. A "good chance of surviving" wasn't good enough. So Kirito had made up his mind to keep at least 10 levels above the district number with the possibility of increasing that difference even further in the future.

Kirito ducked down and moved along the street. Even though he hadn't been able to get the «Sneaking» skill yet since it required a certain proficiency in «Hiding» first, he felt compelled to move as silently and swiftly as possible. He had also taken the «Searching» skill which helped him locate monsters and hidden resource nodes such as safe-boxes.

The decrepit buildings around him provided plenty of cover, but Kirito didn't need to worry about being seen. It was being heard that was the main danger in the first district. As he dashed by one of the few unbroken windows on this street, he caught a glimpse of his own reflection.

For the hundredth time since Kayaba had made his announcement, Kirito both marveled at the sheer ingenuity of the man's final "gift" and cursed him for what he had done. His face was no longer that of the nondescript warrior he had chosen to carry over from the beta test. Instead, his features contained little enough to suggest that he was male such that, were he to change his hairstyle, he might be mistaken for a girl. The reason why he had cursed Kayaba was because his current appearance in the game was far more remarkable than the one he had wanted.

As for the reason why he marveled at Kayaba Akihiko's brilliance? By ensuring that all players had their appearance in real life within the game as well, he had all but eliminated the anonymity factor from his world. Coupled with the novelty of being fully immersed in the game, courtesy of the ground-breaking virtual reality technology of the «Nerve Gear» system, the game had become a second reality. For every action, there were consequences. This was not an MMO where you could hide behind your avatar, able to act as you like because you were shielded from any real harm.

Consequences. Kirito gritted his teeth, trying hard not to remember. Immediately after the gme had started, he had sought out Klein and Sinon in order to ask them to travel with him to the best spots and gather resources. He hadn't been able to find Sinon, but Klein had declined his offer, citing a need to help his real life friends so that they too would gain a better chance at survival. Travelling as a large group would not have worked for Kirito; the resources would have ended up spread out too thinly. Kirito had left for the first district alone that day, leaving Klein behind. The next day, he had spent an hour in front of the «Memorial of Life» in order to find Klein and Sinon's names. To his relief, neither had been crossed out yet. But he couldn't help but think: "What if one day I went and found out one or both had died?" Would he be able to deal with the guilt at having abandoned them to the mercy of this world?

«Lesser Zombie: Weiss»

A monster bearing a two-handed broadsword and wearing what appeared to be a set of leather armor shuffled into view, interrupting his thoughts. It wasn't an ordinary monster. Monsters bearing names were the reanimated corpses of players killed in battle. They carried all the items the player had upon death, despawned after a day, and had a moderate chance of dropping a certain number of items from their inventory upon their defeat. In the beta version, there had been several reports of players exploiting this feature; putting all but a single desirable item into their storage and then getting killed on purpose in order to farm that particular item. Needless to say, very few people were stupid enough to try that now.

Kirito grimaced as he drew his sword. His enemy had once been a player just like himself. Killing it just felt too much like PK'ing for Kirito to enjoy it. This deep into the first district, it was likely that the one he faced now was a beta tester who remembered the area as an excellent farming spot but then fell prey to his own overconfidence.

Reanimated players were more dangerous than normal monsters and were capable of using «Sword Skills», something that wouldn't be encountered in non-boss class monsters until the 4th floor. For the average player, it might have been better to run when encountering one. Kirito, however, merely lowered his stance and charged the enemy. This was no different than a duel, he told himself.

About a minute later, «Lesser Zombie: Weiss» groaned piteously as he dissolved into the air. Kirito himself had taken no damage aside from the unmitigated damage resulting from blocking a skill. The boy bowed his head briefly in a silent prayer for the player who had become that monster before sheathing his weapon, confirming the item drops and experience, and running off before the sound of his battle attracted too much attention from nearby «Creepers».

His day continued without anything notable occurring until just after his afternoon break.

As he rounded a corner at the very edge of the mapping data he had gathered thus far, Kirito thought he heard something. The sharp sound of a blade cutting through the air. He paused for a moment, straining his ears. He heard it again, faint enough to just barely be audible, but just being able to hear it was enough to let him know that it wouldn't take long to check out the source.

As he neared the source of the sound, Kirito noted that there was an increasingly short interval between attack noises. Whoever was fighting was obviously starting to have a hard time. Kirito picked up the pace, wondering why it was that he was rushing to the aid of a stranger. If he had to think back on it, the reason he would give would have to be because his gut told him this was important.

As he had suspected, there was a large crowd of «Lesser Zombies» cornering what appeared to be a solo player. Kirito ran into the fray, lashing out with his «Sword Skills» as quickly as he could. The foes before him, well beneath his level by now, fell like wheat beneath his blade. In short order, he had cleared a path to the center where he finally came face to face with the person who had been fighting this horde alone. Well, not face to face per say, since that person was wearing a cloak that concealed his or her face and figure.

"Who are you?" the figure demanded. Despite the tone of annoyance in that voice, it was clear and melodious. The voice was also unmistakably female.

What is it with girls in this game and cloaks? Kirito wondered to himself as he stooped slightly to try and catch a glimpse of her face. He was startled by something flying past his face so quickly that he couldn't catch sight of it. His hair flew back with the wind generated by its trajectory.

The girl had extended her arm more quickly than he could follow in what was unmistakably the «Linear» skill. It was beautifully executed, both fast and precise. In fact, two centimeters more to the right and it would have clipped his ear.

"Tch."

The girl made a noise of dissatisfaction and pulled back her weapon, switching it seamlessly with the pistol at her hip. She drew this without hesitation and pointed it at Kirito who quickly ducked out of the way to the side. The «Lesser Zombie» behind him exploded in a colorful shower.

Casually reloading her weapon as if there weren't about three dozen more hungry undead gathered nearby, the girl turned towards Kirito and asked again, "Who are you?"

"We don't have time for that," Kirito replied urgently. "I'll answer your questions later. But for now, just follow me. I know of a safe area nearby."

"I'm not going anywhere," she insisted. "And certainly not with a stranger. I can handle myself just fine against these «Lesser Zombies». Besides, you're interfering with my—"

"Fine then," Kirito answered. "Suit yourself. But just so you know, you're deep enough in the first district that «Lesser Zombies» will be the least of your worries. It's the «Shambling Horrors» you need to watch out for. They're hulking armored beasts. As fast as your «Linear» skill is, it won't do much damage once their hide absorbs the impact."

"I still have my pistol."

Kirito stalked off without a word. Moments later, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps following behind. It seemed that she wasn't so confident in her ability to survive alone after all.

"Hey, wait up!" she exclaimed. "Or at least slow down."

"I thought you still had your pistol?" Kirito couldn't resist commenting.

The reply was so quiet Kirito could barely hear it, but her answer made him grin despite the seriousness of their current situation.

"I only have two shots left…"

-o-

"Ah, before you get the wrong idea, I don't usually go inviting girls I've just met to my room," Kirito said, feeling the need to explain this to the girl who had been trying to glare a hole in his back the whole way here. He didn't actually see her eyes, but he had felt an inexplicable pressure during the trip that couldn't have come from any other source.

"Right," the girl said, dragging out the word so that he knew without a doubt that she didn't take his word for it. "I suppose you'll be saying next that you don't usually like to play knight in shining armor."

Kirito sighed. This just wasn't his day. He hadn't actually expected thanks from her, but in some ways, this person was more draining to spend time with than Argo. Instead of replying, he accessed the menu for the door in front of him and unlocked it.

"Home sweet safe-house," he said, lighting a lamp in the corner.

"Uwah…"

The girl stepped inside and looked around. Although he couldn't see her eyes, Kirito tried to imagine her staring in awe, if only to bolster his pride a little.

"You're pretty bad about cleaning up after yourself aren't you?"

His illusion didn't even last five seconds.

"What?" he sputtered, frantically looking around.

Sure, there were empty food wrappers lying around, but those should lose their durability and disappear on their own any day now. And the run-down griminess had come with the room, free of charge. Kirito thought it added to the ambience and kept him more on guard. He had also gotten used to the smell quite quickly. Besides, a safe-house was a temporary thing, meant to make it more convenient to travel to one's usual hunting grounds without having to return to town. He wasn't actually going to live here forever.

"Alright, you said you would answer my questions if I came," the girl interrupted. "I'm here now so I'll ask you for the last time. Who are you and why did you interfere?"

From the thin set to her lips, Kirito figured that he had best comply. Otherwise, he might just find himself facing the business end of that lightning fast «Linear» once again.

*notes: Alright, managed to finish this before the end of the weekend somehow. A lot going on but not much that I'd care to explain since it should be in what's written already or it'd ruin some things for the future if I go into depth about it.

Asuna in this world is a bit more abrasive than her SAO counterpart but not by too large of a factor. Kirito's also a little grittier than in canon as evidenced by his reaction to almost being MPK'ed. Living in a world where there's a pseudo-zombie epidemic going on will do that to you. Regarding Asuna's overall character design, I decided to keep the rapier since that's her signature weapon, but I added the pistol as a side-arm since the setting allowed for it. The image I am aiming for is akin to that of a Musketeer as they're romanticized in film.

Until next time and happy holidays to you all.