Don't Own anything.
'thought'
"Speech"
"Tvs, Radios, and Text via book or newspaper... when those are around..."
"Heeeyooo Argo two!" The cheeky blonde menace, 'Argo the Rat' grins as she struts inside, she hops up and takes a seat on the countertop, the cloak around her shoulders billowing slightly as she looks down at me, sat in my office chair. "I heard from our resident blacksmith that you were learning magic?"
"I am." I nod quietly as I gesture to the opened fire magic book on the table. I am nearing the final chapters, but I just keep getting interrupted.
"Rad." She snorts. "Soooo, anyways, Me and Ki-bou were thinking about making a guild... primarily based around your shop here... have any ideas for a name?"
I think about it for a moment as I bookmark my spellbook and sit it aside, giving the girl my full attention.
"The Bold?" I suggest with a small shrug.
The girl cups her chin, thinking over the name. "Fortune Favors... The Bold... I like it!"
"Oh, by the way, do you think you can get us some tin? We need it for Bronze." The girl states.
"I've been looking but getting a bunch of ore or metal on demand is a little difficult.
I pause, an idea working its way into my head. "Buuuut I've just thought of another avenue to pursue, so I might be getting some fairly soon. How is floor two coming along?"
"Pretty good." She admits. "The mobs don't really give us much exp as they are meant for level threes up to level sixes, but it's fine I guess, Kirito and I went back to the first floor and fished up some more items, that has been a pretty large boon for us. It would be nice to have bronze stuff to give other people, though. That level twenty eight fish gave us some good crafting materials, so Ashley has been able to more or less to surpass Lisbeth with her mastery."
"Oh, we can't have that." I hum with a small headshake.
"Yeah, that's what I said." She replies with a small impish grin. "So, 'The Bold'. I'm going to start it up, get some members, I'll probably even introduce Ashley to you. I plan to invite her as well. Maybe get some cloth before I come next time. She's sort of... well, a character."
"I mean, I'll try." I shrug.
"Thanks, Guy-go." The petite blonde hums as she hops off the countertop.
"No problem, Girl-go." I reply. "Oh, by the way, your five hour energies."
I sit a twelve pack on the table, causing her to grin and snatch them up. "You are a lifesaver!"
"You seem almost as obsessed with that as Kirito is with chocolate... what exactly does it... do for you?"
"Lowers exhaustion by one level, so I go from exhausted to tired, tired to sleepy, that sort of thing. Plus it gives a fairly crazy movement speed buff for... five hours... useful to get away from people."
"Huh." I blink. "Well, I guess the game made the name accurate, then."
"Yep!"
I quickly mark down the shift to her account balance
"Argo (Fem): 12900"
"See you around." The girl waves.
As she leaves I am left to scheme about my next plot to make money.
I look to the dagger Argo sold me.
The key to my plan working.
"So, Levy, I've got a question."
"Yes, Argo?" The girl blinks.
"How exactly do... jobs... in this guild of yours work?" I quietly ask.
"Why? Do you have something that needs doing?" The girl questions.
"I need materials." I nod
"What kind and for what purpose?"
"You know that death game I told you about? My friend is a blacksmith in there. The best one out of ten thousand. That's primarily because I gave her a head start. She is barely turning a profit by selling weapons and enchanting things for so cheap, she alone has probably saved dozens of people's lives with her high-quality weapons and armor, but the thing about 'Sword Art Online' is that ores are limited by floors. Floor one through five only has copper... and she can no longer improve her skills with merely copper."
"So, you want more ore to make her improve faster, potentially saving more lives." The girl acknowledges.
I nod slowly and grab the knife I bought from the other Argo and place it on the table. "This is something that she made and enhanced with her blacksmith ability. I plan to offer this up as a 'reward' for those taking the job."
"Can... I see it for a moment?" The girl asks.
"By all means." I smile as I gesture to the knife.
She picks it up and looks over it slowly, seemingly looking over its enchantment. "It is... pretty decent among magical weapons. It doesn't really have any special qualities, but the sharpness and durability are about average."
"You know a surprising amount about weapons for a book nerd, Levy." I point out.
The girl scratches her head in embarrassment. "Well, one of the Fairy Tail Guild's strongest members is a person that uses magic weapons. You tend to pick up a thing or two if you want to get birthday and Christmas gifts for them."
"This is a floor one weapon, by the way." I smirk suddenly.
"…"
"Floor one." She repeats.
"Out of one hundred." I nod.
"The items made are already this good on floor one?!" The blue haired girl gasps.
"Keep in mind that this knife is like... one of a kind. There's only one on floor one and you get it by doing a secret quest. Most knives on floor one can only be enhanced like, two times at the maximum, that one can be enhanced eight times. So, it's probably comparable to the average floor five item."
"This blacksmith friend of yours enchanted this?" Levy questions quietly.
"Yeah. She did." I nod once.
"What sort of material did you need?" Levy eventually asks as she places the knife back on the countertop.
"Tin."
"You plan to make bronze?" She asks.
"Yep. That's the next step after copper." I nod.
"Tin is fairly inexpensive in Fiore, it's not suitable for most purposes. We only use it to make bronze, and even then, bronze isn't typically used for weapons anymore. We use Iron, Steel, or magical alloys." The girl announces.
"How much tin do you think I could get for this knife?"
"A quarter of a ton, easily. The main problem is finding someone who'd be willing to transport that much."
She pauses. "I... may actually know someone who'd be willing to help after I tell her about the plight in the other world."
"I would greatly appreciate it."
*Thud Thud Thud*
Someone knocks on my door thrice, then opens it.
A woman with long, scarlet red hair calmly walks through the door, looking around the fairly small room. She wears a suit of armor, has metallic grieves and gauntlets, and a blue skirt, her brown eyes are scrutinizing the room and serious expression sits on her face.
"Welcome to Fortune's Favors. The interdimensional trade and pawn shop.
Levy slowly walks in behind her. "Hey, Argo... this is her."
"Oh, hi Levy." I wave.
"Interdimensional trade and pawn..." The red-haired woman frowns as she looks around. "I see. My name is Erza Scarlet, shopkeeper."
"My name is Argo!" I peppily reply.
Her eyes slide to the snacks sitting on a shelf behind me, a piece of furniture I got a while back for ten sales.
Her eyes look back to me. "You said that you need tin in order to potentially save children trapped in a death game?"
"Well, there are some children, certainly, but most are teens and adults." I nod.
"Very well. May I see the weapon that is the reward for the quest?" She asks.
I calmly pluck it out from under the countertop, flip it around so I am holding it by the blade and offer the handle to the red-haired woman.
She looks over the blade, the smallest of smiles gracing her lips, she nods once. "Very well. I accept this quest."
She doesn't do anything for a moment.
"I have completed this quest." She delcares.
She points a hand out to the side, a large pallet appearing in the shop floor, atop it is dozens upon dozens of bars of a silvery metal.
"One ton of tin for this magical dagger." Erza nods.
"Damn... I need to get some spatial storage magic." I blankly observe, eyes trailing from the pallet now covering most of the shop's floor to the woman in front of me.
"I could get you a book about it if you wanted?" Levy suggests.
"That would be appreciated. Thank you Levy. Do you know what you would want in trade for it?"
"Uhh... I've heard about the religions in your world... do you think you could get me something about them?"
"Sooo a bible... and the other pantheon's equivalent." I observe with a slow nod. "I'll get on it as soon as possible."
The door opens with a jingle as a black haired swordsman w-
"PFFFFT-" I curb a boisterous laugh instantly. "OH MY GOD, KIRITO WHAT'S ON YOUR FACE!"
The black haired swordsman looks vaguely annoyed as he frowns, whiskers painted on his face, looking as if he is about to shout something like 'Believe it' and talk down the nearest floor boss with his special 'talk-no-jutsu'.
He lets out a long sigh. "It is from a quest. I need to break a boulder so I came here for ideas. But now I see that it was perhaps a mistake."
Both Levy and Erza glance up to the text floating above his head.
Kirito - Lv 14
"Break a rock?" I repeat. "Hrn. Why not just cut it in half?"
"We aren't permitted to use a weapon in the quest."
"Huh." I blink as I scratch my chin.
"Oh! Before I forget, I should probably introduce you, this is Levy and Erza Scarlet they brought us some tin so Lisbeth can make some bronze before floor five."
That statement catches his attention. "Oh? I'll be sure to send her a message."
He turns to the two women bowing his head slightly. "Kirito is my name, or rather, my Sword Art Online ID. Thank you for helping us."
"It is no issue." The red-haired woman nods. "In fact, do you believe it would be possible for me to join you in clearing this 'Aincrad'?"
"I... don't know. You aren't a player. And Argo here has never attempted to come through the door to our world."
"I tried it once with Levy and her world. I can go through the doors. I've just never attempted it with SAO because I saw the headache all of you players get from coming into my store. I'm afraid that there will be a system conflict and it may try to delete me."
"That... is a valid concern. Aincrad's artificial intelligence is constantly balancing things. I'm not sure what would happen if any of you tried to enter. I can't guarantee your safety."
"I see." The red-haired woman frowns briefly. "I would still like to see if I could."
"Alright..." The black-haired teen sighs as he turns back to the door, opens it, and gestures outside.
Erza slowly walks forwards, then through the threshold, eyes scanning her surroundings with a slight frown. Her eyes widen as she sees just how... different it is.
I peek outside as.
**Vvvmp**
A number appears above her.
Erza Scarlet - Lv 42
She cringes instantly, looking at her hands. "I... cannot use my magic."
Levy follows along after her, looking a little pale after a screen appears above her.
Levy McGarden - Lv 5
"Huh... ah well, might as well~" I hum as I walk forwards and hold a hand out.
*CRRRRT-CHZZZ*
A hard light barrier appears as my hand tries to cross the threshold into the game, numerous 'errors' appearing across the doorway.
*SYSTEM CONFLICT*
"Well, I tried, Kirito."
He is just staring at Erza's level in shock.
He walks outside and slowly approaches the two.
"Can you do this?" He asks as he holds up a hand and swings it downwards, opening his status menu.
Both of the girls try, but nothing happens.
A large bovine creature with a hump on its head rushes into the clearing, it lowers its head and rushes for the red haired woman who turns to accept the challenge.
Trembling Ox - Lv 5
She punches it in the forehead as it attempts to trample her.
Its momentum stops completely utterly, its haunches lifting as if it had just run head first into an immovable object.
It flips over her and crashes to the ground behind her, exploding into motes of light a moment later, a hunk of meat and some scraps of leather appearing after a brief pause, along with a small sack with a gold coin symbol on it.
"You can't access the system." Kirito breathes quietly. "Anything you kill doesn't deposit loot into your inventory. Can you even gain experience? Can you gain skills? Can you use skills?"
"Skills?" Erza repeats.
"This." Kirito elaborates as he draws his sword and holds it on his shoulders for a brief moment, allowing the blade to glow a bright blue color.
He slashes downwards, cleaving through the air and leaving a blue arc in the shape of a V as he slashes once more.
"Hrn... it seems restrictive." Erza observes as she walks over to the large hunk of meat, the leather, and the bag of money. "Does everything you kill in this game drop... money and materials?"
"Yes." Kirito nods. "Sometimes field bosses drop weapons and armor as well."
"I see." The woman frowns as she picks up the leather, rubbing it in between her fingers, she then looks to the slightly dirty meat with a frown and tosses it aside, she opens the bag and pours four brown coins into her hand.
She looks to Kirito. "If you wish, I will return when you desire to go face the master of this floor."
"We'd... appreciate it." The black-haired swordsman nods.
"Right. I will return." She declares as she turns and walks back into my shop, past me as Levy follows along behind her.
"Hey Kirito! Why don't you get one of those big cows to run into the rock? Surely that'd break it, right?" I call out.
"Right. I'll try that." He responds as he turns and begins to run off, opening his system as he does so and quickly typing out a message.
I close the door.
"So, you see what they are dealing with." I gesture to the door as I return to behind the countertop, carefully maneuvering my way around the pallet of tin bars, I take a seat in my office chair and fold my arms behind my head.
"Hrn. That boy was 'level fifteen' when that cow was level five..." The red haired woman observes.
"They are only so high level because I basically allowed them to cheat and get an item they were originally supposed to get on floor twenty on floor one. It will start to get worse as they climb further and further."
"I see." The woman frowns. "In that case... I believe that I need further training to be of better use to those in the game."
"Goodbye, shopkeep." Erza nods as she turns and leaves through the front door.
"Bye Argo." Levy waves as she follows after.
"Bye!" I wave.
I stare at the door for a moment before opening my fire magic book again.
*SLAM*
" WHERE'S THE TIN- oh." Argo comes to a stop at the door to the shop. "Oh. I see."
A grin crosses her lips. "How much per bar?"
"I counted it briefly. There's five hundred bars there, four pounds per bar. I'll sell each bar for thirty."
"May I use store credit?"
"You can use store credit for HALF." I pout at her.
"Done!"
"Damn it. I should have charged like fifty per bar." I sigh dramatically as I mark down her change in store credit.
"Argo (Fem): 5400"
"You have five thousand four hundred Cor left." I state.
"Here's fifteen hundred Cor for fifty more bars." The girl states as she flicks two coins at me.
"Done. We've got two hundred more."
"I'm sure Lis- nah she'll be in the forge for the next month after I drop this stuff off... I'll be back for the rest after getting some money from her."
I watch numerous bars get taken off the huge pallet, Argo nods once. "Be back soon~"
The door closes behind her.
"…"
CONGRATULATIONS!
*Do-dodododo*
Ah. merchant music yet again. I must have met one hundred sales.
You have made 100 sales! Allow us to unlock your sealed racial traits!
"Huh?"
My vision swims as I stagger briefly.
"What the fuck?" I gag as I am struck by a sudden nausea.
I turn towards my room and weakly stagger forwards, tripping and falling to the floor. 'nhhg- no- fuck-'
I sit up with a gasp, head aching... everything is aching, really, a cold sweat clings to my body. I managed to crawl my way across the floor over to the toilet bowl in the cursed shower.
I bring a hand to my forehead as I use the porcelain throne to rise to my feet, shakily placing my hand on the nearby tile wall to steady my shaking knees.
I tiredly rub my eyes as I hear the door to the shop open outside my room.
"Heeeyoooo Argo-two~" The blonde annoying girl- who is my most frequent customer- arrives with a really loud entrance that causes my head to throb.
"Be there in a second." I call out as I slowly walk forwards, opening my bedroom door, weakly walking outside. "Ugh. Fucking hell. I have such a bad headache right now."
"…" she is suspisciously quiet for a moment. "Uhhhh... Dude?"
"Hn?" I weakly hum.
"Are you... alright?" She questions.
"Hn? No? I've been horribly sick ever since you left earlier." I sigh as I wipe my eyes tiredly.
"Er... yeah... okay... you look a little different."
I crack open an eye, a frown appearing on my lips. "Huh? Explain."
"Well, ah..." She brings her hands up to the top of her head and makes them look like... Neko ears?"
I reach to the top of my head, my heart leaping into my throat as I feel something that shouldn't be there.
Ears.
Fuzzy fluffy little pointed animal ears. Some form of cat, dog, or fox.
"…"
I look behind me to see a long fluffy, bushy tail of black fur, stiffened in surprise. Its... a fox tail maybe? Can cats have a fluffy tail like this? Husky possibly?
I look back to Argo and voice my concerns. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"Heeeey man, calm down, it's not that big of a deal."
"Not that big of a deal? NOT THAT BIG OF A- Argo! I don't know how to HIDE these!" I exclaim as I gesture wildly to my ears and tail. "I literally cannot enter my world now that these are open and exposed. Most supernatural creatures learn how to hide them!"
"Also, there's the fact that I'm apparently not human?! What the fuck?! This is a lot to work through!"
I let out a long groan as I sit in my chair- awkwardly, as I now have a several foot long extension of my spine coming out of my lower back- and lay my head on the countertop. "Holy fuck this is jarring."
"Hey, if it's any consolation, your ears and tail are really cute. Like a Neko." Girl-Argo tries to placate.
"It's either some form of cat, dog, or fox appendages. I'm not sure which. I'm either a cat-boy, a dog-boy, or a fox-boy. No clue which, but I am leaning towards fox. Am I a kitsune? There's no real way to check without me gaining another tail in the future." I tiredly scoff.
"Fuuuuuck." I groan as I gesture to my tail. "This is going to extend my shower routine by like... ten minutes. Bare minimum. Can you imagine if I am a kitsune?! My god! Nine tails?! I genuinely hope I'm not a kitsune otherwise I'll basically never get out of the shower."
I let out a long breath of air through my mouth. "So. Anyways, you're here for some more tin right?"
"Yep, fifty more bars. Even with this much Lisbeth is reaching around mastery one hundred and thirty." The girl smirks.
"Damn. In a day?" I note with a slow blink.
"It has been about two for us. She took some of my five-hour energies and kept trucking for a full fifty hours." She explains.
"Ah." I hum. "I see. Do you know what sort of ore comes next after bronze?"
"Iron." The girl supplies. "Once we got to floor ten, we just unlocked Iron. After that? I'm not too sure."
"Steel maybe? You might be able to make steel if I get you iron ore and some graphite." I begin.
"Maybe." The girl frowns for a moment before shrugging. "Anyways."
She sits two coins on the table, the first a one thousand Cor coin, the next, one for five hundred. After a moment, she sits a third on the table, this one for ten Cor.
I look up in confusion at the last coin.
"Fifteen hundred Cor for fifty Tin bars. Ten if you'll let me pet your tail. I want to see if it's as fluffy as it looks.
I let out a long sigh. "Ffffffine. Ugh. Where have my standards gone. Tch. Selling my body like this?"
"Ten Cor is ten Cor." Argo smirks mischievously as she leaps the counter, crouching down and petting the fluffy appendage.
"Oh wow! It's so sooooft!" The girl gasps.
"Thank... you?" I reply cautiously.
"Damn. I wish I had animal ears and a tail. You're so lucky, Fox-go." She pouts.
"Well, I haven't slammed my own tail in a door yet, but it's bound to happen at some point. I'll leave my 'luckiness' up for debate until that moment, deciding based on how agonizingly painful that will be."
"Hrn. Yeah, that'd probably suck." The girl observes.
She stands and hops the counter. "Oh, and Ki-bou said that they are preparing for the next boss. I don't know if you have some way to contact the- and I quote from 'The Man' himself, 'Scarily Strong Armored Redhead'-"
The shop door creaks open as Levy makes her way inside.
"Oh! Levy, good timing." I grin, causing the girl to look up and freeze in place, gaining a confused look. It appears she has noticed my... changes...
"This is vitally important. One. Argo-Girl here says that the players are preparing to clear the second floor, she was wondering if Erza wanted to join in, secondly, this is a bit of a personal problem, but please tell me your world has some form of illusion or transformation magic."
"It... does? What... happened to you?"
"Oh. Apparently, I was never human and all my assumptions for the past... er... my life were all a lie! Frickin' wonderful! Ah well, I should have seen the signs. Speaking and reading every language I've come across in a matter of seconds is typically a supernatural creature thing. I thought it was the shop that enforced it upon me because you'd be a poor interdimensional shopkeeper if you couldn't speak with more than half of the people who come in here, buuuut it looks like I was wrong."
"I know someone who should be able to help you... you can come to my world with me, if you want." She offers.
I nod slowly. "Yes, I believe I will. Not being able to go outside in my own world is such a detriment."
"In that case I need to go get Erza. She was quite interested in fighting against the beasts of your world." Levy nods to the other Argo.
"Oh, this is also a good opportunity to test something!" I smile brightly as I follow Levy. "Argo. Stay there. I sort of want to see what happens to the shop when I leave."
"Will I die?"
"Probably not." I answer moments before closing the door.
*Ping*
Someone entered your shop while you were away. Would you like to teleport back?
[Yes] [No]
I mentally select 'No'
Would you like to kick them out and set shop to 'Closed'?
[Yes] [No]
'I can do that?'
I select 'No' again.
"One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten."
I open the door again, looking to Argo standing where she was when the door closed. "How long was that?"
"I don't know, dude. Like... a second maybe? Two?"
"I counted to ten fairly slowly. We'll never figure out the time-dialation of the shop, so we should just ignore it from now on." I sigh as I close the door again.
I look back to Levy. "Alright. Let's go."
I follow her through the streets of magnolia.
It's peaceful. People milling about, most don't even spare me a second look as they go about their days, shopping for groceries, bringing in the daily catch, even some people sat on blankets selling things at the corners of streets.
I follow Levy to a large cartoonish-looking building at the edge of the city, overlooking an absolutely massive lake, numerous flags of many colors billow up above the building's many towers, each showing off the fairy tail guild mark.
"This is my guild, Fairy Tail."
"Pretty impressive." I hum.
"Well, we are the number one guild in Fiore." The blue haired girl grins proudly.
We walk inside, the chaotic aura of the guild becoming instantly apparent as a pink-haired mage with a scarf and a black-haired mage in his underwear arm wrestle in the center of the guildhall, surrounded by a large crowd of people who are cheering and betting.
Levy leads me past them and to the bar where a white haired woman is cleaning dishes and mugs, she looks up as Levy approaches the countertop. "Hey Mirajane?"
"Yes, Levy? Oh? Who's this! They have such adorable little ears and a fluffy tail!"
"This is Argo." The blue haired girl introduces. "He's a shopkeeper for a nearby shop, he didn't know he wasn't human and now is looking for a way to hide his extra appendages. So I told him about your transformation magic."
"Transformation magic is pretty advanced stuff." The white-haired woman announces slowly.
"I'll pay." I cut in.
"Buuut I should be able to teach you the basics." She amends. "How about one hundred thousand Jewel?"
I take this time to fully observe her appearance, pale skin, long silky white hair with her bangs tied up, she has a figure comparable to those within DXD, wearing a burgundy dress with white frills.
"Done."
That's only about one thousand dollars. I just made one and a half times that with Argo's most recent purchase.
I reach into my pocket and grab a gold coin, clutch it tightly in one hand, then with a dim glow, convert it into a stack of white bills.
"Oh? Interesting magic." The woman observes.
"I'm a shopkeeper." I explain. "It's pretty useful to be able to accurately convert one type of currency to another."
"I see! Allow me to finish up here. Then we should probably move to somewhere more open for safety's sake!" The white-haired woman smiles brightly.
Levy spots Erza in the distance and goes to speak with her, after a brief dialogue that I can't hear over the ambient noise of the guild hall, the red-haired woman stands and walks out of the guild.
I hope she'll be okay.
Pov: Elsewhere.
What the fuck?
Erza Scarlet - Lv 42
No...
That's-
A white haired man frowns, glaring at a red haired woman in a suit of armor from across a small amphitheater.
The meeting spot of the people who plan to raid the next floor.
It only took a couple of days for them to clear the labyrinth and figure out where this floor's boss room is, being drastically over leveled probably helped them.
His eyes slowly stray across the group near the woman.
Kirito - Lv 15
Argo - Lv 14
Asuna - Lv 9
There is a small emblem beside their name, a guild symbol, they had already formed a guild?
The icon is of a set of merchant scales.
With some brief looking through the code of the game- after being sure that others can't see his admin console- he gets what he is looking for.
The Bold:
Total Members: 6
Average Level: 13.6
Guild Leader: Kirito
Sub-Leader: Argo
Member List:
Kirito - Lv 15
Argo - Lv 14
Lisbeth - Lv 17
Asuna - Lv 9
Ashley - Lv 16
Diavel - Lv 11
Ugh. So many people over leveled.
But none come close to HER.
His eyes slide back to the red haired woman, gritting his teeth slightly.
Level forty-two.
Forty... two...
That is IMPOSSIBLE.
She HAS to be cheating.
How? He doesn't know, but he won't allow some red-haired hacker to destabilize his game in such a way.
The meeting will begin shortly, so he doesn't have much time to do this.
He quietly- and mentally, manipulates his admin console, targeting the woman.
'Slash kill. Forward Parenthesis Username, dot, Erza Scarlet. End Parenthesis.'
'send.'
*Error*
W-What?!
"Admin *Akihiko Kayaba* Does not have the authority to delete NPC 'Erza Scarlet'."
Npc?! Why is there a level forty two NPC on the second floor?! Why is it joining them on this guild expedition?!
NO ATHORITY?!
HE OWNS THIS GAME!
A blue haired man in a black coat slowly walks to the forefront, eyes skimming the group.
Diavel - Lv 11
He nods slowly with a small smile. "I see new faces amongst the crowd. That's good. It appears our victory on the first floor has given people hope that this game can be beaten." He smiles.
"Earlier today, we have located the boss room... thanks to some earlier preparations by the swordsmith Lisbeth and the tailor Ashley, it's safe to say that we are both over leveled and over geared. This boss fight should be of no true difficulty. HOWEVER. Do not for a second let your guard down inside the boss room. Despite the weakest of us here being level seven, higher level than even the strongest of mobs on this floor, we shouldn't underestimate a boss monster. That is how lives are lost. That is how I almost lost my life on the first floor."
"But. It is with great pleasure I announce that for this floor, we have a safety net. Erza Scarlet, here. Though I am sure that you have already noticed her level. Due to a glitch in the system, she managed to reach level forty-two. She will act as the last line of defense."
A glitch?
Are you kidding me?
Does he not know that she's an NPC?
"Why don't we let her take down the boss?" A voice calls out.
"Because... trying to singlehandedly win the game is... utterly pointless. Yes, she could probably easily clear this boss, even the next boss and the one after that, but what about us? What about when we reach floor ten, floor twenty, or floor thirty where a sole person cannot singlehandedly kill a boss? What happens when we, with no combat experience, are forced to fight against the strongest Aincrad has to offer, under geared, under leveled, and underprepared? Sword Art Online is a skill based game. Your survivability skyrockets if you know how to wield a blade. If you have experience in fighting."
"It is this sole reason." The blue haired raid leader continues. "That I have personally asked her to hang back for this boss fight. To allow us to gain much needed experience in combat scenarios."
A flood of mutters cross the amphitheater.
"She will still intervene if any of our lives are in danger, however." The man quickly placates. "But not before."
"If she discovered a glitch, why don't we just all abuse it to get to max level? Then clear the game in one fell swoop?" Another voice asks. "Is that something you beta testers are hiding from us as well?"
"Because. Aincrad is managed by an Ai. Something that you would know if you had read the manual before playing." The man begins, sounding slightly snappier, apparently the brown-haired guy has gotten on his nerves sometime in the past. "The glitch was patched moments after it was discovered, but, it didn't reduce Erza's experience."
Who is... Erza Scarlet?
He never made such an NPC.
Well here we are with another chapter! Argo's not human! He seems to have forgotten that 'due to racial trait' comment in his first ever system update. I mean, understandable, he had other things going on. Anyways, Sao's clearing chances are looking quite good! Players are 3 times the average floor level, they are over geared to hell and back, there's an angry red headed S Class Wizard, y'know, normal stuff.
Some of you might be like 'Why is Erza So Weak?' And there's a reasonable explanation for that. SAO- because Kayaba is a hypocritical dickhead who hates fun- has no magic. This is despite the fact that enchanted weapons, potions, teleportation crystals, and fucking elves and dragons exist in the game. Sao was made without magic 'skills' in mind, thus Erza is without magic at all, thus her physical capabilities are worse than they would be normally in a world like DXD where she can reinforce her body with magic.
Buuuut keep in mind, this is merely her level with base armor and no weapon. Her level might increase if she put on something like Amadura Fairy or Nakagami Armor.
Guest Reviews:
JustAFan123: Probably not JJBA, or at the very least, ONLY part 2 as part 3 is a good 50-ish years in the future, as for future worlds, well, like in the snippet, One Piece and Fallout are probably going to appear, but I'm going to add in a bunch of other things as well.
The Me: nah, that'd be 40k.
Tula Oh: Technically speaking, Sao's enchanting is based on the weapon in question. So something like a butterknife might be able to only go up to a +1, but something like 'Excalibur' might be able to reach a +50 or +60. Kirito's main weapon, the Elucidator could go up to a +50, so I mean, it's possible that the max is '+100'.
DistraughtReader: I guess you have 4 now!
Guest 001: Yeaaah it's sort of hard to watch as you sell something you bought for like 10 cents to a dude for 100 dollars while he is clutching it like a lifeline.
MrBone93: Yeah, I was just doing some setup.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I'll see you all later!