There was some concern about the last chapter and how because Kirito's cursor changed, he's forever a criminal. In canon, there are only green and red cursors, not orange. This isn't the same for my story, as Kirito turned orange. Because the crime system is very underdeveloped in the original story, I have my own spin on it here. Fanfiction is supposed to take liberties surrounding obscure spots left open from the source material, so I did.
Regardless, it isn't impossible to remove red cursors from a player in canon either, as they still have ways to turn green again. The known one is by doing some unexplained quest to change it back. There could be more as well, but who knows.
Case in point, don't worry about it too much. The way crime works in this story is mostly explained in this chapter. I hope it is enough to satisfy any questions.
Please enjoy.
Pa-atreon: 3sper
Kirito watched as who he believed to be Kayaba refract and dissipate out of existence. Truthfully, he couldn't have been one hundred percent sure that was in fact Akihiko Kayaba in disguise.
That player could have been anyone who worked for Argus and held a high position in the company, or Kayaba's secret right hand man who was helping him behind the scenes. Having access to admin commands didn't directly confirm anything. For all he knew, Kayaba was just the fall guy for some big scheme. Kirito had no idea what kind of crazy shenanigans were happening in the real world. All he could do was speculate.
However, he was inclined to believe it was him.
He didn't know Kayaba personally by any means, but Kirito got a fair enough grasp of the creator from his first impression back on floor one. The guy didn't strike him as the type to sit back and let others do the work, nor did he seem like the fall guy for some massive company. All of the interviews Kirito had watched of him on the internet and read in magazines also painted him as a guy who knew exactly what he was doing.
There was no way he would trap ten thousand people in a death game and let admin accounts walk around freely.
It had to have been him. He was as certain as he could be.
Sheathing his sword, Kirito walked back to pick up his discarded trident and the col he'd forced Kayaba, or rather Hero, to drop after he slashed his arm off. They couldn't sit there for too long, but he had more than enough time. Items that didn't naturally deteriorate would break and despawn within thirty minutes.
The «Golden Trident» lay flat on the ground and he picked it up first. It would be a great gift for Sinon, making up for that lame choker. Unlike that, this one would actually help keep her alive. Kirito stuffed it back in his inventory, contemplating which upgrades he should put on it before picking up the col.
Col: 1,000,000
There it was, one million col. Kayaba hadn't been lying about it. A wave of accomplishment washed over Kirito and he smiled.
He was making out like a bandit.
Under different circumstances, Kirito may have jumped for joy. However, the ramifications for his actions may be huge. There was a chance that Kayaba was in fact dead, that he hadn't backed up his life and had somewhat played by the rules.
That kind of outcome was an unrealistic wish. Kirito was inclined to believe otherwise. A man who would heal himself to full every time he risked death wouldn't be so careless.
The command he used to heal was vocal. That meant that Kayaba couldn't make those commands around other people, or else he'd give himself away. Maybe there was also one in his administrator menu too, but that didn't matter. If he did that, players would inevitably catch and notice he was healing to full health mid boss fight without drinking a potion or some other healing item.
Like Kirito himself, Kayaba didn't want to reveal his true identity, so he wouldn't use them. If he wouldn't use them then there was a chance that he could be slain in battle.
Would someone like Kayaba, who relied on admin commands to fight important battles for him, as well as the creator of SAO, really take a risk at dying in his own game?
Kirito wasn't optimistic enough to believe it. The man had likely dived inside SAO without any risk and could log out whenever he wanted. Assuming the worst and that Kayaba was in fact alive, the possibility of Kirito having a ticking time bomb over his head was real. If Kayaba felt like it, he could execute him whenever he wanted with a single command outside of the game. Something he would have no defense over.
The very idea of that made Kirito want to hurl.
It was those kinds of ramifications that unnerved him. He honestly hadn't thought about that before picking a fight. As soon as Kayaba used that vocal command, Kirito was dead set on killing him. He was just wanted to gather more reasons to go through with it. If he had considered the repercussions, he would have dipped way before the fight against Wiron was over. It wasn't worth dying a bullshit death to some cheater.
There wasn't anything he could do about it now. He just had to hope Kayaba was truly dead, that the man wasn't petty enough, or that some other external force would prevent it from happening.
Knowing that Kayaba would go as far as trying to use his admin commands during their fight, as well as getting offended when he talked trash about the system, Kirito believed Kayaba was more petty than he let on.
Any second now and Kirito's days could be numbered. His hopes of surviving weren't very high.
'No, that won't happen.' Kirito rejected strongly, his fists tightening in defiance. 'I'm not dying in this world, not even to some game command.' He hadn't once believed he would actually die and he refused to do so now. None of his judgement calls had ever led him into a predicament he couldn't get out of. This was just like all the other times.
Kayaba could use all the commands he wanted. He wasn't going anywhere.
Without spending another second thinking about it, Kirito turned to walk away from the foggy lake. As he was, the tiniest shine had caught the corner of his eye. The boy turned to look at what it was and his heart skipped a beat.
The golden sword Kayaba had been using stood tall, lodged midway into the ground underneath. It hadn't disappeared with Kayaba's avatar.
Rushing over to the blade, Kirito confirmed it was the very same sword he fought against. Its luster couldn't be forgotten so easily. The fact that it was left behind was a rare occurrence.
On death, if your weapon had been knocked out of your hands and discarded, it would stay behind as a spoil of battle while you respawned at the «Room of Resurrection» in the «Town of Beginnings». It was one of the only ways a player could actually be rewarded for being a player killer, as they didn't get anything else from the people they killed. That's why when players killed in the beta, they specifically tried to knock weapons out of their opponents hands. It was the same for shields as well.
He didn't expect the sword to be there. During their fight, Kirito hadn't knocked the weapon out of Kayaba's hand. The man must have let go of it after being slashed in half.
Using both hands, Kirito pulled the blade out from the dirt. It felt heavy, even for him. The sword glowed brightly without falter, not a single bit of grime on it. It was in perfect condition. His fingers raced to inspect it.
Reading over the text, Kirito couldn't help but let out a wry chuckle. It was just as he expected.
The sword was busted. Not in the same way rare items were. This weapon was on another level entirely, likely because the blade was a cheat weapon spawned into the game.
Simply put, an item like this was impossible.
It couldn't exist without foul play. Not even the rarest materials with the lowest spawn rates on the highest floors would make a sword like this.
The first impossibility it held was that it couldn't break. Its life had infinite durability. Nothing outside of an admin command could destroy this weapon. Secondly, it was a weapon that scaled to the user.
Alone, that fact may not have been impossible. Although no one had found anything like it, there could potentially be an item that could level up with whoever wielded it. That said, if a weapon like that existed, the scaling for this sword would completely blow past it.
Not only did it change its stats depending on the user's level, the stats of the blade were so high that it made any other weapon of the same level laughably low.
Kirito was level 27. While holding the sword, its stats would scale up to a sword around level 40. If this sword were in the hands of someone like Sinon, she would be able to one-tap any monster on the current floor outside of bosses and mini-bosses. Heck, even an average player might be able to do it.
That, of course, didn't include the special abilities that would unlock once a level requirement was reached. Level twenty was a blinding effect. Level forty was a durability-decay effect. Level sixty had a projectile effect. Level eighty had a healing effect, and level one hundred had a blast effect.
'Why does this sword even exist?' Kirito couldn't help wondering. Sure, Kayaba was a big fat cheater, but this was too much. There was no way he truly believed no one would ask questions.
Just how careless was he? Did he just lack common sense?
'Even though he thought no one was around, he was still ballsy enough to use admin commands out in the open.'
Kayaba may have been a smart man who conducted himself carefully and secretly enough to make SAO a death game, but he sure was an awful gamer.
'Maybe it comes with age?' Kirito thought, unconsciously taking a dig at the man. Whatever the case, it was a weapon he would never be able to use. He was already powerful enough at his current stage. Wielding it in battle might actually allow him to down a boss within a few hits. While trying that out once did sound appealing, going through the whole game like that could be risky.
A short fantasy of Kirito attempting to speedrun SAO played in his head, slaying everything in his path with the cheat weapon. All the commotion he would create would lead to him getting found out by the other players at some point. Then after getting roughly halfway through the game, he would indiscriminately get perma-banned off the server.
...Well, that might not happen, but Kirito didn't think any long-lasting good would come from such a scenario.
A better reason why he shouldn't wield it was because it was a weapon that belonged to a now dead player. A player that was quite famous for being the leader of the top guild and wearing flashy equipment.
His old guildmates would soon notice him disappear from their friend list, if they hadn't already. One of them would go down to the «Town of Beginnings» to check the list of dead players to confirm his demise, leading towards the news spreading like a virus.
If they, or rather anyone in SAO really, saw him running around with Hero's sword after the guy up and died randomly... disaster would be putting it mildly.
"In the inventory you go..." Kirito robotically moved to store the weapon away as he forced himself to smile. He truly admired the sword. It was a beautiful weapon unmatched by any other. Kayaba had chosen it himself and likely put in extra work to make it so eye catching. Kirito felt leagues stronger just by holding it out in front of him.
Holding it a single time was enough for him to know he would never wield a better sword. Banishing it to the back of his inventory felt wrong... but it had to be done. With one last input, the sword was placed all the way at the bottom. His eyes scanned over the name one last time.
Holy Sword Excalibur
Kirito slumped with a heavy sigh. Maybe there would come a day he could use it, but not today. He briefly considered running out and finding a mob spawn to annihilate with it, but he could already do that without it. For now, the holy sword was a piece of clutter in his inventory.
Finding the willpower to finally move, Kirito began walking towards the trees surrounding «Lake Talpha» the same way he had entered. As he approached a large bushel of jungle, he abruptly stopped. "Come out, now."
...
...
...
No response.
"You think I don't see that green cursor above your head? You don't even have the hiding skill, do you?" Kirito waited for them to make a move. The boy had noticed their presence with his «Searching» skill near the climax of his battle with Kayaba. They didn't see the fight initiate, but they had witnessed Hero's murder. Kirito was curious to see if they would make a move or not as he looted his spoils, keeping his guard up and playing oblivious.
If they had run, he would have chased them down.
A threat to his security couldn't be allowed to get away.
He waited a bit more. It appeared as if they were hesitating; the potential tell of a coward. Right before Kirito was about to make a move of his own, the bushel shook violently as a person darted out towards him. "Hraaah!"
Kirito tilted his head and watched as a glowing sword narrowly miss him, the blue particles shimmering across his face. 'An offensive approach? Fine.'
Then it's a fight to the death.
Just as the blade finished its arc, Kirito pulled his sword hand back, fist glowing a light teal. Before his attacker could recuperate, his «Senda» martial art nailed them directly in the face. It was a basic lunging skill; a straight punch. When it connected, they flew backwards off their feet, rolling across the ground. With that one hit, they had lost a significant amount of health, bordering on entering the yellow zone.
The difference in strength between them was obvious. Kirito guessed they were only a level or two higher than the average player. He unsheathed his sword, watching them slowly stand back up. They let out another battle cry and charged him with the same sword skill. "Y-You jerk!"
'A girl?' Kirito acknowledged as he heard her voice and observed her form, catching her blade with his own. Their swords were locked, but it was clear who would win the clash. The girl pushed against his sword with all her might using both her hands, while Kirito only used a single one, not even bothering with a sword skill. Her «Horizontal» soon gave out and Kirito used the pommel of his «Anneal Blade» to smack her in the face.
"Gah-!" Her head reeled backwards, feet racing to keep themselves under her. Just as her head came back, Kirito angled his sword and swung hard. "Ack-!" She yelped as her weapon was flung out of her hand. The girl, dressed in basic equipment, fell back on her bottom. She looked up at the boy who raised his sword above his head, ready to bring it down on her. "NOOO!" She screamed out, shutting her eyes and holding her arms out in front of her in a weak attempt to defend herself. "PLEASE DON'T KILL MEEE!"
Kirito stood with his sword raised like a statue. He watched as her tears rained down, hiding her face behind trembling arms that she could barely keep up. He was going to kill her, buuuuuut...
...she is a girl. He would feel kind of bad merking some little girl out in the jungle like this. His sword limply fell to his side as an odd look crossed his face. "Uh... okay?"
His voice made her jump. Slowly, she raised her head and opened her crying eyes, peeking over her arms skeptically. "H-Huh?"
Kirito's eyes darted away from her, scratching his cheek. Although he had dealt with crying girls before, he'd never done well. His experience consoling Sinon hadn't been enough training. She looked younger than him, so he tried thinking back to when he had made Suguha upset.
An older brother calming his younger sister down... How'd that go again?
"There... there?" Kirito said, smiling awkwardly. Surely he was doing it right, right? He waved his hand at her in a friendly gesture, hoping it would get her to calm down.
The girl sniffled, her knees coming up to hide her face as she buried it in them. Her wet eyes looked up at him hesitatingly. "...What?"
He coughed again. "H-Hey look, uh... I'm not gonna kill you or anything...?" Kirito said as if he weren't exactly sure himself, slowly sheathing his blade.
She didn't buy it. Instead, she glared at the boy. "You liar! You're a murderer! You killed that man!" She scooted away from him closer towards the forested area, her eyes glancing at her fallen sword nearby.
"He was a bad guy. Why wouldn't I kill him?"
"Because murder is wrong! Ya shouldn't kill anyone!"
This was getting nowhere fast. The girl appeared to be rather stubborn and had a strong sense of justice. The type who always stuck to their values. Convincing her that he was a good guy after she'd witness him kill was gonna be tough, but he had to try.
"What if I told you the guy I killed was Akihiko Kayaba, the man who trapped us here in the first place?"
His words stunned her a bit, as if she'd been thrown for a loop. However, they were ineffective as she swiftly shook her head and glared once more. "You're a liar! That boy wasn't an old man! He was barely older than you are!"
'Oh yeah, I guess it did look that way.' Kirito had momentarily forgotten the fact that Kayaba, under the guise of Hero, appeared around the age of eighteen. That made things a whole lot more complicated.
Kirito didn't get a chance to rebut her before she dove for her discarded weapon. He couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. He had spared her after she begged for her life and still she insisted on fighting him. Still, a part of him also admired her tenacity. She had a fire in her that was tough to put out.
'What exactly does she plan to do?' If she believed that murder was bad, even killing bad guys, then what was she trying to do to him? She couldn't kill him, so what? Was she gonna beat him up? Maybe try to capture him?
Whatever the case, it was pointless. Kirito's hand began glowing the same blue as before, just in time for her to pick up her blade. As soon as she turned around to confront him, his fist slammed into her sword, right in the center. While he took minor damage from the cut to his hand, the sword was swiftly snapped in half, shattering into several fragments. She stood there dumbfounded, holding onto the remaining half of her sword before the remains proceeded to burst and dissipate from the world.
"You done?" Kirito asked, knocking her out of her stupor. She took a step back, regaining her look of fear. He raised his hands up placatingly. "Chill out. I'm not gonna hurt you." Or at least, he hoped he wouldn't have to. If he couldn't convince her to relax and trust him and his words, he wouldn't have any other choice.
Despite his calming words, she retreated further back, putting some distance between them. She wanted to run now that she was defenseless. She didn't, knowing now that it was futile. After their last two exchanges, she knew she couldn't compete. It was frustrating and she grit her teeth, but there was nothing she could do.
The girl bit her lip, nausea filling her white face. The gravity of her helpless situation was beginning to sink in. "T-Then what are ya gonna do?"
Kill her.
Kirito waved her off. "Let me think for a moment..."
She sat their watching him, nervously shuffling around. The silence was suffocating. The girl felt like she could barely breathe. Her attention turned to their surroundings, hoping to find that one key moment to slip away. She wanted to move, but like a deer in headlights, she was too scared to even try.
If there was a hero in this world, she prayed for them to appear.
"Aha!" The boy suddenly exclaimed, snapping his fingers. The girl nearly leaped out of her skin as he did. She watched him in confusion and growing fear as he opened up his menu and flung through it. Her heart was beating so fast, it rang throughout her ear drums.
This was it. Either he'd let her go or finish her. Mentally, she began saying her goodbyes and that she would soon join her sister and mother. For what it was worth, she believed her short life was a good one.
The moment he pulled something out, she instinctively shut her eyes, flinching away.
"Hello? You there?" The boy called, waving his hand. "You lagging?"
Her eyes slowly opened back up. In his hands was a golden sword decorated with blue gems, sheathed inside a scabbard with the same color scheme and shine.
"Look at its stats." Kirito held it out to her.
And here he thought he'd never find a real use for Excalibur. He'd banished it not five minutes ago and it was already coming in clutch.
It already recognized its master...
The young girl looked at the sword with conflicted emotions. "W-why?"
Kirito rolled his eyes. "I'm not the bad guy you think I am. Let me prove it." He held the weapon out for her to grasp. When he had put it away in his inventory earlier, it didn't have the sheathe. The Cardinal System designated him the weapon's sheathe automatically after he looted it.
She peered at the blade strangely, still not understanding him. Kirito wouldn't let her hold it, just in case she still wanted to fight. He instead gestured for her to tap on it to pull up the item window.
Her eyes scanned over it wearily. After awhile, she only looked more befuddled. "Um... what am I supposed to be looking at?"
"Seriously? Do I have to spell it out for you?" Kirito got the inclination that like Asuna once was, this girl was a complete noob. He watched her scan over the menu again just as puzzled as before and sighed.
He should have expected this. Her equipment was a dead give away that she was new to these kinds of games, or maybe just VR in general.
"Remember what I said before? I said the person I killed was Akihiko Kayaba. Now look at the sword's stats. Aren't they really strong?"
"Really, really strong." She nodded hesitatingly, a tiny bit of awe leaking from her voice.
Was that the all too familiar sound of a sword junkie admiring the craftsmanship of a blade?
No, he'd better not get sidetracked.
"Right. Now, think about it objectively. This sword is really powerful. If it were gonna drop somewhere, it would be somewhere on the upper floors. Are you following along?" Kirito asked her, trying to explain it as simply as possible.
Another hesitant nod.
Kirito nodded back. He actually didn't believe it would drop anywhere, but he didn't wanna make this any more complicated. "Okay so, if it's supposed to drop on a higher floor, why is it here on floor six?"
Awaiting an answer, he was disappointed when he didn't receive one. She didn't get the memo, so he had to gesture for her to respond, watching the gears slowly turn behind her eyes.
On second thought, this wasn't as good of an idea as he thought.
"Um... because he found it?"
Kirito smacked his forehead, barely refraining from calling her a name. "No... because he cheated."
"Cheated?"
"Yeah, think about it from Akihiko Kayaba's point-of-view. You trapped ten thousand players in your death game, so now what? Are you just gonna sit back and watch them fumble around in the world you created?" Kirito posed, placing Excalibur back in his inventory. "Or, would you join them and play? What would you do?"
"What would I do..?" The short girl muttered to herself. She came up with her answer quickly. "Of course I wouldn't play! Why would I choose to play a game where I could die!?"
Kirito shook his head." Remember, your looking at it from Kayaba's perspective. Since you created the game, you can cheat all you want. If you die in the game, you won't die in real life."
Her face morphed into one of understanding. "Oh... then I guess I would play!" She said, her eyes widening in realization.
"That's right, and that's exactly what Kayaba did." Kirito replied with another nod. Having another idea, he reopened his inventory and equipped Excalibur. As he did, the girl reverted back to her fearful disposition. "I'm not going to attack you. I just want to show you." Kirito withdrew the golden sword, its light hummed lowly and shined off the shrubbery and grass nearby. It appeared stronger in his hands than it had Kayaba's. "You read that the sword had different effects, right?"
"Y-Yeah?"
Kirito bent his knees, raising the sword out in front of him with a single hand. "This isn't going to damage you, so don't worry. Just look at what happens." Kirito then raised the sword high, performing the action to activate the first effect.
With a holy-like sound, the sword began to glow much brighter. Blindingly so. Its golden hue turned almost white, spreading throughout the whole clearing.
The brown haired girl yelped in surprise and covered her eyes. "W-Woah! What are you doing?!" She exclaimed, once again in awe. "I can't see a thing!"
Wasn't she in complete fear a moment ago? Now she sounded rather excited. Kirito couldn't exactly blame her. He too was in awe of the sword's power, even if it was totally cheating.
Kirito was over level twenty, meaning he fit the requirement to activate the effect. Blindness only affected enemies, not the user. This also meant players in his party could avoid it as well.
Upon activating it, Kirito came to the conclusion that Kayaba hadn't reached level twenty. If he had, the man would have certainly used it. Instead, what made the man strong enough to tank his hits was his busted equipment.
The girl blinked multiple times as the light died down, trying to get rid of the spots in her vision. "That... that was that blindy thingy, wasn't it?"
He nodded back in confirmation. "Yeah, and there's supposed to be four other abilities it gets later. Not only does it have those, but the sword also levels up along with the user. Do you see how strong it is compared to other weapons? Kind of suspicious, don't you think?"
Hearing his words, her hype quickly faded as she mulled them over. "I guess that makes since... still, what if your wrong? What if that ain't him?" She asked, still denying his logic.
"It was him. Who else would it be?"
"I dunno! What if he just gave that sword to someone! Then you woulda killed an innocent person!"
She may seem about as smart as a box of bricks, but she could use a fair amount of logic when it involved a person's life.
Rather than refute her, Kirito turned away somberly. "Better him than me..."
"H-Huh?"
He turned back to the short girl, looking into her dark brown eyes. "I'm sorry... but if I didn't kill him, he would have killed me," Kirito said sounding regretful, as if he could barely contain himself.
Her eyes widened in surprise. "H-He woulda killed you?"
"...You weren't there for the entire fight, were you?" Kirito asked, a look of realization crossing his face.
"N-No, I wasn't..." She paused for a moment, in deep thought. She drew lines in her head, connecting the dots before looking back at him in shock. "He attacked you?!"
"Yes..." Kirito said, turning away from the girl once more.
What the girl didn't know was that he was lying through his teeth. He knew that she wasn't there for the entire fight, so he could use that to his advantage. If she knew that he was the one who initiated the fight, then she would have a harder time siding with him. Kirito had definitive proof when Hero mentioned his Defiance equipment. However, that was only proof for him, not the girl or anyone else. While the sword painted a bad picture for Hero, it wasn't conclusive proof.
Playing off her ignorance, he was able to paint himself as the victim, not the aggressor. He was the one who got attacked, not the other way around. All he had to do was manipulate the story and fake some emotions and she'd believe him.
So what if it was a little fib? He was still the one in the right regardless. As they say, the victors are the one who write history.
"...He attacked me because I managed to figure out his identity."
"Really?! How?!" She shouted in surprise.
Kirito looked at her with a pitiful smile. "You may not believe me, but I saw him heal himself using a command."
She looked at him weirdly. "A command? What is that?"
"It was an admin command and it isn't something normal players like us can do. Admins are basically people who run and operate the game. Rather than play normally like us, they get special privileges to do their job. Kayaba's avatar had those special privileges and he used them to heal while he was fighting."
"Oh... I think I get it..." She paused momentarily before another thought popped up. "But then why didn't he heal while ya two were fighting?
"I was trying to keep him from doing that. I kept punching and kicking his face, doing whatever I could to stop him from doing that or worse."
Her eyes lit up. "Oh! So that's why you were hitting 'em like that!"
"Mhm." Kirito nodded. He looked upwards and pointed to the incorporeal diamond floating over his head. "Unfortunately, I ended up becoming an orange player."
"...Is that bad?"
"It is." He confirmed. "It means that, at least for now, I'm a criminal who can't access towns."
She gasped in disbelief. "A criminal?! But he attacked ya! Why would ya become a criminal?!"
"Because I was the one who dealt damage first." Another look of confusion reached her eyes, so he continued. "It doesn't matter who attacks who first. What matters is who hit who first. I blocked his attack, and since I'm the one who technically struck him first, I'm regarded as the criminal."
"But that's not fair!"
Kirito shrugged. "Maybe not, but that's how it works. Outside of a duel, a green player cannot deal damage to another green player without turning into a criminal." The boy stretched his arms overhead, taking a few steps towards the forest. "Anyway, now you know I'm not a bad guy. In the first place, I would've killed you if I were."
The girl followed him, rubbing her right arm sheepishly. "I guess you're right... I'm sorry for attacking ya."
"Dont worry about it. If anything, I should be sorry for destroying your weapon."
She blinked. "Uh... guess ya did." She laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.
"...You don't have another, do you?"
Her shoulders slumped. "No..."
He felt a little bad for her, but she did start it.
Losing a low quality weapon was a much better option than dying on the end of his blade. He wanted to cheer her up regardless. "On the bright side, you learned that criminal players have an orange cursor above their heads. They sometimes have red ones, too. If you see a player with one, you should avoid them. Not that I have any right to talk." Kirito chuckled.
The girl weakly grumbled to herself, finally moving over to stand next to him. It seems she was beginning to have more trust towards him. She glanced over at the black haired boy. "So, are ya gonna take me back to town?"
Kirito began walking, gesturing her to follow. "Yeah, guess I have to. But it'll be tricky. I'm an orange player, so I can't access towns without being attacked by the npc guards. It wouldn't look good for either of us if another player saw me. They'll assume the worse."
She hurried after him, frowning as she recalled what he said earlier. "That really sucks. You're stuck as a bad guy forever now."
"...No i'm not. What made you think that?"
"Huh?" She looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Wait, ya mean ya won't be?"
"...No?"
"But you're a bad guy now, aren't ya?" She pointed up at his cursor, her hand movement plenty exaggerated.
A small smile grew on Kirito's face. Right, even though they've made it to floor six, there are still beginner players. This girl was clearly one of them.
Having gone through the process of educating a girl on how to game, Kirito was prepared to do it again. He considered himself an expert in the field by now. The key was using simpler terms and having great patience. "For your first offense, you're only orange for a day. It'll go back to green in twenty-four hours."
"But how? Didn't ya kill someone? Aren't ya supposed to be orange for longer?"
"...You know this is a video game, right? Crimes are all the same here..."
She stared at him with her mouth ajar. Soon, a blush formed on her face. "U-u-uh! I know that! I was just sayin' is all..."
He couldn't help but laugh, adding the the girl's chagrin. Her sense of justice led her to believe criminal action in this world would have similar repercussions from the real one. It was kind of cute. "Well, since you know that," He mocked subtly. "I bet you also know that if you commit three crimes in succession, you turn red."
"Red, huh..."
"Once you turn into a red player, you can never turn back to being green. You'll be branded a criminal forever."
"That sounds tough."
"It wouldn't have been before. Remember, this was supposed to be just a normal game. Lots of different people would have loved to be bad and hunt down other players. Now though..." He trailed off.
"...Now you're a real murderer." She finished for him. A sickened look crossed the girl's face. She never wanted to cross a player like that.
"Not every red player may be a murderer. Remember, all you need to do is three crimes within a short period of time. A red player could be someone who decided to steal from an npc shop a bunch of times and got caught, though I guess no one would be dumb enough to do that..." His words didn't help ease her mind. He really wasn't good at stuff like this. "Look on the bright side. Most people aren't murderers, so it's really unlikely you'll run into anyone like that."
She looked over at him with a grimance. "But I did run into ya..."
"Oh, um..."
Damn.
She had a point.
He was technically a criminal and she had seen him kill someone, even if what he said hadn't entirely been a lie. He didn't get a chance to rectify his words before she gave him a forced smile. "Sorry... that was mean of me, huh?"
Comparing Kirito, who had murdered in good faith, to someone who would actively want to turn red inside a death game, was a bit harsh. Calling him a criminal and a murderer for killing Kayaba was a massive stretch. Although, there would always be a few people who would still see it that way, regardless.
"Don't worry about it. Not like I actually killed him, anyway."
She froze. Kirito looked back at her and gestured once more. Shaking her head, she caught back up with him completely perplexed. "Whaddya mean ya didn't? I watched ya and you're all orange and stuff."
"Remember what I said before? I figured out that guy was Akihiko Kayaba himself, the creator. Do you really believe he wouldn't have a failsafe in case he actually did die?"
Her head lowered, contemplating what he said. When it turned back up, her anxiousness was clear as day. "S-So you're sayin' he didn't kick the bucket?"
"No, probably not."
"Then what about you?!" She looked at him with concern. "Ain't he gonna come back to get ya?!"
"Maybe." Kirito shrugged.
Her mouth fell open at his lackadaisical response. Why wasn't he taking this seriously? Doesn't he know he could die? She struggled to get out the words, too many trying to force their way out at the same time and getting stuck.
Kirito couldn't help smiling as he watched her sputter about. It was strange having someone he hardly knew so concerned for him, but nice in its own way. "If he was gonna kill me, I'm sure he already would have." The boy assuaged her worries.
"W-Whaddya mean?"
"Its been a good minute since our fight. I'm sure he's woken up next to a computer or console that'll let him check on, or even tamper with the game. He should have the means to kill me, yet he hasn't. Since he hasn't yet, I doubt he will."
"But why not? Ya killed 'em, wouldn't he want revenge?" She asked, receiving another shrug.
He wasn't Kayaba, so he couldn't answer that question. The girl frowned, balling her hands up as her eyebrows furrowed.
She just didn't get it.
"Why would he trap us all here and not kill ya for gettin' in his way?" She couldn't wrap her head around it. If that boy from before truly was the evil man who had locked them all inside a video game, it stood within reason to believe he'd kill anyone who opposed him.
"...Gamer etiquette?" Kirito guessed, taking a shot in the dark. That only made her look at him strangely.
There probably was a good reason why Kayaba didn't, but he could only tell her his own assumptions. It may not be correct, or be a good enough answer for her, but he could at least try.
Taking it more seriously, Kirito looked at her softly. "I don't think he wants to be God. If he did, he would appear as that giant red avatar back from the first day. He'd interfere with us more, a lot more than making us go through his trial of clearing all one hundred floors. He wants to play the game, just like us. Even if he cheats, he wouldn't cheat so badly that he starts killing players left and right..."
"...But then why? If he wants to play too, why'd he trap us inside here and make us fight for our lives?" Her face scrunched up as if she were going to cry. However, she was strong enough to keep any would be tears in check. "Why do we have to be the only ones riskin' our lives?"
"...I don't know." Kirito answered honestly. Her frustration at the unfairness was warranted. Everyone trapped here was risking their lives, yet the one who put them in that position refused to face the same music.
Kirito watched the influx of emotions wash over her. Both her lips and eyes quivered as she fought herself to remain stable. That disgusting feeling was threatening an appearance. The same damn feeling he would get when he thought about what disasters could happen to Sinon and Asuna.
No. He couldn't help everyone. There were only so many people he could reach and he chose them. He couldn't, wouldn't make exceptions...
"...I never thought I'd be afraid to die." The girl suddenly confessed, sending a piercing chill throughout his body. Kirito slowly felt his eyes widen as he listened. "...I always thought that when the time came, I'd be ready." She turned away from him so that he couldn't see her face. "I really don't wanna die..."
The girl began to tremble. It was subtle, but Kirito could see it. There must've been a lot of people like her, who were scared to die here. They convince themselves they wouldn't and pretend to be strong. They laugh, cry, and try to live as best they can. They celebrate holidays just as they would in the real world, one of the very few things they had left.
He never really thought about it like that before...
A weak laugh escaped the girl. "What am I sayin' to a stranger? Sorry 'bout that..." She looked at Kirito with forced a smile, hoping it appeared braver than she felt.
He sat in silence next to her, not really knowing how to respond. It appeared as if she had cheered up, but he speculated she was just covering up her real feelings. Now was a good time to change the subject.
Two of Kirito's fingers opened up and scrolled through his menu. Suddenly, she was handed a brown bag. "What's this?"
"Col. It should be enough to replace your sword."
The girl seemed confused by his actions, although her hands still instinctively ruffled the sack. "Aren't ya supposed to use the trade menu to give people stuff?"
Kirito looked down at her, impressed by her knowledge. What do ya know, she knew more about video games than Asuna initially did. "Yeah, but you can also do this. Just tap it as you would to inspect an item like how you did that sword I showed you."
She peered up at him with a whimsical smile. "Can't ya just give me the sword?" She asked simply, looking over his right shoulder. He followed her eyes and realized that he never actually unequipped Excalibur.
Wearing it must have made her remember that he was now in possession of two swords. Kirito understood her perspective. Instead of giving her money, he could just give her a weapon. With that being the case...
"You're crazy if you think I'd give you that." Kirito chuckled, tapping a finger on his head. "Either I hit you too hard earlier, or you need to work on your jokes."
"I'm not joking." She replied all too quickly, hopping up and down at the thought of owning the blade. "If that Excalibur sword is too much, just gimme that other one."
"Sacrilege!" Kirito shouted at her. What a moronic, simple-minded buffoon of a girl.
How could she even think about asking for his precious Anneal Blade? Despite his need to replace it, the sword was still his baby. Once that time came around, he still wouldn't sell it, much less give it away. It would sit inside his inventory for the remainder of the game because that was where it belonged!
"Hey, c'mon dude! It's just a sword!"
"Just a sword?!" Kirito looked as if someone had just slapped his mother. "You really wanna mock my Anneal Blade?! Did you forget it completely dominated yours?!"
"I know, so gimme it!" The two of them growled at each other. He already had a better sword, so she didn't understand why he refused to part with the other. Kirito wasn't having any of that.
"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't," Kirito said irritably, trying to reach a compromise. "Not now, anyway."
"Why not?" The girl huffed, folding her arms under her very modest chest.
"Because I can't use Excalibur." Before she could try to refute him, Kirito held up his hand. "Don't you remember? This sword belonged to a person who's now dead. If other people see that I have it, they'll link me to his death and assume the worst."
Her expression dropped as his words seemed to hit their mark. "That makes sense..."
Thankfully, Kirito didn't have to explain every little detail like he did last time. She understood that Excalibur was now flagged with death. Unless he was actively seeking trouble, it was unusable around other players. If he gave away his other sword, he'd essentially be weaponless like her.
He stashed the holy sword away and reequipped his Anneal Blade. Adjusting it on his back, Kirito could tell how much lighter it was compared to Excalibur. Still, it was a weight he had grown accustomed to. "Just take the col. It should be more than enough to buy you a good sword."
She frowned, but didn't complain. Tapping on the bag she still held in her hands, the girl's brown eyes shot open. "F-Fifty thousand!? This is fifty thousand col!" She yelled in disbelief. "I can't take this! It's way too much!"
Kirito shrugged his shoulders, placing his hands in his coat pockets. "Don't worry about it. That's the col I'd gotten from Kayaba before our fight broke out. I'm not losing anything."
She would have seen the trident and bag of col on the ground after witnessing the fight. Sure, that bag actually contained one million col and not fifty thousand, but she didn't need to know that.
"A-Are ya sure?" She asked, feeling guilty taking so much money from him; money he risked his life for. He nodded back and began to walk in the direction of «Stachion». Noticing he was leaving her behind, the girl hurriedly threw the col into her inventory and caught back up.
As she caught up to his side, Kirito looked over at her. "We're headed into grounds that'll spawn monsters. You don't have a weapon, so stay back while I do the fighting."
"Right!" She said eagerly, clenching her hands in front of her. "Thank ya very much, Mr... uh..." The girl laughed scratching the back of her head. "What's your name again?"
Of course, he could only delay the inevitable for so long. The problem with interacting with others was the exchange of names, a steep price to pay for a player like himself. He had dropped his defenses a good amount and had begun appreciating her company. But alas, she just had to go and pop the question.
Playing one of the cards he created for moments like these, Kirito deflected her question. "Ladies first."
She beamed up at him, completely oblivious of his inner thoughts. "I'm Yuuki! Yuuki Konno!"
"Yuuki Konno?" Kirito echoed, her name confusing him.
Why did it have two parts?
Some players did have names like that, but it was uncommon. She seemed like a noob and rather straightforward, so he doubted the girl would have chosen a more complicated name. Thinking about it, the name Yuuki was a common name someone would have in real life...
...He landed on an explanation, but he didn't wanna believe it was true.
"...Don't tell me that's your real name?"
There was no way this chick named herself after her real name...
Her body stiffened up. She looked over with an embarrassed smile, followed by a nervous shine in her eyes. "Yikes, I did it again..."
Wasn't hard to imagine that. This girl seemed like the type to blurt out whatever was on her mind at any given point without considering what she might let slip. Kirito sighed, palming his face. "So is that also your avatar's name, or not?"
"Well it IS Yuuki... but I shouldn't a told ya that last part..."
"But you still named yourself after your real name?"
She nodded lamely. "Mn..."
"Rookie mistake."
"I know already!"
So this wasn't the first time she'd been called out on it, either.
A chuckle escaped from Kirito and she shot him a glare. "Don't laugh!"
Her face was all red, much more than before. She began making boxing motions as if she wanted to fight, calling him a bully and the like. It warmed Kirito's heart seeing that. She reminded him of his little sister when he would make her mad. Kirito once looked back at those memories with chagrin. Now, he remembered them fondly. He also recalled all the times he received the ire of Asuna and Sinon.
If not for nothing, the boy certainly had a talent for getting under women's skin.
The girl, Yuuki, finally calmed down enough to gather her breath. "Ya dunno how many times I've done that. I keep forgettin' this is all a game."
"Yeah, I get it. Talking to people face to face wasn't really a feature in games before VR."
Truth be told, he wouldn't mind teasing her until she fell over dead like Sinon had, but he didn't know her like that. She did remind him of Sugu, but there were clear differences. This girl was way more jumpy than Sugu ever was. Way, way too excitable.
"Let's just talk about something else, Nooby."
"Huh?"
Oops. That one had slipped. "I said we can talk about something else, Yuuki."
"Sure!" She smiled, again completely oblivious. "But you haven't told me your name yet."
Damn.
He had banked on her having short term memory. That wasn't the case, so now Kirito had two options.
The first was that he could be mean to her and shoot her down. Tell her he felt uncomfortable giving his name to someone who attacked him over a misunderstanding, or something similar. She would believe it, but it would hurt her feelings and by extension, his own.
Option two was that he could just give her an alias. If she didn't fact check it by trying to add him or checking the wall on the first floor, then he would get away with it.
Deciding the second was the better option, Kirito pondered on what alias he should choose. He hadn't really thought of any fake name to give out, so his silence caused Yuuki to look at him strangely. "You're not gonna tell me?" She assumed, a frown dawning across her face.
Suddenly, Kirito remembered the first time he'd met Asuna and had a conversation with her. He ended up telling her his username that day, but she had thought it would have been a bit more flamboyant.
As Yuuki's frown began to grow irate, Kirito decided to just send it. "It's DragonSlayer."
"...DragonSlayer?" Yuuki asked, unsure if she had heard him correctly.
"Yep."
She grew quiet. The only noise being the crunching of the virtual jungle leaves below their feet. Soon, Yuuki's mouth began to twitch as she struggled to contain herself. Her cheeks puffed up wide before she eventually burst. "Hahahahahahahahaha!"
Her laughter was loud enough to cause his ears to ring. Kirito chose to stay silent, letting her get it all out of her system. Though, the boy had felt his face warm up.
Even to this girl, he just couldn't help going about making a fool out of himself.
Yuuki began using her hands to wipe genuine tears that had fallen from how hard she had laughed. One of her hands fell down to clutch and soothe her belly. "Wow! When was the last time I laughed like that?!"
'Oh boy...' Kirito grimaced, hoping she wouldn't try teasing him after he avoided doing so to her. Kirito peeked at her over his shoulder. Her eyes glittered joyfully. A toothy grin told him everything he needed to know. 'Oh boy...'
Subverting his expectations, Yuuki surprised Kirito by not teasing him at all. "DragonSlayer is such a cool name! I like it!"
For a moment, Kirito believed she was messing with him, but that didn't appear to be the case. Her eyes were honest and so were her words. She may have thought it was silly, her laughter proving that. However, she didn't think it was dumb. Not at all.
She liked his dorky alias.
'Actually, it's probably good that I chose that name.' Kirito thought. After pausing longer than he should have when giving his name, he could be forgiven not wanting to give out a name like DragonSlayer so readily. It hadn't been intentional, but it had ended up benefitting him.
Before he could return any sort of reply, a monster known as an «Ophiometus» had spawned right next to her. It was a bright green starfish that spit rocks and could attach themselves to players to poison them. She impulsively reached for her weapon and gasped when it wasn't there. Just as it had leaped for her to attach itself, Kirito had jumped in front of her and cut in down the middle with «Sonic Leap».
"Uh, thanks for that. I thought I still had my sword." She laughed awkwardly.
"Sure." Kirito commented as he placed his sword back. "Those are good instincts to have. Did you practice that?"
"Nope, sure didn't. But I'm happy ya think so." Yuuki replied, nonchalantly folding her arms behind her head. If that were the case, then she had a natural talent for battle. Kirito had seen her react to it spawn and she'd reacted equally as fast as he.
Quite the surprise, considering she stood at five feet max and looked as thin as an anorexic.
Although gifted, her swordsmanship lagged behind severely, if their battle was anything to go by. If Yuuki managed to survive for a long time, practiced, and gained enough experience, she would likely become one of the top players. For now, she was a meager noob like the rest of the mobs fighting to survive. The only way she stood out currently was because of her gender.
They continued to walk and Kirito continued to protect her from any monster that tried and failed to attack them. As she watched Kirito fight everything off with extreme ease, Yuuki felt herself become intrigued. "You're really good at fightin' Mr. DragonSlayer. How'd ya get so good?"
Kirito puffed his chest a bit, pride swelling up. "They don't call me DragonSlayer for nothing." Saying that out loud, he immediately regretted it.
'Wait, that joke was dumb.' Kirito winced inwardly, reminded of the times he'd said similar stupid things to his two friends. He wanted to break the habit of making those stupid remarks and instead act cool. They had always laughed more so at him than the joke and it always ended with him feeling embarrassed.
And as he thought, Yuuki did laugh. Her laughter was much more boisterous and free compared to both Asuna's and Sinon's. Strangely though, it didn't make him feel self-conscious, like when those two laughed at his corniness. "That makes sense!" Yuuki said amicably, as if his statement was valid. "You're a funny guy, Mr. DragonSlayer!" She complimented, patting his shoulder.
It took him a moment to understand, but rather than him, Yuuki had laughed at the joke, once again subverting his expectations. It was an experience Kirito wasn't used to. When he loosened up and tried talking to others normally, they would laugh at his dorkiness. Even his sister would joke about his mannerisms the few times they'd interact. Yet here was Yuuki buying into everything he said and appreciating it.
The feeling may have been foreign, but it was nice.
"Did ya slay a dragon with that trick ya pulled before?" Yuuki spoke up, snapping his attention back to her.
Wait, she really did believe that?
Regardless, Kirito wasn't sure what she meant by trick. Inserting himself into a beginner's perspective, he tried ascertaining what she was referring to. "You mean sword skills?"
"Nooo~ I already know what those are."
That's good. There was a small part inside him that had thought Yuuki had been playing SAO this entire time without even knowing what they were. He had no idea what else she could be talking about. "What trick then?"
"That trick! The one where ya stopped your own sword skill and activated it again!" Yuuki gestured with her hands as she pretended to wield a sword with a one-hand grip and swinging her arm around, trying to replicate his movement. "Was it like this? Or was it like that?"
Yuuki appeared to be lost in her own little world, frantically swinging her arm around. Meanwhile, Kirito was shitting bricks. His heart nearly stopped when she had mentioned his technique. The last thing he would have ever expected to leave her nooby mouth was that.
There weren't any classifications on what he did inside the game because the game didn't officially acknowledge it. The trick he had used would be referred to by players as an Outside System Skill, or an OuSS.
Essentially, they were skills players could do to abuse a loophole in the system that the game didn't intend or understand. They weren't true skills like those in the game, but rather techniques players created to be a better combatant.
A few OuSS techniques players had created were the Switch, which allowed players to switch positions with each other against a monster to throw off its attacks or recover. Another was Insight, which was basically just a player knowing the attack patterns of a monster and predicting when they would use them. Mislead was an extension of Insight and had players trick a monster's AI into using a specific attack so that the player could readily defend and beat them in swift notion.
These were all tricks created by those who had played the beta. However, the OuSS Kirito had used was one of his own creation. He had only created it recently, just after Christmas.
It was a skill he had dubbed Double Skill. As the name suggested, it allowed him to activate a skill twice. It worked by taking advantage of the small lag created by the activation of a sword skill. Just as the skill was about to activate, you could quickly activate the skill again and a faux version of the sword skill would appear.
Faux was a loose term, as it still functioned like any other sword skill. However, what made them different was that they could be disabled any time throughout its use by releasing the second sword skill overlayed on top of the first, which would in turn cause the faux sword skill to deactivate, replacing it with the true one.
When Kirito had used this trick against Kayaba, his sword skill had deactivated and reactivated after changing directions to bisect and kill him. Because the game hadn't registered Kirito activated the first sword skill, he was able to activate the same skill a second time in another direction.
It was an attack that guaranteed a direct hit against a monster and almost guarenteed a hit on a player, as they wouldn't be able to expect it or react. Even if they knew about the technique, predicting it would be difficult, as it could be activated in any direction.
Of course, Double Skill allowed both skills to work how they would, regardless if SAO registered them or not. If Kirito used a 2-hit sword skill, Double Skill would allow the second activation to inadvertently make it a 4-hit skill. If he had a 4-hit skill, it would become an 8-hit one.
It had to have been the best OuSS that currently existed. Kirito didn't intend on using it against Kayaba, but he had been fighting solo for awhile and used it unconsciously. The fact that Yuuki was still a beginner at fighting and was able to deduce his OuSS wasn't an in-game skill unnerved him.
That talent of hers went way beyond the norm. She probably didn't know it herself, but if she took the time and honed her skills, she could easily rival the abilities of a professional gamer. She may have been an easy going girl, but she was also incredibly passionate.
Passion was the first step to greatness.
The girl had potential. She would eventually become great. He could see it. Only the future knew how much she would shine.
Fighting the urge to feign ignorance, Kirito instead deflected her query. "Don't worry about it. You can become a skilled fighter with enough practice."
Yuuki looked at him curiously. "Practice? Like on monsters?"
"Yeah. Just keep fighting monsters and practice your sword skills and techinique on them. Learn their attack patterns and how to counter them." That was probably enough advice, but Kirito continued, wanting to be sure she wouldn't pester him. "If that's not enough, just watch how other players fight. You'll be able to tell the good ones from the bad, so just do what the good ones do."
Most players likely wouldn't understand all the nuances, but her talent was exceptional. He believed she would be able to.
She smiled up at him, shooting him a salute. "Got it! I'll watch ya fight and learn all I can!"
Oh.
"...That's not what I meant." Kirito sighed, causing Yuuki to ask if he had said something, which he denied.
Another «Ophiometus» spawned in front of them. She was probably expecting him to use the Double Skill again, but fat chance of that. She'd have a better shot getting his actual username out of him than his super secret move.
After a few encounters, Yuuki had caught on to the fact he was holding back his ability and complained, whining about why he wouldn't go all-out after he'd told her to watch how others fought. She'd seen him fight Kayaba and could tell he wasn't fighting like he was then.
His response had been that he didn't need to go all out, which only made her whine more. Yuuki, a firm believer in staying true to yourself, told him that he should always go all out, which caused him to roll his eyes.
They continued to walk like this. Yuuki giving him some lip over his battles, as well as complimenting the bit of skill he did showcase, while Kirito did his best to ignore her. The sixth floor had mostly been unchanged from the beta, so Kirito knew it very well. He was able to path out a good route to avoid attention, fighting off monsters without trouble.
Yuuki was itching to join in, even going as far as asking for his sword so she could fight while he watched, obviously getting rejected. Her countenance had done a complete one-eighty from when he first met her. At first, he believed she was a coward. That couldn't be further from the truth.
Sword Art Online can wear down anyone's mentality, even someone as bright as Yuuki. Kirito liked her better like this. It suited her better, though she talked a little too much.
Eventually, they made it to the other side of the forest, viewing the road that headed to «Stachion» from afar. Kirito was peeking over from behind a tree and Yuuki cutely mimicked him. "Alright, Yuuki. We'll part ways here."
"Huh? Here?" She looked up at him in surprise.
"If you sprint from here and follow the road, you'll be fine. On the rare occasion a monster spawns outside of the forest, you can outrun it. If it spawns and somehow manages to hit you, then you can just drink a potion. You have some, right?" Kirito nudged the girl out from the tree and stepped back, concealing himself and his criminal status.
"I do..." Yuuki looked inside her inventory anyways, checking to be safe. "I guess this is it, huh?" She said quietly. An odd sadness befell the girl, one she didn't fully understand. This day had been one of the craziest in her life, second only to the day when she had first gotten trapped here.
It had started off fairly straight forward. Like any other day, Yuuki went out hunting. She went out to the forest near town, which was a spot the Weekly Argo newsletter recommended for players who were still beginners. As she hadn't even participated in a boss raid, much less seen a mini boss, Yuuki knew that was the best place for her to make gains.
Unfortunately, the forest had been a lot bigger than she'd thought and she was lost in no time. She had a decently drawn out map from the same newsletter that should've served as a good enough guide, but just as her sister had told her plenty of times, she couldn't navigate her way out of a paper bag.
Feeling more and more anxious, Yuuki began sprinting through the forest, hoping she'd find a pathway or reach the edge. That way, she could at least walk around. Even if it wasted her day, she would be safe.
Just as she had hoped, Yuuki emerged from one side of the forest and felt immense relief. That didn't last for long, as the sounds of battle made its way to her ears. Using the forest as cover, Yuuki made her way over to the noises and witnessed something she prayed she would never see.
It was two players in life or death combat. It appeared as if a trade had gone wrong; their items scattered out on the ground while they fought over them. The sight was horrifying to witness and she wanted to jump out and stop them, but the sudden danger had froze her in place. All she could do was watch on as it played out.
Eventually, one of the players slayed the other and a gut wrenching feeling sunk into her. She didn't know why, but Yuuki felt the sudden need to fight him. To have watched a player kill another over some items... no, regardless of the reason, a person should never kill another.
She sat their motionless, her heart screaming at her to fight, while her feet glued her in place. A couple minutes past and it appeared as if the boy was leaving. A part of her screamed at her to jump out and fight, but a greater one had expressed relief knowing that he was retreating.
Then the wicked boy called out to her. Yuuki wasn't exactly sure how he knew she was there, but she suspected it was one of those many skills she'd heard of. His call out didn't give her any other option, so she threw caution to the wind and jumped out.
Only to be defeated within a handful of seconds.
In that moment, Yuuki truly believed she was dead. Every day in this world, she had steeled herself as if it would be her last. It wasn't like it would be any different from before. Her days were already numbered thanks to her disease. Not able to feel the pain from the Medicuboid she was hooked into, she couldn't tell if her condition was getting better or worse.
Any day now, she could keel over dead and she fully believed she was ready for that. However, in that instance, staring down the edge of a sword, Yuuki had come to a swift conclusion.
She was afraid to die.
Thankfully, it wasn't her time yet. Surprisingly, the killer was actually the good guy. It was complicated, but he explained how the other guy was the one who created Sword Art Online and that he was defending himself from him. The boy's name was DragonSlayer and he had spared her.
He was... a little strange. He had talked to her casually as if he hadn't just beaten her up. He made weird jokes too, not that they weren't funny. It was just so weird. She'd first seen him as some psycho who would snap at any moment. Now, all she could see was a friendly boy who was good with a sword.
Friendly... friend...
That's it!
"Hey, Dragonslayer!" Yuuki called out, turning around to face the boy with a bright grin gleaming across her face...
...only for it to fall as the boy had disappeared.
"H-He left?!" Yuuki looked around, hoping he was just playing some prank on her. Calling out a few times, she realized the boy had in fact left without another word. Balling her hands up, Yuuki began stomping her foot on the ground. "What the heck?! You're just gonna bounce like that, Dragonslayer?!"
Her tantrum was cut short as an «Ophiometus» had spawned nearby in the forest. Yuuki yelped and bolted out, headed for «Stachion» with a large frown.
That sucked. Yuuki thought she had made a friend today. It had been pretty lonely in here without any friends. Dragonslayer seemed like a cool dude and he was really strong. She wished she could've learned from him more.
Maybe he just didn't wanna friend her?
Or maybe he didn't friend her because he was an orange player? Wouldn't it get her in trouble if she were friends with a criminal? Was he still trying to look out for her? Yuuki wished she knew.
"You could'a least said goodbye..."
She shook her head side to side and put on a smile. They'd see each other again, she just knew it! And when they did, he'd apologize for dippin' like that!
But before then, she needed to become stronger. He defeated her way too easily before and had to protect and guide her all the way through the forest.
No more! Yuuki vowed in that moment that she would become the strongest!
Even stronger than the legendary DragonSlayer!
Yuuki has officially been introduced into the story. I'd contemplated if I should add her or not many times. I thought she would bring a fun dynamic into the story, so I wound up adding her.
We also see that side of Kirito once again. Many people have asked why the story is named the way it is, despite Kirito acting like a goofball most the time. I'm sure you've gotten enough pieces to put it together by now. We'll see Kirito continue to develop in the future, for better or worse.
Kirito may try his best at teaching others, but he isn't very good at it. His awkwardness and peculiar way of looking at things made it hard to get his point across to Yuuki. It all seemed to work out eventually.
She was also very afraid to die. I've seen a few people believe Yuuki wouldn't be at all afraid if she were in SAO thanks to her illness, but I don't exactly subcribe to that idea. Even as she was dying, she was afraid. She was just prepared for it and accepted it with grace, surrounded by her friends. Here, she was in no way prepared to be blindsided with a sudden life or death battle. I imagine Yuuki would be horrified to be forced to fight someone to the death, especially a younger and more inexperienced version of her.
Thank you for reading. Have a good day.
Pa-atreon: 3sper