January 1st, 2022: 6:30PM Japan Standard Time
Floor 1: Horunka Town
After his departure from Klein in the Town of Beginnings, Kirito had managed to travel quickly to the outskirts of the floor. Within the hour he had made it to the mountainous regions of Horunka. His goal was to complete the [Secret Medicine of the Forest] quest as quickly as possible. Very few players knew of its existence and it would award him with a one-handed longsword that had lasted him the entirety of the beta.
He was set on completing that quest alongside a few other tasks in the region that would benefit him. Being alone, he had the ability to travel swiftly and safely. On his trek up the mountain paths he had stopped to loot a few caves and even gather a multitude of raw resources. All of which he was able to finish and still keep an acceptable pace.
Kirito was currently walking through the streets of the mountain town of Horunka on his way to the location of living quarters he knew he wanted to snag ahead of anyone else. It was a barn loft located at the edge of the settlement that offered a luxurious space that one could rent for a reasonable price. The accommodations were one of the least expensive someone could get on the first floor and they also came with a plethora of amenities you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else, let alone for as cheap as it was.
The fact that only one person could rent it at a time meant that as long as someone got there first and had enough cor, they could stay in perpetuity. The rental lease only became available to another player after you failed to maintain the upkeep for the day, and one could pay for up to four days in advance. It would be a perfect staging location for Kirito while he began his effort of clearing the first floor. He reached the farmhouse with plenty of time to spare, swinging open the barn doors that lead inside.
"Oh hello stranger, what a fortuitous turn of events!" The minute Kirito had stepped foot inside the home of the NPC, the male farmer engaged in dialogue with him.
Kirito raised a brow when the man spoke. This conversation wasn't part of the game during the beta test, it sounded like the start of a quest. "Is there something you need help with?"
The NPC clapped his hands together in excitement. "Why yes there is! You see recently there's been increased activity from the wildlife. They've gotten confident enough to start pushing close to the town and disturbing our livestock."
Kirito crossed his arms while he thought the conversation over. It was clearly an acceptance dialogue. "And what's in it for me?" He wanted to know if it was worth going out of his way for the task. He still needed to pick up the quest that would reward him with the [Anneal Blade].
"Well, I hadn't intended for it to be used, but we have a spare room above the barn here. If you help us out and stop the animals from causing problems I would be willing to let you stay there for as long as you'd like. I'm sure the taverns aren't the most comfortable and the room isn't being used." The NPC continued with his not quite real speech pattern along the scripted dialogue.
The cadence of the man wasn't what drew Kirito's interest. The thing his mind immediately locked onto was that the barn now seemed to be barred behind a quest. Not only that, it appeared that he wouldn't even have to spend money renting it out. If he could keep the accommodations as long as he was on the present floor for no cost, that was a boon that was well worth his time.
"Fine then, I'll help you. Do you know where these animals make their dens?" Kirito accepted quickly. At this point, getting this quest done would be a much larger benefit than he could have possibly expected. Any cor he didn't need to spend on housing could be spent on gear upgrades and potions instead, and he also got to lock down one of the prime real estate locations on the floor.
"That is wonderful news! The main threat is the [Dire Wolves] which have made their home to the west of here. They're being led by an alpha wolf that seems to have emboldened them." The NPC's response was almost instant, and in that moment Kirito saw the quest heading appear on his tracker.
The good news kept on coming for him it seemed. Not only was he going to be able to get the housing free of charge, but the location that had been marked on his map was in the same direction as where he knew the quest for the blade would take him. With a bow of his head he turned and left the house in a hurry, making his way back down the road towards his next location.
It didn't take Kirito long to reach his desired destination. He already knew the layout of the town, weaving through the roads and back alleys with practiced expertise obtained from months of previous play time. Kirito stopped in front of a comfortable looking house, bringing his hand up to knock on the door. He could hear stumbling inside followed by the sound of footsteps before the door opened.
A middle aged woman appeared before him with a worried expression etched on her face. "Can I help you?"
Kirito gave a polite bow of his head along with his reply. "I heard your daughter was sick. I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help?"
Normally you would have to get the right dialogue options for the mother to invite you inside for a glass of water. Once that had been managed, the player would then have to pick up on a few clues left around the house to trigger the coughing girl in her room. Kirito however was interested in seeing if he was able to punctuate the quest steps with the previous knowledge he had, and it appeared that he could.
"Oh…yes she is. My dear girl came down with an illness and our local healer is out of the herbs he needs to create the remedy to heal her. Was he who sent you?" The tone of the woman shifted to hopeful and a pleading look appeared on her face after hearing the possibility of help.
Kirito returned a gentle smile to her. She may have been a computer program, but there was still emotion that pulled at his heartstrings present in her words. "No, I happened to hear about it in passing. I would be more than willing to help gather these herbs for you though."
The woman's face brightened at his words, a hint of relief spreading with it. "You would? Oh thank goodness. Many of our townspeople are too scared to venture into the woods with all that's been going on recently and there's no way I could go by myself. It's just too dangerous."
Kirito's brow raised in question at the statement the woman had made. That wasn't part of her dialogue prior. It was definitely a new quest hook he would have to investigate later. "You said it was an herb, where would I go to collect it?"
"To the west of the city there is a dense portion of the forest that if you manage to trek through, you should find a clearing. Some of the nepenthes there bloom with the herb on their heads. I warn you though, it's a dangerous journey." When the NPC finished, Kirito's quest log once again updated, indicating he had advanced a step. He saw the second location of the day added to his map and was relieved to see it still in the same spot as the beta.
With another bow of his head, Kirito took a step backwards to leave the house. "No worries ma'am, I can take care of myself. I'll be back soon with the medicine I promise."
Not waiting for her thanks he spun on his heels to begin to the next location. It was time to get the quests done so he could start using the sword. Obtaining the blade so soon would allow him to get a massive jump on his leveling as well as give him a generally improved safety net. Kirito made his way to the edge of the town, departing towards the forest in question with no further delay.
The forest itself wasn't difficult to navigate. Kirito was able to make it through the thick brush without much issue. There was the occasional wolf, sometimes a nepenthes that had been separated from its pack, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. He had made it to the edge of the clearing without problems, utilizing his hiding skill to dodge behind the large trees for cover. Kirito took a moment to survey the zone ahead of him. The large clearing was home to a mass of nepenthes, more than were present in the beta. Before he could stop it, an involuntary scoff came out under his breath. This was going to be harder than he had anticipated.
As if the universe had answered the call of his thoughts, the snapping of twigs behind him drew Kirito's attention, darting around and reaching for his sword. He had begun to draw the weapon but stopped when met with the sight before him. A blonde boy stood with an embarrassed look on his face, standing in a comedic fashion. An attempted tiptoe resulted in the boy stepping on the branch that had alerted Kirito. What really surprised him was that he knew this boy.
"Coper?" Kirito asked carefully. Coper was a player he had met in the beta test. What shocked him even more was that he recognized him, which meant the young boy had used his actual appearance in the weeks of testing rather than an avatar.
Coper was silent for a few moments, narrowing his eyes at Kirito. He seemed to be trying to analyze how someone knew his name. Unlike him, Kirito hadn't used his real appearance, so it would make sense that he didn't immediately realize who he was talking to.
"It's Kirito, we did the first floor boss together, remember?" Kirito spoke cautiously so as to not alert the boy. This was a fortunate event that had fallen into his lap, another player that he knew was at least competent to help complete the quest.
"Really? Wow, you look so…different." Coper was no doubt taken back by how much younger Kirito looked compared to the avatar he had spent time carefully crafting.
The blonde narrowed his eyes in suspicion before speaking. "I suppose you're here for the quest then, I'm guessing you're the one who snagged it?"
Kirito let a laugh leave his lips and nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'll make you a deal though. If you help me get the item, I'll stick around and help you get one as well so you can complete the quest when it comes off cooldown."
He had every intention of staying true to his word. While he may be awkward and introverted, it was a breath of fresh air to interact with someone he already knew, even if it was someone he really only knew a little bit about. After having to leave Klein behind earlier in the day, it would be nice to have another companion if just for the duration of the quest.
Coper seemed to bounce the idea around in his head, taking a few moments before finally nodding. "I suppose that's fair, best deal I'll get right now since it looks like Kayaba upped the difficulty for the zone here. I guess he thought the sword was powerful enough as an early game reward."
Kirito laughed in response before drawing his sword. This time it wasn't out of surprise but instead in preparation for the combat the pair were about to engage in as a team. "I guess so, but between the two of us it shouldn't be much harder now."
Coper reached to his back with one hand and his hip with another, drawing his equipment of choice. It was the same thing he had used in the beta, a sword and buckler. He approached Kirito and looked out into the field. "I assume we're going to fight our way into the center and then back out as they respawn? Also I'm sure you remember about the little gift we don't want to attack?"
Kirito nodded in agreement with the assessment and subsequent question. The nepenthes that had the herb on its head was rare and was certainly going to require them to kill a good number of the plant monsters before it would spawn. The pair already knew about the trap that lay in wait, that being the red bulb that some of the nepenthes had on their head. It would cause additional monsters to spawn and swarm around whoever popped it. It was intended to be a response to players not paying attention while farming for the herb and spelled almost certain death to someone this early.
"Let's get started then." Coper took the initiative with both his words and actions, starting forward into the field.
The young blonde raised his shield and engaged the first of the nepenthes, stabbing at the plant with the tip of his sword. The creature let out a squeal and tried to retaliate, but was quickly stopped by the buckler slamming into its face. Kirito wasted no time jumping in to help. He ran around the plant-player pair, flanking the nepenthes. They hadn't aggro'd any of the others yet, meaning Kirito could use this chance to rip into the first one.
Kirito drew his sword in an upward slash, slicing the back of the creature which caused it to let another chatter of pain into the air. It seemed to keep its focus forward on Coper, so he continued without pause. He brought the blade back down across the rear of the creature's neck. With a final cry of pain it shattered, and it was just in time too.
Both players turned their attention further into the field when the sound of chattering increased in volume and frequency. Multiple nepenthes had been drawn to their engagement. Kirito brought his sword to a ready position and let Coper move past him to take the front as he was able to guard more effectively with his shield. It was a nice surprise for Kirito to be able to fight alongside someone who he could trust. He was used to running solo, but it was an MMO after all, being with another player cut the difficulty down exponentially.
The nepenthes jumped forward in a swarm to try and break through the blonde's defenses. With how few of them there were though, the attempt was futile. Coper warded the creatures off and staggered them with a shield bash. This allowed Kirito to rush forward and jump over his ally in an arc as they stumbled backwards. He turned his body while airborne and brought his blade with him. The crescent trajectory of his sword connected with two of the three staggered monsters, causing them to explode in the expected manner.
Kirito landed with grace, using his legs to absorb most of the impact. Coper was already moving forward once again to engage the remaining nepenthes. With a swift slash and another shield bash, the last of the group was defeated. They weren't difficult monsters, they were only really a threat when they massed into large groups.
The pair continued their onslaught through the field with relative ease. With two beta testers, fighting through the nepenthes was like carving a cake. One after another they fell to the coordinated duo, allowing them to make circles around the field in an attempt to force the quest monster to spawn. After an hour, which was much sooner than Kirito had expected, they spotted it.
Ahead of them was a group of four nepenthes. Two were the normal variety, one had the red bulb they knew to avoid, and the last one had a white flower blooming atop its head.
Without thinking Kirito rushed forward. While he had no reason to distrust the boy he had been fighting with, his instincts still kicked in and pushed him to attack the creature before someone had a chance to swoop in and steal the item he needed. Kirito weaved through the first two nepenthes when they directed their attention towards him, dipping down to avoid the lashing arms.
He could faintly hear Coper's words of opposition behind him, but he was too far in now to stop. Kirito darted upwards out of his dodge, bringing his sword up with him to stab the tip of his blade through the underside of the flower nepenthes' jaw. With a wail it reeled backwards, health immediately dropping to zero. The one bonus to the creature being as rare as it was, it was designed to be easy to kill and was already a weak monster type. It shattered into pieces and soon after the quest update in the corner of his vision alerted him he had obtained the item he needed.
Kirito breathed a sigh of relief when accepting the loot. It had taken him many hours during the beta test to get one of the creatures to spawn. This time was significantly shorter, a nice change of pace from the other alterations that had been made to the game since he last played.
His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden popping noise next to him. Kirito looked to his left just in time to see the trapped nepenthes die in a ball of flames, the exploding bulb signaling what was about to happen.
He snapped his gaze to Coper ready to chastise the blonde, but he noticed something wrong immediately. The look on the boy's face was one of determination, eyes locking with Kirito's. He shot Coper a questioning look as if he was waiting for an explanation that would make sense of everything.
"Sorry man, I want to survive and that sword is the best chance I've got right now." Coper didn't sound remorseful in the slightest. Just like that Kirito's world came crashing down.
It wasn't that he was especially close to the boy, but he had known him. "What the hell!? Coper I said I'd help you, what are you doing?" Kirito's voice was laced with betrayal, tightening his grip on his sword.
"Who knows how long that would take, and then I have to hope I get the quest after it resets. If I just take you out of the picture now, I can get the reward and move on." Coper's voice was void of emotion.
It was such a sudden shift in personality that Kirito had to stop himself from getting whiplash. This man…no this kid, was going to try and kill him over an item. An item he was willing to help him get. At this point the horde of nepenthes had already started to surround them. Before Kirito had a chance to take stock of the situation he heard Coper rush forward.
He managed to bring his blade up just in time to intercept the sword aimed at his torso. The steel clashed with brilliant sparks as he turned to stare Coper in the eyes. Kirito felt a glare creep onto his face, reaching his other hand to grab the hilt of his blade to support himself. He hadn't expected to fight another player this soon, and definitely not in an actual deathmatch.
Before he could muster a response he felt the wood of Coper's shield slam into his gut. Kirito lurched backwards and gasped for breath as the wind was knocked out of him. He stumbled backwards, barely able to bring his sword up to parry a strike towards his gut. Kirito looked past his now opponent, spotting the horde of nepenthes descending upon them. In response, he disengaged from the duel and dove to the side. He narrowly escaped another attempt from Coper to bash his shield into the fellow beta tester, falling into a roll to create distance between the two of them.
Behind him, Kirito heard Coper hiss in pain. A nepenthes had managed to slash him with its vines because he was distracted. The blonde swung around with his shield, slamming it into the plant monster's face and causing it to stumble backwards. While Coper was distracted, Kirito shot up from his roll and slashed at the nearest nepenthes with a sword skill. He was doing his best to split his attention between the mass of creatures and the player now both trying to kill him.
He blocked another vine with the flat of his blade, turning to see Coper finish off another nepenthes before turning back to him. Kirito grunted and sliced the vine off as Coper approached. This time Coper didn't engage in melee. Instead, Kirito saw the hand that held Coper's sword make a swiping motion towards him. Kirito's eyes went wide when he saw fire crackle to life at the tip of the blade. It quickly formed into a ball, Coper slinging it at him like a rock.
Kirito darted to the left and pressed forward. The fireball sailed past him and impacted with one of the nepenthes behind him. He didn't have time to stop though, closing the gap between the two players with only a few strides. Coper didn't seem to expect him to move as fast as he did, and on instinct Kirito took advantage of the younger boy's surprise.
He hadn't intended to, but his body moved his arms on its own and slipped past Coper's defenses, the blonde's reaction time unable to keep up with Kirito. With a sickening slice his blade slid into Coper's gut, causing the boy's eyes to shoot open in surprise. It took a second for the shock to catch up to Kirito with what he had just done. He quickly pulled the blade back, stumbling backwards.
"I'm…I'm sor…" Kirito's apology was cut short. With the opening he made by stabbing the other player, the horde of nepenthes had massed together and jumped onto Coper. With a sickening scream, the boy was pulled into the sea of green that had formed around him. Kirito's eyes closed involuntarily, looking away when the gnashing sounds of flesh began to fill the air.
The nepenthes had started to attempt the same thing against Kirito during his shocked state. He had to shove the emotions he was feeling down for the time being to focus on getting out alive instead. His eyes immediately started scanning the field to form a plan.
While the two of them had been fighting, the pair had been able to kill enough of the plant creatures that Kirito could dodge between them safely. A few swings and offhand kills later, he managed to break free from the mass of monsters that was still devouring his 'friend'.
"Oh Go…I'm Sor…ple…lp…me" He heard Coper's cries of help muffled under the pile of nepenthes while he broke free of the horde. Part of him wanted to turn right back around and help, but he froze in place. This boy had just tried to kill him. If it was any other player he probably would have succeeded. If he didn't go now, there was a high chance the nepenthes would crowd him next. Kirito took a struggled breath and with a single decision, sealed the fate of the boy. He sheathed his sword and turned around, darting into the woods. The last thing he heard was the cries of the boy and the telltale sign of shattering that signaled he had died.
Kirito wandered aimlessly for the next few hours. He had headed back to the town to turn in his quest, not bothering yet to inquire about the information he had learned earlier. He was too busy with his own thoughts at the moment. After turning in the herbs and making sure the woman's daughter was healed, he was awarded his new sword.
With his improved weapon he had managed to clear the dire wolf dens absentmindedly while contemplating his emotions regarding the events that had occurred. Now, he was currently tracking the last dire wolf through the forest, the alpha that he needed to kill to complete his quest for the barn and rid them of their wildlife problem. The only excitement he could bring himself to feel currently was the thought of a warm bath at the end of the day from the tub the room had. He really hoped it was still there, he would personally strangle Kayaba if he had removed it.
His nerves were completely shot and his emotions had just started to rush back through his veins now that he had spent enough time in silence. He felt the blood pounding in his ears, running the situation through his head over and over again. He was trying to analyze it for any sort of clue as to what he had missed. Surely there had to have been some signs of the boy's ill intent right? It didn't matter how many times he thought it over though, Kirito couldn't find what he was looking for.
He was torn between depression, anger, and relief over the situation. On one hand he had just survived a murder attempt. Anyone would be relieved over that. On the other hand though, someone he loosely considered a friend was the one behind said attempt. Not only that, but Coper's actions had lead to what essentially amounted to indirect suicide. Kirito was confused about his emotions to say the least. He wasn't going to get a chance to process the situation though. In the distance, he heard a terrified shout.
"Asuna no!"
Kirito's head shot to the direction of the shout. He came to a stop and his moral dilemma came crashing back in full force. The rational side of him wanted to immediately sprint towards the cry for help. Another player was in danger and that meant a possible loss of life. The other part of him felt fear rush into the back of his head. One of those players had just tried to kill him. It was a harrowing realization to know a real person had wanted him dead. Part of him had still held onto the romanticized version of the game, even after Kayaba's declarations earlier that day. That same part of him had been shattered after Coper. Just like that, the general distrust he had in people had been amplified ten fold.
A roar coming from the same direction snatched him away from his thoughts. He realized that the roar was from the dire wolf he was hunting. It was all too easy with that information to convince himself to rush towards the players. He wasn't risking danger to help someone, he was going to finish the quest he needed. Kirito drew his new sword as he ran, making his way through the trees.
When he cleared the forest line he had arrived at a dirt road, but he also was met with a gruesome sight. Off towards the opposite side of the path a purple haired woman was slumped against a tree that after getting a closer look, had a large human sized dent in it. No doubt she had been shoved into it. She was completely knocked out, but it appeared she was still alive.
Towards the middle of the road itself was the most immediate threat. The dire wolf he had been hunting towered over a blonde woman who currently seemed to be frozen completely in place. The creature's mouth alone was the size of the woman, beginning to wrap its jaw around her torso. She stared up at the monster with a mix of terror and acceptance. It sparked something in Kirito, an urge to protect her.
Launching off his feet into the air, Kirito brought his blade forward and sliced through the eye of the dire wolf. It let out a howl of pain and stumbled backwards allowing him to land. He instinctively moved to put himself between the wolf and the woman behind him. Once he was sure the creature's focus was on him he rushed forward.
The creature was fast, but he was faster. He managed to execute sword skill after sword skill, landing each blow against the creature while simultaneously dodging and weaving each strike the wolf attempted to land. It was a dance to him, shifting from movement to movement with familiarity. A deafening roar of agony signaled the monster's health dropping into the red.
Kirito pushed off the ground with his legs and launched himself into the air. Bending his body in a familiar crescent shape he managed to swipe the edge of his blade through the dire wolf's other eye. It bellowed in anger in response to the blow, giving him enough time to complete his maneuver and land on its head.
With a deep inhale Kirito prepared his sword, pulling it up above his head. The blade began to glow a deep blue signaling his intent to activate a sword skill. The dire wolf flailed underneath him in an attempt to buck him off, but it was too late. He drove the tip of his blade downwards, letting the skill execute and driving the sword into the skull of the creature. With a final cry of pain he felt the body go limp under him. Before it could disappear he lept off the head and landed a few feet away from the woman.
"Are you okay? How much HP do you have left?" Kirito felt an unexplainable worry drip from his voice at the sight of the woman in front of him.
He was close enough to get a better look at her now. She had chestnut hair that went past her shoulders and down her back. Parts of her hair were braided like a wreath trailing behind her scalp and forming a ponytail. Kirito had to admit, she was pretty, but that wasn't the main thought on his mind right now. The woman let out a cough causing him to instinctively open his menu.
"This should be enough to get you back to town. I'll stick around until your friend wakes up." He managed to get the words out as he scrolled through his menu, stopping at the large number of potions he had stocked up on earlier in the day. Now that the rush of the battle began to wear off, Kirito felt his nerves returning.
He drew his anneal blade upwards to return it to its sheath. However when he went to slide the sword into its scabbard he missed. Not once, not twice, but three times before he finally managed to put the blade away. He felt his cheeks grow red out of embarrassment and looked away quickly. His entire persona attempting to appear cool had shattered from that single mistake.
The woman began to sit up, but just as quickly succumbed to another series of coughs. She fell backwards clearly in pain, clutching her stomach. A moment later her body went limp which caused Kirito to lunge forward.
"Hey! Are you okay!?" His words fell on deaf ears, the woman had clearly lost consciousness. Kirito froze with the situation presented to him. These two players had done nothing wrong. They hadn't hurt him, they hadn't betrayed him. If anything, it was partially his fault they even ended up faced with the dire wolf. He was the one that had driven it from its lair and pushed it out this far. Kirito let out a groan of annoyance. Damn his brain's sense of morality.
He walked behind the woman now passed out on the ground, slowly coming to rest behind her. He bent over and hooked one arm against her back and the other under her knees, being mindful to try and be as respectful as possible. He lifted her with relative ease due to a mixture of his strength stat and the woman's small frame. Kirito slowly walked her over to the purple haired woman and with care set the brunette against the tree beside her.
He wasn't going to force potions down their throats right now, he felt like that would be weird given they were two young women passed out in the middle of nowhere. Instead he opted to cross his arms and stand watch.
He had made it in time to save them, for that he was grateful. Even with the rush of emotions he still felt raging inside of him, it was impossible to ignore someone who needed help. He wasn't sure what else he would be willing to do for them, but the least he could do was make sure they woke up before he left them.