121Preface
Hey Everyone,
Welcome to my new story. It's a crossover set in the SAO universe, but uses the world of Danmachi as the basis for the 'game'. As someone who loves both of these series I hope my appreciation for both of them comes through without biasing one side or the other. With that said though this focuses far more on the SAO characters than the Danmachi ones.
I'm trying to write it in such a way that you don't need to have read either of the series before to understand what is going on. If some point isn't clear that should be, please let me know so I can correct it.
For anyone who has read/watched Danmachi, you'll most likely be very confused at the start with some of the differences. These will all get explained in due time.
So, with no further ado, enjoy.
-asdf
Dungeon Oratoria Online
Prologue – A New Era
Smoke hung thick in the air, obscuring the pale Autumn sun. Beneath its baleful gaze, patches of ground still smoldered and were encased with devouring tongues of flame. Amidst the ash lay the outlines of bodies, some whole, most not. Surrounding the desolate ground, high bleak cliffs.
Pushed against those cliffs was the source of that destruction. Roaring at the sky, the obsidian dragon spread its wings. However, the monster made no attempt to take off, the holes through its once proud skin prevented that. Damage dealt by the sacrifice of many.
Opening its great maw, the god of monsters bellowed its disdain upon the remainder of the puny figures left before it. Nevertheless, no fire came. The battle which had stretched for hours had drained it of the ability. While the dragon still stood tall, it was out of time. With flight taken from it, and its greatest weapon expired, a long bloody battle to the death would commence.
It had slaughtered hundreds, thousands even in this battle alone. But no matter how many it killed, more kept coming. An entire plain had been scorched bare, the heat so great that even the black rock underneath melted under the great blasts. Despite this, the warriors persevered. To rid the world of the last of the three great monsters. A paltry few warriors were left, but the dragon knew, it would lose this race of endurance.
This should have been a happy day, the coming of a new era. Brought in by the greatest heroes of the time. But from the earth crept knowledge into the dragon. The power to use an ability it shouldn't have. A gift from its mother.
Curling in on itself, the dragon tucked in head, wings and tail into as tight of a ball as it could manage. Everything was being sacrificed to pull off this one move. For it to succeed, the stone at the center of its chest needed to survive.
From its chest rumbled a voice so deep it was almost inaudible. Its presence drove the remaining heroes into a frenzy to kill the beast. For the deep rumbling was the incantation of a spell. While they didn't know what it would do, the result could only be bad. Every one of the people left alive deserved the title hero. Having slain countless monsters and achieved momentous deeds, they were the best the world had to offer. Together they beat on the unmoving form of the king of monsters. Mythical blades slashed and powerful spells descended. Slowly, the scales, stronger than any steel, began to break off. The assortment of collisions filled the air with a deadening cacophony of noise. Yet, through it all, the rumbling continued.
"Above all, I rule as King.
Let the air carry my voice, Let the water carry my blood, Let the earth carry my bones.
From the earth I was born, to the earth I return.
Divine Right!"
With a louder rumble, the spell finished. Falling back, the warriors prepared themselves for the magic, but nothing came. Instead, through the ground, they could trace tendrils of dark magic. As far as they could see, the tendrils were there. Seeming to heave with effort, the dragon began its final chant.
Growing desperate, the warriors flung themselves once again at the dragon. Tearing into it with wild strokes, they sensed the finale was at hand. Either they would finish the dragon, or it would finish them.
One minute, then a second ticked by. Desperation reached frantic levels. What was once carefully formed battlelines descended into chaos. The hours of exhaustion caught up to them. What should have been an easy, anticlimactic end, turned dangerous. Spells hit allies; errant blades clipped friends. They were all heroes, but none were the true hero. One by one they were tested, and one by one they failed. As the third minute ended, so did their lives.
"Providence of Death!"
The name of the completed spell rang in their ears and trembled around the world. Wherever there was air to carry it, the words rang and exacted their deadly vengeance. Like puppets with their strings cut, the mighty heroes collapsed to the ground dead. Releasing the last of its energy, the core of the dragon broke, leaving the body to fall into dust. Only the scales stayed behind as a testament to the once great king of monsters.
Chapter 1 – The World of Gods
"Oompf!" Receiving a blow to my thigh, my knees crumple and send me to the floor. Standing above me is my sister, Kirigaya Suguha, wielding a shinai. The bamboo sword is returned elegantly back to its ready position. The form is reminiscent of a master, despite the girl being a couple months shy of fourteen.
Placing a shaky hand against the cool wooden floor, I push off. Unbidden, a groan rises to my lips. I, Kirigaya Kazuto, whom is the elder sibling was beaten down mercilessly in the sparring match. Gasping for breath, I place a hand on my leg and the other on the wall to stabilize my posture. Falling over again would cross the line from uncool to pathetic.
"Oh, uh sorry brother."
Waving off her concern with a hand, I try to mask how much pain I'm in. If I'd received a blow like that two months ago at the start of our training, I'd be on the ground bawling. The two months of bruises had worn down my pride while building my pain tolerance, something I sorely lacked. Sugu says I'm getting better, and that all I lack is arm strength at this point. Whether she says this to keep me practicing with her is a different matter.
Gathering energy, I push my body off the wall and stand unassisted. A fresh wave of pain causes me to grit my teeth. Locating my shinai on the floor where I dropped it, I quickly scoop it up and return to my ready position. Time for another round.
Noticing my position, Sugu returns to her ready position as well. Today is a special day for both of us. For me, it's the day the servers of DOO go live. For Suguha, she has a kendo tournament tomorrow. She warned me she wouldn't hold back today. That hesitating would only slow her strikes in the tournament. Like a fool I thought I could keep up. My throbbing thigh begs to differ.
Adjusting my sweaty palms against the hard handle, I take a moment to appraise my opponent. Standing roughly 3 meters apart, it would be hard for an outside observer to tell us apart. Our heights are almost identical, and through the padding, our bodies are masked. Unfortunately, that's where the similarities end.
I hold no advantages over my opponent. Suguha's legs are nimble from years of hard work and exercises, mine are frail and prone to clumsiness. Likewise, the same comparison can be made for the rest of my body, even my sword technique is below hers. If there's one advantage I hold, it's the trait that has carried me to the top in numerous video games: my reflexes.
If I was going to survive this sparring practice, it would have to be through those. Validation for the hours spent practicing frame perfect manipulations to gain an edge over others. It was that same drive that led me here. Virtual Reality gaming, or VR, had opened a new problem for me. The device called the NerveGear covered the entire head. The revolutionary technology coined the term full-dive. It's a dream device: capable of simultaneously sending signals to all five of your senses while intercepting the signals your brain sends to your body. The result is an immersion that people thought was still decades away. Since there was no graphics and the signals were sent to your optic nerve, everything looked real. It also means that it's the same signals your brain sends to swing a sword in game as it is to swing one in real life. Hence why I'm enduring getting wailed on by my sister.
The Initial games for the NerveGear were limited in both size and scope. Everyone, along with me were waiting for one title in particular, an MMO. That's what realizes today, the new MMO, Dungeon Oratoria Online, or DOO. Due to the realism and lack of an assist system, combat in the game is more comparable to fighting in real life than a video game. After initially floundering helplessly in the beta, I remembered my kendo basics. Those aided me in tearing my way to the top of the beta testers during the beta test. Now, however, the live servers are coming up after a two-month break. During this time, I swore to do whatever I could to improve my technique for the main event. So, under the tutelage of my sister, I trained my body.
Sensing my lapse in concentration, Suguha strikes. Like a viper, the blow comes swift and strong. Yelping pathetically, I fling myself backwards out of the blow. Feeling the wind rush by my face, a brief feeling of joy rises in my breast. I dodged it!
Smiling with elation, I miss the sword's return path. Transitioning from an overhead cut, Suguha expertly brings it back up into a horizontal slash. The technique is unbelievable from one so young.
What kind of monster is this girl? is the last thought I get out before my side explodes in pain. Two strikes and I'm on the floor. Kneeling on the floor gasping, I'm unsure whether the blow to my pride or my side hurts more. As another breath brings a fresh wave of pain, I've decided, its definitely my side.
"Ah! Sorry Brother! I keep forgetting my own strength!"
Yeah, sure you do, I rage internally. A small part of me can't help but feel like I deserve these beatings. Maybe that's why I return for more every morning. Each blow to make up for the ones I should have received from my grandfather. Could there be anything more pathetic than getting saved by your younger sister? Never again.
"Ha! You thought that one hurt?" Getting up, I deliver the words with a smile. Although she can barely see my face through the mask, I can tell that Suguha isn't convinced.
"Oh… alright. Well, you can start this round."
Nodding, I accept her words. If this was the first month, I would protest that I don't need the help, but not anymore. Taking a moment, I analyze my opponent. Speed, strength, skill. On all counts I'm outclassed. Put simply, she's on a different plain from me. A level I have yet to reach.
Clicking my tongue in frustration, a thought rises unbidden to mind, she's a real monster. Eyes widening, the words replay themselves, a monster. That's right. Even if Suguha is better at kendo, I'm better at fighting monsters.
Relying on my experience from the beta, I change tactics. Closing the distance quickly, I see Suguha raise her shinai into a defensive posture. She's on the balls of her feet, ready to move at the slightest motion. Surely, she's planned out all of my options and how she'll react to them. With the difference between our bodies' capabilities, my chance of winning is basically zero.
So, I change the rules. Just before I reach her, I drop to the ground and fling my shinai horizontally at shin height. An illegal move in competition, I feel no remorse in resorting to underhanded tactics. Therefore, Suguha is slow to react. Jumping over my blade, she stumbles upon landing.
"Hey!"
Ignoring her indignant shout, I press my advantage. There can be no mercy when fighting a monster. Either you win, or you die. Rising from my crouch, I bring the shinai back across at waist height.
Reacting with the reflexes of a kendo champion, Suguha manages to get her blade in front of mine despite being off balance.
Following up, I add two more full force slashes in quick succession. This forces her back to the wall. If I can keep her hemmed in, then she'll have no room for her elegant kendo moves. Smiling, the thrill of the fight rushes in. Yes, this is what I was seeking from kendo. Some way to reawaken that freeing feeling I got whenever I fought in game.
With her back bumping against the wall, I can see Suguha's eyes widen beneath her mask. Face twisting into a snarl, she comes at me high. Her blade is poised to lock with mine. I'd fallen for this more times than I'd like to admit. Every time it ended one way. The stronger one forcing the weaker back.
This time, I don't answer. After all, you wouldn't get into a strength match with an orc. Rolling past her, I sense the end of the fight. This one strike will settle it. Whipping around, every ounce of force I can squeeze from my emancipated body goes into this one swing.
"Oof!"
I did it!
Boom!
"Urgh!" Lurching from pain, I collapse fully to the ground. It's hard to tell from the blurry vision, but I think Suguha's in a similar position as me. My blade should have caught her right around the midsection. Did the monster really manage to finish her strike and hit me on the head!?
"You got me Kaz."
The words are breathless and filled with pain. Any triumph I would have gotten from landing a blow was gone. I'd gone and hurt my sister. And to be honest, she still won. Panting on the ground, I try to collect myself. Pushing up on my elbows is a herculean task. Gritting my teeth, I force my knees under me as well.
Staring hard at the floorboards, Sweat drips endlessly unto the wooden surface. Pain attacks me from two places. First among them is my splitting head. These masks have been made to take a blow. How hard did Suguha have to swing to cause this much pain? She really is going all out in preparation for the year-end tournament. To make matters worse, the stitch in my side is back. It will probably bruise.
Time to get up. Convincing myself this is necessary; I count to three. One, two, three! Gasping from pain, the whole world tilts on its axis. Stumbling, I collide with something and end up on the floor again.
"Ah…"
The soft voice coming from beneath me is the first clue I have that something is wrong. Also, shouldn't the fall have hurt more?
Blinking I struggle to raise my head. My mask rattles as it catches on something. Another mask. Pausing I stare at my sister's red face from the other side of the mask. Quickly, my face becomes a mirror of hers.
"Oh, sorry."
"Can you get off?"
The weak voice is full of uncertainty and very unlike my sister. Usually she'd just demand whatever she wanted with a shout.
Unthinking, I nod my consent. The action rams my mask into Suguha's again forcing her head into the floor.
A cute grunt escapes her lips from the pain. Wait, cute? Something is wrong with me. Blaming the head injury, I focus on extracting myself from my sister. Gaming; think on gaming! It releases today! Even the thought of finally getting to play again couldn't remove the sensations of my sister's body as I got off her. Soft in some places, hard in others… No! Gaming! She's my sister!
Despite my best efforts as I wash up, I can't ignore a small voice that won't stop repeating one word over and over again: cousin. One word that makes both all the difference in the world, and none at all.
Sitting in my gaming chair I stare balefully at the time display on the clock. 11:41… 11:42. The slow passage of time seems to creak by even slower as I chew slowly on my pitiful sandwich. The white bread is barely heated with the thinnest layer of condiments spread on. It was all I could scrap together before fleeing the piercing gaze of my sister. Silent, yet unwavering in their tracking of me.
Putting the last of my nutrition for the day in my mouth, I stretch and focus on why I am at the computer; last minute research. While unlikely to find anything, I still look. Opening the main forum people use for the game, my face twists into a sneer as I read the trending headline.
Why the delay?
It's true, delay after delay. That was the only way to describe the game that was supposed to be the world's first virtual reality massive multiplayer online game or VRMMO for short.
But that's old news. A lottery was held, and one thousand people were given access to the game for two months. From November 1st to December 31st. The hype which had been building for close to half a year crashed spectacularly. That isn't to say the game was bad, the opposite, every detail is immaculately sketched. But it's cruel, unforgiving, and provides new players with almost no information. Which is why the delay is still trending. If the developers were initially willing to delay the beta test so long, then why is the finished product releasing only two months later. Especially amid so many mixed reviews. If it were any other game, I'd be right there, debating away with them. But not this one, they were missing the forest for the trees. Despite all of the complaints, I loved it. The raw combat, free of any aid had been amazing once I was used to it.
The beta had concluded on December 31st, 2022, New Year's Eve. Now, just after spring break, on March 4th 2023, it was here. The release of the official version of Dungeon Oratoria Online. 2023 would go down as the year the world changed. The year when VR consumed it like a wave. Giddy with the thought, my hands were shaking from imagining going back. Back to that world of swords and magic.
The events of the morning dispersed like morning dew as the time grew closer. Laying down on my bed I strap on my Nerve Gear and stare impatiently as the time crawls past. 12:55… 12:56. Drumming my fingers against my sheets, I go over my plan one last time.
The whole game is contained solely within one city, Orario. Within Orario only one dungeon exists. Only within this one dungeon are monsters born. As an adventurer, your role in the world is to aid in clearing this dungeon that has plagued the world. You have to sign up with one of the "gods" as part of their familia it was called. This is because the gods bestow something called falna which enables you to get experience and level up. Without it you'd never get stronger.
The idea of forced participation in what in other games could be described as a guild initially grated on me. In fact, it was a common thread of complaint between the hard-core gamers, especially those that like to play solo. Strangely though, as the beta went on, the complaints died down. While I had been initially turned off by the system, it turned out to be not bad.
I had joined a very laid-back god, Ikelos, in the beta who basically allowed me to do whatever I had wanted. According to Greek mythology he was the son of Night and Shadow and ruled as the personification of Nightmare. Despite the dubious background, I never had a problem with him. There were other players who had joined his familia, but I don't remember them. I spent every waking moment in the dungeon. Exploring the endless twists, and basically… getting slaughtered.
Death after death. The creator, Kayaba Akihiko, seemed to have no idea how to balance a game. It wasn't that the individual enemies were all that challenging; it was like the dungeon was actively attempting to kill you. Every time you thought the worst was behind you, or that you had escaped, the dungeon struck. When you had finished a successful dungeon crawl and were looking forward to getting back to the surface and logging off, the dungeon bared its fangs.
Shaking my head at the memories, I focused on the time. 12:59 pm. One-minute left. Breathing heavily, I prepare myself for an exhausting hour. I need to be quick. Register at the guild, find a god, grind. Satisfied with the plan, I watch the seconds role over to pronounce 1:00 pm.
"Link Start," with a smile, I intone the magic phrase that will take me away from my pitiful life as Kazuto Kirigaya. To the world where I am the powerful swordsman Kirito.
The sun hangs high in the sky, looking down upon the sprawling city of Orario. Sitting in the center of the city, the tower of Babel stands tall over the rest of the city. With fifty floors none of the other buildings even come close. Peering even higher than the circular walls that surround it, Orario is truly a unique city.
As far as I know, this is also the entirety of the aboveground world that actually exists. While the forum boards had been rife with attempts to escape, I hadn't read one that actually succeeded. And honestly, I didn't care one way or another. Everything I desire is located below the city anyway. Orario is merely the place I use to log off, restock, and update my status.
The dungeon stole my life. All mental activity, all imagination. Everything went into dreaming about it. Even my recent dabbling in kendo is to enhance my skill in game. Every crevice of the dungeon is immaculately sculpted. Every floor unique. With endless corridors, the dungeon brings surprise around every corner.
In the beta test I'd reached the seventeenth floor of the dungeon during the two months it ran. The eighteenth was within the sight, but a monster unlike any other lurked on the seventeenth. A Goliath. Only after getting slaughtered along with the rest of the raid that had fallen victim to it did I learn what it was. A monster rex. Also known as floor bosses, the goliath is apparently the weakest one.
I learned this on the last day of the test. Mouth drying out, it took me an hour to stop my hands from shaking. Since I ended the test at level two, I figure that there is a lot left. But to realize how much unexplored territory awaits me. It's exhilarating. I would spend years conquering this dungeon, of that I was certain.
First, I had to get back to the seventeenth floor and defeat the goliath. What took me two months in the beta test should only take a one now. I'd slowly grown accustomed to the dungeon's tricks and was confident in my ability to traverse its hallways, even solo if I must.
Skipping through most of the preamble of character creation, one notification catches my eye. Thank you for playing the Beta Test. Ability to play as the Renart race unlocked!
A race only selectable by beta testers. Scoffing, I ignore it and load the character I made last time. Heroic looking, I'd stuck with a human character over some of the more fantastic races that were available. Elves, Dwarves, Amazons, and all varieties of animal people lined the streets the Orario.
Interestingly, humans are considered one of the worst races, just barely above prums, or halflings as they were more commonly known as. The reason humans are looked down on was that they weren't particularly good at anything. Elves got better magic, dwarves were stronger, most animal people were faster. As one of the only races without a distinct trait, humans are considered sub-optimal.
Hearing this only makes me more confident in my choice. For some reason, it just feels right. No expectations, no limits.
Loading in with my avatar from the beta, I look around a very familiar room, the guild headquarters. This building hosts not only the central office of the guild, which is the government of Orario, but also the exchange and quest boards. Looking at the exchange I can't help but shake my head and sigh. It symbolized the biggest issue people have with this game, me included. In games a sense of realism could enhance the experience, especially in VR.
For example, the weight of the blade in your hand and how heavy it feels when swinging it can be a positive. It can enhance the feeling of actually living as an adventurer. Being forced to carry every single thing without an inventory, went over the line of being realistic into a detrimental factor. That's right, the game has no inventory whatsoever. Every single item from potions to weapons are always materialized and must be carried. Furthermore, they could all be broken. An errant monster claw could, and would, destroy your precious potion. More than one beta tester quit the game from events like these.
The biggest issue I have with this is that it makes playing solo significantly harder. Mainly because fighting with a backpack is really hard. In general, the standard solution that's been adopted is for magic users to "carry the bags". Even this isn't an ideal solution as casting magic is a difficult feat in game and carrying backpacks makes it harder. Therefore, that lead to the creation of something that doesn't exist in any MMO I know of, the supporter. Their only job is to carry the bags and pick up the items from the enemies. Distribute potions, change out weapons, and stay out of the way.
Snorting at the ridiculous notion that anyone would choose to be a supporter, I make my way to the counter. People don't play MMO's to be second best. Greeting a beautiful bespectacled elf, no half-elf I correct myself, my tongue freezes. Instead of introducing myself all I can do is nod.
"Welcome to the guild, what can I do for you today?" Opening with the perfect customer service grin, she gives me a deep bow.
Fighting to keep the blush off my face, I regret not going to one of the male receptionists. At least my life experience talking to men is a little higher than for women. Realizing I still haven't given an answer I stare into the half-elf's emerald eyes as her cheeks start to redden in parallel to mine. Perfectly cut brown hair frames her elegant face. To top it off, the half-elf is wearing the traditional guild uniform, a sharp black pantsuit underlaid with a white shirt and completed with a gray bowtie and black gloves.
"I want to become an adventurer," spitting the words out as fast as possible, I break eye contact with the confused half-elf.
Laughing lightly, the half-elf pushes a form towards me. "Here fill this out. Since today is the day of the great summoning, we assumed a lot of new adventurers would sign up today."
"Great summoning?" Curiosity winning over embarrassment, I look back at the receptionist.
"Yes…" Looking confused she tilts her head at me, shifting her shoulder-length brown hair. "It's the day the gods summon 10,000 warriors from another world to help in clearing the dungeon."
"Ah, I see," Not wanting to continue the conversation I look at the form, but my head is still wrapped in the impact of those few words. There was nothing like this in the beta. All of the receptionists had shown only the minimal ability to communicate, and never mentioned a great summoning. Not only must the AI have been improved significantly between the beta and now, they must have added in this storyline explaining our presence here.
"Is there something wrong Mister… Kir... Kir-rito? Did I say that right?"
Breath hitching, I slowly look up to meet the eyes of the concerned half-elf. I'd apparently taken too long to fill out the form due to my thoughts and the elf was worried. Unbelievable. "Its ah, pronounced Kirito actually."
Focusing on the only aspect I can comprehend; I fix her sloppy pronunciation of my avatar's name.
"My apologies Mister Kirito."
With another bow, the mysterious half-elf pronounces it flawlessly.
"H-here you go…" Stuttering a bit, I hand back the completed form. Really there was very little to do. Simply write down the name of your character and pronounce that you're looking to join a familia and begin adventuring in the dungeon. This entails that you'll follow the rules that the guild sets for adventurers.
Covering a laugh with her hand, the amusement in her eyes at my embarrassment makes me want to find a hole to crawl into.
"Best of luck finding a familia to join, please be sure to return here to finish the process once you do."
"I will," smiling politely I bow my head to ensure my sincerity in the matter.
"My name is Eina," the half-elf tells me as I'm preparing to leave, "I'd wish you luck in the dungeon... but I suppose you don't need it."
Throwing a mumbled "sorry" over my shoulder, I duck my head and hurry out of the guild. Casting one final look from the door, my view of her is obstructed by a red-haired elf fawning over his pink haired attendant.
Grimacing at my cowardice, I race towards the part of the city where the Ikelos familia house is. Due to the sheer size of Orario, I've explored very little of it. Plus, the dungeon has only given me time to ingrain the routes between a few places. The first of these is the guild house where I just left. It's one of two places one can sell the 'Magic Stones' that the enemies drop. Magic Stones power everything in this world. From the lanterns to the more sophisticated devices like the elevator in babel. This is Orario's main export to the rest of the world and why adventurers are so important. They fuel the economy by harvesting this limitless resource from the deadly dungeon.
The second place is where I am heading, Ikelos' home. Every time I died in the dungeon, I spawned back at my god's 'hearth'. For Ikelos, it was a dinky room tucked in the corner of his home. Arriving outside the place I remember leaving often, and entering rarely, I receive yet another shock. It's abandoned.
No lights lit the interior, and perhaps more telling, there are no guards outside the door. In the beta, every familia home without fail had two generic NPC guards to prevent someone from entering a different familia's house.
"Where the hell?" growing desperate I look frantically up and down the street for some sort of indication. But everything else is exactly how I remember it. There's no doubt about it, Ikelos is gone.
Turning rapidly to leave I bump into someone.
"Watch it!" The feminine sounding voice demands.
Looking down I see the petite figure I ran into sitting on the ground. No, knocked there from our collision, I rectify belatedly.
"My apologies goddess." Reaching down a hand, I offer her aid instinctively. Calling someone a goddess in the real world would be odd, but after two months of the beta test, I got used to the honorific.
"Well, at least you're a gentleman!" she declares with a huff as she pulls herself upright.
I'm pretty sure she's saying something else, but my mind can't process the words. It's currently too focused on the sheer abnormality that my eyes are greeted with. While massive breasts aren't exactly rare in a game one could argue is geared towards men; what is rare is the frame that these are stuck on. There's no doubt, this build is an impossibility. She has the frame of a little girl, wearing her hair in pigtails only furthers the look. But those breasts… I have to look away before they entrance me.
Cursing my lack of social skills, I stand there, eyes on the pavement unable to say anything.
"Hey, you look a little down. Is something wrong?"
Deciding it can't hurt, I ask the petite girl about Ikelos.
"Oh, him." Her mood going sour, I immediately regret asking. "You're better off not tracking him down."
"Well, it's not like I'm settled on Ikelos familia," the defense is strange, but it does the trick.
The goddess' eyes brighten as she scans me head to toe. "If you want to join a familia, why not mine!"
It sounded a little desperate… growing wary, "How many members do you have?"
The insensitive question froze the goddess in place. Slight chuckles rising from her still frame basically answered the question. "You'd be the first."
Ready to dismiss the invitation, I pause. Why shouldn't I join her familia? Is it not in a way better than Ikelos familia where I simply avoided the other members? That was another thing, each god bestowed the same falna. There is no advantage to one god or another except in what the familia could provide for resources.
"Then if you'll take me, it will be the two of us goddess."
Staring resolutely into her eyes, I notice a blush creep up her cheeks.
"H-hey there mister! Just because you're in my familia doesn't mean you'll be sharing my bed! I'm a virgin goddess you know!?"
"V-virgin?" stuttering to comprehend the goddess' words, my mind blanked. A quick review of my words was all it took to find where the problem had come from.
Unfortunately, the goddess only picked up on the spoken words. "Oh, I suppose now that you know that, you're going to find some other goddess and suck up to her?"
"N-no! I'm not interested… I mean I want to join your familia!" My cool had been shattered by the incomprehensible dialogue with this rogue AI.
"Hmm," rubbing her chin in thought, the girl truly did resemble an otherworldly being for the first time since meeting her. "You're telling the truth. That's always a good trait for children to have. My name is Hestia!"
Sighing quietly to myself, I follow the petite goddess back to her house. The time had come, to receive falna and renew my adventures in the dungeon.
By this time, I was getting tired of mumbling "This wasn't in the beta." But again, I found myself shocked by an unexpected twist of events. This time, it resulted in me lying facedown on a bed shirtless. The only upside was that I was facedown, which at least prevented the goddess from laughing at my scarlet face. I doubt it helped though as it surely suffused into my neck.
Apparently, this was the falna bestowing ceremony that Ikelos, "didn't have time for," in the beta. Instead he just put his hand on the small of my back for a second and said it was done.
"Are you going to update my status like this as well?" Forced to say something to break the tension, my voice cracked getting the question out.
"Hehe," Hestia laughs before plopping herself on my rear. "I had you pegged as a player based on your looks, but you're really quite shy, aren't you?"
Groaning into the pillow, I remember scathingly the hours I spent during the beta carving out this appearance in the character menu. Now it seemed like a bad joke. The goddess had gotten a read on the real me which didn't fit my appearance at all.
"No need to sulk," the goddess laughs, "I like you better this way! Besides it wouldn't do to have my first familia member's head filled with dreams of meeting girls in the dungeon!"
Nodding my acceptance, I didn't trust my mouth and merely listened to her words as she finished the ritual.
"But I must ask, why did you come to this world if not to pick up women? It's not like you'll be able to bring any riches back with you to your world."
Digesting the question, it took a long time to find a suitable response. Feeling Hestia get off my back, I slowly extract myself from the bed and don my shirt again. Facing the goddess of my familia, I answer her honestly. "I came to conquer the dungeon."
Rather than giggle or blush, as she was prone to, Hestia put a finger thoughtfully on her lips. A tense moment passed as goddess and child examined each other.
"Then I look forward to helping you achieve that, Kirito."
My expectations had been low when we visited the goddess' "house", but they had hit zero before I left to return to guild headquarters. The Hestia familia home was located in the basement of a rundown church. Apparently, people stopped going to mass once the gods descended to live among them. My options were to either use the sofa when I wanted to log off or rent an inn room.
As for how my expectations fell even lower, Hestia owned literally no weapons or armour. I'd heard stories in the beta how some familias had very poor selection, but no starting gear choices? I'll be forced to take out a loan with the guild to even get equipment. Wondering how I'd managed to land myself in possibly the worst familia in the game, I force my way through the throng of newbies milling in the entranceway.
I'd thought briefly about trying to avoid Eina as dealing with the half-elf far exceeded my experience. However, my eyes were drawn to the distinctive half-elf sitting at her booth with no lineup. Pausing a way away, I eye the closed sign that adorns her desk. No doubt I'd never get within talking distance without it.
Feeling my eyes upon her, Eina looks up and meets my gaze. Smiling she waves me over. Conflicted feelings war within me as I walk over. Part of me wishes she hadn't because all the men who notice are shooting me daggers. Alternatively having a girl who recognizes and is willing to talk me feels… nice?
"Well look who's back, and so soon at that!"
Glancing at the barebones HUD, the clock said it was 2:15 pm, or 75 minutes after server launch. While I should have known better, I was hoping to be in the dungeon by this point.
"I'm surprised you remember me; you must have gotten a lot of customers today." The words slip out naturally, even if they are a little self-deprecating.
Frowning, Eina stared at me from over her glasses.
Withering a little under her stare, I'm unable to stop myself from shuffling. Hearing giggling from the other side of the desk, my head snaps up to meet her gaze.
Hand over her mouth with red cheeks, the half-elf seemed to lose five years. While she never looked old, now she looks so much more… girly.
"I'd never forget an adventurer," Eina ensures me. "So, here's the form to finish registration."
Taking it, I fill in my god's name and that I have a falna. Ending it with a signature I hand the form back to Eina.
"You joined… Hestia familia?" Eina spoke slowly. "I haven't heard of them. Please give me a moment to confirm our information on them."
"Ah. I'm the first member…"
"Oh. I see." Slowly returning to the desk, Eina seemed confused by the turn of events. Pulling out two more forms she slides them slowly across the desk. "This first one needs to be filled by your goddess sometime this month. Basically, it's a declaration for the formation of a familia."
"Okay…"
"This second one, isn't mandatory but I'd feel safer if you do it. It's an advisor request form."
"What?" I'd never heard of something like this from the beta.
"I-I didn't mean to insult you," Eina stuttered, misinterpreting the meaning of my exclamation. "Just without familia members I thought maybe you'd appreciate having an advisor."
"I don't know what you mean by advisor," admitting my own ignorance.
"Oh," face splitting into a grin, the tension disappears between us. "Would you like to grab the forms and follow me?"
Walking around the counter, I follow the sharp dressed half-elf into the back of the guild headquarters, deeper than I'd ever gone before. Sitting in a glass walled room, it reminds me of police interrogation rooms that I've seen on TV.
Crossing her legs, Eina leans back in her chair, looking far more relaxed than she had in the main lobby.
"This is a consultation box. We bring adventurers here to discuss details they may not want others to hear."
"Alright…" I accept the explanation. "But what help could an advisor actually provide?"
Noticing Eina's grimace I realize how rude the statement must have sounded.
"I suppose that's a valid question," Eina admits to my surprise. "While I can't improve your ability to fight, don't underestimate knowledge when it comes to staying alive."
Arriving at this point, the conversation hits an unnatural pause. Staying alive. It was really only a priority to prevent losing money. When one died in the dungeon, they were resurrected at their god's hearth with only those possessions on their body. All potions and stones were left in the dungeon. Sometimes secondary weapons were also abandoned.
"I'm sorry to have wasted your time."
Mumbling quickly Eina flourishes a quick bow before trying to leave the room. Automatically, my hand finds hers as she tries to walk past.
"Eina, Miss Eina I mean, I would be honored if you'd be my advisor."
Turning quickly, Eina's face ends centimetres from mine. Staring hard into my face, she tries to determine my intentions. Whatever she found there, it seemed to have past muster.
"You must forgive me Kirito, I overreacted. Fill in that form and I'll get it approved immediately. Also, please call me Eina."
Slowly, my mind churned over the interactions I'd been having over the past hour and a half. Were these really AI? First Eina, then Hestia had continued to display a level of personality and emotion that seemed impossible to fake. Eina recognized that death wasn't permanent but seemed genuinely invested in keeping adventurers alive. I know it's in the guilds best interest for adventurers to survive as it means more money for them, but for Eina that didn't seem to be part of it. It was more like she'd had friends who never returned from the dungeon.
Handing the form back to her, I force myself to smile. "I look forward to working with you Eina."
Blushing lightly, Eina shyly takes the form. "You better be careful smiling at girls that way. Especially with a face like that."
Striking me lightly on the nose, Eina leads me out of the consultation room.
Finally, after another ordeal which Eina helped resolve of getting a weapon; I'm on my way to the dungeon. Slightly after 3 pm, the entrance to babel is within sight. It's hard to stop myself from running there. All along the street I can see the new players eager to get a chance at the battling mechanics.
Smirking at their naivety I remember how long I struggled before I acquired any grace at all to my fighting. The main reason for this is because there is absolutely no system assist to aid you. It's exactly the same as swinging a sword around with your real body. This is partly (mostly) why I'd taken up kendo in the last few months. There's a chance that those hard-earned improvements will aid me in my conquest of the dungeon. In the beta, however, I had eventually developed a style which worked; based partly on my rudimentary kendo teachings. Also, as my status increased, the weight of the sword seemed to decrease, and became easier to wield.
It was because of the lack of system assist that ranged weapons practically didn't exist in the beta. One could use a bow if they wanted, but if they weren't an archer in real life, they had very little chance of doing well. The last option for fighting was magic. What initially seemed very fun, turned out to be a let down. While it was rumoured to be very powerful, I'd seen very little magic. I'd been fortunate enough to learn one of the more useful spells when I hit level 2 in the beta. It was a short chant, that I used to stun enemies. Anything over a couple lines had a propensity to blow up in the user's face. Whether this was due to them moving, not hitting the right rhythm, or something else is still up for debate. This was why a lot of magic users were repurposed into supporters for most of the dungeon crawl.
Taking the staircase two at a time I enter the first floor and veer left. With a small backpack and a rusty one-handed sword my appearance screamed noob. Thankfully, everyone is in the same boat.
The layout of the top three floors is very simple. With a party, deaths didn't start piling up until the fourth floor and lower. The top floors are basically a large circle with spokes heading out at places along it. If you follow it to the other side, you'll find the stairs to the second floor. I wasn't planning on going that deep today. Although the enemies on the first two floors are practically identical, more spawn on the second. With literally the worst status one could have, zero points, zero magic, and zero skills, it was imperative that I increase my basic abilities as quickly as possible.
Finding an empty hallway, it isn't long until my first monster wanders around the corner, a goblin. The weakest creature in the dungeon, goblins have a basic attack pattern. Swinging one arm and then the other, they rely on short, sharp claws on their three-fingered hands to kill you.
Side-stepping the first errant swing, I meet the second one with my sword. In the competition between the weakest monster and the weakest sword, the sword came out on top. Slicing cleanly through its fingers, the goblin lost its weapon on its right hand.
Reeling back in animated pain, it charges again using its last weapon. Using the reach advantage of the sword, I cleanly remove its arm at the shoulder. Turning with a flourish, my sword decapitates the creature.
The scene would be gruesome if there was any blood. Putting it in would have increased the age limit, however, of that I'm sure. This is still the most interesting design choice that the developers made. It overshadows even the lack of teleportation and inventory. A monster's body would stay there until one either harvested their magic stone or broke it. Needing money, I obviously chose the former.
Returning my sword to its scabbard, I withdraw the weapon sheathed on my hip, an extracting knife. Designed to do exactly what it says, this only cost a couple hundred valis and Hestia purchased it as a welcoming present. Taking the knife, I make a single incision vertically along the goblin's chest. With a cavity opened up, the magic stone is visible and primed for taking. Reaching in, I take the diminutive shard and place it in the drawstring bag slung across my shoulders.
Magic stone size increases with the strength of the monster. Therefore, since I am fighting the weakest monsters, they dropped shards of stones, small ones at that.
Once the stone was removed, the corpse of the goblin disintegrated into ash. The ash fades slowly letting people know if monsters have been killed recently. Walking further down the tunnel I'd barely taken ten steps before another challenger approaches. A kobold.
The wolf-like monsters fight similar to goblins. The difference being that they are stronger, faster, and tougher. Also, they have a nasty propensity to hunt in packs. Whenever someone dies in the top three floors, you can be sure it was from a pack of kobolds.
Not waiting for it to take action, I kick off the ground. Drawing my sword as I go, I impale the beast with my lunge. Unfortunately, the beast had twisted at the last moment and my sword ran through its center; right where the magic stone is.
Feeling a slight resistance, I sigh. Shortly after, a cracking sound occurs before the kobold follows the goblin into ash.
That's another interesting feature, any monster, no matter how strong, will die when their magic stone breaks. Knowing when to take advantage of this can save your life. Alternatively, it can also cost you money, as it did for me.
Whether a god is smiling on me, or karma repaid me for breaking the stone I don't know. What I do know is that amid the ash there's an item, a kobold fang.
Containing some type of metal, drop items from the dungeon are rare and sold for far more than any one magic stone. Some drop items are used to make weapons while others make potions, similar to most MMOs. As I'd never explored the mechanics of anything beyond fighting, I simply sold them at the exchange along with the stones.
Hefting my sword, a broad smile works its way across my face. Finally, I'm back. Back to what I'm good at: gaming. The real world has lost its color. All that awaited me there is tests and complicated relationships. Besides, its not like you could ever really know someone I remind myself bitterly. But Sugu, my mind rages back. Shaking my head, the years of pessimism shoot down my newfound faith. Even Sugu would have betrayed me at some point.
Casting my gaze for something more cheerful, my overactive mind grabs onto the brightness of the dungeon. While it changed as you went deeper, the top floors are brightly illuminated. Whether it's just a gamma setting to make fighting easier or has lore implications I don't know.
"Huh?" muttering my surprise I barely stop in time. From the roof falls a dungeon crawler. The little lizards are almost worthless on their own. They presented problems if you were already fighting something else when they dropped on your head and bit you.
Lunging roughly, I impale the creature against the wall as it tries to scuttle for safety. The only move they know is to crawl up the walls and drop down on unsuspecting adventurers. Having a brown hue identical to the walls, they're easy to miss.
The dungeon crawlers are the first of many trap monsters and the only to prowl the first two floors. Extracting its magic stone quickly, I chide myself about letting my guard down. Without potions it won't take much to force me to return to the surface.
A big part of that comes from the lack of health bars. Really the only way one knew they were approaching death was that their vision would begin going black at the edges. Slowly it would seep in until you saw nothing. Next thing, you'd be standing back at your familia's hearth with no items.
With loud clanging coming down one of the side passages, I can't hold back a sigh. I'd run out of time faster than I thought. It was 5 pm, four hours after server launch and already people were being forced into the outer rims of the first floor. Maybe the party is just ambitious, but it signified what I already knew. I'd have to get stronger quickly to stay ahead of the curve and have enemies to hunt. The middle levels could easily handle thousands of players without seeming cramped, there was no way that the upper floors could. This was due to the roughly cone shape that the dungeon possesses. Every floor was larger than the one above it.
Even if only about half the players, or 5000, actively went hunting in the dungeon, there would be no monsters alive in the first two floors by this time tomorrow. Likely the other betas like me will be prowling the third, maybe even the fourth for the larger parties.
Standing my ground, I wait for the party to come into sight. Laughing loudly, they were primed to call a whole monster party down upon them. The leader of the six-man outfit is the red-haired elf I'd glimpsed briefly in the guild headquarters.
"Aww! A player, guess this area is no good either."
At his heartfelt complaint, an irresistible smile rose on my face. "A Chienthrope, a Werewolf, a Cat person, a Half-dwarf, a Hume bunny, and an Elf. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke."
What was supposed to be a light-hearted reply was apparently delivered poorly. Instead they all just looked offended.
"One more word and the only joke will be you!" This rather curious reply that was supposed to be frightening was merely comical when delivered by the Hume Bunny.
"Woah there, Dale!" the leader calmed them. "I don't think our friend here was insulting us."
Friend? Who did this guy think he was? You couldn't even trust people you've known your whole life, where did such a belief come from.
"See?" the man declared when I made no reply. "Since he's solo, I bet he's a beta tester and will teach us how to fight!"
"Eh!?" My outburst was loud enough to blow them back a couple of steps. "How can you be so bold?"
Not necessarily what I wanted to say, the honest question leaked out. In truth I'm mildly intimidated by this happy-go-lucky swordsman in front of me. How could anyone be so outgoing and trusting of strangers.
"What can I say? You look like a good guy, and we could really use instruction!"
A kobold and goblin rounded the corner closest to me. No doubt drawn by my cry. Sighing heavily, I made up my mind. "Fine, I'll deal with the kobold then watch you handle the goblin."
He wasn't just bad, he was terrible. The unruly katana had made only minor scratches on the goblin which had been replied in turn. If the fight were to go on like this, I was honestly unsure who would win.
"Just wait a moment." Calling out so I didn't get hit by an errant swing, I reach in and forcefully throw the goblin away with my open hand. "Wait for it to come to you and use a horizontal slash with all your strength behind it."
Darting out of the way, I wait to see what the outcome of this collision will be. Enraged from being tossed, the goblin throws itself at the swordsman with a shriek.
Matching it with a shout of his own, the swordsman flings the katana horizontally across his body. While it could still only be described as sloppy, it's a vast improvement. As a result, it's good enough to defeat the weakest monster in the game. Bisecting it cleanly at the waist, the two halves crash to floor and stay there.
"Um, why is it still there?"
The valid question comes from one of lackeys who didn't participate in this first skirmish. Enjoying the moment, I take the opportunity to poke fun at the amateurs.
"Well you see, this is one of the reasons this game got so much criticism."
"It did? All I read about was the unparalleled immersion and realism."
"It did indeed!" I answer with a smile. "According to polls I saw, only about 40% of the beta testers were going to get the full copy."
Pulling out my extracting knife with a flourish, I smirk at them. "A lot of that has to do with things like this." Dragging my knife across the corpse I extract the magic stone from the goblin. Tossing his prize to him, the red-haired swordsman catches it in a stupor. Turning around I repeat the process with the kobold I took down moments earlier.
"What…"
"…the…"
"…absolute fuck dude!"
Like some kind of strange comedy band, the six men look horrifyingly close to vomiting. While the process certainly wasn't pleasant or efficient, there are no graphic visions to elicit such a strong reaction.
"That will take some getting used to…" speaking weakly, the red-haired man demonstrates yet again why he leads this party.
"Yeah, after one good dungeon crawling session, you'll think nothing of it except an annoying mechanic." I assure them.
"Well I'm glad we ran into you. Otherwise we'd be returning with nothing to show for our work!"
"Did you learn nothing before coming in here?" I ask curiously.
"Our god said we'd learn better on the job!" the half-dwarf defended.
Mouth twisting into a smirk, I try to hide it behind my hand. Unfortunately, I can't keep my mirth from reaching them.
"That sly…" Swearing at their god, the party realize they'd been tricked.
"That's part of the lore," I inform them, "the gods descended to this world from their own for entertainment. Most likely they're waiting for you to spawn back at the familia home to laugh at you."
"Modi!" cursing the name of their god, the party shake their fists pointlessly at the ceiling of the cave.
Opening my mouth, I hesitate. I was going to propose I teach them about the dungeon and fighting. That way they could show up later and rub it in their god's face. My reasons for hesitating are twofold. First, did I really want to lose hours of grinding time teaching them things? Second, and maybe more important, they belonged to a different familia. One flirted with disaster when they got mixed up with another familia.
That was a testament repeated by most of the NPC's during the beta. While I personally wasn't aware of something serious coming from it, there's no reason to be headstrong. In reality, my position is extremely precarious, especially in this revamped release. I have no familia members and no resources. Thinking on it, my decision may have been a bit hasty. But by that logic, wouldn't helping out another familia be a good thing, make allies?
When my thoughts reach this point, the decision is taken away from me.
"Ah, it's almost 5:30! I'm going to log off and enjoy my pizza. Meet at the entrance at 6!"
Mumbling their agreement, the whole party open up their menus to follow.
All I can do is stare in horror. What idiots would log off in the dungeon. Your character's body never disappears. It didn't seem like they expected me to protect them for the whole half an hour. They just literally knew nothing.
"Oh right!" Hand pausing the leader looks at me. "The name is Klein! Feel free to call on Modi familia whenever!"
Staring at his outstretched hand, it takes my brain a minute to comprehend the gesture. Finally, my hand extends and clasps his. "Kirito, Hestia familia."
Turning my back on my new comrades, I figure maybe their god is right. I'd let them learn not to log out in the middle of the dungeon on their own.
"Huh? There's no log-out button."
Pausing, I consider the statement for awhile. In most games I'd roll my eyes and assume the idiot missed it. But not here. With maybe the most barebones menu possible, the log-out button is a prominent feature of it. Not bothering to turn around I open my own menu. A two-finger swipe downwards with my right hand completes the motion engrained in me from the beta. Sure enough, there it is. The log-out button in all its glory.
Mashing the button angrily, nothing happens. So, it hadn't been removed, it's just malfunctioning. Frowning I try to come up with a reason why. The other six are talking but I tone out their drivel.
Players being unable to log out is a huge issue. Ignoring the call GM button, I figure the others have already tried that. No matter how hard I think, my mind keeps coming back to one question, why haven't the servers been shut down yet?
Turning around to tell the others my misgivings, the clock strikes 5:30. Falling to his knees, Klein lets out a heartbroken wail. "My teriyaki-mayo pizza and ginger ale!"
I can only stand in silence watching as the man weeps over his missed food. All the regal bearing granted by his race has vanished behind crocodile tears. As the seconds drag by, another phenomenon occurs; we're encased in blue light.
"Teleportation?" My mumbled words are cut off as I lose sensation.
Slowly my senses come back online as my body solidifies in its new location. It seems like the game had reserved some sort of information from our previous location as Klein and co are still right next to me.
Looking around I quickly identify our location, the coliseum. I'd never had reason to enter it during the beta, but it was modelled after the roman coliseum. Its sheer size makes it a prominent landmark in Orario and takes up the most area of any single building.
Lowering my gaze, I scan along the floor where we ended up. The entire place is packed. If I had to guess, I'd say almost every player was here.
I figure it's a product of the log-out malfunction. The GMs are going to address the entire player base to relieve anxiety. But why weren't we put into the stands? Why the dirt floor?
Klein seems to be expressing similar doubts, but I ignore him. Looking into the sky, I wait for the address that is sure to come.
From nowhere, a bloodred ball appears in the sky. Growing in size it seemed it would consume the entire coliseum before stopping. A black crease spreading from the bottom, the sphere opens. From the ball appears a robed figure. No, an empty robe. Where a face should be is darkness. In the gap between the gloves and robe, no arm exists.
Fear.
Cold fear encases my body.
Have I ever felt fear like this?
Maybe when I pulled Sugu from the pond and feared the worst. Even my grandfather, when he beat me for quitting kendo, never invoked anything like this.
This is the herald of doom, bringer of the apocalypse. There would be no consolatory message here.
Slowly the robed figure raises its arms to around shoulder height. The ominous gesture silences the arena.
"Greetings players, and welcome to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko. I created Dungeon Oratorio Online for this sole moment."
Pausing dramatically, the robed figure waits for the shouts of disbelief to die down. Contrarily, I can't make a noise. Kayaba Akihiko. The name rings continually through my head. The genius who lifted Argus from an unknown company to one of the premier gaming companies. He even designed the NerveGear; mostly by himself if you believe the rumours. Likewise, his name is plastered across every promotional for DOO. This game is his brainchild. That knowledge only makes the declaration all that more ominous, 'I created Dungeon Oratorio Online for this sole moment'. One thought circles in my mind, Why?
"As you may have noticed, the log-out button has been removed. This is not a bug, it's a feature of the live version. You will not be able to log-out until the dungeon beneath your feet is cleared, and the last boss defeated. Secondly, this is no longer a game, it is a real world. If you die here, the NerveGear will send signals to destroy your brain. Likewise, if someone tries to remove the NerveGear from your head, you will die. These conditions have already been presented to the media, so your chances of dying are slim. All you have to do is focus on clearing the game.
Lastly, I have given you all a present to aid you in this regard. This concludes the tutorial of DOO. Farewell."
As the robed being finishes its dialogue, it disappeared in a reverse animation of its arrival. My brain latches onto the first thing it could process, the present. When the mirror had materialized into my hand, I don't know.
Studying it I pause. "No way…" that reflection that isn't my avatar's. The feminine face, the unruly black hair. Shattering in my hand, I have no way of confirming, but I feel it in my heart. A way to come to grips that this is the real world.
Kirito the cool adventurer had been stripped away.
All that is left now is Kazuto the nerd.
Kazuto the loser.
"Damn this guy can't be serious, can he?" scrunching my hair in my hands I look to my friends for answers. Looking around the circle I see the familiar guises of my friends' real-world appearances, their avatars taken away. Seeing that only confirms that I too am no longer Klein, but Ryoutarou Tsuboi, the 22-year-old part-time worker, part time gamer.
"I don't know dude; I mean we can't log-out." The Hume-bunny ears stuck on top of Dale's large real-world body created a comical mixture. Looking around, the races that seemed to have suffered the most, were those who chose elves, and amazons…
Amazons closely resemble humans, but they all possess distinctive wheat-coloured skin. The second trait that keeps them apart, is that they are only female. Every child an Amazon bears, is another full-blooded Amazon. There are no half-Amazons, and as such, there are no male Amazons. Since Kayaba has now restored everyone to their real-life gender and appearance, the effect is mildly grotesque.
Most likely the players kept the enhanced physical capabilities of the amazon race, but now…
Through the morose, panicking field of players, laughter cuts.
"What?" Echoing each other, I turn with the rest of my party towards the stands. Standing there is a pair of NPCs, no, gods, I correct myself.
"Get a load of this!" one of the immortal beings laughs. "The great unkillable warriors turned out to be overweight nobodies that can't even resurrect!"
"They're also all men!" the other one chimes in disgusted. "I was looking forward to picking up some hotties from another world."
"Fat chance they have of clearing the dungeon, am I right?"
"Fat chance! Good one! I bet they're all dead in a month."
"Ha! Any of them actually brave enough to set foot in the dungeon will be dead within the week."
The loud conversation echoes over the silent masses. No one speaks up to call them out on it. The truth in their words is merely another blow. Scanning my friends' faces, I can see how hard the words are hitting them. All confidence of escaping this game is slowly diminishing. Casting my eyes over the ground I find what I'm looking for, a pebble.
Cocking back my arm, I yell at them, "Shut up you good for nothing deities!" Releasing the rock, they dodge it handily in a hail of laughter.
"Nice one Klein! But what are we going to do now?"
"I'm thinking, all right Dynamm?" I spit back angrily. "Why don't we ask that Kirito fellow, he seems to know a lot about this place."
"A great idea," Kunimittz the Werewolf chimes in. "But where is he?"
Looking to where the black-haired swordsman had been during the speech is now vacated.
"Where did he go?" The open-ended question has no answer. None of us noticed him leave, and our greatest source of information has disappeared.
Where fear had once resided, hot determination took over. Running towards babel, I feel trapped. I need to get closer to home, and the only way to do that is the dungeon. Stopping quickly at Babel's usually packed exchange I take the staircase three steps at a time.
Down. Down further and further. Feet never stopping they guide me home. To where only death resides. I felt momentarily bad about abandoning Klein, but he had a full party that trusted him, they'd be alright.
Feet never stopping I found another staircase and descended that one as well. This was the second, wait that's a frog shooter, third floor. But the darkness encroaches, and the layout is no longer circular, so fourth? Finding more stairs, I go down those as well. Finally, regaining my senses, my feet stop. How did I get here? How many monsters did I slaughter to reach this point?
With a loud crash, a nearby wall falls apart. Emerging from the hole left behind, pure darkness.
A Wall Shadow.
Monsters are born from the walls fully formed. I just witnessed the birth of a monster that spawns starting on the fifth floor. Possessing a humanoid body, the Wall Shadow is of a height with me. Its two main differences are the fact that it's completely black, a shade so deep your eyes often glaze over it, unable to focus on the unnatural thing. The only part that isn't black is a silver disk in the center of its head. This apparently functioned as its eyes, enabling it to locate adventurers that dare to enter its domain. The other difference is their long arms which end in wicked claws close to half a foot long. Standing upright, its claws hang to its knees.
Taking a step back, my heel collides with a rock fragment on the ground. Stumbling loudly, I wheel my arms wildly to retain balance. Managing to stay upright, I turn to face the thing that had just spawned. Hearing the racket, it turns towards me, and my fate is sealed.
This is a fifth-floor monster. It isn't something you can fight solo with a brand new falna. I made the mistake every newbie does in an MMO at least once. I wandered into an area under-levelled and am about to pay the price.
Not only is the Wall Shadow stronger than me, it's tougher and faster as well. It's recommended that an adventurer have an average status of at least G before coming to the fifth floor. Wall Shadows are a large part of that.
The silver circle that makes up the creature's face stretches, like it's grinning. Charging, it swings its long arms like a guillotine. If our reaches were to be compared, mine would win by maybe half a foot. Trying to use this advantage to keep it at bay is futile. I have one sword; it has two clawed hands. Easily deflecting my haphazard slash with its left-hand, its right-hand strikes flesh.
Gliding backwards away from it, the damage to my upper left arm seems minor. Exchanging another flurry of blows as I retreat to the stairs, the result is the same every time. My slashes are too slow, too weak. It's like trying to fight my sister. The monster is able to deal with the blows easily and reply with deadly slashes. Only its predictable pattern of attacks has kept me alive.
Arm, shoulder, chest. One by one my wounds accumulate. Fighting off the darkness on the edge of my vision, I growl.
No. I won't be dying today.
Brain entering overdrive, I search for any possibility. Finally, I latch onto something… It's risky, but anything is better than slowly getting worn to death.
Putting some room between us, I let my sword hang by my side. The picture of a defeated opponent. Taking advantage of my stance, the Wall shadow releases a blistering attack from the upper right. Leaning to the right, the blow takes hair with it as it scrapes past. Surprised that it had missed, the Wall Shadow chains it into a horizontal slash with its left hand.
It's time.
Once the Wall Shadow is committed to this attack it's overextended. Its left arm has missed, and its right is now in an attack motion.
Nevertheless, the Wall Shadow's attack will kill. Its claws will tear through my stomach and drain the remainder of my health.
I'll die. Not just in this simulated world, but the real one too. I'll never get a chance to redeem myself to my sister. Never get the chance to close the distance with my parents. Never be able to grow up. Like a wave, the potential of the life I'll never get to experience rushes through me.
Like hell I'll let this thing take that away from me.
The Wall Shadow isn't the only one with two arms. Smiling from exhilaration I snap my left arm up into the path of the claws. Penetrating easily, the center claw goes all the way through and into my stomach. Fortunately, they don't hit any organs.
Now is my only chance. I have to end this with one blow.
"Rargh!" shouting my determination, my hate. I send my blade forward with all my strength.
For the first time, an emotion other than rage appears on its swirling silver face. Shuddering slightly, it finally understands that it's overextended. It had been baited into thinking its opponent was defeated.
Driving the tip of my sword forward, it connects with the center of the Wall Shadow's chest. Renewing the strength in my arm I push it even further in. Halfway through, the blade meets resistance, the Magic Stone.
Relief flooding through me, a crack resounds through the dungeon. Screeching with a demonic wail, the Wall Shadow dissolves into ash.
Panting heavily, I pull the claw that has been left behind out of my arm. Pocketing it, I head for the surface.
Every step is a challenge, but why?
In the beta I had been able to fight to the death without being hindered by adverse effects.
What is this strange feeling coming from my arm?
Pain.
It's slight, but distinct. A sensation that hadn't existed in the beta. As the adrenaline fades, the pain increases. It's far less than what a wound like this would induce in the real world. That thought isn't comforting though. No doubt the pain setting will slowly increase to match real world injuries.
Stumbling now, the edges of my vision press in around me.
What is happening?
Raising my arm, I got another shock. Blood. Dripping red from my wounds, I am leaving a trail of it behind me. Staining the floor, my life is seeping into the rocky ground. Picking up the pace, I stumble through the fourth floor to the third. Almost back. Just twenty more minutes. Panting heavily, strength continues to ebb from my limbs as the wounds refuse to close. They need treatment or something.
I have no potions, no bandages, and no knowledge.
The empty halls seem to be a message from the dungeon. I'm already dead, there's no reason to send a monster after me. Stumbling my way up another set of stairs, I reach the second floor. So close, but so far. Following the path ingrained in my memory, I stumble.
Falling to my knees, I gasp for breath. So much pain, my arm is on fire. Lifting it up, the sight of the round hole going all the through is nauseating. The blood continues unabated from that final wound.
Clenching my teeth, I rise. Taking two slow breaths, I lift my foot. With deliberate slowness, I take my first step; then darkness.
Author's note
Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter well enjoy to stick around for the next one.
If you've read SAO then you'll realize that this new game of Kayaba's, DOO, is a lot harsher. I'm trying to capture the gritty realism from the Danmachi universe, where they have to enter a dungeon with no game mechanics to help them.
At this point I'm sure the Danmachi readers are upset/concerned about one thing, is Kirito going to steal Bell's 'Harem'?
Short answer, No. That's not really the direction I plan on taking this, so don't bother leaving angry reviews about it.
Until next time,
-asdf
PS. Does the first-person writing work? Third is definitely easier I find.
PPS. Does this go beyond the violence limits of Teen? I don't really want to set it to mature due to Fanfiction filters, but I suppose I could.
