Sword Art Online: Recurrence

[LatinoHeat90]

Crod's axe struck the ground. He stood hunch over, data flakes flowing past him as he destroyed a random monster. He took a moment, leaving the axe wedged in the dirt. " Perhaps I past them." He had been looking for the couple he had saw earlier, but he wasn't having much luck. "I can't keep this up. If I don't make a run into town I'm going to be putting myself in danger." He grabbed the hilt of his axe and unwedged it from the earth, placing the axe on his shoulder. He was becoming disheartened. He was actively seeking help from others, a trait he normally doesn't exhibit. Perhaps it wasn't meant to be.

He began to walk towards town until he heard something. He quickly turned in the direction of the noise. It sounded like players talking. He made his way towards them, hoping that it was the pair from earlier. He had to push his way through some brush as he moved. It began to thicken. He was half temped to take out his axe and began chopping everything down. All of a sudden he was in a clearing. He had moved through the brush with such momentum that he stumbled out of the woods. He fell to the ground after failing to regain his balance. "Damn" he whispered to himself. He hadn't adjusted to the light, but when he did he saw the samurai and the pink hair girl in front of him. Both staring at him.

 

[Max]

"You're so weird." Viola said. I kind of felt my face slip into a frown at those words, that is until I noticed she was smiling and preparing to accept my request. Her health bar showed up beside mine, and I gave myself a silent vow that I would do my best to never let her health go empty!

"Neat. Anyway, come on. I have a bag full of junk to sell. And you need to do crossword puzzles for me." She grabbed my sleeve and started pulling me along. "Crossword puzzles?" I asked her as we moved along. "Um, I guess I'm okay at crossword puzzles... Is that some kind of quest? Never mind, your wish is my command!"

After being pulled along a bit further, which I was probably enjoying all too much, we heard an announcement. It was official that the next boss was required to be fought within a group. "Lucky we just teamed up then I guess. The boss is probably a big baddy for sure if a group is required."

"What's that about, again? I joined and kinda just skipped all of the reading. We're going up a tower or something, right?"


I was baffled. Was she serious, she just jumped into this tourney with no idea what her goal was... "Bahahahaha!!! I didn't realize you were so funny Viola!" I felt tears begin to stream down my face. She really had me there, she actually had quite the poker face!

In the midst of my laughter, I barely noticed the boy that fell at my feet. All of a sudden I felt myself enter serious mode, and I wiped the tears of laughter from my face. In my deepest scariest voice, I proclaimed to the boy "You better not have come here looking for a PvP, because I will fight you to the death to protect my beautiful Sunny Delight here!" I drew my sword and stepped out in front of Viola. "Don't worry, I won't let this scum of the earth anywhere near you my delicate little bunny."

 

[LatinoHeat90]

"You better not have come here looking for a PvP, because I will fight you to the death to protect my beautiful Sunny Delight here!

Don't worry, I won't let this scum of the earth anywhere near you my delicate little bunny."

OH SHIT! This is not what I planned on. I jumped to my feet grabbing my axe. My face turned serious. I was about to get in a fight and I wasn't ready for it. I held a defensive stance, axe ready.

"I'm not looking for a fight and I don't plan on hurting your Sunny Delight. I have been looking for you both, I have a question. Will you here me out?"

I don't know if this guy is going to listen. I might have to fight this samurai.

 

[Max]

"I'm not looking for a fight and I don't plan on hurting your Sunny Delight. I have been looking for you both, I have a question. Will you here me out?"

The guy raised his axe ready to defend himself. But he seemed flustered. I held my sheath at my side and slowly raised my katana as I began circling him, observing him. His posture and his tone of voice suggested that it wasn't a fight he wanted, but...

"You aren't going to fool me with your sing-song tom-foolery!" I turned my cheek to direct my voice at Viola without taking my eye off of the unknown player. " Learn a lesson from this Viola, my beautiful buttercup, you cannot trust many players in this world. You see how he cowers and his voice shakes? He is what some would call a master of disguise! He wants us to think he doesn't want confrontation, and then the moment we let our guards down- he'll chop off my head and take advantage of you!"

I shot a glare directly into the eyes of the player. "This ends now pervert!" I readied my blade and began my charge.

 

[LatinoHeat90]

"You aren't going to fool me with your sing-song tom-foolery!"

"Wait, I...."

"Learn a lesson from this Viola, my beautiful buttercup, you cannot trust many players in this world. You see how he cowers and his voice shakes? He is what some would call a master of disguise! He wants us to think he doesn't want confrontation, and then the moment we let our guards down- he'll chop off my head and take advantage of you!"

What the hell is this guy saying. Take advantage of Sunny Delight? Viola? I was caught off guard all right, I was completely lost. The samurai shot me a look and charged.. I didn't have much time to think but I wasn't going experience my first death here, against this guy.

"This ends now pervert!"

"I'm not a perv....ah!"

I raised my axe and charged toward him. Shit.

 

[Max]

"I'm not a perv....ah!"

He started charging at me as well, the fight was on. It was kind of exciting.

"Enough with the lies! You have already been exposed for what you are, so let's have at it!" We were slowly gaining on each other. I eyed Viola's health real quick. It was still full, of course, and this guy better not change that.

Just as we finally made it within attacking distance, I activated my sprint skill and did a quick side step to his left. Just as my slide came to a halt, I slashed my sword from my hip in an upward motion towards his chest. Let's see how skilled this guy really is.

 

[LatinoHeat90]

"Enough with the lies! You have already been exposed for what you are, so let's have at it!"

There was no reasoning with this guy. I was getting just close enough to attack when the samurai executed a quick slide to my left and slashed his sword at me from his hip. The sword would have hit right at my chest but luckily I blocked it with my axe handle. The sword struck the handle right between my hands. We were locked for just a second when I heard a small thud. I looked down to see my index finger from my left hand rolling around on the ground. Shear terror struck me as if I lost my finger in real life. I jumped back, breaking our lock.

"My finger!" I looked at my hand and for some reason an incredible rage hit me. I looked back at the samurai with a hate filled glare. "If you want a fight that is what you are going to have." I ran at him, leapt in the air, and swung down at him with everything I had.

 

[Max]

He had pretty good reflexes. He blocked my attack just in the nick of time, and I looked to his face only to see a look of sheer terror.

"My finger!" He screamed after jumping away from me. I looked down to the ground and felt bad when I saw his lone finger disintegrate into data on the grass.

"I'm so sorry... That your fingers weren't better equipped!"

His eyes filled with rage. "If you want a fight that is what you are going to have."

"I never said I wanted a fight! You were basically undressing my fair lady with your eyes, what did you expect!"

I felt my eyes filling with rage now as well. He jumped towards me and brought his axe down. Rather than block, I attempted a dodge and spun to the right. I felt his axe come down through my shoulder and drain a chunk of my life. I misjudged the time I had left on my sprint, and it must have entered cool-down just before he struck, slowing me down a good bit.

Rather than step back and heal, I decided to take of advantage of him recovering from his attack and lunged forward with a thrust toward his stomach area.

 

[LatinoHeat90]

This guy is good. He took the hit from my axe but he had the presence to attack as I recovered from my attack. Data gushed from my stomach. I had turned at an angle, seeing his sword thrust but I merely cushioned the blow. As he lost a chunk of health, I had lost nearly the same amount. If that wasn't enough his comments continued to baffle me. He really believes what he is saying, or is he just being a smart-ass.

As the sword slid through a portion of my stomach I also had to capitalize on the situation. I began to lunge at him with a knee strike to his stomach, in order to stagger him.

 

[Max]

My sword strike connected, so thankfully my gamble panned out. But he used the same strategy I did and rammed his knee into my stomach before I had the chance to pull my blade from his gut, only further draining my health. I was currently on the losing side as far as HP was concerned.

I grabbed a hold of his knee before he could pull back to the ground. Getting my second wind, I pulled my sword out of his stomach and pressed it up to his axe to help prevent an attack on my head seeing as how he had the high ground. Pushing my sword against his axe and lifting with all my might, I gave it my best to flip him onto his back.

 

[LatinoHeat90]

I felt as I had the advantage when my knee struck him. I was winning but I was too afraid to stop, it could turn around at any moment. I raised my axe to strike him but he anticipated that. He sword prevented me from attacking. I felt myself lift off the ground slightly. He was putting all of his little heart into it. I let go of the axe with my left hand and punched him in the face. For a split second I caught a glimpse of my index fingerless hand. At that moment I was completely lifted off the ground and was flung unto my back. I hurried to my feet keeping my axe up towards him in case he continued his assault.

 

[Max]

I felt the pressure on my right arm lighten up as he pulled his axe away. This was just before I took a clean punch to the face. I didn't let up on lifting, but my head almost seemed like it was about to snap right off of my neck as it whipped in the direction he hit me. Suddenly though, I felt my entire body straightening up as he gave in and his body flew backwards onto the ground. It seemed like he was going to have me there, and I didn't have any clue what shifted the tide of that struggle.

I didn't waste a second. As he climbed to his feet, I rushed towards him. He was already in a stance to block, but I was hoping to use that to my advantage.

Time for a bit of strategy. I began with an obvious attack towards his chest again, attacking right into his defending axe. Hoping this would fluster him, I initiated my now cooled-down sprint. I combined my increased speed with my acrobatics to do a little leap, placing my hand on his should to help push myself over him before triggering a sword skill.

"Gengetsu!" Even if he managed to turn around and attempt a block, I only hoped that he'd be thrown off by the Phantom Moon's irregular half-circle. It should appear to be aimed at his head, but shift down towards his mid-section in the last moments of the strike.

 

[LatinoHeat90]

I was flustered to see him attack my already blocking axe. In a moment, he went from his strike to leaping above me to attacking the mid section of my back. I had no chance to turn around. I was flung forward, my face hitting the ground and sliding a couple of yards, the force was so great my legs lifted above my head in a scorpion position until my body came to a halt. I laid there for a second.

"Dear God." His improvisation had me off guard. I have to start taking his fighting style into consideration. He was using his speed to his advantage, I feel like I need to start using my power. My health was under his now. I had felt so confident that I had this fight in the bag. I stood up, a little slower than usual, still feeling his Gegetsu! I began to run at him. When in range I threw my axe in the air, hoping to confuse him for just a second.

"Bull's Rush!" I was ready to ram my shoulder into his body taking whatever damage necessary in order to complete my attack.

 

[Max]

"Dear God."

I looked to his body that now lay on the ground a good distance from me. "Do you always talk to yourself like that..." I paused for a second to catch my breath, "...Pervert-Weirdo." I opened up my inventory while he was down to find that I sadly didn't have any healing items.

He made his way to his feet and began yet another charge at me. We were both close range fighters, one of us had to go in head first. I readied myself in a defensive stance this time, holding my katana up to protect my front. My feet were ready for another swift dodge when suddenly he tossed his axe into the air.

Wha- My eyes flickered up in reaction, and then it was to late.

"Bull's Rush!"

I should've realized it was a ploy. I felt his shoulder ram into me and I was lifted lifted off of the ground. His charge continued and it was as if I was glued to his shoulder, unable to wriggle my way off. My health dropped from about 40% to 20% from just that one blow. I tightened my grip on my sword and started making several wild attempts to stab at him from my awkward position.

Before I could be sure of if any of my attacks connected, I felt him ram me right through a tree. Chips of wood spread about in all directions as the tree was literally broke in half by our impact, and my health dropped to a measly 10%.

I don't know when it happened, but I eventually fell off of his shoulder. I got up to my knee and leaned forward on my sword, listening to the annoying blip of my health bar. I looked over to Viola to make sure she was still alright, and I only hoped that this fight would end in our favor.

 

[LatinoHeat90]

I connected with my attack. It was a desperate move but I felt this was the only way of leveling the playing field. As the samurai was stuck on my shoulder I felt his slashes and jabs dwindle my health. All of a sudden I feel a tinge of resistance but it quickly gives way as a tree splinters around us. The force threw me off balance and the samurai slipped off my shoulder. I staggered to the ground, trying to stay up as my momentum slowed. I looked around frantically for my axe. I caught a glimpse of the handle and ran toward it, it being a couple feet away. I again tripped as I grabbed it, still flustered from the whole ordeal.

I found myself staring at the samurai. Both of us were on one knee, resting, using our weapons as braces. His health and my health nearly matched, perhaps they were the same. I welcomed the moment of calm. I had no idea what to do next.

 

[Cassette-Disk]

As the pair walked, Musashi laughed off her question.
"O-oh yeah," Viola said, trying to keep a straight face. "That's uh, that's me alright. I'm a big joker...haha..." She decided that the best course of action from here would probably be to pretend to know what was going on and do her own research later on. Shorty after, another player fell out of the nearby bushes headfirst, causing Viola to take a step back. "Whoa," She stammered, "Hey! Are you dead?! Mortally wounded? ...Maybe just slightly injured?" Musa took the the newcomer with very little confidence, referring to her as 'sunny delight.' What was she? Orange juice? Wait, now he's calling me a rabbit?

"Uh, Musa? I don't think we really need to worry about him being against us or anything..." Unfortunately, her comment fell on deaf ears as the two rushed each other and began trading blows. "Guys?" Viola said, waving her arms while trying to catch their attention. "Hellllloooo? Hey! Lookitme! Yo!" As the violinist danced around the fight, she began to notice her partner's HP begin to dwindle, especially after taking a particularly forceful blow that nearly toppled a tree. This wasn't good. Pretty soon she'd be flying solo again, and the new comer didn't look so hot either.

Both fighters were down for a second, and Viola used the moment to spring into action with a stupidly simple plan. She hurriedly opened her inventory and selected the musical instrument she had gained from a drop and equipped it. The viola materialized in front of her instantly, and she took her well-known starting position and played a screeching set of notes, ones that would be impossible to ignore in order to catch both fighter's attention. When she was sure she had both of their undivided attention, she unequipped the instrument and walked to the samurai.

"Don't talk." She said as she selected a healing potion from her bag and brought it to Musashi's lips. When he had finished it, she slapped him across the face with an open palm.
"What's the matter with you?" She said loudly. "A dude fell out of the bushes and you try to beat him up? What if he was hurt and needed help?" The girl placed her hands over her hips and turned slightly so the samurai could see his opponent. "Apologize to him." She instructed. "Now! And you!" Viola added, pointing at the axe-wielder. "Man up! You don't just let someone start swinging at you!" The violinist threw another potion at the newcomer before crossing her arms. "Who even are you anyway?" Look at you, taking charge. If only your roommate could see you now.

 

[Kiba]

The wind wafted through the girl's long, smooth, black hair. The artificial world was expertly built—wind, heat, the grass beneath ones toes— it was all present. Her footsteps echoed softly as she walked on the hard cobble. The first time Samantha had entered the new world, it had really amazed her. It was a huge leap in technology. Not only video games, but science as a whole. All senses were utilized as opposed to the rudimentary focus on sight and sound. Touch, Taste, Sight, Sound, and Smell were all engaged within the virtual world. She could foresee it being used across many areas of life by the time she finished with college.

The walk to the level portal was about ten minutes away from Sam’s small one-room cabin. She walked through a small side street that opened up on the middle of the town. When she arrived, there was a large group of people gathered around the portal. It was set in the middle of a quaint town. Definitely smaller than most of the earlier levels’ portal towns. She sauntered past all the people and into the portal. A mental note of how many people stopped what they were doing and watched her was taken.

None. They were all too preoccupied with the the latest announcement to care about a mediocre player like her. Shrugging it off, she warped herself to the 29th level. The shops there were more accustomed to buying the crops and weapon materials she’d scrounged up for more Col than any of the lower levels. Or, at least, that’s what she told herself. The real reason she'd sold her item on the highest level was for a change of scenery. The lower levels were too familiar to her since she'd spent most of her early days in the game there. There was a flash and a quick closing of the eyes and she had arrived at the busy 29th level.

People were running about, still buzzing from the announcement. Most were looking for their friends. Some were simply asking around for any clans to accept them. Sam felt her heart race a little as she watched some of the stronger, higher level players enter the town square. She had no intent on asking them for acceptance into their group. They were intimidating as it was and they wouldn’t want someone to drag them down.

Turning her attention away from the multitude of players, Sam made her way to a little shop in the western district of the town. “Uhm, hello?” She asked as she entered the store. An elderly looking NPC popped his head from out of the back. “Ah! Hello! I’ve got some stuff to sell.”

The man laughed causing Sam to look around confused. “Welcome!” He exclaimed. “I am Gorou! Come in. Come in! Sam?”

A smile spread across Sam’s face. “Uh, yeah. How’d you- Oh, right. You’re an NPC!”

“I’m not NPC!” Gorou defended, crossing his arms. “I am Gorou! Player. Owner of Gorou’s shop on 29th level! Not NPC! Gorou remembers Sam from previous transaction!”

“Okay.” Was all Sam could think to say. The situation was a little awkward. “I could have sworn you were an NPC.”

The old man shook his head fervently. “Been playing forever! Since incident. BUT that’s all in past! Gorou is low on items. What does pretty Sam bring?”

————
After a lengthy and unimportant conversation, Sam exited the shop a couple hundred Col richer. She stretched her limbs and began a slight jog towards the level portal. One thing of importance had come up in their conversation. The tournament. Her mind was everywhere but focused on the competition. She slowed to a walk as she approached the town square. People still ran about. It made her wonder. “How am I going to get a team to accept me this time?”

It hadn’t been a problem before, but this time felt different. The competition was at stake. If she joined a weak team she would lose. And she didn’t have the option of joining a strong team since she wasn’t that strong herself. She found an open bench on the edge of the town square and sat down looking at the portal. “Hm. Problem, problem problem.”

 

[LatinoHeat90]

"Ugh!" I slapped my hands to my ears, trying to defend myself from the screeching sound. Sunny Delight....Viola was playing a terrible tune on her instrument. The samurai and I were at full attention. She quickly walked up to her spouse and told him to not talk. The way she said it made me chuckle to myself, perhaps now he would quiet down. She gave him a healing potion and gave him some choice words. I was surprised to see her treat him in such a way.

"Apologize to him." My eyes grew wide. I wasn't expecting this.

"It's alright, I can see why he..."

"And you! Man up! You don't just let someone start swinging at you!" What the hell? Like I had a choice. I wanted to reply 'maybe you should control your boyfriend!' But, I didn't have the courage to say it. From the way she was talking it seems like she is the more powerful one out of the two. She threw a potion my way. Startled, I fumbled to catch it. I wasn't expecting this either.

"Who even are you anyway?"

I finally would have my opportunity to explain myself. I felt like this moment would never going come. I wanted to fall back onto my knees and praise the Gods for this opportunity. I quickly downed the potion. It was good to see myself in green again. I took a moment to compose myself. I had to be strong, speak clearly, show no weakness.

"Thank you! My name is Crod! I had came across you and your partner in the woods earlier... well we didn't meet....I was watching from the bushes. I was in the bushes because I wasn't sure if you were friendly." Shit! I am going to prove the samurai right! "It was nothing pervy I was just being cautious." My voice began to crack. "God, I just want to team up for the next boss fight."

 

[Max]

"Don't talk." Viola instructed as she placed a healing potion on my lips. I smiled as it went down my throat. Look at my partner taking care of me. This was really-

*SMACK* Right across my face. There it was, that hurt. "What's the matter with you? A dude fell out of the bushes and you try to beat him up? What if he was hurt and needed help?" I was surprised as she yelled at me. Well, maybe not yelled, more like talked loudly at me. She didn't really seem the type to yell. But I didn't really get what she was trying to ask me... I mean, it was obvious what had been going on, had he really tricked her that easily? Was he about to steal her away from right beneath my feet? I could see I was going to have to play this carefully. I needed to be the nice guy, and keep a very close eye on her at the same time to make sure nobody ever took advantage of her innocent smile. She turned and pointed at him, directing my gaze to my still-downed opponent.

"Apologize to him. Now! And you!" Before I could say anything, she headed in his direction and gave him a good chewing out too. I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to what she said to him, but instead decided to only act like I was so that I would know when she was done talking. Because once she was done talking, I'm sure she expected that apology. While I sat here I carefully planned out how I might do this. He was strong, very strong. His strength was definitely far higher than mine, my advantage simply came from my speed. He would definitely be a big help on the next boss, I just wasn't sure how I felt about fighting alongside a pervert.

Maybe he simply lost way! Maybe, if he hung around us long enough, I could rub off on him a little bit. Then he could regain some of his honor, look at women not just as bouncy, jiggly playthings, but at each one as her own individual princess. If I could make him a man among men, then I wouldn't have to be disgusted fighting with him. With his power, and my speed, we'd be a force to be reckoned with. Then of course Viola would round us out and we'd be unstoppable. It may have been an impossible task, but I was more than willing to try!

Uh-oh, I quit paying attention for too long and Viola had quit talking! The unknown man had already been babbling about something, and I quickly started making my way over to the two.

"-team up for the next boss fight." He seemed to just be finishing and I figured it was assumed I heard everything. I could probably work with the tail-end of what I'd heard.

"Yes, yes of course! Since Viola already said you could team up with us for the boss fight, then it's fine!" I hope she said that. When I heard him mentioning teaming up, he didn't seem to be asking a question, so it was best to assume he was just reiterating something she had said to him. I moved in close to him and placed my pointer finger on his forhead, giving it an ever-so-slight push backwards. I whispered in hopes only he would hear me. "I'm going to be keeping an eye on you. If your eyes start to wander, avert them. If your hands feel grabby, control yourself. If your lips are dry and in need of something sweet, then you drink some God-damn juice, understood? There may be hope for your honor yet, so DON'T disappoint me."

I stepped back and took a look at Viola, then back to the man. Viola, back to the man. Viola, back to the man! Well come on party people, don't we have some stuff to sell! I'll walk in the middle!" I stepped between the two, and so it began.

 

[Cassette-Disk]

"God, I just want to team up for the next boss fight."
At least he was honest, albeit a little off. Watching from the shadows was a bit strange, but 'strange' is something that seemed to be following Viola since she logged on today. Maybe that's just what happened in these games? You log in and run into things that never ever happen in real life. Like being attacked by bears and having two dudes fight each other for literally no reason.
"Yes, yes of course! Since Viola already said you could team up with us for the boss fight, then it's fine!"
Uh?
"I didn't say anything." Viola told the samurai. "But if you're alright with it, and as long as you two are on your best behavior--that means no trying to kill each other--then I don't see why not." She opened her inventory as Musashi walked towards Crod. Bringing her finger down the menu, she pulled out a map to find their exact location. The fight had pushed them around a bit and she wanted to make sure they didn't end up walking in circles.
"Well come on party people, don't we have some stuff to sell! I'll walk in the middle!"
The samurai began walking, and Viola followed suit for a second as she watched the indicator on her map.
"...Musa, we're going the wrong way." She informed him as she pushed him gently in the right direction. She brought down the menu again and opened the party tab before sending Crod an invitation.

A few minutes later, the party found themselves exiting out of the portal. The thing always sent shivers down Viola's back. How did it work? What if it messed up? Could she end up losing an arm? Would that hurt? Questions that didn't need answers crossed her mind as the trio walked into the town's square.
"Are we going to be alright?" She asked, checking her map again. "With the boss battle, I mean. You two are pretty strong and I can hold my own, but we're still just three people, you know? Aren't parties supposed to be like, a lot of people?" She fought the urge to add in 'hats', 'balloons', and 'cake' into that sentence. It was a lot harder to do than she would like to admit.