Chapter 38 - My SI Stash #38 - A Worthwhile Endeavor by Rodrick Minett (Sword Arto Online) (2/2)

*Ding!* Level up!

Exasperated, I collapsed face first into the grassy field. My buddy planted his sword on the ground, leaning towards it with a relieved smile on his face. I glanced at my HUD. His HP was a bit more than half. Mine was slightly over thirty percent.

Grinning uncontrollably, I exclaimed out. ”YEAH! TAKE THAT! WE FREAKING DID IT!”

End Music

”…that was…really intense...” My buddy panted.

I grunted and turned so that was lying on my back. ”Yeah…whew. I know that we don't…really 'die' if our HP reaches zero, but man…” replied as I tried to catch my breath.

”I think…that's enough excitement for me today…I'm gonna head back to the starting city.” He approached me and held an arm out.

I looked at him and shook my head. ”I wanna rest and reflect for a minute before I wander for a bit more.”

He held his hand back. ”Sure…well, I guess I'll see you around.” He turned around and started to walk away.

I just realized something. I sat up and turned to him. ”Hey!” I called out.

He turned around. ”Yes?”

”I never really caught your name.”

”Oh, that's right.” He agreed. ”I also forgot to ask your name as well.”

”Right…” I let out a smile. ”My name's Riwet. Nice to meet you.”

”Nice to meet you, Riwet.” He said before he bowed. ”My name is Sefton.”

”So…I guess I'll see you around?”

”Yup. I'll leave you to it.”

”Alright. See ya.”

With that, Sefton walked away, and I laid back down on the grassy ground. I thought about everything that happened, from looking at the Aincrad's gorgeous scenery to fighting the monsters that call this place home…

This is just the best.

Man, this game's pretty awesome! And I can't get enough of it!

Loading…Complete

After about half an hour of wandering the fields outside, I walked back to the Town of Beginnings and wandered around the city for a bit.

Dire Wolf - An imposing monster that hits hard, but has a predictable attack pattern and very low HP. They're also too s_e_n_s_i_t_i_v_e to sudden movements, and so they're vulnerable to feints. It must be designed that way to teach people who rush recklessly and scare the shit out of new players. Right, better make a memo of that.

I headed for a weapons shop near the inn I was renting. After selling the loot I earned from killing those two wolves, I bought a Wooden Shield and an Iron Spear, which is about the same size as my starting spear.

As I found out, the reason why my spear was a bit short was that there were two sizes of polearms. The one I got is classified as a Short Polearm – ranging from 120 cm to 150cm. Anything longer than that fits the standard Polearm classification – large and in charge and designed strictly for two-handed use. I'm sticking with short polearms for now. I like how it felt and I'm able to comfortably use it one-handed, leaving my right hand free to equip a shield or something.

I strolled back to the inn, went up to the roof of the building, and stood near the edge, and once again, enjoyed the view, now safe against danger.

”Fuu…goodbye, my social life. Well…didn't have much, anyway.” I muttered to myself, grinning.

With the success of virtual reality devices, a Japanese video game company called Argus took things to the next level. I don't exactly know what kind of magic they did, but they created the NerveGear, a device that literally drew people away from the waking world, and into the land of virtual reality. The lead designer of the NerveGear, Kayaba Akihiko, also spearheaded the development of a game to come with it.

Sword Art Online. The very first Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, set in the floating castle of Aincrad and filled with powerful monsters and equally powerful loot. Taking advantage of the unparalleled immersion provided by the NerveGear's FullDive system, it offered the most immersive experience yet. Everything was ridiculously detailed, from the individually swaying blades of grass to the small threads of my clothes.

Honestly, the FullDive technology was one of the most important things I considered when I was contemplating on buying a NerveGear at launch. Pretty much anything hyped up to a ridiculous degree had a very high risk of under-delivering. I was also contented in playing conventional video games. After experiencing it first-hand, though, I have no regrets.

I'm pretty thankful that I enjoy playing video games so much. 5 years ago, the nine-year-old me thought that I'd be overwhelmed when I moved from my hometown in Canada to here in Japan. Fortunately, I was able to quickly adapt to the culture, the people I have met accepted me, and I was able to transfer my Steam account. Hey, I spent a lot of money on my games, and games kept me company when I was still new and didn't know anybody. And then this game happened, and it was like a dream come true.

When I was done musing and feeling sentimental, I remembered that I have something to do IRL. The sun was setting, and the sky was tinted orange. It's probably linked to Japan's time zone, so I guess it was time to go.

”Haahh…it was fun while it lasted. Homework's not gonna finish itself…” I sighed and opened my Player Menu and looked for the Log Out button.

”After I'm done with homework, I'll probably have some late-night gaming sessions… pretty sure there's gonna be some negative effects on my body if I play too much…meh, whatever…”

”…huh?”

My fingers stopped.

The Log Out button's grayed out. No matter how hard I tried to press it, it won't respond. That's weird. I should probably ask someone about this.

Suddenly, a blue light engulfed me.

Next thing I knew, I was at the center of the city, along with a lot of players. I asked around, and nobody knew what was going on.

And then, he appeared. Kayaba Akihiko. In his giant GM avatar and clothed in a flowing garb and a hood that concealed his face.

He spoke about how we can't log out unless we beat all one hundred floors. How if we die in the game the NerveGear's gonna f_u_c_k our brains up. And to make it even more perverse, he made our avatars look like us in real life. He's really hammering down the fact that this was now our reality.

As he disappeared, I stood there, stunned, understanding but denying every word he said. My mind was reeling. My hands and knees were shaking. My head hung low and it took everything out of me to not fall on my knees and break down into tears. I noticed a lot of players around me doing just that.

I saw Sefton amongst the crowd. He was on his knees, and his arms were limp on his sides. His face was frozen, and his mouth agape. His eyes were opened wide, blankly staring at the sunset sky where he was before he disappeared. I tried to call out for him, but my voice came out as a rasped, inaudible whisper.

This was just too much. Something that existed as a means of entertainment was twisted into something that was too cruel to even exist. We were trapped in here, without any choice but to conform to his rules.

Not able to take it anymore, I absently went back to my room in the inn. I laid on my bed, looking at the ceiling. I noticed that my vision was blurry, and my eyes felt hot and watery.

I wept in the silence of my room, defeated and in denial. I couldn't believe what happened.

…I think I've had enough of this f_u_c_k_i_n_g game.

Chapter End

A/N: Hello! Welcome to my very first fanfic, ”A Worthwhile Endeavor”. AWE for short. The acronym is a happy coincidence.

First and foremost, I want to thank Gabriel Blessing. His fanfic ”The Hill of Swords” was the very first fanfiction I read to completion. I was so engrossed in reading it that I finished it in less than a week, despite me having a busy school life. I also want to thank every single person who has made a fic. Your amazing fanfictions are the ones that inspired me to make my own content.

Now, onto the notes. This story is probably classified as a ”self-insert fic”. While I'll mostly base his personality and morality to my own, I'll give him some, if not all of my disgusting weaknesses, and I'll also do my best to develop him into a worthwhile character. I am pretty one dimensional after all *lol*.

I get my information primarily from the SAO wiki. I find it weird that all skills are labeled as Sword Skills even if it's a skill for daggers, axes, etc. So, for the purpose of this story, I'm renaming Sword Skills to Weapon Skills. In addition, I feel that some Skills are ubiquitous enough to be used by multiple types of weapons.

While it might not make sense to the setting, I will make shout-outs and references to video games released in the 2000s and early 2010s. I just can't help myself. Also, I think that comparing the things Riwet sees on SAO to things that already exist will make my job at writing descriptions easier.

Riwet will have a little adventure of his own, but he'll meet a lot, if not most of the cast, and then some. I also plan on making him present on many of the canon stuff, possibly even changing the outcome.

However, I will not, in any way, shape, or form, make him an overpowered Marty Stu. While I see Riwet as my reflection who's gonna have a noticeable influence on the world of SAO, it's not my intention to make him the op hax, harem master, most important character in all of AWE. If I feel that he's stuck that way and I can't do anything to salvage him, I will kill him and move on with the story.

Speaking of the story, aside from giving Riwet his own adventures, I'm planning on following the canon as much as I can, except for the times I won't. As I said, some events might play a little bit different.

I'll try to post updates within 35-40 days of the last update, but I might take longer, so no promises.

That's all for now. Thank you very much, and have a good one.