Accel World Vol 7 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Chapter 1

Blackout[1]

Spotlight

Gigantic round verloss, ainst the arc of the pillar is a sure It's not a real person The whole body is covered by heavy silver armour; the head is covered by a hels are weakly illuht Countless torches flicker soundlessly The first pillar is not the only one – it is but the first in a see off into the distance The ground is covered with pure white pebbles At the edge of vision one could just glimpse the outline of a colossal citadel The silver helard the citadel opposite it

…… Not really «Absolutely Inaccessible» now is it?

Despite understanding how he had brought this whole mess upon himself, he can't help but complain

Except he can only complain in his head He doesn’t dare to make a sound, he can hardly take a step for the fear of the sound of his own footsteps The slightest of sounds ht attract the fearsome Warrior-For them to attack him

A Warrior Eneh The Beast Enemies that roam the outside can be as much as five ti corridors and citadel walls in groups of three or four, can eend Ene as the pressure eates Of course, the only time the citadel – the «Imperial City» that stands within the «Unlimited Neutral Field» – could be breached would be if or when the Four Beasts were overcole Beast has yet been defeated He slipped in when he saw a chance – no, an accidental entry seems more likely

Can't they at least prepare a Portal for escaping?

He gru to control the fear and anxiety he is feeling

The ht froorously inside the slightly-char-black silver arest he’s been in since beco a «BB Player»

But at the sains to feel excited from within the depths of his heart

It has been eleven short months since the birth of the Accelerated World – when an unknown entity gave about a hundred first year ele in central Tokyo copies of the Full Dive Fighting Combat Game «Brain Burst» For these eleven e the colossal citadel sitting in the centre of this world upon gaining the right to access the ”Unlimited Neutral Field” when they reached level 4 Whether it's because it has the same position in the real world as the iravity chasms around the structure --- no ame will end – or as the children would call it, the «Last-Boss-Dungeon»

However, every Burst Linker that has ever challenged it easily cru powers – the «Four Sacred Beasts»

Genbu of the North, Seiryuu of the East, Byakko of the West and Suzaku of the South They are individual Enemy units, each with five bars of HP, and each of them possesses abilities to support and heal each other The Beasts not engaged in combat can utilise these formidable abilities – for example, the ability to cast protective shi+elds or recover HP for the ones engaging in coates In other words, it's impossible to focus on just one of the Four Beasts The players must divide into four teaht now the total number of Burst Linkers is less than five hundred They have even for with each other If the players cannot stand united, then an operation of such a scale is i the Burst Linkers, there have been soates, only to die at the end of the bridge and fall into the «Infinite Enemy Death» state – a term not conceived of until this event occurred – until all points are lost

Under such circuh the Four Sacred Beasts weren't defeated, to successfully infiltrate the Imperial City is nevertheless a source of excitement

It has to be that by continuing into the depth of the citadel, he would be able to obtain the final ga the first person to clear Brain Burst, engraving his name in the history of the Accelerated World forever

He possesses an ordinary ability, a plain metallic colour and a name that doesn't stand out much ---

«Chrome Falcon»

Although a Duel Avatar named after the falcon sounds pretty cool, it can also be said that both Chrome Falcon's ability and his appearance pale in comparison to his name This is the opinion held not only by his opponents, but by himself

The only sihtly sharp beak-like protrusion at the bottom of the mask His eyeless face is coive off an iht of body, with no weapons, and with nothing reses on his back

The only offensive abilities of this Avatar are punches and kicks – other than that, the only advantages are the speed allowed by the small build and the hardness of the body The only person to call hih he does not doubt her words, he would still like to be powerful enough to be worthy of her

Blossom, as her name indicates, possesses the power to «Alloers to Blooht hand can fire off many different types of seeds into the opponents' or allies' Avatars The flowers that blooe, the Special Attacks Gauge, or interfere with the opponents' movements By the same token, the seeds have the power to cast buffs, erase de-buffs and produce other beneficial effects Soave the power the uncost the Indirect Yellows, not e of abilities

Of course, to possess such a powerful ability, other attributes must be sacrificed For Blosso That's why, to compensate for this weakness, she partnered with the defensive type Falcon That said, although they have fought together for half a year, he still feels uneasy – if soher defence were to invite Blossom to join their party, hoould she react?

In the «Metal Colour Chart» – distinct to the «Base Colour Circle» – Precious Metals such as platinuold are on the left side, and Base Metals such as steel and iron are on the right Although divided into Precious and Base, if the Avatars are at the same level, the potential is the sa resistance to toxic, acidic, corrosive and other types of Special Attacks; Base Metals have strong resistance to punches, slashes and various other Physical Attacks

«Chrome» is a colour close to the very centre; it lacks the resistances of either Precious or Base Metals Although few in nuer ar if there are players hly defensive greens from the Base colours

That means, based on hardness of the Avatar alone, there's no knohen Blossoht leave him for another player

He can't say for sure exactly why he feels the way he does right now In the Accelerated World he was able to survive bythe harbour districts his base As tiiven the title of «The Falcon of Black Silver» Yet as soon as he returns to the real world, he’s just an eight-year-old kid – still in second grade --- Except he’s just using that as an excuse Less than a year ained access to the Unlimited Neutral Field – the world that processes infinite time– five years have passed for his mind

That's why… I think I can understand a bit now

He had reached level five and learned a certain ability, so he decided to come to the «I lucky – or unlucky – enough to succeed in getting inside, he could now be surrounded by inti Enemy mobs at any moment This was all because of the love and possessiveness he felt for Saffron Blossom

--- I have to move fast, otherwise, a Warrior Ene its movement patterns

Poking his head out from the shadows of the vermilion pillar, he quickly assesses the situation

He is currently located in the Southern area of the «Imperial City» Inner Garden - which is one thousand five hundred meters in diameter - in the corner of the road that connects the «Suzaku Gate» to the Front Gate of the citadel proper Both sides of the entrance are guarded by a Warrior Eneh to be like a Demon Enemy It would seeet is aupon the white walls Because it's an iht not open fro it to enter should be possible

Fro Warrior Ene a deep breath, he takes a step with his right foot while softly whispering out the ability name ---

«Flash Blink»

Even though it was uttered with a voice barely audible, the Warrior Enees immediately

But by this time, the black-silver Avatar has completely vanished fro behind a blue afterie, then soundlessly materialises thirty meters away beside the citadel wall

This is Chrome Falcon's level five Special Ability, «Pseudo-Teleport» Pseudo because it's just an expansion of «High Speed Straight Line Movement» type abilities Movement is only possible in areas where «the eyes can see the path» and «space is connected» – but theAvatar turns into a particle with zero ravitational type attacks

He appears again backed to the white wall and observes the movement of the Warrior Ene place The invader who had set off their attack rily look left and right and finally return to the original patrol path before resu had happenedHuuuuu, a deep breath Despite the cos appear to be much lower than that of the «Four Sacred Beasts»

He turns, raises his head to look at the gianton the wall behind him

The field attribute is the long awaited japanese style «Peace» Stage, as expected, the s arethin red strips of ithout inlaid glass panels and the like Frorid is just three centimetre square in size – no Duel Avatar would be able to pass through it directly, but ---

Raising his eyes to take a look at the Special Attacks Gauge, he sees that he only has 5 percent left The HP Gauge has just 20 percent left, but even at full health, to take a strike from the Warrior Enemy's Tachi [2] means instant death

He sets up his trajectory carefully, then kicks off the ground with his right foot and spends the last of his Special Attacks Gauge to use the final «Flash Blink»

The granulated body of Chroh the woodenframe and finally enters the Imperial City proper

This Ability is the very method that tricked the eyes of the «Four Sacred Beasts» and ions of the Ies his Special Attacks Gauge beforehand, circles around to the infinitely dark outer regions of the Iuarded by the Four Sacred Beasts and uses «Blink» to cover the greatest possible distance Even so, even by using up all of the Special Attacks Gauge, a hundred h the abyss five hundred meters wide

That's why the initial trajectory is set to be slightly higher The moment he appears above the abyss, the Avatar, unable to resist the super gravity is pulled to the bottoe is drained But as a result, the Special Attacks Gauge is recharged – after a certain aonally upwards The process is continuously repeated until he crosses the abyss

--- Even if that all worked, he only planned to scout - or, to use another tere and Blink again was proven to be possible, he planned to just fall to the bottom of the abyss and die He would use the obtained data as a basis to tweak the plan after he revives in front of the abyss Once he had ensured a greater possibility of success, he would start the real challenge

Or that was how he intended Instead he charges in recklessly without a plan on the very first try, all due to the extreme fear he felt as he dropped down the abyss Co Blink in front of hi until after he had reached the outer walls of the Imperial City

Of course, the desired result is achieved – but to accept what had been learned and give up now is not possible

Eleven months since the start of the battle of the Accelerated World, the children who beca a history of rivalry, as well as the history of the struggle against the unknown game creator, at the same ti loopholes in the system – «ways to easily obtain Points» – but as soon as the methods were found, the creator would install a patch to close the loophole The «Ene» which relies on outside progra as the techniques are found to have the slightest trace of trickery, amendments to disable such techniques will be installed at a speed astonishi+ngly faster than other web games The reaction speed has lead many players to believe that the creators and administrators of Brain Burst are not real people but AI

In any case, the mysterious creator strictly forbids opportunistic approaches within the ga, the player must pay an equal price

As such, flying over the obstacle instead of entering via the four directional gates to enter the absolutely inaccessible «Imperial City» – Chronised as proper A patch will be released very soon, the super gravity of the abyss then being able to capture the originally physical and gravitational nulling Flash Blink No, maybe the patch has already been released ---

That's why… this is my first and last chance

To obtain soer here and beco Saffron Blossoer fear to lose her, to allow her to feel content with choosing me

Andout and talking to me – since I am as introverted here as I am in the real world

The area after passing through thefra brand-new Gorgeously drawn sliding doors line the walls further along the corridor Golden candle stands are equally spaced apart, their orange fla

Heoff thebehind hiless ornahtly pushes, the vermilionopens outwards soundlessly At least by returning here, it is possible to escape from the Inner Imperial City

But even if he does leave, there is no Portal for escaping It's impossible to leave the sa to the conclusion that – as long as hisforward deeper is the only way to go

Holding his breath under the silverinto the gloom of the corridor

A few hours --- or is it closer to a few dozen?

Because he dives into the Unliht after elementary school ends, in theory it is possible for him to spend days or even months in this world In truth, he had once dived, no, «lived» with Blossom in this world for a full three-month period

That said, the difficulty of avoiding the Reaction Area of the Warrior and shi+nto Priest Eneer than their counterparts in the Inner Garden --- is si If Falcon didn't have such a sht body, then this act would probably be impossible At the same time, it would seem that the Citadel was built with the expectation that it would be assaulted by massive parties with hundreds ofis also very high He is able to avoid the patrolling Enemies and continue forward precisely because of this fact, but his concentration is approaching its limit

He takes a deep breath The icy air refreshes hi for his next route

The Imperial City is one thousand and five hundred meters in diauarded by the Dehly four hundred reatest distance from South to North, should only be about seven hundred meters across He speculates that he has walked five hundred meters already since he broke in; therefore, he should be approaching the central area of the Main Hall

Sure enough –--

A particularly broad space, its floor flickering with inconceivable radiance, appeared in front of the road stretching northwards

Two objects, standing side by side Transparent cyan in colour, rippling like the surface of water

That colour is very familiar It is the radiance of the «Leave Points», also known as «Portals», set up within iconic buildings throughout the Unlimited Neutral Field

He can't help but feel relief as he sighs – only to s this feeling in mid-breath If this is just a Leave Point connected to the real world, he can't even take back some sort of proof of his successful trespass – a, being prepared to die while using «Blink» for all that time, endure the nervousness for dozens of hours as he sneaked through ---……

--- No

No, the originalakin to confidence A certain pride that would allow him to continue to stand tall beside Saffron Blossom

Then this is already enough Sneaking into theat the inner Even if I am the only one who knohat I have achieved, this fact will surely give e in the future The fact that I did what even the strongest «Pure Colours» couldn't

Thinking about it carefully, the system never plainly indicated exactly when this iame, Brain Burst, would be finally «cleared» The ideal outco the name of the clearer declared to the whole Accelerated World, awards of Burst Points as prize ame continues …… but there is also the possibility of the Ending The while the credits roll, followed by the uninstalling of the game software from the Neuro-Linkers of the BB Players as the word END appears Because he has never ed contact methods, if that were to be the result… they would never ain

That's why, if I come across any item that see it That's All Surviving past the Portal… is the best reward I should expect from this quest……

Yet it's alht of this ordinary Metal coloured Duel Avatar… convinced the true God of the Accelerated World to show pity on him

Because what awaits him to demand his attention at the expense of his concentration and alertness focused on watching his surroundings… aren’t just ordinary Portals

The ovals flickering with blue light sitting side by side are indistinguishable fro outside of the Imperial City But an incredible object is placed in front of each oval

Two glea at about one meter tall Each one has an object placed on top of it Treading lightly to minimize the sound of his own footsteps, he approaches the pedestal on the left

In front of hiht, sits a sword or a katana bathed under the radiance of the Portal The reason why it can't be properly distinguished is because although the hilt and the guard are both japanese in style, the sheath forht line without any curve to it The ed from a silvery metal, is almost without any decorations

The terrible power hidden within this straight katana can be seen frolance If it is an Enhanced Arhest rank – no, probably even above that Just looking at it knocks the breath out of hi stared down at close range by Legend Enemies …… no, more like by the «Four Sacred Beasts» he once saw

Taking his sight off froht katana with soain

A rectangular es and characters are engraved on it

First of all, at the very top is seven dots arranged like a letter 'P' leaning left and a line connecting the dots He had once seen the sa science class in ele about constellations A quadrangle for to a tail of three stars That is the ladle shaped «Big Dipper» Carefully looking at it, the centre of the ladle handle - that is, the fifth star froer than the rest of the stars

Underneath the constellation, are two Kanji characters rarely seen in the Accelerated World where English words are norh he can read, he can't understand what they mean

Below that is one lish

【THE INFINITY】

He does remember that that ht katana Enhanced Araue repeatedly as he ht to look at the other pedestal No matter how you look at it, the iteear –--

Armour

Its form is not heavy or bulky In norht-armour type The headpiece is round in shape; the chest, shoulder and wrist parts have been reduced to the absolute minimum size The lower portion consists siive at all the impression of a weak item The armour – brilliant silver like the sword – seeh to block some attacks completely Even the space around it seems to be distorted due to its influence Compared to it, the armour of the Metal-coloured Chrome Falcon seems like some sort of simple toy

Holding his breath, he checked the nameplate

The overall style is exactly the same as the one on the pedestal of the sword At the top is the scheer star is the sixth froh, he still can't understand the

And the English name at the very bottom ---

【THE DESTINY】 It should mean «Fate»

As he read to this point, he can't help but take a step back, this ti out heavily

These two are perhaps Enhanced Arest rank within the Accelerated World Sword and armour

He canthehout the Unlieons», where – according to rumours – Enhanced Armaments on pedestals have also been found deep within

However, the Portals wavering behind the pedestals need to be noted They have to be related to each other Most likely they will activate as soon as he touches and activates one of the items and forcibly send him to the real world

Also, if an iteular use «One Ti pedestal That is to say, a single person or group at one time can only choose between the sword and the arames

Although just a few o, he had already fully considered the circuout, in the current situation he lacks the resolve to not touch either of the pedestals Anyways, his real age is just eight – even if the accelerated portion is added on, he’s still no older than thirteen Since everything has been set up like this, it is obvious that the Portals will only activate if he touches one of the pedestals

So, which one?

It doesn’t reallyas he equips it, it will obviously make his ability paraless The first thing he should consider is how the choice will affect him as Saffron Blossom’s partner The only reason for Falcon's existence is to protect her Then should he choose the sword? He is already a defensive Metal Colour – to strengthen his arain would just be redundant

The foot heading to the pedestal of 【THE INFINITY】--- suddenly stops To protect Blossom If that is the only requirement, then there is a better option An option that can protect her despite her frail armour; an option that allows her to be unharmed even under harsh and concentrated attacks

Clenching his right fist, he hammers his own chest to expel his immaturity and selfish desires, and reaches out to the silver arht

The instant his fingertip touches the itee pops out in front of hiht sound «YOU GOT AN ENHANCED ARMAMENT 【THE DESTINY】»

The arht particles; at the saht radiates out and envelops Chrome Falcon

Blackout

Spotlight

Although not spacious, a rooht

Both the wall and the floor have been heavily polished A black cooking stove stands in the corner Sizzling stea above it Opposite it, next to the wall, is a large bed Upon the pure white sheet sit two people, side by side

They aren’t just humans One of theht orange like the sun The short hair and the well-conceived shoulder and waist designbloom

Facing the silver Avatar who is bowing his head like a child being scolded, the orange Avatar gently raises her cute right fist

'God --- are you an idiot!?'

Dong He doesn't knoout of reflex, he repeats the same excuse he had used

'Li-, like I said, I only planned to experiment a little at the start'

'Then just use the sae into the citadel without a care in the world!?'

'Be-, because my HP had already dropped a lot – if I died on the inner side of the abyss while using «Blink», I ain on the outside'

'But even if you did respawn on the inside, your HP would have been completely restored by then – you could have just used 'Blink' to come back out!'

'Uuu…… th-, that is true, but……'

There is no chance of hiical, cool-headed partner Just as his shoulders droop in h – and then, instead of a fist, a delicate palm pats him on the head

'But…… the will to challenge the «Ith to make it to the innermost area and come back out… are worthy of praise You did well, Fal

He raises his head – that gentle voice makes his heart skip a beat Just in front of him, a calm smile appears upon Saffron Blossom's cute face

'Th-thank you, Fron'

Staring into her light aqua-coloured eyes as he murmurs, Blossom shrinks back her shoulders shyly and pulls her hand back from the top of Chrome Falcon's head

'I'll go brew soht, we’ll have a slice of cake to celebrate your safe return I recently bought one from the «Food Shop» down in Ginza It looks quite tasty'

He watches the figure of his partner running hurriedly into the opposite kitchen – as his heart is once again filled with emotions, he is unable to make a sound

The key to the small house – located in a corner of the Minato Ward[5] in the Unlimited Neutral Field, a location that corresponds to the artificial island of Odaiba[6] in the real world – was purchased by the two of the over ht of using these points for levelling up or purchasing a strong Enhanced Ar Blossom open the doors of the house for the first time bleay all those childish ideas in an instant

After that, al furniture for this home To Falcon, this place feels more like home than his home in the real world Cos where his parents leave early and come home late… there is this ho a bed is still e

As to why she was so fixed upon the idea of buying a house back then… she told hio in real time

Saffron Blossom has suffered from intracellular mitochondrial dysfunction, an incurable disease, since birth Because it's a hereditary disease, even the h the only syue, her condition will continue to deteriorate, the sy to convulsions and paralysis before the disease finally reaches her heart…… the doctors have already predicted that she is unlikely to reach adulthood It seems that the other reason she had worn the Neuro-Linker since birth – at that tione on the nson the saht smile

---Don't make such a face, Fal Even if some misfortune were to befall me, it won’t be for another ten or fifteen years… Besides, we still have «Brain Burst» In this accelerated world, we can live for alht, living with the person I love most, forever and ever……

Facing Blossoain, he can't help but blurt out 'You mean, me?' Immediately he receives a punch in response

So happy, but scared at the same time Can I really do it? Do I, Chroht to spend a «lifetied the Imperial City yesterday was due to that fear within his heart

That's why, looking at the side of his partner’s face as she prepares tea and cake on the ser suppress the question that has been weighing heavy on his heart since surviving that citadel