[SP-F1] Passivity

[Mishiro 0]

November 6, 2022

The girl opened her eyes to a kaleidoscope of color. After having spent a minute floating aimlessly in the darkness of a loading screen, the brightness of the virtual environment almost seared her eyes. Reflexively, she brought up her hand to block her sight and let it fall back to her side upon realizing that she hadn’t felt any pain. It was an odd experience. She felt as if she could stare directly at the sun. She blinked once, twice, and the dizziness swirling around her head waned as the world around her began to take shape.

 

She was standing on a raised platform with columns made of stone rising from its four corners and behind her was a monument with undecipherable writings etched onto its front side. It looked like a place where sordid rituals in fantasy movies were held, but the distorted space between her and the cenotaph told her otherwise. She had seen this similar structure in pictures shared by SAO's beta testers. This must be the teleport gate.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

Vibrant music and conversation filled her ears as she turned her attention to the world in front of her.

 

There was only one teleport gate and it was situated in a plaza, right in the middle of the Town of Beginnings, where all the major roads converged. Old-fashioned buildings made of stone and wood surrounded the area and some had colorful banners and little flags strewn about their rooftops and balconies. It looked and felt very much like a festival from her home country, and it brought a smile to her face as she remembered the simpler days of her childhood.

 

From the second-floor window of a nearby building, a young NPC leaned out and watched the players occupying the plaza curiously. (If NPCs had existed before this, what a surprise this day must have been, with strangers suddenly flooding into their towns and walking along their streets). Players were everywhere and the green cursors floating above their heads allowed her to easily distinguish them from AIs; most, she assumed, had already left for the fields and the dungeons but a good number still remained scattered around the plaza, forming parties and waiting for their friends to log in.

 

This was a pretty world. It was false and could never replicate the authenticity of the real world; yet somehow, it felt alive.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

Everyone was smiling. She can’t recall many other places where there was a big group of people and they were all in a jovial mood. Birthdays, concerts, sporting events always had at least one very bored attendee who didn't want to be there. Even graduations weren’t this happy for they carried the reminder that the graduates would be leaving one stage of their life behind, sometimes along with precious people and places, and moving onto the next.

 

“Hello!” greeted a chirpy, feminine voice. The girl's thoughts halted. She turned her gaze to the NPC greeter standing before the teleport gate. The friendly NPC smiled brightly and leaned forward, her “assets” and bunny ears bouncing as she further emphasized the skimpy clothing she had put on. This must be a service intended for the male players, something he would be overjoyed to see. Or maybe he saw it already. But as for her, she felt a bit uncomfortable. “Welcome to SAO! Please step off the teleporter so the next person can come in.”

 

So focused was she on the appearance of the NPC that she moved forward and away from the teleport gate without thinking about it. Behind her, the next player materialized and they gazed upon their new world in amazement.

 

Meanwhile, the greeter’s attention was still on her.

 

“Have fun in our game!♡”

Edited October 26, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

The girl lifted her foot and placed it in front of the other. One. Her legs shook and she felt she could tip over and fall any minute. But that was one step. With her heart beating fast and a feeling of childish delight rising up her chest, she took another. 

 

She lost her balance and fell.

 

"Miss! Are you alright?" 

 

She looked up and saw a hand extended to help her. For a few moments, she thought it was him, then she registered the unfamiliar manner with which he'd addressed her. She looked up to see a man dressed in knightly attire with a large sword sheathed at his side. With hair the color of spun gold and a handsome face, he looked like a prince. "I...I'm fine." Slowly, she shifted her weight on one leg, then on the other, and stood. "Thank you."

 

"Florence," he said. She tilted her head to the side in slight confusion, and the knight responded with a charming smile. "My player name's Florence."

Edited December 15, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

She took slower steps, walking with her arms out. Then as she grew accustomed to it, she let her arms drop to her side and walked normally. She weaved past players and NPCs. Then when she was reminded of the map function by snippets of an overheard conversation from a group of nearby players, she stopped and looked through her menu. With the semi-transparent map open and hovering in front of her, she worked her way outward from the center of the circle that was the Town of Beginnings. She passed busy roads and intersections, buildings of varying size, design, and function, and a familiar flash of pink. She turned her head and slowed down long enough for them to recognize each other. Then, unexpectedly, she grinned. She spun around with a little laugh. Look what I can do now! Then she turned in the direction of the town gates and took off.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

She passed the town gates and left the safe zone. Like the Town of Beginnings, which she had left behind her, the world outside didn't fail to impress. Rolling fields, as far as the eye could see. While leaving the main towns in some games would cause the environment to change drastically either through a change in lighting or weather, here the game kept its bright and welcoming theme. The sun was shining as usual, and the mobs didn’t look particularly frightening or dangerous.

 

The girl was already feeling a bit tired. But she pushed herself, and her fast jog turned into a full sprint. She ran without stopping. She passed fields, boars and wolves, leaped over small streams, and sighted players trying their hand at combat. 

 

She came to a stop before a lone tree situated atop a hill overlooking the nearby forest and moved underneath its shade. She turned around and leaned against its trunk, watching the grass in the fields sway as a breeze passed through and the familiar figure approaching from the distance. She ran a hand through her wind-tossed black hair and tucked a strand behind her ear. Her hand moved to idly tug on the cuffs of her Japanese schoolgirl-esque outfit's sleeve and she leveled her grey gaze to meet his as he climbed up the hill to meet her. "Hello, Roman," she greeted with a smile. "I'm sorry for leaving you behind earlier."

 

Her name was Mira Gonzales, alias Mishiro, and this was the first time she had ran in months.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

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One small boar grazing by itself, blissfully ignorant to the presence of the player standing behind it. She took a deep breath and slipped into a fighting stance she knew by heart. Behind her was Roman, functioning as support. She wasn’t sure why he would take the First Aid skill before any of the weapon skills, but at least she had more freedom to try out the combat system herself. Well, she wasn’t any better either. Having heard that the Martial Arts skill could only be obtained in Floor Two, she hadn’t spent her SP on anything yet. Which brought their total base DMG at the amazingly high number of 2, not counting crits. 

She didn’t really care anyway. This was a simple battle, nothing that should be taken too seriously. And besides, she could probably - for lack of better term - knock the mob around and prevent it from attacking her. Mishiro looked over her shoulder, gave her companion a thumbs-up, and then charged the boar without any other warning.

The boar was alerted to her presence by her heavy footfalls but it was too slow to react. It could do nothing else but lift its head and squeal in surprise as she planted her left foot on the ground and delivered a solid roundhouse kick to the side of its jaw. 

Edited December 15, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

Mishiro hadn’t fought in a long while. She missed it. She missed the flow of battle, the strategies that ran through her head as she observed her opponent’s moves, and the thrilling rush of victory. So she let the memories of her old fights - memories that she had suppressed before due to the emotional pain of losing her legs and her ability to fight - fill her mind and guide her actions. The pair fell into a routine. Mishiro took the opponent on by herself. Roman healed her from the back whenever she needed it, and gave her a refill after every encounter. They took a quick break after their sixth kill and talked, then when their thirty minutes were up, Mishiro suggested that they fight again.

The routine was quickly broken at the thirteenth encounter.

The force of her blow had knocked the boar away and it was on the ground. Its legs scrabbled against the grass and it grunted angrily, spouting profanity and promises of vengeance in boar language as it attempted to get up. While it was unable to counterattack, Mishiro tossed her hair back and prepared to--

“Incoming!” 

The head of an axe slammed down on the boar’s head.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

Fragments of the virtual body scattered along the grass and glimmered for a short while before disappearing. Mishiro backed away, surprised. Where had they come from? She watched in dismay as the ‘Battle Results’ screen popped up in front of the hooded player.

“There’s an unwritten rule in games against stealing kills, you know?” Roman stepped out from under the shade of a nearby tree and tapped Mishiro’s shoulder. Her HP shot back up and she tugged sharply at his sleeve.

The player faced them and took off their hood, revealing a pretty, youthful face framed by long violet hair. She was tall and looked old enough to be in her twenties. And she was nice enough to hold up a peace sign with an embarrassed smile. “Sorry, Mister! I saw her fighting that mob alone and I thought I could help. I didn’t see you under the tree. Sorry again. Uh, the boar was pretty weak so it didn't drop much, but do you guys want the loot?” She sheathed her axe and flipped through her menu, opening a trade window. Her lavender eyes were on Roman and jewels hung from her smile. “My player name is Arabelle. What’s yours?”

The good doctor promptly ceased his complaints.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

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Three medium-sized boars, all grazing peacefully in the fields. Like the previous mob they had killed, all three remained oblivious to the presence of the violet-haired woman until she was standing right in the middle of them, swinging her glowing axe in a wide arc. The Sword Art dealt damage to all but one, who grunted angrily and rushed at its attacker in retaliation. Before she could dodge, the boar headbutted her and she stumbled backward, narrowly losing her balance.

Mishiro saw her teammate’s HP tick down and jumped between the enraged boar and Arabelle, delivering a spinning kick to the side of its head. At the upper-left field of her vision, she spotted her teammate's HP slowly going up. A heal from Roman. The boar moved to stand, its attention now on Mishiro. But the axe-user had already charged another Sword Art. At her teammate’s warning, Mishiro dove out of the axe’s AoE striking range. She rolled on the ground and regained her balance, dusting off her clothes.

She looked back. All three had burst into fragments and in the middle stood Arabelle, giving her a thumbs-up.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

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“You two are really having fun, huh?” Mishiro dropped her battle stance and watched as Roman tapped their violet-haired teammate's shoulder, bringing her HP back up to full. She didn’t miss the way his gaze seemed to linger on Arabelle for a fraction of a second too long. “Sorry to be a downer, but do you want to go back now? We’ve been killing mobs for the past hour or so, and Shiromi and I haven’t explored the safe zone yet.”

 

“I’m fine with anything.”

 

“Did you want to join in the fun, too?” Arabelle inquired. She stood in front of him with her hands behind her back, her eyes glinting mischievously. In just the short duration of one hour, she had already grown comfortable enough with the two of them to start making odd remarks ("references," Roman called some of them). Mishiro didn’t understand anything, but she admired the woman’s social skills. “Did you, did you? You just have to ask, you know? I’ll [censored] you in, if you want.”

Edited November 5, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

Some sort of silent communication that Mishiro didn’t understand passed between the two adults. She looked from Arabelle’s cheeky smile and unnecessary hand gestures to Roman, who was steadily turning red. There was an awkward pause as one side waited for a reaction and the other side didn’t know how to react.

 

“Whaaa--”

 

Mishiro slowly inched away from where she had been standing between the two of them.

 

“Miss Arabelle, don’t talk to people you’ve just met in that way!” His voice was more high-pitched than usual and his left hand went to the back of his head, a cute gesture... one that he always did whenever he was nervous. Mishiro looked at him, curiously awaiting the rest of whatever he has to say, and he quickly averted his gaze. He was steadily turning red. “I-I mean, guys would normally--”

 

Arabelle stopped him. She did that by grabbing onto his left sleeve and pulling his hand forward. She smiled and raised a hand innocently, palm open. “What were you thinking? I meant a high-five. High-five me, Claude.”

 

“Oh.” Clap.

 

“Hm, hmm~! Alright!” Arabelle exclaimed. She half-turned away from them, facing the direction that led back to the safe zone. She looked like she was contemplating something. “We still need to divide the loot and I kind of owe you guys, so let’s go back together. You said you haven't explored the safe zone yet, right? I stuck around for a bit before leaving, so I'll give the both of you a tour. Come on!”

Edited November 5, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

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"That's xx Col, xx T1 Mats, and an unidentified sword. Well, that is, if you guys traded me everything you looted from the mob," Roman looked at them, with the semi-transparent window of his inventory floating in front of him and distorting his vision slightly. They had stopped walking once they entered the safe zone and were now standing near the town gates.

 

"I gave all of mine! Meanie!" Arabelle huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Mishiro looked at the woman who had her cheeks puffed out rather cutely, and silently nodded along.

 

"Alright, alright. That was a joke." He held up his hands in surrender with a chuckle. "We can divide the Col and the Mats equally, but what do you want to do with the weapon? Having it identified would be a bit expensive, so I'd rather we sell it and divide the Col from that, too."

 

"Oh! We can sell it. But Claude should keep the Col and buy himself a weapon with enhancements," Arabelle suggested. "My weapon skill already gives me a plus in damage, Mishiro's good enough on her own, and you did say you were bored with standing around while we dealt all the damage."

 

"Shiromi doesn't have any enhancements either, so she can make better use of the money."

Edited November 5, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

Mishiro looked at him. Was that supposed to be her?

 

"No, no," Arabelle insisted, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. "You said you wanted to get in on the fun earlier. So let's buy you a weapon. Hey, maybe you and Mishiro could compete on who deals the most damage next time! Think about it...Mishiro's luck with crits versus Claude's DMG enhancements!"

 

"There is a next time?" Mishiro asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Roman look back down at his inventory. 

 

"Of course there is." Arabelle rolled her eyes playfully. "Did you really think we would just part ways here and never see each other again? Nope. Not happening." She skippped forward, stopping between the two of them. And she turned to Roman, prompting him to look up. "I kind of like you." She stepped back and grinned. "Both of you. We should make a party! I don't care if it's horribly unbalanced. Games aren't about who has the best stats. I mean, maybe. But games are about having fun! And," Arabelle took another step back. "I think spending time with you guys is fun. So let's make a team with the three of us, okay?"

Edited November 5, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

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“Here you go.” Mishiro took the caramel apple her new friend held out to her and twirled the popsicle stick between her fingers, examining the sweet’s smooth, sticky surface. Arabelle sat down beside her and she heard a crunch as the violette bit into her ice cream cone. “Can’t believe we just spent all that Col on some lunch and dessert. Man, considering how players don’t really need to eat, the food’s pretty expensive here! You’d think that they’d lower it to entice people to buy, huh?”

 

“We ate at one of the most expensive places in the city,” Mishiro pointed out. That was a bad idea, she had told them earlier. They were supposed to be saving for better equipment and the like. But with both Roman and Arabelle on board, she was outnumbered. She took a large bite out of her apple and gave a satisfied nod. “This is good. How’s yours, Arabelle?”

Edited December 15, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

“Mine’s good, too.” Crunch, crunch, was the sound of Arabelle finishing what was left of her ice cream cone. Mishiro took advantage of the lull in the conversation to enjoy her favorite sweet. It really did taste better here than in real life. The caramel coating was soft and chewy, and the apple inside had a sharp, sweet flavor. At least here, people didn’t have to worry about whether the fruits are fresh. Then, her friend interrupted the peaceful silence once again. “Sooo…” Mishiro paused and met Arabelle’s inquisitive gaze. “Shi-ro-mi~! Claude calls you that, right? Can I call you Shiromi, too?”

 

“Sure, you can. But I don’t even know why he calls me that. It just makes it more difficult for other players to learn my actual username.”

 

“Hehe. Is that hesitation I sense? Could it be a special nickname? Could it be?” At her blank stare, Arabelle explained, “You know...a nickname only one person can call you. Something that you don’t want anyone else calling you. Like...for example.” Mischievousness gleamed in the older player’s eyes. “Calling someone Daddy.”

 

“I guess only kids can call their father that,” she agreed.

 

Arabelle let out an unladylike snort.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

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“What’s this for?” Mishiro held up a small trinket. It was a small panda hanging from a steel chain, and hovering above it was a small semi-transparent window that displayed the item’s stats. For this item, it displayed +1 LD. “Oh, that one too.” She pointed at the item he had been examining. On its pop-up window were the characters +3 EVA.

 

“The one you’re holding,” He lightly grasped her hand and looked at the item closely. “LD’s for drop rates. You get a higher chance of receiving materials and items with enhancements when you kill a mob. I think the beta players once said it applies to off-combat gathering too, but I don’t know how that happens. Remember the sword that dropped for Miss Arabelle earlier?”

 

She did. They sold it once they got back and, as agreed upon earlier, they bought Roman a dagger with a +3 DMG enhancement.

 

“Well, if you bring an LD item, there’s a higher chance you can get one with more enhancement slots.” He sighed, and they both recalled Arabelle’s earlier disappointment upon seeing that the weapon was an Uncommon, not a Perfect. “With that said, I don’t think you should buy that one. Since you have the Col, a full +3 enhancement would be the best option.” He let go of her hand and started looking through the other trinkets the NPC shop had to offer. “Of course. We came here late, so now they’re all sold out.”

Edited November 5, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

“I see.” A hint of disappointment seeped into her tone. Mishiro reached up and put the item back from where it had come from and continued looking through the various trinkets the store offered. There were more little trinkets with cute animals on them and better enhancements...but none had the design she wanted. 

 

“Did you want it?” 

 

“I just.” A light shade of pink dusted her cheeks and she looked away, pretending to look at the gloves the store had on display. Her attention remained on the man standing to her side. “I just thought it was cute.” 

 

“That’s fine.” He chuckled at her embarrassment. She frowned and looked away, her usual, stoic expression returning as she brought up her menu and started exploring its different tabs as she waited for him to finish. She felt a light pat on her head and looked up to see him holding up a +3 ACC trinket. “I’ll pay for this first. Then, how about we visit an artisan? It's a bit more expensive, but they might be able to craft a Perfect item with that design.”

 

Mishiro's voice carried a little cheer as she nodded and said, “Alright.” 

Edited November 5, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

They exited the shop to find Arabelle standing outside, biting the nail on her thumb with her eyebrows knit together in frustration. “Must be a glitch...” Mishiro caught her muttering to herself. The violette noticed their presence and dismissed her menu, placing her usual smile on. “So I decided that I’m not going to log out yet. Sorry, Claude~. And Mishiro. Guess I’ll have to intrude on your date."

 

As she had done so previously, Mishiro fell into step behind the two adults. They seemed to get along very well and somehow, they never ran out of things to talk about. Mostly, they talked about games and anime. Things she didn’t know very much about. She didn’t have anything to offer to the conversation aside from the occasional question about a term she didn’t understand, which would more often than not disrupt the flow and lead away from the main topic. She didn’t want to feel like she was interrupting every time she talked, so she opted to remain quiet instead. 

 

A flash of black out of the corner of her eye. Mishiro stopped and saw a crow perched on top of a lamp post, looking at her curiously. She looked at the couple walking ahead of her, then turned to catch up.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Mishiro

[Mishiro 0]

She took a step forward and halted abruptly. She was moving. She knew she was moving. She could see it. But she couldn’t feel anything. Not her steps landing. Nor the feel of her fingers brushing together. Her hand reached out in front of her. What went up wasn't her entire arm, but only half of it. The rest, steadily disintegrating into intangible fragments. Her vision blurred and it started falling away from the outside going in. Static, the static that occurred when a radio channel wasn’t working, filled her hearing. In front of her, the two stopped walking and in her scrambled senses, she heard Arabelle exclaim in shock and footfalls as Roman rushed to her side.

Not Arabelle's side. Hers.

"A forced teleport?"

She didn’t have the voice nor the will to reprimand him for leaving Arabelle. Remember those mobs you killed? They disappeared the same way. That didn't make sense. Why was she dying? They were in the middle of the safe zone. Her heart was beating fast and a wave of fear washed over her. Why was she so scared? This was just a game, after all. Still, as her vision faded, she reached out blindly in front of her. For a second, she thought she had reached him.

The world around her twisted and everything was wrenched from her hands.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Mishiro