"All right, just be careful next time."
We got up, dusted ourselves off, and greeted each other.
"By the way, my name is Reno. What's yours?" I greeted him politely as I noticed his resemblance to a black swordsman.
"Kirito. But my real name is Kirigaya Kazuto," he said, gesturing slightly with his hands.
"Reno Kashi. Nice to meet you, Kirito... Have you been here long?" I asked, smiling as I looked into his eyes.
"I've been here for quite a while, I'd say I'm a little more advanced than the other newbies." Kirito said this with confidence in his abilities, piquing my curiosity.
"Really? Come to think of it... we are, since the vast majority have been able to finish creating their characters now and have shown up here at the stalls to look for something." Looking around, many street vendor stalls were covered with players who intended to buy items for their inventory.
New players receive a certain amount of (COL), which are the coins used in the world of Sword Art Online, more specifically in Aincrad... They can be used to buy common items that help you progress through lower levels without too much difficulty.
After all, this isn't a game where the environment is all square, I'm not going to be killing monsters or cutting down trees with my fists, am I? Such a weird setup... only Steve and Alex, his female partner, have the ability to break things with their fists.
A few seconds passed and a scream was heard from afar, calling for help.
"Oh my God... I have to go. See you later, okay?" Kirito said as he turned his body around and ran toward the scream that was calling him.
"Sure! Take care, Kirito!" Shouting back, I see him crossing an alley a few meters away and he disappears without a trace.
After he finished saying goodbye to me, I was genuinely curious to know how his current player status compared to my level.
= Decoding the player system =
| LOADING: 10%... 50%... 100% |
[Name] - Renshi
[Floor Level] – 6
____________________
[Name] - Kirito
[Floor Level] – 8
Our current levels are almost the same, Kirito would only be slightly higher than me due to his experience of having gone two floors higher than me... I didn't go that far because it was a little difficult to balance my gaming time with my studies.
"Heh... I like it." Moved by his level, I continued walking quietly through the city, looking to observe more new players and how they were progressing, but suddenly I was hit on the shoulder by someone running quickly down the sidewalk.
"What the hell is this?! Watch where you're going, you piece of shit!" I complained with a look of rage on my face, looking at the guy who bumped into me.
"Sorry, buddy! I'm in a hurry!" He shouted back and ran straight into the same alley where Kirito had disappeared... which made me a little suspicious.
"Um... All right then." I muttered, accepting the apology and resuming my walk through the city, still without a definite goal.
On the other side, Kirito and that desperate guy would probably meet.
[Kirito and Klein's POV]
"Wait, whose screams were those? ... She's not here anymore."
"Hey! You there!"
Kirito stopped to see what he wanted, a little dismissive since he needed to plan his move to the next floor.
"Me? What is it?" Kirito asked, turning to the guy who was panting, clearly not used to running so much.
While the man tried to catch his breath, Kirito just watched him, completely calm. It showed how experienced he already was inside Aincrad; it was clear that running and fighting no longer affected him.
"Your movements are surreal. It looks like you've been here several times!" the man commented, surprised. "You're one of the beta testers, aren't you?"
"Yes..." Kirito replied, keeping his eyes on the man's face.
"Today is my first day here in Sword Art Online. I bought the offer that became available today... could you give me some tips? Please!" The man asked, putting his hand on Kirito's shoulder.
You could tell he was being sincere. Even though he was a little embarrassed, Kirito listened to him this time and was interested in trying to help him a little.
"Oh, I almost forgot! My name is Klein. Nice to meet you!" said the guy excitedly, pointing to himself.
Kirito smiled slightly, crossed his arms, and replied:
"Kirito, nice to meet you."
[End of POV]
The two greeted each other, and I, for my part, was already in a green field, full of delicious wild boars that would become high-quality food in my hungry mouth.
"Okay, I'm bored... And I feel like eating some good wild boar meat!" I thought aloud, watching a dark blue wild boar in front of me.
My stomach growled. Of course, hunger doesn't disappear just because we were in a game. I needed to "eat," even if it was just for roleplay... bizarre, I want to eat something that won't even fill me up and I'm going crazy for it, I hope I don't come across as some kind of Magali from Turma da Mônica.
= Player Menu =
[Weapons] – Iron Sword (obtained from the Class Menu)
I conjured the beginner's sword in my hand and assumed a combat stance. The boar noticed my presence and grunted, preparing to charge at me... but I was definitely going to stop it.
The blade of my sword began to glow. I ran with all my might toward the animal.
"Graaaaah!" With a loud cry, and with a single blow, I cut the boar in half.
It exploded into several blue triangles, losing all its HP in exchange for delicious meat.
= Result =
[EXP] – 24
[COL] – 30
[ITEMS] – 2
"Let's eat well today, Amen." Calmly giving thanks for the food, I throw myself onto the grass to enjoy the view, savoring my first hunt of the day in the world of SAO.
As the breeze blew over my body and my hair moved in the valley wind, my eyes suddenly noticed two players approaching the area... and the distance between us made it difficult for me to tell who they were.