The Exploiter (A Sword Art Online Fanfic)

Chapter 2:Fallen friends

After the earth shattering announcement was over, kirito and klein pulled me up by the shoulders and carried me over to a secluded alleyway.

While they tried to get me to snap out of my panic attack by shaking me,I still couldn't get myself to process what I had just heard.

Before I slipped further down into insanity,a sudden burst of pain broke me out of my trance.

"Ouch,"I grabbed my check before angrily glaring at the person who had slapped me.

Kirito rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly."It was the only way I could get you to listen to me.Sorry,man."

"So,I was thinking that we should stick together.My experience may not be worth much,now that the game has been changed,but I can still keep you safe."

Klein shook his head."I'm sorry man.My friends are back there,and they don't know as much about the game as me.I think I'll start a guild with them-you two are welcome to join."

Kirito declined,and I did as well.While klein was a good friend,we still didn't know much about this new world.Getting tied down with guild work before exploring it would be a pain.

Kirito looked at me."What about you?Will you join me?"

I slumped against the wall of the alleyway."No thanks.All my life,I've broken videogames and cheated the system as a hobby."

"That's all this is man.A video game.And you can bet that I'll break this game too."

Kirito waved a farewell before dashing to the city outskirts,and klein rushed back into the sea of players.

I cracked my knuckles,and rose up.

It's time to get started.

I took out my map,trying to find a merchant,the first step
in my rebellion against akihiko kayaba.
--
----
Three weeks passed by in the blink of an eye.And,in those three weeks,everything went to shit.The beta testers had become black sheep thanks to kirito taking the blame for an ill-prepared and horrible attempt to clear the first boss room.

A lot of people had decided that the only way to escape the game was through taking the final step,and newbies were dying left and right trying to get stronger.

For my part,I had tried everything exploit I knew of.
As far as I knew,there weren't any UI glitches,no faulty npc interactions,and item duplication was limited to junk items,like paper and ink.

The only other thing I could think of was trying to clip through the walls-trying to teleport through them to somewhere I wasn't supposed to be.

In the meantime,I leveled up my character,and made preparations to carry out my plan to clip through the walls of the dungeon.

A couple of days into my investigation through information brokers about which dungeon had the narrowest ceilings and the least dangerous mob spawns,I got a message from kirito inviting me to a drink.

Why is the king of the anti-socials inviting me for a drink?

Intrigued,I decide to go to the inn and wait for him.

After a couple of minutes,he showed up,with-to my surprise,a group full of chatty teens.

"Hey, kirito!"I called out,and he seemed to flinch at the mention of his name.

Kirito came over and patted me on the shoulder.A brown haired boy broke off from the group behind kirito,and took my hand,before firmly shaking it.

"Well hello,Y/N!I'm keita,and these idiots behind me are sachi,tetsuo,sasumaru and ducker,in that order.Kirito has told us a lot about you."

"Well kirito,well be sitting at the next table over.Take all the time you need with you friend,"keita began walking away,his arms on his friends shoulders.

Kirito made himself comfortable in his chair before he started speaking."They're good friends."

I slapped kirito's arm."Since when did you make friends?"

"I'm a part of their guild actually.Its called the moonlit black cats."

"Do they know about you being a-a beater?"

"Of course not.I just kinda felt like I needed to help them."

I took a sip of ale,and pointed at kirito with the mug."So what made you call me here?"

Kiri to looked at the girl named sachi before replying."How far have you come in trying to break the game?I'm asking because some people would really be delighted at the news."

I shook my head."I'm afraid that all my attempts weren't successful.But my next idea might just work."

"Well,keep trying.Good luck."
Kirito slammed a couple of coins on the table,before leaving to join his friends.

I smiled and finished my drink.He had finally found his place in the game.
--
----
Another week passed,and I used it make all the paper and ink I could.

While I was taking a break from placing paper in and out of a chest repeatedly,I heard a knock on my inn door.

I shuffled to the door,before slowly opening it.

To my surprise,kirito stood on the other side,looking like a feral animal.I jumped back in surprise,but before I could say anything,he started mumbling a set of sentences.

"Please help me.They're all dead.They're all dead and it's my fault."