SAO (FanFictions)

AZO-Azeroth Online 2

"Teach you?" parroted a surprised Kirito, eyebrow quirked in bemused intrigue at the Worgen before him.

"Yeah, I mean, you're one of the beta-testers, right?" The werewolf was dressed in similar Warrior attire to his own, with a few customary additions that Kirito could only assume he'd purchased from the vendor NPCs in the «Trade District». The one that stood out, however, was the red headband cinched tightly across his forehead, mirroring the slight reddish tint of his fur. Because of the height difference, the sight of a ferocious worgen with its head bowed and hands clasped in a pleading manner to a human nearly a head or two shorter than him was quite laughable, though Kirito had the tact not to offer anything more insulting than a subtle smirk.

"Yeah, that's right, why?" The young gamer crossed his arms as the worgen broke his begging posture and placed a hand on his shoulders.

"Then we can help each other out, that's why!" The ginger werewolf flashed him a toothy grin, jerking a thumb at his chest as he did. "You can teach me how to use the new NerveGear... geared, combat engine, and I can show you some of the better hunting spots around here where we can practice 'em! They're great for grinding and getting more XP, especially at our levels just starting out."

Now that got Kirito's attention. He'd been a beta-tester after all, so he should've known where the best spots to level up were in the game. And yet, this guy was saying there were some places he'd overlooked? But that would mean... He took another look at the character name floating over his furred companion's head and his suspicions were confirmed, not to mention his curiosity was piqued. The text was a royal blue, indicating he was one of the veteran Alliance players that had pre-ordered AZO through battle-net and been allowed to port his characters and guild membership over to the virtual edition to Warcraft, albeit with stats at the same level as the new-comers, so there was no real segregation between players. It read:

«Klein»

«Fellowship of the Crimson Fang»

'Hmm... This might be worth checking out.' Kirito pondered Klein's offer for a moment, debating whether or not to humor the ginger-furred Worgen. 'Not only will I get a leg up on the other players and level up faster, but I can dig up some tips I can give Argo for that guidebook she said she was cooking up for the new players back in the beta. Besides,' he glanced back up at the smiling wolfman, that good-nature of his incredibly infectious if the smile on Kirito's own face was any indication, 'He seems like an okay guy. And a little guided tour couldn't hurt, especially if it's by someone who knows the area.'

"Alright, count me in," Kirito agreed, opening his menu to invite Klein into their two-man party, setting the loot divvy up to "free-for-all," just to be fair. If Klein's avatar had a tail, he was almost certain it would be wagging with how happy the guy looked as he accepted the invite and the prompt appeared in their field of vision. Kirito offered his hand and introduced himself to his new friend, and Klein took it in his large paw as he did the same. It took a second for that fact to sink in, but for the first time since the beta began, Kirito had opened himself up to someone other than family. The first had been Argo, and now, his friends list had grown by one name. There was something... Comforting, about that, for some reason.

"Okay, let's get to it then!" Klein headed off in the direction opposite where Kirito had been running earlier when the worgen had stopped him, puzzling the human warrior for a moment before his canine compatriot realized he was lagging behind. "Come on man, hurry it up! The ferry's not gonna wait all day."

Growing more and more confused by the second, Kirito hastily sprinted to catch up with the much faster Klein, who loped ahead of him through throngs of players and NPCs alike. "Ferry? What ferry? To where?"