Sword Art Online - Alternative Reality

The Insane Blade CHP. 1

A chilling wind blew through the empty plaza, the dim moonlight giving the cavernous terrain a sickly gleam. Putting up my collar to drive away the chill I felt, it felt as if something was moving in the shadows. Astrals didn't spawn on this floor, but considering what happened here, it wouldn't be all that surprising if this floor became inhabited by something sinister, after all, no one in their right mind would come to this town unless they wanted to hide. Looking over the teleport plaza, barren of all life whether player or NPC, I couldn't help but wonder what the front-runners thought when they first came up this floor...and what they thought after the catastrophe that ensued.

Pulling my coat even tighter as I felt my legs begin to freeze up, I still saw no sight of the swordsman that should have been here 20 minutes ago.

"Argh...just where is that idiot?"

"Wow, that's pretty rude don't ya think?"

Drawing my sword from my left hip despite still being in the safe zone, I spun around looking for the voice, yet there was nothing there. I was currently on the roof of one of the few buildings located in this town, half embedded in a hill. Other than the signboard that I had been leaning on, there was nowhere to hide, so just where the hell did that come from?

"Up here Naut."

Looking up at where the voice had come from, I saw a figure dressed in almost completely black, save for a few red markings signaling his affiliation, the moon behind him giving him an even more eerie and suspicious aura than he usually has. Despite knowing his nature, I couldn't help but shiver at the light reflecting off the pommel of his sword, a weapon of vastly superior quality than anything I could dream of scraping together. Add on his skills and ability to just show up out of nowhere...

"How the hell did you come through the teleport gate without me noticing...and how did you get up there in the first place?"

Jumping down beside me as I sheathed my sword, the most irritating and possibly strongest swordsman put on a cynical smile as he leaned on the board.

"Well I used the teleport gate normally, but when I saw your elbow sticking out I just quietly climbed up the side of the building until I was right on top of you. We're in a safe zone, but you should probably pay a bit more attention to your surroundings you know?"

"You're the last one I want to hear that from. Anyway, although I shouldn't be surprised, why are you so late?"

"I got responsibilities to you know, how do you expect me to just show up on time at the last minute?"

"Sure you do."

Shrugging his shoulders in a lackadaisical manner, Kirito reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white bag with a red ribbon. With no idea what it was, an appealing scent flooded my nose when he opened it up, grabbing a piece of whatever was inside and popping it into his mouth.

"It's almost 9 PM...didn't you have dinner already?"

"Guild meeting ran long, and I was supposed to until someone called me out here. So..."

Shaking the bag in his hand, Kirito continued to chew on the food in question. It seemed to be some sort of biscuit, and even though I had already had dinner, the smell was so appetizing that I could feel my stomach growling again. However, when I moved and leaned beside him to take a closer inspection, he fixed me with a look that rivaled that of the vice-commander.

"Don't even think about it."

"Seriously? You're just gonna eat that in front of me and not even offer a bite? Ever learn any manners? Where did you even get those anyway, I've never seen them before, neither in player or NPC shops."