The Rogue Reaper (Sword Art Online)

Part 12: A New World

The days began blurring into each other, and eventually Noct lost count of how many nights had passed. He would have made scratches on the wall to count the days, but his weapons were locked away in a safebox somewhere in the upper levels of the prison building. It felt oddly quiet in the prison. He expected to hear more activity from upstairs, but there didn't seem to be much going on since the night he arrived, besides PAA guards coming down to the dungeon to change shifts or to bring him and Lovino their meals.

The bed didn't become anymore comfortable the more he slept on it, but it was somehow better than sleeping on the floor. If this were the real world, his back would probably be unbearably sore from lying on it. The virtual sun rose on the first floor, streaming a pitiful amount of light through the little window at the end of the hall, but it was enough to see things without a torch or lantern during the day.

Noct woke from another dreamless sleep. Despite there being nothing to do in his cell, he made himself get up from the bed out of principle. Across from him, Lovino was already awake as usual. He was beginning to wonder if she even slept at night at all. Dismissing the thought, he knelt, got on all fours, and began doing push-ups on the cold, dirty ground.

Forty... Forty one...Forty two...

It wasn't a matter of exercise, or preventing his strength stat from deteriorating- that wasn't a mechanic in this game- it was a way to kill time, and a way to occupy himself so his thoughts wouldn't wander to thoughts of what happened that day.

Push-ups were followed by a set of sit-ups. He'd been religiously maintaining this morning routine since before he became trapped in Aincrad, and just never thought to stop, despite it having no benefit to his in-game body.

After sit-ups came shadowboxing. He remembered in the early days, before he joined Mors Incarnatus and the Reapers, he and Taira would have sparring sessions in the mornings before they went out hunting. Noct won most of their duels, but Taira had been improving at an impressive rate around the time they parted ways.

And then you fell behind... You slacked off once you didn't have a training partner,didn't you, you big fool?

Noct dropped his fists, and they hung at his sides uselessly. He sighed, and went to sit on the side of the bed.

A PAA messenger carrying two trays of food came down the stairs in a bit more of a hustle than normal. After wordlessly passing the trays through a slot in the door, he motioned to the guard on watch to follow him.

"Got a message from the Captain, he says they need more men to help fortify Ronbaru. Raiders and gankers are running around scaring players and making it unsafe. A trade caravan coming back to town also needs reinforcements. Come on, let's go."

"Huh? What about these guys?"

"Captain says don't worry about them. They can't go anywhere anyway. I'll get some random recruit to watch them or something."

As they left, Noct turned to his tray with low expectations.

"Dry bread and oat-mush, again. Stop the torture, I'll tell you whatever you want," he muttered under his breath. He picked up a bread slice, and half of it crumbled off in his hand. "The generic stuff from NPC shops tastes better than this. Or even the instant ramen from the other day. Akari, where are you when I need you..."

He was desperately craving one of Akari's home-cooked Japanese-style breakfasts right now, but she hadn't come back to visit him since that night. Noct had been sending her messages when he was bored, but the frequency of her replies became gradually longer, and lately her replies had been worryingly late, if he got a reply at all. She always eventually assured him she was okay, though.