SAO: The Story Of A Legend

Chapter 42: Hikaru's POV

I sat in the cafe and waited for Iku, who seemed to be very late. A message popped up on my screen...

"Hmm? Who's this?"

From: ???
Check the news

I stared at the message, confused....who sent this?? I went and looked at the ALO news and info....

"Meet the legend! Rafe Takara, now known as The Legend of ALO has just a few words for all of you!"

hmm....this Rafe guy again....what does he have to say....

"Hello players of ALO! I am Rafe, obviously. And I just want to let you all know that you can do anything that you put your mind to. There's a certain person I'm not necessarily a fan of.....and I've always wanted to beat him in a duel, but I was never strong enough. Well I'm here to tell you that if you put time and dedication into everything you do, then you can achieve your goal! I'm now the best player in ALO! Thank you!"

Pfft....how stupid. I closed up the news and looked up. I saw Iku leaning very close to me and staring at me, making me jump slightly....

"H-hey Iku, what's up?"

"What were you watching, Hiku??"

She sat down on the chair across from me, and smiled at me.

"Oh, it was just the ALO news. I got some weird message from someone I don't know, telling me to go and watch the news..."

"Oh? What was on it?"

"You heard of that Rafe Takara guy? Well it was just some inspirational thing he recorded for the players. So, what's the plan?"

As soon as I asked that she got so excited I think even people outside of ALO could see it.....

"Okay! Sotheresthisnewquestthatjustcameoutandimreally-"

"Woah woah Iku, please calm down!!!!"

She was talking so fast I could barely understand her.....jeez, she's really excited about this thing!

"S-sorry Hiku....what I was saying, is that there's a new quest that just came out, but it seems like I'm the only one that has it unlocked!! I really really want to do it, the rewards are insane!!! Better than my gear at the end of SAO, Hiku!!! I really REALLY want to do it! Please!!! Please, can you help me with it?"

I smiled. Her excitement is adorable.

"Yes, yes of course I'll help! Here, I'm gonna send you a message so read it secretly, okay?"

I whispered to her, and sent her a message.

From: Hiku
Let's go talk somewhere private. If other players here about this, they'll be trying to complete it before we find out anything.

She looked up at me and nodded and we left the cafe. We entered a small alleyway and I turned and saw a Spriggan, who seemed to be watching us....

"Hey! Why are you watching us?"

The man walked over to us and smiled.

"I heard your conversation and I would like to help. Not with this quest I mean. I mean keeping it a secret. I'm a spriggan, which means I can use a shield to protect your conversations from anyone outside the bubble. I'll stay outside so I won't here anything."

I looked at Iku, to see if she trusted him or not....

"How can we know if you're lying or not? We don't even know who you are! For all we know, you could just do it to get the info for yourself!"

He nodded.

"Yes, it's true you have no way of knowing to trust me or not. But you do know that all the rewards are females exclusive, right? Meaning men can't get the rewards, only girls can. So if I were to sabotage your quest, what would I have to gain? Even the Yuld you get from it is female only! I will gain nothing from the quest."

I looked at Iku who seemed to start trusting him....I looked back at him...

"How do you even know the quest is female-only? Iku is the only one that got the info. So how do you know that?!"

"Well, I have to say that when she's excited....she is, LOUD and I mean, very loud. I was living in the room next to hers at an inn she was staying at, and I heard her talking to herself about it. Didn't think much of it....I mean, a player gets the chance to complete a quest and get herself a great reward? Yeah sure that would be a nice chance to sabotage! But it's a girl-only thing, so I don't care. Look, if you don't want my help, fine. But keep your voice down or find a better place to hide."

He started walking away.....I looked at Iku, to see if she trusted him.

"Hiku, I never stayed at an inn when I got the message about the quest....I was outside town, grinding for EXP yesterday when I got the message. He's lying....let's just....how's the best way to talk about it, Hiku?"

I looked at her.

"Let's talk about it in the real world, at your house. No one near where we live plays ALO....I mean, some people used to play SAO, but they all quit gaming completely. They got paranoid and won't even go near a controller....we'll be fine to talk about it there."

She nodded and we logged out.