The Hidden Player: Land of the Faries

Chapter 4: Welcome To ALfheim

Y/N POV:

While taking my anger and frustration out on the training I received a text message. It was from Kazuto he had sent me some address and told me to meet him there. He also sent a picture in the message. The picture was that of a giant birdcage. But what struck me as off was that it looked like there was someone inside of the cage. I zoomed in on the picture and saw that the person looked very similar to Asuna.

It was then I ran inside and got ready to leave and meet up with Kazuto. I told my parents that I was going out and that I'd be back later. When my mom asked where I was going I told her that I was meeting up with a friend. After that I got on my bike and rode to the address Kazuto sent me.

Time Skip

The address sent me to a cafe called Dicey Cafe. I went inside and saw Kazuto already talking to someone. The guy Kazuto was talking to was actually Agil. We fist bumped and got reacquainted with each other. Turns out Agil's real name was Andrew and that he was married. I joked saying how could anyone marry someone as stubborn as him.

Jokes aside we got down to business the photo, where did it come from? Andrew put this game in front of us it was a VRMMORPG. Andrew explained to us that the game was called ALfheim online. It was the successor to SAO and the name ALfheim means "land of fairies". I grabbed the case of the game it looked interesting to say the least. Andrew then explained that the game's system was different then that of SAO.

First the game encourages player killing and emphasizes on the player's skill which meant that there wasn't a leveling system. That intrigued both Kazuto and I we wondered then how players got stronger. Apparently combat is dependent on the athletic ability of the player. That meant if I played I'd be very skilled.

A feature that wasn't in SAO but is in this game is the ability to fly. That feature was one of the reasons the game was so popular. The player was able to fly because of the flight engine but Andrew said that it was hard to control. Kazuto began to geek out over how someone could control the wings and fly. "Come on man geek out later" I said getting Kazuto to focus again.

"So what does this game have to do with Asuna?" Kazuto asked. Andrew threw pictures in front of us. They were the same ones he sent to Kazuto and the one Kazuto sent me. Andrew explained that photos were taken in ALfheim online. Andrew flips the game case over and says that the pictures where taken at this place called the World Tree. Andrew said that there was apparently a castle on top of the World Tree.

Andrew then explained that in the world of ALfheim online there were none races not including the three extra races for the first three copies purchased. The goal of the races was to reach the top of the world tree.

Apparently five players teamed up to reach the top. Since there was a limit on how long a player could fly the five players stacked on top of each other and would shoot each other up like a rocket. Kazuto and I thought that it was actually a smart idea that could of worked. The players didn't make it to the top but however they made it to the first branch and took pictures. When they analyzed the photos they found the birdcage and the woman inside of it that looked like Asuna.

Both Kazuto and I were confused as to what this game and Asuna had in common. When Kazuto pointed out the RECT progress label on the back it made me remember Sugou and what he had said. Kazuto asks what hardware the game ran on. Andrew said that it ran on this device called the amusphere it was basically a more advanced and safer version of the nervegear. Kazuto asked if he could borrow the game for a week which Andrew agreed to. Andrew asked how I would get the game.