-IV-
10 minutes later.
"Ready everyone?"
"Yes!" Responded three voices in unison.
We were in a diamond military formation, waiting for the final signal from our leader.
"Then..." Neo was at the front; his gaze fixed on the monster pack. "Go!"
As expected, Neo was the first to engage, his fists glowing white as he approached the first wolf ahead. As soon as the beast jumped, he split it in two before it could even open its jaws, leaving behind only a shower of sparkling polygons.
He predicted the attack. Even a novice like me can tell this isn't a standard player demonstration. I also wanted to ask how he did that. I mean...what's the point of calling a game 'Sword Art' if you don't really need a sword to play it?
This wasn't the time though. As part of the left flank of the formation, I had to do my job.
A hungry «Dire Wolf» pounced at me. I prepared my skill, the rapier in my hand glowing as a positive response to my pose.
[Linear]
And parallel to what the Westerner did, I dispatched it with a swifty single stroke of my weapon.
That...wasn't hard. I might overestimate the hassle to keep myself alive. Activating a sword skill proved to be easy. As Mito said; as long as you mastered the required motion-input, the system ensured that your technique connected. After all, how many people would play high-difficulty videogames nowadays? Most would prefer easy phone games over complex ones.
At my side, Lisbeth was doing fine enough too. Her weapon swings were slower than mine, but she got the right timing to smash any approaching foe.
As we advanced, more of the wolfs greeted us.
"Mito, switch!"
In response to Neo's shout, my classmate went ahead from the rear to meet our foes. Her scythe glowed purple before making a horizontal motion, killing two in a single blow.
We were gonna make it. I had my doubts before, but now I could see the light at the end of this nightmare. The freedom I was stolen from was within my reach.
Neo repositioned himself to the rear to cover any slips from Lisbeth. From time to time, Mito would do the same for me as we gained grounds through a sea of teeth and claws.
Our steady pace brought us to roughly the middle point of the monster horde. Our safe haven was on sight –a village that should provide us with better chances to get us out of here–, and a well-deserved rest.
But-
/ Silver Fang \
A large silver wolf made its presence known into our fight, showing dreadful fangs before lunging at our group.
"Mito, switch again!"
Our leader changed places once more, obstructing the path between the beast and the rest of us. His arms and legs turned white before landing several hits on the predator. Even after an exchange where Neo got away unhurt, he was forced to retreat.
"Shit...I barely stopped it." Unrelenting in its push, the big silver wolf kept up the offensive. Its claws glowed deep blue. "It's going for a Skill! Spread!"
And spread we did. Just a second later, a thunderous sound struck the ground where we had stood, creating four deep scars drawn into the earth. I would love to say that was the worst and most frightening part, but the other wolfs were still unrelenting too.
"Together, now!" Neo's voice interrupted my growing hopelessness for a moment, as I deflected the attacks from these beasts.
We had to pull back a little before meeting again.
"We have to get out!" Mito snapped at our leader. "There's no chance we can pass through, not with the Field Boss among them!"
"..." As we kept fighting, the Westerner frowned. Even when his eyes were distant, his body still reacted against any threats; a look that betrayed his mental work...weighing our options.
"Mito," Neo finally broke his silence, "lead the group in a 'wedge formation'."
"What...?" My classmate tore from her throat. A flicker of confusion in her sight. "But you...we...wait...you wouldn't dare," she whispered, the question laced with a dawning comprehension into her features.
"I leave it to you!" And without any additional explanation, Neo threw himself into the heart of battle...where the great beast awaited its victim.
"Neo!" "Fool!" Lisbeth and Mito cried out, but he didn't pay them any attention.
The Westerner gave a war cry that. After the first strikes, he started making magnified Kiais (short shouts uttered when performing an assault), as if he was an overacted Hollywood martial artist. As weird as it was, this extremely aggressive stance seemed to drive the attention of most of the monsters towards him.
"I will distract these doggies!" Our leader said amid his suicidal performance. "Push forward..." We remained rooted, witnesses to a sacrifice born of...born of what? At least two of us didn't know him for more than twenty minutes ago! "Now!"
And it wasn't only the alpha wolf. He was attracting a storm of fangs and claws that won't hesitate to tear him apart. And the most unbelievable part was that it's working; him holding his ground and even eliminating some of the pack with expert martial arts moves.
"Unarmed...and still doing that much damage?" Mito whispered in unison disbelief with us.
Who's this guy? How can he do that and make it seem so effortless? If this was real, he would look like a master martial artist!
"Ha! Receive my Jackie Chan Swift-Kick, you monsters!" He shouted with no shame.
...or maybe he just saw too many movies. Americans...
"Tch, whatever!" Mito clicked her tongue as she positioned herself at the front. "We'll push until escape, come on!"
Neo's reckless diversion thinned the horde ahead, and we surged into the gap he'd created. Thanks to his sheer audacity, we advanced with renewed hope. However, our desperate thrust faltered as Lisbeth cried out, her foot catching on a hidden root. She pitched forward, tumbling amongst the snapping maws of the enemy. Our formation fractured instantly. Wolves swarmed her downed figure, claws scrabbling, teeth gnashing.
"No! Get away!" she screamed, raw terror widening her eyes. Her mace swung wildly, connecting between air and foes. With every panicked shriek, her movements grew more erratic, until each block failed, and her HP bar bled red at an alarming rate. "Ahh!"
Fortunately, Mito reacted, making a quick job these despicable beasts with a single s.
"Hurry up, before that madman gets himself killed!" Mito growled at her; I would guess more out of frustration than anything else. Lisbeth snapped out of her panic; still shaking, distressed, but once more aware and back into the fight.
We were able to resume our advancement, which became a run at some point.
Until we finally had no enemies on us. "We are out!" Mito yelled at our male companion.
"Go into the village!" His voice barely reached us from the swarm of barks. "See ya all there!" And suddenly, he went straight into the bushes. The monsters, including the big alpha, tail him without missing a second.
Lisbeth was about to follow suit, but Mito halted her pursuit, hand on her shoulder. "He will attempt to lose them by going through the forest." She explained as our mace-user grimaced. "That's even crazier. Nonetheless, there's nothing we can do. We must believe he will meet us at the village."
As the seconds passed, some of the enemies began turning back towards us. That leave us no option but to make our run.
"There it is!" Mito pointed at a small settlement that glowed like gold. The entrance as the Heaven's Doors calling for any near soul.
Almost there. Just a bit more and we are done–
Sudden as a car crash, confusion detonated in my head; I felt as if I could see with my skin, hear with my breath, smell through my ears, feel with my sight, and taste the sound with my tongue. This intertwining of perception was by far the strangest experience I've ever had. As consequence, my balance evaporated in between the sensory chaos, immediately collapsing onto the ground.
What's going on!? In a few seconds, my senses were back. I instinctively looked behind, and those ravenous canines were still on our tail.
My hand shot to my side, grasping only air. My rapier! Panic flared as I spotted it gleaming on the dirt, hopelessly out of reach.
Before I could even scramble, the beasts surged, as a tide of fur and teeth. Their weight slammed me down, a very realistic hot breath thick with snarls washed over my face. Snapping teethes, inches away from me.
They're going to tear me apart. "Asuna!" Mito's desperate cry cut through my chaotic thoughts. "Damn it, hang on!" I saw her pivot, scythe raised, lunging back towards me—a fleeting image of hope against the gnashing maws closing in—
—And then the world winked out. Sight, sound, the pressure of the wolves—all vanished instantly. I floated in an infinite, silent darkness, the only feature faint streams of glowing gold code drifting past like digital rain.
"Wha-?" One moment, a crushing weight and imminent death; the next, absolute weightlessness in a mute, featureless void.
"Mito? Where...?" I tried to call out, my voice a thin whisper in the oppressive emptiness.
I looked wildly around, finding only more codes and...nothing.
"...Where in the world am I?" Panic began to bubble beneath the shock.
"Did I just-" A stark finality hit me, without mercy...without nobody to save me. "-die?"
Defeated on day one. No escape. No future. Lost everything. "N-no…" My voice trembled. "It can't end here! It-it can't!" The fragile control shattered, overwhelmed by despair. "NOOOOOOO!"