Sword Art Online - Volume 3 - Fairy Dance

by Reki Kawahara

  Kirito said in a low voice.

  “But I…I really have to get to the top of the world tree.”

  Dark eyes that were glinting as brilliantly as a polished sword as they stared at her, Lyfa’s heart began to resound in her chest. Lyfa took a sip of wine in an attempt to calm down and said:

  “Why must you go so far?”

  “I’m looking for someone.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s something which can not be explained simply.”

  Kirito smiled at Lyfa, but his eyes revealed the depth of his despair. Where have I seen eyes that look like that?

  “Lyfa…thanks, your teaching helped me a lot. Thank you for the delicious meal. I’m glad you were the first person I met here.”

  Lyfa unconsciously grasped Kirito’s wrist as he stood up.

  “Hey, wait a minute…do you really plan on going to the world tree?”

  “Yeah, this is something I have to see with my own eyes.”

  “That’s crazy, doing that. It’s very far away. There are many powerful monsters between here and the world tree. I know you are strong, but…”

  Oh, she thought and it was already coming out of her mouth:

  “Then, I’ll take you there.”

  “Oh?”

  Kirito’s eyes opened wide.

  “No, but, I shouldn’t impose on someone I’ve just met…”

  “Yes, I’ve already passed through the gate of decision!!”

  Lyfa turned away to hide the cheeks that had become hot. In ALO, because there are wings to fly, other means of instantaneous movement do not exist. Therefore, journeying to the center of the world, the world tree, and the capital of ALfheim, «Aarun» is just like a journey in the real world. Moreover, to offer to make this journey with a young man she had just met a few hours ago, this was behavior that even Lyfa thought was incredible.

  But – why… I can’t just leave him alone.

  “Will you be here tomorrow?”

  “Oh…Yeah.”

  “Then three o’clock in the afternoon. I have to go now. If you want to log out, then use a room in «Lily of the Valley Pavillion». So, see you tomorrow.”

  Finished, Lyfa opened the menu by waving her right hand. As a Sylph, she can immediately log out from anywhere in this territory, so she pressed the logout button.

  “Ah, wait!”

  Kirito raised his head to face Lyfa and said with a smile:

  “Thank you.”

  Lyfa finally smiled and she nodded once, then she pressed the OK button. The world was wrapped in rainbow-colored light, then became dark. Lyfa’s body gradually faded, only the heat of her face and beat of her heart making it to the real world.

  She slowly opened her eyes.

  The familiar poster attached to her ceiling entered her vision. This was an enlarged screenshot that she printed out. The poster featured an infinite sky, free-flying birds, and the central picture of a flying fairy girl with long hair in a ponytail.

  Kirigaya Suguha raised her hands to her head and took off the Amusphere helmet. With only two security rings side by side it is a delicate looking machine that in comparison to the first generation, NERvGear, seems luxurious to many, but also gives less of an impression of being binding equipment.

  Even though she had returned to the real world from the false one, her cheeks showed no sign of cooling. Suguha sat up straight in bed, her hands pinching her face, a shout echoing in the depths of her heart.

  …Wuwa!

  Too late now, she felt a tremendous surge of embarrassment at her actions, only more and more aware of just how bold she had been. Before she started playing, her classmate, Nagata Shinichi, aka Recon, had told her that as long as she transformed into Lyfa, her boldness would increase by fifty percent. She never thought it would lead to the kind of extreme behavior she displayed today. Suguha was in agony for a while, thrashing both legs.

  He was a mysterious young man. No, as a player there was no way to know his age, but Suguha’s intuition told her that their age was only a little different. But he had a surprisingly calm demeanor, and no mischievous behavior or naughty words, so she couldn’t be sure.

  Not only was his character enigmatic, but he was fearfully strong. So much that if they were to cross blades, she was sure she would lose. In her one year of play, he was the first person she met that was like that. Suguha blurted out his name:

  “Kirito-kun, hmmm”

  Part 5

  I want to see it for myself, That illusionary world, Suguha had thought for the first time a year after the SAO incident.

  Before that, to Suguha, VRMMO games where almost an anathema, for taking away her brother, she had no words capable of describing her sense of revulsion. But in holding his hand in the ward and trying to hold onto his speech and her memories of who he was, curiosity sprouted about what kind of thing could draw him strongly enough that he could end up like this. She wanted to know more about him - because of that thought she decided to see for herself, as she thought it was the only way to narrow the distance between her and her brother.

  ‘I want an Amusphere.’ Suguha asked her mother. Midori looked at Suguha and nodded slowly. ‘Just take care not to use it too much and pay attention to your physical health.’ Her mother said, laughing.

  The next day, during lunch break, she found herself standing in front of Nagata Shinichi. He was someone known as a maniac and was the best gamer in her class. She had gone to his desk and said she would wait for him on the roof. At that time the class was shrouded in silence, only to break out in shocked speech.

  On the roof, Suguha looked at Nagata Shinichi whose eyes shone in expectation while frozen said. ‘I want you to teach me how to play VRMMO.’ Nagata heard this and made all kinds of comical faces for several seconds, then asked what she wants to know.

  Suguha could not afford to spend less time on studies or kendo practice. Upon hearing this, Nagata said ‘So, something that’s not too time intensive and based on player skills right?’ and other questions. What he recommended was ALfheimOnline.

  She didn’t know Nagata would start playing ALO with her. However, due to his exhaustive, and exhausting lecture. Suguha had adapted to the game with amazing speed, and she found she was very good at the game. There were two reasons for this:

  The first reason is that Suguha had been doing Kendo for many years and the skills learned there were very effective for fights in ALO.

  In general, the fighting between players did not take evasion into account. Mainly, players just attacked the enemy and then took his attack in return, this would continue until one of the players could no longer fight or died. But Suguha, because of her long practice, was easily able to avoid or deflect the attacks aimed at her. Of course, her strong attacks count too.

  In addition, ALO is not a level-based game. So despite logging far less time than the most experienced players, she was able to match up with some of the best fighters in ALO. In fact, Lyfa’s numerical parameters were average and lower than most old players, but because it ran off a purely skill-based system she was considered one of the top Sylph players.

  The second reason why Suguha played ALO is because of the ability to be able to fly which is unique to this game.

  Suguha can still remember when she first mastered Voluntary Flight, the sensation was unforgettable.

  Suguha was often plagued with the physical limitations in kendo matches, wanting to move faster, strike harder, and go further. That’s why when she finally mastered voluntary flight, and was able to fly and use both hands to hold her sword, when she became able to perform the ultra-long distance thrusts, she felt a pleasure beyond description. Aside from this, doing steep dives or flying with a flock of birds was also very attractive to her.

  For Recon with his flight problems, he calls her “Speed Holic” and other things. It probably meant her joy at flying in ALO.

  After a year, Suguha is already considered a full-fledged VRMMO player. Even though Sug
uha had originally started playing ALO to get closer to her brother she had fallen in love with virtual world.

  And when Kazuto came back, Suguha wanted to talk to him about ALO and similar interests, but when she saw the shadows cross his eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to do so.

  The SAO incident, Suguha thought this tragic experience affected Kazuto’s love of the virtual world. He recovered his NERvGear, but it just sat in his room with the SAO rom like an ornament.

  For Kazuto, the SAO incident probably hasn’t yet ended. «That person» has not woken up, she continues to sleep.

  Thoughts of that sent Suguha’s heart into turmoil. Like yesterday, she did not want to see Kazuto in such an endless despair, he had even cried. Suguha wanted to see him laugh again, for that reason, she wanted that person to wake up as soon as possible.

  At this point, Kazuto has already reached a point where her hand can no longer reach his heart.

  Now, they are even more like a true brother and sister. In that case, she wished she had never realized her feelings. Her feeling of wanting to keep Kazuto for herself could never come true.

  Lying on her bed, watching her ALfheim poster, Suguha wondered why people didn’t have wings in the real world. In reality, if we could fly freely in the sky, then it might be possible to untangle the threads binding her heart.

  Part 6

  Kirito sat on his chair looking at where the Sylph girl, Lyfa, had been sitting a few minutes ago with a slightly confused expression.

  “What happened to her?”

  After hearing this, Yui, who still sat on his shoulder, tilted her head with a puzzled expression and said:

  “Who knows, the me right now has no mental monitoring capabilities.”

  “Hmm. Well, I appreciate her offer to show me the way.”

  “I know the map. It’s true our battle potential will increase with more people, but…”

  Yui stood up, put her face to my ear, and said:

  “Papa, you shouldn’t cheat.”

  “I won’t, I won’t!!”

  Seeing me shake my head after that warning, Yui took off and landed on the table while laughing, and picked up the half-eaten biscuit with two hands.

  “Damn, actually teasing me huh!”

  Kirito picked up his spiced wine and drank from it from the bottle.

  But, I should really be wary. It’s not about cheating, she - Lyfa is only a character in the game, she may have a different personality in reality.

  For a very long time, the virtual world was my reality. However, the idea of character division was meaningless, malice and goodwill were all real. I wouldn’t have survived if I hadn’t thought like that.

  But things are different here. Players are, in a way, somewhat different. They come here and assume different roles with different values. Thieves assault, rob, kill but conversely, they are not punished for it, but respected.

  “It’s very difficult, VRMMOs.”

  Kirito unconsciously sighed at the words he spoke with a bitter smile. After putting down the empty bottle, he picked up Yui who was eating the biscuit about same size as her, and put her on his shoulder. He left the table and decided to go back to the real world.

  In MMORPGs, there is a conflict between convenience and fairness when it comes time to «Logout».

  In other words, it has to be made so it people who have pressing business like an appointment or have to take care of feeling physiological needs can quickly leave the game. But, on the other hand, it must be set-up so it can’t be used to escape from combat situations or prevent theft. For this reason, most MMOs set certain restrictions or conditions for logging out. ALO is no exception, players are able to logout from anywhere only in their race territory. Outside of that, their character will remain in a ‘soulless’ state for several minutes and will be vulnerable to attack and theft.

  Outside of your race territory, if you want instant logout, you have to use items like camping equipment or rent a room. I decided to follow Lyfa’s advice to use the second floor of “Lilly of the Valley Pavilion” to logout.

  After checking in at the counter, I climbed the stairs to the second floor. I opened the door of the specified room, it revealed a very simple room with only a bed and a table. It was a sight that gave me a very strong sense of déjà vu. Before I bought a house in Aincrad, I often used these kind of rooms.

  I opened the window to let in fresh air. At this point I would be able to logout without worrying, but in the end chose to use the “sleep off” method to exit. So I removed my weapon and laid down on the bed.

  A small problem occurs when playing VR games using FullDive. When you play FullDive games, your senses are brought to virtual reality, so when you logout your senses are returned to your real body. So, if you suddenly change standing to lying down, then there will be a strong sense of vertigo. There was a time before playing SAO when I was using a flight simulator with FullDive, I was rapidly spinning in a nose dive when I pressed the logout button and returned to reality, I emerged with an extreme sense of vertigo and my eyes where cruelly spinning.

  To prevent such symptoms it is best to sign out with the “sleep off” approach, in other words, fall asleep. When you fall asleep in the virtual world you are automatically logged out and sent back to the real world.

  I laid in bed as Yui finished her biscuit and settled to the floor with a gentle pitter-patter sound. Upon landing, Yui returned to her original form with her long raven hair, snow white dress, and wonderful scent drifting on the air.

  Yui, with her hands clasped behind her back, turned to me and said:

  “…I won’t see you until tomorrow right? Papa.”

  “…I’m sorry…we finally managed to meet. I’ll be back soon…back to see Yui.”

  “That…”

  Yui blinked, her face flushed.

  “Papa, until you logout can we sleep together?”

  “Eh.”

  I had a self-conscious smile on my face. I am Papa for Yui to the last. As an AI, she is constantly looking to expand her experience by exposure to new data. So such a request doesn’t upset me, however, her attitude and words are enough to stagger me. But still, I think she is a lovely girl.

  “I get it, yes you can.”

  I pushed my embarrassment to the side and moved to the wall to make room for her to lie down. Yui, who had a glistening smile, jumped into bed.

  As her face snuggled against my chest, I slowly stroked her hair and whispered:

  “I’ll rescue Asuna quickly and then let’s go buy a house in this world as well. Are there player homes in this game?”

  Yui turned her head to one side and began to nod rapidly and said:

  “It seems quite expensive, but it is available. It seems like a dream, for the three of us, me and papa and mama to be living together again.”

  Recalling those days, my heart felt as though it had been twisted yet again. It was clearly just a few months ago that we were still together, but now I have no means whatsoever to communicate with her. Just like this, that distant memory gradually moved even further away—

  I hugged Yui tightly, my eyes slowly closing, and whispered:

  “It is not just a dream, I will soon make it reality.”

  Because I had been playing the game too long, even if it is just a virtual experience, my brain was getting tired and exhaustion hit me like a sledgehammer.

  “Good night, Papa.”

  As my consciousness slowly slipped into warm darkness, the sound of Yui’s silvery voice at my side continued to comfort me.

  Chapter 3

  Part 1

  A bird was singing a song that filled the morning as it perched upon the white table.

  Her right hand quietly extended, and her outstretched fingers gently touched the jade-like feathers of the bird, instantly causing the bird to take flight without a sound. The bird drew an arc flying up, and it flapped away in the direction from which the sun shone.

  Rising from her chair, she took
a few steps forward as if she wanted to follow the bird. But instantly, a sparkling, golden grid appeared, blocking her way. The bird continued flying through the gaps and into freedom. Higher and higher, further and further, it was going away to anywhere.

  Asuna stood still and watched as the bird grew smaller and smaller until it melded with the colors of the sky, and she slowly returned to the chair and sat down.

  The table and chairs, built of pure-white marble, were cold and hard. Beside the table and chairs rested a luxurious bed of the same white color. The furniture were the only thing in this “room,” if you could call it that…

  The floor was covered with tiles that also shine white. Walking from one side to the other took about twenty steps, but this round room was also surrounded by walls formed by a shining golden grid. The bars of her cage were set apart wide enough for Asuna to fit through them, but the system makes escape impossible.

  The criss-crossing golden bars extended upwards, leaning in to form a dome. A huge ring extended from the top of the dome, and a fat tree branch threaded through it to support the entire structure. That branch extended to the sky and was part of a huge tree.

  In other words, this strange room was actually a cage. It was a birdcage of unimaginable scale, but one where even the birds were free to come and go. The only person who faced the hardships of a prisoner was Asuna. Therefore, this should be called a prison.

  The room was luxurious, elegant, and beautiful, yet it was a very cold tree prison.

  About sixty days had passed since Asuna awakened in this place. Well, that’s not even a reliable number. There is nothing to write with in this place. The days also seem to be much shorter than twenty-four hours. Even so, her internal clock makes her wake up regardless of whether it is day or night.

  After waking, she would ask herself how many days it has been, but lately, she cannot even be sure of the number. For all she knows, she might have repeated the same day many times, or several years may have already passed. The longer she is trapped here, the more her memories of the time she spent with 《him》 seem to fade.