“Can I open it up?”
“Y-yeah…Just…be careful. If you drop it on your foot…you’ll get worse than a scrape,” he wheezed. I reached out for it.
The jolt of surprise I got was backbreaking—literally. If this was the real world, I probably would have popped a vertebra out of alignment, such was the weight of the leather case. I pulled with both hands, but it resisted my force as if it were nailed right into the ground.
My sister, Suguha, owing to her kendo skills and passion for muscle training, was heavier than you’d guess from her appearance—a fact I made sure never to say in her presence—and this leather bundle was at least as heavy as her, without exaggeration. I squared up my feet, bent my knees, and summoned all my strength into the process, like lifting a barbell.
“Hungh…!”
I thought I heard my joints creaking, but I did manage to lift the object. I rotated it ninety degrees to bring the part tied with string to the top, then set the bottom end onto the ground. With my left hand desperately holding it upright, I unwound the string with my right, and tugged down the leather wrapping.
It revealed a breathtakingly beautiful longsword.
The handle was finely decorated platinum, the grip neatly wrapped white leather. The knuckle guard was carved to look like leaves and vines. It wasn’t hard to figure out what plant they were meant to represent. On the upper part of the handle and the white leather scabbard were decorative roses sparkling with blue jewels.
It gave off the impression of being quite old, but there was no grime or dirt on it at all. The austere grace and beauty of the sword told me that it had simply been sleeping for a very, very long time without a master.
“What’s this…?” I asked, looking up. Eugeo’s panting was under control at last, and he looked at the sword with both nostalgia and bitter sadness.
“The Blue Rose Sword. I don’t know if that’s its actual name, but it’s what they call it in the fairy tale.”
“Fairy tale…?”
“Every kid in Rulid knows it…every adult, too. Among the first inhabitants who founded this village three hundred years ago was a swordsman named Bercouli. There are plenty of stories about his adventures, but one of the most famous is called ‘Bercouli and the Northern White Dragon’…”
His gaze traveled someplace far off, and emotion entered his voice. “To give you a basic version of the story, Bercouli went exploring in the End Mountains and wandered into the white dragon’s lair, deep in a cave. The dragon, which protects the lands of humanity, was napping, thankfully, so Bercouli was going to leave at once—except he spotted a white sword among the piles of treasure that he simply had to have. He carefully picked it up without making any noise, but then blue roses grew around his feet and locked them in place. He fell over on the spot, and the dragon woke up…So goes the story.”
“S-so what happened next?” I asked, eager.
Eugeo laughed and said it was a long story, so he summed it up by saying, “Basically, Bercouli managed to earn the dragon’s forgiveness and escaped the cave with his life but no sword. The end. It’s just a silly fairy tale. If only certain children weren’t foolish enough to go see if it was true…”
The note of deep regret in his voice filled in the story for me. He was talking about himself—and his friend Alice. No other children in the village would have the agency to do such a thing.
After a long silence, Eugeo continued, “Six years ago, Alice and I went into the End Mountains in search of the white dragon. But there was no dragon. Only a mountain of bones with sword marks on them.”
“W-wait…someone killed the dragon? Who would…?”
“I don’t know. But whoever it was, they had no interest in treasure. There was a huge pile of coins and riches beneath the bones. And the Blue Rose Sword, too. Of course, it was too heavy for me to bring back when I was that young…And when Alice and I turned to leave, we went out the wrong exit and wound up going down the tunnel to the land of darkness instead. The rest is as I described yesterday.”
“I see…” I looked away from Eugeo and down at the sword I held between my hands. “Then…how did the sword get here?”
“…Two summers ago, I went back to the cave and took it out. But I could only carry it a few kilors for every day of rest. I hid it in the forest each time…and it took me three months to move it all the way to that shed. As for why I would do that…I’m not really sure, to be honest…”
Because he didn’t want to forget about Alice? Because he planned to take the sword and go off to rescue her?
A number of possibilities came to my mind, but a sense of respect for Eugeo kept me from turning them into words. Instead, I summoned my energy again and attempted to pull the sword from its scabbard.
The resistance was tremendous. It felt like I was pulling a deep stake out of the ground, but once I had gotten it to budge, the blade flowed smoothly out of its sheath. It came free with a sweet shaaang, and my arm instantly felt like it was going to pop out of my shoulder. I had to drop the scabbard and use two hands to keep the sword up.
Even the leather scabbard was tremendously heavy; the prod end thudded and sank into the ground. It was a good thing it didn’t crush my left foot, because it was all I could do to keep the sword aloft, and jumping back was out of the question.
Fortunately, without the scabbard, the sword was about a third lighter than before, which was just enough that I could keep it aloft. My gaze was stuck on the blade before me.
It was a strange material. The metal was thin, not even an inch and a half across, but it glittered a faint blue in the bits of sun that came through the leaves above. It refracted the light in a way that suggested it wasn’t just bouncing off the surface but collecting on the inside as well—it was mildly translucent.
“This isn’t ordinary steel. It’s not silver, either, nor dragon bone. And it’s certainly not glass,” Eugeo said, his voice hushed with wonder. “In other words…I don’t think this was crafted by human hands. Either a master of very high sacred arts made it with the power of the gods, or a god created it directly…We call such things Divine Objects. I’m certain the Blue Rose Sword is one of them.”
Gods.
I’d noticed mention of “Solus” and “Terraria” in Eugeo’s and Selka’s stories, as well as Sister Azalia’s prayers, but up to this point I’d considered them nothing more than typical artifacts of fantasy storytelling and ignored them accordingly.
But the appearance of an item purportedly created by the gods might be cause to rethink that attitude. Were the gods of a virtual world the humans who managed it from the real world? Or did that refer to the main program that ran the entire simulation?
It wasn’t the kind of question that could be answered just by mulling it over. I’d have to consider that topic part of the “central system,” if you will, along with the Axiom Church.
At any rate, the sword was clearly a high-priority item within the system. But was its priority higher than the Gigas Cedar? The answer would determine whether I could get Eugeo to go to the city with me or not.
“Eugeo, can you check on the Gigas Cedar’s life for me?” I asked, still holding the sword. He looked dubious.
“Kirito…don’t tell me you’re going to hit the Gigas Cedar with that sword.”
“What other reason would I have for asking you to bring it?”
“Uhh…but…”
Eugeo thought it over, clearly reluctant—I gave him no room to think any further.
“Or is there an entry in the Taboo Index that says you can’t hit the Gigas Cedar with a sword?”
“Um…well, there’s no rule against that…”
“Or did the village elder or, um…Old Man Garitta tell you that you couldn’t use anything besides the Dragonbone Ax?”
“No…not that, either…But…I feel like something like this happened once before…” Eugeo mumbled, and he got up and approached the cedar. He made the sigil and tapped the trunk, checking on the
window that appeared.
“It looks like 232,315.”
“Okay, keep that exact number in mind.”
“But Kirito, I don’t think you’ll be able to swing that sword. Look, you’re wobbling just trying to hold it up.”
“Just watch. You don’t swing a heavy sword with strength. The key is how you shift your weight.”
In the distant past of the old SAO, I had eagerly sought out the heaviest swords. I was enthralled by the idea of a single pulverizing blow to finish the fight, as opposed to a weapon meant for speed. Because my strength increased with each level, thus lowering the perceived weight of the weapon, I switched out for heavier and heavier blades. My final partners were about as heavy as this Blue Rose Sword when I first got them, if my memory was accurate. And I’d been able to swing one of those beasts with each hand at the same time.
Naturally, the fundamental systems of the worlds were different, so I couldn’t compare them directly, but I could at least make use of that mental muscle movement. Once Eugeo was a safe distance away, I set up at the left edge of the tree, lowered my stance, and held the sword low, feeling like my arms were about to fall off.
I didn’t need a combo, just a simple midlevel swipe. To use the SAO sword skill terminology, a Horizontal—the most basic of basic skills you learned at the start of the game.
I drew a breath and shifted my weight to my right foot, pulling back the sword. The inertia of the blade pulled my left foot off the ground. I nearly toppled back onto my rear, but as the point of the sword reached its peak, I struggled against it, pushing hard with my right foot to shift my weight back to the left. As I did so, the rotation of my legs and hips carried through my arm to the sword, beginning its swing.
The sword didn’t glow or automatically speed up, but my body did trace the movement for the sword skill in perfect rhythm. My left foot rocked the earth with its impact, sending the massive weight hurtling forward along its prescribed, ideal path…
But my perfect execution ended there. My legs couldn’t hold the weight and buckled, and the sword smacked against the bark, far from the intended target.
Giiing! It made an ear-piercing ringing that sent the birds above scattering in all directions. I didn’t see them go, as I lost my handle on the grip and plunged face-first into the moss.
“See, what did I tell you!” Eugeo raced over to help me up. I spit out the green moss that had gotten stuck in my mouth. In addition to my face, which took the brunt of the fall, my wrists, back, and knees were all screaming in pain, too. I lay on the ground for a while, moaning, until I could finally produce a coherent statement.
“…This isn’t going to work…My stats are all red…”
Naturally, Eugeo wouldn’t understand a reference to what the menu displayed in SAO when the player attempted to equip a weapon with an STR requirement beyond his level. Before the concerned look on his face could deepen, I hastened to add, “Er, I mean…I think I was just a bit short on stamina. For that matter—someone was actually able to equip that monster…?”
“I told you, it’s too much for us. You’d need to have the swordsman’s Calling…and enough skill to join a big town’s sentinel garrison.”
I slumped and rubbed my right wrist, turning to get the sword. Eugeo looked over his shoulder in turn.
We both stopped still.
The Blue Rose Sword’s beautiful blade was half wedged into the Gigas Cedar’s bark, hanging there in midair.
“…You’re joking…Just from one hit…?” Eugeo gasped, staggering to his feet. He reached out timidly, tracing the seam where sword met tree. “It didn’t chip the blade…It really took two cens out of the Gigas Cedar…”
I got up, too, wincing in pain and patting my dirty clothes. “See? It was worth trying out. That sword has more…well, attack power than the ax. Check the life of the Gigas Cedar again.”
“O-okay,” he said, making the sigil and tapping the tree trunk. He stared eagerly at the window that appeared.
“…232,314.”
“Wh-what?” Now it was my turn to be surprised. “It only went down by one? But I cut it so deep…What does it mean? Do you have to use the ax after all…?”
“No, that’s not true,” Eugeo said, crossing his arms. “You hit it in the wrong spot. If you got it inside the cut, not against the bark, it would have taken down more life, I think. You might be right that this sword can carve down the tree much faster than the Dragonbone Ax. Fast enough that I might be able to finish my Calling…But…”
I turned to him. He was biting his lip, looking pensive.
“But that’s only if we can properly wield the sword. You hurt yourself pretty badly making just one swing, and you didn’t even hit the target. At that rate, it might still be faster using the ax.”
“Maybe I can’t do it, but what about you, Eugeo? You’re stronger than I am, I think. You should try giving it a swing,” I insisted, and while Eugeo was reluctant, he did give in and admit he’d try it just once.
He grabbed the handle of the Blue Rose Sword and tried wrenching it loose from the tree. When it finally came free, Eugeo’s upper half swayed and the end of the sword dropped until its point hit the ground.
“Wh-whoa! It really is too heavy. I can’t do this, Kirito.”
“I swung it; you can, too, Eugeo. The concept is the same as with the ax. Just make more use of your weight and capitalize on the momentum of your whole body, not just your arms.”
I wasn’t sure how much of that made sense to him, but thanks to his ample experience swinging the ax, Eugeo figured it out very quickly. His naive face tensed with determination, and he crouched down to lift up the sword.
He drew it back, paused, then hissed a quick breath and began a ferociously quick swing. The way his toe slid forward in a perfect line took even me by surprise. A vision of blue light hung in the air as the tip of the sword plunged straight for the cut in the tree.
But at the very last instant, his left foot was unable to bear all the weight. The end of the sword struck the upper side of the V-shaped cut, thudding dully. Unlike me, Eugeo was thrown behind. His back slammed against a thick root.
“Urrgh…”
“H-hey, you okay?” I asked, hurrying over, but he held up a hand as he grimaced. It was at that point that I belatedly realized that this world did, in fact, simulate pain.
In the current VRMMO model with games like SAO and ALO, the pain that the brain was supposed to feel when the player’s avatar was injured was nullified by a function called the Pain Absorber. Without it, no one would bother to delve into bloody physical battles with HP down to single digits.
But this world did not seem to be at all constructed for the purpose of entertainment. The pain was much duller than before, but still—my wrists and shoulders were throbbing. And that was just from twisting and striking. How much pain would I feel from an actual weapon wound?
If I was going to get into any sword battles here in the Underworld, I’d need to make a commitment I hadn’t needed to face until now. In all my battles up to this point, I’d never had to imagine the pain of actually having a heavy blade slice my flesh.
Eugeo had a higher tolerance for pain than I did, clearly, as the grimace left his face after just thirty seconds. He hopped to his feet. “I don’t think this will work, Kirito. We’re going to start losing life before we ever hit it right on the sweet spot.”
Next to the tree, the point of the Blue Rose Sword was sunken into the ground after it deflected off the top of the cut in the trunk.
“I was sure we were on the right track,” I lamented, but Eugeo gave me an expression of admonishment, so I gave up and scooped the white leather scabbard off the mossy ground. Eugeo lifted the sword and carefully placed it inside the sheath I was holding steady. He wrapped the weapon in the leather again, tied it up with the rope, and placed it a safe distance away.
He exhaled after that task was over, then reached for the Dragonbone Ax resting against the trunk of the tree a
nd exclaimed, “Wow, this ax feels as light as a bird’s feather now! Well, we lost a lot of time on that, so let’s get on with the afternoon shift.”
“Yeah…Sorry about wasting your time on that whim, Eugeo…”
The other boy, the very image of the term pure-hearted, just smiled. “It’s fine, Kirito. I had fun with it, too. Well…I’ll take the first fifty swings.”
He began the rhythmic chopping motion. I looked away, walked over to where the sword lay, and caressed the sheath through the leather wrap.
I knew I had the right idea. We could absolutely cut down the Gigas Cedar with this sword. But Eugeo was right, too; just swinging it wildly wasn’t going to work.
The existence of the sword meant that there must be some person in this world capable of wielding it. Eugeo and I simply hadn’t reached the requirements yet.
So what were those requirements? Class? Level? Stats? How could we find out…?
“…”
My mouth fell open. I couldn’t believe how dense I was.
I just had to look at its status window. The same way Eugeo checked the window of the bread yesterday…and the way I popped up the lamp’s window in the church. Why hadn’t I thought of that earlier?
I reached out with my left hand, made the symbol, then, after a brief moment of consideration, tapped the back of my right hand. Sure enough, a purple rectangle chimed into existence above it.
Unlike the bread’s pop-up, this one had several lines of text. I tried looking for a log-out button out of habit, but there was none to be found.
The very first line read UNIT ID: NND7-6355. The mechanical sound of “unit ID” gave me a bit of a shiver, but I didn’t dwell on it. The number was probably just a reference code that all people in this world had.
Beneath that, like with the bread and Gigas Cedar, was a Durability rating, which Eugeo called “life.” It read 3280/3289. Common sense suggested the first number was my current value and the second was my maximum. The little drop was probably from falling during my swing.
The second line said Object Control Authority: 38. Below that, it said System Control Authority: 1.
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