Chapter 25

[ Example Text ] - Original Gamer System

Example Text - SAO System

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? POV

'A death game? Oh, god… How do these things always happen to me?' A lone girl dejectedly walks through the streets, her head low.

Around her, there was chaos, people screaming and panicking, and children crying.

She wore a red shirt, a brown leather chestpiece around her waist, and a short white skirt.

Her brown boots grinded onto the gravel path of the Town of Beginnings. A hollow expression marred her face; this sort of thing wasn't supposed to happen.

Her Friends…

Her Family…

They… probably didn't care that she's stuck here.

It had been painful to notice how the school friends she had were not really interested in being friends with her. Secretly creating group chats without her, only offering to hang out rarely, typically when they had forgotten their purse.

The only reason she had entered this god-forsaken game in the first place was a desperate attempt to make new friends. But…

Anyone who dies in Aincrad dies for real.

She would already be lucky if her parents didn't enter her room and tear her headset off for not doing her chores tomorrow. Not even noticing the fact that she won't get up in the morning or go to school.

'It's like life kicking me down... while I am already at the bottom.' She sighed as she lifelessly continued on the path, not even seeing where she was going. 'Just why me? All I wanted were friends. A purpose. A place where I belong.'

Until she accidentally walked into a wall. Only then did she realize that she had entered a dark alleyway and accidentally grabbed something.

It took a moment to identify what it was.

A Doorhandle.

Giving the handle a slow turn and pulling back on the handle, the wall peels back, revealing a heavy wooden door. The symbol of a black rooster was on it.

She hestiantly opened the door to take a look at what was on the other side.

It looked like a shop. Weapons, armor, clothes, and more.

The walls looked like they were carved into stone. It fit the style of Aincrad, but not the alley.

Neither fit the weapons on the floor they were on. Any weapon she had seen was made out of copper. But everything here seemed like steel.

Did she find a hidden shop or something?

Behind a heavy wooden counter made of the same material as the door sat a young man about her age.

He was the most beautiful boy she had ever seen. While he resembled a regular human with his wild raven black hair, his eyes were slightly more almond-shaped with a blazing green in them, his skin was fair, and his ears were slightly pointy. This boy had some kind of otherworldly look to him.

She wasn't the only one watching; the boy had looked at her and, for some reason, above her head. "That's new. Welcome to my shop. What can I get for you?" He spoke up, while she was confused about what he meant with 'new'.

"U-uh…" She blinks, looking around while stepping inside. Pulling the door shut behind her, a lance of pain shoots through her head. Several popups appear around her with dull flashes and blaring lights.

[ *Error. System malfunction. You have left the borders of Aincrad. Return, or you will face termination.

*ERROR CORRECTED. SYSTEM SUSTAINED BY SHOP.

Death timer negated ]

For a moment, it looked like the young man in front of her closed an invisible notification himself before asking, "Eh, are you okay?"

This place is... outside of Aincrad? What? How is that possible?

"Where am I?" She whispers as she takes a closer look at the shop.

There were no windows, just the door she came through and another door right behind the boy. She opened the door again, only to see the alley she was just passing through.

"Wh…"

Closing the door, she turned towards the doorkeeper, who had walked around the counter.

"Where exactly are we?"

"This shop is an extradimensional space of some sort. If you passed through the door behind me, you would get into the world I am currently living in, while the door you came through leads to the multiverse. If you open it, you will see where you came from. Based on the quality of your clothes and the colors, not my own." He said it with a small frown.

"A different world? You are not from Earth." she wondered.

"I am from Earth, but I can't reach it right now. Currently, I am living in a different world, a medieval one." The boy explained.

"Oh, so you won't be really able to help us." She muttered, downcast.

"What kind of trouble are you in? Based on the name floating above your head, I have a hard time believing you are on Earth yourself right now, Lisbeth. I am Harry, by the way. Harry Potter, nice to meet you." The boy, Harry, said while pointing above her.

"It's horrible. I and thousands of other people are trapped in a video game right now. Akihiko Kayaba trapped us in his game! If anyone tries to take off our nerve gear helmets, we'll die!" she cried out.

Harry put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Calm down. You are still alive. In such a situation, giving up is the worst thing to do. But based on what you are saying, I don't believe we are coming from the same Earth. A lot more time has passed since my departure.

Based on your description, these Nerve Gears sound like a very advanced version of personal computers that are using the Internet and were recently released."

"What year was it for you when you left Earth? And how did you leave it?" She asked, the feeling of his hand somehow giving her strength.

"It's been about a year. It was 1996 when I fell through a portal and luckily came out of another world. Usually people end up dead in that portal." Harry replied.

"Oh, it's 2022 on my Earth." Lisbeth replied.

"Interesting. I would love to get my hands on modern technology, but it seems my wish won't be fulfilled since you are trapped inside a video game and are currently a game character. He said, pointing at the floating <Lisbeth, 1 Lv.> above her head, "Fascinating."

"What if I could die anytime or starve if I don't go out to slay monsters and earn some money?" Lisbeth asked now, angered.

"No, the fact that you are standing in a different world with a character that is supposed to be a programmed mass of electric signals in a simulated world. Somehow, your video game is a real world. Let's try something! Try to go through the door behind me!" He replied, unaffected by her anger.

He opened the door, revealing a similar stony corridor, and gestured for her to go through.

She leaned forward, trying to peek outside.

Suddenly, there was a crackling wall of hard light in front of her, causing her forehead to thud against it.

[ WARNING!

You are about to leave Aincrad; are you sure you wish to do this? By doing so, your original body will be killed. You will be locked into this form, and you will be unable to return to Aincrad.

Leave Aincrad? Yes or No ]

K-kill her?

"Huh, locked to this form? It seems like there is a way out for you guys." Harry said, reading over her shoulder.

He is right; it sounded like she could leave her old life behind and start anew in a different world.

Before she could contemplate leaping from her old life, Harry had closed the door, and the notification that didn't look like it from her Sword Art Online HUD had disappeared.

She shook her head, leaving the toughts behind. Did she really want to live in a medieval world without the advantages of modern appliances? In Aincrad, she at least could hide in the first city before braver players finished the game.

But in his world, she would have to handle a medieval society.

"Now that we have tried that, Lisbeth, What can I do for you?" Harry asked, his beautiful emerald eyes watching her.

She was still distracted by the sheer existence of this shop or the simple fact of her current situation. Death was now always a possibility for her.

"Lisbeth? Are you okay?"

Lisbeth flinched before blinking and looking around. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? I know for certain that I wouldn't be fine if I were trapped in a game."

"I'm-" Lisbeth paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "I don't know."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked quietly.

"I shouldn't bother you with my problems." The girl whispers, looking away in guilt.

The two were silent as the exchange reached a dead end before Lisbeth decided to change the topic. "So! You said this is a store? What are you selling?"

"Oh, a few things. I am not sure how much worth they have for you since the technological level I have available is medium plus a bit of magic. But pretty much like weapons or armor,

I also have skill essences that can grant you some knowledge, though I am unsure of how they interact with your game. Then there are some survival essentials like Flint and Steel, a firestarter kit, some tents, and warm clothes. Maybe something to eat. While I can't compare to the quality of modern Japan, I have some nice foods like fresh pies or other dishes all ready to sell."

"Where is the food? Do you have something sweet?" Lisbeth whispers.

"I store it especially so it remains fresh." Harry said as a piece of honeybread appeared on a plate in front of him.

Honey bread:

A freshly baked honey bread.

Reduced 'Hunger' by 20.

Increases all stats by 1 for 10 minutes.

"How much?"

"What kind of currency are you using in your game?" he asked.

"It's called Cor." She said, summoning one copper coin in her hands.

"I see, they are slightly lighter than the currency we are using." Harry said as he observed the coin in her hands, "It's 5 Cor."

It was five times the cost of a loaf of bread in the shop, but it was sweet. All that she could get in the starting village was bread and water.

And the honeybread had even a stat bonus that she could use to kill the boars more easily to make it back. If there were enough of them, she could kill even more of them; the effect lasted 10 minutes.

"Okay." She slowly nods, "How much for that fire starter kit?"

"40 Cor for the Fire Starter Kit."

Fire Starter Kit:

A primitive fire starter kit is an essential consumable for any hunter, allowing them to start a fire. It consists of a piece of Flint and steel. It does not work when wet.

100/100 Charges

That could be useful. She just needed to kill two boars for it.

But she already had enough. The starter package consisted of a weapon and 100 Cor. She could afford it. A camp probably even gave buffs.

"I will take it. How much for a weapon? Can I take a look at it?" She asked.

"Depends on the Weapon. My swords start around 7000 Cor." Harry replied calmly as he handed her one of the steel swords.

Skagosi Steel Sword:

A sword made by the best Smith on Skagos.

Durability 85/85

Attributes:

Attack +30

Requirements:

STR: 10

VIT: 5

AGI: 5

DEX: 8

"Uh, that's out of my price range right now. Even tough, the weapon itself is amazing." She said as she read through the weapon description, "It will be floors before we drop anything like it."

"Too bad, can you even equip it right now?" He asked.

"No, I will have to level up a few times too."

"Hmm, well, come back in the future. I am sure we can come to a different agreement than just money."

A different agreement!?

Is he a pervert?

"Not like that!" He said quickly, "I mean, you can promise me to get me an item from your game in the future." Do you have any idea, ignoring the whole death part, in what kind of broken position you are right now?"

She shook her head.

"You are in a game and can bring items from it into reality! Do you have any idea what there could be on higher floors, Lisbeth?"

"Oh." Lisbeth replied, realizing what he was saying.

"So, absolutely come back once you are strong enough, and we will find a great agreement. Be it some mythical ore, an amazing plant, or something similar, I am interested in it all." Harry promised.

"Alright, Harry. I will keep it in mind. I'll be back soon." She nodded, storing her new consumables in her inventory.

"Stay safe." He calls out as she opens the door and returns to Aincrad.

Well. That was... shocking.

Honestly, she has been faced with so much traumatic sh*t in the past 24 hours that she has looped back around to being completely and totally calm.

Maybe it's the fact that she now has access to easy buffs for cheap.

Or maybe it's the fact that if she gets tired of this, she could leave it all behind, go into the shop, and start a new life elsewhere.

Would she keep the strength of her character?

That's more than enough of a reason to try and get to as high a level as possible before she gives up.

An extra skill has been acquired.

Dimensional Wayfinder: 1/1000

Points you in the general direction of the nearest door to the Dimensional Trader.

Huh. How is he even influencing the SAO system?

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