- Location
- Somewhere
It might be best to just stick to debating how magic works. Trying to figure out how Halkeginia itself works will probably be madness inducing.
Halkegenia Online
- Thread starter Triggerhappy
- Start date
Triggerhappy
Stick with Trigger and You'll Make it Through
- Location
- SoCal
For the life of me, I cannot actually find a picture that gives an unobstructed view of the world Tree's crest.
- Location
- Somewhere
Wouldn't the latitude of Tristain affect where the shadow was cast?
- Location
- Third planet from the star named Sol
- Pronouns
- He/They
There's also the fact that the shadow would never stay still. I think that plants around will be smaller, but I doubt any but those around the base will get lethal amounts of deprivation.
- Location
- Oblivion
17
Triggerhappy
Stick with Trigger and You'll Make it Through
- Location
- SoCal
Usually Disclaimer, yadda, yadda.
I'm displeased with this chapter. It doesn't feel very much like SAO or ZnT. One thing I'm worried about is how what's happening to Asuna is going to affect her when Kirito finally gets to her. I'm thinking a case of PTSD is likely to be in order. Luckily, Kirito and Asuna will have Yui on hand to help Asuna recover.
Thankfully the next Asuna snip will have ultra predictable meeting number 3 of this story!
Halkegenia Online-Chapter 6- Part 2
The Reconquista convoy made its way slowly down the back roads, a dozen wagons carrying food and supplies to the garrisons and front line forces. The guards, around fifty commoner foot soldiers reinforced by a trio of wind mages, were only half alert. The mages had gathered near the center of the convoy, conversing and joking with one another from atop their horses while the commoner soldiers road on the wagons. It was poor form that left their flanks exposed, but the Royalists had been pushed from this region weeks ago in Reconquista's continuing drive towards Newcastle. Their would be only disorganized peasants and perhaps a few isolated stragglers.
"Aye, Tobias, did you hear the Royalists at Blum were routed in three days? That's ten crown you owe me!" One of the noblemen, a portly man with the misfortune of burdening the smallest horse, said to his fellows.
"Crown, Hughes? With the Royalists gone you want me to pay in crown? Surely you mean marks!" One of the other noblemen replied.
"I mean crown!" Hughes insisted. "The Good Cromwell's word and some silver aren't nearly as satisfying as a tenth part gold."
"Bah, and where would I get ten crown?" Tobias replied.
"The same place you got the last ten." The third noblemen laughed. "And the next."
"Martin! You two are bleeding me dry!" Tobias said in shock.
"Now, now, we're just trying to cure your addiction, see what good friends we are?" The third mage, Martin, laughed heartily.
The three men were old friends who had grown up close to one another. Their families all owned interests in Londinium and they had spent much of their youth in the same boarding schools, and much of their young adult lives in the same whorehouses and gambling parlors. When the tides had turned against the Royal Family of Albion, the families of all three men had decided to throw their lot in with Reconquista, and their sons had only too happily joined the growing Reconquista army, a career choice that promised quick advancement as the army was expanded in preparation for further campaigns. It all felt like a jolly game to them, three friends off on an adventure, to return home with stories of their service.
The laughter was cut short a moment later with a call to halt from the front of the convoy. Curious, the three mages spurred their horsed forward past the wagons to see what was happening. The first wagon had come to a halt and the commoner soldiers had leaped down and taken up guard positions. The cause of the sudden stop appeared to be a felled tree in the roadway. The sheer audacity at first left the noblemen at a loss, finally taking cues from the caution displayed by their subordinates, the mages readied themselves.
"Weapons at the ready!" Tobias shouted, hearing the call repeated down the line. The air was filled with the sounds of boots striking soft earth and clatter of weapons. The commoners were second line troops. They were there more to keep watch and guard against thieves then to protect the convoy from a serious attack. That would be the duty of the mages.
The air grew still as the last of the guards took position, only the distant sounds of birds and the soft rustling of the trees impinged upon their hearing. Then, something else could be heard, a low cracking and the sound of air rushing past leaves and then a loud 'crash'. Followed by shouts and the sudden noises of battle. It had come from the rear of the convoy!
"Martin, Hughes, with me!" Tobias spurred his horse and rushed for the back of the column. He was halfway to the rear, a plume of dirt and leaves erupted, tracing a straight line across the roadway before rising up, a thin line of rope strung between two tree. Tobias had barely any time to reign in his horse before the rope caught him dead in the middle of the chest. He felt the breath being driven from his lungs, and then a sense of vertigo as his horse raced out from beneath him. Tobias struck the ground with a heavy thud and an explosion of pain.
A moment later he was struggling to his feet, Hughes and Martin, having seen him fall, had been able to save themselves from the same fate and were now turning their horses to and fro as shouts erupted from across the convoy. They were under attack!
Tobias raised his wand shakily, head swiveling about. He saw something, someone, moving among the trees and then more shouts. The twang of a crossbow bolt being released and then sudden cries of pain and surprise. This was battle, real battle, like his brothers had talked about!
"Where's it coming from!" Hughes shouted.
"It's everywhere!" Tobias shouted. "They're using the trees for cover!" There was another thunderous -Crack!- and part of the forest started to fall towards the gathered mages. "Scatter!" Tobias cried, the tree crashing down, separating Tobias from Martin and Hughes and sending the mounts of his fellows into a panic. A cloaked figure plummeted from above, falling onto Hughes and dragging the portly mage from his horse.
"Hughes!" Martin shouted bringing his wand up and at the ready. Suddenly the ground beside him erupted as a second figure burst from a hole dug along the roadside. That was the last Tobias saw of Martin as he was suddenly confronted be his own attacker. Sprinting from the forest at impossible speed, a third cloaked form rushed at him wielding a sword and shield. Such equipment, a mere commoner! Anger boiled in Martin, so that was the reason behind this cowardly attack.
Commoners, no doubt retainers of the Royalists, bereft of their masters, had reverted to feral dogs! Their assailants had guts trying to attack mages on their own. They would try to get in close and force him into a sword fight where a trained commoner could hope to compete, albeit on unequal footing, with a mage.
Tobias whipped his wand around and began to incant, a simple dot air spell, an air hammer. Not particularly powerful, its uses were more to stun or disorient, but effective all the same as it was difficult to detect before crashing into it, but it would buy time for a more powerful spell. The wind mage let fly, the air before him grew thick before driving outward.
His opponent couldn't have sensed the attack coming, but no doubt had read his movements and realized what was about to happen. The shield came up in a guard just as the air hammer crashed into figure, buffeting the shield and tearing at the cloak which masked his assailant's identity. The force of the blow should have knocked them from their feet, but somehow, they remained standing, merely driven back.
"Tcht." Tobias spat, regardless it had bought him the breathing room for another spell. His training was kicking in now, dispatch this commoner fool quickly and move on to the next. Don't become overwhelmed. He thrust forward with another incantation, a more lethal air needle, deadly at close range but difficult to aim. He caught the cloaked figure off guard, his attack punching a hole into the shield and grazing the side of his assailant with a short hiss of tortured air. A similar hiss of pain issued from his opponent as they rolled to the side.
The wind mage grinned savagely, he had stolen the initiative, now it was time to turn this around, he rushed forward. Something large and metallic hurtled towards him, Tobias whipped his wand up to launch a gust of wind in defense. The air blast batted the shield aside just in time to reveal the charging cloaked figure who had thrown it.
There was no time for another spell, Tobias jumped to the side, barely missing a strike to his flank and then jumped back again as his attacker brought their sword down in an overhead strike. The mage stumbled, falling to the earth, the point of his opponent's blade pressed beneath his chin. "Yield!" A strangely feminine voice demanded.
Tobias cursed himself, how could this be happening? Nevertheless, he tossed his wand aside and raised his hands in surrender. "Good boy." The voice said, this close he could see the cloaked figure's lower face and was almost certain his assailant was a woman. Beaten not only by a commoner, but a woman at that!
"Kino! You still alive?" The figure shouted over her shoulder. Having craned her neck around, she no doubt thought she had time to react if Tobias went for his fallen wand, foolish mistake. Dropping his hands, a second wand slid from cuff of his shirt. He was already performing an incantation as he leveled the focus on his target. Woman or not, she must have been incredibly strong to withstand an air hammer. But no amount of strength would help her once she was driven into the air. Gust was a simple dot spell but Tobias was a strong line, the power he could put behind it was enough to throw a grown man several mails straight up.
His attacker had no chance to resist, being swept away before she could even issue a shout of surprise. The woman was slammed against a nearby tree with a solid thud and a clatter of armor before collapsing limply to the ground. Judging from experience, the impact should have gravely injured her, if not killed outright.
Tobias was just about to turn in the direction the woman had shouted when he saw her beginning to stir.
"Damn!" The woman coughed and then rolled aside as he launched another air needle. The spell punched a thumb sized hole cleanly through the tree trunk. Tobias pressed forward casting another gust to bludgeon the woman against a tree stump. The attacks weren't as effective as he had expected, but it was keeping her disoriented. A few more and he'd try another air needle, once she was too battered to dodge.
The woman managed to get her feet beneath her, legs coiling up just as Tobias let loose. With a defiant shout she jumped, for a moment he thought he had been mistaken and was in fact facing a wind mage, no mere commoner could have managed such a leap without the aid of magic. The woman described an arc through the air that carried her fully above his attack and deposited her behind him.
Landing heavily, the woman rolled and spun around, boots digging into the soft earth and pushing off, bringing her blade up with a shout just as Tobias did the same with his wand. The blade's arc intersected with the arc of Tobias' wand and the wand tip, as well as the tips of his index and middle fingers, parted company with the rest of him. Tobias screamed, clutching at his mauled hand. He didn't even see the fist that drove into his temple and sent him spiraling into blackness.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Yuuki Asuna, Asuna the Flash, former sub commander of the Aincrad front line guild the Knights of Blood, and now a Faerie transported to the world of Halkegenia, surveyed the captured map with an intense look in her eyes. The landmass that the map described possessed a rather peculiar elongated sideways S shape that was thickest at its center before tapering down near the ends. This was Albion, the White Isle. The major roads and cities lay spread before her, coins and other pieces of pocket detritus were scattered across the maps surface to represent the locations of the Royalist and Rebel forces. Most of the map was covered in silver marks taken from the purses of the captured Noble Officers, denoting Rebel holdings. The Royalists strongholds were marked by gold crown pieces. The crown pieces had been relatively few and found in the possession of only one of the Nobles, that was okay, there were a lot more Rebels than there were Royalists.
"We're right here." Millia pointed to the north eastern end of the map where the bulk of the island began to curve towards its northern tip. "That puts us a bit south of the port of York." The young tutor then gestured further north. "At last I'd heard, the Rebel army has managed to push past York and are making preparations to besiege Newcastle."
"It doesn't sound like things are going well for the Royalists." Arguile commented, the knight was standing arms crossed beside Asuna, stroking his chin absently. Three days in [<the real world]>, as Asuna was starting to think of it, had resulted in the man developing a fine stubble along his jawline. The three of them were standing at the front of the stopped Rebel convoy, using the back end of one of the wagons as a makeshift table. Millia and both of the faeries were garbed in mottled cloaks sewn from random bits of scavenged cloth to conceal themselves from their captives. As far as the captured guards and mages were concerned, the former players were just bandits who had tried their hand at attacking a military convoy and gotten lucky. An isolated bandit raid or two would probably go unnoticed in the chaos that was gripping the country, but if they were identified as 'Elves', the Reconquista forces would doubtlessly attempt to annihilate them, or else capture them for public execution. Asuna's stomach churned at either prospect.
All around them, hooded figures, the other former SAO players, were fast at work digging through the contents of the wagons, retrieving food, blankets, and other essential supplies to be carried back off into safety of the forest. They worked quickly despite their inexperience. Asuna didn't want to remain on the road for too long. She had brought only a small force of front line players and a larger group of volunteers to carry back the supplies to where the rest of their troop was waiting.
Asuna tried not to draw parallels between what they were doing now and the actions of the thieves guilds that had infested Aincrad. The former KoB sub commander had organized and partaken in many subjugation operations during the first year of the Death Game in order to discourage thievery and the resulting PK incidents that had occurred, so it felt strange, wrong, to suddenly find herself on the other side of the equation. There was of course an important difference, where the thieves guilds had stolen merely to maximize their own profits at the expense of other players, Asuna and the others were now resorting to banditry in order to survive.
The civil war that had raged across Albion, the fight between the Rebels, Reconquista, and the Royalist forces, had stripped the countryside bare as both armies supplemented their supply lines by confiscation, foraging, and hunting. Their was precious little to be had by the three hundred former SAO players save by theft. And as the situation stood, it was better to steal from the hands of Reconquista, who would already be inclined to kill them on sight for the high crime of being 'Elves', then to also anger the Royalists who has no reason to care one way or the other. Such a difficult situation, she thought.
"It is true, the Royalists are losing ground every day." Millia admitted, her eyes were downcast with worry. "And if what those Rebel officers were saying is true, then the fighting has now moved well past York, which means the Rebels probably now hold the majority of Albion's fleet."
"Then we'll need to move quickly." Asuna decided aloud. "For the time being, our objective needs to be to get off of Albion before the Royalists are defeated. If we can't accomplish that, then the Rebels will no doubt find us when they start to consolidate their position." Asuna had no idea of what they would do after that, but Albion was simply too small a country for them to remain hidden for long, at very least, they would have more options if they could get down onto the continent.
"Agreed." Arguile said. "You said the nearest port city is York?"
Millia nodded, "Yes, this is it here." She placed her middle and index fingers beneath a line of Albionese script. "Do you plan to steal a ship?"
"If necessary." Asuna replied. "The distance to Halkegenia isn't too great. Once we've made it into the countryside on the continent, we can start to plan our next move."
Arguile nodded seriously, "Finding the rest of ALfheim." He said aloud. The longer Asuna had thought about it, about the strange event that had released her from her prison and awoken the other test subjects, the more she had come to believe, had to believe, that the World Tree, that city at its base, and most importantly Kirito and Yui, may also have been transported to this world. She had to find them.
Millia shook her head, "It won't be that simple if the Rebels control York. You'll never be able to sneak three hundred people through the city. And even if you manage to hijack a ship, you would be swarmed by mages before you could even leave port."
Asuna glanced to the young tutor, silencing her. "Then what would you suggest? The Royalists have no reason to help us, even if they can be convinced we aren't Elves. Reconquista is winning this war which means we can't stay on Albion. We simply don't have that many options. Arguile-san."
"Asuna-sama?" The man said.
"Go see how the supply team is doing, anything that isn't packed soon is going to have to be left behind."
"Roger." Arguile replied, giving his superior a worried expression before departing.
Asuna gave the map one more look. York was about two days travel on foot, make it four if they traveled at night and stayed off the major roads. She was rolling the map up, brushing the coins and other markers into a small pile when Millia spoke again. "You should at least try to speak with the Royalists."
"You already said they would probably mistake us for Elves." Asuna replied, face composed, even now Millia didn't seem to fully believe them when they said that they were Faeries, and even less when they claimed that they were originally human. "Besides, there isn't much point asking for help from those who can't help themselves. It's not a risk we can take. At least, not until we've scouted out York. Once we've done that, then maybe." Asuna tucked the map into a small satchel and slung it over her shoulder, another inconvenience of the real world, no inventory screen. "And in any case, wouldn't we have to travel past York to meet up with the Royalists?"
"T-that's true." Millia admitted, following Asuna as she made her way from the lead wagon down the column. The defeated Reconquista troops sat lined up along the side of the road, their arms and legs bound and under the watchful guard of the former SAO front line players. "But so long as the Prince Valiant still draws breath, there is hope. And with your fighting power, the Royalists might be willing to make a deal. They may still have a way to get a few people off of Albion."
"Not all of us are strong fighters." Asuna replied, glancing to the defeated guards. They didn't look like the men that Asuna had faced that first night in this world. They were too young, too innocent looking. Most of them were uninjured, only a handful had been killed in the fighting, mostly in the initial confusion, the rest had surrendered with the defeat of their officers. They were too cowed to fight the mysterious strangers who could challenge three mages of air to battle. They now watched curiously as the hooded figures crawled over the convoy they had been ordered to protect, murmuring softly among themselves but otherwise remaining docile. When she asked Millia about them, the woman simply shrugged.
"They're probably peasants who were conscripted when the Rebels overran their villages. The sons of farmers."
Asuna frowned, "I thought you said that the Rebels did terrible things to the retainers of the Royalists." That had in fact been the reason Millia had given for her own flight. Though Asuna suspected the truth was something else, she'd said nothing so far, because frankly, it seemed too contrived to be true.
"They do." Millia said. "The guards and personal servants, stripped of the protection of their Lords, are either put to death immediately, or tortured for information, or confessions. The time of the Rebels granting a pardon to those who turn sides has long since ended. But these men are simply the commoners that come with the land, there is no more point to punishing them than to punish a chicken or an ox."
Asuna's expression soured as she listened to Millia's comment. It was clear that Millia thought no more of the peasants than Asuna had of the NPCs in Aincrad. They were there, a component of the world, meant to be neither abused nor cherished. There was a world of difference between treating another living breathing human being as a thing, and doing the same to an NPC. Even so, Asuna could understand thought processes that went into it well enough.
"You're wrong." Asuna said, eyes fixed forward. "These men are definitely fighting for something."
Millia looked away from the prisoners bitterly, "You say that, but the Windsor family always treated their tenants with respect and kindness. Count Windsor himself punished any member of his family who abused their status over the common people. And now, they repay that kindness by dutifully serving new masters."
"And what about their own families?" Asuna said hotly. "If they obey Reconquista, their families will be safe, isn't that it?"
Millia didn't say anything, only balled her fists and continued walking beside Asuna. They soon reached the far end of the line of prisoners where Kino and Caramella stood guard. The last three men were the Noble Officers, mages assigned to support the commoner troops. Everything from their clothing to their attitudes set them apart from the men that they had commanded. Two of the nobles sat rigidly upright, despite scrapes and bruises, they seemed determined to maintain their dignity, exuding an aura of self worth that was quite at odds with the conditioned subservience of their subordinates.
The third nobleman had abandoned all pretense and simply glared up at Asuna while clutching at his disfigured right hand. The severed stumps of the man's index and middle fingers, which now ended above the first knuckle, had been crudely healed and dressed by Millia.
"You could have been a little less brutal." Kino said to Caramella.
"And he could have yielded!" Caramella snapped back. Even with half of her face concealed by her cloak, the sworswoman looked irritated. "One of those wind blasts smacked me right in the tits, so excuse me if I'm not feeling much sympathy right now."
"My hand!" The nobleman on the ground shouted.
"My tits!" Caramella shouted back before noticing the arrival of Asuna and Millia. The woman suddenly flushed at having used such language. "Ah, Asuna-sama! Millia-chan! Sorry about that, the prisoner was making noise."
Asuna regarded the three Noble officers carefully. They were mages, magic users like Millia. The young tutor had demonstrated some of her talents after Asuna had permitted her to take one of the wands they had liberated off of the officers. Asuna still didn't have a good feeling for their abilities in battle, which was why she had made it a priority to neutralize the mages first while the shock of the ambush had left them unprepared. This had the added advantage of shocking the commoner guards into submission and ending the fight quickly.
Still the mages had proven dangerous opponents when not neutralized quickly as was the case with the one fought by Caramella. Only the beyond human strength and toughness enjoyed by the swordswoman had saved her from serious injury, and these men were just rear guards, probably no better than what Millia referred to as 'dot' and 'line' class mages. Reconquista's elite troops, the equivalent of the front line forces, would have many skilled 'line' and 'triangle' level mages with the most powerful entering into the rank of 'square'. From what little Asuna had seen so far, a front line player's physical abilities probably would put them on par with a line level mage in a direct confrontation. From Millia's comments, anything above line class could probably overwhelm them if care wasn't taken.
"Caramella-san, Kino-san, we're almost done here. Make sure you collect all of their weapons and magical foci, then we'll blindfold them. We'll loosen the bonds on one of the commoner soldiers so he can work his way free once we're gone." So far the operation had been a complete success. They had revealed nothing that would lead the Reconquista forces to believe that they were 'Elves'. Hopefully the claims of superhuman fighters would simply be disregarded as the rear line forces seeking to cover themselves and their quick retreat from this area would discourage any investigations.
"Roger." Kino nodded and went to work cutting a strip from the shirt of each man and using it to fashion a blind. Caramella huffed dismissively but made no further comment. Millia for her own part, also seemed displeased by this turn of events.
"You'll all be free to go as soon as we're gone." Asuna said to the mages.
The men looked amongst themselves before turning back to Asuna. "This isn't some sort of trick, is it?" The portly one asked cautiously.
Asuna shook her head, "We have what we've come for, and we won't be back. This isn't our fight one way or the other, so detaining you or killing you is pointless." The nobles all sank down in relief as Kino covered their eyes, tying each blind tightly so that they wouldn't fall off.
"Everyone make ready to depart!" Asuna shouted over the clattering noises of cartons and bags being unloaded. "If everyone has a full pack, there's no more reason for us to stay."
Cries of 'Roger' and 'Affirmative' came from all down the line of wagons a the former SAO players broke back into the forest. Asuna was turning to leave when the portly Noble man asked a final question. "The way you ambushed us, not just commoner dogs, you must be former retainers. Just who are you people?"
Kino looked to Asuna who gave a small nod. The boy grinned, "We're the Knights of Blood."
________________________________________________________________________________
"Heave Ho!" Caramella grunted as she tossed down her monstrously overloaded pack and stretched with relief. Being super humanly strong was a pretty sweet deal, right up until the fighting ended and you were relegated to pack mule. Well, not quite pack mule . . .
"I am not a . . . hgnn . . . beast of burden!" Kimura said indignantly, or at least as indignant as his perpetually soft monotone could be. The former researcher turned slug type monster slithered past Caramella on his immense foot pad. She actually expected him to leave more slime in his wake, yet other than the path he plowed through the foliage there was little sign of his passage. The rough terrain didn't seem to slow him down any, no doubt Kimura had inherited his slug type avatars abilities including their high physical resilience and ability to travel almost anywhere. The slugs back was covered in lashed down supplies taken from the convoy ambush. Assuming their bodies didn't use much more energy than a normal person, barring feats of superhuman strength, they had secured enough food to keep themselves fed for at least a week. Sure it would all be salted meet, cheese, and course bread, but after going two whole days without food, Caramella wasn't going to complain.
"Suck it up, Escargot-san." Caramella said as Kimura came to a stop beside her. The troop of former SAO players, which had jokingly begun refer to themselves as the Knights of Blood in honor of their leader, had made camp some distance into the forest under the cover of a narrow ravine that concealed them from casual observation and gave ready access to fresh water from the mountain runoff.
"Its not that bad, is it?" Kino asked, setting down his own pack which was at least as overloaded as Caramella's.
"What the hell?" Caramella's eye twitched, "What the heck are you, Momotaro? Since when is a middle tier player that stupidly strong!"
Kino scratched his head in embarrassment. "Well, I was pretty useless in combat because I could never settle on my build. But it meant I ended up with a lot of useful support skills and stats. So I kind of became our guilds odd job person."
"Odd jobs?" Caramella asked.
"Oh, you know, scouting out good hunting grounds, whittling down enemies for the weaker party members so they could get the last attack bonus, carrying loot. That sort of thing."
"What your trying to say is that they used you as a gopher." Caramella said flatly. Kino's perpetually chipper smile cracked like porcelain.
"You don't need to be so harsh." Arguile said, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder.
"Arguile-san, Caramella-san, Kino-san, you're back!" The old fisherman, Nishida, came walking down to greet them. "So the ambush was a success?"
"It was spot on." Caramella said and gave a V for victory, "It looks like that scumbag was right about them using the road to transport supplies. Looks like we got a good haul out of it too."
Nishida nodded before looking about, "Ah, where is Asuna-san and Millia-san?"
Caramella glanced over her shoulder curiously, "They were right behind us." But now all that Caramella could see was the line of returning volunteers and front liners.
"They're back towards the rear." Arguile assured, "Millia-san insisted on helping."
"Eh? She didn't have to." Caramella said confused, "It's not like she's built to haul stuff around." An image of the slender young tutor trying to carry one of the overloaded packs came unbidden to her mind and she winced.
"Just wait and see." Arguile said, waving down the path. In the distance, the last few figures in their mottled cloaks came into view. The last two were definitely Asuna and Millia, Asuna denoted by her longer cloak, specifically cut to conceal her wings, and Millia by the fact that she wore hers with the hood down, unlike the former players who were attempting to conceal their ears.
As expected, Asuna was carrying a pair of heavy satchels, but Millia didn't seem to be carrying anything. Instead the young tutor held one of the wands that they had retrieved from the defeated mages and seemed to be locked in concentration. Caramella squinted and felt her perception skill focusing in on the two. Behind Millia, as if of their own volition, marched four large rucksacks.
"What the hell?" Caramella said after recovering from her surprise, looking again she could see stubby metallic limbs protruding from beneath the packs. Each pack was being carried by a small, comically dis proportioned knight. The first knight carried a lance in one hand, the second wielded a sword and shield, the third carried a bow, and the forth a spear. Caramella was left pointing stupidly at the bizarre sight as Asuna and Millia approached.
"Apparently Millia-san is an earth mage. One of their specialties is building and controlling golems." Arguile commented mildly.
"And she couldn't just magic up an army of those little guys to carry all of this?" Caramella asked with a hint of irritation.
"I'm afraid four is my limit." Millia said apologetically, having grown close enough to hear the conversation. "I'm merely a dot mage, so even this is fairly good for me." The young tutor waved her captured wand and the miniature knights collapsed onto their posteriors, their massive packs looming over them. With another flick of the wand and a short incantation the knights began to flake and crumble to dust.
By this point the others who had stayed behind were running out of entrance to the ravine with words of congratulations and thanks. Caramella soon found herself helping to distribute the food among the other players alongside Kino and Millia.
"Catch." Caramella shouted as she tossed an apple to Millia. The young woman fumbled but managed to save her prize from falling to the ground. Shinning the fruit on the sleeve of her blouse, she took a greedy bite, and then another, quickly reducing the apple to a thin core.
Caramella suddenly felt the gnawing of her own belly, not just the aching sensation of emptiness that she had grown accustomed to thinking of us [<hunger]> in SAO, but a real visceral emptiness as her insides squeezed against her empty stomach. She'd just muscled through it for the past few days, but now, with the smell of foot in the air, it wasn't something she could ignore any longer. Sitting down beside Kino and Millia, she took out a loaf of hard bread and a strip of jerky.
"Kino, lend me one of your knives." Caramella felt the hilt of one of the knife users blades being placed into her waiting hand. Kino actually carried a couple of different types of knives. The small knives he carried on his chest were weighted for throwing while he carried a heftier combat knife in a sheath at his waist, and another smaller, general purpose blade in a forearm sheath that was usually hidden by the boy's jacket. It was this last one, with its serrated blade, that the boy had given to Caramella. Combined with his odd collection of poorly optimized but useful skills, Caramella was rapidly beginning to view the boy as a living Swiss Army Knife.
"Here." Caramella handed half of the loaf to Millia who accepted graciously.
"Thank you Miss Caramella." Millia said sincerely, she smiled gratefully as she took the peace in both hands.
"It's nothing." Caramella replied with a faint reddening of her cheeks before quickly tearing into her own half loaf. The bread was coarse and bland, army food, but hunger was its own spice and she was able to tear through most of it in just a few short bites. It was just as she had finished that Asuna and Arguile came to join them. Arguile taking a seat beside Kino, while Asuna sat down wearily on a fallen log, regarding her own loaf of bread with a dissatisfied look.
Inevitably, Caramella's eyes wondered to Asuna's back. Covered by her cloak as she leaned forward, only the translucent tips of the girl's wings poked out to barely brush the ground. Even Caramella knew that the wings were a delicate subject. It didn't take long to realize that Asuna viewed them as a disfigurement, and Caramella couldn't say she was wrong. They were useless, less than useless, dangerous in fact, as they would catch the air and made it more difficult for the famous rapier wielder to maneuver in a fight. Still, they nagged at Caramella.
"Hey, Escargot-san?" She called out to Kimura who had settled in nearby. Initially there had been concerns about how to feed the slug type mob who's body would no doubt demand a tremendous amount of nutrients. Fortunately the huge slug seemed to be capable of drawing nourishment from just about anything and was disturbingly content to graze off the local plant life. Whole bushes disappeared into his gullet with only the sound of snapping branches and rustling leaved to mark their passage. The sword and shield user didn't know if she'd ever be able to look at a salad the same way again.
"Yes, Caramel-chan?" Kimura said in that infuriatingly neutral tone.
"Ca-ra-me-la." She ground out, but that wasn't the point. "I was just wondering, Faeries are supposed to be able to fly, right?"
"Caramella!" Arguile began to reprimand.
"No." Asuna said, raising a hand. "It's okay, go ahead Caramella-san."
"I was just thinking, Asuna-sama has . . . Well . . . If faeries are supposed to be able to fly, why don't the rest of us have wings? You said we're some sort of default race and flying wasn't some sort of special ability in ALfheim, was it?"
Kimura's eye stocks bobbed up and down thoughtfully like the timeout cursor on an old computer. Despite his form, the slug was proving pretty easy to read once someone spent time around him, and unfortunately, Caramella had been forced to spend lots of time around him.
"That is correct." Kimura said. "The default state for most of the races is for the wings to remain stored until deliberately summoned. However, this requires the use of a flight controller function which does not seem to have been carried over to this world." Before Caramella could reply, Kimura continued. "Asuna-sama is probably a special case due to her avatar, which is why her wings are constantly materialized." From her seat, Asuna looked away from the conversation with a bitter expression.
"Kimura-san." Kino spoke up. "Isn't there some other way to access the wings? I was just thinking, we can use lots of our other skills, so we should be able to use those too, right?"
"I've tried." Asuna said suddenly. The others looked up. "Kimura-san showed me some mental exercises that can be used to manipulate the wings without the flight controller. I can move them, but I haven't been able to get off the ground."
"I've also put some effort into it." Arguile said, "But I haven't been able to so much as form my wings. The same goes for some of the other front line players."
"It may be that the flight mechanics did not transfer over to this world." Kimura noted, "Though given that your physical abilities are grossly beyond those of humans and appear to be related to your former game stats, as well as the skills and knowledge that has been demonstrated so far, there is strong evidence that a partial transfer took place. Also the existence of magic in this world would seem to strongly indicate that human flight is possible."
"It is." Millia confirmed after swallowing another small mouthful of bread. "Levitation is a common dot spell, almost any mage can use it. More powerful mages can use flight and related spells for greater speed and maneuverability, but they're generally not considered worth the drain in willpower."
"Perhaps there is some sort of mental block." Kimura said, thinking aloud.
"That mind over matter stuff went out of vogue back at the turn of the millennium." Caramella grumbled as she tore at a piece of jerky.
"Not at all." Kimura replied, eye stocks pivoting to observe Caramella slyly. "Athletes suffer a broad range of physical symptoms and a real loss of performance due to anxiety. People who use neural linked prosthesis frequently choose not to use them when not necessary due to conflicting phantom limb sensations. Those that suffer from gender identity disorder may feel out of place in their own bodies, to the point that it causes debilitating stress and damage to their self image, most frequently this is relieved by gender reassignment or role playing as the opposite sex. For instance, Caramel-chan's fervent desire to be a man leading to her role and mannerisms in SAO."
Caramella nearly choked on her jerky before coughing it back up. "What!"
"That isn't the reason for your appearance and mannerisms?" Kimura asked calmly, "I was certain that you must have been one of the female players who originally logged into SAO with a male avatar."
"I. Will. Hurt. You!" Caramella threatened as she reached for her sword. She'd only done that to stop weird guys from hitting on her!
Kino quickly placed a restraining hand on Caramella's forearm, smiling nervously. "Okay, so maybe we just have to get around that block, right?"
"It's something we've been considering." Arguile said, "We really don't have the time to stop and train right now. We'll have to continue working on it while we travel."
Caramella glanced over her back, "If we really can get our wings to work, wouldn't that make getting out of Albion way easier."
"There's a flight time limit on the wings." Kimura replied. "Seeing as other limitations still exist on your abilities, some equivalent would likely hold true here. In addition, even with the system assist, I believe that only around ten to twenty percent of ALfheim's players were ever able to successfully use the free flight function. If that success transfers to this world, then it would merely be a means for a small group to abandon the rest of us."
"Worried you'll get left behind?" Caramella jabbed. "Hey, if all this body image stuff is so important, why are you so calm? You're trapped in a giant bag of slime. At least we all look like our awesome selves."
"Hmm?" Kimura mulled the question over. "I suppose I've never really been bothered by this form. Many of the senses are sharper than a human's, and these tentacles are quite dexterous." Kimura curled two of his facial tentacles to emphasize. "Perhaps I am simply not that attached to the human form."
"Or you're insane." Caramella added as she took another bite of jerky.
Kimura's humped back rose and fell in a small shrug. "This body can feel pain and pleasure, and has quite a few advantages in this situation, I don't see the problem."
"Didn't you say Mister Kimura is under the same enchantment that turned you all into Faeries?" Millia asked curiously. The young tutor had been suitably startled when she first met Kimura, though more by his ability to speak than his form as a gigantic slug. Wait, that probably meant there were some really weird creatures that lived on Albion. Wonderful!
Caramella nodded, "Yeah, but in his case, I'd say this form suits his personality better."
It was still only mid afternoon, but the ravine was already growing dark as the sun began to set behind the tops of the trees. Most of their troop had rested here through the day, they would set out again at nightfall and hopefully make camp again before daybreak. Asuna suddenly stood up and turned to leave.
"Asuna-sama, where are you going?" Arguile reached out with one hand.
"There's still some unfinished business." Asuna said softly. Only Kimura and Millia looked unbothered. The others all averted their eyes with discomfort. The capture mercenary from two nights ago had proven honest enough with his information, even so, they couldn't just let him go. Furthermore, his crimes were too heinous to be forgiven. In Aincrad such a person would have been sent to the [<Black Iron Fortress]> on the 1st floor to be imprisoned by the army. But that wasn't an option here. For the time being the had decided to bring him along as a prisoner, but it was tacity accepted that this was only a temporary solution that could last only as long as the man had useful information.
Eventually, a more permanent solution would have to be entertained. But there was a difference between killing someone in self defense, or even killing someone on equal footing. Three Reconquista soldiers had been slain, one crushed by a felled tree, the other two killed while fighting, but they had at least been armed and able to defend themselves. Even so, Caramella had seen the looks on the faces of the front line players who had been responsible, overwhelming guilt at the needless loss of life. Kino had likewise been shocked by the life he had taken, but he had the buffer of having done so at a distance and having been unable to linger on the consequences of his actions. The time was soon approaching when someone would have to gather up the courage to execute a defenseless man. Arguile and Caramella had both agreed that no matter what, neither of them would allow Asuna to do it.
Caramella swallowed the last of the jerky. Only two days in this place and they were contemplating murder. Just what were they becoming? Above them, the sky was growing gradually darker. Caramella sensed that it would be a long night.
I'm displeased with this chapter. It doesn't feel very much like SAO or ZnT. One thing I'm worried about is how what's happening to Asuna is going to affect her when Kirito finally gets to her. I'm thinking a case of PTSD is likely to be in order. Luckily, Kirito and Asuna will have Yui on hand to help Asuna recover.
Thankfully the next Asuna snip will have ultra predictable meeting number 3 of this story!
Halkegenia Online-Chapter 6- Part 2
The Reconquista convoy made its way slowly down the back roads, a dozen wagons carrying food and supplies to the garrisons and front line forces. The guards, around fifty commoner foot soldiers reinforced by a trio of wind mages, were only half alert. The mages had gathered near the center of the convoy, conversing and joking with one another from atop their horses while the commoner soldiers road on the wagons. It was poor form that left their flanks exposed, but the Royalists had been pushed from this region weeks ago in Reconquista's continuing drive towards Newcastle. Their would be only disorganized peasants and perhaps a few isolated stragglers.
"Aye, Tobias, did you hear the Royalists at Blum were routed in three days? That's ten crown you owe me!" One of the noblemen, a portly man with the misfortune of burdening the smallest horse, said to his fellows.
"Crown, Hughes? With the Royalists gone you want me to pay in crown? Surely you mean marks!" One of the other noblemen replied.
"I mean crown!" Hughes insisted. "The Good Cromwell's word and some silver aren't nearly as satisfying as a tenth part gold."
"Bah, and where would I get ten crown?" Tobias replied.
"The same place you got the last ten." The third noblemen laughed. "And the next."
"Martin! You two are bleeding me dry!" Tobias said in shock.
"Now, now, we're just trying to cure your addiction, see what good friends we are?" The third mage, Martin, laughed heartily.
The three men were old friends who had grown up close to one another. Their families all owned interests in Londinium and they had spent much of their youth in the same boarding schools, and much of their young adult lives in the same whorehouses and gambling parlors. When the tides had turned against the Royal Family of Albion, the families of all three men had decided to throw their lot in with Reconquista, and their sons had only too happily joined the growing Reconquista army, a career choice that promised quick advancement as the army was expanded in preparation for further campaigns. It all felt like a jolly game to them, three friends off on an adventure, to return home with stories of their service.
The laughter was cut short a moment later with a call to halt from the front of the convoy. Curious, the three mages spurred their horsed forward past the wagons to see what was happening. The first wagon had come to a halt and the commoner soldiers had leaped down and taken up guard positions. The cause of the sudden stop appeared to be a felled tree in the roadway. The sheer audacity at first left the noblemen at a loss, finally taking cues from the caution displayed by their subordinates, the mages readied themselves.
"Weapons at the ready!" Tobias shouted, hearing the call repeated down the line. The air was filled with the sounds of boots striking soft earth and clatter of weapons. The commoners were second line troops. They were there more to keep watch and guard against thieves then to protect the convoy from a serious attack. That would be the duty of the mages.
The air grew still as the last of the guards took position, only the distant sounds of birds and the soft rustling of the trees impinged upon their hearing. Then, something else could be heard, a low cracking and the sound of air rushing past leaves and then a loud 'crash'. Followed by shouts and the sudden noises of battle. It had come from the rear of the convoy!
"Martin, Hughes, with me!" Tobias spurred his horse and rushed for the back of the column. He was halfway to the rear, a plume of dirt and leaves erupted, tracing a straight line across the roadway before rising up, a thin line of rope strung between two tree. Tobias had barely any time to reign in his horse before the rope caught him dead in the middle of the chest. He felt the breath being driven from his lungs, and then a sense of vertigo as his horse raced out from beneath him. Tobias struck the ground with a heavy thud and an explosion of pain.
A moment later he was struggling to his feet, Hughes and Martin, having seen him fall, had been able to save themselves from the same fate and were now turning their horses to and fro as shouts erupted from across the convoy. They were under attack!
Tobias raised his wand shakily, head swiveling about. He saw something, someone, moving among the trees and then more shouts. The twang of a crossbow bolt being released and then sudden cries of pain and surprise. This was battle, real battle, like his brothers had talked about!
"Where's it coming from!" Hughes shouted.
"It's everywhere!" Tobias shouted. "They're using the trees for cover!" There was another thunderous -Crack!- and part of the forest started to fall towards the gathered mages. "Scatter!" Tobias cried, the tree crashing down, separating Tobias from Martin and Hughes and sending the mounts of his fellows into a panic. A cloaked figure plummeted from above, falling onto Hughes and dragging the portly mage from his horse.
"Hughes!" Martin shouted bringing his wand up and at the ready. Suddenly the ground beside him erupted as a second figure burst from a hole dug along the roadside. That was the last Tobias saw of Martin as he was suddenly confronted be his own attacker. Sprinting from the forest at impossible speed, a third cloaked form rushed at him wielding a sword and shield. Such equipment, a mere commoner! Anger boiled in Martin, so that was the reason behind this cowardly attack.
Commoners, no doubt retainers of the Royalists, bereft of their masters, had reverted to feral dogs! Their assailants had guts trying to attack mages on their own. They would try to get in close and force him into a sword fight where a trained commoner could hope to compete, albeit on unequal footing, with a mage.
Tobias whipped his wand around and began to incant, a simple dot air spell, an air hammer. Not particularly powerful, its uses were more to stun or disorient, but effective all the same as it was difficult to detect before crashing into it, but it would buy time for a more powerful spell. The wind mage let fly, the air before him grew thick before driving outward.
His opponent couldn't have sensed the attack coming, but no doubt had read his movements and realized what was about to happen. The shield came up in a guard just as the air hammer crashed into figure, buffeting the shield and tearing at the cloak which masked his assailant's identity. The force of the blow should have knocked them from their feet, but somehow, they remained standing, merely driven back.
"Tcht." Tobias spat, regardless it had bought him the breathing room for another spell. His training was kicking in now, dispatch this commoner fool quickly and move on to the next. Don't become overwhelmed. He thrust forward with another incantation, a more lethal air needle, deadly at close range but difficult to aim. He caught the cloaked figure off guard, his attack punching a hole into the shield and grazing the side of his assailant with a short hiss of tortured air. A similar hiss of pain issued from his opponent as they rolled to the side.
The wind mage grinned savagely, he had stolen the initiative, now it was time to turn this around, he rushed forward. Something large and metallic hurtled towards him, Tobias whipped his wand up to launch a gust of wind in defense. The air blast batted the shield aside just in time to reveal the charging cloaked figure who had thrown it.
There was no time for another spell, Tobias jumped to the side, barely missing a strike to his flank and then jumped back again as his attacker brought their sword down in an overhead strike. The mage stumbled, falling to the earth, the point of his opponent's blade pressed beneath his chin. "Yield!" A strangely feminine voice demanded.
Tobias cursed himself, how could this be happening? Nevertheless, he tossed his wand aside and raised his hands in surrender. "Good boy." The voice said, this close he could see the cloaked figure's lower face and was almost certain his assailant was a woman. Beaten not only by a commoner, but a woman at that!
"Kino! You still alive?" The figure shouted over her shoulder. Having craned her neck around, she no doubt thought she had time to react if Tobias went for his fallen wand, foolish mistake. Dropping his hands, a second wand slid from cuff of his shirt. He was already performing an incantation as he leveled the focus on his target. Woman or not, she must have been incredibly strong to withstand an air hammer. But no amount of strength would help her once she was driven into the air. Gust was a simple dot spell but Tobias was a strong line, the power he could put behind it was enough to throw a grown man several mails straight up.
His attacker had no chance to resist, being swept away before she could even issue a shout of surprise. The woman was slammed against a nearby tree with a solid thud and a clatter of armor before collapsing limply to the ground. Judging from experience, the impact should have gravely injured her, if not killed outright.
Tobias was just about to turn in the direction the woman had shouted when he saw her beginning to stir.
"Damn!" The woman coughed and then rolled aside as he launched another air needle. The spell punched a thumb sized hole cleanly through the tree trunk. Tobias pressed forward casting another gust to bludgeon the woman against a tree stump. The attacks weren't as effective as he had expected, but it was keeping her disoriented. A few more and he'd try another air needle, once she was too battered to dodge.
The woman managed to get her feet beneath her, legs coiling up just as Tobias let loose. With a defiant shout she jumped, for a moment he thought he had been mistaken and was in fact facing a wind mage, no mere commoner could have managed such a leap without the aid of magic. The woman described an arc through the air that carried her fully above his attack and deposited her behind him.
Landing heavily, the woman rolled and spun around, boots digging into the soft earth and pushing off, bringing her blade up with a shout just as Tobias did the same with his wand. The blade's arc intersected with the arc of Tobias' wand and the wand tip, as well as the tips of his index and middle fingers, parted company with the rest of him. Tobias screamed, clutching at his mauled hand. He didn't even see the fist that drove into his temple and sent him spiraling into blackness.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Yuuki Asuna, Asuna the Flash, former sub commander of the Aincrad front line guild the Knights of Blood, and now a Faerie transported to the world of Halkegenia, surveyed the captured map with an intense look in her eyes. The landmass that the map described possessed a rather peculiar elongated sideways S shape that was thickest at its center before tapering down near the ends. This was Albion, the White Isle. The major roads and cities lay spread before her, coins and other pieces of pocket detritus were scattered across the maps surface to represent the locations of the Royalist and Rebel forces. Most of the map was covered in silver marks taken from the purses of the captured Noble Officers, denoting Rebel holdings. The Royalists strongholds were marked by gold crown pieces. The crown pieces had been relatively few and found in the possession of only one of the Nobles, that was okay, there were a lot more Rebels than there were Royalists.
"We're right here." Millia pointed to the north eastern end of the map where the bulk of the island began to curve towards its northern tip. "That puts us a bit south of the port of York." The young tutor then gestured further north. "At last I'd heard, the Rebel army has managed to push past York and are making preparations to besiege Newcastle."
"It doesn't sound like things are going well for the Royalists." Arguile commented, the knight was standing arms crossed beside Asuna, stroking his chin absently. Three days in [<the real world]>, as Asuna was starting to think of it, had resulted in the man developing a fine stubble along his jawline. The three of them were standing at the front of the stopped Rebel convoy, using the back end of one of the wagons as a makeshift table. Millia and both of the faeries were garbed in mottled cloaks sewn from random bits of scavenged cloth to conceal themselves from their captives. As far as the captured guards and mages were concerned, the former players were just bandits who had tried their hand at attacking a military convoy and gotten lucky. An isolated bandit raid or two would probably go unnoticed in the chaos that was gripping the country, but if they were identified as 'Elves', the Reconquista forces would doubtlessly attempt to annihilate them, or else capture them for public execution. Asuna's stomach churned at either prospect.
All around them, hooded figures, the other former SAO players, were fast at work digging through the contents of the wagons, retrieving food, blankets, and other essential supplies to be carried back off into safety of the forest. They worked quickly despite their inexperience. Asuna didn't want to remain on the road for too long. She had brought only a small force of front line players and a larger group of volunteers to carry back the supplies to where the rest of their troop was waiting.
Asuna tried not to draw parallels between what they were doing now and the actions of the thieves guilds that had infested Aincrad. The former KoB sub commander had organized and partaken in many subjugation operations during the first year of the Death Game in order to discourage thievery and the resulting PK incidents that had occurred, so it felt strange, wrong, to suddenly find herself on the other side of the equation. There was of course an important difference, where the thieves guilds had stolen merely to maximize their own profits at the expense of other players, Asuna and the others were now resorting to banditry in order to survive.
The civil war that had raged across Albion, the fight between the Rebels, Reconquista, and the Royalist forces, had stripped the countryside bare as both armies supplemented their supply lines by confiscation, foraging, and hunting. Their was precious little to be had by the three hundred former SAO players save by theft. And as the situation stood, it was better to steal from the hands of Reconquista, who would already be inclined to kill them on sight for the high crime of being 'Elves', then to also anger the Royalists who has no reason to care one way or the other. Such a difficult situation, she thought.
"It is true, the Royalists are losing ground every day." Millia admitted, her eyes were downcast with worry. "And if what those Rebel officers were saying is true, then the fighting has now moved well past York, which means the Rebels probably now hold the majority of Albion's fleet."
"Then we'll need to move quickly." Asuna decided aloud. "For the time being, our objective needs to be to get off of Albion before the Royalists are defeated. If we can't accomplish that, then the Rebels will no doubt find us when they start to consolidate their position." Asuna had no idea of what they would do after that, but Albion was simply too small a country for them to remain hidden for long, at very least, they would have more options if they could get down onto the continent.
"Agreed." Arguile said. "You said the nearest port city is York?"
Millia nodded, "Yes, this is it here." She placed her middle and index fingers beneath a line of Albionese script. "Do you plan to steal a ship?"
"If necessary." Asuna replied. "The distance to Halkegenia isn't too great. Once we've made it into the countryside on the continent, we can start to plan our next move."
Arguile nodded seriously, "Finding the rest of ALfheim." He said aloud. The longer Asuna had thought about it, about the strange event that had released her from her prison and awoken the other test subjects, the more she had come to believe, had to believe, that the World Tree, that city at its base, and most importantly Kirito and Yui, may also have been transported to this world. She had to find them.
Millia shook her head, "It won't be that simple if the Rebels control York. You'll never be able to sneak three hundred people through the city. And even if you manage to hijack a ship, you would be swarmed by mages before you could even leave port."
Asuna glanced to the young tutor, silencing her. "Then what would you suggest? The Royalists have no reason to help us, even if they can be convinced we aren't Elves. Reconquista is winning this war which means we can't stay on Albion. We simply don't have that many options. Arguile-san."
"Asuna-sama?" The man said.
"Go see how the supply team is doing, anything that isn't packed soon is going to have to be left behind."
"Roger." Arguile replied, giving his superior a worried expression before departing.
Asuna gave the map one more look. York was about two days travel on foot, make it four if they traveled at night and stayed off the major roads. She was rolling the map up, brushing the coins and other markers into a small pile when Millia spoke again. "You should at least try to speak with the Royalists."
"You already said they would probably mistake us for Elves." Asuna replied, face composed, even now Millia didn't seem to fully believe them when they said that they were Faeries, and even less when they claimed that they were originally human. "Besides, there isn't much point asking for help from those who can't help themselves. It's not a risk we can take. At least, not until we've scouted out York. Once we've done that, then maybe." Asuna tucked the map into a small satchel and slung it over her shoulder, another inconvenience of the real world, no inventory screen. "And in any case, wouldn't we have to travel past York to meet up with the Royalists?"
"T-that's true." Millia admitted, following Asuna as she made her way from the lead wagon down the column. The defeated Reconquista troops sat lined up along the side of the road, their arms and legs bound and under the watchful guard of the former SAO front line players. "But so long as the Prince Valiant still draws breath, there is hope. And with your fighting power, the Royalists might be willing to make a deal. They may still have a way to get a few people off of Albion."
"Not all of us are strong fighters." Asuna replied, glancing to the defeated guards. They didn't look like the men that Asuna had faced that first night in this world. They were too young, too innocent looking. Most of them were uninjured, only a handful had been killed in the fighting, mostly in the initial confusion, the rest had surrendered with the defeat of their officers. They were too cowed to fight the mysterious strangers who could challenge three mages of air to battle. They now watched curiously as the hooded figures crawled over the convoy they had been ordered to protect, murmuring softly among themselves but otherwise remaining docile. When she asked Millia about them, the woman simply shrugged.
"They're probably peasants who were conscripted when the Rebels overran their villages. The sons of farmers."
Asuna frowned, "I thought you said that the Rebels did terrible things to the retainers of the Royalists." That had in fact been the reason Millia had given for her own flight. Though Asuna suspected the truth was something else, she'd said nothing so far, because frankly, it seemed too contrived to be true.
"They do." Millia said. "The guards and personal servants, stripped of the protection of their Lords, are either put to death immediately, or tortured for information, or confessions. The time of the Rebels granting a pardon to those who turn sides has long since ended. But these men are simply the commoners that come with the land, there is no more point to punishing them than to punish a chicken or an ox."
Asuna's expression soured as she listened to Millia's comment. It was clear that Millia thought no more of the peasants than Asuna had of the NPCs in Aincrad. They were there, a component of the world, meant to be neither abused nor cherished. There was a world of difference between treating another living breathing human being as a thing, and doing the same to an NPC. Even so, Asuna could understand thought processes that went into it well enough.
"You're wrong." Asuna said, eyes fixed forward. "These men are definitely fighting for something."
Millia looked away from the prisoners bitterly, "You say that, but the Windsor family always treated their tenants with respect and kindness. Count Windsor himself punished any member of his family who abused their status over the common people. And now, they repay that kindness by dutifully serving new masters."
"And what about their own families?" Asuna said hotly. "If they obey Reconquista, their families will be safe, isn't that it?"
Millia didn't say anything, only balled her fists and continued walking beside Asuna. They soon reached the far end of the line of prisoners where Kino and Caramella stood guard. The last three men were the Noble Officers, mages assigned to support the commoner troops. Everything from their clothing to their attitudes set them apart from the men that they had commanded. Two of the nobles sat rigidly upright, despite scrapes and bruises, they seemed determined to maintain their dignity, exuding an aura of self worth that was quite at odds with the conditioned subservience of their subordinates.
The third nobleman had abandoned all pretense and simply glared up at Asuna while clutching at his disfigured right hand. The severed stumps of the man's index and middle fingers, which now ended above the first knuckle, had been crudely healed and dressed by Millia.
"You could have been a little less brutal." Kino said to Caramella.
"And he could have yielded!" Caramella snapped back. Even with half of her face concealed by her cloak, the sworswoman looked irritated. "One of those wind blasts smacked me right in the tits, so excuse me if I'm not feeling much sympathy right now."
"My hand!" The nobleman on the ground shouted.
"My tits!" Caramella shouted back before noticing the arrival of Asuna and Millia. The woman suddenly flushed at having used such language. "Ah, Asuna-sama! Millia-chan! Sorry about that, the prisoner was making noise."
Asuna regarded the three Noble officers carefully. They were mages, magic users like Millia. The young tutor had demonstrated some of her talents after Asuna had permitted her to take one of the wands they had liberated off of the officers. Asuna still didn't have a good feeling for their abilities in battle, which was why she had made it a priority to neutralize the mages first while the shock of the ambush had left them unprepared. This had the added advantage of shocking the commoner guards into submission and ending the fight quickly.
Still the mages had proven dangerous opponents when not neutralized quickly as was the case with the one fought by Caramella. Only the beyond human strength and toughness enjoyed by the swordswoman had saved her from serious injury, and these men were just rear guards, probably no better than what Millia referred to as 'dot' and 'line' class mages. Reconquista's elite troops, the equivalent of the front line forces, would have many skilled 'line' and 'triangle' level mages with the most powerful entering into the rank of 'square'. From what little Asuna had seen so far, a front line player's physical abilities probably would put them on par with a line level mage in a direct confrontation. From Millia's comments, anything above line class could probably overwhelm them if care wasn't taken.
"Caramella-san, Kino-san, we're almost done here. Make sure you collect all of their weapons and magical foci, then we'll blindfold them. We'll loosen the bonds on one of the commoner soldiers so he can work his way free once we're gone." So far the operation had been a complete success. They had revealed nothing that would lead the Reconquista forces to believe that they were 'Elves'. Hopefully the claims of superhuman fighters would simply be disregarded as the rear line forces seeking to cover themselves and their quick retreat from this area would discourage any investigations.
"Roger." Kino nodded and went to work cutting a strip from the shirt of each man and using it to fashion a blind. Caramella huffed dismissively but made no further comment. Millia for her own part, also seemed displeased by this turn of events.
"You'll all be free to go as soon as we're gone." Asuna said to the mages.
The men looked amongst themselves before turning back to Asuna. "This isn't some sort of trick, is it?" The portly one asked cautiously.
Asuna shook her head, "We have what we've come for, and we won't be back. This isn't our fight one way or the other, so detaining you or killing you is pointless." The nobles all sank down in relief as Kino covered their eyes, tying each blind tightly so that they wouldn't fall off.
"Everyone make ready to depart!" Asuna shouted over the clattering noises of cartons and bags being unloaded. "If everyone has a full pack, there's no more reason for us to stay."
Cries of 'Roger' and 'Affirmative' came from all down the line of wagons a the former SAO players broke back into the forest. Asuna was turning to leave when the portly Noble man asked a final question. "The way you ambushed us, not just commoner dogs, you must be former retainers. Just who are you people?"
Kino looked to Asuna who gave a small nod. The boy grinned, "We're the Knights of Blood."
________________________________________________________________________________
"Heave Ho!" Caramella grunted as she tossed down her monstrously overloaded pack and stretched with relief. Being super humanly strong was a pretty sweet deal, right up until the fighting ended and you were relegated to pack mule. Well, not quite pack mule . . .
"I am not a . . . hgnn . . . beast of burden!" Kimura said indignantly, or at least as indignant as his perpetually soft monotone could be. The former researcher turned slug type monster slithered past Caramella on his immense foot pad. She actually expected him to leave more slime in his wake, yet other than the path he plowed through the foliage there was little sign of his passage. The rough terrain didn't seem to slow him down any, no doubt Kimura had inherited his slug type avatars abilities including their high physical resilience and ability to travel almost anywhere. The slugs back was covered in lashed down supplies taken from the convoy ambush. Assuming their bodies didn't use much more energy than a normal person, barring feats of superhuman strength, they had secured enough food to keep themselves fed for at least a week. Sure it would all be salted meet, cheese, and course bread, but after going two whole days without food, Caramella wasn't going to complain.
"Suck it up, Escargot-san." Caramella said as Kimura came to a stop beside her. The troop of former SAO players, which had jokingly begun refer to themselves as the Knights of Blood in honor of their leader, had made camp some distance into the forest under the cover of a narrow ravine that concealed them from casual observation and gave ready access to fresh water from the mountain runoff.
"Its not that bad, is it?" Kino asked, setting down his own pack which was at least as overloaded as Caramella's.
"What the hell?" Caramella's eye twitched, "What the heck are you, Momotaro? Since when is a middle tier player that stupidly strong!"
Kino scratched his head in embarrassment. "Well, I was pretty useless in combat because I could never settle on my build. But it meant I ended up with a lot of useful support skills and stats. So I kind of became our guilds odd job person."
"Odd jobs?" Caramella asked.
"Oh, you know, scouting out good hunting grounds, whittling down enemies for the weaker party members so they could get the last attack bonus, carrying loot. That sort of thing."
"What your trying to say is that they used you as a gopher." Caramella said flatly. Kino's perpetually chipper smile cracked like porcelain.
"You don't need to be so harsh." Arguile said, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder.
"Arguile-san, Caramella-san, Kino-san, you're back!" The old fisherman, Nishida, came walking down to greet them. "So the ambush was a success?"
"It was spot on." Caramella said and gave a V for victory, "It looks like that scumbag was right about them using the road to transport supplies. Looks like we got a good haul out of it too."
Nishida nodded before looking about, "Ah, where is Asuna-san and Millia-san?"
Caramella glanced over her shoulder curiously, "They were right behind us." But now all that Caramella could see was the line of returning volunteers and front liners.
"They're back towards the rear." Arguile assured, "Millia-san insisted on helping."
"Eh? She didn't have to." Caramella said confused, "It's not like she's built to haul stuff around." An image of the slender young tutor trying to carry one of the overloaded packs came unbidden to her mind and she winced.
"Just wait and see." Arguile said, waving down the path. In the distance, the last few figures in their mottled cloaks came into view. The last two were definitely Asuna and Millia, Asuna denoted by her longer cloak, specifically cut to conceal her wings, and Millia by the fact that she wore hers with the hood down, unlike the former players who were attempting to conceal their ears.
As expected, Asuna was carrying a pair of heavy satchels, but Millia didn't seem to be carrying anything. Instead the young tutor held one of the wands that they had retrieved from the defeated mages and seemed to be locked in concentration. Caramella squinted and felt her perception skill focusing in on the two. Behind Millia, as if of their own volition, marched four large rucksacks.
"What the hell?" Caramella said after recovering from her surprise, looking again she could see stubby metallic limbs protruding from beneath the packs. Each pack was being carried by a small, comically dis proportioned knight. The first knight carried a lance in one hand, the second wielded a sword and shield, the third carried a bow, and the forth a spear. Caramella was left pointing stupidly at the bizarre sight as Asuna and Millia approached.
"Apparently Millia-san is an earth mage. One of their specialties is building and controlling golems." Arguile commented mildly.
"And she couldn't just magic up an army of those little guys to carry all of this?" Caramella asked with a hint of irritation.
"I'm afraid four is my limit." Millia said apologetically, having grown close enough to hear the conversation. "I'm merely a dot mage, so even this is fairly good for me." The young tutor waved her captured wand and the miniature knights collapsed onto their posteriors, their massive packs looming over them. With another flick of the wand and a short incantation the knights began to flake and crumble to dust.
By this point the others who had stayed behind were running out of entrance to the ravine with words of congratulations and thanks. Caramella soon found herself helping to distribute the food among the other players alongside Kino and Millia.
"Catch." Caramella shouted as she tossed an apple to Millia. The young woman fumbled but managed to save her prize from falling to the ground. Shinning the fruit on the sleeve of her blouse, she took a greedy bite, and then another, quickly reducing the apple to a thin core.
Caramella suddenly felt the gnawing of her own belly, not just the aching sensation of emptiness that she had grown accustomed to thinking of us [<hunger]> in SAO, but a real visceral emptiness as her insides squeezed against her empty stomach. She'd just muscled through it for the past few days, but now, with the smell of foot in the air, it wasn't something she could ignore any longer. Sitting down beside Kino and Millia, she took out a loaf of hard bread and a strip of jerky.
"Kino, lend me one of your knives." Caramella felt the hilt of one of the knife users blades being placed into her waiting hand. Kino actually carried a couple of different types of knives. The small knives he carried on his chest were weighted for throwing while he carried a heftier combat knife in a sheath at his waist, and another smaller, general purpose blade in a forearm sheath that was usually hidden by the boy's jacket. It was this last one, with its serrated blade, that the boy had given to Caramella. Combined with his odd collection of poorly optimized but useful skills, Caramella was rapidly beginning to view the boy as a living Swiss Army Knife.
"Here." Caramella handed half of the loaf to Millia who accepted graciously.
"Thank you Miss Caramella." Millia said sincerely, she smiled gratefully as she took the peace in both hands.
"It's nothing." Caramella replied with a faint reddening of her cheeks before quickly tearing into her own half loaf. The bread was coarse and bland, army food, but hunger was its own spice and she was able to tear through most of it in just a few short bites. It was just as she had finished that Asuna and Arguile came to join them. Arguile taking a seat beside Kino, while Asuna sat down wearily on a fallen log, regarding her own loaf of bread with a dissatisfied look.
Inevitably, Caramella's eyes wondered to Asuna's back. Covered by her cloak as she leaned forward, only the translucent tips of the girl's wings poked out to barely brush the ground. Even Caramella knew that the wings were a delicate subject. It didn't take long to realize that Asuna viewed them as a disfigurement, and Caramella couldn't say she was wrong. They were useless, less than useless, dangerous in fact, as they would catch the air and made it more difficult for the famous rapier wielder to maneuver in a fight. Still, they nagged at Caramella.
"Hey, Escargot-san?" She called out to Kimura who had settled in nearby. Initially there had been concerns about how to feed the slug type mob who's body would no doubt demand a tremendous amount of nutrients. Fortunately the huge slug seemed to be capable of drawing nourishment from just about anything and was disturbingly content to graze off the local plant life. Whole bushes disappeared into his gullet with only the sound of snapping branches and rustling leaved to mark their passage. The sword and shield user didn't know if she'd ever be able to look at a salad the same way again.
"Yes, Caramel-chan?" Kimura said in that infuriatingly neutral tone.
"Ca-ra-me-la." She ground out, but that wasn't the point. "I was just wondering, Faeries are supposed to be able to fly, right?"
"Caramella!" Arguile began to reprimand.
"No." Asuna said, raising a hand. "It's okay, go ahead Caramella-san."
"I was just thinking, Asuna-sama has . . . Well . . . If faeries are supposed to be able to fly, why don't the rest of us have wings? You said we're some sort of default race and flying wasn't some sort of special ability in ALfheim, was it?"
Kimura's eye stocks bobbed up and down thoughtfully like the timeout cursor on an old computer. Despite his form, the slug was proving pretty easy to read once someone spent time around him, and unfortunately, Caramella had been forced to spend lots of time around him.
"That is correct." Kimura said. "The default state for most of the races is for the wings to remain stored until deliberately summoned. However, this requires the use of a flight controller function which does not seem to have been carried over to this world." Before Caramella could reply, Kimura continued. "Asuna-sama is probably a special case due to her avatar, which is why her wings are constantly materialized." From her seat, Asuna looked away from the conversation with a bitter expression.
"Kimura-san." Kino spoke up. "Isn't there some other way to access the wings? I was just thinking, we can use lots of our other skills, so we should be able to use those too, right?"
"I've tried." Asuna said suddenly. The others looked up. "Kimura-san showed me some mental exercises that can be used to manipulate the wings without the flight controller. I can move them, but I haven't been able to get off the ground."
"I've also put some effort into it." Arguile said, "But I haven't been able to so much as form my wings. The same goes for some of the other front line players."
"It may be that the flight mechanics did not transfer over to this world." Kimura noted, "Though given that your physical abilities are grossly beyond those of humans and appear to be related to your former game stats, as well as the skills and knowledge that has been demonstrated so far, there is strong evidence that a partial transfer took place. Also the existence of magic in this world would seem to strongly indicate that human flight is possible."
"It is." Millia confirmed after swallowing another small mouthful of bread. "Levitation is a common dot spell, almost any mage can use it. More powerful mages can use flight and related spells for greater speed and maneuverability, but they're generally not considered worth the drain in willpower."
"Perhaps there is some sort of mental block." Kimura said, thinking aloud.
"That mind over matter stuff went out of vogue back at the turn of the millennium." Caramella grumbled as she tore at a piece of jerky.
"Not at all." Kimura replied, eye stocks pivoting to observe Caramella slyly. "Athletes suffer a broad range of physical symptoms and a real loss of performance due to anxiety. People who use neural linked prosthesis frequently choose not to use them when not necessary due to conflicting phantom limb sensations. Those that suffer from gender identity disorder may feel out of place in their own bodies, to the point that it causes debilitating stress and damage to their self image, most frequently this is relieved by gender reassignment or role playing as the opposite sex. For instance, Caramel-chan's fervent desire to be a man leading to her role and mannerisms in SAO."
Caramella nearly choked on her jerky before coughing it back up. "What!"
"That isn't the reason for your appearance and mannerisms?" Kimura asked calmly, "I was certain that you must have been one of the female players who originally logged into SAO with a male avatar."
"I. Will. Hurt. You!" Caramella threatened as she reached for her sword. She'd only done that to stop weird guys from hitting on her!
Kino quickly placed a restraining hand on Caramella's forearm, smiling nervously. "Okay, so maybe we just have to get around that block, right?"
"It's something we've been considering." Arguile said, "We really don't have the time to stop and train right now. We'll have to continue working on it while we travel."
Caramella glanced over her back, "If we really can get our wings to work, wouldn't that make getting out of Albion way easier."
"There's a flight time limit on the wings." Kimura replied. "Seeing as other limitations still exist on your abilities, some equivalent would likely hold true here. In addition, even with the system assist, I believe that only around ten to twenty percent of ALfheim's players were ever able to successfully use the free flight function. If that success transfers to this world, then it would merely be a means for a small group to abandon the rest of us."
"Worried you'll get left behind?" Caramella jabbed. "Hey, if all this body image stuff is so important, why are you so calm? You're trapped in a giant bag of slime. At least we all look like our awesome selves."
"Hmm?" Kimura mulled the question over. "I suppose I've never really been bothered by this form. Many of the senses are sharper than a human's, and these tentacles are quite dexterous." Kimura curled two of his facial tentacles to emphasize. "Perhaps I am simply not that attached to the human form."
"Or you're insane." Caramella added as she took another bite of jerky.
Kimura's humped back rose and fell in a small shrug. "This body can feel pain and pleasure, and has quite a few advantages in this situation, I don't see the problem."
"Didn't you say Mister Kimura is under the same enchantment that turned you all into Faeries?" Millia asked curiously. The young tutor had been suitably startled when she first met Kimura, though more by his ability to speak than his form as a gigantic slug. Wait, that probably meant there were some really weird creatures that lived on Albion. Wonderful!
Caramella nodded, "Yeah, but in his case, I'd say this form suits his personality better."
It was still only mid afternoon, but the ravine was already growing dark as the sun began to set behind the tops of the trees. Most of their troop had rested here through the day, they would set out again at nightfall and hopefully make camp again before daybreak. Asuna suddenly stood up and turned to leave.
"Asuna-sama, where are you going?" Arguile reached out with one hand.
"There's still some unfinished business." Asuna said softly. Only Kimura and Millia looked unbothered. The others all averted their eyes with discomfort. The capture mercenary from two nights ago had proven honest enough with his information, even so, they couldn't just let him go. Furthermore, his crimes were too heinous to be forgiven. In Aincrad such a person would have been sent to the [<Black Iron Fortress]> on the 1st floor to be imprisoned by the army. But that wasn't an option here. For the time being the had decided to bring him along as a prisoner, but it was tacity accepted that this was only a temporary solution that could last only as long as the man had useful information.
Eventually, a more permanent solution would have to be entertained. But there was a difference between killing someone in self defense, or even killing someone on equal footing. Three Reconquista soldiers had been slain, one crushed by a felled tree, the other two killed while fighting, but they had at least been armed and able to defend themselves. Even so, Caramella had seen the looks on the faces of the front line players who had been responsible, overwhelming guilt at the needless loss of life. Kino had likewise been shocked by the life he had taken, but he had the buffer of having done so at a distance and having been unable to linger on the consequences of his actions. The time was soon approaching when someone would have to gather up the courage to execute a defenseless man. Arguile and Caramella had both agreed that no matter what, neither of them would allow Asuna to do it.
Caramella swallowed the last of the jerky. Only two days in this place and they were contemplating murder. Just what were they becoming? Above them, the sky was growing gradually darker. Caramella sensed that it would be a long night.
Triggerhappy
Stick with Trigger and You'll Make it Through
- Location
- SoCal
Hopefully this won't continue. I just wanted to explain what was happening rather than start from the next Asuna snip with no explanation.Flere821 said:
- Location
- Third planet from the star named Sol
- Pronouns
- He/They
KoB meets Tittania!!!!!(purposeful misspelling.)
...You know, I think that's how the author came up with her name, actually. He added another 't' to Titania, then changed them to 'f's.
...You know, I think that's how the author came up with her name, actually. He added another 't' to Titania, then changed them to 'f's.
Inverness
The Foxiest Wife
So.... what happens if Albion collides with the World Tree?NotAlwaysFanfic said:
AFAIK, Albion doesn't fly anywhere remotely close enough to hit it. Albion at it's closest to Tristain still needs around a day's flight on a airship from Tristain to reach it, so that's unlikely to be passing over the World Tree or Tristain's capital.Inverness said:
LGear
Secret Society BLANKET
Where I come from, we have a term for something that nukes fanon into oblivion: the Ion Canon.Cruentus said:
And nice snip once again here TH, with desperate times comes desperate measures indeed. Awaiting that predictable meeting you're talking about next snip
Khaos
Baguette, wine and cheese
I rather like this chapter myself, while it is a novel situation, you wrote the consequences pretty well, and imho, there is no mood whiplash, your previous snippet with Asuna pretty much directly led to what happened in this chapter.Triggerhappy said:
Well... while you could try to approach things like that, it's not really the sanest thing to do in this case. We already know Earth physics works on Halkeginia after all, what with all the human weaponry or for that matter imported humans working just as they should. And while one could construct what would in practise be a complicated magical conversion system to explain that, it's just needless complication in my view. The easiest explanation by far is that normal physics applies to Halkeginia.Felix3D said:Do not fall into the fallacy of thinking Halk is just Fantasy!Earth. It could operate on an entirely different set of rules. There's nothing that states this is Earth and therefore must be exactly the same. No matter how much it grates on our scientific nerves.
It'll... help. With the headaches. Once you give up. And accept "Magical world that looks like earth but is not earth" as a fact. The problem is that there isn't much details in canon that expand upon this, so we may not know all of the intricacies.
Still, this doesn't really change the rest of your point though, namely that the world is magical and that this obviously changes things. For instance Albion floats with help of Wind Crystals, and who knows what that might do with the local atmosphere. You could rather easily justify quite large changes to the local atmosphere with the magical power needed to lift an Island of that size... well in all honesty that's probably enough power to cause global effects at that...
So clearly the entire planet is filled with truly epic amounts of magic that cause extra effects on top of normal physics. And there's more then enough of it to make global scale changes if required to make things fit.
So I'm guessing what you want to say is that Halk physics is the interaction of Quantum, Relativity and Magic; where the last one is an extremely important element as well and can massively change the outcome on what actually happens. And so naive application of 'Earth physics' leads one to incorrect conclusions?Felix3D said:
Interesting chapter. I'm surprised at the established power levels, but I suppose I can believe it if the SAO survivors don't have magic.
Asuna is in a rather interesting position, isn't she? She's the respected battle leader, and yet she's someone that the older members try to defend...
Asuna is in a rather interesting position, isn't she? She's the respected battle leader, and yet she's someone that the older members try to defend...
Triggerhappy
Stick with Trigger and You'll Make it Through
- Location
- SoCal
Yes, the flight mobility advantage and ability to cast magic both count for a lot. There's also the issue that Caramella is sort of the Worf of the group and non of them had experience against mages.linkhyrule5 said:
On the Asuna front I view it this way, Asuna is a peerless swordsman and a good leader with her abilities honed by two years in SAO, she is also in many ways still just a kid. People follow her because she takes action, has demonstrated clear ability, and isn't afraid to put herself in danger to protect others. In battle, Asuna simply draws others along in her wake, which was what made her such an effective face and sub commander for the KoB. The price is that she really doesn't know how to take care of herself and pretty obviously has some self destructive tendencies, something that Kirito helps to defuse. So while people like Arguile and Caramella are relying on her, they also are doing what they can to protect her.
On a side note - I think that Levitation can't be maintained simultaneous with any other spell? Putting up the
on this one. If it's true, it means that mages are at a massive disadvantage in the air, since their flight-capable familiars just can't compare to a race with natural flight.Flere821 said:
Speed doesn't really matter in a dogfight beyond a certain. This isn't modern air battle with over-the-horizon sensing and attack; everyone involved is using subsonic weaponry on targets in visual range. A maneuverable close-range target will chop a long-range attacker to shreds. And natural, mostly-magical flight is infinitely better than riding on a mostly-physics-compliant mount, especially if the Faeries' wings can't be damaged.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
One point about what does and does not register as human...
Cardinal has installed a large number of rather complex skills in the players, some of which have no Halkeginian equivalents. It knows how they're supposed to work, but not how the human brain does it. Which means.. most likely the actual implementation of those skills have more in common with how an AI would do it than how a human would.
It's not something that matters much, I just thought it was amusing. For someone in the clearing group like Asuna or Kirito, given their plethora of skills, Yui could reasonably claim they're too inhuman to fully understand. She's not specialized to diagnosing AIs, after all.
Cardinal has installed a large number of rather complex skills in the players, some of which have no Halkeginian equivalents. It knows how they're supposed to work, but not how the human brain does it. Which means.. most likely the actual implementation of those skills have more in common with how an AI would do it than how a human would.
It's not something that matters much, I just thought it was amusing. For someone in the clearing group like Asuna or Kirito, given their plethora of skills, Yui could reasonably claim they're too inhuman to fully understand. She's not specialized to diagnosing AIs, after all.
Some examples please?Baughn said:One point about what does and does not register as human...
Cardinal has installed a large number of rather complex skills in the players, some of which have no Halkeginian equivalents. It knows how they're supposed to work, but not how the human brain does it. Which means.. most likely the actual implementation of those skills have more in common with how an AI would do it than how a human would.
It's not something that matters much, I just thought it was amusing. For someone in the clearing group like Asuna or Kirito, given their plethora of skills, Yui could reasonably claim they're too inhuman to fully understand. She's not specialized to diagnosing AIs, after all.
mdkcde
"Emotions are prohibited"
- Location
- Nani Sore?
Early modern, not dark ages. And even then, there was nothing particularly dark about the dark ages, human condition back then wasn't so different compared to the thousands years before them.Purger said:
Triggerhappy
Stick with Trigger and You'll Make it Through
- Location
- SoCal
. . . Asuna was not involved directly in this fight, the guy Caramella fought lasted all of ten seconds and only got the drop on her because she didn't expect him to have a spare wand, nor did she have a way to deal with someone spamming low level AOE attacks. In that same time, the other two mage's were also thoroughly neutralized.Purger said:
The actual battle was over quickly enough that only three of the fifty commoner soldiers were killed, only two of them in battle.
They're stranded behind enemies lines, with half of their abilities (magic) locked and their arms wings tied behind their backs. Yet they're still kicking ass.
I think they're doing fine.
I think they're doing fine.