Sword Art Online FanFiction

Chapter Eight

This is Dawn's real avatar.

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"Kila."

"Kila."

"Kila! Wake up!"

I blinked open my eyes and yawned. "Huh? Who's Kila?" I mumbled.

"Kila. Fine. Anika. Wake up!" Dawn's voice sifted through the air.

"Dawn? What are you doing at my house? Did my dad let you in? And why did you call me Kila?" I asked, sitting up and wiping the blur from my eyes.

"Anika. Open your eyes and take a good look at where you are," Dawn said firmly.

I nodded sleepily and opened my eyes. Where was I? Why was Dawn dressed so weird? Why was th-

Oh.

Something must of have showed on my face when I remembered.

Dawn sat down on the edge of the bed. "You good?"

I nodded. "What time is it?"

Dawn  opened her menu to check. "9:24 AM."

"Huh. Weird, though. Usually you're the one to wake up late," I chuckled.

"Yeah," Dawn laughed, "Do you want to get some food? I heard there's a cheap place down over there."

"Ok. Let me get dressed first though." I said, opening up my menu to the apparel section.

"No," Dawn said sarcastically, "You aren't allowed to get dressed."

"Uh, well, there's no other room to go into. Just go behind that wall," I said, pointing to the wall.

"Ok," Dawn laughed.

Ok, so how do I change here?

Menu.

Apparel.

I changed from "White Nightshirt and Shorts" to my "Red and Brown Gear" in a couple clicks of a button.

"Ay, Dawn!" I yelled to her as I walked over.

"Yeah?" she asked as we grabbed our stuff.

"Everything here is so much easier. I wish I could change like this in real life. Then I wouldn't always be so late to school." I said as we walked out of the inn.

"You're always late. Even this wouldn't help you," Dawn teased.

"Hey! Anyways, at least we'll miss about a week of Mrs. Keteto's class." I shrugged.

"Yeah. Math isn't too bad, unless you get Mrs. Keteto."

We walked through the cobblestone streets to the restaurant. Booths lined the walls, advertising everything from food to crystals. People walked past us, going about their business as if we were in real life. So many people had already began to adjust to this world. Not me, though. I couldn't wait to get back home.

We reached the restaurant and stepped inside. People were eating and chatting. We grabbed a table and waited for someone to come over. After we ate, we decided to walk around the town a bit before hunting.

As I was admiring some swords for sale, Dawn spoke.

"Hey, Kila."

I looked up to face her. "Yeah?"

"How about we gather all our stuff and head to the next town?" She asked, looking out into the distant fields.

"What do you mean?" I said, stepping out of line.

"Well, you know, the Town of Beginnings isn't the only town on the first floor. Each floor has a bunch of villages and towns and structures to explore. We could head to the next village as we hunt." She suggested.

"Are we strong enough?" I asked her, looking over my stats.

"Well, our hunting yesterday should give us enough to be able to head to that village right there," Dawn said, pointing out the next town on the map.

"Ok. Looks alright. Do we have a couple health potions, just in case?" I asked.

"Yeah," Dawn confirmed, "We should be good."

"Alright. Do you want to head out now?"

"Maybe we can do some more hunting in the fields before leaving. Just, you know, to earn a little more points."

"Yeah, ok. Let's go." I said.

We walked out of the town and into the fields, where other people were hunting. We made the right choice, hunting yesterday. The fields were almost empty, and very few animals spawned. We got very lucky to get those rare items yesterday. Otherwise, someone else would've gotten them.

"Hey!" I shouted.

"Are you okay?" Dawn yelled and looked over.

"I leveled up!" I cheered.

"Nice. I just leveled up a couple minutes ago." Dawn added. "Do you want to head to the next town now?" 

"Sounds good," I agreed.

We walked out of the grass and back onto the dirt road. As we walked, the sun shined down brightly, and puffy white clouds up in the blue sky gently blew on us. The breeze rustled my long hair. This virtual world felt real.

I'm afraid I might be adapting to this world already. I don't want to get used to this. This is bad. It kills people. Yet I love it.

We killed monsters on the way to the town. As the sun was setting, I could see the town in the distance.

"Tolbana! There it is! Dawn, look!" I shouted, pointing to the structure in the distance.

"Oh, I see it! Hey, the sun's almost setting. Let's run over," Dawn exclaimed.

Our feet pounded the hard gravel. Dirt flew behind us as we raced to the gates. Guards stood in front of the gate, blocking our entry.

"Uh, hello? Can we enter?" I asked awkwardly after a minute.

The guard's stern face stayed solemn as he looked over at us. "Why do you wish to enter the town?"

I curled my fists. "What is this, some kind of test? L-"

"It's ok, Kila." Dawn soothed me. She looked at the guard. "We want to enter the city. We want to shop and meet some friends. We're not here to hurt anyone," She said firmly.

"Very well. Have a nice day," The guard grunted. He made a signal to someone and the gates creaked open.

We stepped inside the town as the gates closed behind us. I looked at Dawn. "How did you know to do that?"

Dawn explained, "Tolbana, Grandzam, and the Town of Beginnings are the cities that have gates. They're the biggest cities. You have to assure the guards you're not a hazard before you're allowed in."

"How'd you find that out?" I asked her.

"A beta-tester told me," Dawn shrugged. "I think his name was Elton. He was really nice."

"Ay, Elton! I remember him. He helped me figure out the controls. I friended him." I thought, remembering the friendly beta-tester.

Walking to the town had used up the whole day, so we ate dinner and rented an inn again. Again, I silently cried myself to sleep, wishing for my old home.