39Player 6243 - Chapter 7
January 1, 2024 Town of Beginnings
Harry sighed as he stood up from where he had spent the night apologizing to Rikona. The Front Line had moved onto the 50th floor while he spent the last week of December depressed and hiding out in the Town of Beginnings. Several players had tried to contact him but Harry ignored the all. After a week Harry had settled his mind and regained his focus and was ready to resume trying.
As he neared the teleport plaza to rejoin the Front, Harry was stopped by a group of the Aincrad Liberation Front. All three were nervous and twitching. "Where were you last night?" the leader asked.
"Here, in the Town of Beginnings." Harry responded. "What is going on?"
"A guild was holding a celebration in the field of floor 5 last night," he was told. "And nearly all of them were murdered by a large group of orange and red players. The survivors say they used paralysis effects to torture the players to death."
"I was here, and anyone who knows me can tell you that I don't use poison on other players." Harry defended himself. "Are you spreading the information to everyone? Any description of the attackers?"
The ALF leader just shook his head as he waved the others to warn another group of players headed for the Teleport Gate. "Just black cloaks, white masks, and a bunch of torturers is all the description I have. I know you don't work with others full time Squire, but be careful. You never know how someone will react in this world. One of the attackers made a joke about just helping his victim 'log out'."
February 10th, Floor 53 Main City
Harry was walking out of a general items shop when someone knocked into him. He was surprised to see that it was an NPC child that immediately hid behind him. A warning flashed in his vision that he was no longer counted as being in a safe zone.
"What is wrong child?"
"The noble man is trying to take me away, please sir. Can you help me?" The child was dressed shabbily and looked thin and unhealthy.
Harry accepted the quest as it appeared. When he did a finely dressed Npc came running down the roadway. Harry could only think of how the nobleman looked a lot like Arthur Weasley.
"You sir, hand that child over now." the nobleman yelled. "It is dangerous!"
The child just whimpered and tightened his grip on Harry's leg. A Player stepped up with the Npc as they walked closer. The townsfolk quickly spread ou,t leaving the quartet in a large oval.
"Squire, I need you to step away from that child." the Knight of Blood demanded. "I have a quest to capture it for this nobleman."
"No. Apparently I have a quest to protect this child." Harry responded. "Why is that nobleman chasing this poor kid?"
"That is no child sir!" the nobleman yelled. "It is a demon hidden in an innocent disguise. The beast has stolen a medallion of great power from my house and I seek to reclaim it."
Harry looked at the small child while he tightened his grip on his scythe. "And yet the child has no pockets, not is wearing any jewery." He noticed that several other players were arriving at intersection. "Knight of Blood, what proof has this nobleman offered you?"
The knight and nobleman got into their fighting stance. "It is a registered quest Squire." the Knight of Blood replied. "Are you going to hand of the brat?"
Harry just shook his head. "Perhaps you didn't notice that we are no longer in a Safe Zone. This is dangerous. I have a timer going down until the child is safe. Does your quest have anything like that?"
"I must have the demon soon. The medallion must be returned!" the nobleman cried. "If you will not hand the beast over I, and this adventurer, shall take it from you!"
The Knight of Blood stopped the nobleman from charging. Several other members of the Knights of Blood guild now stood behind him. "You are outnumbered Squire. Just hand over the brat so we can go on our way." Several of his guild mates started laughing. "You cannot keep the kid from us.
Harry sighed in defeat. "I don't have to keep the child from you, just the nobleman." He looked around for a Town Guard Npc. "Officer, could you hold this youngster until this is settled?"
The Guard walked forward and pulled the kid off to the side of the clearing. Harry noticed that the timer had been paused.
"We could just attack and try to kill each other, which I'm certain was the objective here." Harry reasoned. "Or we could try a duel for custody of the child. Does that settle your objective?" He really didn't want to have to kill one of the people clearing this game.
"That sounds reasonable to me." The Knight of Blood seemed to relax. "What?! I just failed the quest?"
The nobleman rushed at the Town Guard while drawing a longsword from his hip. "The demon must return the amulet!" Harry shoulder blocked the Npc away before swinging his scythe at him. "You would side with the beast then be damned as well!"
A shimmer covered the nobleman for a moment the his appearance changed. Gone was the human noble and in its place stood a charcoal skinned monster with spikes sticking out of its skin along its arms. Everyone flinched back as the transformed npc roared and swiped at Harry.
The Knights of Blood quickly encircled the demon. While Harry parried and slashed with his scythe. Within minutes the demon was destroyed by the experienced Players. As the demon shattered the child also transformed.
"For your selfless defence, I offer you a boon." the classic angel looking Npc walked up to Harry. "The demon you just killed had stolen an ancient medallion from the church I was set to watch. I retrieved it but could not defeat the beast on my own. You adventurers have done me a great service. What will be your reward?"
A loot window appeared by all the players who got involved. Harry took his time as the other quickly took the better than average gold payout. Harry selected a simple broach with an angels feather as the pin.
"That broach will allow you to see through falsehood." The angel described the item. "So long as you wear it you shall not be fooled by the illusions of others."
March 5th, 56th Floor
Harry pushed a player out of the way as the GeoCrawler, a huge armored worm charged them. Twisting to the side he felt his scythe scrap and bounce off of the beasts tough armor. Several players tried to get behind the beast or attack it with polearms but nothing seemed to hurt it. The battle continued for several more attempts until Asuna of the Knights of Blood called a retreat.
Harry was one of the last players into town as the Unbreakable Gate, the thing was actually named that, closed just before the Boss could enter. Everyone was taking the time to heal as no one was uninjured.
"We have to do something!" an emotional player slammed his fist into the Gate.
Harry saw the other clearers were suffering a moral problem as well. They had been fighting the Beast off and on for the last 4 days and hadn't even managed to deal a half a health bars worth of damage. Luckily it seemed to no heal over time or else it would be even worse.
After having his gear repaired Harry reported to Asuna. "I'm going to scout ahead and see if there is something about the beast near its lair. We need more information."
"Please be careful, Squire." Asuna nodded as she looked over some messages. "We tried trapping the beast at the narrow point of the valley and it just plowed right through us. Send a message with any information you can find. We will continue trying to kill the boss."
Harry nodded. "Please don't tell anyone I've left, this could be suicidal and I don't want anyone following after me."
Harry spent the next two day hiding from the boss and killing the shark-like monsters that swam through the ground as if it was water before he was finally able to enter the beasts lair. The only thing out of place for a Boss Monsters lair was a lute that seemed to have a beam of sunlight focused solely on it. Being careful not to disturb the skeleton Harry claimed the lute and a satchel that had some lyrics in it.
Harry traveled as fast as he could back to the Unbreakable Gate. As it came into sight he saw the beast slowly dissolve as the players cheered. Several people noticed him and began asking where he disappeared off to as Harry made his way to Asuna.
"The GeoCrawler apparently falls asleep to a special lullaby." Harry said as the Raid leaders stood around a table for a debriefing. "I found this lute and lyrics inside a cave near the GeoCrawlers lair."
Asuna smiled. "We discovered a special lullaby was used here in town to drive away monsters yesterday. Everyone who could play an instrument was brought up to the 56th floor to learn and subdue the boss while the Raid killed it." She accepted the items from Harry. "I'm sorry you didn't get to use the information."
"As long as the GeoCrawler is dead I don't care how it was done." Harry refused payment. "Please make sure the information is passed to the people making the Guide book in case the beast respawns or something like it appears in the future."
April 24th, 60th floor.
Harry glared at the jungle around him, searching to signs of the next attack. He was stuck on a boat being attacked by flying fish from the water, spear throwing monkeys from the shoreline, and a giant snake that was giving him flashbacks to the Chamber of Secrets in its size. He grabbed one of the spears and hurled it into a monkeys chest, which caused the rest to flee.
The river water settled and Harry couldn't detect any more aggressive monsters. Several members of the clearers relaxed for a moment before their boat was capsized, sending them flying. All the players could see the large Anaconda Queen swim away as they tread water. Luckily no one drowned as the players made their way to the nearest shoreline.
All the players laughed after a few minutes of anticipation. In an effort to ease the tension they started making fun of each others screams when the boat was capsized.
Harry gathered the players attention. "We all no that the field boss is now a giant snake at least. Anyone who knows where an anaconda would normally lair please share the information. Spread out and look for safe zones so we can set up a camp."
Everyone grumbled jokingly but quickly got back to work clearing the level.
June 24th, 63rd floor.
Harry swung his scythe over the head of the goblin that was trying to tackle him to strike at a spear wielder. Hordes of low level mobs seemed to be this floors focus as every encounter was at least ten opponents. Individually the encounters could be handled by a group of two or three, but several of mobs started carrying hunting horns that were used to summon additional opponents. Goblins of every different type had been encountered so far, including some dressed as Roman Phalanx units and Wolf riding Lancers.
Harry broke the creature holding him as he forced the remaining spear-men back with a wide slash of his scythe. The two players traveling with him were handling their opponents without a problem. All three hurled a glowing throwing weapon at the horn blower as soon as it tried to summon more goblins.
The three players soon were watching a Goblin War camp from a safe distance. Every ten minutes a party of goblins would exit the camp and the players could now see that there were four spawn locations inside. A stable with bloodied doors, which spawned the wolf riders, had an ogre taking care of the wolves outside. A blacksmiths hut, which sent out phalanx goblins, had a dwarf in chains that made shields. Damaged tents released goblin infantry while a stone building sent out the horn blowers.
Messages were sent to the other scout teams and soon a raid was formed as the players regrouped. Warnings and orders were handed out by players with experience leading against the bosses. A raid of forty players would splint into groups of ten to deal with each spawn location. The heaviest hitters would attack the ogre while the lightest would stop the dwarf from creating more of the Phalanx Goblins.
Harry was sent with nine other polearm wielders to deal with the tents. As soon as one section was clear the players would move to help whichever group was having the most trouble. The battle lasted less than ten minutes as the experienced players rushed the Goblin Camp.
A map found in the building that spawned the horn carriers showed four other camps and all forty players accepted the quest that was shared to eliminate them. The reward was that the Labyrinth to the next floor would become open once all four remaining camps were destroyed.
August 18th, 46th Floor
Harry waited outside one of the "hidden" entrances to the dungeon that the Laughing Coffin had taken to use as a base. It had taken an off-hand comment from other players for him to find out what was happening today.
The Clearing Force had sent out a squad of fifty players to destroy the murder guild, but many of the leaders had decided not to include him in the group. They were concerned that with a known killer fighting with them that the Laughing Coffin wouldn't surrender if given a chance. Many knew that Squire had no sympathy for other red players.
When he heard movement from the cave that was the entrance to the dungeon Harry placed himself directly in the path. Several green and one red player were obviously fleeing the battle.
"All of you stay where you are!" Harry ordered loudly. "Un-equip your weapons and surrender and you will not be harmed!"
The black cloaked red player drew a large cleaver-like knife and attacked with a rush, pushing the green players out of his way. Cleaver met scythe as both men's weapons glowed with their skill and power. The force of the blow knocked both back.
"You should have joined us Squire." PoH laughed. "We could have killed so many with you on our side. Instead you have to die here, alone, and weak." PoH was a little nervous about his chances.
"I don't kill for fun." Harry glared at the Laughing Coffin member. "So which low-level murderer are you? Too cowardly to stay and fight with the others?" Cleaver and Scythe met in a furious display of moves.
"I am PoH, Leader of the Laughing Coffin." the player-killer crowed. He was really starting to get worried as he led the battle away from his spies and suppliers. Usually his opponent was at least intimidated but Squire was matching him Sword Skill for Sword Skill and both were evenly matched.
PoH ricocheted off a couple of large rocks in an attempt to attack at an odd angle and scored a hit on the back of Harry's head. Instead of his opponent falling, however, just the helmet exploded under the force of his blow. Harry rolls forward with the blow, his counter-attack tearing the hood off of PoH's poncho.
Green eyes met golden for the first time, unobstructed. PoH laughed as he dashed in for the attack. "You knew what it was like to kill before this death game started!" He forced a weapons lock and leaned into Harry's face. "Did you enjoy killing then as well?"
Harry's answer was a gauntlet covered fist to the face that forced PoH back. Before he could say anything PoH jumped down to a different level of the wasteland they were fighting in. PoH ran into a cave as Harry jumped after him. By the time Harry got to the cave PoH had used a Teleport Crystal. Several mobs rushed out of the cave to attack Harry preventing him from trying to track the murderer.
October 21st. Floor 75.
Harry walked away from Teleport Zone and headed off into the nearby town. He had went to the Dual between Heathcliff and Kirito yesterday since everyone of the Clearers had been invited. Most people wouldn't have caught the glitch, but not everyone was a Seeker in their youth. Heathcliff should have lost that fight but something twisted the man's arm unnaturally to bring his parry into place. After 2 years Harry had an idea about who Kayaba Akihiko was in this game. All he needed was a chance to question the man himself.
November 1, Floor 1 Starting City.
Harry should have known better. Asking about Heathcliff had come at a cost and here he was back on the first floor buying a low-level snack that his informant wanted in exchange. It wasn't like he could just stop Clearing to research Heathcliff so Harry had to bargain. As he was about to leave for the 75th Floor Harry saw Asuna and Kirito walking with a little girl and a third player.
As he had a decent relationship with the two, Harry called out to them. After a quick explanation of their mission to rescue Yulier's, the third player, guild leader from where he was trapped beneath the Black Iron Prison Harry offered his help.
After a long walk, in which Harry was introduced to the young Yui and Kirito was able to show off against some low-leveled Frogmen, the group arrived at a large hall filled with pillars and shadows. A player that Yulier cried out to was standing in a hidden room of white tiles. When the excited woman rushed to her friend a large shadow attacked her and would have killed her if it hadn't been for the three clearers rushing to her aid.
"Everyone into that room." Harry ordered as he lifted the shocked woman up and on to his shoulder.
Thinker, the player they had come to save, quickly explained that the Boss monster was keeping him trapped here and attacked anyone in the entrance. Yui, Kirito, and Asuna had their own quite conversation.
"We have three of the best players here," Yulier commented hopefully. "Shouldn't they be able to hand a 1st floor boss with ease?"
Thinker defended himself by saying that the boss attacked from ambush and killed his party. Harry watched the hallway as everyone started arguing on how to escape. Kirito and Asuna eventually convinced the other two to watch Yui as the three tried to deal with the boss or at least give Thinker and Yulier a chance to escape with teleport crystals..
With a few quick commands Harry, Kirito, and Asuna equipped their best gear and entered the hallway. The Boss scatters the trio like bowling pins with a rush. Asuna and Kirito try to use a team parry to stop its next attack and are blown away, losing half their health. Harry tried to lock the monsters scythe with his only for his weapon to shatter under the strain.
"Die." The Fatal Scythe whispered as it cut through Harry with a slash, sending his legs in one direction and the rest of him in another.
Kirito screamed for Asuna to run as he charged the boss, hoping to buy his wife time to escape. He was stopped by two people who countered the boss' strike.
Harry grunted as he held onto the Boss' weapon arm, twisting his torso inward as much as he could. The Fatal Scythe simply grabbed him and threw Harry into on of the pillars hard enough that the Immortal Object error popped up where he hit and his armor shatter in a brilliant flash. Yui stood between Kirito and the Fatal Scythe wielding a giant flaming sword. The last thing Harry noticed before he blacked out was Asuna and Kirito rushing back into Safe Room as the Boss was slain by their daughter.
Harry awoke with a groan as he felt someone lean him against something. Forcing his eyes open he saw Elan, his one time companion, using her First Aid skill on him. He tried to force himself up but noticed Asuna, Kirito, Thinker, and Yulier watching him with weapons drawn.
"Are you Kayaba?!" Kirito asked as he shoved Elan out of the way.
Harry's vision faded to black before he could answer.
"No, Player-Kirito. He isn't. GM-Akihiko Kayaba is unaware of the current situation." Elan said as she picked herself up. "Player-Squire is suffering a malfunction in his Nerve-Gear resulting in serious physical damage instead of the Painless Death that should have occurred. Until the battle with the Fatal Scythe Boss Player-Squire has not been the subject of either glitch nor exploit as far as the system can tell."
The four players started yelling and Thinker attacked Elan, causing his sword to rebound and the Immortal Object message to appear.
Elan walked to the command console and brought its history up. "Incredible programming Kirito, you have transferred Yui-MHCP001 core and memory functions to the physical hard storage of your Nerve-Gear to prevent erasure."
"Who are you?" Asuna asked. "What is happening to Squire?" She was really nervous about having a second un-killable opponent appear directly after Yui apparently sacrificed herself to finish off the Fatal Scythe.
"You may continue to address me as Elan, Player-Asuna. However I am much more than a simple companion program." Elan quickly entered a few lines of code that drifted off the screen and into the five players. "You are now incapable of communicating the facts that Yui-MHCP001 escaped containment, that I have directly interfered in Player experiences, and that Player-Squire is under the effects of a hardware malfunction."
The players were teleported out of the control node and Elan turned to face them as the wall began sealing up. "I have restored Player-Squire to minimum safe levels and replace equipment destroyed by the Fatal Scythe Boss. I would suggest that you exit the Dungeon quickly."
November 2nd, 22nd floor
Harry groaned as consciousness returned with the stabbing of sunlight into his eyes. Rolling to get way from the painful light Harry fell off the bed with a loud thud and the sound of running footsteps followed. As Harry picked himself up off the floor he saw Kirito and Asuna watching from the door way.
"I assume there is a very good explanation?" Harry asked.
Kirito and Asuns just look at each other and shake their heads "Not Really."
November 6th, 75th Floor
Harry dodged away as the Skull Reaper boss tried to encircle what was left of the 20 scouts that decided to test the boss. Five people were killed as it attacked from the ceiling, you would think that Kayaba would have used a different trick after seventy levels. Several players were forcing the doors to re-open since teleport crystals don't work in this room.
The Skull Reaper cut through another player as the large woman tried to block the dual slashes it made with the front claws. Other players joined in to try and pin the skeletal centipede and prevent it from moving. The beast roared as someone got the door open.
Everyone ran for the door, most players abandoning each other as they flead. One of the Scout leaders waved for people to hurry, yelling at everyone to run faster.
Harry and another player fought a guatded retreat as the monster kept using a swirling charge, hitting the two heavy armored players with its many legs. Each blow that wasn't blocked inflicted a stacking bleed effect. Two more players were killed as the beast went over the edge of its platform and climbed up in a different area to separate them from the retreating warriors.
Harry tried to get the other tank to exit before him, but the player just shoved him through the door. The final thing the ten survivors saw was the tank being bitten in two by the terrifying boss.
November 7th, 75th floor.
Harry watched as Heathcliff tanked the Skull Reapers charge. If he hadn't been looking for it he would never have seen the tiny Immortal Object warning pop up behind the Guildmaster's shield. The red stripe on Healthcliff's shield arm blended the message screen almost perfectly.
After the initial rush, in which fourteen players ignored all the scout teams warning, the Clearer Group worked quickly to chip away at the beast's health bars. Just as Harry was about to call out the Knights of Blood leader Kirito scored a direct attack that showed everyone that Heathcliff was Kayaba.
The mad creator used some console commands to inflict paralysis on everyone but Kirito and gave a big speech about how he had done this to give the players their chance to create their own stories. After seeing that no one cared, and having Kirito throw the mans reasons back in his face, Kayaba offered Kirito a dual to clear the game twenty five levels early.
While Kirito danced around the best tank in the game, trying to even damage him, Harry forced himself to stand. The paralysis effect didn't prevent movement like the name suggested, it simply caused extreme pain when you did move and prevented you from using any sword skills or items. Harry and Asuna both launched themselves at Kayaba as he went for a killing blow when Kirito's sword broke.
Asuna tackled Kirito out of the way as Harry swung his scythe and severed Kayaba's sword arm. Harry ignored the teens as he pinned the Guildmaster's shield to his side and wrapped him in a bear-hug. Kirito pulled Asuna away as she cried in pain from where she forced herself to move under the paralysis effect.
"What are you doint?" Kayaba tried to break free of Harry's grip but wasn't strong enough. He waved his stumped arm but couldn't call up the menu system.
"You killed all these people." Harry squeezed his prey. "Two years you tortured us, laughed as you watched everyone die all so you could have your story."
"Cardinal!" Kayaba yelled as Harry lifted him off of his feet and started walking to the edge of the platform. "Help me!"
Harry laughed as the other players started calling out to him. "Two year I've waited to kill you. You should be proud Kayaba Akihiko. Only one other person has made me hate him so much that I would hunt him down." Harry stopped at the edge as he squeezed even tighter to his struggling opponent. "A terrorist spent years actively trying to kill me when I was no older than many of these players. You don't get an epic death. You get to die with someone who doesn't matter to you. No one here will spread the tale of your great defeat."
Harry took the final step and carried the mass murderer into the black depths with him. The last any of the players could hear was Kayaba screaming before everything went white. Several players tried to force themselves to run to the edge, but the system teleported the remaining 6243 players back to the Town of Beginnings.
"On November 7th of the year 2024 at 14:56 Aincrad Standard Time the game has been cleared." CARDINAL announced. "Player Logout function is now reinstated. Forced Logout commencing. Again. The Game has been cleared. Congratulations Players."
Just like what happened during the first night of Sword Art Online, players began flashing in a rainbow of colors as they were affected by the system. Friend smiled at each other while those who couldn't control themselves broke into tears. Each player that vanished was rewarded with another of the systems cheering sound effect.
GM control Area
Harry glared at Kayaba as they watched CARDINAL log out the players. Both were unable to effect the other or any of the system controls. CARDINAL was using Harry's companion avatar as she shut down and deleted the Sword Art Online Systems.
"Two years to have a murder/suicide." Kayaba just glared at Harry. "You are one of the worst players in my game. How did you survive this long?"
Harry just laughed as he looked around. "The last time I died I was in a train station. You really should have paid more attention to who was in your game. If you hadn't killed the woman I loved I wouldn't have hunted you down."
CARDINAL turned to her creator. "I warned you that Player 6243 was special. But you dismissed the warning and ordered me not to bother you with his information again."
Kayaba just sighed. "Okay CARDINAL, who was Squire in life? I had this big plan for this scene for the player that got the killing blow on me, but You don't care do you Squire?"
Harry just laughed sarcastically. "Yes Elan. Who do you think I am."
CARDINAL nodded. "Player 6243, Named Squire. Real name is Harry Potter. Born July 31, 1980 in Godric's Hollow, Wales. Orphaned by terrorist on October 31, 1981. Lived with his maternal aunt until 1997 when he was awarded multiple honors by the British Government for his actions in stopping a terrorist group. The terrorist group was the same that killed his parents, though no name was released. Achieved a teaching degree from Tokyo University in multiple languages in 2020. This was his first time using full-dive virtual reality."
The virtual intelligence stared at Harry as the bodies of the two humans began to fade. "Several players have used the name Voldemorte and title Boy-Who-Lived in conversations about Squire. Usually after witnessing him do something that should have killed him. It was only earlier this month that I was able to determine his seeming immortality."
"So I was stopped by a hero after all." Kayaba laughed as he vanished. "Perhaps it wasn't a waste after all."
Somewhere Else.
The being who created the Deathly Hallows held the spark that was Harry Potter in its hand. "Even now you refuse to entertain me." It looked out into the world and watched as the people Harry interacted with shared their stories with the government and each other. "You are boring."
The being went to throw Harry back to his body, but stopped. "You aren't getting to return to your boring life." It waved its hand, causing a tear in reality to open. "I am going to toss you into the multi-verse with the curse of immortality still on you. I will have my entertainment from you."
The spectre pulled three slivers from Harry. "You don't get to keep my gifts though. Someone else will prove themselves more worthy than you eventually. Now good riddance." With flick of its hand, the spark that was Harry Potter was launched into the multi-verse.
Several beings noticed the new spirit as it crashed into their realities but none could hold it. After an eternity, Harry crashed back to earth. His groan as the air was both forced into and out of his lungs made everything that heard it wince, Pushing himself into a sitting position in the sand, Harry could only stare at the site infront of him.
"Now what happened?"