"I'm happy to meet you too, little bro Seiya. It seems like our personalities might be a good match. That's a great face you created. Can you send me the data? I'll have to adjust my character model. I feel like this face is still just a little bit off from my real-life looks."
The friendly Klein draped an arm over Seiya's shoulder. As he noticed a few female characters in the distance glancing their way, he decided his current character face was a bit lacking compared to his real-life charisma.
"Oh, no, no, I think your face looks familiar to me. Since we've just met, I don't have a gift for you. How about you wait right here, and I'll go buy you some oranges."
Kirito watched Seiya and Klein, who had only just met, already slinging arms around each other's shoulders and exchanging exaggerated compliments, calling each other "big brother" and "little brother." He was quite speechless. Over the years, he had played many games, but his social shortcomings always made him a lone wolf. Seiya, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He had the social skills to be a top salesman at any company.
Despite the constant influx of players making the Town of Beginnings increasingly crowded and noisy, the trio, guided by Kirito the "beater," quickly found a less populated leveling area.
Aincrad's first floor consists of the Town of Beginnings and the city of Horbana. At the northernmost end of this floor stands a 300-meter-wide, 100-meter-tall tower, which is the labyrinth area. Surrounding the towns are large grassy fields, home to low-level mob monsters like Frenzy Boars, Wasps, and Giant Bees.
Considering that Seiya and Klein were both complete newcomers, Kirito chose the boars as a teaching subject. They were easier to kill than the smaller, faster, flying wasps and bees. The Frenzy Boars, the size of calves, had a high HP and strong stats compared to the wasps and bees. But since the boars only charged in a straight line and were a big target, Kirito deemed them the best monsters for beginners.
Since this was a full-dive game, the experience was incredibly immersive. The gentle breeze, the scent of earth carried on the wind, and the boar's deafening roar were all indistinguishable from reality. This was the true appeal of a full-dive game!
After demonstrating with a spectacular sword skill that one-hit-killed the Frenzy Boar in front of them, Kirito confidently explained to the two. Upon seeing Kirito's demonstration, Klein excitedly grabbed a long sword, ready to try it out. Unfortunately, it looked much simpler than it was. When the Frenzy Boar charged at him, Klein, daunted by the realism, froze and was sent flying several meters. Good thing he had the pain absorption setting set to a very low level, or that blow would have left him with psychological trauma.
Seeing Klein get launched meters away, Kirito picked up a stone from the ground. With a flash of light, he threw the stone at an incredible speed, hitting the boar's backside.
"There's no magic in SAO, and because the skills are largely autonomous, even a stone I just threw can trigger a skill if I use the correct starting pose. This is also why real-life kendo masters can perform well in this world."
Kirito's last words were mainly for Seiya. Feeling the itch to try, Seiya picked up a rusty one-handed sword and stepped forward to face the Frenzy Boar.
"The starting pose for a sword skill, huh? In that case..."
As the Frenzy Boar charged at him, Seiya didn't panic like Klein. After over ten years of kendo training, he had enough mental fortitude to face a wild beast.
The boar was ten meters away, then five, then three, then two, and Seiya didn't move. Klein, watching him, started to get worried. He thought Seiya was a great guy, and having just been launched himself, he knew what kind of pain was coming. Since Kirito hit the boar's backside with a stone, it was clearly angrier than before. Klein hoped Seiya hadn't set his pain absorption too low; otherwise, that "fatal hit" might cause his friend to pass out on the spot.
"Wenren Sword Style, First Form—Arashi-ga!"
Klein's fear didn't come to pass. Seiya didn't get launched meters away. The moment the boar was about to hit him, Seiya, who had been completely still, finally moved!
He slightly turned his body and, like a gust of wind, sidestepped the charging boar. With a twist of his sword, a faint blue light appeared on the blade, slicing across the boar's neck. A streak of light exploded in the air. The boar, which had been mid-charge, fell to the ground and dissolved into countless shards.
Kirito was surprised by the sight, but he was so used to Seiya's incredible feats that it wasn't completely shocking. However, Klein, the real newbie, watched the boar get decapitated and vaporized by Seiya in a single blow, his jaw on the floor. If he remembered correctly, Seiya was a beginner like him, not a "beater" like Kirito, right?
So, why did Klein feel that Seiya was even more amazing than Kirito? Even though they both one-shot the boar, Seiya's movement and sword skill were clearly more breathtaking and graceful!