Thread: Sword Art Online: The Frontier Chronicles

Shinn quickly checked the money amount he had in his inventory, carefully considering if the trade had any benefits. Of course, one could never had too much healing crystals, especially a frontline fighter like him, but still, so far into the wilderness of the first floor it was rare to find anyone willing to sell it. That fact alone made the few merchants that made it that far to rocket the prices sky high. Which brought him to his current predicament. He was running low on healing crystals as he as soloing such a dangerous area, but those prices were so absurd that all the money he had mustered since he started leveling would only allow him to buy three crystals. And he wasn't, in any way, short in cash. Far from that, he was probably one of the wealthiest solo players in the fighter class at the moment. Fact was, the opening day of Sword Arts Online wasn't the first time Shinn had laid his eyes on Aincrad. As an affictioned gamer, since the launch of NervGear the boy was an avid user of the technology, and as soon as SOA was announced he applied himself as a Beta-Tester. He filled all the necessary forms the very first day and as soon as the game was available for testing, he was in the first group of testers for the game. That allowed him something of a headstart when the shit hit the fan the first day. He knew all the short cuts, best leveling places, better rewarding quests and the fastest way to climb both in level and in treasure. That made him one of the most advanced players in level in the game, along with others that had been there for as long as he had. Of course, that information was becoming a taboo nowadays, so every tester was pretty sure not to share it lightly. Can't you do it for half the price? You'd be still making a huge profit from it. - He tried, even though he knew it was pointless. That's the price, mate. Take it or leave it. - replied the merchant, a smile on his face. Shinn sighed, closing the trade window. The merchant seemed displeased. - Your loss, mate. Shinn walked away from the merchant, brushing up some locks of his bangs, that insisted in sliding down to his face once again. His silky black hair, that ended near his shoulders, framed a rather delicate, youthful face that bore big, sky colored eyes. A small, almost feminine looking nose and pink red lips finished his handsome features. His skin was very white, just like his mother's, which made him thankful that SOA didn't have sunburn parameters in its program. The boy was a little tall for his age, but far from the tallest man on the makeshift campsite of Rocky Gorge, and not very buffed either, but had the common built of your average japanese fifteen year old, with a lot to grow. His equipment, on the other hand, was less then impressive. He wore a simple Aincrad style dark grey T-shirt with short sleeves, which were really long, ending a little above his knees, with openings in the sides, right up his waist. Black, sturdy pants with black crude leather boots finished the main attire, a leather belt where a rather small and simple dagger and a similar looking shortsword hanged from. It was so simple that most of the players he had crossed in these few days SAO was on made fun of him. His Armor Parameter was indeed ridiculous, it was true, and a suit of armor would offer a lot more of damage protection than his simple clothes. But Shinn knew the mechanics of the game pretty well, and all strategies he used as a beta tester, a process of trial and error really, allowed him to devise the most suited tactic to his fighting style. His lacking of armor and damage reduction was more then well compensated in other areas. The boy quickly got to the small tent he had by the entrance of the campside, checking that he still had two Healing Crystals, one Antidote Crystal and one Teleporting Crystal in his inventory, which he new probably wasn't enough for the kind of place he was going and the kind of enemy he planned to face. Not alone anyway. But he did not trust any of the grunts in the place, that much he was sure, and so had decided to try his luck on his own. Worst case scenario, he could use the teleport crystal back to the Initial City. A sudden gust of wind blew through the place, bringing him a sweet scent that reminded him of women's perfume. His hair fluttered wildly in the wind and slashed at his eyes. Agh, goddamned wind! - he complained, grabbing his bangs in both sides, and tying them in behind his head, in a very small ponytail though the rest of the hair still flew freely in the wind. After that he quickly put the tent back in his inventory, which glowed blue before disappearing as if it was never there. It happened right as a girl, not much older than him, was passing right by it on the other side, just entering the campsite, which explained the sweet scent he felt in the wind. She was pretty, no doubt, as all the avatars had taken the owner's image in the first day. What a girl like that was doing at a place like that was beyoud him, though...