Sword Art Online: A New Beginning

[Zarkon90]

Eve bowed again. As she spoke, the young girl remained bowing, showing her respect to the man before her.

"As you wish Master Shiro. I will await your next orders and see they are carried out once received."

Eve slowly stood as she finished and after another moment of staring at Shiro, she turned and silently departed the falls.  

[Mega90]

Shiro nodded, not turning his gaze from the waterfall.

“Then go, for now. Big things are coming, and I need to be sure that you are ready for them. In no time at all, this world will shake under the power of Caveat.” His words came out distant, almost as though they were not directed towards anyone in particular. His mind was clearly elsewhere. Even still, he was just as imposing as ever, and Eve could feel the power that he possessed simply by the way he held himself.

Their business being concluded, Eve left Shiro standing alone as he had previously been.

§

Hiroku had not been alone for long before he heard the gentle ping of his alerts. Checking his menus, he could see that there was a new article from Ripley’s Rumor Mill, and though he usually disregarded these posts, the title of this particular publication caught his attention with a particular force. In large black letters, the title read, “Hiroku: The Man, The Myth, The Legend.

Moments later, another notification sounded, this time indicating that he had received a new piece of mail.  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku frowned slightly.

"What on earth is this now? I thought the rumors would have died out by now."

The teen sighed softly, dropping his head slightly. His attention was not free for long however as a few moments later he received an alert that he had a new message. Hiroku returned his attention to his menus. Sifting through them to reach his mail and opening the strange message with a brief tap.  

[Mega90]

The message read: Good afternoon,

By now, we are quite certain that you have read, or at the very least seen the story that we published about you on the Rumor Mill. We were wondering if you would consider meeting with us so that we could clear up some of the rumors that surround you, and perhaps get a bit more information for our readers. We would be eternally grateful for your participation in this endeavor, as it will help us to publish the most accurate information possible. We will, of course, compensate you for your time.

Please respond to this email with the time and location that would work best for you. The meeting must, of course, take place in a town where PKing is forbidden. This is for our safety and the safety of our sources.

Sincerely,

Ripley’s Rumor Mill  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku frowned. Closing the mail menu and instead navigating over to the forum tab. It took him a few minutes to find the newest post on the Rumor Mill, shaking his head once before opening the thread.  

[Mega90]

Hiroku: The Man, The Myth, The Legend.

If you’ve played ALfheim online for any extended period of time, and more specifically, the Aincrad expansion of ALO, you have probably heard of a man named Hiroku. This mysterious gentleman is a contender for being possibly the single strongest player in the game. His level is far higher than almost anyone else you will find, his strength is unparalleled, and he spends more time logged in than anyone has a right. As a matter of fact, there are some reports that he never logs out! “What, but how can that be?!” you ask. Well, we’ll get to that in a little bit. First, let’s talk about some of the other rumors that surround this illusive player.

Known alternatively as “The Reaper”, Hiroku is a player that is estimated to have clocked thousands of hours into ALO or more, and he shows no signs of slowing down. But what does he do with all that time? Well, no one knows the minute by minute of it all, but we have been watching for a while, and we’ve come to the conclusion that he….just…sort of lives. That’s right. The answer to the great mystery is that he takes full advantage of the game, using every feature it has to offer, like dining and actively eating in some of Aincrad’s premiere restaurants and lowliest pubs, sleeping in some of the countryside’s finest hotels, and dingiest dives, and traversing every floor from the first to the –that’s way too high, I ain’t goin’ there’th floor.

Though he travels mainly alone, The Reaper has been known to team up on occasion, and even help new players get their feet wet; giving them advice, saving them from defeat, and potentially even donating money to them- aw, what a sweetheart <3. But, don’t let that good-natured appearance fool you, ‘cause he’ll kick your butt if you get on his bad side. Kill another player without cause, or try to attack him because you have something to prove (or a death wish) and he’ll send you back to mommy in an old soup can, because there won’t be much left of you that’s still solid. So, what’s the secret to staying on this lovable rouge’s good side? From what we’ve gathered, just don’t be a dink and you should be fine.

But let’s focus on that whole, “He’ll kill you” thing. His prowess in combat is unparalleled. Neither PVP nor PVE content looks to be able to shake this guy. In fact, from the short time we had to look at his stats, he’s leagues ahead of even the strongest players. Maybe only the highest members of the top guilds would be able to stand up to him in a 1v1, and even then I wouldn’t hold my breath. He has a dizzying number of weapons and skills, all of which can hit for devastating damage if you don’t have your defenses at their peak level (and let’s be honest, even if you do, you’re probably still screwed.)

All that being said, he doesn’t seem to actively seek out PK’s, so he’s not a hunter or anything like that - at least not from the rumors that we’ve heard, so all you degenerates can rest a little easier. Just make sure you are on your best behavior while he’s around. The odds of even the strongest “normal” players surviving an encounter with him are zilch at best.

Okay, okay, I hear you asking. “What’s with the name?!?!?!” Well, we looked into it, and it turns out that there might be a few reasons for the name. Rumor has it that he originally obtained the name, The Reaper, when he defeated one of the higher floor bosses for the first time…..by himself. That’s right, he went against a monster that normally takes a full raid group and a lot of divine intervention to overcome, and tossed it around like it was nothing; alone! When it first happened, we here at the Rumor Mill immediately started digging into it to find out if it was a glitch, or if it was legitimate. After much data farming, some testing, and one indiscrete call to the dev’s, we confirmed that he actually took it down all by himself! Talk about scary, huh.

One rumor states that after accomplishing this feat, he was given the title “The Reaper” because he HAD to be death itself in order to defeat a foe that strong without aid. Other, more hilarious rumors stated that he earned it because after completing the feat, a bunch of hapless idiots tried to do the same thing, and ended up dying, thereby feeding their souls to him. But some rumors go back farther than just the impossible boss fight. Some claim that it came from the time that he played the original SAO. Yup, that’s right. Even back then he had a name for himself. He and a group of other individuals acted as a sort of police force for the players who were trapped in the original SAO crisis. Some claim that he earned the name because of all the fighting that he did in the defense of those innocent players. No one knows the truth for sure, but….c’mon, The Reaper…talk about eerie, right?

Remember earlier when we mentioned that he never seems to log out? Yeah, we didn’t think you’d forgotten. Well, it’s actually pretty self-explanatory. We here at the Rumor Mill followed him for a period of about three days, keeping someone watching him during all that time, and never once did he log off. He ate, and slept, and all that crap, sure. But his account never went down. He was always logged in. As a side note, we don’t recommend you try to tail this man. We attempted to be stealthy about it, but we have to be the clumsiest freaking ninjas in the world! I’m pretty sure he was sick of us by the end.

These are just a few of the rumors and mysteries that surround this man, and there is one more that we are still investigating that may be one of the greatest mysteries in the entire game. Stay tuned for more on that. In any case, we are going to try to set up a meeting with Hiroku to see if we can’t bring you some official statements, put some of these rumors to rest, and get you more information about the elusive and mysterious Reaper.

Stay tuned to Ripley’s Rumor Mill for all news, updates, and rumors around the world of ALO/SAO.  

[Zarkon90]

A small frown spread across the teens face.

"Where do they get all this stuff from?" Hiroku muttered softly to himself. A brief flick closed his active menu's as he continued to make his way through the endless fields of flowers that composed the 47th floor.

The truth was that he had no desire to meet with the rumor mill and discuss his existence in the game. The more attention he had drawn to him the more cause the devs would have to look into the matter. Another sigh escaped his lips as he diverged from his present path, branching off into the large field.

"I have far bigger things to worry about then rumors being spread about me."

Hiroku's mind traveled back to his strange meeting in the Town of beginnings and the strange mans message. The teen closed his eyes, sinking to the ground before sprawling out on his back in the field.

"Why now...Why would you return now and more importantly how?"

Hiroku closed his eyes, enjoying the warm breeze that blew across the aromatic fields. He layed unmoving for almost an hour before opening his eyes and again pulling up his menu. Hiroku spent the next few minutes composing a short mail to Ripley's rumor mill detailing his free times and to send him a location for a meeting. He hesitated slightly before finally tapping the send key and returning to staring at the sky.  

[Mega90]

It seemed that no sooner had Hiroku sent the mail than he had received a response. There had been a maximum of no more than two minutes in between the time he had hit send, and the time he had received a response.

The tone of the message, while consisting of only text, was very high energy, and clearly written by an excited user.

“Hiroku,

We are extremely grateful that you are willing to meet with us, and to take the time out of your day in order to clarify some of the rumors that have begun to circulate about you. Please know that while we are a news organization, and therefore related to the scum of the earth, we are also individuals of integrity and heart, and will try to be faithful to the truth, no matter what shape it takes.

Please meet us on the Isle of Nifferae, a small Island in the Panareze chain on floor 24. The island can be found at S136 – E316

We thank you again for your willingness to contribute to this growing story of concern.

-Ripley’s Rumor Mill  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku sighed softly, plopping his head back down on the grass.

"Alright, lets get this over with then." With that he slowly got to his feet, brushing off the dirt and grass that clung to him and making his way back to the teleport gate.

It took Hiroku only 30 minutes before he reached the provided coordinates. The cloaked figure made his way slowly up the path to the Island, glancing around as he did.  

[Mega90]

As Hiroku entered the area, he saw a young girl who stood several heads shorter than him waving to him. She had a big grin on her face, and a vivid light shone in her violet eyes. Crimson hair hung about her face, slightly hiding her right eye from view, while the back extended to just below her shoulder blades. On her head, she wore a pair of large can headphones. The cones themselves were a silver color, while the centers were a light pink-purple color. In these smaller circles, opaque skulls could be seen, one for each ear. This seemed an extremely rare customization choice, as Hiroku wasn’t aware of any such item in the game.

For a shirt, she wore a shoulderless, purple striped long sleeved tee that fit tightly to her slender body. Black straps could be seen straddling her shoulders, and extending below the shirt, suggesting some sort of lower garment as well. On her lower body, she wore short black leggings that stopped about three inches above the knees. She also wore a purple waist cape that matched the color of her shirt.

She waited patiently as Hiroku made his way over to her.

“Hey, thanks again for meeting me. I’m Legacy, a reporter with Ripley’s Rumor Mill. I’ve been following your exploits for a really long time, and while it may not be professional, may I just say that I’m a fan.” Her tone was happy and jovial and she seemed completely genuine in what she was saying.  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku offered a small smile. His voice was calm as he spoke, showing no signs of hostility to the young reporter.

"It's a pleasure to meet you miss Legacy.I would introduce myself, though it seems a moot point now. I will admit I was surprised to see your organizations newest post. Might I inquire what made me the subject of your examination?"  

[Mega90]

“Well, there are a couple of things. With new Emia events being found on higher floors, more players have been journeying to those areas in an attempt to try to see one of these anomalies. While up there, they more frequently see your name on all of the leader boards, and so rumors began to circulate again. Also, I’m kind of a fan of yours, so I wanted to do a story on you. When I got the thumbs up from the boss, I started writing right away.” She paused for a moment and stepped to a proper speaking distance to him. “So, do you want to get something to drink while we chat? My treat.”  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku shook his head.

"Considering the attention that is being focused on me already I would rather avoid anywhere overly public if you don't mind. So what is it you wanted to ask me about?" Hiroku asked, moving directly to the point of his being there.  

[Mega90]

Legacy smiled and gave a short wink.

“Well, I was kind of hoping to put some of the rumors that are surrounding you to rest. For example, where did the name The Reaper really come from, how is it you spend so many hours in the game without needing to log out, and some of the other topics that we talked about in the article. Any and all information that you would be willing to supply would be appreciated, though…” She paused for a moment and gave a knowing smile. “I get the general sense that there is something you’d like to ask me first, isn’t there?”  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku let out a soft sigh.

"I see now why it is you are so good at being a reporter. I want you to find a player for me. That being said, I would need it done discreetly and no one else could know, including said player. No stories, no hounding them or spreading rumors."

Hiroku watched the young girl as he spoke. His tone was soft and kind, nothing that would befit his given name of reaper.