Part five to Chapter 11. Again, this will likely be the format for chapters to come on this website so that the story can get more viewers. If it is a bother, you can read the chapter in full on Fanfiction.
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There weren't any classifications on what he did inside the game because the game didn't officially acknowledge it. The trick he had used would be referred to by players as an Outside System Skill, or an OuSS.
Essentially, they were skills players could do to abuse a loophole in the system that the game didn't intend or understand. They weren't true skills like those in the game, but rather techniques players created to be a better combatant.
A few OuSS techniques players had created were the Switch, which allowed players to switch positions with each other against a monster to throw off its attacks or recover. Another was Insight, which was basically just a player knowing the attack patterns of a monster and predicting when they would use them. Mislead was an extension of Insight and had players trick a monster's AI into using a specific attack so that the player could readily defend and beat them in swift notion.
These were all tricks created by those who had played the beta. However, the OuSS Kirito had used was one of his own creation. He had only created it recently, just after Christmas.
It was a skill he had dubbed Double Skill. As the name suggested, it allowed him to activate a skill twice. It worked by taking advantage of the small lag created by the activation of a sword skill. Just as the skill was about to activate, you could quickly activate the skill again and a faux version of the sword skill would appear.
Faux was a loose term, as it still functioned like any other sword skill. However, what made them different was that they could be disabled any time throughout its use by releasing the second sword skill overlayed on top of the first, which would in turn cause the faux sword skill to deactivate, replacing it with the true one.
When Kirito had used this trick against Kayaba, his sword skill had deactivated and reactivated after changing directions to bisect and kill him. Because the game hadn't registered Kirito activated the first sword skill, he was able to activate the same skill a second time in another direction.
It was an attack that guaranteed a direct hit against a monster and almost guarenteed a hit on a player, as they wouldn't be able to expect it or react. Even if they knew about the technique, predicting it would be difficult, as it could be activated in any direction.
Of course, Double Skill allowed both skills to work how they would, regardless if SAO registered them or not. If Kirito used a 2-hit sword skill, Double Skill would allow the second activation to inadvertently make it a 4-hit skill. If he had a 4-hit skill, it would become an 8-hit one.
It had to have been the best OuSS that currently existed. Kirito didn't intend on using it against Kayaba, but he had been fighting solo for awhile and used it unconsciously. The fact that Yuuki was still a beginner at fighting and was able to deduce his OuSS wasn't an in-game skill unnerved him.
That talent of hers went way beyond the norm. She probably didn't know it herself, but if she took the time and honed her skills, she could easily rival the abilities of a professional gamer. She may have been an easy going girl, but she was also incredibly passionate.
Passion was the first step to greatness.
The girl had potential. She would eventually become great. He could see it. Only the future knew how much she would shine.
Fighting the urge to feign ignorance, Kirito instead deflected her query. "Don't worry about it. You can become a skilled fighter with enough practice."
Yuuki looked at him curiously. "Practice? Like on monsters?"
"Yeah. Just keep fighting monsters and practice your sword skills and techinique on them. Learn their attack patterns and how to counter them." That was probably enough advice, but Kirito continued, wanting to be sure she wouldn't pester him. "If that's not enough, just watch how other players fight. You'll be able to tell the good ones from the bad, so just do what the good ones do."
Most players likely wouldn't understand all the nuances, but her talent was exceptional. He believed she would be able to.
She smiled up at him, shooting him a salute. "Got it! I'll watch ya fight and learn all I can!"
Oh.
"...That's not what I meant." Kirito sighed, causing Yuuki to ask if he had said something, which he denied.
Another «Ophiometus» spawned in front of them. She was probably expecting him to use the Double Skill again, but fat chance of that. She'd have a better shot getting his actual username out of him than his super secret move.
After a few encounters, Yuuki had caught on to the fact he was holding back his ability and complained, whining about why he wouldn't go all-out after he'd told her to watch how others fought. She'd seen him fight Kayaba and could tell he wasn't fighting like he was then.
His response had been that he didn't need to go all out, which only made her whine more. Yuuki, a firm believer in staying true to yourself, told him that he should always go all out, which caused him to roll his eyes.
They continued to walk like this. Yuuki giving him some lip over his battles, as well as complimenting the bit of skill he did showcase, while Kirito did his best to ignore her. The sixth floor had mostly been unchanged from the beta, so Kirito knew it very well. He was able to path out a good route to avoid attention, fighting off monsters without trouble.
Yuuki was itching to join in, even going as far as asking for his sword so she could fight while he watched, obviously getting rejected. Her countenance had done a complete one-eighty from when he first met her. At first, he believed she was a coward. That couldn't be further from the truth.
Sword Art Online can wear down anyone's mentality, even someone as bright as Yuuki. Kirito liked her better like this. It suited her better, though she talked a little too much.
Eventually, they made it to the other side of the forest, viewing the road that headed to «Stachion» from afar. Kirito was peeking over from behind a tree and Yuuki cutely mimicked him. "Alright, Yuuki. We'll part ways here."
"Huh? Here?" She looked up at him in surprise.
"If you sprint from here and follow the road, you'll be fine. On the rare occasion a monster spawns outside of the forest, you can outrun it. If it spawns and somehow manages to hit you, then you can just drink a potion. You have some, right?" Kirito nudged the girl out from the tree and stepped back, concealing himself and his criminal status.
"I do..." Yuuki looked inside her inventory anyways, checking to be safe. "I guess this is it, huh?" She said quietly. An odd sadness befell the girl, one she didn't fully understand. This day had been one of the craziest in her life, second only to the day when she had first gotten trapped here.
It had started off fairly straight forward. Like any other day, Yuuki went out hunting. She went out to the forest near town, which was a spot the Weekly Argo newsletter recommended for players who were still beginners. As she hadn't even participated in a boss raid, much less seen a mini boss, Yuuki knew that was the best place for her to make gains.
Unfortunately, the forest had been a lot bigger than she'd thought and she was lost in no time. She had a decently drawn out map from the same newsletter that should've served as a good enough guide, but just as her sister had told her plenty of times, she couldn't navigate her way out of a paper bag.
Feeling more and more anxious, Yuuki began sprinting through the forest, hoping she'd find a pathway or reach the edge. That way, she could at least walk around. Even if it wasted her day, she would be safe.
Just as she had hoped, Yuuki emerged from one side of the forest and felt immense relief. That didn't last for long, as the sounds of battle made its way to her ears. Using the forest as cover, Yuuki made her way over to the noises and witnessed something she prayed she would never see.
It was two players in life or death combat. It appeared as if a trade had gone wrong; their items scattered out on the ground while they fought over them. The sight was horrifying to witness and she wanted to jump out and stop them, but the sudden danger had froze her in place. All she could do was watch on as it played out.
Eventually, one of the players slayed the other and a gut wrenching feeling sunk into her. She didn't know why, but Yuuki felt the sudden need to fight him. To have watched a player kill another over some items... no, regardless of the reason, a person should never kill another.
She sat their motionless, her heart screaming at her to fight, while her feet glued her in place. A couple minutes past and it appeared as if the boy was leaving. A part of her screamed at her to jump out and fight, but a greater one had expressed relief knowing that he was retreating.
Then the wicked boy called out to her. Yuuki wasn't exactly sure how he knew she was there, but she suspected it was one of those many skills she'd heard of. His call out didn't give her any other option, so she threw caution to the wind and jumped out.
Only to be defeated within a handful of seconds.
In that moment, Yuuki truly believed she was dead. Every day in this world, she had steeled herself as if it would be her last. It wasn't like it would be any different from before. Her days were already numbered thanks to her disease. Not able to feel the pain from the Medicuboid she was hooked into, she couldn't tell if her condition was getting better or worse.
Any day now, she could keel over dead and she fully believed she was ready for that. However, in that instance, staring down the edge of a sword, Yuuki had come to a swift conclusion.
She was afraid to die.
Thankfully, it wasn't her time yet. Surprisingly, the killer was actually the good guy. It was complicated, but he explained how the other guy was the one who created Sword Art Online and that he was defending himself from him. The boy's name was DragonSlayer and he had spared her.
He was... a little strange. He had talked to her casually as if he hadn't just beaten her up. He made weird jokes too, not that they weren't funny. It was just so weird. She'd first seen him as some psycho who would snap at any moment. Now, all she could see was a friendly boy who was good with a sword.
Friendly... friend...
That's it!
"Hey, Dragonslayer!" Yuuki called out, turning around to face the boy with a bright grin gleaming across her face...
...only for it to fall as the boy had disappeared.
"H-He left?!" Yuuki looked around, hoping he was just playing some prank on her. Calling out a few times, she realized the boy had in fact left without another word. Balling her hands up, Yuuki began stomping her foot on the ground. "What the heck?! You're just gonna bounce like that, Dragonslayer?!"
Her tantrum was cut short as an «Ophiometus» had spawned nearby in the forest. Yuuki yelped and bolted out, headed for «Stachion» with a large frown.
That sucked. Yuuki thought she had made a friend today. It had been pretty lonely in here without any friends. Dragonslayer seemed like a cool dude and he was really strong. She wished she could've learned from him more.
Maybe he just didn't wanna friend her?
Or maybe he didn't friend her because he was an orange player? Wouldn't it get her in trouble if she were friends with a criminal? Was he still trying to look out for her? Yuuki wished she knew.
"You could'a least said goodbye..."
She shook her head side to side and put on a smile. They'd see each other again, she just knew it! And when they did, he'd apologize for dippin' like that!
But before then, she needed to become stronger. He defeated her way too easily before and had to protect and guide her all the way through the forest.
No more! Yuuki vowed in that moment that she would become the strongest!
Even stronger than the legendary DragonSlayer!