Sword Art Online: Aincrad's Hollow Fragment

December 1, 2024

Floor 76: Verdant Plains

After waking up early again, I decided to head to Argo to see what information she had on the 76th floor. What she gave me wasn't much, just the location of a small cave. The thing about the cave was that, according to other players, the cave was absolutely empty and had nothing useful inside. Argo gave me the information for free as she only heard it as a rumor. Offering her a chance to get more information on it, I decided to head into the cave to see what was really going on inside. As I reached a small cave entrance, I looked at the information Argo had handed to me.

"Small cave opening... next to a cluster of trees... alright, this is the place. Better get started."

Equipping my sword and shield, I slowly entered the cave in case there was actually a threat. Surprisingly enough though, there was nothing. Not a sound was heard throughout the cave except the echoes of my footsteps. The uncomfortable silence continued as I noticed not one item in sight.

No materials to mine, no monsters to kill, no items to gather... what is the point of this cave?

After a few minutes of slowly making my way down the dungeon, I finally came across the end of the cave which was nothing more than a dead end as a stone wall prevented me from going any further.

There were no other routes to go... is there anything hidden in here?

Retracing my steps and looking over every inch of this small cave, I was upset to find nothing out of place. I looked at the dead end confused and let out a sigh of frustration.

"Guess this cave is a bust... the hell is it even doing here?"

I gently placed my gear against the stone wall and took a seat. I laid my head backwards and closed my eyes, wondering what the purpose of this cave would be.

It doesn't have the system parameters of a safe zone, yet monsters don't appear inside. There's nothing worth exploring as the cave is a straight shot to the bottom.

Letting out a deep breath, I shook my head as I grabbed my gear and stood up, not noticing the yellow glow on my right hand until it completely surrounded it.

"The hell?"

The yellow glow started to engulf me as my body was instantly teleported away from the cave, away from Floor 76...

Away from Aincrad.

December 1, 2024

Location: Unknown

The area was filled with peace as the birds were singing, the flowers were blooming and the gentle breeze of the wind rustling the trees in a forest. There was nothing disturbing the peace, except for one person wearing a blue hood running away from someone or something. Their breath was quick and heavy as they sprinted throughout the forest area, their weapon clanging against their leg due to the speed, momentum and the weight behind their footsteps. They kept themselves going at a steady pace, undistracted by anything, until they turned their head back for a slight second, wondering what it was that was chasing them. Unbeknownst to them, someone had just spawned in in front of them, confused and wondering where they were. They turned their heads back around to see the new person in front of them just as they tripped on an ingrown tree root and collided into the new player, sending them both back with a thud.

"Agh! Damn!"

I rolled back, landing on my back as the collision almost knocked the wind out of me. I managed to slowly get back up just in time as this unknown player recovered quickly, sprinting towards me with their weapon drawn.

Oh shit!

I managed to duck under a few of their swings before raising my shield to start countering their attacks. As I was focusing in on the fight, I took one peek at the players cursor, noticing that it was orange.

An orange player?

Deciding to go on the offensive, I swung my sword down towards them while they rotated their weapon quickly enough to catch my blade with their own, giving me a chance to place a name to my attacker. The attacker was had blond hair and a similar outfit to Sinon except theirs was light blue with a hood and a small armor piece on their right shoulder. Noticing their armor, I quickly picked up that my attacker was also a female. Her eyes both serious and confused, widened up as she finally got a good look at my face.

Orange Cursor Female- Who are you?

"I should be asking you that question, seeing as you attacked me first."

As we gritted our teeth and tried our hardest to knock the other off balance, a loud crash appeared next to us and we both jumped away from each other, facing the new contestant that had entered the field. The female had her weapon raised up while I took a moment to assess the newcomer before us. As the dust settled, four glowing red eyes popped up and the crackling of bones rang across my ears. My eyes went wide as I raised my shield and gripped my sword tighter.

No fucking way...

"The Skull Reaper!?"

Its screech echoed throughout the entire forest area, shaking the trees and scaring away the docile animal life around it.

This was the boss we killed back on Floor 75! What the hell is it doing here!?

Orange Cursor Female- Damn... I thought I'd given that thing the slip. I guess I've got no choice but to take it on...

Is she insane!? Does she not know what this is? Where the hell am I that she seems so calm about having to fight a floor boss on her own?

"Hey! Miss!? Do monsters like this usually appear around here!?"

Orange Cursor Female- I'm not interested in talking to the likes of you.

"Says the one with an orange cursor. Besides, I think you have me confused with someone else."

The Skull Reaper screeched once more as it slithered over to the female, ready to strike her down. Knowing what this monster could do to an unprepared player, my instincts took over as I lunged forward towards the female and held my shield up high, blocking the Reaper's attack and pushing it back.

Orange Cursor Female- W-why are you...?

If I was able to easily hold it and push it back by myself, its parameters must be way lower than when we fought it on Floor 75. Even though that's good for us, I doubt this thing will go easy on us nor will it let us slip away without a fight.

"Listen miss, you seem to know how to fight."

Orange Cursor Player- What are you talking about?

"Can we just hold off our fight until we get this thing out of the way? Besides, I never wanted to fight you in the first place."

Orange Cursor Female- Wh-why do you think I'd join forces with...?

"No time to argue! I'll handle it blades; you attack from the sides."

She groaned as she jumped out of the way of one of the monster's blades, while I handled the other one, bashing it back and slicing upward. The female started rapidly stabbing the monster at it side, forcing it to jump back and regain its composure.

"Hell yea... this bastard is going down..."

Orange Cursor Female- Why would you help me? How do you know I won't just stab you in the back?

I chuckled as I looked at her with a smirk.

"Well, maybe you will. If you try it though, you'll find that I'm not a pushover and that you'll be getting a fight worth your Col. But regardless of all of that, you want to live right?"

She stayed quiet as she looked over at the Skull Reaper and let me continue.

"If you do, then we have to beat this thing. Because this goes without saying, I don't want to die either."

Orange Cursor Female- Fine... I'll help you, just this once.

"Fair enough. Now let's get this monster!"

We both charged at the monster and quickly started to move around it, avoiding any attacks it could throw at us. It seemed like the monster was not only weaker, but slower. It's attacks barely had any impact as they collided with my shield while the female jumped in and attacked it with a few of her own sword skills. I noticed the monster's health decreasing at a staggering rate, which only piqued my interest about this area more.

Wherever this place is, I think I'll come to like it if the floor bosses are as weak as this.

Wasting no more time, I readied a sword skill just as the Skull Reaper's health lowered to the red. I lunged forward and plunged my sword deep into its skull while the female jumped on top of it and plunged her weapon deeper into the monster's brain. The monster let out one more screech as it shattered, awarding us experience points and money, but no final hit drop.

The rare item you get at the end of boss fights didn't show up this time... does that mean that this wasn't the same Skull Reaper we fought on the 75th floor?

"Looks like we won..."

Orange Cursor Female- That was a "Skull Reaper", right? I've never seen a monster like that before...

"That's because the only other place it was located was in the boss room on the 75th floor."

Orange Cursor Female- So, what was a boss monster doing here?

"I'm not sure. Luckily, this monster was way weaker than the one we had to fight on that floor. If that weren't the case, we wouldn't be talking right now."

After taking a breath from the Skull Reaper, I looked back towards the female and lowered my weapons, showing her no ill will.

"Now, I know we weren't seeing eye to eye before, but I would really prefer not to fight you if at all possible. Could we avoid that unnecessary conflict? I don't know you but if I did something to upset you, I'm really sorry..."

Orange Cursor Female- You're not one of them? Really?

"One of them? Who are you talking about?"

Orange Cursor Female- I guess you can't be... but you can see it right? My cursor?

"Yes... it's orange..."

Orange Cursor Female- Doesn't that me think anything to you? How can you be so casual about it?

"In all honesty, I'm not being casual. I still have my guard up, however, I would rather an orange player than a red player. Plus, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't tell me about it if I asked you."

Orange Cursor Female- I killed somebody.

Silence filled the air for a moment as I processed what she said.

So, she did kill somebody... she's a Player Killer but... why does she give me a different vibe than the Laughing Coffin guild or other Player Killers I've seen?

Orange Cursor Female- It's true. That's why you shouldn't get involved with me. So, I guess this is goodbye... thanks for helping me out back there.

"Wait a moment..."

I held my arm out towards her as she tried to pass me, she took a few steps back and crossed her arms.

Orange Cursor Female- What? Didn't I just tell you to not get involved with me?

"Yes, you did but I don't really care about that. I did have something else to ask. Where are we exactly? I mean, I know we are still in Sword Art Online, but this sure as hell isn't Aincrad."

Orange Cursor Female- I don't know where we are. I was thrown in here about a month ago. And it's been a struggle for survival ever since. I haven't had time to explore or figure out where I am.

"A month ago? Does that mean we can't use any crystals here?"

Orange Cursor Female- No, we can still use our items and messages like normal.

"Well alright then, do you have a teleport crystal? If not, I can lend you one, I have plenty."

Orange Cursor Female- No thanks.

"Excuse me?"

Before I could question her any further, a pre-recorded voice started to play, surrounding the entire area in its sound.

System Message- Hollow Area data access restrictions have been lifted.

Hollow Area? Why does that sound so familiar?

Orange Cursor Female- Hey, your hand!

I looked down at my hand to see a glowing yellow pattern resembling that of a cross, except its pattern was filled with weird hieroglyphics and was about the same size as my hand.

Is this what teleported me to this area in the first place?

"Well, that's odd. I wonder if this is connected to that announcement..."

Orange Cursor Female- Ok, just who are you?

"What? What does that have to do with this?"

Orange Cursor Female- Sorry, never mind. Could I perhaps... borrow your hand for a second?

"Sure..."

I presented my hand to the female, which she took a bit firmly and studied the symbol.

Orange Cursor Female- Of course... it's the same... this pattern, I've seen it before. In this area not far from here.

"Well, it's better than standing here and wondering how many more Skull Reapers will show up to slice our asses. Want to show me the way so we can find out what's going on?"

Orange Cursor Female- I guess I don't mind. But are you really so willing to trust an orange... no... a red player?

"Yes. I'm trusting you because you helped me out when we were fighting the Skull Reaper."

Orange Cursor Female- I suppose that's true...

"In my eyes, you put your life on the line and fought by my side. In this game, that's enough for me to trust you. Call it stupid if you want, that's just my mindset. With that being said, my name is Kazzu. What's yours?"

I extended my hand towards the female. Even though she hesitated, she begrudgingly accepted and shook my hand.

Orange Cursor Female- Philia...

"Nice to meet you, Philia."

As we both let go of each other's hands, she gave me a small smile.

"What?"

Philia- To think that Kazzu Akihiko is really friendly, even to an orange player.

My eyes widened for a second as she said my full name, but I smiled back at her.

"Well, I just like to think I'm a good judge of character."

Philia- Well then, I supposed I should be flattered. Now, let's get going. I'll lead the way. If we can get through the forest, we can reach the place that has something with the same design as your hand.

"Sounds like a plan."

December 1, 2024

Hollow Area: Coliseum of the Ravenous

We started to make our way through the forest, Philia pulling her hood back up. I didn't want to spend however long it was going to take in silence, so I started to strike up a conversation.

"So, I know I've asked this question but just what is this place, Philia? There's no floor number displayed on the map or anything."

Philia- All I know is that it's called the Hollow Area.

Figures... she probably realized that when we heard the system announcement...

Philia- Now a question of my own: Do you remember how you got here?

"I was following a rumor that an info broker gave to me and when I noticed there was nothing worth mentioning I decided to leave. Before I could, a yellow light engulfed my hand, I got teleported here and you know the rest. If I had to describe it, it was similar to using a corridor crystal."

Philia- Sudden teleportation...? That's pretty much the same thing that happened to me. The only difference is the symbol on your hand, I don't have one. And the other players I've seen around here don't have one either.

"So, there are other players besides yourself?"

Philia- Yes. There is something strange about them, though...

"Mind explaining?"

Philia- It's actually hard to explain. It's better to see for yourself if we find one.

"Ok? So where is it that we are heading?"

Philia- See that thing in the sky?

She pointed slightly to the right of me. As I followed her finger, I noticed a giant metal sphere in the sky with the bottom of it looking cracked, leaking out what appeared to be golden light in a beam shooting straight down to the ground.

"I'm going to assume you've never been inside?"

Philia- Correct. No matter how hard I try, no matter where I look, I can't find a way in. Maybe I could if you were with me. I mean, part of the sphere has the same symbol that is on your hand.

"Maybe beating the Skull Reaper caused this to appear? I didn't have it when I was teleported here."

Philia- But I don't have one and I helped you beat it. Maybe it has something to do with your skills?

"I've programmed every single skill in this game, and I can assure you that I didn't implement a skill like that."

Then again... I never knew about Ashtry's skill until recently... so it is a possibility...

We were once again interrupted by another pre-recorded message echoing through the sky.

System Message- The designated time has been reached. The aptitude test will now start.

Philia- Wh-what was that!?

"Aptitude test? A quest maybe? This ever happened to you before?"

Philia- No, I've never heard this message before.

"Well, if it is a quest or something, it could be fun. Let's keep going and see if we find anything worth looking into."

Philia- Do you always get this optimistic when faced with a situation like this?

"There actually was a time where stuff like this wouldn't matter to me, but thanks to a few friends, I've learned to find the best of a bad situation. Plus, think of it this way: there's no way we can avoid this test, right?"

Philia- I suppose not...

"Then let's stop wasting time and keep going. Once we finish this test, we can go right back to finding a way into that sphere."

Philia- You know, were it anyone else, I would lean more towards calling you really stupid over really friendly.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Also, would you mind sharing all the information you have about this area? If I'm going to be an asset to you, I need to know what I'm dealing with."

Philia- Sure. Give me a second.

After a few seconds of sending information over to me, I skimmed over it and lowered my menu.

Perhaps Argo can study this further when I get back.

A quest message appeared on my screen soon after I closed the menu of information opening the quest up, I motioned Philia over as we read the quest together.

Philia- Coliseum of the Ravenous: Trial of Excellence...

"Display your superior skills by searching for Beefy Bull Horn towards the southwest, where it enjoys pinning down unsuspecting travelers."

Philia- At least they were nice to give us a general direction.

"Plus, beating this thing could help any other players who come in this direction."

We both looked at each other and nodded as we raised our weapons and started walking towards the southwest. As we walked, we heard the roar of a beast. Looking around and standing back-to-back, we noticed a minotaur with a two-handed axe leap out of the trees and land in front of us.

"That didn't take us long."

Philia- Think we would've noticed it anyway with the spooky red aura glowing around it.

I chuckled as I readied myself for battle. Looking at the monster's parameters, it seemed weaker than the Skull Reaper that we fought. I smirked as I motioned Philia to follow my lead. She nodded and we started our attack. I rushed in and bashed the beast in the chest with my shield, allowing Philia to get a devastating blow as she swiped her dagger against its chest and across its face. With that small attack alone, we had brought the beast down to half health. Smiling at the simplicity of the battle, I allowed Philia to charge in first as she cut across the monster's legs, bringing it down to its knees and allowing me to puncture through its jaw, shattering the monster without breaking a sweat.

"Simple enough..."

System Message- Hollow Mission complete. Distributing 10 Hollow Points, 15 Area Points and 10,000 Col.

I'll take the money but what were the other rewards? Hollow Points? Area Points? What are these meant for?

Philia- You ok?

"Yea, just thinking."

Philia- Like what?

"This Hollow Area. It sounds very familiar to me, yet I can't place my finger on it. Even though I can't figure it out, there are some things that make me curious. Like that test for example."

Philia- Come up with any conclusions?

"No, only theories. Two to be exact. The first being that it has something to do with some weird glitches I've witnessed back in Aincrad and the second being that this is just a very weird dungeon on the 76th floor. I can't prove any of those theories, however. I need more information."

Philia- I see.

She seemed a little unhappy with my statement as she looked down at the ground and brushed the dirt off of her clothes.

"Something wrong?"

Philia- Nothing major, it's just I've been investigating this place for ages, and I still don't understand anything. If you were to figure out and solve all the mysteries after just showing up, I would be kind of annoyed is all.

"Relax, I haven't figured anything out. Like I said, only unproven theories."

Philia- I know, but if you did, I don't think I could call myself a treasure hunter.

"A treasure hunter huh?"

Philia- It's what I call myself. I know that Sword Art Online doesn't have a job system like that.

Flashback

December 2, 2022

Floor 1: Town of Beginnings

Diavel- My name's Diavel and in this game, the job I rolled is Knight!

Player #1- Dude there is no job system in this game!

Present Day

I smiled at the girl as I patted her shoulder.

"I understand. I had a friend who was determined to be the best Knight he could be. I don't know where he is now, but I hope he's continuing that path."

Philia- He sounds like a nice guy. With me, I don't care so much about fighting monsters or clearing quests, I'm more suited to finding treasures that have been hidden in various dungeons. I mean, there are a lot of important items that are crucial if you want to survive. That's why I decided to become a treasure hunter.

"Not trying to curb your profession but isn't that dangerous? Fighting battles by yourself is really tough."

Philia- It's fine. I've mastered both the trap disarming and searching skill as well as the lockpicking skill. I haven't come across any treasure chest that I couldn't open. No matter how powerful the monster guarding it is, I'm confident I can use my stealth skill to sneak past it and lockpick my way to the treasure.

"Impressive. I'm interested in seeing those skills put to the test."

Philia- Well if we get the chance, I'll give you a glimpse.

As we pushed forward, Philia ran forward and smirked.

Philia- Right here!

I walked up to her and noticed a dark blue pillar floating in the air with the same symbol imprinted on its design.

"Yep, same symbol alright."

Philia- Are you going to give it a try? It could be our way into that sphere.

"Might as well."

I reached my hand out to it, noticing the symbol on my hand glowing brighter and brighter until I touched the pillar, causing it to glow and start spinning around.

"Looks like you were right, Philia. Nice work, treasure hunter."

A small smile crawled on her face.

Philia- Thanks. Now, I don't know what's waiting for us inside that sphere.

"My bet is on the true nature of this area or some new secrets. Either way, I'm excited."

Philia- Do you mind if I come with you?

"Why ask? You discovered this thing way before me, you should be included with whatever is inside."

Philia- Ok...

We both reached for the pillar and were teleported out of the area, unknowing of where we would end up.

December 1, 2024

Hollow Area: Inside the Sphere

We appeared in a room that was surrounded by screens and computer code, while still holding onto a platform with a teleport gate and a terminal.

Philia- Bingo! Just as I thought.

"No enemies in here... could it be a safe zone?"

Philia- Yep. The map identifies it as so.

"Then where is the guardian? If you're an orange player, one should be showing up to take you to jail."

Philia- Maybe there isn't one in this area. If that's the case, we can safely search around.

"Not much to search around for except for the terminal over there."

We both walked over. I started to type on the console as the terminal came to life.

Philia- See anything?

"So far I only see some type of list. "Element Implementation" it's called. It contains a list of different tasks and unlockable skills."

Philia- So a checklist for better rewards and skills? Could be worth looking into.

"Also, the area we are in is called the Administration Area. Other than that, I can't access anything else."

Another pre-recorded message played in the air, causing me to back away from the console.

System Message- Permission to access confirmed. Teleport gate unlocked.

"Looks like we can now teleport from the Hollow Area to the Administration Area and from here back to Aincrad. That's great. Now we can go back."

Philia- Getting out of here sounds nice I guess..

"You don't look very excited about the whole deal. You ok?"

Philia- I don't think I'll be coming with you. You go on ahead. It's been fun Kazzu.

"Hold on a minute."

I stopped her again as she was trying to walk away. I let out a sigh and looked at her with a small smile.

"Your reasons for staying here are your own, I won't pry. But this isn't goodbye. This Hollow Area interests me you see. Too many unanswered questions, too much to discover and unlock. If you think I'm just leaving this place behind me, you are sorely mistaken."

Philia- I understand how you feel. I feel the same way. So, I propose a partnership.

"Oh really? What happened to discovering things on your own?"

Philia- I wouldn't have been able to see the inside of this sphere without your help. So, if you decide to come back here, send me a message and I'll meet you here.

"Alright, I accept your proposal. Can't wait to see what we can discover here Philia. See you later!"

I touched the teleport gate and vanished in an instant, leaving Philia by herself in the Administration Area.

Philia- See you...

Hesitating, she reached for the teleport gate and tried to access it, going back to Aincrad. As the light engulfed her, she just reappeared in the Administration Area. She looked at it confused as another message played in the air.

System Message- System error. You are unable to teleport from the Hollow Area.

Philia looked at the gate confused as she held her hand in the same spot where my symbol would be on her hand.

Philia- Why? What is it about me...?