.hack//AI Buster - Volume 1 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Area.2 Bad Angel

.: 1 :.

When I reactivated my PC from sleep mode, I could see my newly redecorated home from the night before on the screen display. I winced at the pink.

Lycoris still waited patiently, holding Albireo's hand. Because she was an NPC, it meant nothing for her to wait through the hours of inactivity as my avatar sat with her.

Fortunately, Hokuto was gone. She probably left shortly after I did.

I tried again to log out, but couldn't. The situation I,adn't been fixed. The bug, whatever it was, remained.

I wondered how long this had been going on. Were other players locked into the game as well? Or did this have something to do with Lycoris? After all, the situation had been spiraling downward since she showed up.

But how could the event affect the logout command? Besides, in terms of actual game play, there hadn't been any specific problems to speak of.

I opened the chat window and checked the log. Because I hadn't logged out, the previous night's conversation remained.

Hokuto: Wait. What about me?

A1bireo: Go play outside. I'll disband the party. Good night.

I checked the time. It was 8:45 a.m. Instead of staring at the flat screen of my PC monitor, 1 put on my FMD. Instantly, everyth ing became more real. Again, I leapt into the form of Albireo. H e came to life.

I switched back to first-person POV and walked to the door. Without looking, I knew that Lycoris followed silently.

I realized that in order to clear the Lycoris event, I had to complete the tasks. Maybe then everything would return to normal.

But there was still much to be explained. How did she find me in that dark dungeon? Why did her eyes remain shut? What were the treasures I kept picking up with the odd file extensions?

Whenever YOll get stuck in the middle of a game or event, it's im portant to search everywhere for the hidden clue. Usually, it's something you missed; something you accidentally passed by and didn't pick up. The solution is to
run through all tl1e areas again and target everything until you find the lost piece of information. O nly the place I wanted to go wasn't anywhere I'd been before. Nevertheless, it's where I decided to go.

I don't know why, but as I headed to the door, I muttered to myself, "Let's go, Lycoris."

To my utter shock and amazement, she responded, "Where are we going?"

I dropped the controller onto the floor. Quickly, I picked it up and looked in Lycoris' direction. "What did you say?"

"I asked, where are we going?"

This was too much. An N PC in voice-chat mode who could give an apparently unprogrammed response?!

Though her eyes remained closed, her face was turned toward mine. I fowld my hands moist with sweat. No NPC had ever been able to d,at like this before. This was too responsive.

Hesitantly, I answered, "We're going to the area known as 'Captive, Fallen, Angel.'"

"Okay. Orca and BalmW1g will be there at nine."

"What the f-?" Before I could finish, Lycoris held up her left hand toward the ceiling. A bright light formed a ring above us and my speaker suddenly vibrated with sum intensity, it nearly buzzed off my desktop. We were swallowed up in the tunnel of light and tdeported outside of my home.

.: 2 :.

I found myself in me midst of a violent snowstorm, most of my screen covered with the white swirls of a blizzard. What little I could make out seemed to be an icy expanse through an eternal night. There was no background music, only me wail of the wind.

Q (Omega) Server Zone: Captive, Fallen, Angel

The only place in The World with a snowstorm is the area known as The One Sin. It is also known as the Sealed Land-though sealed from what, no one knew. Some players speculated that it referred to the angel who had been sealed. But the existence of an angel wasn't confirmed in the Epitaph of the Twilight, whim became the background of the game world.

Does the seal need ro be broken? Or should it be protected? Why is the fallen angel in captivity? Is the angel an enemy or an ally? There were too many questions and not enough answers because Emma Wielant, who wrote the Epitaph of the Twilight, passed away. The epic was incorporated into the game before it was completed. Yet its influence, like a tree, spreads its roots and branmes throughoutThe World. In many ways, it's the mythology that defines the creation of this place.

I'd been tdeporred. Just as I'd been teleported out of the Divine Statue Room in the dW1geon to my home, I suddenly found myself taken from my home to the area I wanted to go.

Though teleportation is used often in other RPGs, it isn't used in The World fo r travel between root towns and areas (though there have been many discussions on the board about it being adopted in the future). The only way to reach areas from the root towns is by passing through a Chaos Gate. But Lycoris was breaking all the rules of The World.

I decided to reread the log.

Albireo: Let's go, Lycoris.

Lycoris: Where are we going?

Albireo: What did you say?

Lycoris: I asked, where are we going?

Albireo: We're going to the area known as "Captive, Fallen, Angel."

"Albireo?" H er scarlet-colored lips moved.

"Yes."

"It's very cold, isn't it?" The girl's frosted breath was instantly torn apart by the wind. Just viewing the arctic images made me shiver. Of course, the office air conditioner was often set on high. Or maybe the shiver was caused by the unexpected voice I heard.

"There you are."

I turned to see a shadowy figure emerging from the blizzard. How did she get here?

It was Hokuto.

"Did you sleep well last night, AI?" she asked.

Her bikini was extremely out of place in the snowstorm. I opened my mouth to say sometlling, but I was speechless.

"Surprised to see me?"

"W-what are you doing here?" I finally stammered.

"Those two guys from yesterday, what were their names? Orca and Bollocks?"

"Balmung," I corrected.

"Whatever. They said they were going to challenge an event here at nine o'clock, right? I knew you'd show up to help them. Just like you showed up at the last minute to help me. You may pretend to be all, 'Oooh, I'm a loner.' but you still come through at the last minute."

"And you've been waiting here?" to ambush me, but I managed to hold back those last three words.

"I didn't know when you'd return to your computer in real time, and I d idn't wan t to stay up all night just to see when you might return, So I went to bed, had a good night's sleep, and came here when I woke up. I figured you'd be here. Pretty smart, huh?"

"Yeah."

"C'mon, say it. I'm the smartest girl in the world. Say it, say it!"

"Why do you think J came here?" I asked.

"To help your friends."

"That's were you're wrong."

"Huh? Then why are you here?"

"To watch how it ends."

"Watch? You mean you're not going to help them?" It was her turn to be exasperated.

"I already told them yesterday I didn't want to join their party. It's too late now."

"You mean it's too late to tell them you changed your mind? Really, I don't understand why boys are so stubborn. Can you tell me that, AI? Why are you so stubborn?"

I tried to ignore her, but already a buzzing pain was formning in the back of my brain.

"I bet you want to tean1 up with them so you can overcome this event. I heard them say it was the most difficult one in The World. You want a piece of it, don't you? C'mon, admit it."

"I told you before, I'll tell you again. I'm a solo player."

"But you formed a party with me, right? Because I'm the exception."

"You are not the exception. Where do you get such ideas?" Why did my head always hurt whenever I conversed with this girl?

"But you said so yesterday."

"No, I didn't!"

"You liar! You said I'm an exception, that's why you formed a party with me! You said it! You said it!You said it!"

Did I really say such a thing? I urgently scrolled down the log.

Albireo: She's the only exception I've ever made.

I did say it.

"You also said you wanted to finish the Lycoris event with me and not the others! Don't you remember, Al?"

I continued scrolling with greater urgency.

Albireo: You don't need to reply. I'm in Whisper Mode, which means only you can hear me, so just listen quietly. Lycoris is... Well, it's something we should clear together without letting the others know about it.

She was right. What the hell was I thinking? Then again, I really wasn't thinking. Too much was rolling around in my brain to keep it all straight-Lyeoris, Orca and Balmung, the odd treasure. I was saying whatever it took to get Hokuto to shut up. If only I knew what words I needed now, because she was still talking!

"I hope you're not going ro tell me it was just a lame excuse so I wouldn't tell your friends because if it was, I'll tell them when they get here. I'll do it. But that isn't why you said it, was it, AI?"

"Of course not."

"Then let's re-form our party."

I hit mute so she wouldn't hear my heavy sigh. Our previous party had been dissolved after we scparated. I went to the menu options and re-formed our party. Just when I thought I was out, she dragged me back in.

"Yaaay! I think we'll be a great team. Oh, look, there's Lyco."

She couldn't see Lycoris until we were in the same group, Ihough Lycoris never spoke or acknowledged Hokuto's presence.

"Wouldn't it be nice if Lyco could talk?"

Wouldn't it be nice if you couldn't?

I answered her question anyway.

"If NPCs could conullunicate as well as players, then you wouldn't even need to be online. There would be no interaction with others. What would be the point of being online at all?"

"Then why do you play solo?"

"I interact with others. I just prefer to take on challenges alone. I like to test myself."

"You're wrong. You don't play well with others at all."

"Anyway, Lycoris is an NPC so ir isn't possible for her to converse the way you and I do."

Playing offline didn't sound like such a bad idea after being saddled with Hokuto.

"It's almost nille, isn't it?" she asked.

"You're right. We should move."

"Move. Why?"

"I have no intention of joining Orca's party. I don't want to bump into them in case they think I changed my mind. I just want to observe."

"Fine. We'll move."

"Turn your chat to Party Mode. Otherwise, they'll see our names when we speak to each other."

We moved through the whirling snow. It was very difficult to see. "Stay close. Don't get lost."

"I'm right behind you," she whined.

I checked the map, but it was gone ftom my screen. As far as I knew, this was the only area in The World where the weather has such a drastic effect on the game that it won't help orient you. It was part of the added difficulty in challenging The One Sin.

"AI, where'd you go? Where are you?"

I turned around. Hokuto was gone. I could hear her clearly, but I had no idea where she'd wandered off to. As long as we were in Party Mode, it didn't matter how far away she was, she would always sound the same. In other words, I couldn't use the sound of her voice as a clue to find her. I could only use my eyes.

"It's too hard to see in here. It must be a bug. This isn't right." She was getting panicky.

"It's not a bug. It's part of the specs. Don't turn everything into a bug."

"Wait. Something's here. I'm going to see what it is."

"No! Don't move!" I shouted.

A sudden burst of music blared over the speakers-something was happening.

"Whoa, whoa, whoaaa!"

Instinctively, I guessed what she had found: a magic portal. It's faint light had probably lured her and when she got close enough to the portal, the event was activated. She had unleashed the monsters.

Hokuto shrieked and a second later I saw her health gauge instantly change from green to red.

She was dead.

.: 3 :.

I wandered through the blinding snow for a long time, but eventually I found her. Hokuro's shadow. Unfortunately, unlike the real world, death wasn't an end, least of all to her complaining.

"Why aren't you doing something? This is awful. You need to save me."

"How can I save you? You're already dead. That means you're beyond saving."

"Work some magic or something."

"Right now I'm far more worried about finding whatever it was that killed ..."

I suddenly saw a behemoth of an ice creature charging at me, the snow concealing its presence until it was on top of me. I swung wildly, missed, then stepped backward to avoid its flailing claws and its teeth. I watched my health gauge diminish in chunks every time it hit. Conside ring it wasn't a boss, it was pretty damn powerful.

It rook me nearly a minute to destroy it. If all the underlings were that rough here, I could see why the area remained unconquered. Of course, no sooner was the first vanquished than another monster reappeared. Fortunately, this one only talked too much.

"Hurry up! Resurrect me!"

"Okay. Just stop screaming." I scrolled down my list of items until I found a reviving potion.

"I can't believe you deserted me. You're a lot stronger than I am. You're su pposed to protect me. H ey, what are you waiting for?"

"I changed my mind."

"What?!"

"It would be a waste of my reviving potion." I closed the window on my screen.

"What are you talking about?"

"At your low level, you don't have a chance against the monsters here. You'll be killed again in seconds. You might as well remain dead. It's better that way."

Actually, this was perfect. I didn't have to worry about protecting her every five seconds.

"You cold-hearted bastard!" she yelled.

"You're the one who pointed it out with your 'protect me' speech."

Besides, I hadn't deserted her, she was the one with the short attention span who couldn't stay focused enough to follow me. She deserved what she got.

"No way! I'm not walking around as a shadow."

"You don't have a choice. Now let's go!"

Hokuto could no longer affect the game, but she was still allowed to follow along and annoy me. She could only chat in Party Mode, so no one else could hear her. Just lucky ol'me.

The weather slowed down my movement, so I used my talisman of speed to run and cover more ground across the icy wasteland. Other than the portals, no other field objects existed in this area, so it was hard to navigate. Without the map, I had no idea of my pos iti on or direction, so I just took my best guess and headed in a straight line.

"Where are we going, AI?"

"We're heading into the center of the storm."

"Why?"

"That's where the enemy will be."

I thought of how surreal this probably looked: a girl in a red dress and a woman in a bikini funning across die snowy plain. If this were real life, we'd all be severely underdressed.

"Have you visited this place before, AI?" Why did she have to keep calling me AI?

"Yeah, once. I fought a boss in a different event here."

"Did you kill it?"

"No."

"So you ran?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what happened?"

"I was killed."

"You mean even Al, the great warrior, occasionally dies?!"

"That's right."

"What happened?"

"I hadn't come here to fight the boss, so I wasn't prepared. I wanted to scout the area and learn what I could to defeat it later. But once a boss comes after you, you have no choice but to fight."

"Or flee."

"I was going to, but I wanted to see if it had any weaknesses first. It didn't. None that I could find anyway. I tried everything-different kinds of weapons, spells, all the Wave categories of earth, water, fire, wood, thunder, and darkness, but nothing worked."

"Maybe it really is impossible to conquer?"

"No, I've seen Inessages on the boards that stated some damage was done, but no one said how. Maybe it was just a rumor. Anyway, fewer and fewer players have come here to challenge the event because you can't challenge the creature until you've figured out a strategy to inflict damage on it. But there must be a way to conquer it."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because it's like Orca said.The World is a good game." Orca believed in it. So did I.

We kept moving as we talked and every once in a while, I stopped to check the direction of the wind. I knew the wind was blowing outward from the center. Thar's how I styed on course. Then I saw it.

"Look, AI! A wall of ice!"

Emerging through our view was a towering mountain of ice looming before us. Cut into its side was a narrow path that led upward. We continued on the path.

"Is this it? Is this where the event takes place?"

"It is."

When we arrived near the top, the snowstorn1 came to an abrupt halt. We had risen above the clouds, though the sound of the wind still roated behind us. Fat once, I could clearly see my surroundings as we emerged onto the top of an icy plateau. In the center of the clearing were Orca and Balmung facing off against a crearure that was almost too monstrous to behold.

"Is that ... ?" Hokuco's voice trailed off.

"Yes," I said, staring up at it. "That's The One Sin!"

.: 4 :.

"Al'. AI'. AI'. It' . s . .. I tS, h. unl0ngous!"

That was an understatement. O rca and Balmung were dwarfed by the creature they fought. So great was its size, it couldn't even be viewed on the entire screen.

Its body, constructed of light and energy, resembled a giant ancient dinosaur, and light poured through its indefinable form like a prism.

They were up against a Spectrum Dragon.

The sounds of battle roared like mighty explosions or grinding metal.

"Orca! Balmung!" H okuto shouted, but only I could hear het voice. It was better this way; they didn't need the distraction of unnecessaty dialogue.

"I didn't expect them to fight it wi thout a third!" I muttered in surprise.

"But you turned them down."

"I know, but I still expected them to find someone else to help them out. Couldn't tlley find anoilier player to join them?"

They knew The One Sin was considered invincible, so at the very least they should have attacked with a full patry. On the other hand, knowing The O ne Sin's reputation, maybe anyone they asked thought it was a suicide mission. Either way, ilie two figures now stood together against the giant dragon.

I felt an urge to jump in and help them, but I suppressed it.

"They're not inflicting any damage." Hokuto shouted.

From this distance ilieir damage and recovery points were displayed over their characters. Every single attack Orca and Balinung launched inflicted zero damage. Conversely, the multicolored breaili attack of tl1C beast shaved away their hit points as if they were fi rst-level characters.

"This creature has several types of attacks it can breathe on tl,em. Each one has additional side effects including paralysis, poison, which continues to do damage when the attack is over, or one that lowers their offensive or defensive powers. Worst of all, it's a ranged attack!"

They were doomed. The creature was weakening them from range before moving in for the kill.

The beast's tail suddenly lashed out trom behind, striking Orca a massive blow.

"Look out!" Hokuto screamed.

But it was too [ate. Orca was dead.

But only fot a split second. Balmung immediately used a revive potion to resurrect his partner. Orca then drank Sheema's Revered Wine, which flJly restored his health and stamina.

"They're good," I couldn't help muttering to myself.

"Huh?"

"Orca intentionally allowed himself to be killed to get rid of the creature's side effects. It's as if he's starting the battle fresh."

It was a unique strategy, one Orca and Balmung seemed prepared for. It was also a strategy a solo player such as myself could never use.

The two clearly worked well with each other, using vicious combinations, testing different strategies to see how the dragon would respond.

Just as I had, Balmung and Orca came prepated with numerous weapons and skills from all six Wave attributes as they attacked The One Sin. I suppose every serious player thinks the same way. It was a magnificent strategy. But it wasn't working.

Suddenly, The One Sin's flickering body pulled back and its head lifted upwatd, high into the sky until I had to tilt my POV to follow it. I knew what was coming next.

"This is bad."

"AI?"

"This is the attack that killed me." In one strike it inflicted enough damage to nearly wipe out my maximum number of hit points.

I watched in grim remembrance. The sound followed: a deep, vibrato trilling sound that intensified and grew in volume. Then, the gigantic body slammed downward. Like an iron hammer hitting an anvil, sparks shot out as Balmung disappeared beneath its mass.

For the first time, Orca hesitated in his next move. It was a costly mistake.

The One Sin pounded Orca next. His hit points dropped down to nearly zero.

Then Balmung emerged from the carnage.

"He survived!" I shouted.

"But they still haven't caused any damage. They can't win!"

She was right. Maybe The One Sin could not be defeated. Maybe the event could not be cleared.

But these thoughts clearly didn't enter the minds of the two strongest swordsmen in The World. They continued to fight methodically, searching for weakness. So far, there was none.

"This is hopeless. Why don't they run?"

"Wait."

I witnessed a change in their strategy. They sropped attacking.

"What are they doing? Are they stupid?" Hokuto gasped.

But the moment they stopped attacking, so did the creature.

Silence followed. All sounds ceased.

"I don't believe it,"

"What? What happened? Is it a bug? No one's moving."

"They found a way to defeat it."

"What did they do?"

"Nothing. They did nothing." The creature only reflected back the same level of aggression it received.

"Nothing?!" Hokuto said. "That's stupid."

"The One Sin won't attack unless the players attack first," I explained.

"What?"

The Spectrum Dragon remained immobtle. I wondered what Orca and Balmung must be saying between themselves in the stillness.

Finally, Orca moved. Breaking the silence, he launched an attack.

Switching away from his sword, Orca released a water-based spell against The One Sin.

In response, the creature spewed a fire attack from its mouth.

At the same time, Balmung flew into the air and used a water attack combined wirh his sword. The weapon sliced straight through the creature's neck. It shuddered. For the first time in the battle, they scored damage.

"That's it! The One Sin's breath used the six different attributes of the Waves: earth, water, fire, wood, thunder and darkness. It responds witl1 the same type of attack used against it. In other words, it mirrors the attack. But each Wave has a weakness. Obviously, water defeats fire, fire defeats wood, etc. If they counterattack the Wave's weakness the same moment it's attacking, then they can inflict hefty damage."

"Awesome," Hokuto whispered.

I admired their abtlity to reason through the situation. I'm not sure I would have figured it out myself.

I watched as they continued to attack and counterattack. There was probably only a brief moment when the counterstrike could inflict damage, but Orca and Balmung orchestrated their onslaught beautifully. This was clearly a creature that could never be defeated by a lone player. At the same time, a three-player party would cause too much confusion. The players would probably have never noticed what was causing damage. Only two characters could have managed to defeat The One Sin.

Of course, the creature wasn't dead yet!

The two warriors continued to fight; only now they had a chance. They must have been frantically commwlicating their attacks to each other over the Internet. Each strike precisely followed the one before it. Their timing was perfect.

Finally, Balmung let out a savage cry as he dealt the coup de grace--a streaking flame of light flew from his hands and The One Sin's final 65,536 hit points disappeared.

With a beastly roar, the creature fell onto the icy field.

"They won;' Hokuto whispered in awe.

"They took down the legend," I added.

The seven colors of the prism dragon spread throughout the area, creating a mist as the monster's body melted and dissolved until at last it disappeared. Then a new light appeared.

"AI! Look!" Hokuto shouted.

I was at a loss. The place of never-ending darkness was vanquished. For the first time ever, dawn arrived.

.: 5 :.

As the sunlight flooded in through a crack in the ice wall, both the darkness and the ice melted away-including the ice we were standing on! Suddenly, we were suspended in the mist itself as there were no sol id surfaces. We were floating in the ether.

"Something's below us. What is it, what is it?!" Hokuto screamed.

I could now see a figure below us. It was as if someone had been imprisoned in the ice. Then I noticed the wings.

"An angel?" I muttered aloud.

"Angel?" Hokuto said.

Unbound, the angel spread its wings and flew upward from its former prison. Perhaps it was going to heaven. Perhaps it had just escaped hell. Regardless, it was dear that Orca and Balmung had conquered The One Sin.

"What does it mean?" Hokuto asked.

"I don't know,"

"Al?"

The angel rose past us and disappeared into the sky, but as it did, it pulled off tI,e veil of snow from this world, revealing its rrue landscape. Now that the snow was gone, this area was no different from anywhere else in The World.

"The map's back!" Hokuto sounded relieved.

By using the Fairy's Orb, I could tell that the dungeon's layout was returning to normal.

"Clearing the event must've have changed this place back."

"Yeah, but we didn't clear it."

"Some events can only be performed once. Even the name, The One Sin, implies it's a singular event. No one else can ever repeat this adventure."

"Wow! That means the angel we just saw ..."

"... will never be seen again. We were lucky to be here when it happened."

Suddenly, me angel's beautiful feamers began to flutter down from the sky. Even though the angel had long since disappeared, it left a wake of feathers behind.

"Please fmd the feather, Albireo:' It was Lycoris. She hadn't spoken in some time. "It's my feather."

The rain of fcathers that danced about us were meaningless background images, just like the snow. It wasn't anything that could be targeted.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Albireo. Find my feather."

This was going ro be difficult. Quickly, I looked around, trying to target any of the hundreds of fluttering feathers falling from the sky. Then I found it. A single red feather drifting in the distance. That had to be the one she was talking about. All the other feathers were white, but this one bore the same crimson color as her dress.

I quickly ran toward it and picked it up when I was within range.

You've obtained eye.cyl!

This time I wasn't surprised to see the same file extension.

"Please give me the eye.cyl." Lycoris whispered.

Unlike the others, I fmally understood this file. It was too obvious.

"Please give me the eye.cyl," she repeated.

But what did this have to do with The O ne Sin? And why give the files such basic names?

"What happened, AI? Why did you run off like that?" Hokuto asked.

I ignored her for the moment. Instead, I turned to Lycoris and using the trade command, handed her the feather.

"Thank you, Albireo," she said. Just as I suspected, once she received the file, she opened her eyes.

"You can see me?" I asked.

"Yes. Thank you, Albireo:' Lycoris smiled broadly.

Because I was flagged by Lycoris fur this event, I was probably the only one who could target the feather. I'm sure that's why she brought me here.

Suddenly, the intense vibrating returned and a halo of light surrolmded us. At least this time I wasn't as surprised. Hokuto, on the other hand, started to freak out.

"Albireo, what the hell is-" her voice was cut off by the sound of Lycoris' spell. Once again, she teleported us away.