12 Spear Expert!!? PART I

Beyond the rolling, boar inhabited grasslands that made up the outskirts of the starting city, Jae could see wild, dense forests, fast-flowing rivers, steep, rugged hills, and even a small chain of mountains far off amidst the low hanging clouds. Dirt roads ran here and there, most likely linking the Town of Beginnings with other villages and towns far away that they had yet to even discover. Miles of woods, ploughed fields, lakes, and even a secluded valley or two filled the region as far as the eye could see, offering at once both a breathtakingly beautiful- and utterly terrifying- peek at the wider world of Aincrad.

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"Hard to believe this is only Floor One," Toyo said as they gazed out at it all.

"Hard to believe," Jae agreed with a nod.

Kayaba's chilling words from the first day came back to him, then:

"There is only one way for you all to escape now: you must clear the game. At this moment, you are all gathered on Floor One, the lowest- and safest- the level of Aincrad. If you can get through the main Dungeon and defeat the Floor One Boss, you may advance to the next Floor. The same will go for every Floor and every Boss from that point on, with the difficulty and danger of both rising as you progress. Defeat the Final Boss on Floor One Hundred, and you will clear the game."

Jae had no way of knowing if the insane man had been telling the truth. If anything, he wanted to believe that it was all just a cruel lie; he remembered well the reviews posted by the testers during the closed beta, reviews that all agreed on just how difficult and dangerous the Floor Bosses were. Apparently, they were the strongest monsters in the game, even dwarfing all other Bosses found at the end of quests and the like. By the end of the closed-beta, the highest level testers had only managed to make it to Floor Eight, which meant that only the first seven Bosses had been defeated.

And we're supposed to kill a hundred?

It was a grim thought, and one which quickly threatened to send Jae into a fit of misery, so he instead did his best to put it out of his mind and returned his attention to the new spear in his inventory.

Toyo had been right: though it was a common weapon just like the axe he had received from a chest earlier, and just like their beginner swords were, it's superior damage offered a good example of the effectiveness of higher levelled equipment. Yet, he wasn't sure if it was worth wielding. As he considered, a skill notification in the corner of his menu caught his eye. He selected it.

"I just unlocked a spear skill," he murmured in surprise.

Toyo turned and followed his gaze. On Jae's screen was a picture of a plain steel spear with a caption over it that read Two-Handed Assault Spear.

"What does it do?" Toyo asked.

Jae shrugged. "It's just a basic spear move I think. Pretty much the same as the one-handed Rage Spike sword skill we started with, except it can also be a slash instead of a stab."

Toyo raised his eyebrows. "That's actually really good for the sake of versatility. You could use the same move several times and change it up each attack so the mobs can't predict it."

Jae waved his arm in answer. "I know, I already thought of that, but I'm not sure if I want to switch over to being a spear user."

Toyo blinked in surprise. "But that spear has better stats than both our weapons combined." He gestured to Jae's item screen. "And a new skill to top it off."

"It requires two hands to use," Jae explained. "Three days of almost nonstop training with one-handed weapons go in the trash if I take this. Not to mention I won't be able to equip a shield."

"We don't even have any shields."

"The point is that I lose the option. Why limit me so soon, before we've even had a chance to create our own builds?"

Toyo rolled his eyes. "You always were indecisive."

Jae frowned. "What's that supposed to-"

"I think you should at least try the spear out," Toyo interrupted in a diplomatic tone. "We need to start dealing more damage. If we fall behind in that, it won't matter how tanky we are. I could stay defensive and cover you while you get used to it and after a while you can decide whether or not you want to keep it. Agreed?"

Jae thought it over a moment. He couldn't deny Toyo's logic, and they were beginning to deal less damage to enemies their level.

He dipped his head. "Agreed."

Jae paused as he equipped his new spear. Swinging it around for a moment, his expression gradually went from sour to pleasantly surprised. He liked the increased reach the weapon offered, as well as the familiar feel. In the real world, he had taken several fencing classes dedicated to the use of quarterstaves, which weighed about the same and shared many combat movements as spears. In that short amount of time, he had grown quite proficient in their use. It had been long ago, but the memories came flooding back to him now, helping him adapt to the spear.

Focused on an invisible foe, he began activating his spear skill, using it first for long-range thrusts, and then for wide semi-circle slashes. Each time, the spear became coated in a faint bluish hue and shot forward with enhanced power and momentum. The cooldown afterwards lasted longer than his first sword skill had, but that wasn't surprising; stronger abilities usually always had more of a penalty on cooldown in MMOs.

Finally lowering his weapon, Jae smiled for the first time in three days.

"You were right. I'll hold onto it for now."

"Good." Toyo turned back towards the Town of Beginnings, far off down the hill. "Let's get back now and see what we can sell before dark."

"Don't you want my axe now that I don't need anymore?" Jae asked.

Toyo mulled it over for a moment. "It's got a shorter reach than a sword, and the damage difference is marginal." He shook his head. "Sell it. I'll just wait it out for a better sword. Besides, we need the money."

"Agreed."

The two kept their weapons out as they descended the hill, prepared for any respawns or fast-moving mobs. It was a long walk back to the Town of Beginnings, and one which could have been avoided entirely had they any of the Teleport Crystals Jae had seen being sold by vendors in the markets, but they both knew they needed to save every bit of Col they could get. They needed food, repairs for their equipment, and, most importantly, money set aside for the church fee. Neither of them wanted to end up out on the streets again if they could help it.