Sword Art Online: Frontier Mira

Chapter 2: New Los Angeles

Kirito ran further through the fields, along the path he had planned earlier. Along the river, he found creatures that seemed like otters, but with giant ears. He stopped to watch them stroll along the shore, even following them to a lake further down. Here, one of them jumped high into the air, and performed multiple flips before diving into the water. Towering above were the long-necked dinosaurs, taking a drink every so often. A group of four smaller specks were in the distance, with their features nearly impossible to make out.

"Those must be some other players." He turned back to the city. "Better not to mess with them. They probably aren't so friendly."

Kirito climbed up a few rocks, to get another look at his route, this time seeing a bend leading to a cutaway in the crystal base. There was a crane, shipping containers, and what looked like a closed gate into the city. He began climbing down the rocks, before being spooked by the unfamiliar roar of a creature behind him. After falling from his vantage point, Kirito looked upon a trio of monsters. They appeared similar to muscular wolves, but with an armored top side and a spiked tail. The otter beasts started running away in fear, only to be chased down by the wolf pack. Kirito raised his gun to get the enemy display to appear once again, seeing that they were named Callow Grexes, and were much higher level than him. Aiming at the otters, the display changed the name to Lake Terebra, whose level was closer to Kirito's

The Grexes outran multiple of the Terebra, knocking them to the ground and biting their necks. After about five were killed, the Grexes began to feed on their carcasses. Kirito crouched down, and began slowly crawling past. He froze when one of them began sniffing the air, as if it detected a new threat. Holding his breath, he shifted his eyes to search for an escape route, but to no avail.

He whispered to himself. "I guess it's time to see the death mechanic in here."

Kirito stood up, and drew his rifle in an act of desperation. One Grex snarled at him, alerting its cohorts, so they all began charging at him. It pounced high into the air, beginning to spin around to attack with its spiky tail. Kirito aimed his rifle, trying to look for a weak point, but he was interrupted when the Grex was slammed out of the air by a red haired soldier carrying a shield. As the other two winced after seeing their leader toppled, one was shot by a sniper in the distance. Two more players, one dirty blonde male, with a green jacket, a large sword on his back, and an assault rifle in his hands, the other a blonde female, wearing a purple jacket, holding a knife, and holstering another assault rifle, stood in front of Kirito. The one with the knife spoke first.

"Hey! You need any healing?"

Kirito was still shocked by the events. "No, I'm still at full health."

"Then get out of here, and get to NLA!"

"Can you take these guys on alone?"

"Yes! Just run! Getting you back alive is all that matters right now!"

Kirito stared above them to scan their level. They did seem strong enough to fight the Grexes, so he nodded, and began sprinting away from the battle at full speed, while the sounds of gunfire and clashing weapons roared behind him. The noise slowly faded away as he came closer and closer to the gates, which were tightly shut. There were a few NPCs drilling holes in the crystals, or directing cargo up a freight elevator. One of them heard Kirito calling to them, and turned to greet him. He held a device in his hands, that he put away upon reaching him.

"Hey, who are you?"

"I need to get inside the city."

Looking back to his device, the NPC returned a reply. "BLADE or civilian?"

Kirito looked very confused. "Excuse me?"

"Oh. A new player. Well, I'd let you into the city to get oriented, but the gate's closed from all the indigen activity. That's what we call the native life."