Outsider Chronicles: Outside Game

Being reborn is a pain. Of course, I certainly have no reason to complain, being reborn into a world thats safe and not so different than my own. That is until I realize that a Death Game is coming and my friends are inevitably going to get stuck. Then theres the Dark additions to the game I wasn't expecting. This could get really messy.

And we're back. Nothing to add here, so lets dive straight in. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

The next day dawned bright and early with the large group of gathered players heading out and into the dungeon. There was an obvious air of nervousness about the group as this was the first boss we had fought and everyone was wondering if we'd be able to win or if we'd all be killed. I was also worried, but not for any obvious reason. I knew that if the boss was Illfang, we'd be able to win without any trouble. However, a gut feeling was telling me that things weren't going to be that simple. Something very dangerous was waiting for is behind those doors and it was going to be my hardest fight yet.

It took about an hour to beat our way through the dungeon and gather at the doors. Immediately I could see something was different about them. Instead of solid doors, they were massive gates made of what looked like black iron that was ice cold to the touch. They also looked rather out of place beside the generally pleasant environment of the first floor.

"Alright everyone, you know the plan," called Diavel, "And remember, no heroics. I want everyone to be going home in one piece, got it?"

"YEAH!"

"Then lets go!"

The blue haired warrior turned and pushed the door open, leading the raid group into the arena. As soon as I laid eyes on the room, I felt the blood drain from my face. Apparently, I had been right about the boss being different, but it wasn't a simple case of a different weapon. The empty throne room I was expecting was gone, replaced instead by a gloomy graveyard with a dead tree in the middle and low lying fog curling over the dirt ground. However, that wasn't what scared me. Oh no, that was the figure stood in the middle of the chamber, repeatedly slamming his axe into an already mangled body.

"Shit, thats not good," I hissed.

I darted forwards and grabbed Diavel before he could cross the threshold.

"Wait, we can't pick a fight yet," I said.

"What? Why not?" asked the Knight.

"Because that guy is going to be a nightmare to beat," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know something about this guy?" asked Agil.

"I do," I said, "His name is Father Gascoigne. The last time I saw him was right before I put on the Nervegear while playing Bloodborne. Hes the first boss in the game and a right pain in the neck to beat. When you can die and try again later."

"Any advice?" asked Kirito, who had been listening in.

"Yeah, don't get hit," I grumbled.

"Hey, whats the hold up?!" shouted Kibou.

"Theres been a change of plans," I said, "Now I've seen the boss, I have some info everyone needs to know."

"What info?" demanded Kibou suspiciously, "And how do you know it?"

"Apparently Kayaba didn't worry about copyright laws, not when he now has murder, kidnapping and terrorist charges on his head," I said, "The first boss is one from another game."

A low murmur of surprise erupted from the raid group.

"What game?" asked someone.

"Bloodborne," I said, "The boss inside is the first boss of the game, Father Gascoigne. If this guy is anything like the one in Bloodborne, we are in some deep shit."

"No kidding," said one of the older members of the raid, a fellow with a warhammer who was now going pale, "I remember the Souls games, they were hard as nails!"

"We can't afford to back down," said Diavel, "Hard or not, we have to get past this boss and move on if we want any chance of escaping this hell. Who's with me!"

"YEAH!" shouted nearly everyone.

I sighed.

"Well, I wasn't about to just cut and run anyway," I said, "Alright, heres what you need to know from my knowledge. Keep in mind this might not be totally accurate considering the difference between traditional gaming and VR gaming."

I began telling the other Raid members everything I knew about the demented Hunter, from battle tactics to the change of form once he reached half health.

"The final thing is probably irrelevant, but I'll mention it anyway," I said as I wrapped up, "In Bloodborne, you could acquire a music box from the guys daughter that would stun him for a few seconds if used."

"A music box?" asked Asuna, sounding surprised.

"Yes, is there something wrong with that?" I asked.

"No, but...I got a quest in the village," she said, "It was from a little girl NPC who asked me to find her mother. She said this would help me."

The Rapier user opened her inventory and pulled out a music box.

"Thats it," I said in surprise, "Thats the Music box!"

I grinned.

"Well now, it looks like things are starting to look up," I said, "Alright folks, heres the plan! I want everyone with shields to be at the front and ready to defend everyone else. Speed type fighters, take potshots at him when you're able and watch out for his Blunderbuss. If he shoots you with that while your attacking, you'll be a sitting duck. Asuna, if it looks like hes about to overwhelm someone, use the Box. Be warned though, if you use it three times, he'll transform however much health he has left."

I stepped up to the doors and drew my cane.

"Alright, thats everything I know," I said, "I won't blame you if you decide to back out now. But for those willing to follow me into battle, lets go beat us a boss!"

"HELLS YEAH!" roared the raid party, smashing their weapons together.

I turned and kicked the door open and we all stormed in, quickly forming into ranks around the edge of the room while leaving plenty of room to manoeuvre. Since I knew the most about dealing with the Boss, I was on the front along with Agil, Kirito and Diavel.

"Beasts all over the shop," said Gascoigne as he stopped chopping the pile of meat at his feet, "You lot'll be joining them soon."

He turned his head, revealing his covered eyes and exhaled a cloud of mist.

"Not if I can help it," I said, "Bring it on you crazy bastard!"

Gascoigne let out a howl and leaped forwards, his name and health bars appearing as he did. He had two, so he'd probably switch forms after we took down one. A flick of my wrist and a twist of my foot had me evading the strike and retaliating with one of my own, smacking off a sliver of his health. I bent back, evading another swing from his axe, before stepping to the side to dodge a shot from his blunderbuss. At the same time, the other raid members moved in and started their own attacks, forcing the boss onto the defencive, although he still gave as good as he got, causing huge amounts of damage with every hit, forcing the fighters to back off to heal and replace with other fighters. Twice Asuna used the Music Box to stun the Boss in order to save one of the party members that over extended and nearly got flattened. Once we knocked off a quarter of his first health bar, he extended his axe and getting close to the bastard became a real chore.

Then, we knocked off the last part of his health bar. To my surprise, he didn't transform, in fact, he seemed to get weaker, taking more damage from our attacks, although his damage output didn't change. The lack of transformation seemed to invigorate everyone and we upped out attacks. The Raid seemed to be getting excited over the idea of defeating the first boss and I couldn't help but notice that they were beginning to take more risks than they should. Fortunately, no one had been killed yet, but I could see it was only a matter of time. Then, we got him down to a sliver of health and Diavel broke away from the group.

"I've got him!" he shouted, charging Gascoigne as the bosses health reached 25%.

As soon as it did, the Boss stopped and hunched over, bulking up slightly. My eyes widened as I realized what had happened.

"NO DIAVEL, DON'T!" I shouted, holding out my hand as if to stop him.

Unfortunately, I was on the other side of the arena to the Knight and there was no way I'd be able to reach him in time to save his neck as Gascoigne threw back his now wolfish head and howled, lashing out at the incoming Diavel with his claws. Everything seemed to slow down as the blue haired Warrior's death came close and the only thing running through my mind was how I had already failed in my self appointed mission to prevent as many deaths as I could.

Then, just as the Boss was about to claw Diavel to death, I felt something around me twist and my head throbbed dully. My fingertips glowed light blue and a beam of light shot out, forming into a solid wall in front of Diavel in less time than it took to blink, Gascoigne's claws sparking off it as if it was made of metal rather than light. For a second, everything went totally still as all eyes turned to me, including the Bosses, who somehow managed to look completely stupefied, despite being a program.

"W-what the hell!?" I gasped, "H-how'd I…"

Before I could finish the thought, the tableau was broken by Gascoigne as the Boss gave a howl and dove at me. More out of instinct than anything, I brought my arm around and light once again gathered at my fingertips, forming into a wall once more that the Boss slammed into, creating a perfect opening for Kirito to remove his head from behind, killing him. Everything was still and silent for a moment as the boss shattered, before a loud voice suddenly cut through the dark environment of the graveyard.

"What the hell was that?!" shouted Kibaou, "I thought magic didn't exist in this game!"

I ignored both him and the murmuring that erupted from the Raid, instead staring down at my hands. That...shouldn't have been possible. Then again…

"The NerveGear is basically hooked directly into our brains," I said outloud, drawing the attention of the Raid party members, "That means that, hypothetically, it could have replicated my Personal Reality and, as a result, allow me to use my abilities here…"

I stood and held out my hands. My fingers shone briefly, before a cube of blue appeared between my palms.

"Huh, thats useful to know," I said.

"Wait a sec, I know that ability," said Diavel, staring at the box in shock, "Thats Hard Light! Your an Esper!"

I blinked.

"Yes, thats right," I said.

"B-but the only person with that ability is Shi-glumph!"

I jumped across the arena and clamped both hands over Diavel's mouth before he could spill my name.

"Spill my name and I'll trap you in a box until we get to floor 50!" I hissed.

Diavel gulped and nodded.

"G-got it Senpai," he said once I'd removed my hands.

"Wait, you're younger than him?" asked Asuna, looking between the two of us.

"No, I'm technically his Upperclassman, but Sh-Jaeger's a lot stronger than me," said Diavel, catching my glare and the light box I was tossing up and down.

I sighed as everyone turned their gaze to me.

"Yes, I'm a Level 4 Esper, whoop de doo," I said, "Can we deal with this later? I don't really want to see if the boss'll respawn if we wait to long."

The box in my hand shattered as I turned to the door.

"The fact I'm an Esper is irrelevant," I said, "We're all in this together and if we want to get out of here, we'll need to work together. We've beaten one boss, but we still have another 99 left to go."

I walked through the doors leading up to the second floor.

Yes, I was indeed an Esper attending school in Academy City, which is the main reason why I thought I shouldn't be entirely surprised about SAO showing up, although as far as I knew nothing had happened from the story of the Certain Magical Index/Scientific Railgun. That might be because I just hadn't reached that point in the timeline though. This discovery that I could use my ability in the game was an interesting one. It was called Hard Light and allowed me to create basic constructs out of photons. I couldn't create anything mega complex, but geometric shapes had plenty of uses. Besides, my constructs were nearly indestructible land lasted for ages so long as I kept shoring up their structural integrity. It saved a lot on furniture costs when I could just make what I wanted out of light.

"Aw hell, my place is gonna be a mess when I get out of here!" I said.

I shook my head to rid myself of that thought. A mess apartment could be dealt with at a later date. What was bothering me more was, not that I could use Hard Light, but that it worked against the Monsters. Simply being able to use the ability was irrelevant as, if it wasn't part of the games program, it shouldn't be able to interact with the world properly. However, I had managed to block an attack with it.

"Hmm, I wonder," I mumbled, bringing up my skill list.

It was rather barren, consisting of just my skill level with my Cane and whip, along with a couple of basic Sword Skills and supplementary skills. I scrolled down the list, only to find one labeled Hard Light that listed as Level 4.

"Oh, thats why," I said, "If the Cardinal System can create new quests using the Net, I guess the idea of it being able to get the data on my power from the Academy City net wasn't impossible.

Or maybe it got it from my brainwaves. Either way, it was largely irrelevant. I could use my power and I imagined that any other Esper trapped in here probably could as well.

"Man, learning that makes me wish I knew Misaka enough to invite her along," I muttered, "Railgun sure would be handy."

I shook my head as I finally reached the top of the staircase where a massive pair of double doors awaited me. I straightened my hat and pushed the doors open, taking the first step onto the second floor of Aincrad.

And there we go, thats the end of this chapter. So, the first effect of the Outsider effect has appeared. Or maybe that should be second? Anyway, obviously the other cross is A Certain Magical Index and Shiro is diving out of Academy city. Of course, that means his friends are as well.

I don't think its that crazy that Espers would be able to use their powers in a VR game when Kirito's reflexes gave him his Dual Wielding skill and the abilities come from their brains and mind rather than the body.

Speaking of Espers, I need ideas for Shiro's friends abilities. Nothing higher than rank three, or rank four if I like the idea enough.

On that note, Shiro is the same age as Touma, so the Index events won't be happening until they get out.

And with that I'm done. And I'm finally gonna post this story! Until next time, please leave me a review!