Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-168.28.58.105-20190410161947

I was inspired by an intriguing what-if scenario by some of the comments in this post. Basically, what if Eugeo had been the one who tripped and touched the dark territory, and was taken away to become Synthesis 30? Assume that Kirito still leaves and re-enters Underworld at the same time.

My take on what would happen: The tower climb is either easier or harder depending on how you look at it:
 * Alice would continue to study sacred arts at the church, and her mastery over the arts would be very high (almost as high as teen Quinella's). She would want to go to Centoria to study sacred arts and bring status to her family.
 * Kirito shows up in Underworld for the second time, makes his way to Rulid Village, and thinks about ways to escape. He is welcomed and eventually makes his way to Rulid's church, where he meets Alice.
 * I'll assume Alice is still somewhat bold and mischievous like she was as a child, with a desire to bend the rules. Although this is probably lessened by the fact that when she tried to bend the rules, Eugeo got captured.
 * Kirito takes an interest in the sacred arts, and recognizes it as programming syntax, something he was good at in the real world. He also shows his sword skills using a cheap sword, which impresses Alice, and they decide to teach each other their skills.
 * Random townspeople get captured by goblins, so Kirito and Alice go to the dragon's cave to rescue them. The battle is slightly easier since Kirito thinks of a way to use attack sacred arts, and tells Alice what to do since her system priority is higher than his. They save the day. Kirito notices the Blue Rose Sword, and takes it with him.
 * Alice announces that she wants to go to Centoria to become a master in sacred arts. The town holds a celebration (and Kirito actually becomes drunk, damn the anime for leaving that part out)
 * They make their way to Zakkaria, and eventually the swordsman academy. Alice would also join the academy, but focus more on sacred arts. (It's like college in real life, you could major in something but have a minor in something completely different.)
 * They get arrested much quicker, since Alice would be the one to point out the abuse and injustice done by the nobles. A few "generate fire elements, discharge!" later, and they find themselves in prison, arrested by Eugeo, and eventually run into Cardinal and start climbing the tower.
 * Their sacred arts level would be much higher, but they would only have one legendary class weapon between the two of them.
 * If the tower climb was too easy, then they might be able to stab Eugeo with Cardinal's dagger, but that means they have one less member to go against Quinella.
 * If the climb is too hard, they get rekd and the story is over. Quinella kidnaps both of them, and takes special interest in Kirito, using him as leverage to influence the real world. 