The software should have been shipped out on the twenty-eighth of October (the shipping date announced in-game on the last day of the Beta Test) and Harry had been diligently checking the mail every morning since the thirtieth in the hopes of stealing it before Vernon or Dudley saw it; both of the Dursley males had long since forgotten about the game and he didn't want to remind them. So long as he could chuck the software into his cupboard without anyone noticing, no one would ever know that he'd been the one to take the gaming equipment out of the rubbish bin nearly three months earlier.
Oh how both Dudley and Vernon had moaned and complained about that; Dudley because he'd planned to sneak it back into the house himself once his father had gone to work and Vernon because he'd been hoping to take it to the pawn shop in order to get back part of what he'd spent to purchase everything.
Harry was eager to return to the life he'd created for himself inside of the virtual reality game; a life that was nothing at all like his real life. In the game, he was Tracker James; a reclusive scavenger hunter that located rare items, plants, and creatures that he could sell or trade for goods, services, or money. He was pants at sword work (he had killed himself far too many times each time he tried to use a sword) and had instead learned how to make various types of traps to capture and kill the different Monsters and creatures that he hunted. He'd quickly learned which of the game's Equipped Skills would help him survive on his own in the Dungeons and had honed them during the month and a half he'd had to play the beta version.
Those Skills included:
Searching: the ability to spot Players, Monsters, creatures, and rare items.
Tracking: the ability to follow any Player, Monster, or creature.
Listening: the ability to hear the smallest of sounds.
NightVision: the ability to see in the dark.
Detection: the ability to detect hidden Monsters or Players and avoid ambushes.
Hiding: the ability to avoid notice from Players, Monsters, and creatures that use visual tracking.
Sprint: the ability to use extreme speed over a short distance (useful for dodging an attack or attacking when least expected).
Fishing: allows a Player to catch water-bound creatures and Monsters.
Acrobatics: an ability that can be used to dodge attacks, to perform aerial attacks, or to entertain other Players.
Trapping: the ability to set a variety of traps in order to kill or capture any Monster and creature; though it was far less effective on boss level Monsters.
He had also learned a handful of Unarmed Skills that he'd found highly useful in getting through the game. Those Skills were:
Escape: the ability to flee from a battle with an opponent that is too powerful (the only exception being Boss Monsters).
Camping: allows a Player to use their equipped skills to make a safe camp in which they could rest while within a Dungeon.
Navigation: the ability to create Dungeon maps in order to better navigate a Dungeon.
Scouting: the ability to locate safe zones within a Dungeon – this skill was linked to the equipped skills of Tracking, Searching, and Detection.
Research: the ability to separate fact from rumor and dig up hard to find information – this skill was linked to the equipped skill Listening.
Outside of the game, Harry spent what time he could at the local public library looking up the meanings of the various Japanese symbols that he painstakingly copied from the game introduction and the Player Menu so he could memorize what they meant in order to navigate the game easier. He also looked up common phrases in Japanese so he could speak to and understand the other Players when needed (his self-study sessions had even continued after the Beta Test was shut down so that he could further improve his Japanese).
At first glance, his character appeared to be weak but because he'd built up all of his Skills (both the Equipped and the Unarmed Skills) to a minimum of six hundred Points or higher, he was actually quite strong. He also tended to fight using his head rather than his muscles (figuratively speaking) since the only equipment he carried with him was a small dagger, a shovel, and the ropes, wires, and cables that he used for his snare traps. During the course of the game, Harry had learned quite a bit about himself as well. He found that he enjoyed the quiet solitude of the forest, disliked large crowds, hated small dark spaces, and that he loved the challenge of hunting the harder to kill game Monsters.
More importantly though, was that in the six weeks he'd been playing the game, the world of Aincrad had become home to the nine year old.
Harry was pulled out of his introspection by the sound of the mail flap squeaking open and it took all of his willpower to keep the grin off his face as he heard the sound of a heavier than normal package hitting the floor. He just knew that the software he'd been waiting for had finally arrived. The Dursleys were far too engrossed in watching the television set in the dining room and eating the large meal Harry had cooked for them to pay attention to the world around them and Harry quickly dried his hands before dashing to the front door on silent feet. It took but a couple of seconds for him to collect everything from the floor and his hands fairly shook when he saw the Argus Company logo combined with the SAO logo on the thick, plastic wrapped cardboard packet that had been shoved through the slot.
Hardly daring to breathe, his heart pounding like crazy, Harry hurried to his cupboard under the stairs and shoved the package beneath his mattress before he hurried to the dining room to place the rest of the mail on the table beside his uncle. He then scampered back into the kitchen to finish washing the pots and pans so he could start on the rest of his chores; the sooner he got them finished, the sooner he could open the game to check it out. Even knowing he'd have to wait at least another four days before he could play the game didn't dampen his mood as he scrubbed diligently at the caked on bits of overcooked egg that were stuck to the skillet he was washing.
Keeping his excitement bottled up inside was nearly impossible but it was something he had to force himself to do lest the Dursleys got suspicious of his behavior and searched his cupboard. Still, every so often he could help the huge grin that would spread across his face for a few seconds before he could wipe it from his face.
Only four more days until he could go home.