Sliding Path
Light brought her to consciousness at the bright and early hour of noon. There was a lengthy period of disorientation, somehow not made any clearer by the presence of an illusory clock in her field of vision. The wooden floor beneath her was neither cold nor warm and the smooth surface slipped across her fingers with no tell of the grain.
Blinking slowly, her sluggish mind tried to place her location. She was on the floor. Yes, that was clear. In... a room. Yes, this was some sort of room. Looking around she could see empty shelves and a shorter counter all made of a dull but polished wood. Yawning in incomprehension, she stretched and scratched the back of her head. And froze. That... wasn't quite right... She brought a handful of hair in front of her face and stared. At first glance it appeared the same as it had every day. Yet... the color was right, but the details were off. The texture was wrong. That was it. Where she expected a certain feeling, she only felt a uniform softness and shine rather than the normal variation and slight frizz. Instead of feeling as each follicle moved with the tug, she only felt the strands move between her fingers.
Suddenly awake, she took another look around and brought her fingers down in front of her in a half remembered hunch. The system menu appeared in front of her instantly, the faint glow and translucence akin to the very idea of holographic interfaces. "Fikin' hell..." She groaned before raising herself to her feet. Aincrad. Right. Sword Arts. Lockdown, Kayaba, panic, plan B, contacts, wolves. Idea by idea, the previous day came to her and she moved mechanically to open her messages. 31 new messages 32 new messages Another came in before she could even begin to scroll down. Sorting through them mentally, she prioritized to Argo's message.
["Here's a map to the next town, check the vendors in every town for them. The road is more dangerous than the forest it cuts through." [Argo]]
As she'd written, the map attached was an updated one of the floor with only the starting city, forest, and new town Logema colored in. Ahrina sent back her thanks before moving onto the next message.
["I don't want to die." [Verdent]]
["Soccer. I like soccer. I played forward on my team and we have a game scheduled for Sunday." [Chocoholic]]
["You're an idiot and I hope the boars get you." [Stormclaw]]
["Why should I bother- this ruins everything. All of my plans have gone to hell. I worked for my life. I did everything right. I don't deserve to be trapped here with worthless gamers like you. 'Just test it out' they said. 'Games are fun these days!' If this is the pinnacle of the age the industry needs to be torn down brick by sodding brick!" [Colloway]]
["Why are people so worked up about this? I mean, it's got to be a joke, right? There is no way the police are going to let us rot here, so we'll be home in no time." [Steeleel]]
["FUCK YOU FUCK THIS FUCK EVERYTHING! This is BULLSHIT! TOTAL FUCKING BULLSHIT! A game?! Like hell it is! Vico just got burst by a fucking boar- one fucking crit and the bastard just up and shattered! He was a dick, but I needed that asshole- he was one of those lucky beta jerks. DAMNIT ALL TO HELL THIS SUUUUUUUUCKS" [Growler]]
["Yo- got any tips for xp? The hills are swarming with dudes atm, all the boars are taken. Just thought I'd give you a shot." [Dlold]]
["I need to find my friend. He said his name was going to be Crimson or Scarlet or something that means red, but I don't remember what and I don't know what I'm doing without him. If you see a red guy- can you tell him Nia is looking for him?" [Niallens]]
["Cn u gv m3 cor plz? I n3d it 4 swd tks" [BOOM]]
["If you really want to help people, don't make yourself a target this early. People need someone to blame." [Checkers]]
["A friend told me that if someone needs an inn but they are all full you can rent a room from an NPC's house. So, uh, spread the word or something." [Rioter]]
["I'm a nurse. I take care of people for a living. This doesn't make any sense. I shouldn't be here. I thought this would be fun, something different. What am I doing here?" [FallingStar]]
["This is pointless. You're pointless." [Mercury]]
["Grouping up is going to get you killed- nothing but trouble. Leave the noobs to themselves." [Pseudonym]]
["I needed that. I don't want to be alone. But I'm not alone, am I? We're all stuck here. I want a guild." [Murken]]
["I thought there was going to be ranged stuff- I'm an archer not a fighter. Heard anything about that sort of thing yet?" [Killerkat]]
["How do I send a message to a friend?" [NanaNana]]
["Nevermind, found it." [NanaNana]]
["Wait- who were you again?" [NanaNana]]
And that was it for the new people. Not exactly optimistic, but it could be much worse. At least if someone was writing that they hated her they were releasing some negative energy. But on that note... Ahrina quickly brought up her friends list and deleted [BOOM] from it. Anger she could deal with. Gold beggars were scum, and frankly any world could deal with fewer of them. They'd plagued nearly every game she played, and seeing one on the first day...
Before starting her other replies she sent a message off to Argo, sending on the requests.
["Have you found any player with red in their name yet, or crimson, scarlet, vermillion, or any variation thereof? Niallens is looking. And is there any archery or ranged weaponry for people uncomfortable with close combat? Also, [BOOM] is a gold beggar, and [Vico] the beta is dead."]
Argo's response came before she finished sending off a cheeky "thank you for your feedback" message to [StormClaw].
["There was a CrimsonSky is the beta and I saw a ScarletBlade yesterday. I'll keep an eye out for others. Tell anyone looking for range to equip the [Throwing Weapons] skill and see how it develops." [Argo]]
With a smile Ahrina sent off the tip to the unfortunately named [KillerKat] and then the names to [Niallens] asking if either could be her friend. Other responses could be short as well. To [NanaNana] she sent off a reflexive spiel about optimism and information while [Dlold] got the information on wolf attack patterns and where to find the apothecary quest.
[Verdent] got a simple "Then live and find something to live for." while [Mercury] got a snarkier "Maybe, but talking is better than doing nothing." in reply. [Checkers] got a more sincere "Thanks, I'll watch my back. I need to be in view though." She thanked [Rioter] for the tip, mentally making a note to send it out en masse later.
To [Pseudonym]] Ahrina sent a harsh "Those noobs are going to get themselves killed without the help of skilled players. Soloing is fine, just be willing to show someone else the ropes even if you don't want to hold their hand." For [Growler]... Ahrina didn't quite know how to respond. This was the first confirmed death then, at least to her. Typing carefully, she responded. "That... really sucks. Seriously. I am so sorry about Vico. I'll burst a few boars in his name. We've got to clear this now for everyone gone and still around. At least there are other beta players around to talk to."
That left of the new people Chocoholic, Colloway, Steeleel, FallingStar, and Murken. After a thought, she decided to deal with them together. Ahrina sent an invitation to a meeting at the northern inn that night at 7 to each of them. Maybe it would do them some good to talk things out with others.
That business taken care of, Ahrina stretched and hopped on the counter beside her, leaning her back against the wall. Now to take care of those she actually cared about...
["Dude! Not cool! It's chaos out here. The hills are way too crowded with campers and no one is even paying attention to their own fights. People are popping left and right!" [Speedemon]]
["Where did you say that apothecary was? I don't like the idea of walking around without being able to heal myself- I'm used to playing clerics." [MelodyCalls]]
["Thank you, I really needed that. Today is a new day so we might as well enjoy the game we signed on for." [Vilonette]]
["I've got a guy who needs your help. I'm not good with words. Meet up?" [Jesuit]]
["Boars are over hunted. Going after wolves. Want to join?" [Ramses]]
["I don't want to fight alone but I don't want to see anyone die. I think I'll stay safe inside the city until things calm down." [Navi]]
["We're really unlucky, aren't we? Everyone envied me for getting a copy, but now I might never see them again. This was going to be a break, a slight vacation. I took work off and everything so I could get a head start. Man, this reeks." [Yoko]]
["I just don't get it. Why are you doing this? It's no skin off your back if some strangers bite it, so what's the deal?" [Golden]]
["There are too many children here. What kind of parents would let their kid into this kind of world?" [EverAfter]]
["I still think this is bullshit, but whether it is or not, I don't want to find out the wrong way." [Excel]]
["Quite the preacher. If you keep sending positive fluff it will piss me off eventually, but I guess this proves yesterday wasn't a dream. Thanks, I guess." [Mordekai]]
["What's with the beta ditch? Everyone else in Starting City is such a lousy noob. Were you a beta?" [Finesse]]
Ahrina answered the few questions swiftly and honestly before inviting Navi and Jesuit to the meet up later that day (after confirming Jesuit's friend's problem wasn't urgent). As to Ramses, that was an offer too good to pass up. She sent off a quick "I'm in. Where are you now?" and headed to the nearest armory. A sword she'd upgraded, but other than that she was still in basic noob gear.
In life or death, armor and defense was going to mean a hell of a lot more than she was used to. Mages didn't usually need armor other than cloth for decoration and stats, so this would be a new experience for her. Ahrina was melee now, they all were. Cloth wasn't going to cut it, but at the same time... Heavy or light armor? Attack or defense? Speed or strength? It was all the same question but one she did not want to answer. It felt like distributing a single stat point would be making a commitment in one direction she would have to stick with. Sure, she could likely make up for any changes later easily enough, she knew that... but the earlier she got on a certain path, the more practice and experience she would have for it, efficiency wise.
She spent another moment staring at different options, staring in the indecision of debate. Then, with a cross look on her face, she swiftly brought up her menu, put equal points in strength and agility, and bought a leather curiass and bracers. Any decision was better than walking around weaker than possible and unprotected. Hesitation was more likely to get her killed than anything else, and the moderate choices could easily be changed one way or another.
Let's think about this... she wasn't a tank. As much fun as it would be to take advantage of the opportunity to wear full sets of plate mail, her first instinct would always be to dodge over block, and parry for style points. She was a dancer, not a mountain. Spears would be good for range, daggers would be good for speed, swords would be for her inner fan girl... hm... She ran a finger down her cutlass... A swashbuckler... now that could be fun. It could work. A cutlass or a dao and an emphasis on acrobatics and agility while still stacking strength to back it up... Yeah. Why not? That would work. It would also be flashy enough to suit her tastes, spur of the moment or not.
With a flourishing bow Ahrina gave the air a few flamboyant slashes. She'd need a hat. A fancy hat. With a feather. And a long coat. And nice boots. Looking around the shop menu she found a good pair of leather knee high boots of the same shade as her bracers, but the rest would have to wait until she had more cash to spend.
Now equipped, it was time to meet Ramses. She'd sent a message with her current location not far into the forest, and Ahrina slunk out of town on her way. Sure enough, the hills were covered with people, and instead of a gentle breeze and occasional clash of steel there was nothing but a raucous cacophony of hateful noise. The boars were not even the real enemy anymore to the players here. They were pushing each other around fighting for scraps, screaming and stealing kills. The lack of care given to the boars was shocking and Ahrina could only stare appalled as a burly man got gored in to the red while distracted and pushing a smaller man aside.
She snapped herself out of her daze and marched over to the bickering pair, slapping the larger man and shoving a potion in his face before finishing off the boar herself. "Pay attention, damnit! Look at your health for the Root's sake!"
"Hey, mind your own business! These boars are mine- back off!"
"I was here first- find your own! Don't screw with me, man, I need the xp!"
They continued fighting, ignoring the world around them, and Ahrina abandoned the cause with an irritated sigh. The effort required to show them what idiots they were being would be put to better use elsewhere. Disgusted, she made her way past the unruly mob. Maybe the forest would hold some reprieve from the madness.
To her annoyance, the noise barely abated beyond the initial wall of trees. Instead of being able to focus on the level of detail and easy natural beauty, she felt their ever grating anger grow.
"Oi! Data Junkie!" Her frustration cleared at the sight of Ramses, calling her over to a group of three. Ramses towered over a scrawny boy with messy black hait while the other man with her shared her tan complexion. "My brother, Callous, and his pet shrimp, Zerg."
"Quit calling me a shrimp! I swear that was one time!" 'Zerg' shouted, waving his arms wildly as Ramses pat his head with a condescending grin.
"That's true, he's really more of a crawfish anyway." Callous added with an identical smirk.
"That's right! I'm a... hey! That's not any better... whatever.. jerks. You're the weird happy person, right? We're a trio, got that? Just us. You might be tagging along today as payback for helping Ramses before, but that's only today." He punctuated his point with sweeping hand gestures ending in crossed arms.
"Isn't he cute? So possessive, our little crunchy crustacean." Callous picked up the said crustacean who lost his scowl with his balance.
"Anyway... what Zerg means to say in his twerpiness is that we had planned to just stick together, but since you sent on that wolf data and kind of helped snap me out of things yesterday, I figured it might not be bad to have you along as we went after this miniboss." Callous finally put Zerg down as Ramses concluded with a straight face.
"Hey, it's no trouble at all, I'd been meaning to come... back... to... wait, did you say mini boss? You... wouldn't happen to mean this mini boss, would you?" Ahrina brought out the map Argo had marked and pointed to the area Argo had marked "do not go here".
"Aha! Yup, that's the place. I knew bringing you along would be worth it. This way we don't have to spend time looking for the place." Ramses smirked as she added the data to her own map.
"You... didn't know? Erm... so, out of curiosity, what level are you guys right now?" This was a bad idea. A fun, terrible idea. And she'd already messed up. Ahrina quickly opened the menu and sent a message off to Argo as they responded.
["Going to wolf mini boss in forest with Ramses, Zerg, and Callous. Advice?"]
"1."
"2."
"1 AND a half."
"Right... so... why aren't ya'll aiming for normal wolves to train on first?"
["Bad idea. Level 5. Be level 4 first. Clear all adds first while 1 distracts." [Argo]]
"We should be doing boars, but those are all claimed, and they'll be coming as a crowd to the forest soon enough. Each boss gives a special item to the first person to last hit it, and better that it goes to one of us early than get lost in the mob." Callous shrugged confidently despite his single level. "Don't worry about me. I might still be level 1, but I was in the beta. I just spent the first day showing Zerg around the sights before the shit storm came around."
"If you are worried, we can grab a few wolves on the way, but we're aiming for this prize today with or without you."
"Let's see how normal wolves go first, alright? This mini boss is level 5, so we shouldn't even go near it until we know what we are doing."
["Our combined levels equal 7. I'll try to talk them out of it or keep them alive through it, but I'm not leading here."]
"Well you better quit dawdling then! Time's a wasting." Zerg swaggered off, clearly expecting to lead the others behind him.
"Wolves first. Definitely." Ahrina reluctantly followed behind them further into the forest and hung back for the first fight, watching how they handled themselves. It wasn't as bad as she'd feared. Zerg was awkward, half tripping over himself as he slashed wildly, ignoring the use of sword skills. However, Ramses and Callous were good. Callous moved with a casual grace, dodging easily before striking back with a large two handed sword. Ramses was slower with her moves but struck confidently with her attacks, using the long range of her basic spear to keep the wolf away from her. Interestingly, the three of them had a system for "tagging out" of a fight where one of them would call out "switch!" and the one currently fighting the wolf would back off, letting the other have room to re engage and use wider range skills while the one who retreated could take a short break from combat. While Zerg's dagger in general was... less than effective, he did work well with the others and followed their warnings and directions. Luckily, these wolves did seem significantly weaker than the ones from the night before and were handled fairly easily despite the low levels.
After the first wolf shattered, Callous stepped up to correcting Zerg's lack of sword skills before Ahrina had to say a word. It was actually rather nice to watch the two of them, as Callous corrected him softly and demonstrated the movements again to an embarrassed and blushing Zerg. The next wolf was an improvement as the tell tale flash started activating every other time he stabbed forward. As long as he wasn't fighting alone and had either Ramses or Callous beside him they kept him from taking much damage and kited the mobs between them. It wasn't the most efficient at times, but she could work with this.
"Hey! You just going to watch or what?"
"Just admiring your teamwork, shrimp." At that prompt, Ahrina charged the next wolf, unleashing a Reaver on its side bringing it down to half health, trusting one of the others to guard her during the system delay. She jumped backward at the next switch and Callous finished it off, also subbing in for Zerg. It was easy to see how he was a beta player- he was the oly one of them comfortable with switching off backwards without looking behind him first. He never took his eyes off the wolves except to check his team's positioning.
A few wolves later Zerg and Callous leveled up, quickly adding points to agility and strength respectively. They were making good progress, but it was clear they were starting to get a little impatient with the repetition. With four people, these wolves were child's play. Ahrina was still half a level from four herself and had decided it was a minimum requirement for one of them to reach Argo's recommendation before she let them begin. A quick detour led them to the apothecary's quest grounds, showing the herbs had respawned, though not in the quantity they had appeared before. Perhaps there was something to Callous' "first" theory, giving bonuses with each event. Or maybe it was randomized. In any case, gathering the quest items was a good distraction and traveling from one mat to the other gave them more time for the wolves.
It wasn't that she didn't want to fight the boss- it was even daylight now and she liked this party well enough. Risking lives on the second day, though? Huh. Actually... She wasn't really one to talk after what she'd done last night... And technically, anything is a life risk in SAO outside of the cities.
"Come on! I'm a pro! We've got this..." Zerg pleaded to a shrugging Ramses.
"I don't mind. Callous?"
"How many potions do you have, shrimp?"
"Potions?"
"Yeah... Okay. We're turning that quest in first."
"Make sure you pick up some sort of armor while we're in town too."
"Fine, fine... we'll hit the city first. But then we've seriously got to get this giant wolf! Someone is going to beat us to it, guys..." His whine was motivation enough to leave the forest in haste. The boar hills were swarming with even more people than before, all getting in each other's ways. Even then border of the forest had a few groups prowling about- a sure sign that it would not be free farming much longer. They were probably right about someone challenging the mini boss first if they couldn't, but that might be for the best. Unless the challengers were also under leveled and didn't have anyone looking out for them. Damnit.
As the trio went off to get themselves better equipped, Ahrina hung back by the town's gate to check her messages- 5 new ones. Argo's was first, of course. It asked for an update. She sent back that they had not attempted it yet and the smaller herb patches, wondering to her if every quest and boss gave extra to the first to complete it. Argo's quick confirmation of the theory came immediately, as if she'd been waiting for it. Two other messages were confirming the meeting later that evening. The next was a tad concerning as it was another round of trite pessimism as a soul she'd yet to meet spoke of suffocation and doom. The last was, ironically, a tip from someone else recommending she find Argo the Rat if she really wanted to learn the world.
By the time she finished reading and replying, the other three had returned- Callous with a new broadsword and breastplate, Zerg with new gloves and boots, and Ramses with a dark blue half cape on her left shoulder.
"Lookin' sharp. All set for pots?" At their nods, she continues. "All right... I'd like to level up again before we hit the boss, but this should have us more set."
"Well no use waiting around here! That wolf is as good as ours!" Zerg stabbed the air with his dagger, punctuating his point.
The wild grin faded from his face as they made their way through the mob of boar hunters again silently. With how chaotic the scene appeared, it was hard to tell if the number of players had shrunk or grown, but a few notable faces from before were ominously missing. Perhaps they'd gone ahead? That must be it... This time as they entered the forest they were not alone. A few braver souls were clearly branching out to wolves despite the slight difficulty increase, likely due to scarcity of easy prey on the hill side. By contrast to the aggressive crowd outside, the small groups inside the woods gave each other some minimal space and small nods of respect, staking their hunting grounds cautiously. At this rate of progression someone was going to come across the field boss, prepared for it or not.
Ramses and Callous seemed to come to the same conclusion, nodding to each other gravely. Callous turned toward Ahrina, shrugging apologetically. "I know you wanted to level again, but I don't think we can afford to wait much longer."
"We'll play it safe, tag out and kite. We might be under leveled, but we know how to work together. We'll be fine." Ramses added, determined.
"Don't be such a wuss! We've got potions and everything now, so let's just go already!"
It was clear they would continue with or without her. With a slight wince at the idea of going through with such a bad plan, Ahrina gestured helplessly. "Lead on, then." She sent Argo a last update on player progression through the forest and their inevitable attempt.
The four had nine levels between them, less than half of what was suggested. None of that mattered though as they approached the lair of the beast. Well, less of a lair and more of a clearing, really. The [Forest Guardian] rolled a femur between its paws casually before letting out a rather canine yawn. Zerg rushed forward upon seeing it only to be pulled back by Callous, who had expected the motion.
With a declarative tone he laid out the plan. "If this is the same as the beta, as soon as we attack the [Forest Guardian] we'll trigger add pops- there were 6 of them before, 2 at a time with each health bar." He gestured above the mini boss where three health bars shone brightly. "It worked best last time to have one person distract the boss while the others took care of the adds quickly and then went back to help. Normally I would take point here, but..." Ahrina had a sinking feeling she knew exactly where this was going.
With a grimace she finished his sentence. "But in this particular party it would be a better plan for me to tank aggro while you three work together to clear the adds as you have practiced. I get it. You three cover each other well and I'm least likely to take a hit willingly." She didn't mention that Zerg needed them both to cover him or that her level would be an advantage.
"Exactly. We'll help as soon as we possibly can, but you'll be facing it alone for the most part. Just call if you need me to switch in for you to take a potion or something. As much as we need this boss dropped asap, it isn't worth dying for." He gave an apologetic smile for setting her up as a scapegoat if the rest of them needed to ditch. This really was a terribly idea. It was their second day in the game. Attacking a boss of any kind was insanity with the raised stakes, even what was likely meant to be an introduction to boss fights. And yet... Ahrina shifted the cutlass in her grip and rocked to the pads of her feet and back again. Was it so wrong to want it anyway? Was it really that bad to risk herself if it meant a proper test of what she could do in this life, and the thrill of facing a foe just outside of her specified capabilities? Heh... What was life without a little danger?
With a cocky smirk and heart pounding in her chest at the very idea, she agreed. "Just finish up fast or there won't be any wolf left for you, got it?" Their grins matched her own as they headed into the boss' range.
The second they set foot in the clearing the [Forest Guardian] started growling, its teeth bared in a low snarl. They stepped cautiously but it wasn't until Ahrina was within four yards of it that it lunged with an echoing howl.
Ahrina was too preoccupied with jumping out of the way to see if the adds had spawned like Callous said, but she certainly heard their answering calls. Only... that didn't sound like a simple pair of forest wolves. Zerg's sudden cursing did not help her confidence either. "Four?! Fucking four?!" "Watch it, shrimp!" "What the hell, Karim?" "Kite them between us- Zerg, just get in hits where you can WITH SKILLS but watch your back. Rana- with me."
As glad as she was to hear them settle down with an updated plan, her eyes never left the boss in front of her. It easily dwarfed the wolves they found before, a fact she'd noticed before, obviously, but hadn't really struck her as to the magnitude until the reality of trying to parry the swipe of a paw larger than her head came crashing down on her. The weight of it easily pushed her back as she tried to parry, landing her flat on her back. Adrenaline alone let her dodge the next massive strike by rolling aside in time. As she scrambled to her feet Ahrina ran through her options. She didn't have a shield and with the Guardian's size blocking would be suicide with her current strength. She could compensate for the weight to parry properly now that she knew what sort of force to expect behind the blow, but getting hit at all would be too big of a risk without testing it first. But how to actually do damage? If she only went on the defensive and waited for the party, that raised the risk of tripping up or miscalculating, and there were no guarantees that they would be able to help quickly at all.
The zone was clear- the clearing was bare of the rocks and bushes plentiful outside of it, and the only trees were surrounding them in an incomplete ring. There was a cliff far to the right overlooking where the boss had lain, but no other structures were in sight. Ahrina scrambled back from another lunge, careful to lead the boss away from where she heard her party struggling. Maybe she could use that... the previous wolves' AI updated after long enough, but if she switched it up, she should be able to trick it into getting stunned long enough to fight back safely.
Pushing another swipe of claws away from her face by side stepping for extra force, she turned tail and ran straight backwards. Howlong in full force of the hunt, the [Forest Guardian] barreled after her blindly, clearly furious at the thought of her escape. It caught up quickly and made a full force lunge at her back, only to hit the face of the cliff head on.
Ahrina took note of the decent decrease in the first health bar from the force of the hit itself and quickly ran through the sword skills she'd acquired, unleashing a Reaver across the broad back and then an Uppercut to the back of the stunned beast's head. A sudden shake of back paws served as a warning stopping her from trying another as the [Forest Guardian] regained its footing onto its massive haunches. All in all that had taken a good half bar down from the wolf. 5 more hits that way and they'd be golden- provided it didn't catch on.
"Ahri- you good?"
"Yeah, don't worry about me. How are the adds?"
"Got one down, its harder with more to worry about."
"Just focus on that then, I'll let you know how the boss' health is doing."
"Keep it up!"
The [Forest Guardian] looked enraged by the damage it took- good. Well, not good exactly, since it decided attacking faster was a good idea... but at least it was fighting a bit more recklessly. That, she could use. Well. That, she'd like to use, provided she could live through it.
"Two down!"
Ahrina threw herself to the side avoiding a particularly vicious lunge. It wiffed by her, the feeling of sudden wind against her skin a minor distraction she only wished she had time to appreciate properly. It really was an odd feeling to be this... active. Ahrina ducked under another swipe, knowing easily that if this fight were in the real world she would be soaked in sweat and out of energy long ago.
She'd still be fighting, of course, but not nearly as effectively. In this avatar her stamina was based on her mind and her will, not the protest of muscles atrophying from disuse. In this world, it didn't matter if the last time she'd run a mile was high school. All that mattered was reaction time and knowing what action you wanted to do- whether you could do it or not was down to stats and skills instead of the body. And honestly, that was just as she'd like it.
Suddenly Ramses was there beside her, unleashing a Slant at the beast's side as it swiped toward Ahrina again. It howled in anger and switched targets, but Callous was there to parry the blow with his broadsword while she recovered from the system delay. "Welcome to the party- glad you finished your chores."
Zerg laughed and stabbed the guardian repeatedly, guarded by Ramses. "Yeah, mom and dad here wouldn't let me play till we took out the trash."
Ahrina took a moment as a breather, watching them wittle away at the boss' hp. They really did work together well. It was clear this wasn't their first MMO together, or even VR.
"Yeah? Maybe I should let you stick around by yourself then for a little free time."
"No thanks! I've got a few puppies to play with and they should be here... any... second..." As the first health bar depleted to zero the great wolf jumped back and howled again, quickly answered by another chorus. Ahrina stood in front of the guardian, once again alone as the trio went off to face the members of the pack.
"Still four! Same plan. Rana, use a pot."
The [Forest Guardian] had calmed down again, likely due to the reinforcements. Back to the plan, then. She stood her ground, dodging swiped and lunges by narrower margins until she had the wolf's complete attention. As the lunges became more frequent she waited for one to miss completely before running full speed to the cliff again. It ran after her predictably with a furious howl and crashed into the wall again full force. Ahrina hit it with everything she had in the narrow window of time, aiming everything at the exposed nape of the neck. The health dropped dramatically to around 40% of the second bar, marking the fight half way over.
"Three!" Callous called back at nearly the same time. The [Forest Guardian] recovered quickly and entered its enraged state again, this time even faster than before. Ahrina could barely keep up with the quickened blows, only managing due to guessing in advance the likeliest of targets. She was nearly falling over herself to stay out of range. This... was not something she could deal with for long, and if it was even worse next time, there was no way she could dodge forever. "Two!" They were getting faster at this, but Ahrina had no time to appreciate their haste, even if it had technically been her fault for setting off the boss' buff earlier than before. Her bones started to feel like jelly as she threw herself left and right so frequently that she barely had a stable balance standing straight at all.
The second Calloud stepped in front of her, Ahrina collapsed back at the edge of the clearing, forcing herself to breathe slowly to clear her head. Images flashed in front of her eyes of the land in front of her at nauseating angles, and she shut her eyes forcefully to try to regain control of her equilibrium. Laughing suddenly, she shouted to the party, "I think I'm sea sick!" in response to Callous' worried, half heard question.
"Is that all? You'll never be a pirate at this rate, land lubber! Where are your sea legs?"
"The hell?"
"Well, hurry it up, we're almost ready for the next adds."
Forcing herself to her feet, Ahrina could feel her stomach flip and settle slowly as she took more calming breaths and felt the solid ground beneath her. They had the second health bar down to a mere sliver and it was obvious she didn't have any more time to spare. She readied her cutlass and took a solid stance in front of the wolf as it jumped back to call for the rest of the pack. Ready or not, this was the last stage. All she had to do was keep up with the blows and keep it distracted until they could come finish it off. After that, she could take a nice long break inside a city surrounded by man made walls and never venture out into wolf land again. Yeah, that sounded nice. Maybe an inn would have some tea? With honey? That sounded nice. Ahrina fought almost entirely on auto pilot, her head still half in a daze from earlier.
She couldn't afford to ignore her opponent for long, and as soon as she heard Callous call out "Three!" she decided it was time to do her part for the boss' health once again. She jumped to the side and chugged a potion as a safety measure for the inevitable counter attack before beginning to bait the guardian again. She let it get closer and closer to her before dashing away again in the opposite direction, and it followed well, leaping after her.
Just as she reached the cliff again, Ahrina jumped right suddenly, following the same pattern that had worked the past two times. Only... this time she didn't hear the thump of fur on stone- that silence was her only warning before teeth ripped into the flesh of her shoulder. It was as if all of her nerves suddenly caught on fire at once before being replaced by a dull but throbbing pressure. She could feel sharp claws dig into the leather curiass protecting her back as she was batted away by the gigantic paw like a rag doll. She could feel her body bounce twice on the dirt before settling immobile. Strange. She really could feel it, but the pain was... off... somehow... Like she knew what was happening and her brain wanted to stop it, but she only felt intense pressure in the area instead of the burning intensity of a gaping wound. Oh. Blinking her eyes slowly, she saw the system overlay again with her health drastically in the red. It was a game. For a moment, caught in the heat of battle, she'd honestly forgotten that she wasn't really fighting a dire wolf in the middle of a nearby forest. Though, for all intents and purposes, that was exactly what was happening... Shaking her head, she also couldn't allow herself to think that. No matter the world, life or death was life or death until someone proved otherwise beyond the shadow of a doubt. And now that same dire wolf that had done so much damage to her was going after the people she had been fighting to protect.
This absolute certainty in her mind, Ahrina flipped onto her feet from the floor and drank another potion. The first had helped a little, along with her battle healing, and she could see her health bar slowly filling up again. However, unless it reached full and fast, she wouldn't be able to take another hit like that anyway. At the same time, waiting wasn't an option. It would take too long, and she wouldn't leave her companions to struggle against the current... three opponents on their own.
"Oi! I'm still alive you dumb mutt!" She taunted, unleashing a Reaver across the boss' backside. Callous was more than a little relieved to see her up again.
"Hey, no playing dead during boss fights- raiding 101. Ramses, Zerg, take care of the other two." They nodded and went off on his orders without hesitation. Callous and Ahrina worked to kite the boss between them. If they stayed apart it could only attack one at once. The trick was staying just close enough to cover each other during the counter attack. Ramses and Zerg finished off the other two quickly enough, but as soon as there was only half a bar left two more wolves dashed into the fray from just outside the clearing, keeping them further occupied. Fighting with someone else was a great relief after facing it alone.
Getting into a steady rhythm of battle again, the boss' health was slowly whittled down lower and lower until it was barely visible above the [Forest Guardian]'s head. Yet- instead of feeling triumph, Ahrina just became more and more aware of a strange feeling, like she was being watched by some hidden camera.
"Go Callous! Finish it already!"
"Get it!"
As Callous was readying his last sword skill, Ahrina saw a flash in the corner of her eye and jumped forward on instinct. A sudden impact tore into her back as she herself drove her sword into the unprotected flank of the wolf, shattering it in an explosion of glittering pixels that filled the air of the clearing.
"Aw, man. I was so close, too! Why'd you have to go and block it like that, man? I could've had it so easily."
Ramses and Zerg worked to finish off their last wolf as a stranger lazily dropped down from the tree branches, clearly disappointed.
"Did you get it, huh Callous? Did you- wait, who's he?"
Ramses stopped Zerg in his path and glared at the newcomer, easily taking in the situation. She stomped up to Ahrina and tore the throwing knife from her back, clearly furious. "Scavenger scum. This boss is ours. Let that orange be the least you deserve."
"Orange? The hell are you on about?"
"Your cursor, jackass. You attacked another player outside of a duel and now everyone who sees you will know it. Good luck living through the first mob who wants to stop a PK in the making."
"PK? The fuck, man! I just wanted an easy steal- you can't blame me for trying to get ahead."
"You were just going to take the kill? That's cheating! We spent so long fighting here, you jerk!"
"Ramses, Zerg. We're done here. He'll get what he deserves soon enough. Let's just go back to town." Callous turned to Ahrina next with a bitter smile. "Good fight. I would've liked to get the last hit myself, but better you than a coward." He sent a friend request, quickly followed by one from Zerg. "Getting a level out of this wasn't too shabby and we probably couldn't have fought it at our level without you in any case. Let's group again some time. Later."
"Yeah, later. Guess you aren't too bad. Unlike some losers." Zerg stuck his tongue out at the stranger.
Ramses was clearly still pissed, but seemed willing to go along with her brother as he tried to diffuse the situation. "Fine. Thanks for coming, Chronicler. I hope this was a worthy story for you." Taking that as a goodbye, the trio headed off into the forest, turning around only to shoot another hateful glare.
"So... leaving me alone with someone who just stabbed me in the back. What a party, ne?" Ahrina joked to fill the awkward silence as they disappeared from sight and was met with a good natured snicker.
"Now that's the spirit! Here I thought you might be mad at me."
"Me? Angry? Whatever for? It's not like you tried to take all the credit for an accomplishment I almost died for or anything."
"So... a little?"
"Just a bit." She held out her hand with a shrug. "I'm Ahrina the Chronicler, and I wouldn't try that again."
"Amaranth. You mean the stabbing or the stealing? 'Cause I can't really make any guarantees about the latter."
"How about the stabbing first, and if you try the latter again to me in particular I'll consider that the same as volunteering as a lab rat to help me research the regeneration rate of non essential body parts."
"Right! Ah... ha... No filching from the chrone then!"
"That's Chronicler, flower boy."
"Hey- it wasn't for the flower, I just like the color! It's nice and bright, you know?"
"The... wait- you don't happen to be Nia's friend, do you?"
Suddenly his whole demeanor changed. Instead of the cocky rogue, worry filled his eyes and he looked exhausted. "She's okay? She's here? Fuck. Of all the... Why the hell did she have to follow me..." Definitely a yes then. "Look, I'm sorry about before. Can you take me to her? No bullshit, this is important."
Ahrina quickly sent a message asking [Niallens] to meet them near the gate. "No bullshit. Girlfriend?"
"Worse. Best friend's sister who has a thing for idiot gamers. He's going to kill me if anything happens to her. I don't even care about these mobs- if anyone in here so much as touches her I'm toast."
"Is he here too?"
"I wish... then this would be so much easier. He didn't get a copy, but then Nia won one and said she'd keep it to spend more time with me. A little awkward, you know? I planned to ditch her from the start and then he could take over when she got bored. After the announcement yesterday, I'd been hoping that he might have logged in first instead, just to check."
"Not exactly according to plan, then." She sent him a friend request as they walked, knowing there likely wouldn't be time for it later.
"You're telling me! I don't even know what to do with her. She's a noob, and I play thieves and assassins, you know? It's not like I can be a knight in shining armor to tank for her as she plays healer from the sidelines."
"And you don't look like someone who'd be happy playing NPC with the shop keepers."
"Fuck that, I want to fight!"
They reached the edge of the forest, getting a few strange looks from players they passed. The hills were still swarming with players, and it surprised Ahrina how little time had passed. It had felt like hours fighting the guardian, yet the sun had only moved a little more overhead, marking it as not quite sunset. Ahrina saw a few dirty looks thrown in their direction but thought nothing of it as they reached the gate. Jeez, even the NPC guards seemed to disapprove of something. Or... some... one...
"The stupid orange thing!"
"What stupid orange thing? Oh! The cursor thing the angry chick talked about? Why does that matter?"
"Let me check with someone. For now let's wait out of sight." She brought Amaranth to the empty story she'd asked Nia to meet them by and sent a message to Argo.
["Still alive- all of us. Got last hit. Details later. What does an orange cursor above a player's name mean for the player?"]
The reply came quickly and wasn't unexpected.
["A criminal act of violence between players outside of a duel that doesn't result in death changes the affected player's cursor to orange. Red means PK. Most NPC's won't talk to or sell to orange players and guards will attack Reds on sight. Players won't like seeing someone hurt others this early on- stay out of it if you can. I hope you haven't done anything stupid. Tell them to stay out of sight for three days and it will go away." [Argo]]
["It's [Amaranth], who [Niallens] was looking for. He stabbed me in the back. Literally!"]
Another response came immediately, likely telling her off for cheekiness, but the appearance of a slight woman at the door took priority. She looked around 15, with short curly black hair and a blush across her face.
"N-Nia! Hi..." She flung herself across the room, gripping Amaranth tightly without another word. "H-hey... don't cry... Look, I'm here now, okay? And I'm going to look out for you, like your brother would want. And we'll get out of here, the two of us. Okay?"
"We're all going to get out. Eventually. For now we have a new world to explore together."
Nia realized they weren't alone and pushed herself back away from him, blushing harder. "Thank you very much for finding him for me! I hope it wasn't much trouble. I honestly don't know what I would have done without-" She checked him name quickly. "Amaranth, but I didn't actually expect you to be able to help, let alone so quickly. If there is anything I can do for you in return, please only ask." She bowed again formally, her motions matching her proper speech.
"I'll be sure to. For now I'm just glad I... ran into... him. I'll leave the two of you alone, but if you want company later I'm holding a meeting at the inn furthest north in an hour or so. Feel free to join us."
Amaranth stopped her as she turned to leave. "Thanks, man. I mean it."
She nodded and left to find another base to work from, sending him a quick message with the information on what being an orange player meant. Discretion involved not bringing it up so suddenly in front of Nia. Soon enough she found an alleyway with a pile of crates to perch on and sit back. If it wasn't one thing it was another... She hadn't gotten to see what the boss battle had given her yet. It was a little late to find a log of exactly what she gained, but she could see her level was clearly four now, leaving her a few skill points to distribute at her leisure. More important was a unique item in her inventory, [Mark of the Forest]. Bringing it to hand she saw it was a wolf tooth necklace with strange white wooden beads around it. [Doubles experience gained from beast type monsters while equipped]. A permanent experience increase? Lucky! That would certainly give her an advantage while leveling. Grinding would be a lot easier provided the mobs for her level were "beastly" at all later on, and it would be useful well into later levels. No wonder Callous had wanted it so badly. Oh well. Hers now. She should let Argo know how the fight really went though.
[[Forest Guardian] dropped [Mark of the Forest] necklace doubling xp from beast mobs. Unlike beta, 4 wolf adds aggro'd at each of 3 life bars and an extra 2 at last half bar. Appeared enraged and attacks faster when enough damage is done. Hits HARD. [Amaranth] tried to "scavenge" last hit of boss kill, hit me instead. Forest now full of players."]
That should do for a report. In the meantime, it had been a few hours since she had checked her mail. Two messages were just hate mail telling her optimists would be the first to die and to go fuck a boar. Lovely. Others were more supportive, one person giving the names of his real life friends, who planned to make a guild together "Fuurinkazan" to be formed when they found the NPC for it. Another talked about a waitress quest that would start if you went to the largest inn and talked to the manager in the back. Ramses apologized for being the reason they left so suddenly and not so subtly asked the name of the "filthy vulture scum" and if she'd gotten him back yet. That... could certainly wait. For now she had a brief break in silence before she had to deal with pretending to be social again for the meeting.
