A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. Though it was finished about a few weeks (sheesh) earlier, now's the earliest I could've gotten it up. Oh well...darn connection problems. Shout outs!

Beowulf31486 – Many, many thanks for the first review:-) I thought the intro wasn't really all that...long. I'm glad you think it's a good starting point. Pardon the rather delayed update... :-)

mitsukai-otome – I've read "Land of Twilight" to the second chapter...and you say that I have Blackrose acting weird? Haha... :-) nice story you have. Thanks, and I will continue the (good) work. :-)

Aura Eko – I think so too (or at least I hope so) that this'll be a great story. :-) Haha...it's just that I'm busy and my PC's uncooperative at times and I can't update all that often or at once. :-) Thanks for the review!

Swordust – I'm really sorry for the late update! >. This was as ASAP as possible...hehe. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long. I'm glad you find the story interesting...

That's it for now. Hopefully future updates wouldn't take very long...hopefully.

Anyways, enjoy:-)

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CHAPTER 2

Observe

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Both Kite and Blackrose looked in amazement around them. The environment they had been brought to was unlike any that they had been to ever before.

"What is this place...?" Kite said, wonder momentarily overwhelming his common sense.

Virtual winds blew the computer-generated blades of emerald-colored grass at the feet of both adventurers, as well as the fluffy white clouds set against a faint-blue sky. In the distance loomed a lone mountain capped with ashen fog.

But what really caught their attention was the immense field of flowers they were standing in the middle of. Shaded in all colors, the blooms stood out from the grass so strikingly that even the blind might have been able to appreciate them. Blossoms of pink, yellow, blue, magenta, and countless other variations sprang out, giving the beholder a marvelously striking image, yet producing a strangely calming aura at the same time.

"Beautiful..." Blackrose whispered, just as mystified as Kite. She bent down to pick one, a pink carnation, and view it closely.

"Yeah. It's amazing what virtual reality can do...these flowers seem so real," her partner answered, drawing a hand across, making some of them sway gracefully with the motion. 'I'm sure Gardenia would love to see this,' he thought offhandedly, not at all aware that he had actually said the particular notion out loud.

The comment piqued his companion a little, though Kite was unable to notice the sudden, angry glare from her. He asked, still looking at the sky, "So anyway...what do we do now?"

"We find the dungeon, I guess." Blackrose replied, sighing, seemingly brushing the matter off. "Hey, you got a fairy orb? I guess now would be a good time to use one," she added rather irately. Judging from her behavior, Kite was almost sure he had done something that offended her, but he wasn't really sure. Regardless, he ended up using one fairy orb out of his stash of twenty.

Surprisingly, there was only one portal in the whole field, found on the farthest side of the map from where they were. The dungeon's entrance was nearby, and no spring was present. There was, however, a huge, peculiar structure near the portal; Kite had no idea what it was exactly.

"Hmm...this is a really odd map," Blackrose remarked.

Kite shrugged. "Well, this is an event..."

"I know that," she snapped, though not as harshly as usual.

'Geez. What got into her...?' Kite thought as they both moved towards the dungeon entrance.

Not long after, they were at the entrance to what looked like an underground graveyard. A thick, steel gate barred the passageway. On the center of the gate were engraved the words "Sagreado Maharl" in old cursive.

Kite's first reaction was to think 'What kind of joke is this...?' The text, whatever it read, didn't match its canvas and the overall feel of the particular place so much that he had to raise an eyebrow in puzzlement.

Blackrose, however, didn't seem to really mind. "Okay...we're here. Now where's that..."

Her sentence was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a human-like creature, which seemed to materialize sitting atop a huge slab of broken concrete to their right. The creature didn't look like a player, or at least an ordinary one. Roughly only half the height of Heavy Blade now present, its appearance was so much different from those available for the denizens of "The World". A black tattered frock coat hung slackly from rounded shoulders; baggy trousers of the same color were tied tightly at the waist by a thick rope and its face was obscured by a long hood.

It spoke with a surprisingly deep voice, given its small stature. "Ah, you must be the next pair who will try and obtain the treasure within the Maharl dungeon."

Blackrose looked first at Kite, motioning 'let me handle this', and then at the figure. "And you are the furtive sentry, right?"

It nodded. "That would be correct, Lady Blackrose. My name is Locke. Why that is, don't ask...it isn't important anyway. In particular, I keep watch at the gates of the Maharl dungeon and let nobody in until certain conditions are met...not that it would be that hard considering only two players are allowed in this event, and therefore in this field, at any given time."

'Some furtive sentry this is...' Kite thought.

"Cheeky program..." the heavy blade whispered to her companion, causing him to snicker a bit.

"I'll pretend I didn't read that..." Locke said offhandedly, "You see, I'm actually a player-admin only filling in for the sentry AI. There was a huge bug in the program; kept players with 'A', 'E' or 'O' in their names looking for something that wasn't really here; basically, the door wouldn't open no matter what in those cases. Our Chief's working on debugging the program, but the job's taking ages."

Both adventurers blinked. "And you're telling us this because...?"

"I'm bored, actually. Most others aren't even able to get the required items to open this gate," Locke replied, shrugging. "They really should make these events more user-friendly. Though my chara design's cool, wouldn't you say?"

Blackrose rolled her eyes. "Just tell us what we need to do already."

"Oh, yes. I completely forgot...sorry, sorry. Now..." the sentry said, getting back as much in-character as he could, "you will need, first of all, to clear the portal on the field and defeat all the monsters. A chest will appear containing a gold ingot; take it. Secondly, you will need to enter the tower in that area as well, and retrieve the scroll of All Skill at the top, while fighting monsters along the way. From there, there will be a bridge suspended over the volcano. On the other side of it awaits Mekaniism, the guardian of the final item you should get, the Orb of Pure Light. After all that, make your way back here; I shall be waiting...if you are still alive, that is. Oh, and absolutely no reviving items or spells; only HP and status restoring ones allowed."

Blackrose looked undaunted; in fact, it seemed like she was more hyper than before. "Ha! That's it? I'd think it'd be a little harder than just that. Come on, Kite! Let's get on with this!"

As she trudged off, Kite thought, 'Well, at least she's got her spirits back...'

"Hey, buddy," Locke called out to Kite, "it was her idea to come here, am I right?"

Kite nodded, at the same time inquiring, "Why do you ask?"

The sentry just smiled and shook his head. "It's nothing. You'd better go, or else she'll get mad again..."

Just then, Blackrose shouted from atop a hill, "Come on Kite! Don't just stand around there like an idiot!"

"...y'see?"

Kite nodded again, and started after the Heavy Blade, who had her arms on her hips.

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"This side of the map looks really different..."

The pair had walked a considerable distance already. Having climbed another land elevation, they had a good view of the valley below.

The other side sloped considerably, but the most prominent feature was the ground; the grass was abundant where they stood, and then gradually thinned until about halfway to the bottom, exposing the brown soil underneath. The base, instead of loam, was a mixture of gravel and soot.

Not too far ahead stood a tall structure, probably the one they were supposed to ascend. Kite swallowed as he noticed how high the tower actually was; it was virtually a mini-skyscraper, and perhaps would have been more aptly called such, if not for its overall cylindrical shape, the eerie thorny projections from the sides, and snaking vines growing all over.

Even further beyond loomed the volcano, which they had mistakenly perceived as merely a mountain earlier. It wasn't as tall as the tower, but it made up for in width what it lacked in height; the concrete bridge that stretched across it was almost the same distance as the tower's tip from the ground.

Another building stood at the other side, which, although it was as tall as the one opposite, didn't seem as peculiar. It was more like a fortress, with tattered flags and battlements: the resting place of the Orb of Pure Light.

'It doesn't look like it's going to be as easy as we thought at first...' Kite thought, swallowing. Also Blackrose seemed to lose a bit of her former confidence.

Directly in front of them, the field portal glowed ominously. Although it effectively illuminated the area, the light was more foreboding than comforting.

As Blackrose took out Mimiru's Sword, Kite unsheathed his Two Together. Exchanging knowing looks, both of them trekked forward as the portal glowed even brighter before finally opening...