Late Arrivals

November 8, 2022

10:35 PM

Horunka

"So, what're we doing here?"

"Apparently, there's a quest that gifts the player a new sword in this village. I want to get it"

"Can't it like, wait until tomorrow though?"

It was pretty late to be up. The creatures of the night had just awoken, and not many players were out and about. It was quiet when Grimoire and his crew had arrived in the small town of Horunka.

Swathed dirt and grime, the small party had previously decided to find a tavern tomorrow and rest for the next day. However, it seemed as though the mob spawns had been significantly lesser in number than in the beta, a note Grimoire made sure to keep.

'Someone must've defeated the Alpha.' He thought, turning to his group of four.

"Alright, guys. Welcome to Horunka." He grinned, spreading his arms wide as they passed through the town gates.

In comparison to the Starting City, Horunka was pea-sized. It was a village, the only one close enough to the Town of Beginnings to be considered a "starting point" as well. To the road to get here, however, wasn't easy for a beginner.

The mobs, especially «Dire Wolves», became increasingly aggressive the closer players were to the village. If not for Pargod's protection, Royce's quick calculation, Hyperion's swift work, and Grimoire's careful leadership, the group would've probably had a more troublesome time than they did.

"Alright, Grimoire," Pargod said, slipping one strap of his shield over his shoulder, and dusting off his pants.

"We've made it here. We should see the quest giver and get started on this quest immediately."

"I'm with Pargod," Hyperion said, lightly resting lightly against her back foot. "We should get ahead of the others. We need to get stronger if we're ever going to make strides towards this goal."

"You guys are right, but..." Royce looked over the two of them with his dead eyes, mouth curling into a slight pout.

Grimoire knew what Royce wanted to say, smile persisting. Wrapping his hand around his scabbard, Grimoire cautiously sheathed his longsword.

"No."

The words hit Hyperion and Pargod, the two looking to each other, as Hyperion returned with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean no?"

"We need to rest," Grimoire said, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. "There's a tavern just a block down from here. We're going to rest and then tackle this quest tomorrow."

"But there's no need," Pargod said, eyes narrowing. "We're fine to move on. We need to unless you want other players to nab up these quests first."

"The quest we're taking doesn't have an acquisition limit. We'll be fine, Pargod." He said, looking between the two of them.

"Right now we need to get some rest. We've been traveling through that forest all day, and we're tired."

Hyperion stepped forward "Grimoire, this is-"

Suddenly, her vision blurred, and Hyperion wouldn't be able to see the ground's swift approach. Pargod dropped to catch her, but Grimoire there, just a tad quicker, letting the girl fall into his arms.

"Guh..." Hyperion gasped as her body stopped its downward motion. She managed to gain back her vision, shaking her head and blinking once, then twice, to gather her bearings.

"What-"

"You sprained your ankle a while back." Royce sighed, resting his iron spear against his shoulder. "Being the hard head that you are, though, you didn't say anything about it, which is why neither did I?"

Hyperion's face went red as she gritted her teeth. "Why you..."

"Come now, Hyperion." Grimoire sighed, giving her a weary smile. "We were all worried for you. But you kept a straight face and fought through the pain. But now we're here, we're safe, and you need to keep off that foot."

Royce looked over at Pargod and kicked his spear into both hands. "You too, big guy. We've never used weapons in our lives. This is our very first time doing so. Well, second for like one-fourth of us." He offhandedly acknowledged Grimoire.

"You were taking the brunt of the hits for not just the group, but Hyperion in particular." He said, eyes narrowing similar to Pargod's a minute ago.

"You noticed her struggling as well, and you did your best to keep her out of harm's way."

Pargod closed his mouth tight, staring at Royce for another moment, before looking to Hyperion, and then away.

He said nothing, and Hyperion bit her lip, lowering her head.

Royce sighed and put away his spear, reaching up and scratching the back of his head. He was just stating facts. Both of them were trying their best, but they were tired, and they needed to rest.

Grimoire stayed silent throughout Royce's observation, speaking up only moments after.

"You have remarkable strength, Hyperion. But you always have to remember that you're not in this alone. Once you agreed to achieve this goal with me, we became partners. That means we're going to rely on each other, trust each other."

His eyes looked over her, watched a single tear run down her cheek. "I know. I know you want to show us that you're strong too... but that's just it."

Hyperion looked up at him, giving the man a tear-filled glare, red-eyes staring him down. Yet, Grimoire persisted.

"You don't need to try so hard to show us what we've seen in you from the very beginning."

Royce cracked a small smirk. "You got guts, kid. Straight heart."

Pargod raised his head giving a single nod.

"You are a brave young woman, Hyperion. We have never doubted that, and we never will."

Hyperion's bottom lip quivered as she looked around the group. To feel acknowledged... that was all she wanted. For people to know she could hold her own and contribute to the cause, for people to see her not for her status, but for what she could do with her own two hands.

To hear the members of her party, people she'd literally just met hours ago, praising her on her mere efforts alone, Hyperion couldn't help but smile.

Wiping her tears, Hyperion gave each of them a grateful nod. "Thank you."

Grimoire grinned. "Come on, then." He said, raising her up to her feet and helping her with her balance. If this was any other person, Grimoire would've assisted to carry them to the lodging area. But, knowing Hyperion, she'd wholeheartedly refuse.

Instead, Royce draped her arm over his shoulder, being as Pargod and Grimoire were too tall, and together the four of them would make their way towards the tavern.

"Ya know, I'm tired too, right? Why do I have to help her?"

"Oh stop blubbering. You're getting major gentleman points right now."

"Indeed, you'll become a civil young man in no time.

"But..." Royce pouted and Hyperion giggled apologetically.

The guy raised his head to the sky.

'...I can't buy anything with gentleman points though.'

(Disclaimer: Sword Art Online (Novel) is owned by Reki Kawahara, abec, ASCII Media Works and Yen Press. We own only our characters and concepts.)

Since I won't be here this Sunday! I'll just update for you guys now! :) Have fun with this! Instead of our normal two-week schedule, I'll be posting the second to last chapter of this arc next week Friday!

Thanks for sticking with me so far! Got plenty more in store for ya'll! I'm out!

VRIJDAG!