Chapter 4 – Unlocking the World
"Before the Seven Kingdoms can meet together and have international messages they must beat their Continental Boss. This will be a monster of enormous size with powers that could level mountains and strength that can stir the seas. Each nation has an individual boss to be found and slain before they can advance into the world stage."- Seven Kingdoms Online: Bosses
"Alright everybody listen up!"
Those words rang loudly in the early morning, murmuring dying down as the scenery was taken into place.
Thousands of people were gathered in what looked like a wide sand plane. The soft cooling grains of sand caused many to shiver as they sat in it. Within the center a single person stood clothed in blue and gold armor. Each piece large and bulky with a horned helmet decorating their head. Swords were sheathed along their waist and large boots crunched against the sand.
Kirito racked his brain and remembered who this was; Shojin the leading captain of Argo's personal bodyguard. He was rather high leveled and indefinitely one of the strongest players for the [Seido] Kingdom. He was known for being a brutish male chauvinist pig and yet at the same time a man with a silver tongue in the confines of the palace politics. It was rumored that at this time he was level 20, the same level as Kirito.
"I am here under the orders of Empress Argo! The first stage to completing this game lies within clearing the Kingdom's Boss." They could almost feel his eyes glancing over the crowd despite it being hidden behind the face of a demon, "As such jobs will be nominated to all of you in the 'clearing' group to ensure this boss is found and defeated."
"Who are you?" a voice called from the back, exclaiming with an undertone of rebellion. Who was he to command them?
"This is a game not a hierarchy!" another voice yelled, "You have no right to order us around!"
"Silence!" he thundered, "Any who dare defy me will taste my blade!"
"Larper!" a stranger cried out.
"This will not be tolerated." Shojin growled signaling with his hands to a group of guards behind him, "If anyone speaks up again I will slay you right here."
Silence stilled the clearing as the threat of death lay quiet every query.
"Now that you are all listening I will begin to give out roles." He snarled. Glaring at the smallest member in front of him he pointed at them and shouted, "You will be tasked with chopping down trees!"
"What?!" the small man roared, "I don't even have strength stats and you expect me to do –"
"You will do as I command!" Shijon boomed.
"No he won't." Kirito spoke up, he hated being in public spotlight but he hated this injustice even more. It burned in him like a vengenful fire and would not silence unless it was quenched, "Stop being a bully Shijon, it does not do well for the Empress Head Bodyguard to act like a five year old."
"Black Swordsman." The big man growled dangerousl.
"Leave him alone Shijon, just leave the clearing group be." He replied, his black clothes standing out against the gold sand around him as he stood up to the man.
"I am Shijon!" he thundered, "You will listen!"
"You have said the same thing over and over again for the last ten minutes, it is getting boring." The teenager clothed in black yawned, "I thought you were an adult not some hormonal kid."
"You –" he began only to be interrupted by Kirito.
"Yes I dare."
"How – "
"You're readable."
"What –"
"Just stop." Kirito yawned lazily, "Anyway I'm leaving. Bye." He said walking away. His black clothes parting the bodies of all around him like a plague as on lookers laughed at such an interaction.
He grinned when he heard that roar, the heavy steps charging at him could have been heard from a mile away. Quickly he spun to the side unsheathing his blades in one smooth motion and swung them up. Both swords sliced through Shijons armor, cutting it off and leaving the man standing without a shirt. The group exploded into cries of laughter and mockery at the big man.
"I've heard bosses who could walk quieter than you." He jibbed at the embarrassed man.
"I will murder you!" he screamed, swinging his sword violently as he attempted to hit Kirito. Everyone else had already backed away leaving a large circle around them.
The clearer clothed in black merely jumped back before dashing to the side, his sword imbedding themselves into the larger mans side. He then spun away, stabbing the other blade into his back before punching him with a Martial Art Skill named Black Fist. Shijon crumpled to the ground and Kirito pulled both his blades out before walking away. Soon every clearer around them too walked away, their steps muffled by the sand as they all left the single beaten bodyguard in a circle of sand.
The next few weeks passed by relatively quietly, the Clearers went back to grinding and the bodyguards were snobbish as usual in the Capital and land surrounding it. Despite this Kirito was now beyond the current borders of the Kingdom and was climbing through the mountains, his dual swords hanging behind his back as he carefully stepped through tretcherous stone. There was a rumour, according to Argo, that there was a group of AI's in the mountains known as The Silent Stones. They were a coven of people in the lore of this world that wore nothing but grey cloaks that would drape along the ground. They were apparently powerful warriors with strength, dexterity and agility unparalleled. It was almost as if they were godly.
Therefore Kirito was now trying to find their hidden sanctuary, one that was merely tipped off by a player seeing a bunch of grey clothed beings walking across the mountain face. As his eyes scanned the mountain for an entrance he could not help but be captivated by the view around him. He was just underneath the clouds, they passed over him; rolling as though they were being fast-forwarded in a video. The rocks were pale, streaks of water marks cutting into the rock, beneath him he could see the distant trees each misted over by clouds. The scenery was absolutely beautiful, the blue sky ranging above his head in freedom whilst the sun blazed hotly overhead.
Eventually he found it, his eyes noticing the slight difference in a certain rock formation and upon reaching it found a cave opening. Thin and small with hardly any space to maneuver, but it was there. Kirito squeezed himself through the cracks of the stone, no monster stood here. Suddenly he stumbled forward, crashing to the ground as the steps tripped him, a wide cave standing before him. He could see many small huts with small streaks of sunlight filtering through holes in the rock dome around them. He stared at the children staring back at him and froze when the cool touch of metal could be felt against his neck.
"Why have you trespassed our territory Adventurer?" a cold stern voice questioned him from behind.
"I wish no harm to you or your kin." Kirito replied, him still lying on the floor on his hands and knees.
"Then why have you come?" another voice spoke, he felt another cold blade touching his right arm.
"I have come to learn the ways of The Silent Brethren." He replied, hoping that his word choice would trigger the quest.
"To learn? You seek our knowledge." the same cold voice came again.
"Yes."
"And why do you seek the power of Runes Adventurer?" the blade was pressed closer against his neck, digging into his flesh.
"To gain strength to defeat this world." Kirito said, gulping a little as he felt the blade lingering.
Kirito felt the blades disappearing against his neck and turned to get a good look at the wielder of that blade as he heard the command, "Stand."
The AI in question had an appearance from the stuff of nightmares. His eyes, underneath the heavy grey cowl that covered his face, were empty sockets. Blue runes were written across their skin like a never-ending tattoo, each carve seemed to pulse with every step they took. His mouth was sewed shut, the string crisscrossing across his lips. Their cheeks were sunken in with each bone structure emphasized. When he spoke once more Kirito watched in amazement, as his lips did not move; instead the voice that he had ringing was from within his mind.
"Come, you will meet our leader." The man said as he began to walk towards one of the huts.
Each was made from carved stone bricks, place in each position with the ultimate care. As Kirito stepped into the hut he drank in the sight of the lack of furniture. All there was a simple cloth in the middle of the room, a table shoved against the wall with vials and small glass jars containing god knows what. Behind at the far end of the house was an elevated place mat that he had no doubt served as the sleeping arrangements for their leader.
"You seek our service?" a voice whispered through the air; cold, ancient and powerful. He jumped when a figure stepped out from the shadows, empty eyes looking directly at him.
"Eäøk œju ∂´∑xla ¬∆k∂åΩ∫." The man who had escorted him spoke, their native language foreign.
"Ωç˜µï œå߃∑ ¬ø˙ƒ∆ö." Their leader replied, his words seemed to hold more grace and flow yet with the sternness of a severe master.
"¡£ƒø¬ ∆ø˚∑é øµßœåç˚."
"You seek knowledge?" their leader asks him once more, finishing their private onversation.
"Yes." Kirito decided to go with the generic voice command recognition.
"Then we must first see your action in battle." He stated, the AI programming recognizing that voice command, "Further up on this mountain there are a few Trolls that have caused us much trouble in the past, remove them from our side and we will teach you."
Kirito nodded before standing and walking out. His eyes blinked against the sudden glare of light as he exited the cave, the sun was now high above his head burning down on the plane of this world. He was glad that in this world one could not get sunburnt. He began to track up the Mountain, following the Quest directives. His eyes taking in the scenery around him of endless grey and blue sky above him, the clouds were now swirling around him and leaving a small sense of chill in his bones. The white mist seemed to thicken around him, clothing him in soft clouds.
He had been walking for a while when suddenly a boulder flew and collided with him, knocking him back and taking out a quarter of his health. He reacted accordingly and immediately, flipping himself back despite the movement penalty and winced when he felt the bruise forming along his chest. Kirito dashed behind a rock, only to be knocked further back when another piece of stone shattered that shelter forcing him into the open. He flew up as he heard the whistling of stones flying at him, only to be launched forward when another boulder collided with him from the back, knocking him out of the sky and crashing into the ground. He groaned, feeling the pain along his back and front before gasping and rolling away at the sight of his health. It had dipped dangerously low into the red zone.
Reaching for his pouch Kirito pulled out a health potion and drank from it, sighing with relief when his health restored back slowly. His natural regeneration along with his health potion meant that soon he was back to full health. He glanced around confused to why he was hearing no sound what so ever, no movement. That is until he felt the ground rumble and saw a group of ten walking towards him. Each of them were huge standing over ten meters in height, their arms and legs were as thick as tree trunks with two horns following the curve of their face. Their beady eyes scanned the mountain face to look for their next meal and for a moment a flash of panic settled into Kirito's stomach. He watched as one of them punched their arm into the rock beneath them and pulled out a chunk, flinging it in the direction they assumed their meal was in.
Kirito could not deal with these, but what if he used them against one another. The Player grinned before suddenly buzzing out, his wings exploding him into action as he weaved out from his hiding place. The Trolls roared at seeing him, immediately their fist flew around as they attempted to catch their meal. He quickly flew to the top of one Trolls head, clinging on to the skin by stabbing both his blades into their flesh; he noticed that the double critical hit did nothing to even dent the Trolls health. The other Trolls began to throw stones at the one Troll he had clung to, other fist collided into that one monster and soon that beast roared before exploding into a light of blue. Kirito then used the same strategy on the other remaining monsters till only one remained standing.
He quickly flew along the ground, spinning to the left as he neared the heel of the Troll, slicing the tendon open and causing it to roar in pain. Turning to deliver a Vertical Strike Kirito cut the other Achilles heel of the other leg and caused the Troll to fall down onto its hands; its roar thundering through the mountain like the very voice of the gods. Kirito then sliced along the body, leaving multiple and various wounds that bled health every second, the passive and active of his Bane of Apophis rendering the large health pool of the Troll slowly but surely. Eventually he cut through the monsters wrist, causing the mob to fall face first into the rock, still. Quickly following his adventive Kirito spun down from the air, both his blades spinning as he cut into the back of the neck. The last few slivers of health disappearing and causing the giant Troll to roar as it disintegrated into polygons of blue. Kirito was left in the aftermath of the storm of blue light, both his blades imbedded into the ground from his final attack. Pulling them up he sheathed them into his back with careful and practiced movements.
Slowly he walked back to the cave of The Silent Stone, each step sending stabs of dull pain through his chest from the impact of those rocks. When he was slipping through the thin crack that would allow him access back into the rock dome he groaned at the tightness of the walk, winching whenever he felt the pressure building against him. Finally he made it, stumbling down and gasping for breath as he went to meet their leader. To say the leader of The Silent Brethren was surprised would be an understatement; the AI was completely shocked almost as though the quest was not meant to be completed by one man.
"I have completed your quest." Kirito handed in the quest to the leader.
"Indeed." He mused, hands gripping the table before a sigh ripped through his body, "How did one man fight off Trolls that have left us weary?"
"Magic." Kirito said, giving a slight grin.
"Nonetheless, you have done what we have asked, in turn we will now give you what you desire." A box with tattoo like instruments was placed before their leader, strange blue ink within a small bottle nested in the edge, "Choose Adventurer the Runes for Life, Strength, Speed or Power. You will have seven runes engraved into you."
"Great leader give me two of speed, two of power, two of life and one of strength." Kirito informed him, bowing as he did so.
"It shall be as you requested. Please, undress." the AI's hand gestures caused Kirito to quickly un-equip his armor till nothing was left but his underwear.
The cold chill of the mountain buffeted against his pale exposed skin. The leader murmured under his breath as he took a brush and dipped it into the bottle. The brush caused the dark blue color to swirl, the thick paint clinging unto the brush. Quickly Kirito was painted upon. Each swirl and stroke caused him to shiver at the cool liquid. When each of the seven runes upon his body were colored the leader began to speak aloud in a voice that sent shivers down his spine more so than the icy paint.
"úøå´k ƒ¬πßø∫∆ µ˜∫Ωç∂œ º¡£ª¢∆lko!" his voice thundered and rang in the cave, echoing with authority and power. Blue light filled the hut as well as the dome, bright and blue as each Rune glowed upon their activation. Kirito could feel his stats increasing and felt a warmth flow through him like hot fire, "It is done."
The leader informed him, slowly he stood up. His fingers expertly opening the player menu and reequipping all his items as well as checking his stats. He whistled as he saw a new passive appear near his name, next to his stats.
[Runic Awakening:
As a Player levels up their total statistics will be increased by 5% This percentage will increase by 1% per 5 levels.]
Kirito whistled and paid attention as the leader began to speak again.
"I hope that this gift is suiting for the deed done." The said, bowing a little underneath that cowl.
"It is, thank you Silent Brethren." Kirito said bowing. He received their nods before walking away and as he walked out of the dome he looked upon the starry sky that now glowed above his head. Slowly he walked back down to his Kingdom; it would take a long time before he reached there again.
Hi everyone just a friendly Author Note here, sorry about the delay for this chapter; just want to say that further chapters will be slower due to my exams for university entry coming about. Sorry about that; thanks hope you enjoyed this and please leave a review =)