Chapter Summary: Here's the final part of Secret Medicine of the Forest QuestSecret Medicine of the Forest Quest. In this chapter, we see Kirito and Aloy fighting off the Little Nepents to finish off the quest and have Kirito return the Little Nepent's Ovule to the Quest Giver.
Chapter Seven…
Secret Medicine of the Forest Quest - Part 3!
Kirito watched as the Little Nepents moved towards him and Aloy. He knew that slipping through any gaps, or cutting a path through with a sword, would be difficult. And even if that actually worked, the enemies would impede any attempts to continue. No, in the first place, if Coper intends to escape now of all times, just why did he slice that seed with Vertical? Perhaps he planned to die, but lost his nerve upon seeing the huge mass of monsters, and thought of struggling to the bitter end?
These thoughts went through part of Kirito's mind; over half of it was already numb, as he and Aloy followed behind Coper, who dove into a small thicket. Although Coper disappeared into the thicket, which was dense with the growth of leaves and obstructing their view, his colour cursor was still displayed for them to follow.
The problem became when his cursor disappeared. Kirito didn't understand.
With how close they were, Coper shouldn't have gotten more than twenty metres away from them yet. But yet, Coper's cursor had vanished from Kirito's vision. The first thought that came to Kirito's mind was that the young man he met used a teleport crystal to perform an emergency retreat. But as Kirito thought about it, he realized that it could be that. It was too early in the game and a teleport crystal was terribly valuable and so no one would have the cor to buy them yet. Not to mention that the 1st floor had neither shops that sold it, nor monsters that dropped it.
In that case, there was only one answer. The special effects of the Stealth Skill. Erasing the sight of the cursor from other players and not drawing the attention of monsters. Coper did not leave the second skill slot empty as he said he had; he had already taken up the Stealth Skill. That might have been why when they first met, Kirito hadn't noticed him approaching him from behind…
As Kirito felt the ground quake beneath the groups of monsters gushing forth, he came to that conclusion, and finally thought it was much too slow.
Coper wasn't fleeing from a suicide attempt after getting a taste of fear.
He was fleeing from a murder scene. He was trying to kill him.
Going to the extent of breaking the seed, gathering together the Nepents from all around. Followed by concealing nothing but his own body with the stealth skill, all by himself. Rallying over thirty monsters' undivided attention onto him, who was incapable of hiding right now. A truly orthodox modus operandi of how MPK works.
Upon understanding that, Coper's motives were clear as day. To steal the quest key item, Little Nepent's Ovule, that Kirito picked up just a moment ago. If he were to die, the item would drop right there from within his equipment, or the pouch it was in. After the mass of Nepents has dispersed, Coper could pick up the ovule, return to the village and clear the quest.
"So that's it…" Kirito said with a sigh. Unable to believe that Coper would do such a thing. As far as he knew, the quest could be done multiple times. He just needed to talk to the lady about the quest.
As Kirito set his sight upon the horde of abnormalities, close enough for him to not have to rely on the colour cursors any longer, he whispered. "Damn you Coper."
Coper had faced reality better than he was. That Coper knew that to get through this so-called death game, he had to advance the game like a proper player. To swindle, outwit and rob other players, for the sake of his own life.
Surprisingly, Kirito felt no enmity rise up within him.
Even though he fell right into the trap, and was about to be murdered, curiously enough, his mind was composed. Part of that might have been due to his recognition of that single hole existing in Coper's plan.
"Coper. You didn't listen, did you?" Kirito called out. During their time with Aloy, she reminded them both that using stealth on a Little Nepents was useless. They were blind as it was, so they rely on their other senses to see. They have an ability that allows them to see things differently. So, even if you become invisible, they would still see you.
Now, Kirito didn't know if Coper heard him or another, but he articulated so, in the direction of the thicket, a slight distance away.
"This must have been the first time you took up the stealth skill." Kirito called out, "It may be a useful skill, but it's not quite bulletproof. Against monsters that rely on senses aside from sight, it's not very effective. As they have other abilities to see. For example, something like a Little Nepent."
Rampaging as they assembled, a cluster of the predatory plants stormed in like an avalanche were clearly heading towards the thicket where Coper was hiding. He must have noticed how he constantly drew attention despite hiding by now. That was the exact reason why Kirito took up tracking over stealth.
Feeling calmer than ever, Kirito turned towards the rear, and laid his eyes on the ranks of Nepents rushing in from there. The enemies from behind will be assailing Coper, so it's fine to leave them alone for now. Before the situation concludes behind, if Kirito and Aloy were to annihilate those in front, there might just be a chance for them to return alive. Of course, the odds of that were two to ten thousand, though.
Despite death approaching close enough to gaze at Kirito and Aloy, Kirito was still unable to face what was happening as reality, and took up my Small Sword as he always did.
Its durability was depleted from the hundred and tens of battles it went through till now, with chips and scratches everywhere on its blade. If he were to wield it roughly, it might even break apart during this battle.
Reducing the number of slashes to the minimum. Hitting exactly below the enemies' prey-trapping mechanism, their weak point, with a Horizontal at full boosted power as Kirito kicked off and swung his arm. With Aloy at his side, they slaughtered each of them in one blow. If Kirito wasn't capable of doing that at the very least, it was certain that the worst manner of death would greet him and Aloy should he lose his armaments.
Kirito heard sounds of monsters' howling and attacks from behind, as well as Coper, who seemed to be shouting something. But Kirito didn't turn around, not when his own life was at risk. In that in mind he focused all his senses on the foes he and Aloy were up against.
Kirito had no idea how much time had passed. All he knew was that he and Aloy were predicting the attacks, trying to avoid the vines that were appearing all over the place, countering or dodging them when possible.
And whilst he and Aloy were narrowly able to avoid any direct hits, and continued to swing their swords, they still got grazed because of how many Little Nepents there were. Not only that, but they were also got hit by drops of the corrosive fluids that the Nepents hurled at them. The fluids made holes in their clothing. This worried Kirito, as his HP gauge was being whittled down as time passed, his virtual, actual death took another step closer.
Whilst he was narrowly able to avoid any direct hits and continued to swing his sword. Kirito was afraid that if he were to suffer from even a half second delay due to a direct hit, it would lead to a stream of consecutive blows that would not cease until my death. Kirito had to wonder which would happen first: damage shaving his HP down to zero, or getting his movement arrested and dying in an instant?
During the beta test period, no, before even that, within the numerous MMO games that Kirito played, he had fallen into such desperate situations countless times. At times like those, after making a slight attempt at escaping his doom, Kirito would think about how annoying it was to recover from the death penalty, or maybe how it would be nice if his weapon didn't drop at least, as he sat back and waited for his HP to fall to zero.
If Kirito wished for a sense of reality in this world, he would just have to do that now. At the very least, he would be able to find whether Kayaba's declaration was the truth, or a malicious prank.
It felt like a small voice whispered in his mind. But he ignored it, and with the help of Aloy, continued decapitating the heads of the endlessly appearing Nepents with naught but Slants and Horizontals.
Because he didn't want to die? Well, that's for sure.
But, there was one other thing, some other motive spurring Kirito on to fight. At this current moment, forcibly warping the shape of his mouth, something was changing its form into one that could even be considered resembling a smile.
This is it, was what he thought.
This is SAO. Despite having dived in for over two hundred hours in the beta test, Kirito was completely unable to perceive the true essence of this game, named SAO. He hadn't been fighting for an actual cause.
The sword was not simply an item classified as a weapon, and the body was not simply an object capable of motion. When synchronised with one's consciousness to the utmost limits, in that moment it all came together, there was a new phase that he could reach. Kirito was only able to catch a glimpse of the entrance to that world still. He wanted to know what lies ahead. Kirito wanted to keep moving ahead.
"U… ooooaaaa!"
Kirito howled, and kicked off the ground as he used Horizontal, leaving behind even its own light effect, swung out and caused the prey-trapping mechanism of two Nepents, lined up in a file, to soar ever higher.
Immediately after, from a location slightly away at his back, a remarkably sharp sound rang out fleetingly with a *Kashaaan!*.
It was distinctively different from the sound of a monster blowing up into scattered fragments. An effect that heralded a player's death. But unlike a monster who takes a while to happen, a player blows up instantly.
Coper, who was surrounded by over ten of them, had finally expended all of his energy.
"…h!"
Kirito started to turn around by reflex, but resisting that, Kirito and Aloy slaughtered the last few around them, one after another.
Then Kirito finally turned behind.
The Nepents who killed off their first target directed their bloodlust towards Kirito and Aloy. Their numbers accounted for seven. That would make it over five of them that Coper managed to drive off in that situation. The reason why he did not scream aloud in his final moments was most likely not due to lacking the composure to do so, but for the pride he held as an original beta tester.
"Good work." Kirito mouthed the standard line in response to those who logged out of net games. He brandished his now corroded sword right before him. It could have even been possible to escape from this situation right now, but that thought didn't even occur to Kirito.
Of the seven Nepents who caught sight of their new prey and were rushing in, a deep red flower just had to be blooming right at the top of the prey-trapping mechanism belonging to the one leading.
If only he didn't try to kill Kirito through MPK, and just worked hard at it for a little longer, Coper would have gotten his very own ovule as well. But there was no purpose in saying that now. These were the consequences of those actions. That's all.
Kirito's and Aloy's HP gauges were lower than forty percent, and about to enter the critical red area after a little more. But Kirito entertained thoughts of death no more. As Kirito sensed three of them on his right side,initiating the motion for their corrosive fluid spray, he dashed there with all his might, and used a single shot to take care of the enemies who were stuck charging up. As he did this, Aloy dealt with the other four. Within under a minute, the battle was over.
"Are you okay Kirito?" asked the huntress.
"I don't know." Kirito admitted honestly, as he looked at the spot where Coper was obliterated, where other beta tester's Small Sword and Buckler lay fallen next to the tree. Both were worn out, much like Kirito's sword. Coper had fought on this Floating Castle Aincrad for several hours, and then died. To be exact, his HP went to zero, and his virtual body was scattered. However, there was no means to check if that unknown somebody, in a street of the real Japan, lying down in a house somewhere, who manipulated that avatar had really died. All he could hope was that Coper was alive in the real world. "I just feel that I should have done something to try to save him."
"Listen Kirito, his death isn't your fault." Aloy tried to reassure Kirito, "He was the one who cut the seed that summoned the others. He was the one to use the Stealth Skill, even when I warned him it wouldn't work. Whilst I don't know much about you Adventurers, I do know one important thing: people have to face the consequences of their actions. And his actions nearly got me and you killed, so I'm sorry, but he deserved what came to him."
It shocked Kirito to hear an NPC say this. He thought they would be nice and such, not talk down on them or the dead, as in Coper's case. He had to wonder, not for the first time that day, what else Kayaba had changed with the NPCs and the game.
"Don't get me wrong, as a hunter, I've done a lot more than that to deal with my hunt." admitted Aloy, "But when it comes to allies, unless they betrayed me or tried to kill me, I would never do what he did. Right now, you were allies, and he tried to kill you, something I disagree with. So, the way I see it, you shouldn't lose any tears over his death, nor feel guilty."
Kirito knew that Aloy was right, but he couldn't help but feel he could do more to save Coper, even if he tried to kill him. Right now, all he could do was bid farewell to this swordsman named Coper.
After thinking briefly, Kirito picked up the sword, and thrust it deep into the roots of the biggest tree around. Next, he placed the ovule, that dropped from the second Nepent with a flower, onto that root.
"Here's yours, Coper." Kirito murmured to himself as he stood up after putting the sword into the ground.
The swordsman knew that they wouldn't last for long, as their endurance gradually drop if left on the ground for long, eventually vanishing, but it should be able to serve as a gravestone marker for several hours. It was the least he could do.
With that done, Kirito and Aloy returned to the village.
Even though he witnessed the death of his partner who deceived, faced death, and was deceived, while barely living through by the skin of his teeth, the sense of reality of this death game that Kirito held was as flimsy as always. But at the very least, the urge to get stronger had increased compared to before. Not for the sake of staying alive, will not fully, but to understand the limits of the techniques that came with sword alchemy in SAO. Though that may be a desire unspeakable to others.
o0OoO0o
It could be thanks to the monster respawn being dealt with for now, but he and Aloy didn't run into monster encounters. Which meant it didn't take them long to get back to Horunka Village. Once there, Aloy and Kirito parted ways, but not before Aloy requested that Kirito return to the Hunter's Guild soon, as she wanted to teach him more about being a hunter. This was something that Kirito agreed to happily.
If he was going to be trapped in this death game, he needed to be smart about this after all. The game was different from what he knew it from the beta test. Things had changed and with things going to change more in the New Year, he had to think smartly about what he was going to do. This meant that skills like sword and alchemy weren't going to be enough. He needed to learn things to survive, things to keep him safe from people like Coper, who would turn their back on allies at a moment's notice.
Not only that, but he had to think about the worst-case scenario, about what would happen if people believed this was still a game and become Player Killers. As they wanted some fun other than quests, or gone mad with being trapped in the game. That meant knowing how to hide and set things up should he have to. And the best way to do that is to learn to hunt and set traps, which only the Hunters Guild could do.
He had no idea what the future was going to hold for him, but he was going to make sure he lived through all this. Only so he could learn why Akihiko Kayaba did this to them. Kirito believed in this man and so believed that he must have had a reason for this, if not? Kirito didn't know what to think.
Either way, the time was now nine o'clock at night. A few hours since the end of the tutorial. He needed to finish the quest he was doing and needed to get some rest for the night. Tomorrow was going to be a long day for him. In fact, he was going to be busy for a while until he could get strong enough to deal with the First Floor Boss.
Now, when Kirito entered the village again after finishing the quest, he saw several players in the village's plaza. This wasn't unexpected to Kirito. He bet most of these people were beta testers. Whilst he didn't know how many beta players were trapped in the game, he knew that there would be some coming here sooner or later, sooner in the case of Coper.
He thought that those who knew about the game would go this far from Town of Beginning, the rest would stay near the town for protection. As for the testers, they would come here to get their hands on the Anneal Blade, one of the strongest weapons on the first floor.
Whilst the starting weapon, the Small Sword had 10 and a Bronze Sword had 25 , but bad durability. However, the Anneal Blade had 40 and was able to be upgraded more than the other swords. A Small Sword could only be upgraded twice, whilst the Bronze Sword could only be upgraded four times, but with the Anneal Blade, you could upgrade it eight times. Or that's how it was in the beta test version of the game. Now? Who knows? But for Kirito, he and the other beta testers would want the best weapon if they want to survive, which was at the moment the Anneal Blade. Which is why some of them were here.
He feared that those who had experienced the beta testing would proceed onwards, whilst those who hadn't would be left behind as beta testers get stronger. But as he thought about it, he realized that it didn't really matter. If it was a normal game, it wouldn't have mattered. Was it right? Maybe not, but it was something nobody would think about.
But now. As the beta testers get stronger thanks to their knowledge, those who hadn't tested the game might die, but he couldn't think like that. He could think of it in two ways. The first is that all the knowledge the beta testers had was up to around the 7th Floor, as other than him, only a handful got past the seventh floor. Those who got past the seventh floor got to the 10th floor. So, once the beta testers got past the first floor, the others could get stronger when they were gone. As he knew that this first floor was a huge place and not even the beta testers knew everything about the floor and missed things. So, the players could get stronger once the beta testers left in a few days. It would help that the quests and events that were withheld from the beta version would now be in play now, so anything could happen now.
This leads to the second thing. It was something that Kirito has firsthand experienced in. The quests were different. With the wood gathering quest, once he completed it, other people couldn't do it but were forced to do the next quest. Meaning lose in experience points. Then there was the quest, Secret Medicine of the Forest Quest. It started off differently than how it was during the beta testing. Then there was the Hunter Guild and Aloy. With how much has changed, and with the new events and quests, Kirito didn't know what they should suspect in this new version of the game.
Sure the beta testers might have the basic information, but with Kirito now knows, that means very little. Other than the quests from the beta testing, they and the first time players seem to have an equal footing in the game. Who knows what will happen in the future?
Either way, he had no desire to converse with others right now. He had a quest to finish and needed some sleep after a long day like today. So, before the other players noticed him, Kirito went through the alleyways and headed for the inner portion of the village. Fortunately, the NPCs' behaviour patterns seemed to have yet to progress into their late night versions, so the window of the house he headed for was still lit with an orange glow. Kirito was glad that this hasn't changed from the beta testing, at least for now. This was the first day of the new game. Who knows what the future would hold for them?
Striking the knocker for courtesy's sake, and then opening the door, Aiko turned around, with something simmering on the stove as always. Floating above her head was the golden «!» that denoted a quest in progress.
Stepping up to her, from inside the pouch on his waist, Kirito took out a sphere faintly shining light green - the Little Nepent's Ovule and handed it over to her.
Aiko's face lit up at being given the item, looking as though she was years younger in an instant, and accepted the ovule. As she babbled on with words of gratitude, the quest log at the left of Kirito's vision updated.
Gently putting the ovule into the pot, Aiko, who now appears younger, walked over to a large chest placed at the south of the room, and opened its lid. From inside, she quietly took out a sword in a red scabbard, and though it may seem decrepit, it gave off a presence entirely different from that of the initial equipment.
Returning before Kirito, she held out the sword with both hands, along with words of gratitude once again.
"I know this isn't much for everything that you have done for me, but thank you for getting the ovule for me." Aiko thanked the player, "If there's anything that I can do for you, anything at all, please let me know and I'll try to see if I can help you."
"Thanks." Kirito murmured that single word as he accepted the sword, not in the mood to talk. His hand could feel the sword's evident weight. The sensation it gave off felt like one point five times that of the Small Sword. The sword that really served him well even during the beta test - this Anneal Blade. Kirito knew he would have to practise with it to get used to it once again.
Secret Medicine of the Forest Quest (Completed)
Reward(s):
Anneal Blade
65 EXP
Thanks to this, Kirito was able to get to level five. Kirito sighed. Now that he was at level five, it was the end of getting experience to level ups easily. From here on out, he would need even more exp than before to level up. He just wished that the experience points needed to level up didn't go up as soon as level five. But then again, there was nothing he could do about it. He just needed to work harder to level up as much as possible, and soon.
With another sigh, Kirito sat down at the table and thought about what to do next. The old him would have burst out of the village, full of spirit, swinging his new sword at the enemies that appear deep in the area, even going back into the forest to defeat the monsters that respawn in there.
But after everything that had happened that day, he wasn't fully up to it. Not only that, but he was tired and wanted to rest. So he stored his sword in his storage space that he got for playing the game to store items and stuff. Here he watched as the young Tians stirring at the simmering pot. In the beta test, she was a young wife and wouldn't offer him a drink or something to eat.
But as Kirito watched the NPC, he saw that unlike in the beta test; she didn't have a wedding ring. Which meant that she wasn't married. It made him think what else was different about her.
As surges of fatigue finally washed over Kirito, he absentmindedly continued to watch over the NPC. He had to wonder just how long he stayed that way.
Just then, to Kirito's surprise, he saw Aiko turned around and asked, "I'm sorry, are you alright Adventurer? I'm sorry for being so rude. After everything you have done for me, I haven't offered you anything to drink or food."
This shocked Kirito. Not after thinking how he knew that this wouldn't happen, but yet, the NPC caught him off guard and did it, anyway. Kirito didn't know what to think here. Sure, he knew that certain things had changed, but he wasn't suspecting this sort of change. It got him thinking and worried, seeing how the NPCs were acting in ways they shouldn't. How was this going to affect the Secret Medicine of the Forest Quest?
First things first, he said, "First, I want to apologise for not leaving after you gave me your sword. I should have asked first."
"No problems Adventurer. You saved my daughter and who knows what you had to do to do so. The very least I could do is let you some time to recover." Aiko told him with a smile.
"Well, if you don't mind and if the offer of something to eat and drink is still there, I would like that." Kirito took up the offer. This could be a good chance to see how advanced the A.I of the NPCs really were first hand.
As Aiko dished up the food and drink, Kirito asked, "Would you mind if I ask about the sword that you gave me? I was wondering where your grandfather got it from?"
Aiko looked sad as she thought about her grandfather, so she sat down opposite of Kirito. After a few moments, looking sad, she said, "Well, my grandfather got the sword about thirty years ago, a few years before I was. Back then, whilst we had to deal with monsters, life was peaceful and we rarely had to fight, be it monsters or with people. With monsters, as long as you don't enter their territory and you don't attack them, you wouldn't have to fight them. It was only because of whatever the new great evil this castle is that the monsters have become aggressive and most of the monsters would now attack you for no reason."
Here, Kirito was getting an interesting story about the past of Aincrad, something that he couldn't find during the beta test. Kirito loved this sort of thing, and he couldn't wait to hear more of it.
"As for people, we rarely fought." explained Aiko, "But about thirty years ago, there was a war between Floor 3 where the elves lived against one of the higher Floors and they asked for help. One of those people was my grandfather. He agreed to help them out of fear that whoever was attacking Floor 3 would come lower and attack Floor 1. Anyway, my grandfather told me that there were a few thousand people who helped Floor 3, even some of the higher floors. Unfortunately, although they were able to stop the higher floor from attacking more, which floor it was they never knew, only a thousand people who came to help Floor 3 survived. To thank those who survived, the elves made the Anneal Blade and gave them to those thousand people."
'So, that's the story they give for this NPC to have this sword.' Kirito thought to himself. Then, as he thought about this story, he realized something, something horrifying. Unlike in the beta test, this quest, Secret Medicine of the Forest Quest, could be a one-time deal quest where whoever completed it would get the sword. And for the others who would come to do it, wouldn't be able to do so and as such wouldn't get the blade.
This was worrisome. He hoped that he was wrong, and this was a story for the sword. But if he wasn't wrong, then he feared that he might become the most hated person among the beta testers. As they would want this blade for themselves, as it was the most powerful sword for the next few floors and everyone would want this. But then, he remembered that there were others with this sword, so there might be hope for him. Not much, as if there were other swords. He still would be hated as he would have gotten the only known Anneal Blade on this floor.
"Listen, Aiko, are there any other people on this floor with the Anneal Blade?" asked Kirito, hoping that this was the case.
"I think there's about four hundred families who might have them on this floor." answered Aiko, not bothering to ask why Kirito wanted to know this. Kirito thought that she was programmed not to ask.
"One last thing, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. But, what happened to your grandfather?" asked Kirito.
"He, along with my husband, died a few years ago." Aiko explained with tears in her eyes, "Both were hunters and were killed by a monster called Behemoth."
This surprised Kirito. He hadn't heard of this Behemoth from the beta test. It must be one of the new monsters that was added to the game after the test. He wondered what sort of monster it was. Would it be like the other Behemoths in past games, or would it be different? He would have to wait and see.
"That monster is still out there roaming the lands." Aiko informed Kirito, picking the swordsman's interest, "I wish that someone could defeat this Behemoth and take vengeance for my father's and husband's deaths."
Aiko's Vengeance Quest (Unique Quest.)
Defeat the Behemoth!
Defeat the Behemoth that kills the husband and grandfather of Aiko.
Reward(s):
?
?
WARNING!
At your level and skill set, you're unfit to take on this quest.
As long as the Quest Giver is alive, you can do this quest at any time.
Accept/Decline
It shocked Kirito to see this quest, more so when he saw the title Unique Quest. He hadn't seen in the beta version nor seen this quest. Kirito had to wonder if this was something new to this version of the game or was it that they didn't ask the right questions to the NPCs back then? This was something else he had to look into when he could.
Whatever the case, this was an interesting quest, and one that didn't seem to have a time limit. So he could do this once he gets stronger, so he said with a smile, "If you would like Aiko, I would deal with this Behemoth for you. I can't say that I can do it right now, as I'm not that strong. But I give you my word. Once I get strong enough, I'll kill the monster for you."
"Thank you Adventurer." Aiko bowed her head at Kirito, "I know that I can offer you much, but I give you my word, if there's anything in my power to give it's yours if you can defeat that monster and its kin. In fact, if you can find its lair, it is said you can find weapons and other items from those who tried to defeat it in the past. So, you can gather what you find there as your reward."
A monster's lair full of items and weapons? That was more than enough of a reward for Kirito. Whilst the weapons might not be as useful as the sword he just got, you never know what useful weapons you might find. And any weapons he doesn't want or need, he can sell them for the cor, the one thing that he needs if he wants to survive in this game. As for the items, same as the weapons, but hopefully, he could find some rare ingredients for alchemy.
"Thank you Aiko, I'll remember that when I am strong enough to deal with it." Kirito informed the mother with a smile, grateful for this quest. "But I would like to know. Do you know where I might find the Behemoth?" Kirito was hoping he could find out now so that he wouldn't have to hunt it down. Although, if Aiko couldn't help him, he could always ask the Hunters Guild. In fact, they could help him become strong enough to deal with the monster.
"Unfortunately, no, I don't know where the monster is." Aiko admitted with a sad sigh, "From what I have heard, the monster moves its lair every so often so as not to be found."
Kirito sighed at this. He should have known it shouldn't have been so easy to find the monster. But knowing that it has more than one lair was a good thing. As he might find more weapons and items within them. So a win, win for him.
"I'm sorry, but I need to check on my daughter." Aiko told Kirito as she stood up and went to the shelves to get a cup. She filled it with the pot's contents using a ladle.
As she held the steaming cup with both hands earnestly, with significantly more care than the sword earlier, she walked towards the door in the interior.
As she held the steaming cup with both hands earnestly, with significantly more care than the sword earlier, she walked towards the door in the interior.
Here Kirito stood up and followed her. In the beta test, the NPC would open a door to a dimly lit room before closing it behind her. However, when he tried to open this door himself, he would find the door locked away by the system. Despite lingering hesitations, Kirito tried to open the door again. He was hoping that with all the changes that he had seen so far, this would be another change.
And it was.
As he opened the door and entered it, Kirito found himself in a small bedroom. It was furnished with a dresser by the wall and a bed by the window, along with a single small chair.
And, lying on the bed was a girl who looked to be around eleven years old.
The paleness on her face was apparent even under the moonlight.
Her neck was thin too, with the shoulders peeking out from the sheets bony.
Upon noticing her mother, the girl lifted her eyelids slightly, and next - she looked at Kirito. Eeh, as Kirito stood stock still with that thought, those lips, lacking in colour, formed into a faint smile.
Kirito watched as Aiko helped her daughter up. As she did, the daughter was gripped by a coughing fit. Those light brown braids shook weakly over the back, covered in a white negligee.
As Kiriko checked the colour cursor displayed near the girl once more. The NPC tag was unmistakably attached to it. Her name was Rukia.
Aiko began to stroke Rukia's back gently with her hand, as sat down on the chair by the side, and spoke. "Rukia. Here, an Adventurer got some medicine for you from the forest. If you drink this, you'll get better for sure."
And she made the girl take a hold of the cup that her left hand held. "Okay." Rukia nodded with a cute voice, and holding on to the cup with her small hands, she gulped it down.
A brilliant golden light poured out with a *Paa* sound effect. Colour instantly returned to her face, and the girl jumped out from her bed and started running around - nothing of that sort happened. However, as Rukia lowered the cup, it might be just me, but Kirito thought a slight tinge of red returned to her cheeks.
As she returned the now empty cup to her mother, Rukia returned her gaze to Kirito as he was frozen on that spot, and grinned.
Her lips moved, her somewhat stuttering words flowed out like demure jewels.
"Thank you, big brother."
"Ah…"
Without being able to give a proper answer, Kirito's eyes opened wide as that sound escaped.
Hearing this, vague memories that he long forgotten resurfaced. Memories where his older sister by six month, Suguha, caught a cold, and stayed in bed. Their father was appointed overseas as always and their mother was unable to cancel a trip that she had to make to the company, hence he was in charge of nursing her for a mere two hours. That was, during elementary school…
Just which grade was it in? Honestly, Kirito did think of it as a little bothersome, but he couldn't leave her alone to go play, and wiped down Suguha's sweat, changing the cooling patch on her forehead.
When he did that, that girl suddenly said that she wanted to drink some ginger tea.
Kirito reluctantly called up his mother and asked for its recipe. It just needed ginger extract and honey to be dissolved in hot water, a procedure more simple than even cooking in Aincrad if done carelessly, but to him, who had never even dabbled in cooking at the time, it was of extremely high difficulty. After carrying the ginger tea, made while getting his own fingers grated when he used the grater, to Suguha's bedside, that girl who's usually full of spiteful language, looked up to me with a meek face…
"Uu… gh…"
All of a sudden, those sounds issued involuntarily from Kirito's throat.
He wanted to meet up with them.
He wanted to meet up with Suguha, with his mother, with his dad.
The overtly intense urge pierced through his avatar, causing him to stumble, and his two hands landed on Rukia's bed. Kirito lowered his knees onto the bedding like that, gripping onto the white sheets tight, and those coarse sounds slipped out from him yet again.
Kirito wanted to meet up with them. But that wasn't something that he was allowed to do. After all, the multiple electric fields let out by the Nerve Gear severed his consciousness from the real world completely, imprisoning him within this world.
While holding down the sobs that his mouth was bent on gushing out, Kirito felt like I had finally understood just what was the truth of this world.
It was not just about dying or living. There was no way he could have truly experienced anything like death in the first place. After all, even in the real world - one like this one, a world where dying really means death, Kirito has never felt the presence of death close by.
Rather, it was the fact that this is a parallel world. That Kirito can't meet with people I want to. That is the one and only truth. That which is real in this world.
Hiding his face deep within the sheets, Kirito clenched his teeth as his entire body continued to tremble. There were no tears. No, they might be flowing down the cheeks of his real body, made from flesh and blood, while it lay on his bed in the real world. Possibly, even in front of Suguha, watching over him from the side.
"What's the matter, big brother?"
Hearing that voice, a soft palm nervously touched his head.
That hand soon started stroking his hair awkwardly. Over and over again.
This feeling and action of the young NPC, made Kirito more determined to get home and apologise to his family for the way he had been acting the last few years. Who knew that being trapped in a Death Game would have this sort of reaction to someone?
Here, Kirito kept crying as that small hand never stopped moving, and he fell asleep.
To be Continued!
Author's Note: Here ends another chapter of Sword Art Online - Alchemy Edition, and the final part of Secret Medicine of the Forest Quest. I hope that you have enjoyed this chapter. For now, this'll be the final chapter from the LN, for the rest of the story until the month is up, the rest of the chapters will be made by me. So, if you have any ideas as to what you would like to see happen in this story, let me know.
As you can see, there's a new quest that I'll be doing, Aiko's Vengeance Quest. I've got a plan for one more quest that'll set up a chain quest that'll give him five pieces of armour and three weapons that'll make him OP when he gets all of it. But that'll take time.
Now, I would like to ask, have any of you seen stories where we see the story from Suguha Kirigaya point of view, where she finds her 'brother,' after she learns about the Death Game? I'm asking as the next chapter is about her, and I'm after ideas how to write the chapter. If you know anything, please let me know ASAP so I can start it.