Progressive Factor

Kirito and Jaymes Investigates

Kirito

The difference between Kirito and Jaymes’ idea of sneaking around is as apparent as their appearances. Kirito makes use of his Hiding skill as he stands against a tree trunk, his avatar 70 percent blended into the tree. The skill took into consideration many factors, such as armor type and color as well as the surrounding terrain and lighting, so for Kirito, donning the Coat of Midnight works to his advantage. 70 percent is not the best number, but it’ll work as long as their target isn’t as perceptive as Asuna was earlier in the day.

Jaymes, however, takes the “superhero identity” route of just changing one thing about his appearance, which happens to be a dark cloak over his armor. He wonders how long the swordsman had his, if Koharu has one, and if Asuna would kill him as she threatened to do to Kirito if he bought one like hers. Jaymes “hides” nearby against a wall, playing aimlessly with his menu...or actually doing something to not look suspicious. Looks like he’s messaging someone, possibly Koharu who they left with Asuna.

Well, as long as their target wasn’t perceptive, it didn’t matter whose idea worked better.

The bells of Taran ring in the eight o’clock hour, and on cue, Nezha closes up shop by killing the fire in the portable forge and placing ignots in a leather bag. His tools went into a box, and he straightened his display weapons and shop sign. Once everything was in order, he clicks a command and the carpet that he operates his store on wraps up everything into one package. He heaves the Vendor’s Carpet on his shoulder, the same weight as it originally was whenever Nezha obtained it, regardless of its stores.

Kirito once thought of the advantages the carpet could provide, but there are several limitations to the Vendor’s Carpet. The most obvious is that it cannot be contained in a player’s storage, which is why Nezha has to carry it. In the beta, there was an incident in which players would block off entire streets by placing furniture on top of the carpets, using the ‘items on carpet cannot be moved by anyone but the owner” rule to prank others. That was patched out quickly to limit carpets to corners.

Nezha walks towards the south, so once he’s a few yards away, Kirito steps out the shadows, Jaymes right on his heel. Kirito keeps to the shadows, while Jaymes continues his more direct, somehow natural approach to stalking Nezha. Kirito has no clue what his...companion, that’s the correct term for it, will do, but Kirito doesn’t plan on threatening Nezha or even confront him. He just needs to sort out the feeling of wrongness in his head.

Kirito saw Nezha successfully work back out in the field before the boss fight, so the blacksmith definitely knows what he’s doing. But Jaymes’ interpretation on upgrade failure rings true for almost all RPGs Kirito knows. You either lose a level, you waste materials, or, something Jaymes didn’t name, you gain an unintended effect on the weapon. Complete weapon loss still felt foreign to the other boy, even if it is a rare event in itself.

Nezha doesn’t leave the southern gate, but makes his destination a building designated “Bar”. Nothing out of the ordinary for players to end up here, but Nezha does something strange. He stops just in front of the swinging door. Kirito at first believes him to finally catch on he’s being followed, but Nezha doesn’t scan the area as one would. Instead, he’s looking like he’s hesitating to enter the establishment.

He eventually enters, and from within, the hiding Kirito and Jaymes (who finally decided to join the shadows) hear cheers and applause from the bar. “Welcome back, Nezha.” Of course, that’s all they hear before the door closes, and the pair races up to the walls on each side of the door. Remembering an incident that NEVER took place at all, they’re well aware that doors keep most sounds out, even though this one has gaps at its top and bottom, and neither of them possess the Eavesdropping Skill to work around it. Two options are presented before them, and unfortunately, entering the bar is not one of them, not without a serious change in appearance. The second option is silently agreed up as Jaymes weakly pushes the door open, then uses his fingers to keep it open. To anyone in the bar, unless they’re extra perceptive, they’ll never notice the swinging door is opened wide enough for a hand to slip through and allow sound out.