Progressive Factor

The One Where They Hate Natural Dungeons

Kirito

“...I don’t like these natural dungeons.”

“We’re going to need another bath.”

“I’m beginning to hate nature at this rate.”

“If only it were a bit brighter in here...”

Once the five reached their destination, they found a dark opening in the side of a hill. Outside the entrance were dozens of tiny “real-world-sized” spiders, which Kirito explained to Asuna were there for effect. Asuna showed her increasing disdain for gamer talk; immediately afterward, Koharu preemptively clamped Jaymes’ mouth before he even got a word out. Kizmel noticed the discrepancy in communication and referred to the untold story of the Great Separation again. The only separation they knew of was the one that happened a month ago when players would suddenly freeze in limbo randomly. It was thought this was a temporary disconnection as their natural bodies were transported. However, it would be a significant flaw in Kayaba’s plan if an internet disconnection could be a loophole in logging out.

In any case, they entered the dark, damp den of the arachnids, using torches to provide some light. Luckily for them, Kizmel can see in the dark; unfortunately for Jaymes, he had to give up his trusty shield to hold a torch in his off-hand like the other players. The other boy hadn’t complained or suffered in ability, so he must be used to fighting without his shield. Compared to Kirito, who feels somewhat off-balanced with a second item while fighting the speedy fishing spiders, Jaymes looks to be doing the same as always.

Too bad Kirito can’t carry two swords.

As they search the map out the first floor, Asuna brings up a question. “Hey, is this dungeon one of those...instance things? Or is it?”

“I believe the antonym of an instanced dungeon would be a public dungeon,” Kirito says, bringing Asuna away from Kizmel in case the NPC picks up and questions their language again. “The reason I know it’s public is because there are other quests that use this dungeon aside from ours.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“Well, there’s a pet-finding quest at the next village past the forest and another one from the main city of the floor…” Kirito slams his mouth shut and focuses on his hearing, thinking he heard distant scraping of metal. It might be a trick of the mind, but given they’ve spent almost an entire night on the floor…

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“How many hours have we been on the third floor, guys?”

Koharu angles her head to the top right corner and shrugs. “Well over twelve hours, maybe fourteen or fifteen. Why?”

“Ugh...crap, that’s the exact timing.”

“Exact timing of what?”

“This is the location of a major quest you can start from the main city. There are a few different patterns to the quest, so it’s not guaranteed, but a solid percentage of players doing the quest are going to be coming here for an item. Depending on the size of the party, it might take them ten to fifteen hours for them to get here.” As Kirito says that, Kizmel freezes at the sound of more clanging metal. If she heard it, that confirms Kirito’s suspicions.