Sword Art Online-Encroaching Shadows

Chapter 5

Horunka village was nestled within the forest Northwest of the Town of Beginnings. It was the natural next step for players after gaining all they could out of their starting location. The services provided in the Town of Beginnings were vast, showcasing all that the world had to offer. Blacksmiths, tailors, restaurants, and other amenities filled the town which made it constantly abuzz with noise. It functioned perfectly as a sort of tutorial section where a new player could see and understand what to expect in future towns.

There were a few other smaller towns on the first floor of Aincrad, most of which did not offer the same amount of services that the Town of Beginnings could. Each step forward meant that a player had to become more self-sufficient without relying on the safety of a large settlement like the Town of Beginnings. Leaving the safety of the largest town on the first floor was a mixture of excitement and fear. Fear typically outweighed excitement these days, but there was no denying that walking beside someone else greatly diminished the fear.

"Not sure if you heard, but up in Tolbana they're going to have a meeting today. I guess it's the pre planning for challenging the floor boss." The voice came from the beautiful dagger wielder Jayce had met last night. With the sun high overhead beating down on them he could see her clearly. While it wasn't quite as stunning as seeing her framed in the moonlight it was no less impactful just how attractive she was. Jayce quickly looked away from her focusing on the road ahead that would lead them to Horunka.

"I heard." Under the hood he wore, Jayce rolled his eyes at his own shortness of speech. A little over an hour ago he had spoken easily enough with Aincrad's Information Broker, Argo, but now he couldn't keep a conversation going. The logical reasoning was that he had contacted Argo for the services she provided in exchange for whatever price tag she attached to the information. It was no different than buying a sword at the weapon merchant.

"Should we go?" his head swiveled towards Jemza at a speed he thought might break his neck. With eyes wider than normal and a familiar feeling of fear back in his mind he shook his head fervently.

"No...I can't." The tension dissolved as her usual smile spread over her face and she waved a hand towards him.

"I was just kidding. The front lines of battle are a bit over our heads. Still...today might be the day that this game finally begins." Jayce let his anxiety return to normal and looked away from her once more.

"Think so?"

"We've been here for a month now. In that month the player base has lost twenty percent of its population. Two thousand players are already dead and the first floor hasn't been cleared. I'm sure you've noticed the mood in the Town of Beginnings right? People have confined themselves there, too scared to leave."

"It's natural to fear death." Jayce could feel her gaze, but he kept his sight ahead on the road.

"You could die at any moment no matter where you are. Simple acts like crossing the street could be deadly. If you really think about it, you're more safe here than in the real world." Avoiding her eyes had been the right choice. If he had stared into her silver eyes now there would have been no way to respond. She was making comparisons to the real world which many people avoided. With the gravity of their imprisonment having long sunk in it caused too much grief to talk about the real world these days.

"Some of us are more scared than others." Jayce was mostly talking about himself, but was confident that sentiment extended to a good majority of players refusing to leave the walls of the Town of Beginnings.

"That's why today is so important. Showing that a floor can be beaten will be far more uplifting than anyone can imagine. We're all scared in one way or another, but at least I have the strength to fight." Jemza's words sank into his mind as they continued to walk along the pathway that led into the forest. In the distance they could see various creatures that were too far to become aggressive against them, but the threat was still there.