Sword Art Online-Encroaching Shadows

Chapter 25

A numerical readout is all a player had to tell them how hidden they were. 100 meant that they were perfectly hidden. However, various circumstances affected the number greatly. Moving would lower it in varying degrees depending on the armor and weight of the equipment worn. Obscuring your position by standing behind objects would increase the gauge. If an observer was actively staring in the direction of where the person was hiding the gauge would lower until you were finally revealed. <<Searching>> also increased the chances of countering the <<Hiding>> skill. All of these factors ran through Jayce's mind as he glanced down at the meter reading in the high 80's.

All three players inside the Wright estate wore leathers, single handed weapons with no shields, and carried minimal equipment. All three had the <<Hiding>> skill, so they were as perfectly equipped for this particular quest as one could be. The gauge wavered with each step as they crept along the top floor of the estate. PoH motioned towards Jemza and then pointed at a closed door. She nodded splitting off from their group to investigate. Ahead of the two men was a carpeted walkway with railings on either side that looked down over the floor below. At the end the walkway it split left and right into a pair of staircases leading to the next floor down. A doorway built into the far wall where the pathway split was the only other thing Jayce saw.

As he did with Jemza, a quick gesture with his hand signaled for Jayce to inspect the doorway and try to locate the documents Rose had requested. PoH looked over the railing to scout the next floor down as Jayce passed behind him towards the doorway. A small hallway led to a closed door, various paintings and tapestries covering the walls. Jayce reached up twisting the knob, but it only turned a fraction of an inch. Reaching down to his belt he pulled lock picks Rose had given them free and placed one of the thin metal probes into the keyhole.

<<Lock Picking>> was a skill Jayce hadn't taken. It would allow the ability to open more difficult locks on doors, windows, or even treasure chests. He hoped that the lock picks provided would provide enough skill that he could open the door without actually having the skill. As he placed the picks into the keyhole a small wheel appeared in his vision. The wheel consisted of a white circle and a slightly smaller green circle inside. Rotating one of the picks rotated a circle, while the other pick controlled the second circle. Both needed to be rotated slowly until the perfect position was located indicated by a faint click. Then both picks had to be lifted simultaneously to disengage the lock. The rotation could not change while lifting the picks or the attempt would fail potentially breaking the picks.

With a steady hand Jayce rotated his arms watching the circles spin. He held his breath as a very small click noise came from the door. He shifted both picks upward until the internal mechanism released. He retracted the picks placing them back onto his belt and carefully opened the door. The room inside was of decent size, fitting six beds, various tables and furniture, and on one wall, racks of weapons. The best Jayce could guess was this functioned as the barracks for the hired mercenary guards. Six beds meant potentially six guards, two of which were stationed at the front gate. Three must be patrolled inside the estate because one bed was occupied.

The same red cursor floated above the body fast asleep in one of the beds. Underneath a series of text read <<Wright Estate Mercenary>>. Taking a step into the room Jayce instantly saw his <<Hiding>> meter dip to the 70's. His movements would need to be slow and methodical to not wake the sleeping guard. Gripping the sword tightly he navigated into the room making sure to avoid bumping into anything as he approached the guard. It wasn't until he stood over the bed that he full understood what PoH had said earlier.

The guardsman was not armored and had no weapon currently. Aside from the cursor and text indicating that he was an enemy, he looked like a real person. As more floors were cleared in the game there was no doubt that human enemies would eventually appear. In a VRMMO like this, seeing the enemy face to face made it feel so much more real. Jayce looked down at the <<Anneal Blade>> in his hand and then down at the defenseless guard. As a precaution Jayce took a vial from his belt and opened it dropping the contents onto the blade. It was a low level contact poison that added a small amount of damage.

Every MMO Jayce had played before this he had always enjoyed a certain playstyle. The stealthy rogues and assassins were always the most appealing. Typically, because those classes of characters catered towards what he enjoyed. They allowed you to hide freely while watching enemy movements. This of course included players which he would stalk carefully waiting for the right time. Once a player fell behind or split off Jayce would pounce killing the player and disappearing into the shadows before anyone knew what happened. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences in an MMO.

PVP, or player verse player as it was called was combat between players. An extremely common and popular past time in MMO games. Many games focused heavily on PVP in particular as opposed players fighting against computer generated enemies. PVP required greater reflex and skill as you were facing another human controlling their character. Whoever prepared better, had the best equipment, and remained calm would come out on top. It was thanks to the years of playing games with PVP that Jayce could now look down at the guard and fall back into his old self.

Black liquid dripped off the sword as the blade rose high before plunging down into the guard's chest. He didn't activate a sword skill too afraid of the noise it might make so he put as much strength behind it as he could. The blade buried itself through the man's body and through the bed underneath. His eyes flashed open in surprise, his mouth opening wide, but before any sound could escape he shattered into fragments of light. Jayce pulled his blade free of the bed and breathed deeply.

An opening strike from hiding with poison had been enough to kill the guard. An unarmored guard to be more precise, but it meant that there was one less enemy to worry about. For a brief moment Jayce wondered if he should feel guilt or remorse for killing an unarmored enemy. It had almost felt like second nature to assassinate him so cleanly and for players not accustomed to human enemies it could severely affect their mental state. It hadn't affected Jayce at all. What did that mean? Shouldn't he have hesitated because of how real the guard looked?

Jayce shook his head glancing around the room looking for anything that might fit the description of what Rose was looking for. Now wasn't the time to worry about mental concerns. They were still in enemy territory with more guards around somewhere. After quick check of the room he moved back through the hallway until he exited the doorway finding PoH still standing guard at the top of the stairs. He looked down at Jayce's sword and then back up at Jayce who held his index finger up and then drew it across his throat. The man in the poncho nodded and began to proceed down the stairs.

Jayce looked down the walkway where Jemza had gone hoping she was doing alright before following the man down the stairs. The staircase spun lazily around towards another walkway. The two took each step slowly so as not to cause any sound until the came towards the bottom of the staircase. Ahead of them another staircase led down to what had to be the second floor. Just cresting the top of that staircase was a guard in chainmail armor, an axe on his hip. PoH and Jayce froze as the guard stared at them. The <<Hiding>> meter instantly dropped to 0 indicating they had been spotted.

The man fell to his stomach at the top of the stairs under the weight of a dark object. Only a quiet groan escaped his mouth as Jemza slid her dagger free from the back of his neck. He broke apart below her body allowing her to regain her footing. Jayce looked up at the railed walkway above where she must have leapt. He breathed a sigh of relief that they had still managed to remain undetected. PoH held his hand out with a thumb extended before beginning his movements along the third floor walkway.

Jemza fell in behind PoH leaving Jayce in the back. He eyed them curiously as they both snuck past a small table on the walkway. It was strange because PoH then Jemza shifted their bodies sideways, but then righted themselves. As he followed them he couldn't piece it together until he made it to the same area and Jemza spun around quickly. Her eyes widened as a small plate depressed under Jayce's foot.

Suspended from the floor above a loud click sounded out. A long block of wood anchored to the ceiling by two chains swung free. A metal plate on the front of the wood added further weight as it hurtled down like a battering ram. Jemza reached her hand out desperately as the ram connected with Jayce's chest launching him through the table and bannister. He couldn't even hear Jemza's scream as the sound of wood breaking surrounded him and then the feeling of weightlessness set in. All he could see was his health gauge depleting as he plummeted towards the floor below.