Zenshu

Zenshu glanced over at the other player at the mention of AOE attacks, before glancing down at his blade again. He had been sure that he was using single-targets, but perhaps she was just entirely caught up in the fight itself? Shrugging, he ducked under another wild vine, the brunt of the previous one still wearing off in his head. “It’s already well under, let’s get this finished as quickly as possible, shall we?” He called out. His eyes roamed the plant, watching the wild vines swinging about, dodging the few that came his way as he tried to figure out the best avenue of attack. He cou

He’d found the girl, easy enough. At least, he assumed it had been easy – there was little difficulty in coming across the small outcropping she’d been hiding in. Small difficulty in convincing her to come home with him, and being able to begin leading her. Where the difficulty had started was on the return to that home. Zenshu felt like he’d begun walking in circles, swearing to himself that it hadn’t taken anywhere near this long to find the girl, that he’d followed a relatively straight path to her. “We’re almost at the exit, I think!” He exclaimed for yet another time, trying to keep

The vine slammed into Zenshu, just as he’d been about to speak his success. Feeling the wind almost knocked out of him from the blow, he felt himself slide backwards a few steps in response. The strike had come almost out of nowhere, the plant being semi-docile, until suddenly it moved into a near frenzied state. “Hey watch out for the…yeah, those…” He called out as he saw Row take the same strike that had hit him. He listened as his newfound partner jeered and jested at the creature, acting as if it somehow understood her – and perhaps it did? Zenshu had never taken the time to consider

He’d almost missed the shifting form of the girl when he first passed by the outcropping in the wall. He’d caught it out of the corner of his eye, just as he’d been turning away. Slowly, careful not to spook the shape, he lowered himself down and smiled – doubtful that she could see him, but knowing that it made his general tone and appearance less frightening. Or so he hoped. “Hey, you must be Koko…your mother sent me to find you. She said that you’d disappeared into the caves, and that your friend had come back and said you’d been attacked by monsters! That must’ve been really scary, bu

He was caught off guard by the girl’s sudden change in demeanor. Far more outgoing, than she had first appeared, Zenshu couldn’t help but smile as she bombarded him with questions. He nodded along as she explained her own playstyle, before confirming once more that he was indeed ready for anything that the game could throw at them. “I’ll be entirely honest, this is my first time facing a field boss…but I think I can handle it. We can definitely keep the aggro focused on you though, I won’t complain about that! It allows me to slam into it from the flank as required, and then…” He paused

The giant bat exploded into thousands of shards, and almost as quickly as the entire fight had started – it was over. Zenshu took a moment to catch his breath, the sudden silence that always occurred after the hecticness of combat seeming to almost overwhelm his senses. He knew it was nothing more than the adrenaline leaving his system, returning his body to normal after being in a heightened state. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but marvel at how it felt, oddly off putting and normal, all at the same time. Glancing around, he wondered where to even start looking for the girl. The pathwa

Zenshu’d found the notice on the board by pure coincidence. He’d been glancing about for signs of any upcoming events, or quests, or anything that would help him. The request had been tucked aside, clearly added by a player – and relatively vague. It had given the description of a local tavern, a place he’d never heard of before, nor visited. Curiosity overtaking him, he’d decided to test the waters and see what the request was all about. Entering the tavern, it was about what he’d expected – a small bar, with a limited clientele and a barkeep that looked straight out a fantasy novel. Zen

He felt his blade slice across the creature’s body, causing a large dip in its own health bar, even as the wing of the creature slashed across Zenshu’s own face – causing another slight dip in his own health. He could see that the creature was close to being defeated, a few measly health points still standing between it and utter destruction. Almost got it finished here! Just a few more quick strikes, and I’ll be done. Then I can go on looking for Koko…she must be around here somewhere, I hope. He dodged a few more minor attack attempts from the bat, before putting some distance between

The bat wasn’t where Zenshu had expected it to be. That was the first thought he’d had. Just as suddenly, he’d felt something slam into his back and pierce the side of his neck, his health bar suddenly depleting as he realised the creature had managed to shift around and attach to his side. Reaching up and pulling the teeth out, he tossed the creature away, his free hand rising to check the wound before realising there was no point in doing so. Cursing himself, and the bat, he did the one thing that he could still do. Fine, you get the first hit, but I’ll make sure to get the last! I

The creature veered to the left as it approached, clearly trying to wrap around and slam into Zenshu from the side. He was prepared however, spinning on his heel and ducking underneath. He lashed out with his blade, but barely missed the creature as it shifted upwards on an unseen draft. This will be a bit more difficult than I expected, perhaps. At least I can see the thing, though… He wondered at his pure luck in taking the Night Vision upgrade when he’d been choosing his most recent level up perks. It had been pure coincidence, but was coming in handy here. The things you can gain, wi

The entrance was about what Zenshu had expected – a dark hole within the wall of the mountain. He blinked, activating his newest searching mod before taking a single step closer to the entrance. The mod allowed him to see within the darkness almost as if there was a dim light, casting about and allowing the general shapes and features to be visible where they were once entirely obscured. Within the cavern, he could see the movement of numerous flying creatures – likely birds, or bats of some sort – all moving about in response to his arrival. Zenshu knew that he’d likely have to fight the

The fields beyond the main town were scattered with monsters, and the few players who still found themselves struggling to level themselves up beyond the lowest of levels. Players similar to himself. He smiled as he considered it – although many had moved on, there were still some to be found here in the lower levels, working to catch up to the others, trying desperately to become more engaged, more giving to those who had rushed to the front to fight. “We’re all going to get there, some day. It just takes us a bit of time, but you’ll see…we’ll be there, beside you, soon enough.” He gave

“R-really? Thank you! Thank you so much, you have no idea how grateful I am,” The seemed almost genuinely surprised that Zenshu was willing to help her, her facial expressions shifting from sadness and concern to surprised joy almost immediately. He wondered how many times the program had run through this simulation, before deciding he would just compliment it on the abilities to display so perfectly. “Your e-efforts won't go to waste, I swear! I'll have something for you when you get back, I-I promise!” “I’ll just be happy to be able to get her home safely. Although, I’m sure the rewards

“She-- she was playing in one of the caverns in the mountains with her friend. I-I told her not to go but she didn't listen to me!” The woman continued her story, Zenshu nodding as she spoke. He didn’t want to interrupt her, partially due to his mannerisms but also because he felt like he may miss key details if he did so. Yet a part of him was becoming impatient, he’d gained a bit of information through her continued vocalisation of the situation, but not where the child had disappeared to, exactly. “Do you happen to know where abouts she was last seen? Perhaps an area that she normally

Urbus was, as usual, filled with the movements of NPCs. Zenshu wondered at the limited quantity of players – there were some to see, here and there, but far fewer than he’d have expected for the time of day. His eyes roamed the area, taking in the people around him. He recognised a few players, giving smiles, nods, and even a few passed words of greeting before moving on. He had known that there’d been a movement of players towards the front lines, towards where the action was. It was still surprising to see how few could be found on the lower floors now, how barren many of them felt. “I

Zenshu settled in and watched as the group chatted among one another, asking probing questions that he himself would’ve considered far beyond rude to enquiry about in this game. Still, they seemed happy enough, content to share their stories, their personal sides. So who was he to judge? As the three continued towards completing their goal, Zenshu let his eyes drift across the fields, spotting a collection of nearby wolves. He could feel the itch, the desire to engage them. For a split second he considered it, before deciding it would be better not to antagonise anything with the others s

Are you ready for your challenge? The words rang in his head, echoing as if bouncing off the walls of a cave. Zenshu didn’t feel ready, in any way or form. Yet he’d made it all the way here, to this room, and now stood before the goddess Athena herself – and she was asking if he was ready. Closing his eyes, he tried to mentally shake away the doubt, the worry, the concern that he wouldn’t be good enough. “I do not know if I am ready, or not. I don’t believe myself to be an extremely talented, or capable tailor in any way – in fact, I would say that I have only just started down my path to

The interior of the room was far simpler than Zenshu had expected it to be. A lounge chair, a small tea table – or eatery table, he wasn’t entirely sure which is was – as well as a few cushions cast about were strewn between a collection of pillars that divided an obvious resting area. On the opposite side of the room – directly across from where Zenshu had entered, and through the seating area itself – was an area that was clearly set up with the concept of tailoring in mind. He could clearly see the spinning wheels, the racks for hanging and stretching, as well as the numerous mannequin

The climb up the mountain had been far easier than Zenshu had anticipated. He’d only been hiking in the mountains at home a few times, and he’d never gone particularly high in any of them, but it was far more tedious than he’d expected it to be. The same could not be said for hiking up mountains in Sword Art Online. The activity itself was definitely time consuming, but the effort put into it was…almost disappointingly limited. If there’s one thing about this world, sometimes it makes things almost too easy. It sure can be enveloping, bringing you to forget that you’re in a virtual world

The base of the mountain loomed before them, the tip of the peak forcing Zenshu’s head all the way back just to see it. Around them roamed large creatures that Gruukr had described as the guardians of the mountain city, ferocious beings that would have torn him asunder if not for the grace and protection that the goddess had provided him in order to reach Olympus. He was happy that he didn’t need to be concerned about them, just being near the mountain itself had made him feel small and insignificant. He couldn’t imagine having to fight powerful foes under the looming shadows here, the di

Once again, the pair fell into silence as they continued along the pathway. Zenshu could see the mountain slowly rising into the sky in the distance. He figured there was still some distance to cover before they’d even reach the base of the mountain, and then the climb itself. He wondered if he would even make it home before dark with how far they had to go. “Say, you’ve led quite a few people to these meetings, right? Do you happen to know anything about the meeting with Athena? I know that the message hinted that it would be very specific towards, well, the individual…but do you know wh

“I truly do wish that I could do something to help you. I don’t just say that meaninglessly. I doubt there’s really anything I could do though…” Zenshu spoke up again after a few moments, trying to convey his desires in his words. He knew that they were hollow, without anything more than empathy to fill them. Still, he felt that he needed to at least say something. “Even just your words are comforting enough. I thank you for being so sincere in them, I…well, it’s not important, but I do appreciate your kindness.” The Satyr seemed to pause in thought as they continued along the path, consi

“Why don’t you live out your dreams of becoming a warrior?” Zenshu’s question seemed to ring on the air, echoing slightly in his own ears. The silence had been building, and with it an uncomfortable feeling in the air around them. He hadn’t meant to be entirely direct with it, but as the words came out he realised there was nothing he could do to take it back. He hurried to add on to his question, hoping to at least reduce the disrespect it had conveyed. “I happened to hear you mention that you’d always wanted to be one, so I was just curious as to what was stopping you. You seem like you’d be

They continued in silence for a while, the only sounds that reached Zenshu’s ears were the soft wind, the crunch of the gravel beneath their feet, and the distance sounds of combat from out in the fields. His attention had been continuously drawn to the few players he could see in the wildlands, eyeing them up as best as he could. Not that he’d be able to recognise them, between the distance and the lack of acquaintances, he had little to go on to try and place any sort of name to the figures. Still, he made mental notes of their general appearance – at least what he could see of it – in case

“Am I the one…? Oh, yes! Yes I am!” Zenshu turned to find himself staring at what appeared to be a half man, half animal. The creature seemed to huff in response, apparently taking Zenshu’s confusion as a sign of disrespect, or disgust at the sight of it. Bowing deeply, Zenshu quickly added to his response. “My sincerest apologies, I did not expect to be summoned by one such as yourself. In fact, from my interpretation of the message I had received, I had expected to make my way to the mountain unguided…” He stood up again, noticing that the expression on the other’s face had changed, if