[SP-F1] The Song in the Night <<RGQ>> COMPLETED!

[Zulas 0]

Starting City was breathtaking with its many architectural buildings along with its many denizens that call this place home. Zulas was never an outgoing person so for him it felt weird being out at night on the town. He did not know if it was the fact that he was inside of a game or if he had indeed changed due to being trapped inside of one, but he decided to take a walk through town one night. Not a lot of people walked this time at night--he looked at his menu and saw that it was almost midnight. One thing was clear though, the taverns and restaurants were filled with people. 

Zulas walked through the streets eyeing the different business on this side of the city. The shops, as he expected, were closed during the night but the taverns and bars were quite the contrary. As he passed through one, music could be heard coming from the inside and loud laughter carried itself outside to the street. Zulas looked through the window and saw a lot people, adventurers and NPCs alike, talking among themselves. If a person from the outside saw this, it would seem like we're not trapped inside a death game. That's what most people were calling Sword Art Online now, it wasn't a normal game, it was a death game. 

The swordsman perished the thought and decided to continue walking onward. The night sky illuminated his path, and the stars were out bright giving support to the moon on top of the sky. His attention was interrupted by a soft cough sound behind him. Zulas gave a start and stepped back away from the figure that made the sound, and realized that it came from an NPC. The NPC cursor hovered above the name Kimiko, and the owner of said name stood before him.

It was a middle aged woman of small stature and she was dressed as worker, but what caught Zulas's eyes was the look in her small eyes. There was something there that he couldn't quite place. "Hello, kind sir.", she said with a soft voice. "Would you be willing to help me?", the woman said and a quest window appeared before Zulas. The window of

"'New Quest: The Song in the Night'

Accept: Y/N?"

appeared. He didn't know why but he hit the button 'Yes' without a second thought.

 

Edited September 18, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

As soon as the pop-up window went away and the sign for 'Quest Accepted' fell of the screen, the woman's face changed. She smiled at Zulas before beginning her details of the quest.

"Thank you so much!" she said with joy. "I have a task that only you can solve.", she voiced but looked around before continuing on. "I have asked other people, but you have been the only one that has agreed to help me... and for that I'm grateful." Zulas didn't know what to say even though he knew that he didn't need to say anything. Shortly after there was a pause in her speech so he decided to ask something, but was cut off by the woman and was left with his mouth open.

"My daughter is missing, you see.", her voice was filled with sadness.  The woman continued on, "She has been missing for hours now. I know that it hasn't been long but she's only 7, and I'm looking for anyone that can help me find her." The concern could be hear in her words. 

Zulas composed himself, "Y-yes, ma'am. No problem... but if you don't mind I have some questions of my own."

Edited September 16, 2016 by Zulas
Added a picture of close approx of woman Zulas is talking to.

[Zulas 0]

The woman looked hesitantly towards Zulas, waiting to answer the adventurer's questions. "You said... umm, that you're daughter was out, but why would she be out this late?", he asked the mother. 

"Well, my husband has been sick as of late. We went out to by some medicine when we heard a rumor." - she began. "As we paid for the medicine, we heard a conversation between two other townspeople." The woman walked around and sat on a nearby bench a few feet from where they stood. Zulas followed her and sat down next to her.

"What did they talk about, ma'am?" - he asked to continue the conversation.

"They mentioned that there was a flower that bloomed close to a lake northwest of here. They had said that it happened at midnight, and you knew which flower it was because a noise could be heard when you were close to it." - she chuckled at the reminder of that conversation. "The men laughed at the thought, but my daughter asked me, 'Mama, is it true? If it is, it can save Papa.'"

Tears started to swell up in her eyes, but she wiped them away and continued, "I told her that it couldn't be possible, but now I realized that right after that was when she left with without saying a word. Please, you must find her." - she pleaded to Zulas.

All he did was nod to the scared woman, "I'll go ma'am. I'll find her.". Maybe it was possible that the woman reminded Zulas of his mother, or maybe it was because she looked like a caring mother, that it urged him to help her. Whatever the case, he decided to follow up with her request and find her daughter. Look at me, playing hero. Would y'ou have been proud of me? I'd like to think so anyway, he thought as he got up and walked towards the exit outside of Starting City.

[Zulas 0]

The brightness of the moon hit Zulas's face as he stepped outside of Starting City. The quiet of the night felt heavy, the only sounds were that of the wind breezing through and those of insects. It's still hard to imagine it was a still a game, Zulas thought and started to walk in the direction of the lake. A few minutes passed while he walked on the road, and Zulas passed a few adventurers like him but paid them no mind. They didn't intimidate him, but wasn't comfortable around them neither. One group looked like a party, they talked about how the killed some monster in the dungeon which made Zulas thinking about the fact that he's never actually ventured outside the first floor. There will be time for that later. For now I have to complete my mission. 

Zulas followed the map quietly, the only thoughts were of what he was going to find at this lake: was the girl going to be there?, Will there be somebody else there?, or the question that worried him the most, Will she be alive? With that he hurried his pace until he was close to his destination. On his way, he found something that wasn't supposed to be there: "A Kobold!".

Edited September 16, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

The idea of Kobolds being around this area surprised Zulas as he crept closer to the Kobold. After the road had ended, he followed the map into a dirt road which led him into a small woods. He continued on through the forest until he came upon a thicket of rose bushes. The moonlight made the flowers glisten as it hit them, Zulas eyes stared at them in wonder. Zulas continued on past the thicket and emerged unto a small clearing inside forest where he spot the Kobold wandering about. 

Zulas took out his sword from its scabbard and lowered it to his back ready to strike, but something kept him at bay. He looked around and saw that it was too easy, the monster was just standing there looking around. He would stop after a few seconds, and would do some attack swings with its long spear. The kobold hadn't spotted Zulas yet, but he had no choice. He didn't see anything around to make him feel threatened, only the green health bar atop the monster in front of him. He waited until the kobold had its back to him... and then he ran out of cover with its weapon in an attack position, and swung towards the unaware kobold.

 ID# 67961 results:

 Battle: 7 (2 DMG)

 Craft: 5

 Loot: 18

 MOB: 5 (miss)

 

Zulas: HP 60/60

Kobold: HP 8/10; DMG 4 (3 + spear)

Edited September 16, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

Zulas rushed towards the kobold and thrust his sword at his enemy. The strike impacted the creature in the torso and staggered back but only a few steps. Its eyes focused on its attacker, and let out a howl before it hit its chest with one of its fist. It took the spear in both hands and pulled it back in order to attack Zulas, but the adventurer stepped back after his assault, and readied his weapon again. This time he put his sword back close to his hip and let the system activate his Sword Art, the Snake Bite. The howl was the only sound that worried Zulas because he knew that soon more kobolds would be arriving to help his foe. The sword glowed blue again, the signal that the attack was ready to execute, he only to let the weapon do its job. Zulas gritted his teeth and swung his sword in an upward angular swipe at the same time that the kobold swung his spear.

 ID# 67962 results:

 Battle: 6 (6 DMG = 3x2 = 6)

 Craft: 11

 Loot: 6

 MOB: 7 (4 DMG)

 

Zulas: HP 56/60; Energy 3/6

Kobold: HP 2/10; DMG 4

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

The Sword Art connected with its target and the blue slashes could be seen across the kobolds body. They stayed there for about a second and Zulas saw that the creature's health bar dropped down into the red zone. At the same time the kobold hit Zulas square in the chest with the spear, the tip touching where his heart would be. He knew that if it hadn't been a game, he would've been dead but that didn't stop him. The health bar at his top left, the one attached to his name, still stood comfortably in the green zone. 

The kobold raised his spear again and let out a louder growl than before, which made Zulas's ears ring a bit. He knew that he had to dispatch his foe quickly because if reinforcements weren't coming, they would surely arrive now. He tighten the grip on his weapon, making the knuckles on his fist turn a pale white, and sprang into action with his sword raised high above his head. He swung it down just as the kobold prepared to thrust his spear again in anger.

 ID# 67970 results:

 Battle: 2 (Miss)

 Craft: 8

 Loot: 19

 MOB: 10 (DMG = 4+2 = 6

 

Zulas: HP 50/60; Energy 6/6

Kobold: HP 2/10; DMG 4

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

The kobold spear grazed Zulas on the side of the head and that made him swing his sword wildly, missing his target. The movements of the kobold caught him by surprise when it quickly changed the direction of its attack. The hit above his head started to bleed and get into Zulas's eyes but he wiped it with his sleeve. The night was silent around them, the only sound that could be heard were their own. The kobold was gasping for breath, a clear indication that it was almost at zero health, but Zulas began to feel the effects of being tired. The silence of the night was pierced by a piercing scream, the scream came from some distance behind the kobold that stood in his way. That's probably the girl. I have to save her... I have to, he thought as he spun into action. Sword held high readying his Vertical Sword Art, Zulas jumped towards the kobold hoping this blow would the final one that fell his foe.

 ID# 67971 results:

 Battle: 7 (DMG = 1x2 = 2)

 Craft: 8

 Loot: 8

 MOB: 7

 

Zulas: HP 50/60; Energy 5/6 

Kobold: HP 0/10; DMG 4

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

The Vertical slash cut the kobold's upper torso in half. The body exploded into pixelated confetti afterwards, leaving a panting Zulas gaining his breath back. The scream came once again in direction ahead. Zulas composed himself and darted into a run towards it, making for the woods again. The adventurer jumped over roots, moved branches to the side, all without break his stride. Please let her be ok, he thought as the moonlight that shone a little bit ahead indicated that he was coming up on another clearing. The atmosphere felt a bit dark and concerning due to the fact that no animal sound could be heard. This worried Zulas more than what he was most likely going to encounter at the end of this forest. Only one thought ran through his mind was when he stepped out of the forest, I will not let her down... not like I did you.

Zulas: HP 53/60; Energy 6/6

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

The bright light of the moon illuminated the scene before Zulas. There was a small lake few meters away from where he stood, but he made out three bodies next to the lake. He spotted a girl dressed in plain clothes, most likely the daughter of Kimiko, the woman who gave him the quest. The girl seemed to have fallen to the ground on her back, she moved slowly backwards away from her assailants. There were two kobolds walking towards the girl, The closes kobold raised his sword to strike at the girl, but Zulas started to act also enough. He yelled loudly as he sprinted towards the creature to attract its attention, then he raised his sword as well to swing down at the kobold. He didn't care if he hit the kobold or not, his purpose was to divert the enemies attention to himself instead of the girl. 

 ID# 68003 results:

 Battle: 3

 Craft: 7

 Loot: 3

 MOB: 6

 

Zulas: HP 50/60; Energy 5/6; Base DMG 2

Kobold #1: HP 8/8; DMG 3

Kobold #2: HP 8/8; DMG 3

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

Zulas attack missed by a large margin. It struck nothing but air, but it did what was intended. The kobold stopped in the middle of its assault against the girl and turned to face him. It watched as the sword missed completely and brought down his own sword upon Zulas. The kobold's weapon hit Zulas's shoulder and cut deep, and he saw as his own health bar dropped a little. The sword attack made the swordsman stepped back, but he still stayed between the girl and her attackers. He turned his head to see her and saw her for the first time up close. The girl was still on the ground, but this time Zulas could see the big blue eyes that belonged to her face.

The girl looked up at Zulas, her big eyes pleading towards him. Fear had gripped her, he could see that the girl's leg were trembling. The only thing that Zulas could do was smile at her, "Don't worry, I'm here now." Then he turned his attentions to the foes in front of him. The other kobold (Kobold #2) stepped in and attacked Zulas but he was ready getting his weapon ready with one its arts Snake Bite.

 ID# 68017 results:

 Battle: 6 (DMG = 3x2 = 6)

 Craft: 8

 Loot: 5

 MOB: 1 (Miss)

 

Zulas: HP 50/60; Energy 2/6; Base DMG 2

Kobold #1: HP 8/8; DMG 3

Kobold #2: HP 2/8; DMG 3

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

The blue light given my the system trailed the sword as it moved in the Sword Arts automatic movement. His hand glided, performing three successive strikes in rapid succession across the attacking kobold's body. It staggered the creature and made its sword strike ground as he missed. It then stepped back, but the other kobold was ready and stepped in. The kobold raised its sword towards Zulas, who was not paying attention due to being engaged with the its companion. The attack came quickly and rapidly, a thrust directed to the stomach of Zulas. He decided to move sideways and hopefully he would evade the incoming attack. Zulas glanced behind him as not to step on or hit the girl with his movements. The girl had moved farther back, she was already on her feet but fear still struck across her face. Did you look like that as well? When I let you down... when you were taken from me.

 

 ID# 68021 results:

 Battle: 9

 Craft: 10

 Loot: 15

 MOB: 4 (Miss)

 

Zulas: HP 50/60; Energy 2/6; Base DMG 2

Kobold #1: HP 8/8; DMG 3

Kobold #2: HP 2/8; DMG 3

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

Zulas quickly stepped out of the way and dodge the kobold's attack. He saw that the wounded kobold had its health in the red zone, so he readied his attack for that one again. This time he lowered down and positioned his sword next to his left hip, the Sword Art activating a second later. He was ready to jump forward from his position and aim to cut the kobold in half performing an upward slash using the Vertical Sword Art.

The air was silent, nothing moved in the distance. It was as if the area surrounding the lake was holding its breath for what would happen next. The natural light of the moon shone on the kobold's face, illuminating its sharp yellow eyes. It gritted its teeth, showing the fangs it carried, and bellowed a mighty growl. Zulas heard the girl standing behind him give a yelp in surprise which provided the signal he needed to jump forward and attack the kobold.

 ID# 68025 results:

 Battle: 1 (Miss)

 Craft: 9

 Loot: 10

 MOB: 3 (Miss)

 

Zulas: HP 50/60; Energy 1/6; Base DMG 2

Kobold #1: HP 8/8; DMG 3

Kobold #2: HP 2/8; DMG 3

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

The attack went up as it was directed by the system but the kobold was ready and it parried it. Zulas stepped back to face both kobolds, one was still with its full health but the other was in the red zone. He knew that he would have to take out the one with low health first, before he focused on the other one. He called back to the girl while still looking at his enemies, "Go! Hide and don't come out until I tell you too!". He didn't hear anything at first but after a few seconds he heard the sound of footsteps moving away. He gripped his sword tighter with his left hand.

 "I won't let you near her!" - he said in a steely voice.

The kobolds gave loud growl both and stepped closer towards him. Zulas did the same thing, he yelled and sprinted forward towards his enemies. I will not lose here... not now. I will see you soon... but not now, he thought at he swung his sword to try and finish off one of the kobolds.

 ID# 68029 results:

 Battle: 8 (DMG 2)

 Craft: 4

 Loot: 4

 MOB: 8 (DMG 3)

 

Zulas: HP 47/60; Energy 6/6; Base DMG 2

Kobold #1: HP 8/8; DMG 3

Kobold #2: HP 0/8; DMG 3

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

Zulas yelled as his sword struck the kobold in the chest making him explode into a thousand pieces, but he didn't get a chance to recover. The other kobold stabbed him in the guts right after performing his attack. He bled a little but grunted as the pain came and went quickly. The health on the top left indicated that he had taken a bit of damage, but not enough for him to worry about. Now it was only him and the kobold left standing, which seemed not to care that his companion was just killed. It stepped forward again, not giving Zulas the time to recover, but he was expecting it also.

Zulas took his sword positioned it so that it activated the Sword Art, and he noticed that he was getting pretty good with it. The arts were becoming familiar to him, but he knew that he still had a long way to go. He knew that there were more to learn, but that came with time and practice. Right now, he had to focus on the task at hand, which was to drive his blade home. 

 ID# 68032 results:

 Battle: 1 (Miss)

 Craft: 11

 Loot: 19

 MOB: 3 (Miss)

 

Zulas: HP 47/60; Energy 3/6; Base DMG 2

Kobold #1: HP 8/8; DMG 3

Kobold #2: HP 0/8; DMG 3

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

The wound he received acted up and made him flinch at the last second. He buckled to one kneed making him cancel his Sword Art, but also narrowly missed the kobold's swing because of it. A few inches above his head the sword swung and it caught air along with almost some of his hair. As he got up to both of his feet he heard, "You can do it 'Oni-san'!". He glanced back towards the voice and saw the girl hiding behind a tree with her hands around her mouth.

"You can do it"!, she screamed again.

Zulas smiled and gave her a 'thumbs up'. He focused on the kobold again, but this time he didn't feel as tired as before. It was as if the girl had revived him with her cheer. The sword was tight in his hand and he readied his Swort Art again one last time before he could use it in a bit. Hopefully it will strike its mark this time, he thought as he sprung into action once more.

 ID# 68034 results:

 Battle: 8 (DMG = 2x3= 6)

 Craft: 12

 Loot: 20

 MOB: 8 (DMG 3)

 

Zulas: HP 44/60; Energy 0/6; Base DMG 2

Kobold #1: HP 2/8; DMG 3

Kobold #2: HP 0/8; DMG 3

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

Each strike upon the kobold's body let out sparks and pixelated blood from the creature. The health bar kept going down past the half mark and it made it all the way into the red zone. Zulas knew that he only had to hit him once or twice more in order to defeat his foe. When he finished with his strikes, his body froze momentarily, like it always does after a Sword Art is achieved. This gave his opponent the opportunity to strike back, which he did stabbing Zulas through the side.

"Owww!", Zulas groaned as the sharp pain hit him.

The kobold growled in response but the swordsman saw that it was panting, clearly showing signs of fatigued. This gave Zulas renewed vigor to try and finish this fight quickly because he had realized that the girl would not be safe if the kobolds remain. He recovered from his wound and started the attacking swiping at the monster sideways, hoping that it would end the long fought battle.

 ID# 68087 results:

 Battle: 2 (Miss)

 Craft: 2

 Loot: 14

 MOB: 4 (Miss)

 

Zulas: HP 44/60; Energy 0/6; Base DMG 2

Kobold #1: HP 2/8; DMG 3

Kobold #2: HP 0/8; DMG 3

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

Zulas and the kobold went back and forth with some of the blades and some missed but others just parried off each other. The kobold put quite a good fight against the adventurer and he began to doubt a little his conviction about entering this game. He entered on the idea that he was going to carry one Her ideals. That he was going to keep getting better, like She was. As swords crashed into each other sparks emanated from them, and they reminded him of a distant memory. A memory he thought long forgotten...

There She was standing on the middle of the plaza. It was the summer festival in their little quaint town, and she wore the kimono passed down by her late grandmother. The beautiful red flowers matched the color of the lamp's glow around the festival. When she walked it appeared as if the flowers danced around her, it made her appear as if she was floating instead of walking. The light of the fireworks illuminated the night sky, they rose and exploded into a million lights. Both of them stared at them through the night, "Beautiful, aren't they?", she said with her head on his shoulder. They both sat next to each other on the grass not saying anything... there was really nothing to say...

Then Zulas was back to reality. It had been a while since he had relived a memory of her. He manged to push back back the kobold and went in again for what was hopefully the last swing of his sword.

 ID# 68088 results:

 Battle: 5 (Miss)

 Craft: 6

 Loot: 12

 MOB: 6 (DMG 3)

 

Zulas: HP 41/60; Energy 0/6; Base DMG 2

Kobold #1: HP 2/8; DMG 3

Kobold #2: HP 0/8; DMG 3

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

The memory was still fresh in his mind when he made his attack and it distracted him from his target. The attack missed by a fraction of a margin but it gave his enemy the opportunity it needed in order to drive its attack home. The kobold's sword hit him on his left arm, and when it pulled the weapon out a spray of blood came with it. The kobold let out a loud growl, but Zulas did not retreat. He pushed the memory far down in his mind so that it wouldn't be a distraction. In this game he couldn't afford distractions like that, at least not right now. Distractions would lead to mistakes, he found out, and mistakes could lead to death here. He decided to only focus on his opponent right now, the only thing that mattered because it was standing in front of him right now. The sword felt heavy at his side but he picked up at the ready once more and ran straight at his enemy... with a tear flowing down his face.

 ID# 68089 results:

 Battle: 9 (DMG = 2+1 = 3)

 Craft: 2

 Loot: 7

 MOB: 10

 

Zulas: HP 41/60; Energy 0/6; Base DMG 2

Kobold #1: HP 0/8; DMG 3

Kobold #2: HP 0/8; DMG 3

Edited September 17, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

Finally, the monster exploded into a million a pieces as was customary in this world. Zulas managed to put the sword back in its scabbard once more. He then closed his eyes and felt the cold breeze of the night, as if the forest let out a breath it was holding in this entire time. "Oni-san! Are you ok?", he heard a voice ask behind him. 

He turned around to find the girl standing there looking up at him. "Yes, I'm ok. Thank you for asking.", he replied.

"Then...", she looked away embarrassed. "T-then... why are you crying?".

Zulas touched his face and felt the wetness of the tears on his cheeks. He wiped them away and smiled, "I'm fine child, nothing to worry about."

"Why did you come? Who are you?", she asked innocently. Her face was beaming with curiosity.

He thought for a moment before answering her. "I'm Zulas. Nice to meet you. I was sent by your mother to look for you and bring you back to her." The pale face of and innocent expression made him feel a warmth that he hadn't felt in a long time. "She told me that you came out her looking for some that was nothing more than a story."

The girl looked quizzically at Zulas, "Story, Oni-san? Can't you hear it? It's all around us. They call it the Song in the Night. Just close your eyes."