[SP-F2] Exploring new horizons (COMPLETED)

[Zulas 0]

It had been decided a long time ago, his mind had been made up even before he had realized it. The only way out was up, and it was the only that lead to the outside world. But what waited for him on the outside? Zulas didn't know the answer to that question, but he would search for it inside of this game. This is my world now, he thought as he walked over to the teleport in the Town of Beginnings.

The second floor awaited him now. He knew that he hadn't done everything he could on this floor but he wanted explore the other floors. His level wasn't high enough to go close to the front lines, so he opted for taking his time and moving one step at a time. He stood in front of the teleport and said out loud, "Teleport, Urbus."

A light enveloped Zulas, which meant he was being transported to the location he had indicated. Even though he hadn't admitted it to himself, he was a bit nervous but at the same time excited for what was going to happen on this new floor. There had been only one time that he had felt like that, but it was a long time ago. As he thought about it, he felt his expression change as soon as the light that enveloped him vanished and left him at his destination, 'Urbus'. 

Edited October 29, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

Once the light disappeared, the bustling sound of chatter greeted him as he stepped forward into the town of Urbus. People walked left and right in this small town. It was much smaller than the Town of Beginnings, Zulas noticed. But it still buzzed with adventurer activity, even though the frontlines were much more floors above this one. Zulas walked around taking in the sites, the first thing he noticed was the main street that traveled all the way from on end to the other of the town. It seemed to be the only main street in the whole town. Another thing that caught Zulas's attention was the music that could be hear in the town, it was completely different from the first floor. The one in the floor below was more inviting, more cheerful, but on the contrary, this one felt a bit more somber. However, this did nothing to change people'es opinion of the floor nor the towns.

Zulas walked around town, he examined the buildings and the stores that offered their wares but it only took him a couple of hours to do so. One thing he kept in mind was an inn that he found just in case he decided to stay on this floor for whatever reason. It seemed like it would be a good place to take a rest in between quests or exploration of the area. With that in mind, Zulas set out to explore the outside fields not knowing what would happen in the future.

[Zulas 0]

Zulas stepped outside of town after being satisfied of traversing through the town of Urbus. It was time to step out into the fields and find out what it's like being on this floor. The open fields were different, although the dungeon to the next floor could be seen in the distance. That was the only constant in this world, no matter where you went, you could never escape the sight of it. It didn't matter to Zulas as he was exploring something new and different. He liked to explore new things, but he preferred to do it by himself, he felt it more pleasing that way.

He noticed that there were a lot of fields in the area, and that the monsters that inhabited it were also different and more numerous than the first floor. Zulas decided to find out how different the monsters were. He was sure that it would be silly to other players, but he thought that in order to grow he would have to go out and try new things. And sometimes one of those things would be to fight monsters. He knew that eventually he would have to interact with other players, but for now he concentrated on what was in front of him.

[Zulas 0]

Zulas spent a couple of hours exploring some of the fields to the west of Urbus. At the same time there were different monsters, there were also different plants and vegetation. This meant that it would be possible to be able to gather some materials for anything that he might need to have crafted. He thought about that as he began to try his luck at gathering some materials at the edge of a farm that was close by. He couldn't tell if it was run by NPC or players so he didn't cross over the property. 

It seems silly that I have to take precautions, he thought to himself and chuckled but still searched in an area that had a fence. The fence divided the farm from the edge of the main road that was meant for travelers. Zulas knelt down and began looking for anything that would stand out and distinguish itself for materials that were meant for crafting.

 ID# 68582 results:

 Battle: 2

 Craft: 6

 Loot: 15 (+1 Material)

 MOB: 2

Edited September 26, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

Zulas did indeed find something that he could use or trade to a craft player, so he put the material in his inventory when he heard a shuffle noise. He turned around and saw a young girl standing there, she was about 12 years old with long dark hair. She was wearing a long dress up to her knees and her eyes were staring at him. Zulas didn't know what to do, or what was going on, so he just stood there and stared back at her. The girl's face looked soft but her hands, as she put them on her hips, were not, they looked like they've been put through a rough time. They seemed to be the hands of something that did manual labor, and her next words confirmed it.

"What are you doing, mister?" - she said with a cold tone in her voice.

"Uh... uhmmm." - Zulas didn't know what to do or how to respond. "What do you mean?" - he managed to say.

The girl looked intently at his face, and it made him step back a bit, "What do you mean, 'what do I mean'? That's not yours." She said pointing to the ground where he had taken the material from.

"Yes, this is mine. It's not yours." - Zulas told the girl. It was weird how this NPC treated her property. Do they have these kind of emotions? What is going here?

The girl saw his confused expression and interjected, "You better give back what's ours. You see over there... " - said the girl as she pointed to the road where a fence started. "From the fence all the way to the back over there that finishes a bit behind you is ours." She pointed this time to Zulas left and he saw a house about 50 yards away. "That's our house and this is our property, so you can't steal stuff from it." - she said with a tone of finality, before she turned towards Zulas with an angry look on her face and started to walk towards him.

 

[Zulas 0]

The young girl walked angrily towards Zulas but all he could do was smile. This seemed to infuriate the girl more, "What are you laughing at?" - she said with a scowl on her face.

"You remind of someone." - he blurted out without thinking about it.

After he said that, the girl stopped for a second and faced him with a confused expression over her face. "Who?" - she demanded to Zulas. 

Before he could answer, a voice called out in their direction. "Hey! Noko-chan! Food's ready!" - the voice yelled towards them. They looked where the voice came from and found that a middle aged man wearing farmer clothes was the one that called to her. The man walked across the farm's field from the direction of the house towards them, he had a smile plastered across his face. It took him a couple of seconds before he reached the pair just outside the fence, but he stopped before venturing over the fence. "Ah, Noko-chan. You found a friend?" - he said innocently.

"Of course not, father." - the girl told the man. A furious look was directed at her father from the little girl. She then pointed towards Zulas, "I caught him stealing from our farm. We should do something." 

"Now, now girl, you know that adventurers mean us no harm." - he smiled towards Zulas now. "Besides, where he's standing now, it's not part of our property."

She kept looking at her father, "Of course it is!" - she said pointing towards the fence and the road. 

Zulas coughed to interrupt their argument and looked at the farmer. "Look sir, I don't want any trouble. I'll give it back if it's indeed yours." He then put the material he had found on the ground and started to walk away. "I'm sorry I upset you. I'll leave now." - he said to the girl and walked away.

[Zulas 0]

There was a bit of chatter as he walked away and that's when he heard a voice, "Hey, young man, come over here."

Zulas turned around towards the pair. The old man had a big smile plastered on his face, but the girl's angry expression seemed quite comical to Zulas for some reason. "I don't understand what you mean, sir." - Zulas managed to say.

The old man responded by throwing Zulas the material he had found on the ground. "We don't get many visitors in these parts. If you're hungry, the wife has a pot brewing of some delicious beef stew." After that, he began to walk towards the house at the end of the fence where Zulas stood.

Zulas saw that there was a pile smoke coming out of the house chimney, and his stomach growled in response. "Well, I guess I could... eat... something." - he said hesitantly. He made his way to the house behind the pair. The old man could be seen smiling down at the girl, while she makes different angry expressions. Zulas knew that they were talking about him, the way the girl shot him glares once in a while.

They finally made it back to the house, "Oh, by the way," said the old man turning to Zulas before entering the house. "My name is  Kiyoshi, nice to meet you. And this is my daughter Noko." He extended his hand which Zulas took, all the while the old man just smiled innocently. The girl stomped inside the house and both men followed shortly after.

Edited October 26, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

Zulas wondered what the programming was for these NPC's to behave this way. It seemed peculiar how familiar they seemed, or even how detailed their responses were. He did not know how to react to them, but he followed them inside anyway. "The table has been set." - the man said to the adventurer. "You can sit down. The food will come out soon enough." 

The smell of food hit Zulas and his stomach growled again in anticipation. He looked down at the table, his hands clasped together in front of him. The man let out another hearty laughter, "I don't know who's more hungry, you or Noko."

A shout came from inside deeper into the house, "Hey! My stomach doesn't do that!" - the girl, Noko yelled from inside one of the rooms.

Zulas looked around the house after going in and it seemed like a simple village house. It had the kitchen in the middle of it, with rooms to the side of it and an entryway that led to the kitchen. The succulent smell came from it and Zulas's mouth began to water expectantly, and he realized that he really hadn't eaten anything since the day before.

[Zulas 0]

The smell of the aroma got closer, and that's when he saw the steam rising from the food. It approached in mid-air, a woman with long silky hair holding the pot of food in front of her. She looked at Zulas when she came in and beamed at the adventurer, her face much innocent and obviously oblivious to the game. They definitely must be NPC's, he thought. They seemed so real to Zulas, too real to be true but he went along with it. More out of curiosity than pure fascination. 

"Dinner's ready." - the sweet voice of the woman snapped him out of deep thought. She then proceeded to serve the food to her daughter and then the man. Zulas was third, and the plate looked delicious to him. He wondered when was the last time that he had tasted something that looked so appetizing. "Please eat, before it gets cold." - her motherly tone sprung him into action. 

At that moment he didn't know why but it felt a bit alien to him, all this food and family time. Zulas was a stranger to his family, so that's why he probably felt like he did. Or maybe it was his need for human interaction that prompted him to be with these people. He didn't know the answer, and that moment he didn't care. The adventurer attacked the plate in front of him like he hadn't attacked an enemy before.

[Zulas 0]

The food was gone from Zulas's plate in a manner of minutes. After he finished, he could sense the looks coming from around the table. His felt the blood rushed to his face, "S-Sorry." - he said looking down at his plate.

There was a moment of silence before a laugh broke it apart. "Hahaha!" - the old man said. "Don't be sorry, boy. If it's good, there's no shame in enjoying it.". He laughed again and this time, Zulas saw that the whole family had joined in. There was a weird feeling inside the adventurer's chest, a deep ache that wasn't going away. Is this what having a family is like; a mother, a father, and a sister?, he thought as his gaze fell on each of them in turn. 

The farmer went on about his daily life in the farm, how hard it was to do job on his own but that it was worth it. "Honest work, no matter how hard it is, is good work." - he said looking at Zulas with a smile. Zulas didn't know what to do except smile back, to which the man nodded and continued on. The young girl listened to her dad's stories and the mother gathered the plates to bring towards the kitchen.

[Zulas 0]

The mother cleared the plates and when into the kitchen before Zulas followed her. The kitchen wasn't much to look at, but it seemed cozy and had enough utensils to make a decent meal. Zulas went over to the kitchen sink, grabbed the plates and started running the water. The mother had gone to her back to the dinning room to gather the rest of the plates. He had started to wash the dishes when she wandered back into the kitchen, "Stop that. You don't have to do that." - she said in her gentle tone.

Zulas didn't know what to say at first. "It's the least I could do. You invited me into your home, so I believe that I should repay that somehow." - was all he could managed to tell her.

She smiled softly at him and sighed, "Alright, fine." - she said and began to help Zulas by drying the dishes. A few minutes passed, laughter could be heard from the dinning room but Zulas just continued his work in silence. The mother broke it first, "So, you're the first adventurer that has ever taken our offer to eat dinner." - were the words that broke that awkward silence.

[Zulas 0]

The comment made Zulas stop what he was doing and looked at the woman. Her smile took Zulas by surprise, as he didn't know what to respond. He casually turned back to his task, "What do you mean I'm the only one?" - he asked her.

A couple seconds of silence came next before she answered, "Well, it's just that we've invited other adventurers to eat with us, but they always turn us down. Do you know why that is?".

Zulas was even more surprised by the question, so he thought hard about how to answer the woman's question. "Well, to some of us, this is just a game. To others it has become a way of life." - he explained as simply as he could. "Some adventurers have specific goals in mind, like clearing a game or just playing for fun. Others have found a reason to live here and may even call it home. Although in the end for us, it's a temporary home." - he continued to explain..

At this time he had stopped washing the dishes and looked out a window above the sink. The fields could be seen outside the window, as far as the eye could see. Zulas had never seen a beautiful landscape as this before. To him it was more than a game, but it wasn't a home though. He realized at that time, that it was an escape for him, an escape from all he had suffered in his life... a chance to begin again.

[Zulas 0]

The woman stood there in silence, but Zulas could feel her gaze. It felt as if she was sizing him up, or deciding whether to believe him or not, he wasn't sure of what she was thinking. He finished with the dishes and turned around to face her. She kept staring at him, but it was a completely different expression from what Zulas had imagined. Her mouth was grinning from ear to ear, "Haha!" - she laughed. "Well, I knew that you were different." 

Zulas, once again, felt embarrassed because of what he had said, "What do you mean different?" - he asked her. In truth, he didn't know what she was talking about. 

"Well, some of the ones that have passed by here, don't see this place as you do." - she explained to him. "The only stop to ask for directions to the nearest dungeon or the best gathering places." - she continued. 

Zulas didn't know what to say, "I don't think I'm that different. I have my reasons for being in this world, as does everyone else." - he managed to say although the woman didn't seem convinced. 

"Ok, then. I believe that we're all done here." - she said looking at the washed dishes but Zulas could tell that it was her way of ending the conversation. "You can stay here for the night if you want. I feel that you're a good person." - she smiled again. "And I won't take no for an answer."

Edited October 28, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

Night fell on the second floor, and Zulas prepared to go to bed. Kiyoshi had brought him some sheets and a pillow for him to sleep with. The bedroom he was in belonged to Noko, the walls were lined with drawn pictures. They depicted a family of four, a woman and a man, a long with with a boy and a girl. The whole family held hands and on their faces a smile spread from ear to ear. He saw the same family in other drawings, only with different backgrounds. Some had a mountain in the back, but others, Zulas saw, had a forest or grassland behind them. Zulas traced his hand over the one of the pictures when he heard a voice behind him.

"That was our family a couple of years ago." - the voice of the woman. Zulas detected a bit sadness in her voice. "It was all four of us back then."

"Four of you? Back then?" - Zulas regretted saying right after they left his mouth. He saw a pained expression take over the woman's face. "I'm sorry. I-I...", he started to say.

The woman interrupted him. "It's fine. It was a long time ago." He paused for a second before continuing. "We had a son once but not anymore. He was a traveler, he was always going from place to place." - she smiled as she talked, Zulas thought that it would cause her pain to remember so he didn't understand her smile.

[Zulas 0]

The woman sat down on the bed and looked at the wall. Zulas looked in the direction of the picture she was looking at. The picture showed the family againk, but this time there seemed to be snow falling on the background. A mountain, covered in what Zulas assumed was snow, towered over the family. This time, the family wasn't smiling but they were all sad, except the boy. He had sort of a crudely drawn backpack on his back, and with his available hand he was pointing towards the mountain. Zulas understood what happened but didn't dare to stop the woman from saying so.

"He wanted to explore this world. He knew that there was something else beside what was here." - she said proudly. "He went to a place covered in snow, he said that it was a great place. That in town people talked about it all the time...", her voice broke and looked down.

Zulas just stood there looking at her, not knowing what to do. He took a step forward but the woman, sensing his movement, put a hand up. "I'm fine. It's okay." - she said wiping tears off her face. "It's been years since it happened, but it's still hard."

"I understand." - Zulas said. Although his situation was different, it was similar in the pain they caused. "I lost someone too, a long time ago.", he said looking back at the picture of the family when they were happy. It reminded Zulas a bit about the family he had, and the one he was supposed to have... the one that was taken from him.

[Zulas 0]

The woman turned to Zulas, who had walked to the window of the room and taken a look outside. The moon was high on the sky, he thought it made the ground glow bright due to the moonlight. He then turned towards the woman on the bed, the moon's light shone on her face, her eyes glowed with unparalleled brilliance. There was a pleading look in her eyes, something that Zulas hadn't seen in a long time. He had only seen that look once in his life, but he couldn't remember where. Sudden flashes invaded his mind and made him grab his head in pain. He grunted out in pain, and the woman rushed to his side as he stumbled forwards. Another rush of flashes hit him, this time a bit more clear. He saw different versions of her; in one she was eating an ice scream, in another she was laughing while running around in a park, but in the last one she was crying... and everything went black.

[Zulas 0]

The light of the sun crept inside the room Zulas was in. He opened his eyes, just as the sun's rays hit his face. He noticed that he was laying down on the bed, the sound of birds and animals coming from outside the window. He sat up on the bed and massaged his head to get rid of the awful headache that plagued his head. The memories of what happened the previous night came to him and he stood up quickly, before hearing a familiar voice.

"So, you finally awake?" - the woman's voice interrupted his thoughts. "It's already been half a day." - she chuckled.

Zulas looked puzzled, "Really?"

"Yeah. You've been asleep for a long time." - she said jokingly. Then, her face turned a bit serious for a second. "Are you ok?" - she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine" - was all he said. "Thank you for letting me stay here... and for dinner." - the sincerity could be felt in his voice. He walked out of the room, past the woman when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Please, I have a favor to ask of you." - the woman said. Zulas already knew what the woman was going to ask, and he already knew what his answer was going to be.

[Zulas 0]

Zulas turned back to the woman, and saw the tears swelling up in her eyes. Outside, the laughter and chatter that belonged to the daughter and husband could be heard. All he could do was nod towards the woman before she let him go.

"Would you please look for my son? I know that it's been a long time and it's possible that he might be dead already, but please I need to know." - the woman was already in tears when she asked. 

Before Zulas could answer and window popped-up in front of him. 'Accept Quest? Y/N' was displayed on the screen. He realized that no matter how good the system was, it was still a game. The fact that they were bits inside of a bigger machine was evident, and it made it harder for everyone to attach themselves anything in the game. This family had displayed something that felt more than computer generated, but Zulas now wondered if it all was part of Cardinal System's doing. Even so, he felt that strange human feeling from them, one that he had felt before. Whenever he had met other players, the same feeling of uncertainty was inside this woman. The family was one thing, but she was something else entirely.

But again, Zulas had already made the decision before the question was even asked. He pressed the 'Yes' button and continued to walk out of the house. Before he stepped outside, the woman called out to him. "Thank you, adventurer." - was all he heard before leaving the house.

[Zulas 0]

On his way to Urbus, he looked over the quest and the details of it. All that it said was that he needed to go to the 4th floor and explore the forest to the southern edge of the floor. He read that the item will be dropped by a monster inside the forest, that he would have to attract its attention first by killing lesser monsters. It didn't say what the monster was or what he was going to run into on that floor. One thing was clear though, it was made clear that the boy had died and he was just retrieving evidence of his death. 

He looked at the menu for a while as he walked back to town. The way back seemed longer and knowing the bad news in advance made his steps heavier for some reason. Even though they were NPC's they didn't deserve that kind of bad news. A death, even a game death, is not something people, real or not real, should experience.

Edited October 29, 2016 by Zulas

[Zulas 0]

The town seemed quiet to Zulas, or maybe his mind was somewhere else. He wasn't paying attention to anything, he just wanted to get to the 4th floor and get do the quest as soon as possible. The only thing in his mind was giving that woman the news they deserved. Closure... that's what we all need in our lives, Zulas thought as he made his way to the Teleportation Gate. He closed his fists with determination, took a deep breath and stepped up towards the platform in the middle of town. He checked his equipment first before heading to the area indicated by the quest. After he made sure he had what he needed, he yelled the words that would change his life forever in this world. It would be seen if it the change would good or for bad, all that was known is that he wouldn't be the same after it.

He stood atop the platform and looked in the direction of house once last time, "Teleport: Snowfrost Town".