[SP:F19] The Unending Journey

[Seul 1]

It was truly amazing how far Seul had come since the game began. If there was one thing that was for certain he would have a massive collection of stories to tell once he returned to the real world. Overall the frontlines had cleared about a fifth of the floating castle and although that did not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, it was an achievement all the players should be proud of. They had come far but there was still a long way to go before they reached the top.

Still it was nice to just sit back and reflect during what little down time he received. Lately he had noticed an obvious change in a couple of different areas. The other players seemed to be… Somewhat divided. Of course every group had its own fair share of troublemakers and the floor raiding party was no exception to that by any means.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Seul

[Seul 1]

Things had settled down and no one was getting killed at boss fights anymore (at least not through assassination), but the tension never really left after those incidents occurred. The deaths of such crucial people only served as a reminder of how vulnerable even the upper echelon of  players could be. If anything could be said it was that watching the frontline group change over time was… Interesting. When Seul first started out he was skeptical of how realistic his chances of joining their ranks was, but here he was as one of them.

It wasn't enough though. Despite all of his hard work there was always someone stronger and another step on the ladder that he had to climb. He was tired of it. He was not completely oblivious and was able to tell that the other frontliners did not see him as an equal. That would all change in the days to come…

[Seul 1]

It started off just like any other day in recent memory; Seul had spent the night sleeping out in the wild using the remains of a crumbling building as a form of shelter from mobs and anyone else who might have wished harm upon an orange player. Light filtered in through the cracked windows of the building with little to obstruct the warm sun rays from attacking his face. Slowly the swordsman’s eyes drifted open and immediately started to scan around the room. Clear. Just the way he liked it. He had heard stories of people getting killed in their sleep, especially when camping. Though he was not sure of how true they were, he also was not too eager to find out firsthand.

---

After changing into his normal gear he left the building and started toward the town of Ralberg. Occasionally there would be makeshift markets ran by players outside of the town’s walls so player killers would be able to attend.

[Seul 1]

While most shopkeepers did not conduct business with such people, some were not so uptight to deny a potential customer regardless of their moral alignment. Money was money after all, it did not make much of a difference where it actually came from.

With the battle for floor twenty quickly approaching it seemed like as good a time as any to stock up on supplies to ensure his survival. Once he arrived he was met with the sight of about ten or so tents with vendors peddling their items and equipment to passing players. Closer inspection showed there was not much of actual use though. Most of it looked like vanity stuff which would not serve any real purpose in a boss fight. One tent in particular did stand out though.

It was much smaller than the others and did not have anything on display that were for sale. Instead there was a single woman sitting at a table; the only thing keeping her company being a sphere-shaped object placed before her.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Seul

[Seul 1]

“A fortune teller…?”

She looked like one at least, though no one else had so much as given her service a glance as they kept strolling in and out of town. Fortune telling was not a profession in the game and he assumed most people did not believe in such things so it was understandable why she was not getting much business. In fact he almost felt sorry for her. He knew all to well how hard it was to make a living in this world unless you were basically an alchemist. It was pathetic to see, but with his small fortune maybe he could help her out a bit.

“Hello ma’am, I'd like my fortune told.” Seul said as he opened up a trade menu and sent over some col. The woman grinned and seemed almost surprised that someone was actually taking an interest in her trade, then placed a hand over the crystal ball to start the reading.

[Seul 1]

She kept her eyes closed while focusing on the the crystal ball. Seul had never been much of a believer in the supernatural, but at this point there was really no reason to not believe anything was possible. He was trapped in an online game after all. Things like that were only supposed to happen in anime or dreams, but this was all too real.

“This is odd…” The woman began. “The visions are hazy but I do see that you will have a great burden placed on you very soon.”

That was it?! He spent money just for her to say that! No wonder no one was visiting her tent, this lady was clearly full of [censored]. He was already troubled enough as it was; anyone who wasn’t clairvoyant probably could have guessed that. With that said, having even more problems stacked on top of the already growing pile wasn’t farfetched.

[Seul 1]

“Anything else?” He said in an effort to keep their interaction on positive terms.

“There’s… A girl.” The last two words had come much quieter than anything she previously said. It was to the point where Seul had to lean in just to hear her, but despite this he was able to pick up on the message. A girl? That was new. From the way she said it he didn’t know whether to be excited or terrified, but he was almost certain that this girl would be a stranger. He figured the fortune teller would have mentioned a name if they had already met.

“Not just a girl though, I see a few people. You’re all together; bound by fate to face what this world has in store for you all.”

Now this was getting weird. He felt uncomfortable, but decided to continue listening just to see what else she’d come up with.

[Seul 1]

“It seems many hardships will face your group… And the outcome I cannot foresee the outcome unfortunately. My apologies; this is all I can tell you.”

Even if it was just a bunch of mumbo jumbo, it was still entertaining to listen to for a few minutes. After rising from his seat Seul bowed and started to head back toward the ruined building. He had his fill of the market for a good while now and basically being told that his life was going to suck really wore him out more than he thought it would. Resting until the raid began was all he could afford to do.

---
When his eyes drifted open again he was greeted by a starry sky… And ropes that acted as restraints for his arms and legs. His sword lied a few feet away next to a shadowy figure who was too busy poking and prodding a campfire to notice his awakening.

[Seul 1]

He struggled at the bindings for what felt like an eternity but to no avail. Whoever this person was really wanted to make sure he wouldn’t be putting up a fight when he finally came to. But why would someone want to even take him in the first place? Maybe it had to do with his orange cursor… Was he going to become some sort of sacrifice; or maybe he was going to be used as an example by some self righteous lunatic to give a warning to any other players that the game deemed to be criminals.Regardless of the real reason, he needed to escape. Fast.

If he could just wiggle close enough to his blade and rub the ropes against it he’d be able to cut himself free and take off for the hills. With the kidnapper still focused on the flames he set his plan into motion.

[Seul 1]

‘So close!’

The sword lied only inches away now as he inch wormed his way over to it. Though before he could even make contact, the kidnapper’s palm wrapped around the hilt.

“Did you really think that would work? What an idiot...” The voice was surprisingly soft in tone, despite the condescending nature of the actual words. Seul could feel his blood start to boil as he forced himself to an upright position. He wanted to say something back, but the situation was definitely not in his favor. Even if by some stroke of luck he managed to break free he would still be unarmed. It was at times like this when he wished he saw the Breaking the Unbreakable quest through to the end, then he might have had a fighting chance. Whether he liked it or not though he was at the mercy of this player.

“Well, what do you want?”

Edited May 2, 2017 by Seul

[Seul 1]

Embers rose from the fire like little fireflies to illuminate the surrounding area and Seul stared in disbelief as the figure finally turned to face him. It was a woman! She appeared to be around his age too,maybe even a little older. The long dress she wore was tattered and looked like it was in desperate need of repair. Other than that the only other notable aspects of her appearance were her beauty and the orange cursor that hovered above her head.

“I’ll ask the questions.” She said while tossing his weapon in the opposite direction. “What were you doing in that ruined building?”

“Uh… Sleeping?”

Needless to say, she wasn’t pleased with that response. After clicking through a few menu HUDs a greatsword materialized strapped to her back. Compared to his own sword it was much more ornate and according to the cardinal system she knew how to use it.

[Seul 1]

“Look, I don't know what you want me to say. You should know I'm not able to set foot in towns do staying at an inn is out of the question. Gotta go somewhere though, and that building was pretty cozy until you showed up!”

The woman seemed hesitant but ultimately eased her guard after hearing his confession. With a sigh she brought a hand up to rub her temple in frustration then drew her greatsword. Using a single swing she managed to execute a move with enough precision to cut the ropes yet control the maneuver to keep him from getting struck in the process.

“I should apologize.” She said before turning back toward the campfire. “When I saw the cursor I thought you might have been hired to try taking me out... I mean you would have failed, but it still would have been annoying to deal with.”

Edited May 5, 2017 by Seul

[Seul 1]

So that was it then; someone had it out for this woman. Not a surprise really since he had been a victim of similar circumstances not too long ago. Seul wanted to know more, but then again the odds of that were slim at best. In her eyes he was just some random guy she picked up as a precaution. There was no reason for her to tell her story to someone like him. Not yet anyway.

He was just happy to be free again. The first thing that cams to mind was retrieving his sword. Losing it would have proven to be detrimental when it came time to actually fight something. After scooping it up by the hilt and sliding it into the scabbard on his back he decided to sit across from the woman with his legs crossed. It was probably late and he had no idea where she had dragged him, so trying to find his way back alone in the dark without night vision didn't sound like fun.

[Seul 1]

She didn't seem to mind his continued presence either (and if she did she was doing a left job of hiding it).

“So, my name’s Seul.” He started after a few minutes of sitting in near complete silence.

No response. It was going to be a much longer night if she was going to act like this the whole time.

“And your name is?” He prompted. It could have been that she just was not the talkative type and he assumed thus to be the case until she finally spoke up.

“My name is Mashiro… I’m better known around these parts as the Grotesque Queen though.”

“Never heard of you.”

“...”

Seul nervously scratched the back of his neck as the conversation had taken an awkward turn. He was curious as to how she got that title though. No matter how he imagined it, the story probably was not going to be pleasant.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Seul

[Seul 1]

“How'd you start getting called that of all things?”

Her eyes stayed down as she started to speak. “Skulking around in the wilderness and killing people will do that to you. I had a little… Confrontation with another player once and I ended up turning orange. Then more started coming and rumors started to spread that I was some sort of rare monster. That only invited more people to try and hunt me down. Not being able to enter safe zones does not help either. I guess things could be worse though.”

He couldn't imagine what she meant by that. The only thing worse than having to live in a constant state of fear for your own life would be dying and even that statement was debatable these days. Despite dragging him away and performing an interrogation Mashiro didn't seem like a bad person. If players were actively hunting him for sport he'd probably have done the same.

[Seul 1]

“Well it sounds rough.”

He was happy she decided to open up about her predicament, but could not help but wonder why she did in the first place. Seul did not see himself as someone who was particularly easy to talk to but perhaps he might have been wrong about that. Then another thought popped into his head. They did have something in common; they were both killers. Regardless of the reason, it was true he could understand what she was going through. Being orange was an experience unlike any other in this world and he figured she had been alone up till this point too.

“I got my cursor trying to protect myself some from psycho with hammer. Didn't even hesitate to stab him a couple of times, but nobody came up with a fancy title for me.” He said in an effort to ease some of the depressing nature from the story.

[Seul 1]

“I'm kind of confused though; if you kill people who are hunting you and you thought I might have been one of them, why didn't you just kill me while you had the chance?”

Mashiro paused at the question. It seemed like she didn't have an answer herself, but she just ended up shaking her head before speaking. “I'm not just a murderer. If I thought you were lying or out to get me it would have been just as easy to get rid of you now as it would have been when you were knocked out.”

“Oh.” It was a valid point. Seemed he dodged a bullet this time around. “That's good. You do look like you know how to use that sword of yours. Which is weird since I've never seen you around the frontlines before.” Then again he had only participated in two battles and they were just the most recent floors.

[Seul 1]

Frontlining also was not for everyone, so he could see why someone would be avoiding such events.

“There's a reason for that. When you're an infamous monster with people trying to put your head on a pike you tend to avoid going around places where the strongest players in the game gather.”

Seul nodded as his estimate had been proven true. He was at somewhat of a loss as to what he should say next but then…

[ID: 83821 | LD: 8 (7+1) | Failed]

Mashiro shot up to her feet and placed a hand on the hilt of her greatsword.

“Show yourself!” She called into the darkness, though when Seul tried to scan the area for whoever she was talking to he was unable to see past where the light from their campfire ended. His search skills were mediocre at best, so having someone around with a bit more perception did come in handy every now and then.

Edited May 3, 2017 by Seul

[Seul 1]

“Just a tired old lady.” The familiar voice said. It was the woman from the market; the one who gave him the bizarre fortune reading. What was she doing way out here? As he opened his mouth to tell Mashiro to lower her guard he noticed she already had, along with a perplexed expression of her own now spread across her face.

“How'd you find me?” She said while folding her arms across her chest. Maybe she had her future told too at some point; that would explain why she was reacting like this now. Seul stayed quiet during the exchange. Mainly out of curiosity for where it would their conversation lead. This woman had obviously sought them out for a reason. The real questions were just how and why. In the pit if his stomach he knew this wasn't going to be good, but he would listen on anyway.

[Seul 1]

“Did you both forget I'm psychic?” She said with a stifled laugh before shaking her head.

“All jokes aside, it was pretty easy to find you both. Whether you meant to or not, you gave me your names when you paid for the fortunes so I was able to use the tracking skill. As for why I'm here, it's to pass along some information you might be interested in hearing.”

Seul raised an eyebrow but still remained silent. The skeptical side of him was not too convinced that this woman would have anything of value to say. Passing a glance to Mashiro he could tell that she was of a similar mind set, but listening to what the fortune teller had to say would be the fastest way to get rid of her.

“Well?” He asked, not wanting to waste anymore time than was necessary. Time was a valuable commodity these days, so every second spent here could have been used toward something like training.