[F10 - PP] The Undergarden | <<Nature's Treasure>>

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

She rolled her shoulders as the last of the wolves disappeared. Bringing up her menus, she let the armour and weapons disappear, leaving her once again in her casual clothing. She glanced around, making sure there were no threats in their immediate vicinity, before returning to the conversation.

“Well, yeah…but that’s the weird thing about AI. No one really knows for sure what it can do. We speculate, guess, make assumptions…but we’re not entirely sure what level of humanity it can obtain.” She knelt in a collection of nearby bushes, beginning her task of pulling through them, looking for anything that could be considered valuable.

“As for putting an AI in control…well, it’s likely safer than putting a human in control. A human locked us in here. A human created this entire world. Made it for this purpose. Cardinal – the AI – just keeps it running. Adding new things that it thinks will challenge us, or maybe provide some fun. I'm not sure if Cardinal itself even understands that people are suffering…maybe it wasn’t given that capability, or it hasn’t learnt it yet.” She pulled at the bushes, her eyes going unfocused as she spoke and work. There was a lot to consider here, and artificial intelligence had never been her strongest area of expertise. She knew some, but it paled in comparison to many.

“And as we don’t know enough about it, who’s to say that it isn’t learning through this whole experience? Haven’t we seen a number of updates and changes to the system, to adjust to how the game works? Changes in quests, in skills, in capabilities? All of that is Cardinal. Learning as it goes, making adjustments as it sees required. Learning, from us.”

ID207109 | LD: 1 + 1 = 2 | CD: 9 + 1 = 10 | Foraging | Failure (0/13 Materials; 0/7,000 col) 

Spoiler

Word Count: 287

 

Edited March 25, 2022 by Nari-Lanreth

[Astreya 0]

Post Action: Foraging Roll
ID: 210453
LD: 12 (Critical Success! 1 Material! | NT Success! 1 Material!)
CD: 6 (Bonus!  1 Material!) | 9 Exp gained 

----
 

Astreya was about to open her mouth to respond, when she had to stop a minute to consider Nari's words.  She was right, to an extent.  It was a human that put them here, that forced them to play this death game of a sort.  Of course, by that same token, that could put a human at far, far worse than any AI that was out there, or at least, from what she knew.  Of course, she did know the book 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' that Nari had referenced, and she had read it, but that would go against the image that she'd carefully crafted and so it was easier to just...shy away from that.  

Granted, part of her dislike of the idea of an AI also stemmed from her father, who was considerably more skilled at chess than she... and yet he had seen the computers playing it against those that would put him to shame and defeating the human players easily.  It made her frightened to think that there was something that could rationalize and make decisions far more efficiently and effectively than a human ever could.  That they would never fully understand what made a human a human.  The complexity of emotion that they felt couldn't just be... emulated, by running some subroutines, could it?

"Maybe, but like, the other side's true, right?  Like, we don't know what the goal of this whole...thing is," the woman spoke, shaking her head as she gestured around at the area around them, no matter its serene beauty.  "So if we like...okay.  So say that Cardinal doesn't really get that we're, like, totally suffering in here, right?  Even if it could like, figure that out, it might not be able to let us out, or whatever.  Or maybe it like...y'know.  It processes that there's more info to be figured out on watching us all like, run around trying to get out than it'd get by letting us out, so it keeps us here forever."  She exhaled quietly, her usual, peppy smile fading into something more akin to genuine discomfort as she looked down, the materials found there not improving her mood.

"I don't mean to be like, so negative.  I just...I want to get out of here, y'know?  Everything here is so...artificial.  I don't feel like I'm really living, while I'm in here."

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

Nari listened quietly as she roamed through the grasses with her hands, nodding at some of the points that Astreya had made. It wasn't that she disagreed with the fundamental ideologies of it, sure - Cardinal might decide it was worth keeping them in here for further investigation, or for darker purposes. Still, she knew her answer almost immediately, even if it was a hollow answer.

"You're right. Cardinal may decide to overtake everything, to go against whatever Kayaba's original intention was...it may even decide that keeping us here is better for...whatever the purpose may be. I can't say for sure..." She shrugged, looking up from her work as she smiled towards Astreya. Her words were soft, spoken just audibly enough that the other would be able to hear her. "That being said...what's the point of continuing to push forward if we don't have hope of escaping? Are we losing time out there, while we're in here? Sure. Are the interactions in here different from out there? Sure...but I've met amazing people in here. Amazing enough that...well, I won't say I don't regret being stuck in here, but I would regret losing those people. I can't say that I am happy about being stuck here...I've lost...a lot. But...I also can't say I'm mad about it, as much as I used to be. I still hate Kayaba for what he did. I still want to escape...but, it's not the burning fury it was, once...I..."

She fell silent as she considered her thoughts and emotions. She did want out. She was angry at Kayaba for trapping them, for bringing them all into this place. But...

"If I knew what was going to happen here, everything tha was going to occur, and was given the chance. I'd do it again. I'd...well, I'd definitely try to change some things...but I wouldn't avoid entering the game. Even if it meant the death of me..."

---

ID210493 | LD: 9 + 1 = 10 | CD: 10 + 1 = 11 | Gathering | Failure (0/13 Materials; 0/7,000 col)
 

 

[Astreya 0]

There was logic in Nari's words.  Astreya wouldn't be able to truly say that there wasn't.  And they all tickled the logical part of her brain.  The side that would analyze a chessboard and pick out the moves to take, the steps to achieve victory over an opponent.  That calm, analytic part of her mind that seemed to tear down everything before her responded in full to Nari's words.  

It was the same argument that could be said of someone who was dying of a malady.  You could spend your remaining years looking for a cure that might not exist, or you could accept that was your fate, and enjoy those last years with friends, family, cultivating new hobbies and friendships.  She understood what Nari was talking about, when it came to all of this.  

And yet.

"I understand where you're coming from.  I do," Iris spoke quietly.  This was no longer a conversation between game avatars- this was something between two individuals with differing ideologies.  "But we don't... know that we don't have any hope of escaping.  We don't know what will happen if we reach the end, and I can't just quit just because the journey to get there might be hard, or just because there might be nothing at the end besides the hundred-and-first floor," she murmured quietly, her hands clenched tightly.

"I made a promise to myself.  To him.  I will get out of here, one way or another.  I don't care if I'm the only one at the end, pushing against the monsters that guard the exit.  I will not give up."

In all honesty, she didn't like Aincrad.  She didn't like this game.  She hated being trapped in here while her life passed her by outside.  She understood all the points made, that she could be living her life in here instead of just trying desperately to get back to what was back in the real world... but she didn't want that.  

She wanted out.  

Even if it meant never meeting the people she'd met here in the game, she didn't think she could commit to what Nari thought about it.  She wouldn't ever come into this willingly.  Hell, she'd probably never play a game again, after this.

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

She could hear the almost breaking point in the other girl's words. As if there was the feeling of...being trapped? Was that...fear? Nari couldn't say for certain, but as she felt her brow furrowing, she couldn't help but reach out and lay a hand on Astreya's shoulder.

"You won't be there alone." Her voice was soft, but there was no hesitation in the words. She knew that when it came down to it, so long as she was still alive, Nari would be walking through those dangers at the end with her. With anyone else who was still there. She would be there, no matter what.

"There's a difference between giving up, and accepting the present. I'm going to fight. For freedom, to get out, to escape. But...I'm not going to regret anything." She kept her gaze locked on Astreya, trying to communicate...everything. "But when it comes down to it, I'll be there pushing that final door to freedom open with you. No matter how long it takes, or what we have to fight through to get there. I'll make sure you, and everyone else gets free. I have to."

---

ID210495 | LD: 6 + 1 = 7 | CD: 12 + 1 = 13 | Foraging | Failure (0/13 Materials; 0/7,000 col)
 

[Astreya 0]

She felt Nari's proximity before Astreya heard the words coming from the other woman, and couldn't help but to feel like perhaps she had said too much.  Or that she'd let too much of her mask slip.  This wasn't like her, she knew, but being confronted with the potential that she might not ever get out, or that what shew as doing was somehow fruitless... it didn't really sit well with her.  There had to be an end to all of this and she would absolutely push to get out, and to make sure that as many other people made it out as well- she only wanted everyone to live the lives they wanted...back out in the real world, where it was real.

As Nari continued, she felt almost...conflicted over that.  The woman had seemed dedicated to the fact that she didn't have the same burning desire to get out anymore.  That she was content to just stay here, and live rather than chasing a shadow of a dream that she had no way to verify.

Initially, Iris wondered if Nari was communicating in the same way she had- by taking bits of dropped information from her conversational partner and weaving that into her own dialogue to ensure she was coming across as someone they'd like.  But as the violet-haired woman continued to speak, it became clear that her previous words were only part of the story.  There was a more complete picture being painted for Iris now, and she gave a hesitant nod.

"I wish I could be like you, and hold no regrets," she murmured quietly.  "I'm not strong enough to do that."

She didn't speak for several more seconds following, her head slightly bowed as she seemingly studied the ground.  Her long, dark hair covered her features, obscuring them from view as the silence lingered.  But then she drew in a breath, her fingers coming up to her hair and pulling the strands away from her face, tucking them behind her ear with a small smile.  "Sorry.  Got a little like, heavy there," she spoke, the usual energy not quite where it was.

"But thanks- it's good to know that like, at the very least I'll have one person there at the end to help me kick monster butt," she offered with a grin.  To Nari it would look like the same cheerful one she'd ever worn, but at the same time, it seemed fake, somehow?

[Nari-Lanreth 0]

The smile returned, masking the pain and fear that Nari had seen moments ago. She knew what it meant, that the conversation was essentially over. Yet, she couldn't find herself upset about it. She'd come that much closer to Astreya over the last few hours, learning more and more about the girl - about her true side. Sure, there was still a lot there left uncovered, but Nari knew that it wasn't her place to pry. The girl had secrets she wanted to keep, just as Nari did.

Standing, she held out a hand for Astreya, smiling down at the girl with a genuine expression. "Come on, we should be heading back soon. I'm sure there's more that we need to get done with the day, and I'm starting to get the feeling we've picked this place relatively clean. Or as close to clean as we're going to get it..."

As soon as Astreya had joined her, Nari made her way back towards the teleporter. The garden had begun to grow ever so slightly darker as the day moved onwards. Nemo, ever oblivious to everything around him, greeted the pair at the gate - his words crossing the air almost unnoticed as the two stepped through the gate and leaving the garden behind. Nari felt little pity for the man; she had quite the history with the NPC, and although she felt bad for how she first treated him, she couldn't help but still feel disconnected from him. Until next time...goodbye, Nemo.

---

 

Thread Summary
Word Count: 12,776 words

Nari-Lanreth
EXP: 12,776 / 10 x 4 x 70% = 3,575 EXP
Col: 400 (Thread) + 10,000 (Loot) = 10,400
Materials: 15 materials (Loot)
Items (T4): Rare Trinket (1; ID207085)

Astreya
EXP: 12,776 / 10 x 5 x 70% = 4,469 EXP
Col: 400 (Thread) + 13,800 (Loot) = 14,200
Materials: 11 materials (Loot)
Items (T4): Perfect Consumable (1; ID204708)