[SP-F2] A Journey Under The Mountain [complete]

[Gestein 0]

The rumor mill had been circulating about caves under the mountains of floor two that sparkled with crystals and glowed with phosphorescent mosses and slime. The rumors also spoke of rare mushrooms and other crafting ingredients, such as spider silk and iron ore. If the cave system hadn't been cleared out by the higher level players, perhaps this would be Gestein's chance to collect everything he needed to finally replace his starter gear.

The journey to and under the mountain had been peaceful, for the most part. Though he had not yet explored the majority of the vast underground network of tunnels that made up this cave system, he had managed to make a good amount of headway. At first, the rumors seemed unfounded - the cave looked fairly ordinary upon approach, and continued to unimpress the further one got in. However, after about an hour of exploration and more than a few twists and turns, the catacombs opened up and crystals that glistened in a pale blue light before Gestein's eyes.

After having taken a moment to stand in awe of the beauty of the cave, the traveler got down to business. He scouted a tunnel that seemed to go deeper into the mountain, and began to search for crystal lodes and iron deposits to 'mine' materials from. However, as he came across the first crystal lode that he could interact with, a noise caught his attention.

"Who's there?!" He called out in reaction to the clatter of rocks coming from around the corner behind him. A shadow flickered in the light-blue glow of the cave. Gestein quickly reached for his hammer and turned to face the figure that approached, tensely prepared to defend himself.

[BlackBell 0]

Book open. Check. Ingredients. Check. And now Hikaru was ready to prepare her favorite recipe.

Opening her player menu, the young chief selected the sharpened knife and then began to get started. Flicking the knife over the turkey that she had hunted, there was a small 'ping' and than it was chopped up into small chunks. Whistling a tune Hikaru then turned toward the pita bread and repeated the action. With just the flick of a knife and a small 'ping' all the ingredients that were to go into her Apple Curry Pita Delight were prepared and ready to go. Now all that was left to do was to put it together.

Minutes later the girl had taken a seat on a bar stool at one of the local inns, mouth watering due to the small of the dish. Since Hikaru was a low level player she still didn't have enough money to buy a small house with a kitchen. So instead, she used the kitchens at the inns she stayed at in order to prepare her recipes. Most of the time they didn't mind at all.

While chowing down on her Delight she flipped through the recipe book to try and find the next recipe that she was wanted to try. Suddenly, two players came in and took a seat behind her. They started talking about the rumors surroundings the caves under the Mountains. All of it was information that she had heard circling around before, that until they mentioned the rare mushrooms that grew within the cave walls, that was new information.

Now, she was calmly wandering the hollows of the caves when a sudden booming voice called out, "Who's there?!" Placed her left hand on the sword's hilt Hikaru stepped out into sight.

[Gestein 0]

Gestein breathed a small sigh of relief and relaxed at the familiar face that now stood before him. He recognized her from the first battle he ever fought in the game - Hi... Hika? Curse his terrible name-memory. She had fought well; patiently waiting for her moments to strike and holding the beast's attentions so that the others in their rag-tag party could get into position. He had been impressed with how she held herself in the battle, especially given her apparent age.

He eyed the hand that rested at the hilt of her weapon, and in response holstered his war hammer as a show of good faith.

"Ahh... Sorry about that." He said with a sheepish smile as he ran his now free hand through his hair. "That was... fairly rude of me, to be honest. H-Hikaru, was it?" He took a shot in the dark on her name, hoping to break the uneasy silence of their sudden meeting with conversation.

"Good to see you again. What brings you all the way down here?"

[BlackBell 0]

Almost immediately Hikaru recognized the face of the man before her.

Gestein.

The mountain of a man who had joined Ethereal's group in order to defeat the mini-boss. He had wielded a battle hammer with expert skill and powerful strikes. He himself had stood out to her for his mainly calming and tranquil aura, as well as the fact that he fought with a battle hammer. It was the first time the girl had seen on wielded in battle. To say the least she had been fascinated.

Having been so focused on recalling the memory of him Hikaru zoned out for a minute. What brought her back though was the movement of him holstering his giant hammer. In response to him putting up his weapons Hikaru lowered her hand off the hilt of her sword.

"Hikaru's right. And no worries Gestein, you did not know who I was," Hikaru stated while bring her hands up and folding them across her chest, "But it is good to see you again as well." Now that she had established that it was safe Hikaru entered the cave even more.

"I was actually investigating the rumor about rare mushrooms within these caves, what about you?

[Gestein 0]

The big man smiled warmly as the young lady stepped forward with a poise and posture that seemed... strange, for lack of a better word, on someone so young. She did not have the air of a child about her. Instead, there was a confidence to her. Something very adult-like in the way that she handled herself and addressed others, from what he had seen in the past as well.

"Mushrooms, ehh? I heard that rumor too." He replied while his left hand lightly patted his belly; an unconscious move on his part. "Those would make a mighty fine dinner if you've got the skills. I actually came here for all sorts of materials, but the things I need most are these crystals for recording." Gestein pointed to the jagged patches of crystals on the wall further down the tunnel, bathed in the soft light of the phosphorescent cave moss. As luck would have it, his eyes caught sight of a patch of crystals that were just a tiny bit lighter than the rest of the ones on the wall, signifying their intractability. "Ahh! Found one."

Caught up in the excitement of finding a lode, the big man strode up to the crystals with gusto. After a moment of giddy inspection, he pulled out his war hammer, tapped it against the crystal lode, and let the game take care of the rest.

As the crystal formation shattered into pixels, he held out his left hand in expectation of the item that was to follow, but unfortunately he would go unrewarded. He lightly sighed as he re-holstered his weapon, and returned his attention towards Hikaru.

"There should be veins of iron and other metals down here, if we're lucky. But, I also heard rumors of giant spiders in the cave as well." The first floor's beasts were fairly obvious targets. It was intentional game design; it let players get a feel for combat without too much risk of being surprised or ambushed. The same could not be said in the lofty tunnels that wound their way through the mountain.

Though Gestein instinctively trusted that Hikaru could fend for herself as a solo player, part of him could not help but feel concerned for the girl. He was fine with going solo, and did not mind taking a calculated risk in coming to the caves on his own, but the idea of leaving another player behind in the same situation did not sit well with him. "Maybe we should party up?" His interface lit up with menus and options, and after a few chimes of interaction, the invitation was sent. "We could watch each other's backs."

[BlackBell 0]

Gestein's warmth was infectious.

So much so that Hikaru felt the ends of her mouth start to twitch in anticipation of smiling.

The itch only got worse when the grown man particularly jumped up and down like a child receiving a gift upon finding the iron ore. While he mined it Hikaru took a quick glance down at her herself. She was still clad in her beginners skirt, vest and boots. By now the girl, like many others, had been here for more that few months. Maybe she too needed to try and get out of her beginner clothes? Plus, she was starting to venture on higher floors so a more sturdy outfit would suit her better.

By the time she had been down reviewing herself Hikaru glanced back up to find that Gestein had not been successful in his mining. And now his attention was back on her. He seemed to be thinking about something, and then suddenly he starts saying that the duo should party together. A type of 'you scratch my back I scratch yours' type deal.

And personally Hikaru didn't see anything to disagree with.

"I don't see why not," The girl stated nonchalantly.

So when the partying screen lite up her facial features in the dark the girl could come up with no reason to tap the decline button. Within second of tapping the accept button the name "Gestein" and a HP bar appeared under her name. They were around the same level. If Hikaru remembered correctly he had been a level one when they first met. Wow, he worked fast.

[Gestein 0]

There was a twinkle in Gestein's eye as his HUD suddenly updated with his new party member's HP bar. They had both improved since the last time they had fought together, with both of them now at an equal level. He nodded, a subconscious approval of her improvement.

"Let's get to work, then." He said with a grin and waved gently, beckoning her to join him, before turning away and walking deeper into the tunnel that stood before them. He was on the hunt for yet another lode of crystals, and it wasn't much more than a few minutes of wandering before his eyes caught sight of a grouping that just barely stood out from the rest.

This time, fortune favored him. His hammer struck true, and when the lode shattered, he grabbed the fragile crystal shard and deposited into his inventory with a beaming smile. He quickly looked around the tunnel for anything else they could mine in the area, and upon finding nothing, continued further on and further in.

"You know, It's kind of funny." He mused as they walked, realizing how silent his company was at the moment. "If you had asked me when I was a young man what my dream was, I would have wanted pretty much what we ended up getting; the ability to live in a virtual world." He chuckled as he shook his head; He had never been one to work in silence. It was practically company policy for all of his fellow workers to talk for hours upon end while they toiled away. No topic was sacred or off limits. However, as soon as the words left his lips, he regretted bringing it up. It was probably not something to speak lightly of, these days.

"How are you holding up?" He asked, his voice quiet and soft compared to his earlier ramblings. It felt rude not to ask, now that he had brought up the elephant in the room.

[Loot]

[BlackBell 0]

The question seemed to repeat in her mind over and over again.

"How am I holding up?" She muttered one more time.

Actually, Hikaru had never really taken the time to think about how she was, or what she was feeling. Shifting her gaze to the older man she let herself mull over how to answer that particular question. Memories of going to adventures with people she barely even knew and yet at the same time, being almost completely alone. The realization of the fact that the game was almost the same as her real life caused her to freeze.

Happening to glance down Hikaru was pleased, and excited, to see some of the exact mushrooms that she was searching for. The perfect excuse to take her time. Wandering over she used keeled down and started to pick them.

"I am doing well." Hikaru shrugged nonchalantly, "To be honest not much has changed from life in this game to life in the real world."

She didn't care to elaborate any more than that.

The fact that her father pretty much despised her had stopped bothering her years ago; although every now and then, like on bring your parent to school day or family fun day, she could feel the spark of sadness rise up against all odds. Why were they so lucky? What did they have that she didn't?

"What about you?" Hikaru questioned, cutting off her own thoughts, "Was it anything like you expected, being able to live in a virtual reality?"

(Loot: +1 Rare Mountain Mushroom)

[Gestein 0]

As Hikaru's focus turned to the group of mushrooms she had found, Gestein caught sight of a vein of iron ore in the walls, just barely protruding out from underneath a layer of incandescent moss. He unhooked his war hammer with a twirl and knocked it into the iron deposit as he listened to his companion's response.

Once again, no luck. The iron deposit refused to yield to his hammer. Disappointing as it was, the lack of loot did not bother him as much as Hikaru's admission that life was not that different for her now than it was in real life. In his mind, someone as young as his resolute companion should have a life of ease. Why did it seem that she had so much responsibility on her shoulders to bare?

He watched in concern as she slipped into a contemplative mood, but she quickly snapped out of whatever thought had run through her brain and inquired about his own life in the virtual world.

"Honestly... at first it was nerve-wracking." He said as he turned his gaze absentmindedly away from Hikaru. "But when the dust settled and I started to realize that this was my real life now, it was actually kind of liberating."

As he elaborated on the subject, he became more animated. His hands moved about as if they were accents in the conversation, and his eyes light up with movement as his thoughts effortlessly poured forth from his tongue.

"I mean, it is probably a lot harder for you younger folks, with family to worry about and school and friends to be missed, but for a guy like me? I don't have to worry about anyone in the real world, and no one in the real world is probably all that concerned about me anyway. I went from working on the docks at the beck and call of a foreman and living in a small apartment to a life of absolute freedom. If I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm tired, I sleep. If I want to hunt or level or go exploring, I go."

He suddenly stopped in his stride and looked up at the ceiling of the cave and stretched his arms out, though his stare had such an intensity it was as if he was gazing through the cave and peering into the levels above them, each filled with infinite possibility.

"We're no longer bound to a society where a guy like me is just a spoke on the wheel, and there is no one to really tell us what to do. In here, if we put our minds to it, we can be anything! We can be heroes. We can go on a grand adventure. We can explore uncharted worlds that people on the outside could only ever dream of. Once you get over the fear of... you know what, that is."

His exuberance faded as he slowly brought his arms back down to his sides and came back to the reality at hand. As freeing as the game was from the doldrums of normalcy, the reality of the matter was much more serious. People had died. Hundreds of them. Every day that you stepped out of the safety of a town could be your last. In return for infinite possibility, there were no safety nets to catch you if you failed.

"I suppose that is a bit idealistic, though." He said, and a deep, sullen sigh caused his shoulders to sag as he began to move forwards once again in search of materials.

[Gestein 0]

[OOC]

A few moments had passed, and in the midst of the silence that had followed his idealistic prattling, Gestien kept his eyes focused on finding yet another source of iron or crystal to mine. However, he soon realized that the pitter patter of footsteps that echoed though the cave came from only one source. He quickly spun around and found that Hikaru was missing.

"Hikaru?" His voice carried through the tunnel. No response.

He yelled at the top of his lungs, concerned for the safety of his young companion, as he ran back the way he had come.

"HIKARU?!"

The call echoed through the caves once again as his feet cracked against the stones. If she was in trouble, surely she would have called out as loud as she could. As he arrived at the tunnel that he once shared with the young lady, he found no trace of struggle or even her presence. A quick glance at his HUD, which he guiltily realized should have been the first thing he checked, revealed that she was no longer in his party. There was only one explanation, in that case; She had left him.

An anger rose within him; not at the young lady, for she surely had every right to leave if she did not feel comfortable in his presence. The anger that bubbled to the surface was directed at himself. Not everyone in the world was an open book, and surely some topics should very well stay taboo in the world of Sword Art Online, where any wrong move could be your last. His manic outburst had likely scared the young girl away. It was his fault that she left.

Venting his frustration, he slammed his hammer into the nearest wall, happening upon a lode of crystal. The jagged structure shattered into pixels, and yielded nothing in return. The colorful shards that erupted from the wall caught Gestein by surprise as much as his sudden outburst of frustration. With a deep and heavy sigh, he centered himself and returned to focusing on gathering materials.

[Gestein 0]

The downtrodden man made his way further into the cavernous system. His mind tried its best to focus on the task at hand, though it was hard to get lost in the 'labor' involved in collecting materials. An honest day's work was great for distracting the mind.

A large iron vein stood out against the backdrop of phosphorescent moss, and though it slightly lifted his spirits, his earlier exuberance was gone. He trudged towards the iron ore with hammer in hand, and whacked the material hard enough to create a satisfying echo in the tunnel as the vein shattered into pixels.

Once again, it was to no avail. The vein did not yield the much needed materials that he sought.

[Gestein 0]

As luck would have it, the large shattered vein of ore revealed three smaller deposits below the surface. With a shrug of acceptance, a rather glib response to such a fortunate event, Gestein tapped his hammer against the first of the three deposits in the hopes of generating a much sought after piece of iron ore.

The smaller vein shattered, and once again nothing was received.

[Gestein 0]

I cannot believe my luck today...

He shook his head in disappointment as once again his labors did not yield fruit. The odds were certainly not on his side today. He twirled his hammer ponderously in his hand for a brief moment, feeling out the moment for an opportune time to strike. Perhaps fate would be kind to him...

It was not meant to be. The small ore deposit exploded into pixels, and Gestein threw up his hands in frustration.

[Gestein 0]

"Oh come ON!" The usually gentle giant yelled at the top of his lungs, pitching a fit in the middle of the cave like a petulant child as he wound up his hammering arm for one more blow to the final ore deposit. He slammed his hammer down onto the resource with all of his might in frustration, and as it exploded into pixels a sizable chunk of ore, flaked with tiny crystalline fragments, fell from the revealed crevasse.

Panting heavily after the release of his anger, he looked down towards the chunk of ore and chuckled to himself. Shaking off the last vestiges of his self-hatred, he picked up the ore deposit and continued making his way down the tunnel systemd.

-----------------------------------------

Loot - <>

[Gestein 0]

With the iron ore solidly in his inventory, Gestien continued to delve deeper into the crystalline caverns below the mountains. Though crystal lodes were becoming plentiful, the big man was no longer in the mood to make the recording crystals necessary to make music. Instead, he was more in the mindset to prepare for war. He focused his efforts on finding more ore deposits so that he could finally update his equipment.

The further he went in, the richer the minerals seemed to become. After wandering for some time he came across a large cavern filled with glowing moss and crystals that held several open veins of ore. The big man cracked his knuckles in anticipation and un-holstered his hammer, making a beeline for the cluster of deposits embedded in the center of the cavern's floor.

His hammer struck true on the first attempt, and yielded another piece of crystalline banded ore. He picked up the chunk of proto-metal and lightly tossed the dense object up and down in his hand for a moment, pondering its potential use in future armor and weapons.

-----------------------------------------

Loot - <>

[Gestein 0]

Persistence, it seemed, was beginning to pay off. He had felt like giving up earlier, after the multitude of frustrations he had endured, but time spent in silent meditation as he walked further into the mountain's caverns had mellowed him out somewhat. Several hours had passed in between finding himself abandoned and finding the large cavern that Gestein now found himself in, and he was happy that he had continued to move forward.

Setting his sites on the next ore deposit, the gentle giant swung his hammer and shattered the fixture into pixels. Though no ore was released, he did not despair in the slightest, as there were plenty more attempts to be had in the rich cavern he had discovered.

[Gestein 0]

It took less than a half a step for Gestein to find himself in position to strike the next deposit. He lifted his hammer high above his head, and with a small smirk of satisfaction upon his lips, let loose a satisfying "HYAAAH!" as he swung and connected with the resource. The deposit shattered into satisfying pixels, and revealed yet another glob of banded ore that the boulder of a man squatted to pick up and add to his inventory.

-----------------------------------------

Loot - <>

[Gestein 0]

A goofy feeling of peace was beginning to form in Gestein as his earlier frustrations continued to evaporate from him. Smashing things, as it turned out, was somewhat cathartic. Following his previous success, he swung again into the nearest deposit. Though shattering the vein didn't yield another piece of or, Gestein still found himself chuckling as he stood among the shattered pixels. He twirled his hammer by the hilt as he moved on to the next deposit, and felt the tiniest bit of satisfaction as he thought of what his replacement for the humble piece of equipment would be.

[Gestein 0]

As he wove his way towards the nearest deposit, Gestein found himself no longer trudging wearily, but treading lightly as his anger towards himself began to fade away. Laboring had always had that affect on him; after a hard day of working at the docks of Yokohama, any frustrations towards himself that he had woken up with usually faded away. His hammer connected, and the deposit shattered, but no ore was to be found. However, like water on a duck's back, the disappointment was brief, and the big man found another smaller vein below the remnants of the first.

[Gestein 0]

His mood was considerably lighter than it was in the hours before. The lighthearted, caring man that had started the journey had finally returned after laboring the anger away. Though this new source of ore fared no better than its predecessor, Gestein shrugged it off with the whistling of a lighthearted tune as he made his way towards the next visible vein.