[PP-F5] Seeking the Unknown (Dellis, Twilightdusk, Atenea)

[Dellis 0]

Dellis was in his room, rummaging through the backpack and the inventory at the same moment, preparing himself for the journey.

He and two other players had decided to venture into floor 5, the higher he had ever been, to complete the dungeon there.

In fact, there was another reason, too. Latley, there had been many rumours about a strange player roaming Aincrad... a player with a black indicator. It went by the name "Unknown".

The last sighting had been here in floor 5. He couldn't hide he was a little scared, but also intrigued by it. Indicators could be green, orange, or red. Never black. That alone was something worth checking.

"Okay, Izzy!" He shouted, while closing the backpack. "I think i've got everything I need."

The little lizard jumped on his shoulder, as he set off to the teleport plaza to get to floor 5.

*this will all end in disaster. Everything you do ends in disaster.* thought the small lizard, whose favourite sport was aggravating him.

"TEIN! Zardien!" He pronounced, holding his teleport crystal up, and disappearing in a flash of blue light.

He arrived moments later at his destination.

He looked around him. Calling Zardien a city would have required, actually, much courage, since it was much more a group of stalls and white tents, albeit a big one. All around it, the vastness of the great desert that was in floor 5.

"I HATE desert settings in games," sniffed Dellis, trying to keep all the sand flowing in the wind from getting into his nose.

*I'd better send a PM to the other two.*

He swiped his fingers to get open his HUD, then sifted through it, adding Atenea and Twilightdusk as recipients of the message.

Hi Ate, Hi Dusk, I've finished preparing the things for trying to take on floor 5. I'll be waiting at the Teleport Plaza of Zardien. Just use your teleport crystals when you're ready, I'll be waiting here. I brought provisions for two days, that should be enough, we should clear the thing in a few hours, but it always pays to be careful. Plus, cream croissants are sweet, so the more i bring, the better.

I'll be waiting

Dellis

He touched the "send" button, and sat down, waiting for one of them to show up.

[Twilightdusk 0]

Dusk was wandering through the Town of Beginnings when the message icon showed up in front of him. He lifted up his finger and "pressed" that spot in the air and the message came to life in front of him. The man smirked as he inwardly admired how smooth the whole process was, but then he turned his attention to the contents of the message. He nodded to himself and closed the message to search through his inventory, retrieving the teleport crystal from it.

"TEIN! Zardien!"

The flash of blue light enveloped him and in a moment he was whisked away, finding that he needed to lift his arm up to help adjust to the new environment. The sun on floor 5 looked appropriately harsh for the sandy dunes, even if there wasn't any actual change in the heat outside of imagination, much as there isn't really any pain from being attacked.

Once he had a moment to adjust, he stepped down from the teleport pedestal and scanned the area, spotting the man who invited him here and waving towards him.

[Atenea 0]

She had gather as many materials as she could, but the feeling of being unprepared still haunted her and that scared her. She trusted Dellis. She trusted Dusk. Yet, this little trip seemed even more dangerous than any of the others she had done on her own. This trip could either be a great opportunity for loot or a disaster in the making. Moving her shoulders to relief some of her tension, Atenea sigh and directed her gaze toward the window, the beautiful view that could be seen from the Inn was lost to her wandering mind.

The beeping sound of a new message brought her back to what seem to be her reality. Closing the message as well as her HUD, she picked up the crystal carefully and banish with a simple command her belongings. Going out of her room, she made her way toward the outside, here and there waving at familiar faces- before keeping to herself. This specific town was full to the point of crowded, but nothing could be done of it- not many were willing to gamble their lives and move on.

To them only foolish people would do so, a funny though in her opinion seeing as she didn't consider herself neither reckless nor foolish. Reaching a very solitary area, far away from anyone following her just in case- she raised her crystal up in the air and bellowed the command.

"TEIN! Zardien!"

The whole moving from one place to another was fast, but when she reached her destination Minerva could swear that a bit of dizziness flooded her. Shaking her head, her eyes widened as she looked around. She had never seen something like it, although she had heard of the stories of real life places filled with sands. Hot deserts full of dangerous beasts, or so her traveling father always told his stories like so. Catching sight of the men, she moved quickly towards them.

"Hello, boys! Sorry to be late! Are we ready and prepared?" She asked them, looking around and wondering if her armor as well as her sword would be enough for this level.

[Dellis 0]

Dellis had been waiting for no more than ten minutes when the first one of his comrades showed up.

"Dusk! Here!" He shouted, as he waved up his arm at him.

As soon as they were near, he greeted the young man. "Glad you came. I hope this will be a fun dungeon conquer." He said, shielding himself from the sun.

"I've prepared some healing crystals, too, so if things go bad, we'll be able to heal ourselves at least once each." He said, handing him a red crystal.

In that moment, a blue flash came from the teleport plaza, and a girl with dark hair and green eyes began to form in the light.

"Atenea! We're here!" He said, waving to her too.

He waited till she got closer. ""Hello, boys! Sorry to be late! Are we ready and prepared?" Asked the girl.

"Ah, you're not late, don't worry." He said, smiling while shielding himself from the sun. "You two have arrived almost at the same time."

He breathed deeply. "Well, since we're all here, I'll start to explain what I had in mind for this trip." He said. "Of course, if you two have other ideas, or objections, feel free to say so!" He concluded.

He took out his Beta Tester's Guide copy, and flipped rapidly through the pages.

"In the desert near Zardien, there should be a dungeon quite easy for the floor it is in. It's the last of the starter dungeons, so i chose that to begin. There shouldn't be any crystal negating area in there, so we're safe, should we want to back away." He began explaining.

"That's the Temple of Desert Sands. It's hidden beneath the dunes, so we'll have to try a bit to find the entrance. Luckily, the guide went with some maps." He opened his inventory, swiping his fingers, and a map appeared in his hands.

He handed the map to Atenea. "I can't read maps very well though, so I guess it's better if you read that. If you leave that to me, we're gonna end up to the north pole - and there is no north pole in floor 5, so you'd better not leave that to me." He joked, laughing.

"Once we get there, we're gonna have to defeat the guardian to the entrance, a monster which difficulty is near level 3, it seems. I don't know what it is, the guide didn't state that." He added.

"Once we've done that, it's really just low level traps and minions till the dungeon boss, so don't worry." He said, smiling.

*Well... I am worried too, but more about Unknown that about the dungeon.* He thought. "By the way, we should pass near the place she appeared, so we have the most chances we can have of meeting her and shedding some light onto this mystery." He smiled.

Even in real life, he always had loved mysteries. Investigations, detectives... that was what he loved. He had begun studying Law since he had loved Conan Doyle's novels on Sherlock Holmes... who could uphold law with his ability to discover hidden truths. So, even inside the game, he had jumped at the chance to unravel a mistery.

He waked up from his thoughts. "Well, if we're all ready, I guess we can go." He said smiling. "I've got a surprise for you guys, too, but there will be time for that later."

He stopped.

"Ah, I almost forgot..." he paused. "Since you two have been so kind as to go with me in a trip like this... if we find some crafting materials... I'll leave them all to you, and craft you any one thing you want. I am quite a good blacksmith, you know!" He said, smiling.

[Twilightdusk 0]

Dusk smiles and waves back as Dellis greets him, deciding not to shield his eyes from the sun directly, though he tends to look downwards to keep the bright sky and sun out of his eyes.

"Good to see you again Dellis, I'm looking forward to this." He reaches his hand out to accept the red crystal from him. "You sound like you've done things like this before, hope I won't be a burden."

As he finishes that statement, Atenea flashes into the teleport gate behind them. He leaves Dellis to do the waving, but does smile over as she walks to them.

"Hello, boys! Sorry to be late! Are we ready and prepared?" She asked them.

"I think we're just about ready to go, make sure Dellis gives you a healing crystal though." he smirks a little. "Or I can pass off the one he gave me, I'm sure you'll need it more." Of course he knew that they should both hold onto one to be safe, but it was fun to tease his friend.

He stretches a little as Dellis explains the plan, and passes the map to Atenea. "Alright, everything sounds good." He starts to walk off behind Dellis. "So where was this Unknown last sighted anyway? Just standing on top of a random sand dune?" As he waits for the response to that, he also considers the statement about weapon crafting. He'd been thinking of picking up a craft himself, maybe it would be worth asking about it later.

[Atenea 0]

Moving her fingers in a delicate fluttering to greet her two new friends, Atenea's smile for once was sincere and full of happiness. Looking at Dusk, she elbowed him in a friendly gesture before letting out a chuckle at Dellis words. She didn't dare to express her worries then and so, she ignored such worries. She trusted them, that had to be enough to survive.

"Well, that is good to know, Del. I was worried I might be keeping you two waiting," Letting out a playful gasp of indignation at Dusk's words just then, she took the other healing crystal from Dellis and stuck her tongue out at Dusk, before letting out a chuckle.

"I'll bet you a dinner that you'll be the first to need it." She replied, winking at Dellis before keeping the crystal on her body instead of hiding it on her HUD. No good would it do her hidden there, even if she was sure of her own skills-which had better during the last days, she was not going to gamble her life or that of her friends.

Nodding her head as Dellis began to give the information concerning floor five, she took out her dagger and placed it on her hip before moving on to adjust her shield. Turning to look at Dellis hand, her eyes widened at the thought of being the one in charge of directions, letting out a nervous laugh the girl quickly took the map and analyzed it.

There was always a first time for anything, hopefully this first time ended well or they'd truly would end in the North Pole- not by Dellis fault, but because of hers.

"Ha! I shall try my best then," She said jokingly, though she gulped back her fear of letting them down. "Good to know. I think we are all at a greater advantage for the guardian and the monsters as for the Unknown...We shall see." Following after them, Atenea began to memorize the map while keeping most of her attention on the conversation.

She had never been keen on surprises, yet if it came to Dellis she didn't doubt for a second that it would be one of a good nature. Smirking at the Blacksmith's words, she looked up to meet his face and began to plan out what kind of weapon she wanted for him to built.

"Well, before we begin any conversation concerning the Unknown... The maps states that a mile from where we are standing the temple should be found. Be very observant concerning staircases or protruding objects that is gonna be our hint to see if we are close." She called out, before continuing on to study the map her brow furrowing as she kept track of where she walked.

[Dellis 0]

"Good to see you again Dellis, I'm looking forward to this." Said the young man accepting his crystal. "You sound like you've done things like this before, hope I won't be a burden."

He smiled to Dusk. "Ah, don't worry. I'm sure you'll do fine. Actuallly, I haven't tried a full fledged dungeon raid yet, but i've made sure to follow all the hints given in the beta tester's guide, so we should be okay." He paused for a second.

He stole a glance at Atenea, which seemed to be a little worried about something. Probably the map duty... yet he thought she would be the best one to give this job to. If he had assessed her skills correctly, she was an attentive and smart person, so she would be the best to guide them through the desert.

She raised her eyes from the map. "Well, before we begin any conversation concerning the Unknown... The maps states that a mile from where we are standing the temple should be found. Be very observant concerning staircases or protruding objects that is gonna be our hint to see if we are close." She warned them.

He nodded. "Ok, commander Atenea!" He joked, winking at her. "I'll keep my eyes open." He added, seriously now.

As they walked, his thoughts kept trailing off. *It seems she was the right choice. She's doing fine, if she keeps this up we'll find the entrance even sooner then planned.* he smiled unconsciously, before realizing it and quickly turning up to face Dusk.

"Ah, right, I forgot about your question regarding Unknown, Dusk." He said, apologizing.

"Unknown wasn't sighted on top of a random dune, but near a general store. Now, I know what you're thinking, a general store in the middle of nowhere?" He said, pointing at the vast desert all around them. "Well, the beta guide says this floor's really wide and there are no cities for miles, so the desert is dotted by little npc run shops to help players run by. That was one of them. It seems it's collapsed now. I just hope it's not Unknown that has made it collapse!" He joked to the two comrades.

As they went onward following Atenea's directions, he thought about what kind of job he could ask Dusk to do. While on march, the party was more vulnerable then ever...

*mmmh...* he thought, intently.

"Dusk, can you keep watch on hidden enemies? If you're okay with it, obviously. The beta guide says in deserts many monsters hide so you can't see them until it's too late." He asked, while going on onward. "If not, I'm gonna do it myself. My spotting skills aren't too high, though." He concluded.

[Twilightdusk 0]

Twilightdusk grins at Atenea's bet concerning the crystal. "No bet, I wouldn't want to force you to buy me something like that." And with that, they were on their way through the sandy dunes, the oppressive sun gleaning down at them as they forced one foot in front of the other through the sand. The dark haired swordsman sighed, it's not that he didn't appreciate the beauty of nature or anything, but these endless sands were just a bit too much out of what he was comfortable with. If it wasn't for it all being part of this game, he'd never want to set foot in a place like this.

He nodded his head and listened as Dellis explained where the "Unknown" had been spotted. "I see...hey Atenea, are any outposts like that listed on the map? We may as well stop to rest if there's one near the dungeon." It did make sense, ultimately. It was still an early floor, and this kind of condition is tough to bear even knowing it's all simulated. There's probably a floor similar to this higher up without those kinds of outposts for help...

He snapped out of his train of thought at Dellis' instructions "Oh, sure, I'll keep my eyes open Dellis." He turned his attention back forward, scanning his eyes left and right around the area in front of them. He had his spotting and listening skills to help him out of course, but they aren't skills you can just passively rely on. Rather, they'd make subtle movements and odd patterns more visible to look out for. He also placed his hand at his sword's hilt to be ready for anything that might jump out at them.

[Atenea 0]

"Hey, I already invited you to a dinner! You almost let me go broke, Dusk." She joked, her eyes never straying from the map. Atenea didn't noticed Dellis gaze on her, too focus and too occupied on remembering the map. She wanted to impress her friend. She also wanted to protect them as best as she could.

Looking up at Dellis words, a soft giggle burst out of her and a dreamy look came upon her eyes. Commander, now that was something she would like to be some day.

"Now I like that title..." She responded teasingly, before hiding the map in one of her pockets. Her astute mind flashing the images of it over and over. Listening to the story had her brow furrowing with worried, but the Unknown was the least of her concerns at the moment. Dunes had never being safe places, not even in the real world and although the heat was barely felt, the conditions could worsen quickly inside the game. A trick perfected by the Game Master- a dangerous one at that. Catching Dusk's question, she pushed away said concern and remembered quite easily then the map's structure.

"Actually, there is! If I am correct, by time calculation the next stop would ten minutes away- though it is the closest one to the Temple... The other are far off to the east and west, about twenty minutes or so. I hope that one is working, we would need shelter if the climate changes. My father always told me horror stories about sand storms..." She trailed off, quickly growing quiet as she slipped a private detail of her home life. Shaking her head Atenea kept her sight ready for anything that could be on the loose or in hiding.

[Dellis 0]

"Now I like that title..." replied Atenea, joking.

He laughed again, stopping for a moment on the dunes. "Well then, I guess we can officially declare you commander of this expedition. I don't think Dusk's got any objections." he said smiling.

As he kept marching on the sands, Dellis listened to the two comrades' discussion.

"hey Atenea, are any outposts like that listed on the map? We may as well stop to rest if there's one near the dungeon." Asked Dusk to the young girl.

She stopped for a moment to answer him. "Actually, there is! If I am correct, by time calculation the next stop would ten minutes away- though it is the closest one to the Temple... The other are far off to the east and west, about twenty minutes or so. I hope that one is working, we would need shelter if the climate changes. My father always told me horror stories about sand storms..." She trailed off into silence, shaking her head.

He noticed her gesture, but didn't quite understand the motives behind it.

*There's something amiss, but what is it?* He asked himself.

He decided to speak to distract her from her thoughts.

"W-well, it might actually be a good idea to stop for a bit. If nothing else, it'll wear us out to keep walking till we get to the Temple, so we may as well stop to get our strenght back."

He continued to speak as they topped a dune, and began their descent. " I don't really know if the one near the temple is the one that's collapsed, though. I'm sure it won't happen, but if worst comes to worst and we find ourselves caught in a storm we'll find shelter in the ruins. There's gotta be at least a wall that still stands!" He joked.

He had made a lot of jokes since they had started this adventure. He wanted them to have fun, to make them forget even for a moment that they were in a game where they could die any moment.

When he was young, he had always feared death. With time, growing up, that fear subsided. But when he had been trapped into Sword Art Online, all that came back up. He was paralyzed with fear.

Then, one day, he had realized... that even if he could lose his life... this was still a game.

And when playing, you should always have fun. If you aren't having it... just change the rules.

He had started making friends, meeting new people, playing this world the way it was meant to be played - as a game, and screw what Kayaba thought.

That was what he was trying to do, with his two friends. Trying to let them have fun, even risking their lives. Trying to make them understand the nature of this world.

He woke up from his thoughts, and he noticed that moment Atenea wasn't looking at the map. "Ate, you've already memorized the map? You're impressing. This place's really biiiiIII----"

He was stopped as a strange bird went flying from the sky, picking him up and dropping him several metres away.

Its talons scratched his armor, without touching his flesh. He fell in a good position, without taking any damage, but the next time he probably would not be so lucky.

The bird took off again, remaining four meters from the ground. It was a strange bird, huge, with sand and orange coloured plumage, and a small blue crest on its head. It quorked, disappointed.

Another bird swooped trying to get Atenea and Dusk, its razor sharp talons glistening maliciously, but missed them entirely as their higher spotting skills warned them something was coming.

"Ugh..." he said, raising to his feet.

"They used the sun as cover... that's why we didn't see them before. They dive from its direction, so that if we try to see them coming we're blinded from the light." He warned them.

As he made his way to get back to them, he quickly opened his scanning skill window. That one, he had trained quite a bit.

"They're Roc. human sized birds, low hp, but they stay aloft quite a lot, so it's hard to hit them. You can hit them when they're swooping to attack though, or if you've got a decent jumping skill can try to jump and impale them. They

attack in couples, normally from opposite directions so that it's harder to defend against both attacks." He was suddendly glad he had trained it.

He readied his shield, finding shelter behind it while one of them tried to hit him again.

"Any orders, commander?" he joked, smiling, sliding his right foot forward to assume a battle stance.

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Dellis: 13/13

Roc 1 : 2/2

Roc 2 : 2/2