Progressive Factor

To the Human Town of Zumfut

"Nothing... Let's continue onward..."

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Deciding not to let the harassment code send a warning (or worse) to Jaymes, Koharu pinches her partner in the nap of his neck, causing him to spasm in his seat; at the same time, Kirito is decked by Asuna in his side. Kizmel, now standing at the stove attending to a pot, turns to the four and smiles. "You four get along so well."

"I didn't do anything wrong," Kirito mumbles as they're served a meal of some milky starch dish seasoned with nuts and dried fruit. The portions are small yet delicious, but Jaymes doesn't seem to enjoy it. To her, he looks displeased with the dish (as if he knows what it is) but eats it anyway. When Asuna confirms the identity of the meal as oatmeal (which Kirito and Koharu never had before in the real world), Jaymes finally let his face distort.

When Kizmel finished, she switched the topic to the players' inquiry. Learning it was about the blacksmith, she explained that he's fickle; he can produce masterworks but will deny orders that are 'pushy and misguided.' All that confirmed for Koharu is that she and Asuna's weapons were not made by a bug, but by...well, pleasing the blacksmith's personality. Jaymes and Kirito have perfect weapons now, so whatever the criteria are for the masterpieces is still unknown--but she's not complaining.

Kirito thanked Kizmel for the meal and announced they should head for the human town instead of continuing the questline. She offered to teleport them, but Kirito, Asuna, and Koharu declined, Jaymes not saying anything. They make their way towards the canyon that precedes the camp. Still blanketed by mist, and enters the jungle again.

"...We'll be able to get back here, won't we?" Asuna asks.

"We can make it back... I think. It should be marked on our maps."

"You think? It should?"

"It's on the map," Jaymes answers as he steps into the lead, still apathetic but for once doesn't address Asuna like she's an idiot. "We should head to the staircase pavilion first, right? Take the path we didn't head." Kirito agrees, and the four march through the pathless woods quietly. There isn't much to say, they've been together for the entirety of their time on the floor, but there's an obvious hole in their group.

"Hey... About Kizmel... We can't keep relying on her the way we have. We're going to have to say goodbye to her someday."

"Good point," Kirito agrees with the girl between him and Koharu. "Besides, my beater knowledge doesn't help us regarding Kizmel. Ever since you beat that forest elf guy in the original battle, we've been on a quest path that I've never been part of."

"Don't try to act like I did all of that on my own."

"Look, I'm just saying, like eighty percent of the damage was from your--" Kirito suddenly stops dead in his tracks and holds his hand out in front of Asuna and Koharu as a noise dispels the quiet forest air. A few steps ahead, Jaymes reaches for his sword, scanning the area. The Azure Sky Sword plus eight is slowly drawn from his sheath, followed by the Anneal Blade plus eight as a shadowy, four-legged creature appears within the mist.

"That's a wolf. It doesn't have any special attacks, but it'll howl to draw more of its kind when it loses half its HP. Once the gauge goes yellow, use sword skills to finish it off quickly."

"Got it."

"Okay." Koharu, somewhat eager to try out the strength of her new dagger, eyes her partner as he draws the Roaring Wolf's attention and holds his shield out. The wolf snarls at the red warrior, tenses up, and prepares to pounce. Remembering how they fought the spiders earlier that day, Koharu springs to attack.