Sword Art Online-Encroaching Shadows

Chapter 16

"What...is that?" Jayce pointed in the distance further south from their position. She followed his gesture and noticed a large cloud of dust growing in size. She took a few steps forward straining her eyes to identify the source.

"It looks like it's getting bigger." Just as she turned back to look at Jayce he grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him.

"Run! Just run!" The desperation in his voice was enough to convince her. Without fully knowing why she ran towards the mountain alongside Jayce. They hadn't travelled far from the mountain itself, but the road leading up the mountain towards Urbus was further. Glancing over their shoulders they could see the cloud growing larger as it gained on them.

"Jayce! What is it?" She was on the verge of screaming now. A feeling of terror leaked into her mind at whatever was chasing them. The man beside her gripped her hand tightly keeping her moving as fast as possible as they drew closer to the mountain.

"We need to get up higher!" His answer brought a renewed fear as she stared at the side of the mountain up ahead. They couldn't reach the gradually ascending slop of the roadway that led up towards Urbus. Instead they were faced with a nearly sheer wall of rock jutting high up into the air, jagged stones and outcroppings appearing here and there along its surface.

"Are you insane? We can't climb this!" They both came to a stop using their hands to stop their momentum pressing up against the stone. Without hesitating Jayce dropped her hand and grabbed her waist pushing her in front of him towards the mountain face.

"Go Jemza! Climb!" She wanted to argue, but behind him she could see the cloud of dust. It was already much closer than before and now she coudl see the seemingly infinite amount of bull creatures rampaging across the terrain towards them

"Oh my god Jayce!" Her white hair flew through the air in front of his face as she turned back towards the wall and began slowly moving up. Handholds were small and difficult to find and neither one of them had the skill <<Climbing>>. She felt his hands hold her legs helping her stay steady as she ascended.

"I'm right behind you!" She couldn't look down below, but trusted that he was following her as she reached up grabbing another sharp edged rock to hold onto. She was silently thankful that pain didn't exist because if this were real life her hand would be bloody and cut from the rocks she held onto.

"It's too steep!" A deafening sound filled their ears as the animals bore down on the area below them thundering across the land. Many pawed at the ground looking up at the pair as they climbed higher. Others locked horns with one another in predetermined algorithms to simulate real animal behavior. The bulk of the herd continued to trample across the grass circling below like vultures.

"Can you find a ledge or anything? We can't climb the whole way up!" Jemza looked left and right trying to find anything that would serve as a place they could rest, but nothing was in sight.

"Nothing! There's..." <<Climbing>> was a skill modified further by your Strength parameters. Jemza had been focusing on her Agility stat from the very beginning. Having neither the skill nor the parameters required to perform the actions she had been taking finally took its toll and weightlessness kicked in as her hold failed and she tumbled free from the cliff.

"No!" Fifty feet above the ground Jemza kicked against the wall of the mountain one hand held tightly in Jayce's while her other tried to find something to grab onto. Having already exhausted the limits of her character's ability to climb, the system refused to let her hand find any purchase. Every rock she saw that looked easy enough to grab slipped from her grasp each time. She looked up as Jayce dangled precariously from one hand supporting their weight on a rock extending a few inches out of the side of the rock face.

"I can't grab on! It won't let me!" Jemza's legs kicked underneath her body while the animals continued to circle below anxiously. Jayce's hand slipped a few centimeters until only his fingers remained locked in place on the stone. With his higher Strength he was afforded more lenience while climbing, but with Jemza's added weight and a single hand holding them his time was running out.

"I've got you...we're alright." Every word was strained and he gritted his teeth trying to force his arm to lift her up. It was then that Jemza fully understood what had gone through his mind when the <<Little Nepenthes>> almost killed her. How someone as scared as him could make such a selfless sacrifice without hesitation. She knew because as she looked up at him the same calmness and resolve now washed all her fears away.

"We're both going to fall. It's not high enough to be fatal, let me go."

"Shut up! Those things will tear you apart!" His arm refused to lift her weight any further leaving her hanging over the horde of bulls.

"You don't have a choice." She used her free hand to swipe down opening the system menu. She tapped once and looked back up at him.

"Please...not again, I can save you this time!" It hurt more than anything before in her life. Whatever demons the man holding her hand faced were once more playing out before his eyes and she could do nothing for him. The best she could do was one single action.

"No, this time I'll save you." With one more tap her gloves disappeared from her hands forcing his grip to falter. He screamed as her body bounced off the rocks, tumbling into the stampede of animals below.