Horunka village consisted of a few small homes set alongside a lake. The rest was surrounded by the forest of large trees making it nearly impossible to spot the town from a distance. The lake on the western edge of town shimmered from the rays of sun reflecting off its surface. Serene was the best word to use when describing the atmosphere within the town. NPC's went about their predetermined programming, but whereas the Town of Beginnings seemed to bustle, Horunka was calm.
"Good afternoon." An older gentleman tipped his hat towards Jayce and Jemza as they entered the town.
"It's polite to answer a greeting with one of your own. Don't be rude." Jayce's partner nudged him in the shoulder criticizing his lack of response to the NPC's greeting.
"Same to you, sir." Jayce answered looking back towards the man who waved a hand. He then shifted his gaze towards Jemza glaring at her from within the hood of his cloak.
"Feels good to be cordial doesn't it?" She said undeterred by his irritation.
"He's an NPC. He doesn't care if I say hello or ignore him." Jayce argued back making Jemza puff her cheeks out angrily.
"That doesn't matter. Manners are manners." She crossed her arms defiantly bringing a sigh out of Jayce. Before he could further the argument they came to a stop in front of a small house that was indicated in Argo's guide as the starting point for the quest. This was unfamiliar territory for Jayce. He had never performed a quest in the game as of yet. They provided excellent experience, money, and items, but were inherently more dangerous. Keeping Jemza's desire for politeness in mind, Jayce reached up and knocked on the door gently.
"Come in." Jayce opened the door after hearing an older woman's voice answer. The doorway opened in a small combination living, dining, and kitchen area. An open doorway on the far wall led further into the home, but otherwise this single room seemed to contain the majority of its size. An older woman sat before a pot of simmering liquid stirring it slowly when they entered. She looked up forcing a smile beckoning him and Jemza inside.
"Ah, hello travelers. I would offer you something, but I have nothing but water. How may I be of service?" Her voice was almost grandmotherly with small traces of sadness.
"That's ok ma'am you don't..."
"It seems you are cooking something though." Jayce interrupted Jemza who quickly spun on him.
"How rude! If you were hungry then..." She trailed off as the sounds of coughing came from the open doorway. The older woman turned towards the sound and forced another bitter smile.
"Forgive me, but yes I am trying to make something to ease a cough." Jemza took a step back from Jayce her eyes shifting from anger to concern. Jayce wasn't being rude; he was simply progressing the quest dialogue in the direction it needed to follow. She gave him a look of apology before turning back towards the woman.
"How bad is it?" There was a genuine sound of concern in Jayce's voice. Jemza noticed it, and this time it didn't seem like he was doing it for her sake. Not more than five minutes ago he seemed to act like NPC's were nothing but programs that could be ignored. Why now was he treating this differently?
"We have tried every remedy available with no success. Her condition has worsened each day. She needs a mixture brewed from the ovules of a creature within the woods outside of town. They are dangerous beings and no one here is capable of facing them." Jemza watched as Jayce stepped further into the house towards the doorway. She followed slowly behind until she could see the small room that was attached. On a bed was a little girl huddled under a pile of blankets. She shivered hard coughing every so often against whatever illness had befallen her.
"Oh no..." Jemza put a hand up to her mouth. Jayce knelt down and placed his hand on the little girl who stirred slightly. Tear stained eyes opened as her head turned towards him. She didn't say anything, but stared at Jayce for a few moments as if pleading for him to save her. Jemza could feel her chest tighten at the sight.
"You're going to be alright. Stay strong, and wait for me." Jayce said patting her once more before standing up and walking past Jemza back into the main area of the home. Jemza watched him walk past and swore she saw a single streak of moisture down one of his cheeks.
"Sir?" The woman stopped stirring the liquid as Jayce came near. A yellow exclamation mark appeared over her head indicating that a quest was now available from her.
"I'll get what you need for the girl." The signs of despair and sadness seemed to disappear from the woman's face upon hearing Jayce. The yellow exclamation mark vanished from above her head indicating that the quest had been accepted. Without any further hesitation Jayce strode through the room and opened the door leading out of the home. Jemza gave a quick bow to the woman and hurriedly followed after him.
An awkward silence permeated the air between the two as they walked West towards the forest. There was something different about the way the man next to her walked now. He had just taken his first steps into the wider world known as Aincrad. Forced himself to fight against the fear of death to bring himself further. So, why was he now walking with a determination that belied that fear?
Jemza glanced back over her shoulder at the home they had left. In that home, something affected Jayce in a way that trumped his fear of death. Whatever it was, it even went so far as to make him treat NPC's like genuine people. Following their short argument about the townsmen who greeted them upon entering Horunka, Jemza normally would guess he was just placating her. However, when Jayce left the little girl's room she was certain she saw something far greater than pain in his face. His choice of words in that home, the way he walked now...it was personal.
An unwritten rule inside the confines of Aincrad was that one did not ask about another's life outside the game. Net safety was always a topic of debate around the world ever since it began. This was especially important in MMO games as they tended to cater and attract younger audiences. Sharing personal information was dangerous as you never knew who was sitting on the other side of the monitor. Here in Aincrad you didn't even have the safety of a monitor to hide behind.
Internet predators were a very real thing in the world and for Jemza who was the rare combination of female and a gamer she had seen her fair share of unwanted attention. Not that she went out of the way to draw attention to herself in other games, but inevitably the truth about her being a woman tended to show itself. That was quickly followed by multiple private messages and invitations to group. She was no longer treated like a fellow player, but a prize to be won.
When SAO was developed it included a comprehensive <<Anti-Harassment System>> to prohibit unwanted physical contact. If another player approached Jemza and placed his hands on her the system would forcefully push him away from her. Repeated attempts would remove the player altogether placing them into a prison underneath the Black Iron Palace in the Town of Beginnings. The process of being released from said location was no simple feat so it was an effective deterrent. The system also extended to NPC's as well which meant players who were just looking to cop a feel on unsuspecting townsfolk still received ample punishment.
As the path they walked on gave way to overgrown brush Jemza locked her eyes on the back of the hood Jayce wore. Not every man she had met online had treated her poorly. To be fair the majority had been your average gamer. Nonetheless, the day she placed the Nerve Gear on her head had been one with more than a little reservation. Once inside she would, in essence, be living within the fantasy world of Aincrad. Even if nine out of ten people she met treated her well, that left one out of ten she would have to deter face to face.
She shook her head as the tree line began to enclose around them. Why was the even thinking about these sort of things right now? Was it because she was walking out into the woods with a man she had only met less than a day ago? Was he luring her into a false sense of security before showing his true colors? The image of his face after talking to the little girl in the quest givers home flashed through her mind causing her to instantly regret ever having such doubts.
"I...shouldn't have asked for you to come." The man ahead of her stopped, his shoulders visibly lowering. Jemza looked around the forest scanning their surroundings. She took a few steps forward until she was beside him.
"Perhaps not, but you wanted me to come, right?" She didn't turn to face him nor did he make any movement to look her way. They both stared into the forest where the creatures that held the cure for the little girl roamed. His silence was more than enough answer for her and in that moment she made a decision. Whatever burden he was carrying with him on this particular quest, she would share it.
"Let's go Alchemist, there's a little girl waiting for you." His body twitched once, but after a few seconds he nodded. A few dozen more yards into the forest and they began to see red colored cursors between the trunks of trees. They were spread out far enough that there was no inherent danger of engaging multiple enemies at once, but their presence was still frightening. Peering around the bark of one of the trees the pair finally laid eyes on what they were hunting.
<<Little Nepenthes>> was a plant type creature standing a little over a meter and a half tall with long snake like tentacles that ended in sharp leaves. It moved on a pile of writhing vines effortlessly, churning up the dirt as it passed. Atop those vines was a bell shaped torso with a large toothy maw that opened and closed occasionally. In a word, the thing was disgusting.
"We'll have to kill them until the one with a flower appears." Jemza nodded in understanding. Many quests in these types of games relied on locating a specific kind of enemy to complete.
"I'll go first yeah? Back me up?" Jemza looked into the man's eyes within the hood and knew he acknowledged her request. She crouched low and began her slow approach. Unlike the Kobolds these creatures had no discernable anatomy. It was impossible to know where their weak spot was. She would just have to rely on the element of surprise for now until they learned.
The <<Moonlit Silver Dagger>> slid from the sheath on her hip rotating into a reverse grip in her hand. She came within twenty yards of the plant when it spun suddenly opening its mouth, baring the teeth inside menacingly. She had skilled up her <<Hiding>> skill to a point where this should not have happened. How could it have detected her so easily? None of it made sense at all.
Regardless of level disparity a player could still suffer fatal damage from a creature. For instance, if someone were stunned and unable to defend properly an attack on their body could result in a critical. This could deplete their health gauge with a single blow. If they managed to survive there was always the chance of suffering further status effects. The end result would be the same...death. That was why there was an importance of remaining focused at all times in combat regardless the level advantage over the enemy you may have.
There were stories of miraculous survival situations where a person saw their lives flash before their eyes. As death wrapped an icy hand around their throat they saw flashes of white light, or images of things that had come to pass. A razor sharp tendril raced forward towards Jemza as she stood in shock. Jayce would have been waiting for her initial strike before moving up. She had made the fatal mistake responsible for the majority of the nearly two thousand deaths so far. Jemza had lost her focus against an enemy of Aincrad.
There was no white light, or images of her life outside of SAO. No profound epiphany came to mind as she stared blankly at the vine rushing towards her chest. Hubris for her carefree attitude had caught up to her and the cost would be steep. Her vision went black as the <<Little Nepenthes>> struck home with its attack. A gust of wind fluttered the strands of hair hanging down the front of her face and she blinked twice as her vision returned.
Sailing past her, she watched in horror as Jayce dove in front of her taking the attack head on and was sent flying into the trunk of a nearby tree. It splintered with a loud crash as his body crumpled against the bark dropping him to the ground in a heap. The gauge that showed his health dipped past halfway continuing into the red. She didn't wait to see the rest of the bar disappear, but instead spun on her heel roaring in rage and charged the plant creature.