22 June 2023
???, 32nd Floor
I opened my eyes to see a wooden ceiling staring at me right back.
The near-quiet atmosphere was quite relaxing ; I almost had the thought to shut my eyes back again.
Getting up from the bed, I realized that I still had my armour on me. Was I so tired that I had just crashed into bed the moment I came here? Most probably so.
I remembered yesterday's events, about how I travelled so much just to start the campaign quest, and had to duel with a ninja to be able to continue into the village...
And right after that was....?
Blank, I concluded silently. Did I even remember reaching the village at all?
Opening the door, I looked on with my still fuzzy and blurry vision, and the light that flooded from the windows blinked my eyes into clear view.
I first realized that I was in a room with a long table that served as a counter of sorts. Almost no one was around, except for the first person I caught sight of, who was the lady behind the counter, never noticing my presence.
The front door, which I had assumed, swung some distance away from me, and in came a girl in light-weight clothes that were fashioned for swift movement. In short, those were what a ninja usually would wear. The quest marker on top of her showed itself clearly as ever in my vision.
She waved at me with a cheery smile and said, "Hey! Nice to see you're up."
"You....were with Hakuro yesterday, right?" I asked.
"Why don't we sit down and talk, visitor?"
We sat and started off the topic instantly.
The girl introduced herself just after her quest marker disappeared into thin air.
"I am Hakuro's sister, Mikane. What is your name, visitor?"
Seeing as quest NPCs always have this speech pattern when introducing themselves, I couldn't try to 'hide' my name anymore.
"...Zenalyth...And where is this place? Am I in the village?"
My questions didn't seem understandable to her, but she gave an answer after a considerable pause, "We are in Kesoko, the only settlement in this area."
"Like in the centre of the forest?" I continued.
Mikane leaned back and replied,"...I'm not sure what you mean by that..."
Was that the speech pattern NPCs use when they didn't know a certain answer to a player's question? I switched to another question nonetheless.
"How did I get here? Why can't I remember travelling with you and Hakuro to Kesoko yesterday? Is it because....." I paused abruptly, having arrived at a possible answer to my own question.
Mikane gave me a simple smile, and started off with an explanation.
"Well....all we did was to make you....um.....lose consciousness, as the path to our settlement is a secret only to residents...."
Right on target. I should have known, or maybe I couldn't have at that time. The sleep debuff, being one of the rarest debuffs ever seen being used by even bosses in SAO, causes affected players to fall into a deep slumber for a period of time depending on how high-levelled it was. It was also the only debuff to interfere with the brains of players, forcefully shutting down the activities in the affected player's brain in order to perform the effect of the sleep debuff.
It's very dangerous status effect indeed, and I considered myself lucky to have slept through the full duration of the sleep debuff without unknowingly having my HP cut down.
"That's.........some great welcome you people have for visitors.........." I said, trying not to think about the deadly consequences of the sleep debuff and traumatizing myself in the process.
Mikane tilted her head upwards, as if she was pondering about what I had said, and answered in a cheerful tone, "Think of it as an experience you only can have as a visitor!"
I would have felt lucky about that experience if not for the fact that I was dreaming throughout. But still, the sleep debuff was a status effect that was used rare enough to only be used by players with a high enough level, so maybe the NPCs here were that strong as well.
"I guess it's time to go outside and show you around." Mikane stood up, her quest marker popped into view. I checked the quest update, only to be instructed by the quest system to follow Mikane around the town of Kesoko.
Town? That's really an understatement to the giant circular land of civilization that took up 80% of the area in the instance, when I was looking at it from high up yesterday.
As Mikane reached for the door, I checked and equipped my spear behind my back. Even if Kesoko was classified as a town, it still might not be a safe zone. It's always better to be prepared for any unexpected situation anyway.
The moment I stepped out of the door came a sight that filled me with nostalgia. A busy street, bustling with activity all around. NPCs were walking past me, getting into whatever business they had in this town. They were wearing clothes that were modern enough in the real world, but had a twist in their design, influenced by Japanese culture.
It really was a scene that captivated me just by happening right in front of me, but I did realize another thing. That I was the only person who had a green marker on my head. The only indication of a human player in SAO.
I was technically alone again, with nothing but my spear and bow. That was what being in an instance felt like, after all.
Mikane waved at me excitedly as she skipped away, her quest marker still on her. Never worrying about losing my NPC companion in the town of Kesoko, I started a nice and steady stroll, taking the time to explore while following the female ninja.
There would never be a day that I would get to visit a hidden town again in the future, and I was seizing that chance greatly, earnestly looking forward to progressing the quest campaign soon.
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