Natalia 0 Posted September 4, 2014 Author #21 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 Breaking into a sprint, Mitsuki swung her dagger at the rock, only to find her arm pushed back by its own force. The rock remained completely unscathed. Alright, so the quest information wasn't lying. Weapons do nothing to this thing. With that conclusion drawn, she sheathed her blade and took a few steps back to get a better view of the rock once more. Perhaps I need to attack it with my hands? Mitsuki doubted it would be that easy, but she would at least try. Link to post Share on other sites
Natalia 0 Posted September 4, 2014 Author #22 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 Just as she was about to bolt and the boulder once more, her fists already clenched, a voice stopped her: "Foolish girl, that won't work." Mitsuki turned her head to see an old man, leaning against a nearby building's support beam. "Isn't it obvious you're just wasting your time? It'll take more than just brute force to destroy that rock." It was obvious that the man was just an NPC, but she couldn't help but feel as if he was attempting to sound as stereotypical as possible. Link to post Share on other sites
Natalia 0 Posted September 4, 2014 Author #23 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 "Well then, what am I supposed to do?" Mitsuki asked, a little frustrated by the demeaning voice the NPC had been programmed with. She extended her hands out, releasing them from the tightened ball they had been in prior. Please, get to the point already. The teenage girl was indeed a teenager; she couldn't stand anticipation, even more when she was ready to rest. This is beginning to get a little ridiculous. Link to post Share on other sites
Natalia 0 Posted September 4, 2014 Author #24 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 "I'm glad you asked." The wise old NPC said, before stepping away from the pole, turning around, and entering the building. Before he completely entered, he turned to Mitsuki and said: "Come with me." His voice felt so authoritative for such an old man; Mitsuki was honestly almost nervous to follow him within the building. No, I have to follow him. This is clearly an important part of the quest. Link to post Share on other sites
Natalia 0 Posted September 4, 2014 Author #25 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 When she entered the building with the old man, she was caught off-guard. From outside, it simply appeared to be some rundown shack. On the inside, however, the matted floor and ornamented walls gave it the design of some sort of dojo. This doesn't even look like Sword Art Online anymore. Torches surrounded the enormous square mat, one on each corner. Along with those, lanterns hung on the wall provided an orange-tinted light. Mitsuki's thoughts drifted to memories of her old dojo and martial arts training. Link to post Share on other sites
Natalia 0 Posted September 4, 2014 Author #26 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 Mitsuki's childhood reflecting was interrupted by the continuously growing sternness of the old man's voice. "Are you ready to discover how to destroy the rock?" He asked, the sound of his voice bouncing off the dojo's walls, leaving an echo in its wake. Mitsuki nodded. A smirk grew on the old man's face. "Good." He said before vanishing into thin air. Each of the fire's lighting the area went out with him, leaving Mitsuki enshrouded in darkness. What the hell!? Link to post Share on other sites
Natalia 0 Posted September 4, 2014 Author #27 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 Suddenly, what Mitsuki had believed to be an escape from reality was beginning to seem all too much like it. She frantically looked around for some sort of light, but there was none. Pitch black darkness. Please, no. Her heart rate began to increase, and she could feel a bit of sweat beginning to trickle from her forehead. Where the hell did he go? She continued spinning around, looking for any sign of movement in the darkness. "Reveal yourself!" Mitsuki shouted, her voice echoing off the walls like the old man's before. Link to post Share on other sites
Natalia 0 Posted September 4, 2014 Author #28 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 "To break the rock that stands in your way, your center must always be filled with tranquility. When you let your emotions take control, your performance is drastically hindered. Thus, you must allow yourself to calm down." Everything the old man said was almost horrifically ironic, as if he knew that the darkness would spring an emotional reaction from her. Mitsuki knew that couldn't be true, however. Blackness was a common fear, not just one of her own; everyone would be thrown off by the situation the game placed them in. Link to post Share on other sites
Natalia 0 Posted September 4, 2014 Author #29 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 Calm down. Mitsuki found herself sitting on the ground, her legs crossed, and her hands held together in front of her. Naturally, her eyes shut. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Minutes passed by, but eventually her heart rate returned to its normal rhythm. She maintained this calm for a few more minutes before she could see the lights return through her closed eyes. Upon opening them, she saw the man standing before her once again, his arms crossed as he stood straight. Doing her best to maintain a constant heart rate, she stood up to face him. Link to post Share on other sites
Natalia 0 Posted September 4, 2014 Author #30 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 "You have learned your first lesson in martial arts: always remain calm; always let logic dictate your actions." Truth be told, Mitsuki didn't believe that any of his dialogue truly mattered. She figured that as long as she followed the guidelines, she would eventually be rewarded with the skill, and from that point on, her emotional state wouldn't matter. She remained standing face-to-face with the old man, whose outfit had changed from that of a raggedy appearance to a stereotypical karate gi, with a black belt around his waist. Link to post Share on other sites
Natalia 0 Posted September 4, 2014 Author #31 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 "There are many more lessons to be taught, young one." The old man said, continuing to talk as if his dialogue mattered. "However, this is the only lesson you'll need to know in order to destroy the rock within your path. Now go, apprentice. Destroy it using a single palm-strike." Mitsuki couldn't help but feel as if this was single-handedly the silliest quest in the game. Is this really all I need to destroy the rock? Despite her disbelief, she left the dojo and returned to the rock. Link to post Share on other sites
Natalia 0 Posted September 4, 2014 Author #32 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 In front of the rock, Mitsuko stood. Determination was present on her face. She entered the karate stance of her choice: her left-foot pointed ahead of her, her right-foot pointed right of her. Alright, let's do this. A smirk grew on her face as she twisted her right-foot forward towards the rock. In the midst of that movement, her right arm extended towards the rock, her palm moving towards it at lightning speed. Less than a second had passed before her hand struck the boulder. Well, is anything good to happen? Nothing ended up happening. Mitsuki repeated the attack only to find similar results. What..? Again and again she repeated the movement, but the palm-strike wasn't working. What am I doing wrong? That was when what the NPC said was made sense to her. "Always remain calm." Her eyes widened as she realized what was required to destroy the rock, or at least what she theorized would destroy it. Mitsuki shut her eyes, and began to slow her breathing. As her breathing slowed, her heart rate followed in its slowing. Her body moved into the stance she had chosen earlier, but didn't yet attack. Slowly she inhaled; slowly she exhaled. Eventually, her breaths were almost half a minute apart. When she felt her heart rate drop to what she imagined to be just slightly above what it would be during sleep, she attacked in a swift burst of speed. Her eyes opened at the sound of the rock bursting like a creature: into thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of glimmering pixels. She had done it. A quest window popped up in front of her, reading: "«Breaking the Unbreakable» COMPLETED! One skill point rewarded! Extra skill: «Martial Arts» rewarded!" She had finally done it, after almost an entire day's worth of work. Link to post Share on other sites
Natalia 0 Posted September 4, 2014 Author #33 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 Mission Completed! Col Rewarded: 400 (1 Page) Skill Points Rewarded: 2 (One for topic completion, one for quest completion) Skills Rewarded: «Martial Arts» Link to post Share on other sites
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