[SP-F1] Bold New Frontier

[Ashrah 0]

The sound of light rainfall on the first floor accompanied slate gray skies. Most players remained in the town, as they preffered to remain dry and warm, but Arc did not seem to mind. The opportunity to hone his strength and become familiar with his Bastard sword far outweighed the desire for relative comfort, especially since that solace was fleeting and would not see him home.

Droplets dispersed as they splashed against his face. His weapon cleaved a quick swath through the dreary weather as he readied himself for the coming combat. Several trips into the wilds taught the new player the patterns of spawn and the highest concentrations of mobs, and Arc knew the best place to go for him to face a few challenges at once.

Challenges that were not too far above his current skill level, that is. Arc knew that without a bit of time and effort and some honing, his skill with the blade and his ability to survive in this world would never be enhanced.

His steps finally brought him to the high hill overlooking town, and he looked across the flat plateau to where a small flock of boars grazed, unassuming. The aggro zone was small, as they were weak, but he would need to tread carefully in order to not pull more than one at a time.

Arc took a deep breath and muck sucked at his boots as he trodded toward his quarry. One of the beasts glanced up at him, snorting, and another turned its head in response. "Linked mobs," he murmured, "this will be a good test, I think..."

He let out a long, ragged breath while two boars surged toward him as one.

[Arc: 11/11]

[boar 1: 5/5]

[boar 2: 5/5]

[Ashrah 0]

Thunder cracked in the heavens as bolts of gold arced between darkening clouds. The weather on Aincrad felt so real that his heart jumped; the irrational fear of the lightning striking him danced in back of his mind. The boars circled now, oblivious to any feeling he may have had- they didn't care if he lived or died, he simply encroached upon their territory, and either he would fall, or they would.

His blade traced an invisible line above the grass as the sky's tears streaked down it's edge. Arc set his jaw firmly and watched the two creatures one after the other, waiting for the exact moment one of them betrayed the intention to strike. With a long, even breath, the swordsman steeled himself for battle.

The second boar moved first, unexpectedly, and Arc twisted his body madly in an effort to block the blow. Because of his awkward movements, the weak player only managed to get his blade in the way of the strike, nullifying anything the boar would have done at the cost of losing his own opportunity to strike.

He cursed softly as the mob slowly disengaged, grunting its disapproval for him. The first creature bleated a similar complaint, but Arc made no move to comply with their wishes. Instead, he dug in his feet like a soldier and held the line.

"Not today," he snorted.

[iD: 21981, BD: 5, Mob: 5]

[Ashrah 0]

As the other boar skidded out of the way, Arc let out a grunt of surprise when the first took the opportunity to strike. Two red holes gashed in his side as the pig took a running leap and gored him viciously.

Arc seethed and spat an expletive as he swatted the beast angrily away, albeit with a hand that was untrained and would deal no damage at all. "Dirty tricks," he scowled as he backed away slightly, taking the opportunity to glance at his lessened health bar. "Still green," he noted softly, "still time to fight. That was a big hit."

Warily, he recalled someone telling him not to take chances with many enemies at once. In SAO, one blunder would end your life. "It's just two," he told himself, "don't go getting unnerved now, Tobi."

[iD: 21984, BD: 3, Mob: 10]

[Arc: 8/11]

[boar 1: 5/5]

[boar 2: 5/5]

[Ashrah 0]

"Now," he hissed through gritting teeth as he wound up for a strike, "it's my turn."

Arc twisted a full circle as he closed the gap with the boar, which stared in confusion and fear at the fast moving player, uncertain where the attack would come from. It squealed in panic as the realization came too late, the blade was already where it needed to be.

Arc swung straight through like a baseball player hitting a home run. The boar widened its eyes as the impact took it, and it spun over its axis nearly four times before finally sprawling on the dirt, prone. With a smug smirk, Arc gripped his blade tightly in one hand and pumped his other fist. "That was a little better," he assured himself, "I'm getting better."

The second boar seemed concerned for the first, its attention splitting from the player for a moment to glance after the other. The large red gash opened on the first boar leaked a stream of data that made Arc's chest swell with pride. "Don't go getting too confident now, though," he reminded himself. "This just makes it a little more even."

[iD: 21985, BD: 8, Mob: 1]

[Arc: 8/11]

[boar 1: 3/5]

[boar 2: 5/5]

[Ashrah 0]

While the first monster still reeled in pain on the dirt, Arc narrowed his gaze toward the other. It stared at him and steam billowed from its nostrils, illuminated by another crack of lighting across the jet black sky. The heavy swordsman felt his hair plastered against flesh as the beast trodded toward him at high speed, undaunted by the prospect of taking damage.

Arc gasped as the enemy raked across his leg, a single red line stealing another point of his precious health. The young man took a moment to compose himself as the inital terror of losing all his HP fleeting past him. If he gave into that now, he would never make it to the top. If he let fear overtake him, he would never make it home. He needed to become strong so that he could lend aid to the players at the top, so that they could put an end to Aincrad.

He had to get powerful so everyone could go home.

"Grk," he made a muffled sound as he turned to face the enraged boar. "You're not getting me that easy," he called out.

[iD: 21986, BD: 4, Mob: 7]

[Arc: 7/11]

[boar 1: 3/5]

[boar 2: 5/5]

[Ashrah 0]

The errant boar who just struck him slid clumsily in the mud as a torrent slicked the first floor. Arc took the chance to race toward the slowly rising, already wounded boar, and he dropped to the floor at the best speed he could manage. Tearing past the creature, he whipped his blade along and raked it across the forelegs of his downed foe, who grunted as it returned with a thud to the grass.

Arc slid to his feet in a crouched position, gasping for air due to his lack of the athletics skill. It would be so easy to do things once he had some training in conditioning, just like in the real world. Except in the real world, you didn't have to put points into things.

He rose slowly to the balls of his feet and readied his blade again; the first boar remained down and out, a single strike more would likely remove it from the fray for good. "Stay focused," he said to himself, "even if one is down, there's still one more. Don't get distracted."

[iD: 21989, BD: 7, Mob: 5]

[Arc: 7/11]

[boar 1: 1/5]

[boar 2: 5/5]

[Ashrah 0]

He shakily found his feet and glowered down at the fumbling creature, pitiful and whining in futility. Arc felt nothing, not even a trace of remorse for his intense desire to end this monster. It wanted nothing more than to do the same to him. Why should he not put an end to it?

The Bastard sword rose high like an Executioner's axe as Arc filled himself with the tenacity to act, and he lowered the blade in a single, powerful downward arc. The creature only managed to flop out of the way as his blade lodged in the ground, and the player let out a scream of frustration. It could not be this difficult to kill a monster in Sword Art Online.

Or was he just stressed because he tried to do a little more than he was ready for?

It didn't matter. Next time, he would be ready. Next time, he wouldn't make any nubile mistakes. Every battle he fought in was an experience he learned from. Arc was growing with every swing of his sword.

He jerked the weapon free of the ground and grunted, now drenched by the storm.

[iD: 21990, BD: 1, Mob: 2]

[Arc: 7/11]

[boar 1: 1/5]

[boar 2: 5/5]

[Ashrah 0]

Arc brushed the hair from his eyes and stifled a cough as the weather finally started to creep up on him. He turned his ragged gaze toward the boar he had not roughed up enough to incapacitate, and it stared back at him in abject hatred. Their mutual rage roiled through the air between them like palpable heat as Arc staggered back to one knee, still reeling from the effects of his last failure to strike.

The boar raced toward him, and the distance closed like a bullet shot from a gun. Arc watched in slow motion as the creature darted toward him with killing intent in its deep red eyes. He exhaled.

The Bastard sword exploded forward almost on instinct. Arc speared the weapon out in a single hand, uncommon for a two handed sword strike, but oddly effective. The weapon skewered the monster racing toward him clean through, an entry and exit wound leaking fragments of data as the stunned beast stared down at him.

Arc watched the impaled creature spasm for a long moment before withdrawing the blade. The pig fell gracelessly to the floor in fits of twitching, obviously afflicted with the side effects of a devastatingly critical hit. The two beasts lay in waiting to be killed, albeit still making an attempt to find their footing and fight back.

It was still too soon to celebrate.

[iD: 21991, BD: 10, Mob: 1]

[Arc: 7/11]

[boar 1: 1/5]

[boar 2: 1/5]

[Ashrah 0]

He fell to one knee after dealing the massive hit, breathing heavily. Arc cursed the difficulty his avatar had with things that would probably not have exerted his true body quite so much. As it was, his lungs heaved to fill with air and replinish his muscles with blood and oxygen.

One hand held him aloft as the first boar crept forward, finally somewhat recovered from the several heavy hits Arc had dealt. It slid toward him and breathed hot air down his prone form.

Arc rose to combat the attack but failed to stave off the angry boar. He held both of the tusks away from himself, but the hooves began to trample him. Arc hissed as he fought off the worst part of the onslaught, but still sustained more than the normal and weak amount of damage a boar usually caused.

His Bastard sword cluttered to the ground next to them as he pulled the creature off himself. With a great effort, he tossed it aside and gasped for air. With a loud grunt, the boar hit the dirt and steadied itself as Arc watched his health bar go yellow.

[iD: 22001, BD: 3, Mob: 9]

[Arc: 5/11]

[boar 1: 1/5]

[boar 2: 1/5]

[Ashrah 0]

As he fought his way back to his feet, Arc snorted loudly through his nostrils. One foot, then the other, he found himself in a low stance and grabbed for his sword. When it was in his hand, Arc deftly hefted it and took a moment to catch his breath. His stamina remained constant for his level, so it recovered at a steady ready.

That made it easy to recover.

He brought his right hand to the blade, this time not wasting effort on a "finishing" blow. The moment his weapon was level with the boar, he tightened his muscles, then contracted them as he jabbed out with the tip of the weapon. It skewered the boar and sent it scattering as pixels, increasing his experience bar by a tiny portion. The smallest of victories won, Arc was certain that he would feel a sense of accomplishment once the second fell.

He withdrew his blade slowly, then turned his gaze toward the other enemy. It started at him, now on all fours, and it scratched at the dusty dirt in a menacing manner. He knew the next few seconds would tell the tale of how this battle would end.

[iD: 22003, BD: 6, Mob: 5]

[Arc: 5/11]

[boar 1: Dead]

[boar 2: 1/5]

[Ashrah 0]

Hot breath streaked the humid air as the two figures raced past one another. The boar swiped at Arc as his Bastard sword ripped through air and tore at leathery flesh. Both combatants exuded a trail of red as the came to a stop, but the boar fragmented into small bits of data as it crashed to the floor.

Arc fell to his knees and lost his blade, eyes wide from his brush with death. The health bar in his HUD showed dangerously low numbers, signified by a red bar that dwindled ever closer to nothing. The most terrifying thing in SAO was when that bar was almost empty.

His hands gripped at grass and tore it from dirt as he squinted. Sweat and rain dripped into his eyes and obfuscated his vision, and his own rampant breathing drowned out all rational thought. "God," he rasped, "oh my god."

The swordsman fell over onto his back, sprawled out next to his weapon. "I lived," he gasped. "I'm still alive."

Awe bled into his mind as the realzation behind his words truly hit home. His first real challenge on Aincrad was done, and he made it through by the skin of his teeth. With effort and blood, this proved to him that he could be strong in a world that promised only to kill him if he lost his wits.

Sunlight filtered through the clouds as they broke, giving way to clear blue skies. Arc let out another long breath as his eyes screwed shut, still not fully believing he had done it. "That was..."

Arc laughed out loud. "That was fun!"

He clambered to his feet several minutes later, still soaked. Arc lifted his weapon and slid it into his sheath, and he heaved a sigh of relief. "It's only going to get harder from here," he mused, "better head toward the next town."

[iD: 22006, BD: 7, Mob: 7]

[Arc: 5/11]

[boar 1: Dead]

[boar 2: Dead]

[Ashrah 0]

With his blade strapped across his back once more, Arc composed himself and set his sights on the next town. Of course, before he did that, he opened his map and toggled the location of said town so that he wouldn't accidentally end up walking off the edge of the floor or lost in the more dangerous fringes of the floor. The path west was less dangerous so long as you stuck to the road, he had been told, and dealers were usually pretty good with their vaunted information.

He walked at a brisk pace, letting the warmth of Aincrad's sun replinish his heat and dry his clothes. It must have been a bit past midday because he still saw the sun just overhead. "I should grab some healing items when I stop," he reminded himself.

Stronger players than him had died due to a lack of preparation. He managed to finish off two enemies at once on his own, but that wasn't saying much. The Beta information he'd read so long ago now indicated that those beasts were little stronger than slimes in most other games. It made him feel relatively weak considering, but he didn't mind.

"One thing at a time," he vowed, "stronger one step at a time."

Tolbana Town came into view after almost twenty minutes of marching. For most games, a distance that far might seem ridiculous, but SAO had been programmed with realism in mind. Much to the chagrin of his calves.

"I can't wait to get more skill points to spend," he muttered in annoyance.

[Ashrah 0]

Upon entering the second safe zone on the first floor, Arc immediately took note of how bare bones it was in comparison to the main city. These outposts were never meant to be settlements in the same way as the central hubs on each floor. It was a nice deviation from the mass of weak players in Starting Town, of course.

He noticed several other players taking a break from the daily grind as he looked through the market to see if they had things he'd not encountered before. The selection was still small, although it was slightly more than he saw in the Town of Beginnings.

"Potions," he mouthed the word quietly and marked the item in his inventory as a necessity. "Probably better not to go quest without them from now on, I think."

He remembered a small draught he'd received from another player some time ago, but he did not think it had healing properties. "Maybe I should try to sell this," he thought absently, holding the phial with a warning label deftly between two fingers. "I certainly have no use for it."

Another player eyed the substance for a long moment, but quickly averted his eyes when Arc caught him staring. "Better put this away," he murmured as he dismissed the item back to his inventory.

"Now... what should I do next?"

[Ashrah 0]

"What do you mean, 'off limits'?" Arc overheard the conversation between two other players with an immediate sense of alarm burning at the back of his mind. "You can't honestly tell me we're not allowed to go into an area anymore just because you said so!"

"What's going on here?" Arc asked before the larger, more imposing man could respond.

The larger man seemed to ease back a bit when Arc joined the conversation, but he remained stoic for the most part. "There's an area to the north of here, approaching the dungeon," he explained, "players have been going toward it and disappearing without warning. My guild instructed me to quarantine the area until we could find out why and put an end to it."

"I see," Arc ruminated for a moment, "and that would mean that players who intended to approach the dungeon from here wouldn't be allowed to do so," he gave voice to his thoughts, just to be certain he was on the same page as those around him.

"That's right," the scrawnier player intoned, "he's trying to tell us we can't go level up in the areas north of the village!"

Arc blinked, but he ultimately had to agree this was a bad move for the players who wanted to become stronger. "Your guild can't just go telling people where they can't go," he told the muscular guard. "It's a risk, but they're taking it of their own free will."

"Fine," the bulky brute retorted in a snide voice, "but I tried to warn you. Now you're all in for it."

Arc watched the strange player turn and leave to the north, presumably to inform his guildmates about what had just transpired. "I see," Arc muttered softly. "This doesn't sit right with me..."

"What do you think is going on?" the lanky youth inquired. "He seemed hellbent on keeping us from heading toward the dungeon. If players are really disppearing, what will happen now that he's not around to warn them?"

"If you thought that was a problem, you wouldn't have argued with him," Arc pointed out. "The real question is if players are really disappearing, what is he trying to hide?"

The other man's face contorted in terror at the implication. "Do you mean... they're killing players?"

"Easy," Arc cautioned in a low voice, "let's not jump to any conclusions. That's one possibility. There are others."

"What will we do?"

"Simple," Arc told him, "we go solve this case ourselves."

[Ashrah 0]

It was daylight before they left Tolbana to the north.

Arc cautioned the others to get some rest and stock up on consumables, just in case something went awry. He doubted that anything seriously dangerous would take up residence on the first floor, but the possibility was always there.

"Alright," he said as they walked through the deeply forested area, "stay close together. If you stray from the group, the chances of actually disappearing are much higher." Arc certainly did not believe the tale, but the others were still reasonably spooked by the concept of dying in Sword Art Online. "The idea is to figure out what's going on so we can open up the path to the dungeon for low level players to gain strength and join the Frontliners."

"At our own risk," another beginniner with a sword and shield combination retorted. "Why should we put our necks out for other players?"

Arc turned and took a step toward the brash speaker and got face to face with him. "Because every single one of these players is a real person," he hissed in a low voice, "with the same potential for life and death as you. Every one of them who lives could save your life one day. What happened when that day comes? Do you want them to know that you didn't take a chance for them? Do you want that on their conscience when it comes time to decide whether you live or die?"

The armored swordsman gulped and paled as Arc stepped back, eyes turned back toward the path. "If you want to leave, that's fine," he continued, "no one is going to tell you that you have to fight a battle that you might die in."

"I don't think I can survive," another, smaller voiced female player with light armor and a dagger squeaked. "I want to be strong, but I'm not sure I can."

Arc nodded. "Yeah," he responded, "that's what everyone is afraid of. We're afraid we're not good enough." The thought never stuck with him, though. Arc knew that it was menial, letting the subtle fear squirm beneath his skin. "You don't get a choice, now. The moment you were logged into this game, you only had two options. Live quietly and hold out for someone to finish, or risk your life and get strong in order to finish it yourself."

She stared up at him in bewilderment.

"It may not be within our power to clear floors right now," Arc told the collective, "but I'm not asking that of you. You came with me to investigate a strange occurrence on the first floor. We're all together, so there are very few monsters dangerous enough to put our lives in jeopardy. If it gets to be too dangerous, we will fall back."

Arc slowly looked over the group and offered a small smile. "Just trust me, for now," he told them. "I'm not going to let anyone die here."

[Ashrah 0]

"Watch out!"

Felix, the wayward knightly player called back over his shoulder as a slew of woodland boars charged from out of the foliage. Arc spat a string of cursewords as he tried to close the distance between them quickly; Felix was a weaker player than Arc, albeit with better equipment. He tended to stay in small groups and take quests with friends in order to survive.

Out in front toward the harder areas of the first floor, alone, was not where he belonged. "Nope," Arc hissed as one of the boars rushed toward the weaker player, "eyes on me!"

He lacked the skills other players at higher levels had, but Arc knew how to attract the attention of mobs who weren't taunted. His blade flashed from its scabbard and tore across the boar's charging body, prompting a screaming squeal. "Gotcha!" he called out triumphantly. "I'll handle this one," Arc instructed, "you two, handle the others. They're not stronger than the generic boars, just aesthetically different."

"How can you tell that?!" Felix cried out. "It looks bigger, and the tusks look sharper!"

"Focus!" Arc hissed, "we can talk when it's over!

He fell into a stance facing the boar, which circled him menacingly now that it had recovered from his surprise strike. The boar was a bit different than the first few he faced: it didn't stagger the same. It recovered, and it looked for weaknesses. A bead of sweat dripped down his cheek.

Better not tell them. "Stay close to each other," he told them, "and switch out periodically. Don't try to be a hero."

[iD: 22232, BD: 7]

[boar: 3/5]

[Arc: 10/15]

[Ashrah 0]

With a high shriek, tusks tore toward Arc in an attempt to rend him open. Skillfully, the budding swordsman slipped out of the way and twisted his body to follow the pig. It yelped in terror as it attempted in vain to halt its movement, and it let out a snort of agony as the Bastard sword split a large red gash wide open.

"Everyone alright?" Arc questioned over his shoulder, careful to never look away from a still living enemy. He heard pants and huffed responses vying against the clash of blades for dominance, but no affirmation of their continued good health. Arc frowned and glanced back against his better judgment.

Claire, the rogueish female, stared wide eyed up at a boar that stood on her torso almost triumphantly, despite all lack of regality. Felix tried to pry the creature away as the girl's health dipped, but he seemed too weak to manage dislodging the mob. "Attack it!" he screamed, "it's hurting her, and she can't keep taking damage!"

Felix looked manic when his gaze found Arc, a haunted gleam in his eyes. "Damn it," Arc cursed, "he's frozen up in fear. Claire, you have to strike it to get free! Can you hear me, Claire?"

"I can't... move... my arms!" she cried out in a panic, and Arc paled when he realized that Felix was about to let another player die. "Felix!" he screamed, "do something, now! If she dies, you're just as guilty as the damn boar!"

Felix gulped, then glanced between Arc and the boar before he turned and sprinted off down the path. "You have to be kidding me," Arc's mouth gaped at the display of utter cowardice, but he wasted no time hurrying over to Claire and kicking the boar off her. "Do you have any healing potions?" he asked quickly.

She nodded rapidly.

"Good," Arc told her, "good. Heal yourself."

"You saved me," she gasped. Her delicate fingers uncorked a glass vial and she emptied the contents into her throat. Arc watched as her health bar slowly climbed back toward the green. "Arc, you saved me."

"Nevermind that," he told her, "you have to kill that boar. But be careful this time. You're on your own, now."

"I'll be fine," she replied, "you just worry about that one. We need to get finished up here so we can solve this mystery."

Arc nodded. "Right."

[iD: 22235, BD: 8, Mob: 2]

[Arc: 10/15]

[boar: 1/5]

[Ashrah 0]

"How are you doing?" Arc called to Claire as the boar bore down on him. Thrashing tusks threatened to tear him open if he split his attention, so he held the beast at bay with his bastard sword. The sounds of clashing metal and bone emanated from the two interlocked in mortal combat, savagely struggling to survive.

"Almost done," she called back. Arc let out a gasp as they backed into each other, and her bright blue eyes smiled mischievously at him when he glanced to be sure he was not under attack. "Don't worry about me!" she told him with a laugh. "You're an oddball, Arc. You know that?"

His teeth gnashed as he forced the boar back, but failed to find an opening. "Hear that a lot," he replied curtly. "Doesn't occur to me, I guess." Claire laughed and spun her dagger in response. Arc simply grinned.

"You think they're killing players?" she asked suddenly, a fear in her voice. Arc placed a hand on her shoulder to put her at ease. She turned to look at him, but Arc had his gaze set on his foe. "Well?"

"No," he answered at last. "Would be too obvious. Set a member out to scare large groups off, prey on the few who decide to investigate? No PKer guild would go for a hoax that elaborate on the first floor. Newbies lives don't have value enough to them for that."

"Glad to hear that lives don't matter to these people..." she muttered.

"It's murder," Arc said, "they're sociopaths. But that's not what we're dealing with, here. I think we've stumbled on to something they don't want anyone to see." Arc stared down his blade and focused, allowing his breath to settle. "I think we are going to find something fascinating at the end of this rainbow, Claire. Something programmed into the game by the Cardinal system for players who take the time to seek it out."

"You mean the game is programmed to do things like that?" her voice cracked as she leapt out of the way of a tusk. She rolled across the dirt and landed several feet from Arc. "That's crazy!"

"Someone wants to keep it to themselves," Arc smirked. "It adds up. The Cardinal system was created to make Sword Art Online dynamic and ever shifting, rather than allowing content to become stale. Since players are already up to Floor 11 now, it has to shake things up for people who haven't gotten that far. This guild must have stumbled on to one of the new events, and they don't want to share."

[iD: 22396, BD: 1, Mob 5]

[Arc: 10/15]

[boar: 1/5]

[Ashrah 0]

"People get desperate when they get just a ray of sunshine in a dark room," Claire mused darkly

"It's almost sadistic in this world to dangle anything in front of a player. It's like the slightest edge will cause all the players to step on each other's heads for a chance to get better."

Arc just shrugged. "That's human nature," he commented dryly. "Akihiko didn't make any existentialist statements there that haven't been made hundreds of times."

"Right," she muttered. "Let's just focus on the boars."

"Way ahead of you," Arc replied with a laugh. He brought the heavy blade down for the last time, a soft hiss of air accompanying the powerful swing. The boar screeched out in defiance, using its last vestiges of strength to lash out at Arc with both hooves. The digits raked across flesh and left deep indents, and the heavy handed swordsman gave a a loud gasp as he fell to one knee. "Surprised me," he muttered.

Still, Arc remained undefeated.

[iD: 22551, BD: 7, Mob: 9]

[Arc: 8/15]

[boar: Dead]

[Ashrah 0]

"Are you alright, Arc?" Claire asked dutifully as she helped him back to his feet. Arc muttered his discontent, but merely nodded that he was fine. "That little bugger got you good, huh?" her lips curled in a wry smirk, and Arc snorted.

"Lucky hit," he told her as he brushed himself off and gently pushed her hand away. "It's dead, one way or the other. And we're set, now. Nothing between us and the dungeon for several miles, as far as we know."

"They pick it clean every so often, the farmers. They have a monopoly on experience the moment they can get a foothold." Claire wore an experssion of chagrin as she spoke about some of the more undesirable guilds, people who rarely recruited and hoarded the easy to kill, high experience yielding mobs amongst themselves. Arc totally sympathized with her disdain. They were the reason so many players remained low level.

"I think..." Arc said with widened eyes as pieces of the puzzle started to come together. "I think you might have stumbled on to something with that thought, Claire." She glanced over at him in concern, as if he were losing his mind. "No, really... the guild doesn't want us going toward the dungeon, and they're spreading rumors about player disappearances- it makes too much sense. They're learning a new area to farm, and they don't want anyone to get headway before they do."

Claire blinked. "But where-"

Arc peeled a branch out of the way of thick bushes, and Claire made out the first small vestiges of a path. "It's hidden in plain view," he explained, "but unless you have a high detect skill, you won't know what to look for."

"You have points in detect?" she asked.

"No," Arc shook his head, "but they did a terrible job of hiding their tracks. Here, let's have a look on the other side, shall we?"

Arc followed Claire through the path out onto an open field, several scattered players locked in combat with stronger looking boars than average ahead off them. "Pretty big area to try and hide," she observed.

"Makes sense, now," Arc nodded.

"Let's try fighting some of these boars, Arc!"

"H-hey! Let go of me!"