Sword Art Online:Reimagined

Fortress

A mellow sound of raindrops and light music entered my brain, waking me up from my slumber.

I opened my eyes groggily, rubbed them a couple of times, stretched, then yawn and just sat there for a couple of minutes staring at the already extinguished campfire.

I waved my hand in the air to stop the alarm, shook the drowsiness away and got prepared.

I kicked what's left of the campfire and they turned into particles, put my scabbard back in my belt and put the blanket back in my inventory.

I readjust my cloak and make sure everything's neatly in place, then I peek outside.

Outposts take 24 hours to respawn the enemy, but I'm not sure if monsters can wander into liberated outposts or not.

No monster in sight, only the ruins and grass reflecting the bright moonlight were in my view.

I opened my map and began to plan my path for today.

...

"Goddammit..."

I muttered In a terrible mood when I saw the narrow gap between two cliffs.

Just WHO the hell thought that making ALLLLLL but one TINY gap the only way to continue further north a GOOD idea?!

I spent HOURS to find this little goddamn passage and now the sun has fully risen.

It wasn't just walking around normally either, wolves, insects and boars still densely populated this area, so it was annoying as hell.

Well, I found the path now so I should calm down and make my way.

Still, I couldn't help but feel bitter.

Time is of valuable essence, the reason I woke up at the crack of 4 am is to avoid people and progress before anyone else.

Now I wasted my time and might bump into other players, so I better move quickly.

I make my way through the narrow passage with hasty steps.

The other side had taller but more levelled mountains, so it wasn't impossible to hike.

Now the view of the town at the northern edge of the map became closer and I managed to make out the outline of the town somewhat.

Tall ramparts surround the town, so there was no way to catch a glimpse into the town.

Guess I just gotta get closer and take a look.

I make my way down the slightly inclined slope of the other side and through the thick forest.

Monsters are still present and plenty, but I'm getting used to it by now.

Levelling up seems to improve everything about the body, senses, reflex and strength, everything has been improved.

I could hear the attack, move and counter these guys without even turning to look, and it is starting to become muscle memory now.

I've thought about exploring the area, after all, this is an MMORPG, there surely has to be hidden dungeons, quests or secrets around.

But this floor is simply just too big, it's honestly too time consuming for me right now, so I'll just go to the big town and secure the good loots early first, exploring can come after.

I checked the map to see if I'm going the right way. I've deviated from the path a bit but that's no big deal.

The big deal however, the previously blank space has been explored, and in an area I haven't passed through either.