Part 3
"Here's a pillow and a blanket. If the weather is too cold, please move further into the house. Morning Prayer is at 6am, and breakfast starts at 7. You should come along to look, so try to wake up early. Also, going out after the lights are turned off is forbidden. Please take note of that."
A simple pillow and wool blanket came flying at me with the words that sounded like a torrent, and I hurriedly reached out to receive them.
I sat down on the bed, and the person standing in front of me was a girl that looked twelve. She's dressed in a black habit with a white collar, and the bright tea-colored hair grew down to the waist. The eyes that were of the same color as the hair were moving in a lively manner, but she seemed to change into a completely different person the moment she started to be in her Sister persona.
The girl called Selka was an apprentice Sister staying at the Church to learn the sacred arts. I didn't know whether she was also tasked to look after the other young boys and girls who also stayed in the church as her tone to me was as sharp as an older sister or a mother. I could only smile and endure this.
"Then, is there anything else you don't understand?"
"No, no problems. Thank you very much."
On hearing me thank her, Selka's expression eased slightly, only to quickly frown again.
"Then, good night—you know how to turn the lamp off, right?"
"...Ahh. Good night, Selka."
Selka nodded again and moved out of the room in her slightly oversized habit. I waited for the sound of her footsteps to go further away before heaving a long sigh.
The place I'm staying at was a room on the second level of the church that was hardly used. It's about 6 tatamis wide, and the room itself had a bed made of cast iron, a table set with a chair, a small bookshelf and a cupboard. I put the wool blanket and the pillow on my knees onto the bedsheet, put both hands behind my head and laid on the bed. The lamp above my head let out a creaking sound as it swayed.
"What exactly is going on here..."
What's going on? I muttered these words in my heart and recalled everything that happened ever since I was sent into this village.
Eugeo brought me to this village, and we first went to the Guard Sentry Point near the gate. There was a young man who was of a similar age as Eugeo over there called Jink, and he gave me suspicious look at first, but after hearing that I was a «Vector's lost child», he immediately agreed to let me in.
But as Eugeo was explaining, my eyes were fixed on that simple long sword on Jink's waist, and didn't actually hear about what they were talking about. I really wanted to borrow that slightly old long sword from him and try out whether the me in this world — or more accurately, the virtual swordsman Kirito's sword skills could still be used. It couldn't be helped that I had such an impulse, but I finally managed to control the urge.
Eugeo and I then left the Sentry Point, and I endured the cautious and bewildered stares of the villagers as I walked down the main street. I kept hearing questions like 'who is he', as Eugeo stopped to explain to everyone. We spent about 30 minutes walking before reaching the central plaza of this village. On the way, we even met an old lady carrying a large basket, and she immediately started saying things like 'such a poor kid' the moment she saw us and took an apple (or what looked like it) and stuffed it into my hand, making me feel a slight sense of guilt.
The sun had almost set below the horizon by the time we reached the church that was built on the hill and formed a part of the village. We knocked on the door, and a Sister appeared, looking like sternness-personified. This is the Sister Azariya I heard of. I looked at her, and immediately thought of the Minchin-sensei that appeared in the «Little Princess». THIS CAN'T DO! I yelled inside my heart. However, the Sister immediately took me in, which was really not what I expected, and even served me a meal.
After agreeing to meet tomorrow, I bade farewell to Eugeo and went in. After getting to know Selka, the oldest, and the other 6 kids that were younger than her, we sat down at the harmonious dining table (the dishes laid out were potatoes that looked like fried fish. After having my meal, I was interrogated by them, and this was all to be expected. Once I answered all their questions and thoughts that didn't reveal myself, 3 boys invited me to go bathe with them...just like that, I endured all sorts of trials, and right now, I finally gained release as I laid on the bed in the guest room— that's what had happened up till now.
'The accumulated exhaustion of the entire day had already invaded my body and if I closed my eyes, I could sleep quickly. However, the confusion that attacked me prevented this.
"What's going on?" I muttered silently to myself.
In conclusion, everyone in this village aside from me was an NPC.
From the first moment I met Jink, to the time when I walked past the villagers in the village, at those moments when I met the old granny who gave me an apple, the stern yet delicate Sister Azariya, the apprentice Sister Selka, the 6 orphaned children; all of them were like Eugeo, having real emotions like me, able to talk normally and able to do the delicate movements of the body. Basically, everyone was human-like. At least, they're not like the characters that would automatically answer in a VRMMO.
—But, this kind of thing isn't something that can be done.
Right now, there's only one Soul Translator at the headquarters in Roppongi, and the company itself was going to roll out 3 machines, which would make it 4. That's what the developer Higa said. Even if we added in one or two units, it should be impossible to create a Dive system for enough people to form a village. Even as I was walking and observing, there were at least 300 villagers in Rulid, and that large STL experimental machine couldn't possibly be mass produced. Also, if we added in the few villages and cities in this world and the people of the fabled «Capital», even if they invested a lot of money to add new machines, it should be impossible to secretly gather thousands of test players.
"...Speaking of which."
Eugeo and the rest aren't real humans — they're players with restricted memories, I guess? Or are they automatic answering programs that far exceed what I know...?
On thinking about this, my mind immediately thought of the term «Artificial Intelligence».
In recent years, AIs, the electronic assistance for password codes, car navigation, and home electric appliance use, have been greatly developed. Once they hear a command given, a character, that's like a human or an animal, can correctly operate or obtain the necessary information. Besides these, there are other AIs, like the NPCs I'm familiar with in VR games. Though their main functions are to provide quests or event information, they can still answer casual dialogue to a certain extent. A group of people who believed in having «Moe NPCs» will always camp beside the beauty-types and talk with them.
Of course, these AIs don't really have intelligence. Basically put, they're just a collection of commands that only know how to answer certain questions. Thus, if they end up seeing a question that's not in the database, the NPC will most likely smile nicely or tilt their heads to say something like 'I don't understand what you mean'.
However, Eugeo never showed anything like this today.
He showed all sorts of natural emotions like 'shock', 'doubt' and 'laughter' with regards to all my questions and made appropriate responses. It wasn't just Eugeo who was like this, as the Sister Azariya, Selka and those young kids were all like that. There was no instance where they showed an expression of 'being unable to find the data'.
As far as I know, amongst the current Artificial Intelligence, the highest standard is the AI called Yui, the counseling program who was developed for maintenance in the old SAO, and has now become Asuna's and my 'daughter'. During those two years, she continued to talk to countless players and monitor them, and had managed to build up a large and amazing database for response. Right now, she's at a level where she can be considered 'an automatic answering program' and a 'real intelligence'.
However, even Yui isn't perfect. Sometimes, she would tilt her head as the database didn't have the information, and would sometimes mistake a human's 'apparent anger' with 'awkwardness of trying to hide embarrassment'. For just that moment, she would show that small 'AI-like' expression.
However, Eugeo, Selka and the rest didn't show such a thing. If all the villagers in Rulid were...AIs the programmers created as boys, girls, old grannies, adults and so, in a certain sense, the STL has a very advanced Over-Technology. But in the end, I really can't imagine it actually working...
I thought about this, got up from the bed and let my feet land on the floor.
There was an old oil lamp at the wall where the top of the bed was. The orange-yellowish light flickered, giving off a strange burnt smell. Of course, I never touched such a thing in real life, but the room Asuna and I shared in Alfheim had a similar kind of lamp, so I subconsciously reached over to touch the surface.
However, there wasn't any pop-up operating window. I suddenly thought of something and used both my fingers to draw in a motion that was not a gesture command, but something called the «Stacia Seal». I then touched the surface of the lamp, and a purple glow appeared there this time. However, the lamp's durability was the only thing shown, there was no button like lights on, lights out.
Damn it. Selka would definitely not tell me the way to turn off the light that easily without nagging at me first ...Just when I was panicking, I finally found a little knob at the base of the lamp. Anyway, let's try to turn it first. Kyukyu. With a metallic sound, the wick tightened, and the lamp let off a thin trail of smoke before being extinguished. The moonlight pierced through the window, landing inside the room covered in darkness, leaving behind a silvery-white line.
I finally managed to clear this highly difficult mission, and I returned to the bedside, put my pillow in a suitable position and laid back down. I felt a little cold, so I put on the blanket Selka gave me, and soon, I just felt like sleeping.
—If they're not humans nor AIs, what are they?
In a corner of my thoughts, I already had an answer. However, it felt scary to say it out. Assuming that I'm correct — this developer called RATH has already extended its arms over to the realm of god. When compared to this, the process of using the STL to understand human soul is already at a level where they're merely playing with the key to Pandora's Box with their finger.
I entered dreamland and listened to the voice deep inside my consciousness.
Now's not the time to look for an escape. I have to head to the capital. Once I go there, I'll find the reason why I exist in this world...
KLANG!!
I seemed to hear a bell from far away.
Just when I treated it as a sound in my dreams, my shoulder just felt like it was being nudged by someone, so I nudged my head into the blanket and grumbled,
"Uu— Another 10 minutes...no, 5..."
"No way. It's already time to wake up."
"3 minutes...just 3 minutes will do..."
Just as my shoulders continued to shake, a slight sense of disorientation caused me to lose my sleepiness. If it were my younger sister Suguha waking me up, she wouldn't be using such a slow action, but would be yelling, tugging at my hair, pinching my hair, pinching my nose and doing all sorts of violent acts, or even the devilish act of pulling away the futon.
At this moment, I realized that where I am now is neither reality nor Alfheim, and I poked my face out from the wool blanket. I widened my eyes slightly and exchanged looks with Selka, who was in a neat nun habit. This apprentice Sister lowered her head and looked at me.
"It's 5.30. The kids have all woken up and washed up. If you don't hurry, you won't be able to make it for Worship."
"...Okay, I'll come over..."
I left aside the warm bed and the peaceful rest without regrets and sat up. I looked around, and it's just like my memory from the previous night. This is the guest room in the second floor of the Rulid church. In other words, my body went through the virtual world Underworld that was created by the Soul Translator. Such an amazing experience doesn't look like it'll end in one night.
"So it only seemed like a dream, huh?"
"Eh, what?"
On hearing me mutter this phrase, Selka gave a surprised expression. On seeing this, I hurriedly shake my head.
"It, it's nothing. I'll get changed and come over. It's the worship hall on the first level, right?"
"Un, even if you're a guest or a lost child of Vector, you have to pray to the god of Stacia as long as you stay in the church. Every single cup of water is a blessing of god's grace, and we have to be grateful to this. That's what Sister told us..."
She'll continue rattling on and on if this keeps up, so I hurriedly got off the bed. I flipped this thin shirt, preparing to take off the pajamas I borrowed, and Selka let out a frantic sound.
"It, it'll start in 20 minutes. Don't be late! You must wash your face in the well's water out there!"
Patapata, she walked out of the room and quickly closed the door before vanishing from my sight. This reaction is obviously not something an NPC can do...I thought as I took off my shirt and brought the «Initial Equipment» lying on the chair, the blue short-sleeved tunic to my head. I brought it up to my nose and sniffed at it, only to find that there's no sweat. As expected, microorganisms and other things like that can't be replicated. Maybe defects like stains or holes are controlled by the durability value called «Life».
On thinking about this, I pulled out the «Window» attached to the tunic, and the durability was shown as the words [44/45]. Looks like it doesn't matter for a short time, but if I want to stay in this world for a long time, I have to find a change of clothes and so I have to find a way to get items and money.
I continued to think as I changed my clothes, then walked out of the room.
I walked down the stairs and out of the back door beside the kitchen. The beautiful sunrise was already over my head. She said that it's still not six yet but how do the residents in this world tell the time? I can't see anything like a clock, whether it's in the cafeteria or the living room.
I lowered my head and stepped onto the stone path. I soon saw a well chiseled from stone. The kids seemed to have used it already as the surrounding moss patch was already wet. I opened the lid, threw the wooden basket with the rope attached to it down, and a nice kalakalapon sound could be heard. I pulled the rope and lifted up a full pail of the wells transparent water into the tray beside me.
I scooped up the wells icy cold water with my hands to wash my face and also drank a mouthful of it. At this moment, my sleepiness was shaken away completely. I think I slept before 9 yesterday, and even though I woke up early, I should have slept for 8 hours... On thinking about this, I sank into deep thought again.
If this is Underworld, the FLA mechanism is probably still working. If the rate is three times, my actual sleep time should be less than 3 hours. If it's a fantastical idea like what I had yesterday such that it's accelerated to 1000 times, it'll mean that 8 hours is actually the equivalent of less than 30 seconds. Can such a short time really cause the mind to be so awake?
Really, I don't understand at all. I must get away from here as fast as possible and check the situation... However, the soft voice when I was about to sleep continued to echo in my ears.
I was able to wake up in this world with the consciousness of Kirito— Kirigaya Kazuto. Whether it's because of some irregular incident or a certain person's will, I probably exist here to complete a mission, I guess? I'm not some theorist on life, but on the other hand, I don't deny that every single existence has a certain purpose. If that's the case, why is it that so many people lost their lives in the SAO incident...
Bashaa! I again scooped up another handful of the wells water and splashed it on my face to interrupt my thoughts. Right now, I have two courses of action. First, I can investigate if there are any RATH workers who know how to log out from here, and second, I have to find a way to the capital in order to discover the purpose I exist in this world.
The former's not that complicated to me. I'm not sure about the FLA rate, but with a RATH technician disguised as a villager, they probably won't stay here for years, even decades. In other words, if residents who left this place on business trips or holidays do exist, it means that they're very likely to be observers.
As for the latter — to be honest, there's no real good way to go about with this. Eugeo said before that riding a horse from here to the capital will take about a week and if we walk by the shortest route, it'll take three times the time. If possible, I really want to get a horse, but there's still no way to go about getting one, and I have no equipment or funds for the trip. Also, I really lack knowledge about this world, and I need a guide. I feel that Eugeo's the best choice, but he has a «Sacred Task» that he can't complete in his lifetime.
I might as well break the Taboo Index and get arrested by that knight or something to make things faster. However, I'll most probably be taken away to the jail cell directly, and I'll have to endure a few years of manual labor, having to carry lots of stone slabs. That will require quite some endurance. But before that, I may be sentenced to death.
Then, I had better ask Eugeo whether the sacred arts have some release or revival spells. Just when I'm thinking about this, Selka pokes her head out from the back door of the church and on seeing me, shouted at me,
"KIRITO, HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP BATHING!? WORSHIP'S STARTING!!"
"Ahh, un...sorry, I'll come over now."
I hurriedly raised my hand, put the cover of the well and the basket back and hurriedly returned to the building.
After going through the solemn worship and the noisy breakfast, the kids all went out to do cleaning and washing clothes, while Selka and Sister Azariya headed towards the library to learn the same sacred arts. To me, who's basically living here for free, this caused quite some guilt in me. I harbored such feeling as I walked out of the church's gate and headed towards the central plaza for Eugeo to come back.
A few minutes later, a familiar profile with flax-colored hair appeared from the direction of the disappearing morning glow. Then, the clock tower behind the church chimed a simple yet elegant melody.
"Ahh...I see."
On hearing what I said the moment I met him, Eugeo widened his eyes in surprise.
"Morning, Kirito. What do you mean by 'I see'?"
"Morning, Eugeo. Well, it's just that...I found that every melody of the bell's different for every hour. In other words, the villagers here uses this to tell the time."
"Of course, that's how it is. The songs of praise for the «Light of Solus» are divided into 12 rhythms. At every half point, there'll be a chime. Unfortunately, the sound can't reach Gigas Cedar, so I can only check the time through the height of Solus."
"I see... so that means there are no clocks in this world."
I carelessly let out these words, and Eugeo tilted his head slightly.
"Clock...? What's that?"
This is bad. Don't tell me such a term doesn't exist here? I gave off a cold sweat inside my heart and tried to explain.
"Erm, a clock is...a tool that's a round plate with numbers on it and has rotating needles to point the time..."
On hearing that, Eugeo's face unexpectedly gave a shine and nodded.
"Ahh...that. I saw it in the picture books when I was young. A long time ago, the center of the capital seemed to have a building called a «Divine Instrument of Engraved Time», but people often looked up at that divine instrument and never got to work seriously, which angered god, who destroyed that divine instrument with lightning. From then on, humans could only denote the time through the bell chimes."
"He, heh...well, I'm always worried about the time when classes are about to end..."
I said such careless things I didn't think through again, and luckily, I managed to pass safely this time.
"Ahaha. That's how it is. When I was learning at the church, I was always waiting for the noon bell to ring."
Eugeo chuckled as he looked away. I followed his line of sight and finally saw the clock tower of the church. In the window that's designed as a coin-shaped chamfer, bells of all sizes were all shining inside. However, even though the bells were ringing, no one could be seen there.
"That bell...how exactly does it ring?"
"...Really, Kirito, how can you forget about that?"
Eugeo said with a stunned yet delighted voice, coughed midway through, and continued,
"There's no need for anyone to go ring it. This is the only Divine Instrument in the village. Every day, it will regularly ring hymns of praises without missing by a second. Of course, it's not just Rulid village that has this. Zakkaria and the other villages and towns all have them... ahh, but, it's not just that it is the only Divine Instrument..."
The energetic Eugeo trailed off, which was very rare, and finally lost his voice at the end, which caused me to frown. However, Eugeo didn't look like he wanted to continue discussing about this as he clapped his hands lightly and said,
"Now, I have something I have to do. What plans do you have today, Kirito?"
"Well..."
I pondered for a while. Though I really want to venture through the village, I might get into trouble if I was alone. If I can ask Eugeo about whether there are villagers who went out just like I imagined and in order to try and coax Eugeo to head to the capital to accomplish my cruel plan, I have to find out what Eugeo's Sacred Task is.
"...If possible, let me help you out today, Eugeo."
After thinking this through, I said such words, and Eugeo grinned and nodded.
"Of course I'll gladly bring you along. I thought you'd say so too, Kirito. Look, I brought money for buns enough for two."
He took out two bronze coins from his shorts, and they let out a clang on his palm.
"Erm, well, I'm really worried about bothering you there."
After seeing me shake my head and hands, Eugeo shrugged and smiled.
"You don't have to worry. I earn my pay from the village workplace, and there's nothing I can actually spend it on, so I can only save up."
Oh, that's good, really good. In that case, I have money to go to the capital. My mind started to have such a meaningless thought. Right now, all that's left is for Eugeo to finish his Sacred Task and cut down the giant tree.
My heart is thinking of such a cunning plot, but I showed an apologetic look. On seeing me like this, Eugeo still maintained his smile and said, 'Let's go' before walking southwards. I followed him from behind and then looked back and up to the bell tower that would automatically chime every hour.
This was really an amazing world. Even though it created a realistic rural life, the presence of a VRMMO still couldn't be shaken off. In the main streets of all the floors in the floating city Aincrad, there was a bell that indicated the hour.
Sacred arts — and the Axiom Church; these are most likely fake names for spells and the world's system. If that's the case, how can we explain the «Land of Darkness» that exist outside this world? Is it a counter-system...
While I was in deep thought, Eugeo, who was beside me, arrived in front of what looked like a bread shop and greeted the old lady boss with an apron before buying four buns. I looked inside the shop, and saw that a man dressed like a shopkeeper was kneading the bread. The aroma inside the place floated out through the large window.
In an hour, or maybe 30 minutes, I can buy bread that's freshly baked, but being unable to be flexible here is probably part of the «Sacred Task». Eugeo's job to reach the forest and swing the axe has a fixed timing that can't be changed easily. As I can only get him to accompany me on this trip once he completes the «Sacred Task», my plan won't be accomplished that easily.
But no matter what, the system always has loopholes. Even someone like me of unknown origin and identity is going to work with him as an assistant.
We moved through the arch to the south and stepped on the path passing through the green wheat fields as we headed towards the forest deep inside. From here, I could clearly see the giant tree Gigas Cedar that reached the skies.
Eugeo and I continued to exchange turns swinging the Dragon Bone Axe hard, and unknowingly, the sun called Solus had already risen to its noon position.
I continued to move my arms that were feeling as heavy as lead and swung the 500th swing deep into the monstrously large tree. KOONG! The large tree let out sawdust that scattered like sand, which showed that the extremely large durability value of the tree was slightly worn out.
"Uwahh, can't do it. I can't swing anymore."
I cried out and threw the axe into the ground before lying on the mossy patch as if my power was short-circuited. I received the water bottle Eugeo handed over to me and greedily gulped down the sweet liquid called «Siral Water» — I still have no idea what language this is.
Eugeo just smiled in a carefree manner as he looked down at me who's like this now before saying with a teacher-like tone,
"But you really have quite the talent, Kirito. It's true. You managed to grasp the basics after just two days."
"...But I still can't catch up to you at all, Eugeo..."
I sighed and adjusted my sitting position, leaning with the Gigas Cedar against my back.
As I had been swinging the heavy axe for the entire morning, I've gotten a rough grasp of my stats in this world.
I already knew it, but the stats are far inferior to the superhuman-class strength and agility the swordsman Kirito possessed in the old SAO. Even so, it's possible that the weak Kirigaya Kazuto in the real world was used as reference. If it's the me in the real world, once I swing such a heavy axe for an hour like this, I'll definitely have muscle pains all over the place and be unable to get up on the second day.
In other words, my current strength now is about the average value of a 17, 18 year old young man in this world. Eugeo's strength far exceeds mine, as expected of someone who's been working on this for 7 years.
Luckily, the feeling of the avatar or the imagination power is still the same or even more efficient than the VRMMOs I played before. Besides, having swung the axe several hundred times while being aware of the weight and trajectory, I finally have the confidence to wield this axe which needs a tremendous amount of strength.
Also, I've done such repeated practices of the same routine countless times in the old Aincrad, even skipping sleep and meals to do so, so this might be the area I'm best at. At least I won't lose to Eugeo in terms of determination—
No...wait. I think I just missed out something important there...
"Then, Kirito."
Eugeo tossed me two round buns, which interrupted my train of thought. I hurriedly reached for them with my hands.
"...? What's wrong? You have a weird expression on your face, you know?"
"Ah...no..."
I finally managed to grasp the end of this trail of thought that was about to leave me, but the remaining fragment only gave a vague and puzzling impression that I was thinking of something important. Well, if it's important, I'll think of it at some point. I then shrugged my shoulders and thanked Eugeo,
"Thanks. I'll take these then. Itadakimasu."
"Sorry that the bread is the same as yesterday."
"It's nothing, it's nothing."
I opened my mouth to take a large bite. The taste was good— but to be honest, it was still too hard. Eugeo probably felt the same way as he frowned and tried his best to move his lower jaw.
Both of us continued to spend several minutes eating the first bun and as we exchanged looks with each other, we gave each other slight smiles. Eugeo drank a gulp of Siral water and looked afar.
"...I really want to let you try out Alice's pie, Kirito... crispy skin, filled with juicy filling... having it together with freshly squeezed milk, making me feel that it's a rare delicacy in this world..."
As he said this, my tongue inexplicably seem to taste the pie as I drooled. I hurriedly took a bite off the second bun and asked without thinking,
"Then, Eugeo. That person... Alice, she was taught sacred arts in the church, right? To become the successor to Sister Azariya."
"Un, that's how it was. She was hailed as the first prodigy since the village was built, and she could use a large number of arts at the age of ten."
Eugeo said with a proud tone.
"Then... the girl learning in the church now called Selka is..."
"Un... Sister Azariya was really devastated when Alice was taken away by the Integrity Knight and said that she wouldn't take in any more disciples. However, the village chief Gasupht managed to convince her and two years ago, the new apprentice Selka joined the church. She's Alice's little sister."
"Little sister... heh..."
If I have to say it, she should be a stern big sister. I remembered Selka in my mind who gave such an impression as I said this. Since this Alice is her older sister, she must have loved to take care of others and been a busybody as well. She should be able to become a good couple with Eugeo.
I thought about this as I glanced at Eugeo. He seemed to have thought of something as he frowned.
"...As our age difference is 5 years, I haven't played much with Selka. When I went over to Alice's house from time to time, she often hid behind her mother or grandmother shyly... her father Gasupht, everyone and even Sister Azariya all believed that Alice's little sister had the talent in sacred arts and were looking forward to it... however..."
"Selka didn't have the talent like her sister's, right?"
On hearing my direct question, Eugeo merely grimaced and nodded.
"We can't really say that though. No matter who that person is, when starting with a Sacred Task, they can't possibly do it well. It's the same for me and I only managed to wield this large axe properly after more than 3 years. With perseverance, no matter what kind of Sacred Task it is, it can finally be mastered one day. It's just that... for Selka who's only just 12 years old, she's been working a little too hard..."
"Too hard?"
"...At the time Alice started learning the sacred arts, she didn't stay in the church. She only studied till noon, and then handed the bento over to me before going off to help with housework in the afternoon. But Selka used the reasoning that she didn't have enough time to study and moved out of the house. It just so happened that Jana and Algu moved into the church, and the Sister herself definitely couldn't handle them, so Selka probably also had such a reason for moving to the church."
I remember seeing Selka who was seriously taking care of the children. I can't tell how tough it was, but for a twelve-year-old who has to study and take care of 6 kids, it's probably not easy.
"I see...and I, a «Vector's lost child» suddenly moved there. At least I shouldn't bring trouble about for Selka."
I definitely have to wake up at 5.30 from tomorrow on. With such resolve, I continued the topic just now by saying 'now that you say so'.
"The kids other than Selka living in that church all lost their parents? Their parents are dead? How did six people get this at the same time in such a peaceful village?"
On hearing this question, Eugeo looked slightly depressed, and lowered his head to look at the mossland growing not too far away.
"...It happened 3 years ago. There was an epidemic in the village that was unseen of for almost 100 years, causing 20 people of all ages to die. Sister Azariya and the pharmacist Ivenda tried all sorts of means, but couldn't cure those people with fevers. The kids in the church lost their parents just like that."
This unexpected answer caused me to go silent.
—A contagion? But this is the virtual world. No bacteria or virus can possibly exist here. In other words, the people who died because of the virus were causing out of some intention by the people controlling this world or the system. However, why is that so? Most likely, they want to use some form of calamity on the residents to create some form of burden on them, but why carry out a simulation of such a thing?
In the end, everything points in one direction. That's the reason why this world exists—
"It's not just epidemics though. Recently, there have been a lot of weird things going on. Stray long-clawed bears, black-furred wolves attacking people in packs, the buds of wheat unable to expand... even the regular horse carriage travelling from here to Zakkaria may not show up for months. The reason is said to be... that Goblin tribes appeared there."
"Wha, what did you say?"
I blinked a few times.
"Goblins... wait, aren't there knights protecting the boundary of the country?"
"Of course they are. The dark tribes that are near the Mountain range at the Edge should be instantly wiped up by the Integrity Knights. This is a duty the Integrity Knights have to fulfill, because those tribes are guys that are a lot worse than Alice, who only touched a little of the land of darkness."
"Eugeo..."
I felt that Eugeo's steady voice suddenly had what can be considered a somber tone, which shocked me. However, that feeling immediately vanished as the boy's lips slowly showed a smile again.
"...That's why I only treat those as rumors. But during the past 2 or 3 years, there were a lot of new tombstones. Jii-chan said that this situation is normal."
Speaking of which, now is the time to ask that question. I pretended that nothing was up and cautiously asked,
"...I say, Eugeo. sacred arts... can they revive people?"
He just shoot me a look of disbelief again. Unexpectedly, Eugeo bit his lips slightly with a serious expression and nodded while looking like he's not really certain either.
"...Almost everyone in the village doesn't know of this, but amongst the highest levels of sacred arts, there's a spell that can increase lifespan. That's what Alice said."
"Increase... Life?"
"Un, all people and items' lives...including yours and mine, can't be added on normally, Kirito. For example, the Life of a human continues to increase from a baby to a toddler until the adult stage, and the maximum Life is about 25 years. After that, it will slowly decrease and become 0 at around 70, 80 before being called back to Stacia. You forgot about all this, Kirito?"
"Ah, ahh."
Of course, this is the first time I'm hearing this as I cautiously nodded. What Eugeo's saying is probably that the maximum value of Hit Points will increase and decrease with age.
"However, if a person is sick or wounded, their Life will drop greatly. If the injuries are too grave, one may die just like that. However, one can recover Life by using sacred arts and medicine, even though it won't exceed the maximum value. An old person can't regain the Life he had when he's young no matter how much medication he takes, and those with wounds too severe can't recover..."
"But there's a spell to do such things, is that right?"
"Alice said that she was really shocked when she saw this in the ancient books. She asked this question to Sister Azariya, and only saw her make a very horrified expression and told her to forget everything she saw... so I'm not so sure about the specifics. However, it's said that that's a spell that can only be used by the Great Priests of the Axiom Church, and isn't a spell used for healing or curing illnesses, but directly affects the life... or something like that. Of course, I've never seen the specific spell at all or something."
"Heh... Great Priest? That means that the monks of the church can use sacred arts?"
"Of course. The source of power behind the sacred arts is the «Sacred Power» God Solus and God Terraria scattered throughout the skies and earth. Large spells require a large amount of Sacred Power. If it's a really powerful spell that can control a human's life, it won't be enough even if all the Sacred Power in this forest is gathered. I suppose not even Zakkaria town has a spellcaster that can control such large power.
Even so; he paused here for a while, and then continued with a low voice,
"And...if Sister Azariya could use that kind of spell, she won't see those kids' parents and those parents' kids die like that."
"I see..."
—In other words, even if I die here, I won't return back to the altar in the church and wake up with a beautiful organ sound. If I die, I'll probably wake up in the STL in real life. No, if that's not the case, I'll be really bothered. The STL doesn't have the capability to destroy Fluctlights— probably. It should be different from Nerve Gear.
However, trying death should be the final means to leave this place. The existence of Underworld is already a sure thing inside my mind, and even if I know of this, is it really alright for me to leave without knowing my purpose in this world— my soul's giving off such a voice to me from deep inside.
I really want to get sent to the capital and barge into the headquarters of the Axiom Church or something and ask all sorts of questions in my mind to the «Great Priests», but I have no way to do this. No transport can be taken from town to town, and there really should be a limit to this lack of play ability. Even that SAO had transfer gates in almost all the cities.
If this were an ordinary VRMMO, I might consider sending a mail of complaint to the operator. However, if I can't do so, I'll just have to try my hardest as long as the system allowed me. Yes, I did think this often during the boss conquest battles in Aincrad.
Having finished the second bun, I put the water bottle Eugeo handed over to me at my mouth, drinking up as I looked up at this large tree trunk that reached the skies.
I have to get Eugeo to help me if I have to head towards the capital, but it's probably impossible to make him give up on his duty seriously, since that is probably forbidden by the Taboo Index. In that case, there's only one way, and that's to find a way to deal with this overly large cedar.
I turned back to look, and saw Eugeo pat his pants before standing up.
"Alright, time to get started with our work in the afternoon. I'll start first. Can you hand me the axe?"
"Ahh."
I used my right hand to hold onto the handle of the Dragon Bone Axe beside me and was about to hand it over to Eugeo.
Suddenly, a strong electric shock-feeling flashed in my mind. The tail end of the thing that was about to escape my palm seemed to be caught back, so I cautiously thought.
Eugeo did say that an ordinary axe would have its blade easily shattered, which was why they went to the capital to order this large Dragon Bone axe.
In that case, we just needed a more powerful axe. We'll use one with more attack power and durability that required more strength.
"I, I say, Eugeo."
I held my breath and asked.
"Is there a stronger axe in this village? Even if it's not in this village, if it's in the town of Zakkaria...it's been three hundred years since you ordered this axe, right?"
But Eugeo just shook his head.
"How can there be one? Dragon bone is the highest grade material for weapons. It's harder than the Damask metal in the south and gem metal in the East. If there's anything harder, it'll be the ones the Integrity Knights use... the Divine Instruments..."
The tail end of these words faded off with the trembling voice, so I tilted my head and waited for the back part of the content. After about 5 seconds of silence, Eugeo whispered as if he was worried about the surroundings.
"...There's no axe, but... there's a sword."
"Sword...?"
"I mentioned in front of the church that there's another Divine Instrument beside the «Clock that Tells the Time», do you remember?"
"Ah...ahh."
"In fact, it's near this place... and I'm the only one who knows about this. During these six years, I've been hiding it from everyone... do you want to see it, Kirito?"
"Of, of course! I want to. Please show it to me!"
I said with enthusiasm, but Eugeo still looked like he was hesitating. He soon nodded though, and handed me the axe.
"Then, please start the afternoon work, Kirito. It'll take quite some time to take it out."
"Is it far away?"
"No, it's just inside the storage shed nearby, but... it's unexpectedly heavy."
It's just like what Eugeo said as once I finished the 50th swing, he finally returned, looking rather tired and his forehead was sweating profusely.
"O, oi, are you okay?"
On hearing this, Eugeo, who had lost the strength to answer, simply nodded and tossed the object he's been carrying on his shoulder onto the ground. DONK. With a blunt sound, the moss carpet had a large dent in it. I handed over the canteen containing the Siral water over to the panting Eugeo and started to stare at the thing on the ground.
I seemed to have seen it before. It was a long and thin leather bundle that was 1.2m long. Undoubtedly, this is the packaged item that was randomly placed inside the hut when Eugeo was putting the dragon axe aside.
"Can I open it?"
"Ah...ahh. Be...careful though. If it lands on your leg, you won't be just...hurt there."
The panting Eugeo said. I nodded at him and carefully reached my hand out.
After that, my waist just felt a shock like it's about to be snapped. No, even if it's reality, my waist would really dislocate for real. Seriously, this packaged item is really heavy. I'm holding it with both hands, but it just won't budge as it seems to be nailed to the ground or something like that.
My sister Suguha has been training in the kendo club and is already monstrously muscular, so I have to say that she's a lot heavier than she looks —of course, I can't say these thoughts of her— and without being over-exaggerating, this wrapped item makes me feel like it's like her in that sense. I steadied my legs again and exerted strength from my waist to utilize all my power like I was raising dumbbells.
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