Well, night came rather quickly, and the the forest at night wasn't all fun and games. In the game, darkness had been a cosmetic detail—a filter over your screen, maybe some reduced visibility if you didn't have a torch. Here, it felt too real and spooky. He was used to his dark room, but this? He wasn't prepared at all.
Yamamoto moved carefully, his enhanced agility helping him avoid different obstacles like branches, roots, and the likes. Then again, he didn't dare run at full speed. He forgot to bring a torch, so he had to make do with the little light coming to him from the moon. He'd been stupid not to consider it. In his planning, he'd thought about everyother thing, but he hadn't thought about the simple fact that human eyes struggled in near-total darkness beneath a forest canopy.
More than once, he had to pause and reorient himself, checking his mental map against what he could barely see. The landmarks he'd memorized from the game were there, but finding them in the dark was another matter entirely. The mini-map was a discovery type, so until he explored the area, it was kind of useless.
While he was wasting time around a particular tree, trying to confirm if it was the one he was looking for, he heard a rustling to his left that made him freeze.
Just then, he heard a growl, and from the sound, he theorized it was a wolf, probably. Perhaps level 2 or 3.
Yamamoto's hand drifted to his sword hilt while he looked at any branch he could jump on. Wolves never hunt alone after all.
After a tense moment, the wolf left, perhaps, it decided he wasn't worth the trouble and melted back into the shadows.
Yamamoto released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, a ting of laughter escaping his lips. Who would have thought that monsters could advice themselves against attacking. If it was in the game, enemies didn't care if you've cleared a game, they'd still attack. Not to mention, this wolf was actually alone.
Nevertheless, he was glad. Every kill meant experience, and experience meant levels, and he needed to stay below level 10 for as long as possible. There were still hidden quests he could access and opportunities that would vanish once he crossed that threshold.
With the lone wolf gone, he continued moving. The forest was mostly quiet, except for the occasional screech of some night bird.
After what felt like hours but was probably only thirty minutes or so, Yamamoto finally found it what brought him there. He came through a break in the trees where moonlight spilled through, illuminating a small lake.
He had found it.
The lake was maybe around fifty feet across, its surface mirror-still and reflecting the moon above. In the game, it had been a pretty but unremarkable landmark. Most players passed by it constantly, never knowing what lay beneath. Though, a year or so later, the secret was made known, and every new player could enjoy it too.
Yamamoto approached the water's edge and checked his map interface. The time displayed above it read 11:47 PM, thirteen minutes until midnight.
He found a sturdy tree nearby and climbed up, settling himself on a thick branch about 15ft above ground. High enough to be safe from most ground predators.
While he waited, twice, he saw movement near the lake as animals came to drink. A deer, or at least what looked like one, came to drink, then a different animal also came. He couldn't identify it, and because of the distance, the system didn't help either. Both times, the creatures drank their fill and disappeared back into the trees.
Once it was midnight, he dropped from the tree, landing in a crouch that his old body never could have managed, while they now felt natural, even a backflip felt like part and parcel of his being.
Moving quickly now, he pulled up his inventory and began transferring his equipment into it. Sword, belt, boots, hat, gloves, shirt, trousers—everything went in, leaving him standing naked at the lake's edge. Anyone who saw him would think he was a pervert, but it was necessary. He couldn't risk taking anything physical into the water. The dungeon entrance had specific rules.
Yamamoto waded into the lake, gasping as the cold water hit him. It was freezing, so cold it made his chest tighten and his breath come in sharp gasps.
'Focus,' he told himself.
He took a deep breath and dove.
The underwater world wasn't as clear as the surface, and it was dark, but at least not completely black. He swam deeper, his eyes straining to see.
There—at the bottom, perhaps twenty feet down—a faint white glow caught his eyes.
His lungs were already burning and he knew he wouldn't make it, so he swam back up, kicking toward the surface as he broke through with a gasp, and drew in several deep breaths.
'Alright, let's go this time.'
He took another deep breath and he dove again.
This time he kicked hard, pushing himself down faster. The white glow grew brighter as he approached, until he could make out a circular portal of white light, perhaps three feet across, embedded in the lakebed.
Yamamoto reached out and touched it, and instantly, the world inverted.
Suddenly he was falling—no, not falling, moving—through space that wasn't quite space, light that wasn't quite light. It lasted less than a second but felt like longer.
Then, he was on solid ground, gasping as he shivered a bit, water streaming off his body.
He found himself in a cave with smooth stone walls that glowed with a soft, sourceless light. The portal he'd entered through was gone, as if it had never existed.
Yamamoto quickly pulled up his inventory and re-equipped everything.
The moment his clothes materialized on his body, he felt better.
He looked around, taking in his surroundings properly now. The cave was circular, about thirty feet across, with three tunnel entrances spaced evenly around the walls. Above the center tunnel, glowing letters hung in the air—
…
TRAINING INSTANCE: SWORDSMAN PATH
Time Limit: 15 Minutes
Objective: Complete All Trials