SAO part 5: Classic.
The bright moon was rising high up in the sky, bringing light into this floor of Aincrad.
Tonight was calm like any other night with a light breeze blowing and the sound of bugs making this night in the game almost like the real world.
Inside the forest next to the second city on the first floor, Akashi(DIO) was looking at the cabin in front of him.
The forest in the night was very calm and dark that it'll make any weak person very uneasy to the degree he wants to quit and run back to the city, especially with the calm and creepy BGM playing around.
Akashi(DIO) kept looking at the cabin without saying a word or moving forward. Not because he was scared of this creepy forest, how can he, DIO, be scared from a forest, but the scene was too familiar to be ignored.
"... The BGM changed and I, DIO, doesn't like it" Akashi(DIO) said while looking at the old cabin in the woods.
The calm and somehow creepy BGM changed to a more creepy one and with the cabin in front of him, Akashi(DIO) doesn't like where this's going, especially when he remembered some horror plots.
"And this cabin... Wasn't there a better place for a quest?" Akashi(DIO) looked at his side that showing his two quests.
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Deliver the new orders for the lumberjack Falken.LVL 3.
Description: The mayor gave you the new request from the citizens for the lumberjack. Please deliver it as soon as possible.
Reward: EXP, Cols, Open the quest for the skill <<Reveal>>
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Wolfs extermination.LVL 4.
Description: Because the mayor saw your skills and power, he wants you to talk to lumberjack Falken about the wolves that came near the town recently and clear them.
Rewards: EXP, Cols.
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"...*Sigh*... Here goes nothing" Akashi(DIO) said before moving towards the cabin that had a faint light coming from it.
The more Akashi(DIO) got closer the more he sees this old cabin is creepy with those wolves skulls hanging out the door.
"Yeah, everything is normal... As long as there no creaking sound and a creepy guy ins-" Akashi(DIO) said before the winds started to blow and moved the old windows to make a long creaking sound.
"... Why do I even try?" Akashi(DIO) lowered his own head down before moving towards the door, but before he knocked. The door opened instantly.
"Who's there?" a middle-aged man with brown hair and beard opened the door. The man deep black circles and the smell of alcohol made Akashi(DIO) facepalm himself.
"..." Akashi(DIO) didn't say anything and took the mayor's letter before moving towards the man.
"You're Falken, right? I'm here for delivering this" Akashi(DIO) gave the letter to Falken before he took it.
Falken open the latter and read it before looking at Akashi(DIO) and signaling him to enter.
"You know I'm good with having this conversation here... And the NPC ignored me, great" Akashi(DIO) said before walking into the cabin.
The cabin was old with few furniture and wooden decoration all over the place while there were few candles that gave some light to the room.
But if there's something that made this place unique, it'll be all the wolves skins and skulls hanging around.
"..." Akashi(DIO) didn't say anything while looking at Falken reading the mayor later.
"So you are the adventurer that was sent by the mayor" Falken looked at Akashi(DIO) while saying.
<That exactly what the letter said, but okay> Akashi(DIO) thought while looking at Falken sitting in the chair.
"Usually I wouldn't let you go into the forest during the night without testing your power, but if that guy admits your strength then it's okay. Just do really wish to go now?" Falken said while a question mark appeared on his head.
Akashi(DIO) saw the screen of a quest appeared in front of him.
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Wolves hunting LVL 4.
Description: The lumberjack Falken wants you to clear the wolves that wander around the forest next to the town to test your strength.
Be aware that in the full moon night the wolves will have a buff and they'll hunt in groups.
Rewards: EXP, Cols, Falken will teach you <<Reveal>>.
YES OR NO.
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"Yeah, I'm sure" Akashi(DIO) said before choosing YES.
"Fine, but be aware that the wolfs during this period in the full moon are more aggressive and hunts in groups... Adventurer can I see your hand" Falken started to explain the quest but he stopped before asking Akashi(DIO).
"..." Akashi(DIO) wanted to refuse immediately, but he remembered something.
<Is this pattern of talking seems familiar> Akashi(DIO) thought before raising his right hand up.
"... Adventurer, this should your first day in your journey, right?" Falken looked at Akashi(DIO) hand for a while before saying.
"Yes" Akashi(DIO) said while looking at Falken smiling.
"I never thought I'll see in my life an adventure with your skills... From the smell of the blood on your hands, you must have killed more than 100 wolves just in a single day" Falken said with admiration.
"100? I lost count after the first three, but... What do you mean by a smell?" Akashi(DIO) said while smelling his hand, but he didn't smell anything.
"I was always hunting those demons from these lands especially after what happened to me" Falken said while taking a photo frame from the desk and looked at him.
The photo had a man and a woman smiling happily, Akashi(DIO) recognized one of them was Falken.
"It happened in a stormy night..." Akashi(DIO) stood there with his eyebrow twitching while looking at Falken telling his story.
"Just give me the quest..." Akashi(DIO) said, but Falken kept talking.
"Great, he entered the backstory mode" Akashi(DIO) said helplessly while going to a chair and sitting down.
Akashi(DIO) took a loaf of bread and started chewing on it while somehow listening to Falken's story.
Even though Akashi(DIO) can just ignore that hunger gauge, but having to stay hungry affects the battle, and it's annoying.
After a while, Falken finished his story while Akashi(DIO) was able to Summarize it in a few lines.
Basically Falken and his wife were living happily before a night that a black giant wolf appeared and killed his wife and him watching unable to do anything because of the injuries he took after trying to stop the wolf before showing Akashi(DIO) the huge bite on his chest.
"I wasn't even able to find the wolf because he was always hiding in his pack and shows up only at the full moonlight night" Falken said with tears in his eyes while Akashi(DIO) was chewing on the bread calmly.
"Even if I tried to fight them... They always call for their kinds after you attack one of them, making me helpless" Falken hammered the desk with tears in his eyes before looking at Akashi(DIO).
"Can you help me, adventurer? I'll pay anything to get my revenge" Falken said before a screen appeared in front of Akashi(DIO).
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Hidden quest.
The revenge of the lumberjack LVL 5.
Description: Lumberjack Falken wants you to avenge his wife by killing the leader of the black wolves in the forest.
If you alarmed the wolves, they will keep chasing you until you reach a safe zone.
The leader will be surrounded by wolves if you alarmed them.
Rewards: EXP, Cols, Falken will give you <<Reveal LVL 5>>, a rare weapon from Falken.
YES OR NO
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<As I expected, a hidden quest> Akashi(DIO) thought before choosing YES.
Like any other game, SAO has regular quests that give normal rewards and hidden quest that give very good rewards but the conditions for activation is a mystery and usually are hard.
<It seems the conditions were killing more than 100 wolves during the first day in the game before reaching the town and talking to the mayor and this lumberjack> Akashi(DIO) thought before looking at the tearful Falken.
"Thank you, adventurer, please take this map ... But can I ask you for a request?" Falken said while Akashi(DIO) nodded.
"Can you bring my wife necklace if you find it" Falken said with his head down while Akashi(DIO) stood up and nodded.
"Thank you, adventurer. I'll be waiting for you here" Falken said with a sad smile.
"Yeah, about that. You seem to be a fighter, isn't it better to go with me?" Akashi(DIO) said.
"Thank you, adventurer. I'll be waiting for you here" Falken repeated his phrase.
"..." Akashi(DIO) took a deep breath before walking outside the cabin.
<So this's how do you want to play Kayaba> Akashi(DIO) walked in the night while looking at the bright moon in the sky.
"Well, let's the hunts begin" Akashi(DIO) said before rushing towards the forest.
*Time skip 1 hour*
Deep in the forest, to be exact the territory of the black wolves.
The black wolves were wandering their territories in groups of three to five while checking all the places.
Each wolf in the group was level 3, and they seemed more powerful than the regular wolves.
However, the wolfs started to get restless during this period because some of them started to disappear mysteriously.
On the left side of the territory next to the leader place, there were three wolves running around while checking the surroundings, but suddenly they stopped because they heard a voice from a bush next to them.
One of the wolves rushed towards the bush, but he found nothing before turning over and saw his two friends turned into fragments while there were three knives in their places.
The wolf tried to howl but before he made any sound, a red glowing punch hit his head from behind and made him bite his tongue while making his HP yellow.
Before the wolf understood anything a kick hit him in the jaw and made him flew in the air slightly before a knife stabbed his eye while emptying his HP.
Akashi(DIO) watched the wolf turning into fragments before activating his skill <<Hiding>> and moving back to the shadows.
<This's 79 wolf now... I guess it almost the same>> Akashi(DIO) said before looking at the cave in the distance.
Akashi(DIO) already killed most of the black wolves in the surrounding while his <<Hiding>> skills level became six and his level upgraded into four.
Akashi(DIO) killed most of the near wolves to stop the leader if he wanted to call for a backup during the battle and because of this quest requirement.
<Nobody will notice. If there's nobody to notice... This's my assassin way> Akashi(DIO) thought before reaching the cave.
"..." Akashi(DIO) looked at the dark cave in silence before he took few knives and start throwing randomly.
<One, two, three, four, fiv-> Akashi(DIO) kept counting while throwing knives until he heard a sound while an HP bar appeared inside the cave.
Suddenly, a shadow rushed from the cave towards Akashi(DIO) but he already moved away using <<Dash>>.
Akashi(DIO) turned to look to see a big wolf almost reaching a lion in size with a grey dark color watching him with his bloody eyes filled with killing intent.
[Elite: Wolves leader LVL 5]
Akashi(DIO) watched the wolf's name before he threw two knives at the wolf's eyes.
The wolf moved to the side and dodged Akashi(DIO) knives before rushing towards him with teeth and claws that reflect the moonlight.
<This AI is smarter than the normal mobs but..> Akashi(DIO) thought before rolling on the ground and dodging another attack while the knives that were thrown hit two wolves rushing from the cave.
The wolf leader continued his rush for a second before stopping, but the moment he turned he was greeted by three glowing knives that almost hit his eyes if he didn't block them with his paw.
The knives only did a small damage to the wolf leader before he removed his paw and looked at Akashi(DIO), but he only saw a red glowing fist in front of him.
*Crash*
The fist mercilessly hit the wolf leader face and made him back away a step before raising his head and opening his mouth to bite, but a red glowing knee hit his jaw and made his teeth hit each other.
Before the wolf leader teeth even separated. A red glowing knife inserted directly in his eye making him widen his other eye before he used his paw to attack.
"Slow..." Akashi(DIO) said before hitting the other leg of wolf leader and made him lose his target and balance. But before the wolf leader fell down, Akashi(DIO) used his skill.
Three red fists with a speed that surpassed the current level of the game hit the knife handle that was inserted in the wolf's eye three times instantly making it launch through the wolf's body and made his HP yellow.
Akashi(DIO) saw his attack was successful before he rushed backward because the wolf leader started to rampage around without a goal in rage before he stopped and raised his head high.
"OWOOOOOOOOOOO-" the wolf leader started to howl to call for his minions but before he completed his howl Akashi(DIO) rushed over and gave him an uppercut.
Before the poor wolf even returned his head to his normal position, Akashi(DIO) put a stance.
"The dance of the four gods... White tiger dance" Akashi(DIO) said before launching a barrage of punches and kicks on the wolf leader.
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!!!" Akashi(DIO) fists and kicks hit every place on the wolf leader at a very fast speed.
The wolf leader that suffered a lot of attacks tried to strike back with his claw, but the moment he raised the claw, Akashi(DIO) fist that was supposed to hit his head glowed red and changed its direction unscientifically and hit his paw nullifying the attack.
After that, any attack the wolf tried to do got nullified by Akashi(DIO). be it using his claws or opening his mouth making him helpless while watching his HP reaching red.
The moment the wolf leader HP reached red, he opened his eyes wide before making a giant howl that pushed everything around him away even Akashi(DIO).
"Second form" Akashi(DIO) said before the wolf leader rushed at a speed much faster than before.
<Stupid...> Akashi(DIO) thought before dodging the wolf attack using <<Dash>> while throwing knives at him and removed some of his HP.
The wolf turned over and rushed again, but he got dodged again by Akashi(DIO) while throwing knives at him.
This situation continued for a while before the wolf leader lost his last HP and turned into fragments while leaving a howl filled with hatred and wrath.
[Quest complete] a small screen appeared in front of Akashi(DIO) after the wolf died.
"I, DIO, just didn't want to waste my knives durability in start" Akashi(DIO) said before walking towards the wolf leader fragments and took the loot.
"Boots? An increase in speed and give the kicks a knockback effect? This is good" Akashi(DIO) watched the loot before putting the boots on.
With a blue glow, Akashi(DIO) boots changed instantly and became a gray-black boots.
Jumping few times, Akashi(DIO) nodded while using SAO BUG, and recovered all his weapons before moving towards the cave.
"..." Akashi(DIO) frowned from the cave smell before starting to look for the necklace.
"Hold on... That guy didn't tell me the necklace shape" Akashi(DIO) remembered that Falken didn't even tell him the necklace shape before he raised his head and looked at the cave end.
"..." Akashi(DIO) watched a golden necklace hanging with a nail in the cave end and a lot of claws marks were around it.
Akashi(DIO) walked towards the cave and took the necklace before checking it.
"Well... Let's finish this already" Akashi(DIO) said before walking outside the cave and rushing towards Falken cabin.
*Time skip 14 minutes*
The bright moon that was shining on this floor now is covered with clouds, making tonight inside the forest creepier, but some people don't seem to care about it.
Falken was outside his cabin chopping wood in half while waiting for something.
Suddenly, he heard a voice from the woods before a shadow of a person was walking towards him.
"Whos's there?" Falken said while taking his ax, but he stopped after he saw the comer.
Some clouds on the moon cleared and Highlighted a face that will scare a lot of people, but Falken smiled.
"Hi, there adventurer... Did you succeed?" Falken asked with his voice trembling before Akashi(DIO) nodded while confirming his quest from the SAO system.
"You did it... I don't know how to thank you... Finally, my wife will rest in peace" Falken started to cry again, but Akashi(DIO) threw something to him.
"This's what you wanted" Akashi(DIO) said while Falken caught the necklace with his trembling hands.
"This's her necklace..." Falken stared at the necklace with tears slipping from his eyes before looking at Akashi(DIO).
"I really don't know how to thank you, adventurer... Please follow me" Falken wanted to lead Akashi(DIO) to give him the rewards, but Akashi(DIO) stopped him.
"Yeah, about that... That wolf wasn't exactly like how you described him" Akashi(DIO) said before Falken looked at him with a shocked expression.
"He wasn't that big or the same color in your story" Akashi(DIO) said while raising his boots.
"How is this possible?... It can't be... Did he escape?" Falken started to mutter in a shacked voice while looking at the necklace in his hand.
"Actually, he didn't escape or go anywhere..." Akashi(DIO) said in a calm tone.
"What? PLEASE TELL ME WHERE HE IS!!!" Falken screamed with tears towards Akashi(DIO) that didn't change his expression.
"Sure... But first Falken... Can you tell me your wife's name?" Akashi(DIO) said in a calm voice.
"What are you saying my wife's name is...." Falken said, but he stopped suddenly.
"You don't remember? Fine... Tell me how did you get that injury" Akashi(DIO) said while looking at the sky.
"Adventurer, what are you saying? I got this injury from the fight with that bastard wolf!" Falken said, but Akashi(DIO) didn't look at him.
"I didn't talk about the chest injury that was from a normal wolf... I'm talking about the giant bite on your right arm" Akashi(DIO) said while Falken looked in shock to his right arm to see a giant bite scar on it.
"You see, Falken... You're the wolf that killed your wife" Akashi(DIO) in an emotionless voice.
"W-w-WHAT ARE YOU SAYING ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND???!!! HOW CAN I KILL MY WIFE???!!!" Falken screamed with a loud voice at Akashi(DIO) that didn't care about his screams.
"Look at the back of the necklace" Akashi(DIO) while Falken hurried and looked at the necklace back before he stopped completely.
"It said... My husband Falken please don't be sad after my death because if it wasn't your fault and it was worth it to see you safe from this curse... You are the wolf Falken" Akashi(DIO) said before looking at the full moon that shines brightly now.
"Look at the moon... Look deeply and closely" Akashi(DIO) before taking a knife and few steps backward.
"...It was me... I remember now... I killed her with these hands of mine while she was smiling at me" Falken looked at the moon while mumbling.
<He is in the automatic mode now...> Akashi(DIO) thought while looking at Falken giving a speech about him killing his wife.
<Really Kayaba? This classic plot can be discovered by a glance> Akashi(DIO) thought before looking at Falken that started to laugh from nowhere.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!...UGH??!!" Falken laughed crazily for a while before he started to growl while looking at the moon.
"AHHHHH-GRRRR" Falken started to scream, but his screams soon turned into a wolf's snarl.
Falken started to transform with a lot of dark hair or fur appearing on his body and his build started to grow while his face started to transform into a wolf's face.
<A hidden quest in a hidden quest... Very clever Kayaba. If people didn't finish the quest before the sun raising or they rushed without the necklace, they'll never be able to activate it> Akashi(DIO) thought while throwing a knife at Falken but he is now an immortal object.
<Transformation protection? Are you serious Kayaba> Akashi(DIO) had to watch Falken complete his transformation and becoming a giant wolf on two feet... A werewolf.
"Whatever, I'll just kill this hidden elite mob and leav-" Akashi(DIO) didn't finish his words because he saw the Falken or the wolf now had two HP bars next to his name and the BGM changed to boss music.
[Hidden field boss: Moonlight Werewolf LVL 10]
"..." Akashi(DIO) stood in his place in silence before the werewolf roared and rushed towards him.