TO NEW HEIGHTS [c]

August exhaled as she stretched out her back. Her toes lifted up off the ground as she reached towards the sunlight. It was a pretty nice day out and she had finally decided to actually go outside of her comfort zone. Granted, where she was still wasn’t particularly dangerous, but it was still unfamiliar.

The fresh air out of the town was noticeably lighter. With so many people being crammed in and hesitant to leave, August wasn’t surprised that she got used to breathing in the same air as so many other people. But out here, it was crisper than she realized. Her footsteps were light as she made her way up as she saw no danger in falling on the path she was walking on.

Squinting her eyes, August could make out another shape of a person in the distance. Someone else had the same idea as her she supposed. There was a reward at the top of the mountain, what that was became irrelevant to her once she realized how much she liked being outside and away from the sea of players. However, one other person was more than welcomed company.

With a trot, August picked up her pace to get a better look at whoever was up there. When realizing she wasn’t getting close fast enough, the trot turned into a brisk jog. The silhouette was starting to become unmistakably familiar…

Oh! It was her! She didn’t want to be awkward and try to say hello by shouting the wrong name at another stranger. August was relieved it was Toto; the two of them had quite an adventure back in town hanging up posters. “Hello! I wasn’t sure if it was you,” she remarked as she quickened her pace to catch up to the other girl.

“Are you on the mountain quest too, or simply out here for some air? Or maybe both?” she asked with a wink. It never hurt to kill two birds with one stone, more things could get done that way. Regardless, it was nice to have some familiar company.

August noticed that Toto was looking a little bit more….pink than usual. Her cheeks looked as if she was blushing, but there certainly was nothing for her to be embarrassed about! It was only August and August didn’t warrant any type of embarrassment. She was the least likely to judge anyone about anything. “Are you alright?” August asked with concerned, “you’re looking a little flushed.”

She didn’t want to draw attention to it if Toto was self-conscious, but she was simply worried. Her cheeks had looked much more natural and pale the last time the two of them were together, or maybe there was something out here in the woods that she was sensitive towards?

“Me too, although I do admit getting some fresh air was also nice. Being out here after being stuck in a town for a while makes you appreciate the air quality, doesn’t it?” August took in a deep breath. She felt the shiver do down the back of her throat, but it was welcomed.

Oh no, she had said something wrong, hadn’t she? “Oh, I’m sorry if I did something?” August let the words hang in the air for a moment to gauge Toto’s reaction. She had simply been concerned, nothing else. The last thing she wanted was to make the redness worse!

“Alright, if you say so,” August agreed as she turned to face the way they were walking, “have you spotted any wildlife out here? I grew up in a city, so I don’t really get to see views and animals like this.” As much as August hated to admit it, being stuck here did have some perks. She had never seen so many trees and untouched land before.

Her parents did take her on day trips, but they were never to anywhere this far removed from civilization. They’d go to the park or the beach, but there were always dozens of other humans around. Where she was now, there didn’t appear to be anyone else around but just the two of them. It was quiet and isolating, both in the physical and mental level.

“Oh, yes! It does fit the capacity and is certainly less overcrowded than the city I’m from. But at the same time being out here without anyone else in sight besides just one other person makes you really think about how big the space is, doesn’t it?” Sounds like something a serial killer would say, but it was too late to take back her words now.

“That’s rather disappointing,” August sighed, “I miss my bird.” She was sure that if she tried hard enough, August could try befriending some other AI simulated cat or dog back in town, but it wouldn’t be the same. Birds had something special about them and they weren’t all as stupid as people thought they were. “How about you, Toto? Did you have any pets?”

Maybe this wasn’t the right time to bring up stuff about their real lives. Some people found the subject touchier than others, but they were on the topic of animals and August couldn’t really think of much more to keep the conversation going.

She didn’t want to climb the mountain in silence, there was no fun in that. It appeared to be such a simple walk with just a few protruding rocks in the path or an overgrown patch of weeds, nothing that would really give them any trouble.

Really? August didn’t know that this was only the first wave of players. She wasn’t going to admit her surprise out loud, but her eyes did grow wide while listening to Toto speak about the system’s previous plans. “I didn’t know that,” she responded with a slightly ashamed smile, “the reason I’m here is because my friend dragged me into playing after she tested out the beta. I’m not too familiar with anything related to the game’s history or context or anything.”

It was such an unfortunate situation, really. Her friend had just been trying to get her to join along with her hobbies and August had agreed to willingly because she thought it would make her happy. Now they were all in this mess, but she preferred it being this way as opposed to August losing her two best friends to this MMO.

“It’s a shame about the apartment rules,” August nodded, “but you’re old enough to take care of one yourself, aren’t you? I suppose a dog or a cat is a big responsibility for a first time pet owner, but a fish or rodent aren’t really too difficult.”

“I’m bothered by it sure, but it’s not her fault. She couldn’t have possibly known,” August sighed. She didn’t add in the last part, the part about how there was no way her friend had done this willingly if she had known given how much worse she was taking this experience. August was a roll-with-the-punches type of gal, but it had taken a lot of time to convince her friend to go outside after they first got news of the logout button disappearing.

But what Toto said did make sense. August couldn’t even begin to imagine how much money SAO gobbled up. The years of development alone was a daunting thing she didn’t even want to think about. Technology sure had advanced quite a lot in the recent years.

“Oh, there are some pretty ones,” August noted, “chinchillas are pretty cute when they roll around in their little dust bathes and there is a type of gold fish that’s colored like a calico cat, but to each their own.”

The terrain was starting to change to become considerably more barren. “I think we’re almost there!” August cheered as she did a little jump off the ground. Well, that wasn’t too hard. All she had to do was take a walk on a mountain and in return she got a conversation with Toto again. Hopefully, she had redeemed herself somewhat from how the last conversation ended.