HEIGHT OF GLORY [Q/C]

Gran practically poked the boar with her cane-mace and it exploded into shattered particles. She closed her eyes and sighed. Maybe she should have gone with a weaker weapon. The mobs on the floor weren't really doing it for her anymore. She thought about going to labyrinth, but she still needed to raise up a few players to be strong enough to even think about going into the labyrinth. There was no way she would go in alone. Her outfit gave little to no real protection. The red trimmed cape only gave her more damage. She was comfortable fighting anything out here alone, but she wasn't sure what kind of monsters would be inside that massive structure.

Another boar was charging at her. She closed one eye and casually swung the mace around to meet its face. The unceremonious action melted the swine into oblivion. She was near the base of the mountain purely because this was where most lower level players started their first E ranked quest. Climbing a mountain was easy, after all. She shook her head and looked down the path that lead up the mountain. Someone was climbing the mountain currently. Gran stayed in plain view and waited for the player to get closer. She gave a warm smile and a little wave. If it wasn't for the fact that she had literally just blew away two boars with no effort, one might mistake her for a complicated NPC. She'd gotten that response plenty of times.

"Hello!" Gran flipped her mace around so that the rounded end faced up. Placing her hand on the smooth metal tip of it, she stuck the handle in the dirt. It looked, for all purposes, like a regular walking cane any old lady would use, "If you're climbing the mountain, you'll find I'm wonderful company to keep."

August held a surprised look on her face until she got within a few feet of Gran. She had seen the older women blast the boars away from a distance, but never did she expect it to be someone of Gran’s stature. It would make sense that older people wanted to play SAO as well. August had met younger children, so it only made sense there would be people on the other end of the age spectrum as well.

“I’m amazed,” August managed to blurt out before introducing herself. “I’m August! And I would love some company. I’m going to be honest, I feel a lot safer knowing it’s you and that magical walking stick you have climbing this with me.” August thought about offering up her arm or something to help Gran, but she figured the walking stick/mace hybrid was enough and she didn’t want to make assumptions about Gran’s ability to get around on her own. “Have you always been a fan of video games?” August asked.

Maybe she was a long term fan since she was young, or maybe one of her grandchildren roped her into playing. Whatever the reason, August was intrigued to find out how an old women got stuck inside SAO. She appeared to be fairing quite fine on her own; old age must really bring wisdom in troubled times.

August waved at the newcomer with a smile. Someone else to tag along with them? Now it was going to become quite a social party. “I wouldn’t mind more companions,” she replied as she stepped aside to allow Hyperion to speak to Gran. “You’re a bit new to questing too?” August asked. She wasn’t trying to call him out or anything, but they both lacked equipment. A funny situation if August thought about it hard enough given that the oldest in the group was seemingly more well-equipped just by weapon alone out of the bunch.

Gran was stuck between absolutely applauding this girl's enthusiasm and smacking her upside the head. So much energy was a dangerous thing if you drained yourself too quickly. She decided to smile instead and remain quiet for now. It wouldn't do for her to go spilling all of her secrets, now would it? How sad it must be for those people who gifted this game to loved ones, only to have the loved ones trapped in the game. She was reminded of her own grandson. She hoped her being trapped in this game didn't upset him too badly. He needed to graduate properly, after all.

Gran closed her eyes and sighed, "No, no. I was just making a joke, darling. Although . . . I probably should see if there's a recipe for trial mix when I get back to town. Hm."

"If I need assistance, you'll know, kid," Gran rolled her eyes at Hyperion, and began to walk down the path, walking cane striking the dirt every so often, "Let's get to the top of this sucker and maybe meditate for a while. Get those nice guru vibes going for us."