Thread: Sword Art Online: The Frontier Chronicles

Her gem-like half-open brown eyes grazed the landscape before her as she reached up and brushed a stray lock of her short, black hair from her face. She shifted her weight slightly to her left foot before turning her gaze down toward the path leading down toward a cleft in the jagged rock ravine below, through which she intended to pass in order to reach her intended destination. She had grown her hair out once, but her hair had a fine, soft texture which caused it to become tangled into countless knots if she didn't brush it twice a day and carefully tie her hair back before she went to bed. She was convinced it wasn't worth the effort, so she had cut her hair to a length just above her shoulders which gave her a somewhat mature appearance. She wore a dark blue shirt and pants which helped accent the slight sheen of her armor plates which were clasped over her chest, legs, and shoulders. She had no emblem or distinct design on her polished round shield, as it was a simple beginner equipment which she had not gone through the trouble to personalize yet. On her side hung a simple short sword with a broad blade and sturdy handle, one of the few pieces of her armament that she had spent some amount of time picking out. It had been forged by one of the smiths in town who was filling out personal orders, a rather rough-looking older man who had somehow been unfortunate enough to join in on this game perhaps in the hope of doing some casual gaming on the side. Tsukiko, like many others, had been no different from this man. No one expected themselves to be trapped in this world where death would mean the destruction of their brain in the real world. Over the past few days, the initial shock had taken its course and the remaining players had more or less adjusted to life within SAO. Some had settled in the beginner town to help the more ambitious in their adventures while others, such s herself, resolved to improve themselves and steadily advance at their own pace. The reason for her traveling to such a remote location, in fact, was related to this very purpose. The cool morning breeze grazed the gentle tips of its fingernails across her cheeks as she stood in a stolid manner overlooking the well-known area aptly named Rocky Gorge. Word had spread among the player-base that this place contained abnormally difficult monsters, with the occasional field bosses which would grant exceptional drops to anyone brave and capable enough to defeat them. On this particular occasion, since she had no way of knowing for certain if the rumors were true, Tsukiko had resolved herself to picking up at least one other person to explore the gorge with. Although she had come alone, she knew that there was a makeshift campsite right outside the actual zone where she could carefully pick out her partner. She picked her way down the rocky path toward a rather sizable clearing, where around a dozen and a half young adventurers sat around a crackling campfire. She took long, firm strides and sat down heavily in one of the empty seats on a log nearby the fire, earning herself a few curious glances from the boys. A girl this far out into the wilderness, and a sword-and-shield user at that? Tsukiko was doubtless wondering if this would be worth the trouble if all they were going to do was hit on her instead of seriously consider her as a party member.