Thus far traveling had been slow. With no sighting of a salamander, Asuna was still bound to walking no matter how infuriating it was. But she'd also been lucky. Only Monsters had stood in her way. There were no sword skills so she'd had to rely on reflexes and muscle memory in fights, but the monsters were low-level enough for her to handle them and it was good practice. Just a few more and she thought she would hit her stride.
As for magic she had been learning to be comfortable with that since Yui had started teaching it. As much as she could she'd be relying on low-level spells in combat. It'd be quicker to cast and less likely to be interrupted. With her power level, even low-level spells would pack a punch.
The biggest problem was the low-level gear. The only gear she could get were drops, and as with any game the weaker the monster the worse the drops. Still, it was better than nothing, she hoped. The worse case was that she'd have to rely on her magic but being limited was never a good idea. She couldn't think of any way around it though that didn't potentially expose her.
Maybe a giant would solve that problem? For the most part players seemed to avoid them so if she could take one out without giving the giant a chance to see her...
No, that was foolish. She may be stronger than a giant, which she wasn't entirely sure about, but her gear wasn't up to the challenge. So grinding it is then. Who knows, she might get lucky.
Slow travel meant it was going to take even longer to find her husband, and that was already looking bleak until she has some lucky break.
She was heading towards Salamander territory. If she was going to be looking like one she might as well. At least she wouldn't need to worry about some other race taking a shot at her just because they didn't like Salamanders, and she could have the advantage of flying longer and farther without raising suspicions.
At least that was the plan. Yui was scanning the message boards though. If they were going to get a lucky clue it would be there. A sword like Lambent Shadow wasn't going to go unnoticed if a player picked it up after all. With any luck someone would post about it and she'd have a definitive place to go to.
"Um, Mommy?"
She shifted her focus to Yui, wondering if there was another party of players to avoid. "Yes Yui?"
"Um, I'm not sure but I might have found something."
Now her attention was fully on her daughter, suppressing hope as much as she can.
"There was a post yesterday that didn't really gather any attention so I missed it, but today it's very active and people posting are really excited," she said in a rush her excitement nearly infectious. "The original post was from a guy who said he spotted a woman who took down a flame giant in a single strike. He was laughed at and no one believed it until today when someone pointed out that Lillith might be strong enough to do it. Now everyone is making guesses."
Killed with a single strike. She couldn't suppress her excitement now. She knew a weapon in anyone's hands that could accomplish that.
"It's daddy mommy, isn't it? It has to be. Only he's strong enough to fight a giant by himself right?"
"I hope so. Where did he spot her?"
Yui hesitated, some of her excitement evaporating. "he didn't post that. I don't know. All he said was that it was a sexy sylph, um... 'with a huge set of tits and a sweet ass' who did it." What does that mean mommy?"
"It means the guy who spotted her was a pervert. Ignore it for mommy, okay? Good adults and kids don't talk like that.
"Ok mommy," Yui said, accepting it without question. Mommy wouldn't lie to her after all. "The person who said it could have been you mommy said you might have used illusion magic to change how you look."
Well fuck. Who they saw wasn't her, but what he guessed was exactly what she'd done. Now people were going to look for illusions. Seeing anyone was once again risky, but it was one she'd have to take and deal with any consequences that may cause as they show up.
But now that they knew someone had him, what could she do with that information? No one knew who she was, or where she was seen. She did have a race to go on, and that was it. She had already been heading towards Salamander lands. From what Yui had told her Sylph lands bordered them. She could adjust her trajectory to be closer there, but the mystery sylph had been spotted by a leprechaun which discouraged the idea that the spotting had been there. Worse Leprechaun lands were on the opposite side of the map.
That had to mean they were in neutral territory, which reduced the search area by about ninety percent. Still, it's reasonable to suspect that the spotting was either close to Leprechaun or Sylvan lands. With Sylvan being closer to her that's where she'd start.
Damn, getting this news and being able to use so little of it just made the search all the more daunting. She wouldn't give up, but that feeling of impossibility was still growing.
Well hopefully if that sylph continued to use Kirito she'd get more clues on just where she was. People were looking for her too, so there was a larger net that might catch her. Maybe. Just like her, no one knew what she looked like except the original poster.
"Mommy!"
How loud Yui yelled was enough to shock her out of her thoughts. Yui was pointing up so she followed where she pointed and saw three flying fairies. Given Yui's description she knew instantly that they were salamanders. Finally!
She focused on their wings. Three meant Asuna had ample angles to study to get them just right. She had to get everything right. The shape, the detailing, the glow, and the sparkles, which luckily there weren't any she noticed. The distance was too far for the details, but a small spell fixed that by enhancing her eyes. Now that she'd seen them they weren't really all that complicated.
Once they were out of sight she tried to add them to her illusion and successfully cast a set of wings that mirrored what she'd seen perfectly.
"What do you think Yui?"
Yui floated in front of her, then flew around to see all sides. "Yes mommy, that's exactly right."
With relief she used her wings for the first time in days, flying straight up to get a better view of the area. She could understand why players loved this game. It was stunning to see the trees from above, the sun getting ready to set in the distance making them almost glow.
Just to be sure she had her bearings right she had Yui point which direct Sylvan lands were and took off.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
