Sword Art Online: A New Beginning

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku nodded.

"True. Which is why I will be going in first to see what we are up against. If I can, I will lure a few of the monsters toward the surface where we ideally will have a better chance against them. If we can fight from land we might stand a chance."  

[Mega90]

The young girl nodded, remaining silent as Hiroku made his way towards the water’s edge. When he had reached it, she called after him.

“Hiroku…” Her voice trailed off at the end, and she fell silent again. As the Reaper’s glance caught her own, she looked away. “We don’t know what we are dealing with down there. It’s stupid for you to go alone.”  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku nodded.

"Normally I would agree, but there is no point in both of us risking our lives to test the water. I am higher leveled so it is the logical choice that I go."

The tall teen offered a soft smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be back shortly."

With that, he dove into the dark waters and vanished into the black abyss.  

[Mega90]

The young girl reached after him, shouting as he went.

“Hiroku, wait!” Her words came too late and the tall man disappeared beneath the glassy surface.
§
To Hiroku’s great surprise and displeasure, the darkness beneath the waves was absolute. While they had been able to see a short distance down from the surface, he could now see less than an inch in any direction.

The water was cold, and there was an unsettling presence that pervaded the entire area. Due to the inky blackness, it was impossible to get a bearing on the tunnel around him, and the chances of seeing an enemy coming were nearly zero.

As he attempted to see, he felt a soft current ripple past him, almost as though something had disturbed the still water in the distance. It was a cross current, suggesting that it had come from somewhere off to the right.  

[Zarkon90]

The tall teen's eyes narrowed slightly. Due to his extremely high detection skill, he could tell that the waters around him were teeming with life.

He blinked a few times before trying to activate he night vision. The darkness around him receded, giving way to the massive cavern below him.

Hiroku hesitated only a few moments before continuing his decent, being sure to watch around him for any movement as he swam.  

[Mega90]

The world around him was full of life. Fish of every size swam past him, and even the coral on the walls expanded and contracted, moving in a living symphony. As his head traveled downwards towards his destination, the reality of what the old man had said hit him. IT was there that the truly large creatures swam. They were titanic in size, and they appeared to nearly fill the chamber that hollowed out in to a massive room roughly twenty feet below him.

The tunnel was deeper than he had first thought, and even with his night vision he couldn’t see the bottom.

As his focus was directed elsewhere, something rushed past him again, and a colder currently flowed over him. A low gurgling sound could be heard for a brief moment, and then there was silence.

Had Hiroku not possessed such a high detection skill, he would likely have been killed on the spot. However, he was able to sense the creature before it reached him, able to avoid the blow from its massive clawed hand, and able to keep his wits about him when the horror before him came into full view.

From the back, it was a massive serpent like the one they had seen before, however the front of its body was composed more like a humans. It was enormous and muscular, and two large arms extended forward, grasping for him with clawed hands. Its face was stout and sunken in, while cold eyes stared out at him. A red glow seemed to emanate from them, and all other life in the tunnels seemed to try to avoid it as best they could.

Its body was full of shallow holes, appearing not as though something had been forcefully removed, but rather that something was yet to be placed in the waiting spaces.

As it moved around Hiroku, it glided effortlessly though the water, and Hiroku knew that there was no way he could compete with it in terms of speed while under the surface.  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku's eyes narrowed as his mind played out possibility after possibility for his current situation. He was all to aware that the monstrosity the circled his floating body outclassed him in every sense currently. The black dressed teen closed his eyes for a moment, relying on his detection skill to cover for the lapse in his vision. Hiroku knew he had to get to the surface before he was drawn into a battle and was either consumed or drowned.

Hiroku raised a hand and archaic symbols appeared before him, casting a soft golden glow as they swirled around him. With his free hand, he reached back and drew the long, pitch black blade from the sheath on his back. Despite the lack of any real light, the blade seemed to shine with a cold brilliance. The teen opened his eyes again, glancing around as he did to require the creatures position.  

[Mega90]

The creature was swimming around him, apparently sizing him up. Compared to the black haired man in mass, the creature was roughly ten to twenty times as large.

Suddenly, the creature began to charge him. IT moved with surprising speed given its massive girth, and it closed the distance between them in a matter of seconds. As it neared him, it swiped at him with one of its hulking claws.  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku raised his left blade, taking the massive swipe full force. The teen was sent hurling back through the water. Taking advantage of the increased speed, he kicked out, shooting toward the surface.

If his strength stat hadn't been so high the teen would have made little to no headway, however rather then trying to swim straight up Hiroku let the momentum from the beasts attack carry him toward the surface at an angle.

Glancing back down, he tried to find his opponent, never once letting his powerful kicks slow as he raced toward the surface.  

[Mega90]

The beast was following him at dizzying speed, closing the distance between them more every second. It seemed as though the creature was about to overtake him when it suddenly stopped. Hiroku’s powerful kicks continued to propel him up towards the surface, and it wasn’t’ long before he broke the water’s surface.

He had scarcely been above water for more than a second before he felt himself being pulled back onto land by small hands. The stranger who had been serving as his companion struggled to lift the larger man out of the sea and onto dry land once again.

To his surprise, the creature did not pursue him. Once he reached a certain point in the sea, the creature slowed its pursuit before stopping completely, staring up at him with its demented, serpent like eyes. It was clear that the creature wanted to follow him, but was evidently unable to. Instead, it floated a few meters below the surface, staring up at him with loathing.

“Hiroku, are you okay?” The strange girl asked as she finally managed to drag him onto the shore.  

[Zarkon90]

The black haired teen nodded, never taking his eyes off the now faint red glow of the eyes far below.

"This is going to be even more challenging then I first anticipated. The water down there is pitch black and teeming with life."

Hiroku glanced down at his arm and the glowing red section that signaled damage from the beasts attack.

"Add to that the fact we have no use of spells down there and are at a severe movement disadvantage and it will be a miracle if we make it out of this alive."

Hiroku's voice was soft as he spoke, holding no trace of fear, simply practical statements.  

[Mega90]

The young girl raised an eyebrow at him.

“Okay, then what do you think we should do?” There was a slight amount of concern in her voice, but she otherwise appeared to be calm.  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku shook his head slightly.

"I'm honestly not sure. There are a few options that we can go with but none of them are great so I am open to suggestions." He said as he pulled himself fully out of the cold water.  

[Mega90]

The young girl shrugged.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the legendary player?”  

[Zarkon90]

Hiroku slowly rose to his feet, water pouring off him as he did.

"I never claimed that title. Besides, this area isn't operating like normal."

The teen sighed softly.

"Ordinarily I would say that we should try and draw them to the surface and fight them here, however I have a feeling that there is something preventing them from coming to far up. If there wasn't that beast likely would have reached and killed me prior to my making it to the surface."