//------------------------------//
// Episode 21 - Rock Versus Candy 
// Story: EQG: Sword Art Online - Ruby Palace 
// by Mindrop 
//------------------------------//

Episode 21 - Rock Versus Candy
Eighth Day in the Month of Holly (December 8) in the Year of the Hawk
Floor 2

Bladescape was at the tail end of their group. All eleven of them were exploring the southern portion of the second floor. It was barren, little more than the rocky canyons with little shade. They had planned to be out for a few days and packed accordingly. The previous night they had spent on the summit of a tabletop mountain, just one of many of those mountains. They had taken shifts watching their backs while the others slept in the sleeping bags. It had worked well enough. 

They had spent the morning in their first dungeon, fighting storm hornets and their boss, the Storm Hornet King. They were the first to take on the dungeon. The agile Storm Hornet King was finally taken down by Natora because of her spear’s reach. She hadn’t shared the Last Attack Bonus with anyone or mentioned that it was even a feature of SAO.

With the afternoon growing late, they were now working their way up the side of a mountain. It was either a very narrow path, or they were blazing their own way up the side. It was hard to tell at certain points. It was the tallest mountain in the area, so they were hoping it would either help them see a nearby settlement or provide a good campsite. 

Konpeito was at the front of their single file line, with Thunderborne and Natora right behind her, and she was running her mouth about the dream she had the night before. Bladescape could only catch bits and pieces while she helped Diemond and Reisenki get up the path. The two of them were the slowest, with Malus only slightly faster because she was used to hiking and climbing. 

Konpeito yelled something, clearly excited. Bladescape missed it as she grabbed Diemond’s arm to keep her from tumbling all the way down the mountainside.

“Thanks, darling,” Diemond said once she was steady. “What did Konpeito yell?”

“No idea,” Bladescape said. “We are almost at the top. We will find out when we get there, but let's focus on making it up first, then we can move on to Konpeito."

They worked their way up the last thirty feet of the path without any close calls. A lone hut was at the top. Konpeito emerged, followed by an NPC.

“What’s going on?” Bladescape yelled as she hurried over to Thunderborne and Natora. Konpeito had followed the NPC behind his hut. 

“I don’t know,” Thunderborne said with a shrug. “She just ran into the hut and then I heard her yell ‘I accept.’ I think it’s a quest, but I don’t know the details. I’m not even sure she heard them before accepting it.”

Bladescape shook her head as she jogged behind the hut. The NPC was painting whiskers on Konpeito’s face. They were standing before a large boulder.

“What did you do!” Bladescape exclaimed. 

“Me?” Konpeito asked. 

“Yes, you. What is going on and why the face paint?”

“Because face paint is fun!” Konpeito exclaimed. “As to the other half of your question, I accepted his challenge.”

Bladescape let out a sigh. “Which is?”

“Break this rock with just my hands,” Konpeito replied. It was clear she thought it was a trivial task.

“And the face paint is for?” Bladescape asked. 

“It is the mark of the beast!” Konpeito aggressively exclaimed. “Until I break the rock, it stays on.”

“That isn’t what the mark of the beast is,” Knightstar stated. Everyone else was with her. “What it means...well that doesn’t matter."

“But it makes me look like a giant humanoid rat,” Konpeito said. "Which means I look like a beast!"

“It makes you look stupid,” Thunderborne said. Diemond smacked her on the arm for the comment.

“Konpeito, why do you think you can break the rock?” Bladescape asked.

“If you had been listening, you would have heard that in order to save Sugar Valley, I must split open the Rock of Destiny, which will have inside the Polkagris, a sword that can banish the Nougat army of the evil Toffee Emperor and with it, set free the Elders he has turned to stone. The residents of Sugar Valley need to be able to grow their crops in peace on their rock candy farms.”

Bladescape let out a sigh, trying not to go off on her friend. Dreams were one thing, but this was moving into the insanity zone. “Okay, but how does that help you break the rock?”

“It doesn’t,” Konpeito shrugged. “Buuuuuuuut, it is my destiny to do so. Also, I grew up on a rock farm.”

For a split second, Bladescape thought the Pinkie Pies had pulled a switch. She was certain they had before, but human Pinkie Pie wouldn’t miss going to Japan and pony Pinkie Pie had no interest in such a journey. Sunset was certain it was human Pinkie Pie who had come to Japan and dived into SAO with the rest of them. 

“You didn’t grow up on a rock farm,” Thunderborne said. “Your family grows root vegetables, not...well not rocks.”

“Well one of me did and one of me has no problem breaking rocks,” Pinkie Pie retorted. 

“Oh dear,” Diemond said. “She is conflating the two and mixing them.”

“Let’s leave her to try it while we talk,” Bladescape said, directing everyone to the other side of the hut. She now had to do some damage control with her explanations to their new friends.

“I’ll keep track of her,” Malus said.

“That is probably a good idea,” Bladescape said. Once they were out of earshot of Konpeito, Bladescape started the explanation. “I don’t know how much exactly Natora knows, but Kiefer, Soryuto, and Reisenki, this might sound a bit crazy.”

“We have been living in crazy for over a month,” Kiefer said. 

“Yes,” Bladescape nodded. “Well, you know the seven of us are foreign exchange students, what you don’t know is that the seven of us are friends through a special bond. It’s a complicated story spanning a few years, but the short version is that years ago I came through a portal between different dimensions. Where I was born there are no humans. It’s vastly different, yet the same. For the seven of us, there is a version in the other dimension. I’m the only one to cross the portal and I have met their other dimensional selves. I’m sure this sounds crazy.” 

“Who is to say that the NerveGear wasn’t a portal for us all?” Reisenki asked. “We all exist in Aincrad at the same time as we exist in the other world we maintain is the real one. We know where the exit is, but we have to get to it. Sure, our bodies are in hospitals being kept alive, but is it really that different?”

Bladescape shrugged. “Part of me says yes, part of me says no. Anyway, Konpeito has always been an odd one, to say the least. The other her farms rocks... I think...it's complicated...just don’t think too deeply about it. Anyway, the rock farming does come with an ability to break, smash, and use rocks as needed. Her older sister, in both dimensions, is really, really into rocks. Working on her PhD in geology or her rocktorate, depending on which dimension you are in. With getting trapped in here, Konpeito is…”

“We question her mental health,” Diemond bluntly said. “We already questioned it at times, but now we really have concerns for her mental state.”

“Only you, Blade, have traveled between the dimensions?” Kiefer asked. 

“Yes,” Bladescape nodded. “If there were two of us in either world, it would get complicated and confusing quickly because in each other’s world we look the same. Almost exactly the same. Some minor differences, like Knightstar needing glasses in one and not the other. We are not allowed by their side to cross without permission and they are not allowed to leave. Their...uh...well their government doesn’t permit it.”

“I highly doubt she hasn’t broken that and visited herself in both dimensions,” Thunderborne said. 

“I’m fairly certain she has swapped places a few times,” Doombunny added.

“I wouldn’t be surprised and her behavior is odd enough that we wouldn’t easily notice them switching,” Bladescape said. 

“So, she thinks that she is the same, even if she is split in different dimensions?” Reisenki asked in order to make sure it was clear. “One being in two bodies in two different dimensions that know and experience the same things?”

“Correct,” Bladescape nodded. “That is my belief after hearing what she just said. But that is today and tomorrow it could be completely different."

“Does she have a chance at breaking the rock?” Soryuto asked. 

“If any of us could, it would be Konpeito,” Bladescape replied. “You’ve seen her and how she acts. She almost outright defies the game at times. It was like that in the real world too and with her other dimension version. We probably should give her some time to try and break it.”

“There isn’t anything in sight,” Natora said. “We are very far away from any towns or cities. There are some trembling oxen over that way, but we should be safe to set up camp on the other side of the hut.”

“Someone would have to bait an ox to get it in targeting range of the camp,” Knightstar confirmed. “Not to say that we should let our guard down.”

“Natora, get us set up and work out the watch shifts,” Bladescape ordered. “I’ll take the middle shift, but I want to check in on Konpeito and Malus. We will move out in the morning, straight to the closest city on our map. We are low on food. Konpeito can have the night to break the rock.”

“Got it,” Natora replied with a nod.

Bladescape walked around the hut to see how they were doing. Konpeito was giving the boulder a very close examination. Malus was leaning against the hut, without her shield on.

“How is she?” Bladescape asked.

“She has been doing that, since y’all left,” Malus said. “Even tasted it and the dirt around it. Just dragged her tongue along it and said somethin about it not being somethin so it had to be somethin like cane gurms. I didn’t understand the names an I know I ain’t saying it right.”

“Well, Maud is getting her PhD in geology,” Bladescape said. “The two of them are close and she probably has learned a lot about rocks from her. Anyway, we are going to set up camp for the night. Nothing is in the immediate area.” 

Bladescape walked over to the boulder. Konpeito had disappeared behind it. She popped her head over the top. She seemed to be laying out on the top. Her freckled face looked ridiculous with the whiskers and her red hair. 

 “Hey, Blade,” Konpeito said as she smiled down on her. “Whatcha doin?”

“Look, we are spending the night, but come morning, we have to head back,” Bladescape stated. “If you are going to break this thing, you need to do it by then.”

“Okey dokey lokey!”

Konpeito slipped off the top, disappearing from sight. It was good to hear her say “okey dokey lokey” because that was normal, sane Pinkie Pie. Well, sane-er. Her friend was still in there.

Bladescape watched as Konpeito sized up the boulder and then punched it. She seized up, grabbing her hand in an attempt to stop the pain, before she fell over. She was in too much pain to even scream.

Malus went to help her up but Bladescape blocked her with her arm. “Let her be. If she is going to do this...well I don’t believe it can’t be done. Obviously it can be. I’m just not sure if she can do it, specifically right now. I’d rather her give up quickly and come back later than try and drag this out. Plus, it is her challenge. We shouldn't mess it up by trying to cushion her from reality."

“Fine,” Malus said with a nod. 

Natora joined them with food. She gave some to Malus and Bladescape, but left Konpeito alone. “The others took your admission well,” Natora said. 

“Reality is a funny thing,” Bladescape said. “We are all sharing this one. It makes you question what is real and what is not and how to tell the difference. In the other dimension, the laws of nature are not exactly the same. Similar, but not the same. The experience of each sense is different in both dimensions too, the same here. As real as it all is, it isn’t.”

“Which could just be us all believing it isn’t real,” Natora said. “A shared memory of something that doesn’t exist and, in many ways, is now just a fantasy. A dream.”

“Y’all are gettin too metiphi...you know the word," Malus grumbled. "Y’all are gettin too all that for my tired mind to take. I'm gonna go eat with the others. You can watch cotton candy.”

Konpeito was back on her feet, but now had her ear on the rock as she knocked on it, listening for something.

“I’m not even sure she knows what the quest reward is,” Natora said. “Thunder was ahead of me. She got inside right behind Konpeito. She didn’t hear a reward, or a task, or anything about the face paint, and didn’t see a screen. It could be a solo quest, in which case it wouldn’t necessarily show up to her party members. None of us have our quest logs updated, so that might be it, but it still doesn’t add up.”

“So what, a shadow quest?” Bladescape asked.

“Possibly,” Natora shrugged. “It is probably mentioned somewhere, but that doesn’t mean hearing about it will be easy. Either way, she apparently blindly accepted it without a second thought.”

Bladescape shook her head, but was unable to not grin a bit. “That is so her and normally isn’t a problem, but we have to keep moving. This isn't a game."

“Alright, rock!” Konpeito declared. “I’ve got you figured out. Prepare to be broken!”

Bladescape winced as Konpeito’s punch did nothing but cause her excruciating pain. She had given it her all, not stopping her fist at the boulder, intent to punch to its heart. Not giving her all would never break the boulder, but that didn’t make it feel any better.

Konpeito sized the boulder up again and threw a one two combo. Both strikes were solid with good power, but it left her on her knees, silently screaming in pain. The boulder still stood, not even phased by her. 

“This is going to be grueling to watch,” Natora said. “I.R.L. those would have broken bones.”

“I know,” Bladescape sighed. “But there is no harm to it, right? We are here anyway. She has the night to figure it out and she knows it.”

“It could damage her psyche, maybe,” Natora said. “Assuming there is anything left to damage.”

Bladescape nodded back. “We just need to pay attention, to make sure nothing surprises her overnight, but we don’t need to watch her physically harm herself for this...whatever it is. Doing so would hurt our psyche.”

“I’ve got first watch, Malus has second, you have third, Reisenki has fourth, and Doom said she would take fifth. Two hour time blocks. So go, get some rest, at least sit down, and don’t worry about her. Put her out of your mind for a few hours. I know you have a lot on it at all times, you don't need this weighing you down more."

“Thanks,” Bladescape said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah,” Natora said with a nod. “What else are friends for? See you in the morning.” 

Bladescape joined the others. Their sleeping bags were laid out in a circle like they were around a fire, but they couldn’t light one in SAO. Or at least, they didn’t know how or have any wood. Bladescape set her alarm and drifted off to sleep, even with the others chatting.

Her alarm woke her up a few minutes before her shift started. Bladescape stood up and found Malus coming back from checking on Konpeito.

“About an hour ago, she started meditating,” Malus said. “She still is like that. Hasn’t moved. Not even a muscle twitch. It’s odd and a bit concerning.” 

“That is odd,” Bladescape said. “But I don’t think there is any reason to worry. I’m just glad she isn’t uselessly punching the rock.”

“That we can agree on,” Malus said with a chuckle. “Good luck. I’m gonna go lay down.”

It was boring, but calm, during Bladescape’s watch. With Search, she could sit in a central location and “watch” the whole area. Nothing could enter her field without her being alerted. She could even tell when one of her friends rolled over in their sleeping bags. Konpeito hadn’t moved from the lotus position she was meditating in.
 
The night wasn’t quiet. Along with the background music, there were chirps from some crickets, happy under their blanket of stars which the third flood’s bottom projected for them. Malus and Thunderborne were both snoring. Natora made her own noise at times too, giving them both a run for their money, if they were betting on who could snore the loudest. If they knew, they would take that bet without a second thought. 

Bladescape passed the watch on to Riesenki when two hours were up. He was alert and ready to go. Bladescape let him know about Konpeito, set her alarm, and then went to sleep. 

When Bladescape woke up, she immediately went to check on Konpeito. She was still sitting there, in the same lotus pose. 

"I'm pretty sure she isn't sleeping," Doombunny said. "It was an uneventful watch, but the stars were beautiful."

"They were," Bladescape said. "They were truly a marvel and when I think about it, it makes it really hard to believe that we are in a game."

Natora joined them and gave them both some bread and water. "How long do we wait till we pull the plug?"

Bladescape let out a sigh and took a big bite of bread while she thought. She swallowed it and made the call. "She needs to eat before we move. I'll go wake her."

"I'm not asleep," Konpeito said, not moving. "I'm meditating."

"And what answer has this meditation yielded?" Bladescape asked.

"I skipped along the path ahead," Konpeito replied. “To break a pinata, you need a bat. As much as I love candy and parties, pinatas are from Mexico, far far far from where my ancestors lived. They did have their own sweets, but they also climbed Cairngorm and drank from the heart of its firefalls. I like candy and I like rocks, which is why I am named Konpeito.

“If there is one thing I know really well besides sugar, it’s rocks. And to break a rock you need a Cross-Peen Crack Hammer and that is made from steel, which is made from iron, which is mined from rock as iron ore. Mined by the hand, shaped by the hand, iron...is...THE HAND!

“To beat rock, you need paper, but to break a rock, you need an iron hand. And lucky for me, I have one. Since everyone is gathered around to watch, I can finally break this rock."

Bladescape glanced around. Konpeito hadn't moved to even look around, but she was right. Everyone was there, silently watching as they ate breakfast.

Konpeito stood up and walked over to the boulder. “You and me, boulder. This is for Sugar Valley, for my name is Konpeito! The meany who trapped us here will rue the day he did so. I’ll break you and then his precious stone castle with my iron fist or my name isn’t Konpeito. But it is! So you, boulder, are already broken."

Konpeito raised her fist, drawing it back by her head. She set her left leg forward. “ROCK.” She twisted her hips, getting ready to throw the punch. “CANDY.” Konpeito rocketed forward, driving the punch forward with her whole body as she stepped forward. “SMASH!” Konpeito yelled as her fist collided with the stone.

She stood there, frozen.

“Owie,” Konpeito squeaked. “That hurts. It all hurts. I feel like I just broke every bone in my body. I don’t know if I can move.”

“What was that about an iron fist?” Thunderborne poked. Diemond swatted her on the arm for the comment.

“I’ll be back, boulder," Konpeito growled. "I may like face paint, but our business is not over! I will break you. I’ll break you and I’ll break every enemy that stands in the way between my friends and I getting back in our right bodies.” 

Konpeito tried to step back, but tripped. She fell flat on her back without any grace. As she fell, the face of the boulder tumbled towards her. She rolled out of the way as it crashed down right where she had been. The back half was laying flat.

“Oh,” Konpeito giggled from the ground. “I guess my fist was holding the face up.”

“So, does that mean you broke it?” Diemond asked.

“Absoposilutely!” Konpeito confidently declared as she stood up and put her foot on the rook, standing proud over her fallen foe.

“That was a very fine split,” the NPC said as he walked through the group towards Konpeito. “Only one in ten thousand can break the back off without damaging the face. Everyone else breaks it side to side.”

“I see the micro fault in the grain texture,” Konpeito said, looking closer at the stone. “I also heard it when I examined the boulder. Splitting it side to side, along the fault, would’ve been easier, but what fun is easy?”

“This cloth will remove the paint,” he said, holding a cloth out to her which she took. “You have proven that you are worthy of the Martial Arts Skill. Aincrad will tremble as you beat your foes with your bare hands. I know you will use it wisely.” 

The NPC bowed to Konpeito as she wiped her face off. With a face free of paint, she bowed back to him and then he took the dirtied cloth from her. He stepped over to the rock and lifted it upright like it weighed only a few dozen pounds. Then he did the same with the back half, once again making the boulder whole.

“We need to get moving,” Bladescape said. “Well done, Konpeito.”

Konpeito grinned with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Now, when I go to sleep tonight, I'll have to fight through the evil nougat army until I can slay the evil Toffee King and free Sugar Valley. The rock candy harvests will grow freely once again! They will not be oppressed. Not while I am around to protect them."

"I guess we really need to get to level twenty," Bladescape said. "Until then, you will have to wait to set it as a skill."

"Nope!" Konpeito exclaimed. She flipped her menu around to show everyone. Only she was able to manipulate her menu like that. "See, it's already locked in."

"Why is it pink?" Natora asked. "Grey means the slot is open, an occupied one is yellow with the skill's symbol on it in a dark grey. This is pink with what looks like the front of a fist in white."

"What about it being a fourth skill when she doesn't have the slot?" Diemond asked. 

"Maybe it is a placeholder?" Bladescape asked. "She can't use it until she gets the new skill slot and it will automatically fill it. That doesn't explain the pink though."

"HIYAH!" Konpeito yelled as she threw a glowing blue punch. "Nope! It's active."

"It still doesn't explain the pink, but part of the reward might be the permanent addition to your skill set without needing an open slot," Natora hypothesized. "That is the only logical explanation I can come up with."

"We can't test that because we don't have anyone else ready to break the rock," Bladescape added. "Knightstar, your thoughts?"

"It's logical that a hidden skill through a secret quest would be added to the active skills regardless of the status of a player's available skill slots, however, as stated, that doesn't explain the pink. I have no idea or explanation for that. Or for how she could turn her menu around to show us. You can't do that in SAO, but she just did. Or rather, no one but Konpeito can."

"Come on, Konpeito," Malus said. "Let's get yah fed and then we need to be off."

"Right!" Konpeito exclaimed. "I'll punch my way to the closest city and then I need to start making cupcakes."

"Do you know how?" Thunderborne asked.

"Not yet! But you have to try in order to learn."

“We head out in five minutes," Bladescape said, ending any further discussion. It wasn't going to be hard for Konpeito to go down the rabbit trail Thunderborne had shown her by asking about cupcakes. 




BLADESCAPE: Level 15 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor 
NATORA:  Level 15 —  Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 14 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal 
MALUS: Level 15 — One-Handed War Hammer — Shield — Light Metal Armor — First Aid 
THUNDERBORNE: Level 15 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense 
KONPEITO: Level 15 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense —  Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts
DIEMOND: Level 15 — Mace — Shield — Sewing — Light Metal Armor  
DOOMBUNNY: Level 14 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing
KIEFER: Level 10 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor 
SORYUTO: Level 10 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor 
REISENKI: Level 10 — One-Handed Axe — Shield — Light Metal Armor