Iris had chosen well to get moving though she had missed meeting whoever had shot the arrow, using the opportunity of evading any fire after seeing the trajectory line appear for a second, not noticing it going into a monster until after she had started running, there was still enough light to see the landscape. Rolling hills, forests and plains stretched far and wide until they stopped sharply at the edge of the floor, where the massive floating castle of Aincrad opened up to the world outside with a sharp drop, though past there, she didn't think anyone could do much. The fall would end anyone who tried escaping down to the world below (if it was even modeled, it was a game, after all, which she was finding less and less easy to believe, despite all the evidence she could ever need being perfectly apparent and there was probably an instant-kill wall past a certain altitude to kill off any high defense players) and the structure of Aincrad made it simply impossible to ascend by any other way than through the dungeons, thanks to its steep shape, as evidenced by all the promotional material showing it. More important was to know the floors inside Aincrad, of course, and this one was certainly an attractive one, a good starting terrain. The forests weren't too dense and they were sparse, the scenery was welcoming and the climate was just about perfect, not too hot during the day and not too cold at night. Still, winter was coming, and SAO did have a season system, so she'd have to get some warmer clothes soon.
For the moment, however, lighter equipment suited her perfectly. It made the role of scouting that she had given herself quite easy indeed, she didn't get too weighed down at all. Even the armoring on her left forearm was reasonably light, forgoing heavier mail for a system of interlocking plates that would absorb shocks from swords reasonably well. They probably wouldn't face more than beast monsters for the time being and any humanoid monsters in the dungeons using blunt weapons would probably be quite slow. Still, it'd pay to be careful, while she could probably use the plates to protect against swords, the bronze would be crushed by any blunt weapons and that would be it for her arm for that battle. She'd have to dodge those, thus the interest of leveling her agility and speed early on. SAO was strange when it came to the sensation of running. Iris felt the steps, quick and strong on the dusty road, but without the pain and muscle fatigue that came from running for long. Maya had never been much of an athlete, jogging once in a while with friends, but mostly remaining fit simply from doing a few minutes on a treadmill at home, so she often got quite sore and her feet quickly started hurting. Not in SAO, here, the worst Iris felt was a tingling. Side effect of the combat system and its "pain", she supposed. Still, she found the simulation of fatigue was quite realistic and within a while, she found herself getting tired and she slowed to an easy walk, looking around her for a spot where they could camp out for the night.
To be honest, it wasn't hard, the landscape made her job quite easy, it was very flat and not at all hard to navigate. The only difficulty was the "platforms", some completely unattainable at present by anyone, due to their height. Perhaps some might reach their surfaces once their agility and acrobatics were better, but for now, they had to stick to the natural land. Eventually, she found a spot next to a cliff with a view directly on the road. No one could sneak up on them and the area seemed to have been cleared entirely of any monsters. Man, people are getting fast. Iris remarked with a wry smile. She wondered if there would be anything left for her and her group. She still needed to try her machete, after all! Thinking this, she laughed for a moment, until she heard a strange sound; a clamor of footsteps. Not a group walking together, the sound was too cacophonous, no, they were pursuing someone else, steps she hadn't heard. Turning, she hit the ground, hiding behind a rise in the earth, looking through the grass. Indeed, there was a hooded figure, about forty meters ahead of the group chasing them. They were moving fast and seemed tired and with the distance, they probably hadn't heard the group after them, a bunch of six mean looking players. However, mean as they looked, they were all low-level, even compared to the one they were chasing. Iris briefly hypothesized that they had been in a party since the beginning, making the EXP distribution when they trained on monsters quite light, but, the problem was that these guys probably had a good grip on fighting together.
Then again, she wasn't far above them, due to the time she used in the town making the group. Damn Matsuta, now she was in trouble. Part of her was nagging the rest to play the hero and help the hooded person, but with about a level less than all of them, she'd be in danger if she went for them. Then, she saw something interesting; two players on the grass past the light woods. Compared to herself and the troublemakers, they were higher-leveled by a good measure and they looked to be heading to fight them. Still, Iris worried somewhat for them, their adversaries were better numbered, if nothing else. She didn't need to be told what to do, with a start, she pulled her machete off the sheath on her lower back, flipping it around and darted off from where she laid into the trees, waiting for the two men, one armed with a halberd and the other with a sword, to make contact with their opponents. Once they did, she burst out of the trees behind the bullies, their backs turned to their unknown third enemy. With a cry to break their attention away from the men, giving them a chance to get the advantage, hopefully, she slashed at one of them with a basic sword skill, before jumping to the side and getting into a combat stance, her left arm raised to deflect attacks and her right arm and blade to the side, ready to parry or take the initiative. She wouldn't kill and her impromptu allies wouldn't either, she would just get them to surrender.
Hopefully.
