Standing silently on a cliff that overlooked the vast savanna of Aincrad's second floor, Ryuji the 'Specter' gazed forward towards a clipped mountain in the distance.

 

With Shadowy Haze covering his figure from head to toe in an intangible blackish-purple cloak, Ryuji stepped forward, and disappeared.

 

He flashed down the winding stairway that floated from the top of the cliff to ground level, then made his way towards Urbus, the main settlement on the second floor.

 

Only about a kilometer away from the first floor's exit, Ryuji found himself at Urbus in a minutes time.

 

He easily scaled the decently-sloped mountain, before overlooking the whole place.

 

Urbus is the main settlement of the second floor, and is about 300 meters in diameter.

 

The entire city appears to be excavated from a flat-topped mountain and rests in a crater, not only that, the city gates and walls rest on the outer rim of the crater.

 

However that would to much of a hassle for someone in a rush like Ryuji, so, he skipped that and went straight up the north side of the mountain.

 

Ryuji's plan was to grab a few quick quests, then rush over to the large south-side mountain where he plans to obtain and complete the Martial Arts Quest.

 

'Actually... I think I'll go kill Colonel Nato the Mid-Boss and Bullbous Bow the Field-Boss to level up first, before going to the south-side mountain.' After this thought, Ryuji hopped into the city and ran atop the flat rooftops as he went around and grabbed some easy quests.

 

After grabbing around a dozen quest, he completed a few of the short n easy quests that were able to be completed in the city of Urbus.

 

Soon enough, Ryuji had grabbed a few more quests and gotten out of Urbus before nightfall.

 

Funny enough though, it turns out that not all floors have a set day and weather, because it was actually becoming darker by the minute, and if his feeling was correct, then sooner or later, it going to be pitch black.

 

Ryuji was now heading towards a small settlement that rested right outside of where the Bullbous Bow spawned.

 

Planning to stay the night there, Ryuji carried himself silently as his slightly glitched shadowy figure swiftly swept though trees and over deserted plains.

 

Throughout the entire time he plays the Sword Art Online beta-test, and possibly throughout the official release, Ryuji was going to keep himself shrouded in bis Shadowy Haze.

 

This was his guise of Specter, and since he didn't even get to introduce himself as Satoru Gojo, which he was planning to do, Ryuji decided to set himself up as a Player NPC.

 

Note, this doesn't mean that he's going to be a player controlled NPC, this means that he going to be the Player known as Satoru Gojo that can turn into or bring out the 'Hidden NPC' known as 'Specter'. However, he wasn't planning on ever 'becoming' Specter unless a specific person directly asked him, Satoru Gojo, about 'Specter'.

 

This was his plan, and he wasn't going to let his mind stray from this path.

 

The fight against the Bullbous Bow was pretty easy since all it did was charge. Fighting Colonel Nato was a bit dangerous, however I managed to kill him with minimal difficulty. The last hit rewards were pretty good, but nothing special, so after Ryuji took care of them, he headed straight for the South Mountain.

 

He came upon the field-like base bellow the mountain sooner than he thought he would, however for him, the sooner the better.

 

Ryuji came up to the old man's hut the near the rocky base of the South Mountain, and found the old man sleeping outside with some sort of hat covering his face.

 

Knowing very few players would even be on the second floor, and the fact that those players are bound to be near the first floor's exit, Ryuji decided to 'dispel' Shadow Haze before talking to the slumbering old man.

 

"Hey, Old Man! I'm here for the test, wake up and lemme take it please. I'll pass it in seconds and clear it will flying colors. So... WAKE-UP!" The old man flashed for a second before before basically teleporting inches away from Ryuji.

 

One of the old man's hands was clenched in a fist behind his back, while the other hand was held underneath his chin like a knife.

 

Standing sideways, and in a base martial stance, the bald old man looked at Ryuji with alertness and caution as his bushy brown eyebrows furrowed. "Who are you, and how do you know about the test...?"

 

The old man's dark-brown eyes showed a sheen of hollow malice as he spoke with a deep all-knowing voice. Ryuji knew that this wasn't the proper way to initiate the Martial Arts Quest, but in was definitely the fastest, so with that known, he spoke with confidence and seriousness to the the old Martial Master.

 

"My name is Satoru Gojo, and I am here to take the test given to those who show promise in Martial Arts. I heard about the test from no-one, I simply felt the need to come here. So, old man, please allow me to take the test, I will surely not waste your time." Ryuji's words flowed like a raging river as he spoke smoothly and calmly towards the old man who had a knife-hand positioned under Ryuji's chin.

 

The reason he addressed himself as Satoru Gojo was because he found out that the Disguise Skill actually worked in real life. It allowed him to physically be another person in their entirety, so if he wanted to be the president, he could, or if he wanted to, he could also be a simple pedestrian. Now although this skill had some restrictions, such as not being able to mimic mannerisms or actions, it was definitely an amazing skill.

 

Nonetheless, after Ryuji spoke, the old man retracted his hand and slapped it on Ryuji's shoulder as he said, "Very well, then. Follow me."

 

Following that, the old man straightened himself up and put his hands behind his back as he turned and basically teleported. Ryuji was only step behind the old man as he utilized his Movement Technique: Dark Stride. He didn't activate Shadowy Haze, however it wasn't needed for now, so he planned on keeping it off until he achieved the Proficiency: Martial Arts.

 

Other than that, he followed the old man for about five minutes until they arrived in front of a large boulder.

 

It was still nighttime at around 1~3AM, but even though it was basically pitch black outside, Ryuji could see perfectly, as if it was daylight out. It seemed like the old man could see fine too, but other than that, the old Martial Master extended out a hand towards the rock behind him as he spoke to Ryuji about how to complete his 'test', the Martial Arts Quest.

 

"If you take this test of mine, you will have to break this boulder with only the palm of your hand. But to push you forward a bit, you get some whiskers drawn on your face until you complete the test."

 

Following the old man's words, he took out a primitive coal marker and proceeded to draw three whisker-like lines on Ryuji's face after 'Satoru Gojo' nodded his head.

 

Stepping back, the old man observed Ryuji who turned his body and got into a stance. Ryuji's right hand formed a palm while his left hand extended outwardly towards the rock and formed a fist.

 

The next second, Ryuji's palm and fist blurred as his left hand rocketed back, and his right hand rocketed forward towards the rock at an amazing speed.

 

The sound was almost as it he'd just softly placed his hand on the rock, however in an instant, the rock exploded, sending sharp stone shards in every direction.

 

Seeing this, the old man's eyes went wide, but sensing the shards coming towards him, the old man's hands came out from behind his back and started flowing like a raging river. It honestly looked like Bang's 'Flowing Water, Crushed Rock' from OPM, but nonetheless it was pretty nice sight to see.

 

The shards that basically exploded into my face and the rest of my body were all dodged with minimal movement at what seemed to be the speed of light, causing the old man to once again open his eyes even wider.

 

Funny enough, my movements were inspired by Garou, Bang's disciple, so that was kind of laughable.

 

Anyway, it took a about half a minute before the sharp stone shards stopped raining and flying everywhere, after which the old man looked at 'Satoru Gojo' and walked over to him with proud strides for some reason.

 

Slapping his hand on Ryuji's shoulder, the old man spoke with slight admiration and gratitude as an SAO window came up in his vision. "That was very impressive, and definitely not a waste of my dwindling time. You deserve this kid, here you go."

 

Hearing these words, and looked at what the SAO window displayed, Ryuji couldn't help but show a smirking smile.

 

[Hidden Quest: Martial Arts, has been completed.]

[You have acquired the Proficiency: Martial Arts. Congratulations!]