book one: unrequited || sword art online

Chapter 2

Published: Tuesday; 9/29/2015; 9:21pm; Unedited

I had noticed while walking to the field that I was being followed not too subtly. I kept walking anyways, not minding, really. Though I don't want people to know I was once a Beta Tester, I have experience with MMOs.

I stopped at the edge of town, everything beyond me was a plain flied with the occasional bush and tree somewhere and sighed, "Why are you following me?" I glanced over my shoulder and waited for he person the come out. After a few seconds, a girl I had seen staring at Mr came out looking embarrassed.

"S-sorry..." She apologized, which shocked me. I sun my head a bit and glared slightly. "I just thought you were very pretty! And you seemed to know where to go..."

I raised an eyebrow, "I've played a lot of MMOs before, the first thing I always do is but better equipment and go to a field worth monsters to grind for a few levels. Is basic starting for me."

"... this is my first MMO..." She sounded nervous and I froze before letting a small laugh leave me.

"Alright, alright, I got it. Even I can't leave a newbie defenseless in the ruthless world of Virtual Reality. What's your name?" She smiled, relieved.

"I'm Asuna!" I blinked.

"So weird, I know someone in real life with that name," she seemed surprised before smiling.

"Are you friends?" I shrugged.

"We've never really got along very well."

"That's a shame, you seem nice," she frowned. "Oh, so can you help with--"

"I'll help you learn how to take down a monster, use yourbsword skills, and give you tips on armor and weapons. That's it."

"Better than nothing, I suppose."

"Now you're catching on," I smirked, then turned around and stalked over to the field and further pit, knowing that Asuna was following.

"So, uh, you never told me your name."

"Oh, right," I muttered, "name's Mue."

"Like "moo" and "eh" together?" I couldn't help but laugh full heartedly at how she figured to pronounced my in-game name.

"Yeah, like that." Wiping a fake tear, I stopped a fifteen feet away from a boar. "Okay, time to start..."

~*~*~*~*~

She was panted hard, and groaned in frustration, "I just...don't...understand!" She said in between breathes.

I chuckled, shaking my head. She was a complete noob! I was about to tell her some more advice, but the blue flames surrounded both of us as someone forced teleports on us.

"Wha-" Asuna exclaimed and I narrowed my eyes at this. The columns consumed us ty hen died down, showing that were in the town once again along with many others. "Mue, what's going on?"

"That was a forced teleport..." I muttered, "only game masters can do that."

"For what?"

"Special events. But to have one right when the game has been released..."

Alert signs began popping up in the sky, the word was in the middle of each stretched out red hexagons. Once the sky was completely covered in such, red liquid, which reminded me of blood, seeped through the cracks and created the form of a man in a red giant cloak.

I didn't really pay attention, choosing to look around in curiosity as others stared intently on the figure above our heads.

"--some of you have noticed there is no log out key; it is not a defect."

I snapped my head up, getting the pain of whiplash but ignored it, and pulled up the menu and going to settings. Sure enough, there was no log out button.

"Despite my warnings to families to not remove the Nervegear..." He pulled up reports and news on over two hundred lives lost for families trying to remove the Nervegear.

"I-is that even p-possible?" Asuna stuttered from beside me, eyes wide and shaking.

I frowned, "The Nervegear has a Safe Mode, without it, it's very much possible to fry a person's brain."

"Oh no... father..." She whispered, most likely to herself, but I heard it.

I internally groaned, I'm alone until midnight!

"The only way for you all to get out of the game is to clear all one hundred floors," my eyes widened, "before I leave, you'll see I've left a present for you in your inventory."

I raised an eyebrow, going through my menu, along with everyone else, and clicking on the new item, Mirror. It materialized in my hand, showing the reflection of my avatar.

Midnight black hair hair that shone with eeriness, and forest green eyes glistening with mischief. A long, beautifully mature face stared back at me, before glowing and inveloping me in a bright light once again.

"Kya!" Asuna exclaimed next to me, everyone else making their own exclamations of surprise and shock.

But I didn't, simply grunting at the bright light burning my eyes.

When the light died down, I was met with the sight of everyone looking completely different from their previous looks. I looked at the mirror in my hands and gasped.

My hair was it's strangely natural white color, cascading down my back and to my thighs loosely. Ice blue, cold eyes glared back at me, slight baby fat still poking through my fourteen-year-old features.

"Mue--eh--" I looked over at Asuna to ask if she was alright only to glare at the person before me.

"Asuna..." I muttered, glare hardening as I stared at her. Scoffing, "So it wasn't just a coincidence that your name was that. You're foolish. Using your real name, how stupid of you Yuuki-san."

"Narashi...to think you were Mue..." She shook her head, glaring back at me.

"Well, now you owe me one because I helped you learn the basics. You might have a chance at surviving."

She shook, "How can you say that so easily?!"

"I don't fear death," I responded immediately. "If I die now, then I obviously wasn't meant to be in the future."

"You..."

"Good luck to you all, in clearing the floors."

He disappeared, the sky clearing into the beautiful blue and clouds floating around.

Silence.

Then someone screamed.