As soon as I woke up the next morning, I immediately went for the Nervegear. Once I slipped the SAO cartridge into the slot, I grabbed the headgear and put it on.
"Link Start" I called out
I was enveloped by the familiar rainbow tunnel before I materialized in front of the teleporter in the center of the first town, the Town of Beginnings. I opened my menu and looked at my avatar.
(A/n: Ignore the katana. Just imagine the regular claymore from DS3 on his back.)
Once I was certain that everything was the same, I broke into a run and started toward the exit when I heard someone call out to me.
???: Hey, wait a minute!!!
I stopped and turned around to see a player with long hair that was tied up by a bandana.
"Yes?" I asked
???: You look like you know your way around. You were a beta tester, weren't you?
"Yeah," I said
???: That's great. So can you help me out? I don't have a clue how this game works and I was wondering if you could show me some of the basics.
"Sure, I guess. I was heading out to farm some levels anyway" I said
???: Cool, thanks for the help.
"No problem. I'll send you a party invite" I said
I opened the menu and sent him an invite. He accepted and I saw a smaller green bar appear under mine with the name Klein next to it.
"Klein? Can't say I've heard that name before" I said
Klein: Haha, yeah everyone says that. So where do you recommend we start?
"The first area outside of town, which is good for grinding until level 5. After that, the best places would be the fields around Tolbana and the Floor Labyrinth" I said
Klein: Okay. Let's go then.
We started walking and were near the exit of town when I spotted someone I recognized from the beta test.
"Hey, Kirito! Over here" I called
Kirito: U/n? Is that you?
(A/n: U/n-Username)
"Sure is. How you doin'?" I asked
Kirito: Im doing good. How about you?
"Same. You wanna join me and Klein here for some early game leveling?" I asked
Kirito: I was actually about to go and do that. Sure, I'll tag along with you guys.
"Cool. Klein, this is Kirito, a fellow beta tester. I'd like to think we're friends" I said
Kirito(laughs): You're too modest, U/n. Of course we're friends.
Klein: Nice to meet you. I wasn't expecting to meet people on day one, much less a couple of beta testers.
"Right place, right time I guess. We better hurry before the fields are overtaken" I said
Klein: Right!
They followed me outside the safe zone and we headed to the fields. After we explained the combat basics to Klein, we turned him towards a Boar. It rushed at him while snorting loudly. He sidestepped with a yelp and let it run past him. I carved it in two with my Claymore while chuckling.
Another boar spawned and charged, knocking Klein off his feet. I unsheathed my sword and cut it down in one strike using the "Vorpal Strike" skill. I was awarded 24 XP, 100 Col, and one Boar tusk.
Klein: ugh, damn it.
"There's no pain in this game. The Nervegear disables pain receptors so you don't feel a thing." I said
Klein: Oh, convenient.
He stood up and drew his weapon, a curved scimitar. It was classified as a 1-H sword, but there were many subclasses of weapons that fell into that category. The sword I had was a basic Claymore with nothing special about it.
Klein: So I heard there are combat techniques called sword skills. How many are there?
"Depending on your playstyle or weapon, there can be a lot or a few. Overall, there are hundreds of different skills. See that small blue bar under your HP?" I asked
Klein: Yeah, what's it for?
"That's your FP. Each time you use a sword skill, it draws from that bar and you have to wait for both the bar and sword skill to recharge. Depending on the power of the skill, the amount of FP needed to activate it will vary," I said
Klein: So how do I activate it?
"You have to hold your weapon in the necessary position to charge the skill, and then unleash it when you hear the ping," I said
Klein: Alright. Let's see what I've got.
He raised his weapon over his right shoulder and held it there until the blade began to glow red and a ping sound was heard. He swung the blade down and charged forward, leaving behind a distinct red line in his wake. The single strike was enough to kill the boar in one hit.
"That skill was called <Vorpal Strike>. It's a simple but efficient skill that most types of one-handed swords can use. What weapon type did you pick?" I asked
Klein: The curved sword.
"Then the higher-grade weapons you might like are the katanas," I said
Klein: I was hoping this game had those. I'm really into the samurai legends of old, so I was hoping to roleplay as one here.
"Pft, what are you, a teenage weeb like me?" I asked
Klein: No, I'm 22.
"I see. Hey, watch this" I said
I picked up a small stone off the ground and hurled it at a nearby boar, killing it on impact. Once it shattered into blue shards, I suddenly had an idea that would give us a few laughs.
"My god, I've stumbled upon the most powerful weapon in the game. The Mythril pebble of pig smiting" I said
Klein: What are you doing?
Kirito: You get used to it.
I inhaled sharply before spewing utter nonsense.
"For you see, long ago this stone was forged in the mighty pits of Tartarus, by the grand blacksmith of Lucifer himself" I began
(Timeskip)
"And thus, Mardoza, guardian of the pebble, passed from this mortal plane leaving behind the mighty weapon. For he knew that one day, its power would be required once more" I finished
Klein: Are you done?
"Yes. But the legacy of the pebble lives on" I said quickly
Klein: Right. Thanks for the tutorial on weapons and the not-so-quick tutorial on...rocks.
"No problem. I had fun hanging with you Klein" I said
Klein: Well I'd love to stick around, but I've got a pizza coming at 5:30 so I'm gonna log out.
"Im gonna stay for a bit longer. You gonna stay Kirito?" I asked
Kirito: Sure, why not?
Klein: Alright then. Will I see you guys tomorrow?
"Most likely," I said
Klein: Cool.
He opened his menu to log out while I turned to look at the sunset.
Klein: Hey U/n, something strange is happening. I can't find the logout button anywhere.
"That's weird. It was here earlier" I said
I opened my menu, only to see that he was right. The logout button was gone.
Klein: Do you think it's a bug or something?
"No. If it was they would be all over it. And a bug where you can't log out is pretty weird for a game that was just released. That should've been one of the first things they did. Try contacting the GM" I said
Klein: I tried but he's not picking up.
Kirito: U/n-
I turned around to suddenly see him disappear in a flash of blue. Seconds later, I was forcefully teleported to the center of the Town of Beginnings. I looked around and noticed every other player was there as well.
Kirito: Do you know what's going on?
"No, but I don't think it's good. I've got this feeling of dread about what's to come" I said
Suddenly, someone pointed out a red shape pulsating up in the sky. Seconds later the shape multiplied until the entire sky was covered with them. Before any of us could react, blood started dripping down and pooling in mid-air. Electric shocks formed the bloody mass into the form of the GM.
???: Welcome to my world players. I am Akihiko Kayaba, and as of this current moment in time, I am the sole master of this world.
The 10,000 players began to whisper amongst themselves upon hearing this. I heard some say that maybe the log-out button was disabled for an official launch celebration, but I knew it wasn't a mistake anymore. Kayaba didn't make mistakes. Whatever he'd done, there had to be a reason.
Kayaba: Some of you may have noticed an abnormality in your menus. I assure you this is not a defect, this is how Sword Art Online was designed to be. There is no longer any way to log out of the game.
The players once again began whispering upon hearing this information. I stood quietly with my arms crossed. waiting to hear what was coming next.
Kayaba: To leave the game you must beat all 100 floors of Aincrad. It is important to note that if your HP reaches zero, both your avatar and your real body will be deleted from Aincrad and the real world.
upon hearing this grim news, a few players cried out in terror. I saw some break down in tears while others stood there paralyzed with fear.
Klein: Why do this? What's the point?
Kirito: I don't know, but it's crazy.
"I think he's about to tell us," I said
Kayaba: Right now you're all probably wondering why. Why would Akihiko Kayaba, creator of the Nervegear and Sword Art Online, do this? For many years I dreamt of a world all under my control and now that dream is a reality. Before I leave, I left a gift in the item storage of every player. Please take a look.
I opened my inventory and saw an item labeled <Mirror>. I equipped it and as soon as it was in my hand, a bright light engulfed me. Once it disappeared I wasn't staring at the face of my avatar but at my real-life face. I looked all around at the other players and saw they experienced the same thing I did.
???: Son of a- you're a guy?!
??? 2: You're not 17!!
??? 3: What the hell?!
I looked where Klein was and saw someone completely different.
"Who're you?" I asked
???: I'm me, who are you?
"Wait, Klein?" I asked
Klein: Yeah.
Kirito: What the hell?!
I glanced past Klein and saw a different person standing where Kirito was. I assumed that what I was seeing was his looks in real life.
"I think the mirror changed our avatars to look like we do in real life. The inside of the Nervegear has cameras so that's how it knew our faces, but how'd it know my body height and weight?" I wondered aloud
Klein: Remember when we put the headset on and it asked us to touch our bodies all over as a calibration thing? Maybe that's how it knew.
"You're right," I said
Kayaba: Good luck to you all. When Floor 100 is beaten, you will be freed. I also took the liberty of adding more content. I do hope you'll be able to overcome the challenge. Until then, farewell.
He slowly disappeared, leaving us alone once more. It was silent until one girl cried out.
Girl: NOOOO!!!
That set everyone off as they frantically ran to the exit. I pulled Klein and Shiro with me into an alley.
"We need to rush to the hunting spots and level up as much as possible before everyone else. Kirito, remember the quest where we got the Anneal Blade and that greatsword?" I asked
Kirito: Yeah. I know what you're thinking right now.
"Good, then let's go. All three of us need to stick together to survive" I said
Kirito: Good idea.
Klein: I'd like to go with you guys, but well, I kinda have some friends waiting for me and I can't just leave them there. Why don't you two join us? We can form a guild and go on all sorts of adventures. What do you say, guys?
"Sorry Klein, but if it were just the three of us..." I trailed off
Klein: No worries, I get it. Just promise me one thing, don't die.
"Right back at you," I said
Kirito and I ran out of town as fast as we could. A Dire Wolf spawned in front of us as we raced along the path. Drawing my sword, I charged up <Vorpal Strike>. Once I heard the ping, I released the sword and struck the wolf down in one blow. We encountered many hollows, wolves, and boars along the path until we reached our destination, a small village on the way to the town of Tolbana. Once we passed the village limits, a shield icon appeared under my HP bar, meaning I was now in a safe zone. We walked toward a small cottage with a plume of smoke coming from the chimney. After walking inside, I saw an old woman sitting by the fire with an <!> over her head, signifying a quest.
"Hello there ma'am," I said
NPC: Hello there traveler. Might I trouble you with a request?
"Of course," I said
NPC: My granddaughter is very sick and the only thing that can cure her is a fruit growing on top of the head of a fearsome creature called a Nepenthes. If you can bring this fruit back to me, I will give you a sword passed down in my family for generations.
An icon appeared in front of me asking if I wanted to accept the quest <Forest Remedies>. I hit yes and the quest log appeared under my HP bar. We left the cottage and immediately headed to the location where the monster carrying the fruit spawned. Once I reached it, several Nepenthes spawned but not one of them had the fruit growing on its head. Kirito drew his sword and killed them all while I waited for them to respawn. Once they did, I saw one off in the distance with a distinct red berry growing on its head. Slashing my way through the horde, I used <Vorpal Strike> to cut the berry off and swung my sword straight into the monster's face, killing it. With my target now vanquished and the item safe in my inventory, we made our way back into town.