I had won a bet with my brother. That's how I got here. My mom had bought us the newest full dive equipment a few weeks ago for my birthday, all in preparation for the release of Sword Art Online. My brother and I were going to share the game, each of us having anticipated its release for months. Wishing to be beta testers, scouring the web for any new game videos, whatever we could to hold off our excitement. The day of its release, my brother and I made this bet. We decided that whoever scored a higher score on our most recent math test would get to play the game first. I'm sure he never expected that I would win, and he would never get his turn.

When the machine was turned on, it gave me a few detailed instructions. Setting up a user, an avatar, personal information. I rushed through all the formalities, wanting to get to the game. When it prompted me to create a name and avatar, I decided on the name Artemis. Goddess of the hunt. I could only imagine how many others would have the same, unoriginal name, but I didn't care.

I avoided making my avatar look anything like myself. I gave her long bleach blond hair, with bangs braided away from her face. Deep purple eyes, elf-like ears, tall and abnormally thin. The exact image of the person I wish I was. The equipment to choose from was limited. It varied a bit depending on what skills you wanted to specialize in. I wasn't wanting full body armor or a ridiculous staff, so being a warrior and mage was out. After a while I decided on the Dagger skills. Several of them included ways to steal extra items from enemies, looting, and deception. I figured if I wanted to switch to a sword skill later on, being a thief would help me make some extra money.

My first few hours in the game were of wonder and fascination. I hadn't used the full dive gear up to this point, so the vivid colors, other people, and how real everything seems was simply… Unbelievable. The first thing I did was plop open the in game user manual to get an idea of how many different options I had in front of me. Jobs, weapons, skills, and so much more. I was like a whole other life I could live in this new world.

I began exploring the city the game dropped me in. There were new members everywhere, the courtyard filled to the brim with new players trying out their new equipment, meeting others, forming parties, and some even just sitting there looking around. I checked the map and turned to head what I figured would be north. The closest exit was in this direction.

As soon as I stepped out of the large double doors that marked the entrance to the city, my breath caught in my throat. The widest view I had ever seen laid before me, with sweeping grassland, mountain ranges to the east, another town sparkling in the far off distance. But the most intriguing part was the towering dungeon reaching for the sky. I began to wonder if it would ever be possible to explore this entire world.

Movement to my left caught my eye and I looked over to see two guys trying their hand at defeating one of the wild boars that littered this area around the city. I pulled my single dagger from my belt and gazed at it. This little blade didn't look promising, but it was all I needed to have a good start.


I had never expected to be so blown away by a sunset. Of course, I had seen many before, but none like this. It was though it was specifically made to be the most gorgeous thing a person could see in their life. It was a massive mixture of sorbet ice cream smeared onto the sky, lit up by the dying rays of sunshine. I could have stayed and watched it forever, if not for the sudden teleportation back to the main courtyard that had started the journey for all of the people currently logged in. I was a bit annoyed by the surprise teleport, but I quickly grew excited as the city began to fill up with users. An opening scene would most likely take place, and I was glad that I would be here to witness it on the first day of the game's release.

As we all stood around waiting for whatever was to happen, I began hearing a few weird rumors. Few people were frantically searching through their menus, looking for who knows what. It was the first day of the game. It's not like they had already scored a rare item or anything.