This is a Ragnarok Online and Sword Art Online crossover fanfiction. I hold no copyright to the game or the anime. This is my first story so expect some mistakes here and there. Pairings will come later in the story.

Enjoy

"Talking"

"Whispering"

'Thinking'

'Object'

A pair of dark eyes looked at the computer screen with boredom and anticipation. The owner of the eyes had waited for a long time for the release of the first VR game in the world.

He was one of the few lucky people who gotten his/her hands on the game. After a while he checked the clock in display. It read 9:58am, 2 minutes till server launch. He closed his browser which read Launch of Ragnarok Online: War of the Legends.

He put on his NerveGear and lied on his bed. He glanced at the clock in the NerveGear. It read 9:59am, just then it changed to 10:00am. The server had launched.

He opened his eyes to the world of Rune-Midgard. He looked around and grinned, he was back. He started running since he was okay with the equipment he had right now, a simple sword and some cloth armor. He had played the games for so long (Ragnarok Online, Ragnarok Online 2, etc…) he knew what to do with just no armor, the skills used and the places to hunt to get the most experience (exp).

As he was running, another player noticed him. A grin formed on his face as he called out, "Yo Mizuto".

The newly revealed Mizuto stopped and turned around to see who called out to him. It was his long-time friend, Kazuto or known in game as Kirito. Mizuto started walking as Kirito fell into step with him.

"Are you seriously going to hunt with that again, Mizuto?" Kirito asked.

"Of course, no need to waste zeny. It is quite hard to get." Mizuto replied.

"Yeah but what if you die and get your level reset, ever thought of that?" Kirito said.

"Honestly, the game isn't that hard. All you have to do is know the correct hunting field and which attribute the monster is." Mizuto said.

"That doesn't mean you are invincible, you could die if you make a silly mistakes like you do in real life."

"Yes mom. Oh look! We're here!"

In front of the was a huge field filled with Lunatics. A few stray Porings, Poporings and Drops came from the other fields.

After 7 hours of non-stop hunting, the two friends flopped down onto the ground. They looked at the loot they got and the exp they gained. They reached level 4 and only needed 4100 exp to go to the next level. The amount of loot they collected would give them little over 1000 zeny.

"Well that was a successful grind session." Mizuto said.

"We will have to move to another field tomorrow, I have to go now, wouldn't want to be late for dinner." Kirito said.

"Alright man, let's go back to Prontera so we can sell these stuff before you log out." Mizuto told as he started to walk in the direction of the main city Prontera.

Just when they reached the front gate of Prontera, an announcement occurred "All players will be now teleported to Prontera." With a flash of light, the duo looked at the familiar setting of Prontera. All players were bewildered at why they were there but Kirito and Mizuto did nothing to show it. The players were looking around, searching for a GM or Admin. Just then with a flash of lightning a figure floated in front of us.

The figure looked at us. It was wearing a hood which was hiding nothing literally. There was no face or head under the hood. The gloved hands held no creases or lines to show there was something in it. The blood red robe floated above the ground, just in front of the players.

"I am Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of this game and the one in control of this game. Most of you would have noticed that the logout button is missing from your main menu. This is not a bug, it's how Ragnarok Online: War of the Legends is made. The moment you logged into this game you are trapped here until you have cleared the game. If anyone from the outside tries to remove your NerveGear, the helmet would send a stream of microwaves to your brain, effectively frying your brain causing you to die." The Kayaba said.

Mizuto looked a little relieved since he lives alone as he is an orphan. What worried him is the condition of his body. It would take a long time to finish this game and if his body or anyone else's body does not get the proper treatment they would fade away. His line of thought was interrupted when a player next to him and Kirito said "This got to be a joke. The NerveGear can't work like that, can it?"

"Yes it can, that is if the safety is off the close proximity will fry your brain." Kirito replied.

"No way…" said the player.

Kayaba started talking again, "Also if anyone dies in the game, their avatar would be destroyed and the player would be killed."

Many players started shouting at that. All were about lies, crazy, bastard etc.

"To free yourself from this game you must figure out the riddles and defeat the person and his cult which is causing havoc among all Rune-Midgard. The clues will be founded in the items called 'Historical Artifacts'. Your bodies are now being transported to hospitals as we speak so you don't have to worry about your bodies rotting away."

Mizuto sighs in relief. It seemed like Kayaba somehow read his mind or something like that. 'Maybe he read the programming coming from my head.'

"As a gift, I left you something in your inventory." Kayaba said.

Mizuto looked in his inventory by doing a sweeping motion with his right index and thumb together. In the inventory was an item. 'Looking Glass'. Just as he equipped it the guy who asked if the NerveGear went up in blue light. Many players were going up in blue light; Mizuto himself was consumed by the light.

When the light was cleared he looked at the mirror to see himself. Not his character's face but his real face! He looked around to see Kirito in his real face as well. They both had met up when they were young. After the commotion went down Kayaba addressed them again "With that I conclude the official Ragnarok Online: War of the Legends. Good luck and goodbye."

Many players started shouting. Some of them started crying as well. Mizuto and Kirito quickly went out of the crowd.

Kirito told Mizuto, "We need to go to another place to hunt. We are several level higher than most and they will go to the surrounding fields and empty it out."

Just then a group of players appeared from the street. "Hey, you two! Are you two beta-testers?" the lead guy who just happened to be the guy who asked about the NerveGear asked.

"Yes. Why do you want to know?" Mizuto called out.

"Can you teach us about the skills, we are finding it hard to do." The guy said.

Mizuto and Kirito looked at each other and nodded. "Sure. Come with us." Kirito told.