Chapter 1
So...um...I honestly didn't expect myself to be doing this...I am way out of my element in this fan base, but here we go anyway. I'm here for a reason, uneducated swine. Excuse you, Tehg, but I've watched most of SAO, and one of the two arcs I missed is apparently okay to miss according to you. No one needs to remember calibur...no one...Then why'd you bring up the name? Idk...Some days I wonder about you. ...Can we just get on with it? Was waiting on you.
This is it. The day has finally come. It's been a few years since I not only moved to Japan, but the NerveGear was announced. Since then I've been pinching every bit of money I could so I wouldn't bother Mom and Dad about this. Unfortunately, my current predicament left me hobbling down the street. The big box for the helmet device was hard to move with when you have to rely on a crutch. Damn bomb leaving my right leg useless. Well, the struggle was real, but I managed to get home at a reasonable hour of the afternoon about 12:40 to be exact.
"Mom's not home yet, and Dad must've just left for second shift." I stated, looking around the empty house. "I've got time, so it might be smart to grab something to eat." Making my way to the fridge, I made myself a quick sandwich before going up to my room to set up. I unboxed the expensive device and set it up. It took a bit to calibrate to the level the headgear wanted, but the reward would be worth it. The clock on my desk read 12:57. "Perfect. A minute to use the bathroom then I'm good to go." After taking care of business, I laid back down with it, waiting for the clock to hit 1. Each second felt like an eternity, until the moment finally arrived. "Link start." I said calmly, hiding my excitement. I swiftly made my character, and since I wasn't that artistically creative, I made my character look like me. The very first thing I noticed is that, well, I could walk. I took a few strides before breaking into a sprint, laughing all the way.
"What are you doing?" A voice asked. I turned towards the unfamiliar voice, and recognized the female form that my internet friend had told me they were going to make. She had long brown hair and yellow eyes while wearing black starting armor with red pants.
"Oh, you know, testing out the new leg." I replied, slapping my right hip a few times. "How long were you watching, Akiyo?"
"Hmm hmm, and I'm willing to guess that if I didn't stop you you'd be halfway to the next town by now?" She asks me half sarcastically. "And it's Lux here. Usernames, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Force of habit. To answer your question, it'd be more likely that I would trip on a crack in the road."
"Starting to regret not stopping you. Would have been hilarious to see." She says chuckling to herself.
"Hey!" I shouted indignantly. "Low blow. I haven't walked right in three years, let me enjoy this!"
"Um, I hate to interrupt, but do you guys know where I can get a weapon or something?" A guy asked. He had purple-ish hair with a red headband around his forehead. Oh, people...How do again? Lux steps forward, sighing.
"Down the street to the right for weapons. If it's armor you're looking for back this way to the left." She explains.
"...Did you explore without me?" I asked, making myself sound heartbroken.
"I got bored, ok? Also if you want I can show you the way if your unsure."
"If you haven't gotten your weapon yet, we could always go together?" The man suggested.
"Sure, got to grab my weapon so why not…You in…?" Lux asks looking towards me.
"Oh, um...sure…" I answered.
"Very well!" She exclaims with a small cheer, before bowing a small bit. "Names Lux, at your service." She introduces.
"Names Klein, nice to meet ya." He introduces.
"DeadEnd. Call me D for short." I said after a bit of hesitation. So far so good then. One point for me.
"You know...you're gonna have to get over that shyness one day." Lux says elbowing me in the ribs.
"But today is not that day." I snarked in return.
"Do you two know each other IRL?" Klein asked as we walked.
"Eh...sorta...I guess you could call us...pen pals of sorts." Lux explains to the man. "From there we became friends and the rest is history, so to say."
"Huh, alright then. What were you yelling about back there, anyway?" He asked looking right at me.
"That? A few years back I was caught in the blast of a terrorist's bomb back in the states. They were able to get the shrapnel out safely, but it left my right leg useless. Haven't walked without a crutch or help since then."
"Jeez, I know I told you to get over your shyness, but no need to tell him your life story. You just met him after all." She says sighing at me.
"I was just answering his question. If I were vague it wouldn't have made sense."
"I remember that on the news. The bombing in San Francisco." Klein stated, slapping a fist into his open palm. "Is this it?" He asked, pointing at a stall with about fifty or so other players around it.
"Heh, indeed it is. You should have enough to buy a starting weapon. Can't say the same for armor though." She says to him whilst walking up to the stall.
"You coming, or do you want me to get it for you?" I was asked. "You're shaking."
"Who's shaking? I'm not."
"Get over here coward!" Lux cheers with a sly smile, dragging me up to the stall. "There, now you can't run."
"I hate you. I hate you so much." I muttered, looking at the weapons the NPC had lined up on the wall. Standard fantasy weapons like longswords and spears were hanging there, but one weapon in particular caught my eye. It wasn't very wide, but it had a single edge was probably about two-thirds as tall as I was. "That one." I stated, pointing at the oversized weapon. The menu popped up in front of me, showing the price. "Damn…" I was shy 50 Cor.
"How much do you need?" Lux says out of nowhere, equipping her weapon which was a simple short sword.
"50." I said sadly, knowing where this was going. She always did tend to baby me when she wasn't berating me for how I act in public.
"Hmm...Okay, figured it out. Gotta add you first." She says after fiddling with her menu for a bit, sending me a friend request. I accepted it immediately.
"There."
"Okay, trade, add amount and send request." She says making a menu pop up in front of me. I let out a fairly girly squeal as I accepted it and bought the large sword. It didn't weight as I thought it would. I set the sword into my hands horizontally before raising it above my head.
"I have the power!" I shouted louder than I really should have or thought I could do in this setting.
"Are you even old enough to make that reference?" Klein asked, eyebrow raised.
"I'm sixteen and the internet is a thing. When you can't sportsball, you tend to have a lot of free time."
"That was a reference? Shows what I know…" Lux says shrugging at the two.
"How are we friends when you don't know one of the most famous lines from eighties cartoons?" I asked.
"Klein...help...I really don't know what he's talking about!" She says, half panicking half confused.
"He-Man. He's talking about He-Man." He chuckled. "Speaking of friends, wanna friend each other?" Lux, without thinking nods and sends the man a friend request then turns to me with a questioning look.
"I don't see why not." I said, sending mine as well.
"With that sorted...what now?" Lux asks, mostly to herself. "I mean there's this sword skill system I have been hearing about that we could try and learn. We could try and nab a beta tester to explain it...but then that would put D here in a position he doesn't wanna be in."
"...I think I can deal. It's just one more person…"
"Klein, you in?" She asks the man. He nods in confirmation and lux smirks. "Ok gang, it's time to split up and look for clues!" She says cheering and fist-bumping the air.
"Does that even apply?" I asked.
"Yes. Plus I've always wanted to say it. You stick with me as you're more likely to scare people off with your people skills then find who we're looking for. If you find one send me or D a message. Does that sound good to you, Klein?" She asks him, taking mock charge of the situation.
"Shouldn't be a problem. I'll check around the market area first." He tells us before he runs off
"Lead on, Mom." I chuckled, waving a hand towards the plaza.
"Oh the coward has some bite...meh, got bigger fish to fry right now." She says scanning the area.
"In a few seconds this 'coward' is gonna kick your ass." I growled, reaching back to my weapon.
"That won't do anything to me, you could attack me all day and I'd be no less hurt than we started." She says without even turning to look at me.
"You'll still feel it, even if your health doesn't go down." I continued. Some days I really do get tired of this. "Hey, what's up with that guy? Wait...Is that Klein?" I said, squinting my eyes to try and see a bit better.
"So it is...Ah, he just sent me a message. Seems he met a guy who was willing to teach him a few things. Says to meet him and his new friend in the plains outside." She says before typing away at a menu.
"Neat."
"You wanna lead for once or do I have to drag you there like usual?"
"Let me find the map first." I muttered, looking for the exit of this starter town on the display. With a general sense of where to go, I wordlessly took charge. "Hey Klein...Klein's new friend." I greeted when we finally got to the duo. "See? I can social." I said, turning over my shoulder to Lux.
"Hm? You say something? Too busy staring at the sights." She responds with, smirking a tiny bit.
"What, at Klein's new friend? I didn't think I'd be replaced so easily." I said, hands on my heart while looking at the new guy. He had a really angular face, almost like he was trying to look a lot older than he was, and a mess of black hair. His standard armor was navy blue.
"So, nice to meet you. Name's Lux, this fool here is...D...something." She says to Klein's new friend with an impromptu bow, ignoring my antics.
"Uh, Kirito...A pleasure." He says in return with a short nod of acknowledgement. "So you all have no idea how to use swords skills, correct?" He asks us all. Klein nods his head with a goofy grin, almost as if he was proud of that answer.
"I know the theory from reading the forums, but seeing and doing are two different things." Lux says actually being serious for once.
"I'm basically in the dark. Hell, I was lucky enough to get one of these things." I commented, tapping my head.
"I'll try and explain it...as simply as possible then. Basically you want to try and feel out the attack, if you get the motion right the system will kick in and guide you through the rest." He says to us, before crouching down to pick up a pebble and gets into a stance with it. After a few short moments the pebble starts to glow a pale blue. He then proceeds to throw it at a boar, pissing it off. "Now you try."
"Who goes first?" I asked, immediately regretting it as the two others had a finger on their nose. "God dammit." I cursed in English. The boar was gaining ground and I did the only thing that came to mind. I hefted my sword above my head, and then I brought it down. The only real evidence of my swing was the red trail that was left in its wake, as well as the vertical light red line running through the pig. "Be at rest, Sir Oinkums." I said as it shattered. A display popped up showing me the Cor and loot that I got.
"Child!" Lux shouts out laughing out loud. "Ok, ok, me next. I'll show you how to properly kill a boar!" She boasts, stepping forward, drawing her blade. She picks up a Pebble and throws it at a boar, getting its attention. The boar's head snaps round and looks at Lux with the intent to kill before starting its charge. "Now watch as I show you gre- argh!" Lux starts, but gets interrupted by the boar ramming into her gut.
"That's called karma." I commented and the two men with me nodded in agreement. She chooses to ignore me and grabs the pig by its tusks, throwing it towards us three.
"Your turn Klein." She says, making it run towards him. He gets his weapon, a scimitar, out and gets into a ready motion, he then charges forward before striking down at the boar, killing it. "Lucky shot…" Lux comments.
"Hey, I killed it! My first mob!" Klein cheers extremely happy raising his fists and weapon into the air. His cheering was soon brought to an end by Kirito.
"That was only a low tier enemy. They're basically as powerful as slimes." He says, making Klein slump down onto the ground.
"But they seemed pretty hard for a low tier mob."
"Don't judge a boar by its tusks?" Lux says to the man.
"Did you really just say that?" Klein asks while face-palming.
"She can be like that." I explained.
"I see my humor is lost on you...Oh well. I have stuff to farm." Lux says starting to walk off towards a group of boars.
"Is she always like that?" Kirito asks me.
"When it comes to RPGs? Yes. Or do you mean her general disposition?"
"Both. I think we best get moving before we get left behind." He says turning towards where Lux went and starts walking over.
"She didn't even manage to use a sword skill, did she?" I asked Klein as the two left.
"I don't think that's going to stop her." He answers with a short laugh before following the other two.
"No, but it might just kill her." I say to no one, entering the fray. We ground for hours, killing hundreds of the mobs each, getting to level 2 and making progress to level 3. "I'm so tired…Why is this so tiring…?"
"You don't get tired physically, but it does make you tired mentally, so if you ignore it you should be fine...probably." Kirito explains while sheathing his sword.
"Nerd..." Klein and I groaned, both somehow making the impression of Dragon Ball Z abridged's Piccolo.
"Really?" Lux asked, face in her hand.
"So you get that one. Maybe you aren't a lost cause." Klein joked, rolling over on the ground.
"This lost cause might end up accidentally stabbing you…" Lux grumbles to herself. "Still, this game is better than the beta testers made it out to be, at least so far."
"Maybe. I never paid attention to that because I wanted to keep things a surprise." I added, lifting myself off the ground with my blade.
"Hey Kirito, mind if I add ya? Would be good having friends in a game like this." Lux asks him, getting a bit too close to him for comfort.
"You really are getting replaced." Klein quipped.
"I know…" I said, head hung low.
"Shush you two, I'm only making friends and you!" She says pointing to me. "Stop pretending to be sad...You're only pretending right?"
"Partly. You ARE rubbing all up against him, and he's looking as awkward as me." I pointed out. Lux steps away from him before sending him a friend request.
"Better?" She asks me with a deadpan look.
"I don't think I'm the one you should ask." I laughed. "I think he might be broken."
"I...I'm fine." Kirito comments before reluctantly taping the accept button. "How do you cope with her?"
"Who says I do?"
"Hey! I take offence to that!" The in question shouts, pouting at us two.
"Hey, what time is it?" Klein asked, changing the topic of conversation. "I have a pizza coming at six-thirty."
"Hate to break it to you, but it's six thirty on the dot. Totally not six twenty." Lux says to the man.
"I'm not alone in this torment anymore!" I cheered. "Now go get that pizza!"
"Uh total noob question, but where's the logout button?" Klein asks, a small bit of embarrassment evident on his face.
"It should be in the setting...unless I'm wrong about that?" Lux questions while navigating through her menu. "Anti-social duo, you two got any idea?"
"I'm gonna hit you." I said, standing up. "But no. How many times am I going to have to say I don't get this game before you understand?"
"It should be in the settings, but the space where it should be is blank." Kirito answers.
"I see, I see, and common sense helps for a reason, D." Lux says.
"Do any of you feel...tingly?" Klein asks out of nowhere.
"I feel hungry, but that's about it, thanks to you." I replied before immediately eating my words when the tingles came. "Never mind." My vision was then enveloped in a light blue light and when it faded we were back in the plaza we spawned in. Weirdly enough, it seemed like everyone ever was also here.
"Hey...do you guys know what that flashing red thing in the sky is?" Klein asks no one in particular.
"I believe the locals call it a hexagon...lemme get back to you on that." Lux comments, reviving an annoyed look from Klein. "Hey, you asked."
"Oh look, the sky is bleeding. I thought that only happened back in the States." I commented. From that blood a figure forms in a red robe with a hood completely hiding their facial features.
"Greetings everyone, and welcome to Sword Art Online!" The figure greets. "I'm sure some of you have noticed that the log out button is missing. This is not a flaw, this is a feature of the game. I repeat, it is a feature of the game."
"Yay." Lux quietly cheers. I elbowed her before she could get any louder.
"Shh...The blood man is talking…" I whispered.
"I bet you're also wondering who I am. Well, I am Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of Sword Art Online. I should further add that if you die in the game you die in real life. The only way to escape is to clear all one hundred floors of Aincrad and beat the game."
"Wait, so he wants us to beat an MMO?" Lux and Klein ask in unison.
"Question!" One guy from the crowd shouts out to the blood figure, now known as Kayaba. "How are we supposed to beat an MMO?"
"You don't." Lux grumbles.
"Like I said, beat all one hundred floor and you win. Does that answer your question?" Kayaba answers. "Now that you know this, I have one last thing to mention. In your inventory is an item. I would suggest using it." He said before disappearing.
"Whole load of nope, and delete." Lux says getting rid of this item. I looked, curious, and equipped the item. In my hand was a small hand mirror, showing my dirty blonde hair, light blue eyes, white skin and beard. The item clearly activated, just like everyone else's, but…
"Was something supposed to happen?" I asked. Looking around, other players' avatars had changed, but my reflection wasn't different.
"I assume that your avatar is supposed to be replaced with your IRL looks. Can't say for sure as I didn't use it." Lux says while in deep thought.
"You're plotting…" I commented before turning to my right. "You don't look much different, Klein."
"Neither do you...you look the exact same." He responds with.
"Kirito however...Huh. You turned out to be a kid, at least by looks." Lux comments while walking over and leaning in to get a closer look. Kirito's face had become much rounder and his mop of black hair didn't reach to the base of his neck. Klein, on the other hand, had his hair held up by his bandana and was red instead of that weird color he picked.
"Follow me." Kirito says seriously, cutting of the topic of conversation and then starts making his way out of the crowd.
"This guy doesn't like to hang around much...Let's get moving, I guess."
"Is anyone else getting tired of being led around by the nose by this guy, or is it just me?" I asked, walking forward anyways.
"Stop your whining. At least one of us has a plan of action so to say. Uh...where did he go? Where's Klein?"
"If they need us, Klein is on both our friend lists. We should leave though, before the riot breaks out." I stated.
"Very true. Maybe we should make our way to another town? The hunting grounds around here will probably be full very soon, so not useful." Lux suggests while sending over a trade containing map data. "I'm guessing you didn't buy the local map?"
"When did I have the time or money?" I countered, accepting the trade.
"Fair enough. So onwards to...the nearest town then?" I followed Lux there, exiting the town into the field from before and following the path on the right. Obviously we took on anything that came our way, but that ended up with me losing HP from a wolf in a bush that we missed. We continue following the path, eventually coming up to a town.
"That was a struggle." I said, enjoying the fact that we were in the safe zone of Tolbana.
"It was only a struggle because you got hit by that wolf. We would've been fine otherwise."
"You're the one saying she'd be keeping her eye out for stuff like that. I'm just glad [Cleave] does as much damage as it does."
"At least my skill hit more than yours did. Were you even aiming?"
"I was aiming, but my weapon is naturally slower than yours. For now."
"Sure, sure, whatever you say. Anyway let's go find an inn, sleep is needed."
"Yeah, I could use the sleep right about now." I agreed. We head of to search for an inn, quickly coming across one, we enter and quickly buy two rooms and head up to them for the night.
Well, that's that. Not quite sure where I'll go with this, if I even continue it. That's all up in the air. I'm here for a reason. Why write this and stop, wouldn't make sense, so high ho silver? Because this is an experiment at best? Shush you. Anyway I'm done so bye for now. See ya, maybe. Depends.