For some reason I felt an urge to write a Sword Art Online story.

The White Fox

01

Welcome to Sword Art Online

November 6th, 2022.

The day that I had been waiting for the past three months to arrive.

I stopped at the gate to my home, looking down at the bag I held in my hand. Inside it was a copy of what was to be the first ever VRMMO for the NerveGear, and for gaming in general, Sword Art Online.

Reaching into my coat pocket and grabbing the keys, I unlocked the gate and pushed it open. Doing the same at the front door, it opened with a slight squeak as I stepped inside.

"I'm home," I announced, taking my shoes off and placing them down by the door.

"Ah, welcome back, Onii-chan."

Rei, my little sister, came over to greet me. I smiled softly, bringing up a hand and petting her head.

I continued past her, going straight upstairs and into my room. Thankfully, I had the time to be able to log in almost instantly.

The offline sale started yesterday, but I only managed to get it today. It could be considered a good thing, because that meant that I didn't have to wait as long for the servers to launch.

Everything had already been set up in anticipation for this day, and all I needed to do was turn on the NerveGear, insert the cartridge, lay on my bed and wait for the time to hit 1:00 PM.

I put on the NerveGear and keenly watched the time.

It was a painful wait, as if time had slowed down to purposefully frustrate me.

The digital clock on the top left finally struck 1:00 PM, and I wasted no time in entering. I closed my eyes and drew in a breath.

"Link start!"

The darkness quickly transitioned into white, with a multitude of coloured cylindrical shapes speeding past me. It began calibrating.

Touch - OK

Sight - OK

Hearing - OK

Taste - OK

Smell - OK

The blue circles turned green and moved away, a language selection menu coming up next.

I selected Japanese, of course, and proceeded to the log in screen.

Log in_::

:account - *********

:password - ***********

After logging in, the next screen to show up was the Character Creation.

It came up with a notice.

Character Creation

Beta test data still available.

Would you like to use it?

Blanc (M)

I selected 'Yes' and the screen faded to a dark grey.

Welcome to

Sword Art Online!

A rush of blue enveloped the screen and then grew to a white.

I felt myself contact the ground, shards of light coming off of me and the sight of the Starting City coming into view. My senses were engaged by the NerveGear's technology.

Looking down, the most basic of gear was currently equipped on me. As I thought, all the gear I had acquired during my run in the beta test had been revoked. This lead me to believe that my Level had also been reset to 1.

I scanned the initial spawning zone, seeing more and more people spawn into the world.

A smile grew on my face.

It was a great feeling, one that brimmed me with a sort of joy.

I was finally back in the world of Aincrad, and this time it was with more than just the 1000 chosen to beta test the game.

Since I had loaded my beta test data, I retained the avatar that I used during my time. I chose to stand at a relatively average height, with short black hair and dark blue eyes. Of course, it wasn't my actual real life appearance, which was very different, because that was the point of being able to create your own avatar.

I took off through the city, trying to get to one of the better of the weapons vendors that the Starting City provided.

As the servers had only just went live, it was rather crowded so I spent a fair bit of time weaving in and out of people and trying not to run anyone over.

I turned into a street which was slightly less dense than the others, finally being able to move a little more freely.

"Hey…! Excuse me!"

After noticing that the voice of the female was aimed at me, I slowed to a stop and turned to face her.

Her avatar was that of a 15-or-so year old girl, with brown hair and eyes of a dark pink-like colour. Just like everyone else, she wore one of the many combinations of the basic equipment sets that were provided at the character customisation screen. A red top with detached sleeves that was covered by a brown leather for basic protection, a pinkish coloured skirt, and brown boots.

"Yes?"

"You look like you know where you're going, are you one of the beta testers?"

From her tone, I was able to make the assumption that she was a new player.

"Yeah."

She grinned, "Can you show me where the best shops are?"

I pondered her request. Though I wasn't exactly one that would spend time helping a new player out, there was something in my mind telling me that I should.

"O-okay."

For whatever reason, those were the words that chose to come out of my mouth.

The girl's grin grew wider.

"Thank you! My name's Lisbeth."

I ended up smiling myself in response to her beaming face.

"I'm Blanc."

We stopped the sort-of-tour at a shop which sold weapons.

"This is my personal favourite when it comes to starting weaponry," I said, pointing to the shop's entrance as I did so, "The prices are higher than most other vendors, but the weapon grades are higher, too."

"Ooh~" Lisbeth sounded out in wonder.

Along the sort-of-tour, we'd both begun purchasing our own equipment. She'd already picked her weapon and gone with an Iron Hammer, a low-tier One Handed War Hammer, but that burned up most of her starting Cor so she couldn't do much in terms of better armour.

I myself had yet to by a weapon, but I already knew what I was going to go with. My style was geared more towards light armour and One Handed Daggers, so the first weapon I'd get would definitely be an Iron Dagger.

"Hold on a minute, I just need to get my weapon."

"Okay."

With that, I slipped into the shop and, as quickly as I could to not keep Lisbeth waiting, bought the Iron Dagger.

I stepped back outside, dagger in hand, and greeted her with a smile.

"That was quick," She said.

"Well, I kinda already knew where it was."

She gave me a funny look, "You mean you memorised something like that?"

I scratched the back of my head, "Uh… yeah, I guess…"

To be honest, it wasn't so much me memorising it as it was the search option in the menu. But I didn't feel the need to clarify that, so nothing was said.

We continued down one of the many street of the Town of Beginnings. I'd call it strange, the fact that I was actually walking beside someone. During the beta test period, there were only about four people I'd occasionally bother to spend time with.

But, this girl… She seemed to have an ability that was preventing me from actively trying to stray away from her. It wasn't much of a problem, but I expected myself to be outside leveling up by this point.

"Hey, Blanc," Lisbeth suddenly spoke up, interrupting my musing, "Why don't we go out and get some training in?"

"Huh?" I looked to her, "Oh, yeah. I was actually thinking about just that."

"Let's go then!"

She suddenly took of with speed, forcing me to run to try and keep up with her.

"Alright, you should be able to handle this one."

The blue boar turned to face us as I stepped out of the way to allow Lisbeth to take it on. So far, we'd managed upon few enemies but, after some searching, we finally found one.

Lisbeth bore her hammer in front of her, and the boar charged. She attempted a dodge but fell onto a patch of dirt in the grassy field, wincing at the tiny sense of pain from her landing.

The game hadn't been developed to allow a realistic amount of pain for certain actions, and it was pretty obvious why. After all, I didn't think they'd want people to sue them because of the unbearable pain the game had caused them. It wasn't a non-inclusion that anyone cared about, either.

"You've got to try and input the motion, Lisbeth," I reminded, "SAO will be a lot easier for you if you do."

"I know, I know!" She responded as she rose back up from the ground.

"Since it's a blunt weapon, you need to grip the handle, step forward and swing."

The boar grunted at her. This time, she tried the steps I provided. Her hammer began to glow a blue colour, and then a white.

She unleashed her swing only moments before the boar reached her with a charge of its own, sending it flying a few meters backwards.

It hit the ground, lifeless, then burst into many shards of light.

Lisbeth grinned at her successful skill execution, turning to me, "Did you see that?"

"I did," I responded.

"Geez," She sighed, "You could at least be a little more enthusiastic about it."

"Hmm… Well, I was a little surprised at the amount of knockback the boar received. Is that good enough?"

She contemplated it for a moment, "I guess."

"Now that I think about it, we should probably have formed a party. We'll level up quicker."

She nodded, and I opened the menu, inviting her to a party. A holographic screen popped up in front of her and she pressed the blue circle to accept it.

Her name, along with her health bar, popped up in the top right.

"Okay, let's get back to it then," I said and she nodded once more in agreement.

I took a single step forwards before a loud ringing sound stopped me dead.

"What?"

"Huh?"

Lisbeth and I shouted out simultaneously.

I turned to look at her, noticing that she donned the same wide-eyed expression as I.

We were both enveloped in a bright light that hurt my eyes.

This was strange. Neither I nor Lisbeth had the correct item to perform such a task, and stepping forwards was definitely not the command to do so.

A forced teleport?

Why?

The light faded and I quickly scanned the area. No longer a luscious green field, instead I was met with a familiar medieval town.

It was the Town of Beginnings…?

"H-huh?"

I turned to see Lisbeth beside me and felt a sense of relief. In a short moment, more and more people were brought to what I identified as the starting point.

This was, not only a forced teleport, but a mass teleport?

A short, tense silence quickly broke into a sea of murmurs that rose into near shouting.

"What's happening?"

"Why am I here?"

"I was just about to level up!"

Lisbeth had a face that mixed a large amount of confusion with worry. I thought to say something to attempt to calm her down, even in the slightest.

"Don't worry, Lisbeth… Th-this is probably some sort of welcoming event or something."

Even though she nodded at my words, I could tell she was uneasy about the situation. I felt the same.

"Hey… look up!"

Someone screamed abruptly, plunging the area into silence.

Lisbeth and I raised our eyes, and were met with a worrying sight.

What was the bottom of the second floor was now materialising into a red checker board pattern. I looked closer, and noticed that two pieces of English text made up the pattern. The words WARNING and SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT were in a red font.

This eased my tension slightly. It looked like this was going to be a welcome event. The square was without noise at this point.

What happened next reinstated the tension in me, however.

An ooze of crimson began to pool in the centre of the pattern, similar to a drop of blood. The drop suddenly changed shape.

A giant person, at least eighteen metres tall and clad in a robe with a crimson hood, emerged.

However, something was off. Though we were looking up to it at an angle that should have made the face visible, there was nothing there aside from an empty space of black. The same applied to the long, baggy sleeves.

This robe was familiar.

To be specific, it was the outfit worn by official Argus GMs during the beta test. Even then, the darkness that occupied the hood filled me with a near unbearable anxiety.

Mutterings began arising once more.

"Why doesn't he have a face?"

"Is that a GM?"

An arm, the right arm, of the robe rose upwards, bringing silence once more and revealing white glove that was unattached to the robe and filled with only emptiness.

The second arm rose in turn, looming over the ten thousand people within the area.

And then, the deep, calm voice of a man's voice broke the silence.

"Welcome to my world, dear players."

His world?

I continued staring at the large GM robe in disbelief.

"My name is Kabaya Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the only human being alive with control over this world."

"Wha…?" I couldn't comprehend the meaning behind his words.

And not only that, but Kabaya Akihiko?

This was the executive director of SAO, and the one who designed the basic function of the NerveGear unit. He was not only brilliant, but a highly respected figure within the gaming world.

I also respected this man greatly, buying magazines and often reading his interviews.

But, this wasn't like him.

He was not one to step into the spotlight like this. He'd never be the person to take an active GM role.

Just why?

"You have likely noticed by now that the log-out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug. I repeat, this is not a bug—it is a feature of Sword Art Online."

I gasped, quickly opening the main menu to see that his words were true.

The log-out button was not there.

When I'd press the empty area, my menu would simply close.

"From this point onwards, you will be unable to freely log out of the game until the summit of this castle is conquered."

It felt as if the hood without a face was grinning down upon us.

"Furthermore, the NerveGear cannot be removed or shut down via external means. If forceful means of exit are attempted…"

A pause.

I held my breath in apprehension of the next set of words.

"... the high-powered microwaves emitted by the NerveGear will scramble your brain and shut down your vital processes."

I was in a near transient state of shock.

If the NerveGear were to be removed from one's head, or the power turned off, we would be killed.

This wasn't something that I wanted to process.

His declaration was absurd. Something that I wanted to think, but I couldn't bring myself to agree with the thought.

Kabaya continued his announcement.

"To be more specific, the brain-frying sequence will commence upon any of the following circumstances: ten minutes of no external power; two hours of network disconnection; removal, dismantling, or destruction of the NerveGear. The authorities and media in the outside world have already announced the details of these conditions to the general public. At present, the friends and family of several players have already ignored these warnings and attempted to forcefully remove their NerveGears, the result being…"

He paused for a breath.

"... that sadly, two hundred and thirteen players have already been permanently retired from both Aincrad and the real world."

This couldn't be…

My mind wanted to resist his words, but there was a feeling that just would not go away.

Two hundred and thirteen players, all of whom were playing only minutes ago, were already dead.

These people, that might have participated in the beta test, that I might have known, were killed?

Kabaya once more continued, disregarding the reactions he received.

"There is no need to worry about your physical bodies back in the real world. The current state of the game and today's fatalities have been covered far and wide on television, radio, and the Internet. The danger that someone will forcefully remove your NerveGear is already much diminished. The two-hour offline leeway period should provide enough time for your physical bodies to be transported to hospitals and other long-term care facilities with proper security, eliminating concerns over your physical well-being. You may rest assured… and focus on conquering the game."

A voice from some ways in front suddenly erupted from the silence.

"What do you mean? Conquer the game? You expect us to just sit back and enjoy the game when we can't even log out?"

I looked over to see the black haired boy glaring at the robe.

"This isn't even a game anymore!"

As if he heard the boy's voice, Kabaya Akihiko continued in a disturbing monotony.

"However, please proceed with caution. As of this moment, Sword Art Online is no longer a game to you. It is another reality. The standard means of player resurrection will no longer function as they did previously. When your hit points dwindle to zero, your avatar will be permanently deleted…"

The next words that came out were known to everyone before even being spoken.

"... and the NerveGear will destroy your brain."

My eyes jumped to the bar that represented my health. The numbers 316/316 popped up when I did so.

This was my remaining life.

If it were to hit 0, I would really die. It wasn't a case of hitting 0 and then respawning back at the Blackiron Palace perfectly fine, able to continue as if nothing had happened.

That wouldn't happen.

We would die forever.

There were no second chances.

No trial and error tactics.

Kabaya's horrid voice spoke up once more.

"There is one condition through which you can be freed from this game. Simply reach the hundredth floor at the pinnacle of Aincrad and defeat the final boss who awaits you there. In that instant, all surviving players will be able to safely log out once again."

Clear the hundredth floor?

How was that possible?

The beta testers had barely managed past the start of the game, let alone the hundredth floor. The thousand of us, in a two-month period, had only cleared the sixth floor. There may have been ten times more people, but there was the added stipulation of death that would forever loom over us.

I couldn't believe it.

Just hours ago, I'd talked with sister, and I'd eaten with my family the home-cooked lunch made by my mother.

Now, I couldn't log out? I was unable to return to them?

I didn't want to accept it with every bit of my being.

"Finally, let me prove to you that this world is now your one and only reality. I've prepared a gift for all of you. You may find it in your item storage."

I swiped the menu open, without thought, and opened the inventory tab.

A new item, labelled "Hand Mirror", resided there. I tapped the Materialise button and, with a sparkling sound effect, a small square mirror placed onto the ground.

I slowly picked it up, looking into it and seeing nothing but my created avatar.

With confusion, I turned to face Lisbeth who, like me and everyone else, was staring into the mirror.

A white light suddenly surrounded Lisbeth, along with other people and then followed by me. Then, after a few moments had passed, it faded, revealing the Town of Beginnings once more.

But, something was off.

I looked to Lisbeth and saw the same hair, eyes and clothing, but I saw a completely different face than from before. Her facial features had become less sharp, and her eyes had changed quite a bit.

"L-Lisbeth…?" The question left my mouth without thought.

The girl looked to me, her eyes becoming wide.

"Wh-who are you?"

I looked in confusion, before it clicked. Turning the mirror I still held in my hands, I saw a completely different person than before.

What was once short, black hair was now slightly longer and completely white. The sharp dark blue eyes were now much rounder and coloured red. A facial structure that was no longer sharp, instead being soft, rounded and relatively girly.

It was no longer a heroic looking Blanc, instead it was…

… My real-life self.

"Me…?"

I looked up to Lisbeth once more.

"You're Lisbeth?"

She seemed to have realised it, and shouted rather loudly.

"You're Blanc?"

Another shock dawned on me. Our voices were completely different, the voice-filter function having apparently stopped working. I managed to push this thought aside, being of little concern to our situation.

I glanced around the no longer rainbow coloured sea of humanity.

Instead, it had become the dull shades of real life.

How did this happen?

No longer were we imaginative characters, but we were now our real-life appearances. Not only that, genders had changed and a lot of heights and body types had been altered. Lisbeth and I didn't change too much in those aspects, having set our heights to around the same as our own. I still stood only a centimetre or two above her.

The voice of the GM spoke out for what would be the last time.

"You are likely asking yourselves, why? Why would Kabaya Akihiko, developer of SAO and the NerveGear unit, do such a thing? Is it an act of terrorism? An elaborate kidnapping to extract ransom money? What I seek is neither of these things. I have no goals or justifications at this moment. In fact, this very situation was my ultimate goal. I created the NerveGear and SAO precisely in order to build this world and observe it. I have now achieved that aim."

After a short moment of what felt like some sort of emotion to his voice, Kabaya returned to his monotonous way of speaking.

"This concludes the tutorial phase of Sword Art Online. I wish you the best of luck, dear players."

The crimson robe then ascended back into the system warnings, ending with a single ripple. Soon after, the checker box of messages disappeared in an instant.

A breeze blew over the square, with the BGM from an NPC band came in from afar.

The game resumed as if nothing had just happened.

An eruption of noise finally broke out from the crowd of players.

"What the hell! Let me out of this!"

"Please… I can't leave my family!"

"This can't be happening! Let me out, let me out!"

It was complete chaos.

We fell to our knees, clenched our fists, held our heads, and did much more in a state of complete despair.

People cried and begged, pleading that none of this was real and it was all an elaborate joke. We flat out denied the fact that this was all true.

But, we all knew it was.

Each person, despite their denial, knew that everything Kabaya Akihiko said was true.

I had to accept this fact, that death would follow close behind with every action, waiting for its chance to claim us.

Looking to Lisbeth once more, she was on the ground and close to tears.

Through my own disdain, I walked over to her and crouched down beside her, her attention drawing towards me.

"Lisbeth, let's go."

Without waiting for a response, I grabbed her arm and helped her up, turning and making for the exit.

She complied and followed me close behind.

We made our way through the crowd and to a spot without anyone around, so I was able to tell her my plans without interruption.

"Okay, first thing we've got to do is calm down. Take a few deep breaths and try to clear our minds."

"R-right…"

We did so, drawing in a couple of breaths and taking the time to calm down so that we'd be able to think rationally.

After a few minutes of easiness, I continued speaking.

"We're going to have to accept the fact that we can die if we're not careful. It's best that we set out to level up as quickly as possible, given the limited resources that the game provides. So, I think that we should keep together until we're past the low level danger."

She brought a hand up to her chin and pondered.

"It sounds like that's the best course of action," She said, agreeing, "Okay. We'll work together."

Lisbeth extended her hand out for a handshake. In response, I reached out and grabbed it.

"I'll do our best."

"Me too."

And so, the tremendous challenge that was Sword Art Online had started.

The adventure had begun.

I really like the premise behind Sword Art Online, so writing a story like this was something I've wanted to do for a while.

Now I've finally gotten around to it, so yay.

As for the plot, there won't be any major changes to already established events in the timeline. In other words, Kirito's story will continue like normal. Think of this as a side story.

With this said, I hope to see you in the next chapter.