November 6th 2022, 11:33am, Release date of Sword Art Online

I excitedly walked out of the video game store with a huge smile on my face. I finally have it. Sword Art Online is finally in my hands, one of the 10,000 copies that were released. I grasp it tightly and rush home. I've been waiting months for this release and now I can finally play it for the first time. My brother was a beta tester but I sadly never got the chance to due to an excessive amount of college work I had to catch up on.

12:38pm, Home.

I got to the house and opened the front door. The aroma of crispy bacon instantly filled my nose. I walked into my room and put the game safely into my top draw.

I then went to the kitchen to find just a single bacon sandwich on the table. I must have missed lunch with my mother and brother. I sat at the table and started to eat, unable to think about anything but the game. I was addicted to MMORPG games but grinding is so god damn boring, i can never get to max level because of that. Somehow Sword Art Online looked different.. I couldn't put my finger on it. When I had finished my food my mother walked into the kitchen

"Hey darling, how was your morning?" She said with a kind smile on her face.

"Not so bad, I got the new game me and Shaun have been waiting for forever!" I said excitedly almost jumping out of my seat. My mother gave me a hesitant look.

"Oh so that's what you're going to be doing for the next few years?" She mumbled sarcasticly. If only she knew..

I picked up my plate and walked over to the sink seeing a large pile of washing up.

"Darling would you be able to wash up and clean the kitchen for me? My back isn't feeling too good today." My mother mentioned before walking out.

"Sur- oh you're gone.." I stuttured not realising she had disappeared. I decided to go and see Shaun before I got started. I ran to his room and burst in.

"Did you get it?!" I asked excitedly.

"Sure did! Are you going in right away too?" He asked back with mild concern in his tone.

"Nah, I got roped into doing the washing up" I answered disappointed. I'll probably be tired after tidying the kitchen.

"I'll be on tomorrow though! I cant wait! See you there" I said exiting the room barely after finishing my sentence. I just need to get this washing up done. I rushed back to the kitchen but as I got there I saw my father who had started to clean. Why wasn't he at work?

"Dad what are you doing here? Why aren't you at work?" I said concerned. It's not like him to miss work.

"I got called home, your mother's back is playing up again, don't worry about the kitchen, I'll clean it for you" He said with a smile on his face.

"YES!" I thought to myself. I ran to my brothers room to tell him the good news but when I opened the door he already had his NerveGear on. Not disturbing him I went into my room next door. Carefully taking Sword Art Online out of my top draw I walked over to my bed where my NerveGear was neatly placed on the shelf above. I inserted the game into the NerveGear and put it on my head.

"Here we go." I said to myself squirming with excitement. I wonder if I will find Shaun. I then said the near fatal words that would change my life forever.

1:03pm

"LINK START!" A wave of different colours flashed through my eyes as all of my senses ticked on the screen. I was then suddenly greeted by an announcer.

"Welcome to Sword Art Online! Would you like to create a new character?" Appeared in front of me. I pressed yes. A character design came up. I wonder if I should model it on myself? I probably should so that if I meet Shaun he will know who I am. Choosing a roundish face, dark brown hair and blue eyes I moved onto my body type. I chose short height and average weight. I pressed done.

"Enter your desired username" Popped up. Okay.. choosing a username was always a task for me. But I had one in mind which I mentioned to Shaun. Due to my obsession of the Japanese language I entered "Kasuti" which was my name in Japanese. I pressed finished with anticipation as I got teleported into the game. I arrived in the The Town of Begininngs.

I felt lost in these unfamiliar surroundings, the breeze against me felt unnatural. It didn't feel bad, just weird. The Town of Begininngs was large and crowded with people. The narrow ally ways and streets made me feel so small. Many of the players had already made new friends or were with their real life friends. It made me feel lonely, I need to find Shaun. I pushed through the crowds feeling very claustraphobic and trapped. After half an hour of trying to find Shaun in the endless amount of players, with no success I decided to familirise myself with the game. How could Shaun be no where to be seen? He's just started like me. But then again, he was a beta tester, he knew his way around this town, where to train and where to get armour... I look down at my clothing.

"I look like a noob." I thought.

"I am a noob." I realised.

I better get myself some armour and items, after all I dont wanna die. After I got to know the town a little bit I tried to look out for a beta tester to help me find a place to grind successfully, just like Shaun had recommended. I looked around the market, what does a beta tester look like?.. I should look for a person who looks natural, who looks cool and who looks like they know what they are doing. I pushed through a group of players and saw a young lad who was leaning against the end of the potions shop wall. He had one foot on the floor and one foot propped up against the wall, arms crossed and he was looking towards the ground, he almost looked asleep. I walked slowly towards him to get a closer look. He had short, light brown hair with a side fringe that swooped down his forehead and nearly convered both eyes and he was attired in light armour with a plain sword sheafthed on his hip, he also had a black cape with silver lining that had a hood and fell just above his ankles. I approached him shyly, after all he was pretty cute. I looked for his username not knowing that it did not show. He pulled his head up and looked at me with a cool expression on his face, his eyes shimmered in the sunlight, he then grinned at me in a friendly mannor.

"Hi, is everything alright? You look lost." He asked, laughing slightly.

"C-Cute.." I whisper, unaware that I said it aloud.

"W-What did you say?!" He exclaimed, his grin turning to confusion.

"N-Nothing, Nothing at all!" I said as I felt my face heating up, hot enough to cook bacon infact.

"Riiiight, did you need me to show you around?" He asked hopingly. 'She's sorta freaky' He thought to himself.

"Y-Yes please" I said twiddling my thumbs nervously. "Why am I so embarrassing?" I thought sighing.

"It's gunna cost you tho!" He shouted enthusiastically, winking at me.

"B-But, I don't have any Col!" I hesitated pulling my hands up to my chin.

"Hey I was just kidding, how could I charge a pretty face like you?" He chuckled. At that moment I felt like sinking into the depths of the world and/or exploding with excitement, instead I opted for the heavily blushing option. Again.

"Whats wrong? Are you hot?" He asked cluelessly. "Did you not open your window? You're kind of freaking me out." He continuted, trying to fan my face, which only resulted in me going even more red.

"I'm fine..." I said embarrassed and nervously.

"S-sure, shall we get going then?" He suggested. I nodded trying to cover my burning face.