AN: Sword Art Online and the characters therein are the property and creations of Reki Kawahara and abec. Publishing rights belong to ACSII Media Works, Yen Press, Dengeki Bunko, Madman Entertainment, A-1 Pictures, Tokyo MX, Aniplex, Manga Entertainment, and Adult Swim/Toonami. The World of Warcraft and the characters, lore, mechanics, etc are all the creations of Blizzard Entertainment. I hold no ownership rights to this title whatsoever, and I never will, sadly. I am simply writing this story as a leisurely past time, and because I am a humble fan of this title simply telling a story.

Okay, now that the legal bullsh!t is out of the way, let's get to what you guys came here for then. This idea spawned from a conversation a friend of mine and I had a while back while questing in WoW. I'm something of a casual player, by the way, so please forgive me if I get some of the lore and terminology wrong at times. Anyhow, we've been watching SAO for some time now, and regardless of the fact that I often forget I even have a WoW account, I always marvel at how great the world and the history behind it is set up, and my friend and I constantly find things in world and dream about how awesome it would look in Virtual Reality/with NerveGear. Thus, this story came into being. A sort of "What If?" scenario, where Akihiko Kayaba worked for Blizzard Entertainment instead of Argus, and created the Warcraft equivalent of Sword Art Online for his death game. How will this change the story of SAO? What will be the outcome of this savage campaign to clear the game? How will our heroes change over the course of the death game?

Read on to find out, my friends! I hope you enjoy the story, and that there will hopefully be more of it to come in the near future! (You never know when writer's block will strike. Dun-dun-DUNNNNN!)

(Note, at (1), play the Cataclysm soundtrack's revamped version of the "Stormwind" instrumental/theme.)

Prologue.

Time: Sunday, November 6th, 2022, 12:54pm.

Click

"- our continued coverage of the much anticipated launch of what critics are calling a "ground-breaking success for virtual reality interaction and communication." That's right, we're talking about the most sought-after game of the year, Azeroth Online! Before the break, we saw a promo for Blizzard Entertainment's latest endeavor, and already all 400,000 copies have sold out after last week's record-breaking release. With the first copies flying off the shelves, the dev-team at Blizzard says that they're looking forward to feedback from the fans after today's official launch, which began at 12:00pm Eastern Standard Time, US. Based off this footage from last week's blow out, fans both new and old can be expected to chime in on this monumental undertaking."

"Tch!"

Kazuto Kirigaya winced in discomfort as he pulled his thumb away from the manual, a thin red line of blood already seeping forth from the papercut as he lifted it to his lips to nurse the wound. However, his eyes remained fixed on the player's guide in his opposing hand, skimming over the words of wisdom from the game's head-programmer and designer, Kayaba Akihiko. It still boggled Kazuto's mind that a twenty-eight year-old like Kayaba could craft a masterpiece like AZO, and yet it was also encouraging. After all, he liked to think of the two of them as being a lot alike.

"-Up 'til now," continued the energetic reporter on The MMO Stream, the TV and her enthused commentary merely background noise at this point, as Kazuto continued to thumb through the guide- if a bit more cautiously now, "None of the NerveGear software we've seen has taken advantage of the possibilities of the hardware, but the devs at Blizzard say that they're willing to go that extra-mile and push the limits to bring gamers across the world that one of a kind experience that can only be found in AZO."

"Hey, Kazuto!" The young gamer's head shot up from his reading at the sound of his cousin's voice through his door, a small smile crossing his lips. A quick glance at the clock told him she would be heading off to kendo practice, and was just swinging by to let him know he'd have the house to himself.

"No worries, Suguha!" he grinned, putting down the manual on his desk. He'd already finished reading it the night before, too anxious to get any real sleep. This was just a quick recap of the info, in case there was something added onto the game since the beta. "I'll hold down the fort, you just worry about practice and have fun, okay?"

A short giggle was his answer, followed by, "Right, I'll do my best. Thanks, Kazuto! I'll see you later!"

The sound of retreating footsteps heralding her flight from the house, the black-haired teen rose from his seat to get one last peek of his little sister from his bedroom window as she rushed out the front door and disappeared around the fence at the end of the path. A sense of brotherly pride at the thought of Suguha kicking ass and taking names with her shinai, Kazuto returned to setting things up for his descent into AZO, the MMO Stream continuing its coverage as he checked the modem's wireless connection and made sure the LAN lights on his brand new NerveGear headset were on. A quick inspection of the wires told him they were in working order as well, no frays or tears in the lining either.

'Man, Blizzard really pulled out all the stops for launch date, huh?' Kazuto thought as he inspected the NerveGear. 'They promised Next-Gen FullDive technology, and damn if they didn't deliver, and then some.'

"-by the inventor of NerveGear, Akihiko Kayaba. This is the VMMORPG me and the beta-testers have been waiting for! Ugh, I wish I could've gotten one! The fans who camped out in line- some of them for three whole days- snapped them up faster than you could blink, and online, the game sold out in seconds!"

Click.

The room went silent as Kazuto went through the last mental checklist and settled down on his bend, blinds half-open to allow shafts of sunlight into the room, which was now a distinct bluish hue through the NerveGear's visor. Satisfied everything was in order, he closed his eyes and activated the headset. A steady hum in his ears grew louder and louder with each passing second, a small countdown chirping in as the game loaded and the internal battery came to life. An excited smirk played at the sides of his mouth.

This was it.

His eyes closed groggily, as though sleep were pulling his consciousness away from the real world and into the new one that awaited him in the 'Net.

"Link, Start!"

And with that, the world disappeared in a flash of white, only for his eyes to be assaulted with incoming rods of color, which gave way to small displays on the visual HUD before him. One by one, they went green as they confirmed the sensory perception translation and link with his nervous system. The language selection option appeared and immediately went to "Japanese" with but a thought. He knew Blizzard would have a cross-language translation software in play for the game, so anyone he met in-world from a server on a different continent could be understood and vice-versa, so it wasn't that big a deal.

It took all of three seconds for him to mentally log into his NerveGear's account and accept the scrolling terms of agreement. Of course, his screenname- «Kirito»- was displayed instead of his real name, but he had expected as much. With that formality out of the way, the scene before him transitioned from a blank space of white, to a lush green temperate forest atop a windswept hill, overlooking a spacious valley. Down below was a large medieval city, teeming with life, and far overhead, the spine-tingling calls of dragons could be heard as they flew towards the sprawling, sea-side metropolis. The entire scene was punctuated by a truly inspired soundtrack, more than worthy of introducing the player to this exciting world. Overhead hung the words:

WELCOME TO AZEROTH ONLINE!

Then, with a rush of pixels and data, the time to create his new in-game persona had arrived, and before him stood the options for the character creation screen. While he was a newcomer to the old formula of Blizzard's massive World of Warcraft universe, he had a general understanding of how the game worked from his time in the beta-testing stages. With the creation of AZO, the faction war between the Horde and the Alliance had been somewhat resolved, and though tensions were high between the races of either side, players were now able to visit the cities and realms of both. However, they were still branded as either Alliance or Horde based on the races they picked at this point in the game. Thirteen in all, each option hovered a few feet off the ground before him as he cycled through them with a contemplative look, debating which to choose. He had already played as several during the beta, though he had always been more comfortable as a human. Plus, all of his characters from the beta had been dropped in lieu of giving him a fresh start for the launch date and making him on an even keel with the other players, so it wasn't like he could recycle an old persona now.

So, in the end, the human race was what he end up choosing, selecting an appearance similar to his own- albeit with the look of a twenty-something Kazuto- right down to his unkempt black hair and lean body-type. When creating AZO, the devs had decided to include the "body-type" option in the character creation screen, both due to suggestions from some of the more vocal players and the advice of the virtual edition's creator, Kayaba Akihiko. Now when players chose classes with a more agility or speed based skill-set, they had the option of an appearance that suited such a task, as opposed to the down-right goofy sight of what amounted to a ninja with the build of Conan the Barbarian. However, despite his lithe frame, the newly dubbed Kirito chose a strength-oriented class, particularly due to its leveling options later down the road.

The Warrior.

With the creation process complete, a slight tingle washed over Kirito as his body changed into that of his AZO Avatar. A quick glance at his hands told him it had worked, and a slight pinging noise drew his eyes to a new window that had appeared.

Please select your starting town.

A list of major cities in the Alliance territories appeared beneath the prompt, each sounding more tempting than the last as he skimmed through them. Over the course of the beta, he'd had a chance to explore the major hubs of both the Alliance and Horde factions, and each one had its own charm to it in some way or another. Regardless, he settled on the most prominent name he remembered from the beta, one he'd had way more fun exploring during that month in between questing and leveling. A flash of light engulfed the world around him, and when it faded, the grassy hilltop and valley below disappeared...

(1) Only to be replaced mere seconds later with the sights and sounds of a bustling metropolis. The cheers and laughter of arriving players filled the air, and the whole city was alight with excitement and anticipation. Players of every race available milled about him on all sides, from normal humans like himself, to graceful Night Elves with elegant strides, ferocious Worgen panting with boundless enthusiasm, hearty dwarves with full beards, and diminutive gnomes that darted between the legs of the taller races. There were even a few Horde players among the crowds, a number of them old-school players interested in the reactions they would get appearing in an Alliance city without being attacked on the spot. Peaceful Tauren with braided manes, ghoulish Forsaken half-rotted away, sneering goblins with greedy eyes, fiercely attired Darkspear trolls in warpaint, and more than a few Orcs. Pandaren players of either faction also moved excitedly through the crowds of players and NPCs alike, their large frames belying the nimble agility and grace of the meditative ursine warriors.

Kirito watched this scene unfold before him from the middle of the bridge in what he knew from the beta as the «Valley of Heroes», surrounded on either side by massive statues of the greatest champions of the Alliance, each striking a heroic pose, forever engraved as legends of this realm for their descent into Draenor to seal the dimensional rift from that side.

To the left was Kurdan Wildhammer of the Northeron Dwarves, Thane of Aerie Peak, and Archmage Khadgar of the Kirin Tor. And to the right were Force Commander Danath Trollbane- whose visage was immaculately restored to its former glory, following the assault of the dragon Deathwing during the Cataclysm expansion- and the High Elf Ranger-Captain Alleria Winderunner. And just ahead of him, at the very end of the bridge into the city proper, was none other than General Turalyon himself, sword and shield in hand as a warning to those who would threaten the peace and sanctity of the city.

The great city of the Alliance, known as «Stormwind»

So surreal...

It was all just so incredibly surreal.

"Hello world," said the young Warrior with a giddy demeanor and stupidly excited grin, "I'm back!"

AN: And thus begins our intrepid young hero's journey into the realm of Azeroth Online! What adventures await him on launch day? Who will he meet? What portions of Stormwind will he explore? We'll find out soon enough, so stay tuned for more as the story develops! I hope you've enjoyed the prologue for this story, because there's more to come, I assure you. I'll do my best to update in a timely fashion, but please remember that I do have a life outside fanfiction. Between it, college, work, and all the other ups-and-downs of life (not to mention chronic bouts of writer's block), things can get a little hectic here. Still, I want to do my best to try and continue this story. Please remember to leave a review if you feel so inclined (constructive criticism is welcome, flames are doused, and trolls are sacrificed to Bwonsamdi or cannibalized, lol), and I'll see you guys next time. Take care out there! EXCELSIOR!