Ahh, SAO. I watch you whenever my parents make me feel useless, which, considering i'm writing this fic, is probably a lot. So yeah. Here we go.
"Lupa" - speaking
'Lupa' - thinking
[Lupa] - game message
Lupa - translation
"Link start!"
The darkness faded away, streaks of color zooming towards me.
[Sound] [OK]
[Smell] [OK]
[Touch] [OK]
[Taste] [OK]
[Sight] [OK]
I went through the sensory questions, and quickly typed in my avatar name.
L-u-p-a.
[Use Beta-Test data?]
I paused. Start fresh or...? No, i earned that data.
[OK]
The streaming of color faded away, and i slowly opened my eyes.
I was in a town square, with a couple other people spawning nearby.
[Welcome to Sword Art Online!]
The game announced. I start walking, my hands stuffed into the pockets of my skirt (A skirt with pockets. A woman was totally part of the design team). Pausing by a stall filled with some food, I swipe down on the menu, and glance at the amount of credits i had.
100,000.
Wait. A hundred thousand? The starting amount is only 10,000!
A ding signalled that something had been dropped in my inventory. I sigh in relief to find two things in the section. Clicking on the second one, a note pops up.
[' To all Beta-Testers:
As a thank you, you have been granted 10,000 extra credits, and half the amount you ended the Beta with.
- Akihiko Kayaba']
I grin, and pop in front of the stall to buy a steamed bun. Chilling on a park bench for a few minutes, i decided that it would be best to grab so gear and hunting.
Fluttering among stalls, i eventually choose one with high quality weapons (albeit a bit expensive). After haggling the price down 150 credits, I walk away with a double bladed broadsword, a dagger, and a whip.
Twenty minutes passed before i was out in the fields surrounding the town. Boar after boar attack, and each one met their end.
As the sky darkened, i notice two players off to the left, the taller one with red hair looking agitated.
I started to walk over, sheathing my sword. With a start, i recognized the second person.
"Kirito?"
The black haired boy looks up from his player menu, not having heard me approach. His eyes widen. "Lupa?"
"Aye!" We fist bump, happy to meet each other once again. "Can you belive it? Its officially online!"
"Its pretty neat." Kirito agrees, before turning to his red haired friend. "Klein, this is Lupa. I met her in the beta testing. Lupa, this is Klein."
"Nice to meet you." I smile.
Klein gives me a passing smile, but starts to freak out. "Have you tried logging out? The button's gone."
I look at him like he's nuts. "What?" I swipe down, calling the menu to life. My fingers hover over the spot where the logout button should be. "Was? Nein, das ist nicht rechts!" I mutter. What? No, thats not right!
"Hey!" Klein yelps, as the three of us disappear in a shower of blue sparks.
We appear in a plaza, and Klein demands to know what just happened.
"Forced Teleport." Kirito and I chorus.
I look around, watching other players get scared of what's happening. I tuck a strand of purple hair behind my ear.
A single hexagonal block blinks in the sky, a dark red thing reading 'WARNING!'
Suddenly, the hexagons spread quickly around the plaza, creating a blazing red dome. Red liquid - probably something like blood- oozes from the spaces between the blocks. A looming figure grows from the dripping red.
It began to speak. "Attention, players." Its words rung clear, all players turning to look at the figure.
"Welcome to my world. My name is Akihiko Kayaba. As of this moment, I am the only person able to control this world."
Players exchanged glances with each other. What was going on? Was it just some kind of welcome to celebrate SAO's release?
"I'm sure you've already noticed that the 'log-out' button is missing from the main menu."Akihiko Kayaba rumbles. Those who hadn't noticed proceeded to call down their menus.
"But this is not a defect in the game."
Cue gasps, screams, and overall horror.
"I repeat, this is not a defect in the game, but a key feature of Sword Art Online. You cannot log-out of SAO of your own will, and no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit powerful microwaves, destroying your brain and thus ending your life."
More screams. Somebody to my right hits the ground, and I exchange a glance with Kirito.
"Can it really do that?" Klein blurts out.
I nodd. "Yep. Blah blah physics and stuff you don't care about but pretty much you ever put lasagna in the microwave without poking the top?"
Klein winces. "Yeah."
I look at him across Kirito, dead serious. "Dont be lasagna."
Klein looks terrified. I however, mentally fist bump. Totally stole that from awesome british television but I slayed.
"Unfortunately, there have been several instances where players' friends and families have ignored this warning, and attempted to forcibly remove the NerveGear. As a result, 213 players have exited permanently, from both Aincrad and the real world. As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting on this situation, including the multiple deaths."
More gasps. Screens flare to life around him, showing regional Japanese news coverage of the deaths and a few international channels. Even America and France were covering it.
"Thus, you can assume that the danger of a NerveGear being removed has been reduced. So, I would like you all to focus on clearing the game. But be sure to keep this in mind, there is no longer any function to revive someone within the game. The instant your HP drops to zero, your avatars will vanish forever, and simultaneously, your brains will be destroyed by the NerveGear."
"The one condition for your escape is to complete this game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, floor one. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level."
"Defeat the final boss on floor 100 and you will clear the game."
That was going to be hard. The betas only made itup to about Level 50 if i remembered correctly.
"Now then, finally, I've provided you all with a present in your item storage. Please see for yourselves."
Everyone pulled down their menus, surprised to find another item. Calling it up, a simple recangular mirror appears.
"A mirror?" Kirito murmers.
People gasp, before being consumed by blue flames similar to that of a forced teleport.
Upon opening my eyes, I realised that i was eye level with the black of the head of the person in front of me, when before i could see over their head.
"Lupa?"
"Hmm?" I turn, coming face to face with a boy my age, with choppy black hair that hung a bit over his eyes.
"Kirito?" I furrow my eyebrows, before looking into the mirror in my hand.
My previously short cut purple hair was now cascading down my back, almost to my butt. I was shorter, about an inch and a half.
I looked like myself.
"How does he know what we look like?" Klein wonders.
"The calibration and the interface." I pipe up. "It had you pat yourself down, remember?"
"Right now, you must all be wondering, 'Why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do such a thing?' My goal has been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason . . . to create this world and meddle in it. And now, all is complete. This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. I wish you luck, players."
Everyone was frozen, before someone let out a piercing scream. All the remaining players surged to the entrances, and our trio was no different. Kirito and I weaved in between terrified players, navigating back alleys and sharp turns.
"Lupa! Kirito!" Klein calls out, having stopped at the previous turn.
Kirito slows, and I almost slam into him.
Klein explains that he left some of his friends behind, and that he needed to go get them. The three of us exchange friend requests, before Klein heads back to the plaza, and me and Kirito out of the city.
"I'm sticking with you for now. So deal with it." I announce to him when we pause outside the gate to catch our breath.
I don't exercise much, okay?
But if i am going to be stuck in this stupid game, i am totally going to get in shape.
Bonus Points to whoever caught the reference okay I love you. Aye so A here (Queens of Hell is a shared account) and yeah maybe i have a bit of an SAO addiction. This entire fic was literally spawned from one moment like halfway through the first arc so here we are. When we get to that chapter I'll tell you the scene.
so tell me if its shit. Kisses!
A