A/N: As per the norm, I do not own anything that is canon in the anime or the books, including but not limited to: characters, skills, monsters and anything else that is referenced from the SAO universe.
The clock on the other side of my room reads 8:45 PM. For my oldest brother, it is 12:45 on the launch day of the most anticipated game of all time: Sword Art Online. For the past two years my little brother has been working for Aurgus with their development team. In 15 minutes, the servers will open and everyone who bought a game will be able to enter the latest game, and the most in-depth virtual world yet to be released.
I sit on my bed and pick up a picture of my family. My parents stand in the back with my middle brother, while my youngest brother and sister sit in my brother's and my laps. Everyone has a smile on their face, even my middle brother.
I look at the clock again. 8:49. I heave a sigh. 11 more minutes. I chuckle to myself and put the picture back on its shelf. I kneel on the ground beside my bed and pull out the package that has been sitting there since I got it three days ago. I smile as I re-open it and pull out the Nerve Gear that my brother sent me. He even managed to send a copy of SAO along with it. In his letter he said that he sent three to our family as well, so all five of us kids can play together. My middle brother is still away at school, so he won't be able to log on until Thanksgiving break.
Not that he'd let us know if he liked it or not.
I shake the thought out of my head and look at the picture again. I hadn't actually seen my family since that picture was taken this last summer. Moving half way across the country sure has its drawbacks. I put the equipment on my bed and go about setting everything up. Once that is all set, I put the helmet on my head and lay on my bed.
The system seems to recognize this and turns on.
Language: [Japanese] English
I wiggle my fingers, trying to move the selection to English, but nothing happens. Then I move my eyes to the button and focused on the word.
The rest of the set up and calibration goes smoother as I learn how to work the system.
Maybe I should have done this earlier and tried some of the simpler games to get used to it…
I look at the clock in the corner of the screen, which is now the corner of my entire field of vision. 8:58. As soon as the clock reaches 9:00, I close my eyes and say, "Link, start!"
Blue particles blaze past me and I come to what can only be described as a start screen for the game. In front of me are various windows for me to choose different hair and face styles. I went with light-ish brown and long for my hair and vibrant green for my eyes. I gave myself a few inches and set my avatar to 5'8. All that was left was for my name and to choose where to spend my initial stat points. I choose the name Melony, the name I most commonly use on MMO's and spend two points in Agility and one point in Strength. With everything set to go, I start the game and the world of SAO shines to life.
A/N: Hey, y'all, I'm back! I will try my best not to abandon this story like all my others, and if I happen to find some time and inspiration, I might get on the next chapters to some of the stories I have left behind!