I wont bore you with the details of how I got into this mess. From what I heard afterwards it was worldwide news when Sword Art Online, the worlds first full dive MMO, became a game of life and death for the 10,000 people stuck inside.
For the first few days after learning I was stuck in this game I don't think I left the inn using the few hundred col I had earned after first logging in to pay for the room and eventually food to eat after the hunger finally got to me. As I woke up on the 4th day a notification window popped up in front of me telling me I did not have enough col left to pay for another night.
Knowing that without food the virtual hunger in the game would eventually cause my HP to deplete and kill me I realised that I now had no choice but to venture out of the town of beginnings and risk my life fighting the various beasts for col and items that could eventually protect me better than the starting gear I still wore. Leaving the town through the north east exit I started down the path to see what this world had to offer. sticking to the path seemed the safest option at first knowing that it would lead me to another town sooner or later but knowing that col and exp were important to surviving right now I had to veer off the path to hunt for the mobs that would be either my immediate salvation or doom.
It took me some time to find an area on the vast grasslands that surround the starting town which wasn't already full of parties of players killing every mob as it spawned. After an hour or two of walking I approached the edge of a large forest, opening my map window I saw I was close enough that it now showed up as Horunka forest. Figuring that any mobs within the forest would probably be to high a level for me at the moment I skirted along a safe distance from the edge of the forest and soon came across a small pack of Frenzy Boar's. Knowing that unless I attacked one of the large blue furred animals they wouldn't be a threat to me I walked closer to the pack of maybe half a dozen Boar. Drawing my small sword I raised it up above and behind my shoulder and pointed it toward the boar I had chosen as my first target.
After a second or so I felt the power of the basic sword skill, Slash, activate and thrust the weapon forward letting the weapon skill system of the game direct the motion of the blade and leaving a white streak of light in its path. The HP of the boar instantly dropped going from green to orange to red stopping with maybe 10 percent of its health remaining. The delay aspect of using a sword skill kept me rooted to the spot for a second giving the boar a chance to turn towards me but luck was on my side for even as it swung its great hairy head towards me to tear at my body with its tusks I was able to take a step back before swinging my sword down onto the top of its head. The boars HP bar dropped to nothing and seconds later the boar exploded into shining shards of prismatic light that quickly faded. With a ping a window opened directly in front of me showing me my gains. 24xp, 30 col. 2 pieces of mangy fur and a boar tusk. I accepted my rewards and moved onto the rest of the pack. As the day drew on I continued to map the northwest and northern fields almost travelling as far as the north-eastern lake which as I didn't get close enough my map didn't tell me the name of. Deciding to take a slightly different route back to town I headed across the grassland towards the path that I figured would take me to the northern gate as I knew a stall not far from there where I would be able to buy some food and a couple potions. My health wasn't to much of a concern to me at the moment as despite a few lapses in concentration where I had let a boar or two get in a hit my HP had not even turned orange but knowing that I wanted to head into the forest tomorrow it seemed a prudent thing to be prepared.
My initial fear from being trapped in this game, knowing that death was around almost every corner, had subsided during the day. My success with the low level mobs outside the forest had shown me that I could handle myself in this world. Now I had a mission for myself. I would join the players on the front lines and help clear this game. But to do that I knew I couldn't play solo for long. it may be viable for the first floor or two but before long it would be to dangerous so I would have to find others, maybe a guild, to join. I knew from the game manual I had read before logging in that the guilds function wouldn't be locked until the third floor and I was confident I could survive until then, but maybe I shouldn't be keeping to myself so much. that would be another thing for me to try and do which in the real world had always been the hardest thing. Socializing. Being a natural loner and awkward around people, well when sober anyway if I had a few drinks I didn't mind anywhere near as much. Still I could always put that off until after the first or second village I reasoned with myself, better to wait and find people also trying to be at the front than held back by people who couldn't progress enough to get to the front lines.