[Kame]

Chapter 1 - 1

[November 6th, 2022; 13:25]

I slowly opened the door to my house, and slipped off my shoes. I walked through the small entrance hallway, past the living room and kitchen. In the living room, my sister was sitting on a couch, shouting at people over a game, both allies and enemies. I sighed, ignoring her as she cursed out a single person on her team over his death.

I walked into my room at the end of another hallway. I placed down my messenger bag at the foot of my bed and turned on my computer. I walked to my other room and kneeled down in front of my cat's bed. It slowly yawned, stretching and looking up at me.

"Hey there, Kane," I told him, smiling. The bell around his neck rang as he flipped upside down. I scratched under his chin, hearing his soft meow. I chuckled, and stood up. Behind me, the desktop of my computer had appeared, but I ignored it for now. I looked around me, staring at each piece of gaming equipment in my room. Posters representing arcade games and modern games hung in my room. Games from retro consoles up to the newest console sat on shelves, and their respective systems sat underneath a television, their cords bunched up in the back of the cabinet. I turned to face my computer, and put a disc in it. I slowly sat on my bed and looked down at a white helmet. Across the top part of the front, "NVE: NerveGear" was painted across it. I smiled and chuckled. I slipped off my glasses, placing them on an end table next to me. I slowly put the helmet on my head and closed my eyes. I felt a weight on my stomach, and saw my cat laying on top of my, already asleep. I smiled.

I closed my eyes once more as the time turned to 13:30, and said, "Link Start".

As the system logged me into the server and checked my senses, five words were typed out in the center of my vision.

Welcome to Sword Art Online

The white screen and the words disappeared, replaced by a black room with orange lines creating a grid. Standing in front of me was a small console with the words "Enter your name" on it. I quickly typed in four letters: "Kame".

The console faded and was replaced with a new one, along with an image of a generic person. I quickly adjusted the features of the character to look almost identical to myself and hit accept. The words "Thank you" appeared and the room faded, replaced with the forming landscape of a city. As the light surrounding me disappeared, I looked down at my hands. I opened and closed them, grinning like a child. I quickly ran down the street in front of me, feeling the air whoosh past my ears and the chatter of other players pass me. I skidded to a stop under the gate leading out into the field. I took a deep breath, smelling the air.

I quickly ran out into the field, drawing the short sword they provided me. I quickly initiated a fight with the first Boar I saw. Taking down a small portion of its health as it flinched. I turned around, seeing it start to charge. I blocked its tusks with my blade and pushed it away. I jumped backwards and readied my sword. As I started to swing, the blade grew a light green, and slashed through the boar with ease. The rest of its health drained to nothing and it paused in its path. It started to expand, then suddenly burst into particles. I sheathed the sword and looked down at the purple notification screen. It listed the cor, experience, and items I gained from the monster.

I smiled, and moved onto the next boar in the fields.

Nearly four hours passed as I fought through the hordes of constantly spawning boars and wolves. As the time on my menu changed to 17:30, the bells behind me tolled, echoing through the open field. As I started to head to the next enemy, a white light engulfed me.

As it faded, I found myself in the town square with the other players. I looked around, seeing people confused and frightened. To my left were two people, one with black hair and another with red. To my right stood a tall, muscular man.

As the tall man looked down and smiled at me, a red hexagon appeared in the sky. The hexagons expanded in the sky, covering the whole town. Red fluid seeped down through the slats between each hexagon, forming a humanoid figure. White gloves formed, a long red cape with nothing inside.

"What is that?!" someone yelled, pointing up.

A person behind me cursed under their breath and muttered, "A game master."

"Welcome to my world, dear players," the man said. "My name is Akihiko Kayaba. At this moment, I am the only human being alive with control over this world. You have likely noticed by now that the log-out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug-it is a feature of Sword Art Online."

He paused, letting people shout his questions at him.

"From this point on, you will not be able to free exit Sword Art Online. The NerveGear cannot be removed or shut off externally. If someone attempts to remove the NerveGear from your head in real life, it will emit a high-power microwave, destroying your brain. Questions were thrown at him by players, and he held up his hand. "Sorry, I should have been more specific. The brain-frying sequence will commence if any of the following circumstances are met: ten minutes of no external power, destruction of the NerveGear, two hours of network disconnection, removal, dismantling, or destruction of the NerveGear. The media of the outside world have been informed of this, and the family and friends of many players had ignored this warning. Sadly, two hundred and thirteen players had been erased from the Aincrad and the real world.

"Finally, if your HP reaches zero, the NerveGear will destroy your brain."

That last sentence echoed in my head. The man next to me with black hair cursed under his breath at the man.

Kayaba continued. "At the summit of this world sits a castle, and in it, the final boss of Sword Art Online. Defeat it, and all players shall be logged out. You are right now at the first floor of the Aincrad. Proceed up ninety-nine floors and defeat the boss to beat the game. Finally, I have added an item to every players' inventory." He held out is hands, waiting for people to get the item out.

I swiped two fingers down, opening the menu and accessed the item. As I hit the item labeled "Hand Mirror", a square mirror spawn in my right hand. As I looked into the mirror, staring into my avatar's eyes, I was surrounded by a white light, along with other players.

As the light faded and I looked into the mirror, the character looking back at me wasn't the avatar anymore, but my own face. I held the mirror out and looked over myself, seeing my own body. To my left, the red-haired man had shorter hair and the black-haired man was shorter and had a face of a teenager, like mine.

To my right, the tall, buff man was now a short teenage girl with short, red hair.

"Well, players," Kayaba said through the chaos, "good luck." He slowly faded away, leaving the town square in silence. I looked around, seeing shocked faces on the other players, until a little girl screamed and fell backwards. This knocked people into their senses and they began to rush out of the plaza. I stood there, people running past me, the two men next to me and the girl still there.

The thought of dying here without a reason made my heart pound and my stomach churn. I quickly kicked off the ground toward the west exit of the Town of Beginnings and ran outside the city. I looked around, seeing people partying up and grinding off of boars and wolves. I sprinted toward the path leading through the forest, drawing my blade on the first Dire Wolf I saw.