Welcome, one and all, to my first fanfiction! Please, feel free to leave reviews, as I will always welcome constructive criticism! Well, here it is: SAO: USA Server!

As I unclenched my fingers, releasing my grip on the bowstring, and feeling the sharp SLAP of sinew on leather as it hit the worn-out padded leather glove on my left hand.

The arrow shaft, being released from its containment, flew straight and true, with all the force of a 30-pound draw weight recurve bow.

The moment after the 2 and a half-foot long ashen-gray shaft left the groove made to steady it, I knew it would fly true to its target.

50 meters away, the 3-foot high bale of hay painted in a circular pattern, shuddered heavily under the impact of the arrow.

I laid down my bow to check the results of the day's training. Many identical bales of hay stood, adorned by clusters of arrows expertly placed in the bull's-eye.

Truly, this was the work of an extremely accomplished archer, or as I called myself, a Marksman. As I walked down the aisle of hay bale pincushions, I noticed that one particular arrow had not hit the bull's-eye.

Cursing silently, I hurriedly pulled out all the arrows and prepared to start again. Why, you might ask? Well, let me tell you a little about myself to begin with.

My name is Sebastian O'Donnovan.

As romantic as it sounds, I was conceived in the back of a pick-up truck in a drive-in movie theater. I was born on July 21, 2004.

As soon as I was born, or "found my way outside of the well", as my dad said for each birthing of my siblings, everyone present immediately noticed something wrong.

My eyes were multi-colored, one being icy blue, while the other was deep sea green. Since the outback areas like my hometown are, well, outback, they believed in all of those crazy superstitions.

As a result, I was used to being avoided by everybody in the entire town, besides my family, of course. This made me isolate myself from the society around me.

I grew up on a ranch in a small town with all 3 of my brothers and sisters. I, being the eldest one, was obviously the most annoyed out of the quadruple.

Even when I was young, I always had a love for archery and all things related. For example, when I was 6, I made my first bow with rubber bands and branches from nearby trees. Using that bow for the first time also taught me a lesson: never practice archery without an archer's glove, and left a few red welts as souvenirs.

In my free time, or the single hour at night before I go to sleep, I liked to read books. My favorite book was about a certain young archer and how he trained to become a legend. A line from his mentor, Halt(hint hint), provided me with a basis for my own routine. This line was, I quote, "Don't practice until you get it right. Practice until you don't get it wrong."

My parents always thought of us as a handful. Though I stayed out of trouble most of the time, my siblings more than made up for it.

By the time I turned 16, I had already flattened out my archery routine. Every morning, I would do 20 one-armed push-ups for each hand, 30 phantom bowstring pulls*, and jog 3 miles around the perimeter of the ranch. Of course, doing chores such as milking the cows and chipping mud off horses' hooves helped to maintain my physical condition as well.

By the time I neared my 17 birthday, I realized that I hate living on a ranch. So, on my birthday, I told them that I planned to go to college in the city after I graduated from high school. They were surprised, although after careful thinking, they decided that it would be better for both parties if he left for college, as they would have to deal with one less child.

So, when that fateful day arrived, goodbyes were exchanged. A few tears were shed, and some envious glances were thrown from his siblings. Obviously, they felt the same was as I did of living on a ranch.

As I walked to the bus stop, I found myself thinking. 'What is life in the city going to be like?' 'Well, it can't be worse than that hellhole of a ranch.'

As the bus pulled up to the curb, I boarded it, realizing that it signified the start of my new life. I was soon to find out that it would be a truly unique experience.

My dorm room was pretty standard. Beige walls, hardwood flooring, a hodgepodge of furniture. Same-old same-old. However, it was not the room that was unique, it was who I shared the room with.

Jayden. Strangely enough, he doesn't like to share his last name with people.

He was the epitome of the word nerd, and I loved the man like a best friend just the same. But, strangely enough, he doesn't fit any of the physical stereotypes that are stuck onto nerds. He was actually quite fit. Carrying boxes full of heavy video games and consoles can do that to a man.

He had a HUGE passion for video games. You name it, he's got it. Although, his tastes seem to be for retro games such as Halo, Battlefield, and Call of Duty. But, that doesn't stop him from trying every damn type of game.

However, very recently, a new type of video game console was released. He knew about it before it was even put onto the news. How, you ask? Well, I've learned not to question his methods.

This new console could supposedly put you "into" the games themselves. He was all over it. Unfortunately for him, all the games currently released for said console have massively failed to bring out its full potential.

Luckily for him, that changed today. Sword Art Online. The hype for the game said to "change your views on the entire universe" was global. It spread, starting from Japan, all the way to backwards nations such as Afghanistan.

When the revered game was finally put out onto the shelves, the number of copies of the game was based on the population of your country. For example, Japan had ten thousand copies total, America had thirty thousand, and China had a hundred thousand.

The copies were sought after like mad. The record sale for one on an auction was about thirty thousand dollars. Luckily for me, my faithful nerd managed to get me one as well, albeit with lots of cash from my part-time job.

So, that leads me to the point where I put on the nerve gear, and speak the dreaded words that I wished many times I had not said. "Link Start!"

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SWORD ART ONLINE OR ANY OF ITS VARIANTS!