[A.N. It's been a while since I last revisited this. I've decided to change many of the things I dislike about it, looking at it now. Chiefly, the format of the story has been altered slightly. This way it's less of a pain in the ass to write in.]

2024-11-6

I.

Last night, Kayaba and I were talking. It hadn't occurred to me that two full years had passed since the ascendance until he brought it up. One thing led to another and we began discussing the history of this world and by extension, keeping of that history. Well, the non-existence of it, really. I was surprised that in the past two years no one had thought to keep a record of our ordeals, though, I suppose the threats of imminent death and anarchy are enough to keep one occupied.

Anyways, we really dug into it, and were talking practically until the sun came up. We ended up coming to the conclusion that keeping a history wouldn't just be for the sake of posterity. Not only could we use this as an opportunity to start compiling a true encyclopedia, much better than what Kayaba's managed to compile with his skill in spare time, but if we were to ever make it back to the old world, we would need an objective account of our time in Aincrad. Kayaba's out posting an advertisement for historians, writers, editors, anyone with a relevant degree or experience, really, right now. As for me, I'm working on something related.

Kayaba and I agreed that not only did there need to be a broad and objective history, but also personal accounts. Tales out of daily life as a blacksmith, the rush as you launch into a sword skill, the experience of creating an entirely new code of laws. We'll ask that Diavel encourage people to start journals at the next forum, and those who already have them to submit them. This would all come with the option of complete anonymity, of course. Perhaps we could pay some NPCs to do it? They're generally less involved with us and therefore neither know nor care about the lives of other players. This would allow us to produce copies for recordkeeping's sake.

Anyone reading this has probably already realized that this is my own journal. It's a personal memoir of my time in Aincrad, the new world. I've tried to convince Kayaba too, but it looks like I'll be writing for the both of us. He says that he's always been more scientist than writer, but then I reminded him that he said I was more of a scientist than he. I'm pretty sure he's still thinking up a rebuttal to that one. As I can't assume that everyone reading this is aware of the events leading up to now, allow me to return to exactly two years and one day from the time of writing this, when Aincrad became home for me and just a few million other people.

II.

I should preface this with some background about who I am, as I have no intention for this text to be anonymous. My name is Maxwell Cartwright, though some prefer to use my IGN, Wright. I am twenty seven at the time of writing this. Those of you from Aincrad likely know me as "The Scary Senate Advisory/Clearer lady".

It's generally seen as poor etiquette to inquire about a citizen of Aincrad's past life. Some among us even go so far as to only be known by their IGNs. I wouldn't like to delve too far into my own past, but some context will be necessary. Up until a year before the launch of SAO I was a member of my country's military, and had been loaned to the United Nations peacekeeping force. Then, in 2021 I was injured in the line of combat and honourably discharged. My injury was a permanently disabling one, and required the use of forearm crutches to maintain mobility. I was still young, so I pursued a university degree, but my past times of running, hiking and even simple things such as going out with friends became significantly more difficult.

I had been an avid gamer since junior high, and was able to pick up the hobby again due to the previous events. When the SAO closed beta was announced I jumped at the chance for obvious reasons.

III.

A note to future readers: The text takes a more prose-like bent from here on, as I begin the story of how I got to now. It seems like something out of a work of fiction, so I felt it appropriate to write as though it was.

It was 12:00 am mountain time when I logged into the official release of Sword Art Online for the first and last time. The windows were shuttered, my schedule for the next day clear and I was itching to get in. It was addictive really, the sensation of freedom that came with being able to run, jump, fight, and not be tied to a pair of crutches. To say that the last three months had been hellish was an understatement. I was practically jumping with joy, not that I could literally jump, at the prospect.

At this point I was familiar with the sudden rush of visual, auditory and tactile sensation that came with starting up the Nervegear. I decided it prudent to keep my avatar from the beta test. I'd spent hours creating an idealized version of myself, no sense throwing it all away. It took me a few minutes to get used to my body after so long out of it. While I had tried to make the dimensions similar to my real life self as possible, some things were ever so slightly off. My arms and legs were slightly longer and I was perhaps a half centimetre taller. This meant constant tripping and overextending as I got used to my body. That people could add an extra foot to their height or even play as the opposite gender was baffling. I was only a few millimetres off and something still felt uncanny about this body, as though I simply inhabited it, and had hijacked it from its original owner. Thinking back, I suppose I can at least be grateful that we have our original bodies here in the new world. Body Dysphoria would have quickly become the number one mental illness among citizens of Aincrad otherwise.

I'd become fairly used to the new body after an hour or two of fighting the boars around the Town of Beginnings or the "noob boars" as they're commonly referred to now. Thankfully, everyone was still a "noob" at about an hour in, so few had ventured much farther. I was confident enough in my new body to move to the forest northwest of here. There were more mobs of a higher level and fewer people. My dagger would suffice, having bought a better one, and while I was a little underleveled it wasn't an issue.

One of the ridiculous, yet amazing things which I missed most about the original game were the running mechanics. You could maintain a fast jog for an infinite amount of time and your sprint time was entirely dependent on your skill level. My sprint skill was still in its infancy, but still allowed for a sprint of about four hundred metres at a time, which recharged as I jogged. These two factors combined with unequipping my armor turned what would have been a half day's march in real life into a leisurely hour long jog.

The mobs found in the forest were more challenging with higher levels and more aggressive AI, but they were still nothing I hadn't dealt with before. I eventually came upon a group of windwasps, three of them buzzing menacingly where they hung in the air. I drew my dagger. They would charge one at a time in quick succession with either a bite or stinger attack, before an approximately five second period of delay where they could only evade and counterattack. The three here wouldn't be a problem. I'd spent so much time here and deeper into the forest that the AI of these mobs may as well have been branded into my brain. The first one charged forward, and I parried its stinger away, my attention already shifting to the second. I readied a sword skill as I ducked its bite attack. As it passed over my head, I sprang up, my dagger cloaked in the light of a sword skill. The dagger made a satisfying crunching sound sinking into its thorax. I kicked off a tree branch, activating a thrown sword skill at the same time. Another satisfying crunch, the dagger embedding itself in the wasp's abdomen while I soared over its charge in a back flip. I drew my starter dagger as I landed. There were around two seconds left before the first made another pass. That time, I buried my dagger right between its eyes. Nevermind that its weak spot wasn't actually there.

My breathing was heavy, my heart beating like crazy, and it was the most alive I'd felt in months. I must have had a pretty crazy grin on my face. I was hyper-alert and my senses seemed to pick up every little detail around me, from the swaying of the tree branches to the sound of movement in the background, to the smell of the leaf litter. Yeah, I couldn't do a midair back-flip in real life, but that was what the system assist was for. A window popped up, telling me I had gained fifty-two experience, seventy col, a monster drop and leveled up in three of my skills. I dismissed the window and picked up my first dagger. It was then that something unexpected happened. Looking back now it was the least unexpected of what happened that day, which gives some perspective about the absurdity of the events to follow.

"You dropped this"

My first reaction was annoyance. Part of the reason I had come here was the sweet, sweet solitude. Then, when I got a look at whom it was, that reaction changed to something along the lines of "What the fuck".

"Holy shit...Holy shit"

I took the dagger from his hand and backed away slowly. The avatar was older but the features and facial structure were the exact same as the one that had been leaked on online forums. Same regal look, same sharp gaze.

"Is it really that obvious?" He looked a little disappointed in himself ", I thought changing my age might be enough, and I really liked this avatar too"

"No, no I've just got an exceptional memory so I guess you were unlucky enough to meet me can I please thank you for everything you've done I wouldn't be able to experience the sensation of running, jumping and walking normally if it weren't for you developing the Nervegear and SAO I'm so grateful for everything you've done especially allowing me to be part of the beta test thank you sorry" my words were about as coherent as my thoughts.

To this day Kayaba still won't let me live it down.

"I'm glad to know that the Nervegear changed your life like that. Say, you don't speak Japanese do you?"

"No?" I said tentatively.

He switched to Japanese "How would you say the automatic translation feature works?"

The words appeared in perfect English at the bottom of my HUD. It was amazing, and I said as much.

He switched back to English "It's a new feature, though the servers will probably have to be upgraded before we can fully implement it," he said, sounding just a touch proud of himself.

I relaxed a little as it became clear that even though he was goddamn Akihiko Kayaba, he was in fact, also a person.

"What's the creator of Sword Art Online doing out in the forest on launch day anyway?"

"I'm not allowed I play my own game?"

"When you say it like that it makes sense, but it's like seeing Tim Cook at your local Apple Store,"

He shrugged and brought up the in game clock. It read 08:57:52

"I see what you mean. We've got about seven seconds before we're all transported to the main square and one of the interns gives the welcoming speech"

True to his word, I counted to seven and a blur of blue light enveloped the world around me. The disorientation that came with being teleported had never really gone away during the beta and three months away wasn't exactly helping things. I stumbled a little but quickly found my footing. We stood in the central plaza, with about a million other people. Slowly, a red robed figure materialized out of nothing in a way that seemed completely natural, yet completely unnatural. I apologize if that description isn't satisfactory, but it's really the only way to describe the utter mindfuckery that occured. He was about twenty times taller than the average person and the moment I heard his voice I decided it was about twenty thousand times more commanding.

"Welcome, my children. While it may not have been I that gathered you here today, I have a purpose for you to fulfill that is greater than anything else you could ever do or imagine"

I heard Kayaba beside me ",Shit, that's not in the script"