Prologue, Chapter 0
"I'm activating Project Vertigo!" Higo shouted, knowing they were under attack, and knowing to god that it was the only surefire way to keep the two of them, Alice and Kazuto, safe.
"No! Don't! That can cause a tear in the fabric of spacetime!" Kikuoka ordered, but it was too late. Of course, Higo knew of that possibility, but it was only half of a percent chance. You could roll a dice 1,000 times, and it would only come up five. That is once every two hundred rolls. Higo knew that the chance of causing the whole universe to collapse onto Kazuto was small, though not infinitesimal.
But, even if the whole universe was to collapse, no one would die.
Of course, that seemingly makes no sense, but if you understand the origin of the project, it makes sense.
The project was made by a rather… eccentric bookworm. Not the nerdy bookworm, but the geeky bookwork, the one who was always reading light novels and manga. Of course, as a man with intelligence that completely exceeded Kayaba, Tesla, and Einstein's, combined, he was also a nerdy bookworm. Using the combined inspiration of these books, this man, often called Vertigo due to his ability to make people's' heads spin, made a program that used the Quantum Computers in the STL to make an alternate universe around one to six focal points, the people in the different STLs, that used the memories of the one to six individuals, along with fragments of people from the Underworld, to create a world based off those memories, dreams, and creativity. Since Kazuto was the only one in the STLs, the universe would follow his timeline to a certain degree. Why to a certain degree? Because as the focal point, he would keep his memories. Like the calm of a storm, nothing within would be eroded, but if you lie farther from Kazuto, within the storm, your memories will be completely gone. The people closest to him still won't remember anything, but their feelings and sentiments may remain partially intact, and there is a small possibility of them remembering.
Of course, they wanted to removed the program, but there were so many traps in the code, that if they were to try, it would be automatically activated.
Also of course, Vertigo was court martialed and thrown into prison for the rest of his life for 'Crime Against Humanity'.
If the universe remained intact, Higo would go as well.
Well, Kikuoka would try to cover it up, but that might not work.
Knowing of one way to fix the situation should that one in two hundred come to truth, Higo connected a Nerve Gear to his head, knowing that he would die if that one in two hundred came to become reality. The Nerve Gear would fry his head, but it was the only way to make sure his memories stayed in tact, so he could contact Kirito.
He only hoped he landed in the same time period as Kirito.
Higo pressed the button, and the whole world went blank.
Kazuto's PoV
"Huh, I just lost contact with Kikuoka… now I can't see?"
I felt… weak… I couldn't explain it… but I felt very very weak.
Now I feel a soft sensation… a familiar sensation… I felt something like this when I was in Aincrad… the day I had that duel with Kuradeel… a little before…
I blushed.
Wait, no, I didn't?
I mentally blushed, but I couldn't feel the awfully familiar sensation of blushing that I would usually feel in this situation.
Was my blood flow cut off?
No, I was able to think fine…
I realized my eyes were closed then, so I opened them.
Or I tried.
It was really difficult.
When I finally managed after about half a minute, I found that I was in the arms of a woman, maybe two years older than I am at the moment. (Kazuto is 19 at the moment, as he thinks of himself by his age from his perspective, not physiologically.)
Wait.
How is a twenty-one year old lady who does look like she has a high priority or any combat experience holding me, a nineteen year old guy?
It didn't really make much sense.
That's when I noticed the fact that I was REALLY small.
Like really small.
Either that or she was awfully big.
But if I went by ratio of height to width, I'd say I was small.
"Kikuoka, if you did this as some sort of prank, I'm gonna kill you."
Wait, this lady.
I've seen her before.
"Kikuoka, if this was you, I don't care what the reason was, I will kill you, BRUTALLY."
In a picture.
Just once.
When I hacked into the records.
And saw the records on ME and MY FAMILY.
My mother. Kudou Minae. (Kazuto took on his non-blood related Uncle's last name when he was adopted)
And the man in the background, Kudou Akito.
And the only person I knew there, Kirigaya Midori. My Aunt, the woman who had raised me since as long as I could remember. The person I truly thought of as my mother.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait! Black hair is totally foreign in the Underworld, and so are completely Asian faces! What the hell is going on! I know there was some sort of battle, so I highly doubt this is some prank… Did I die and reincarnate or something?"
I began to panic. I was now crying, which was normal for infants, so I didn't have to worry.
Though I was embarrassed, I figured that if I didn't want them to realize I wasn't an ordinary child.
I didn't know why at the time, but I didn't feel happy. I felt that I was spending time with the corpses of loved ones, rather than the loved ones themselves.
Despite of my fears, my sobbing, and my panicking, my mother, Minae, spoke aloud my name, for the first time in this completely foreign world, "Kazuto. You'll be named Kazuto. Kudou Kazuto."
One Year Later...
Bandits. Bandit mages and archers. Nine mages, eleven archers. I remembered their names that I heard during the ambush. Laughing Coffin. The village that Tosan, Kasan, and I lived in was burnt down. I was the only survivor.
The people I cared about, had once more, been taken.
And Laughing Coffin, had once more emerged into my life.
I had just learned to crawl at the time, so I could move, and I was small enough to fit in places that others would not look.
I felt terrible.
Despicable.
Evil.
But I knew, in this infantile body of mine, I could do nothing.
At that point, I swore, I would never let harm come to a loved one again.
As soon as I could, I would do EVERYTHING in my power to grow strong enough to wield blades as I did during my final hour. Nay, even stronger. Even stronger than my peak during Aincrad, or my peak during my time in the Underworld. Far enough that I can kill Kayaba or the Administrator with only my pure skill, not only by a hair due to willpower, or someone sacrificing themselves for me.
After a day, I came out and was found by my Aunt Midori, who didn't live in the village, but a nearby city. I was brought back to her home, where she began to sob. I noticed that she was pregnant, and I could only assume it was with Suguha.
Sugu was born not a month later.
4 years later, (Kazuto is five)
"Kazuto, your Grandfather has noticed your interest in swordsmanship, and would like to teach you." My Aunt, no, my Mother, informed me.
"Alright Mom, if Grandfather is capable of defeating me in a contest of skill rather than brute strength, then I shall become his student."
I was really glad the world's language was Common Tongue- err, Japanese.
Sweat dropping from the side of her face, privately wondering how I came to speak so politely and mannerly at times, which was really only when I was referring to, or talking to, Grandfather.
It was my way of saying, 'He pisses me off'.
In other words, it was mock respect.
Although Grandfather never took notice, Mom did, and lightly scolded me in private, though I never stopped.
Later that day...
My grandfather, who was about 45 years old, held a practice sword, or in other words, a badly carved wooden sword that was about the same size as his real sword, which was even bigger than Elucidator. On the other hand, I held a small practice blade maybe a foot and a half long.
Normally one would think a five year old couldn't even swing a blade that long, even if it was only made of wood, due to them being so weak, but I was no ordinary five year old. I trained a lot and was probably as strong as someone twice my age, which still was weak, but they could at least swing a blade this small. Also, I was probably as agile as someone three times my age, which although wasn't ideal, was more than enough to beat my grandfather with my skill.
To win a single fatal blow was required.
A single hit from my grandfather would do me in, but I could only do him in in a few special locations. The heart, the neck, the head, and the lungs. Although the lungs wouldn't be immediate, it would extremely weaken him and he would have no use in battle, and would die in less than half a day.
When the battle start, I ran towards him, showing plenty of holes in my defense.
Grinning ferally, he swung his huge blade towards my legs, so as to not actually kill me, but I stepped onto the blade and kept my balance.
Looking shocked, he began to swing his blade upwards to smack me into the ceiling, but I used the slope of the blade to accelerate towards him, and, kicking him in the face in the process, I swung my blade towards and spoke, "Game, set, match."
I didn't even use a single sword skill in the entire match.
Despite the fact that I had already confirmed their existence, though they're completely unknown to others as far as I know.
Sighing, my grandfather put a palm to his face and said, "How far I have fallen as a Swordsmanship instructor to lose to my own grandchild, who isn't even my student, and even more so, self taught."
I now felt a little tang of guilt, he was a swordsmanship instructor, and I just outdid him in swordsmanship, someone 40 years younger than him.
"I acknowledge your victory." Grandfather bowed them left the room.
"Why do people say that after combat duels?" I wondered, "Seems like a weird custom, as it isn't done after sports or any other competition as far as I know."
After I bowed, I noticed a window pop up appear my face, the first sign in these last five years that this was only a game.
I was a little anxious, not sure which outcome I wanted.
After steeling myself for a few moments, I left for a tree outside the house which I often rested inside, and looked at the window.
"Congratulations Kudou Kazuto-kun," Upon seeing that at the top of the window, I winced, "You have defeated a level 43 adventurer in a mock battle." My eyes widened slightly in shock, "From now on you have gained the ability to check your status on the Status Menu. Just like in Aincrad. I'll talk to you again later, Merrily as always, Vertigo." [Close]
After pressing the [Close] button, I raised my left pointer and middle fingers, and then lowered them, finding 5 options.
[Profile]
[Status]
[Status Change]
[Inventory]
[Log Out]
A sense of dread filling my body, I pressed the Log Out button.
A sense of relief, and equally so, hatred, spread through my body as I saw what appeared.
"Are you sure that you would like to commit Seppuku?" [I- I'm sure] [No way!]
I hastily pressed the second option.
Then something else appeared. It was glitchy, but I could make it out, if only barely.
"This is not a game Kirigaya-kun."
I knew it was from either Kikuoka or Higa.
An intense feeling of pain then spread through my mind, and the message disappeared. I then pressed Inventory and found that it listed what was on me, and was not some sort of dimensional storage area.
I then checked Status.
[Author's Note: Note is part of the Status Screen]
Note: Titles are not empty, they grant special powers or skills
Note: 10 is the score of an average human male, except for level which would be 3, and Mana which varies, though only 30% of the human population is capable of magic, meaning only 30% of humans have any mana. The average MP of an adult mage is 10.
Name: [? Kazuto]
Age: [?]
Gender: [Male]
Level: 1 [+18]
HP: [6/6]
MP: [1/1]
STR 4
AGI: 7
Status Points: 3 [+2*L]
Nicknames: The Black Swordsman, The Duel Blade Swordsman, Beater, Kirito, #%
Titles: Hero, The Predestined, Conscious Reincarnator, Savior of Worlds, Conquerer of Worlds, Savior of Humanity, God Slayer
Title Skills: [Hero: No limit to amount of skills that can be obtained or mastered.] [The Predestined: No one can analyze / appraise / see your status without a god/devil level item. Without it it'll just appear as 'The Predestined.'] [Conscious Reincarnator: You may check your status at any time you wish.] [Conquerer of Worlds: +5 Strength when conquering something/someplace] [Savior of Humanity: +5 Agility when saving lives or doing something for unselfish reasons] [God Slayer: Double health when fighting God or Devil level enemies]
Skills: [One Handed Sword Skill Aincrad Style: Level 1000 MAX] [Dual Blades: Level 1000 MAX] [Martial Arts Aincrad Style: Level 991 MASTERED] [Blade Throwing: Level 967 MASTERED] [Parry: Level 1000 MAX] [Battle Healing: Level 944 MASTERED] [Searching: Level 1000 MAX] [Sprint: Level 870 AMAZING LOCKED, Level 50 AVERAGE] [Extended Weight Limit: Level 949 MASTERED LOCKED, Level 50 AVERAGE] [First Aid] [Fishing: Level 643 GREAT] [Hiding: Level 1000 MAX] [Distinguish] [Hypersense] [Appraisal]
Looking over the Status screen, I noticed a few things that bothered me. One, was the ?'s by my name and age. Second was the [+2*L] by my Skill Points. Lastly was the #% as one of my titles.
The first and second of these concerns were answered when I pressed Status Change.
Name: [? Kazuto] [Kirigaya] or [Kudou] [Explain]
Age: [?] [24] or [5] [Explain]
Gender: [Male] [Change Apperance] [Explain]
Level: 1 [+18] [Level up]
HP: [6/6]
MP: [1/1]
STR 4
AGI: 7
Status Points: 3 [+2*L]
Skills: [Sprint: Unlock at age 12] [Extended Weight Limit: Unlock at age 13]
I pressed the first then second [Explain].
Name: [Explain] - Members of a party, God level, Devil level, high enough appraisals, will see this as your name.
Age: [Explain] - Your age will be set to this (physically, there will be no effect to the mind), and this will be what others who can see your age see as your age.
After reading these, I pressed [Kirigaya], and with only a few seconds of hesitation, [5].
I then pressed Level Up, and found that my HP increased by 24, and my MP by 9.
Status Points: 3 changed to Status Points: 39, making me realized that [+2*L] meant that each level I rose I would get another two status points.
Having 39 status points, I put 25 into AGI and 14 into STR.
Out of curiosity, I pressed the [Explain] after [Change Appearance] and it read, 'This allows you to change everything about your appearance, including gender, ethnicity, and age, but it only works once.'
I then tapped the final [Explain] at the bottom of the menu.
Skills [Explain]: Until you reach this age, you are locked from getting past level 50 in this skill. This is due to the fact that it is less of a skill than a physical attribute.
My status screen now looked something like…
Name: [Kirigaya Kazuto]
Age: [5]
Gender: [Male] [Change Apperance]
Level: 19
HP: [30/30]
MP: [10/10]
STR 18
AGI: 22
Status Points: 0
Skills: [Sprint: Unlock at age 12] [Extended Weight Limit: Unlock at age 13]
I was now nearly twice as strong as an average adult, over twice as agile, three times as durable, capable of as much magic as an average mage, and I had many special skills. At the age of 5.
2 Years later… Kazuto is 7, Sugu is 6
"Wrong, wrong, that's not how you do it!" I scolded her, trying to teach her Aincrad style, but it wasn't working.
"But Onii-san, I'm trying." She pouted, looking up at me with tearing eyes. She was too cute at this age for me to be strict with.
I sighed, "I can teach you a trick, but… you're not allowed to use it in public. I may have invented it, but I'm not sure."
Looking up at me with admiring eyes, she looked happy, awed, and amazed. Like I was some amazing person who could never be topped in her eyes.
I then privately walked her through it, and when I was done, I appraised her, and was happy to find that she was now level 5 at Aincrad Sword Style.
"Now, Sugu, when in private you should go through the Sword Skills as I call them, until you can do it on your own without the Sword Skills, then when you can do that, only practice with the skills themselves every once in awhile, and focus more on mimicking the Sword Skills without activating them. Although Sword Skills are stronger and faster than normal attacks, they also have a delay after the attacks end, and some attacks can't be done using sword skills. Besides, Sword Skills are much more predictable than regular attacks once they're understood. In short, it's best to use a combination of each when in actual combat."
Sugu nodded, looking pumped, "Yes Onii-san!"
3 years later, Kazuto is now 10...
"K-Kazuto-kun, you're not really my son… you're my nephew." My mother admitted to me one day.
Pondering what I should say, I decided to pretend not to know, despite how it hurt her to say it.
"Really?" I asked. I know that's not what a normal person my supposed age would say, but it was the best I could say.
Looking a bit shocked by how calm I was, she told me about my parents, and how they died.
I did my best to seem down for a while, but I quickly recovered, which shocked my mother more than a little.
4 years later, Kazuto is now 14
Aincrad, the floating castle. In my old world it was made by the genius programmer Akihiko Kayaba, but in this world, the world I have come to live in, Erebus, it was made by last Hero, Heathcliffe.
I seethed at the very thought of what this 'Hero' was planning.
When I heard the name 'Heathcliffe' I immediately left for the nearest city to learn about recent news, and found an announcement.
[Anouncement]
The Legendary Hero Heathcliffe has opened a magical training ground where safety is guaranteed! Rather than dying, when someone 'dies' they are teleported with none of their stuff to the room of Reincarnation! People can [Level Up] and the only downside is that while you CAN lose equipment there, you can't bring the equipment gotten there out, and if you do 'die' you lose several levels.
Sign up now to join the 2500 Trialers that get a sneak peek at what awaits!
Trial starts this June
Trials end at the end of July
Opens in August
Trialers will be signed up for the finished training ground automatically unless requested otherwise.
Level cap for signing up is [25]
(Check with guild if you're not sure)
For those who wish to become strong.
For the trash of society who you no longer want.
For any who wish to face peril beyond anything else.
I saw below there was a signup sheet, and without even thinking, I sign up.
Later…
"You did WHAT?" My mom shouted at me, nearly hysterical.
"Don't worry about it! It's not like I can die while I'm there, and my strength is above average anyways!" I bluffed, "And afterwards I found more information, and apparently they have you go by a title while you're there, and give you illusionary bodies if requested, so no one will begrudge me and come after me in the real world."
Mom grudgingly let me go, but Suguha, my thirteen year old sister, came to me and pleaded, "Oniichan! Take me with you!"
"I'm sorry Sugu, but you still need to train. I'm sure you'll be able to come next year." I lied to her. It hurt, but I knew this was the only way to keep her safe.
Sugu, who looked like I just hit her in the gut, hit me, and then ran away.
Yeah, I definitely felt bad.
But, despite of this, I packed what I could, my sword, some money, some food, and a sleeping bag. I also took along a large back that was completely empty, and attached my sleeping bag to the top. Hopefully I'd get something to fill it up with eventually.
After taking this, I left for the Flying Training Ground of Aincrad.
I'd been accepted as one of the Trialers as soon as I gave the sign up sheet to the guild and touched a crystal. I assumed it either found my large mana supply, or the fact that I was labeled the 'Predestined' when they tried to appraise me.
A month later, the Trial of the Flying Training Ground of Aincrad...
Before continuing into the castle, I checked my status, now at level 23.
Name: [Kirigaya Kazuto]
Age: [14]
Gender: [Male] [Change Apperance]
Level: 23
HP: [63/63]
MP: [27/27]
STR 20
AGI: 28
Status Points: 0
Nicknames: The Black Swordsman, The Duel Blade Swordsman, Beater, Kirito, #%
Titles: Hero, The Predestined, Conscious Reincarnator, Savior of Worlds, Conquerer of Worlds, Savior of Humanity, God Slayer
Title Skills: [Hero: No limit to amount of skills that can be obtained or mastered.] [The Predestined: No one can analyze / appraise / see your status without a god/devil level item. Without it it'll just appear as 'The Predestined.'] [Conscious Reincarnator: You may check your status at any time you wish.] [Conquerer of Worlds: +5 Strength when conquering something/someplace] [Savior of Humanity: +5 Agility when saving lives or doing something for unselfish reasons] [God Slayer: Double health when fighting God or Devil level enemies]
Skills: [One Handed Sword Skill Aincrad Style: Level 1000 MAX] [Dual Blades: Level 1000 MAX] [Martial Arts Aincrad Style: Level 1000 MAX] [Blade Throwing: Level 993 MASTERED] [Parry: Level 1000 MAX] [Battle Healing: Level 947 MASTERED] [Searching: Level 1000 MAX] [Sprint: Level 875 AMAZING] [Extended Weight Limit: Level 949 MASTERED] [First Aid] [Fishing: Level 713 GREAT] [Hiding: Level 1000 MAX] [Distinguish] [Hypersense] [Appraisal]
I noticed something when I took a single step in. This is when I knew that this was going to be just like the last world.
STR: 20 (+5) [Conqueror of Worlds] 25
AGI: 28 (+5) [Savior of Humanity] 33
I'd experimented with Savior of Humanity a bit, and I found that 'benevolent reasons' according to it means that the benevolent reasons need to be correct. If I did something because I thought a bully beat up a kid, but that wasn't what happened, I wouldn't get the +5 AGI, just the +5 STR from conquering something.
As I walked in, still looking at my status, I noticed a person walk up to me. No, rather than a person, some sort of puppet.
"Hello, what would you like your title to be while you're here. A single word please."
"... Put it down as Kirito. K… i… r… i… t… o..."
"Alright, that's good. And would you like to change your appearance?" He continued.
"No need," "By the time I'm out of here I'll be strong enough to defeat anyone who goes after me or anyone close to me."
"Alright, alright. And here is an item that allows you to check your status whenever, an item to allow you to teleport to the exit, and an item that allows you to store an infinite amount of items in a void space as long as you have the carrying capacity." The puppet continued.
I snatched them out of his… paws… and asked, "Anything else?"
"Well! Hero Heathcliff has created a way to allow people with no training to use a sword properly! He calls it, Sword Arts."
"Sword… arts?" I asked, "Could they be anything like Sword Skills?" "In the Underworld they were the same thing…"
"Sword Skills? Do you mean skills with a sword?" The puppet asked.
"Ahh, nothing. Just an invention of mine." I waved him off.
"Well, if you want a lesson or a guide go to the town square. They're both found there."
"Thanks Puppet-san."
"Always a pleasure!" And when it sounded like he was about to stay silent, he added, "But beware, although there is no death in here, there is still pain."
"Physical pain is bearable, the pain to the heart is not."
"That will be found here as well." The puppet whispered solemnly, it was obviously not intended to be heard by me, but thanks to my Searching skill, I was able to hear it.
Searching's purpose was to detect those who are hiding. The only way to do that was to detect them with a sense. Since taste would be idiotic, that leaves only eyesight, hearing, smelling, and touch. Since it wouldn't be a very useful skill if to use it you needed to wander into them by accident, smelling, hearing, and eyesight are all increased by the skill.
Town Square, Town of Beginnings...
As I entered the town square, I saw people doing Aincrad style sword skills, or I supposed, Sword Arts. The spectators were looking at it amazed. A Sword Style that was stronger and faster than any other, though that was thanks to it being a Sword Art rather than an ordinary sword style.
"Interesting isn't it?" A voice that I recognized, though noticeably less nasally at the end, commented beside me.
"Ar- choo!" I covered up me saying her name with a forced sneeze, which she thankfully bought, "Ahh, yes, it is fairly interesting. Though nothing new."
"N-nothing new? You've seen this before?" The girl, although looking to be at most his age, was actually likely a year or two older. Although faint, it could be heard in her voice that she was pretending to be younger than she really was. Likely so people would underestimate her.
"Yes Onee-san," I smirked at this, noticing her twitch slightly when I said this, "It looks like I wasn't the only person to come up with the brilliant idea of Sword Skills, though the naming is different. Heh, even the style looks near-identical to my own."
Seeing her look of disbelief, I said, "I can show you if you'd like. Heck, I could even teach you."
Looking curious, she grudgingly agreed to follow me until we were in the wilderness, where, slightly twisting the blade in my hand, I dragged my shoulder back slightly, and then noticing the sword skill activating, I leapt forward, and Vorpal Strike was activate.
The beast I striked, a wolf, blew up, when my blade entered its body at such velocity that the the skin could not handle the vibrating of guts and organs inside the body, and it exploded everywhere.
"A-amazing. W-what was that, that was not shown…" The girl muttered to herself.
"Vorpal Strike, a skill proficiency or skill level of 950 is required to use this attack. Mine is maxed out by the way. Maxed out 1000."
Why was I bragging to this girl?
She was the one previously known as the Rat.
If she was the Rat, of all people, why would I tell her.
I needed my skill to be known.
Why?
I was the hero.
Why did I want people to know that?
I always wondered, what if rather than a Scapegoat, I became the hope of Aincrad.
That's what I wish to do here.
Of course, this could backfire, and people may think I was a colleague of the one who trapped them, but if I could find a way to show them that I was the hero, then it was only a matter of time before the people put their hope in me.
"So, Mister Max, what would your name be, hmm?" The rat asked.
"Title." I corrected her, "And I think it is polite to give yours first."
"My title is Argo."
"I'm Kirito, nice to meet you." I smirked, and then walked away, raising my hand in goodbye as I left.
"I really hope I don't regret this, I'm practically showing my cards to the enemy. I already know most of their cards, and now I might as well be putting it on an equal playing field!"
Next Chapter…
Aincrad