There was once a man whom was known as Kayaba Akihiko. His dreams was one of a world of his creation, of a place where a floating castle exist, and where monsters and humans alike live in strife. He was not an evil man, but he was not a good one either. Ignoring about the moralities of life. Ignoring the wishes of others, he would sacrifice many, even his own life to achieve the dream.

There was a boy whom was known as Keima Katsuragi. His dreams was one where he could play games the entire year, of a place where he could be alone, silently basking in his fame as the world recognized him as the God of Conquest. No girl character would escape his grasp, no buggy game would stop him from reading their stories. Ignoring the normality of reality, ignoring the social norm, he has already sacrificed the concept of being accepted and would even risk his life for his games. In many ways, he was living his dream, but there were…. complications in his life that he felt unsatisfied by.

In a normal world, these two wouldn't be connected. In a normal story, these two are apart. Keima, for as far gone as he was, was not someone whom would willingly ignore a girl whom is in distress. Kayaba was perfectly fine with letting them die.

So, why did I write all of this down?

Ah, dear readers. I do so for a story. A tale of a man, through the world of virtual reality.

..

"Kami sama…." Elsie whined, stepping past the unlocked door as she entered into Keima's room. She blinked in surprise as she saw him not playing his games, but instead seem to be preparing a mental drip?

"Erm… Kami sama… What are you doing?" She asked.

He turned to her, and the light from the open door reflected off his glasses as he pushed them up.

"ELSIE. I have heard the news. My god of conquest sense is calling. I have found… The closest Ideal!"

He rushed to the side, and would roll a metal box near the bed. It looked like a desktop computer, only…. It looked to be ten times bigger.

"Ah, a new game console?" she asked, though she wondered how he even managed to place the thing in his room. It was bigger than the door opening!

"ELSIE. The heroines of the game are calling to me." He replied with a giant smile on his face. He scrambled to attach wires from the machine, to this oddly shaped and bulky headset that he would place on his head.

"This medical bag is full of vitamins to keep me alive. I will be gone for five days." He continued, taking the medical drip and stabbing it into his own arm. "During this time. I will not be able to reply to speak to you. If you need help, ask for Tenri."

"GAME ON!"
Keima fell unconscious on the bed, and Elsie would wince as she saw the six mounted screens lighting up, showcasing the game that Keima would be playing.

"Kami- nii sama!" Elsie whined, moving and shaking Keima's body soon after. He still had that silly grin, and no matter how hard she shook, he did not wake. "Mou… If you are going to be that way… Fine!" With a cute pout, she would turn around and leave his room.

Little did she know that her beloved brother would soon be joining a death game.

..

"Sword art Online."

Keima could hardly believe it. He had never even heard of the name of the game before. Technology that exist that allowed players to not just play, but enter the world? His hands had shivered when he heard the news.

'It can't be.' He had initially thought to himself. The news came from an anonymous email, whom had left an email link to the game description, as well as even a website where he could buy hardware for the game.

To his extreme surprise, the game was searching for beta hunters. "We seek out a lucky player whom have the technical skills to join in playing the game. Do you seek to challenge the toughest bosses! Will you find the seven heroines of the heart to be saved (*1). Your progress will not be deleted! Apply now and join us today!"

He had sent in an email, scoffing at the idea even as he did. He had sent in an email to the website. 'The god of conquest wishes an audience into this world.'

And here he was. A giant computer, a wide smile, something called a neavegear on his head. Yet he didn't feel any of that.

Standing alone in a field of green grass, he felt the steady firm of the sword on his right hand. He breathed the fresh air of grass, and beheld the view of the bulls in front of him.

He was awed. He was floored. He laughed manically to himself, a grin appearing on his face as it died off. "Now… time to level up, and meet the first heroine!"

The sounds of shattering glass resounded across the field as Keima easily dispatched the level one mob. His sword kept a steady blue glow as he dashed from one to another, ranking up exp and gold.

…

It was disturbing to suddenly be fighting mobs in one moment and then to hear a chiming sound in the middle of nowhere. He dispatched the last mob with Linear and took a look around him. Magical trails of floating circles appeared from his feet and his sight blurred. The net sight he saw was the starting town illuminated by the setting sun.

Ah? This must be a forced teleport, initiated by the GM. He was standing on a large road that was paved in stone. Medieval streets surrounded by street lamps lighted up, brightening up the town and giving it a homely appearance.

He wasn't alone, and he could see more players being teleported onto the same street as he was on. Keima scoffed silently to himself, moving to sit on a chair to make himself more comfortable. Look at them, these characters… They were all beautiful with differently colored hair. Of course, their real life counterparts are more often than not different from the characters that they play. And half of the girls here are assuredly played by males.

Though… with how immersive this game is, Keima wasn't certain about that last point. He idly wondered if a male would willingly freak out upon finding extra weight on his chest, and the loss of a very important part of himself.

Hmm… He should withdraw that thought. Still, he will never understand these online players. Keima was only here to save these heroine in the game. These NPCs whom he knew were fully female, and were waiting out there to save him.

If he didn't, how else could they call him the god of conquest?

He ignored the mutterings of the crowd, silently noting that they were being angry at this occasion? They can't log out? Why… of course he could… Could he? Opening the menu and scanning through it, Keima would flinch as he noticed the missing 'log out' button.

"It's useless, you know." A female voice spoke to him to his right. Keima turned, blinking at a young girl whom looked to be aged 18. Her long blue hair ruffled as she opened up her own menu. "Tsukihime12", her name was.

"What do you mean?" he replied.

"I've played in the close beta. It's annoying that my progress was wiped, but I didn't even manage to save my username! Someone stole it from me." She pouted adoringly. "Keima… Is that your real name? Silly, to be using your real name online. It's quite plain and we're in this world of fantasy, you know?"

"

He scoffed in return. "This is the ideal." He spoke. "I'm not like you. I'm proud of myself, for I live in the ideal. Why would I not use my name? I am the god of conquest. There is no need for me to hide myself. Besides, it's a sign of respect. When you speak to a heroine, you always give your honest self to them."

"Heroine? Who may they be? Are you speaking about myself?" She asked in amusement.

"Don't joke with me. I speak about the heroines, the ideal! Those girls whom are waiting out here in the game, waiting for us to save them." A devil's grin was on his face as he turned to her, and she shivered to herself. "From 2d, to 3d, to virtual reality, the heroines of the ideal are supreme!"

Tsukihime12 looked stunned, and her face would narrow in anger, but before she could retort back the bottom of the second floor, that was perhaps a few hundred meters above all the players were suddenly checkered in red.

Looking closer, one would notice the red checkered pattern had words of 'warning' and 'system announcement' in them.

'Ah, a GM announcement' Keima thought to himself. 'Let's get this annoyance out of the way.'

From the middle of the system pattern, a blood red liquid oozed down. It didn't fall straight down, instead, the liquid seemed to be falling into the shape of a giant humanoid, with a hooden robe draped around it. It's face was inky darkness.

"Players, I welcome you all to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world."

This was the man whom contacted Keima, and he silently thanked the man in his heart.

"I think that most of you have discovered the fact that the Log Out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug. It is all a part of Sword Art Online's system. Until you get to the top of this castle, you cannot log out of your own free will."

The GM paused, and murmurings could be heard within the crowd.

(Author note: Kayaba speech copied from SAO, read to better understand the world of sword art online)

"...also, the disruption or dismantling of the Nerve Gear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted, the signal sensors in your Nerve Gear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions.

To be a little more specific, disconnection from an outside source of electricity for ten minutes, being cut off from the system for more than two hours, or any attempt to: unlock, dismantle, or destroy the Nerve Gear. If any of these conditions are met, the brain destruction sequence will start. These conditions have been made known to the government and the public through mass-media in the outside world. On that note, there have been several cases where the relatives or friends have ignored the warnings and tried to forcefully remove the Nerve Gear. The result, regretfully 213 players have already exited this game, and the real world, forever.

Players, there is no need to worry about the bodies you left on the other side. As of this moment, all TV, radio, and Internet media are repeatedly reporting this situation; including the fact that there have been numerous deaths. The danger of having your Nerve Gear taken off has already all but disappeared. In a moment, using the two hours I have provided, all of you will be transported to hospitals or similar institutes and be given the best treatment. So you can relax and concentrate on beating the game.

But I ask of you all to understand that «Sword Art Online» is no longer a simple game. It is a second reality... From now on, any form of revival in the game will no longer work. The moment your HP reaches 0, your avatar will be gone forever. And at the same time... ...your brain will be destroyed by the Nerve Gear.

Players, there is only one way to be freed from this game. As I have said before, you must get to the top of Aincrad, the one hundredth floor, and defeat the final boss that resides there. All players still alive at that time will be immediately logged out of the game. I give you all my word.

Also I will show you evidence that this is the only reality. In your inventories, there will be a gift from me. Please confirm this.

You will all most probably be wondering, "Why." Why am I —the creator of both the Nerve Gear and SAO, Kayaba Akihiko— doing something like this? Is this a sort of terrorist attack? Is he doing this to ransom us?

These are not the reasons why I am doing this. Not only that, but for me, there is no longer a reason or a purpose in doing this. The reason is because... this situation itself was my purpose in doing this. To create and watch this world is the only reason I have created the Nerve Gear and SAO. And now, everything has been realized.

...Now, I have finished the official tutorial for «Sword Art Online». Players—I wish you luck."

Keima was quite put off about the entire situation. He seemed to have gotten himself into another terrible mess. So many bad situations had happened to him, that he felt that he was almost used to the entire situation of death and the like. In his inventory, a flashing item prompted him to use it. Hand Mirror The gift from Kayaba that turns your character avatar into how you actually look in real life. He scoffed to himself as he looked about, hearing the complains of the many players whom were mourning or being angry at this death game.

'Should I use this?' Keima thought to himself, but he shook his head, closing his inventory. 'There's no need to. I made my avatar exactly how I look like.'

He looked to the side, at Tsukihime12. A young girl had taken her place, with very short and unruly kept black hair. Her facial features were hidden, as she was crying into her knees, curled up on the bench.

He hesitated for a bit upon seeing her state, sighing to himself as he stood and left the starting town. He never liked the crowds.

'This death game… I have to win it within five days or else I'm dead. What a mess.'

There's no time to wait. He can sleep when he feels like sleeping. In front of him, he could see a black clad teenager rushing out of the games, probably having the same idea as he did.

Heading off alone, the God of Conquest would have no idea on the amazing adventure that he is in.