Hi friends, I started watching SAO recently and rereading Bleach so that spurred some interesting ideas. I've noticed that there weren't very many SAO and Bleach fanfics so hopefully this on is adequate. Don't worry though, I'm still working on my Inu-Naru fic! Happy hump day though :)

Chapter 1: Beating Beta

After calibrating her five senses Karin was taken to the character editor. She altered her beta avatar slightly from what she looked like in real life. She stood a few inches taller with a long jet black braid scrawling down her back with bangs playing over her forehead and framing her face. Karin left her eye color, facial shape, and other features as a replica of her real body. Her starting outfit consisted of a plain white shirt with long tan pants and black boots.

After finishing all the settings she finally got to the exciting part. The actual game.

The virtual world appeared vibrant. The graphics were so detailed, it was almost better than the real world. Every aspect was perfect, down to the last pixel. The weather was beautiful, a great day to start the game. Even the leaves shook in the light zephyr of the Aincrad afternoon.

Karin spawned in the Town of Beginnings with other beta testers all gathered in the center courtyard chattering about the first day of beta. After a few announcements from the GM, she sauntered over to one of the NPCs to purchase a sword and armor with the starting funds every player recieved.

Looking through the merchants weapons, she found a two handed long sword for about 500 col, leaving the other half of her funds for armor. The sword looked like a typical steel colored sword with a red hilt. With her remaining money, Karin bought basic armor that wouldn't hinder her attack speed but still gave sufficient protection. Using the swipe down menu, she equipped her armor and secured her sword on her back.

At the end of week one, Karin ranked in at the 14th best solo player out of the 1000 beta testers. After school she would whip through her schoolwork then enter the virtual world directly after. SAO was all she could think about. Ichigo scolded her for staying in her room all the time, but he was thankful that she didn't meddle in the dangerous shinigami business anymore. Her dedication brought her closer the top of the leader boards each day and kept her on the front lines.

Despite being a solo player she would regularly map dungeons and share findings in hope of reaching higher levels before the beta ended. Karin's shinigami skills came in handy when she would duel other players for col or fight bosses. She usually could last hit them, allowing her to reap the benefits, rare items, bonus col, or boosted stats.

"Link start." After slight tunnel vision, which she was accustomed to, Karin spawned in the Town of Beginnings, then teleported to Friben, the 8th floor village. The town was desolate considering the clearers only beat the 7th boss before she logged off for dinner. Karin prepared her weapons before entering the field, then met up with some of the other top solos.

Their unorganized group of solo players were mapping out the 8th floor dungeon, in search of the boss room. Most of the time they started from the same entrance and met back at the same time, but split up. Karin decided to branch off from the main group. She battled some low level monsters as she delved deeper into the dungeon. At the end of the viridian forest Karin spotted the boss room. The doors stood, large and forbidding. She walked closer to trigger the doors, but didn't enter. After peeking around, Karin sent a message to a few of the other solo players that she friended early in game. Kirito, Diavel, and Coper. They rendezvoused in front of the boss room at Karin's location to investigate the area.

"Should we go for it? Just the three of us?" Coper sheathed his blade.

"No, I highly doubt anyone will find it, considering we just cleared the 7th floor a few hours earlier. We can upgrade our weapons from the money and train around the boss room for a few days."

"I'd have to agree with Kirito. That way we make sure no one clears it so we get the rewards."

"Alright. Karin you're a damn good scout. You should be an info broker when the real game comes out."

"Oh, shut up. Argo's cool and all, but I'd rather be fighting shit than sitting around selling information."

Karin got up from the log she was sitting on and pulled out her sword. "There were quite a few drop sites here."

"I got a ton of col for a new sword." Coper took his out too, examining the simple metal.

"It sucks that the beta's ending soon." Kirito sighed, keeping his sword sheathed.

"How about we team up for the last day and run around floor 9?"

"Sweet, see you guys tomorrow!" Karin waved and clicked the log out button.