Prologue

-Inside SAO: Floor One-

Kirigaya Kazuto, or rather, Kirito, had just been told not less than thirty minutes ago that this world was no longer a game. This world he had beta-tested and fallen in love with, this world of swords, was no longer just an escape from reality; it was reality. So many feelings coursed through Kirito that he found them hard to count; confusion, rage, doubt, fear, anxiety, stress, nervousness. All of them came together to form a single verdict: survival. He would survive. Kazuto – no – Kirito, would survive this world. That was the decision he had reached.

Kirito was running away from The Town of Beginnings. After spending some time upgrading his sword from an NPC blacksmith shop with the starting money all starting players were provided, he took off. His sword was everything, he had decided. His life was in the hands of that sword, so he would have it be in top-tier condition. Kirito had already mapped out his route; he knew that even though he had a head-start on almost everyone, it wouldn't be long before the players in The Town of Beginnings would move out and start farming the fields in the surrounding area. That was why he needed to get to the next town, and why he was currently running through a large field, away from The Town of Beginnings.

The field was large; stretching in all directions for miles. It was also the greenest thing on the first floor of SAO, and had relatively short grass. All of this was to make the monsters that spawned here easier to spot and fight with their pink and gray colors and their tendency to ambush. The Town of Beginnings in the background seemed just as bright, despite its buildings and walls being gray. Maybe it was just coded to seem bright somehow.

As Kirito ran, he checked the stats of his gear:

Beginning Light Armor – 3 Defense, Infinite Durability

[Upgraded] Beginning Sword (One-Hand) – 4 Attack, Infinite Durability

Kirito beta-tested the game, so he understood what those stats meant to his limits. The sword had 4 attack, but the attack stat meant very little compared to skill. That 4 attack meant that an average sword swing would do 4 damage, but it could do more depending on the length of the strike, the depth of the strike, the place that was struck, and several more variables. That was why the armor naturally seemed powerful, because you would almost never get struck by an average sword swing by a player, and the monsters followed the same rule as swords did when it came to damage dealt.

Kirito equipped his sword and continued to run through the field. In the distance were tall mountains with a path that ran between them; that was Kirito's route. The route would lead him to the next town, and even though the route looked dangerous, Kirito knew it wasn't. A growling caught Kirito's attention. He looked ahead and spotted a Wolf staring right at him, snarling and standing in attack pose.

Kirito activated a sword skill and continued to run towards the Wolf; it was in the way. In the way of his route. In the way of his freedom. In the way of his survival. With a ferocious battle yell, Kirito unleashed his sword skill, Driving Slash. At the same moment, the Wolf leaped. Jumping to the side, Kirito dodged the Wolf while simultaneously connecting his sword with the Wolf's head; that was a 3x damage multiplier. His sword continued to drive through the Wolf's body, applying two more ticks of non-multiplied attack damage to the Wolf. The Wolf, with 25 health, had been over-killed by 15 damage; Driving Slash had doubled the sword's attack.

Kirito knew all of this, and didn't stop running for a moment. He glanced at the amount of Col and experience earned and then clicked 'Accept' on the notification, never slowing his run; he wanted to get to the next town as fast as possible.