Chapter 1: Not Your Average Video Game
Author's Notes Part 1: Well guys, I decided to start this around the same time as my other story that has SAO elements in it, but, no telling how long this one is actually gonna take to get out with all the other stories that I have out right now. But, hopefully soon right? Anyways, I know that there are a lot of these kinds of SAO stories out there, but I'm going to make mine slightly different. And by that, I mean that I'm going to do the same as my HTTYD series. If you've read any of that, then you know what I mean from what I've written in the Author's Notes in the story. If not, then I'll tell you what I'm talking about at the end of this chapter. (Update: Author's Note started at that point, actual story started in February 2015… Yeah, three months later is bad even for my schedule…)
Also, because my character is in the story, he will make more changes than just standing there and giving his input for conversations. But, you guys will see that later in the story.
But, I'm guessing that you guys just want to get to reading, right? Well then, here's the first chapter!
3rd Person POV:
"Come on… Come on…" A teenager, roughly 17 years old, mutters to himself as he stares at the clock which shows that the time is currently 12:58. The teenager looks like most others, nothing that would draw attention to him. He has Caucasian skin, a white T-shirt, light blue jeans, black shoes, black hair, and cobalt eyes. No scars to draw looks, no glasses that would make someone look at him because of the sun's reflection off the glass, nothing that might make him stand out even slightly in the crowd. He was just another face that you would pass by without a glance. "One more minute… Just one more…" He mutters as the clock changes to 12:59, one minute away from 1:00.
The cause of his mutterings can be seen on his bedside table, on which lays a helmet. However, contrary to most other helmets, this one does not protect his head. Instead, it allows the teen to experience Virtual Reality. Or, more specifically, the VR game Sword Art Online, or SAO to most. The teen had just spent the last hour reading through the manual for the headgear, as well as what little insight the book gave on the game itself, along with its developers. Now, as the clock is still a few seconds away from noon, the teen slips the headgear, the real name of which was actually the Nerve Gear, onto his head as he lies straight on his bed, and stares through the visor, which slightly tinted his surrounding room, with a small clock in the corner. Then, the time changes to 1:00, and the teen gives a small smile.
"Link… Start!" He exclaims, and the tinted visor is immediately replaced with the solid color of white, before that too changes. Suddenly, pillars of all different colors fly by his vision, and then panels come up with the five senses, checking to see that everything is working. When everything is "OK", the panels turn green, and then fly off the screen. Afterwards, a language tab comes up, and the teen choses the only available language. Japanese. After that's chosen, the teen logs in with his account name and password, the name showing up a second later.
Segador
He confirms his account, and the screen changes to white once again, before five words appear in large, black letters. "Welcome to Sword Art Online!" Music starts to play, and the words are replaced with what appears to be a tunnel of electricity that the teen goes flying through. When he reaches the other side, blue pixels fly into the air before he looks around. He looks at the ground to see his hands, finding them covered in the familiar black, fingerless gloves, before he clenches them into a fist. He smirks at this, and looks up around at the people logging in.
"It's good to be home." He says, the smirk changing into a smile as cheers can be heard all around from the players as they either re-enter the game, or enter for the first time… None of them knowing how much they would wish to just get out within a few short hours…
Segador POV:
I begin walking away from the plaza at a relaxed pace, swiping my right hand down to check my menu, and seeing that the log out button is greyed out. Huh, that's weird… Ah well, it's the first day. There are sure to be some bugs present. I think to myself with a shrug, before looking over my current gear. The amount of Col I'd gotten as a Beta Tester had been cut in half, though I guess that's only fair. Doesn't stop me from being a bit upset. After all, I spent a lot of good time grinding mobs for that Col. But, no use crying over spilt milk. I move on to my gear, and see a few key things that are different.
For one thing, I had standard beginner gear for the outfit I want. I had a regular long sleeved, grey shirt, long black pants, black boots, and a regular black cloak. I throw the cloak over my head, slightly pouting at the gear that I'd lost from being a Beta Tester. Then, I move onto my skills and let out an almost audible groan. I'd lost a lot of my skills, only a few key ones being upgraded such as the ones that allowed me to be undetected, as well as the ones that helped me sense others in my vicinity. However, my weapon stats had all been degraded to the first level… Meaning that I would have to regain my weaponry, and start at the very beginning like everyone else. So, I reach behind my back, and hold out the black wooden staff that I'd been given to work with.
"Oh well… Guess it's time to grind some mobs then." I mutter with a small smile, easily getting over my loss of advantages, and starting towards a good grinding spot in the fields surrounding the main city. When I get there, I see a familiar face holding a boar at bay, while a red haired player stands by with a large knife in his hand. I smirk slightly, walking over towards them and leaning against a tree to watch. I see as Kirito turns the boar towards the player, who then activates a sword skill and rushes forwards with a yell, successfully cutting the boar across the middle, before it explodes into millions of blue pixels. When this happens, the player starts to yell out of joy, before Kirito walks over towards him.
"Congratulations." He says, giving the player a high-five, and then slings his sword over his back. "That was nice, but that boar was about as weak as slimes in other games are." He says, making me smile at his slight reference to Terraria and Minecraft. The other player seems shocked at this new knowledge.
"Holy crap you've got to be kidding. I thought that thing was a mid-level boss." He says, making me smirk and walk towards them.
"Not even close." I say, making the two turn to look at me in surprise as I lower my hood and give a smirk. "Those things aren't even close to anything of that caliber. Hey Kirito." I greet my friend with a high-five, before turning to the other player. "Hey, nice to meet you. The name's Segador." I say, holding out a hand. He takes it and gives me a handshake.
"Klein." He says, myself nodding in response before turning to look back at Kirito.
"I see you're back to a staff." He says with a smirk, to which I frown and pull out the staff in question.
"Yeah, but I'll get back to my weapon of choice in no time." I reply with a smirk as I place it on my back once again, before the sound of a sword skill activating goes off, and me and Kirito turn to see Klein staring at his knife with amazed facial expression.
"Addictive, isn't it?" Kirito asks him with a small smile.
"I'll say." Klein responds, to which I scoff slightly, bringing the two's attentions to me. "Huh? What's so funny?" Klein asks in confusion, making me turn my attention to him.
"Nothing. It's just the fact that everyone who's in this game is extremely dependent on sword skills no matter what. That means that it's an easy weakness to exploit." I tell him, before bringing out my staff. "Therefore, when I first got the game as a Beta Tester, I went to work at my… house, actively practicing using my weapon of choice. That way, I would be able to actually use my weapon, without depending on the sword skills. See, the game may think that you'll always hit if you activate a sword skill at the right time, but it doesn't stop to think about the one thing that's never predictable." I tell him, before turning on my heel, and ending with my staff an inch away from his nose, making him fall on his ass. "The unpredictability of humans." I say, spinning my staff in my hand before sliding it onto my back, and helping Klein up from the floor.
"Y-yeah, I guess so." Klein agrees, before stepping back and pulling out his knife again. He looks at it for a minute, before he starts to stab with it once again. "But these skills. There's a ton of them like blacksmithing and stuff, right?" He asks, stabbing with the knife while he asks the last word.
"Uh-huh, I heard the game has an unlimited number of them. All except for magic though." Kirito says, myself nodding as I think about how that means that the creator of SAO, Akahiko Kayaba, was constantly creating and implementing new skills into the game. As I think this, Klein readies a sword skill as he rests his knife on his shoulder.
"An RPG without magic… That's a bold decision man!" He exclaims, activating the sword skill and rushing forwards during the last word, before he starts to chuckle, well, more like giggle, with excitement when he pulls it off.
"So, what do you think? It's kinda fun to move your body as you fight isn't it?" Kirito asks. Klein turns around to face us with a smile at this question.
"Aw hells yeah." He agrees, making Kirito smirk as my own grows into a smile.
"You ready to move on?" Kirito asks, getting a nod from Klein.
"Yeah man, let's keep going." He says, getting a laugh from me.
"Ah first timers. Oh so eager." I say with a chuckle, making Kirito give one of his own.
"Hey!" Klein exclaims, making mine and Kirito's chuckles change into full blown laughter as we lean against one another so we don't fall to the ground.
After approximately four and a half hours on SAO, the three of us finish grinding monsters, and rest at one of the cliffs on the first floor. As we rest, Klein decides to speak up. "When I look around I can't believe it. We're inside a game guys." He says in awe. "Whoever made it's a genius." He continues. "This thing's amazing. Makes me glad I was born when I was you know." He tells us.
"It's not that big a deal." Kirito argues, making Klein scoff.
"Cut me some slack, it's my first full dive." He tells us.
"Oh, so you've never used a Nerve Gear before today huh?" I ask him with a small smirk.
"Is this your first time ever?" Kirito asks him.
"Uh-huh. As soon as I got the money together I rushed out and bought all the hardware to play SAO. I was in line to get one of the first 10,000 hardcopies. Guess I was pretty lucky." He says with a small smirk. "Although, you two, were ten times as lucky getting to Beta Test it." He tells us, making me smirk as Kirito looks over at him. "Guys, only a thousand people got the chance." He tells us.
"Yeah, I guess me and Segador were pretty lucky." Kirito agrees, rubbing the back of his head.
"Hey, mind if I ask how far you two got in the Beta?" He asks us, making the two of us share a small smirk before turning to look at him.
"Two months in, and we managed to reach the fourteenth floor." We tell him, making his eyes widen as he looks at us in shock.
"You guys got into double digit floors?!" He exclaims, making me lean on Kirito's shoulder as we continue to smirk at him.
"Hey, we're best buds. Working together made it easier for the two of us. Though, I have a feeling that on our own, we'd have still been stuck in single digits." I tell him.
"Yeah, and even if we didn't reach the fifteenth floor, I feel like now we can make it to the top easily." Kirito agrees with a smile.
"Sounds to me like you two are really into this." Klein says with a small smirk, making Kirito unsheathe his sword.
"Yeah, you could say that. During the Beta Test, SAO was the only thing on my mind, day and night. In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go. And even though it's a virtual world, I feel more alive in here than I ever did in the real world." He admits, before sheathing his sword.
"I've got to agree with Kirito here." I say, gaining Klein's attention. "I mean, in here I can be whoever, or whatever, I want. Whereas in the real world, I'm just as normal as everyone else." I agree, staying away from the real reason that I like SAO better than the real world.
"Yeah…" Kirito agrees. "Anyways, you guys want to go do some more hunting?" He asks us, making me smirk and nod, and Klein lean forwards with excitement on his face.
"Oh you know it! But the thing is…" He trails off, before crossing his hands over his stomach as it emits a growl. "I'm really hungry. I have to log out." He admits, making me erupt into full blown laughter.
"Too bad eating here only satisfies your hunger virtually." Kirito says, making Klein turn to us.
"Yeah, for reals. That's why I ordered a pizza for five-thirty." He tells us, pointing at the two of us with a small smirk on his face.
"Wow, you're so prepared." Kirito says with half-sarcasm, and half-truth. After all, I'm pretty sure that he didn't think of that, and I know for certain that I didn't.
"You know it, and besides, the game can wait until I get my pizza on." He says, and I've got to agree with him slightly. Especially if the pizza is from Pizza Hut, that place serves delicious pizza and cheesy breadsticks… And now I want some.
"I guess." Kirito agrees half-heartedly. And I understand as well, the game that we're standing in is awesome. It's not unlike some players to get stuck in here, before they have to log out to either eat, or go to the bathroom. After all, the cool thing about this game is that you can actually sleep. So as your body rests in the real world, you can also sleep in the game. Though, Klein's invitation to meet up with his friends is slightly surprising, but the two of us politely decline, telling him that we'd rather stay on this game.
"Thanks anyways though man." I thank, but he waves it off.
"No way, I should be doing all the thanking. Hey, one of these days I promise that I'll pay you two back for all your help." He says, giving the two of us a thumbs up. "Virtually that is." He says, getting a small smirk from me. "Thanks for everything you two, I guess I'll see you guys around." He says, shaking hands with the two of us.
"Hey, if there's anything else that you want to know about the game, just message one of us." I tell him as we shake hands.
"Sweet, I'll do that." He tells us, before retracting his hand, giving a small wave, and pulling up the menu. Me and Kirito turn to walk away, but we're halted by Klein's voice. "Huh?" He asks, making us turn around to look at him. "Where'd the log out button go?" He asks.
"It should be there." Kirito says, the two of us turning to look at Klein, who hums in thought.
"Nope, it's not there." He says, making me sigh.
"Great. Don't tell me that they haven't fixed the bug yet." I say, pulling up my own menu and seeing that the log out button was still greyed out. "Damn, it's been like this since I logged on." I say in slight annoyance.
"If that's the case, I bet the server people are freaking out right now." Klein says with a chuckle. However, I look at the time, and let out a small laugh.
"And you should be too. Look at the time!" I exclaim, pointing at my own clock, and bringing Klein's attention to his own. Showing that it's 17:25 in military time. Which means that in "normal" time, it was 5:25. Which also means that it's five minutes till Klein's pizza arrives at his house. Klein lets out a gasp, before grabbing his head.
"Oh my God! My teriyaki mayo pizza and ginger ale!" He exclaims in horror, making me gag slightly at the thought of a pizza like that… Though making it so that I'm in the mood for a soda.
"Why don't you just contact the game master?" Kirito asks, only for Klein to respond that he's not picking up.
"Well, if it's not working for us, then it must not be working for everyone else. Meaning that everyone is trying to get into contact with him." I suggest, getting hums of agreement from the two.
"Do you guys know if there's another way to log out of this thing?" He asks us, making us think, before shaking our heads as Kirito responds.
"No. The only way a player can log out of SAO, they have to do so by logging out of the menu." Kirito tells Klein.
"That can't be right, there has to be some other way out." Klein says. "Return, log out, escape!" He exclaims, trying all different forms of arm movement and even jumping into the air in an attempt to log out of the game. Nothing works, and at that moment, the "sun" is covered by clouds, giving an ominous feeling that I don't like. I hold my staff in my hands, looking around the area as a silence descends on our little group before Kirito speaks up.
"Told you so, and there was no emergency log out in the manual either." Kirito says.
"No way, you're kidding… I know, I'll just rip the Nerve Gear off my head." He says, grunting as he attempts to remove the Nerve Gear in real life, I shake my head at him, while continuing to look around our surroundings.
"Don't bother. Once you're hooked in, you can't move your body in the real world anymore. The Nerve Gear intercepts all the commands in the game, using an interface built right into the rig." He tells Klein, making the red head look at Kirito in shock as I start to walk away from them slightly to look at the surroundings. I find nothing except for a boar, that I quickly take care of. However, I quickly rush over and swing my staff up between Klein's legs when I hear the two arguing about Kirito's sister. He falls to his knees, clenching his groin area in "pain", before he remembers that there is no pain.
"Oh right, getting hit in the balls doesn't hurt." He says, before Kirito speaks up.
"Get serious, don't you think this is weird?" He asks, making Klein look at him.
"Oh yeah, totally. But it's just a bug." He says, before I go off to scout the area once again. I continue to look around, finding a few more boars that I take care of, before wandering back over to the other two, just in time for the sound of bells to go off. We all look around at that, myself and Kirito starting to sweat slightly when we recognize the sound… It's the sound of bells tolling to signify a mass transport, and the blinding light surrounds the three of us as we realize this.
When we arrive at our destination, the three of us look around to find that we're in the main square, as other players continue to get teleported here. I hear muttering amongst the crowd as everyone is confused by what's going on. "Someone forced a teleport." Kirito says, myself putting my staff across my back slowly since we're now in a safe zone.
"Yeah… You think it might have something to do with the log out bug?" I ask him, looking around the crowd.
"I don't know… Probably." Kirito says, before someone in the crowd speaks up, pointing at the "sky".
"Look, up there." He says, drawing our attention to the one message tab flashing in the "sky". And the message that it's flashing, is "Warning".
"Now what?" Kirito asks as I stare at the message with narrowed eyes.
"I'm not sure… But I don't like it." I mutter, just before more tabs join the first, all of them reading either "Warning", or "System announcement". Which only escalates my fear. Soon, the entire "sky" is covered by the tabs, before blood begins to ooze from between the cracks, and gathers together, electricity crackling across the form.
"What the hell is that thing?" Klein asks, just before the blood becomes a figure wrapped in a blood red cloak with the hood up and over its face. As I look up at the figure, I hear mutters across the crowd, asking if the figure was the game master, if we were at an event, and how some people were actually scared of what was happening. Then, he spoke.
"Attention players." He says, gaining everyone's attention as he spreads his arms, the only thing visible outside his cloak being his white gloved hands. "I welcome you, to my world." He tells us, making me and Kirito share a glance as we wonder just what he means by that. "My name Akahiko Kayaba. And as of this moment, I am in control of this world." He tells us, making me and Kirito gasp as we remember how Kayaba was the one to create SAO. Mutterings break out amongst the crowd at Kayaba's announcement, before he silences everyone by speaking again. "I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menu. The log out button." He says, swiping his own large hand down to bring up his own menu. "Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be." He tells us, freezing most people in place.
"He's, kidding… Right?" Klein asks nervously.
"You cannot log yourselves out of SAO. And no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the Nerve Gear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the Nerve Gear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain, and ending your life." He announces, making more fearful mutters break out amongst the crowd as I clench my fists, and get lost in my angered thoughts. I'm only brought out of them when I hear about how 213 players had died because their friends and families had removed their Nerve Gear. But, that only brings me out of my thoughts for a moment, before they come back stronger than before.
This mother fucker is killing people without a care in the fucking world! How the hell could they let anyone this delusional make something like the Nerve Gear?! But, what does that mean for me? I mean, with where I am… And my usual life… Will I even live a week? I ask myself fearfully, now lost in thoughts of fear instead of anger. I mean, I can last a few days without food or water… But what happens after those few days?! Will I just… Die? I ask myself, no longer able to form coherent thought after that thought. I'm only able to refocus on the game when Kayaba announces that he's given us a "present". I subconsciously bring it out, and find a mirror. As I stare into it, nothing happens… At least to me. Everyone else is caught up in blinding blue lights, and when they fade away, everyone in the square looks different. However, I'm not too focused on that, because Kayaba is staring directly at me. And a text box appears in front of me.
"You did not change your appearance from the outside… Interesting." Is what it reads, and it sends chills down my spine as I quickly close the message, whishing that it was possible to delete messages sent by the game master, since that one was just too nerve wracking. Then, he starts to speak to everyone as he turns his attention away from me, making me breathe out a silent breathe of relief.
"Right now, you're probably wondering "why"? Why would Akahiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online, and the Nerve Gear, do this? Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online, was to control the fate of a world of my design. As you can see, I have achieved my goal." He announces as the hood of his robe begins to bend and twist as if he were smiling. "This marks the end of the tutorial, and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck." He says, before his robe and gloves begin to let off red smoke, and flicker out of existence. Then, the "sky" is clear of the red tabs, and the barrier that had apparently been placed around the plaza lifts. Then comes the first scream, which sends everyone else into a panic.
While Kirito grabs Klein, he looks at me. I give him a nod, and we rush out of the plaza, before stopping in an alleyway a few streets away. There, we begin to plan the towns that we'll visit for supplies. However, Klein has to go back for his friends, and we end up having to leave him behind. I don't comment on Kirito's silence while we run towards the next town, myself feeling just as sad that we have to leave Klein behind. We run into a couple wolves on our way, but Kirito easily slices one in half, while I use my staff on the other one to flip it, and then slam it into the ground, before hitting it away behind us. We've got this… We can do this… This world won't beat us… The two of us will survive… Just who the hell do you think we are?!
"Yeaaahhh!" The two of us yell out as we continue on our way, knowing that it was not your average video game anymore… Instead, it's our new lives.
Author's Note Part 2: Wow, approximately three months since I wrote the author's note… That's honestly bad. Even for me. But, I actually managed to get a start on the chapter itself, and now I plan on continuing this along with all my other stories. Granted, all my stories are going to take quite a while to update, but hopefully this one doesn't delay the others too much.
Now, for those of you who haven't read my HTTYD story, and don't know what it is that I was talking about in the first Author's Note, here's a rundown. Basically, I'm not just going to stick to the episodes for plot in this story. Instead, I'm going to take your guys suggestions for other chapters that I can write. And by that, I mean that I want you guys to look at other TV series and animes, and suggest episodes and parts that you think would fit into this story well. I'll look at them myself, and decide if I want them in the story.
You can also look at games and other things, and suggest areas from them that you think would make good floors in Aincrad. Since we're really only shown approximately ten floors, maybe less or more, there are about seventy-five that we don't see. So, I want your guys' suggestions!
For those of you who are looking forwards to the Segador x Lisbeth in this, it should appear slightly in the next chapter or the one after that since I plan on both time skip chapters, as well as my Original Chapters. So, Lisbeth will appear in one of those. Also, for those of you who noticed a slight change in Kirito's character, that's because of him and Segador knowing each other. And for those of you who want to know what Segador's name means… Go put it into Google Translate in Spanish.
But, that's about it for now. Thank you all for taking the time out of your day to read this, and I hope to see you all in the next chapter!