Hello. I've always been a fan of the world of SAO. And to me the greatest shame of the anime is that we don't get to see more of that world. So I decided to try my hand at making it come to life.

This story will follow a group of friends who are not the original characters of SAO as they attempt to clear the game with the lead group. I'm going to explore probably a fair few floors and I'll be sticking the plot of the anime and not changing what occurs in terms of major events. I'll try to avoid delving too deeply into game mechanics but I might drop a few MMO terms here and there.

There will be some canonical characters in the story from time to time - Just not being the real focus.

This first chapter is a little slow because I want to introduce three of the main characters. There's some sparse cursing.

Please let me know what you think, constrictive criticism is more than welcome. And if you like this check out my other story based in the world of Ib.

"You better not give up"

"NO!"
I only have time to shout my solitary word of defiance before the blade makes contact.

There is no dramatic last words, no threatening blare of music, no slow motion fall - just a cascade of brightly colored pixels. And like that he is dead.

Like all the others.

November 6th 2022

"Better. But really try to feel the skill. Ease into its activation, don't force it"
I nod my head, trying my best to follow the advice as square myself against the bulls charge.
"Now!"
With the charge mere inches away I spin sideways and the boar, carried forward by its own momentum, slams into the tip of my blade - tearing a jagged line into its body from neck to flank. My eyes widen from shock as it explodes into pixels, bringing with it a small box stating my experience gain and loot.
"Hey! I did it Kaneki!" I say excitedly, appraising the small dagger the boar dropped.
"A little unorthodox" Kaneki replies with his trademark smirk.
"Is this worth anything?" I ask, angling the window for him to see.
"Nah. trash loot" Kaneki replies dismissively with a wave of his hand before aggroing another boar.

Taken a little off-guard I pivot and plant my feet as the boar charges towards me.
Once again I wait until it is within arm's reach before striking - lunging forwards I see my sword glow a dim yellow as I bury it deep into my opponent, destroying it in a one, smooth, strike.
"I'm think I'm getting the hang of this" I say as I stride confidently towards a small group of nearby mobs, "I just have to ease into the skill motion"
"Exactly" Kaneki agrees, grabbing my shoulder and jolting me to a halt mid-stride, "Too bad not everyone is so willing to listen to my advice" he adds, pointing.

Following Kaneki's finger I'm met by a strange sight.

A few dozen yards away Ishida stands frantically lashing out a boar that seems just as perplexed by his completely hap-hazard movements as we are.
"Looks kinda out of place doesn't it" I observe, "Stoic looking knight being bested by a single boar"
"That's probably the problem" Kaneki says seriously.
"Huh?"
"Ishida made his character taller and bulkier than he is in real life. He's not used to the body. It's why I suggested that you try and make your character at least vaguely resemble yourself"
"Advice I heeded" I reply, watching the absurdly handsome adventurer fall backwards as the boar lands a painful looking blow to his nether regions, "How comes you're having no trouble?"
Looking at Kaneki's character, a slim and athletically built man with roguish features, I think to myself how little it resembles the real appearance of my friend.
"It was a little weird at first. But I got used to it after clocking a few hours"
"Oh right" I say, remembering Kaneki's jealousy inducing induction into the closed beta during which time he had basically disappeared off of the face of the planet.
Silence falls for a few seconds as we watch the boar chase the now frantic Ishida in circles.
"So..." I mutter reluctantly, "Should we help him?"
"Hmmm" Kaneki frowns, "I guess..."
Sighing we make our way at a leisurely pace down the hill and towards the ongoing 'epic confrontation of man and beast'.

"Son of a-!"
"Hey you want a hand?" I ask, approaching Ishida with my sword drawn, "I think I kinda get the combat mechanics now"
"I got this!" Ishida shouts defiantly, clumsily vaulting the boars charge and then whiffing the counter-attack spectacularly, "I'm just-Ah! Getting-wow...started!"
"Coulda fooled me..." I mutter under my breath, turning my back on the fight for fear of losing brain cells from watching it further.
"Stubborn to a fault" Kaneki sighs.
"I don't get why he doesn't accept your help. This whole virtual reality thing is completely new to us after all" I frown, trudging back up the gentle slope towards the group of boars I had been heading for before the distraction, "But he won't even listen to the veteran"
"I hardly think getting my ass handed to me for a month straight makes me a veteran!" Kaneki laughs, jogging past me and readying his weapon.
"Still better than us. FIFA hasn't really nailed down the VMMORPG elements like Sword Art Online has" I say, circling a pair of boars and waiting for Kaneki's signal.
"You never know. We're barely an hour in and EA might be holding back their A game for FIFA 2023 - Be Neymar addition" Kaneki jokes, "Go" he adds seriously.

Conversation subsides for a few minutes as the pair of us engage the boars; dancing between their attacks and launching usually fatal counter-attacks of our own as the sun fades over the horizon.
"It's beautiful..." I say, pausing as the latest of my opponents disintegrates to watch the setting sun bathe the rolling glades and hills in a warm orange glow.
"I know right? Hard to imagine we're in a game. The breeze, the warmth…it all feels so real…"
"Kayaba really outdid himself...they'll be talking about this as the start of something great in years to come"
"This is what the NerveGear was made for" Kaneki says with a smile, "Kayaba is a genius"
I nod in agreement before a screech draws our attention.
Whipping my head around I'm greeted by an increasingly familiar sight; Ishida in full retreat with a boar about to plant its horns firmly between his buttocks.
"Is that the same one" Kaneki says, eyes wide.
"World record" I breathe, watching, transfixed by the sight of a grown man in full body armor being bested by a small pig.
"That's it. I'm helping"

Before I can say another word Kaneki takes off, sprinting down the hill at breakneck speed and colliding with the boar.
The unexpected move draws a startled yelp from Ishida who begins to protest before being cut off.

"USE. YOUR DAMN. SWORD SKILLS!" Kaneki shouts, punctuating the words with a several violent looking strikes to the boars flank and shattering it.
"Great. Here we go..." I mutter to myself as I reluctantly make my way back down the hill towards them, the sun seeing behind my back.
"Hey! That was mine!" Ishida complains, his face red with exertion.
"Damn...talk about immersive" I say to myself, surprised by the attention to detail from the developers and unwilling to get in the way of another trademark shouting match between the two.
"It's been yours for the past half hour!" Kaneki replies, equally angry.
"I almost had it!"
"It almost had you!"
Automatically I glance at the health bars in the top left hand side of my vision to see Ishida's bar sitting just above the red ten percent mark.
"How could you possibly know that?!"
"LOOK AT YOUR HP BAR!"
"There's a HP bar?"
I facepalm and make to wheel away from the conversation; only to be dragged into it by the shameless Ishida.
"Back me up here bro!"
"You're both idiots. You for not taking Kaneki's advice and him for thinking you would" I say, surprising them both.
"I'm an idiot because he's a stubborn jackass?!" Kaneki exclaims.
"You totally stole my kill!" Ishida retorts, "You just wanted to loot snipe!"
"IT'S A LEVEL ONE BOAR! WHAT THE HELL IS IT GOING TO DROP?"
Shaking my head I watch as Kaneki wheels around and takes out his anger bringing his sword down on a nearby mob a few times, only to shatter it on the third attempt.

CONGRATULATIONS!

The box appears in front of Kaneki, accompanied by a small ding.
"Congrats, level two" I say, grateful for the distraction.
"Huh. I was so caught up in the combat I forgot to check my XP bar" Kaneki replies, "How close are you?"
Paying a quick glance to my character status screen I find the stat quickly.
"15XP?" I question.
"That's like two boars"
"Cool. I'll take them out quickly then head off for dinner. What about you two?" I ask.
The level up seems to have derailed the argument, at least for the moment, and Ishida runs a hand through his hair nervously, apparently having forgotten about eating as Kaneki replies.
"I ordered a pizza. It'll be here in about fifteen minutes" he says, scrolling through the menus quickly; clearly familiar with the layouts, "I take it you'll eat with your folks?"
"Yeah" I confirm, "How about you Ishida?"
"Uh...I guess I'll have instant noodles…" he groans, staring up at the sky and clearly questioning his choices.
"Ah. A true connoisseur" Kaneki mocks as I engage a nearby boar, taking it out neatly with a few well places strikes of my short sword.

One of the other boars clearly had an attachment to it, as it too charges me.

"Not like I have any other option!" Ishida protests.
He is right. His dad won't be back from work until late and I doubt his older brother is going to come home with finals around the corner.
Almost lazily I dodge the boars charge and counter attack; killing it instantly and earning myself a level up.
"Gratz" Kaneki says as he and Ishida move to my side.
"Anything I need to do with that?" I question, flicking through my status screens to see my increased primary stats.
"Yeah. You get a perk every time you level. Use it to improve one of your skills" Kaneki informs me, angling his own screen so that I see his 'basic one-hand proficiency' alongside his one handed sword skill.
"Hey. Your sword skill is a point higher than mine" I say.
"Levels and skills are independent. It's to stop someone reaching level cap because they maxed out something like cooking"
"Oh" I mutter, closing my own perk screen, "I think I'll save my perk for later. For when I decide what I want to use"
"Fair enough"
"So. We're eating and then what? Meeting back in an hour?" Ishida asks, frowning at his own menu system.
"Sounds like a plan" I say.
"Cool. When we're back maybe I can lead you guys to the Starting City. We can maybe pick up some gear and decide where to go from there?" Kaneki offers.
"Sound good" I confirm.

I look to Ishida to see if he provides some form of agreement but instead I find him staring at his menu screen intently.
"Really? You can't work the menus?" Kaneki scoffs.
I expect some form of angry reply from Ishida, so it surprises me when he responds in a voice full of confusion.
"How do you log out?"
"Are you kidding me…" Kaneki mutters, moving over to Ishida and moving his menu, "It's right at the bottom…right…there…?"
Kanekis voice, too, turns to one of confusion.
"What's up?" I enquire, leaning over to look at Ishida's menu.
"The logout button is grayed out" Kaneki says.
"Huh?"
Intrigued, I open my own menu and scroll to the bottom.

ログアウト

As Kaneki said the button is indeed grayed out.
"Wow. Weird" I say, giving it an experimental tap only to be greeted by a buzzer.
"I'll say…"
"You have anything like this in the beta?" I ask Kaneki.
"No…Argus was meticulous in stomping out bugs…absurdly so. The fact that something this obvious could make it into the launch…"
"Really weird" I repeat.
"Now what?!" Ishida asks, panic creeping into his voice.
"Chill out man. My sister will pull off my headset when dinner is ready" I say, "Want me to head to yours and do the same for you?"
"Yeah" Kaneki says, "Perks of living next door eh?" he adds with a smirk clearly for Ishida's benefit.
"What about me!" Ishida exclaims, clearly concerned that his he won't receive the same treatment, given that his house is across town.
"Once I've eaten I'll grab a bus and do the same for you" I reassure him.
This draws a smile from Ishida; "Thanks man" he says.
"Ok…so…I guess we wait?" I suggest.
"Not much else we can. Who knows, maybe the GM's will hotfix it. After all they're probably having a meltdown right now" Kaneki adds with a laugh.
I smile half-heartedly, thoughts to the inevitable speech I will have to endure about playing games late into the night instead of studying.
"Hey guys?" Ishida says tentatively, breaking my train of thought.
"Yeah?"
"Could you…uh…teach me how to use sword skills…" Ishida asks; eyes downcast.
"Sure!" I say, pleased to hear that he is finally willing to accept some advice.
"Uh…I guess…"
Though unenthusiastic sounding I can tell Kaneki is just as pleased as I am that Ishida is finally willing to listen to some advice.
"Let's get to it" I say, nodding towards a nearby foe.

The next half hour passes by with myself and Kaneki teaching Ishida the mechanics of combat; though certainly not a natural, with uncoordinated movements and lapses of judgement, Ishida does gradually improve under Kaneki's tutelage which, as usual, is excellent. With Ishida actually willing to listen to his advice Kaneki switches to his default calm and cool state, providing some much needed insight into SAO and its unique mechanics. Still, as the minutes continue to trickle by I cannot escape the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that something is distinctly wrong.

"Hey…" I mutter, catching Kaneki's sleeve and motioning for him to follow me.
Though a little confused, Kaneki checks that Ishida is distracted and does indeed shadow me a few paces away and out of earshot of our friend.
"Wassup?" he asks.
"Something is not right here man" I mutter, concern filling my voice, "Have you seen the time?"
"Half seven?" Kaneki says questioningly before realization dawns in his eyes, "Your parents should have pulled you off by now"
"Yeah…even if they gave me a few extra minutes…dinner was half an hour a go…they definitely would have tried by now" I say, "You can remove the NerveGear by force right?"
"Definitely. They had a safety video on it and everything. It's a legal requirement" Kaneki replies confidently.
"Then why…"
I pause and look to Ishida to ensure that he is still distracted, knowing that should he hear our conversation he would most certainly panic. Satisfied that the boar is holding his attention I continue.
"Why haven't I been logged out yet then?"
Kaneki frowns; apparently unable to come up with a satisfactory answer.
"And worse…why hasn't there been an announcement. If this is a server wide issue you'd expect a GM to at least let everyone know what's happening! An issue like this on a huge launch day could really cripple the game…" I continue, watching as Kaneki's face darkens.
"You're right" he says at last, rubbing his hand across his jaw nervously, something I seldom see him do.
"I'm beginning to think this is on purpose" Kaneki says ominously, causing a shiver to run down my spine.

"YES! LEVEL TWO!"
Ishida snaps the tension with an ill timed celebration which shows how ignorant he is of the tense mood, jogging over to us he displays his menu proudly to Kaneki.
"Any advice on what to level?" he asks cheerfully.
His posture unusually rigid Kaneki shoots me a knowing glance before addressing Ishida.
On purpose? I wonder as Kaneki does his best to talk Ishida through the levelling system. Why the hell would they do that? How would that do that? It makes no sense. Surely this is just some really bizarre bug. Maybe it's not even affecting everyone…

"Hey. Earth to Yuuji!"
My eyes snap up to see Ishida waving a hand in front of my face.
"What's the matter?" he asks seriously.
A quick glance at Kaneki tells me that the game is up.
"We should have been logged out by now…" I say, in response to which Ishida's eyes shoot wide with fear, "Hey! Stay calm!" I urge.
"It's probably just gonna be a little while longer" Kaneki assures him, though knowing him as well as I do note that Kaneki himself doesn't seem to fully believe the words.
"Oh shit. Shit. Shit! Shit! Sh-!"
Ishida's mounting hysteria is cut abruptly short as a blue glow surrounds us, drawing a pair of startled shouts from me and Ishida, and a grunt of surprise from Kaneki.

"What the-"
Before I even finish the thought it's over – and a startling sight meets my eyes.

About me, in every direction, is hundreds, perhaps thousands of players, a faint blue glow gradually fading from each of them as the air fills with shouts of surprise and confusion.
"Why are we in the plaza…" Kaneki breathes from beside me.
"Plaza?" I query, gazing about and at the huge crowd of my fellow players.
"We're in the center of the starting city. They must have teleported every player...I guess they want to make a server wide announcement" Kaneki says, frowning.
"Why not just PM everyone. This seems kinda over the top…"
As I say this the sound of several people shouting reaches my ears, eyes darting about automatically I'm soon met by a terrifying sight.

"The…sky is bleeding…" Ishida squeals.
"That's not blood" Kaneki says solemnly as the colossal form of a red cloaked figure appears before us.

"Attention players…welcome to my world…"
The words draw several startled whispers from the crowd, as people question the bizarre appearance of what I can only assume to be a moderator.
"My name is Kayaba Akihiko…"

What follows is perhaps the most dreadful few minutes of my life. As Kayaba describes his absurd death game I can only stand there, mouth agape, at the absurdity of what he describes. In this I am not alone, beside me; Ishida stands stock still, staring in utter terror.

Shaking my head slowly in disbelief I focus once again on what the clearly insane Kayaba is saying.
"You must clear the one hundred floors"
The words draw a choked snarl from Kaneki, who had until this point been watching intently.
Bizarrely, very few people respond at all to hearing this seemingly impossible task; apparently completely stunned into silence.

"Lastly…I've prepared a present for you all. You may find it in your item storage. Take a look"

Almost automatically I open my inventory.
"A mirror?" I question.
Immediately the air around me is filled with startled screams as blue light engulfs me once more. The thousands of players standing in close proximity create a blinding flash of blue that lasts several seconds. As it finally fades I rub my eyes wearily.

"What the hell was that?"
The strange, yet familiar, accent takes me completely off guard, as I whirl to face Kaneki.
"Kaneki…" I breathe, "Your avatar…"
"Holy shit" Kaneki says in his distinctive accent.

Standing by my side now is not Kaneki's avatar; but rather the real appearance of my friend Chris, an Australian exchange student. He towers over me at at least six foot, with broad shoulders and deceptively toned arms given his slim build, his close cropped auburn hair messily arranged around his fringe, stopping just above his piercing and intelligent blue eyes. His rugged and suntanned face, with a sharp, broad nose and thin lips is pulled into a grimace as he rubs his hand over his moderately lengthy beard nervously.

As he turns to me I can tell just by his expression that I, too, am looking like my normal self.

Stealing a quick glance in the mirror I'm met by my own face, my dark brown hair swept across my forehead, and my own brown eyes showing a mixture of shock and fear as I appraise my gaunt face, with high cheekbones and a thin nose which bends slightly to the right from when I broke it as a child. Though old enough to have facial hair at eighteen, I am clean shaven, just as I am in real life. I wince, the bags under my eyes and general tired look I project annoying me as it always does. Looking down ashamedly I am forced to admit how unimpressive my short stature and general lightweight build makes me look next to the gym loving Chris.

"Yuuji…" Chris mutters in his strange Australian-Japanese accent, his rough, low voice at odds with his soft manner of speaking, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah…" I say, my own youthful voice hoarse from shock.
"Then you need to help me with Ishida…" Chris whispers, his face showing his concern for our friend.

"Players…I wish you the best of luck…"
The monstrous Kayaba says the words and then dissipates, incredibly, the plaza is silent as the grave as I and Chris dart over to Ishida.

Every bit what I would call a typical Japanese college student, Ishida is a little taller and a little broader than I; his mildly chubby features and plain face making for an almost instantly forgettable appearance. The only thing distinctive about him is his hair, a blonde and shaggy affair, gelled and dyed each morning as his means of sticking out in the crowd.

"Hey…Ishida…" I begin, kneeling down to address his huddled form, his head buried between his arms as he shudders periodically, tears wetting the stone below him.
"Ishida…" Chris mutters, clearly at a loss for words.
"We're finished. As good as dead…" Ishida murmurs, his nasally voice shuddering.
I grimace, unsure of what to say. Thankfully, Chris speaks.

"No…we just…"

The rest of Chris response is drowned out as the crowd breaks it's silence. A shout of defiance, a scream of terror, and then a chorus of voices.

Filling the air with screams.