A/N: This fanfic is based on the SAO anime and the manga SAO Progressive. Factual info is from the SAO wiki.
Since there are OCs in this fanfic, the story will play out differently - you have been warned.
Also, all existing chapters have been rewritten. New content has been added to these chapters.
Ch.1 – And so it begins
"Players, I wish you the best of luck."
Every single person was too shocked to feel any irritation towards (the self-proclaimed) Kayaba Akihiko's mockery. Instead, everyone stood with their eyes wide and mouths agape, watching with stupefied expressions as the gigantic, hooded avatar disintegrated and disappeared without a trace. The players continued to stare at the empty space where the red GM avatar had been, even as the sky returned to its familiar shade of orange and the setting sun appeared once more.
Everyone remained paralysed, petrified, frozen in place, waiting for...what, exactly? Somebody to tell them that everything was just a dream, a cruel illusion? That everything they had experienced was nothing more than an elaborate joke? Salvation comes from the heavens, but unfortunately for us, the deity of this world was a cruel one; after all, it was he who unleashed hell upon us all. So much for divine intervention!
The trapped SAO victims' inability to adequately comprehend and react to the absurdity of the situation was the dam which held back the turbulent torrent of emotions. With each passing second, the eerie, fragile silence threatened to be shattered by anguish and confusion.
"No... NO!"
The weak, desperate scream of a young girl that reverberated throughout the silent city was the cue for silence and sanity to depart, and for negativity to make its thundering entrance. Almost all at once, people began yelling and begging, demanding and denying. They all directed their frustrations and hopelessness towards the empty spot they had been looking at for an eternity.
"Don't screw with me!"
"I want out! Log me out already!"
Those who did not take part in this emotional yet unfortunately vain chorus of protests were either too busy crying or were too grief-stricken to do naught but wallow in their own misery.
"I can't stay here… I have other things to do soon!"
"Are you trying to kill us!?"
The middle-aged man in front of me was screaming profanities as he shook his fists in anger, while the brown-haired girl next to me collapsed onto her knees, her eyes fixed onto the ground. Her body trembled as teardrops slid down her face. The teenager on my other side had his face in his hands as he sobbed loudly.
All of us must have made quite the pitiful sight.
The transparent barrier which previously prevented people from leaving was quietly dispelled amidst all the chaos and negativity. Deciding that it would be wise to actually do something instead of simply standing in the city square among a boisterous, enraged crowd, I left the area heading for… well, nowhere in particular.
As horrifying as nightmares may be, they aren't eternal. Yes, I am aware that some people experience recurring nightmares, my sister being one of these hapless individuals, but even they can wake up from the bad dreams that plague them, and seek refuge in the world of the living until the infallible hands of sleep drag them back into the world of sleep. Unfortunately, this nightmare of a situation was not to be cut short through natural means. Unlike the great fabulists of dreamland which had no qualms telling unfinished stories, he who authored the tragedy of SAO was determined that his tale reached its finale. Thus the only option left to us was to grit our teeth and carve our own path back to reality.
At the moment, I was a Level 1 player who had an unimpressive amount of Cor and HP. Logging in for the first time only moments before Kayaba Akihiko's big reveal meant that I had yet to do anything productive, which was why the skill levels of the few skills I possessed, as well as my EXP, were at an impressive... zero. Being armed with a Bronze Sword and wearing a Fur Chestplate – the standard SAO starting gear – made my circumstances so much more encouraging.
The amount of time it would take to complete SAO meant that making it home in time for supper was out of the question. The same could be said for breakfast the next day. Or lunch. Or any meals in the following... months? Years? There was always the possibility of spending the rest of my life stuck in Aincrad trying to escape from the death game. If that were to happen, at least I'd be able to break a few gaming world records…
Though levelling up was a priority, it was almost night time, and I wasn't keen to risk being ambushed by monsters lurking under the cover of the dark; grinding would be a matter for another day. In the meantime, I decided to look for somewhere I could spend the night safely. I eventually found an inn and rented a room for 50 Cor. There were better lodgings available, but I didn't want to spend too much money when I wasn't confident in my ability to earn cash. It's not as if the room was unbearable to stay in, even though it was a little shabby.
Not having anything better to do, I decided to take a walk around the Starting City. I never really had the chance to explore the area, and I thought that it'd be a good opportunity to look for companions. Approximately two hours of mindless wandering later, I found myself returning to the very same public square where the secrets of the world (aka the true, diabolical nature of SAO) were exposed to us. A large number of people remained in that part of the city, though their previous frantic energy had completed evaporated into thin air; they had been so emotionally drained that they were completely unresponsive to my movements as I approached them. Soulless eyes coupled with lifeless bodies made them look more like corpses than actual people. It was too painful to continuing looking at them so I quickly turned and left the public square.
It couldn't be helped that everyone was acting as they did. All living things fear death by instinct – I should know that better than anybody else. For most people trapped in SAO, it was the first time in their lives they were involved in a life-and-death situation. The historic launch of SAO – the first ever VRMMORPG and most anticipated game of all time – was, as expected, an unforgettable event, albeit for completely unexpected reasons. To think that it was only hours ago when SAO Players excitedly stepped foot into the fantastical realm of Aincrad, eager to dash towards the open fields to seek out their first mob to slay! Imagine their elated faces as they immersed themselves in a world which, until today, only existed in the wildest of fantasies. The Starting City must have been such a joyful, vibrant place; all it took was a madman's speech to change all of that. Now, an atmosphere of death hung over the Starting City. You could smell the despair, taste the fear, and it was a sickening combination of sensations.
My search for allies had so far been in vain. Every single person I encountered was too shaken up to be any help. How could I count on them to cover my back when they lacked the will to even stand? I tried changing my approach: if I could not find someone to partner with then perhaps I could create my own comrades? I entertained the idea of approaching some of the people I met and encouraging them to fight alongside me, but thought better against it.
To inspire the emotionally distraught Players to stand and fight required giving them something they could believe in, something in which they could place their hopes on. The only source of hope I could offer to them was me myself, but what basis was there for them to believe in the 'hope' I had to offer? Unlike the beta testers, I had zero experience in SAO combat, and only possessed fragmented information about how the game worked. How could I ask anyone to trust in me when I wasn't even sure about getting through the next day in one piece? Even if I somehow managed to motivate someone into becoming my ally, what then? There was almost nothing I could do to help them.
Unable to find help and powerless to help anyone, the recent developments had really left me high and dry. Thinking about my lack of progress, I involuntarily sighed for the millionth time.
"Someone sure looks depressed."
What the –
Startled, I spun around so quickly that I almost lost my balance. Thankfully I didn't make a fool out of myself by falling down – that would have been embarrassing. The voice belonged to a cloaked girl who had curly auburn hair, brown eyes and … whiskers? Those were pretty cute. I wondered if she was smirking out of habit or because she successfully sneaked up to and surprised me. Of all the trapped SAO Players I had run into, she was the only one who had life in her. She was also the only person whose lips were upturned.
"It's hard not to feel down given our circumstances," I replied after quickly collecting myself. "Though it seems that some of us are handling things better than others, miss..."
"Just Argo is fine, don't bother with any formalities," Argo introduced herself as we shook hands. "What's your name?"
Oh, you're going to love this.
"Believe it or not, my IGN's actually LOL (pronounced 'ehl-oh-ehl' as opposed to 'lawl')," I answered with a chuckle.
"LOL, as in 'laugh out loud'?" Argo looked amused.
"Yup, thought I'd get a few laughs out of it, but feel free to call me whatever you want."
"In that case, how does the nickname 'servant' sound?" Argo cheekily suggested.
"I exist solely for the sake of serving milady! Your wish is my command," I declared dramatically, giving her a mocking bow. "However, it is admittedly a little difficult to serve milady without knowing exactly why she approached me in the first place. Perhaps she might share her reasons with this lowly servant?"
"Very well, I shall grant you this knowledge as a reward for your unwavering devotion," Argo said, playing along with my charade. "Your master wishes to enlist your help in salvaging this messed up situation. Everything's gone straight to hell, yet most people are either too scared or too clueless to do anything about this fucked-up death game, and I want to change all of that."
"How very interesting. I take it that you already have something planned?" I asked. By this point both of us had dropped the servant-master act.
"That's right. I'd tell you more, but it is getting late. Why don't we grab something to eat, and I'll explain everything once we've sat down? My treat," Argo added.
"Aha! So your 'plan' all along was to score a date with a handsome young man. I'm onto you now!" I just couldn't resist passing up the opportunity to crack a joke.
"Sorry, I don't see any handsome men around," she replied cheerfully. Ouch. "Are you coming or not?"
"Who am I to deny a date with a cute girl? Lead the way." We chatted and joked with each other as we walked, and I could not help but feel optimistic that my search for comrades had finally bear fruit. It was at this time I learned that Argo was one of the lucky beta testers for SAO.
We ended up going to a restaurant located at the southern side of Starting City. The textures of the brick walls and wooden furniture, as well as the smell of the burning candles were no different from the real world. Too lazy to bother reading the menu, I asked Ago to get me whatever she ordered for herself. Allergic reactions did not exist within SAO, so everything on offer was edible.
"I'm sure you've got quite a few questions for me. Feel free to fire away," Argo said after she was done ordering.
"You admitted to having some sort of plan to improve the current situation. What is it?"
"According to Kayaba Akihiko, the only possible method of returning to the real world is to complete SAO. To do that, we'll have to fight our way through Aincrad and defeat all 100 Floor Bosses. However, like any MMO game, it's impossible to beat these bosses without a sufficiently-sized raid party. Am I right, or am I right?"
"Yes, you're right." An NPC waitress delivered our drinks, and without considering the fact that she wasn't human, I smiled and thanked her.
"Unfortunately, as of now there are two huge obstacles stopping us from even forming a large enough raid party. Firstly, the large majority of Players are too scared of the possibility of death to risk leaving Starting City, let alone join the raid party. Secondly, most of the new Players don't really know what to do advance in the game, and the lack of an official in-game tutorial doesn't help at all. They won't be able to do much in a boss raid if they aren't high-levelled enough or don't have good enough equipment." I nodded to show my agreement.
Oh, food's here. I had become quite hungry, and I imagine that the same could be said for Argo, because we quickly dug into our respective bowls of soup. It was warm and tasted quite nice.
"My plan is to create an info guide based on everything I've learned from the beta test," Argo explained between spoonfuls of food. "The info guide will not only explain the basic game mechanics such as equipping items and forming parties, but also contain useful information ranging from hunting spots to battle tips. My friends are already working on creating and mass producing the info guide; once we have a large enough stock of them, they'll be distributed amongst the Players." She paused to take a sip of her drink, allowing me time to digest her words.
"The primary objective of creating and handing out the info guide is to help the new Players start the game off on the right foot by teaching them all the SAO fundamentals. The faster they learn how to play the game, the earlier they can contribute towards clearing it. Of course, providing information about the behaviours and weaknesses of the various monsters in SAO, among other things, should make things easier for everyone." We had finished our meal, and the NPC waitress came to collect the dishes. Having completed her explanation, Argo silently waited as I processed everything she said.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Argo's plan was simply fantastic. By facilitating the spread of vital information, she would have drastically increased the average Player's chances of survival. Even more impressive was the fact that Argo and her friends were already carrying out the initial stages of their plan only hours after the diabolical death game began.
"As much as I hate inflating your ego, I've got to hand it to you for coming up with such an amazing plan. So, how does a new Player like me fit into your schemes?" I asked.
"Honestly, I have no idea."
Wait, what the hell?
"Hey, there's no need to look so shocked. I wasn't lying when I said that I approached you because I wanted your help," Argo said.
"What made you think that I'd be any use in the first place?" I couldn't resist the temptation to ask.
"You looked like someone who has the potential to go a long way in this death game. I thought that you might be able to help us out somehow," Argo answered with a shrug. "I've always been a good judge of character so I decided to trust my intuition and speak to you."
"I don't know what it is you see in me, but I guess it's up to me to live up to whatever expectations you have of me," I said with a sigh. "Though my assistance may be limited, I'll try my best to contribute to your cause."
"Perfect!" Argo exclaimed, flashing me toothy grin. "I'll be in your care from now on, partner."
"Heh, likewise."
I insisted on paying for the meal to show my gratitude.
Having secured my aid, Argo's next step was to take me to the base she and her friends used. It turned out that the so-called base was an upmarket inn room that was twice the price and thrice the size of mine. Additionally, the inn room did not show the same signs of wear and tear mine did. My initial impression, upon setting foot into said inn room, was that it was unexpectedly messy: brownish pieces of paper were scattered all over the furniture and the floor; in fact, so much of the room was covered with paper that it became difficult and somewhat annoying to avoid stepping on them while navigating around the room. Upon closer inspection, each sheet of paper was filled to the brim with words, though some had drawings and diagrams on them.
A bespectacled teenage boy was the only person in the room. Sitting on a chair in the 'thinker pose', he made no move to acknowledge the two people who just entered the room. I couldn't tell if this was because he was so focused on his thoughts that he hadn't noticed us, or if he was just being antisocial.
Short-sightedness did not exist in SAO, so the glasses were either for appearance's sake or were some kind of stat-boosting item. From what I remembered from the shops I passed by earlier today, the glasses on sale were among the more expensive items in Starting City.
Bringing a finger to her lips, Argo gestured for me to stay silent. She stealthily tiptoed towards the boy, taking great care not to make a sound or step on the scattered pieces of paper by accident. Successfully creeping up behind him, Argo sported a wicked grin as she took a deep breath…
The poor bastard didn't know what hit him.
"I'M BACK!" Argo yelled, snapping the boy out of his trance, his body jerking violently in surprise. He looked mildly annoyed, but otherwise did not seem too bothered by Argo's antics.
"That was longer than expected. What were you doing?" he asked as he adjusted his glasses.
"I found someone willing to help us out, so I took my time telling him about our plans regarding the info guide," Argo answered, jabbing a finger at me. I gave the boy a friendly wave and smile, and received a curt downwards nod as a greeting in return. "He's a new Player who knows how some of the gaming mechanics work on paper, but he doesn't have any experience whatsoever."
"My name's LOL but Argo calls me servant." Argo smirked at the mention of the nickname she gave me. "I'm a newbie, so there's a limit to what I can contribute, but I'm willing to help in whatever way possible." His response to my self-introduction was to open his menu and send me a friend request.
The Player Clausewitz would like to add you as a friend.
Naming his avatar after Carl Von Clausewitz, one of the greatest military theorists in history probably meant that he was pretty confident in his brainpower. It was a pity that the reference would be lost on most SAO Players, as Clausewitz was not a well-known figure within Japan.
"It'll take another day or two before we begin distributing the info guide," Clausewitz said as I accepted his friend request. "For now, you should travel with Argo and learn as much as you can from her."
"Okay, I understand," I replied.
"Are you fine with this arrangement, Argo?" Clausewitz asked.
"That's fine by me. I'm the one who recruited him in the first place, so it's only fitting that I train him," Argo answered.
"Excellent. Now, there are a few things I need your help with." Argo and Clausewitz then began discussing various things; since there wasn't anything I could contribute to the ongoing conversation between the two, I decided to entertain myself by picking up one of the scattered sheets of paper and reading its contents.
Current state of affairs in SAO (6 Nov 2022 19:00)
The situation has, unfortunately, become even worse. A Player by the name of Arvin, who Argo identified as a beta tester for SAO, believed that the Nerve Gear would automatically log him out of the SAO death game if he was cut off from the system. At 18:42, from a cliff situated at the western side of the Starting City, he jumped off Aincrad and quickly fell out of sight. Around 5 seconds later, the sound of a Player's body disintegrating into polygons – which is the game's portrayal of the destruction of the Player's avatar – could be clearly heard.
Immediately afterwards, the crowd observing Arvin's fall into oblivion hurried towards the Room of the Resurrected, the location where a dead Player would revive/spawn at. As expected, Arvin did not return.
There has been a significant change to the Room of the Resurrected: there is now a black metal monument which did not exist during the beta test. What's more, this monument has the name of every single Player trapped in Aincrad. Players who are dead – both in the game and in real life – have their names crossed out, with the cause of death written next to their crossed out names. There are a total of 214 crossed out names: 213 of these had "death by premature removal of Nerve Gear"; this was something Kayaba had brought up. The other crossed out name was Arvin's, with "suicide by jumping off Aincrad" as the cause of death.
Interestingly, there has been a new feature added to the game since the beta test: when one taps on the name of a deceased Player, a panel with the deceased's level, location of demise and total playing time will pop up. For beta testers, the amount of time they spent in the beta version of the game is not added to the total playing time, which means that the total playing time is only a record of the time spent playing the official version of SAO.
The incident could be seen as confirmation of the reality of SAO being a death game, and seems to have led to an increased degree of negativity among some of the Players. One concern is that other Players who cannot cope with the stress will follow Arvin's example.
We have also confirmed that a few of the Players have already moved on to the nearby Horunka Village. All these Players seem to be beta testers, though it is unknown whether there are other Players who have also gone to the next village, aside from those who we know of.
Wow, that was a lot of information to digest. I think I missed Arvin's suicide because I was in the middle of purchasing an inn room. Despite what Kayaba said about SAO becoming a death game, it was probably inevitable that there would be some Players who doubted his words, so a Player acting on their doubt and doing something like this was probably bound to happen. On the other hand, Arvin was an idiot for choosing to escape a death game where death in-game meant death in real life through an in-game suicide.
The report also mentioned that some Players took the initiative and reached the next village. Well, kudos to them for having the courage and strength to make it there. Even if the monsters between the Starting City and Horunka Village were weak, facing them under the circumstances of the death game was a whole other issue.
A loud clap rang out by my ear, causing me to jolt in surprise. The exasperated look I gave Argo did nothing but widen her mischievous smirk.
"We're leaving." Argo and I bid Clausewitz farewell and left the inn.
The streets were completely empty: no a single Player was to be found, and the various NPC stalls had been vacated, as the NPCs had already returned to... well, somewhere.
"By the way, Argo, where are the rest of your friends?" I asked. Argo mentioned that she and her friends used this base, and last time I checked, 'friends' referred to more than one person.
"A few of them are wandering around Starting City, while a couple of them have gone on to the next village," Argo replied. "They're all occupied so don't expect to meet any of them soon. We aren't going to do much tonight, and it's already quite late. Why don't you get some rest?"
"Sleep will be nice," I commented with a yawn; Players did experience fatigue in SAO. Argo wanted to know where I was staying, so she walked back with me. It did not take long for us to start ribbing each other. At one point I was about to make a retort to something she said, but I stopped upon noticing someone who looked strangely familiar.
A brown-haired girl wearing a breastplate over a dark red one piece dress (her equipment was the standard starting gear for female Players) was sitting on a bench some distance away from us, a familiar forlorn look on her face. Judging by appearance, one would guess that she was around fourteen or fifteen years of age.
I knew that I had seen her somewhere before, but where did I –
"Ooh, is that your type? She is cute." I did not need to look at Argo to know that she was grinning from ear to ear.
"That's not it you idiot, and stop nudging me. I'm trying to remember who that girl is since she looks really familiar." Staring at said girl for a few more seconds, I suddenly realised that she happened to be by my side when Kayaba was talking about the death game earlier today; I recalled her collapsing to her knees and crying quietly.
"I don't know who she is, but I remember seeing her break down during Kayaba's announcement. What's she doing out here so late?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.
"Who knows? She probably had trouble sleeping or something," Argo commented as I continued to stare at the girl.
I was neither incapable of empathising with others, nor was I unable to act on such emotions. Yet, I believed that it was unwise to offer assistance when I wasn't in a position to give a helping hand, because an ineffective attempt to assist could be more destructive than not offering help at all. Imagine offering someone a glimmer of hope only to snatch it away from them; that would be too cruel. Thus, despite the stinging sensation in my chest, I held myself back from trying to aid any of the SAO victims I ran into. I did not reach out to the teenager wallowing in his despair, did not reach out to the miserable lady curled into a ball hugging her knees, did not reach out to the bawling kid crying for his parents.
To my horror, I found it mentally impossible to abandon the brown-haired girl. I was by no means prescient, but I knew that the guilt of walking away from her would tear my heart into bloody pieces. Why did I develop such an incomparably strong urge to comfort, to support, to do something for this person? There were plenty of people who fared worse than her; in fact, she already looked much better compared to earlier today. I felt nothing when she was at her worst, yet I felt a pressing need to aid her when it seemed that she had recovered somewhat.
…
"Hey, are you alright?" Argo's question dragged me back into the land of the living. Her face showed clear concern; my expression was probably quite disturbing if it provoked such a worried reaction from her.
"Sorry, I... got caught off guard, but I'm fine now," I tried my best to reassure Argo. She probably wasn't convinced, but didn't question me any further.
My circumstances had changed: I now had a mentor who was knowledgeable about how the game worked and had experience playing it. It would be fine to extend a helping hand to the girl, wouldn't it? However, the issue was whether Argo would mind looking another person. I still didn't know much about her circumstances, so it might be rather inconsiderate to ask her to do so, but it can't hurt to ask, right?
"Argo, would you be willing to take that girl under your wing and train her as well? I can't bear to leave her alone," I asked of my whiskered companion. "I'm sorry to make such a selfish request, and you have every right to refuse. I promise that there will be no hard feelings if you say no."
"I'd be glad to! The merrier the more, right?"
For some reason, at that moment I found Argo's smile very comforting.
A/N: First things first, thank you for taking your time to read this story and I hope that it has been an enjoyable experience.
This story will include both seasons of the anime so characters like Yuuki and Sinon will appear eventually.
I've always felt that SAO has such a great supporting cast, yet they never get a chance to shine due to all the focus being on Kirito and Asuna, which is a pity. Hence, while those two will still play major roles in this story, other characters such as Klein and Argo will have equal, if not larger, roles. As mentioned above, there will be OCs in this story, but most of them will be limited in number and appearances; in fact, the only OC with a major role throughout the story is the protagonist.
Regarding the OC protagonist, I've intentionally withheld information about him. I will disclose bits and pieces about him throughout your story, and it is up to the reader to piece the various fragments together.
The other OC, Clausewitz, is Argo's friend and serves as an advisor of sorts to her.
Finally, feel free to PM/leave a review. Once again, thanks for reading!