Sword Art Online Chapter I

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Aincrad: 1st Floor- Forest

I got up slowly, my health bar ominously in the red.

"Geez, what a great idea that was, Seth. Really outdid yourself this time." I told myself, brushing the dirt off myself.

I had run into the nearby forests of floor one, hoping to gain as much XP as possible. It would all be gone soon and I couldn't take the time to sit and wait the enemies to re-spawn.

This was no longer a game.

Just a couple hours ago, it was announced that all 20,000 players were trapped within Sword Art Online. We were no longer playing by choice. The only way for us to escape was to beat all one hundred levels of Aincrad, each with its own bosses and challenges. If we died...there was no restart button. Our brain would be fried by the Nerve Gear's microwave-like sensors and we would die. Many didn't believe Akihiko Kayaba (the developer of SAO) at first, but I knew he was not lying right away. The way he told us, his tone was dead and unfeeling, but with an underlying pride that I couldn't help but detect.

Those who took him seriously, like me, went off to gain experience and get to the second floor. I thought it would be quicker to cut through the woods and get to the town before anyone else, but it was a terrible mistake. I misjudged how hard this game truly is and had got cornered by several monsters; I had only managed to escape by jumping off of a nearby cliff.

I opened my menu to check the time.

"Four PM- I've been out for two hours," checking my map, I saw that my destination wasn't far off.

"My health is only at 10 %, I have to be careful," walking slowly with a slight limp. I wanted to go north to get to town but stopped. Hearing something, I turned my head to the left and saw two goblins coming through the trees, small, green, and covered in bare rags, they lumbered into the clearing. Thinking fast, I threw myself into the nearby bushes -being pretty short, I was hoping that the bush would be big enough to hide me- but my messy black hair stuck out like a sore-thumb.

The goblins noticed me instantly.

They ran at me. Getting up quickly, I pulled out my basic iron short-sword (from the tutorial). The first goblin jumped forward, claws aimed at my face. Tucking my head in, I rammed my short-sword deep into its gut in mid-air. Meanwhile, the second goblin had circled around my right and was now rushing towards me as well. Pulling my sword out of the first goblin's gut and pushing it away, I spun right and slashed the second one across the chest, making it stagger backwards and, using the momentum from the spin, I came back around and slashed the first one deeply across the throat. As it shattered into blue pixels, the second goblin jumped at me again, managing to knock the blade from my hand and push me down. The goblin jumped on top of me and tried to claw my throat out. Holding it back with one of my arms, I searched for my blade with the other. Finding the pommel, I gripped it tightly and brought the blade with full force down onto the goblin's head. It dissipated immediately into a flash of blue.

Getting up shakily, I was met with a small window showing the loot I gained and the XP I had earned. I had almost enough to level up, but that didn't concern me. What worried me was that my health bar was now even lower than before. It must have thrown me to the ground pretty hard.

Now that I had a bit of time to myself, I decided to look through my starter items to see if I had anything useful. Skimming through the list, I came across a book- 'The Beginner's Guide to Aincrad'.

Opening the book, I looked through the chapters until I came across one called 'Alchemy'- it explained how mixing together certain herbs could make potions all with varying effects. Sifting through the pages, I found a recipe for a simple health potion. A picture next to the recipe showed a preview of how it should look, a dark red concoction in a simple glass bottle.

"So, if I mix some plants together and I get a healing potion. Neat". Thankfully, this clearing was brimming with herbs, now I just have to worry about finding out which ones will kill me and which will heal me...today is going be a long day.

After gathering the herbs and mixing them together, I was stuck with a new problem...to drink or not to drink: that is the question.

The mixture I had created looked...sort of like the one in the book, but I don't have any time to debate with myself about it. It will be nightfall soon and monsters will start spawning at an increased rate. It's now or never. I drank the contents of the flask quickly, ignoring the bitter taste. Tossing the used flask away and looking at my health bar, I saw it was at 23% and still rising. After a while the effect had worn off and my health had reached a comfortable 54%. A message appeared.

"For successfully creating this mixture you have gained fifty points to your Alchemy skill."

"So Alchemy is classed as a skill in this game," I whispered to myself.

Night had fallen, and I knew I had to get to a town. The woods are a dangerous place at night- increased monster spawns and low visibility make it a veritable death trap. I would have to be careful. If I stick to the shadows and move slowly, I should be able to get out of here without alerting anything. If something does find me, I'll make a run for it and hope for the best. Moving slowly, using the trees as cover, I started to head north.

After creeping for a while, I noticed a small light in the distance- a player perhaps?

No, no one would be stupid enough to camp in the woods at night, right?

This must be some kind of trap. But what if it is a player? I can't just let them get themselves killed, can I?

My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to approach, still staying hidden behind the tree. Now, being closer, I could see what it really was. The fire had been made by players, but they had been killed, and quite recently from the looks of it. You could tell, because when a player died they would leave behind a bag which held all of their belongings in it. The murderers? Four goblins that were now sat by the fire sleeping. I should have just continued on, but how could I turn my back knowing that two players had just died? And probably in agony too, seeing as how the goblins I fought earlier had always aimed for my neck and face.

I moved slowly towards the camp, drawing out my sword quietly. Still crouched, I walked slowly over to the goblin furthest away from the fire. In front of the goblin, I could see the virtual blood around its mouth and on its claws- it had probably pinned down one of the two players before ripping their throat out with its teeth. Absolutely disgusted and now enraged, I stabbed the goblin straight through the heart.

One of the other goblins had heard me brutally stabbing its comrade and had awoken the other two- now it was three on one. Too angry to care, I rushed towards the first goblin. Swinging my sword downwards, it embedded itself deep into the goblin's shoulder. Ripping my blade out, I silenced its screams with the pommel of my sword.

Meanwhile, the second goblin ran at me from the right, sidestepping, I tripped it over with my foot and it fell onto my sword...head first. As it shattered, I focused my attention to the first one, which was still rolling around on the floor in pain

But as I walked towards it, I remembered: "Shit- where is the third one?"

Hearing footsteps, I turned my head and saw it was running at me from the left. It leaped at me and I didn't have any time to react.

Pinning me down, it tried to bite at my neck- my blade was too far away to pick up so, thinking of no alternative, I head butted it. The goblin fell off of me and grabbed its head in pain. Feeling dizzy from the force of the blow, I got up shakily, seeing stars. I could hear the first goblin running at me. Falling onto my knees, still in pain, I conveniently dodged the goblin as it jumped over me and into a nearby rock.

Regaining my composure, I finished it off, but the third one had once again disappeared. Turning my head slowly, I looked for it. As it suddenly burst from the bush to my right, I instinctively jumped back to give myself some room- the goblin pulled out a short jagged dagger from its back and stared at me, menacingly licking the blade.

"Wow, Kayaba must be some kind of sadist to come up with monsters like these."

I tried dodging left, but the goblin was faster and dug its knife deep into my shoulder before I could counter-attack. It quickly pulled the knife out and jumped back. Damn that hurts. The wound stung badly and was seeping small amounts of virtual blood onto my shoulder. Jumping at me again, I quickly met its dagger with my sword. The dagger went flying high into the air, the goblin, now defenseless, tried to run- but didn't get far as I stabbed it in the chest. Its health bar dropped to zero and it shattered.

Skipping the congratulations screen, I picked up the dagger and made a run for it- other monsters may have heard the fight and could be coming this way.

After running for a while, I decided to take a break. Leaning against a tree, I decided to check the loot table from the battle I had just fought. Apart from the dagger, I didn't get much item-wise, but looking at my stats, I noticed that I had gained a level.

"Finally reached level two," I sighed, exasperated.

Looking at my stats page closely, I noticed I had gained both stat points and also an ability point. I put most of my stat points into Strength and Agility and spread the rest out amongst the other three attributes- Endurance, Speed and Constitution- listed on my screen. Changing menus, I opened the ability screen and saw a large list of abilities I could choose from, I decided to get an ability for my sword, "focused strike." After building up energy in my blade, this skill would allow me to release it in one powerful slash, it's useful if I have to fight something with thick armor.

After closing my stats window, I pulled up the map.

"Only a five minute walk to town... if nothing interrupts me"

Arriving at the town without further incident, I headed straight for the local item shop to restock on potions, the ones I made were effective but tasted like cough syrup. After restocking, I looked for a place to hold up for the night. As I was wandering the streets looking for an inn, I came across an NPC with a quest marker above its head. NPCs in Sword Art Online could offer a tirade of services- this included selling items, giving quests or renting out living spaces. Most NPCs don't usually offer quests at night, so I decided to interact with the man.

"I should really go find a place to rest, but who knows what he might offer as a reward"

Well, you know what they say no rest for the wicked. Starting a conversation with the man, I learned that his son, who had been foraging for herbs, had been taken by goblins to a nearby cave.

"I'd go myself, but as of late we've been hearing strange sounds coming from the cave,"

"Do you know what it could be?" I asked

The man replied, "I have no idea! That's what scares me."

The man looked like he was on the verge of tears, so to avoid an incoming waterfall, I accepted the quest.

"Hey, don't worry, I'll find your son,"

"Really?" he asked tearfully.

"Of course."

Oh god, what have I gotten myself into.

Did I ever mention that I hate caves? It was a stupid idea to explore this cave so late at night, I could barely see a thing.

"You had to be the hero, didn't you Seth? Couldn't keep your bloody mouth shut, no, saw a poor man in need and you just had to rush in and save the day... stupid, stupid, stupid."

Moving slowly, I kept one hand on the cave wall and the other on the hilt of my sword.

After searching for a while, I was about to give up when I heard something coming from deeper within. It sounded like drums. Crouching, I moved slowly around the cave wall. Creeping closer, I noticed a large bonfire, with goblins dancing around it, above the bonfire hung many small wooden cages filled with animals- but two cages stood out to me. To the far right hung a cage with a small boy inside and behind him a cage holding a player. The player in question was in a bad state and badly beaten up. The goblins stopped chanting. Thinking that they had seen me, I ducked back, but after waiting a short time, I realized that their attention was focused on something else. Looking back, I saw something large coming from the back of the cave approaching the bonfire, dragging something behind it.

The flames of the bonfire swayed, allowing me a better look at it. The large, hulking beast was blue and covered in warts. Held in its hands was a large stone shaped into a club, above the creature stood in thick letters "Troll Lvl 8". The troll charged towards the goblins- outnumbered it was still managing to fight against all of them easily.

"Crap," I whispered.

Turning to run, I heard the cries of the little boy and the player hanging from the cages above.

"Fuck it!"

Guilt getting the better of me, I turned back and made my way towards the cages. Meanwhile, the troll flung its huge club in a large arc, killing several goblins. I ran towards the cage with the little boy in it, cutting the ropes as I ran. The cage landed a couple of feet ahead. Stopping in front of it, I pried the door open with my sword, grabbed the little boy by the hand and dragged him out. The player, who had been trapped in the other cage, had gotten out but had tripped over something. Hearing him cry out, I turned around only to see him be crushed by the troll's club. Not wanting to see the blood, I turned my back and ran, dragging the boy behind me.

We ran as fast as we could, the troll at our heels.

"How can something that big run so fast!?"

Seeing the troll's club coming down in the corner of my eye, I pushed the small boy away as I dodged left, pulling out my blade, and, taking advantage of its vulnerability, stabbing its hand. It dropped the club, raising its hand in pain. Hearing a rattling from the ceiling, I noticed that many of the cages were still connected to the ceiling.

"Run, I'll handle this!" I shouted to the boy. Getting up, he ran for the cave exit.

"Hey, ugly over here!" I shouted, grabbing the troll's attention and luring it in my direction. I backed up against the cave wall, waiting for it to raise its club. As soon as it did, I cut through the ropes on my right, causing cages to fall on the creature's head. Howling in agony, the creature fell to its knees. Jumping high, charging energy into my sword, a dark aura appeared around my blade, I drove my sword deep into the troll's head- were this the real world, it would certainly be dead- but here in the game, the troll didn't die and it shook me off. It was disorientated and swung its arms around hoping to hit me. Picking myself up, I pulled out my dagger and ran towards it, sliding under its legs. I managed to cut its ankle, causing it to fall onto its knees, I turned around and jumped onto its back. Using my dagger, I climbed up to its head and grabbed my sword. Gripping the hilt tightly, I drove it deeper into the troll's head, who had gotten back up and was now wildly thrashing around, trying to shake me off, but I held on tight and drove my blade even deeper. Now embedded to the hilt, I twisted the blade before pulling it out and jumping off.

The troll fell to its knees, then shattered.

Staring at my hands, I wondered, wow I never thought I'd be so good at this game.

A congratulations window popped up in front of me, stating that I had levelled up to Lvl 3. Quickly distributing my points, I checked the abilities window and put a point into a skill called Searching, which would allow me to find hidden items, monsters, or people.

Sheathing my blades, I walked to the cave exit.

"Thank you!" The farmer cried into my shoulder, overwhelmed with joy

"I did this to prevent an incoming waterfall not earn one," I thought dismally.

Prying the farmer off of me, I turned to leave but before I could go anywhere, the farmer shouted to me.

"Wait! Before you go, I want you to have something!"

Turning around, I waited for the farmer to return- after a couple of minutes, the farmer returned with something large wrapped in cloth.

"This belonged to my father- he used to be a mercenary you see, but he retired and stashed most of his old equipment up in the attic". Unwrapping the object, I noticed that it was in fact a broadsword.

"This sword was my father's finest blade. Please accept it as a token of gratitude,"

The broadsword itself was made of refined silver and was strangely light to the touch.

"Judicor"

The sword though old showed no signs of damage, looking as sharp as were it first forged.

"This doesn't look like the kind of sword a mercenary would own," I remarked, gliding my hand along the surface of the blade.

"My father never told me where or how he got the sword. He only told me to keep it and protect my family, no matter the cost,"

"And yet you want to give it to me?" I was bewildered as to why he was giving me such a rare blade when it was the only one he had.

"Look at me, boy. I'm no warrior- I couldn't even go and save my own son. No, it's best if you keep the sword. Every time that sword saves you, I'm repaying my debt."

Judging by the look on the farmers face I knew he would not take no as an answer.

Pulling my own blade out, I passed it to him.

"At least take my sword, so you're not defenseless" I said offering him the sword.

Nodding his head, he took the blade. I sheathed my new blade and said my goodbyes.

Stopping a couple steps down the path, I turned around and asked:

"What happened to your father? I haven't seen him around the farm"

The farmer replied, "After giving me the sword and some of his other things, he left. I never saw him again after that".

With the farmer's words still in mind, I continued walking.

Entering town once again, I noticed that no one was roaming the streets. Checking the time, I saw that it was three in the morning.

"No wonder. Everyone must be asleep at this hour"

I made my way to an inn and paid my stay for the night. Trudging into the small room, I fell onto the bed, not even bothering to take off my equipment.

"God, I am so freaking tired"

But sleep did not come to me.

So many dead and it was only the beginning. More will die, of that I am certain- what does Kayaba, the madman, hope to achieve? It makes no sense- so many dead and for what? Pushing my thoughts to the back of my mind, I focused on trying to get some sleep, tomorrow would be hard day and I need to be prepared as I said before.

It has only just begun.