Today is the day. I've been sitting on my couch for hours and hours. Just waiting for the package. I've got a Nerve Gear, and played all of the other games. But an MMO? It's almost too good to be true!

I hear a knock on the door. "Delivery for a Mr… Lo-"

"Thank you! I'll take it!" I jump off the couch and slam open the door.

"Um, can you just sign he-" I slam the door on the man's face and lock it.

"WOO HOO! SWORD ART ONLINE!" I scream.

I call my three close friends.

"Hey, did any of you get SAO?" I holler into the phone.

"Jeez, dude, quiet down. Yeah I got it," my closest friend Kazumi replies.

"Well, it figures that you two got it and not us," another one of my close friends sulks. Their name is not relevant to this story.

"Ohh! You two already talked! So that's why Sienna isn't talking to us right now," I tease my friends. They've been dating for a year, but still never admit they like each other.

"Well, let's go then Loj. Wouldn't want to miss the opening ceremony!" Kazumi suggests.

"What about your username?" I ask her. She tells me, I hang up, put on the Nerve Gear, and say those amazing words to start up the game.

"Link, Start!" I yell. I make a username and password, my username being Lojky, so that Kazumi doesn't get confused. My password seems irrelevant, all things considered. The process to play was more tedious than one might think.

I make an avatar, and it may just be the coolest looking person ever. He has dark blue hair down to his waist, sharp facial features, and muscled arms. The only wimpy aspect was his height, which didn't fit the build. I had heard from beta-testers online that the closer you keep you height and weight to the real world, the easier it is to control.

Finally, I'm in the game.

"Hey. It took you long enough to get here," I hear a voice. I turn around, and I see a girl, about five foot seven with shoulder length silver hair. She looks almost just like she does in real life. I look at her username. SilverRobin.

"Hey Kazu- SilverRobin!" I look around.

"Come on Lojky. Let's go kill some stuff! It's a total adrenaline rush!" Robin acts as if she has already beat the game. Which is impossible. Beating an MMO would take forever.

"Okay… Um, where's the weapons?" I ask.

SilverRobin swipes her finger down. She taps a button, then another, and finally, a sword appears at her belt. "In the menu."

I stare at her. I try navigating the menu. To my surprise, there was no weapons anywhere.

"Hey, I don't have any weapons… Do you think you could show me?" I show her.

"Um, dude. We also can't log out. That's the bigger issue," Robin stabs me with her sword, but the system prevents her from harming me. "Hm, safezones. Noted."

We race out of town, excited to be finally in the game. We both get to about level seven, when we're three hours in, and suddenly are teleported to the Town of Beginnings.

『Players, I welcome you all to my world.』

"Hey, Loj. What is this?" Robin asks me.

"A tutorial maybe? I have no idea whatsoever," I dumbfoundedly state.

『My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world.』

"Seems about right. Well, at least an admin will take care of our problems, right?" I ask. Robin doesn't even notice me.

『I think that most of you have discovered the fact that the Log Out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug; it is all part of Sword Art Online's system.』

"That's a lie. I can tell he's lying. Right Robin? Robin!" I shout. She's staring off into space, and doesn't even seem to realize I'm here.

『Until you get to the top of this castle, you cannot log out of your own free will.』

"No… Why would you do this to your own-" Robin suddenly blurts

『...also, the disruption or dismantling of the Nerve Gear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted...』

A moment of silence.

The silence of ten thousand people was overwhelming. The next words came slowly.

『the signal sensors in your Nerve Gear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions.』

I stare at Robin. Robin stares at me. And in an instant, I realize something. Kayaba Kazumi. Robin is the creator's… Daughter?

『Some of you may have also found abnormalities with your abilities and skills. Don't worry. These anomalies are not glitches. Lack of weapons, armor, or basic skills may further develop into Unique Skills. What these are, I leave to you to find out.』

This is some odd stuff. I turn to Robin. She's gone...