Chapter 1: Ahead of my Time

Class began once again and this was my sophomore year. My classmates put on their headsets and gloves as they logged into the virtual tour of the Signing of the Declaration of independence. The teachers always told us that the best way to learn was through experience, and we believed them. But I was still out of place.

"Tyler", the teacher spoke to me, "Please put your neuro-gear on." To my relief the other students paid no mind to me. I looked around to my classmates, to make sure that no one listened, and I said, "Ma'am I'm...not compatible with Neuro-Gear." I proceeded to explain my situation to her and started up my Neuro-Link mod. It was glitched in some ways but it was bearable.

The Neuro-Gear was anew system of learning that was being tested by a few selective schools here in Louisiana. It was inspired by the sudden popularity and success of the Neuro-Linker in Japan. Because the designs were exclusive to that area, America was left in the dark, until someone began to build on a similar operating system. We were years behind Japan, but we were taking our first steps in virtual reality.

At least, everyone else was.

I was probably the only exception. You see, before I was born, my parents had done a massive favor for one of the Neuro-Link developers while on a trip to Japan. But as my mother went into labor, the developer found a way to repay them. It was that day that he gave me the opportunity to be years ahead of my time as the doctors installed an official Japanese Neuro-Link system into me.

I know it sounds creepy at first. They implant a computer into the back of your neck so you can literally plug yourself in. But I got used to it. All of my friends said that I had come straight from the scenes of the Matrix. Others were freaked out by my enhancement, mostly the girls. But more often than not, I was bullied for being the Black Sheep. So for years, I was alone. I was literally the only guy on this half of the globe who possessed such technology. It felt like a curse.

But today, something happened that would forever change my life. As i walked home from school, a black car drove up and three guys, one with a gun, tried to force me into the car. If only that cop hadn't rounded the corner at that moment, I would have been a goner. The men got away, but not before a bullet took off a small part of my earlobe and scratched my cheek. I leaned up against a streetlight and slid to the ground shaking uncontrollably. Not once has my situation gotten this bad before.

The cop followed me as I was brought to the hospital. My parents talked to the policeman outside of my room and I caught a brief bit of their conversation.

It turned out that those people weren't after me, they wanted my Neuro-Link. They were part of a group that was tired of being left behind by Japan and they wanted to reverse engineer the Neuro-Link technology for themselves. That set me as their person of interest. Another man stepped in and walked away with my parents for a few minutes.

I cried quietly as I drifted off to sleep. I didn't care about this so-called "advantage" that I had. It had caused me more pain than I was willing to bear. I wanted to change, to transform my life. I made the mistake of going to sleep.

I had a terrible nightmare as I slept. I couldn't remember the entire thing, but I remember how I was strapped down to a lab table, operated on, treated like some sort of lab rat. At the very end, the test caused my body to slowly change into something absolutely horrifying! "Stop it! Stop it! Please!" I yelled. But then I heard my parents' voices and snapped upright, now fully awake and sweating profusely.

"Tyler! Thank God you're safe!" my mother said hugging me. I calmed down in her embrace.

"Nice to see that you're still among the living", my father ruffled my hair. A long silence followed until a man walked into the room. He had an Asian appearance and he had choppy black hair, glasses, and was roughly forty.

"So you're Tyler Miller, huh? Pleasure to see you again", he pushed up his glasses and turned to my parents, "I've made the call and preparations have already been complete."

"What preparations?" I asked. My parents both slipped slowly into their "We have something to tell you" expressions. But they both looked to the man.

"I believe that i should introduce myself. My name is Minato Korumo, from Japan's Advanced Neuro-Technology, or JANT. I'm one of the developers of the Neuro-Linker and I have known you ever since before you were even born."

I sat up further, "So you're the guy who had this thing put on me", I said. I've always wanted to meet this guy. He briefly turned to reveal a Neuro Linker on the back of his neck. It must have been installed around that same time that mine was, when he was in his twenties.

"That's right Mr. Miller!" he said with a calm but cheerful tone, "I was in country to see just how far along America's Neuro Gear was coming along. Just to make sure that they hadn't been copied directly from our own design. I had also heard about how you lived nearby, so I tried to stop by to see your progress with your enhancement. I'm sorry to see that it has caused much pain though."

I sighed, "Yeah, I've been bullied a lot as of late. A lot of the students saw me as a black sheep."

"No, it's not because you're different. It's because they're jealous. You're at least a decade ahead of anyone else in America, and the bullies know it. But I see that jealousy is now just a minute point. That's why your parents and I have come to an important decision", he then looked to my parents.

My mother hesitated for a moment before she told me, "We're having you go into the international student exchange program." I remained silent.

"Look, as much as we hate to admit it," my father picked up, "this wasn't the first time that you've been threatened by these people, but it was the first time they've taken action. America just...isn't safe for you anymore. And we don't want you to live your life being guarded by cops twenty-four seven. So we've decided that you have to grow up somewhere away from the potential chaos you'd face here. The only way that our family can safely accomplish this is through a student exchange program."

"But the only place that would be safe is..." I started but never finished.

"That's right, Japan!" Minato confirmed, "Now I understand that it is particularly far from home. But...Mr. and Mrs. Miller, would you mind if I spoke to Tyler alone for a moment?"

"Of course", my father said before they walked out of the room. My mother nodded to me, silently saying, "It's for the best."Minato pulled out a long cord and plugged one end into his Neuro Link. He reached out with the other end.

"Okay, hold still", he plugged it into mine and said not a word more.

"What the heck is this idiot doing?" I thought to myself.

"You do realize that I can hear you right?" I went stiff with terror as I realized that he was speaking directly into my mind!

"What the hell is this?!" I began to panic.

"Settle down, Tyler", he smiled to me, "It's simply a direct link. I understand that you've never heard of it since you've sort of been one of a kind in this country. But direct linking is common in Japan whenever two students or coworkers need to share files, or have a private conversation. Only use it in formal situations. Now, what happens in the link stays here. You ready?" I nodded.

"I personally think that it is better for everyone if you come to Japan. I understand that it may be particularly far from home, but you will be safe there. Your parents will understand that you'll be safe under my watch. Also, I have determined that you are still very unskilled in using the Neuro Link to it's full potential. You carry a very expensive piece of equipment, and I won't easily tolerate it not being put to proper use. So I'll instruct you in how to use it. You can still keep in touch with your parents and friends through a special link. But most important of all, I have no doubt that you'll make new friends in Tokyo. Every student in high school has been fitted with Neuro Links, you won't ever be alone. I can provide you with a very nice host family with a student from your new school. So, what do you say?"

This was a lot to take in all at once. Japan was on the other side of the globe! I mean, sure my life here wasn't exactly too good, but I still had great friends. And my parents, I would find it hard to finish off childhood without them.

Then again, Japan was the single safest place on the planet for me. Sure I would have to adjust to a new language and lifestyle, but now i had a chance to make friends in a place where I would never have to face discrimination again! I would never be alone again!

I made my decision.

"Mr. Minato, I'll do it. I don't think that this is a chance that I'll ever come across again. I won't pass it up! When do I leave?"

Minato smiled, "I'm glad to hear that. As I said to your parents, preparations have already been made, and all of your belongings have been packed. We can leave for the airport whenever you're ready."

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(High above the Pacific Ocean)

After a trip to the airport and an emotional exchange of NG account addresses and goodbyes, I was on a jet to Tokyo. I haven't been out of the United States since the day I was born. But this was the first time I remember being on a plane. It both amazed and terrified me. Looking out at the night sky, I saw the stars, brighter and more numerous than I've ever seen them before. It would remain "night" for me during the entire ride to Japan.

When I thought about it, I was born in Japan, even though my parents were both American. Legally speaking, that gave me double citizenship! I was legally Japanese! Thinking about this made me feel like I was returning to my home away from home. It was much more comforting.

Before Minato went to sleep, he used a direct link to install his latest invention, a language translator. This program would automatically translate what others said into English speech in my mind. If i wanted to respond, the program would allow me to mentally type out a message then display it to other Link users as a chat box or play it as a verbal message in a near perfect replication of my own voice. It would also provide translations for any Japanese text I looked at. Linguistically speaking, I was all set.

I smiled and decided to hit the sack. But a notification appeared in my Link menu. There was a new icon, one with a rugged looking letter B on the front. Intrigued, I clicked it and a message exploded onto the screen, "Welcome to Brain Burst!" I've never downloaded this. A number, 10,000, appeared beneath it. "Do you wish to start?" I looked around then clicked "okay". One final message appeared, "Connecting to global net. Say 'Burst link to begin initial gameplay, or 'Unlimited Burst' to enter the Free Zone." A game! I've never played games via Link before! I was ready to dive in headstrong!

"Unlimited Burst!" I whispered. Suddenly, my surrounding plane disintegrated in a shower of pixels. Then I was on solid ground.

I gasped as I looked at a magnificent virtual world. I saw a landscape covered in red volcanic glass, part of which had enveloped a futuristic city. I stood at the top of the volcano itself. The city lights sparkled, but there was no activity whatsoever. Stars filled the night sky. I could feel the cool breeze coming up the mountainside. I never knew that you could actually feel things with games! The Neuro Link was capable of all of this and I never knew about it!

I then noticed that the number of points had dropped to 9990! Doing this Unlimited Burst thing had taken ten points off the counter! I had a sense of dread that when it hit zero, it would be game over for good.

A health bar was lowered on a chain down the top left of my field of vision. In black letters with volcanic orange patches was a name, Obsidian Proxy. That had to be me. I walked up to a piece of volcanic glass and looked at myself.

"Obsidian Proxy" was probably six foot one, and had long arms and legs of a slim build. My body was dark purple, almost black and had bits of glowing orange in between some of the armored plates. The plates looked like pieces of something else, I don't know what, but it was well organized. I wore a helmet with a metal mask that covered everything below my glowing orange eyes, with obsidian colored pupils. Finally, there were two arch shaped, wing-like formations on my back, but I was incapable of making them move an inch. I was a volcanic Iron Man suit!

Before I could marvel at myself for too long, a warning appeared, "Incoming opposition! Make your mark on the Accelerated world!" I looked around to see a small army erupting from the volcanic glass. They were humanoid creatures of a similar volcanic design as me, but they glowed blue instead of orange.

Using gameplay like this, I would have to fight them using my own battle skills, not a programmed move! Lucky for me, I've done fencing and karate. I hit an icon that said, Blade. A panel shaped piece on my right arm split into three pieces, the inner most jutted forward as a glowing lightweight blade, almost thin enough to be a rapier. the outer two pieces, closed up to add support as a hilt. "Do you wish to name your blade?" the game asked.

I already thought up a name. "Alright, this blade's name is Excaliburn!" I raised it high. and looked at the oncoming swarm.

I sprinted forward as the ground at my feet exploded lightly. My design was using a miniature volcanic explosion to propel me forward as I stepped! I had reached the swarm in seconds and slashed through the first minion. It dissolved into pixels and my point counter went up by one. Now I understood. While coming here had a price, I could earn the points back by fighting! the point of the game was to survive! That meant that I needed to start hunting!

I smiled and began slicing away at minions as they came. I wasn't even growing tired from this, another perk of gaming. but a got a little cocky and one nailed me from behind. Pain rang in my head and my health bar dropped by twenty-five percent! That was one of the bigger ones, and the force of the blow threw me back up the mountain and into the volcano! I panicked as I fell into the lava preparing for the burn. But it didn't come. The lava was actually rather warm and relaxing, like stepping in a hot tub! More than that, my health bar wasn't going down at all. It actually started to rise just a little every two seconds! Of course I should have expected that from a character like mine.

I leaped back out of the lava once my health had reached ninety percent and went back into battle with a sense of joy. I was much more cautious around these things, but I cut through them just as fast. The points racked up and I cut down the last one after about twenty minutes of fighting. The points had racked up to a whopping 10,130! My joints began to ache a little and I stepped back into the lava to heal completely. I felt refreshed again. I looked out over the cliff and held Excaliburn high!

"How do you like that?!" I shouted out, "Is that the best you got?! Come at me Brain Burst!"

I really wish I hadn't said that.

The lava began to burn slightly and I saw that it was turning blue, just like the minions! I got back out and stayed out of the lava. The volcano erupted as a giant hand the size of my garage reached out and grabbed the side of the mountain. This thing was five stories tall and was molten blue and black, just like the minions. But this was no minion, this was the boss! Another health bar appeared with a name over it, Vulcanus the Antimagma Titan. He lifted up his head and roared, "VUUUUULLL!" The game had told me that I had to make my mark on the Accelerated World, this universe. It looked like I would have to go through this guy first.

A message came up onscreen that said, "Do you wish to go to level two?" I hit yes without even thinking and my points plummeted to 9030! it took away a thousand points from me! I completely skipped over that warning. The game then said, "New powers unlocked: Open Fire and Transition!

I was so focused that I almost got crushed by the giant's fist! "Whoa!" i screamed as I barely dodged. Shrapnel slammed into my back taking away five percent of my health. Melee attacks were NOT going to work on this big guy! So I selected my new power, Open Fire. The right wing-like formation on my back suddenly bent down and attached itself to my arm right arm. A Gatling gun appeared on the end and spun around.

"Now that's more like it! Open Fire!" I yelled and the gun fired tracer rounds at the giant. He roared in pain as his health bar slowly began to drop. My guns stopped for two seconds to reload. But by that point, Vulcanus was using his Antimagma to heal himself. It appeared that my Magma hurt him as much as Antimagma hurt me. I wasn't going about this the right way. His arm turned into a giant cannon and he fired at me. I was fast enough to dodge, but it would only be a matter of time before he hit me. I doubted I'd survive even a single shot from that thing.

But that time came whenever I slipped and he fired at the same time. I had no other options so I activated Transition. I was not prepared for what happened next. The cannon reverted to normal position and I back flipped in midair. I heard a sound that resembled the Transformers "changing" noise and before I knew what happened, I had blasted off at high speeds. I changed to third person for a moment and saw that Obsidian Proxy had just turned into an FAX-44 Mk. III fighter jet with my color scheme! Those things on my back really were wings after all! I turned back around and Open Fired on Vulcaus. He had much more trouble hitting me, but I was having trouble hitting him. and I was doing exactly as much damage as I did before.

He had to have a weakness somewhere. But it wasn't long before I saw it. Every time he fired, a pulse of light traveled from a set of lava veins over his heart and into the cannon. That was his source of power. I came back around and fired at that spot. His health dropped thirty percent over three seconds, but he covered it up with his left hand. His right arm whirled around and swatted me out of the air. I Transitioned as I skidded into the field of volcanic glass. I flipped several times before finally regaining my footing. I was down to twenty percent health! I had found his weakness, but it didn't mean squat if I couldn't hit it. I looked down and the ground cracked slightly. There was an orange glow from beneath. Lava! The entire glass field was sitting on top of one giant vat of Magma!

I had an idea.

I fired shots at the giant, and he began to lumber this way, a rumble coming from deep in his throat. I dove back into the grove of glass formations and whipped out Excaliburn. I then ran around the giant with my blade cutting into the ground behind me. Occasionally I would stop and fire a full barrel of ammo into His eyes so he could tell where I was and he'd follow me. He was now right in the middle of the field and I had completed my circle around him, at least a quarter mile in diameter. I then ran right beneath him twice as I made a giant X across the entire circle. It took a while but it was finally ready. I got right on top of that center of the circle, right in front of him.

"Hey! Hot head!" I fired at his stomach and he looked at me in annoyance. His cannon turned back into a giant fist and he hurled a punch at me. I quickly dodged as his blow connected with the ground. The mark I made in the ground was further opened by the force of the giant's attack and the ground began to crumble into the lava beneath it! Vulcanus' foot sank into the molten rock and he lost his balance. His health bar rapidly dropped as the lava burned him and his weak spot was left wide open. I Transitioned and flew in a loop and Transitioned back as I was about to slam into his heart. He began to reach for me, but I had already pulled out Excaliburn and stabbed it into his heart sinking it in hilt deep.

The Giant's heath bar shattered like glass as Vulcanus himself roared in pain and collapsed. His body slowly dissolved and a blue ball the size of a baseball sat in his place. I ran over and picked it up. It turned orange upon contact and it placed itself firmly on my sternum. A similar ball with a rocky P in the middle appeared beside my name.

"Congratulations! You have reached the rank of Magma Prime. Hold your territory and make it grow! Do you wish to link out?" Yep, I was definitely ready to take a break. So I pressed yes. "The Link Out point is located at the top of the mountain. Remember that you must first reach a Link out point to exit Unlimited Burst." I flew to the top of the mountain Now carrying ten thousand and fifty "Burst Points". I don't know where this game came from, but I loved it!

I linked out and stretched. Talk about an immersing yourself in the game. I looked back at my watch, still set to my home time zone. But I was shocked to find that the time hadn't changed at all since I linked in! That was impossible! Unless...

"Burst Link!" I said waving my hand in front of my face. In that instant, everything froze and took on a bluish tint. I found myself standing in the middle of the aisle looking at myself frozen. It made sense now. The program speeds up the user's thought process! So a half hour for me was merely a second in real time! I walked down the aisle and looked at the other passengers. This was the true potential of the Neuro Link! I decided to keep this a secret until Minato directly spoke of the program called Brain Burst.

(End of Chapter 1)

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HEEEEYYYOOO! Beowulf here! With yet another story!

I have been a huge Accel World fan and I always envied the characters in it. Just today I figured, "Good gosh! This is one of my favorite shows! How could I not have written a story about it by now?!" So I typed out this bad boy!

But it's obvious that there's something...different about Tyler Miller's Avatar, Obsidian Proxy. Seems a little odd that he starts out with 10,000 Burst points right off the bat! But there's a reason for this. I'll explain that in the later chapters. For now I need to start working on the next chapters of the other stories.

Wish me and Tyler luck!

Beowulf out!