This starts on Floor 8 of the Beta.

"Damn, where is it?" I pushed through the brush, searching for the rare mob. "C'mon, how come this bastard can hide? I just need to level-up a little more before going up against the boss." A name tag suddenly appeared: Experiened Hunter. I jumped at it and buried my sword into the bush under the tag. A cloaked figure reered up, then shattered into shards of light. A GUI appeared to show me what it dropped, then another that I had leveled up. "Perfect! I think I can take on the boss now."

"Oh, really?" I turned and saw a black and red figure drop from the trees. "It's been a while, Kirito."

I looked at him for a second. "I know I've heard that voice, but I don't recognize your avatar. Who are you again?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. "Damn, that's just cold, Kazuto. Ice cold."

"Ice cold? Wait, Bryce? You got to Beta-test too?" He grinned. "How'd you get this high, though? My detection skills say that I'm the only one above Floor 3."

"I maxed out my stealth skills before anything else so nothing could see me comin', not even players." I looked him over, taking in his avatar's appearance. He still wore the basic armor, with a red chest plate and boots over a black shirt and grey pants. An average sized sword with a red blade and black pommel was sheathed on his back. As for facial features, he had kept his IRL yellow eyes and customized his face to look like an older him. "So, about that boss..."

"Right. I think I'm high enough leveled to take it on. If you want, you could help."

He thought about it, then responded, "Sure, it'll go faster. Plus, today's the last day of the Beta and I want to get as far as I can." I sent him a party invite and he immediately responded.

"Oblivion. Sounds cool, but I don't think it'll help you get girls in here." He shrugged. "So, where'd you get that sword? I looted everything and didn't find it anywhere."

He drew it. "It dropped off an event boss last week for Halloween. I oneshot everything on Floors 5 and 6 with it." He sheathed it again. "So, do you know where the boss room is?"

I nodded. "I mapped the way. There's a safe zone with a teleport spot nearby, so we should get there pretty fast." He pulled out a Teleport Crystal. I sent him the map and we teleported there.

We drew our swords and slowly opened the door. The lights turned on and revealed a large green lump in the middle of the room. It started to move and uncurled into a huge cat. It stared at us with tired eyes, then lept to its feet and roared. Oblivion laughed. "This is gonna be fu-!" It swiped at him, throwing him across the room. "Son of a bitch!" I charged up a Sword Skill and ran at it. I cut straight through its head, bringing its HP into the red.

"Okay, not as strong as I thought it would be." I charged up a final sword skill and gave a power thrust toward its head, then suddenly time seemed to freeze.

A message appeared. It read "THANK YOU FOR PLAYING THE BETA OF SWORD ART ONLINE."

"Dammit!" we shouted in unison just before we were logged out. I angrily threw my Nerve Gear on my bed and went to take my frustration out on a bowl of ramen.

Sorry for the short first chapter, but thst just means ch. 2'll be here sooner. Give it a day or two.