Sword Art Online: THE VELVET SWORD
Prologue: Anything begins with a single step
Year: 2022
I ran, from what? Well nothing.
I was simply running to get home faster, today was the day, the day myself and thousands of people around the world had been waiting for, Today the highly anticipated Virtual Reality MMO (VRMMO) Sword Art Online officially launched!
About 10,000 copies of the game were released, and months prior to this 1,000 were allowed first peeks as Beta testers.
I, myself had to slave away at the crap summer job just to afford a place in the Beta and still have enough to buy the actual game.
But you're probaly wandering who I am?
Me, I'm no one special just some 16 year old teen, brown hair, brown eyes. Literally nothing special, just trying to survive my last years as a minor. Unlike most girls my age who preferred swooning over boys and having parties I was the exact opposite, I prefered anime, video games. All things that put me under the catagory of "Nerd" or "Weird" at school ,but when your one as shy and closed off as me, you find atleast a few friends with similar likes.
*Buzz* *Buzz*
And theres one now
"Hello?" I asked seconds after swipping my thumb over the screen of my phone with a small smile of seeing who it was who had called.
"KIRSTEN! OHMYGAWD! I GOT IT I GOT IT!" The loud-mouthed friend of mine screeched into the speaker of his phone, alot like me he was a gamer and we literally were the best of friends.
"Oliver! calm down or you'll have a heart attack before we even play" I replied sheepishly aware of the people around me who heard the boy screaming from my phone.
"Did you get it? You got it right? Ohmuhgosh i'm gonna do everything i can in SAO! first im gon' make a hot avatar, th-then im gonna uh, well y'know im gonna fight? YES FIGHT! im gonna fight mobs" I allowed the ginger on the other side of the call to rant as i now walked to my house.
During the walk we talked about what we would do in the game, how we'd find each other, what our skills would be. Me being a beta tester i had filled Oliver in on information that wasn't released in Game Informers or on IGN, I gave hard facts of what i saw. Beta was interesting though, I tried to stay on my own as much as possible, i spent most of it trying to take in the sights, learn the basics and gain strategical advantages. Apparently your beta data, such as your level would feed into your actual character.
Somehow along the talking Oliver convinced me that we'd have alot more fun if we went to my house and linked into the game together. My guess was his mom was having another Drunk day, like everyday, so i agreed.
"Olly, for the last time , I'm not gonna let you make a silly looking avatar, if you're gonna follow me you need to look half decent to atleast not drag me down"
"Oh so im following you? nah, you need me and i STILL suggest we make a stupid first avatar then just restart the game with a serious one" Oliver attempted to justify why he enjoyed making idiotic persona's.
"Just hurry up and come over. And no i dont need you" I said as I arrived to my 2-story house.
"YOU NEED ME-" I ended the call and chuckled a bit at my friend's antics, Oliver and I were so oppisite but we were the greatest of friends.
I closed the door behind me, I figured I had about 10 minutes until the loud mouthed ginger I called a friend came over so i went into my room. Nothing really interesting just 4 walls, a bed, a desk with my PC and consoles, and a closet. a note was placed on my desk, probably Mum.
I read it.
Kirsten I had to go to work early, don't expect me back until tomarrow, and if Oliver comes over dont let him break the house.
PS. feed Tomo!
I set down my bag that contained my newest game, and put cat food into my tabby's bowl, Tomo greatfully dove his gapping maw into the dried cat food.
VRMMO's were still new so not many people played them, most people were still on consoles but those were so 2014, now in 2022 things were more over the top. I tried to contain my excitment so i grabbed the NerveGear, the NerveGear was a helmet with a see through visor and a large frame that pretty much projected your mind into the game. In essense it was a marvel of engineering genius, I mean a fake world that seemed so real, thats something everyone needs to experience atleast once.
*BANG* *BANG*
And theres me co-op wing man now.
I trotted down the stairs while Oliver continued to bang away at the front door, through the frosted glass i could see his bright orange head of hair.
"I'm coming!" I jokingly yelled as I turned the knob to the door.
He went under my arm and wrapped his arm around me and pushed the door back with his foot. Like i said he and i were best friends so we never took any offence to whatever we said or did.
"C'mon lets play it!" Oliver said, the green orbs he had as eyes were ripe with excitement, Oliver was both taller and stronger than I.
I laughed and half heartedly kicked.
"Let me go you dolt!" I yelled as he pulled me up the stairs and pretty much tore the door from its hinges, he ran to my bed and quickly set me down then whirled around into his back pack and pulled out his laptop, followed by his NerveGear and a bag that obviously contained Sword Art Online's disk.
"Let's play!" He repeated for the umph-tenth time.
"I heard you the first time gosh, you dont even act your age dammit" I joked as i took my time to set up my NerveGear.
"Kirsten! You're doing that on purpose aren't you?" He said now slightly more calm as he saw me taking my time logging into my computer.
"Like you'd know" i said with a genuine smile as i ruffled his shoulder length hair and smirked.
"I know more than you" He stuck his tongue out and copied me by ruffling my longer brown hair. I reacted more than him simply because I hated when he did that.
"Whatever just don't make a female character and use our usual game names to find each other" I reread the rules we did everytime we started a new game. We would probably play for a few hours then log off and order pizza or something. Oliver hated going home simply because there was nothing there for him, other than neglect.
"Yeah i know love" He said as he plugged his NerveGear's chord into his laptop.
"WE AREN'T GOING OUT!" I shrieked at him causing Tomo to jump from his slumber.
"HaHa you wish we were though, but you're not a guy anymore so we can't! LINK START!" He always did that with NerveGear, say something really fast and start his helmet, he knew i wouldn't beat up his sleeping body.
"Stupid idiot" I muttered after hearing his head smack against the floor.
I, unlike him, laid on my bed, Tomo climbed onto my chest like he always did I petted him real quick.
"I'll be back in a bit, you're the man of the house, cutey" I said before laying back.
Why was i taking so long you ask? Hmm maybe I was scared, Maybe I was nervous to immerse myself into a game so much as to be inside it, or maybe I simply wanted to ditch Oliver.
Speaking of which.
i threw a pillow at the orange haired boy so he wouldnt say i left him on the floor alone and closed my eyes and took a deep breath...Here we go.
"Link...Start!"
I uttered the start up phrase i was had what felt like a split second of a head ache, Then muliple colors went over my vision. Multiple pop ups came up, each showing the my 6 senses were correctly put into the virtual helmet, a white wall filled my vision and a blue rectangle popped up. My account and password had already been saved aswell as my level and skill progress from the beta so with a thought of my mind the LOG IN button flashed granting me entrance.
"I hope Oliver atleast got this far" My voice was heard by no one else but me as I seemed to float in an endless abyss of darkness. However, I was standing on a flat surface.
A screen appeared with arrows and a image of my avatar showed up. This would dictate how i'd appear in the world of Sword Art Online. The options were wide array, there was Gender, Height, Hair Color, Eye Color, Facial structure, ETC. Pretty much it was a very extensive Customization sreen. Alongside that there was Class options. During the beta this was pretty extensive aswell. Every class had its own strong suits, there was Swordsmen, Duelists, Rouges, Beast tamers, Defenders, ETC. Anything you could think of they had, well except Mages and Ranged fighters such as archers which sucked.
I selected swordsmen, I always did in MMO's I liked the feel of being some "Epic Hero Weilding a Vorpal Blade into battle".
Each class would started with a different style of weapons and armor.
Swordsmen started with simple One-Handed Broadswords, while other classes like Rouges and Beast tamers started with daggers.
Oliver and I always selected classes to compliment each others skill, he'd probaly be a shield user or a Rogue or something.
I wanted to keep my Avatar atleast somewhat close to how i looked, unlike what Oliver would do, He hated his natural charm for some reason.
After a few minutes of scrolling I looked at the Avatar, obviously i chose female, brown hair, dark brown eyes, pale skin tone. I made myself slightly taller than usual and alot better looking. In essence it was simply a more exaggerated form of me, one who people could probably be attracted to.
Another screen appeared infront of me.
"Please choose a Username".
A voice rang out from the darkness around me and my Avatar.
A Username was used in place of a name for privacy reasons, Oliver and I would know each other's names but no one else would unless we really trusted them to know. I typed in the name I used in all my RPG's and MMO's.
It was simple.
"Velvet"
Letters showed up on the screen, I was never sure why but I always liked the name Velvet, it was so unique and unheard of that it made me like it. The accept button flashed and again my vision was thrown off this time it blurred and seemed to rush ahead of me.
WELCOME TO SWORD ART ONLINE!
The words popped up and I could hardly contain my excitement, THIS IS IT! I thought.
Again my vision blurred, I opened my eyes not even realizing they had been closed, I gasped for air but none was required, My vision was blurry and I blinked away the fuzzy shapes, realizing them to be other players logging on aswell, Blue lights appeared everywhere signifying another person was appearing.
This all felt so...Familiar, I was back. Back in a world where I could be who and what I wanted. I could defeat bosses, I could lead guilds, i could cook! nah that wasn't fun.
I tried to think of something cheesy to say but I was to engrossed in my surroundings, everything was much more detailed then the beta.
In the beta it hadnt been fully detailed but this, it was so real. In fact if I didnt know any better I'd say this was real they had everything perfect, Smell, Taste, Feeling, Sound. This was purely amazing.
After a moment of struggle I lifted my arm to my eyes, My hand was covered with brown fingerless gloves that ended at my wrists, my arms and torso were covered in a purple long sleeve shirt, my mid section wore a brown leather breastplate, a black skirt stopped mid thigh, all female players started with skirts, while i liked them some people didnt, black tights covered the rest of my legs but ended just inside the brown boots that both my feel sat in.
My shoulder-lengthed brown hair gently brushed against my neck and some bangs covered my forehead. A weight reminded me of the sword that was inside its holster on my back. I knew i'd have to use it to defend myself in this world though the idea made me uneasy.
"Velvet!" my eyes darted to the side as a voice that called my Username.
"Velvet this is awesome!" The boy had green hair and orange eyes and wore similar armor to mine only he had pants on instead of a skirt, and in place of my purple long sleeve he had a green one.
"Oliv- i Mean Alistar" I corrected myself to say Oliver's Username, I hadn't the slightest idea as to why he was so in love with that name, maybe he fantisized about being with a dude named Alistar or something, then again he fantisized over mostly every guy we knew.
"See I didn't go too over board with my character". Alistar said as he struck a pose and his shoulder green hair flowed in the virtual wind.
"Okay i admit you atleast did something right" I giggled as we left the large central area we had spawned in.
"How are you moving so easily?!" Alistar called as he struggled with his steps and I so gracefully took step after step.
"Beta, duh" I replied with a grin as I tried to help him work out the kinks.
We were in the Town of Beginnings on Floor 1, the town was more like a city and it was huge! Every building was finely detailed. Aincrad was a huge world. In Beta we had only reached a few floors up, the world was inhabited with NPC's and Beasts alike. It was truly amazing.
As we passed by NPC's selling arms and armor Alistar and I knew better than to buy level 1 gear, we could earn better stuff off of beast drops so we stuck with our basic gear. Oliver kept his axe and shield on his back, he would be our blocker.
"So uh you look nice" Oliver's avatar, Alistar said as he once overed me.
"And you look scruffy as ever" I grinned with my reply.
Before Alistar, Oliver, could reply a Boy in a blue shirt with dark hair passed by us. Olly and I looked at each other and slowly followed.
We werent stalkers! We just knew by the way he moved he was experienced and obviously heading out the town like us to fight enemies and level up, same as us.
"Why not just approach him?" I said to Oliver as we hid behind a crate, The blue shirt boy had been stopped by a guy with auburn hair and a bandana.
"He'll think we're PKers or something" Alistar said next to me.
PKers, I hated that word, PKer stood for player killers, they were like assassins of sort which didnt matter since we respawned in the central square where we started as I had learned in the Beta when I died twice.
"They're moving" I said to oliver as I got up from behind the crate and dusted virtual dust off my skirt. When I looked up my breathe caught in my throat.
The dark haired boy had turned around and saw us, I tried to play it off by holding Alistar's hand and leading him passed the strangers.
"What is it? Forgot something?" The auburn guy asked the other as we passed, all the while blue shirt guy kept eyes on me, I returned a sheepish grin and exited the gated to the town.
"Dam he saw us, now he thinks we're creepy" I muttered as I kicked the wall, A small purple polygon popped up saying *Immortal Object* meaning we couldn't break it.
"Um Kirst, I know Your totaly in love with me but can you let go of my hand?" Alistar joked as I realized I still had his hand in mine. I quickly released as if it was diseased and turned to hide the blush on my face, i didnt actually like him but it was embarrasing.
"Lets just go"
*12 minutes later*
"A fight already? It must be my birthday!" Alistar called he blocked a strike from a Boar with his shield, Boars were the weakest enemies in this game but were effective in groups, I knew that the hard way.
"Shut your trap and fight!" I retorted as I rolled to the right to avoid a Boar's charge, I landed on one knee and swing right. A red line signified where my strike landed. My HUD showed alistar's health and mine being in the green, The Boar's health dropped below the red and it burst into blue fragments showing it was dead. A pop-up showed the XP, Col, and loot I got from it, Col was SAO's form of money.
"Woo 2 for me how many you go-" I was cut off by a boar rushing me.
I used the flat of my sword to block the strike, My blocking wasnt good yet so I was pushed back alot, I dug my hand against the floor to halt myself, but bumped into someone, At first I thought it was Alistar but it wasnt.
The Boar leapt at me, I ducked slightly, focused on the strike, and slowed my strike slightly activated a "Sword Skill" or a power strike in plain words, my basic sword glew a pale yellow and i stabbed straight up impaling the Boar when it went over me causing it to burst into polygons.
"U-Um are you okay?" An unknown voice caught my ear and my heart sank.
"N-Not Oliver" I whispered seeing Alistar's head peek over the hill the Boar and I had went over in our fight.
"Uhhh" I turned around awkwardly realizing I was still epicly standing with my sword raised and again hoping the skirt and thigh socks wouldn't hate me and show anything below.
"I- Oh Crap its you!" I said seeing the 2 guys from the Town of Beginnings, the auburn guy and dark haired guy.
"And you're that girl who was following us" Dark hair replied.
"Huh? They were following us?" Auburn hair asked his possible friend.
"For a bit" he replied as his eyes stayed on me and peeked over my shoulder when Oliver arrived.
"I am Soooo sorry" I said putting my sword away and before I could explain what Alistar and I were doing, He raised his hand.
"I take it you were just going to see if we were just leaving the town and fight Boars and probably see if you could join?" He asked cooly but he was completley correct.
"Yeah um sorry" Alistar said as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, then stuck out his hand to the guy.
"Im Alistar, this is Velvet" Oliver introduced us and the guys shook our hands.
"Kirito" Dark hair identied himself and I shook his hand.
"Sorry about following you guys" I said quietly, I was always shy in front of other people.
"Naw its fine bud', names Klein" Auburn identified himself and shook my hand.
"Your a Beta tester aren't you Velvet?" kirito asked
"I- uh- yeah" I replied, oh he was good, it was probaly because I used a sword skill, chances are more tha half the players so far hadn't.
"Likewise" kirito said
"I knew you were familiar" I said with a bit of a smile. We saw each other a few times while we were Beta testing. If I remember correctly he was that guy who saw me get slaughtered by a hoard of Boars.
"If you're done cheating on me Velvet can we ask if we can assist you guys?" Alistar said and it earned him a weak punch in the arm.
"You guys are going out?" Klein asked.
"YES" Alistar blurted out with a smug look on his face.
"NO!" I said this time hitting Alistar harder. Earning a chuckle from Kirito and Klein.
*4 hours later*
In the time lapse we had partied up with Kirito and Klein, both who seemed like really nice people. Klein was an interesting fellow, he was open and always seemed to be smiling with something funny to say, he seemed like the kind of person you'd want watching your back while in a fight.
Kirito on the other hand was, different, I dont mean different in a bad way I simply mean that he didn't talk as much as Klein, kinda like how I was compared to Oliver. He was obviously the person you'd want to remain partied with, hell he pretty much taught us basics and things that I hadn't learned in the beta which was immensly helpful.
We had completed the quest of defeating Boars, which by the way was alot more fun with 4 players. At the moment we were sitting on a hill, The time changed quickly like in all games, it went from mid morning to afternoon quickly, or maybe we were so engrossed in SAO to worry about the real time. Klein broke the silence as I sat with my swords blade planted into the dirt and I leaned against its handle. Oliver did something similar by leaning against the starting shield he was using.
"I still cant believe it, No matter how many times i see it...WE'RE IN A GAME" He said still awestruck, I had to admit i was really in awe I just tried to hide it more than him.
"I'd pay any amount to drop out of school and live in here" Alistar agreed with Klein.
"Not me, I atleast want to have a life unlike you" I broke their bro time by jabbing Alistar with my elbow causing him to scoot closer to me and stick his tongue out.
"You guys make a big deal out of everything" Kirito said kind of dead panning the small talk we had going. As we all sat around he seemed to remain alert and stood the whole time, my guess was he was really serious as a gamer, I couldn't imagine him as a rage quiter though.
"Its my first full dive!" Klein defended himself, But it dawned on me as to why he was inexperienced, Oliver, Kirito and I all had used NerveGear before and 2 out of 3 of us were Beta testers. In a sense it was like seeing a movie for the 3rd time with someone seeing it for their first time.
"Wait this is your first time playing a game on the NerveGear?" Alistar asked saying the thoughts that were on my mind.
"I rushed out and bought the hardware to play SAO. I was real lucky to get one of the ten thousand copies" Klein explained before his gaze fell onto Kirito and I.
"But not as lucky as the 2 of you, You guys were ten times luckier getting into the Beta test" I knew we were more well informed however i wouldn't say were we very lucky, even without Beta there was other scources like the internet to get information...or maybe i was just too modest.
"I guess so" Kirito answered and scratched the back of his head. I just shrugged not really knowing where to squeeze into our small talk.
"How far did you get into the Beta tests?" Klein asked to either of us, I seized the moment.
"In the 2 months we had of Beta, all testers only got to the 8th floor" I said.
"I intend to get passed that by the first month" Kirito said proudly, well he was part of every boss raid we went through, i was in 6 out of 8 of them.
"You guys seem really into this" said Klein with a grin.
"I am too" Alistar called from behind his shield.
"Oh hush you, no one asked you" I said with a smirk at his face that read "screw you!"
"To be honest during the Beta tests, SAO was all I thought about" Kirito admitted after Alistar fell silent.
"In this world a single blade can take you anywhere..." I let Kirito continue his ranting about his immersion into this game. But I kinda phase out the rest of it as I admired the view.
"Hey, Velvet" Kirito interrupted the thoughts I had about getting the good quests quickly.
"Huh What?" I blurted out realizing all eyes were on me.
"Honestly, you phase out to much" Alistar said, I had barely realized he was now standing.
"I said want to hunt some more?" Kirito repeated what I hadn't heard. Klein jumped in before I could answer.
"I'd love to but I- uh, but im really hungry" A growl escaped his stomach, I hid the grin i had with my hand.
"Well eating food here only makes you think your not hungry" I said as i got up and sheathed my sword.
"How could the body be so evil?" Alistar said in a fake agonizing tone.
"I ordered pizza for 5:30" Klein said happily, i peeked into the corner of my HUD to see it was 5:19.
"Your prepared" Kirito said sarcastically.
"Yeah it's been real fun but we gotta go too" I said not wanting to offend Kirito or Klein and mainly becuase i didnt want oliver to try searching for the first boss.
"We'll be back though, promise" I said as Alistar complained for being a buzz kill.
"I- I see" Kirito said letting his eyes et a bit down cast. My guess was he enjoyed the company we provided and likewise I hated when no one else was around while playing MMO's.
"Oh im gonna meet up with some friends from another game after this, I can introduce you guys, you can friend them too" Klein said chirply, only Oliver noticed my shoulders tense.
"More people" I whispered to myself, having 4 players was fine with me, I just didnt want to be a stranger in a group of friends who've known each other for a long time, Its awkward and you feel left out.
"Im not so sure Klein" Alistar said being the voice for the 2 of us, He obviously felt the same way as I did.
" O-Of course you dont have to" Klein realized he had also made Kirito and I uncomfortable with the idea.
"Yeah sorry Klein" I apoligized since he was a really good friend and we flat out rejected the offer.
"Thanks though" Kirito said again letting his eyes go down cast.
"Thats my line" Klein said "I'll repay you for this sometime" He said cupping his hand on Kirito's shoulder causing the dark haired boy to laugh a bit.
"Thanks for everything" He stuck his hand out to Alistar and I which I shook happily.
"See'ya around" I said and he nodded.
I turned around and with my right arm stuck out my index finger and my thumb and swiped down causing the holographic menu to pop up. That was enough Sword Art Online for now. Alistars voice stopped me from going any further than the main menu screen which listed a players stats, inventory, and sword skills.
"Uh Vel, Kirito. Yeah total noob question but how do i log out?" He asked dumbly, Klein nodded obviously he didnt know how to either.
"You dolt its right h-...Here?"
"Well thank you Mr. Tutorial" Alistar blurted out realizing I was also confused.
T-This didnt make sense, it wasnt there, during the Beta the log out button was in settings. but it wasnt there just an empty option box.
This was bad.
I was scared out of my mind, this was the only way to log out. I made an audible sound rather than freak out, one that Klein heard.
"Well this is the first day out of Beta, there's bound to be some bugs" Klein obviously tried to lighten the mood and stop me from freaking out.
He did have a valid point, Even COD Black ops 7 had bugs during its original release, Then again that game wasnt the best it was just squeezing you for money.
I would've been calm if it wasnt for Kirito, his eye brows were frowed, he too was troubled he must've realized same as me that the only log out was messed up.
"Im sure the game masters freaking out" Alistar said placing a hand on my shoulder, as annoying as he was he knew when to be serious and be helpful.
"In a second Klein will be too" Kirito said pointing to the clock in the menu. it read 17:25, in other words 5:25 meaning he might miss his pizza. oh the irony.
"MY TERIYAKI MAYO PIZZA AND GINGER ALE!" Klein shrieked and placed his hands on his forhead, I had to admit that sucked though he had a weird taste in pizza.
"Don't worry Klein im sure we can just contact the game master" I said now being my turn to calm him down.
"I tried already" Alistar said showing a "no response" icon...Well crap.
"Isn't there other log out optioned?" Alistar asked to both Kirito and I.
"...No, the menu was the only way to log out, Even if you die you'd just spawn in the Town of Beginnings" I said summing up what i could hardly fathom.
We were stuck.
"Thats nuts, There's Gotta be another way maybe i caaaaaaan, oh maybe i can force the NerveGear off my head" Klein said as he started trying to force a fake hat off his head to no avail.
"You dunce, NerveGear cuts off all motor functions, What? Didn't you see the original beta for the helmet?" I asked quickly remembering aa video of a guy moving through out his house while moving in the NerveGear, the company got sued for the damages he caused.
"I guess we gotta wait until they fix the bug then" Alistar said as he kicked some dirt defeatedly. But who knew how long that would take, minutes, hours, days...Months even!
"Oh god i think im gonna be sick" I said swaying on my feet as the thoughts dawned on me however my mind couldnt seem to process what was happening yet.
"Or we can wai-"
"Wh-What if someone in the real world removes our NerveGear, from the real world?" Alistar cut off Kirito, the dark haired boy gave him a look pretty much showing he was about to suggest that.
"I live alone" klein said letting his shoulders slump, It could be some time until he's discovered.
"Alistar and I are at my house, but my Mom won't be back until tomarrow" I said realizing how furious she'd be at us if we missed school.
"Dammit why can't tomo be useful?" Alistar muttered probaly hoping my cat could free us.
"What about you?" Klein asked Kirito
"I have a Mom and a Sister, they'll notice by dinnerti-" Kirito was cut off by klein rushing up to him and grabbing his shoulders before he uttered the randomest question ever.
"How olds your sister?"
"Klein wow bro, There's a chance she's like 7, dont do it man" Alistar said while he pulled the auburn haired boy off the other.
"Well she hates people like us, she hates video games" Kirito said as Klein rushed passed Alistar and continued his grabbing of Kirito.
"I can change for her" he blurted out, wow he WAS that desperate, Kirito obviously had enough of Klein and kneed him in the groin causing him to fall back and scream in pain before realizing the game dampended actual damage, still though i felt symphathy for his crutch.
"GUYS CALM THE HELL DOWN!" i yelled smacking Alistar for doing nothing and putting a hand against Kirito's chest incase he tried anything else. He could obviously get passed me but still, I had to do something.
"Look, We're all just freaking out since we're stuck here, and Klein you may be desperate but you dont ask people you just met about their sisters" I said demandingly as Alistar rubbed the spot I struck him though he felt no pain.
"Don't you guys find this weird?" Kirito asked completley forgeting what just happened to Kleins baby making machine.
"Sure we do, but bugs are bugs" Alistar said and Klein agreed, i however didn't.
"Wouldn't there be like an announcement if something was bugged, they did that during Beta" I said pointing out a point Klein and Alistar didnt know.
"She's right, If we can't log out it poses a serious threat to the games future" Kirito agreed as it dawned on both the noods behind me.
"Can't they shut down the server to force log us out?" I asked kirito trying to think of how MMO's functioned.
In the distance, my guess the Town of Beginnings, a large bell rung. The bell rang everytime something was announced in the Beta, this was what i quietly still hope it meant.
"uh VELVET!" Alistar screeched as a blinding blue light overtook the four of us. when our vision returned we were back in the town square where we originally spawned and where we respawned if we died.
"Alistar, Klein, Kirito you alright?" I said as I walked over to them, my guess was since were in a party we stayed together. They all nodded showing they were unharmed.
All around us other players, and by other i mean like every player in the servor was teleported into the town square, each of them had the same expression we did.
Confusion.
"A force teleport, that means announcements right?" I asked Kirito but he seemed frozen as he looked passed me.
A large red polygon hovered in the sky above us and it read "Warning, System Announcement" this wasn't how it was in the Beta, my guess was since the game had just launched we were unable to log out until the game master had a welcoming speech or whatever, atleast I hoped.
The polygons consumed the whole sky then glitched for a second before red liquid oozed from the cracks it took me a moment to realize it was blood, either they were trying to push the gore factor or something really bad was gonna happen.
Alistar unconsciously grabbed my hand and got closer to me, by the look on his face he was also worried.
Rather than the blood fall to the floor it pooled midair and formed a really really big cloak, from our angle no face could be seen from beneath the hood so we just saw an empty void.
The robe outstretched its arms and white gloves escaped the sleeves and it hovered for a moment, players around us asked questions such as "Is that a game master?" or "Where's his face?" one girl in the distance said "Well ain't this a sunny day"
I noticed in the distance a girl in pink clutching the arm of a boy in green as he obviously tried to keep his cool.
The robed figure finally spoke but in a low tone.
"Welcome players, Welcome to MY world" The possible game master was confirmed to be a game master but what did he mean by HIS world?
"My name is Kayaba Akihiko" I gasped, that was him? If i remembered correctly Kayayba Akihiko was the head creator of both Sword Art Online AND the NerveGear, I didnt expect him to be a game master, then again this was literally HIS game.
"At this moment I am the sole person who can control this world" He continued "Im am sure you have noticed that the log out button is missing from the main menu" people who obviously weren't aware confirmed this by accessing their menus with the worry on there faces evident.
"Maybe he's gonna tell us to remain calm" Alistar whispered to me.
"Keeping calm doesn't involve dark mood and giant robes" I hissed back.
"BUT that is not a bug in the game" He concluded, my heart sank to an unfathomable reach, this was on purpose?
"I repeat" he said for people who couldn't comprehend it.
"This is NOT a defect in the game" it took all my willpower to keep from collapsing, if i was gonna throw up in the fields before, i would cough up a months worth of upchuck this time.
"It is a feature in Sword Art Online, you can not log out of Sword Art Online youselves ,and no one on the outside can remove or shut down the NerveGear" it made sense, the NerveGear had an internal battery as a safe guard, a rather ingenius idea, given the circunstances.
"Should this be attempted, the NerveGear's Transmitter with unleash a microwave thus destroying your brain" Alistar clutched my hand harder, microwaves were powerful enough to cause people to go brain dead and literally die, and he was willing to use it?
People in the crowd began gibberish talk obviously not believing this, I myself wouldn't have believe it either if it weren't for the calm collected way he stated all these facts.
Up til now Kirito hadn't moved, as if he was remembering something but before i could ask Klein spoke up.
"He's gotta be nuts, right Kirito?" Klein asked the dark haired boy who seemed more quiet than ever.
"The emmiters work like microwaves, he's right" Kirito said still not removing his eyes from Kayaba's floating robe.
"Then if we cut the power?"
"NerveGear has internal batteries" I said letting my voice slump into a pit of hopelessness.
"Unfortunatly, several players families ignored all warnings of the NerveGear" my knees buckeled, i knew what was coming next but i didnt want to think about it.
"As a result 213 players have exited both Aincrad and the other world forever" Alistar's eyes widended with realization, his orange eyes were littered with horror.
"I dont believe it" Klein and Kirito protested, I was at a lose for words.
Multiple pop up screens surrounded Kayaba.
"As you can see news broadcasts around the world are reporting all this, ensuring the danger of the NerveGears removal would be diminished so you can continue focusing on completing the game" He must be insane like anyone would try beating this game now, whats the point?
"But remember this clearly, there is no longer any method of reviving anyone inside the game, if your HP drops to zero your avatar will disapear and your NerveGear will emit its microwaves thus killing you" he said calmly not being phased by the thought of death.
I, unlike him, was horrified, i had died twice in the Beta, if we died at all we really died as in no more life for us.
"There is only one means of escape, completion of the game. your currently present on the lowest floor of Aincrad, to advance to another floor you must locate and defeat the floors boss, one by one until you reach floor 100 and complete SAO" he informed us, but still it was hopeless, like I told Klein and Alistar, the Beta testers only made it to the 8th floor and that was after months of playing WITH respawns, surely it would take much longer due to the new danger.
"And finally, I added a present to each of your inventories, please check to confirm" And as he said that each and every character swiped open there menu, I tapped the inventory icon and it showed my current armor along with my weapon and, a new item? A mirror.
I tapped the icon of the mirror and equiped it, causing it to materialize in my hand. In the small mirrors reflection I saw only my avatars face. I looked over and Alistar, Klein and Kirito along with players around me shared the same look. confusion.
A girl wearing a black dress stood near me obviously she shook uncontrollably, I too was scared but i wouldn't do any good having a break down.
"Klein!" Alistar and Kirito yelled, I looked over to see multiple players consumed by blue lights like when we were telelported here.
"Kirsten!" Oliver only used my real name in-game when something bad happens. Before I could think any further a light formed around me as well and...then it was gone? Only now i felt different, alot different. I felt smaller, i wasnt sure how to place it until i moved my legs a bit and felt it. My avatar didnt have that! I quickly pulled the mirror into my face and my eyes went wide.
Kayaba removed our avatars! He revealed us for who we truly were, my eyes shot over to the girl next to me only now in her place was a boy wearing her clothes, he must've been using a female avatar. The herioc manly males were nothing more then scruffy nerds or kids, females were a small amount.
"Velvet?" Kirito's voice asked. I slowy turned around and instead of seeing the tall Avatar he was now no taller than I, he was obviously alot younger than his Avatar protrayed.
"K-Klein?" Alistar asked, his colored had reverted from the green hair and orange eyes to vice versa making him a orange hair again.
"Alistar?" Klein said, Klein actually look very similar to his avatar just with shorter, spikier hair.
And like that the female player ratio dropped really really really low. Half of what had been girls were revealed to be boys with female Avatars.
"Kirsten are you...?" Alistar whispered to me.
"Sadly" I nodded and Grimaced as I folded my arms over my now flat chest.
"How? how do they know what we look like?" New Klein asked
"Well we did calibrate our NerveGear when we first got it right? plus the helmet covers your face it could likely scan it if it wanted to" It felt so weird having to now look up to Klein.
"But why do all this anyway?" Klein said rubbing his bandana covered forhead.
"Simple" i shrugged as new Kirito gazed at me with a very confused face.
"Would you trust me more as this?" I motioned to my body "or as my avatar?" it was true, being unable to tell who was actually watching your back hindered trust.
Klein didnt know how to respond so he fell silent but Kirito kept staring for alot longer with furrowed brows then his eyes went wide, he knew, it only took him mere minutes to see passed my appearence.
"Vel-?" he was cut off by Kayaba finally speaking.
"If your wondering why, why Kayaba Akihiko wold do such a thing? Is it for ransom? No it is not, my goal has been acheived to creat this world, and now its complete. This ends the tutorial of Sword Art Online, Good luck players" he said as his robe began to evaporate. He faded away and the sky cleared back into afternoon light.
But the courtyard was quiet, No one spoke the shock was evident all over. there was literal dead silence.
We were stuck in this world with one one way to escape, to beat the game, an MMO. When was the last time you heard anyone defeating an MMO? Those took forever to complete, and we were stuck in this, this death game.
And then, and then all hell broke loose.
Somewhere a mirror shattered from someone loosing its grip. A girl shrieked at the top of her lungs. And people began opening there menus and mashing the empty icon for the log out.
And here we were, Standing amongst the chaos, in the corner of my vision a girl plopped to her knees, She couldnt of been more than 12, before I could do anything a hand grabbed me. I looked up to see Oliver dragging me out of the courtyard, ahead of us Kirito did the same to Klein. Kirito obviously knew what to do as the players rioted and panicked.
Kirito dragged us until we were in the alley he had met Klein and made sure no one was around. The screams from the courtyard were still evident.
"Listen to me" Oliver shook me seeing I was frozen with my eyes glassed over.
"Kirsten, I won't let anything happen, you know me" Oliver swore causing me to look up and realize Kirito and Klein also stood over us.
"I have an idea. Im heading to the next town" Kirito said to all of us, he was planning on moving through the game? At our level?
"You guys, come with me" Kirito said to each of us. As much as I hated the idea of Leaving the safety of the town i knew, We needed to leave or else we'd never escape this endless nightmare. If we were to ever see our real lives again we'd need to beat this game.
"If what Kayaba said is true then the only way to survive is to become stronger, thats your plan right?" I asked kirito nodded but still his gaze lingered.
"Rescourses in an MMO, EXP, money, gear, everything we earn is limited" I knew what he meant, a quest could only be taken by multiple people so many times. In this town the quests would be squandered and the fields would be hunted clean through causing monster spawns to diminish around here meaning less EXP and Col to recieve.
"We should head to the next town now to be the first to get our hands on the good quests and gear?" Alistar asked processing the idea.
Kirito nodded.
"Velvet and I know the dangerous paths and the easy drops, We can get there at our level together." I nodded, if there was one thing i paid attention to it was spawns and easy places.
"I want to, but... But I spent a whole night in line for this game with my friends, they're still back there, in the plaza" Klein said, What he said made sense, His friends came first to him. He was honorable i had to admit, He wouldn't abandon them for anything.
If it were just Kirito he could watch just himself, if we came along he'd have to worry about other players, just the four of us were good, but more could easily slow us down. As sad as it sounded we couldn't afford to do that. That meant only one thing.
Klein was staying.
"I can hardly ask anymore of any of you, So go to the next town. Just know that i'll be catching up soon" Klein said grinning, Nothing could keep this man down for long.
"Kl-Klein?" I said as I approached him, He was a true friend even if we just met I knew I could rely on him to tough out this game with us even if he wouldn't always be alongside us.
"Don't worry kiddo, I'll have plenty of eyes to watch my back" He said giving a thumbs up, As much as i wanted to believe him i would miss him company.
I rushed towards him and death squeezed him with a hug.
"Stay alive, for us, Im gonna miss your talking" I said squeezing one more time then stepping back, Oliver stepped forward and gave him a bro hug, though I could tell oliver probablly "like" liked him.
"You guys make it seem like im gonna die" Klein said for a moment then realized how easily that could happen to us.
"Well kirito, Alistar and I will go with you, don't worry we can handle our own" I said sticking my hand out.
He looked at me for a second, it was still apparent he knew my secret but he neverminded it for now and shook my hand and alistar shoved his hand passed me to shake too.
"I ran a guild in another game so don't worry about me" Klein said to alistar.
"Then this is goodbye" Kirito said and turned on his heel, I stayed still, I didnt want to leave Klein so easily, neither did Oliver but we had too.
"Uh kirito, Alistar!" Klein called to us after we took a few steps. We turned with raised eyebrows.
Klein looked at us like he wanted to say something but he hesitated.
Kirito began to walk again with his eyes down. Alistar put an arm on my shoulder and we turned around.
"Kirito, Alistar" whatever doubt Klein had was now gone.
"You were actually pretty cute" What he said caught my ear, was he saying what i think he was saying?
Alistar got a big head about it and turned around.
"And your still as hot as you can be Klein, I think the short hair suits you, Stay sexy" Oliver winked and I bopped him with my elbow. If klein was saying that to only Kirito and Oliver i knew why, probably a couple of years ago I would've been included in the 2 but not anymore, things, and people change.
"Thats my type" Klein said as Kirito turned around to look at him.
Kirito smiled "and the unkept look suited you ten times better" Kirito said to him and i just kinda shrank in the background to not be noticed.
Kirito and Alistar started running ahead, I stayed planted and Klein walked up to me
"Look out for them, even if you and Alistar aren't dating he still wants to protect you, Do the same for both of them" klein said before patting my head and turning around.
I said nothing and just turned on my heel to catch up to Kirito and Alistar.
Kirito stopped and realized I wasnt with them then looked over my shoulder to see Klein gone. In the HUD he disapeared from our party, army of 3 now.
"Hh we're on the h-IGH way to hell" Oliver sang as we ran, nothing could bring down the ginger's ever happy attitude.
"You had to say it?" I asked as we ran next to Kirito who grinned in return.
"YOU CAN'T RESIST SINGING TOO VELVET!" Alistar laughed knowing I liked music. I shook my head and we soon exited the town of beginnings, we probaly wouldn't be back for a long time.
After all this was just the Beginning, the Beginning of the hell we'd have to embrace to ever escape it. what Kirito said stuck in my head.
A group of wolves spawned in front of us and started running towards us, Kirito and I grabbed our swords and Alistar grabbed his axe and shield.
"A single blade can take you anywhere" He was too right.
We wouldn't give up we would fight til we could no longer lift a weapon.
we would endure.
we would struggle.
WE WILL SURVIVE.
(AUTHORS NOTE: THIS IS MY FIRST FANFIC EVER SO I DONT MIND HATE MAIL. I WILL TRY TO KEEP THIS SERIES AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO THE CANON OF THE ANIME WHICH I ALREADY BROKE BY INCLUDING MY OC'S. WELL THEY'RE TECHNICALLY NOT OC'S SINCE KIRSTEN IS BASED OFF OF MYSELF AND OLIVER IS MY FRIEND FOR REAL.
I MAY PUT IN A FEW EXTRAS FOR LIKE FLOORS THAT WERENT MENTIONED IN THE ANIME OR MANGA SIMPLY TO EXTEND THIS SERIES A BIT MORE. AND DONT WORRY IM NOT GONNA PULL SOME CRAP LIKE "OH KIRITO ISN'T THE ONLY DUEL WIELDER" OR "OH THIS PERSON HAD THIS HAPPEN? IM GONNA CHANGE IT" DON'T WORRY I ATLEAST WANT TO KEEP PEOPLE INTERESTED WITH A AVERAGE SKILLED PLAYER.