The Demon Swordsman

by Sugoi123

A young boy, so carefree and lazy. Would you expect him to have a dark side? Would you think him able to take lives? Kirito, a youth who exceeds all expectations was stuck in a death game against his will. Trapped and unable to see his family, the boy results to trying to clear the game only to face hardships along the way. Can he succeed all expectations still?

Well how's it going people? If you're wondering, I'm new here. New to SOA - despite having watched all the episodes so far - and I hope that you'll find my spin of SÃO entertaining.
Please, if you see any discrepancies in time periods, items, bosses, grammatical errors etc... Make sure you let me know so I can correct them!
Now, without further ado;
Link Start!

This all started after I woke up and saw my sister off to Kendo practice. At first, it was just a mild feeling in my gut that was telling something bad was going to happen. Reminiscing back, I'd be able to say it felt like I was going to throw up, one of the restrictions to playing the Nerve Gear, an unspoken rule if you will. Never dive if you don't feel one-hundred percent. That was the unspoken rule. It would affect your game-play, the officials would say. Oh, where are my manners? Hi, my name is Kazuto Kirigaya and this is how I got stuck in a death game.

Sword Art Online, the very first VRMMORPG game to be created, created by a man that I looked up to as an idol. Akihiko Kayaba. I was one of the lucky one-thousand people that got to beta the game and for one month straight we - the betas - tested the mechanics, the cardinal system and all the other features the game had to offer. It was a dream come true, even for someone as aloof and laid back as me. We tested everything we could, skill slots, trades, duels and even PKing - Player killing for those who aren't aware. Now, Sword Art Online wasn't necessarily a dedicated PvP game, but it was fun nonetheless, to strike down and be struck down due to always re-spawning, in the end. You'd get a sense of camaraderie from your opponents, respect earned and given from winning and losing fights, although I didn't lose many fights, hehe.

In a month of gaming, all the betas managed to reach the maximum level cap of level thirty and managed to clear the tenth floor boss. The progress was amazing when everyone worked together, and with the one-thousand betas going to dive in at 1PM on November 6th 2022 when the official Servers for SOA would be launched. If everyone worked together, like in the beta, then the community of SAO would have the game cleared in no time flat, maybe even be at the 20th floor by the end of the first month, the optimistic side in me would say. However, when I dived at 1 PM along with ten-thousand other users from around the world, what I expected was to be able to grind up loot and EXP so I could fight on the front lines. The expectation that me and many others thought would be the logical outcome. What we didn't expect was for the Log out button to disappear within four hours of the game being online, nor did I expect to be whisked away by a man named Klein as he explained that he was a total noob at SAO.

It was while he was panicking over his Pizza that he ordered for 5:30PM that a mass TPA was issued forcing every single player that was on SAO into the starting city; Town of Beginnings. A fitting name really. It's where every player starts their journey to becoming the best, either in battle or trade. For me, I've always had an oversized Ego when it comes to games, so striving to be the best is just ingrained in my blood. But, now I'm just getting off topic.

The Mass TPA summoned every gamer in SOA to the Town of Beginnings, right. What everyone expected was a GM to appear and tell them that they were working to fix the missing log out button 'bug' or for the starting tutorial to conclude. What everyone didn't expect was for a humongous robed figure to appear from the sky claiming to be Akihiko Kayaba. The man gave everyone the basic evil villain speech, "I've trapped you all in here, and if you die in this game you die in real life," yadda yadda yadda. Apparently, two-hundred and thirty people had already died because family on the outside had messed with their Nerve Gear and not heeding Akihiko Kayaba warning. There isn't much I could do about that even if I tried, so I fail to understand why that information was supposed to affect me in anyway. However, by looking back at it, I now feel like the information was meant to scare the players into taking the game seriously.

So, here everyone stood as Akihiko Kayaba finished his announcement before dissolving back into the blood-like substance that he arrived in. His disappearance sent the whole Plaza into a frenzy as people started to break down and cry wishing they had never brought the Nerve Gear. Idiots. The lot of them. Seeing as we're all trapped until we beat the entire game, this is our reality now. Why does no one seem to understand that?

Well, I suppose that's enough from me because that's all that has happened so far, hehe. I guess this is where the story of Kazuto Kirigaya ends and the story of Kirito; the Demon Swordsman, begins!

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"Quick Klein, follow me!" a youth said as he grabbed the sleeve of the closest person to him. The boy's black hair shot back from the sudden burst of speed as the virtual wind hit his face while he dragged a taller man out of the crowd of crying people. The man that was being dragged could do nothing but accept his fate as he came off the floor slightly, his red bandana trying to worm itself free from his head, the spiky brown hair he owned wobbled as the wind slashed at him from the speed they were traveling at.

The black haired youth had managed to round the corner when he felt some resistance from his first… friend of this game. Klein. The man looked vaguely similar to his avatar, the only difference was that Klein was slightly shorter and didn't have any facial hair. Other than that, the man was donned in the starting gear of a rich shade of red, the basic katana at his side and a sheepish grin on his face as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Why are we stopping Klein? The mobs around this city will be picked dry. We can get better gear and EXP if we run to the next town." The boy said calmly with confusion etched on his face. The boy just couldn't understand why Klein wouldn't move, he was standing there with a sorry expression in his eyes.

The brown haired man sighed slightly and looked to the black haired boy, "remember those friends I was telling you about?" at the boy's nod, Klein pushed on, "Well they're in the town somewhere, probably scared out of their brains. I can't leave them." The man said firmly. He was grateful of all of the boys help thus far, but he couldn't expect more from the boy. "I can't ask you to come with me. I'm super grateful for all the help you've given me, but asking you to help my friends as well would just be cheeky." Klein said cheerfully and smiled, he knew the boy wouldn't come if he asked, mainly because of when they were attacking the level 1 mobs the young man had declined to meet his friends outright.

The child didn't say anything but he did smile knowingly as his shoulders lay drooped backwards slightly, an easy-going and aloof expression on his angular face that seemed to suit him perfectly. He knew what Klein wanted to ask, and he would have refused.

"It's fine Klein. You know me, I just like to let the wind take me." The boy said cheerfully as he gazed wistfully into the sky feeling the slight breeze that swept around him.

Klein hummed slightly as he began to turn around, "Damn right I do, you lazy ass!" he half joked, the black haired lad was a lazy ass that watched the Level 1 boars use him as a punching bag before he opted to correct him. "You get yourself out of here, you hear? The next time I see you I'll challenge you to a duel and show you how far I've gotten from your teachings!" Klein spoke loudly as he turned around to gaze one last time at his new friend only to realise he wasn't there.

Sweat dropping and sighing loudly, Klein stared hard into the sky as he thought about the black haired boy. It was Klein that had chased him down as he ran into a street between two buildings, and it was Klein that had demanded that the boy teach him how to start the game. Throughout all of the proceedings, the boy stood there with an easy going expression and aloof smile on his face as he nodded to Klein's demands.

The smaller youth just seemed to radiate a confident but very lazy aura around him that Klein just couldn't help but enjoy. The only problem was that the boy wasn't very talkative, more opting towards lying down with a smile on his face and his eyes closed as he absorbed the virtual rays from the sun. Why? Klein had no idea, but it was fun to watch either way. Not that he wasn't into watching younger boys that is, no sir, Klein was one-hundred percent a self-proclaimed ladies' man.

So it was with a small smile on his face as he thought about his new friend that he started walking back towards the town centre where the beta testers most likely had disappeared from. He couldn't blame them really, why would they stay around to help when their actual life is in danger, this wasn't just a game anymore, this was reality.

It was at that moment that Klein realised something; something rather important.

"HEYYY! KIRITO! YOU DIDN'T GIVE ME YOUR CONTACT INFOOOOO!"

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"Don't worry Klein, You'll get my info soon enough." A hearty chuckle escaped a black-wearing boy's lips as he thought to the scream he'd just heard from the town. Ever since he left Klein in the alley way, Kirito's thoughts kept wondering what it would be like if Klein was with him. He was almost completely positive that it would be a 'laugh of an adventure' while Klein's company would take a certain edge of Kirito's shoulder. Despite the carefree smile on the boy face, his eyes held a sharp glint as he ran through level 1 Boars without even using a Sword Skill and watching them explode into polygons. Kirito was currently level 2 and having spent 2 points into his Agility stat to make himself quicker allowed for more ground covered in a shorter amount of time.

"I need to get to the second town quickly and get the quest for the «Anneal Blade» which came with the stats of 3S3D three sharpness and three durability. It was quite possibly the best starting sword you could get at level 4. While Kirito wasn't level 4 yet, he knew that after completing the quest and killing the Little Nepents for the quest drop of six flowers, he would be level 4 and strong enough to wield the «Anneal Blade+6». It was with that thought that Kirito pushed harder on his sprint down the path and chopped through as many Level 1 monsters as possible.

The night was slowly coalescing with the day as the half-moon started to rise into the sky and Kirito stopped his mad dash of killing Boars to stare at the beautiful scenery. Despite not being able to look up into the real sky anymore from the comfort of his own bed, the virtual night sky seemed just as beautiful, if not more so.

No. Stop that. The boy grumbled to himself, the answer was obvious but he kept trying to convince himself that it wasn't. They were trapped in this game with only one hope of escape. This was no longer the Virtual world; this was reality. There was no difference anymore, virtual became real. Everything that they experience in this game will be like they are living here, in the present. No one knows what the future will hold and it's only up to the people if they are willing to forget their pasts until this is over.

It was with a heavy sigh and a small smile that Kirito began his running pace again, he had a destination to be at, after.

It was time that he started living in the present.

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So, what do you guys think for the Prologue? Love it, hate it? I'm open to suggestions and all feedback!

Pairing, as of this far, isn't an option. Kirito is too driven to be looking for a girl, yet. However, that may change in chapters time, I'm not sure yet.

Heads up;
if no one realised then you will soon, Kirito in this story isn't a serious, brooding guy. He's laid back, aloof and downright lazy. But he has ambition, and ambitions can take a man a long way. He may seem a little standoffish, rude and uncaring at times, but be aware that it is only because this is how my Kirito deals with his problems. This is an AU story with Kirito going to be OOC at most points. No, Kirito won't have a Harem and no, he won't be too OP too quickly. (My idea of a main protagonist is that they should be the strongest, the story follows them after all.) This Kirito will not hold back when challenged and he most certainly won't stay in the shadows. He doesn't want to be feared, but respected, and there is a back story to that. OC's have not crossed my mind as of yet, but there shall be somewhere necessary to split up key arcs and events.

Please leave a review and I should be able to respond either to your PM's or next chapter!

Peace!

Not Beta'd.