Chapter 1: Deep under the sand of despair, rises an Assassin.
November 6th, 2022
I looked at the time on the computer screen without realizing a small grin fond on my lips. It's already 12:54 p.m, only 6 minutes left until the actual launch of Sword Art Online, the game that has made the gaming industries reach to a whole new level and guess what, only 10,000 copies are sold and I'm currently possessing one of the items. Not only I have a copy of SAO for myself but also I'm one of the one thousand lucky player able to join the beta test pf the game. I guess that this Tatsuo Kurogane right here must be a very, very lucky son of a b*tch. Also, I must say that Akihiko Kayaba is a genius, the creator of this game who single-handedly create this game and the hardware necessary for this game. I hope I could be like him though. I'm 15 years old and only three years left until university. I think I'm gonna find a game design course for myself... Oh you know what, f*ck that. Sword Art Online is almost started and I'm blabbering to myself about my stupid, idiotic future plans. I really need get those thoughts out of my head and try to enjoy this game, for my sake.
I looked at the time again, it's 12:56 p.m and almost time for the game. I turned off my PC and headed to my bed, plugged in the NerveGear and put the game in. After everything was done and set, I climbed on my bed and wore the NerveGear on my head and turned it on. Then the machine to ran it sequence before became into safe mode and stand by. I managed to put on a satisfied grim on my face. Only thinking about participating in SAO make me feel so excited. My parents has gone to work in the morning and probably won't come back until that means I have my five epic hours of fun and fun only. I looked at the time again on the monitor of my NerveGear as the time went exactly to 12:59 p.m, one more minute until I can log on, I began to start counting mentally, in my head: 1, 2, 3... 34, 35, 36,... until the time went to 13:00 p.m. As it did, my heart began racing, it's pounding harder inside my chest, telling me to join in already. I closed my eyes and ready to log on as I said two words.
"Link start."
As soon as I said those words, the whole thing went white as my reality has gone away from me, sending me to this virtual reality world, where I can become anyone I want to be. As the lines filled with colors ran pass me and began to automatically log on with my account. Then it switched to the avatar customization part with a few lines appeared in front of me: The save data from the previous beta test is still available. Do you want to reuse it? ARNAUD (M)
I read the line and thought about it for a moment. I could recreate my own avatar again, a female character, perhaps. I always want to do it for a few times, fooling everyone with my girlish avatar. That would be fun. But then as I thought about the avatar that I have devoted myself since the beta test and if I deleted it, it would be a waste. So I decided to keep old avatar for myself, named Arnaud. Besides, I got this name from the French-Austrian Assassin: Arno Dorian from Assassin's Creed Unity and I thought the name was pretty cool one. Man, those Assassin's Creed series were really badass and I love those games so badly that I even have a whole Assassin's Creed collection for myself although the series is pretty old now, but I still consider it's one of the most worth-experiencing game. Too bad I can't become an Assassin in this game though. What a pity for me! I chose 'yes' to complete my decision and when I'm done that, the game greeted me with its flashy 'Welcome to SWORD ART ONLINE' before teleported me to somewhere else and some streak of blue lights and electricity went by. I noticed that the teleportation was done as I opened my eyes, blinking for a few times before looking left and right as I noticed myself was in an arena slowly filled with other players logging in as well. I looked down at my hands and noticed that I was wearing a pair of black boots and the same color fingerless pair of gloves, a dark blue shirt with a white stripe across my chest with a brown leather armor covered outside and dark brown pants below my shirt and armor. Before I could realise, I was smiling to myself with a smirk on my lips, knowing now that I'm in a virtual reality world. After finished grinning like a fool, I dashed swiftly to the other side of the arena and headed to the market. I kept running and turned left as I found a path leaded to field outside 'The Town of Beginnings' until someone stopped me with his voice.
"Hey, wait for a minute!" I stopped running and turned around, finding myself looking at a man who was running like crazy to catch up with me. He had his magenta hair reached down his shoulders and wore a red bandana with a few bright yellow line on it tied across his head. He also had the same leather armor that I wore on my body while having a white long sleeve shirt instead of my dark blue one, dark brown pants, light brown boots and a small curved sword strapped on the left side of his waist. He panted heavily after catching up with me, standing a meter or two away with hands on his knees.
"Me?" I asked, pointing at myself with my right index finger. After a few seconds of trying to regain his breath, he raised his head up and looked at me with a nod.
"Who else, man? Jeez, you moved and ran like you're already in this game before. Are you one of the beta testers, right?" He asked which I gave him a slight nod as an answer. The guy then stepped closer to me and put his right hand on my left shoulder, making me flinch slightly at his sudden action. Does this guy even touch, like, everyone he first met? Do you even know the word 'privacy' means?
"Oh thank God! It's my first time in this game and I really need somebody to teach me basic things around here. Could you help me, bro?" He said with a really, really funny look on his face as he's asking me for my help.
"U-uh..." I replied weakly, still don't know what to do with this dude right here. Interacting with other people is one of the best things that I can not do. That's why I always spend time playing games... I still spend time playing sports and learning martial arts though. They could improve your health and help you to defend yourself.
"Thanks, bro! I'm Klein. It's nice to meet you!" He introduced himself with a wide grin on his face.
"I'm Arnaud. Nice to meet you, Klein-san." I replied with a small smile and shook his hand. Well, at least it's not that bad, I can be able to interact with Klein here so it should be no problem. Klein seems to be a nice person.
"Well then, shall we head out?" I suggested. Maybe the field outside the town is a good place for him to start with the basics.
"Then what're we waiting for? Lead the way already!" With his enthusiastic answer, we started to head out to our destination. Hope this's gonna be quick!
'Well,... highly unlikely! This is not what I expected. I doubt that he could kill this boar without my help.' I thought to myself as Klein just got himself hit by the boar that he just attacked and landed on the ground with his butt. Nice landing, bro, but seriously, is my explanation about Sword Skills that hard for you to understand, pal? And what the hell are you doing? The definition of 'pain' is not even exist in this game, ya know?
"Um, you know that you can't feel any pain in this game, right?" I deadpanned to the guy who was writhing on the ground for a while before he just blinked and stood up with his feet and hold his curved sword on his right hand.
"Oh yeah, right! My bad... It's just an old habit." He mumbled, readied his stance again. This is one hell of a day for me.
"Like I said earlier, it's important that you control your own movement." I looked at the guy again and focused at his health bar, it looks like he lost some HP, but not too much so it wouldn't be a problem though. Klein leaned forward a bit and readied his sword with both of his hands, muttering "Easy for you to say, but it just don't stand still." He looked at the boar, it was grunting while switching its tail calmly. I just smirked for a bit and kneeled down to pick up a small pebble.
"Well, let's just say if you do the initial motion right..." I tossed the pebble in the air and caught it. I then draw back my right arm and narrowed my right eye in order to aim at the boar while initiating my Sword Skill. It wouldn't do any damage though, but my action should at least draw the boar's attention and that's enough for me "... and activate your Sword Skill at the right time..." I continued to explain further before throwing the object to my target, making a boom sound as the pebble hit right at the boar on its left flank, making it squeal in irritation. I could see a small red marked on the boar's left flank, where I just struck earlier but it quickly faded away. "... And then, the system will handle the rest of the work." I finished my sentence and straighten up my body as I saw the boar turned around and faced me. I think it's going to charge at me due to my previous action.
"Motion... motion..." Klein mumbled quietly, looking confused as ever. Oh come on, you still don't get it? I pulled out my cutlass from my left waist, holding it with my right hand, ready to face off my angry enemy. The boar began to strap himself and charged at me.
"How should I put it in another way..." I spoke as I dodged the boar's attack easily. It returned and charged again though instead of dodging this time, I used my cutlass and hold the boar off while continuing my words "After you finished your stance, wait for a bit longer. When you feel like the skill is ready to activate, just shoot right then."
"Just... shoot..." He muttered again before he widen his eyes and gasped. He got himself in his fighting stance again, he slightly leaned forward, he got his knee bent down a bit and his feet apart from each other as he raised his curved sword on his right shoulder and waited. After a few seconds, the sword glowed pale yellow.
'You finally get it, don't you?' I thought to myself with a small smile. I drew back my weapon and kicked the boar, making it head to the novice swordsman. As the boar ran toward Klein, the swordsman let out a cry and swung his sword forward. His sword skill activated, making him move forward at high speed, slicing through one side of the boar. All of its HP drained out and the boar burst into blue polygons and float up into thin air. I looked at Klein who just smiling widely before raising up his hands along with his sword in the air and celebrated his first victory. I just gave him a small smile before saying "Congrats!". With that, I walked up to the guy and have him a small high-five.
"But you know, that boar is just the beginning monster of this game, like the slimes in other games." I swung my sword and sheathed it back. Klein just hung his mouth wide open. Sorry to kill the mood, bro.
"What the hell? You gotta be kidding me right!?" He raised his voice, getting confused what I just said earlier. "I thought it was a middle-level boss or something like that."
"Yeah, right." I replied in a mocking tone while looking over to the other fields where more boars spawned. I then gazed back at Klein who just trying out all of his skills.
"Got addicted to it already?" I asked the guy who just turned his head and gave me a nod.
"Yeah dude!" He answered as he did a few moves like stabbing with his sword with different motions while saying "So, there's a lot of skills right, like blacksmithing or enhancing?"
"Yeah, I heard the game offer an unlimited number skills, but for magic, there's none of them though." I answered, still looking at Klein who was messing around with his curved sword with different styles.
"An RPG without magic huh? That's a very bold decision man." The red haired swordsman said as he unleashed another Sword Skill, making move forward again before he brought his hands up to his face and teared up in happiness. Enjoy the little things, my friend. Enjoy the little things.
"So, how is it? It's much more fun when you move your own body to fight, rather than sit still and look at your computer, right?" I asked the fellow swordsman who just turned around and nod with a wide smile.
"Definitely dude!" He replied which I just smiled and nodded my head before I asked him again. "So, you ready to go again?"
"Yeah man, let's keep going!" He replied enthusiastically. We then resumed our training from earlier. After a while of training Klein with his Sword Skill, we stopped and decide to enjoy ourselves in this fresh environment and surroundings. The sun was going down, making the view more beautiful than ever. Kayaba did a very wonderful job simulating the time cycle in the World of Aincard, or Sword Art Online. I could feel the wind blowing over my face, even though it's just database from the game. Klein sat on the grass while I was standing as I stretched out my arms and take a deep breath as we enjoyed the view of this virtual reality world.
"Man, seriously, when I'm looking around me, I still can't believe that we're in a game right now!" I have to agree with the guy right here. I have been waiting for this moment to become real in many years. The game has become more lively and real, with its stunning graphics as well and it's all thanks to the development of Full Dive technology. "The guy who made this game is definitely a genius. It's awesome, right? Honestly saying, I'm really glad that I was born in this time." Klein continued his words.
"Really dude? You just melodramatize things." I told him, still observing the environment in front of me.
"Can't help it, ya know. It's because that this is the first time I have ever experienced Full Dive technology." He answered, making me look at him in surprise for a bit.
"So this is the first time you use NerveGear to play a game?" I asked inquisitively.
"The truth is, when Sword Art Online came out, I went all the way just to buy the device for this game. I'm really lucky to buy one of ten thousand copies of this game. But you're even luckier than me, like ten times as you're one of the beta testers." His last sentence caught my attention, making me gaze at him. But before I could say anything, he continued "Only one thousand players can participate the event man!"
"Yeah..." I replied as I used my right hand scratched my head.
"So, in the beta test, how far did you guy go?"
"I could only be able to reach 8th floor in two months." I told him, without realizing he's gazing at me curiously as I continued with a grin "But it will be only be month this time."
"You really put all of your heart and soul into this, don't you?" He asked.
"Well, during the beta test, Sword Art Online was the only thing that I thought about from day till night." I drew out my cutlass and observed it while continuing "For me, even though this is just a virtual reality world, I think that it's much more real and livelier in the real world." As I finished my sentence, I smirked slightly and sheathed the sword back.
"Now then, ready to go for another one, Klein?" I offered to the guy who just nodded in excitement.
"Oh hell yeah dude!" He exclaimed, but then he hesitated for a bit and said "I-I mean I would really love to but..." He looked down at his stomach and continued "I'm really hungry right now."
"Oh yeah, the food in here can only help you think that you aren't hungry." I said.
"Hehehe, don't worry about it! I already ordered a pizza at 5:30."
"Dude, you've prepared for all that?" I sweat-dropped at his comment.
"Of course I do! But I will be back again once I'm done with my meal."
"Oh..." I looked away, feeling a little bit disappointed. I really enjoyed Klein's company, he seems to be a really nice person but well, guess I can't help it. Klein stood up and spoke.
"Hey... I was going to meet up with some friends of mine from another game" He said "...And I'm wondering if you want to but if you do then, you know, hang out with us..." I turned to him and shocked at his offer. I wasn't ready for anything like this. I then looked away, refusing to look at Klein. He seems to notice that as he said "Oh... It's alright if you don't have to. It's cool. I can always introduce you to them in another time, if you like." That's relieving to hear. At least he's okay with it.
"Yeah, sorry about it. Thanks anyway." I said.
"Oh no, I should be the one doing the 'thanking' instead." He waved his hand rapidly. "You know, one day I'm going to repay you all of your help. Promise!"
"Yeah, no problem." I replied with a small smile on my face.
"Well then, I guess I see you later buddy." Klein held out his hand, demanding for a shake. I just took it and shook my hand.
Klein then waved his hand goodbye one more time before logging out. I did the same to him before continued my journey.
"Huh?" Klein's unexpected voice surprised me. I turned around and looked at him as he continued "Where's the log out button?" What the? The log out button should be in the Option menu, at the bottom.
"It should be there." I said.
"Ummm... No, it's not there." He replied. This is so confusing. Why it's not there? I walked to him and opened my menu to see it for myself. I tried to navigate the log out button but it turned out, what Klein said was true. I couldn't see any log out button in the Option section. It should be in there though.
"What the...?" I unconsciously let out, try to find the button in the other place like Help section,... but I still couldn't find that damn log out button. It's like that the button itself does not even exist in the first place.
"Told you so!" Klein remarked. I just slightly nod in agreement.
"Yeah! You're goddamn right. It's not there." I commented confusingly. The log out button couldn't have gone anywhere. This is really confusing and exhausting.
"Oh well. It's the first day of the release so there should be some bugs in the game. I bet some players are freaking the hell out right now." He joked, letting out a small laugh.
"Shouldn't you? Look, it's 5:25, almost for your pizza time." I pointed to the clock at top of my screen. I then looked at Klein whose jaw dropped and eyes widened. The reaction of the swordsman was ridiculously hilarious. He clutched his head, screaming "Oh god, my Teriyaki Mayo pizza and Ginger Ale!"
"Just contact the GM already. They should be able to do something." I gave him my advise. Klein noticed right then and said
"Oh yeah about that, I already did, but nobody's picking up." Klein looked at me with hopeful eyes. "There should be some other ways to log out of this thing, right?"
I thought about it for a bit, using my left hand scratched my chin. As then, I widened my eyes in both realization and horror.
"No, there's not! The only way to log out of SAO is to go through the main menu and select the log out option." I said to Klein.
"There's gonna be another way!" Klein then tried a lot of different poses and shouting like "Log Out", "Escape",... But completely useless and unnecessary as hell.
"Told you so. The only way to log out is to interact with the main menu and use the log out option. There's no guide for emergency log out in the manual either."
"No kidding man." Klein looked stunned at my own words. But it's the truth and I can't do anything about it. Suddenly, Klein's eyes were full of hope again as he asked.
"That's it! We can remove our NerveGear, right?" Klein told me as he grabbed his own head and pulled it up.
"It's not gonna work though, no matter how hard you try to do so. Once you're using the device, it will separate your mind and your body by preventing our neurons signal to transfer to our body parts. In other words, you cannot move your body in the real world." I explained to him, making him shocked even more.
"No way... So now we have to wait until the GM fixes this bug for us to log out?" He muttered with his shaking voice.
"That, or wait until someone in the real world come in our rooms and take off our NerveGear." I added. Shit, this is not good. My parents won't be back until 7:00 and my sister is hanging with her friends and she should be back by 6:30. That means I'm stuck in here for another hour. Luckily that my sister will be the one who go home first or otherwise, my parents are gonna be so piss when they know me playing games for 6 hours continuously.
"Well, I live alone. How about you Arnaud?"
"My parents won't be back till 7 but my sister will by 6:30 so I guess I'm gonna..." Before I could say any further, Klein interrupted me by rushing over and grabbing my shoulders, making me flinch. The look on his face made me horrified. Dude, what... the... hell?
"You-you have a sister? How old is she? What's she like?" Klein asked enthusiastically. What...? You asked about my sister. I lifted my right foot up and stepped back.
"Um... One thing I know that you're not her type man." I deadpanned at the guy. I didn't lie though, unlike me, she's a very outgoing person and have a very good relationships with her friends and people around her. That's why we're so different, and that's one of the reasons why we barely talk to each other. We used to be close though, but that's story of years ago. Klein, in spite of my words, he kept moving forward with passion in his eyes while I kept falling back.
"Who cares man? Come on, introduce -" I interrupted him with a kick right at his groun. He flew backwards and writhed once more on the grass before he stopped and stood up "Oh, right, it doesn't hurt in this game. Forgot about that."
I looked at the skies again with a serious expression. "This is weird, don't you think Klein?"
"Don't worry, it's just a bug. They'll fix it soon, right?"
"It's not just a bug. This is a very serious issue for the game. If we cannot log out, it's going to cause a lot of other problems for the game too." I got even more serious than before, making Klein widened his eyes and nodded.
"Yeah, guess you're right man." Said Klein.
"I wonder if the developers and GM know about this, they could easily log everyone out and shut down the whole server." I narrowed my eyes for a bit, thinking what I just said. "But until now, they still haven't made any announcement yet." I concluded my sentence as Klein let out a small sigh.
Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound of a bell interrupted our conversation. I tried to find the source of the sound but still didn't get where it came from but if have to guess, I would think about the bell from 'The Town of Beginnings'. I remained motionless, staring at the skies with wide eyes, my chest was becoming heavier by the sound. As then, everything became white.
As I could see everything again, I noticed that we were standing in a familiar place, the main square of 'The Town of Beginnings', where we first started our game. I could see hundreds, no, thousands of other players were teleported just like me and Klein. They looked as confused as we were earlier. The bell kept ringing for a while as people kept being teleported back here.
"Forced teleport. But who..." I whispered and looked around, seeing everyone getting confused as the murmurs of the crowd getting louder and louder.
Suddenly, someone's words got our attention "Look, up there!" I began to look up as I focused my eyes on a flashing red hexagon, saying WARNING, SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT. Then, the sky suddenly changed as various of hexagons spread out quickly, covering the entire sky. Some red viscous liquid leaked through the hexagons, pooling in midair. I heard Klein muttered what I exactly thought right then "What the hell is that?". Soon, the pool of red formed into a giant robed figure with his hood on. I couldn't see his face, it's like he or she doesn't have any face in the beginning. I heard other players muttered if this was some kind of event or something.
The giant figure spread its arm wide and started speaking "Players." His voice was loud and deep. "I welcome you to my world." My world... Wait! Don't tell me that he's...
"My name is Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of this game and at the moment, I'm controlling this world." His words confirmed suspicions. I heard everyone let out a gasp of shock and disbelief. "I'm certain that most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menu - the log out button." He stopped for a while, before continued his words, making our hopes shattered like broken glasses. "Let me assure you that this is not a bug of the game. I repeat, this is not a bug. Sword Art Online was designed to this in the first place." As then, my body froze entirely, my hands trembled, hoping to think this is just a joke. But Kayaba's words proved otherwise. Klein just muttered in disbelief "He-he's kidding, right?"
"You cannot log out by yourself as well as no one from outside can be able to remove your NerveGear from your head or shut it down." His words sent chill to my spine. No, it can't be! This isn't happening. That was our only option left to get out of this world. "If anyone attempts to do so, the transmitter inside your NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life." The more he spoke, the more despair we felt to be. I couldn't not believe what he said. Everyone is seemed to think like I do, but Kayaba's tone convinced me that I should believe what he said.
Different reaction was made as Kayaba finished, some tried to leave the area, only to find out that they're trapped inside by a invisible barrier, others refused to believe what he said and demanded to let them out.
"This is bullshit, man! I'm not buying this crap of his! He's loco right Arnaud?" Klein scoffed.
"No, he's not bluffing. The transmitter signals in the NerveGear work just like a microwave. It could fry your brain if the safety mode is disable." I explained, only to make him terrified even further.
"How about cut the power off? It's possible, right?" He managed to give an idea, but the fact still remained the same as before.
"It's completely useless. Even if you manage to cut the power, the NerveGear still has its internal battery, still powerful enough to fry your brain."
Klein looked more paled as he muttered "No way... This is not happening! This is crazy! Totally crazy! I don't believe this shit!"
"Despite my warnings, the families and friends of some of the players have tried removing the NerveGear and unfortunately..." His calm words frightened me as he continued speaking "As a result, 213 players died in both Aincrad and the real world." I gasped in horror. 213 players were killed?
"No... I'm not buying this!" Klein shook his head rapidly. After then, screens appeared around that psychopath and began circling around him. "As you can see right now, international media have already began their warning about the incidents, including the deaths of 213 players. For now, it's best to assume that your NerveGear won't be removed in the future and I hope this brings you some comfort as you begin to clear this game." I clenched my teeth angrily, glaring at Kayaba. He continued "However, may I remind to all players that reviving is not appeared in the game. If you HP drop to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system... forever and the NerveGear will destroy your brain, ending your life." My eyes widened as I imagined myself was defeated by a Frenzy Boar as my HP drained out to zero and my avatar shattered, dissolving into blue polygons. If that happened, I wouldn't be able to see my parents again, I wouldn't be able to see my little sister again. As then, I clenched my fists, I was consumed by both hatred and desire. My hatred for Kayaba creating this death game and my desire to live, to see my family again.
"The only way for all players to escape that you must clear the game." My target was cleared right then, I have to finish this game. I have to win.
Kayaba pressed a button and a holographic map appeared with a red dot on the bottom. "Right now, you're in floor one, the lowest floor of Aincrad. If you'd be able to clear the dungeon and defeat the boss, you can advance to the next floor. Take out all the bosses from floor one to floor 100 and you'll clear the game."
Everyone looked confused and amazed as they cried out in disbelief. Klein whispered "It's impossible! The beta testers couldn't make that far!"
Kayaba raised his hand as he continued "Finally, I've given to you all a little present in the item storage of each player. Please, check it out." I narrowed my eyes as I opened my inventory. Inside there's an item: a Hand Mirror. I pressed and take it out. Appeared in my right hand was a mirror. I looked at it as it reflected my avatar's appearence, black hair with a short tail from behind.
"Woah!" I heard Klein let out the sound as I turned to him and saw a white glow surrounded him. Before I could reach him, I too emitted with the light as every other players else did. When the light faded away, I didn't notice anything else occurred. I turned to Klein and said "Are you alright, Kle-" I stopped as I saw an unfamiliar face opposite me. He looked just like Klein, but a bit older, and his shoulder-length hair was replaced with a shorter version with the same hair color.
"Who are you?" I let out.
"And who are you?" He managed to say. I pulled up the mirror and looked at my reflection again. But this time, this was not my avatar anymore. It was my face in the real world, much younger. Especially, my hair style and hair color change, from black tail hair style, now I had platinum white messy hair. My ocean blue eyes still remained the same. This is my appearance back in the real world. But then that means...
"Is that you, Klein?"
"Is that you, Arnaud?"
"But how did..." Asked Klein. Then I realized how they did it.
"Remember the scan? It required you to remain motionless and waited for it to scan. There's a high density signal device inside the NerveGear rig. That's how it get the information for our faces. But what about our height and body..." I stopped for a moment and thought about it before continued "Aha, after the scan, it told you to touch your own body. The NerveGear transmit our sensation to set up our physical data. That's how it works." I concluded as Klein looked at me and nodded. "But - for what reason? Why did he do this?" Klein questioned as I raised my hand and pointed at Kayaba and said.
"I got a feeling that he's gonna tell us soon enough."
"Right now, you're probably wondering 'Why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, programmer of Sword Art Online and developer of NerveGear, do any of these things?' To tell you, players, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created this world is to control it." Goddammit, is that all? Is that why he created this game? I clenched my teeth and growled "Kayaba..."
"As you can see, my goal is now completed. I've achieved it. That's the end of the tutorial and the official launch of Sword Art Online. I wish you best of luck, players."
The image of the hooded figure dissolved and vanished into thin air for everyone... But not for me. I saw him, standing right there, in front of me, with the same clothes as earlier although this time, he had the same height as me, only a bit taller.
"I believe this is the first time we met, Tatsuo Kurogane." His calm voice angered me as I reached for my cutlass and drew it out but I realized it wasn't there. I looked around and noticed that everything was slow down dramatically and it seems that everyone didn't notice that I'm here, even Klein didn't notice what I was doing right then.
"As you noticed that everything around you is slowing down, or better yet, your mind is functioning faster than everyone else in this game." I returned at him with a cold glare.
"What do you want, Kayaba? And how did you know my name?" I hissed angrily
"I've been watching you since the beta test, Tatsuo Kurogane, a.k.a Arnaud. Your fighting style interested me."
"My fighting style? What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, sightly annoyed at his words.
"I've recorded a few videos about your stance and sword style. I've done some research about it. You're simulating the sword styles of some of the Assassin from the Assassin's Creed series, right?" I widened my eyes at his words. How did he...? The screen appeared in front of us as I saw myself holding my cutlass was fighting of a NPC bandit with my sword parried the bandit's one before I returned to him with a counter attack.
"Please don't be so surprise about it as technologies today can manage to do many things."
"What do you want?" I straightened up my body as I asked.
"I want to offer you a chance..."
"A chance?" I repeated.
"Yes. A chance to defeat this game, to save everyone in this death game of mine. To fight like a true Assassin. I can provide you the tools and skills that you need for this game now and in the near future." His words caught my attention immediately. I narrowed my eyes at him and growled
"And what is it for you, Kayaba?"
"To witness a human true potential. Your true potential." I gasped. Is this guy really insane to the core?
"That's it? That's all you want?" I asked him who just gave me a silent nod before added "I could be able to provide you things, to help you become stronger to clear this game. The only question is: 'Do you accept it or not?' So, what will it be?" I looked down for a while and went into my own thoughts to make my own decision. After a minute of making my own decision, I looked at him and nodded.
"Good." Kayaba opened his interface and pressed a few buttons as I received something from him as he sent them to my item storage. I opened it as I saw
Apprentice Assassin's Robes
Assassin Gauntlet x 2
Assassin Gauntlet's Blueprint
"Please also check your skills as well." He said as I followed and scrolled down to the Skill menu
Assassination (Kill your target instantly. Targets such as Bosses, Players does not affected by this skill and only work if you remain undetected.)
Lethal Combat (Use your hidden blades as your own weapons in dual or in combat. One-handed Sword, One-handed Axe, One-handed Mace and One-handed Dagger can also use with a hidden blade as dual weapon.)
Eagle Vision (Mark your target and highlight of your surroundings.)
Free-running
"Maybe I remind that you can upgrade your skill to learn new effects as well. There're other skills as well that you can learn in the future if you level up. Also, there're various of dungeons that you could clear in order to receive weapons and clothes. Good luck, Assassin. Until our next time." With that, Kayaba disappeared again and everything went back to normal speed again. All of the hexagons were vanished, leaving the sky clear like before. Everyone just stood there motionless, everything was silent, shocked by the cruel reality that the game creator has given us. This is not just a game anymore. This is reality. We will have to fight for our own survival from now on. I lowered my head and looked at my hands and clenched them tight. Instead of being a dream for many gamers, this has become a total nightmare.
After a moment of silence, I heard a shattered sound of a mirror, followed with a scream of desperation of a girl. People began panic, all refused to believe in this new reality, they shouted, demanding to let them out. Many collapsed, unable to bear the thought of being stuck inside this game or even worse, dying. I noticed that the barrier blocking the square has been removed, meaning that we can leave right then. I turned to Klein and whispered "Come on Klein." Grabbing his hand, I headed to an alley, away from the crowd. As we ran far enough, I stopped and said.
"Listen, Klein. I'm gonna head out for the next village right now and I want you to come along with me." I offered him to go with me. Klein looked quite hesitate about my offer as he let out a small 'hum' sound. I continued "If what Kayaba said was true, and I think it is, then the only way to survive in this world is by helping ourselves to become as strong as possible. In MMORPG, the money, EXP that you can earn is limited here. Soon, the fields around The Towns of Beginnings is going to be wipe out. But if we manage to get to the next village, it's going to be a lot easier for us to farm EXP and earn more cash." I pulled out a map of the 1st floor and drew a line from The Town of Beginnings to the next village. "I know all the safe paths to the village so even if we're level 1, we should be able to reach there in one piece.
"Uh, yeah... About that Arnaud... you know those friends of mine I've been telling you about? We had to wait all night to buy this game and agreed to hang out with each other in here." He let out a sad smile. "And now, they're back there, in the main square. I just can't leave them there." I looked at him dumpfounded. I understand that he worried about his friends and try to help them. But I... I j-just can't...
"You know what, Arnaud, it's fine. Just head to that village. I can't ask you risk your life for me and my friends when you've done so much for me, right?" Hearing Klein's kind words, I widened my eyes in surprise as I looked at him silently. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me! In the last game, I ran a guild but myself so I promised that I'm gonna be ok. With the stuff you taught me earlier, I'll get by."
I nodded solemnly "Ok, if you said so. I'll get going then. But if you need any help, don't be a stranger, ok? Just ask me if you need to. Goodbye, Klein." With that, I turned around and prepared to roll out, heading to my next destination.
"Arnaud!" Klein's voice stopped me. I stood under the shadow of the alley and didn't turn back to look at me. I waited to hear what he's gonna say, but he's stuck in finding the word to speak.
"I-I..." I prepared to get going before he managed to say "Hey, Arnaud... Y-You know, you really look cool this way. And seriously, your hair, it's way cooler and more handsome than your avatar. Your appearance is just like a protagonist of an anime series.
I turned around and gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Klein. And I think your dump face suits you well. I'll see you around then. Take care of yourself, ok?" After that, I took off, without looking behind me. I opened my item storage and equipped my gauntlets as well as my assassin robes as I was running and went out the walls of The Town of Beginnings and into the path outside the town. I kept sprinting as I went into my own thoughts. Because of my cowardliness, I've left Klein behind. I accepted this cruel reality, as well as my cruel fate. In front of me, I saw a wolf spawned, blocking my path. I drew out my cutlass, pulled my hood up and initiated a Sword Skill with a loud yell out of my mouth. I sliced through the animal, making it turned into blue polygons. I looked up at the sky as I ran, letting out a loud scream of determination. From that day, I've made a promise. A promise that I'll not lose myself to the ugliness and cruelty of this world, that I'll stand and fight and keep becoming stronger, that I'll see my family again, that deep under the bitter snow of despair, I will become the light beacon of hope, that I WILL WIN THIS WAR.
Next chapter: The Devil who works in the dark to serve the light.