Soma Yukihira was a master at cooking.

Born to a master chef, and growing up at a diner where he always challenged his father (and lost for almost 500 times), he became proficient in the art of cooking. He aced straight to the top during his time at Totsuki Culinary Academy, a prestigious cooking school where only the very best survived. The Autumn Elections had drawn to a close, placing Akira Hayama on top, and Soma and Ryo Kurokiba (who was also Alice Nakiri's... companion? Yeah, that's how I'll put it).

But cooking wasn't just the only passion of Soma Yukihira.

Everyone has secret passions, hobbies, and/or interests. For Soma Yukihira, that was computers and virtual gaming. He would always try out the latest virtual games, a hobby he started at a young age. Learning computer code and programming was fun too. When he mixed it with cooking... he had hours of fun!

But now, this was it. The news report Soma had been waiting for. In his dorm, he turned on the television with had amazing news:

"This is it, folks! The first ever VRMMORPG, short for Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game! Sword Art Online, or SAO as the abbreviated version, has been released after years of hard work from its creator, Akihiko Kayaba, and its producer, Argus! This game gives a full virtual environment for players to enjoy, without human interference, with the help of a FullDive machine, with a type of gear called the Nerve Gear, also invented by Akihiko Kayaba! How amazing is that!"

Soma grinned and pulled out a magazine, about Akihiko Kayaba and his new game, Sword Art Online.

"From August to September 2022, 1000 beta testers were able to test out this new game. They all said it was incredible! That's why, folks, Sword Art Online will be available to the first 10,000 lucky purchasers of the game. I should place an order myself!"

I wish I was in the beta test, Soma thought. It'd be nice if I tried it out... I want to be a lucky purchaser...

Soma read the interview about Akihiko Kayaba and his game again. Maybe if he brought a sleeping bag and slept in front of the mall days before the release... Besides, there was a huge break after the Autumn Elections before the next event happened. One of his old school friends had tried out the beta test, and through texting he had told Soma about the bosses, the floors, and simply how fantastic the game was, and he was going to buy it.

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"Sword Art Online, huh?"

The Polar Star gang were staring at the magazine, then at the newspaper that had a headline that screamed: SAO is Finally Here! Satoshi Isshiki read the newspaper.

"Soma-kun, do you really think you're gonna buy it?" asked Megumi Tadokoro. "I mean, it's so popular, people will be sleeping on the streets with their money."

"I am going to do that," Soma agreed. "Virtual gaming has always been my type, but a full scale virtual environment? I'm super jealous of the beta testers."

"But how about Totsuki?" asked Shun Ibusaki, much to everyone's surprise, for he hardly spoke.

"I'll do it in my free time," Soma grinned. "After all, you can log out after a while, and we're all still on break. Maybe it's a sign to take a break from cooking."

"Well," Satoshi said, "can't stop you there, Soma-kun. I'm not particularly interested in virtual games and stuff, but do tell me what it's like."

"Oh, I will," grinned Soma again. "My friend says it's awesome..."

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Three days before the release of SAO

Beep. Beep. Beep. 8:00 AM. Beep. Beep. Beep.

The alarm beeped on Soma's bedside table. "Oh, shut up."

Then it came to him - SAO. Waiting days before the release. Soma got up instantly, dressed ever so quickly, and packed the newspaper, his magazines, and a few other stuff like food. He took a sleeping bag out of the cupboard, and hurried out, waving absentmindedly back to his friends, then thinking: SAO. SAO. SAO.

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November 6, 2022. Three Hours After the Release of SAO, Totsuki Culinary Academy, Soma's Dorm

Soma could not help feeling pleased with himself.

Three days sleeping in front of the shopping mall. He wasn't the only one, either. Many others had taken the idea of SAO sleepovers and became the first members of the SAO waiting line. Soma had got the hardware and the NerveGear for Sword Art Online. He'd been waiting for the game ever since he heard of it. He closed his door, and was wise enough not to lock it just in case, and assembled the NerveGear.

Soma got into bed, slipped the NerveGear on, and let the fun of virtual gaming begin.

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Soma got his avatar fixed.

Username: Sammy. It seemed like the name 'Sam' was Soma's English name. English was an interesting language. More words than Japanese, and no tricky, sloppy calligraphy with thousands of characters and full of ink blotches. Just 26 letters to master. Not hundreds of thousands. He couldn't find a nickname from his first name or surname, and he was definitely not planning to use his real name. Soma set his password, then closed his eyes. Welcome, Sammy, to Sword Art Online.

When Soma opened his eyes, he knew something was different. He looked at his hands, then noticing he wore black, fingerless gloves. He wore simple armour, like the other players appearing around him. Strapped to his belt was a simple iron sword. He felt his hair, and it didn't feel spiky. It felt silky and neat, and Soma thought he now had glossy black hair, as he designed his avatar. He also wore simple, basic brown boots.

His surroundings was a castle, and other buildings. It was a mix of medieval and fantasy, and a bit of modern, according to Soma's opinion.

"Sword Art Online," Soma whispered to himself happily. "I am in the world of Sword Art Online."

It just popped in my head. My two favourite anime, crossover! I'll have to work hard tackling with my other stories. Merry Christmas!