I've just rewatched Sword Art Online, and read a few fanfics, so I decided I wanted to write one of my own.
Before I go any further, I'll clarify that I am using info from the anime, manga, and light novel, so things may be different from what you know if you've only watch one or only read one or the other. That and I'm changing a few other things.
On another note, I'm also changing other things that aren't because I can. I'll be mixing other possible game mechanics into the story if they fit. So not everything might be the same.
Don't own Sword Art Online.
NerveGear.
Quite possibly one of the most advanced pieces of technology man had ever made in the twentieth century to date.
And he uses it for video games...
Seems legit.
"You're not letting your sister play with you?"
"Mom, I don't have a second headset. Besides, those things are expensive. And even then, I doubt they have anymore after the sales today."
Mom shook her head as she set a dish down. "We should have bought another. You know how much Stephane loves to play video games with you."
"Sorry mom." I say as I hand her the last washed dish, which she places in the covers.
"We'll buy one later. You know how much she'll hassle you because of that." My mom drys her hands on a towel.
"I know, I know. She's already hounding me as it is. You remember how she was during the beta." I raise an eyebrow.
Mom rolls her eyes. "She was practically on top of you the entire time. And she was always angry."
"She'll have to stay angry for a little while longer than. Ah, I'll make it up to her." I turn on my heel as I exit the kitchen. "I'm going to play now."
"Eight o'clock!" She shouts as I reach the stairs.
"Okay!"
I jog quickly up the stairs, skipping a step with each, well, step, and am on the second floor in no time. Though as I reached the top step, a small body blocked my path.
"Steph..." I already knew what my eight year old sister was going to bug me about the game.
"You should'a got another controller." She sent a glare my way.
"It's not a controller, it's a headset. And I've said I'm sorry. We'll get you one tomorrow before lunch okay? I'll take you with too."
My little sister looks at me, than closes her eyes. "Okay... I still want to play now."
"I know Steph. I'll make it up to you. I'll give you the strongest weapon I have when you play."
"Really?"
"Sure." I let her head. "Wake me up as early as you want tomorrow and we'll get the headset. Than we can play as much as we want."
"Okay!" She seems excited after telling her I'd hand over my sword. She steps aside to let me pass before heading downstairs herself. Probably to get something to eat.
I jog to my room, passing my two dogs on the way. They immidiatly jog after me.
"Hey doggies. I know you're excited to see me, but I need to get in SAO. I'm suppose to meet a friend in there, and I'm almost late."
I finish downloading the disk into the NerveGear quickly, then place the headset into my head before laying on my bed. Both my dogs follow me onto the bed, both laying down on top of me.
"Really Bella? Misty? You choose now to sleep on me?"
Bella, a German Shepherd/ Boxer mix, simply glanced at me before returning to her original position, sprawled out, her back against the right side of my body. Misty, my short haired chiwawa, did not move whatsoever, still curled into a ball on my stomach.
"Crazy dogs." I smiled. I took a quick look at the clock, just in time to see 12:59 turn to 1:00.
"Here we go." I close my eyes. "Link start!"
Like the other times I've used this, my world turns white for a brief moment before many colors rushed into my vision and icons began to appear as the NerveGear ran a routine self-check. Small blue gears appeared and the diagnostic test for my regular five senses began.
Touch – Ok
Sight – Ok
Hearing – Ok
Taste – OK
Smell – Ok
The symbols spun and turned green for each test before sweeping to the side. They dispersed after the test was completed and I was met by the login screen. I put in my username and password and proceeded to one more option.
"Use previous beta data? Of course."
The last screen with the words 'Welcome to Sword Art Online!' appears before me. The last of the blue-green gears vanished and my vision cleared. I noticed that I was in a brand new area. This place actually had color. In front of me was a ring structure made of stone. It curved around and reminded me of the Roman Coliseum. The only difference was the gigantic metallic castle that sat on the edge of the ring.
"Just make sure everything's okay." I say to myself as I do some basic stretches, making sure that the NerveGear is functioning properly. Would be bad if my arm or a leg didn't want to respond. But everything is fine.
All around me other players begin to appear, and you can see their excitement. Hell, you can feel it in the air, or data, as it were. Some wandered off at once, while others waited for friends, or were already meeting them. You could hear shouting, laughter, excited chatter, things you'd hear in any city.
"Yo, Andrew!"
This guy? The one who said my name? His name's Alex. One of my closest friends, he moved into Tokyo a few years after I did. Two American boys who didn't speak Japanese fluently, and you have the makings of a friend.
"You look ridiculous." I say.
He really did. He looks like an exact opposite of what he was. His brown hair was blond, and it stood on end in a way that I could say he went super saiyan. He was taller then I was by a good foot, and his body was that of a body builder. If I didn't know any better, I'd mistaken him for a dragon ball Z character.
"You didn't change your avatar?" He asked, pointing at my body.
"Didn't see a need to."
I had made everything on my avatar match me exactly. My height, my short black hair, soft chocolate brown eyes, slightly tanned skin a sharp nose, and lean body.
Really, I like the way I look. It's me.
"So what's your first impression?" I ask as I wave my hand dramatically.
"What do you think? This is awesome! We're in a game! But it feels like the real thing!" I laugh at his enthusiasm.
"Don't get too excited now. We don't need you trying to fight the floor boss today now."
"You're just worried that I'll beat it easy."
"Right. Right."
"So, does my best friend the beta know of any good hunting grounds?" I put a finger to my lips, while giving a slight frown.
"Now so loud now. Before we do any of that, you need a kit. Don't want to fight beasts with your bare hands."
"Wait, kit?"
"Greetings!"
We both turn to our left to see a blonde haired woman dressed in a blue dress. She smiled and said, "Welcome to Sword Art Online!"
"Who the heck are you?" Alex raises an eyebrow.
"Calm down, she's just an AI."
"You are part of the 10,000 players who are logging into the first ever game that places you and your senses inside a virtual environment! You have now spawned on floor one – Town of Beginnings!" The blond AI stated happily. "Please choose one of the following item kits. But please be aware – Magic is not available in this game. Here are your choices."
"Go ahead man, pick first." I motion to the box that appears before him. He gives me a blank look, then moves towards the AI and scrolls through the list. He finds what he's looking for quickly, since he knew what he was going for when he got in here.
"Oh wow. That's handy." He comments after he finishes the trade. "Your turn Andrew."
"Come on, it's rude to call me by my real name in here. Do you want everyone to know that you're Alex Johnson?" I say his real name a little louder than necessary as I scroll through the list.
"Stop being an ass, Alto." He growls.
"See? Was that so hard Alexander?" I lift my eyebrow and smirk, choosing my kit. Another box opened and the option "trade" was available, with "Alice (NPC)" below it. A green arrow pointed to the items that belong in the starter kit. The items were as follows:
Iron Straight Sword
Health Potion x 4
Teleport Crystal x 1
"Okay Alexander. Equip your weapon and follow me. We can get ahead a little if we start beating monsters." The iron sword materializes in a scabbard on my back. Alexander does the same and I begin running, my friend following close behind.
"Yeah!"
"Aw, shit!"
"Come on! Are you kidding me? I told you how to fight!"
"It's not my damn fault I'm new at this!"
The trip to the green field was quick, and it still looked just as amazing as it did the first day. Alexander couldn't shut up about it. When he spotted the bores that wandered around the area, he decides, like an idiot, to charge the damn things. The only thing that kept him from dying was that he attacked only one.
Well, at first anyway.
I tried giving him pointers, but he can't seem to get it though his head that just slashing and hacking when the Frenzy Boar charges him won't help him. He's already half way dead.
"Thank god you can't feel any pain in here." He says, sprawled out across the ground.
"Else you'd of turned into a women just now. Maybe you already are. I've already told you that swinging the damn thing willy nilly isn't going to do anything. You need to use a sword skill. Just do as I do. Watch."
I unsheathed my iron sword, wielding it in my right hand. Breathe in, and out; after taking a deep breath, I lowered my pose and raised my sword as if I was going to shoulder it. The system sensed the pose correctly and the sword slowly started shining orange.
"Ha!"
With a low yell, I jumped off the ground and cover the distance between me and the Frenzy Bore instantly, and I score a single top to bottom vertical slash on the beast. It gave a painful cry before its body shattered like glass into infinite polygons and disappeared. Purple numbers appeared, showing how much virtual experience points I gained.
"See? Easy. That was Sonic Leap. A basic straight one handed sword move. The starting position also mimicked the curved sword move Reaver. You need to get in the starting position. You'll feel a build up of power and when it peaks, you let it go." I say as I demonstrate the move once more on another bore. The bore died just as easily as the last.
"That easy?" Alexander asked, finally sitting up.
"Yeah. You make it out like it's so complicated. Here, get into position, and I'll lure a bore to you. Just be careful not to hit me." I say as I charge a lone Frenzy Bore. I don't attack, just get it's attention by spooking it. The bore huffs at me and charges. I turn and start running towards Alexander, who's moving into the same position as I was. His sword glows a similar color.
I leapt to the left to avoid the bore, and slapped it forward with the flat part of my sword. The bore gets angry, but keeps charging, content to attack someone, anyone.
His movement that was completely different to the ones before. With this crisp sound the sword drew its flame red trajectory through the air, striking the bore's neck. It's large body shattered, and the same window that graced me graced him.
"Hell yeah!"
"See? Was that so hard?" I shake my head. "I swear to god, it's easier trying to teach my baby sister this then you."
"I'm going to kill some more!" Alexander shouts, charging a group of eight boars head on without a thought.
"The hell!? Alex! Get back here! Damn it!" I say as I run in after him.
When reaches the group, he takes one down quickly, but gets rammed by another. He's thrown to the ground, then rights himself just in time to barely dodge another.
"Um, Alto! A little help!"
"Idiot! You can't just charge things like that!" I say as I take a bore down. "If you die, that's your fault!"
"What happens if that happens?" He asks as he slashes a another.
"You'll respawn at the town. You can come back or wander about, whatever you want to do. Aw!" One bore gets a hit on me.
"Come on man, this isn't funny! I'm gonna die in one more hit!"
"Kind of busy here Alexander!"
"If I die, I'm not coming back here! Oh god!" Alexander shouts as a bore gets another hit on him. His health depleted all the way.
"Damn it Alex!"
Just like the bores that we've killed, he burst into polygons.
"Great." Now I have to deal with these five bores myself.
"I didn't die during the beta, I'm not going to tarnish that record now damn it."
Two bores simultaneously break.
I'm a little confused, but I don't let it distract me. I go ahead and attack two of them, and they fall easily. The third died from an attack that's not from me.
"Hey! Dude! You okay?"
The man before had reddish hair held up by a bandanna and simple leather armor worn over this thin body. I couldn't guess what age he was since his avatar was not his actual body. He was the one who spoke.
"Um, yeah. Thanks for that."
"Hey, no problem." He looked at me a little longer, and I raised an eyebrow, silently questioning what he was interested in.
"Are you a beta player?" He asks.
I give a laugh. "What gave it away? And don't think I don't see you Prince Charming." I call to the man behind him, who was content to watch the sky. He turns to look at me, and gives me a sheepish smile.
"Hey Alto." Kirito gives me a wave.
"Nice to see you too. Come on, we took down eight floor bosses together, and you won't even say hi? I'm heart broken." I dramatically clutch my chest and stagger back. The other man laughs while Kirito still has that smile on his face. "Who's your new friend here?"
The man points at himself with his thumb. "The name's Cline. Obviously not my real name."
"And he's already said mine but I'll say it again. I'm Alto. Good to meet you Cline." I shake his hand.
"Likewise." He glances at the ground where Alex was. "Sorry we couldn't save your friend."
"Oh, it's fine. He'll get back soon. Or wander. Most likely wander." I scratch my nose. "You guys up for some hunting? I'd like to reach level four or five before the day's out."
"Sure!" Cline seems just as excited as Alex was. Kirito doesn't reply, but considering he's with a new player, he'll follow anyway, maybe even participate.
So for the rest of the day I go ahead and slaughter Frenzy Bore. Cline was having a blast doing the same, laughing almost the entire time. Sometimes though, he would stop to mess with other things. Kirito was engaging rarely, mostly helping Cline with different things. I was more content on just killing the things. By the time the sun was setting in Aincrad, I was already a level four.
Now we were on a hill top, with Cline sitting down while Kirito and I stood, watching the sun set.
"Hard to believe this is virtual reality." I say. Even as many hours as I'd put into the beta, it still blew my mind how everything in here was.
"So SAO is the first game for the NerveGear that you've played?" Kirito asked Cline.
"Yeah." He replied. "Well to be exact I sorta bought the hardware in a rush after I managed to get my hands on SAO. There was only ten thousand in the first batch. So I suppose I was really lucky...well, if I think about it you two were ten times luckier when you guys got picked for beta testing. They only picked a thousand!"
"Ah, yeah, I suppose." Kirito scratches the back of his head.
I give a sigh. "You have no idea."
Both Cline and Kirito looked at me.
"Mine was probably a little more lucky then Kirito. Here's the story; I'm barely thirteen, and my family and I are in a mall. This random ass man jumps us and shout that they're having a contest. 'The winner gets a fabulous prize! All we need is your name and phone number!' My parents let me go ahead and put in our number and my name. Now I knew my chances of winning something like this was slim. I just threw it in there to get the man away from me. He would follow you a good four meters before he left. A few days later, we get a call from some representative from Argus, saying that I won the contest. The prize was a brand new set of NerveGear, becoming a beta tester for their new game SAO, and getting a free copy of said game when it released. Just a few hours ago, it came by mail." I shake my head. "Thank god I didn't have to stay in those lines. I'd of killed myself, or the others around me."
"Wow." Cline said. His eyes glanced to the bottom right corner of his vision. "Well, I should log off and eat. I ordered some pizza for 5:30."
"You're prepared for this, weren't you?" I smirk.
"Of course!" He said proudly. "I promised to meet some mates at the Starting City in a bit. I could introduce you guys to some of them and you could register them as friends. That way you would always send messages. How about it?"
"Errr... Hmmm..." Kirito mumbled subconsciously
He doesn't seem very comfortable with what Cline suggests. Frankly, I don't either. I don't know who those people are, and I'd feel like a third wheel in everything.
"Sorry dude, but maybe next time. We'd like to know them more before hand. Would feel a little awkward." I reply for myself and Kirito.
"Ah, I don't mean to force you. There'll be a chance to introduce them sometime anyway." Cline says.
"Right. Thanks though."
"Yeah...thanks."
As soon as Kirito finishes his sentence, Cline shakes his head vigorously.
"Hey, hey! I should be the one thanking you. I received a lot of help from you. I'll pay you back sometime soon. Mentally."
"Christ alive, I like you." I smirk. He smirks right back.
"I'll log off for a bit. Thanks a lot Kirito. Be seeing you guys." We shake his hand before he gives so other wave and opens his menu.
"I wonder if Alexander's still on." I say to myself as I check my friends list. "That's a negative. Must have gotten hungry. I'll have to make today up to him."
"Eh?" Cline said in a strange tone.
"What's this? ...there's no logout button."
I pause, then glance at him, as does Kirito. "No button...? No way, look a bit closer."
"It's really not there. You take a look guys." We both begin doing so.
"That doesn't seem right." I say as I scroll through the main menu. "Are you sure you didn't just..."
...
"The hell?"
"Not there right?" He repeats.
"Right..." Kirito replies.
Cline smiles and rubs his chin. "Well, it's the first day so these sort of bugs could occur. Around about now the GMs should be crying by now from the amount of messages flooding in."
"You do remember that you have a pizza waiting on you right?" I raise an eyebrow.
"That's right! Argh! My anchovy pizza and ginger ale!"
"The GMs haven't responded. The hell's going on? Would a bug like this occur after two months of beta testing? Even with nine thousand more people?" I look at Kirito.
"Isn't there some other way to log out?" Cline asks.
"Only three ways that I know of. Either we log out ourselves, which we can't do. Someone removes the NerveGear from our heads, or the GMs log us out themselves, but I'm not sure about the latter. If this bug's been here since the game started, there should be thousands of complaints. They should have responded by now." I say.
"Remove the NerveGear? I live alone guys." He rubs his neck. "What about you guys?"
"I have my parents and two sisters. They'll unhook me come dinner, which is around seven I think."
"H-How old is your sister?" Cline suddenly looked at me, his eyes sparkling.
"Oh hell no. I'll beat you to a pulp if you start stalking her."
"Woah, woah, let's calm down now." Kirito stood between us.
"This is a strange bug."
"It's not just a bug, it's an impossible to logout bug, it's a big enough problem to bother the operation of the game itself. Like your pizza in the real world is getting colder every second, it's an actual economical loss, isn't it?" Kirito says as he glances at both of us.
"...a cold pizza...it's as meaningless as hard nato!"
"Oh, come on." I laugh.
"The company which created SAO, Agas is a company that's famous for being considerate about its users, isn't it? That's why everyone was fighting to get their hands on a copy even though it's the first online game. It's sorta meaningless if they screw up like this on their first day." Kirito says.
Diiiiiing
Dooooong
Diiiiiing
Dooooong
"Bells are ringing." I state the obvious.
Kirito, Cline and I were immersed in a clear blue pillar of light. Past the blue veil, the plains in my vision blurred steadily. As the blue light faded, my surroundings became clear again. However, this wasn't the plains lit with the sunset anymore.
"Wha?" This is the first time that I'm left dumbfounded.
We were back in the plaza of the Starting City.
I look at Kirito and Cline, who are just as surprised as I am, Kline more so, since his mouth's open. All around us, others are already here or are appearing in a similar fashion as we were, and just as confused.
"What's happening?"
"Can we log out now?"
"Can't they take care of it quickly?"
"Is this a joke?"
"Get the hell out here, GMs!"
This and more could be heard.
I look around and upon no longer seeing blue lights, assume that almost ten thousand of us occupy the plaza. I glance at the sky.
"What the hell is that?"
Everyone almost automatically turns their eyes upward and looked. There a strange sight greeted us.
The bottom surface of the second floor, one hundred meters up in the air, was checkered in red. [Warning] and [System Announcement] crisscrossing each other. I assumed they were going to talk about the logout bug.
I was right, but the way they did so was not what I was expecting.
From the middle of the pattern a liquid with the same consistency to blood started oozing down slowly. It didn't fall all the way down though. It began to take a form.
The form it took was that of a large red hooded figure with two arms spread wide open, with no legs or face visible.
"This is new!" I run a hand through my hair.
The ghost like figure then spoke with a loud, monotone voice. "Players, welcome to my world. Welcome to Sword Art Online. I am Kayaba Akihiko." the thing continued, "I am currently the only person who can control this world."
"Kayaba...Akihiko?" Cline whispered.
"...what?" Was Kirito's response.
I had no words to describe the shock of having the creator of the game before us.
"I trust that you have already noticed the logout button is missing from the main menu." Kayaba continued. "However, this is not a game malfunction. I repeat – This is not a game malfunction, but an original feature of Sword Art Online."
"Original feature?" I can hear many people say, other just mumble.
"You cannot log out of Sword Art Online on your own. No one on the outside will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful burst of microwave radiation, destroying your brain and thus ending your life." Kayaba stated as if it were common knowledge.
"The...fuck?" I can't stop the word from spilling from my lips. Others were just as shocked as I was. We could hear shouts of anger and shock from everyone present.
Kayaba decides to throw in another curve ball for us. "Unfortunately, the friends and family members of several players have ignored this warning and attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, two hundred thirteen players have permanently retired from both Aincrad and the real world."
"Two hundred...and thirteen..." Cline says.
"Dead..." I finish.
"As you can see; news organizations across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths. Thus, you can assume that the danger of your NerveGear being removed is now minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game." News reports from different news organizations popped up around the hooded figure. One of the feeds caught my interest. I couldn't see what station it was from, but I could see who was on it.
It was me.
With my mom trying to comfort my crying sisters while paramedics were checking my unconscious body.
"Jesus Christ." I held my head.
"However, do take note of this – You can no longer respawn in this game. Once your HP reaches zero, your avatar will be permanently erased. At the same time, the NerveGear will destroy your brain."
"B-but if that's true, t-then-" I had to stop.
Alex...
That's why...
He didn't...
He's...
But...
No...
"No, no, no!"
"You need only fulfil one condition to set yourselves free; Clear the game." A map then appeared in front of him, showing the entire world of Aincrad. "You are currently on the 1st floor, the lowest level of Aincrad. Make your way through each dungeon, defeat the Floor Boss and you will advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on the 100th floor and you will clear the game."
"But the beta players barely made it through level eight." Cline now.
"And, finally, you can find a gift from me in your item storage. Please check for yourselves."
As soon as I heard this, I pressed my finger and thumb together and pulled downwards. All the players did likewise and the plaza was filled with the ringing sound of bells.
The name of the item; hand mirror.
I tapped on the name and pressed the "make into object" button. Immediately afterward there was a tinkling sound effect and a small rectangular mirror appeared.
I grabbed the item and stared at it. There didn't seem anything special about it. All I could see was my own reflection in the thing.
Then, suddenly, Cline, Kirito and the avatars around me were engulfed in white light. But I wasn't for some reason. All I could do was watch, though only after three seconds the light dimmed.
What I saw next was amazing to even me.
"Holy hell. Cline? Kirito?"
They both looked so different than their avatars. Clines' eyes were sunken and shone brighter than his normal avatars'. His nose was hooked and a slight beard now appeared on his cheeks and chin. He still had the bandana on his head.
Kirito's hair was short and neat, but his eyes and face were so delicate that it could lead you to believe he was a girl if you didn't pay attention.
They looked at me, then each other, then back at me, and again, once more at each other.
"You're Cline!?"
"You're Kirito!?"
Their voices were different too.
I looked around, and much like the two men before me, everyone else has changed. Instead of looking like anime characters, now they resembled children, teens, and adults. I also noticed that many of the girls that use to be here are now gone.
"You look different!" Cline shouted.
"So do you!" Kirito replies. They both look at me, seeing that I haven't changed.
"Why didn't you change!?" They ask in union.
"Answer me this guys; are those your real bodies? If so, this is my real body. I never changed my avatar to look like anything else, just myself."
"How would the NerveGear even know what our bodies look like?" Kirito asks himself.
"Oh." Cline snaps his fingers. "Remember the system setup? Where you had to pat yourself?" He mimicked said action.
"That's right." Me.
"That setup is for the NerveGear to measure how much you had to move your hand to reach your body. It probably saved that data."
"All of you must be wondering why." Kayaba continued without missing a beat. "Why would Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do all this? My goal has already been achieved. I wanted to create my own world that I could observe and admire. That is why I made Sword Art Online. And now, it has all been fulfilled."
"You bastard!" I shout at him, though I'm sure he's ignoring me. "What sick fucker gets off of killing kids!?" There were a few children in here, and some of the teens here were about as young as I was.
"This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. I wish every player the best of luck." The red ghost began to fizzle and fade, static lining the edges of his virtual image. Finally he faded away and silence filled the entire coliseum.
No one seemed to get it at first. No one wanted to believe what they just heard. I didn't want to believe what I heard. But he showed us evidence of just what would happen if we died in here, of how the outside world was reacting to such a thing.
You couldn't say something like that and lie about it. No.
He made this game into what he wanted; another reality. A reality where death has the same consquences as it did in the real world. Only here, it was so much more dangrouse.
He made this world. This world was his. He was a god here.
My dad, mom, my sisters...
Pets, friends, family...
I had to get back.
"This fucker wants us to beat all one hundred floors huh?" I whisper to myself. I glance at Kirito, who grabs Cline and makes a beeline to the exits.
"Kirito!? Wait up!"
A scream then echoed through the coliseum inciting the mob mentally that I knew would occur sooner or later. Everyone's immediate reaction was to panic, some grabbing onto others, throwing punches, screaming, crying. A wall of bodies blocked my path to Kirito.
"Damn it! Move! Out of the way! Piss off!" I shout as I head the opposite direction of Kirito. There's a little less people, so I can shove and push them out of my way. When I reach the exit, I bolt, opening the menu and checking my map.
"Next village. Need to get to the next village." I need money, resources, and experience. I needed to get the best equipment, and raise my level like crazy before we go against the first floor boss. I'll be just as cautious or even more when fighting bosses. It would have helped if I could buy myself in game currency with real world money now, but that Kayaba bastard probably cut all that off to make this the real deal. I'm alone on this one.
There's a few bores in front of me, with one that's already charging me from the front. I simply pull out my sword and attack it head on.
"Bring it!" It was a challenge to both the bore and the creator.