Hey there guys. Here's the second chapter of the story. This may seem very absurd but what the heck.
Hope you still enjoy. Leave some reviews if you don't mind.

(EDITED LAST AUGUST 27,2014)


CHAPTER 1:

It was the day of the beta test for Sword Art Online...

Many were invited to become beta testers. But not all who applied got the chance to participate because there were some ways to check your knowledge in gaming like interview and going through some assessments.

Of course only the best players and those people who were referred to as 'gamers' were accepted to test the first ever Virtual Reality MMORPG. Around 1,000 beta testers were given the opportunity to participate.

The young boy known as Chihiro received a package earlier that day. It was delivered to him straight from Argus, the corporation that produced SAO. "This package includes the following: 1 NerveGear and 1 Sword Art Online game... Beta testing will start at 10 am. Please log in during that time to join the other participants... Hope you have a grand experience in the beta test... We hope to hear your review soon..."

It was 9 am. Chihiro had to wait an hour before he could start playing. When it was nearly time, he opened the box. "Well, I guess this is it... Now, how to use this thing?" The boy looks at the bottom inside the box and finds a manual. He opens it to read the instructions.

"To use or activate NerveGear, please follow the directions carefully... Step 1: Wear the game console over the head... Step 2: Find a comfortable position to station the body, commonly being a bed.(Recommended)... Step 3: Initiate the voice command «Link Start» for game to load... "

The boy followed the instructions attentively, not wanting to mess up on his first try on the device. After putting on the console over his head, he lay down on his bed and placed himself in a comfortable position.

"Here goes... " He whispered under his breath.

"Link Start!"

As soon as Chihiro uttered those words, his vision was engulfed with a bright light for a few moments. Then a massive vortex of swirling colors flew around him. Far in the distance, something approached him as he cringed and decided to close his eyes for a moment. "The brain will be disconnected from the real world, causing the body to not function but completely redirects the brainwaves to the device once the game loads..." He recalled on what Kayaba said about the NerveGear. When he opened his eyes, a holographic screen was in front of him.

«Head Link, CHECK»

«Body Link, CHECK»

«Hands Link, CHECK»

«Legs Link, CHECK»

«CHECKING COMPLETE»

«LANGUAGE: JAPANESE»

«YOU DON'T HAVE AN EXISTING ACCOUNT, CREATE BETA TEST ACCOUNT? [Y]»

«CREATING... PLEASE WAIT»

It took a while for Chihiro to create his account, he had to fill out some information and other stuffs. After his account was created, the system proceeded to the next.

«WELCOME TO SWORD ART ONLINE»

Darkness overwhelmed his vision. Then a flash of light made its way around him as he closed his eyes again. He felt his feet standing on solid ground. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times to decrease the blurriness. When he had regained his sight, able to see clearly, he found himself in a world that he could not believe.

"Is... Is this a dream?" The young male uttered, clearly amazed on what he is seeing.

"This is unbelievable."

The boy looked around to see the other beta testers. They were also astonished by the surroundings that was before their eyes. After a couple of minutes, another holographic screen with text appeared in the sky and a voice that greeted the players. "Welcome fellow Beta Testers to Sword Art Online, the first ever Virtual Reality MMORPG. This marks the Opening Ceremony for the Beta Test." All the players except Chihiro shouted and cheered.

"It's an honor to have all of you Beta Testing this game. We hope you have a wonderful time here. For your information, the stage that we have set for Sword Art Online is on a hundred-floor floating castle called Aincrad." The voice said, as the players were taken aback by the info of their location.

"It was not mentioned in the package, but you are given only a month to explore the game and after that, a review is expected from each of you..."

The opening ceremony went on, as the voice took the time to give a short orientation to the beta testers.

"Lastly, I would like to personally thank each and everyone of you for participating."

"And so with that, I end the briefing. " The voice finished.

The holographic screen disappeared and the players all ran out cheering and began their exciting journey exploring Sword Art Online.

Hours had turned to days. And days turned to weeks. All who participated were really drawn to the game. Most of them already compromised their studies and work just for them to play and examine SAO.


The beta test lasted for a few weeks. One month to be exact. They only reached until the 10th floor. It wasn't easy to reach that floor. One of the players that led to reach floor 10 was Chihiro. He had fun killing monsters, clearing floors, taking up quests and leveling up.

''Mission accomplished...'' Chihiro said referring to the quest he just completed, right now located at floor 3.

His avatar was just a standard looking one. He wasn't picky on his avatar's physical appearance. As for the name, he just registered 'Hiro' to be his avatar's name. He didn't care on what he looked like or what his name was in that world because he didn't want to take it seriously. Although, he found the game quite interesting, despite the actual difficulty of the game. It's been a long time since he had something to entertain him.

"I gotta hand it to Kayaba, this game is promising.'' The young male thought.

''Today's the last day though, gotta make the most out of it."

Hiro dashed out into the open field hoping to find some more things to do until the system announces the official ending for the beta test.

When Hiro arrived in the field, he saw a black haired boy, around his age, fighting a pack of wolves. He struggled a bit. When Hiro realized that the boy was having trouble defeating the wolves, he rushed in and helped the male. The black haired boy was surprised to see Hiro but was glad that he had someone to help him clear to situation.

The two posed in a back to back position. "It seems like you're in a tight spot. I was just observing from afar and decided to lend a hand." Hiro said while holding his dagger.

"Yeah, it seems like it but I got this situation under control." The boy with raven hair said.

"Whatever, let's just finish these guys." Hiro suggested, clearly not convinced what the other male said.

The two boys fought until there were no more wolves left. "Well, I guess that's all of 'em" The boy with black hair stated, sheathed his sword.

"I guess." Hiro said plainly as he walked pass him.

"Hold on, where you going?" The raven haired bot asked.

"What does it look like? I'm going on ahead." Hiro said, not wanting to stick around.

"Don't you wanna rest for a bit? We took a lot of damage... Here, drink this." He tossed Hiro a healing potion.

The two decided to sit on the field, wanting to rest from that fight. Battling a pack of wolves was not a walk in a park. It drained them, not to mention their HP had reached the red zone.

Facing a beautiful sunset while resting on the field, the black haired boy introduced himself after he realized they had been silent for a while now. "By the way, I'm Kirito...It's nice to meet you... Uhm..."

"Hiro..." Hiro said with a stoic look, facing the sunset.

"Nice to meet you Hiro." Kirito said, happy to hear a response from the person who came to help him.

A few moments passed, and silence surrounded the two once again.

"So, what to do you think about this game? I mean, today's the last day of the beta test. And we're required to give our review after this." Kirito asked, hoping to start a conversation with Hiro.

"It's pretty good. I like the game so far... "

"Me too, I'm loving it! I like the idea being in a virtual world... Too bad though, we had to end the beta test only reaching the 10th floor."

"..."

"I felt we could have done a much better job." Kirito says before laying down on the grass.

"The game is difficult, I'll tell you that. I've played other games that was labeled to be hard by many people, but not like SAO. I've never came across a game as hard as this."

"Yeah, we didn't even reach halfway."

"But if the developers would extend it, let's say around three months, then I could have cleared the game by myself." Hiro stated arrogantly.

"Woah. Pretty big words there. Are you sure about that?" Kirito sitting up, surprised by Hiro's words.

"Of course. I can pull through."

"Same here. It's been a month and I couldn't get further than floor 8. But now I think I can get to floor 10 in less than a month, easy."

"Sounds to me like you're really into this." Hiro said, slightly amazed by Kirito's words of determination.

"Yeah, you could say that. This whole time, SAO was the only thing on my mind..." Kirito looks at his sword. "In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you wanna go... And even though it's a virtual world, I feel more alive in here than I ever did in the real one..." The raven haired boy smiled as he sheathed his sword. "Anyway, you wanna go do some more hunting?"

"Uh, sure. I can still go another round."

The two went into a forest and began fighting some wild boars. "Are swords the only weapons in SAO?" Kirito asked while slashing a boar. "There are also axes, maces and daggers." Hiro answered while striking his dagger in the boar's belly. "I mean, does the game have short-ranged weapons only?" Kirito restated his previous question. "No, you can acquire long-range armaments like a bow and arrow, a crossbow or even the ones that can be thrown like spears and alike." Hiro answered as he demonstrated by throwing his dagger to a boar that was 12 feet away. "Really, that's awesome." Kirito says, happy with the information he just learned and activating his sword skill to destroy five boars. "But you can only obtain long-ranged weapons by completing certain quests." Hiro explained, also activating his sword skill which delivered the finishing blow to the remaining boars.

After a while of hunting and killing monsters, both decided to call it a day and just wait for the system to announce the closing of the beta. When the announcement finally came indicating that they would be transported back immediately to their respective locations in 60 seconds, Kirito gave his farewell to Hiro.

"Guess I'll see you on the official release?" Kirito asked.

"I don't know. The game didn't get to me that much. And besides, I'm a busy person. Gotta prepare to handle the family business."

"Oh, that sucks. Too bad."

"Yeah. But it's fine." Hiro says, arms crossed.

"How old are you anyway?" Kirito asked, curious of how old Hiro is, knowing that he'll be managing the family business.

"I'm 14." Hiro says bluntly.

"14?! The same as me!" Kirito was taken by surprise, now knowing the age of the other male.

"..."

"Pretty young to handle something that big, don't you think?"

"I can manage."

Only 20 seconds remaining until all beta testers would be transported and the beta test to finally come to a close. The two just stood there, waiting for the countdown to expire.

"Maybe we can hang out in the real world? You know, play online games together." Kirito asked, trying to make the most out of the remaining time.

"Yeah, maybe we can."

"Cool. I'll add you on my social media. What's your real name?"

Before Hiro could share his real name, a blue light suddenly appeared on where they're standing. It covered their bodies and they were transported back to the real world.


Chihiro opened his eyes to see that he was back in his room. He took off the NerveGear and checked the time. "6:33 pm... Time for dinner..." He then went downstairs and proceeded to the dining hall.

"So, how was the Beta Test, kiddo?" Chihiro's father asked him while having dinner.

"It's fine."

"Was the game interesting?" His mother now asked.

"Yeah, kinda. Still haven't fully explored SAO due to limited time... But as far as I can tell, it was fascinating."

"Glad to hear that, Chihiro."

"You know, we donated a fortune for that project. It would be such a waste if it was a failure."

"I know right? I'm glad Mr. Kayaba's dream is finally coming into a reality." His dad stated.

"Dream... Reality... Both sounds so intriguing..."


The following day, Chihiro visited Kayaba's office to submit his report regarding the Beta Test.

"Good day Chihiro, how was it?" Kayaba greeted the boy.

"It was pretty good. I was overwhelmed by the game's design and all... Great job to say the least." Chihiro handed his report paper to him.

"Really? I'm glad to hear that."

"..."

"Would you still want to continue playing Sword Art Online after it has been released officially? I'm offering all the beta testers an opportunity to pre order the game but I was thinking of giving you a free copy."

''I don't know... I mean, it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it but I got some stuff I have to take care of.''

Kayaba wore a sad face at that statement. But thought of ways to provoke the young male.

''You like challenges that much, don't you? I'm sure there a lot in this game...''

"Yeah, you know I do. But I didn't feel like SAO was that challenging to me."

"I see. But that was only the beta. The game play will be much better on the official release."

''Hmm...'' Chihiro hummed, still not sure if he's gonna take the offer.

''I can even say that there might still be challenges you're yet to face in this game, Chihiro.'' Kayaba stated, enticing the boy.

''I see...''

Chihiro took a few moments thinking through and trying to make a decision.

''Well if that's the case, then I think I'll continue playing Sword Art Online.'' Chihiro said, finally accepting Kayaba's offer.


After Chihiro left the office, he went home. Kayaba had given him some gaming magazines and the one with the NerveGear as it's front cover.

When he reached his house, he was surprised to see that he was by himself. "That's odd, I wonder were mom and dad are... It's unusual for them to be out this late at night."

After a few moments, the phone rang and Chihiro picked it up to hear that it was his butler, Macao, that called. "Macao? Where are you? Where's my parents?" The boy asked, wanting to know why they were not at home.

"Sir, I'm very sorry to say this, but I have terrible news."

"What is it?"

"Your parents met an accident."

At that instant, Chihiro froze. He could not believe what he just heard.

"WHAT?! Where are you now?!"

"We're in the ambulance, heading for the hospital."

Chihiro immediately dropped the phone and rushed towards to the hospital where his parents were. Unfortunately, he was too late when he arrived as the doctors informed him that his parents were dead. The young boy just stood there wide eyed as tears started to form. His butler by his side, comforting him. "I'm really sorry for what happened sir." Chihiro wasn't able to hold his tears anymore as he cried very hard at the tragedy of losing his parents.

At the funeral, only a few of the Sato family went. The uncle, which is the younger brother of Chihiro's dad, two aunts and two cousins as well as Akihiko Kayaba were the only ones there.

"I apologize for this tragedy, Chihiro." Kayaba said.

"..."

"I was also heartbroken when I heard that Mr. and Mrs. Sato died. The two people who helped me in fulfilling my dream."

"..."

"Are you going to be alright, Chihiro?" Kayaba showing his concern for the boy.

"Yeah... Yeah, I think I can manage." Chihiro said with a low tone.

"If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask. And I'll try to visit once in a while to check up on you."

"No, you don't have to do that. You still have your hands full on stuffs like developing the final output of Sword Art Online."

"..."

"Listen... Uhm..."

Before he could say something, he was cut off by Kayaba. "Look, you don't have to play SAO if you're not up for it. I'm not going to force you. Next month is the official release. I doubt you're going to be 100% during that time."

"No, I'm still gonna participate on the day of the release... Don't wanna miss that first day bonus item now, do I?" Chihiro said, trying to cheer himself up.

Kayaba is happy to see the young boy fighting and moving forward, not dwelling on the sadness in his heart...

As they were about to go home, Chihiro stood, facing the tombstone of his parents.

"SAO... That's the only thing I'm looking forward to, right now..."


And that's that. I know I know, it's pretty absurd. Some people might come after me with torches and pitch forks. But that's just how I imagined this story to be. On the next chapter, the official release of the game and the part where the madman, Kayaba, traps the players.
Well, gotta go work on the next one.

Review if you must. Even with just one word.
Thanks