[Aincrad, Floor 1

5:22 PM]

Mikuo could feel the wind rushing through the green plains, ruffling his character's hair. Sunlight poured down through the trees, creating small patches of gold that danced and swayed to the breeze. The scenery was amazing- grassy hills, crystal-clear lakes and flourishing valleys as far as the eye could see.
Well, not really. If you looked past the mountains, there were only walls of blue that marked the end of the simulated area.

But it was still calming to look at. Quite different from the city he was used to, but that was nice, too.

It was good to finally be back.

From the hill, he could see the {{Town of Beginnings}}, where the other players milled around and talked to each other, exploring and purchasing items. Most of the newer gamers hung around the starting point, hoping to get some good info.

Except for this guy.

A lone player stood tensely on the field, swinging his sword haphazardly at a wild boar. He had on cheap armor which was available at the local NPC smith's shop, and used a thick, weighted blade.

Apparently, whoever it was didn't know too much about how the game worked.

Grinning to himself, Mikuo sat down on the hill, watching with mild interest as the swordsman was sent flying by the monster.

Newbies were such fun.

Then, the boar started to move towards the hill, with the player following closely.

A name hovered over his head in bold lettering.

Rin

Interesting.

At least it wasn't some stupid 18-letter long gamer name.

Now that Mikuo could see Rin up close, he noticed that his HP bar was almost gone. If that boar got another hit in, it would go down entirely, initiating the 'Character Death' sequence. And then the poor guy would be sent all the way to the {{Town of Beginnings}}, where he'd have to walk all the way back here. All of that hard work for nothing…

But that was just part of the game, right?

Everyone would have to learn on their own sooner or later.

Eh.

Picking up a small pebble from the ground, Mikuo cranked his arm backwards so his hand was by his ear, elbow positioned back. He could feel the system processing his actions, locking on the boar. A green light enveloped the stone as it shot from his hand and hit its target between the eyes, right on spot.

Letting out a final squeal, the monster burst into a million blue polygons, scattering and fading away.

"What the heck was that for?!"

The player whose health bar was flashing red stomped up to him, glaring and crossing his arms indignantly.

He was rather short, with spiky blond hair and unnerving crimson eyes that flashed dangerously. His lips were pinched into a tight frown, scrunching up his would-be handsome features.

"Eh?" replied Mikuo, slightly confused.

He'd just saved this guy, what was wrong with him?

"I totally had that until you butted in!"

"But… you were going to die…"

Rin's eyes narrowed further as he stepped menacingly forward, which would have been more intimidating if it wasn't for his lack of height.

Then he said something surprising.

"Teach me, then."

"What?"

"You hard of hearing?! Teach me whatever that thing was that you did! "

For some reason, Mikuo couldn't help but grin. Such boldness… would probably get you killed, but it was admirable.

"Fine. But for 50 Col."

"No way!"

The furious expression on Rin's face quickly melted away and was replaced by a look of disbelief.

"That's...Look mister, I gotta eat, pay rent…"

"That's not my problem."

"You little…"

"I wouldn't say anything too nasty if I were you." Mikuo replied with a smirk.

An animalistic snarl formed on the other gamer's face.

"Fine, I accept. Here's your bloody money," he muttered, opening his options menu with the flick of his wrist.

Catching the flying coins with a skilled hand, Mikuo pocketed the virtual currency. It really wasn't that much, but it'd buy him a good meal.

Turning back to Rin, who looked pretty pissed, he drew his own blade, holding it out in front of himself.

"Okay, here's how sword skills work…"


Len was walking towards the main plaza when he heard a familiar tune.

A melodious voice rang over the sounds of the busy city-

"In the short time we have to play out our lives

We get swept off our feet by the calm

Remaining with the memories we'll always have

Spinning them into two spirals and then they fade away.."

Turning the corner, the boy tilted his head, searching for the source. There was not a single soul in the alley, but the song seemed to be getting closer...

"As for me, I will sing the song of the present

That's all I can do, be singing and talking

I won't remember what happened at that time

But it's been engraved in my heart, so let me go…"

Still, no one. Where was that coming from?

Only one way to find out.

Taking in a deep breath, Len began the chorus using his own deepened computer-generated voice.

"al a re la ye

al a re la yo

al a re la ya

al a re ya..."

The mystery singer paused for a moment as if surprised before continuing. The sound of the combined harmonies left a haunting feeling resounding through the empty courtyard, echoing over and over again.

Now smiling to himself, Len wandered through the streets, following his ears and weaving through the verses.

"al a re la ye

al a re la yo-"

Suddenly, something crashed into him from above, abruptly cutting off the second chorus.

Thankfully, it was a safe zone, or he'd have some major damage done to his health.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean to-!"

Len rubbed his head and sat up, looking at the person who had landed on him.

A girl with flowing green hair that was tied back in a ponytail stood about a foot away, looking flustered.

Her eyes were wide with worry as she offered out her hand to help him up.

On the edge of his vision, he could see a hovering name- GUMI.

"I really didn't see you there, it's my fault-"

"No, it's fine, stop apologizing already," Len interjected, trying to laugh it off.

The girl looked down and began wringing her hands nervously.

"S-so sorry, but is there any way I can make it up to you? I mean, I practically fell on your head, and-"

"No, no, it's just a game, so no damage done," he cut in again.

As far as Len knew, there weren't many female gamers. In fact, there was a good chance whoever GUMI was, 'she' was, in reality, actually a guy. But even so, there was some sort of authenticity about her.

"But I, I really should compensate somehow…"she trailed off, averting her gaze.

Sighing, he gave in, trying to think of something.

"Hmmm… how about…you sing another song for me?"

Gumi's eyes widened in surprise, her mouth forming a small 'O'.

"O-okay then… What do I sing?"

"Your favorite song by your favorite artist."

She hesitated a moment before drawing a deep breath and starting in that same controlled voice:

Time is dead and gone,

Show must go on;

It's time for our act

They all scream at me,

They cannot see;

This curtain hides me

An amazing gift,

So quick and swift;

You were amazing

By myself I can't,

They start to chant;

Why are you not here…?

The notes rebounded through the alley, adding to the song's mournful tune. You could almost feel the pain and sadness pouring out through the robotic tones generated by the system. Whoever GUMI really was, she sure knew how to use the game's vocal engine. She probably liked to sing a lot in real life, too.

Len immediately recognized the song as one of the band's- Circus Monster, by Luka. He'd have to tell her about it when he got back.

As soon as the final chorus ended, he smiled and clapped.

"That's really good!"

The girl blushed slightly, staring down at the ground self-consciously.

"Yeah, but I don't sound anything like that outside of the game…"

"I bet your real voice is even prettier. I'd like to hear it sometime," he blurted out.

Oh, wait, that came out weird…

A short, tense silence followed.

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Len tried again.

"And, um, so Luka's your favorite singer, huh?"

GUMI paused indecisively before slowly shaking her head.

"No, not really… I just really like that song, Circus Monster. It's singable in both Japanese and English, and that's why I like it so much. But my actual favorite singer would be…uh,I- I think I like Kagamine Len the most."

Len froze.

Does she mean me? he thought to himself, baffled.

"Really? Len?"

He barely stopped from pointing to himself.

In this virtual world of player-made avatars, no one would know who he was. Here, he wasn't a world-renowned superstar; he was just another gamer.

Heh… SAO was going to be more fun than he had originally thought.


Fumbling with the supple leather straps, Miku wrapped the belt around her waist, trying to figure out how to tie it down. The weight of the sword made her feel off-balanced and awkward.

Everything was so… real. Even though she had heard the reviews and seen the demonstrations on television, it was nothing compared to experiencing it firsthand. An incredible amount of work must have gone into re-creating every single minute detail in such a diverse world.

But somehow, she had gotten slightly off course. Kaito, Rin and Len had already gone off ahead, and Miku couldn't find them anywhere. Even after reading the manual over and over again, the game's terrain was hard to navigate. She couldn't even find the 'log out' button on the menu.

This was starting to look really bad.

"Ohhh, where could they have gone…?"

Miku winced. Even her own voice was different. Not as high pitched, but slightly lower and more mature sounding.

Even though no one else seemed to have trouble talking like she did, she found it incredibly perplexing and odd to speak and have a completely different sound come out of her mouth.

Starting down the path, she scanned her surroundings. Everything looked the same, rolling hills and grassy plains in all directions.

Sighing, the girl began to trudge back in the direction she had just walked from when a blueish light suddenly surrounded her. The glow intensified until it became almost blinding, blocking out her vision.

And before she knew it, she was standing in the middle of the courtyard of {{Starting City}}. Other players surrounded her on all sides, murmuring and wandering around in a somewhat confused manner.

Well, that was terribly convenient, she thought.


[Crypton Apartment Complex, Floor 28

7:41 PM]

The door slammed open, followed by shuffling steps. Some cursing and muttering could be heard, along with the clink of coin change.

Luka looked up from her book, taking off her reading glasses and setting them on the coffee table.

Meiko must be home.

Her guess was confirmed when the brunette woman stormed into the living with an aggravated expression and switched on the TV. Scanning the room, she sighed (to be more accurate, growled) and sat down on the floor next to Kaito, seeing that there was no space on the couch. Miku, Rin, Kaito and Len were still in the game. For three hours straight.

Frowning, Luka felt tempted to yank the NERVE GEAR off of their heads. It was normal for the net-game obsessed Rin to still be playing, but Miku, Len and Kaito… Was Sword Art Online really that much fun?

Suddenly Meiko was shaking her arm and pointing to the screen.

"Hey! Do you know anything about that?" she asked urgently, roughly turning Luka's chair toward the television.

There was something wrong going on with the evening news.

The newscaster, who was usually cool and composed, had papers strewn all over the desk, hands clenched in fists and eyes wide with panic.

"This is Miki reporting and- oh, screw that- THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT! We've just received a report from Argus! And it basically said, DO NOT TAKE OFF THE NERVE GEAR. I REPEAT, DO NOT TAKE OFF THE NERVE GEAR! And-"

The reporter made a wild grab for one of the flying documents, scanning it quickly.

"Please make sure any friends or family members using the NERVE GEAR are quickly and immediately transported to the nearest hospital. Do not take off or try to handle the NERVE GEAR in any way possible. There have been a reported 200 deaths already caused by this, so we ask that you leave this to the authorities and hospital staff. And please refrain from panicking," she finished awkwardly.

"Visit our website for more details concerning that. And,uh, have a nice day and coming up next is Al for this evening's weather report!"

Luka stared blankly, gaping at the screen. That report probably would have been really funny if it wasn't for the current situation.

She could hear the remote Meiko was holding crash to the floor, sending little pieces of plastic everywhere.

Rin, Len, Miku and Kaito were still logged in.

Laying down peacefully, they could have been sleeping.

Or dead.