Hey guys, Kinh here. The first chapter of Crossing Swords is here. Please enjoy and remember to review and even criticize to help me improve. Enjoy!
P.S: I do not own Sword Art Online or any of its characters/others. All rights belong to their rightful owners. I only own my OC(s).
Chapter 1: Truth
Floor 1: Town Of Beginnings
I hastily ran through the Town Of Beginnings as fast as possible. It didn't matter who was in my way. My heart was pounding faster and faster with every single step. So many players had gathered around the entire town. They all looked like newbies to me, although not many of the beta testers were around this part of town, but it didn't really matter. My main priority was to get to the outside as fast as possible and become stronger than anyone else. All the newbies are still probably learning how to play the game, so now is a great chance to level before all of them figure it out. Players everywhere left and right. There was a long, pink haired man wearing a headband staring at curved swords as I quickly walked passed until something suddenly caught his attention. The pink haired man got up and quickly ran after what seemed to be another player running down the alleyway. Blinking a few times, I decided to ignore it and quickly run to the outskirts of town to begin leveling.
As soon as I got outside, there were boars all over the field. They were all as weak as slimes in other MMOs. They usually die in one hit from a normal attack if you hit them in the right spot.
Slowly, I drew my [Gladius] from its sheath on my back and charged up a sword skill anyways. The adrenaline you get from sword skills feel way better than just normal attacks. The sword slowly began glowing blue as I quickly sliced through a nearby boar by activating «Rage Spike».
The boar exploded into bits of light shards as a mini menu popped up in front of me.
Result
EXP: 24
Col: 30
Items: 0
There was a sigh followed by a small smile as the menu slowly closed in front of me.
"About a few dozen more to go. I should probably be able to get a few levels before dinner time and all the beginners figure out what to do."
I continued through the entire field, taking out boars left and right before walking up a big hill. After reaching the top, there were two other players also training on the other side. One of them was the pink haired man again. A boar quickly charged at him and hit him somewhere you would not want to be hit which made me laugh to myself. It was a good thing you don't really feel anything when you get hit. Then, my eyes traveled over at the other player. He seemed more experienced and knew what he was doing compared to the pink haired guy. I studied his avatar and skills a little more before it finally hit me. It was none other than Kirito. I walked down the hill slowly towards them before they both turned to look at me.
"Yo, Kirito. It's been a while."
They both looked at me for a second before Kirito finally began speaking with a soft tone.
"You're... Kinh. I remember you from the beta."
We shook hands with a smile before I turn to look at the pink haired man to stick my hand out to him as well.
"I'm Kinh. Nice to meet you. I hope Kirito is training you well." Giving a little chuckle before he responds to me.
"I'm Klein! Nice to meet you as well! And, I'm getting the basics down." He says with a very loud and enthusiastic voice as he scratches the back of his head and gives a big smile, showing all his teeth.
I gave a small smile and nod at Klein.
"That's good. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you two later then. Take care, Kirito. Klein."
With that, we began our separate ways, waving my hand at them while climbing over another hill.
The in-game sun had begun to set as another boar turned into light shards from the slash of my blade. Another mini menu appeared in front of my eyes.
Congratulation!
LV UP! Kinh
4 » 5
"Five levels in two hours, huh? I wonder if all the other players have figured out what to do yet." I talk to myself before shrugging it off and laying down on a hill, looking at the sunset. It was an amazing sight to see as the entire sky had turned orange along with floating islands and waterfalls in the sky. "I wish the real world was this beautiful..." I whisper to myself and sigh before closing my eyes for a little bit, enjoying the slight breeze and environment around me.
Looking at my real life, there isn't really much. I live with my mother. My father and younger sister live somewhere else, closer to my father's job. I'm a first year high school student, just attending school almost every day and it's the same routine every single time. There aren't many friends to go to back in the real world either. I guess that's why I'm a solo player. It's not a big deal though. I've kind of always been this way anyways. If this were the real world though, of course people wouldn't mind staying here forever. Life in Aincrad feels like paradise where just one sword can take you almost anywhere.
After a few minutes of shut eye, the bell tower from the town started ringing loudly across the entire floor. At the sound of it, I quickly jumped to my feet and looked in the direction of the sound. 'Why was the bell ringing?" The clock read 17:30 before a bright light flashed in my eyes. I shut them for a split second as the feeling of a teleportation had taken my before reopening them to see that someone had forced a teleportation. Almost every player in the game had been teleported to the clock tower of the Town of Beginnings. I look around to see what was going on.
"What's that?" Someone said before I looked up at the sky to where he was pointing. There was a red warning notification blinking in the sky. It was there for a little while until the entire sky turned red and filled with red notifications. Something that looked like blood began spilling through the cracks and began forming into something. I clenched my fist and stared with a slightly worried, but excited sensation. The object had finally formed, revealing that it was a Game Master. There was something odd about him though… He had no face. It wasn't long before the GM began speaking.
"Attention, players. Welcome to my world."
After hearing these first few words, thoughts came into my mind, 'My world? Is this really be him?'
"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the only sole person who can control this world. I'm sure you've already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu."
'What?' It really didn't come to my attention to check out the menu because of the busy grinding in the field. I decided to open up my menu to see for myself that it was true, the logout button was missing.
"But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat… This is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online."
Hearing this caught me by surprise. "Not a defect? A feature?"
"You cannot log out of SAO yourselves. And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave destroying your brain and thus ending your life."
Many people started becoming confused after hearing this. Two players tried to leave the area but were unsuccessful because of a barrier blocking them from exiting. I began thinking about it hard to myself as well. 'Why would Kayaba Akihiko do this?' My thoughts were cut when he began speaking once again.
"Unfortunately, several players' friends and families have ignored this warning, and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world."
'No way…' My emotions began to turn into worry before clenching my teeth together and balled up my fists. A large amount of news broadcasts appeared all around Kayaba as he began to explain more about it.
"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 the NerveGear being removed is now minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game. But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost. And simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain."
Everyone had become quiet and had shocked and terrified expressions after hearing this. I even began shaking a little and clenching my teeth and fists even tighter as visions began appearing inside my mind.
"There is only one means of escape. To complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, Floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game.
Many of the players began chattering about this, saying how it was impossible and not even the beta testers came close to making it that far.
"Finally, I've added a present from me to your item storage. Please see for yourselves."
I quickly swiped my menu down and opened my item storage, only to see the item that had been placed by the Game Master.
"A mirror?" I selected it and a small mirror instantly formed into my hand. I stared at the reflection of my avatar for a few seconds, blinking a couple of times before another bright light flashed into my face and then, the entire square was bright for just an instant. Once my vision had returned, everyone had a different appearance. I quickly looked back into the mirror to see that my appearance had also changed. There, staring back at me in the mirror was… Me. The me from the real world. My avatar had completely changed from silver, wavy hair and red eyes into black hair with bangs that went down to my eyebrows and blue colored eyes.
"Right now, you're probably wondering, "Why?" Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do all this? My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason… To create this world and intervene in it. And now, it is complete. This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. Good luck, players."
After his speech, the GM slowly began fading away into smoke, creating a loud electrical and computerized buzzing noise as Kayaba Akihiko slowly returned into the cracks of the red notifications. In an instant after, the entire sky became normal once again. All the players were dead quiet, they were in complete shock and had despair written all over their faces as they stare at the empty space in the sky with their mouths open in shock at what had just occurred. I remain quiet for a little while as well, staring down at the ground, only to begin thinking.
'This isn't just a game anymore… This is real… Everything that this man, Kayaba Akihiko… I know that everything that he had just said, was completely true… If I die here… I'll die in real life…'
My thoughts dissolved after everyone in the area began yelling and crying at the sky, at Kayaba Akihiko who had already disappeared. Nobody could believe any of it. It happened all so suddenly that it was all hard to process at one time. But there was no time to waste. If that was the case, leaving right away was the only option. I have to get stronger, to survive in this virtual world. The instant the barrier was removed, I quickly made a run for it, letting the portal take me to another put of town. I ran towards the outside of the Town of Beginnings, leaving everyone else behind. While running, I opened the map and scanned it thoroughly. My plan was to head to the next town, Horunka Village, to the northwest as quickly as possible since the fields around the Starting Town will get picked off pretty fast. Making it there at my level should be a piece of cake. I still have to be cautious though. The monsters become more aggressive at night and will attack without warning.
I stayed on the path, running nonstop, through what had soon turned from grasslands to a forest biome. Falling deeper into the forest, three plant looking monsters that had just spawned suddenly surrounded me. I unsheathed my sword slowly with a blank expression.
'I'm going… I'm going... To WIN!'
Shouting at my mind, giving out a loud battle cry of anger and determination before engaging in a battle for my life against the creations of Akihiko Kayaba.
And there it is, the first chapter is finally complete. I hope you enjoyed it and please remember to review. Oh! I almost forgot, thank you to those who followed and favorite, and special thanks to Agent 94 and Richard Amadeus Rightmire for your reviews. The OC guideline should be up soon as well so stick around. See you guys soon.
Next Time: Ara