Chapter 2: First Look

Crimson blue light flashed on my body from head to toe. Before I knew it, I was transported into the first floor of Aincrad, the world of Sword Art Online, the world I've been dreaming for ages.

I can feel the sunlight touching my face. I can feel the ground that I'm standing on. I can smell the air around me. I can hear everyone that is around me.

"Aki-kun!"

I jumped back, shocked.

"Sup!" said Kana-chan with a smile.

I knew that it was Kana-chan by the way she talked and moved. And her avatar also looks really identical to her real self. She was wearing a pink shirt with an iron chestplate and a red and white sword holder on her back. Her skirt was bright red. Her gloves and boots were white, and her socks were black which fits her slim legs.

"Aki-kun!"

"What?" asked me, startled.

"This place is amazing" said her smiling.

"I know"

The spawnpoint itself was huge. It was surrounded by gigantic pillars in a circle. Each direction has a giant exit to the giant town called "The Town of Beginnings". A clock tower stood in the middle of the spawnpoint.

About 2000 or 3000 people filled the gigantic spawnpoint. Most of them boasted about how they got the game and said that they were lucky to get one of the 10,000 copies.

"Let's go!" shouted Kana-chan, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the crowd to the north exit.

"Where?" asked me blushing.

"Explore!" answered her with her cute soft voice.

When I'm at the giant north gate, I glanced at the great town with astonishment. The buildings had a medieval architectural style. A river flowed through the town, and bridges connected from one side to another.

We headed down to the town by some stairs. The town's streets were small, and were filled with players figuring out about the game and its system.

"Oh, look! It's a restaurant!" said Kana-chan, pulling me to a restaurant. "I'm hungry"

The restaurant's name was "Kev's Bistro". As I entered the resaurant, I could see NPC waitresses roaming the restaurant. Some of the players were in there as well.

"Please have a seat" said an NPC, as she led us to our seats and gave us the menu.

The restaurant was small. Lamps were lit inside it. There was a bartender at the counter making a cocktail or something. There were bottles of wine and champagne on the shelves behind him.

"Damn, that girl is hot!" said someone quietly.

"I know, right?" said another guy, staring at Kana-chan.

I noticed that they were talking about Kana-chan. So, I turned and stared at them a bit with the "shut up!" face.

Eventually, they turned away.

Kana-chan was reading the menu.

"Hmm...2 omelet and rice, please!" said Kana-kun, putting the menu on the table.

"2 omelet and rice coming right up!" said the NPC.

I checked my stats, as the waitress walked away.

1000 col

"Erm...I just had omelet rice in real life" said me.

"What?" asked her "Really?"

"Yep." replied me smiling.

"Well, let's try this, though" said Kana-chan

"Sure" replied me.

The waitress walked back to our table carrying 2 plates of omelet and rice, then putting it down infront of each of us.

"Enjoy!" said the NPC.

I glanced at the food on the plate. It was nothing like I have expected. The omelet was really juicy and creamy on the rice. Tomato sauce was spilled on the omelet.

"Mhmm...looks delicious!" said Kana-chan smiling. "Let's dig in"

I quickly grabbed the fork and spoon. I shoved my spoon into the omelet and rice and dug out a scoop of rice with juicy omelet on top. I took a bite, and it was sensational. I started to dig in some more. Before I knew it, I finished all the food. Not even a spec was on the plate.

"You finished, already?" asked her, grabbing a napkin and wiping a spot of omelet on my cheek.

The two who just talked about Kana-chan talked about something again, but I didn't care.

I didn't realize that my face was red at all.

"Waitress!" shouted me, as some people got into the restaurant.

The waitress walked to our table.

"How much does all of these cost?" asked me.

A window popped up.

"2 x Omelet and Rice"

"250 col"

I pressed the blue "O" button, and another window popped up.

"Trade Successful"

I pressed the red "X" button, and took a peek at Kana-chan. She also had finished the omelet rice. Spots of rice and omelet were on her cheeks and lips. So, I grabbed a napkin and wiped it of for her.

"T-Thanks" said her, blushing.

"No problem" said me smiling.

We left the restaurant, and Kana-chan reached for my arm and held it.

"I'm full" said Kana-chan.

"Me too" replied me "Didn't know that this game was that realistic"

"I know, right?" said Kana-chan.

We roamed through the small streets of the town. I looked at the sun, it looks like it's 2:30 or something. We finally came across a quest giver NPC.

"Will you help me rescue my cat from the roof?" asked the female NPC.

A window popped up.

"Quest: Rescue Reechu's Cat"

I pressed on the blue "O" button, and another window popped up.

"Quest Accepted: Rescue Reechu's Cat"

"Reechu's Cat: 0/1"

I looked for a way to climb up to the roof.

"Woah...this is so cool!" said Kana-chan.

"I'm going to complete this quest and see what will happen." said me.

I found a ladder which leads right to the roof from the side of the building. So, I climbed up by it. When I reached to the top of the building, I saw a black cat. I went to it and picked it up, then came back down to the ground.

I gave the cat back to the NPC.

"Thank you very much" said the NPC "Please accept this reward"

A window popped up.

"Quest Completed"

"Exp: 1000"

"Col: 1000"

"Items: 1"

I smirked.

"Woah...this is cool" said me.

"I know. I know." said Kana-chan.

The sun was going down. The sky was amber.

Me and Kana was on a floating island trying to fight with boars for Exp and some Col.

"This is awesome!" said Kana-chan, excitedly as she finished off a boar with a skill called "Rage Spike", which allows you to hover, and slash an enemy at a really high speed.

"Haha" said me. "I think it's getting late"

"I know right" said Kana-chan yawning.

I opened the menu and tapped on the settings. Guess what? The logout button wasn't there. I freaked out for a moment.

"Hey" said Kana-chan "Where is the logout button?"

"I don't know" said me depressed.

"Oh my god. What are we going to do?"

"I don't know, maybe it's just a part of the starting ceremony" said me frowning.

I tried opening the menu and opening the settings tab again, but the logout button still wasn't there.

Before I even knew it, bright crimson light flashed through my body, transporting me somewhere. I closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened my eyes, I was at the spawnpoint surrounded by ten thousand people.

People were trying to get out but can't since there's a force-field protecting the area.

Finally, a giant figure, faceless, with red robe rose up above the spawnpoint.

"Hello, everybody" said it.

"Welcome to my world"

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko"