Alpha Phase

Before I begin this story there are a couple things I need to clarify.

I do not own Sword Art Online (ソードアートオンライン), the characters, or the storyline. All rights belong to A-1 Pictures, Aniplex USA, and Reki Kawahara.

The events depicted in this story are not part of the official SAO canon.

I am not profiting from writing this story.

Some of the events or mentioned events are based on some of my real life experiences. If one or more of these events are similar to one of your own it is unintentional and coincidental.

Please support Sword Art Online and its affiliates.

Author's Note: Hi guys! My name is Thomas and this is my first fanfiction. I hope you like it. Now before you yell at me because my character's names suck or my title makes no sense or the story is boring, I will say that I don't have a lot of experience when it comes to writing. I have written a short story or two in my time but it still isn't enough for me to really qualify as an "author". So remember, this is my first story, I am more than aware that there are flaws, and I am open to suggestions. So please, feel free to tell me what you think.

Chapter IV

POV: Hikaru

November 6, 2022

"What are we going to do first?" Kimi asked me. My party was leaving the Town of Beginnings and entering the Floor 1 fields.

"Well, since I was a Beta tester I know a few more things that you guys don't. So I think we should head to the next town. That way we'll be able to grind faster and earn more money," I told the group. Kimi still looked confused.

"Hikaru, what's 'grinding'?" she asked. I had to remind myself that Kimi was new to this genre.

"'Grinding' is a term used in RPG's. It's the action of defeating a lot of enemies to gain EXP and currency. That way they can upgrade their stats and equipment as they prepare for a tougher enemy they know is likely coming ahead."

"And what are 'stats'?" Again, she's new.

"In RPG's, 'stats' are numbers that tell you how strong you or someone else is. For example, I have an attack stat of 23, a defense of 16, speed of 22, max health of 500, and luck of 13. Since I'm level 2, all of my stats are higher than they were when I was level 1. What level are you, Kimi?" I know these explanations are unnecessarily long but I wanted to make sure that she understood completely what was essential for her and everyone else's survival.

"I'm still level 1. Would it be a good thing if I started grinding until I was level 2?"

"Yeah, we wouldn't want you to be left out. Alright, let's teach you how to fight. Rei, I'm sending you a map of the route to the next town. Take Shika with you but don't do anything when you get there until we catch up, understand?" I told him, pulling up my menu and sending him my map.

"Yeah, right. Come on, Shika," he said, receiving the map and leading Shika the way it led. Kimi and I watched as they disappeared into the distance. As if on cue, a boar spawned right behind us.

"Alright Kimi, draw your weapon." She obeyed and pulled out a small dagger. With her lack of experience in RPG's, she had a surprisingly confident look on her face. She didn't have any skills yet, given she was still level 1, so she would have to defeat these next twenty something enemies with nothing but regular attacks. She charged at the boar and slashed at it. But, she missed, and the boar charged at her, knocking her to the ground.

"Do you need some help?" I asked her, kneeling down to help her up.

"No. I can do this on my own," she replied. As the boar charged at her again, she got up and jumped out of the way, slashing at the boar once she got close enough. Its health bar dropped to 50%. She tried slashing at it again but the boar dodged and hit her again. I noticed that Kimi was almost in the red. I better do something before this boar killed her. "Power Slash!" I yelled as I struck the boar with my sword, sending it flying as it exploded into tiny blue triangles. A results screen appeared in front of Kimi saying she had gotten 20 EXP and 10 col, which is the currency of SAO. I was reminded of Akira when this happened. I still wasn't over the fact that I killed him. He wasn't just dead in the game; he was dead in real life, too. And it was my fault.

"Hikaru? Are you okay?" Kimi broke me out of my trance.

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine. You though. You took quite the beating out there," I said, taking out a healing crystal. "Heal." I pointed the crystal at Kimi. It exploded, replenishing her health bar to 100%.

"Thanks," she said, "Sorry you had to step in like that."

"Don't worry about it," I told her, putting my hand on her shoulder, "I wasn't going to stand by watch when I could see you weren't doing so well. I'll probably be stepping in like that in the future, too."

"Thanks in advance. Now then, how many more do we have left?" she asked joyfully.

"Well, that's 1 down, so 19 to go!" I told her. She was mystified.

"What?! 19?! That's crazy!"

"Well, if you want to grow to level 2 you'll have to kill a total of 20 boars. Don't worry though, I'll be helping you along the way." This appeared to comfort her a little.

"Alright. Let's get this over with."

About 30 minutes later, Kimi had killed 20 boars, growing to level 2. The sun was now setting. Kimi and I sat on a cliff, looking over the edge of the giant floating castle, Aincrad, to the seemingly endless ocean below.

"Hikaru? What are you thinking about?" she asked me curiously.

"Well, I was thinking about my friends and family that aren't trapped in this virtual world. I wonder what they're doing right now. I wonder if they know what I'm doing, where I am, that I'm trapped in this false reality where I could be killed at any moment," I told her, "What about you? What are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking about my sisters. What are they going to think when they see what's happening to the players that can't take their Nerve Gears off. I wonder what they'll do, if they'll do anything." Kimi had two sisters, both of which lived with her.

"I bet they moved you to a hospital and put you on life support. Our real bodies can't be kept alive like this for very long. You're lucky you live with someone who will take care of you like that. I live alone. What's going to happen to me? All I can hope for is that one of my family members breaks in and takes me to the hospital. If they don't, my time here is limited."

"Don't say that. Someone will come get you, I promise." Kimi was very good at cheering me up. That was one reason I liked her so much. I chuckled a little to myself.

"You know, if I were living with my dad, I'd probably be dead already."

"Hikaru!" Kimi had a shocked look on her face. I realized I shouldn't have said that.

"Sorry, I didn't men to scare you. It's just that he never watched the news and hated it when I played games for hours on end. He would probably try taking the Nerve Gear off of me. I guess I'm glad I live alone in that context."

"Right… Hikaru? Do you think that we're going to die?" This concerned me. Although, I knew exactly what I was going to say.

"Kimi, I don't know if I'm going to die. But I do know that, if I do, I will die protecting you or someone else. But I'll try to stay alive to the end. I swore I would end this world. Kayaba will pay for all the deaths he's let happen." Kimi smiled when I said I would die protecting her.

"You'll die protecting me, huh? Oh, Hikaru, you're so crazy," she said, punching my shoulder. Kimi laughed. I laughed. For a second, we totally forgot about everyone that was dying at this very moment. Then our eyes met. Her green eyes reflected light into my blue ones. She looked down at my hand, scooted closer to me, and rested her hear on my shoulder. I put my arm around her shoulder. We stayed like that for about 10 minutes. I decided that we should stay in the Town of Beginnings tonight.

"Hey Kimi, it's getting late. We should get a room at the inn. What do you say?" I whispered to her.

"Alright. Let's go," she whispered back.

That night, as we got to our room at the inn, I messaged Rei, telling him to get a room at the nearest inn. I didn't get much sleep. I was worried about how I was going to teach Kimi everything she needed to know to survive and protect her and everyone else at the same time. It wasn't going to be easy. But I didn't care. Kimi was too important to me for me to not try and keep her safe. I had to, no matter how hard it was going to be.

"Kimi… I promise I'll keep you safe. I promise I'll do anything and everything it takes to make sure you make it back. You can count on it," I said under my breath as I looked at Kimi, asleep in the bed across the room from me. Nothing in the outside world mattered now. The only thing I cared about was keeping my friends safe. And that's exactly what I intended to do… Even if I died trying.

END OF CHAPTER IV