Author Foreword:
Thank you for taking the time to read Lethality Twirl. This story I am about to create – a story that, if all goes right, will weave a grandiose tale of Alfheim Online – is a product of the amazing people in the Sword Art Online fandom and the greater community as a whole.
Lethality Twirl is the first of the re:Alfheim Online series of stories, an alternative universe where the mysterious Sugou Nobuyuki and his team developed Alfheim Online before Akihiko Kayaba has a chance to complete Sword Art Online. Of course, things aren't as simple as that, and the players of Alfheim Online are trapped inside of it. Lethality Twirl, and the re:Alfheim Online series will incorporate elements from the entirety of the Sword Art Online series, including the video games, Girls Ops, and Ordinal Scale. While these elements are altered to fit the story of re:Alfheim Online, it is highly recommended to watch the three seasons of Sword Art Online and Ordinal Scale, as well as becoming familiar with the characters of the Sword Art Online video games.
However, as this is an alternative universe, everything will be altered. You'll see something vast discrepancies from canon, so keep in mind this is an alternative universe, and it is probably intentional.
If you would have a moment to spare, please comment or review the first chapter of Lethality Twirl – I love to hear all feedback from my readers.
Author Foreword II:
After a long (about a nine month) hiatus, I'm returning to the story. I intend on rewriting chapters 1-6 eventually, but look forward to chapter 7 and beyond! Everything will be of a higher quality...at least I hope so...
Chapter One
Cast: Leafa, Kirito, Recon, Klein, Game Master, Sakuya, Aaaa
When Nagata said we would log into the video game in an internet café, Suguha was worried. Suguha was afraid there would be creepy old men or lewd college boys trying to have their way with her. Her worries were for nothing, though, as the small establishment was filled with young men and women all eagerly sipping coffees with one hand and holding NerveGears in the other. While Nagata booted up our headsets that we would use to enter a magical world of fairies and gods, Suguha bought two of the café's event coffees – a cappuccino called the "Dew of Yggdrasil." Ordinarily, she would've thought selling a coffee based on a video game about fairies was stupid. However, today Suguha was the nerd playing video games about fairies.
Suguha reached across the tiny wooden table to hand Nagata his frilly coffee, complete with a chocolate ribbon inside of it. He didn't see her through the NerveGear he was wearing, so she delicately tapped his right shoulder with a single finger. He jumped, the NerveGear sent spinning around whilst on his head. Nagata hastily took off the headset, and looked between Suguha, the coffee, and the NerveGear.
"Finally put two and two together?" Suguha asked, laughing.
"Very funny, Suguha! What if I spilled the coffee on the NerveGear and broke it? What if I dropped the NerveGear and broke it? This could've been so catastrophic, Suguha!" the boy fumed.
"It's just a video game. And aren't you supposed to call me Kirigaya?" the girl sternly reprimanded.
"It's not just a video game, Kirigaya. This headset is a portal to another dimension where we can cast spells and fly!"
"I think you're being a little to nerdy about this," Suguha said, suppressing a giggle. She elegantly sipped her cappuccino. It tasted like an ordinary latte, albeit with a dash of vanilla that wouldn't be there in ordinary drinks. And was that…cinnamon? "Anyway, I'm sorry about almost creating a catastrophe."
Nagata fell silent, placated. "I suppose we'll see for ourselves whether this is a game or truly another world," Nagata finally said.
"Speaking of, what time is it? Isn't this game supposed to launch at 3:30?" Suguha inquired.
"Oh, launch isn't for a while. It's 3:26…wait, it's 3:26!?" the boy realized. Nagata shoved Suguha's NerveGear into her hand. Nagata took his coffee and drank it all in one, then two, then three gulps. He set it down with a thump, and then put his own NerveGear over his head. He waited for half a second, and then rapidly took it off.
"Suguha!" Nagata almost-yelled, "Put your NerveGear on!" His eyes were wide in a fervor of passion and impatience. Humoring her acquaintance, Suguha put on the NerveGear. It was already open to the gaming panel. All Suguha had to do was wait for launch and say the magic words.
Now it was 3:27.
Suguha had decided to do this gaming thing not for herself, but for her brother, Kazuto. When he discovered he was not Suguha's brother, but rather her biological cousin, he became reclusive and retreated to a world of online games. Days would pass by where Suguha wouldn't see him, until she walked by his room at the dark of night to see the door perched open and her brother awake playing a game.
3:28.
The only thing, really, Kazuto still interacted with at all was those games. He wasn't into sports or girls like most boys his age. He was simply obsessed with the computer games in his room. Suguha felt like the only way to connect with him and salvage their relationship was through those games.
3:29.
Suguha, however, knew nothing about video games. When she heard from Nagata, her classmate, that a game where you can go in and talk to other people in person was soon to exist, Suguha pounced. She enlisted Nagata in helping her learn about gaming and Alfheim Online. Now, today was launch day, and she would finally go to a world where she could get Kazuto to open up to his sister.
3:30.
"Link start!" Nagata yelled. Soon, a chorus of "Link Start!"s erupted in the tiny café. The noise bounced and echoed around the tiny wooden walls, and didn't stop until Suguha yelled it herself.
All the sound in the room drowned out, and her vision of a black sheet of glass was replaced with a whirlwind of colored cylinders rushing by her. Soon, the colors gave way to a tiny chamber. Suguha felt herself again, standing on a hardwood floor. When she looked down, though, the floor was made of a crystalized black material. The walls of the circular chamber were made of glass panels tinted so yellow that she couldn't see through them. When Suguha looked up, she merely saw the chamber stretch to infinity.
"Welcome to Alfheim Online," a voice spoke. Suguha jumped, startled, and looked around to find the speaker. When she found no one, the voice spoke once more. "Please select your avatar's name and sex."
A translucent, spectral keyboard appeared in front of Suguha, with two icons saying "male" and "female" above it. Suguha pressed the female icon, but was puzzled as to what name her avatar would be.
"Perhaps a traditional name," Suguha mused, and she began to input Angelica into the keyboard. However, Suguha stopped. The name of Angelica was much to American.
Stumped, Suguha decided to just input the most basic name she could think of. The first object that came to mind was a leaf. Suguha typed in "Leaf", and then to add a sparkle of creativity, added an "a" to the end.
"Leafa," the girl spoke to herself. She tapped the "finish" icon on the spectral keyboard, and it gave way to a floating joystick.
"Please select your character's race. This will govern which abilities and spells you will get throughout your journey in the land of Alfheim," the voice prompted.
Leafa sighed. Race? What did that even mean?
"I just want to fly," Leafa called out to the room, "What race can fly really fast?" When Leafa said that, a version of herself appeared, but…different.
The girl had Leafa's exact face and body, down to each curve, muscle, and bone. However, she was somehow taller, and her hair was long and green. On her back were magnificent lime green wings.
She was imposing and perfect in every way.
"Do you choose to become a Sylph?" the voice asked. Leafa pointed her joystick at the figure and tapped the topmost button.
"You have chosen the Sylph race. An avatar based off of your appearance will be randomly created for you." The tiny chamber melted away, and Leafa suddenly found herself in the land of Alfheim.
"Teine targaid cron!" the Salamander yelled, sending a small ray of fire at the slime. It was already battered, and the small burst of flames enveloped it completely. The last third of its hit points depleted, and the slime shattered into several tiny crystals.
"Good job," Kirito congratulated. The two boys were in a dank sewer underneath the city of Arun, completing a tutorial quest to rid the sewer of slimes. They were up to their feet in an opaque chocolate-brown sludge, and they were surrounded by a labyrinth of stone walls and decaying wooden bridges.
In all honesty, this quest was below Kirito. He had been a beta tester for Alfheim Online. But when Klein had approached him for help at a quest meant to be taken at level 7, Kirito couldn't help but intervene and teach the Salamander some basics. As a result, Kirito had been spending his one hour since launch teaching Klein the basics of Alfheim Online, and now he was taking Klein on his first quest. A Pooka NPC had directed them to the sewers beneath the city, begging for help clearing out slimes and restoring the cleanliness of the sewer water.
"So that's magic, huh?" Klein asked. This was the fourth time he had managed to cast the spell correctly, and the second time he had against a slime.
"Don't worry. Magic in this game is really hard," Kirito explained for what seemed like the hundredth time, "You have to say the incantation precisely, and aim it perfectly. The higher-level spells have at least twenty words in them."
Klein gasped.
"But me, I prefer to just use magic as a supplementary tool to sword-fighting," Kirito said.
The day had been unrealistic, as days go. Suguha vanished from the house early, saying she was going to meet a friend. And then, when Alfheim launched, Kirito was put in Arun, the central capital of Alfheim, rather than Civitatem-Illusionar, the starting city for Kirito's Spriggan race. When Kirito asked the first NPC he saw about what was going on, his only answer was that High King Oberon was going to address the players of Alfheim in a royal speech.
"Let's get going," Kirito said, "I don't want to miss 'Oberon's' address." Kirito knew full well it was a Game Master masquerading as Oberon, but it was more fun to pretend the actual fairy king was going to come and talk to the players of Alfheim Online. Kirito and Klein rounded the two corners and made a left, reaching the end of the stone corridors. Despite being dirty and stinky, the corridors were also immaculate. Not a single crack lay in the stone brick. Kirito pushed up the sewer grate and vaulted into the Arun proper. The sunlight assaulted Kirito's eyes, and when it settled, he saw activity and joy.
All around him, players were milling about, experiencing the splendor of Alfheim for the first time. A redheaded Leprechaun girl holding a sword. A blonde Undine boy and a blonde Cait Sith girl talking intensely. A large, burly Gnome navigating a menu. Kirito smiled to himself, knowing how it must feel for each of them to go into what was effectively another dimension for the first time.
"Ki-boy?" Klein asked, interrupting his thoughts, "Didn't you say we should go?"
"Yeah," Kirito said, embarrassed. "Remember how to fly?"
Klein conjured his flight controller in response. Kirito summoned his wings to his back, and using the voluntary flight system, navigated Klein to the main plaza where Oberon was to give his speech. While Klein needed a controller like object to manipulate his wings, Kirito had mastered the art of treating the wings like they were actual muscles. It was fairly easy, once you were able to picture them as extensions of your real self. However, Kirito also had the advantage of being a beta tester. He'd spent days on end practicing flight. Kirito and Klein gently landed in the main plaza just outside Yggdrasil, the world tree, and the biggest dungeon in Alfheim. The entire city of Arun was built around Yggdrasil. More and more players gathered in the plaza, waiting for the fairy king to appear.
Kirito and Klein stood in the plaza, side by side. The yellow stone brick beneath their feet shined under the rising moonlight, which turned the sky a silvery shade of blue. Klein chattered about some game he had played with his old friends from college, but Kirito didn't have much to offer by way of response save for grunts. He was too busy eagerly waiting for the fairy king Oberon to appear. All around people were talking, arguing, eating, fighting, all of them waiting for Oberon.
However, when something finally did appear, it wasn't a fairy king. Rather, it was a figure that looked like a Game Master, the custodians of the game with special powers to keep order. Or, it was the floating robe of a Game Master, with no Game Master in it.
"At this very moment, I have removed your ability to log out of Alfheim Online. All safe zones have been removed, and difficulty has been turned to maximum." A deep voice boomed throughout the plaza, coming from all directions and converging in Kirito's ear. It repeated its statement, but the message was no clearer than it was the first time.
Kirito stood still, confused. What had he just said?
"Ki-boy! Open up your menu!" Klein exclaimed. Kirito summoned his menu and scrolled downward to the log out button.
It was there, but grayed out. When Kirito tapped it, nothing occurred.
"Listen closely," the voice said, "For I am about to deliver the most important tutorial you will ever receive within this game. Listen to every word I say. For if your hit points drop to zero, you will become a remain light. Once you are a remain light, you have exactly a minute to be revived by a spell or item. If you are not revived, your remain light will extinguish, and you will die. Both in this world and reality."
It was at that moment that the screams began.
"Choose wisely."
The last words of the figure telling Recon that he was trapped in a fantasy world was "Choose wisely."
The figure, of course, was referring to the in-game elections of leaders. It had been two days since elections, and Lady Sakuya was the chosen Sylph. However, that mantra of "Choose wisely" fit for much more than elections.
Everything Recon was to choose now was a choice he had to make with utmost certainty. Even in the city, Recon had to be sure of everything, for the safe zones had been removed. Anyone could attack him at any time. Since the moment he had been teleported from Arun to the spiraling city of Swilvane, Recon had to watch his back at all times. Even Leafa, the only person he knew, was gone. She had spawned separately, away from Recon.
But right now, Recon was merely watching the coronation of Lady Sakuya, the new leader of the Sylph. She knelt down to the NPC priest, who whispered flashy words of power that did nothing save look interesting. As the NPC finished his ritual and crowned the new Lady Sakuya, cheers erupted from the crowd. Recon wholeheartedly understood.
Now, there was finally a leader, someone to make sense of this mess. Someone that might be able to help Recon through this world.
"Thank you, all of you, for choosing me as your leader!" Sakuya cried. Her voice amplified over the courtyard, reaching every player. She was crowned outside of the picturesque manor the Sylph leaders resided in, and the courtyard was no less immaculate. The grass was a perfect shade of white-green and statues and sculptures and trees and flowers adorned the area. It was filled to the brim with players like Recon, watching the coronation.
"I pledge to bring the Sylph to the top of Yggdrasil. The way to escape this game is to conquer all of Yggdrasil and gain unlimited flight. The Sylph race shall do just that! I will guide the Sylph to power and to prosperity. I will ensure we all reach the top of the world tree and escape this world. I promise to lead you to freedom."
There was a pause, the entire area processing her promise, when a man yelled.
"What was that?" Sakuya asked the crowd.
"Fat chance!" the man yelled again. He flew above the crowd, hand on his controller. The man was rather plump, with greasy black hair and glasses.
"Who are you?" Lady Sakuya asked.
"Aaaa," he said.
"Aaaa?"
"My handle," the man said, "And you will never be able to guide the Sylph back home."
"Why?" Sakuya asked.
"You're a girl, that's why! Leave this to someone qualified! And is it even a good idea to leave this game? Why should we even leave?" Aaaa asked.
"I-"
Aaaa drew a long, two handed sword, and pointed it in Sakuya's defense.
"What the hell are you doing?" Sakuya cried.
"Fixing this elective error!" Aaaa screamed. The crowd started to go wild, but Aaaa rose above those trying to bring him down. Aaaa rushed forward and tried to pierce Sakuya with his blade.
Recon watched the scene in horror, not knowing what to do, and eventually he decided to just dive in. Recon flew as fast as he could, dialing the controller to speed up as much as possible. Aaaa whirled around, seeing him, and Recon raised his dagger and activated a sword skill: Side Bite. Recon's dagger illuminated, and he drove it into Aaaa's armor, cutting through and sending his hit points down by a third. Aaaa clearly was still level 1 – but it wasn't like Recon was much better, being at level 3.
"You…I'll butcher you!" Aaaa shrieked, hitting Recon in the face with the sword. A numbing sensation filled the place he had been hit, and Recon lost about a tenth of his hit points. Recon froze in mid-air. He was ten percent closer to death. As Aaaa hit him, chopping off meager amounts of hit points with each strike, Recon felt himself come closer and closer to dying.
"Gaoth aig-astar cron dha saigheadan!" a new voice yelled. Five bolts of wind arced and hit Aaaa in the chest, sending his hit points to the yellow zone. He collided with a fountain, and fell face first into the water. Sakuya calmly flew to Aaaa and navigated a menu. She tapped a button, and he vanished. Recon finally breathed, still hovering in the air. The entire crowd held their breath, waiting for the caster to reveal himself. Adrenaline coursed through Recon, and he reflected on what had just happened to him.
He'd gotten into a fight, and he survived.
"Who were the two valiant players who saved me?" Sakuya called. She found Recon, and beckoned him to her. Recon sheepishly obliged, and he made his way to Sakuya and stood next to her.
All eyes were studying Recon. Whispers coursed through the crowd, commenting on his stature, his dagger skills, his fear, his heroism. Recon shrank, until he remembered he was in the right.
"Who cast that spell!?" Sakuya yelled. After a small delay, Leafa floated above the crowd. She hovered to Sakuya and Recon. The whispers only increased when the crowd saw Leafa.
"What are your names?" Lady Sakuya asked.
"Recon," Recon said.
"Leafa."
"Nice to meet you, Recon. Leafa. If you're willing, we have a lot of work to do," Sakuya said.
"If we're willing to do what?" Leafa asked.
"Willing to join my council and become an agent of myself." Sakuya turned around, as the whispers transformed into shouts, and walked into her manor. Recon took one look at Leafa, and followed suit.