My senses were roused by the sound of birds twittering just outside my window, and the sunlight warming my back.
How odd, I mused, before abruptly realizing where I was and jolting awake, falling over the edge of the bed and landing clumsily onto the cold oaken floorboards.
In the real world, I had lived in an apartment near the middle of the city, and my bedroom window had faced due west. Our proximity to the hustle and bustle of Tokyo's central business hub had meant that birds rarely, if ever, bothered to sit in the few trees planted on the ground below the window, and the sun would almost never find its way into my room until well into the afternoon. The presence of both was thus a surprise to me, one that was both shocking and unpleasant, even if the landscape outside my current abode was as idyllic and tranquil a view as one could wish for. In fact, its serenity only served to hammer home the dreadful truth it belied.
I picked myself up and, ignoring the headache that suddenly pounded from inside my cranium, peered out onto the street below. It was ten in the morning, and it appeared that many players had already made their minds up about commencing the great journey upon which they would have to embark if they wanted to return home. Some had quite wisely saved their Cor up to buy armor and weaponry, which they now sported proudly, while others seemed as though they had wasted it all in a fit of recklessness – just as I had – and were staggering about the pavement, continuing to hold out hope that they might somehow be rescued from this prison sooner or later.
By now, unseen forces in the real world were surely at work trying to find loopholes, backdoors, anything that could be exploited to break us out of our cage. Until then, however, we would have to dust ourselves off and carry on as best as we could.
I cast my mind back to what Rimi had told me the night before. Don't focus on the past; focus on the future. Or something along those lines. Either way, it would be worth meeting her and finding out what she planned to do next.
The ground floor of the inn was, in sharp contrast to the congested scenes of last night, now mostly empty save for two despondent-looking stragglers who sat at the bar, drinks in hand, breakfast half-eaten in front of them. I approached one of them, a young man in his mid-twenties whose face I recognized, and tapped his shoulder. He jumped, as though he'd never expected anyone to talk to him ever again.
"Oh, it's you," he said as he turned to look at who had disturbed him. "Your name was… Lisandra?"
"Lisbeth," I corrected him. "It's Lisbeth. I wanted to ask if you knew where Rimi went."
His brow furrowed. "Who's Rimi?"
"The black-haired girl who sat next to me last night. If you remember me, surely you remember her. She's the one who told you guys I'd be paying for your drinks."
"Oh, right." He absent-mindedly fiddled with the wiry goatee on his chin as he ruminated. "I'm pretty sure I saw her and some of the other dudes from last night leaving a couple hours back. They said they were gonna go exploring."
"Gotcha. Thanks." I paused. "Do you know how much it costs to buy a weapon?"
"No clue. Not my problem. If you wanna go out there and die, that's your business. I'm fine staying where I am."
I pursed my lips. It wasn't as though I didn't sympathize with how he felt. Every fiber of my being was screaming for me to take it slow, to attune myself to my new environment before I went and did something stupid out of sheer ignorance. Yet Rimi's encouragement had lit a fire in me, one that made me impatient to leave the comforts of the Town of Beginnings – our starting location – and leave my mark on the game.
I was frightened by what lay ahead. Yet at the same time, I was undeniably excited by it.
Bidding a quick farewell to the young man, I stepped out onto the street and looked around, wondering if I might end up running into Rimi. Ten thousand people didn't seem like much for a game of this size and scale, but when they were all packed into a single area, it was plenty. I pushed through the throng, hoping to see that thin dark ponytail swinging about somewhere. But I was at least half a head shorter than the vast majority of people here, and it took all the attention and agility I could muster just to avoid getting clattered into by those eager groups of armored adventurers who simply couldn't wait to get their hands dirty.
Even if this was a death game, my guess was that most people – myself included – did not feel the need to worry too much just yet. It was only the 1st Floor. How hard could it be?
As I continued trudging forward, a round sign swinging from one of the nearby shops caught my eye. Two swords crossed at right angles. Just what I was looking for.
I eased my way towards the entrance and pushed through the rickety door. Immediately, the smell of smoke hit my nose, and I couldn't help but sneeze and cough as the thick, smoggy air clogged my nostrils and tickled my throat. My eyes started to water, but I could mostly still see well enough to take stock of my surroundings.
The place I had found myself in was a grimy, derelict workshop full of stocky wooden racks that had been pushed against the dark gray walls. Upon those racks were laid a cornucopia of weapons of every shape and size, ranging from tiny stilettos barely the length of my forearm to massive axes that were almost as tall as I was. The sound of steel clanging against steel could be heard, and as my vision was restored, I spotted a blacksmith – presumably an NPC – at the far corner of the store, sitting on a small stool in front of an anvil, hammering away at a square piece of red-hot metal.
As I approached, the blacksmith pushed his goggles up and looked at me, his wary expression and beady eyes briefly giving me pause. "You needed something?"
"I… yeah." I cleared my throat. "I was wondering what weapons you had in stock."
"Anything you want, I have it. You have anything in mind, miss?"
It struck me that I still hadn't decided exactly what sort of weapon I wanted to be using. "Uh… a one-handed sword, I guess?"
"Give me a moment." The blacksmith went around the store, squatting in front of the racks and tugging on his shaggy beard as he considered which ones to pick out. He returned with half a dozen blades of varying lengths, letting them clatter loudly as he released them onto the countertop. "These would be the ones you're wanting, if you're just starting off on your adventure. That's all the one-handers I got left for now."
I picked one of them up and hefted it in my hand. It was a lot heavier than I expected it to be, but I would get used to its weight with enough practice. "How much is this one?"
"Three thousand Cor. Cheapest sword I got."
"Three-" My hand shot up to my forehead. I only had around twenty-five hundred Cor left thanks to my profligacy, which I was now increasingly regretting. How on earth was I going to get anything done without a weapon? Would I have to learn martial arts and beat up monsters with my bare fists until I could afford one?
In my desperation, I frantically asked, "Do you have any cheaper weapons? Anything around two thousand Cor?"
"Hmm." The blacksmith pondered for a moment. "I ain't usually sell my wares for anything below three thousand, but I think I do got something for you. No-one's ever wanted to buy that sort of weapon, so I may as well see if you'd take it so I can cut my losses."
I nodded vigorously. "Please let me have a look."
The blacksmith wandered over to a nearby rack and dislodged a strange-looking instrument. It looked like a typical axe, but its twin heads had been blunted and polished, leaving a pair of iron stubs facing diametrically away from each other. He handed the weapon to me, and I gave it a few swings. Unlike the sword, which was heavier at its handle, this weapon was weighted farthest away from my hand, meaning I could use the momentum to generate a more powerful blow.
"It's a one-handed war-hammer," the blacksmith explained gruffly. "Not a popular option since people usually prefer to stab and slash. Thumping monsters into submission ain't feel as clean, but – I tell you what – boy is it satisfying."
"I like it." I set the weapon back onto the table. "How much is it?"
"This'll set you back twenty-one hundred. Lowest I can do."
"Perfect. I'll take it." I tapped the "Accept" button on the window that popped up in front of the weapon, and slid the war-hammer through the empty sheath attached to my belt. The blacksmith gave me a quick nod and returned to his station.
I stole a glance at my inventory as I left the workshop. Four hundred and sixty five Cor. Probably enough for a few healing potions, but a full set of armor would likely have to wait. It was a good thing the inns on the 1st Floor were cheap – fifty Cor a night – or I would've been homeless by the end of the week.
Rimi was still nowhere to be found, so after I had popped into a general goods store and re-emerged with a handful of health potions, I resolved to try some solo hunting for the time being. The roads leading out of town were only a couple blocks away, so even though the sheer number of people milling about stalled my pace considerably, it only took a few minutes for me to find myself facing the open plains outside the gates that ringed the settlement.
Before me, a hilly expanse stretched as far as the eye could see, grass moving in unison as it was caressed under the late morning breeze, trees whistling softly, leaves twirling and dancing as they were carried aloft by the wind. In any other circumstance, I would have gladly set forth unto this brand new world, allowing myself to become one with what was, by all means, an inexplicable feat of VR engineering. Instead, the feeling of discomfort and repression in my chest only grew as I took in my surroundings.
The sun was blinding. The green of the grass was over-saturated and inapposite. The air was frigid, uncomfortable, chilling me to my bones. This game bade me enjoy what it had to offer, but I simply could not do so.
Not when I knew that the true cost of Sword Art Online was yet to be paid.
Gritting my teeth, I equipped my shiny new war-hammer and took my first steps into Aincrad proper.