Chapter 4: The World of Swords
November 6th, 2022
Aincrad Floor 1: The Town of Beginnings
The first moments of SAO were just as Altinator had remembered. His avatar was the same. The only difference was that his stats were reset. He looked around and smiled. Yes! I'm finally back! Altinator went over to the middle of the plaza searching for his siblings. After a couple of minutes, Altinator found the two avatars he recognized and called them over to him. The two turned around and saw him waving over to them. They followed suit and met up with him as he started his way outside for an intense level grinding session.
"Ready for some fun guys?" Altinator called out.
"Always ready big brother!" Ivy (Elizabeth) answered with Ken nodding.
The three of them headed outside the city to see a good number of boars. Altinator knew where the best level grinding areas were so he led his siblings over to that position where he ran into a familiar face.
"Hey Kirito! Long time no see!" Altinator shouted.
Kirito was also outside tutoring a newbie on the basics of swordplay. The newbie was a pink-haired young man who was having a bit of trouble getting used to sword skills. He just finished killing off a slime boar when Altinator called out to them. Kirito and his new friend looked over and waved.
"I know right! How have you been?" Kirito called out towards the three.
Altinator came towards him. "Never better. I'd like you to meet my real-life siblings, Ivy and Ken."
Kirito shook both their hands. "A pleasure to meet you both. I'm Kirito."
"The name's Klein," the newbie said. "Hey there!"
"The name's Altinator," Altinator introduced himself. "A pleasure to meet you Klein."
"The pleasure is all mine," Klein stated. "So, you also out here hunting monsters?"
"You bet we are," Ken answered. "There's no way we're gonna get left behind isn't that right sis?"
"That's right," Ivy followed up.
Klein turned and faced Ivy. His face started to turn bright red. "Oh wow, she's so cute. You said she's your sister right Altinator? You don't care if…"
"Don't even think about it bro," Altinator interrupted. "Besides, that's not what she actually looks like."
"Yeah yeah, I get it," Klein said in a whatever tone.
"I must say, I'm flattered," Ivy commented with a small laugh. "Hope we can be good friends Klein? Kirito?"
"O-Oh, yeah no prob!" Klein stuttered while Kirito smiled.
The afternoon wore on with the five of them hacking away boar after boar. Eventually the five became tired and the sun was about to set. The five of them stared off into the sunset amazed at the quality of virtual reality. It was a beautiful moment never to be forgotten.
"I still can't believe it man," Klein started. "No matter how many times I look at it, I can't believe we're actually inside a game."
Ken laughed at that comment. "I know right? Isn't it amazing? Just look at the quality. It's like as if everything is real."
"I swear the developers who created this game did an amazing job," Klein continued. "I'm so happy to be alive right now."
Well, we sure put in years of hard work into this game that's for sure. Altinator thought. Even I'm so moved by looking at the results.
"Wow, so dramatic," Kirito commented while the other three laughed softly.
"Well it is my first time experiencing a full dive virtual reality after all," Klein countered.
"So you're saying that this is your first time using the Nerve Gear?" Ivy asked.
Klein smiled as he answered back. "Yeah, in fact I had to frantically rush to get all the hardware to play this game."
"Talk about determination," Altinator commented.
"Well, I would say we're lucky enough to play as part of the 10,000 that are here right now," Ken pointed out. "I would also say you two are 10 times luckier since you were invited to participate in the closed beta of 1000 players."
"Guess you're right," Altinator admitted as he looked over at Kirito who made his agreed face.
The five of them laughed at that comment. It wasn't long until Klein asked another question. "So hope you don't mind me asking. How far did you two go during the beta test?"
Kirito and Altinator went into their thinking mode for a while. Then Kirito answered. "Well in the span of 2 months, we made it over to the 8th floor. This time, I'm sure we can hit more than that much faster maybe even a month."
"Wow, you sure are obsessed with this game that's for sure," Klein commented while Ivy and Ken nodded in agreement.
"Well I'm sure Kirito would agree with me when I say that it didn't matter what time of day, we were always thinking about SAO," Altinator stated. "After all, in this world, you can go just about anywhere with a single blade."
"Also, this game made me feel alive," Kirito chimed in. "More alive than the real world. Don't you agree Altinator?"
"You got that right," Altinator answered. After waiting a moment. Altinator stood up. "So shall we continue grinding?"
"Hell yeah!" Klein shouted. "But… I'm starving right now. I'll have to drop for a bit to grab a bite to eat."
"Sounds like a plan," Ivy said. "Have anything in mind for dinner?"
"Well at 5:30, I got some fresh hot pizza coming at my door," Klein bragged.
"Lucky!" Ken butted in. "I'd like some pizza too. How about it big bro?"
Altinator looked over at the time. It was close to 5:30. "Ok then, looks like we're having pizza too,"
Ivy and Ken cheered as Altinator said that. Klein also stood up. "Well, I'll be back once I had my meal. Oh yeah, you guys wanna exchange friend requests with myself and my friends later too? I'm also supposed to be meeting with my friends from my other games."
"Of course we'll add you Klein," Altinator answered. "But we'll see about your friends."
"Fair enough," Klein said. "Also, I wanna say thank you for teaching me the basics. I promise I'll get better trust me. Well, I gotta go. Seeya later guys."
The four waved as Klein opened up his menu to log out. However, Klein's face fell as he noticed something odd.
"Hmmm, that's weird," Klein commented. "No log out button."
"Really?" Altinator asked as he and his siblings checked their own menu. Just as Klein said, there was no log out button.
"Yeah, I don't see one either," Ken stated while the other three looked at each other with stunned faces.
"I guess since it's opening day, bugs like this happen," Klein pointed out. "I'm sure people are going ballistic by now."
"Um Klein? Take a look at the time," Ivy said as she pointed at the clock: 5:25PM.
"MY TERIYAKI PIZZA AND GINGER ALE!" Klein panicked.
"Just call the gamemaster already," Kirito said with an annoyed tone.
"Don't you think I did that already!?" Klein snapped. "There's no response. Is there any other way I can log out?"
Mr. Kayaba's not answering? Altinator thought. Strange. I knew something was up.
"Sadly, no," Kirito answered. "The only way to log out is via menu."
The five tried to discuss other ways to log out of the game but to no avail. The technicalities of the Nerve Gear made them all impossible. Suddenly, bells started ringing out like a gong. The five started freaking out as if something's going to happen. Then they were all immediately teleported back over to the main plaza along with everyone else.
"What's going on?" Ivy said softly. "I don't like this."
"We were automatically teleported here," Altinator answered. "I don't understand why."
Just then, everyone looked up at the sky and saw it turn red. A big avatar spawned right in the middle of everyone in the plaza.
"Players of all ages, I welcome you to my world," the avatar started. "My name is Kayaba Akihiko and I am the person in control of this world."
The audience started mumbling to each other in amazement as Kayaba continued. "I'm sure most of you have noticed that the log out button has vanished from the main menu. This is not a malfunction."
The audience gasped. "I repeat. This is not a malfunction, but a special design specifically made for this game.
So this was the "surprise" Kayaba put in for this game!? Altinator thought in horror. I can't believe it! How could he!? I trusted him!
"Players cannot log out from this game nor can the Nerve Gear be turned off," Kayaba warned. "If the Nerve Gear is forcibly removed, microwaves produced by it will destroy your brain."
The audience started to become annoyed and treated it like a joke. Some started to head for the exit but were unable to get out. The five of them started to discuss what Kayaba had told them so far as Kayaba paused for the players to take it all in.
"Sadly, there were those who ignored the warning and tried to forcibly remove the Nerve Gear," Kayaba continued. "As a result, 213 players have perished."
213 players dead!? Altinator thought again. This is crazy! Kayaba displayed several various TV news articles as proof. However, fortunately, people finally heeded the warning after seeing the deaths of the unfortunate to be true.
"I will also issue another warning," Kayaba started again. "Please keep in mind that there is no way to revive yourself from this game. Once your HP reaches zero, your avatar will disappear and, at the same time, your brain will also be destroyed by the Nerve Gear."
So that means that if I die here then I also die in real life? No! It can't be! Kayaba! Altinator's thoughts were swirling like a hurricane. The others were also starting to freak out including Kirito and the rest.
"The only way to be released from this world is to beat the game by killing the final boss on the 100th floor," Kayaba explained. "Currently, you are on the very first floor. You will advance one floor at a time by defeating the floor boss on each floor. Once you reach the top floor and kill the final boss, the game will be cleared."
Now the audience were starting to panic even more. After all, even the beta test didn't even get passed 10 percent of the game let alone the whole thing. Now, life depends on winning this game. The panic turned into protests complaining at Kayaba's avatar. Kayaba also gave them one more little twist.
"Finally, I have one more little surprise for you," Kayaba stated. "It is located in your item storage. Please take a look."
Altinator and the rest of the audience scrolled through their menus and found a hand mirror. After staring into the mirror for a few seconds, bright flashes of light shined from the mirror of all the players. After the light effect faded, almost everyone's faces and body build changed. A whole new range of complaints rang throughout the audience.
"We're back to our original selves," Altinator said in a surprised tone. He looked over at Kirito and Klein and did not recognize their faces. "Hey, is that you Kirito? Klein?"
Kirito and Klein nodded and confirmed but still looked as confused as everyone else. It looks like Mr. Kayaba's not kidding. Changing us back into what we look like in real life proves that fact.
Kayaba continued after giving the audience another few moments to take it all in. "Perhaps all of you are wondering why? Why would Kayaba Akihiko do something outrageous such as this? The purpose for this game has already been fulfilled. I made this game to control the fate of the world of my design."
HOW DARE YOU TAKE ALL THE CREDIT FOR THIS GAME! I DEVELOPED THIS GAME TOO YOU KNOW! I SWEAR ONE DAY YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS DEARLY! Altinator's fist clenched tightly and his face twisted. He had never been so angry since the day his parents were killed.
"Well that marks the end of the tutorial for Sword Art Online and the official launch of the game," Kayaba concluded. "I wish all of you the best of luck."
Kayaba's avatar melted away into nothing and the sky returned to normal. It didn't take long for the crowd to burst into protest. Others started crying for their lives. Kirito, after immediately seeing the force field lift and failing to recruit Klein, ran out to head over to the village of Horunka where he and Altinator first went as fast as he could.
Altinator then took his siblings away from the big crowd and rushed over to the same village as well. "We need to get out of here as fast as we can! Once the crowd comes back to their senses, it will be nothing but players trying to level up around this area!"
"Right behind you big bro!" Ken shouted from behind.
"Don't you dare leave me behind!" Ivy also chimed in.
The three of them saw several boars and wolves right in front of them. They pulled out their weapons and cut them down on the way to the next village.
