Maple and Risa entered the nameless Taft Inn, with Maple using some of the Col she'd earned over her time with Fuurikazan to purchase her bestie a sweet treat to have while they caught up. The NPC waitress was barely even a few feet away from the table when the question that was eating her up for the last few minutes finally burst out of her.

"H-How are you here? The SWO Servers were blocked off on day one!" She asked. Admittedly she knew Risa could have just joined on day one, but that felt unlikely to Maple. Risa would have found her sooner then.

Risa looked down. "I-It's Sally…" Risa, now dubbed Sally, replied. Maple looked at her username and nodded in understanding.

"Well, to answer your question, it all started on SWO's launch day…"

*two months ago*

Risa had just heard the awful news. Her best friend, along with 10,000 others, were now trapped within a video game. Risa felt like hell for not being there with her best friend. Her mind started to race in all terrible directions.

Mainly, she was thinking about how Kaede was going to die without her help, since she knew Kaede hadn't had the foggiest idea of how to play a video game more complex than Tetris.

So she set up her NerveGear, got in bed, and began the magic words. "Link Sta-"

Quickly the NerveGear was removed. She could only assume she made the mistake of not properly securing the device to her head. As the device went, she was hoisted up off the bed, taken out of the room and slammed against the wall very unexpectedly by her father…

She kept herself up to date on SWO's events through online forums and social media groups made for "Loved Ones of SWO Players". Risa actually became a little famous for supposedly being the best friend of Maple, who was doing just fine for herself in the game. She could hold down those worries a little longer knowing Kaede was safe and sound as "Maple: The Living Fortress of Aincrad".

Despite the good news, however, she found herself still browsing. She couldn't shake the awful feeling that she should be there. She couldn't stand the thought of standing behind and watching as her friend could possibly die out there. Even if her defenses were "impenetrable" the game could end up nerfing her, and then she's screwed. Risa jumped into her bed, and quickly put on the NerveGear.

From within the device, she logged in to her account and entered the game Sword World Online. All she had to do was say it again. "Link Start!" she said. Naturally, she said it loud enough it alerted her parents. They quickly barged into the room, and found the unconscious body of Risa on the bed, her head within that damned helmet. Her mother began to cry whilst her father consoled her. They were already beginning to mourn…

Risa watched as her new life was finally beginning, where she could finally reunite with Kaede… or Maple as she was known now. Her vision went completely black until… finally…

"Access Denied"
"You are not whitelisted"

Risa stood in the inky, endless void. All that was around was this horrible hexagon. She screamed and cried, knowing her only shot was ripped away from her. Even in the real world tears began to form, unbeknownst to her family. They were about to leave the room when the girl sniffled, and sat up. They were about to berate her when they saw her eyes. They could see a look of defeat, pain, and suffering all wrapped up in their precious daughter… they couldn't bring themselves to say anything.

"It wouldn't let me in…" She muttered. "The game is blocked off from any new players coming in…" She added, and her parents came in to console her now. While the adults met relief, Risa was left with unparalleled anguish. This time, it was set in stone. She would not see Kaede again until this game was beaten…

She would desperately look around the internet for ways to get in. To no avail. That is, until she got a private message. The sender was somebody named "Oberon". She read the message tentatively, unsure if this was somebody looking to talk, or another creep trying to ask him questions about Maple.

"Hello, Risa. I am Oberon. Myself and my lead team of programmers and scientists are looking for a way to get players out of Sword World Online. Seeing as how you are best friends with the legendary, unkillable warrior Maple in the real world, we figured you'd be a perfect fit for our experiment. After all, your many trophies and achievements in the world of gaming prove you'd be an incredible asset to your fellow players."

Risa's heart stopped. She tried to figure out a response to this creepy message. Even if it were in good faith, it was still a bizarre message. They could just be fans of hers, but that was unlikely. She started to figure out her response, typing carefully.

"Oh! I take it you guys are fans of mine, then? Well, I would be happy to help you guys with this experiment! Though, I'm going to need a bit more info about what we're doing specifically before I consent to anything. I hope you don't mind, I'm just trying to be thorough and safe."

A few minutes had passed before the next message

"We're going to hook you up to a NerveGear and break through the SWO firewall, sending you right in! It will be just like anybody else who logged in on day one. Thank you for your consideration. We hope you agree."

Risa's eyes widened when she read that. It seemed way too easy but… it felt like she had to at least try. Her fingers tapped against the keys as she thought about doing this. Eventually she clicked send, and it was all set in motion.

"Okay, where and when?"

Just like that, the following day, she got an address from Oberon. After she got out of school, she hopped on her bike and rode. It took around 50 minutes to an hour, but she eventually saw the large letters of the building. "Rect Progress". She soon entered, and immediately she was greeted by a man in a suit.

"Hello, are you Risa?" He asked, extending a hand. Risa apprehensively took his hand into her own and shook it, nodding. "Great!" He said, pulling his hand away. "I'm Sugou Nobuyuki, but you already know me as…"

"Oberon." Risa interjected, a little surprised by what she saw. Sugou smiled at her and gestured towards an elevator.

"Come with me." He said. The two of them walked into the elevator, Sugou using a keycard to grant access to the lower levels. The doors eventually opened, revealing a large lab. Several high tech computers were being utilized by coders and scientists. There was a NerveGear hooked up directly to the biggest computer in the room.

Risa's eyes sparkled at the sights in front of her. Sugou then pointed to the NerveGear. "We're about to begin testing. Please set yourself up in the NerveGear. We'll be right here if anything goes wrong." He reassured her. She didn't need telling twice, and she was laid down on a surprisingly comfy hospital bed and hooked into the NerveGear. Just like that, her body went limp and she was hooked in.

She found herself in a black void again. She then saw a large red wall. As she walked closer to it, she could see it was made of rapidly rising ones and zeros. She tried punching the wall, but it repelled her backwards. She flew a few feet up and much further back before she landed on her back.

She began to sit up, noticing someone walk out of the firewall. It was a person, made of the same red binary, holding a shield of the same type. It's outline and figure looked just like Maple…

Risa, angrily ran in to punch the code creature. It blocked her punch and pushed her back a few feet. She ran in again, reeling back. In an instant, a dagger made of green binary appeared in her hand and slashed at it, breaking through a part of the shield.

Risa looked surprised, then smirked. She jumped and slashed at the creature, each cut severing a chunk of code from the person until there was nothing left. She ran up to the wall and continued cutting, digging through this firewall through the power of constant attempts to break through it. Eventually, she could see the other side. It was just a pinhole, but it was just enough,

She cut, and cut, and cut, until suddenly she was pulled right through. She screamed out to the void in fear as she was pulled to the other side by the mysterious force within the code.

As everything else drifted away from her, she wondered if she would really make it to the game. Eventually, everything went dark, and she figured this was the end..

Then, her eyes opened. She was in a fantasy town, and a small holographic square appeared in front of her that read "Welcome to Sword World Online".

Risa in excitement and impulse quickly ran around looking for someone to help guide her to the upper floors, so she could go find Kaede… Maple… whatever her name is now…

From the real world, the large screen Risa was hooked up to said "Access Granted". They did it. They got a person into Sword World Online post launch! Sugou smirked as he saw this. "Good… great even. Finally, our plan is almost ready. Keep working on making the hole bigger! We need to make sure this is flawless for when Sword World is beaten!" He told them, and everyone continued working on the next phase of Rect Progress' plan.

Risa finished explaining her side of the story to Maple, the two having finished their delicious desserts. "Geez… you went through so much… b-but why? You knew this was a death game! You know the risks, yet you came anyway! Why?"

"Because, we're best friends… I couldn't leave you to deal with this alone. Even if you're doing well, it looks like you don't have a guild anymore. What happened to Klein and those other guys?"

Risa didn't expect however, in the middle of her questioning, to get grabbed by Maple. Her expression filled with anger. "Because we're friends? Because we're friends?! I have been risking my life out here in this hellhole, and you decide to join just so you'd see me again?" Maple demanded. Through somewhat tear-filled eyes, Sally nodded. She couldn't understand why Maple was upset with her…

"Well, now you're on this suicide mission trying to keep up with the rest of us." Maple added, then sighed, seeing Sally was on the verge of tears. "Sally, I'm not trying to be mean but you came in here knowing we're out here fighting for our lives daily for a stupid and selfish reason. You should have stayed with your family, friends, gone on without me. I'm fine, I haven't taken damage in months… you just threw your whole life away over this… I hope you make your decision worth it…" Maple said, a little more calm now.

"Well, in any case, I guess we should party up. That way we can safely get you leveled up behind my absurd defenses. It might take a bit to kill mobs though, they nerfed Shield Attack so I can't one-shot anything anymore with it…" she explained to Risa, who was confused. That made Maple chuckle. For once, she had to teach Risa about a video game, not the other way around…