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 and the only difference from his profile during the beta test was that his stats were reset, as expected. Altinator observed his surroundings and smiled. Yes! I'm finally back! He went over to the middle of the plaza hoping that his siblings were looking for him. After a couple of minutes, Altinator found the two avatars of his siblings that he recognized and called them over to him. The two turned around and saw their older brother waving. Their faces beamed as they made their way over to him. After a quick group hug, Altinator and his band of loved ones took their leave outside the plaza into the rolling grasslands for an intense level-grinding session.
"Ready for some fun, you guys?" Altinator called out.
"Always ready, big bro!" Ivy (Elizabeth) answered with a smirk on her face. "Prepare to eat my dust!'
Ken also grinned as he drew his sword. "The loser with the lowest kill count buys dinner for the rest of us!"
The three made it into the grasslands and saw a good number of boars. Good thing being a beta tester came in handy. Altinator knew where the best level grinding areas were, so he led his siblings over to those areas 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 with a boar. He had just finished killing that beast when Altinator called out to them. Kirito and his new friend looked and waved them over.
"It's been too long, partner! How have you been?" Kirito called out to Altinator as the three approached them.
"Never better!" Altinator answered as he turned to introduce his siblings. "This is Ivy and Ken, my younger sister and brother in real life."
Kirito shook both their hands. "A pleasure to meet you both. I'm Kirito."
"The name's Klein," the newbie said. "Hey there!"
"My 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, eh?"
"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. "Also, we have some friendly competition going on. The loser with the least number of kills buys the rest of us dinner!"
"Sounds like fun!" Kirito said as his face beamed. "I'm gonna take you guys up on that if you don't mind."
"Bring it!" the three challenged.
Before the competition could begin, Klein's face started to turn bright red as he looked over at Ivy's direction. "Oh wow, she's so cute. Hey kid, you said she's your sister, right? You don't mind 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, rolling his eyes.
"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 as the sun was about to set. They stared off into the sunset amazed at the quality of the VR world. 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 that quality. It's 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. Altinator thought. Even I'm so amazed at the results.
"Wow, so dramatic," Kirito commented while Altinator and his siblings laughed softly.
"Hey, don't judge!" Klein countered playfully. "It's my first time experiencing full dive virtual reality. What else would you expect?"
"Wait, so you're telling us that this is your first time using the Nerve Gear?" Ivy asked, surprised.
Klein smiled as he answered back. "Hell yeah, in fact I had to frantically rush to the nearest game store just to get all the hardware for this game."
"Talk about determination," Altinator commented.
"Well, if you ask me, we're so lucky to play as one of the 10,000 that are here right now," Ken pointed out. "Plus, you two are 10 times luckier since you were invited to participate in the beta test that only invited 1000 players."
"Guess you're right," Altinator admitted as he looked over at Kirito who nodded.
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, we did make it over to the 8th floor by the end of the test. This time, I'm sure we can beat way more floors at a faster rate."
"Wow, talk about being obsessed with this game," 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 the time of day, we were always thinking about SAO," Altinator stated. "After all, in this world, you can go just about anywhere with only 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 to that!" Klein shouted. "But… I'm sorry to say, 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 around 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 tonight,"
Ivy and Ken cheered as Klein stood up stretching. "Well, I'll be back once I've had my meal. Oh yeah, you guys wanna exchange friend requests with me and my buddies later too? I'm supposed to be meeting up with them 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, let me 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 its opening day, bugs like this tend to 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.
"OH NO! MY TERIYAKI PIZZA AND GINGER ALE!" Klein panicked.
"Just call the GM already," Kirito said in an annoyed tone.
"Don't you think I did that already!?" Klein snapped with some tears in his eyes. "There's no response. Is there any other way I can log out?"
Mr. Kayaba's not answering? Altinator thought. What the hell?! 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 it 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 at all."
"Automatic teleportation?!" Altinator answered. "What's going on here?"
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, welcome 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 Mr. 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 game malfunction."
The audience gasped. "I repeat. This is not a game 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 can no longer log out from this game, nor can the Nerve Gear be turned off," Mr. Kayaba warned. "If the Nerve Gear is removed, the 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 Mr. Kayaba had told them so far as he paused for the players to take it all in.
"Unfortunately, there were those from the outside world who ignored this 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. Fortunately, the people on the other side finally heeded the warning after the confirmation of the deaths turned out to be true.
"I will also issue another warning," Mr. Kayaba started again. "Please keep in mind that there is no way to revive yourself from this game. The moment your HP hits zero, your avatar will disappear, and your brain will also be destroyed by the Nerve Gear."
So, does that mean if I die here, I also die in real life? No! It can't be! Kayaba! Altinator's thoughts were swirling like a hurricane. The other players were also starting to freak out including Kirito and the rest.
"The only way to be released from this world is for you to beat the game by killing the final boss on the 100th floor," Mr. Kayaba explained. "Currently, you are on the 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."
The audience were starting to panic even more. Not only did the beta testers not get past 10 percent of the game during the test, now each player's life depends on winning this game. The crowd's panic quickly turned into protests directed at the giant avatar in front of them. Just as when things couldn't get any worse, Mr. Kayaba also gave them one more twist.
"Finally, I have one more little surprise for you," Mr. 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 builds 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 the great 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, I'M GONNA MAKE YOU 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," Mr. 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 panic and protest. Others started crying for their lives. Kirito, after seeing the force field disappear, left the plaza after failing to recruit Klein. He ran out and headed over to the village of Horunka where he and Altinator first went as fast as he could.
Altinator also took his siblings away from the big crowd to follow Kirito's lead. "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!" Ivy and Ken quickly snapped out of it as they faced him.
"Right behind you, big bro!" Ken shouted from behind.
"Don't you dare leave me behind!" Ivy also chimed in.
The three of them rushed out of the city into the stone path towards the village of Horunka and saw several boars and wolves right in front of them. They pulled out their weapons and cut them down as the first day of their adventure began.
