Hey guys, how are you doing? So i uploaded my last chapter like 2 years ago now? Well like I said literally everything I had written got lost. Add to that my mental health issues and I just had lost the will to write. But, with some help from a friend, I came up with this idea: a rewrite of arguebaly one of the most devisive anime of all time, Sword Art Online. Yeah, I know I should be writing chapter for my 6 other stories, but as always the new idea won out. Anyway this story will feature chances we feel needed to be made, taking some of the bigger complaints like the fact the female character do little to nothing in the story, Yuuki's rather unneccesary death and the fact Kirito was to overpowered, and trying to remedie those while adding our own spin to the story. We will also add characters from the gameverse because why not. Anyway hope you'll enjoy this story, considering we're rewriting pretty much every arc in Sword Art Online. And before anyone asks, this friend and I both liked the original, but thought it needed improvment.
Of course I don't own anything in this story. SAO and all it's characters are property of Reki Kawahari, Aniplex USA and A-1 pictures.
Without further ado, let's get into the story.
November 6th, 2022, Kirigaya household.
The Kirigaya household housed a small family of four people. One was Kirigaya Minetaka, a former Kendo worldchampion with Japan. Another was Kirigaya Midori, someone who loved technology and knew quite a bit about it. However neither of those are the central focus right now.
" Good morning onii-san." "Good morning Sugu. Breakfeast is almost ready so get seated". "Alright."
In the kitchen making breakfeast right now was the oldest of the two Kirigaya siblings, Kirigaya Kazuto. With black hair, black eyes, a rather feminine looking face and a lean build Kazuto wasn't the most imposing person out there. He wore a long sleeved shirt, trousers and sneakers.
Meanwhile the girl who just woke up was his younger sister Kirigaya Suguha. Just like Kazuto she had black hair but instead of pure black eyes her eyes were more bluish. She was wearing a shirt and shorts. Just like her older brother she wasn't very imposing.
Kazuto wasn't the most social of people; he didn't have many friends as he tended to shut people out aswell as the fact he had a tendency to make snarky remarks towards people. However there was also another reason he didn't have many friends: he often got bullied and didn't want others to get bullied just because they were friends of his.
Meanwhile Suguha was rather outgoing. She usually had an easy time making friends but if Kazuto's bully's were going to hard on him she had no qualms stopping them.
One of the reasons Kazuto shuts people out was because of the death of his parents and, by extention, the fact he was adopted. The latter he often got bullied for by his classmates.
They learned about it when Kazuto was ten years and Suguha was 9 years old. Their mother told them after Kazuto somehow found his deleted Juki Net records. She told them he was actually their cousin and his biological parents died in an accident.
After hearing this Kazuto locked himself in his room for several months, distraught by the fact his own parents would keep such a big secret from him and Suguha aswell as the fact he felt that he didn't belong in the family. It was during this time he discovered the world of MMORPG's. He was always tech savy, having an interest in computers thanks to his aunt, but gaming was not something he was really into. That was untill he started playing a MMORPG by the name of World of Warcraft.
Through playing and talking with others online with similar stories and experiances he managed to get his thoughts in check and the day he turned 11 years old, he was ready to come out of his room and talk to his parents and sister again. Long story short, he told them he realised he still saw his adopted family as his real family and lived happily ever after. Well, for the most part.
He still often came home only to head straight to his room. One day Suguha told their parents about Kazuto's school situation. Of course their reaction wasn't a happy one.
They talked about it with Kazuto who told them not to worry to much. He said that it occasionally got to him but more often then not the reason he went to his room wasn't solely the bullying but also the games he played.
Him talking about his games got Suguha interested in wanting to learn more so she decided to one day ask Kazuto to help her make a account. Kazuto was more then willing to help of course.
One thing he thought her was to never use her real name and instead make a nickname. Suguha asked what his nickname was which was of course Kirito, a combination of his surname and given name. After giving it some thought Suguha settled for Leafa.
Suguha loved playing with Kazuto. The two became quite a dynamic duo, with Kazuto being the main fighter and Suguha the support. They sometimes switched roles but most of the time this was how they handled situations. Where Kazuto typically played more physical fighters Suguha prefered using magic.
Through this Suguha realised that Kazuto wasn't very honest with their parents. He told her that the bullying actually really gets to him all the time and that playing games was his way to escape from that reallity. Suguha understood why this was neccassery to him but would've preffered it if he was honest to their parents. Kazuto promised ger he would tell them eventually.
Now for a happier topic.
One day Kazuto was invited to become a beta tester for the worlds first VRMMORPG: Sword Art Online. Using the Nervegear, created by Kayaba Akihiko, It was the first game to ever use full dive technology.
Of course, Kazuto accepted the offer and managed to reach floor 10 with the other top players. One of them was a sorcceres called Ran and another was a healer called Merida, who Kirito befriended during their time together.
Kirito and the other beta testers were mostly positive about the game. There was a surprising lack of bugs for a beta and the leveling, class, skill and magic systems were rather well balanced. But the best part was that there was pretty much no lag despite the fact that the game was being tested all around the world.
Today it was the day of the official launch and the two siblings were of course diving into the game. They were among the 10.000 lucky players who got their hands on the game. Naturally, Suguha was incredibaly excited about entering the world her brother fell in love with.
"I seriously can't wait to dive into this world! Think about all the great things we can do!", Suguha said.
Kazuto couldn't help but chuckle at his sister's enthousiasm. The two were planning to enter SAO the moment the servers officially launched, which was at 13:00. While Kazuto was excited, Suguha could only think about going into SAO since the launch date was revealed.
"I'm happy you're excited, but first we need to eat. You wouldn't want to enter the game on an empty stomach right?". "Shoot, you're right! Well then, let's eat!".
During their breakfeast an interview with Kayaba Aikihiko, the creator of both SAO and the Nervegear, played on TV.
"Sword Art Online is the first ever succesfull attempt at a VRMMORPG. What is the biggest contributing factor to this in your opinion, Kayaba-san?", one of the interviewers asks.
"I don't think there was one main factor. Of course the positive reviews by the beta testers helped however I also think the design of the game was an equally important reason. The class system isn't entirely unique however it is one of the larger rosters in terms of total classes. You of course have swordmasters, spearmasters, hunters/huntresses and berserkers which specialise in swords, spears, bows and axes respectively aswell as the swordmasters being one of two classes able to optain the dual wield skill line aswell as being able to unlock the katana skill line and hunters/huntresses being able to use daggers as sidearms but you also have mage fighters, thieves and sorceres'/sorceresses which can use magic with the first two also being able to use physical weapons. The magic system utilises fire, wind, thunder, light, healing and dark magic aswell as buff's and debuff's.
The most interesting classes however are the merchant, blacksmith, and beast tamer classes. These have a unique ability that sets them completely apart from the other classes. So does the thief class as it is the only class that can steal hidden treasure and obtain and sell information but that isn't as interesting as the aforementioned classes in my opinion.
We'll start with merchants. Their unique skill is that they can know an items worth and owner by simply looking at them. Because they're the only ones that can know an item's exact worth they can easilly buy and sell items to earn Col, the currency of Sword Art Online. They can use any weapong available in the game.
Blacksmiths can craft and upgrade weapons and armor if they have the right materials. they can also see a weapons and armorsets worth, stats and owner by simply looking at them and are the only one who can sell weapons and armor. They two can use any weapon in the game.
Lastly beast tamers are the second class that can dual wield, though they use daggers instead of swords, but they also can tame any wild beast if their taming skill has reached high enough mastery. This will hopefully mean many animal lovers will play as beast tamers.
One other aspect of the game people liked were the different designs of each floor. Obviously this was done to give players a fresh experiance even of certain floors were similar in theme. Any more questions?".
"Kayaba-san, could you please explain how exactly the skill and magic systems work?".
"They both unlock their abilities trough using a proficiancy/skill tree hybrid format. Each time you'll obtain proficiancy points which will allow you to build up proficiancy in a certain tree. By selecting for example the 1-handed sword tree you can open a menu with different sword skills. These are essantially more powerfull attacks that cost mana points to utilise. You'll need to reach a certain level of profiancy to be able to learn the sword skill and then skill points to unlock. After reaching a certain proficiancy with either 1-handed swords, daggers or 1-handed curved swords you can unlock the dual wield and katana skill tree's respectively. These proficiancy points will also allow you to use higher rareties for each weapon. This of course only counts for the swordmaster and beast tamer classes
There are of course other skill tree's. Cooking for example will allow you to cook higher level dishes while blacksmithing will allow to forge better weaponry and armor. These solely require proficiancy. In other words practice with these two aswell as potion/poison making is key
Magic works in a similar yet different way to sword skills. In the case of for example healing magic the proficiancy gives you more powerfull healing spells imstead of needeing to unlock them with skill points. They also require mana points just like the sword skills so you need to be mindfull of that if you play mage fighter . Mages are also the only ones capable of making potions and poisons. Any more questions?".
"As mentioned before cooking is a part of this game. Why is that neccasary? Your real body won't be able to be fed while in game right?".
"While you're correct when saying that your real body won't be fed the importance lies more with the mechanics in game. You see there is a hunger mechanic in Sword Art Online that will determine how well you fight. The less you eat, the less capable you'll become. And the higher level dishes generally fill you more then the lower level ones. Add to this that the higher proficiancy also means that 1 you'll get a higher succes rate, 2 you can use in game ingredients to create stuff like ketchup and 3 you'll be able to create better dishes with lesser ingredients and leveling up your cooking can prove quite usefull in game. Any more questions?".
"You've explained how to unlock the sword skills and magic but how do they work exactly?"
"Very good question. Let's start with sword skills. Each weapon skill tree has different sword skills specific to that weapon type. For example 1-handed swords have sword skills like "vertical" and "sonic leap" and rapiers having "flashing penetrator" and "quadruple pain". Each of these sword skill cost a set amount of mana points and are either quick multi-hit combination attacks or powerfull one-hit attacks. Each weapon has a beginner skill. For example with 1-handed swords you'll have "vorpal strike" as your beginner skill. You can also perform "skill connects" which allow you to combo two sword skills back-to-back. For each sword skill you have a pre-motion that you need to do before activating the sword skill thus you won't need to shout the skill name.
Magic meanwhile requires you to use what we call a "incantate order". Essantially you issue the command "incantate order", state which form of magic you want to use, which spell you want to use and then issue the command "release incantation" to use the spell. Any more questions?".
"Are there any mobs and quests that gives the player new items and how will this effect blacksmiths and merchants?".
"Yes there are. Every floor will have mobs and quests with rare items for that stage in the game. The higher the players get the the rarer and more powerfull the items. However like mentioned if you have obtained the proper blacksmithing level you could upgrade the drop if it is a weapon or armorset. There are 5 stats on a weapon: sharpness, quickness, durability, accuracy and heaviness. For a fee and if they have the right materials blacksmiths can upgrade one or multiple of these stats.
As for how it will effect merchants? It depends. If the item is deemed unnesseccarry by the party who got it they could sell it to a merchant and the merchant can then try to make a profit off of it. If it is deemed neccessarry then they'll keep it. Of course if a merchant gets the drop they can either sell it or use it for themselves. Any more questions?".
"How many weapons with unique names are there?".
"There are around 2 to 3 thousend different weapons in every weapon type. From the collective amount of those around 80% have unique names. Any more questions"?.
"How many different tameable mobs are there?".
"Very good question. There are several different mobs that are tameable. Feathered dragons, horses, wyverns, pegasi, alicorns heck even some other species of dragons only found on later floors are all tameable with the right skill level. There are also some hostile mobs like boars that are tameable. Bosses and mobs like goblins are untameable. If I had to give a percentage I'd say around 75% of beasts are tameable. Any other questions?".
"How many different rareties are there in SAO?".
"Mostly the standard rareties really. Common to legendary. However on floors 75 to 89 you will find ancient-rare gear. This is the second highest rarety in the game. From floor 90 untill the final floor you'll find devine-rare gear. The highest rarety. As the power goes up with each rarety you'll of course also find more powerfull mobs and bosses. Without appropriate gear you won't survive a single second against the mobs of the highest floors. Any more questions?"
"Do the NPC's have roles other then just quest giving?".
"Yes they do. Well they have one other job. That of inn keeper. Every other job in the game has to be performed by the players themselves. Any other questions?".
"You mentioned before thieves can obtain information and sell it. How does that work exactly?".
"There are different ways they can obtain information. By leveling up their spying skill tree thieves can eavesdrop on players and NPC's for information they can use. Of course they can also simply buy things like map data so they can sell it to other players. Any more questions?".
"Are there any martial arts skills in SAO?".
"Yes. They are unlocked the same way you unlock sword skills. Any further questions?".
"No Kayaba-san, that is all from us today. We hope that the launch of Sword Art Online will be as succesfull as predicted. Thank you for your time.".
The interview was quite long for a Kayaba Akihiko interview. Usually he'd be vague and avoid some questions he didn't want to answer. However this interview he answerd some of the most important quextions most people have.
"Wow a pretty large game. Though I wonder... Onii-san, do you know how the Cardinal system works of is it too new for you to understand it?", Suguha asked Kazuto. She was of course refrencing the powerfull system that Sword art online ran on.
The Cardinal system. The system responsible for balancing SAO. The drops, the mobs, the bosses. Everything depends on the Cardinal system. Kayaba's ambition is to have millions of players on the same server without any lag and other instabilities. The AI is also the most human like AI ever made. And all this with almost no bugs or glitches.
"I'm honestly don't know myself. It is a completely new system. Honestly the fact Kayaba managed to create this system is a miracle.", Kazuto stated. It was true of course. However Suguha knew there was also a small bit of bias towards Kayaba.
You see Kayaba Akihiko was Kazuto's idol. Kayaba was globally considered to be among the best scientists in the world. Especially when it came to new technology. Kazuto never made it a secret he looked up to Kayaba. In fact his ultimate dream is to become a inventor like Kayaba. He was a long way from it of course but hey a boy can dream.
"Anyway I was wondering what sort of class I would pick. I was thinking maybe a mage fighter with a 1-handed sword as my physical weapon. What do you think onii-san?", Suguha asked.
"Well you do typically play as a mage. Considering sorceress can only use dark and illusion magic mage fighter is the best option for your typical elemental mage/healer. As for your weapons. I use 1-handed swords so to me it is easier to help you out. Though your kendo training will give you a slight edge in experiance to most", Kazuto said thinking about what could be usefull to his sister.
Just like her father and grandfather before her Suguha was a Kendoka. Kazuto used to be aswell but he stopped after 2 years after finding out about his parents. Got quite the beating because of it. If it wasn't for Suguha telling their grandfather she would put in twice the effort to become better he would've roughened Kazuto up even more.
For a year Kazuto was unwilling to talk about Kendo with Suguha. He thought Suguha hated the sport after being forced to put in twice the effort. However, right before a boss raid Suguha told Kazuto this wasn't he case. She actually enjoyed it quite a lot. She said that Kendo and gaming were great because of she could two two things she loved most: hang out with friends and do something with her big brother.
"You're a swordmaster though. Doesn't the fact you stopped practicing Kendo hurt you a bit?", Suguha asked. She had wondered this for quite a while. Mostly because she didn't understand how the combat system works quite yet.
"It doesn't really hurt me. Don't get me wrong having prior martial arts knowledge would help but the thing is SAO's combat system relies very little on your real life skill. Only about 10% of the combat relies on your skill. The rest is all based around stats and in-game skills. It also helps that in the virtual world your body feels lighter and is more flexable. And besides 2 years worth of training isn't going to be unlearned anytime some. ", Kazuto explained.
Suguha's only response was nodding. It made sense after all. Though she was a bit disapointed her Kendo skill only amounted to around 10% of her in-game performance. But hey it is better then nothing.
"Onii-san, have you already set everything up or not?". "Not yet. Bare in mind it's 10:37 and the servers open at around 13:00. We still have more then enough time.". "True, true.".
They would talk about their plans in SAO during their breakfast and cleaning their dishes. Their Nervegears were already in house as Kazuto as a beta tester was allowed to give one free copy of SAO and a nervegear to one person of his choosing. The two would meet at the North gate of the Town of Begginings. At around 12:50 they would set up their Nervegear and prepare to dive. They made sure to go over the plan one more time before going into their room.
All that was left now was to put on the Nervegear and issue the start-up command: "Link start.".
Meanwhile at the Yuuki household.
It was silent in the Yuuki household. Mainly because only one of them was currently here.
The youngest of the family, Yuuki Asuna, currently dressed in a simple blue and yellow t-shirt and shorts, was alone in the house because the rest of her family was all gone for business. Her father Shouzou and her brother Kouichirou were overseas for a business deal and her mother Kyouko was temporarily in charge of their company in their place. Asuna was really the only one who didn't have a role in RCT Progress.
Because of this she was often alone in the house with nothing but her phone and sometimes a couple of friends from school. It was quite boring and lonely. The only tine she went along for 'business' was when her parents found her a 'passable suitor'.
Asuna wasn't exactly the ugliest person out there. In fact many boys found her attractive. Her orange-brownish chestnut hair and hazel eyes played a part in it as did her figure which was Neither too skinny nor too fat.
The problem was that neither her looks nor her personality were the reason her suitors wanted her. It wasn't even her money. It was simply her parents, more her mother then her father, that wanted her to marry someone that could always take care of her and would treat her like a queen. Here is the problem: Asuna herself doesn't want that.
With her grades she could get into every universaty in the world. With her parents' connections she could get a husband who could take care of her every needs. But she wanted neither. Asuna wants to live a simple live with someone she likes for who he is and who likes her for who she is. But her parents don't allow it.
Did she feel unloved because of it? No, far from it. She understood her parents did this out of love. Well, atleast when it comes to her father.
Her mother was born as a farmers daughter and hated this fact. She always thought she was worth more then a farmers live. She wanted Asuna to live the same way often leading to fights between the two.
Asuna always preffered the calm farm life of her mother's parents. No traffic, no loud noices, no responsibilities. Everything was surrounded by forests and Asuna loved it. Every year when it was her birthday she would go to them over the parents of her father. Her mother would often refuse to join them due to her embarresment but her father and brother would usually join if they had the time.
Asuna wasn't an unhappy child. Far from it. She had pretty much everything she could wish for. She just wished her mother would relent a bit when it came to marriage.
A text message was sent by a friend of hers asking wether or not she had time to come along for a shopping trip. Asuna sighed, refusing to join saying she had other things planned.
"It technically isn't a lie what I just told her. I do have something planned though I'm not sure they will be particularly happy if I tell them what.", Asuna said to herself aloud as she looked at the Nervegear and copy of SAO to her left.
Asuna had secretly bought herself a Nervegear aswell as SAO. She had always wanted to play a "actual" video game instead of those mobile games she typically played. More specifically she wanted to own video games. Some of her friends were gamers themselves, having grown up with game loving parents. Asuna actually played games at their homes often and found herself loving it more then she thought. She had grown up with traditiolistic parents who always told her video games were a boy's thing despite the fact that 45% of active gamers were female nowadays. Including some of her friends as already stated.
Asuna has always gone to all-girls schools. Because of this most of her friends were girls. That isn't to say she has no guy friends but the majority of her friends were girls. Just like her most of her friends were daughters of rich families but none were nearly as shelterred as Asuna. Most of them owened game consoles or PC's and while some either played the more girly games, or none at all, some of her girl friends played games her parents would would consider for boys like shooters and fighting games. It just so happens those are the type of games Asuna liked along with RPG's. Her friends would often allow her to make a character for herself so that she can play when she's at their place.
She always kept it secret from her parents. Just like how she had to keep this secret. After all they would be furious if they realised she played video games without them knowing. Espacially if they realised she bought something from a rival company.
"It is just a game. What could possibly go wrong? At worst I'll be forced to play solo. At best I find one of the beta testers and learn the ropes from him/her.", Asuna convinced herself.
She sat down in a chair, put the Nervegear on and issued the startup command written in the manual that came with the Nervegear. "Link start.
Meanwhile at Yokohoma general hospital.
A girl who looked around 12 years old entered the Yokohoma general hospital, a place she visited so often. With black hair and purplish eyes and wearing a green one piece dress she was a sight most people working at the hospital knew by now. Most even called her by her first name now.
"Good evening Aiko. I'm guessing you're here to meet the rest of the 'sleeping knights'.", ond of the receptionists asked. "Yep! It is the big day after all.", the girl, Aiko, said.
Aiko's full name was Konno Aiko. She was one of the SAO beta testers and went by the nickname 'Ran'. The reason she visited where her family and friends.
During one of her sessions in SAO her parents and her younger twin Yuuki got into a accident. While they miracoulesly survived they all needed to stay in the hospital and Yuuki got paralised from the waist down. This meant Aiko temporarilly had to live with her aunt and uncle while her parents and sister stayed in the hospital.
As for her friends, those were the afforementioned 'sleeping knights'. Just like Yuuki they were all hospitilised either due to accidents or illness. They met eachother during a session of Yuuki's favorite online game at the time. They didn't know their real names so they just called eachother by their usernames: Ran, Yuuki, Merida, Siune, Jun, Tecchi, Talken, Nori and Clovis.
Despite only really knowing eachother online, they promised to meet eachother when they were all allowed to leave the hospitals they were in right now.
Aiko headed towards Yuuki's room on the top floor. When she was their she saw a girl which looked almost exactly like her. Of course the moment she saw Aiko enter the room a big smile lit up Yuuki's face.
"Hey there onee-san! Today is the day isn't it?!" Yuuki said making Aiko chuckle a little. Of course the others, bar Merida who was also a beta tester, where equally excited.
In terms of personallity Yuuki was definitely the more cheerfull of the two Konno sisters. Despite her cheerfull personality her outlook on life was that sometimes you have to use force to make something clear. She was also determined to live her life to the fullest. She was currently the vice-commander.
Aiko was less cheerfull but made up for that by being emphatetic. She also was self-sacrificing, often sacrificing oppertunities to help others and sometimes giving oppertunities she could've taken to others who need or want them more. She was very decisive, never brooding over anything. This made her the ideal leader of the guild. She was also very protective of her sister.
"It's gonna be great! We'll finally be able to walk around again.", Nori said.
Nori was a passionate and competetive person. She often thought of small competitions to freshen things up. Typically between her and Yuuki. She is regarded by some to be the guild's third best player behind only the Konno sisters. Her left leg had been broken in several places after a incident with an opponent player during a soccer match.
"It is a great world to be sure. I already got word from Kirito and Argo. They're also joining usin the game. Kirito is even bringing his sister along.", Aiko said. This caused even moe excitement within the group.
Kirito and Argo were two of the friends Aiko and Merinda made and the only others who knew of the situation of the 'sleeping knights'. They would often tell about Kirito's skill with the sword and Argo's skill to getting the best information possible.
"I wonder what she'll be like. Hopefully we'll be able to become friends.", Siune said. She always soft-spoken and typically the voice of reason within the group. She also was a emotional and sensative person. She used to think recovering from her illness was impossible untill she met Merida who had a similar condition.
"I can't speak for Kirito's sister, but Argo and Kirito are great people. Just be carefull, Argo will fleese you for you're worth if you're not paying attention.", Merida said.
Merida was the most experianced of the group when it came to games. Despite this she wasn't really fond of leading. This is mostly due to her lack of self-confidence. She has spent most of her life in the hospital due to what seemed like a irreverseable muscular dissease. However with new methods proving succesfull in treating this dissease Merida was slowly but surely recovering. She would still be in the hospital for a few weeks but no longer then that.
As for the boys in the group. Jun was as energetic as a child. He always knew how to lighten up the mood but when something serious was discussed he alwsys managed to stay on topic. He often fights with Nori. He had broken his arm in multiple places after a skiing accident.
Talken seemed very shy but he actually is quite active and well-spoken. He is never afraid to voice his opinion if he deems it neccessary. He was getting treatment for cancer.
Tecchi is the kind giant type. Always willing to help you out if he can. He was in the hospital to threat sever burns after surviving a massive fire.
Clovis is a person of few words. He never spoke about his condition to anyone and usually never spoke up untill spoken too.
Anyway, after the statement made by Merida normal conversation resumed between the sleeping knights before going into SAO. Now a bit of information about the roles of the sleeping knights.
Yuuki, Nori and Talken were the damage dealers of the group, Ran, Merida and Siune the support and Jun, Tecchi and Clovis were the tanks. A pretty versitile group of players, covering all positions equally.
"Well I have my Nervegear right here. The servers start in little over a minute. Let's lie down and get ready to join", Aiko said lieing down on the sleep couch next to Yuuki bed.
The rest nodded, lied down and as soon as the timer stated it was 18:00 they initiated the command: "Link start!".
Meanwhile at a small house outside of town.
Fame sucks. That was Ayano Reiko's opinion atleast. And she had every right to think so.
Ever since she turned 7 years old and before she turned 11 years old Reiko loved two things: making music and taking care of animals. She was pretty good at both. Her parents allowed her to keep several pets and all of them were taken great care off. The pets ranged from dogs to salamanders. As for music she was really good at that aswell. Singing in particular was her specialty. Truly a shame music would end up ruining her life for her.
When she was 10 years old Reiko easilly won a national talent competition. Many agencies wanted her signature. Eventually she settled for her current agent: Sakura Ayane. Ayane's main focus was to somehow make Reiko succesfull while also allowing Reiko to live her own life. Sadly she didn't manage it.
At first Reiko lived her life pretty much like before but she was more popular. At first she shrugged it off thinking they just liked her after all but as she grew more and more famous she realised all those people cared about were the oppertunities she could bring to the table. Ever since that realisation she hated her job as an idol.
Her rather cute look also made her quite popular. She wore her light brown hair in pigtails held by red ribbons. Her eyes are also light brown. She typically wore bright colors.
Ayane had been trying to call her for several days now after she announced she was taking a break. She never picked up. Right now she was focused on the headset in front of her: the Nervegear.
"The fact I'm resorting to literally transporting my mind to a virtual world just to escape from this constant pressure is just... unbeliveable. I just hope few people recognise me.", she to herself aloud.
Ayane initially thought about going to Argus to make a deal promoting their new system and game but Reiko refused. If she ever wished to play SAO she wanted to actually play it for her enjoyment. Ayane understood of course. But the business side of her still wanted the deal.
"According Kayaba I can become a beast tamer. That would honestly be the greatest thing for me right now. I wonder what sort of animals I'll be able to tame", Reiko once more spoke aloud.
Reiko always was a cheerfull if easilly embarrased young girl of just 12 years old. She got along with pretty much everyone because of it. Even with the pressure of being the most famous child idol she still managed to be the same person. She just needed a quick break from everything.
She lied down on her bed and initiated the startup command: "Link start!"
Meanwhile at the Shinozaki household.
Shinozaki Rika always wanted to help her father with smithing. The thing is the tools were too heavy for her. Because of this Rika mostly helped in the store.
Rika has brown hair and a rare eye color in pink. She wears a t-shirt and shorts, both in pink.
"Rika, are you done cleaning up the casing?". "Yes dad!".
Rika's main job was help selling the items in the store and cleaning the store. She didn't hate it but she would've rather helped with the forge.
Her family are a long line of master smiths. Her older brother is the current heir to the business but for now her father still ran the forge. They always forged weaponry and are one of the few traditional forging families still holding to their tradition. Rika, as stated before, always dreamed of helping out at the forge but her lack of strenght left her no choice but to give up on that dream, espacially because of her brother.
After cleaning the casings she went to her room and lied down with a sigh. She looked to her left. Next to her lied the Nervegear she bought. She knew for a fact that she could become a blacksmith in SAO. So without her parents knowing she bought a Nervegear and SAO.
She was reluctant at first. She knew next to nothing about the game but it would be amazing if she could actually forge weapons. After giving it some thought she sighed again.
"Oh what the hell. I know my parents aren't going to be happy with this but I just want to know how it is to be a blacksmith for once. And I'll become the best blacksmith of them all aswel!".
She put the Nervegear on and initiated the startup command: "Link start!".
Meanwhile at Ryoutarou Tsuboi's apartment.
Ryoutarou Tsuboi sat down on the couch with a sigh. It was a hard day at work again yesterday. Luckily he always woke up to a warm breakfast and a smiling fiancé.
"Thanks Ginchyo. Man what a stressfull day that was. The amount of people who still can't use a computer in 2022 is scary. You wanna know how many sweetheart? 159! Honestly.", Tsuboi ranted while Ginchyo just smiled and listened to her fiancé rant about work.
The two of them have known eachother since middle school. When Ginchyo transfered from a school in Kyoto to Tsuboi's school she had no idea what to do. She had never left Kyoto before. Luckily Tsuboi and his friends were more then willing to help her out.
Over the years the two fell in love and started dating. It eventually got so far that just 3 days ago Tsuboi proposed to her. Considering Ginchyo is his fiancé it's safe to assume she said yes.
Tsuboi's personallity is pretty simple: he is friendly, he doesn't hold grudges and is extremely loyal to those he considers friends. But when it comes to work he would rather just quit. Ginchyo is pretty similar to Tsuboi but a lot shyer.
"Tsuboi, you're going to be late to the launch if you keep rambling like this. I don't mind listening to your rants but you and I would both be upset if you somehow miss it.".
Tsuboi looked at her confused because he thought he still had atleast an hour left. Imagine his shock when he realised it was 12:50 already.
"Shit, you're right! Thanks for the heads up Ginchyo!", Tsuboi said quickly eating his food. Ginchyo simply giggled in response. She knew Tsuboi wanted to play SAO with his buddies. She also knew they were planning to all roleplay as samurai.
When Tsuboi was done Ginchyo took his plate and he ran to his room. He put on the Nervegear and initiatiated the start-up command: "Link Start!".
Meanwhile at one of the Takemiya family houses.
The Takemiya family is a long line archeologists and treasure hunters. Because of this their primary source of income are the treasure's the manage to find. Due to their succes they're one of the richest families in Japan. They don't really show their riches off though, usually wearing every day clothing and never holding interviews.
The youngest member of the family, Takemiya Kotone, was currently just relaxing in her room. She had short brown hair, orange eyes and was currently wearing a blue tank top and shorts. She was currently really just thinking whether or not she should actually join the game or not.
Kotone liked treasure hunting since she was 7 years. Her parents often brought her along for hunts to teach her the ropes. 3 years later the Tomb Raider game she got for her birthday would introduce her to gaming. Since then she usually played video games in between hunts. The problem now: aside from SAO, the game she just bought, she had completed all of her games.
"Does no one else think that this 'Nervegear' is a bit shady? I mean, sure there are safety devices in place to make sure nothing can go wrong but I still feel unsafe.", Kotone said aloud.
Her worry mostly stems from the fact that it apperently is connected straight to your brain. She doesn't know why but she felt like the moment something would go wrong it would be Devasating.
"On the other side Kayaba did often promise everything would be monitored 24/7 and I can find loads of hidden treasure in Aincrad.".
Kotone's instincts when it came to treasure hunting were desperate for more. Especially because this is a world were far from all it's treasure was found. In other words: her heart says yes, her head says no.
"Well, mum always says to follow your heart. I still don't fully trust this machine but I know that if I don't go I'll regret it.", Kotone said to herself.
Just like the other 9.999 players she sat or lied down, put the Nervegear on and started up the game: "Link start!"
Meanwhile at a small appartment.
A girl with black hair tied in ribbons and the back cut short wearing a school uniform and a pair of glasses on her sat down with sigh. "Those girls are really getting on my nerves. Always using my trauma to get money out of me.".
The girl was Asada Shino. A girl who looks and acts cold but is actually quite temperamental. She is also competative and hates it when people don't take things serious enough. She is also quite caring about those she considers friends.
Shino's father died in an accident when she was just two years old. Because of this she and her mother went to live with her grandparents. There is were she would get traumatised.
During a visit at the post office a robber suddenly entered the office. First shoving Shino's mother away from the counter, he then pulled a type 54 'black star' from his bag and said they had to give him the money and to not push the alarm button. Of course one of the workers attempted to push the button and got shot.
He then threatened to kill Shino's mother. Shino instinctively jumped to her mother's rescue and bit the robber's arm making him drop his pistol. He threw her against the counter, right where the Type 54 lied. Shino's first reflex: to grab the gun before the robber could get to it.
The robber jumped on Shino, desperate to get his pistol back. In response she shot him in the chest. When he tried to jump her again she shot him in the chest again. And before he got up a third time she shot him in the head.
Initially she didn't even realise what she had done. It wasn't untill she saw her mothers shocked face, her own bloodied hands and the blood streaming towards her that she realised what happened. She was just 11 years old back then.
Now just the sight of a gun or even just a finger gun gives her a panic attack. Some girls from her school make use of this to basically turn her into their personal ATM. They even use it to bully her in class, she often even hurled and fainted because of it.
"Huh, guess nothing can be done about. Maybe by playing SAO I'll be able to somehow find something that can help become stronger. If it can't I'll at least be able to get some rest from all the shit those girls put me through.", Shino told herself aloud.
Shino, like 9.999 others, bought the Nervegear aswell as SAO. Her hopes were to find something or someone that could possibly help her get over her trauma. Of course she knows the chance is low but it is still worth a shot in her eyes. And even if she finds nothing of the sort just finding temporary reprieve from the constant harresment from those girls is enough for her.
She lied down on her bed, put the Nervegear on her head and started up the game: "Link start.".
Meanwhile at the Mills houshold
"That is 500. Sory Kathy but it seems like I won."
That was Andrew Gilbert Milss. He and his wife Kathy just played for the right to play SAO.
While Andrew had initially ordered 2 Nervegears and 2 copies of SAO the demand was so high that they only could deliver one. This led the two gamers to a dillema which they would eventually solve with a competition: whoever killed 500 mobs first would go into SAO. As stated, Andrew was the winner.
An American of African descent, Andrew could be described as a gentle giant, always looking out for others. He actually met Kathy when he just recently opened his cafe, which would eventually become quite succesfull. Just like her husband Kathy was a helpfull and friendly person with a love for video games.
"Well, guess that is that. I was so close asweel. I only needed 1 more.", Kathy said sighing. Both wanted to play SAO really badly. After all this was a once in a life time oppertunity to play the world's first succesfull attempt at a VRMMO using the full five technology. Being one of the first 10.000 would be a wonderfull experiance.
"I know it sucks but I'll promise to let you play from time to time. And when they restock I'll just buy you a Nervegear and SAO. What do you say?", Andrew said hugging Kathy with Kathy leaning into it.
"That would be wonderfull", was Kathy's response.
"I'll be diving then. See you in a couple of hours". "Don't dive for too long. You'll miss diner.". "I won't so don't worry about that
That was the last exchange between the two lovers before Andrew entered the sat down, put the Nervegear over his head and booted up the game: "Link start!"
Meanwhile at the Chikako household.
"Honestly Ken'Ichi, I'll be fine. It's just a game.".
That was Chikako Sakura, who in game went by the name Sachi. She was a timid girl of around 14 years old who was part of her schools computer club.
Much like the others she loved playing MMO's hence why she bought a Nervegear and SAO. She and others had formed a guild, the moonlit black cats, that became somewhat popular. Though they typically were less well known then the sleeping knights in every game, constantly getting outdone by them.
She was currently talking to the leader Taiga Ken'ichi, also known as Keita, who was very worried about Sakura.
"I know it is. But I know how much you hate getting hurt. That is why I'm worried.". This statement got a giggle out of Sakura. "What is so funny Sakura?"
"That you're worried I'll get hurt. SAO has a pain absorber. You won't feel any real pain no matter how hard the hit is.", Sakura said. She giggled again when she saw Ken'ichi's face. "You completely forgot about that didn't you?".
From then on it basically became a conversation where Sakura teased Ken'Ichi gefore the others messaged them to say they were ready ask them to get ready. Sakura hung up and went to her bed where she had left her Nervegear on the drawer next to it.
She lied down, put it on her head and issuee the start-up command: "Link start!".
Meanwhile at Argus.
"The plan has gone quite succesfully Kayaba. It seems a lot of people fell for it. Though I wonder: how will the people react when it get's announced that SAO is not what it seems.".
A man of around 60 talked to Kayaba Akihiko. He looked like he was quite well off, wearing a expansive suit, diamond watch and held himself like he was surperior to others. There were more people like that of various ages and nationalities.
"I just want you to know I didn't do this to help you out. I didn't do this for your research old man. I could've very easilly done this type of research my without you.", Kayaba told the man and by extension everyone else in the room.
"Then why did you accept our deal?" a woman of around 30 asked him, scoffing at the mere thought of him being able to do this without them.
"You'll understand soon enough.", Kayaba said with a smirk. The man he showed himself to be in public was nothing but an act. In reallity he was a sadistic man, revelling in others suffering and uncaring to others feelings. Something which would soon be evident.
"For now enjoy your creation: the death trap called Sword Art Online!".
So yeah that was the Introduction. Very long wouldn't you say? Yeah I had actually rewritten this chapter around 25 times. Never quite went how I wanted it to go. Anyway I'll try something new for this one. At the end I'll put a piece of SAO trivia that some might not know yet instead of tge typical ending of a chapter. Starting with:
Sinon's glasses are not perscription. They're actually made out of a material that deflects bullets. This is to give her a sense of security.