Wendy trudged out of the safety of the ⸢Town of Beginnings⸥. It didn't really matter though, with her destination being what it was. Ahead lay the path that led to the edge of Aincrad. Behind her, a dozen other scared, tired souls trudged. Mostly girls, though there were two guys as well. It had been three days since Kayaba's announcement, and for that time, they had remained hidden in this place or that within the ⸢Town of Beginnings⸥. But Wendy had rallied them to her cause. To leave the safety of the ⸢Town of Beginnings⸥ and free themselves from this game.
They passed by groups of players farming the low level mobs that spawned around the city. Exp was not what would free them from their shackles. Levels would not liberate them. After all, beating Sword Art Online was impossible. Kayaba would not be so cruel as to force those unwilling to participate in such an endeavour. No, no, it was obvious to Wendy that his talk of this as a death game was nothing more than a load of bullshit designed to attract interest.
Still, there was no logout button. But, by talking to a few of the beta players Wendy had discovered that in the beta, if you threw yourself off the edge the game would automatically log you out. Well, it would kill you as well, but it would follow up killing you with an automatic kick from the game and after repeated falls off the edge it would include a warning against suicide along with the numbers of a few suicide hotlines.
And with that knowledge in hand, Wendy had managed to convince a handful of others to follow her in what she had assured herself would be safe way to free themselves from this madness. Freedom was near; the edge of Aincrad only a short distance further.
And then her path was blocked by a cloaked figure wielding a dagger bleeding crimson light. The cloaked figure lashed out, tracing a brilliant trail of light that tore through her chestplate and into the clothes she wore beneath.
The starting equipment—which is what Wendy wore as she had seen no reason to buy new clothes or gear—was pathetically weak when considering its stats. Low defense, but more importantly, low durability. It could last for a while against basic enemies. Against a ⸢Corruption⸥ infused dagger wielded by a much higher level player, it might as well have been paper.
Her armour was shattered with two lightning cuts and her clothes torn in one. In half a second, Wendy found herself in only her undergarments—a plain white bra and matching panties, as was the default for female players—stumbling away from the sudden and unexpected attack and inadvertently dodging the fourth strike, which only caught the tail end of some of her long, chestnut brown locks.
It took her a moment to realize her state of dress. When she did, she gave a yelp of embarrassment and crossed her arms over her chest. Not that it was particularly necessary; Wendy wasn't the most well endowed of girls. At eighteen, her breasts were on the small side, being barely B-cup. Her hips shared that lack of femininity. Truthfully, when looking at her three sizes, she had more in common with a middle school student, save for her height; she was at least tall enough that she wasn't mistaken for a child.
In spite of her somewhat lacking figure, the cloaked person seemed to be perfectly content with Wendy's body, much to her embarrassment. Shakily, the young woman uncrossed one arm and pulled the ⸢Beginner's Sword⸥ from her inventory.
The cloaked person's gaze shifted, before they tilted their head questioningly. "You know," the person said, "that the starting weapons are kind of garbage, right? I mean, I could probably let you hit me and you wouldn't do jack for shit. I'm all for kicking the hell out of noobs, but that's just sort of sad. Why you're even out here with such crap gear, I've no idea."
Wendy leveled her blade at the cloaked figure. She was underlevelled, sure, but she was still a gaming veteran. She'd at least be able to put up a fight. Probably. Still, perhaps she could convince the cloaked figure to let them through.
"We were headed to log out," Wendy stated firmly. "So I'll ask you to stand aside."
"Huh?" The cloaked figure lowed their dagger. "Log out? Didn't think there was any way to do that."
Good. It seemed that he was just another desperate player like them, scared and lashing out. She could reason with him.
"Yes. In the beta, if you threw yourself off the edge, it would log you out of the game. Of course, Kayaba would not force so many people to take part in his death game, so that's the way out. Otherwise, why would the game log you out if you did such a thing in the beta?" Wendy lowered her weapon cautiously. "See? There's no need to do this. In fact, why don't you join us? Be free from this joke of a game!"
The cloaked figure stood still, and Wendy could feel him staring at her. Then he began to laugh. "What, you think I want to be out of here? Hell no, this is the most fun I've had in years! With ⸢Corruption⸥ at my side, I can make my fantasies a reality, here in this world!" The cloaked figure shook his head in amusement, still chuckling.
Wendy gulped. It didn't seem as if he wanted to be out of this damned place. Well, maybe she could at least convince him to let them through? "Then, if you don't want to join us, at least let us past so we can be free of this hell." Plus, the sooner she managed to log out, the sooner she could get some clothes back on. Standing around as a half-naked avatar copy of her real body was incredibly embarrassing.
"Oh, sure, I suppose," the cloaked figure said. "I'm of the opinion that it'll just kill you, because that's the kind of person Kayaba is. But sure, if you want to die, go for it."
His words didn't seem to reassure any of the other players Wendy had with her, but at least he was letting them pass. Slowly her group moved forward, until the cloaked man stepped in front of Wendy and blocked her path.
"One thing," he said. "Leave all your items with me."
"Eh?" Wendy glanced at him. He shrugged.
"Hey, if you're leaving, might as well give someone your crap. I could sell it, you know?"
As he spoke, a trade window popped up in front of Wendy. Her hand went to the ⸢Accept Trade⸥ button; he had a point after all, though she stopped dead when she glanced at the items being traded.
"You… want me to trade you my underwear? That I'm wearing?!" she yelped. "But then I'll be naked!"
Though she couldn't see the face of the cloaked figure, she felt as if he was grinning. "Well, yeah. It's a shame to lose such a pretty girl, so I figure that I might as well get a good look at you once before you kill yourself." The cloaked figure bobbed his head, cheerfully before pausing, as if he'd realized something. "Oh, and of course this goes for any other players of the feminine persuasion. Any guys who want to pass, just toss me your weapons and your ⸢Col⸥ and we'll be fine. I'm just not into that kind of thing. Not for you lot at least." The last part was muttered under his breath.
Those of the fairer sex in Wendy's group took a wary step back. It appeared that none of them were willing to debase themselves so readily. Neither was Wendy for that matter. Eyes narrowing, Wendy glared at the cloaked figure. "I refuse!"
"Oh, it wasn't a request." In a flash, a dagger sliced down her front, shredding her bra and panties. The scraps fluttered to the ground in a flurry of white cloth, shattering into polygons when they touched the earth.
Wendy shrieked in embarrassment, falling to the ground in her attempt to get away from the cloaked figure, her hands shooting to cover her breasts and nethers. She was hauled to her feet and her arms were pinned behind her back, exposing her creamy white skin to the rest of her group. Her struggles only served to make her exposed breasts bounce slightly.
The cloaked figure leaned forwards enough to reveal his mouth. A cheery grin split his lips and he leered at Wendy, drinking in her naked body. "So then, which one of you ladies is next?"
A brilliant beam of light lit up Wendy's peripheral vision, and suddenly she was falling forward, freed from her captor's grasp. Glancing behind her, she watched as the cloaked figure's hand fell to the ground, cleaved off by an unfamiliar scruffy man dressed in red. One of the other girls in her group grabbed her and pulled her to her feet.
"Come on, let's get back to the ⸢Town of Beginnings⸥ and try later!"
Wendy shot the black-haired girl a confused look. "But we're so close. Don't you want to escape this game?"
"Not if it means doing it naked!" the girl said, blushing furiously. The others quickly nodded in agreement. "We can always try again, but let's get out of here for now!"
"You think you can just leave? That'd be a neat trick." With a thump, the cloaked figure landed next to them, lashing out at the black-haired girl. She shrieked as her top and bra were shredded, leaving her sizable breasts exposed.
The scruffy man intercepted the cloaked figure's next attack and forced him back with a flurry of blows from his curved sword. With surprising agility, the cloaked figure parried the attacks before slipping past him and darting towards Wendy and the rest once more.
That was all the encouragement they needed, and quickly the group took off, racing back towards the ⸢Town of Beginnings⸥ cloaked man nipping at their heels. As they ran, Wendy glanced at the black-haired girl in annoyance. Topless, the other girl's breasts were bouncing all over the place. Their size pissed Wendy off. It wasn't her fault she was flat!
The scruffy man ran interference, but the cloaked figure was too agile, always managing to sneak past his flashing blade and tear another bit of modesty away from the fleeing group. By the time they managed to reach the safety of the great stone walls, the black-haired girl wasn't the only one topless. A blonde-haired woman had joined Wendy in being fully naked, and the rest were all stripped down to their underwear at least, some missing their panties and others their bras.
Red-faced, the group quickly dissolved, disappearing down the alleys in search of new clothes. They'd have to try again some other time.
And they did. Many times over the first few months they tried to make it to the edge of Aincrad. The cloaked figure was always waiting for them, and they would always be forced back to the ⸢Town of Beginnings⸥ in disgrace. It didn't matter if they brought guards, the few players who were willing to work for what little ⸢Col⸥ that they could offer provided no help against the cloaked man.
In time, Wendy gave up her dreams of escaping Aincrad, instead focusing her efforts on beating the ever-living shit out of the cloaked man who kept humiliating her. She'd succeed one day... but that's a tale for another time. For his part, the cloaked figure, Johnny, although Wendy never knew it, never tired of playing with Wendy and whoever else she brought along. She wasn't the most well endowed of all his victims, but she was the second most fun.
Sash: So, there's some adverbs. Morgan wouldn't remove them. Also the word "females" rubs me the wrong way so I changed it. I'll keep doing my best to spot his mistakes, inconsistencies, and the peculiarities of his rather superfluous linguistic articulation. That said, if you spot any problems please feel free to leave a comment or Morgan because I don't have beta actually unlocked on ffn.