A/N: If you read this chapter before 12/1/2018 then you will notice that it has been heavily rewritten to bring it up to date with the rest of the style and quality of the later chapters of this fanfic. This was done because many people seemed to drop off substantially after reading this chapter, yet those that stayed remained consistent after hitting chapter 3. I hope the rewrite of this chapter adds on detail and is a joy to read!
As always, thanks for reading, and be sure to leave a review or PM me! I love talking with my readers.
Warm droplets ran down the cheeks of my face. My entire world had just become a living hell. This was supposed to be a game. A fun adventure that took you into a different world. It wasn't supposed to be a death game! I didn't want this, I didn't want to risk my life. This was just supposed to be a game!
The crowd in the square thinned somewhat. The people ran for different areas of the city, desperately seeking a way out. It was just a mess. Colors, yelling, screaming. All around me the desperation was palpable. Fear was driving everyone mad. How could it not? One minute I was fighting a boar in a grassy field and now I was realizing how lethal that very boar could have been. The yelling was now growing even more desperate as names were called out, people who had logged in together were all trying to find one another...
But I couldn't move. I couldn't bring myself to move. Instead I sat there, crumpled on the ground. Hollow. Empty.
I couldn't think, I couldn't speak. I just was. Shock gripped every part of my body. A terrifying shock washed over me as I realized I would never leave this virtual hell. Never would I see my friends again. Never would I hug my mother or see a real sunset, never would I shake real hands with a person or go on a date. No. None of that. I was trapped in this hell of a game and death was all that awaited me. My mind struggled to be believe it. Nothing in me wanted to play this sick joke, this terrifying nightmare. I needed to get out. To be free. Thoughts passed through me as I desperately thought of a way out. I didn't want to trust the giant hooded figure. I didn't want to believe his words. Maybe he was lying, maybe all he had said was just a joke...maybe dying was a way out…
It was then that a strong hand gripped my shoulder, tenderly bringing my eyes to look up at the hand's owner. That one hand, that one touch, saved my life.
The hand belonged to a man. He knelt in front of me and matched his eyes with mine. "Hey there, are you ok?" came his shaken, but still grounded voice. It brought me back from the world of ever darkening thoughts and back into world of the public square. "Are you going to be fine?" he prompted again, this time I found myself lost in the stranger's eyes. His face radiated warmth, albeit with traces of fear, but nonetheless he was an oasis of calmness amidst the torrent of emotion sweeping through my chest.
A quiver, that's all my voice was. A shattered broken whisper. "I…I don't want to play" came the words, likely drowned out in the cacophony of the square. Despite the thinning of the crowd, several thousand people were still standing, crying, or just laying down in shock. I looked at the man, my empty eyes stared into the older man's skull. Only then did I notice the other two men who surrounded him. In any other case I would have looked at the trio with suspicion or concern. Three older men talking to a young girl was after all, not exactly something that didn't raise questions, but in this moment, this moment of desperation and fear, I could not have cared less. My weak voice bore into the first man and with only slightly more determination, or perhaps hope, I asked him directly, "I…don't have to play, do I?"
The man frowned slightly before gesturing to the other men. "Well, I'm afraid many us don't want to play." He sat down in front of me as if it was just normal to sit in the middle of a public square. "But it seems we have no choice young lady." I could feel how empty my gaze felt. He shuffled around with his hands, as if trying to find the right words to say. But nothing came to him. We sat in a fragile silence until my mind came to a resolve. I didn't want to face the odds of this death game. I didn't want to partake in this hell for the sick pleasure of its creator. My voice, still quiet, but now with a sickening determination spoke up, "I'll just jump off the tower then. It has to log me out right?"
The trio of men suddenly shuffled into action. They came closer to me with expressions of fear and concern. One of the other men immediately tried to dissuade me, "Whoa now, miss" came his panicked voice, "just hold on, you saw the news bulletins, right?" "Yeah," replied my broken voice, "but they had to be faked...there's no way...there has to be a way out..." some faint dark hope consumed me. Some part of me just wanted to wake up, to tear off the helmet from my head, but I knew in my chest that it was hopeless. It was futile to hope for salvation...so really...what I was saying was that I wanted to die, die by own hand. The man seemed to react with tremendous concern. "No, the bulletins are not fake…I recognized one of the faces, I was a beta tester with his...his name's gone from the game…those news clips weren't fake, miss, they were real!"
It didn't matter. Some part of me knew they were real. But nevertheless I felt some strength return to my limbs and I stood up. I didn't want to play this. I didn't care. If I was going to die, I was going to chose to die. I was not about to let some stupid program that wasn't real kill me. I didn't want to let some stupid monster ambush me. I was going to make the choice. Immediately several hands gripped my arms and shoulders. The first man started questioning me, "Wait, where are you going?" he asked, fear dripping from every one of his words.
The words didn't even spill out of me right. Each one was choppy, broken, much how my spirit felt. "I'm going to...I'm...going...to j-j-ump from the tower…I don't want to die…by this stupid game…" The embarrassing mumble continued to leave my lips as fresh tears filled my eyes. I was afraid. So, deathly afraid of everything.
The voice spoke again. "Whoa now, you're not going to die ok?" The confident voice radiated determination as his hands pulled me into his chest, pulling me into a warm embrace. Feebly I fought at him, pushing at his chest, trying to break free. "I don't...want to die…I don't want to DIE…I DON'T WANT TO D-D-..." each sob was followed by another choke, another wail. Every part of me was breaking. Left trapped in his arms, my legs went weak again, collapsing against the protective embrace of the man's forearms. Slumping, like a rag doll, my body collapsed back onto the floor, caught by the man's tender hands. I sobbed. Fresh tears and wails finally emanated from my vocal chords as I sobbed into this stranger's chest. "I…I'm…so…scared…" This stranger's chest became my only solace as fresh tears continued to spill out of me. I lost track of time, how much time I sat there in the lap of this stranger, in the middle of the square, crying into this man's chest.
Finally, after I had felt my tears begin to dry up, along with my sobs growing weaker, the stranger spoke again. "Hey, its going to be ok…we're all scared ok?" I looked up at the man, my eyes still red and my face all flustered. "I figured there would be a few of you in the square like this." my mind felt puzzled until I looked around me. There were others like me. Young boys and girls, but also older men and women. Sobbing and broken in the square. Around them were people trying to reach out, comfort them, reaching out where possible. Not everyone could just run off merrily with such a threat of death looming over their heads.
"My name Is Ryou." The first man said, his older clean cut face reminding me somewhat of one of my uncles. Another man, with a thin face and wide eyes smiled at me and introduced himself, "Zaki is my name miss." Finally, the third man, shorter with a thin mustache across his upper lip, spoke up. "And you can call me Gaya, I'm a former beta tester." The three men were all older than me and yet they all wore faces of concern and comfort.
"Lisbeth…call me Lisbeth." my voice stronger now returned the honor, letting them put a name to my crying frame.
Ryou spoke up with fatherly concern in voice. "Well Lisbeth, we're here to help. No one is going to die here ok, our friend Gaya here has got a sure-fire way to get us out safely." I blinked, my hopes beginning to perk up. Almost perhaps too much, as Gaya noticeably tried to play down my excitement. "Hey there, not a way out of the game right now, just a way to survive." As I would face later on, hope was a dangerous emotion and having it shattered was always dangerous. "Oh…" came my flat reply, my shaky voice betraying a rising sob. "But don't worry!" Gaya tacked on with a wide grin, despite the sadness behind his eyes, "I'm a Beta Tester, there's no way this can fail! I guarantee it!"
Zaki smiled at me and began explaining. "I've heard rumors that a lot of players are going to be trying to clear the game. They're going to be out on the front lines, clearing the floors ahead of us." My chest tensed up again and a chilling cold raced through my heart. "I'M NOT GOING OUT THERE!" my voice instinctively tensed up at even the hint of fighting. I was never going to risk dying by this stupid game. But as soon as the words left my lips, Ryou chuckled and patted my back in a fatherly manner, "No one is talking about going out there Lisbeth, but you know a bit about this game, right?" I nodded. "Then you'll know that players need swords and equipment, but that equipment is going to wear out and need repairs at some point." Gaya, feeling his chance to add more, jumped in with a smile. "And I know exactly how to fix equipment and make better equipment!" He beat his chest as if in bout of pride. "I was a master blacksmith during the beta, tried my hand at crafting a whole bunch of tools, I know the mechanics better than anyone else here."
Zaki looked back at me to keep hammering home the point. "We're all friends in the real world, and we all planned to become master crafters when we got the game." He chuckled for a moment before a look of sadness touched his face, echoing the emotions everyone in this world must have been feeling. "Of course, we all wanted to meet up for beers after today's play session, but it looks like we'll be drinking here instead. Still, if the players out there are going to try and risk their lives for us, then we need to be sure to back them up right?" Ryou smiled down at me as he soothing ran his hand down my back, reminding me of all the time my own father had done the same when I was nervous or scared. "And it just so happens we need another person in our little blacksmithing guild to get started." His eyes grew tender as he gave me a warm smile. "I know you have a family to get back to Lisbeth, lets make sure they get their daughter back. Join up with us. You won't be risking your neck out there. But you'll be making a difference, you'll be helping everyone here get out of the game." he paused for a moment as he hugged me warmly.
I felt at a loss for words. It had been a bit over two hours since the terrifying truth had been told to us and all I had wanted to do was die. But now I felt a shot at real hope. A reason, however weak, to keep myself going.
"Will you promise that I won't die?" my weak voice perked up as my eyes met Ryou's.
"I promise!" Gaya interjected, a cheerful smile playing across his face. "As do I!" Zaki jumped in, his narrow face looking kinder than ever. Ryou was the last to speak. "Lisbeth, I can't deny that you remind me of my own daughter. You remind us of our own daughters and families." Gaya and Zaki nodded with somber looks, "I promise you'll get back to your family, we're going to get out of here, safely."
I felt warmth in my chest for the first time in what felt like forever. "Ok." my lips whispered. I tried again, tried to show them, as much as myself, that I would try to follow them and work with them. "Ok. I'll be a blacksmith then!" There it was, part of my sing song voice. A grin danced on my lips, and even if it felt weak, and somewhat forced, I knew it would make them feel better, knowing they had saved a young girl from suicide.
"Awesome!" said Gaya standing up. "Well then Lisbeth, lets get an inn to stay at, it's getting late, and I know the best one in the city!" I watched as Gaya stood up, he was just a bit taller than me and walked with a funny gait down the street. Eagerly he led the group as he rambled off more information about the game and its blacksmithing engine. Zaki listened and eagerly jumped in to ask questions and contribute to the conversation, clearly trying to put the announcement to rest. I walked behind them, feeling more positive with every passing step despite my fears. They were encouraging me to not wallow in my own thoughts. Part of me still wanted to jump...to see if I could get out of this world. But a much larger part of me now wanted to stay. Stay with these kind men and help them get through the game. In this now terrifying world, perhaps all we had was each other, and even if I wanted to escape it all, I just couldn't bring myself to do so, knowing these men wanted to care for me. If I could make their time here better, then dammit, I would.
"I'm glad you decided to join us," Ryou spoke up from behind me. He walked with his hand on my shoulder. "We'll get you out."
I smiled up at his determination.
I knew in that moment that what he was saying was true. I really was going to make it out.
A/N: Hey there! Its ArrowAces87 here, I'm trying to get this slight AU to feel grounded and based deeply in the canon. As a result, I used the picture from Lisbeth's smith shop to create Ryou, Zaki, and Gaya, the three men in the photograph with Lisbeth. This story won't be just about Lisbeth's first year though, I'll be adjusting the timeline a bit so Kirito and Lisbeth meet up a bit sooner, but think of this as SAO from Lisbeth's perspective, how she meets Asuna, falls in love with Kirito and clears the game with him. I'll be sticking as close as I can to the anime, deviating only when it will make the relationship more impactful or when it's necessary. Hope you all enjoy it so far. Leave a review and see you soon!