Hey guys sorry for the delay in publishing, I'm trying to release one chapter a week but I just got caught up in work. So sorry about the inconvenience but let's get into it.
Disclaimer: I don't own SAO, If I did it would have a longer first arc.
"Hmm..."/ "Hmm...": Fintan's thoughts/ Spoken dialog
Enjoy!
The white light dissipated once more and I found myself engulfed in amazement. "Is this really a virtual world?" was the question at stake for the other 9,999 players logged in currently. Guiding my eyes downward, I took note of the basic gear currently equipped in the menu and analyzed the stats attached. Training coat, fighter's trousers, and leather boots are all labeled as "Beginner's Gear". The Training coat consists of a dark blue long sleeve undershirt covered by a light chainmail vest and all held together through leather straps and buckles. The trousers could be passed as grey, although they appear to be darker. To finish my inspection, I could feel the trouser pant legs tucked into the basic boot liner comfortably. Also in my equipment slot was a slim Iron dagger and it's sheathe. Glancing at the blade, I rejected the idea in spite of my ultimate goal. "I'd never considered throwing weapons to be part of one's Taijutsu until now, maybe I'll give it a go sometime but now's not that chance, Right now I should focus..."
The endless chatter of first time players saturated the spawn point before me. "I must get out of here" I muttered over the crowd of people. When logging in I kept the avatar settings at default so luckily this body feels normal enough to ignore the sudden motion sickness from spawning. The crowd of people spread wide across the massive stone plaza continues to restrict my exit strategy.
"Pushing people aside seems like the best option".
Although normally acceptable in most MMO's, there's no clipping in SAO so running through people isn't allowed. I'll have to negotiate foot-traffic if I want to make it to the the Training Grounds. With numerous prepared apologies, my march of death through the crowd of cheerfully distracted players commenced without delay. I'd been taking notice of the oddly uneven proportion of female and male avatars surrounding me. Either the players were true to their gender (Which I doubt) or the more plausible option that 90 percent of those dominating "females" were sweaty fat dudes above 40+, but even then I guess everyone has a right to play VR so I've got no reason to judge. By this point I've probably repeated "Sumimasen" enough times for the game admins to report me for spam. It's taken awhile but the gate to this massive stone city finally opened, and sense of awe passed over me. Now that I've reached an exit the notice board to my right instantly updated me on the local pathways and roads outside the city. The menu activation was still tripping me up but not enough to remotely irritate me, not in this world.
The GPS in the corner of my view directed me northeast from the city and into the forest. The winding dirt path stretched out before me towards a large clearing a few miles ahead. A real blend of emotions including nervousness, excitement, and above all gratitude towards Kayaba boiled inside me and soon after cooled into unspoken joy. I was never one to feel or act overly dramatic due to my humble experience in an orphanage but this feels as if it deserves to be an exception. The steady breeze flowing through the forest only further enhances my excitement. This sensation of being inside a game has proven to be addicting. I'm still figuring it all out and just trying to grasp the concept. Even speculating the physical mechanics of the game engine sends Goosebumps down my spine.
No matter how many times I've told myself "It's a game, It's only just a game" still has yet began to quench my thirst for answers. This world, this grass, this very dirt I walk on isn't reality But just a simulation of a stimulation. The reality we set ourselves in on earth is just stimulation, we as humans set out to conquer but not like the past. We conquer the grocery store when we buy eggs versus the English settlers of the 1700's who conquered unexplored territory. Dropping yourself into the unknown and not aisle 8 is true stimulation, true joy, and true adventure.
Sword Art Online is exactly that. A pioneer of its time, SAO is a path of future adventures in many different forms. 10,000 players on a single server put forth the initiative to advance this wonder. I had once tried to convince my friends to join the sensation of SAO and pre-order the NerveGear along with Sword Art Online but it never caught their attention or peaked their interest. It felt like a lost cause so I dropped it.
Sadly enough, I'm wishing there was someone in this with me. It felt like my childhood all over again...being the outlier, outcast, oddball and basically everything else I was called. Although I eventually made friends, the first few years in Japan were rough. My parents hadn't established our home we live in now until I turned 14. For me it was hell, Moving place to place and all around Japan for 8 years. Every school meant a new bully or a new experience of isolation. I can't lie and say no friends were made, but not enough to take the edge off and certainly not enough to make me feel normal. That's why when I finally made some friends in High school the feeling was so fulfilling that when they nicknamed me "Gaijin" any hatred I had for that word peeled off and underneath was a miracle.
As the self-reflection continued, a sudden light blinded me from above causing me to trip on my own foot.
"W-Whoa!"
I extended my arms only to find out there wasn't any ground below me. My ankles traded places with the space a certain someone's shoulders were moments ago.
"FUCK! AHHHHHHHH!".
Opening my eyes, a vision of wide grass fields spread before me. Turning my head sideways required a fair amount of effort until suddenly I experienced slamming into something stone-like and the rest felt like a washing machine. I started hearing a loud beeping indication and directly after, my health bar expanded across my field of view flashing red. Looking up, it appeared as if I fell off a high ledge and hit a large stone. Also in detail was a purple notification stating "Immortal Object" placed directly above the natural structure.
"I almost died right there, well no big deal...it IS just a game. But holy shit that was terrifying"
Once again I placed my arms below, pushing myself up with ease. Feeling dizzy, I miss-stepped and fell over once more.
"Sure I can rest for a sec..."
Turning over on my back felt relaxing. The breeze passing through the forest cascaded down the ledge and spread over the vast training field causing the grass to flow all at once. My Spikey red hair picked up with the wind, mimicking the endless plains. The peaceful atmosphere left me drowsy Minutes passed and the in-game clock read 2:24 pm. Lying there, I began to close my eyes and eventually drifted to sleep... Images of home flashed about and dissipated multiple times over. "Mom...Dad... Finally, I'm free..."
An Unknown amount of time later...
It was dark...I couldn't see anything but the UI interaction display in my view. My head feels locked into place and I'm unable to speak. As I try to move my arms, realizing they're bound to my legs came as frustration.
"Hogtied, Damn..." I thought to myself.
Luckily my fingers are loose enough to wiggle around. I guided two fingers downward, activating the menu. The action was awkward and difficult to complete but I managed...barely. Searching for the correct icon is what I must do. My finger pressed on the greyed "logout" key and to my surprise, nothing happened. Trying this multiple times, proved the results to be the same. Listening around me, I made out a faint noise of Conversing coming from behind. An extreme feeling of hunger I hadn't felt yet also pushed itself into priority. Each groan coming from my stomach was accompanied by a long drawn feeling of pain and aches.
The sound of footsteps interrupted my lack of food. The sound of chatter became more audible as the footsteps migrated closer. Pushing my fingers against their counterpart thumbs revealed very sharp fingernails.
With a sudden flick of the wrists I made small incisions to the cloth bounding me and pulling downward at an angle, It destroyed the bindings. My hands pressed against the surface below me, which felt to be wooden. Pulling my legs upward, I anchored a handstand with my bare feet also positioned on a wood like surface. "Am I in a barrel?" The footsteps ended with a heavy stomp and the conversation was now clear.
A Loud, aged voice was heard shouting "Open her up".
Then, a youthful tone replied "Y-Yeah" and light scatter-like footsteps were heard running over.
"I don't have all day Matako! Get your dumbass over here and open these barrels!"
"Y-yes sir! I won't be long at all."
A sudden bash of metal on wood loosened the barrel top resting on my feet. In seconds, light from above filled the wooden container as the top ejected off with a Taijutsu blow dead center. A sound of troubled panic came from Matako as the barrel top nailed the larger man in the forehead, knocking him down with virtually no struggle. Using the momentum generated from the barrel lid flying off, I tipped the container over and worm crawled myself out. Looking around, I took note of multiple barrels stacked on each other being loaded onto a wooden cargo ship.
"There's no water on floor one-" Matako interrupted me, terrified.
"T-th-tha-that's c-c-cause you're ON FLOOR 50!"
Matako is currently cowering behind a nearby barrel to my right. From the waist up, he's wearing a basic white shirt, his long blonde hair is ponytailed behind his head and he's allowed his scruffy beard to hang low from his chin.
"Wait What?!"
Sure enough, after reading the Interaction UI display in the upper left corner of my view it read February 23th, 2024, Floor 50: Algade
"That would explain the missing logout icon... We must be trapped in this game, there's no way we would've made it to only floor 50 in two years time unless there's a consequence for death that's holding players back...or even death itself. Damn it Kayaba."
"I've been out this entire time?"
"Well it l-looks like it, but you seem familiar"
"How so?"
"Well one of the front line players k-kinda looks like you, but a bit older and w-well taller..." Matako said with confusion.
"A player looks like me?" I asked with intrigue.
"Y-yeah..." He paused.
"There was this really tall swordsman on the front lines that-" He paused again.
"Well he wasn't a swordsman. It's unknown what he is exactly but some people say he's just a myth and has absolute zero skill with any weapons. Some people called him "Ryuu" after that amazing flying style martial arts of his. And well your obviously not him because I mean you're too young...and s-short".
Hearing Matako say that was the first time anyone used the term "Short" to describe me and quite frankly I was a bit confused.
"I'd say you're about 4'6 or 4'7 considering these barrels are 4 foot"
"4'7?!"
"Yeah I was sure scared when a little kid flew out of that barrel and dropped Iwao back there..."
Speechless and standing in front of Matako, looking down confirmed the child like transformation, a lack of any combat gear, and brought on a state of curiosity. I turned around and observed my surroundings. A nearby town is generating a good amount of noise. Chatter, laughter, and overall stimulation pulled me away from the current situation im in.
"H-Hey kid I know this is a lot to take in but do you have any parents? Or anyone that takes care of you?"
"Look. I'm not a kid by any means. I just don't know where I am or how I got here, and I'm fine on my own"
"A-Alright I'm just-" A tired and brash voice interrupted Matako.
"W-Who's the little shit that drop kicked my ass on my own goddamn shipping dock?"
My head turned itself towards Iwao as did Matako's.
"Hey dumbass get over here and I'll do it again"
A hand attempted to grapple my leg. The one benefit of being a kid again was that this body allowed for nimble movement. Sidestepping his attack is effortless due to his clunky and slow movements.
"You little shit!"
Still being prone, Iwao left his body open for an easy strike. My leg extended outward, allowing my foot to make contact with his head and I essentially curb stomped him into the dock. Matako had retreated by this point as he was nowhere in sight.
"Stay down" I comanded.
I walked away, making sure to step on Iwao's head while doing so, and placed my hands into my pockets. I never cared to put on shows or over dramatize my Taijutsu
with the exception of Iwao's deserved ass-kicking. Somehow I felt different, as if my body remembered countless senarios just like that one. "I was never a glorified badass so why now?". The only thing that remained clear in my mind was what Matako told me...
"Ryuu, huh..."