Chapter 1 – A World of Blades

# Note: Italics = Thoughts

I DO NOT OWN SAO. I ONLY OWN THIS WRITING, WHICH IS BASED OFF IT. (ALTHOUGH I WISH I DID OWN IT)

[Order: Klein, Kirito]

"Sorry. I can't really expect you to help me with anything else can I? Go on to the next village, we'll catch up with you."

"Alright, then let's say goodbye here. If anything happens, PM me."

"Will do."

"Ok. Goodbye, Klein."

"Hey, Kirito. You know what?"

"Hm?"

"You actually turned out to be pretty cute. Just my type."

"Heh. And that unkempt face of yours suits you ten times better!"

xXxXxXxXx

\ (Narrator POV)

Running swiftly to the weapon's shop he quickly bought two spare swords and a couple health potions before running to the Northern edge of town. After charging the "Red Boar" there and grinding for a good ten minutes or so Kirito checked his stats and his weapon durability.

[Lv. 1 (93%) ]

[Small Sword (34/150) ]

[One-Handed Straight Sword (Lv. 3) ]

xXxXxXxXx

Just as Kirito was going to start grinding again for level two he remembered that on the first floor there was an incredibly dangerous dungeon that could only be entered by Lv. 1 players. However, if one could clear the dungeon they were pretty much guaranteed Lv. 5. Deciding to take the risk Kirito quickly sprinted back to town, avoiding boars to avoid leveling up. Once at town he immediately started to upgrade his spare sword with the "Red Boar" drops to +2. Getting to the dungeon in the «West Forest» and still avoiding battle turned out to be a mundane task, taking 25 minutes instead of the predicted 10, changing the time setting to "Night", which gives all cave-dwelling mobs a 20% speed boost, 10% damage boost, a 40% Exp. drop boost and increasing the chance for crimson class items by 0.2%. Taking a deep (and unnecessary) breath he entered the dungeon, unenhanced sword in hand.

xXxXxXxXx

As he entered the dungeon the doors immediately swung shut behind him. Since teleport crystals weren't ready yet he was, effectively, trapped. Sighing, he ran forward into the first part of the dungeon – a maze littered with traps. Thanks to his knowledge from the beta though, Kirito was able to avoid all the traps, find a chest with 500 Col and 2 health potions and get to the second part of the dungeon, containing mobs.

The path ahead was clear now, leading to a small, lit room with a statue in the center. From memory, Kirito knew that this was actually a Lv. 2 mob with high defense but low agility. Wasting no time Kirito charged up and used the basic sword skill «Horizontal», slashing the statue in the chest. With the statue now effectively woken up he attacked the statue with multiple slashes, not risking the use of more sword skills. As the statue went on the offensive and performed a downward slash towards Kirito he dodged, stepping towards it, activating the «Slant» sword skill and performing a diagonal cut into the statue's head, bringing its HP down to the red zone, causing it to divide into 3. This caught Kirito off guard and caused him to get hit by one of their stone swords, which thankfully had a knockback effect. (Otherwise he would have died.) Gritting his teeth, Kirito ignored the pain coming from his new injury and stabbed at the closest statue, which shattered into a multitude of polygons. Turning his attention to the second statue, he only had enough time to parry the stone weapon. Swinging the weapon away, he quickly activated the «Snake Bite» skill, slashing to the left and right so fast the system registered it as one strike. As the second statue exploded, the final statue was already attacking. Parrying this strike, Kirito batted it away. Then, the worst possible thing happened – his sword broke. In shock, Kirito did not see the next blow coming from the statue, who's health was in the red. The blow hit him squarely in the chest, creating a large red gash and bringing his HP to yellow, borderline red. In extreme pain and weaponless against the monster, Kirito did the only thing he thought was feasible at the time – he punched it. The punch carried his momentum from standing up and the uppercut forced the statue's HP to but a sliver, staying alive by pure chance. Adrenaline coursing through his body, Kirito charged, punching the statue in the face before it could recover, causing it to shatter into a multitude of polygons. Dropping to the ground, exhausted, Kirito took out a health potion and began to drink, bringing his health back to full. As he did this, three windows popped up. His battle window, which presented his winnings – 2500 Col and 2 "Stone Shards", a Level Up! notice and a "Challenge Complete!" window, which read:

[Challenge – Unbreakable]

(Defeat a mob with twice or more your defense when unarmed)

[Reward(s): 150Exp 150 Col x1 Cat Claws]

Grinning, he opened up his menu and equipped his spare unenhanced sword and the claws he had just received, revealing three metal claws protruding out of a gauntlet. After adjusting his stats, Kirito closed his menu and stood up, walking into the labyrinth's depths.

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As he went further and further into the labyrinth, mob after mob fell to his might. He leveled up once and soon, he reached the end of the dungeon, where the mini-boss resided. Opening up his menu once more, he checked his equipment's stats.

[Small Sword 80/150 ]

[Cat Claws 123/175 ]

His armor was still in good condition but as he went to check his HP, he certainly wasn't. So, instead of using one of his precious potions he sat down, waiting for his health to replenish. As Kirito sat he looked at the "Cat Claw" equipped onto his left hand. He liked having it, since it helped the sword last a bit longer and gave him some more damage, but would have preferred having a second sword instead, since it was more versatile. After checking that his HP was at 100%, he equipped his enhanced sword and entered the boss room.

The room was massive, with a dark theme that sent shivers up your spine. As Kirito neared the center of the room he saw a cursor out of the corner of his eye, to his right. Jumping back, he narrowly dodged a claw dripping with a green liquid. The boss now moved into the eerie light, shrieking, showing off two impressive health bars and boasting a Lv. 7, was called "Tsuchigomo". As the doors closed behind him Kirito felt a seed of fear in his stomach, realizing that the only way out was to solo the boss, which was a spider, at night.

"I am soooo screwed."

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-45 minutes later-

"Ugh…"

Kirito panted heavily as he crouched on the floor, one knee raised. He had just gone through what he now recognized as one of the hardest fights in his MMO career and was almost dead because of it, at a meager 3% of his full health. (Kirito started this fight at Lv. 3.) There was a point in the battle where he almost died due to the night's poison damage buff and if he had taken one more hit, he would definitely have died.

Still breathing heavily, Kirito stood up to open his menu and check his winnings properly.

[Congratulations!]

[Level Up! (3 – 7)]

[Rewards: 6000 Col 15,000Exp ]

x1 Poisonous Fangs x1 Poison Blade ]

Checking the stats on his new weapon, he was surprised to find that the "Poison Blade" had stats that exceeded the "Anneal Blade", making it a weapon he could use all the way to at least the 6th Floor.

[Poison Blade +0 – Purple]

[Type: One Handed Longsword ]

[Range: Short ]

[Type: Slash ]

[Attack: 110 – 200 ]

[Durability: 220/220 ]

[Weight: 10 ]

[Requirements: Lv. 5 ]

[Equip: +10 Strength +5 Dexterity ]

10%Exp boost when training a poison skill ]

Increases poison damage by 5% ]

Special – Inflicts Lv.1 Poison ]

After finishing cackling with glee at his new weapon, Kirito walked through the dungeon exit to the surface of the «Northern Plains».