Chapter 1: The Death Game

Theo woke up in the familiar, virtual world of Sword Art Online. In this world he was no longer the freak, Theo Widdicombe, but the hero, Heruseus. He began to run out to the field and hunt the wild boars out there. He continuously spammed sword skills until the boars around him were dead. He had taken no damage, but leveled up to level 2. He opened his menu and went to his skill slot page. On the page where several base skills. S.A.O had base, modern and advanced skills. Examples; Base: Speed, Modern: One-Handed Sword Mastery and Advanced: Riding. Heruseus had two available skill points. He put the both on his speed. There were only 5 base skills; Speed, Strength, Defense, Agility and Stamina. Base skills could gain skill points just by using them. For example, the more you run the higher your speed will become. The same went for modern skills. Advanced skills required skill slots. Heruseus put his skill points on speed. His speed was now 5/1000 as he had run to the field. He spent an hour or two hunting boars until he realized he had friends to find. When he went into town he saw a lean character with red spikey hair. Optic Flare A.K.A Westin. He was accompanied by A boy with spikey, black hair and a bandanna, Grimmjack A.K.A Luke. "Hey Grimm. That's and ugly bandanna," Heruseus snorted.

"S-shut up! It is a badass bandanna and you know it! Take it back!" Grimmjack wailed in his high pitched voice.

Flare couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't you laugh! At least I look like my real self!" Grimmjack retorted.

"Hey! That's rude!" Flare yelled.

"Yeah, I mean, he's only a little chubby," Heruseus laughed.

"One more move and I'll slit your throat," came a raspy voice.

I turned and looked down the nearby alley way. A hooded player held a dagger to a female player's throat. Heruseus recognized the player. The female was Diana A.K.A Diane.

"How do you expect to do slit her throat? We're in a safe-zone. Can't hurt another player," Heruseus snorted.

"I know that. I played beta. But she doesn't. Plus, if she doesn't hand over her col, I'll drag her to the field and kill her there," The hooded player snorted back.

"Tough guy huh? Let's duel. Beta versus Beta," Heruseus said.

"Ok," The hooded man replied, no emotion.

Heruseus opened his window and challenged the player to a duel. The player's name was Shinigami. The duel was the first to take his opponent's HP to 50%. Heruseus cracked his knuckles and drew his sword. Shinigami held his knife high and cried out, "When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations . . . then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy,"

Heruseus stood there unnerved. "Just cuz you can recite Bible lines doesn't mean I'm scared,"

"You should be scared. Very, very scared. I have all the power in the universe to send you sinners to hell with my single dagger," Shinigami threatened.

"Ok, dude, I get the term role-playing game wants you roleplay, but jeez, that took it pretty far," Heruseus muttered.

"Nothing goes too far in the game of death," Shinigami sighed.

"What the? Game of death? What the heck?!" Heruseus sighed.

"You will understand when the sky runs red," Shinigami muttered.

The duel timer ran out just in time. Heruseus charged, using his extra speed to throw on some momentum damage. Shinigami blocked the powerful attack with his thin dagger. He slammed the edge into Heruseus' gut. Heruseus spun around and brought the blade down his opponents back. Both were at about 60%.

"One more blow should finish you off. Hopefully I don't kill you. I was hoping to wait until the day after the sky ran red with this world's god's blood," Shinigami sighed. He licked the edge of his dagger through his cloak hood. "I hope your soul tastes good. I am tired of poor souls. They taste terrible,"

"What the hell are you? No one even roleplays eating souls anymore. Not even me when I LARP (Live Action Role-Play)," Heruseus sighed.

Both charged at full speed which was about 2x faster than a normal human. Their blade clang echoed throughout the town. The area around them was pushed back by the powerful shockwave. Diana, Grimmjack and Flare were pushed to the ground. Shinigami returned with another blow. Heruseus held up his blade to block. He countered the attack and struck Shinigami. Shinigami's HP dropped to 30%. Heruseus won!

"Nice dude!" Flare yelled!

"No problem," Heruseus smirked. They fist bumped.

"Impossible…" Shinigami muttered.

"No it's possible. You know why?" Heruseus asked with a devilish smile.

"Why…" Shinigami muttered.

"It's something you learn when your evil!" Heruseus said with a devilish look.

Shinigami ran off.

"Nice man. I think you made him piss himself Theo," said a voice.

The group turned to see a boy with short dark hair and tan skin. It was easy to see this guy thought highly of himself.

"Just you Caleb," sighed Heruseus.

"Just me?! I own you nerd!" Caleb laughed.

"Very true. So what's your player handle?" asked Heruseus.

"My handle is Aris," Aris smirked.

"Is that because you're an airhead?" Flare asked, innocently.

"I am not an airhead!" Aris screamed.

"If it helps I don't think you're an airhead. I know you're an airhead," said another voice.

Everyone turned to see a Mexican boy with brown hair, dark eyes and tanned skin. "Sup Evan," said Grimmjack.

"Ugh, you…" Aris muttered.

"Where's Steph…" muttered Heruseus

"Hm? Oh Dragonstar is behind me," said Evan. "And by the way Caleb, my name is not Ugh, you, it's Gaia,"

"Hey guys," came a beautiful crystal clear voice.

From behind Gaia came Dragonstar, A.K.A Stephanie, who had pale, blonde hair, freckles and beautiful green eyes. On her back was a small, curved bow. Heruseus made a shy wave. She waved back. Heruseus had a crush on Dragonstar ever since 4th grade, but she never liked him that way. Instead she liked Gaia, of whom which Heruseus knew liked her as well. They weren't dating for something weird reason. "So, Theo, you gonna explain where we are?" Gaia asked.

"This is Halloween," Heruseus joked.

"Really?" Dragonstar laughed.

"Not really. Welcome to the Town of New Beginnings," Heruseus sighed. "I wish it was Halloween,"

"Who would you be?" Gaia asked.

"The Pumpkin King," Heruseus smirked.

"I highly doubt that," Aris muttered.

"He would be, seeing how he was in the beta," Dragonstar offered.

"I suppose," Aris muttered.

"What'd you mean 'you suppose?'" Heruseus growled.

"I mean that I-" Aris started, but was cut off by a bell. The group turned around and suddenly they were in the main plaza.

Dragonstar looked up and saw a blinking red sign that read, "System Announcement". "Uh, Heruseus, what's that?" Dragonstar asked nervously as she clung to Evan's arm.

Heruseus tried to make a joke, "I believe the locals call this a hexagon, I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing that correctly, I'll have to get back to you on that,"

"Dude, now is not the time to mess around," Gaia growled.

Suddenly the sky was covered with the red warning signs. A red liquid oozed through the clouds. "Theo is this normal?" Dragonstar whimpered.

Theo didn't hear her, "Oh great, the sky is bleeding,"

"THEO! WHAT DID I JUST SAY?" Gaia screamed.

"You said to all ways joke. Look, dude, I'm trying to lighten the mood," muttered Heruseus.

"Not helping," Gaia sighed.

"It's kinda helping me out," argued Aris.

"No one cares Aris," Gaia muttered.

"Shut up Ugh You," Aris retorted.

"MY NAME IS NOT-" Gaia was cut off when the liquid formed a person.

"Welcome to my world players! My name is Akhiko Kayaba. I am the creator of this world," said the figure.

"Nice to meet you to," Heruseus yelled out. A few nervous people chuckled.

"As many of you have already noticed, the log out button is missing. This is not a defect in the game, but rather a feature of SAO. I repeat this is not a bug, but a feature. From now on, you cannot log out of your own free will. Furthermore, if someone tries to remove the NerveGear from you, you brain will be fried, thus ending your life," Kayaba continued.

Shouts of outrage ran throughout the crowd. Heruseus clenched his fists. So I can't return. Can't I go home?

"I have left each of you a special gift. Please check your inventories," Kayaba said.

Heruseus scrolled through his inventory until he found an item that didn't belong. "A mirror?"

Suddenly the ground below him began to glow. He felt a strange tug on his face and body. When he looked back in the mirror, his avatar's face had been replaced by his real face. He had dirty blonde hair, that looked like a birds nest seeing as he didn't comb it; he had glasses and hazel eyes. The mirror shattered in polygonal shards after a few seconds. "Am I that ugly?" He turned and saw his friends.

Each of them hadn't changed that much, seeing as they made their avatars identical to their real life selves.

"The only way for you all to be free is to defeat the 100th floor. Also, if you HP drops below 0, your avatar will be deleted, and simultaneously, your brain will be fried by the NerveGear, thus ending your life," Kayaba finished with a final blow, that should have made Heruseus' HP drop below 0. "Many of you may be wondering, why would I do this? What reason could the great Akhiko Kayaba have for this? At the moment I have no reasons or justifications. It was this situation that was my ultimate goal. I wish you go luck," And with that, Kayaba disappeared the same way he came, the sky.

Wait that Shinigami guy…How did he know this would happen? Heruseus thought.

Suddenly a small girl standing next to Heruseus let a small scream rip from her throat. She was crying. Heruseus went over to comfort her as everyone around them was screaming. Dragonstar was being comforted by Gaia at the same time. "Hey, what's your name? I promise, this game wouldn't win," Heruseus smiled while the girl cried.

At first she was looking at Heruseus with a face as if she thought Heruseus was hitting on her. She wiped her eyes and said, "My name is Silica,"

"Silica? That's a pretty name. I like it. Sounds cool. Just like the silicon atom…" Heruseus trailed off, "Sorry! I'm such a nerd. Anyway, I promise things will be ok, because there are a ton of powerful beta testers who know how to play,"

Silica smiled. Aris tapped Heruseus' shoulder. "We got to go,"

Heruseus grunted. "Sorry Silica. But, hey, here's my info. If you need any help, just send any questions to Heruseus the Ex-Beta Tester," Heruseus smiled.