Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Sword Art Online.
Prologue: Dreamers
"I'll be down for dinner!" Naruto Uzumaki called down the stairs to his godfather, walking up the tight stairway to his room. In his hand lay a set of pre-calibrated NerveGear.
The modern world is dulled by the stagnation of humanity…
Laying on his bed, Naruto slipped the helmet over his head, closing his eyes. Hearing the start-up sound, he opened his eyes to a colorful slipstream signifying his descent into virtual reality.
Dreamers everywhere whimsically recall a fantastical zeitgeist…
A log-in screen popped up, prompting Naruto for his credentials. He promptly filled them in, and was greeted by a new screen.
Character Registration
Insert Name
Naruto thought to himself, before typing in his own name. To his surprise, it was accepted. I suppose there aren't that many other Narutos, he reasoned to himself. It certainly made his life easier. He was catapulted once more through the slipstream.
It is up to the few to make such a dream concrete.
CloudyHobbes presents:
Swordless Fox
Naruto blinked, slowly coming to. He found himself standing in the middle of a town center. All around him he heard the tell-tale sounds of other players entering into the world of Aincrad. He closed his eyes again, and breathed in, deeply inhaling the earthy smell of the city.
Putting his arms behind his head, Naruto beamed. "Aincrad, I am here to stay!"
After taking a quick glance around the center toward the signs, he oriented himself toward market street, and began to browse. He had noticed upon logging in that his inventory was bare, aside from some starting clothes and col. It was time to change that, before he left the Town of Beginnings for his great adventure!
"Alright, now what do I need?" He absently mumbled to himself, walking down the cluttered street. "I suppose I need a weapon, and maybe some armor, right?" On every side, NPC merchants chatted with the first-time players, each searching for a loadout of their own.
Noticing an NPC General Store merchant who had just finished up business with another player, Naruto dashed over to the stall, zig-zagging through traffic before stepping up to the stall.
"Hello my boy, what are you looking for today?" The merchant wheezed out. He appeared a wizened old man, deep creases along his face with faint wisps of whitened facial hair standing out on his otherwise bald head. Naruto studied the merchant for a brief second, admiring the life-like craftsmanship the developers had put into him.
"Hey old man! I'm looking for a weapon! Whaddya have?"Naruto cheekily remarked. "Also, any armor if you have it."
"Well, I have all you see here," the old man swept his arms out, gesturing. "As well as some in the back, if you decide you want extras." Battleaxes, greatswords, warhammers and lances mounted on temporary stands hung behind him, and broadswords, daggers, bows and more littered the table between the merchant and Naruto.
Naruto was giddy at the large selection of weapons. He bounced back and forth between table and stand, taking experimental swings with swords and lifting up maces. The old man watched on, bemused. Finally, Naruto grabbed a two-handed greatsword. It was almost as tall as he was! He slammed the greatsword on the already cluttered table.
The merchant smirked. "Will that be all?"
"Yes, I think so!" Naruto replied.
"It costs one-eighty col. Do you have the funds?" The merchant shot out.
Naruto dug around in his coin pouch, the col materializing in his hands in the form of bronze and silver coins. "Here, this should cover it." Placing the sword on his back, Naruto turned to walk away from the open-air booth. Pocketing the coins, the old man hesitated, and then called out.
"Hey kid, wait a minute. I almost forgot, I've been giving away these free knives with every purchase over one-hundred col. Would you like yours?" He produced a sleek black blade from under the table. It was a small iron knife with cloth wrappings around the handle and a ring, perhaps for affixing rope to, at the end of its handle. Naruto took it from the man, turning it round in his hands, before depositing it into his digital inventory.
"Thanks old man," he gratefully replied. "I'll see you later!" Naruto took off running down the street. The elderly NPC shook his head at the teenager's exuberance.
"Alright! Time to see what this baby can do!" Naruto crowed to himself. He'd made his way out of the Town of Beginnings, the first floor's main settlement, to the sparsely populated fields just outside of the town. Here he stood, brandishing his new greatsword and shouting at the grazing Frenzy Boars.
"Hyaah!" He yelled, surging forward while wildly swinging the sword at the nearest boar. The boar turned its head, glancing the sword off its tusk before headbutting Naruto. He flew into the dirt, effectively humiliated. The boar went back to grazing.
He remembered something on the back of the game's box - supposedly the game had no magic to speak of, but instead introduced combat skills called Sword Skills. Naruto had no idea how to activate one.
"Uh, Sword Skill: Activate!" Naruto yelled, striking a pose. The greatsword dangled comically above his head as he struggled to keep it aloft. The boar paid him no mind, its tail swishing in the breeze. Naruto opened up his character menu to search for a guide on Sword Skills .
"Let's see, Stealth Skills, Survival Skills, … where is Sword Skills?" The menu read in alphabetical order, but there just wasn't a button for Sword Skills. Whatever, I can take it up with the devs later. He resigned himself to taking on the boars with no game-oriented help.
Is this how it's always going to be? Naruto thought to himself. He'd been failing to even hit one of the boars for the past hour or so, let alone kill one. Maybe this game will be harder than I thought.
With that, he decided to call it a day. Looking at the in-game clock, he saw he'd stayed in-game about two hours longer than he'd told his godfather he would. Naruto went to push the logout button, but it was blank. The icon was still there, but it didn't respond when he touched it. Weird, he thought to himself. What an unlucky bug for a first day launch, I feel like that will probably ruin their rep for a bit. The world then gleamed bright white.
It was sheer chaos. Naruto found himself standing in the middle of the town center once more. Before he had seen it had been crowded, but now it was suffocatingly packed, with almost no space between adventurers. It was all he could do to not trod on someone's foot or bump into anyone. Naruto heard hushed whispers and shouting. Nobody knew what was happening.
"Look! In the sky!" A man shouted. The amassed players craned their necks to see a blinking red [ Caution ] hexagon in the sky. Almost immediately, the hexagon multiplied, covering the entire sky red in a bubble around the Town of Beginnings.
In the center of the sky, a trail of crimson began to ooze.
Like blood, the viscous liquid trailed from seemingly nothingness, slowly trickling down the sky in macabre theatrics. As it congealed, a great draping cloak materialized, its bloody hood lacking a wearer. The town center's outraged din rapidly died off. The players began to whisper amongst themselves, trying to figure out the meaning behind the cloak and their teleportation. The figure spread its arms wide, and a hush fell across its audience.
"Hello players, I welcome you to my world." The voice reverberated across the shocked players. "My name is Kayaba Akihiko. I am the God of this world." Naruto knew that name - hell, who hadn't? Kayaba had practically invented NerveGear, and had been the lead designer of Sword Art Online. The man was an entertainment genius. "Until you get to the top of this castle, you will be unable to log out." Confused whispers broke out, but were immediately silenced by Kayaba's next words.
"Also, external disruption or dismantling of NerveGear is strictly forbidden. Should one attempt this…"
In a half second pause, an eon had passed.
"The signal sensors in your NerveGear will emit an electromagnetic pulse into your brain, effectively destroying your ability to function normally."
Another half second passed, and all hell broke loose.
"What do you mean, we can't leave!?"
"Wait, we can die!?"
"I want to live!"
Naruto thought back to his godfather sitting downstairs, making ramen. Would he come upstairs after calling for Naruto three times, and yank the headset off of his head? Naruto shuddered. Hopefully he wouldn't die like that.
The great cloaked figure continued, ignoring the chaos below. "Specifically, disconnection from an outside source of electricity for ten minutes, being cut off from the system for more than two hours, or any attempt to unlock, dismantle, or destroy the NerveGear. Any of these things will lead to the termination of the player. I have personally ensured these conditions be made known to the government, as well as the public through a mass-media tip-off."
"Unfortunately, there have been some cases where relatives and friends have ignored these warnings."
Taking a breath, the figure continued.
"Two-hundred-thirteen players have exited this game, and, unfortunately, the real world, forever."
Someone from the amassed players let loose a scream. The air was still, as the ten-thousand took in this information.
"Players, you have no need to worry for your bodies on the other side. As of this moment, all TV, radio, and social media platforms are reporting this situation, as well as the numerous deaths that have occurred. It is incredibly unlikely that you will have your NerveGear taken off now. In a moment, using the two hours I have provided, all of you will be transported to hospitals or similar institutes and be provided with the best treatment. So you can relax, and concentrate on beating the game."
"What do you mean, beat the game!?" Across the town center, shouts of outrage rang out.
"This isn't a game anymore! People have died!"
Kayaba started to speak once again, his loud voice echoing across the square.
"But I ask all of you to understand that Sword Art Online is no longer a simple game. This is your reality. From now on, any form of revival in the game will no longer work. The moment your HP reaches zero, your avatar will be gone forever. And at the same time…"
Kayaba paused once more, the gravity of the situation sinking in across the crowd.
"...your brain will be destroyed by the NerveGear."
Naruto felt tense inside, a burning fire ignited within him. He clenched his fists, shaking. He can't get away with this, Naruto raged internally. I won't let him get away with this!
"Players, there is only one way to be freed from this game. As I have said before, you must get to the top of Aincrad, the 100th floor, and defeat the final boss that resides there. Once that happens, all remaining living players will be immediately logged out. I give you my word."
Cries of disbelief rang out. "How can we know that what you say is true?" One poor voice cried.
"I will show you evidence that this is the only reality. In your inventories, there will be a gift from me. Please confirm this."
Naruto opened his inventory. Sure enough, there was an item with a New tag sitting at the top. Naruto tapped it, and in his hand a small hand mirror appeared. Around him, players did the same. Looking in the mirror, he saw his avatar's reflection
Suddenly, every mirror glowed white, briefly illuminating the entire town center. When the light cleared, Naruto finally could see the mirror again. It was his real face!
Throughout the square players found themselves suddenly stripped of their avatars. Turning his head right and left, Naruto found himself greeted by unfamiliar faces. Kayaba began to speak once more, unprompted.
"You will all most probably be wondering, 'Why.' Why am I - the creator of both the NerveGear and SAO, Kayaba Akihiko - doing something like this? Is this some sort of terrorist attack? Is he doing this to ransom us?"
Kayaba's voice strengthened, improving from its monotone to an emotional crescendo.
"These are not the reasons why I am doing this. Not only that, but for me, there is no longer a reason or a purpose in doing this. The reason is because… this situation itself was my purpose in doing this. To create and watch this world is the only reason I have created both NerveGear and SAO. And now, everything has been realized."
An air of incredulity and despair settled over the crowd. Surely he can't be serious? Naruto frantically thought. There's no way this guy doomed 10,000 people for essentially nothing.
A gradual tremor ran through the players, each unable to fully comprehend the calamity of Kayaba's words.
"...Now, I have finished with the official tutorial for Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you luck."
The mass of adventurers descended into a pitiful panic. Naruto stood up as tall as he could, glaring at the spot where the crimson cloak had begun to return to. He stuck his fist out in the air, his challenge apparent on his face before he had even uttered a word.
"Kayaba!" He screamed, teeth bared. "I'll never let you get away with this!"
"And I don't need your stupid 'luck'!"
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"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains." - Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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