Hey guys, I know I'm late on the next chapter for this story and I'm sorry for that, school's a pain. As recompense, I have changed the weird format I had used previously to this more standard one, and will be writing this way henceforth. I'll publish chapter 2 no later than tomorrow night, I promise.
***On to the story***
[Aincrad 1st Floor, Town of Beginnings - November 6th, 2022]
Pure and unadulterated chaos.
That's the only way one can accurately describe the situation at hand. Thousands of now-trapped players within a virtual castle all having a great variety of reactions to their current situation, ranging from forlorn apathy to full-blown panic. As all of these people were either running away or attempting to deny the situation at hand, one young man could only focus on the nature of their predicament, and thus only had one thing on his mind.
(Is this my fault?), he thought.
A fair question to ask given the circumstances, and to answer it, we have to go back a ways.
*Flashback; 67 Days Earlier*
[Aincrad 9th Floor, Boss Room - Last Day of the Beta Test]
No POV
Inside the final room of a dungeon tower within a virtual castle in the sky, several dozen people of varying appearances were fighting their hardest against a colossal monster. The battle raged on for quite a while, and not without a number of casualties, but the warriors were gaining the upper hand nonetheless. When the HP gauge next to the monster's head reached the red, its attack patterns changed and a great many more fighters died from the resulting chaos, with only about a third of those left at that point being able to continue. Of those few, a certain duo was at the forefront of the assault, both of whom were having the time of their lives.
One of them had spiked black hair with a similarly-colored ensemble and wielded only a single one-handed longsword, this was Kirito, aka Kazuto Kirigaya. The other also had black hair, but instead wielded a katana and wore clothes reminiscent of quasi-modern samurai; this was Ronin, known as Akira Senju in the real world. As these two were parrying the incoming attacks from the creature, one could only marvel at their fluid teamwork, especially considering they had known one another for less than a month, but these two were far from ordinary.
As the Floor Boss' HP was only one more strike from dropping to zero, the pair rushed forwards to each attempt to get the Last Attack Bonus before the other, as they had done for the past few floors. After another few moments and a couple of slashes, the Boss let out one final guttural cry before shattering into particles of light. Immediately afterward, a congratulatory banner popped up above the exit and everyone that was still alive cheered, with Kirito and Ronin checking to see which one of them got the last attack.
"Ha! Looks like I got this one.", Ronin said after spotting the notification.
Letting out a sigh, Kirito rubbed the back of his neck and accepted the outcome. "Damn. Well, no use complaining about it. It is the last day of the beta, so it's not like you'll get a chance to use it."
Ronin smiled in response to that comment. "True enough, but you can't blame me for the gloating, considering you managed to snatch the Last Attack Bonuses from the last two Floor Bosses."
"You've got me there.", Kirito said with a smirk.
Once the two were done with their banter, they and a few of the other remaining beta testers climbed up the stairs out of the dungeon tower before arriving at the entrance to the 10th floor. Since it was the last day of the beta test, they all knew that they wouldn't have a chance to fight the boss on this floor, but they still wanted to get a look at the floor itself, as a sort of final preview for the full release of SAO just over two months away.
As the group all opened the door and stepped through, they all got a good look at the 10th floor's basic geography, which mostly appeared to be a semi-lush marshland with a somewhat pleasant skyline. After the other surviving testers from the boss fight arrived, everyone started to make their way through the area and fought the monsters that inhabited this floor, those being a variety of semi-reptilian creatures with a feudal japanese theme. It took nearly an hour, but the testers eventually made it to the main settlement of this floor, which they learned was named Serpentia, and activated the teleport gate so other players could start arriving.
Not long afterward, most of the beta testers went back to their own business as the other players began teleporting up from the lower floors. While that was going on, Ronin and Kirito left the town and found a tall cliff that overlooked the whole area, and were just hanging out as the sun set on the edge of the horizon.
"Man, it's almost hard to believe it's only been a month. You know what I mean?", said Kirito.
"You can say that again, between actually playing the game and working on potential bug fixes, it almost feels like it's been a year.", Ronin replied.
Kirito then looked over to Ronin with slightly disbelieving eyes. "It still blows my mind that you're one of SAO's programmers, even I have to admit it makes me a little jealous.", he said.
Yes, despite only being high school age (not that most people knew this), Akira Senju had made a name for himself as an independent programmer, and was even hired on by Akihiko Kayaba himself to help work on the game. Argus, the company Kayaba worked for, had a habit of overworking their own programmers, and considering the massive undertaking that was Sword Art Online, bringing in a bit of outside help to assist with the workload was a must.
"It's not that much of a stretch, Kayaba hired me after all, so it makes sense that he'd have at least one or two beta test slots reserved for his employees to help catch any bugs early.", said Ronin.
Kirito shrugged. "I guess that makes sense, but it's still pretty cool either way.", he replied.
"True, but my job isn't as glamorous as you might think. Between fixing bugs that we find, working on the NPC behavior, and making sure the Cardinal System's automatic content generation is working properly, I've barely had time to play the actual game itself.", Ronin admitted.
Kirito smirked. "Which is why I've been able to snag so many of the Last Attack Bonuses.", he retorted.
Ronin rolled his eyes at this attempt to get under his skin. "Whatever you say Kirito.", he said.
The two just sat there in silence for a few more minutes before all players received a message saying that the beta would be ending in 60 seconds and all beta testers would then be logged out by the system.
"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you in a few months then. Take care of yourself, man.", Kirito said.
Ronin smiled at this. "You too.", he replied.
After the timer hit zero, every beta tester within Aincrad was gone.
[Scene Change - Akira's House, Bedroom]
As Akira opened his eyes, he was once again greeted by the sight of his bedroom ceiling and sighed, knowing it would be two whole months before he could return to Aincrad. Taking off his NerveGear and placing it on his nightstand, Akira then carefully got up from his bed, ignoring the pain from his aching body, and sat down in a nearby wheelchair. Panting slightly, he then rolled over to his computer and logged on to the private Argus server he was given access to and typed out a final report of his experience during the beta test.
*Timeskip 2 Hours*
It was now about 8 PM in Japan and Akira was just about done with his coding for the day, and at this point was simply "talking shop" with his employer, Akihiko Kayaba, through a video call over their computers.
"-and that's why we should probably up the difficulty for the Martial Arts skill quest.", Akira relayed.
[I see your point, especially considering how if too many people had the skill, they might unknowingly sabotage themselves by not having a weapon.], Kayaba said.
Akira smirked. "I knew you'd get it. After all, the game is called Sword Art Online, not Punch Art Online."
The two of them shared a small chuckle at that comment.
Kayaba smiled. [Either way, what was your overall opinion of the beta test? I know you sent your report a little while ago, but I'd prefer to hear it straight from you.]
There was a brief moment of silence.
Akira smiled as he began to reminisce, even though he was there mere hours ago. "Quite frankly…", he paused. "It was fantastic. When I logged in on the first day I felt like I was finally free to do whatever I wanted, physically speaking at least."
If there was one thing that separated Akira from most people, aside from his higher-than-average intelligence and programming skills, it was his fragile body. For as long as he could remember, his body had always been extremely weak, so much so that he hasn't ever been able to live on his own for an extended period of time, in case there was an emergency. Suffice it to say that the moment he first entered Aincrad, and was simultaneously granted a "normal" body, had been the first time in his life he had felt truly alive.
Kayaba nodded in understanding. [I see.], he took a sip of coffee. [Was there anything else of note? Perhaps regarding the other players?]
At the mention of the other beta testers, Akira adopted a complicated look, one which Kayaba would've been a fool not to notice.
Akira sighed. "They were fine I suppose, I think I even managed to become good friends with a few of them, but…", he clenched his fist, almost drawing blood despite the relatively minimal amount of force.
[Feel free to say what's on your mind, keeping things bottled up inside isn't good for your health.], Kayaba said.
Akira groaned. "It's just…", he paused once more. "I can wholeheartedly say that two thirds of the people in there were complete and utter morons!", he yelled at the monitor.
[(Ah. I can see this is going to be "constructive"…)], Kayaba thought as he took another sip of coffee.
In a tone that a moron would say was anything other than furious, Akira finally vented. "I get that it's just a game and all, but the fact that most of the other beta testers had no regard for their own safety just pissed me off! Here I am with bones as fragile as glass IRL, and more than half the people around me just seem to crave death! But not just any death! Nooooo! Those fuckers seemed to have some sort of pool going to see who could end their existence in the dumbest, most avoidable way possible! And they just keep one-upping each other! Do you know how many of them died screaming 'Leeroy Jenkins'?! More than one. Which, as far as I'm concerned, is grounds to exterminate our entire species."
Another moment of silence passed, this one longer than the last one, as Kayaba decided it was best to get out of "work mode". Despite what most would imagine, he was a lot more casual than his public facade led most people to believe. Not only that, despite their numerous differences, Akira was one of the few people that Akihiko had come to see as a true friend, and the feeling was more than mutual. So, given the rant his friend just fired off, Kayaba figured that it was about time that he switched to "Friend Mode" himself.
[I get what you mean, I reviewed a bit of the footage that the SAO server recorded a few times, and it does seem like most of the beta testers had no regard for their own safety. Only the hardcore gamers like you, and likely those you said you consider friends now, treated the situation seriously when in combat.], Kayaba said.
Akira sighed once more. "I just wish there was some kind of penalty for in-game death. I know it's probably not fair, but there's no respawn button in real life, so getting away with dying and there not being any consequences seems wrong somehow.", he said, finishing his rant.
At the moment Akira uttered that particular comment, Kayaba smirked and let out a small chuckle, which his young friend took notice of.
Kayaba smiled. [I don't think you'll have to worry about that anymore. I've had something in mind regarding that particular idea since I first envisioned Aincrad. I didn't implement it into the beta test because there's no need to improve this particular feature, but it'll be in the official release.], he revealed.
Akira laughed softly at this, wiping away a tear that was beginning to form in his right eye as well. "Damn, we really are on the same wavelength or something, huh?"
[I guess so.], Kayaba said. He then checked the time. [Well, we're just about done for the day anyways, you wanna watch a movie or something?]
Akira thought for a moment before replying. "Yeah, I've got time. The physical therapy regimen my roommate has planned for me won't start until tomorrow, what did you have in mind?", he asked.
Kayaba then had the most noticable smirk on the planet adorning his face. [How about 'Tron'?], he suggested.
*Timeship*
[Akira's House, Dojo - Just before SAO's Official Release goes online]
Within the dojo of Akira's semi-japanese house, he was currently locked in a spar using kendo sticks against his roommate. The young man in question had an ever-present smile on his face and gave off an aura of enthusiasm at all times, which was emphasized by his bright yellow hair, which itself had red streaks akin to flames on his bangs. He also wore a variation of a traditional japanese high school uniform, or gakuran, and though he wasn't currently using it, he owned a real katana that was strapped to his hip at (nearly) all times.
This was Kyojuro Rengoku, and over the past two months, he has helped Akira reach a level of physical ability the former once thought impossible for him in the real world, though he was still severely weaker than the average adult. It was for this reason that Kyojuro wasn't going all-out, even though this was just a spar, but Akira wasn't the type to let up, and so Kyojuro decided to get a bit more serious.
Akira POV
As I ducked under Kyojuro's sword swing, I once again marveled at how much his method of so-called "physical therapy" had helped me. I don't really know the specifics of how it works, it's something to do with the adjustments he made to my regular breathing or something, but I'm certainly not complaining. Super complex movements and overexerting myself still hurt like a bitch, but the fact that I can spar with him at all is a miracle by itself.
Taking myself out of my thoughts, I used the opening in Kyojuro's swing to get in close to land a blow of my own, but he brought his shinai back just in time to block it. We then once again entered a brief clash with our faux-swords creating loud cracking sounds as they connected with one another. I thought I was gaining the upper hand for a moment before Kyojuro managed to land a hit on my torso and I fell to the ground panting.
Kyojuro smiled as he always did. "Nice going! You nearly had me on the ropes there for a minute Akira!"
Briefly ignoring the damage to my pride, I grounded and crawled over to my nearby wheelchair, which I still need from time to time, and got into it. I couldn't help but pant as I did so. "Nearly being the operative word. Though I suppose if that breathing thing you taught me did wonders for my fragile body, it only makes sense using the same technique with your healthy body would make you a lot stronger.", I said.
"Strength isn't everything. Your sheer tenacity and spirit to keep going forward despite all life has thrown your way is inspiring!", Kyojuro replied.
His optimism never failed to make me smile, even when I didn't entirely agree with him. "Thanks man, but I don't think I could ever have as much spirit as you."
"Nonsense!", Kyojuro said as he put away the shinais and then pulled up a chair next to me. "Live with your head held high. No matter how devastated you may be by your own weakness or uselessness, set your heart ablaze. Grit your teeth and look straight ahead. You have far more inside you than you might think.", he said as he looked me dead in the eyes.
I contemplated his words for a moment. I don't know for sure whether or not I agree with them, but I'll go along with it for now, Kyojuro's yet to steer me wrong, so there's no sense in ignoring his advice now. "If you insist.", I then felt a sharp pain in my forehead and gripped it with my left hand as I groaned. "Damn, not again… I hate these stupid migranes."
If my body wasn't bad enough, ever since I moved in with Kyojuro I've gotten migraines every once in a while, and they only got worse after I started working for Kayaba. After another minute or so, Kyojuro brought me a few pills and a glass of water, which I immediately downed.
"You should try not to overwork yourself so much, your body still isn't quite at the stage where you can do that just yet, not that you should be doing it at all in the first place.", Kyojuro advised.
I instinctively rolled my eyes at this. "Alright Mom, thanks for the spar. I gotta get set up in my room now, I'll see you later.", I said as I started rolling off towards my bedroom.
Kyojuro smiled once more. "Very well, good luck conquering that castle in the sky!"
I gave Kyojuro a thumbs up before I closed the door to my room and got things ready. I cleaned things up as much as I could and then climbed into bed with a groan before getting comfortable and putting on my NerveGear.
I could only smile as I once again spoke the magic words to release me from the prison that was my body. "Link start!"
