In my first life, I died in a bank robbery.
It was not by being a stupid hero, though. No, I had more self-preservation than that. I died because the butthead that wanted to be a hero didn't disarm the only robber with a gun first. So when they were fighting over said gun, the trigger got pulled, and I was shot. It wasn't a fast death either. Both the robber and hero were trying to keep me alive long enough for the ambulance to get there. No doubt they both feel guilty now that I'm dead.
Of course, it was also in another robbery that I would be the one that draw the short stick.
In my second life, when I was eight, my mother and I were visiting the post office when some addict - I'm guessing - came in and shot one of the managers when they refused to give him money. Like my past life, I was fully against standing up to the guy with a gun. At least, I was until he pointed the gun at my mother. It was like all of my self-preservation drained out of me, and I ran at the man, biting his hand and making him release the gun. Being thrown against the wall was a shock that pulled me out of my hero stunt. But I pissed off a desperate man that had no problem killing to get what he wanted.
With my life on the line, it was a no-brainer to grab the gun. When he lunged, I didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. Shooting him right in the head. I'm sure that I was covered in blood after he fell on me. Once I got out from under him, I took the magazine out of the gun and took out the bullet in the chamber, locking it in place before setting it all down on the floor next to the body. I stumbled to the trash can and threw up everything I had eaten before then.
After fainting, I was brought to the hospital and then questioned by the police once I woke up. I wasn't charged with manslaughter, but I did develop a case of Hemophobia. Every time I see blood, I have a panic attack, and that man shows up in front of me and haunts me until I calm down.
As the years passed, I was able to get a hold of it enough that it didn't have panic attacks everywhere with some help from meditation. Now I just freak out when there is a lot of blood. Let me tell you, it was horrible when I started puberty. Because of my phobia and the robbery, I was alone for the past couple of years. Parents didn't want their kids associated with a killer, and the kids thought I was weird because I was scared of blood. Which leads to the attempt of bullying. If I can't make them cry with my words, then I run and lose them in the back alleys. I then watched them cry since they got lost. Of course, I leave them there. They are found eventually.
When the parents started to harass my mother, though, I took it upon myself to lecture them and show them the videos I took of the event, leaving them in a huff of embarrassment and completely humiliated. I loved every second of it.
My mother, on the other hand, was worried about me most of the time. After the accident, she couldn't even look at me, but that changed once my phobia was discovered. Then, she never let me leave her side except to go to school. She was worried with the bullying and the shunning from the other kids and parents that my social development would take a hit. To ease her fear, I convinced her to buy me RPG games. That started my stint as a gamer. I also agreed to take martial arts and archery, so I wasn't on my computer all day.
I loved games. And not one player ever asked me about my past. It was a rule to never reveal your IRL self. When I was twelve, I was accepted as a Beta tester to the new Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online. It was amazing being a Beta tester for the game. I didn't like playing with other people, so more often than not, I would play solo. My character, Riding Hood, was a short sword wielder with throwing knives. Most people knew of me because of the half–mask and hood I wore.
I was ecstatic to be a part of it, but with the official opening happening today, I was bouncing off the walls.
"Shino. Did you finish your homework and training?" My mom asked before I could set up my helmet on the living room couch.
"Yes, mama. I'll be out around dinner time. Remember not to pull the plug if I'm not out on time." I said as I made myself comfortable as the time got closer to 0100.
"You will be in big trouble if you don't get out on time." She warned as I put the helmet on my head and lay down.
"Link Start," I said once the clock said 0100.
…
Thankfully the avatar I made for beta testing was still available. Once I showed up in the town of beginnings, I immediately got a cheap mask and hooded jacket. Next, I left the town and went to the fields to start grinding. About ten minutes in, some random person starts waving at me. The two people came towards me. Well, one of them was running my way while the other followed.
"Hey are you a Beta tester too?" The pink-haired man said as he nearly got in my face.
"Yes, I am. Did you figure that out, or did your friend tell you?" I smiled with my eyes, making sure I didn't scare the seemingly male players away.
"You know he's a Beta tester?" Both men seemed surprised.
"I took it upon myself to memorize the faces of the top players. Often, Beta players just play with the same avatar when the real game gets released. It's easier to keep track of the vets to compare my growth in games." I explained as I killed another boar. "Anyways, it's nice to meet you two. I'm Riding Hood."
"I'm Klein, and this is Kirito." The bandana man said as he watched me kill the starting monsters.
…
We leveled up together for a few hours until sunset hit. Occasionally, we talked about the other games we played and the types of characters we were.
"I still can't believe it. No matter how many times I see it. That we're in a game." Klein said as he sat next to me. "Whoever made it is a genius. It's amazing. Seriously, I'm glad I was born at this time."
"You make a big deal out of everything," Kirito commented from my other side.
"This is my first full dive!"
"Then this is your first time playing a game with NerveGear?" I asked the guy.
"I rushed out and bought the hardware to play SAO. I was fortunate to get one of the ten thousand copies." He said. "Well, you two were ten times as lucky, getting into the Beta test. Only a thousand people got to do it. How far did you two get in the beta test?"
"Tenth floor in a couple of months," Kirito answered for both of us. "This time, it will only take a month."
"You're really into this," Klein commented.
"Honestly, during the beta test, SAO was all I thought about, day and night. In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go. It's a virtual world, but I still feel more alive here than in the real one. Now then, want to hunt some more?" Kirito asked, looking at us.
"Of course! I'd love to, but I'm starving. I'm logging out." Klein said, and I chuckled.
"Eating food here only makes you think you're not hungry," Kirito commented.
"I already ordered a hot pizza for 5:30!" I laugh at his preparedness.
"You're so prepared," Kirito comments as I calm myself down.
"Well, once I've eaten, I'll be back." He assured us.
"Want to trade info?" I interject. "I'd love to meet up sometime and maybe hit up a dungeon when we get high enough in our levels. It'll be fun."
They both hesitate before smiling and trading info. I smile under my mask at the two names on my friends list. I stand next to Kirito and we wave to Klein as he goes to log out.
"Huh? There's no button to log out." Klein said, and Kirito and I walked closer.
"Look closer," Kirito said.
"No, it's not there," Klein replied.
"It's at the bottom of the main menu," I said and pulled out my menu only to see an empty slot. "What's going on?"
"See, it's not there," Klein commented.
"No, it's not." I looked to see Kirito looking at his menu with a frown.
"Well, it's the first day out of beta. I'm sure the server people are freaking out." Klein said.
"In a second, you will be too. It's 5:25," Kirito pointed out.
"My teriyaki mayo pizza and ginger ale!" Klein yelled dramatically, easing a little of the tension in the air.
"Have you called the game master?" I asked, interrupting him.
"I tried, but nothing's happening." He replied. "Is there any other way to log out?"
"No, if a player wants to log themselves out, they must go through the menu." The tension slowly comes back into my body as Kirito starts getting serious.
"That's nuts. There's gotta be some way." He started to strike poses, trying to log out. "Return! Logout! Escape!"
"I told you. There wasn't an emergency log out in the manual either." Kirito said.
"You can't remove your NerveGear. The NerveGear intercepts the signal to move our physical bodies, so we can't move them." I said, summarizing what I read about the device.
"Seriously?" Klein asked. "So we have to wait for them to fix the bug?"
"Or for someone in the real world to remove the NerveGear from us." Kirito had a frown on his face as he thought.
"But I live alone." I feel slightly sorry for Klein's cold pizza.
"My mom agreed to not pull it off my head unless it's an emergency or eleven o'clock. No doubt I'll be grounded once I take it off. I missed the agreed time for dinner." I sigh as I look at the clock.
"What about you, Kirito?" Both Kelin and I looked at the young man, making him uncomfortable.
"I have a mom and a sister. So I think they'll notice by dinnertime." Klein knocks Kirito out of the dark place he went to while talking about his family by grabbing him tightly.
"How old's your little sister?"
"She's on a sports team, and she hates games." Kirito tried to back up, but Klein had a tight grip on him. "She has nothing to do with people like us."
"That doesn't mean." Kirito cuts him off with a knee to the crotch, and he panics before remembering we don't feel pain. "Right, it doesn't hurt."
"More importantly, don't you find this weird?" Kirito asked as he hovered near my side, no doubt trying to keep Klein from attacking him again.
"Sure I do, it's a bug." He didn't bother to get up from the ground as he talked to us.
"It's not just a bug. If we can't log out, that'll pose a serious problem for the game's future." I looked out to the distant birds, trying to keep myself calm.
"You're right," I said as I started to pace. "If they wanted to, they could just shut down the server and log everyone out."
"But there isn't even an announcement." Klein's face gets serious, only for our attention to be drawn to the sound of bells ringing.
In the next moment, we were teleported back to the Town of Beginnings. With more people showing up as the bell continued to ring.
"A forced teleport?" Kirito said as he stood a few feet from me.
I walked closer to him and Klein, and my attention was drawn to the flashing red warning sign. Within seconds, it spread across the whole sky. Once the first drops of red liquid dropped from the tiles, I covered my eyes and took deep breaths. I ignored the other player's voices as I calmed myself.
"Attention players." A deep voice said, and I slowly removed my hands from my face as I looked back up. "Welcome to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world."
"No way," I whispered as a feeling of dread filled my body.
"I'm sure you've already noticed that the log-out button is missing from your main menu." He demonstrated the menu process. "But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect of the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online. You cannot log out of SAO yourselves. And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life."
I ignore the others around me as my mind absorbs the information. This nut job is forcing us to play his game, and by telling us this way and trapping us in the courtyard, he can cause a mass panic, but if that happens, people will die. If what he said was true and we couldn't get out of the game, then there has to be an end goal for our release. His setup has the end-of-the-world vibe, so this isn't a sanctuary where we get to live forever in this fantastical place.
"Unfortunately, several players, friends, and families have ignored this warning and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever from both Aincrad and the real world." Multiple screens across the sky pop up with news sites and websites. "As you can see, news organizations worldwide are reporting all of this, including the deaths. Thus, you can assume that the danger of a NerveGear being removed is minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game. But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost. And simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brian. There is only one means of escape. To complete the game."
The only way the Beta testers got so far was because most of us were aiming to reach the next floor while some of the others tried the other features. The only way we would get out of here was if most of the players aimed to complete the floors. No doubt they will need a lot of training before they move on to the next town. That means we can't have people falling into depression and killing themselves.
"You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, Floor One. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the floor boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor one hundred, and you will clear the game." Multiple people called out, and I ignored them as I looked for a good spot to grab the people's attention. "I've added a present from me to your item storage. Please see for yourselves."
I took the mirror out, and then everyone lit up like a beacon. Thankfully, it wasn't a teleportation again. Looking at the mirror, I see that my eyes have changed from green to dark gray. Putting the mirror back into my storage to look later, I start to move towards the bell tower, hoping to get there before everything goes to hell.
"Right now, you're probably wondering, why? Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do all of this? My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason. To create this world and intervene in it. And now it's complete. This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. Good Luck, Players." Kayaba disappeared like a virus, leaving all of us alone.
I can get up on the bell tower just as someone breaks a mirror, starting a chain reaction. Grabbing my sword, I throw it right at the bell, causing a large bang and drawing everyone's attention to me.
"Shut up!" I yelled at the few starting to talk back, scaring everyone into silence. "What the hell are you saying you have a meeting?! That you are eating dinner?! There are no more meetings, no more work, or school, or seeing our families or friends! You're not just going to wake up from a nightmare! This is real! This is your life now! WE'RE ALL STUCK HERE! WE AREN'T GOING HOME! Get that through your sick little heads!
"The second our HP reaches zero, our existence is over! You won't be seeing your families! You won't be seeing your friends or lovers! YOU WILL BE DEAD! And all anyone will remember you by is a fatality of the nut job Kayaba Akihiko! I know this is hard and scary! I know you can't believe it just because some cloaked thing told you it was true! Do you think this is a dream? Look at your hands! If this were a dream you wouldn't have five fingers on each hand! Look at your names! If this were a dream, you wouldn't be able to read! Look around you! Look at the people's faces around you and the detail it's all in! If this were a dream, you wouldn't be able to see any of their faces! This is not a dream! This is our reality! There are ten thousand seven hundred and eighty-six other people in this world who are going through the same thing you are going through! They want to go home! They don't believe this is real!
"Kayaba Akihiko said that we can go home if we defeat the last boss of the hundredth floor! It's not impossible! We can reach that goal if we help each other! My name is Riding Hood, and I'm a Beta tester! I want to help you survive! I want to help you live in this new world! You can walk away right now and try to do it independently if you want. I won't stop you. But I and the other Beta testers will not be taking responsibility for your life. I'm offering to share what we know to help you all live. I have no guarantees that Kayaba hasn't changed things from my time playing the Beta test. But I will try to help all of you if you will let me." A few people left as I talked, and the few I noticed looked unfocused had given me their full attention.
"I know that at some point in the future, we will need to set some ground rules! Right now though, I only have one in mind! Under NO circumstances will player killing be tolerated! That's murder! You would be killing someone's sibling or child! If I have anything to say about it, you will be caught and locked up. Once we complete the game, you will be charged with murder and punished per your country's laws!" Glaring to make sure everyone understood that I continued on to my next point.
"Beta testers! I know right now you won't show yourselves! I ask that you help me help the people! If you cannot, I ask that you make note of the changes in what we learned from the Beta testing! The more we know, the better! Send it to me, and I'll make sure to spread the information! Players! I ask that you separate into the groups that I will call out! If you think you can handle some responsibility, I ask that you come to stand in front of me and help me as a leader! Players! If you would like to help fight bosses, then please come over here! Those of you who want to play a support role as blacksmiths, cooks, scouts, informants, and tamers stand here. Those of you who don't want to be involved at all can stand here! Lastly, those who are unsure of what they want can stand over here!" I could feel a bit of tension leave my shoulders as a handful of older people stood before me, Kirito and Klein among them.
"Within your groups, talk to the other players and find five to ten other people to group with! If you have issues, I'll forcibly put you into groups myself!" I sat on the edge of the tower in front of the group.
"I didn't think you were this small, let alone mature enough to command all of these people." Klein commented as he looked at my shorter form.
"Don't underestimate a person with a strong sense of self-preservation." I said as they gathered around me.
"How does self-preservation lead you to take command of thousands of people?" One of the strangers asked.
"Well, the only way I can survive is if I get a high level. The problem with that is that I could go solo and rack up a lot of EXP, but then I wouldn't have anyone around me near my level. So, when it comes to boss fights, I would be the main fighter with nothing but cannon fodder around me. This leads to a higher chance of my death since the boss would focus on the strongest to take them out first. Of course, if I could get everyone else to get more EXP and reach a level close to mine, then I'll have more allies I can rely on. They deal more damage, and since they are more skilled, there are fewer deaths. The more people we have with high levels, the better chance we find and defeat the level bosses and the faster we get out of here. Long-term thinking, my friend." I see most potential leaders just had their minds blown by me.
"What about the grouping?" Kirito asked.
"Right now, most of the players are going through the stages of grief. I need as many of them alive as possible. By putting them into smaller groups, I have them grow attachments to the other players, giving them a reason to live and my whole speech was just a distraction to keep most of them out of depression. I can't watch all of them, so I have them watch each other, and you watch them, and I watch over it all." I start swinging my legs as I watch the adults get their minds blown again.
"How old are you, Riding Hood?" Klein asked wearily.
"Thirteen." My answer had them all taken aback.
"You are a terrifying child." An older black and muscular man said.
"I get that a lot." Slapping my knees, I draw their attention again. "We'll be splitting up as well. I'll be having seven leaders for each group. I plan to get the fighter group out of town and on their way to the next town to start leveling them up. Those of you who go with them will be required to be the top fighters of the group. I can't have you be weaker, you need to set an example and a goal for them. With the fighters gone, that will leave the nearby fields for the other groups to level up. They will need to if they want to leave the town."
With their full attention, I further explained my plan for the players and the duties the leader would have to perform.