10Almost. Almost there. This is going to be something else entirely. Calmly I sit here on my bed waiting for the time to strike 1:00. The biggest game of the century, in my opinion at least, is going to go live in just a few minutes and I can't wait to finally be a part of it.
What am I talking about you may ask? Well let me break it down to you. A smart, brilliant man going by the name of Akihiko Kayaba had a dream long ago of creating a truly mesmerizing and jaw dropping game and gaming system that would revolutionize and possibly make thousands upon thousands of people lay in their beds like vegetables while their minds go through a battlefield fighting and combat against players and monsters alike.
… I'm probably getting too into this. In just a few minutes one of the biggest virtual reality games is going to go live where thousands of players will have their minds transported to and engage in a hell of adventure in the video game world of Sword Art Online. Using the NerveGear system to make full and absolute use of what the game has to offer, my giddiness for what experiences I may go through in this is spanning new heights. On top of that, I can't help but feel absolutely grateful for this experience in of itself because the game I'm going to be devoting plenty of time to is in short limited supply.
10,000 to be exact. Only 10,000 people so far are able to play the game at launch and whether they're going to make anymore in the future, I don't know, nor do I care because I already have my copy. Totally worth camping out, not literally mind you although some people in the line did go the extra mile, in order to get my copy of this game. I wasn't able to get the chance to take part in the beta for the game and I kicked myself for it. Not wanting to miss out I went eaaarrrrrrrrrly to make sure I got a copy. The fruits of my labor paid off as I've already got everything set up. After managing to get my own NerveGear a few days ago, I went ahead and got all the startup sequences, calibrations and hardware ready to go on a moments notice. Even though at the time it was still going to be days before I could get into SAO, I still wanted to make sure everything was good to go. A few hours ago I checked it again to make double sure its all good. At this point I don't want to spend more than a second than I should recalibrating when I could be using it to play already.
That's why I already ate, told my parents what to expect before they left to a meeting, and am now sitting here waiting for the clock to strike 1:00. Right now, it's 12:59 on my phone before I put it on my bedside table and sit on my bed. With the time just about, the NerveGear goes on my head before I lay on my bed. 'This is it. Moment of truth.' I focus my eyes on the corner of the screen at the clock on my display and stare at the clock.
"…" The time still reads 12:59, so I continue to stare and wait.
*12:59… 12:59… 12:59… 1:00*
"Link Start!"
With the command uttered, my vision blackens for a second before the world of virtual reality starts to take its shape in my mind. I quickly go through the registration system and start setting everything up. Not too long in I find the character registration screen and begin setting up my avatar. 'Alright, how should I do this? This isn't like other games where I simply just choose the default character basically. This is my avatar character. The one I will be using, controlling and leveling up for the foreseeable future. I will be through his eyes, not through simply a screen. Take this seriously.' My mental conversation over, I go ahead and take an internal breather before I start setting up. 'Let's see… just a little higher than my normal build, bulkier too because I don't exercise for crap and I hate myself for that. Alright, got myself set up, starting weapon chosen, name… Vendicar. Now nothing left to do but get this show on the road.' Without further ado, I'm ready.
My vision comes into focus and I take stock of the area around me. Stone roadworks mixed with buildings and greenery is what I see around me. "Sword Art Online…" I mutter the name and look down at myself. A light blue undershirt with a leather vest and black pants with brown boots makes up my attire. As I look around at the spawning players, its pretty much the standard gear for everyone besides the color so no one's carrying anything worthwhile at the moment. "Time to get started."
Cheers go out across the entire square and the rest of the city as pretty much everyone who's logged on are tasting virtual reality for probably the first time, as am I. Soon enough everyone begins dispersing and taking in the sights of this beautiful city and its world. NPC shopkeepers line the various streets and stores, ready to start selling to us players right off the bat. Unfortunately we aren't really rolling in the cash, or Col more specifically, right now so their isn't much a lot of people can buy. Right now we all are simply browsing the shops and making a wish list of sorts on what we may try to get later on. I'm not really picky on stuff like that as my philosophy kind of goes along the lines of I won't buy a new weapon because chances are I'll get something else even better later on that'll make what I just bought obsolete. Only when I find something that truly and massively boosts my power will I go ahead and buy it. Otherwise, the loot drop is what I'll use when the opportunity persists.
My thoughts on where to start shift as someone runs past me and turns down an alleyway. "Hm?" I question at the quick speed he takes to going wherever he's going but another person runs past me following the same route. "Huh? What's going on?" I mutter under my breath. No one else seems to be paying any attention to them so I quietly increase my speed before stopping in front of the entrance to the alleyway. I carefully peak around until I spot the two stopped about halfway down the alleyway having a conversation. I can't exactly get close enough to hear them without being spotted so I hang back and opt to tail them instead, which begins to lead us out of the city. I'm usually a solo player and don't have many friends myself so I feel like it'd be a little weird to just outright talk to them. 'Maybe I can learn a thing or two from them.' Unlike what the traditional commonsense aspect there is with RPG's, I have a feeling I'm still green as can be in this place.
"Argh! Uoh!"
Although not as green as that guy. We find ourselves in the fields around the Town of Beginnings, as our spawn location is called, and on a small hilly area. The dark haired blue shirt wearing guy watches as the red head bandana wearer gets his ass handed to him by a boar and thrown to the ground, cradling his manbits as he does. "Oooh… hurts in the nuts… kill me now…" I can hear him complain.
"Oh, come on, seriously? You can't feel any pain."
"Huh? Oh yeah, you're right. Sorry, habit." I roll my eyes at his actions. After following them for awhile and seeing the tips that blue was giving red, I decided to simply wait behind a bush and see where this goes. I'm not really the best at first impressions.
"Remember what I said? The first move is the most important." Blue shirt who's pretty much the teacher says.
"Yeah, that's easy for you to say. But he won't stand still!" Red complains as he stares at the boar that took him down, who isn't really paying attention to him anymore.
The teach decides to show him something as he reaches down to the pickup a pebble and stares at the boar. "If you do your initial motion right, and activate a sword skill at the right time…" He begins to curl his arm back and next thing I know, he's throwing the pebble like it's a freakin' bullet. 'Holy…' The makeshift projectile hits the backside of the boar and leaves a red mark. "The system pretty much guarantees you'll always hit your target." By this point, the boars pretty ticked at the jab and turns toward them.
"Initial motion?"
"Here's an easier way to look at it." Blue easily dodges the boars attacks before blocking and holding the monster in position as he continues to explain. "Right after you start your move, wait for a little bit.
When you feel the skill start to activate, drive it home!" He instructs the other guy on what to do, and in turn me as well.
"Drive it home?" Once he's gotten what's said, the beginner readies himself as his blade starts to glow red. Once he sees his friend prepared, he pushes the boar back and kicks it away from him, shifting the boars attention to the other guy he knocked down earlier. I watch as he doesn't move and continues to ready his blade for an attack with the color starting to get redder. Once he's ready, quickly he drives himself forward, activating his sword skill and slashing the boar along its body in one quick strike. "Hoho! Yeeeeeeaah!" At having defeated his very first opponent, he lets out a happy victory cry at his accomplishment.
"Congratulations." They high five each other before the teacher sheathes his sword. "That was nice. But that boar's about as weak as slimes in other games are." He promptly crushes the guys spirit.
"Holy crap! You got to be kidding. I thought that thing was a mid-level boss." 'Seriously? A mid-level boss now? C'mon man.'
"Yeah, as if." The teach says as further away some more boars spawn in. I'll admit the combat system looks interesting to say the least and while it may take some getting used to, this will definitely make his an enjoyable experience. "What about you?! You wanna give it a try?!" My thoughts are completely thrown for a loop as the guy is staring right at me. My eyes widen like a deers in headlights.
"Huh? What?" I dumbly say at the question directed at me as I stand from my spot behind the bushes.
"Wha-?! Whoa! When did you get here?! I didn't even see that guy." The red-haired says the last part to his friend.
'Well, I'm caught. Better go ahead and get to greeting. It'd kind of be a horrible first impression if I just bailed.' I step out from behind the bush and calmly walk up to them, hands up in a non-threatening gesture. "Alright, you caught me. How'd you know?" I ask.
"I saw you as we left the safe zone. You weren't as stealthy as you thought." My shoulders slump at the jab but not uncalled for.
'Yeah, definitely different from other games.' I shrug at the thought before I stop in front of them. "Yeah sorry. Like your friend there, I'm kind of new to this game as well. Wasn't lucky enough to be a part of the beta… but from what I can tell it looks like you were. Am I wrong?" I ask him.
"Nope. You got it. Beta tester right here." He points his thumb to himself with a smirk. "Since you probably heard me giving Klein here some tips and advice, are you ready to put it to test?" He gestures to the boars that start making their way towards us.
I smile at the opportunity and walk past them. "Gladly. Oh right, my name is Vendicar by the way." I quickly give them my name.
"Kirito." The teacher finally gives me his name as we shake hands.
"Hey, I'm Klein. Nice to meet you." Klein too introduces himself as we shake hands as well.
"Likewise." Once the greetings are out of the way, I turn back to the boars.
"What's your weapon by the way?" Kirito asks me from behind.
"Well, let me show you." I pull up my menu and equip my chosen starting weapon.
A big two-handed longsword appears on my back and I can feel its weight as soon as it materializes on me. Reaching behind me I pull it off with one hand before I need to hold it with both hands. While Kirito sports a one-handed sword and Klein a dagger, my weapon is heavier than the two so its slower but can deal out a lot more damage and over a wider arc if necessary. Because it also requires two hands to wield it, unlike the two next to me I can't equip a proper shield to block. With the size and width of the blade, I can still use it to block and defend if need be, just not as effectively as a shield but the option is still there.
"A two-handed longsword. Interesting choice. But just remember that it's not as fast as most other weapons." Kirito comments. Not surprised by how he thinks. Usually if a weapon is two-handed then that means you can dish out a lot of damage when you hit, but your still slower.
"I know." I reply and step forward to meet the boards. Their health indicators appear over them and the system registers my combat with them. "I'm going to see just what type of build I can make for myself with this." Like how Klein readied himself for his attack, I get ready as well. Holding the swords handle with my right hand, I extend and curl my arm back towards me, allowing the blade to rest on my arm aimed at my enemies. As soon as one of the boars starts charging me, my blade begins to glow blue as the sword skill gets ready to activate. As the system activates my grip tightens on the handle and my feet firmly straighten and get ready for my initial push. I don't flinch as the boar gets closer and closer to me until finally… "Heyaaaa!" With a loud cry, I thrust once the sword skill is ready to activate. In a flash, I drive my blade forward at speeds I would never have been capable of back in the real world. I am past the boar with both hands on the handle of my sword. 'Wow.' Is all I can think on the feeling of activating my first sword skill and killing my first enemy. The boar behind me breaks into a million virtual polygons. I soon straighten up and relax as I turn around to see just where my opponent was and see the score results of my exp and col gain. Small but still feels good. "Nice."
"Watch out!" Klein warns me loudly.
I quickly move to the side from the warning just as the second boar charges me while I was distracted. In that time, he misses me while at the exact same time my sword is pulled up and comes in an overhead slash. With a loud grunt, I bring my sword down as hard as I can right on the defenseless boars back. The force and strength of the attack easily cuts through its body and sends my weapon into the ground by a couple inches. Like with most attacks, their too is a red mark line that shows on the middle of the boars body where I hit and ran the blade straight through. Next, his body splits apart for only a second before it too explodes into polygons and I am greeted with my earnings. "Awesome."
Several hours pass after my introduction to my new friends. We spent the whole time just going around, exploring and killing whatever enemies we find in the immediate area. Mostly low level boars and wolves but it was still amazing to do no matter what. The whole time was exhilarating and badass on so many levels. Even though it's a full dive and my bodies really in the real world, actually moving around and slashing down our enemies is pretty cool. While my attacks are strong, I'm not as fast as I would prefer for such a big weapon. 'Should work on my agility when I get the chance.' Once we've thoroughly exhausted ourselves, we stop and rest as we watch the sunset with Kirito standing, me crouching and Klein sitting down relaxed.
"When I look around, I can't believe it. We're inside a game, bros. Whoever made it is a genius. This thing's amazing. Makes me glad I was born when I was, you know." Klein voices his amazement over the system and world we are in right now.
"Gotta agree with you there." I comment. Chances are this game is going to be groundbreaking should it become a success and so far, it seems successful. This is pretty surreal.
"It's not that big a deal." Kirito isn't so impressed. Probably because he played the beta before so he was able to experience all this far longer than us.
"Cut us some slack, it's our first full dive!"
"You've never used the NerveGear before today, huh? This is your first time ever?" He asks us and we nod.
"Uh-huh. As soon as I got the money together, I rushed out and bought all the hardware to play SAO. Stood in line and scored one of the ten thousand hard copies. Guess you could say I was pretty lucky. Although, you sir, were ten times as lucky getting to beta-test it." Klein compliments Kirito. Chances are I may have been able to be a part of the beta test if I had the NerveGear in the first place but I didn't. Not really many reasons before for me to get one but now, I'm glad I did.
"Hm?" Menawhile Kirito is curious about what Klein means.
"Dude, only a thousand people got the chance!"
"Yeah, I guess I was lucky."
They talk some more of how Kirito did during the beta and his thoughts on SAO now while I simply listen.
"And even though it's a virtual world, I feel more alive in here than I ever did in the real one." He says to us as he examines his sword and the power we can exhibit with our equipment and I don't blame him. The way how we fought earlier ago was breathtaking. I no doubt see plenty of moments in the future where I will be binge playing this game. "Anyway, you want to go do some more hunting?" I smile at the idea and stand but Klein beats me to answering first.
"Oh, You know it! But the thing is…"
*Rrrrrrrr*
His somach growls. "I'm really hungry. I have to log out."
"Too bad the food you eat here only satisfies your hunger virtually."
"That's true. If you could eat in here and satisfy yourself in the real life at the same time, then I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't want to leave." I say. To be honest, if that could happen then I would be sorely tempted to do the same. I'm not really a big deal back in the real world. Don't have many friends but in here… I can be so much more with so many people.
"Yeah, for reals. That's why I ordered a pizza for 5:30."
'Oh pizza. Now I feel like one for later.' I let out a long whistle. "Nice."
"Wow, you're so prepared." Kirito compliments him and I share the sentiment on his thinking for the future.
"You know it! Besides, the game can wait until I get my pizza on."
"I guess…" Kirito for whatever looks just a little downtrodden at the idea.
This doesn't go unnoticed by Klein though as he looks a little bad at leaving basically. "Hey, I was going to go meet up with some people I know from another game. I don't know what you're up to after this, so, if, uh, you know, if you two want, you guys can friend them and hang with us." Klein offers to us. Kirito visibly doesn't look as comfortable with the idea while I don't really care. Like I said before I don't have a whole lot of friends so I primarily solo whatever I play. In this game though, I think I might have to get past that. Seeing Kirito's expression, Klein speaks some more. "No, it's cool if you don't want to, no pressure. I can always introduce you to them another time or something."
"Yeah, sorry. Thanks, anyway." Kirito still looks a little down for some reason but somewhat better.
"No way! I should be doing all the thanking!" Klein says and walks closer to Kirito. "Hey, one of these days, I promise I'll pay you back for all your help. Virtually, that is!" He adds with a smile.
Kirito looks much better at the idea and returns the smile. "Yeah, right."
"Thanks for everything, man, really. Guess I'll see you two around, then."
"If there's anything else you want to know, message me." Kirito offers.
"And if you ever need another person to hang, the same to me." I do the same.
"Oh, sweet! I'll do that." With the agreement settled, they shake hands before Klein shakes my hand as well before basically waving bye to us.
Kirito looks back at the sunset just as Klein is about to leave. "So," I pat his back, making him look at me as I give him a smile. "Got any other tricks or secrets you can show me? I'm not going anytime soon, if you want." I add the last part in case he doesn't actually want to be with anyone and wants to do his own thing. He actually smiles at that.
"Huh? Where'd the log out button go?" Before he answers though, the fact Klein is still here makes us a little confused. His question even more so.
"It should be there." Kirito states as we both walk up to the confused player.
"…Nope, it's not there." After a moment of looking Klein still declines it's there.
"That can't be right." I state as I swipe open my menu.
"It should be at the bottom of the main menu." To demonstrate, Kirito opens up his own menu. "Huh?" And just like with Klein, he and I see we too are both devoid of a logout button.
"See, not there."
"That's… weird." I comment after Klein.
"You're right, it's not."
"Oh well. Today's, what, the first day out of beta? Bound to be some bugs! I bet the server people are freaking out right now!" Klein tries to make light of the situation and thinks we'll eventually have the issue sorted out but I feel like this isn't a simple fix. Kirito however nudges my arm, making me look at him.
"You will, too." He says and gestures to the clock. Seeing the time, I have to keep myself from cracking a grin.
"Huh?"
"Dude, check out the time." I tell Klein to do.
He looks confused at first but the second he does, that's when he freaks out. "Oh my god! My teriyaki mayo pizza and ginger ale!" He makes a loud and very worried display of his possible loss of food. Pretty sure the delivery guy won't leave it at the door for him so that sucks.
"Why don't you just contact the game master?" Kirito asks him.
"Huh?" He snaps out of his yelling and rights himself back up. "Yeah, I did that, but nothing's happening. He's not picking up. Do you know if there's another way to log out of this thing?"
"Hmmm…" We look at him as he thinks but comes up empty on why this is happening. "No. Whenever a player wants to log out of SAO, the only way they can do it is by going through the menu."
"That seems like a pretty big flaw if that's that only way we can get out." I comment on how worrisome this is turning out to be.
"That can't be right! There's got to be some other way out. Return! Log out! Escape!" While I appreciate the effort, its pretty futile of Klein to do… whatever moves he was doing in order to leave.
"Told you so. And there was no emergency log out in the manual, either." Kirito says.
"I'm getting really worried about this." I mutter at how few and few our options are becoming with each passing second. 'Not even a failsafe for us players to get out without the log out button.'
"No way, you're kidding… I know, I'll just rip the NerveGear off my head!" Klein proceeds to try to take off the helmet in the world from in here but from what I remember in my studies on the device, it's not going to work.
"Sorry Klein. But it doesn't work like that." I burst his bubble.
"Yeah, don't bother. Once you're hooked in, you can't move your body in the real world anymore. The NerveGear intercepts all the commands you give from inside the game, using an interface built into the rig." Kirito explains the more specifics of why his plan won't work. While it is a pretty cool and interesting concept, its fault is starting to become apparent right now.
"Seriously?" Obviously, Klein is pretty bummed about it. I am too. "So now we got to wait until someone gets around to fixing the bug?!"
"That, or until someone in the real world comes along and takes the NerveGear off us. That's it."
"I live alone. You?" Klein tells us his predicament a little sadly before asking us.
"My parents went to some business meeting before I got on. Don't know when they're going to come home." I say what my situation is at home. My parents and I usually keep to ourselves so that's why I don't really know exactly what they'll be doing, or when they'll be back.
"I got a mom and a sister. And I'm pretty sure they'll notice by dinner time and come—" Kirito begins to explain what his living situation is but an enthusiastic Klein almost knocks me down as he grabs onto the beta-testers shoulders.
"Y-You got a sister? How old's she? What's she like?" Gone is his worried expression of the log out situation and now is apparently focused on Kirito's sister.
"Huh? She's into sports, and hates games. And she's totally not your type, man. She wouldn't date a gamer if he was the last type—"
"Who cares?! I want to—"
*SMACK*
"Ahh! Ohh! Aahh! Ohhh…! Oh, right. Getting kicks in the balls doesn't hurt." While Klein was getting a little too close for comfort, Kirito proceeded to knee him in the nuts. Of course it doesn't actually hurt but the sentiment gets the point across for him to pull back on getting to know his sister.
"Nice." I say to Kirito and hold out my fist to him.
"Thanks." He fist bumps me before getting a serious expression on his face. "But still, get serious. Don't you think this is weird?
"Yeah, totally. But it's just a bug." Klein still thinks its simply an error in the code and if it is, it seems like a pretty big bug that'll no doubt hurt the games reputation.
"This isn't just a bug. If we can't log out, it's going to cause some serious problems for the game."
"Not to mention how many people are going to be incredibly angry at the idea that logging out is the only way a player inside the game can get out. Basically, this means we're trapped." I explain it a little differently, one that hopefully gets the point across.
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I wonder if the developers even know what's happening, 'cause they could just shut down the server and log everyone out. But why haven't they made an announcement?" Kirito thinks. It's true. Already its been several hours since its launch and just maybe some people have already tried to log out so surely someone has already tried to contact and made this little issue known to the developers.
"Uh… Hmm…" We begin to brainstorm on why that is.
*Gooonng… Gooonng*
But the sound of a bell ringing begins to go off in the distance, getting our attention because usually whenever a bell goes off it means something. And this one is pretty loud since we can hear it clear as day all the way from out of town.
"I have… a very bad—"
A bright light consumes me before I can finish speaking.
I blink my eyes clear of the aftereffects of the bright light that hit me. "Huh? Wait, what?" I look around and can hear other sounds around me. A quick check shows dozens of other players begin to be teleported into the open plaza square in the middle of the Town Of Beginnings along with my friends.
"Someone forced a teleport." Kirito informs us of what happened and from the looks of how many people that are appearing, it looks like nearly every single player in the game is here. 'But why?'
"Look, up there!" A random players exclamation over the voices of many other confused people gets my attention as I and my friends look to the sky to see something odd.
"Now what?" Kirito asks out loud and I want to know as well. All we see is a simple red flashing rectangular hexagon in the middle of the sky with 'warning' on it. However it becomes that much more foreboding and scary as thousands more of them begin popping up all over the sky, completely covering the sky in a redish hue filled with words of 'warning' and 'system announcement'. Things take a turn for even more freaky as what almost looks like blood in this light begins to drip down and pool in the middle of the air from between the warnings.
"What the hell is that thing?" Klein asks what's all on our minds as the blob thing starts sparking electricity as it begins to take some kind of form. Soon a figure begins to take shape until we see someone massive floating in mid-air wearing a red robe with gold trimmings.
"Whoa." I mutter at how freaky this is looking.
"Is that a game master?"
"Why doesn't he have a face? Is this an event?"
Several people begin voicing their questions and concerns as to what's going on or who this person is above us. From what I can tell, I think we're about to find out.
"Attention, players. I welcome you to my world." The figure states to us all.
"What's he mean by that?" Kirito asks.
"My name is Akihiko Kayaba. And as of this moment, I am in control of this world."
"Uh!" I hear Kirito gasp next to me at the news and while I am not audible in my surprise, I am without a doubt, surprised as well. 'Kayaba… THE Kayaba who created this place… but what's he…?' I begin to ask in my head the why's of this whole situation but he continues speaking.
"I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus… the log out button. Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how 'Sword Art Online' was designed to be." With a straightforward statement, he gives us the answer to a very important question we were just trying to figure out only a few moments ago, and the answer was not what we wanted to hear.
"He's kidding, right?" Klein asks but none of us answer as every eye continues to stare at Kayaba.
"You cannot log yourselves out of SAO, and no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life."
'Ending… our lives?! What?!' My face begins to take on a form of slight horror at this news and from the look of Kirito to my side, he too has the same worries I am feeling. Others around us aren't as believing of the news though as they think it's a ploy, even Klein.
"Are you listening to this crap? He's got to be nuts, right? Right, Kirito, Vendicar?
"Except he's not." I answer as I continue to stare at the figure. While it does seem like something that shouldn't be possible or feasible to us, just something about how… confident with an underlying feel of possibly happiness he seems to have about him just makes it seem that much more believable. I soon turn to my friend. "Right?"
"Yeah." Kirito backs me on why this isn't a joke. "The transmitter's signals in the headgear work just like microwaves. If the safety's disabled, it could fry your brain."
"Couldn't someone cut the power or…?" Klein asks but it's not that simple.
"That won't work. The NerveGear's got an internal battery." Kirito answers.
"Gah! This is crazy! It's totally crazy!"
"Hold it. He's speaking." I quiet Klein down before we focus our attention back on Kayaba.
"Despite my warning, the families and friends of some of the players have attempted removing the NerveGear, an unfortunate decision, to say the least. As a result, the game now has two hundred thirteen less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world."
"Two hundred thirteen?" Kirito repeats the death toll while all of us stare at him in horror.
"Dead… no." I mutter in disbelief. 'They didn't even have a chance. They were just snuffed out.' As much as I want this to be fake, to be some cruel joke that isn't true at all, my instincts are telling me… 'No… it's not.'
"No way... I don't believe it!"
Suddenly several windows and screens begin popping up all around Kayaba, each one showing a different news story with text what's going on with us. "As you can see, international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths. At this point, it's safe to assume the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game." 'It doesn't you son of a—' "It's important to remember the following: There is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system... forever. And the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain." Kirito lets out a gasp of the evidential final nails in our coffins. When we were grinding out in the field earlier, there were a couple times where our HP's dropped pretty low for our comforts. Now, we only realize that we weren't just fighting for fun… now we're fighting for our very lives. "There is only one way for a player to escape now… you must clear the game. Right now, you're gathered on Floor One, the lowest level of Aincrad." Kayaba speaks as he shows us a model map of the many floors we will have to go through till we make it to the final floor. "If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game."
"We can't clear all 100 floors… That's freaking impossible… even the beta testers never made it that high!" Klein is in disbelief at the idea of clearing all 100 floors… but I think we don't have a choice no matter how hopeless it seems.
"Last but not least, I've placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please have a look." With not much else we can do right now, we comply and open our inventories. True to what he said, there is a mirror in our inventories that wasn't there before.
"A mirror?" Kirito is just as confused as I as we pull the items out. The item materializes and falls into my hand. There's nothing about it that calls for our immediate attention to it. All in all its just a simple mirror.
"Hey, Kirito. Got any ideas what this means?" I ask him without taking my eyes off my reflection.
"I don't—"
"Ah! Ahhhh!"
"Klein!" Kirito and I both yell out our friend's name as a bright light consumes his entire form. Next other people begin to shine brightly just the same.
"Ugh!" So does Kirito.
"Kirito!" I yell his name just before I too am consumed in the light.
The light only lasts for a few seconds but it completely blinded me of everything around me as well as disorienting. Soon it subsides and I can finally see again. I bring my hands down from having instinctively brought them up to shield me and look. A quick check of myself shows that I'm still in one piece, though I don't feel as tall as I was before for some reason.
"Kirito, Vendicar, you guys okay?" Klein asks us.
"Yeah."
"I'm good." Kirito and I answer but as I look at the both of them, I don't recognize the people next to me.
"Wait… Who are you?"
"I'm me. Who are you?" The red head with a bandana looks at me but is still confused. "And who are you?"
"What do you…?" I begin to ask but as I do, my eyes glance at the mirror in my hand. Bringing it up to my face, I see why they are confused when they look at me. My own real-life face is staring right back at me. My hair is short and black with the front parted to left and the rest of it combed and matted against my head as my blue eyes stare into each other. "No way."
"Is that you, Kirito?
"Is that you, Klein?"
"Guys!" I raise my voice just a little to get their attention. Once they look at me, I finally tear my vision away from the reflection of my own face before looking what I think is my friends. Klein still had red hair but now that I see it, the cloth on his head kind of reminds me of him. Kirito though, definitely looks different, especially his hair cut. Question is, "What happened?"
"Yeah, how?" Klein asks as well on how we suddenly look like out real-world selves.
"The scan." Kirito quickly surmises how we all suddenly look like our real bodies. "There's a high-density signal device inside the NerveGear rig. It can see what my face looks like, but how's it know my height and body type?" He asks but Kleins got the answer there.
"When you first put the NerveGear on, it had to do this… calibration thing. It asked you to touch your body all over like this, remember?" He demonstrates by patting his shoulders down and such. Now that I think about it, I do remember having to do that odd ritual of sorts when calibrating myself for the NerveGears use. I didn't think much of it at first but now… now I see it.
"Oh, yeah, you're right. That's where it got our physical data!"
"Geez it was just supposed to be a calibration. I didn't know it was preparing us for this!" I mutter angrily after Kirito gets it.
"But, this is… What's the point?! Why would anyone do this to us?!" Klein begins to angrily ask.
"I think he's about to tell us." Kirito points to Kayaba, refocusing everyone's attention again.
"Right now, you are probably wondering why. Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and NerveGear, do this?" 'Million-dollar question right there.' I think bitterly before he continues. "Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design."
"Control…" I mutter confused before realization begins to set in for me. "He wanted to become a god… in a world of his own design and choosing." I say with venom laced on my face.
"Kayaba…" Kirito mutters angrily and I share the feeling.
"As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck." As soon as he finishes talking, his robed form begins to fall apart and disappear altogether. Once he does. The red warning signs disappear and the dusk sunlight of Aincrad's world shines through.
Too bad its bittersweet from all the stunned horrified expressions of everyone in the entire town square. For what feels like forever we all stare at where Kayaba just was only seconds ago as he just declared what his intentions were in this world we are now trapped in. For whatever reason, he decided he wasn't contempt to simply live in the real world and wanted something more. Something much more… real that he can make. And nothing gets that much more real than the threat of death… just like in real life. Until we can get out of this place and clear all 100 floors, this place is going to be our lives from here on out. 'This isn't what I signed up for. This isn't what any of us wanted. And now because of you… we're now forced into something that you want and none of us do.' My thoughts begin to get darker as everything sets in.
"Noooo!" One scream. That's all it takes. That snaps everyone out of their stupefied forms and all hell begins to break loose. Other people begin screaming, crying out, begging to be let out and pushing shoving each other out of the way. While everyone begins to panic on all levels, I am both angry and scared but not panicky. 'Screaming, cursing, lashing out won't solve anything for me right now. Don't freak out.' I mentally keep myself as focused as I can on the situation. I'm a gamer, clear and simple. Button mashing never helped me in the past when I got angry and with my life on the line I can't ever afford to.
"Klein. Vendicar. Come on." Thankfully, Kirito is on top of things a lot quicker than I am as he grabs both of our hands and pulls us away from the panic induced crowd. While Klein is pulled along a lot more than me, I quickly get what he's doing and follow along on my own accord.
Not long later does Kirito takes us far away from the crowds until we stop in an alley. "Okay, listen. I'm heading out right now for the next village. I want you both to come with me." He quickly requests of us.
"Huh?" Klein mutters while I silently watch and listen to him.
"If what he said is true, and I think it is, the only way we're gonna survive in here is by making ourselves as strong as possible. In an MMORPG, the money you can earn, the EXP, once the game starts up, there's only so much of that stuff to go around." He tells us as he pulls up a map of the area. "Look, the fields around the Town Of Beginnings are gonna be hunted clean soon. If we head to the next village now, we'll have an easier time collecting cash and points. Don't worry, I know all the paths and places we should avoid. Even if I'm level one, I can get there easy." Seeing as how we're going to be stuck here, I can't really express how lucky and grateful I am at having an expert here with me to show me the ropes and back me up. While I show no signs of declining, Klein isn't.
"Well, thanks, but… you know those friends of mine I was telling you about… we stood in line for a whole night to buy this, and… They're back at the Plaza, somewhere… and I can't leave 'em." He explains why he can't go. Unlike me, he still has people to depend on stuck in that panicked crowd back in the plaza and he's a good guy for wanting to stick by them. "Sorry." He apologizes at the in-thought Kirito. No doubt trying to consider and plan what this means for us. "Can't ask a guy I just met to risk his life for a bunch of strangers, can I?" Thankfully being the good guy he is, he does what he can to ease the beta-tester of his worries. "So, don't worry about me. Get your ass to the next village. I'll be fine! Last game I played, I ran a guild, so I'm more than prepared. And with all the stuff you taught me, I'll get by, no sweat!" He confidently and assuredly reassures us.
"Okay. If that's what you want, I'll get going. But if you're in a jam, message me, okay?" Kirito offers him.
"Sure." He nods before looking at me. "Good meeting Vendicar. Good luck out there."
I smirk back at him and give him thumbs up. "Same to you."
"We'll be seeing you, Klein. Take care." Kirito almost sadly begins to say as he walks away and I'm about to follow him.
"Kirito!" Klein calls his name before I can begin walking after him. "I… Hey… Kirito. Um, you look better like this. Way cooler than your avatar." Even with the gloominess of the gravity of our situation, Klein still knows some way on how to make us feel just a little better. "You too man. You look awesome." I smile back at him for the compliment to me.
"Yeah, and I think that scruffy face fits you ten times better, too." Kirito replies back to him before walking off.
I turn to Klein with a point in his direction. "Same with the hair. Goes way better with that bandana." After saying my piece on his appearance with a smile, I jog up to Kirito before he gets too far. I come up on his right once he stops. He stays still for a second before turning around. I look as well but I don't see anything or anyone. 'Guess he was hoping to see Klein.' He lets out a sad breath of air at seeing no one before turning forward with his head low.
I clap my hand on his shoulder, startling him as he turns to me. For a second, he kind of forgot I was here before I give him a confident smirk and nod down the alleyway. "C'mon, let's do this."
Seeing as how I've got his back, his confidence comes back full swing and pats my shoulder as well. Without any words spoken, we run full sprint through the town, past different streets, the stalls manned by NPCs until we make it past the main entrance of the Town Of Beginnings and into the open but trapped world we are in. The towns are safe zones so we don't have to worry about getting killed easily by just about anything not of our own choice. Once you step out though, all bets are off.
We tear across the open fields where we were just farming barely a few minutes ago in favor of getting to our next destination that's rich with more game. In front of our path we see a few wolves spawn and one of them immediately moves in to engage my friend in front of me. Not perturbed or intimidated in the least Kirito unsheathes his sword and with a mighty yell, he launches a sword skill right at the attacking wolf. His attack cuts clean through his opponent as its defeated. He doesn't bother to stop to check the congratulations or what he earned as we continue to move without means of stopping. I was able to move past him since his momentary halt after doing his sword skill. Because I'm in front, now I'm the one ready to engage the two wolves moving in to attack. I reach my hand behind me and grab the handle of my sword.
With a yell of my own, my sword skill activates as I pull out my sword with one hand as I twirl myself around. As I twist, both hands grab the handle of my weapon and with a mighty swing I activate the horizontal sword skill, cleaving the two wolves in one swipe. Like my friend, the congratulations appears for me but I too continue to move as fast as I can to where we need to go with me following my friend and my sword held against my shoulder, ready to strike when needed.
Kirito lets out a yell of determination while I silently focus ahead of us. 'This game means to end us… means to end every single one of our lives.' My hand grips my handle tighter. If theirs one thing I've been most of my life… is I've been a gamer on all kinds of styles. Something my parents weren't too fond of but there's no way they can complain now. All that 'wasted time' as they've reminded me time and time again… no. This is my world now and you know what?
'I. WILL. NOT. FALL.'
… Well, how does this look? Is his weapon an interesting choice? A boring one? His name? If you all want tell how this looks to be shaping up already. To be honest, this was an idea I've had for awhile and I don't know why but I suddenly just felt like I wanted to go ahead and start putting this into words. Despite on occasion how I've seen some people complain how the story of the SAO series and hate it, I love the show. Being a gamer myself, this story kind of hits me in the aspect and I love how it is. What kind of also got me to finally start making this story was the fact I was able to finally play a Sword Art Online game. Namely, Fatal Bullet. The previous games in the past were always PlayStation exclusives and I didn't have the right console to play them. Now since Fatal Bullet came out on other consoles instead of just a PS exclusive, I was able to play it and man did I have fun with it.
In any case, this was fun to write and I hope I added just a little variety enough where you all will take a vested interest in this story of mine. While a Katana is my favorite most of all, Klein kind of got that weapon locked down and I don't want to feel cheap for using it as well. I think I can make this an interesting story to keep attention on using a large two-handed longsword. Other weapons I've thought of to use were either spear or longarm type weapons, as well as possibly blunt weaponry but in the end I decided on still using a sharp blade. Tell me what you all think and maybe if I should branch his skills out into other types of weapon styles.
I'm not sure exactly how much time I'm going to devote to this story but I'll do what I can to get some work done for this in as much regular intervals as I can. Also just so everyone knows, I follow the anime mostly, specifically the dubbed versions.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this and I hope our journey through this story will be an interesting and fruitful one to experience. Have fun reading everyone and have a great day.