And here's a new chapter! Twice as big as the first as well. I can only say my deepest thanks to my beta-reader, for his wonderful job and his help. And thus, without any more wait, enjoy~!
The sword skills are your lifeline.
It will literally mean the difference between a swift death, and an easy victory.
Beginner's Guide, «How to fight» from The Black Swordsman.
Right after his shout, the only thing that Kazuto could see was an extensive white, swiftly followed by cylinders of every colors that he could think of, quickly filling his entire sight at great speed before disappearing. The next instant, the adjustment for every senses, first touch, then sight, hearing, taste and finally smell, were done in a flash, the sign "OK" appearing in less than a second before the windows were discarded and placed on his right. Then, when they departed, the language's window popped up with his last choice, which was of course Japanese. With as much speed as allowed by the system, Kazuto instantly clicked on the OK button, causing the login's window to emerge. Promptly, Kazuto entered his account and password. The presence of a new window, missing during the beta, caused him to loose several seconds before he validated the option to keep his character from the beta, his other self, Kirito. His skills would be reset of course, but he didn't feel like making another avatar when he didn't need to.
At this instant, when he saw the message "Welcome to Sword Art Online", the only feeling that he could discern really among the feeling of joy, nostalgia, excitement and eagerness all mixed up was the feeling of coming back home. The bright blue light blinded him during several seconds, but when he opened up his eyes again, what he saw wasn't the world of Kirigaya Kazuto, Kendo's champion, brother and son, but the world of Kirito, the famed "Black Swordsman", best player of the beta-test, and inhabitant of Aincrad, the flying castle situated in the sky.
Even thought what he saw was just some bushes and several pillars near an entrance to the market, the feeling of belonging to this world was overwhelming. When he quickly looked at his hands, and saw the Beginner Gloves automatically equipped to his character, his feelings became too much to bear.
That's why, he couldn't help himself and a loud "I'm back" was heard from his avatar, a rather nondescript black haired black eyed man, the Beginner gear on him reinforcing the feeling of ordinariness and mixing him with the crowd. However, anybody could feel easily the confidence and strength emanating from him. His assured steps, and the simple fact that he could run immediately after logging him were proof of his experience within the game. That's certainly why, when Kirito ran to the nearest NCP weapons shop, he quickly stopped at the shout of somebody which he swore he had seen somewhere before.
"Hey! You there... wait up!"
Turning to face this new player, he quickly analyzed the panting newcomer. He was a red-haired man (well, some kind of purplish-red really), with brown eyes sparkling with life, and wore a red bandana with yellow streaks. His gear consisted of the beginner gear, like everyone else at this point, and a white cloth underneath his leather armor, contrasting to the blue cloth of Kirito. He also had a small bit of stubble on his chin.
"Yes, what is it?" Answered Kirito swiftly. He wanted to quickly buy his gear and started grinding, because he really didn't feel safe right now. He had several hours to level up quickly, and he fully intended to take advantage of this time. If he spent all day grinding Exp Kirito hoped to be level 5 by the end of the day, which would then make him strong enough to take on safely the special quest of Horunka. The reward from that quest would give him a sword who's basic attack power was good enough for even the third floor, but its strength was it's eight upgrades, making the sword the best weapons until about floor 6.
"You move without the slightest hesitation, so I suppose that you are a beta-tester right?" Klein asked after catching his breath.
Sensing no animosity in his tone, Kirito cautiously answered. "Yes. Is that a problem?"
"No, no! I just, well, kind of wanted to ask you if you were willing to teach a newbie how to play? That's my first time playing Sword Art Online, and I'm a bit lost! Please!" the red-haired player begged while grabbing Kirito by the shoulders.
The Black Swordsman blinked, not having expected that. "Ah?... well, okay, why not? By the way, I'm Kirito, and you?"
"I'm Klein! And thank you very much Kirito!"
"It's no trouble. I was planning to grind some monsters, so we might as well do it together, right?" Kirito reassured him with a gentle smile. "But first, we need to buy a few spare weapons, and some potions. I know a good NPC store that sells everything we'll need at a good price from the beta, and it's not too far from the clearing we'll be fighting in too, so let's go."
With this Kirito ran again, this time with Klein behind him, toward his destination. It took them several minutes before they stopped in front of a common looking store. Klein followed Kirito inside skeptically, a mood that disappeared as he saw the interior of the shop; it was filled to the brim with weapons, foods, potions, shields. It had everything a new player needed to go out into the field.
"Klein, do you have a weapon preference?Something that you are accustomed to, or maybe a weapon that you want to try?" Kirito asked, buying three additional Beginner's Swords, bringing his total to four, as wall as five Health Potions. He finished his purchase by equipping two of the Beginner Swords across his back.
"Well, I always wanted to wield a katana! Can I have one?" Klein pleaded with sparkling eyes.
So, he wanted to be a samurai type, hm? Well, his character did seems like the warrior type, after all.
"Not at the level one, but if you train enough with a curved blade, you can unlock the Katana skill tree pretty quickly." Kirito answered apologetically.
"That's sucks! How quickly are we talking here?" whined the samurai-wannabe.
"Well, I think at the level four hundred at best, and six hundred at worst."
"No way! That would take forever!" The man raged, only to slump and accept it quietly. "...Well, better get started now!" Was the reinvigorated shout of Klein before he rushed to the sickly looking NPC and bought two Beginner Cutlasses, and three Health Potions as advised by Kirito, before going outside the shop.
However, when Kirito started to run again, Klein quickly found a big problem! No, an apocalyptic problem!
"Kirito!" Klein's dismayed cry made his companion spin around, eyes darting around for a threat, only for the red-haired man to look at him piteously and gesture at the swords on the shop counter. "How do I equip my sword?"
This made Kirito pause.
"Are you trying to tell me, that you don't know how to open the menu...?" His voice was as disbelieving as it could be without directly accusing of lying.
The "you're shitting me" tone made Klein blush. "Well, I didn't play in the beta, man!"
"You obviously didn't do the tutorial either!" Kirito's eye twitched before he composed himself, an amused smile on his face. "It was step one."
"There's a tutorial?!" Was his dumbfounded answer.
"..." the silence that followed was thick with disbelief. It continued until a sigh from Kirito broke it mercilessly, followed by a laugh. Klein took no longer than two seconds before breaking and laughing too. Their laugh continued for a good minute, before Kirito swept his eyes with his sleeves and taught to Klein the movement to open the menu. Shortly after, Klein could be seen proudly wearing one of his cutlasses on the left side of his belt.
After this brief laugh, they both ran toward the nearest exit of the starting city, during which Kirito explained to Klein how to place skill in his skill slots.
"And so, when you press on a slot, the different skills that you can learn are shown, and you just have to select one by double-tapping on it. Right now, you have just 2 skills slots, but every five level you unlock another one. Several skills, like for example your katana skill, wouldn't be available until you clear the prerequisites. I advise you to add right now your "One Handed Curved Blade" skill before you forget. "
"Ah okay, I see. And what do you advice me to place in my second skill slot?" Klein inquired curiously.
At this, Kirito thought hard for several second before he replied "You could use either a "Light Shield" skill, or a "Light Metal Equipment" skill if you want to be a samurai. The shield should be better, because you can only find good Metal Armor later on, not before the fifth floor at least. On the other hand, a shield is always useful, and unless they patched it, the durability of shields is so high in this game you really need to work at it to even break one. It takes days of fighting for them to really wear down."
"A shield?! But I want to be a samurai! Samurai don't use shield!" Klein cried.
Kirito gave him a flat look, "Klein, you do know that you won't have access to Katanas until you're around level forty, give or take ten levels, right? A Curved blade doesn't offer a lot of protection if you block, and while your katana is a lot more versatile, you won't have access to it for a while. Even once you unlock it the benefits of using a shield can't be overstated. Granted, you'll lose some attack power since you'll only have one arm free to swing the katana, but still."
At the end of his explanation, they finally entered the place that Kirito sought:a gigantic grass plain located in the west field, spattered with the occasional tree, and filled with the level 1 creature "Frenzy Boar". They were weak enough that you could train newbies like Klein to use their Sword Skills with relative security, but they still awarded enough experience that grinding here was still viable. He could have lead Klein to the Docile Boar spawning area on the east field, if it was just to train him, but the experience there was really pathetic. They had enough Health Potions to make up for any mistakes.
Placing himself in front of a random Frenzy Boar, he calmly explained to Klein how he intended to teach him.
"Klein, if you need to remember one thing from me, it's that the first motion is the most important. If you can hit a monster with a sword skill in a critical location, there is a big chance that you can kill him in just one or two attacks. Try it, attack this boar here in the neck!"
"Yosha!" was his enthusiastic reply while Klein engaged the Frenzy Boar like a mad dog... only to missed pathetically when the boar moved to turn the other way. Even worse, his fall caught the attention of the Boar that, as it's name implied was instantly frenzied, it's skin turning red and smoke pouring from it's ears as it charged, nailing the poor would-be samurai square in the testicles.
Klein released a high pitched squeal as he crumpled to the ground, clutching his crotch protectively.
"... You do know that you can't feel pain, right?" was the deadpanned reaction of Kirito to this spectacle.
"Ah? Yes, now that you mention it, I don't feel any pain." Klein patted himself with an intrigued expression.
"Well yeah, it's a game. What do you think would happen if they let their players suffer in their games?" Kirito had the urge to facepalm when he saw the stupid look on Klein's face before he seems to finally understand.
"Ah, I see. Yeah, it would be stupid of them to let the pain affect the player. They'd get wimps leaving left and right complaining about it." He seemed so proud of his deduction that Kirito didn't want to break his bubble by announcing that it should have been obvious, so he quickly changed the subject.
"And didn't I tell you that the first attack was the most important?" Kirito scolded with an amused expression.
"Easy for you to say! It moved!" Klein whined with an ashamed and pouting look.
"Of course it moves, it's not a training dummy, it's a live... well, simulated, but still living creature." Kirito scooped up a stone with his right hand, and arming his throw, Klein saw easily the stone glowing of a bright red.
"Just take into account how you think the enemy is going to move, aim, and activate your skill; like this!" At the end of his sentence, Kirito threw his stone directly at the Frenzy Boar. His "Throwing" skill, only level 1 still, didn't add any bonus damage to the Basic Pebble and only ended up doing a few damage, but the throw nailed the Frenzy Boar in the snout, doing bonus damage for the critical hit. The Boar swiftly charged at Kirito in reply, only for the beta-tester to simply sidestep the attack and continued to speak with Klein.
"When you perform the correct motion, you can feel something accumulating, charging. Just hold that position until you feel it's ready, and then unleash it!"
"Motion... Motion..." Mumbled Klein as he tried to do the correct motion. Suddenly, he seemed to discover something as he tensed his legs and placed his curved sword behind his head. He then understood what Kirito tried to explain to him. The next instant, his sword was covered in a yellowish aura, prompting Kirito to kick the Boar in direction of Klein with a smile. He then watched with a proud smile as he saw Klein unleashed his Sword Skill Horizontal, cutting the boar from his head all the way to his rear. The wounded Boar froze in midair, before its HP bar went in the red and finally, reaching the 0 HP point, it exploded in a thousands of blue polygons with a little bell like sounds.
The result's window, showing the amounts of Col, Exp and items won, prompted Klein to shout in joy."Yeah! I did it! You saw that, Kirito!? Hein!? I was awesome!".
It was of course accompanied by a weird stance, arms in the air and legs bent, which made him look like a fool.
Kirito nodded with a smile "Yeah, I saw it. Congratulation." His hands raising to high-five his new friend. His smile turned devious as he revealed. "But, you know, boars are this game's version of the slime."
Klein looked comically devastated at the news. "WHAT?! No way! I thought it was a mid-boss or something like this!"
Kirito snorted, making a show of looking around at the several dozen other Frenzy Boar meandering about the field. "Of course not. I will admit that they're the more challenging version of the more peaceful Docile Boar though, so at least you started on something more difficult then most?" He said, trying to play to his new friends ego.
It worked, and the other player puffed out his chest. A few seconds of basking in this he finally asked. "What's the difference beside difficulty?"
Kirito was in the middle of throwing a handful of stones at the nearest boar and needed to finish before he could answer. After the fight, he kept the drop window open to show Klein.
Result:
Exp 24
Col 30
Items 2
"Docile Boar don't drop anything, and only offer 10 experience point. Frenzy Boar, on the other hand, can drop Boar Meat, a good material to raise your Cooking Skill with early on, Boar Skin for tailors, a moderate chance of dropping any of the Beginner's items, and offer 20 to 30 general experience." Kirito lectured.
Klein nodded thoughtfully and charged another boar, causing Kirito to shake his head and start monster grinding himself.
Seeing Klein training to do his Sword Skill brought a nostalgic smile to Kirito's face, remembering when he himself was doing the same things during the Beta. The difference was that he died a few times before he got the flow of it, having nobody ready to help him at this time.
"Pretty fun, huh Klein?" He asked.
"Yeah, it's awesome! Say, you mentioned 'general experience' before, does that mean the stuff we get for killing monster doesn't go to our skills? And just how many skills are there anyway?"
Kirito nodded, jamming his swords into the charging Boar's eyes, killing it before he explained. "Yeah, general Exp is the stuff gained from beating monsters and only levels up your Character Level. There's pretty much an uncountable number of skills, ranging from Smithing weapons and armor to Throwing like I used, hiding or even eavesdropping. Whenever these skills are used, they gain experience, so the more you use them the higher they get. In trade off there isn't any magic. Something about the balance of the game and magic not going well together." He excused easily.
"It's pretty audacious, a RPG without magic." Klein remarked as performed another Horizontal. However, his short cry of joy at the end of his sentence clearly showed that he personally didn't mind all that much.
A fact that Kirito clearly saw, because he couldn't stop himself from saying. "Yeah, but it's more fun to fight with your own strength right, not just chant some words and watch everything die."
"Of course it is!" Was the spirited answer from a grinning wannabe-samurai.
Finding the grin contagious, Kirito asked with a teasing tone "Well, shall we continue?"
"Yeah! And I bet a lunch I'll be higher level than you by the end of the day! Believe it!"
"Oh? Feeling daring today? Then I guess I need to show you who's the better player, right?" Kirito challenged right back with a carnivorous smile, making Klein gulp a bit when he remembered just who Kirito was.
During their fights, Kirito continued to explain everything to Klein, focusing on the dangers of overusing Sword Skills as he saw Klein using them so heavily. He explained the cooldown time following the activation of a Sword Skill, which could be deadly if someone used them carelessly. He also taught him not to be overkill, and if he saw a monster with low HP, the better way to dispose of it was simple attacks placed precisely and not a Sword Skill, the cooldown time making him a perfect target for a surprise attack, and the exhaustion that came with using them. There wasn't a Stamina Gauge or anything, but Sword Skills in general just involved a lot of movement and exhaustion was a thing that could happen, even in the virtual world. This prompted a question from Klein that left him flabbergasted, a question that's answer would make Kirito famous.
"Say, Kirito?" The redhead asked.
"Hum? What is it Klein? Something bothering you?" Kirito asked nonchalantly while he dodged the charge of two boars simultaneously, easily piercing their necks with his swords.
"How come you can use two swords at the same time? Is it a special skill or something...?I heard several people mutter that the dual wielding was just impossible, because you needed to have a perfect balance or you wouldn't be able to do it since you'd need to power up two different Sword Skills, one per arm."
"Ah? Well, I just happened to be a good Nitoryu kendo practitioner, so my balance with two swords isn't bad, and well it just felt natural over time." Kirito explained while rubbing his head with an uneasy smile.
"What the hell man!? You mean that you're like the only person in the whole game who can do it?" Klein exclaimed loudly.
"Well, I know that in the beta-test I was the only one. I'm sure there are others, or will be others, that might give it a try, but it's definitively something that'll always be uncommon."
"You're so lucky dude! Wait, when you said you're a kendo practitioner, that also means you have experience in duels?!"
Blushing at this point, his uneasy grin remained plastered on his face. "Yeah... I've done quite a bit of duel during spar and tournaments. But that's beside the point, right? We're here to experiment it all, right? Well, let's go!" And with his shout, he promptly ignored the gaping Klein beside him and took on three Boars. Seeing no movement from Klein he added "I know someone who is paying lunch tomorrow if he doesn't speed up quickly~!" in a sing-song tone.
Breaking out of his daze, Klein quickly shouted "It's just SOOO unfair!" before hacking again at the boar with his cutlass. It wasn't long before the matter just dropped off their mind, and they continued to grind until it was well into the afternoon. And sadly for Klein's wallet, Kirito swiftly showed that the beta-test did wonder for one's fighting abilities. While Klein had earned his right to be known as a high class player by being almost level 2, Kirito himself had just passed the level 2 and was well on his way to level 3 when they finished. Unknown to Klein, he was actually in the top ten currently playing. Kirito easily placed himself in the first place, the only player in the entire game to be level 2, the second highest player was almost a half a level behind him, just a little above Klein.
Taking a pause for a quick break, they chose a spot near a cliff, offering them a superb view of the landscape, the setting sun in the background.
"It is so wonderful. If I wasn't seeing it myself, I wouldn't have believed it that a game could be so realistic."Klein marveled with an awed voice. "This Akihiko Kayaba guy is truly a genius! I'm really glad to be born at this era."
"You're exaggerating here."
"Hey, it's my first "Fulldive"! Everything is new for me!"
"Oh, so it's also your first time with a game using the Nerve Gear ?"Kirito asked with an interested tone.
"Yeah, I bought everything in a rush when I saw the release of SAO. I consider myself lucky to be amongst the ten thousands players. Well, you're ten time as lucky as me, being able to try the beta version. There were only one thousand among the million of volunteers, after all!"
Kirito, seeing the envy in his voice, rubbed his head awkwardly and said "Yeah, I really was lucky. I still remembered when I got the mail, I thought it was a joke and I didn't believe it until they sent the Nerve Gear along with the Game. When the factor knocked at my door, I fainted immediately after seeing the package with the Argus logo on it."
"How far did you get on the beta version?"
"In the two months of the beta-test, I only managed to get to level 8. Now, that I know what I'm doing from the start I think I'll be able to get that far within a month." Kirito had a confidant grin on his he proclaimed his goal.
"You're completely addicted, aren't you." Klein mumbled with a somewhat sheepish expression on his face.
"Honestly? During the beta, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about SAO. With theses swords, I can go anywhere I want in this world." Kirito unsheathed his sword, and looked at them in wonder.
"It is a virtual space, but I don't feel like it. For me, it's another world. I feel myself live as much in this virtual world than at my home, in the real world."
Sheathing his swords, he turned to Klein with a calm look and asked. "Do you want to keep grinding? Or maybe you have prepared something?"
"Well, I would love to stay, but..." he paused to look at the in-game clock "I ordered a pizza for half past five, so I need to log out." While he stood up, he seemed to remember something important and said with an exited tone:" Say, Kirito. I have planned to meet up with several friends of mine that I met in an another game, so do you want to add them on your friend list?"
Seeing Kirito looking perplexed for a moment, he quickly added while gesturing frantically "Of course, there's no need to feel obligated! I can ..."
Before he could continue, Kirito smiled fondly and quickly assured him "I would be honored to have them on my friend-list, don't worry."
Blinking furiously, Klein whispered something unintelligible before he seemed to understand what Kirito said because he suddenly perked up and shouted with as much excitation as a kid "Seriously?! Thanks dude, that's nice from you! I send you the names right away!"
After adding his five new friends, Kirito suddenly felt a cold chill when he saw something disturbing.
"Klein... Tell me, do you see the Logout button on your main menu? At the very bottom?"
Hearing his generally cool friend's half-shout, Klein quickly threw a worried look at the blank space where the button was supposed to be before whispering in an horrified voice "No Kirito... I don't have one either..." He seemed to shock himself out of his funk because he added "It IS the first day, so it was bound to have several bugs, right? I'm sure the direction is working to fix it!" with a nervous chuckle.
"Well they better hurry." Kirito tried to joke as he looked at the clock, reading 17:25
Klein shouted to death about his 'teriyaki mayonnaise sauce pizza and his ginger ale' while Kirito couldn't shook the disturbing feeling that something wasn't right about this whole mess... apart from Klein's really bad taste in pizza. The next question from Klein quickly made him realize why exactly.
"Kirito, isn't there another way to logout?"
Feeling this unsettling feeling arise once more, he quietly answered "No. If you want to disconnect spontaneously, the player must go through the menu. Even in the manual, there were no way to do any sort of "emergency disconnection" due to how the hardware was set up."
"You're kidding right? And what if we take the Nerve Gear off?" Klein asked while trying to take an invisible helmet off.
"It's useless. The Nerve Gear intercept the signals sent by your brain, so no matter what, your body in the real world will stay still."
"So we need to wait until the bug is corrected?"
"You may also wait until someone in the real world disconnects your Nerve Gear." continued Kirito with a sense of foreboding still anchoring him in place.
"But I'm living alone. What about you?"
"My little sister come back in two hours, so I suppose she will disconnect me then."
Quicker than lightning, the arms on Klein gripped my arms and he said emotionally "How old is your sister!?"
Sighing at how swiftly his friend forgot about their situation, Kirito answered him coldly "First, she is a bit young for you, Second, she doesn't like video games and the like, and finally, she's really into sport, she has barely anything in common with the like of us" before kicking him in the groin, making Klein roll on the floor in faked pain before he remembered that the game didn't add this feature.
"But seriously Klein, doesn't it freak you out?"
"Of course it does, It is a big bug after all!"
Seeing that Klein didn't understand what he meant, Kirito explained his thoughts. "That's not a simple bug. Being unable to disconnect is a big problem for the future of VRMMORPG."
"Yeah, saw like this, of course it is..."
"So why didn't they stop the servers? If it was a bug, they would just do this and proceed at a massive forced disconnection, but there was no announcement made..."
Suddenly, the sound of a bell seemed to echo across the entire floor. This majestic sound however, brought to both Klein and Kirito a nerve wracking anxiety. The bright blue light that suddenly surrounded them really didn't help them calm down. The tugging feeling that they felt was quickly recognized by Kirito, who shouted "It's a forced teleportation! But why the GM...".
The rest of his sentence was lost because they suddenly found themselves at their starting point, The Grand Place of the Starting City.
The anxious not-so-quite mumble of the crowd started to affect them, when suddenly a shout from a nondescript player calmed for a short time the crowd. "Look, up here!". A single red WARNING sign could be seen, before suddenly it started to expand and covered the entire sky with the signs System Announcement. Shortly after this, a red liquid like blood started to flow from them, and shaped the form of a gigantic Game Master outfit. However, it was different from a standard GM, and it was what scared the players: the GM couldn't be seen under the clothes. The mantle was flying in midair above the gamers, and even the white gloves were empty.
Question like, "Is that a Game Master?", "Why it doesn't have a face" or even the hopeful "What event it is?" were flowing like an endless stream amongst the shout of "I'm scared!" and "What is happening!?". Of course, several players kept a cool facade and quickly reassured them with words like "It's okay, it's just part of the opening ceremony."
They all became silent when the red figure of the supposed-GM started to speak, slowly lifting his whites gloves and spreading them apart on an embrace like gesture.
"Players, I welcome you all to my world." It had a deep voice, obviously male, and it had a soothing effect on the players. Kirito couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. And his world? Well, he was a GM and the creator, so it could be considered his world, but why did it feel like there was something else meant by these words?
"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world. "
At these words, Kirito remembered the interviews that he read in his room. Kayaba never spoke about SAO like a game, he always spoke about it like if it was another dimension, something that couldn't exist in the real world so it was created elsewhere. He gasped when he thought about it, and prayed that his doubts were just from paranoia. Sadly, it wasn't to be.
"I think that most of you have discovered the fact that the Log Out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug; it is all part of «Sword Art Online»'s system. Until you get to the top of this castle, you cannot log out of your own free will. "
At this moment, Klein and Kirito exchanged a glance but stayed silent. However, both their minds were working overtime, trying to find another explanation to this scheme, but they both knew that it was the truth. If not their brains, the guts feelings they'd both been feeling for the past thirty minutes ago told them so.
"...also, the disruption or dismantling of the Nerve Gear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted... the signal sensors in your Nerve Gear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions. To be a little more specific, 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 Nerve Gear. If any of these conditions are met, the brain destruction sequence will start. "
The crowd's mumble and shout could be heard now, everyone was trying to voice his disbelief, nobody really thought that it was the truth at this moment, just a sick joke from the GM for his introduction. They were all waiting the sentence announcing that it was a prank, and to enjoy the game, but sadly, the following sentences were just going to make them plunge in despair.
"Kirito, he's gotta be nut's right? There's no way a Nerve Gear could fry our brain."
"He's right, Klein. The transceiver's microwaves signals are just like those in a microwave oven. If the limiters were disabled, it could fry our brains." Kirito was deep in thought, not trying to deny what is happening, but thinking about the best course of actions.
"Why don't we just cut the power, then?" asked Klein with a hopeful voice.
Kirito quickly crushed his hopes with a blank voice:"The Nerve Gear has an internal battery."
"That's just messed up! What is going on!?"
"Listen, Klein. That's the only thing we can do for now." Kirito mumbled pensively.
"These conditions have been made known to the government and the public through mass-media in the outside world. On that note, there have been several cases where the relatives or friends have ignored the warnings and tried to forcefully remove the Nerve Gear. The result..." The monotonous voice took a short breath. "...regretfully 213 players have already exited this game, and the real world, forever."
"Already 213 players...!" whispered Kirito, shocked by the high numbers of death in just several hours.
"I don't believe it..." was the equally disbelieving voice of Klein.
The crimson clothed Kayaba continued with the same calm voice as before, while opening many windows of video and newscast. "Players, there is no need to worry about the bodies you left on the other side. As of this moment, all TV, radio, and Internet media are repeatedly reporting this situation; including the fact that there have been numerous deaths. The danger of having your Nerve Gear taken off has already all but disappeared. In a moment, using the two hours I have provided, all of you will be transported to hospitals or similar institutes and be given the best treatment. So you can relax... and concentrate on beating the game." On the windows, photo's of victims and their family were shown, each crying of grief and disbelief.
At this point, Kirito forced himself to stay calm and placed his hand on Klein's shoulder for support and help him to stay calm too.
"But I ask of you all to understand that «Sword Art Online» is no longer a simple game. It is a second reality... From now on, any form of revival in the game will no longer work. The moment your HP reaches 0, your avatar will be gone forever. And at the same time..." The GM paused.
Klein and Kirito both knew what this meant. Kayaba wouldn't let them escape this easily. The only other alternative was...
"...your brain will be destroyed by the Nerve Gear."
These words, spoken with a clear but soft voice, reasoned like if they were shouted. There was an absolute silence during several seconds, each brains processing what his words meant.
Both Kirito and Klein tensed, Kirito remembering each time he died in the beta, and Klein how close to death he came on several occasions.
"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 one hundredth floor, and defeat the final boss that resides there. All players still alive at that time will be immediately logged out of the game. I give you all my word." He showed to every player a holographic representation of Aincrad.
"You are currently on the 1st floor, the lowest level of Aincrad. Make your way through every dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, and you will advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on the 100th floor, and you will clear the game."
At these words, the less informed gamers were confused. "Clear? What's he talking about?", while the others were shouting their disbelief. "It's easier said than done!" or "It's impossible!" were common.
"Clear a hundred floor? But Kirito, didn't you said me that..."
"Yeah, we, the beta-testers, only went as far as the 10th floor."
However, even though the players were mumbling, there was no panic or despair. It probably was because they all thought that it was just a seriously warped opening event, because it was just so horrifying that it felt unreal.
Akayaba started speaking again with a voice devoid of emotion. "Then I will show you evidence that this is the only reality. In your inventories, there will be a gift from me. Please confirm this."
All the players in the plaza did the same motion, the sound of ringing bell sounding eerily out of place with the grave atmosphere. Seeing the new object, both Kirito and Klein pressed the "Make into Object" button, and observed the small rectangular mirror in their hands. It was just like the genuine article, showing their avatar's faces, and Klein and Kirito exchanged once more a glance before a bright white light engulfed every player on the plaza during several seconds.
When the light disappeared, Kirito could only look with amazement the intriguer change: his avatar face was replaced by the real Kazuto's face! Looking around, he saw that not only their face, but also their build were changed. Looking at the player on his right, who he supposed was Klein, he asked nonetheless.
"You're Klein, right?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm Kirito, isn't it obvious?" asked the black haired teen with amusement. Klein, like Kirito himself, had set his body height to equal his real height. However, His eyes were now a big brighter, his nose became hooked, and his stuble more pronounced maybe, while his odd purplish-red straight hair became a brownish-red spike. All in all, he became more bandit-like .
"So Kayaba's present was this, uh?" he started to ponder how the Nerve Gear managed this when Klein voiced his thoughts.
"But how can it know how our bodies look like? I mean, our faces, I can understand, but our bodies? Ah... wait... yes! I remember! I bought the Nerve Gear yesterday, so I remember that there was something called calibration? Well, it asked you to touch your body in several places, so maybe it was...?"
Kirito made a hollow laugh when he realized something. "When he said that it was a reality,... In order to make us believe it, he produced a perfect copy of our real body..."
"But Kirito, do you know why? Why he's doing something as crazy as this...?"
Kirito sighed and answered with the calmest voice he could manage. " I already told you Klein. Listen, that the only way you'll be answered."
As if he heard what Kirito said, Kayaba continued with a solemn voice. "You will all most probably be wondering, "Why." Why am I —the creator of both the Nerve Gear and SAO, Kayaba Akihiko— doing something like this? Is this a sort of terrorist attack? Is he doing this to ransom us?"
At this, Kirito almost snorted: he was already one of the richest man of the world, but he never showed even the slightest interest in spending his money.
"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 the Nerve Gear and SAO. And now, everything has been realized."
Kirito could swore that Kayaba sound... empathic? However, the emotion was quickly squashed away, so he must had dreamed.
"...Now, I have finished the official tutorial for «Sword Art Online». Players—I wish you luck."
His voice seemed to trailed off with a faint echo, even when the red hooded figure rose into the system message which covered the sky. Just after its empty legs melted in the sea of red, the system message disappeared as suddenly as it appeared, leaving the disoriented players at their fate.
During several seconds, the only sounds that could be heard was the wind blowing above the plaza, before, finally, the players gave a proper reaction to this whole mess. They panicked.
"Stop joking around! Stop your fucking messed-up event and let us log out!"
"You can't do this!? I've got a job meeting tomorrow!"
"Please! I beg you! Let me get out of there!"
Kirito spoke with with as much composure as he could "Klein, where are these friends of yours right now?"
"Hum? Well, they must be somewhere at the plaza, but..." Klein hesitated.
"Go met with them. I've got something to do."
Klein widened his eyes so much that they should had popped. "But... and you... Where are you going?"
Seeing his trouble, Kirito just gave a kind smile and said "Don't worry, I'm not leaving you alone in this mess. But someone has to calm them, right? Or they might panic and do something reckless."
Klein, after a short sigh of relief, then gave Kirito a thumb up and said "Okay dude. I met up wit you after your speech?"
"Of course. See you soon Klein." was his quick answer while Kirito started to run toward the center of the plaza, where a raised platform was situated near the clock. He climbed up on the platform and, mustering all his remaining strength, shouted, trying to be heard amongst the curses, cry for help and the likes.
"CALM DOWN!"
Kirito's shout reverberated through the plaza, prompting every nearby players to unconsciously look at him while their cry steadily shut down. Seeing all these disoriented glazes directed at him made Kirito take a quick breath to calm his nerves, which were near the breaking point.
"Everyone, I know it is some really shocking news. I'm pretty much sure a lots of us think it is just a sick joke or something like this, and I really hope that it is."
'I suck so much at inspiring speeches!' Kirito whined internally. However, he quickly continued nonetheless, because he was pretty sure that if he stopped, he would lose his nerves and run away.
"However, in the probability that it is the absolute truth, and sadly this is a pretty certain probability, don't do anything reckless. If it is just a prank, I will be the first one to laugh at it and say " Yeah, we were fools". But if it isn't, I want you to think carefully if you're ready to gamble your life like this."
Suddenly, cries of "Who are you first?!" and "How could you help us?! You look like you're still a kid!" erupted.
Kirito took a deep breath, doing his best to mimic his grandfather. The man may have been old, but when he was alive an aura about him that made you follow what he said, a natural commander. "My name is Kirito. During the beta-test I became known as The Black Swordsman. Me and nine hundred and ninety nine others like me explored this game for two months, learned it's secrets, and mastered the art of staying alive as best we could. If that means anything to you, please listen to me. I can assure you, if you don't know this game, the probability that you don't die, even once, is near zero percent."
At this cold truth, the now silent players were left gaping.
"I'm not going to sugar-coat it. It's the truth. And this is why I ask all of you to meet me here, at this exact place tomorrow at noon, after you get the night to calm down and think carefully about your choice. You can either choose to hide there, in the Starting City, if you feel that you are unable to fight. You can try to live a relatively normal life, waiting for the others to clear this game. You can also help the players on the field by exercising a job, like becoming a blacksmith, tailor, or merchant. Or you can go on the field, killing monsters and helping actively to the clearance of the game. Tomorrow, I ask, no, I beg every beta-tester, if you can teach a groun of people, or even a single person, how to fight, how to forge, how to survive, to help me teach the newcomers, I will be eternally grateful."
Kirito then made a bitter smile. "We were one thousand strong, that's true, however I'm not stupid enough to think that all of them will come. Even now, I can feel the urge nagging at me to flee, to run to the fields outside the city and level up as fast as I can, use my knowledge to gain the best items possible to secure a safe lifestyle for myself and leave everyone else here. Again, I beg, to my fellow beta tester, resist. These people need all the help we can give. This gave was a breakthrough in technology, and I'm willing to bet my life a good chunk of the players here are not gamers, but merely people who wanted to try out this new invention in mankind's history. Could you live with yourself, knowing that all these people, that we could have saved, died ? I know I couldn't."
"If even one tenth of them, even if only one hundred beta-tester can help me, can help them, then we might be able to save so many lives. And if you don't feel comfortable doing this, then begin working on the guidebook for new players. I know there were talks about all the strongest and most skilled players getting together and making a how-to guide once the game went public, and... well, the time is here. The faster we get this guide completed the better informed everyone will be. For those who forgot, contact Argo «The Rat» for the details."
Feeling like he forgot something, he added quickly "If you decide nevertheless to go outside and try to level up, don't go alone: forming a party is the safer, and generally quicker, way to gain experience without risking your life uselessly. Also, don't go too far, the farther away from the Starting City, the stronger the monsters. And remember, just because this game was set up a certain way in the beta doesn't mean it's going to be the same, so beta testers, don't rely completely on the knowledge you've gained."
Seeing all those tired, but now hopeful glazes directed at him made Kirito feel something swelled up in his chest: it was pride, and hope. He then threw a tired smile at the crowd. "I advise everyone to take a good night of rest, and we will meet up here tomorrow at noon. Is there... any question?"
Hearing nothing, except the occasional whispers, he finished with a swift "Thank you for your attention" before he localized the red-haired head of his friend, near the end of the crowd, and walked over to him. When he finally reached Klein, he quickly made him understand to follow him before he continued his road, finally stopping near the NPC shop that they'd bought their gear in earlier.
"Man, I didn't think that you had that in you to do a speech to ten thousand people like that! By the way, it was awesome!" The ever energetic Klein even gave a thumb up to Kirito.
"Stop teasing me! I'm not at ease in front of a crowd, and if I could have done it differently, trust me I would have! It was the only way to stop them from breaking down..." mumbled Kirito with a blush. Quickly changing the subject, he asked with a soft smile. "So... introductions?" He requested, gesturing toward the happy bunch that followed them.
"Yeah, of course! Well, there's the friends I told you about, so..."
The nearest one, which also seemed the more level-headed, introduced himself quietly. "You can call me Issin. Nice to meet you." He had spiked brown hair, and a very angular face.
Next, the youngest looking, a black haired men, followed with a timid smile. "Hi... I'm Harry One."
After him, a chubby and friendly looking man with short curly black hair shook hands with him while saying energetically "And I'm Dale. So you're this incredible swordsman that Klein didn't stop talking about? Kirito was it?" to which the boy in question could only offer a strained smile.
He was shortly followed by a mustached man, wearing a red bandana covering the entire top of his head, with a slightly stern look. "I'm Dynamm."
Finally, a bluish-black haired man, offered me a broad smile and shook my hand while introducing himself "I'm called Kunimittz"
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Kirito." He offered a polite smile, still a little uneasy between all these old friends.
"Yosha! So now that the introductions are done, what was that, Kirito? Do you plan to teach every player of SAO?"
"Well, it's obvious that I won't be able to teach them alone, but if the other beta-tester come, and if we discount the players who'll stay on the city, it should be enough. Just a question, everyone: I'm going to a village somewhere near the forest, a place called Horunka. At this place, there's a quest that offer the best one-handed sword until the sixth floor, so how many of you are going to need one? If it is just one or two swords, I should manage to come back in time for the meeting."
After a quick glance between them, Issin and Dynamm lifted their arm.
"That should do. What about the rest of you? I know Klein use a curved sword, and maybe a shield, but what weapons are you using? I should be able to find something on my way."
"Well Harry One and Kunimittz use one handed assault spears, and Dale sticks to one handed maces. Ah! And Dynamm also want to use a shield. But are you sure you'll be able to do it? It's already six PM." Klein asked with a worried tone.
Kirito, after noting this on his bloc-note, reassured Klein while running toward the nearest exit: "Don't worry, the village is just twenty minutes away from here with the shortcuts that I know. I will have a short night, but it should be worth it. Teach them how to use Sword Skills before going to the inn, Klein!"
With these parting words, Kirito left the Starting City in direction of Horunka Village, not knowing that during his short traveling, he would save the lives of several people who ignored his advices, or had rushed out before hearing it, earning him the moniker of "The Black Savior"
The end! So, like before, please leave a review with your feelings, even negatives, if it can help me improve, everything goes ^^ See you soon!