Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

August 31st, 2022

The sound of blades clashing echo through the dark halls of the dungeon, until finally a piercing screech of a dying monstrosity puts an end to the battle.

The one who struck the killing blow, ran ahead down the dark passage, braziers coming to life with orange flames as the scythe wielder ran towards the large doors.

'Dammit.. Just a little farther.' Mito cursed bitterly in her head, running for the doors. It was the last chance to see what the next floor has in store.

"Ten seconds remaining."

The countdown began, this was it.. last chance.

"Eight."

"Seven."

'Come on.. I'm so close..' Mito nearly reached the doors.

"Five."

"Four."

"Three."

A blinding white light obscured the view in front of her.

'Almost, almost!'

"Two."

"One."

Just as Mito made it through the doors, it was over before she could see what lay on the other side.

"This concludes the beta test. The full game will commence on November 6th at 1:00 PM. We'd like to thank our beta testers for their cooperation. Look forward to the official launch!."

Mito sat down, waiting to be logged out.

'This is it.. Goodbye for now.'

Once disconnected from the server, Misumi stretched her arms and legs. It was a nice feeling. Her real body had been laying in bed for hours. An even nicer feeling was her sleeping lover snuggled up next to her, she had apparently fallen asleep on her chest.

Misumi couldn't help but smile like a total goof seeing Asuna snooze peacefully. She removed her Nervegear carefully, setting it down on the nightstand.

She shifted her attention back on her partner. "What am I gonna do with you?" She murmured softly with a smile.

"Time to wake up, love." She gently roused Asuna, kissing the crown on her head.

"Mmm.. five more minutes." Asuna mumbled.

Misumi chuckled. "Come on, I know you must be hungry, you've been studying so hard lately."

Asuna whined, her voice muffled by Misumi's chest as she hugged her. "But I’m so comfyyy.."

"Hmm.. Alright, such a shame though. I was hoping to get some cake~"

Asuna shot up immediately, Misumi swearing she could see stars in Asuna's beautiful hazel eyes. "Yay! Let's get ready!"

Misumi couldn't hide the smug look she was wearing as she watched Asuna quickly get dressed.

"So predictable.." She mumbled to herself as she got up.

"What was that?" Asuna stared at her through the mirror.

"Nothing dearest!"

"Hmm.. thought so." She smiled like a fox.

Asuna and Misumi went out to one of their favorite restaurants. Asuna was happily enjoying her tea while Misumi shared more of her exciting tales of her time in Aincrad.

"Honestly.. I don't know if I'll survive until launch." Misumi whined. "What am I gonna do with myself, Asuna?"

"You could always study with me, I think my grades have surpassed yours with all the time you've been playing that game~"

"Psh.. yeah right! I'm keeping up with my studies just fine. You though, I worry about you Asuna. It wouldn't kill you to make some time to relax, right?"

"I'll take a break when I've bested you, rival~"

"Hmph, I suppose I could just answer a few questions wrong on purpose on our next test-"

"Okay, okay! I'll free up some time to relax-" Asuna pouted "You know I don't like it when you let me win."

Misumi reached over the table and held Asuna's hand, her girlfriend's pout subsiding. "I know love. I just need to make sure you're taken care of… Plus I wanna spend more time with you, ya know?" Misumi finished with a cheeky grin.

Asuna smiled and conceded the point, opting to enjoy her dessert.

"Ahem.. speaking of, I have a surprise waiting at home for you!" Misumi smiled, hardly able to contain her excitement.

"A surprise?"

Back at their apartment, Asuna was making tea when Misumi brought out a fairly large box. It was rather poorly wrapped, something she was quite used to by now. Her girlfriend was hopeless at gift wrapping.

“Ta-da!! Go on, open it! I'm so excited!” Misumi was excitedly watching Asuna, wearing a big smile.

Asuna smiled in return. “What's the occasion? My birthday isn't for another month so..”

“As if I need a reason to spoil my beloved!” Misumi smiled triumphantly. Asuna simply waited patiently, giving her girlfriend a knowing look. They’ve had this same conversation countless times by now.

“I just couldn't wait to show you! Really this is something for the both of us. Go on, open it already!”

Asuna relented. She began removing the gift wrap and instantly recognized the NerveGear, and Argus logos. ‘Did Misumi use her NerveGear box to wrap the present?’

It seemed so as it looked like the tape sealing the box closed had already been removed. Asuna easily opened the box and to her surprise, there was a NerveGear helmet identical Misumi's. She carefully lifted it from the box and inspected it, and was surprised it seemed to be brand new, with no obvious signs of use.

“Misumi.. how did you.. These are crazy expensive, right??” She had a much better appreciation for the value of money since her parents disowned her, and was trying very hard to be smart with their finances.

Misumi put her hands up as if to say ‘no need to panic.’

“Actually I got a super good deal. An old friend of mine decided to focus more on his career and was purging all his games. He owed me a favor so…” She pointed to Asuna's NerveGear.

“He even got a beta key but says he never had time to sign in. So when SAO launches we won't even have to worry about getting you one of the limited copies!”

Asuna looked down at the NerveGear in her hands and smiled. She and Misumi used to play games together a lot more often, and Misumi was always so passionate about her adventures in Aincrad. She would have been lying if she said she wasn't curious.

She set down the NerveGear and hugged her. “Thank you Misumi, I'm excited to share this with you. You've told me so many wonderful stories from that game, how could I not be?”

Misumi cheered loudly, Asuna hoped their roommates weren't sleeping. “Yes! Even calling it a game doesn't do it justice, Asuna! Just wait for launch day, you'll understand what I mean.”

Misumi's passion and excitement was palpable, until she decided it was time to put all the excess energy to good use and picked up her girlfriend's firm embrace and spun her around a few times. And before they knew it they were back in their bedroom, their tea long forgotten.

November 6th, 2022

Across Japan ten thousand lucky gamers had managed to secure the first copies of the highly anticipated Sword Art Online. One of those copies had come into the possession of a middle school student from Japan’s Kanto region. A girl with light gold hair and azure eyes.

Emilia Kaneko sat alone in her small shabby bedroom, which she shared, within a small shabby house that was home to more people than should be allowed. Emilia couldn’t be bothered by that now though, she didn’t think much could. Today was a big day, one she had been looking forward to for weeks.

Her Nervegear was all set up and ready to take her to her new escape. Online games helped her do just that for years now, but she knew SAO was a different animal. Anyone who paid attention knew what a leap in technology the Nervegear was, and thanks to her years of dedication in gaming, she was able to win herself one of the helmets and a coveted copy of the first game to really make full use of it’s potential.

Emilia sat down on her bed and put on her Nervegear. Any minute now she would finally see the floating castle Aincrad. She could hear muffled arguing outside her door, but she ignored it. Soon she would be far, far away from all of it. She stared anxiously at the clock at the top right of the helmet’s display, waiting for the final seconds to pass. It felt like it would take forever, until finally…

13:00

Emilia closed her eyes and smiled. “Link start!”

ARGUS
Express Your Vision

<< Touch Sensor System: Loading... OK! >>

<< Sight Sensor System: Loading.... OK! >>

<< Hearing Sensor System: Loading..... OK! >>

<< Taste Sensor System: Loading... OK! >>

<< Smell Sensor System: Loading...... OK! >>

“Welcome to Sword Art Online!” She was greeted by a feminine disembodied voice.

“Please start by entering your name.”

Emilia had already decided on a name for her character. She had used all kinds of names for her characters before, some cute, some silly, some outright shocking when she felt like having a laugh. This time though, she thought she ought to keep it simple.

<<Please create a new user.>>

User name: Emiko

Password: .................

The voice continued to walk her through the steps after entering her information.

“Next, we’re going to create your avatar. Gender, hairstyle, skin color, build... Please choose whatever you like and adjust the details.”

Emiko spent some time working on her character here. She scoffed at the option she was given to base her avatar on her IRL appearance. ‘Absolutely not.’ She thought to herself.

Her avatar looked rather unassuming and plain. Dark hair and eyes, like most girls in her class… And most of the whole country, really. She did make herself look a bit older, and a little taller. She got a warning telling her it may be disorienting at first to change her height, but she figured she would get used to it. Her looks and short stature caused her plenty of problems in the real world.

She liked the idea of fading into the background, and just feeling normal for a change. She imagined it was a bit ironic, assuming most players would go all out with flashy looking avatars. Virtual worlds gave them the freedom to express themselves however they liked. If only people in the real world would be so open minded. ‘The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.’ She thought of the proverb bitterly.

Quickly she reminded herself that it was finally time to leave all that behind, even if it’s just for a little while.

<<Is this the character you want to use?>>

Her avatar had black hair, black eyes, and fair skin. She picked a white and blue color pallet for her outfit, and was happy with how it all turned out. Deciding she was finished, and pressed ‘OK.’

<<Welcome to Sword Art Online!>>

“Now you’ll be teleported to the game’s starting location, the Town of Beginnings.”

Emiko stifled a laugh. ‘Town of Beginnings? Very creative name, Kayaba-san.’

It was a bit disorienting at first, being immersed in the shimmering blue light. But after blinking a few times and taking a moment to find her footing, Emiko finally took in the large plaza. It was spectacular, more people were materializing from the blue light all around her. Already other players were chatting excitedly and running every which way.

She took a moment to find a nearby bench to just sit down and take it all in. ‘They weren’t kidding about Fulldive.. It's just like real life!’

Excited to see more, Emiko spotted what she deduced was an NPC. When focusing on other players, they had green cursor’s above their heads. The NPC’s had yellow cursors.

“Um.. excuse me?” Emiko approached the NPC woman. Many other players seemed to be talking with them just like they would talk to another human, more or less. It seemed like a good place to start.

“Welcome swordmaster. How might I be of assistance?”

It felt a little immersion breaking, but she needed to find out how to work the menu in this game. She wouldn’t be able to do much without it.

“I was wondering how to access the menu? I want to look at my inventory, ya know?”

The NPC just smiled. “Certainly. All swordmasters have been granted the use of mystic scribing. Simply raise your left hand and swipe in a downward motion, like so.” She acted out the instructions, and it worked just like she said when she tried it herself.

After taking a moment to look over the menu, she found that she had 1000 cor. ‘Must be the currency in this game.’ Emiko reasoned. ‘No weapon.. Suppose it makes sense since there was no class selection.’

Emiko smiled and thanked her. “I really appreciate it, thanks. I was also wondering, where might I buy some equipment to get started?”

“You’re very welcome. If you follow that road-” She pointed to one of the wide arches leading out of the plaza. “-you will find the shopping district. You should find what you are looking for there.”

Her excitement was building fast, Emiko quickly bowed and thanked the NPC again and ran off to do some shopping.

“A fine blade, that dagger. It will serve you well.” The shopkeep commented on her purchase. “If you’re planning on doing any fighting, might I suggest you buy some healing supplies? I know the apothecary down the road, he will give you a fair price for some potions.”

Emiko listened to the man speak while inspecting her newly acquired ‘Iron Dagger’ which set her back 40 cor. She had learned after purchasing a light metal breastplate from another merchant, that at level 1, she had 4 ‘skill slots.’ 2 were restricted to non-combat skills and the other would be combat related. So, just enough to pick out her weapon and armor type of choice. So, including the improved armor she had spent 200 of her starting cor.

Nodding, Emiko thanked the NPC blacksmith. “Thank you for the advice, I think I’ll go there next.”

Emiko began to follow the directions given to her, when suddenly she was entranced by the most wonderful smell. Following her nose, she found a baker’s stall selling fresh baked bread. Her stomach growled loudly, and she hoped nobody noticed. She knew eating here wouldn’t help her real body, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was the warm pumpernickel bun that caught her eye.

“Um.. Excuse me sir, I’d like to buy one of those please.” Emiko pointed to the dark brown buns.

“Of course young lady! And might I interest you in something to drink? I have some fresh redberry juice, what do you say?”

Emiko nodded enthusiastically. “Yes please!”

The NPC man laughed good-naturedly. “That’ll be 3 cor, miss.”

She quickly materialized 3 'coins of radius’ from her inventory, and placed them on the counter. She took her bread and cup of juice and sat under a nearby tree. After her first bite Emiko was in heaven. The bread was warm, it had a crisp crust and fluffy interior. The juice wasn’t too sweet and was very refreshing.

‘This is better than anything I’ve had in awhile. Even something this simple… how could I possibly go back after this?’ Emiko sighed, not wanting to spoil her fun with thoughts of her life outside of Aincrad.

Resolved to finish up her shopping, Emiko made the short walk to the Apothecary. Yet again the first thing she noticed was the smell, and it was wonderful. All manner of herbs and flowers, all looking completely unfamiliar to her. On display she could see what she guessed were the potions she was told about, as well as a variety of healing items. There were salves, herbal teas, antidotes, and more.

The NPC Apothecary running the shop emerged from a door behind the counter. He looked exhausted, which was a surprise. All the NPCs she had met thus far had very ‘genki’ energy. This one had the look of a man who hadn’t slept, or shaved for a while. “Apologies for the wait, I’ve been very busy as you can imagine. What with the summoning of all you swordmasters. What can I get for you today? Let me guess, some minor healing potions? They seem to be a favorite among your people.”

Emiko stared at the man for a moment or two, taken aback by how different he was. “Y-yes. I was sent here by the blacksmith down the road, he spoke very highly of your work. I will be needing some potions before I leave town.”

The Apothecary nodded, lifting a small crate of bottles filled with green liquid atop the counter. “Here is what I currently have in stock.”

Emiko tapped her finger on one of the bottles, seeing the cost was 30 cor each! “I wasn't expecting them to be so expensive…” She said to herself quietly. Clearly the man had heard her though, he looked at her impatiently.

“N-not that I doubt their quality!” She quickly amended. She had the money to buy some of course, but just one of those was almost the same price as her dagger!

The grizzled man sighed, and suddenly an exclamation point appeared above his head. “You’re right, the price is much higher than usual. My main supplier of ingredients hasn’t made a delivery in quite some time, you see.”

‘Huh.. something I said must have triggered the start of a quest.’ Emiko just nodded along and listened to what the Apothecary had to say.

“I can't afford to leave the shop unattended. If you’d be willing to go and find my supplier, and return with the shipment, I’ll make it worth your while. That’s a promise.”

‘Alright! My first quest.’ Emiko accepted the quest easily. “Sounds like a win win. I’ll look into your missing herbalist right away. Just leave it to me!”

She purchased 5 potions before running out of the shop. Expensive as they were, it seemed wise to err on the side of caution. She wasn't sure what kinds of setbacks or penalties she might face for getting killed in this game.

Emiko navigated her menu, and was able to find some useful information. ’'The Lost Shipment’ hm.. Simple enough.’ Listed below the name of the quest was a summary of the dialogue that was flavored as a sort of journal entry. It made finding the key information easy, and would be useful to keep track of things for longer quests.

What Emiko was after though, was some assistance in finding this forest the apothecary had told her to search. He had given her directions verbally, but now as she opened her local map, she was able to see the edge of the nearest forest, outlined in red. It seemed she would have to search that area to find the missing herbalist.

Having found her bearings, Emiko ran through narrow alleyways and bustling streets. It didn’t take her long to reach the nearest city gate, which gave her her first view of the first floor outside the Town of Beginnings. It was truly breathtaking.

Before her was a wide open expanse of lush green fields and hills. In the distance, she could see small mountains and densely forested areas. There were also strange raised platforms that seemed to have diverse terrain of their own. Emiko wasn’t the only one to be awestruck. Standing atop the drawbridge were many other players, surveying the beautiful landscape that stretched to the horizon.

She wouldn’t wait even one moment more. Now was the time to begin this new adventure.

Emiko ran out into the field, moving toward the forest that was marked on her map. Already there were players all around fighting what would surely be low level mobs just outside town. She could see some fighting large boars of some kind, while another small group of other players appeared to have walked into a massive snake in some tall grass.

Upon nearing the forest, a thought occurred, stopping Emiko in her tracks. ‘...How do I fight in this game?’

From what she had observed, some players looked like they could wield a blade as if it was second nature to them. They moved with confidence that she could only imagine would be gained from years of training, while most others… They looked like they had no idea what they were doing. ‘Just like me.’ Emiko scoffed, feeling like a total idiot.

‘I mean come on, how many of these guys are actually this skilled IRL? I’m guessing basically none of them. There’s gotta be some trick to this…’

Emiko grasped the handle of her dagger, and removed it from it’s sheath. She practiced the motion a few times, drawing the blade was easy enough. It was going to take some getting used to sheathing her weapon, though. The sheath was positioned horizontally on her lower back, attached to her belt. It was tricky putting it away with just one hand.

Whilst practicing drawing her dagger, Emiko failed to notice what was quietly stalking toward her. Her only warning was a low growl, which she quickly turned to face. Focusing on the gray furred beast before her, she was able to see the red cursor of the ‘Dire Wolf.’

She had no time to evade, her foe was already preparing to leap at her by the time she spotted it. In the blink of an eye the Dire Wolf had her pinned to the ground, and now had its fangs buried in her left arm.

“GAHH!!!!” Emiko cried out in shock.

She was certain she wasn’t meant to feel pain, and she didn’t, not exactly. It was an impressive level of discomfort though, and in her panic it was a distinction without a difference.

Her blade still gripped tightly in her right hand, Emiko unleashed a flurry of wild slashing attacks upon the wolf. It didn’t do a lot of damage, yet still the creature yelped and released her.

It circled her a few meters away now, seemingly observing her closely and looking for an opening. Meanwhile Emiko stayed light on her feet and raised her dagger, and prepared to evade the next attack.

She glanced at her health bar at the corner of her vision, it had gone down almost 50% and had turned from green to yellow. Meanwhile the wolf’s health was still in the green. Maybe down to 80% or so. ‘Damn.. this game isn’t very forgiving, is it? Lesson one, I need to stay more vigilant.’

The wolf attempted the same attack that she had been hit by before, but she was ready for it this time. She sidestepped the attack, avoiding any loss of HP this time. She even managed to hold out her dagger in the wolf’s path, leaving a large if a bit shallow cut along its side. ‘He’s still pretty quick, but as long as I’m paying attention I’ll have enough time to dodge.’

She managed a small grin as Dire Wolf howled with rage. 

The wolf began to prepare what looked to be the same attack again, and so Emiko prepared to repeat her previous counter. But it was not the same leaping attack. This time the wolf ran straight at her, using its speed and size to knock her to the ground. She was caught by surprise, and now she would pay for that mistake.

The beast’s ugly maw enveloped her neck. Even worse still, her dagger was knocked out of her hand. Emiko beat her fists against the mass of muscle and fur that was making a meal of her, but it was no use. In her panic all she could do was watch her health drain lower and lower, until it was nearly empty.

‘This is crazy! How could I lose my first fight!? This shouldn’t be so hard, right!?  Oh kami I hope nobody is watching me get beat by such a low level mob, this is embarrassing!’

As it turned out, somebody was watching. And just before Emiko’s HP hit zero, the Dire Wolf shattered like glass, leaving nothing but shimmering blue shards that faded in mere moments.

“Hey there miss, sorry for taking your kill like that. It's only, you looked like you could use a hand.” A young man with blue hair stood over Emiko, hand outstretched.

Emiko wanted to hide her embarrassment, but she could tell her cheeks were burning red. With as much grace as she could muster, she took the bluette’s hand and was quickly helped to her feet.

“You know, I was watching your fight, and I’ve gotta say. You didn’t do half bad for a beginner, a lot better than my first time anyway.”  He smiled down at her jovially. “I’m guessing you haven’t figured out sword skills yet. Had you used one, you would have taken down that Dire Wolf quite easily.

‘He seems really nice…’ Emiko thought as she stared back at him, still reeling from the shock of her first taste of combat.

“Thank you. Y-Yes, and you’re right. I don’t really know how to fight in a game like this. I’m used to my mouse and keyboard, ya know?”

Her rescuer nodded. “I know what you mean, It takes some getting used to, fighting with your whole body. Luckily, there are mechanics in place to help players fight. You don’t need to be a Kendo champion to succeed in this game, though I’m sure it would give someone like that a pretty good head start.”

“How’s about I show you how it’s done?” He pointed his longsword at a nearby boar.

Emiko nodded excitedly. “Yes, please! And thank you for being so helpful.. Um..”

“Ah! Right, we haven’t even been introduced yet. My name is Diavel.”

“Emiko. Pleased to meet you.” She greeted him with a gentle smile.

Diavel nodded. “The pleasure’s all mine, Emiko-san.”

“Just Emiko, if that’s alright!”

“Emiko.” Diavel amended.

‘He’s so kind and helpful.. I feel lucky to have met someone like him so soon. Maybe I should ask him if he’d like to add each other to our friends lists later?’

After about an hour, Diavel had given Emiko a solid understanding of how to fight in this game. Their main focus was on activating sword skills, and when best to make use of them. Several other beginners had joined his impromptu lesson, and Diavel took it all in stride. He was a natural leader, and Emiko thought he would likely be a great guild leader.

And learning how to fight wasn’t the only reward for her time. She had also gained enough XP to level up twice, making her level 3 now. Upon each level up, a player gains 6 attribute points, which can then be allocated to the 5 core attributes at the player's discretion. Emiko took the time to read about each core attribute while sitting near the forest’s edge.

STR - Increasing damage with ‘Martial’ weapons. Also allows for use of items that have a minimum STR requirement.

AGI - Increases damage with ‘Finesse’ weapons. Also boosts attack speed.

CON - Increases the amount of base HP gained upon ‘Level Up.’ Also boosts poison resistance.

STA -  Reduces cooldown for ‘Sword Skills’ and other physical abilities. Also increases the speed of HP recovery.

WIL - Improves resistances to ‘Fear’ abilities, shortening or nullifying stun or paralysis status’. Also boosts the rate of EXP gain for all skills.

She considered how to distribute the points she’d gained. ‘They all seem pretty important.. But it doesn’t seem wise to spread my points out too thin. It would be better to specialize rather than be a ‘jack of all trades, master of none.’’

So with 12 points to spend across 5 attributes, which all had 0 points to start with, Emiko chose how to best build her character.

STR - 0  /  AGI - 6  /  CON - 2  /  STA - 2  /  WIL - 2

Emiko nodded to herself happily. ‘None of my current equipment requires any points in strength, and my dagger is classified as a finesse weapon, not a martial one. If I get an item later that requires higher strength, I’ll add points to it as needed’ She reasoned.

‘So long as I rely more on speed and evasiveness I shouldn’t need too much constitution. Shouldn’t run out of HP if I don’t get hit. Stamina and willpower are just solid buffs that I’d be stupid to ignore…’

Once finished allocating her points, it was time to get back to her quest. She had to find an NPC somewhere in these woods, and it was a lot of ground to cover.

Emiko didn’t mind the time, it was nice walking through the forest. She had never experienced anything quite like it, growing up in the city. There were so many different plants she had never seen, and the birds were singing songs that were totally unfamiliar to her. It was enchanting. Emiko decided that she loved walking through the forest, and thought any time spent here would be time well spent.

The bird song didn’t last sadly, in fact it seemed to end rather abruptly. And once carefully pushing through a thorny thicket, Emiko realized why.

“Not again! Why can't you swine pilfer somewhere else!?”

A woman with blonde hair and practical clothes was being chased by boars, and had climbed atop a large rock just beyond their reach.

Chapter Text

Focusing closely on the woman, Emiko was able to see she had a yellow cursor. ‘An NPC.. could she be the one I’ve been sent to find?’

She decided to rescue the NPC woman, though it wouldn’t be easy. Emiko hadn’t fought more than one mob at a time before. ‘Then again.. These look just like the boars just outside the Town of Beginnings. What was it that Diavel said?’

Emiko remembered Diavel’s quick tutorial on pig slaying. ”Those Frenzy Boars over there for example. They’re one of the weakest monsters you’ll find, but they have fairly high HP. Learning to identify and target weak spots is one of the most important parts of fighting in this game.”

Nodding to herself Emiko thought of how best to attack. ‘Most creature or humanoid mobs will suffer a ‘Bleed debuff upon taking ‘Piercing  or ‘Slashing’ damage to the neck. It’s not easy to target specific areas when using a sword skill though..' Using a sword skill would all but ensure she would hit her target, and do a good amount of damage. But if one had the skill, fighting without sword skills had benefits as well.

While considering her options, Emiko was pulled from her thoughts back to the present. One of the boars was trying to pull the NPC woman down from the rock, its teeth having a firm hold on the hem of her skirt.  

“No! Please, someone help me!” The woman cried for help.

Emiko berated herself for not acting sooner. She knew the woman wasn’t a real person exactly, but her terror felt very real. NPC or not, Emiko couldn’t stand aside any longer. Dagger at the ready, Emiko focused on the boar attacking the woman.

Her dagger taking on a light blue aura, Emiko activated the sword skill, ‘Linear.’ She could feel herself being pulled into the attack, as if an unseen force was moving her body to perform the skill without her input. She had learned a few tricks though.

Instead of simply allowing the system to do all the work, Emiko charged forward with the skill. She had used this basic sword skill many times already, so applying her own movement in sync with it gave her attack a considerable boost of speed and damage.

In a flash, the first boar shattered into blue shards. There was no time to celebrate though, she still had two more enemies to kill. Emiko was thankful the post-motion delay for ‘Linear’ was so brief, because had she reacted one moment later she would have been knocked on her behind by the boar’s ‘Ram’ attack.

She was able to mitigate most of the damage by blocking with her dagger, but the force of the attack still cost her about 10% of her HP. Keeping focused, Emiko had the situational awareness to know the second boar had run behind her, and was ready to charge.

Emiko stopped blocking the boar in front of her, and swiftly stepped aside, causing the creature to stumble forward and collapse into the dirt. This gave her time to prepare for the next attack, but only just, and quickly she found herself in the same position she started in. There was only enough time to avoid the next attack, leaving her little to no opportunity to get a hit in.

Emiko was forced to block several times, and it was slowly draining her health bar. She was able to dodge a few attacks, giving her narrow openings to slash at them with her dagger, but not enough of an opening to activate a sword skill. She would get hit before it could activate, and she couldn’t afford to tank any direct hits. Her HP was getting low as it was.

‘Dammit.. I need to figure something out soon. I really don’t wanna fail my first quest.’

The next attack was coming, so she had to think fast. Thus far she had only been inflicting shallow cuts with her dagger as the beasts ran past. She needed to land a cleaner hit, and she needed to do it fast. Both boar’s health bars were mostly full, while hers was well into the yellow zone.

Committing her focus to the boar charging at her next, Emiko decided it was time to try something a little different. As her quarry came close to striking distance, Emiko jumped vertically, and landed on the bulky creature’s back.

Immediately Emiko knew she wouldn't be able to hold on for long. The Frenzy Boar was living up to its name, screeching loudly and trying its damnedest to buck her off. Not wasting a moment more, Emiko gripped its dark fur with her left hand, and plunged her dagger into the boar’s neck with her right.

The boar did manage to throw her off its back soon after, but not without taking a large amount of damage. Emiko smiled as she picked herself up off the ground, seeing the mob’s HP slowly draining, along with a ‘Bleed’ debuff icon next to its health bar.

“Time to finish this.” Emiko said, hyping herself up.

Emiko knew low level creatures like these would have no way of getting rid of a 'bleed' debuff, aside from waiting for it to expire, and at the rate the last boar was losing HP, it would be dead long before that would happen.

Emiko shifted her attention to her final target, its health still almost full. All she had to do now was evade any attacks until the bleed finishes the other. Or at least, that’s how she hoped things would play out.

She hadn’t fought any Frenzy Boars before this fight, so she didn’t know that when their health bar goes into the red, these mobs will attack with reckless abandon. And she might have gotten blindsided, were it not for some unexpected assistance.

“Look out!!” The NPC woman had abandoned the safety of her perch atop the rock, and tackled the boar just before it could slam into Emiko’s back. She wasn’t very strong, but she did manage to keep Emiko from taking what might have been a fatal blow.

The boar toppled over, and before it could stand back up, it shattered into a flurry of blue polygons.

Emiko nodded to her savior in thanks. “Stay back, I’ll take care of the last one in no time!”  She dodged the last Frenzy Boar’s attack, making the beast run face first into the boulder at the center of the glade. The impact seemed to disorient it briefly.

Emiko wasted no time closing the distance and activating the strongest sword skill available to her. Her dagger took on a light yellow glow with ‘Sudden Strike,’ a 3 hit combo opening with two quick slashes to break a target’s guard, followed by a powerful thrust, inflicting high piercing damage.

”SÆAAAH!!!” She cried out in triumph. The final blow was a direct hit, and had pierced the creature’s skull. Once the beast had shattered she sheathed her dagger with a flourish. Emiko ignored her battle rewards, and drank one of her potions. Her HP would slowly replenish when outside of combat, but she didn’t know the area well enough to feel comfortable leaving her health in the red for too long.

Emiko grimaced slightly. The low level potion worked, and she had recovered 100 hit points by the time she had finished the small flask. The taste however, was not very pleasant. ‘It tastes like medicine.’ She supposed it was fitting. ‘I hope not all potions taste this bad.’

“Good medicine tastes bitter-” The woman she rescued approached, wearing a warm smile. “-but with the right blend of ingredients and skill, healing wounds need not be so unpleasant.”

Emiko stared at the NPC, feeling taken aback. ‘I didn’t say that out loud, did I? Could an NPC in this game really have that kind of awareness?’ Emiko looked into the woman’s light green eyes, they were very pretty. But more than that, they were different from the other NPC’s she had met.. With the exception of the apothecary. They looked inquisitive. And more than that, full of life.

The woman laughed lightly, and Emiko was grateful for it. Not just because it was a pleasant sound, but it cut through the awkward silence. “Thank you for coming to my aide, swordmaster. I have heard tales of your people’s heroism, and it warms my heart to see those stories were true.”

Emiko blushed, she wasn’t expecting such praise for what was certainly a low level quest. “That’s very kind, Ma’am-”

“Ella. Please, call me Ella. What may I call you?” Ella asked kindly.

“O-Of course. My name is Emiko, pleased to meet you, Ma’am” Emiko bowed politely.

She was rewarded with another laugh. “Ella will do. There’s no need for such formality out here in the wilderness, dear. Though that begs the question, what brings you all the way out here?”

Emiko decided it was best not to dwell on how life-like Ella was. It would only serve to make her act even more shy than usual. She cleared her throat, doing her best to compose herself. “I was sent here to investigate by an apothecary in the city. He asked me to seek out the herbalist he buys his ingredients from. Would you happen to be the one I’m looking for?”

Ella sighed, her cheerful demeanor faltering. “Yes, that would be me. I have been trying, you see. But those wretched pigs have taken up residence here recently and I haven’t been able to keep them out. I fear they will devour all the plants Luke relies on to make his remedies.” She concluded, looking sorrowful.

Emiko tilted her head. ‘Luke.. is that the name of the NPC who sent me on this quest? I can’t believe I never even asked. Was I being rude? Does it matter? Questions for later.’

“Well I don’t think Luke would want me to come back empty handed. Maybe I can keep the boars away from you while you collect what he needs?”

Ella shook her head. “That would be helpful, but only a temporary solution. I need to keep those beasts out permanently if there’s any hope of keeping him supplied. Lucky for us, I know just how to do it!” She beamed triumphantly.

“All I need is for someone to protect me while I gather the herbs I need for a brew, one with a powerful odor that is sure to ward off any more incursions by those boars. Will you help me once more, Emiko? I promise to reward you for your help.”

A new quest prompt opened. The quest was called ‘Boar Blitz.’ The player is tasked with defending the herbalist while she gathers ingredients, and culling a total of 10 Frenzy Boars.

Emiko checked the time. ‘15:57.. I won't have to log out for a while, I guess there’s no harm in doing this now.’ She accepted the quest, and Ella’s yellow cursor went back to normal after briefly morphing into an exclamation point.

“Okay. I’ll help keep you safe while you do your thing. Ready to get to work?”

Ella was practically glowing as she smiled at her, and without warning Emiko was enveloped in her arms. “I don’t know what I did to have fate bring us together today, but I am grateful. Thank you Emiko, you are a credit to your people.”

Emiko stood frozen, though she certainly didn’t feel cold. Quite the opposite, her face especially felt as if it was burning red. She wasn’t used to receiving affection like this, or physical contact in general. Let alone getting a face full of Ella’s ample bust.

She did her best to wriggle out of Ella’s hold, and she released her. Ella rubbed the back of her neck and laughed nervously.

“Sorry about that dear, I was just so happy I wasn’t thinking.. What do you say we get started on gathering what we need?”

Emiko just nodded, feeling too flustered to speak at the moment. This seemed to be enough for Ella though, as she picked up her basket and began to seek out the plants they required.

It was around 16:30 when Emiko and Ella had finished gathering the materials for both Luke’s shipment and Ella’s brew. Emiko was glad she never had to fight more than 2 boars at a time, though it got easier with practice.

Ella brought Emiko back to her home where she mixed several herbs and fungi in a large black cauldron set over a fireplace. The smell grew ever more pungent as it simmered.

Emiko watched closely as Ella prepared a variety of ingredients. She asked her lots of questions about what each one was, and what they were used for. Ella took her time answering her questions, and seemed very enthusiastic that she had taken an interest in her work.

“Well Emiko, I think we’re just about done. It’s time we discuss your reward!” Ella sat across from her at a small round table. They were enjoying a pot of tea that tasted like nothing Emiko had tried before, but she was enjoying it immensely.

Emiko nodded. “Alright, what do you think would be fair?”

Ella hummed, looking out the window into the forest outside. “Have you a trade, Emiko? Aside from wielding that dagger, I mean.”

Emiko wasn’t expecting her to ask that. “A trade..? Well no, I suppose I don't.”

Ella looked back to her and smiled. “I’d like to offer you a choice. I can pay you in cor for your reward, nice and simple. But, if you’re interested, I can give you something much more valuable.”

“There is nothing more valuable in the world than knowledge. I can help teach you to become a herbalist, like me. Knowing how to benefit from nature’s many gifts will be a great boon to you on your journey. I’ll even give you some tools to get you started. What do you say?” Ella asked Emiko for her answer, but it was obvious what she was hoping she would choose. She seemed positively eager to have a student.

Another menu prompt appeared before her, allowing her to choose her reward. Both would provide the same amount of XP, but aside from that it was just as Ella had told her.

Emiko took a moment to consider her choice. ‘That is a lot of cor, I’ll bet I could use that to get some decent equipment in town.. But this is an opportunity to fill one of my skill slots. Leveling up a skill like this would surely bring in lots of money and other benefits long term.’

It didn’t seem like a bad option to her, and if she didn’t like it she could just drop the skill and replace it with something else later. She leveled other skills like blacksmithing in other games, though she doubted working around a blazing hot forge would be nearly as fun in this game.

She thought of how much she had enjoyed her time in the forest today, and the decision was made easily. “I want to learn, will you please teach me?”

Ella jumped from her seat and cheered. “Yes!! Oh I’m so happy Emiko, I know you’ll love it.”

It was 17:00 when Emiko waved goodbye to Ella, and began walking back to the Town of Beginnings. Though not before Ella made her swear to visit again, soon of course. In her inventory was a journal full of hand-written notes and useful information, as well as some simple tools for harvesting, and storing materials. In her hands she also carried a large wicker basket full of various ingredients for Luke.

The sun was beginning to set and the whole landscape around her was bathed in brilliant shades of red and orange. It was a bit of a walk back to town, but she didn’t mind one bit.

She passed by some players here and there hunting mobs, but less than she was expecting. Today was launch day after all and she thought most players would be pulling all nighters, racing to level up and stay ahead of the pack.

‘Maybe most of them have already made it further away from the starting area? Here I thought I was making pretty good progress..' She sighed, trying not to worry about it too much. She avoided pulling aggro on her way to town, walking close enough to other players to keep away from roaming mobs and far away enough so as not to get in anyone’s way.

Not everyone was fighting, she noticed. Some were enjoying the beautiful sunset and cool breeze that carried over the grassy fields. More than a few were gathered together, seeming to be quarrelling about something or other. Which wasn’t surprising to her, gamers always find reasons to argue with one another.

It wasn’t until she was a few minutes away from the city gates that she happened upon a familiar face. Diavel was looking concerned, and seemingly trying to get another player to calm down.

“That can't be right, there has to be another way to log out. Come on man, stop messing with me. I got a pizza coming any minute now!” The red head was beginning to panic.

“I told you that there is no other way, I wouldn’t joke about something like that. Just.. Just try to calm down Klein. If there isn't a bug fix soon, the gamemasters can just log us all out manually.”

But Diavel looked worried too, like he was trying to convince himself of what he said just as much as this Klein guy.

Naturally, this made Emiko curious. ‘They can’t logout? There should be a button in the menu..’

Emiko opened her menu and navigated to the options tab. ‘Let's see.. Settings, Help, and… Huh?’ There was a tab with what was a recognizable logout symbol, but the button was blank and grayed out, unlike anything else in the menu she had noticed before.

She tapped on what should have been the logout button, but nothing happened. ‘A bug with the UI?’ She wondered how they could mess something like this up, since this would have been noticed during the beta.

Suddenly the hysteria made a lot more sense, and Emiko couldn’t deny she was beginning to panic as well. All she could think to do was turn to the only player she knew in this game for solace.

“Diavel?” She tapped his shoulder gently, trying to get his attention. He was trying to keep several players calm. She recognized a few of them from earlier, though she didn't know their names. They had all benefited from Diavel’s guidance.

Diavel turned with a huff, clearly all these players looking to him as a leader were beginning taking a toll. Even so, when Diavel saw Emiko he put on a friendly smile. “Oh- Good to see you again Emiko. I was wondering where you had run off to.”

Emiko tried and failed to hide her embarrassment. Once Diavel was busy helping some other players she had left without saying goodbye. “Y-Yeah.. I’m sorry for disappearing on you like that. I wanted to do this quest you see and-”

“No problem at all. You wanted to keep exploring, I’d be a hypocrite to hold that against you.” Diavel reassured her.

Emiko couldn’t help but smile a little, finding him much easier to talk to than most people. “Well anyway.. I just got back to town. I didn’t know about this logout bug until now..”

Diavel nodded, looking serious now. “Yeah, it’s not a good situation. All we can do now is wait for a fix, it seems.”

“Do you know how long this has been going on?” Emiko asked.

Diavel shrugged. “I ran into one player who said he tried logging out about an hour after launch, same problem. As far as I can tell nobody who’s logged in has been about to logout.”

This did nothing to lessen Emiko’s concerns. Her eyes turned downcast; she just nodded feebly.

Diavel looked down at her sadly. He looked as if he was about to speak. Perhaps he would have said something to reassure her that everything would be alright. But before he could say anything, a bell began to toll.

Emiko and all the players around her were suddenly immersed in shimmering blue light.

For a moment, Emiko felt relief. This light, it was just like when she logged in earlier. ‘Are we being logged out?’ She hoped this whole thing would be resolved, but when she opened her eyes she was disappointed to see that she, and what must have been every single player, had been teleported back to the central plaza.

Most of the players looked around in confusion. Some of them had clearly been teleported while they were in the middle of a fight, having their weapons drawn and poised to strike. As the bell finally went silent, the plaza was abuzz with chatter. Most players talking amongst themselves, a few shouting out profanities due the apparent bug keeping them from logging out.

Emiko figured this was how the gamemasters would address the players regarding the bug. She scanned her surroundings, but she wasn’t able to see anyone who didn’t look like a player. Just when she was beginning to get a little fed up with the poor communication, several players around her pointed to the sky.

A dark red hexagonal shape had appeared above them. Emiko was just barely able to read the flashing text, written in English.

                                                                                           <<SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT>>
                                                                                                 PROGRAM CONTROL:00

                                                                                                       <<WARNING>>
                                                                                                 PROGRAM CONTROL:00

What happened next startled Emiko and many of the bystanders around her. The single hexagon multiplied rapidly, accompanied by a loud electronic ringing. In seconds, the calming orange hue which dominated the sky was gone, replaced by a dark red.

As if the blood red sky wasn’t enough, what came next made Emiko gasp. What looked to be blood began to flow between the seams of the red hexes. The blood sparked with electricity and pooled into a mass which floated above the central plaza.

Emiko clasped her hands together to help stop them from shaking. ‘Just relax.. It’s only a game. You’re in no real danger.’ Emiko told herself, but it hardly helped. ‘What is this? This isn’t supposed to be a freaking horror game!’

Eventually the sky stopped bleeding, and the mass of blood red liquid began to change shape. It didn’t take long for Emiko to recognize the red cloaked figure of a gamemaster, though their face was veiled behind dark smoke and shadow.

Some seemed to take this in stride, wondering aloud if this was an event or some kind of opening ceremony. Some wanted answers and others had no idea what was going on. All went silent as the gamemaster began to address the players.

“Attention, players. Welcome to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the only person able to control this world.”

Emiko supposed it wasn’t surprising that he was taking charge of the situation. ‘Kayaba Akihiko.. Nobody has more to lose from a blunder like this. Why haven’t you logged us out yet?’

“I’m sure you’ve already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu. But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat… This is not a defect, but a rightful feature of Sword Art Online.” Kayaba opened his own menu, scaled to his avatar’s massive size for all to see. Anyone who hadn’t noticed they couldn’t logout, was aware of it now.

“You cannot log out of SAO of your own volition. And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitters inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life.”

Emiko gasped, staring up at the faceless man in horror. ‘No… That can’t be true, can it?’

“Unfortunately, as of now, there have been several instances in which players’ friends and families have ignored this warning and attempted to forcibly remove the NerveGear.”

Kayaba opened a dozen articles and live news broadcasts for all to see. Each of them informing the public on what was happening, proving he was telling them the truth.

“As a result, 213 players have exited permanently from both Aincrad and the real world. As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting on this situation, including the multiple deaths. Thus, you can assume that the danger of a NerveGear being removed has been reduced.”

“I would like you all to rest assured and apply yourselves to clearing the game. But I want you to be sure to keep this in mind. There is no longer any function to revive someone within the game. The instant your HP drops to zero, your avatars will vanish forever. And simultaneously… your brains will be destroyed by the NerveGear.”

Around her Emiko could hear many other players crying and whimpering with fear.

“There is only one condition for your escape. All you have to do is complete this game.”

Kayaba conjured a 3D diagram of the caste Aincrad.

“You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, Floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game.”

The diagram vanished, and with it seemingly many player’s willingness to listen to their jailor. They screamed and pleaded, believing the task set before them to be impossible.

“Now then, finally, I’ve provided you all with a gift in your item storage. Please see for yourselves.”

The players all began navigating their menus, quickly finding what was certainly the ‘gift’ Kayaba was talking about. Emiko tapped the item, ‘Mirror,’ and it quickly materialized before her, the small rectangular mirror falling into her hand.

She didn’t even get a chance to look at her reflection before the whole plaza erupted with a flash of blue light.

Taken by surprise, Emiko took a moment to rub her eyes and focus her vision. She was confused, they were all still in the central plaza, and it seemed everyone else was just as lost as her. Then their confusion turned to surprise, as many were staring and pointing at one another.

It then dawned on Emiko that the players around her had become quite a bit taller. ‘Wait, no.. That’s all, I’ve gotten smaller too? And that guy.. Why is he wearing a mini skirt?’

Looking around there were several male players wearing feminine clothing. ‘Wait.. He didn’t.. He couldn’t have!’ Emiko finally looked into her mirror, only to find her real face staring back at her, not her avatar’s. Not only had her face changed back, it was everything. Her eyes, hair, and build were now exactly like her body in real life!

The mirror slipped from Emiko’s hands, shattering into blue polygons as it hit the stone cobbles. Emiko could feel tears threatening to flow, but she struggled to keep herself from crying. She stared up at the demon cloaked in red.

“Right now, you must all be wondering, “Why?” Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do such a thing? My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason, to create this world and enjoy watching it. And now, all is complete.”

“This concludes the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. I have one last warning for you. This may be a game, but it’s not something you play.”

Kayaba’s avatar began to dissipate like static, the same electricity as earlier returning as he began to melt back into his bloody amorphous form.

“I wish you luck, players.”

He continued to melt down into the horrific blood red liquid and receded back through the seams in the sky, the same way he arrived. And in an instant, the sky returned to normal. Fluffy white clouds here and there, the sun disappearing past the horizon. It was as if none of what just happened took place. The players all stood still, none making a sound.

This silence didn’t last. Mere moments after Kayaba disappeared the panic set in. All around her Emiko could hear players screaming and begging to be let out. A few players, Emiko noticed, were running out of the plaza with great haste.

Emiko had fallen to the ground. She curled into a ball, leaning back against one of the pillars at the center of the plaza. She hoped, so long as she made herself as small as possible, nobody would notice her.

She didn’t want to talk to anyone. She didn’t want to be there, but she didn't have the strength to pick herself up and find somewhere to hide. All she could do was cry, and so that’s what she did. She did her best to hide her face, she was an ugly crier.

For what felt like hours, but in reality was only a few minutes, Emiko could think only of how many times she had come close to death before now. How many times her HP had gone into the red, and how she would have shattered into nothing but iridescent shards. She would have, were it not for the assistance of other players, or even Ella. Ella had come to her rescue just as much as Emiko had come to hers.

“Emiko? That is you, right Emiko?”

She looked up to see a boy with medium length black hair and dark eyes kneeling down in front of her. He looked about 18. Emiko didn’t recognize him.

Emiko sniffed, doing her best to dry her eyes. She spoke quietly, her voice still shaky. “W-Who are you?”

The teen smiled gently. “It’s Diavel.”

Emiko blinked, her sapphire orbs staring up at him. ‘Right.. I guess I never told any other players my name, huh?’ She thought to herself ruefully.

“How did you know it was me?” Emiko asked, looking puzzled.

“I recognized the equipment you were wearing. Plus we were close to each other when we were all teleported. A bunch of the guys who were with me are still over there.” He nodded to a few players standing behind him.

Emiko nodded. “Right.. So.. What do you want?” She asked a bit impolitely, but Diavel didn’t seem to take offense.

“Look, I know this is scary. I’m pretty terrified, myself actually. But the only way we're gonna survive here is by getting stronger. So I’m trying to get a party organized. You have potential to become very strong, and I’d like it if you’d come with us.”

Emiko listened to what he had to say, though she was having a hard time staying focused. “I dunno.. Are you sure-”

Their conversation was interrupted by what must have been a couple of Diavel’s new party members. “C’mon Diavel, just leave her. I get you’re feeling bad for her but none of us wants to be babysitting a kid when our lives are on the line.”

Diavel looked surprised at the boy, and seemed ready to argue when another stepped in.

“I dunno about the rest of you, but I wouldn’t feel good about putting my life in the hands of some foreigner. How the hell can you expect us to trust an outsider? If she stays I’m gone.”

Emiko grit her teeth, wanting nothing more than to turn invisible. She shrank back into herself, her golden fringe obscuring her misty eyes. ‘Kayaba.. Is this what you were hoping for? Why? Why? Why?’

The guys standing in front of her seemed to be arguing still, but Emiko wasn’t listening. All she could think about now was wanting to disappear. She didn’t want to let them see her cry anymore.

Finally feeling strength return to her limbs, Emiko shot up to her feet and bolted as fast as her legs would carry her. She could hear Diavel calling for her to stop, but she ignored him. She just kept running, and running. Looking for a place where she could be alone.

Emiko spent some time aimlessly wandering the narrow streets of the Town of Beginnings. She passed through the market area she had visited earlier that day. It had been so lively then, but now it was empty, devoid of all life and joy.

The paths before her were now illuminated only by moonlight, as well as the odd lantern here and there. She did eventually find a cheap Inn nearby. Emiko didn’t speak to the NPC, only paying the 10 cor fee for the night and walking away without a word.

She tried to sleep, but didn’t have much success. She kept having nightmares about different ways she might die, or worse, how others might die trying to protect her. She still cried. 'In the real world I would have run out of tears by now... but in this game- no.. in this world, things don't work that way.'