Sword Art Online/ソードアート・オンライン 1. Prologue

Aincraid - A giant castle of steel and concrete, floating in an endless sky. Spanning about 10km in diameter and comprising of 100 floors stacked upon each other, to even estimate the size of this construction was impossible, the data that it was made from even more so.

This was in a game, the first fully virtual world ever created. It had been greeted with thunderous reception and was going to become the best game for a long, long time. The rules of the game were simple - to not die and clear all 100 floors.

But this was the game where if you died in-game, you died in real life.

This was «Sword Art Online»


	2. Opening Day

Chapter 1 –A World of Swords

# Note: _Italics = Thoughts_

# Note: Instead of the double signs, I use square brackets.

# Note: **Sound made by something**

**_I DO NOT OWN SAO. I ONLY OWN THIS WRITING, WHICH IS BASED OFF IT. (ALTHOUGH I WISH I DID OWN IT)_**

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A few terms explained:

PM - Stands for 'Private Message'. Literally a private message and is part of the Mail System in SAO.

Sword Skill - A system-assisted attack that can be activated by holding your weapon/body in a certain fashion. Is stronger and faster than the usual attack.

Duel - A one-on-one battle between two players. Three modes - First strike, 30 Second or Death-match.

+2 (2D) - 2 Successful enhancements which were 2 [Durability] enhancements.

Pker - Player Killer

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**[A/N – I seriously didn't want to write all the canon before this so watch episode 1 of the anime or read the light novel and you'll understand where I'm starting from.]**

Grinning, Klein apologised to the black-haired boy standing in front of him. "Sorry."  
The apology surprised Kirito, was had been thinking about how he could protect Klein and his friends if they were to come along. Lifting his head up to look at the older male, he found that he was indeed grinning at him. In turn, Klein saw the shocked face of a young boy. Reasoning with him, Klein said:

"I mean, after all you've already done for me I can hardly ask you for more help can I? So don't worry about it, go to the next village."  
Seeing the boy contemplating this, he added onto his speech. "In the last game I played I ran a guild. I can use what you taught me to get by. It'll be fine, don't worry." Still grinning in order to help Kirito accept his reasoning, he waited for the reply. The answer that given would gnaw at Kirito for the next two years.

"Ok." The sound had come after a short pause and had a slightly regretful twinge to it. "Let's say our goodbyes here then. If anything happens, PM me straightaway."

"Will do."

"Alright. Goodbye, Klein." Turning around to face the darkness of the empty alleyway, Kirito prepared himself to run, leaning forward. He had just taken a step when –

"Kirito!"

The sound had come from behind him. Stopping, Kirito waited for another sound to come. Hearing none, he started to run again but heard his name called out again.

"Kirito."

Turning around this time, he faced Klein, who was scratching his head and had a childish look on his face.

"You actually turned out looking pretty cute. Just my type." Surprised by this, Kirito laughed. Sending a joke right back at Klein, he said: "And that unkempt face of yours suits you ten times better!" This time, when Kirito turned around and ran into the darkness of the alleyway he heard nobody call his name. After running to the end of the alley, where he could turn to his right, he stopped and looked behind him. Seeing nothing, his eyes widened and his mind raced with the thought of being truly alone. Holding back tears and gritting his teeth, Kirito ran for the Northern exit of the [Town of Beginnings] for the path that lead to the next village, [Horunka]. On the way, he bought a spare sword and a couple potions from a pair of NPC merchants. Finally reaching the exit, he took the path closest to him, which from memories of the [Closed Beta Test] led to [Horunka Village] and held a quest that gave a really good one-handed longsword called [Anneal Blade] as reward. As he followed the path, he saw a [Dire Wolf] spawn in the middle of the path in front of him. Raising his arm to the back of his right shoulder, he reached for his sword. Unsheathing it in one quick movement, he quickly held it to shoulder height, parallel for the ground, signalling the [Sword Skill] [Impale] to activate. After a short delay, the sword began to glow a brilliant pale blue and Kirito jumped at the would-be-predator. Thrusting his arm forward, the blade slashed a large horizontal wound onto the side of the mob, creating a large gash and demolishing its HP, causing it to shatter into a multitude of polygons. As it did so, Kirito's mind raced –

_I will not lose. I will survive in this world!_

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As Kirito walked through the entrance of [Horunka Village], purple words that read 'Safe Zone' appeared in the top of his field of vision, fading out after a couple seconds. Seeing this, he relaxed, knowing that while in a [Safe Zone] it was impossible for your [HP] to drop unless you were in [Duel] conditions. Half-jogging to the nearest blacksmith, he saw everything a village would usually have – Inns, Item Shops and NPC houses. However, he was looking for one particular farmhouse that had a small pond beside it, reason being that this house was the one that held the quest Kirito was after. Finding it in the outskirts of the village, he thought: _"guess I'll do that after this"_ and walked into the smithy. It had a plain interior with no windows and only one torch providing light, giving it a dark, gloomy feel. The NPC blacksmith sat cross-legged in one of the corners ontop of a brown mat. Upon Kirito's arrival, the blacksmith shot him a greeting, to which Kirito replied:

"Hey. Could you strengthen my sword?" This was one of the many ways to ask a NPC to enhance a piece of equipment.

Taking the trading menu that popped up in front of him as a yes, he quickly selected all the items necessary for the enhancement that he would not be using for the [Anneal Blade]. Pressing the [Ok] button, he waited for the NPC to finish with his weapon, which was in about 2 minutes. After this time, the NPC looked over the sword scrutinisingly and looked over to Kirito, saying: "One more**?

"Go ahead." By replying in this fashion after the NPC raised this question, Kirito secured himself a free enhancement for no extra charge, which would be incredibly useful for a [Solo Player] like himself. After receiving his sword, now at +2 (2D), Kirito stowed it away inside his inventory and headed out for the quest-holding farmhouse he had spotted on the outskirts of the villager earlier.

Upon arrival, Kirito quickly took in the simple but elegant details that seemed to have not changed since the [Beta Test]. Simple wooden posts to hold the structure up, two small square windows and a beautifully thatched roof. In Kirito's mind, this was the height of elegance in SAO, in terms of what he had already seen. (Upon reaching Floor 51 though he would realise that this paled in comparison to another thing he would come across). Pushing open the door and entering the house, he scanned the room for a female NPC with a golden (!) mark above her head. Finding her sitting next to a bed with a fitfully sleeping child, he walked over to her. Noticing this, the woman looked over her shoulder and said "Hello young traveller." Her voice was soft but incredibly audible at the same time, as if she were an expert in projecting her voice. After Kirito replied to her with a "Hello" she spoke again.

[Order: NPC, Kirito]

"Traveller, would you mind aiding me with something?"

"Sure."

"You see, my child behind me is deathly sick and no medicine I have so far has worked on her sickness. My only hope now is a medicine concocted from [Little Nepent Bulb], which can be obtained inside the forest near here. However, the forest is much too dangerous a place for one such as I. This is where you come in. Traveller, please journey into the forest to the West of this village and obtain a [Little Nepent Bulb]. One should suffice. Bring it back to me and we shall be eternally grateful. As reward, I shall present you with a sword that has been passed down in my family for generations."

Having successfully accepted the quest (Secret Medicine of the Forest), Kirito turned around and exited the house, heading to the forest described by the NPC.

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From description, the forest was dangerous and full of plant life. Upon inspection, it was a pretty truthful description, but Kirito felt it could have used a bit more detail. The light in the place was dim; the air was thick and the place just looked haunted, which scared the wits out of him at times. It didn't help that the plant mobs that spawned in the forest looked like mutant experiments on the loose either.

Upon entering said forest, Kirito's guard rose to the max. It wouldn't do to be careless in a non-safe zone area like this, especially if you played solo. Especially in this forest, where many mob attacks inflicted [Stun] or [Poison] which could easily lead to death. In the [Beta], Kirito himself had died 3 or 4 times by being [Stunned] or [Poisoned]. He couldn't afford to die once this time round. Eyes rapidly darting left and right*, a green cursor popped into view, surprising Kirito. A green cursor meant either a [Player] or a NPC, the latter of which was unlikely. It surprised him because even though he couldn't be sure he was the first one out of the [Town of Beginnings] he hadn't seen anyone in front of him or at [Horunka Village], not even the cursor. Drawing his sword, he walked closer for further inspection, ready to guard against a surprise attack. He saw that the cursor did indeed hover over a player – male, brown haired, skinny and standing slightly taller than Kirito. Apparently, he was left-handed as well, seeing as his sheath was situated on his right side. He stood in a [Field Safe Zone], which was literally a [Safe Zone] in a field dungeon. Standing up, he walked over to the unnamed player and proclaimed his presence.

"Hey."

The player visibly jumped, shocked at the appearance of a new figure in the [Safe Zone]. Seeing this, Kirito quickly proclaimed his intent on non-hostility by saying "Relax." The player did so, but still didn't let their guard down until a good couple minutes had passed. After this period of time, the player asked Kirito for his name, telling him his in the process.

"My name's Coper. What's yours?"

"I'm Kirito. Nice to meet you."

"Ditto. Hey, are you here for the (Secret Medicine of the Forest) quest?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Would you like to team up with me? You can get the first bulb." Thinking logically, it made sense to team up. If one player was injured or had an ill status effect on them, they could [Switch] out with their teammate and rest until they were back in fighting condition. Even though two of the quest item would be needed, teaming up brought survivability, which was a great deal more important than efficiency, especially because now it was in terms of 'If you die in the game, you die in real life'. Agreeing, Kirito sent Coper a party invitation, which was accepted. His name and [HP Gauge] appeared in the top-left of Kirito's vision, just under where his own name and [HP Gauge] were displayed.

"Ready to go hunting?"

After receiving the confirmation nod from Coper, Kirito set off, walking deeper into the forest, with Coper following closely behind.

**Nraaa!**

The [Little Nepent] howled in pain at wounds Kirito and Coper had inflicted upon it. They decorated the mob's body in red marks and when they disappeared more were made to appear with strong and precise strikes from the two players. It only had a bit more HP left until it –

**Slash** – Kirito's [Small Sword+2 (2D)] (his first sword had long since broken) cut through the leafy side of the [Little Nepent], draining the last of its HP and causing it to burst into a multitude of polygons. After checking the vicinity for more hostile mobs and seeing none, he checked the [Battle Rewards] screen that had popped up. Finding the quest item they were looking for, the [Little Nepent Bulb], Kirito grinned. "_One down, one to go."_

"Hey Coper, I got one!"

"Great! Come here and help me then!"

Having already defeated a little over 50 [Little Nepent] monsters and only finding one [Little Nepent Bulb], Kirito couldn't help but wonder wether the drop rate of item had been lowered since the [Beta Testing] or he was just unlucky. He hoped it was the latter because of the drop rate had indeed been changed, minor changes would have been applied everywhere else – the [Beta Test] knowledge would no longer be 100% accurate. Turning around, he found Coper struggling with another plant monster. At first glance, Kirito mistook it for 'just another' [Little Nepent] but this one was special. It had a bulb on the top of its head which, when broken, would release a foul stench that would attract the attention of all the mobs within a 30 meter radius – a death sentence for any low-level party, namely everyone. (As of the current time). Since the bulb was located at the top of the plant, breaking it could easily be avoided if one didn't use any vertical skills or attacks, such as the one-hit [Vertical] skill. However, that was just what Coper was doing…Quickly, Kirito shouted a warning:

"Coper stop! Don't activate the [Vertical] skill! That one has the bulb on its head!"

The warning came too late. Coper's skill had already activated and the sword was already arcing upwards, leaving a pale-blue glow in its wake. It pierced the bulb and its foul stench permeated the air, attracting the attention of all nearby mobs. Then, Coper ran away, jumping down into a patch of bush, cursor vanishing, signalling that he was using the [Hiding] skill. Shocked at this action, Kirito realised what had just happened – he had become to victim of a [Green PK], a method of player-killing which involved using a swarm of wild monsters to kill a target player/party. It was called 'green' because since the PKer dealt no damage to the victim, their cursor did not change colours from green to orange/red. Thinking quickly, Kirito realised that the [Hiding] skill would not work on the local mobs – they relied on smell instead of sight to hunt. _"You chose the wrong target Coper."_ Knowing that all mob aggro would be focused onto him, Kirito ran in the direction of Coper's hiding spot. When he felt he was close enough to let the mob hate go to Coper, he engaged the [Little Nepent]s that had arrived, enticing them to come closer. When a stray vine hit Kirito, he felt it would be best to cut his losses there and stop playing around. Using the [Sprinting] skill, he ran away, out of range of the [Little Nepent]'s attacks but close enough to watch for any pursuing monsters. Finding that their original prey had run off, the plant-like monsters attacked the next closest player – Coper. He probably didn't know that the [Hiding] skill wouldn't work on the [Little Nepent]s and was subsequently frozen in shock as the monsters attacked. Desperately, Coper looked around for a source of help. His eyes landed on Kirito, who was watching from a good distance away.

"Kirito! Help me! Please!" – But Kirito did nothing except watch.

As Coper's HP went lower and lower, slowly approaching the red zone, his cries became frantic. He was panicking, he didn't want to die. His HP slipped into the red zone. Eyes widening, he screamed at Kirito for help. But again, Kirito did nothing except watch. Then, the last of his HP was lost. **Poof** – Coper's avatar exploded, shattering into a infinite amount of polygons.

Having confirmed the death of his assailant, Kirito exited the forest and walked back to [Horunka Village] in order to finish his quest, mind racing with the previous event and a guilt wrenching at his intestines. In an effort to calm himself and justify his actions, he thought; _"Some people deserve to die._" It didn't help.

After reaching the farmhouse, Kirito quickly talked to the NPC mother and finished the quest, receiving his [Anneal Blade] as reward. Equipping it, he felt the familiar weight upon his back and somehow felt safer, more secure, as if the weapon could protect him from all the dangers he would face. After doing so, Kirito exited the house and headed off to the Inn, where he booked a room for one night (60 Col) and slept, suddenly feeling tired even though it was only 7pm – at least 4 hours before his usual sleeping time. There were no dreams.

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*For some reason people rarely look up and the possibility of underground mobs is zero. Also, memories of the Beta test would probably remind him of possible mob spawn locations.

**This method of speech comes from the NPC rarely, so you cannot get a +2 for free instead of just a +1 every single time.

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**Hey guys, what do you think about it? This story follows the canon a bit more than the original but will still be pretty much the same (?). Was the ending a bit too short or tacky etc? If you guys have any constructive criticism I would greatly appreciate it if you would take the time to write a review or PM me.**

**Also I have a question, do you guys want Kirito to unlock the [Dual Blades] skill early or leave it until the 2nd year?**


End file.

Sword Art Online/ソードアート・オンライン, Adventure