Foreword

Let me start off by saying I'm absolutely in love with the concept and piece of fiction, known as Sword Art Online. It holds the honor of being the first anime I watched. Throughout school, I always had some sort of negative view towards anime, for whatever reason. My friends would try and get me to watch various series, but I could never quite get into them. Until my roommate at the time, asked if he could show me a series, I asked what it was called, and what it was about. He said it's called "Sword Art Online" and it's about players getting trapped in an MMO. I was sold on concept alone. By that point, I had played World of Warcraft for about 10 years, and had played EVE Online for 6 years as well. I was interested. So, we sat down for a day and watched the entire Aincrad arc. The next day, Alfheim. It was a lazy weekend. But I fell absolutely in love with the series and the world, and yes, even the characters. Throughout the coming weeks, I would expand my horizons in terms of watching various series. My two notable of which besides SAO are Log Horizon, and although technically not anime, The King's Avatar. Noticing a trend here? Anyhow, I started getting involved in the anime community a little bit, watching content creators on YouTube, and reading various subreddits. I started to notice a trend. SAO was the series people loved to hate. I personally couldn't personally see or understand about 90% of the complaints. Usually I'm capable of seeing where people are coming from, but not in this case. It's whatever though, people like what they like, people dislike what they dislike. I like what I like. However, I truly believe that with some improvements, more people can come to like SAO, and I believe everyone should enjoy SAO, it's that good.

And so, this is where the journey begins. This project is intended to improve the story of SAO as much as possible to get the story to as many people as possible, every author's goal, as well as flex my writing habits. A hobby that I find myself doing less and less of as life goes on. I'm not sure what to exactly call this. A rewrite? No. Some of the characters are written the same, some of the characters are written completely differently. Some fall in between. Some game mechanics are expanded on, others are tucked away. Some things are written the same, or changed just slightly, but no direct copy and paste is used. I suppose the best thing to call this project is a cover. Much like a musician cover's another's song. This is my take on Reki Kawahara's World of Swords.

A final note. I do not intend to profit from this in anyway. Full intellectual credit to this story goes to Reki Kawahara, the original creator of SAO. The ideas are his, I just hope to add my take and spin.

- - Inferius

Prologue

In 2022, the ultimate piece of immersive gaming tech was released. The NerveGear. Utilizing "full dive" technology, it transcends all other virtual reality headsets, seamlessly transporting the user into a virtual world, fully programmed with sensory data. Touch, smell, hearing, taste, vision, it's all there. As a cost for this experience, the user lies on their back, almost lifeless, and completely unaware of the real world around them. As all real physical actions are blocked, the only way for oneself to return to the real world, is to use the logout feature. Upon release of this technology, the various consumer protection agencies around the world mandated that the headset come with a backup battery, as it usually runs when plugged into a PC. In the event of a power shortage, the NerveGear can sustain itself for two hours, to give the user time to exit the full dive experience.

Enter Argus, the corporation responsible for the research and development of the NerveGear. The researchers of Argus, with Akihiko Kayaba at their head, worked tirelessly to perfect the full dive experience. Coding all sensory perceptions so developers of games on their platform wouldn't have to. No other developer besides Kayaba and his team at Argus would have the ambition to develop a game fully utilizing the NerveGear's capabilities. Soon, the most comprehensive MMO ever developed would release. November 6th, 2022 fast approached. NerveGear users were prepared for the release of Sword Art Online.

It is a cool Autumn day. The time, one in the afternoon. Fifty thousand voices of all ages, races, creeds, and backgrounds could all be heard.

"Link, start!"

Chapter 1

Flashes of blue light could be seen all around the massive starting area. It was relatively plain, a simple stone floor centered in a town, with artificial barriers blocking the exits. After all players were present, a bright blue banner could be seen above them:

"Welcome, to Sword Art Online".

Kazuto swept his character's black hair out of his matching eyes. "Alright world, I'm back!" He exclaimed.

After all had observed and cheered, a white light engulfed the starting area. Players were instantaneously transported to random places in and around The Town of Beginnings. Kazuto found himself in a field just outside of town. A little way away from him, he could see a boar feeding on the grass. He figured it may as well be as good of a time as any to try out combat. He drew the sword all player's spawned with, Era Blade, and began his offensive. As he rushed forward, the sword began to glow, and he put more power into the blade. The game seemingly handled the rest, as Kazuto blinked past the boar. The cut could be seen on the boar's side, but it turned around and began to charge at Kazuto. It still had some fight left in it. Kazuto assumed a defensive posture, and performed a simple slash against the boar. The boar was knocked down, and attempted to stand back up, but collapsed. After a brief pause, the boar burst into a beautiful array of polygonal particles, and drifted away into the air like ashes. Kazuto could see his experience bar tick up a few notches. His reward for killing the boar. The combat system felt incredible to Kazuto. It was so smooth, and the game knew perfectly when to assist actions after they had begun to activate combat abilities.

The game's HUD was seamlessly blended into the world. The HUD displaying a player's name, health, experience bar, and level was only present during combat, and wasn't tacked on the user's vision. It could be seen by glancing up and to the left, and it would appear projected to the game world, following the player. This piece of HUD was semitransparent as to be the least intrusive as possible. Other player's names could appear just by looking at the top of their heads, and instantly their character's name and level would appear, as well as their security status. The primary game menu could be opened just by nearly thinking about it, from there, it would appear in front of the thinker, and could be interacted with using touch, much like a smart phone. An enemy's info could be viewed much the same a player's could, except for appearing to the upper left of the enemy, but the projection would remain in the game world until the enemy had been killed or was no longer in combat. The projection was smart enough to always be facing the person combatting it. The game's system knew how to restrict what to show to every player, and would generate separate projections for every piece of HUD, only visible to that particular player viewing it, while remaining invisible to other players not viewing it, with exception made to the menus. Players could see others interact with their menus. After learning the intricacies of the HUD and UI of the game, "Only Kayaba". Kazuto thought.

This was not Kazuto's first full dive experience, but it certainly felt the best out of all of them. This was certainly the first full dive MMO he and the rest of the world had played. No other developer attempted the MMO format for a full dive experience. Kazuto could hear shouting in the distance and to his left. He looked over, and could see a man running towards him. Kazuto did not recognize the man, even though he was shouting.

"Hey!" As the man caught up to Kazuto and hunched down, hands on his knees, and out of breath. The man had a headband containing disheveled hair, and a scruffy beard. The man was of average height and build. He seemed average in every way to Kazuto. "Hey, I saw you take down that boar pretty easily, mind showing a noob like me a couple of tricks?".

"Sure."

The pair ran over to another boar. The man drew his sword and began to wildly swing at the boar.

"Wait." Kazuto said, and stepped in to finish off the boar.

The boar was reduced to polygons, and Kazuto knew what the issue with the man was.

"You're just wildly swinging and expecting the game to do the work for you." Kazuto began to explain. "You have to have some sort of direction in what you're doing. This game doesn't have explicit abilities like other MMOs do, it's largely up to you. If you want to perform a simple slash against an enemy, then you have to mean it. From there, you can almost feel a sort of power emanating from yourself. When you get that feeling, fully commit to your attack, and the game assists you from there."

The puzzled look on the man's face told Kazuto that he didn't offer the greatest explanation.

"Sorry" Kazuto said, "It's tough for me to explain. It comes so natural to me, it's hard to explain the exact mechanisms behind everything I do".

"Oh no, it's fine" the man said, "Let me try on another boar."

They ran over to another boar. The man began to initiate an attack against the boar. In two swift strikes, the boar fell. The man had gotten a better handle on combat. Kazuto and the man practiced more in the field. Kazuto had managed to reach level two in the game.

Several hours had passed, and the two sat in the field, watching the sky as dusk began. The game's time was one to one to the real world's time, and based on time in Tokyo, Japan, where the bulk of the game servers were located. The man sitting next to Kazuto began "Oh, I never asked your name."

Neither Kazuto or the man had bothered glancing up for the game to tell them the names of each other.

"Well, I'm Kirito."Replied Kazuto, answering with his character's name, as was custom "etiquette" for MMOs.

Real names were not typically used in MMOs, so players would traditionally call each other by their in-game names. "Kirito" was a bastardization of Kazuto's full name, Kazuto Kirigaya.

"That's a cool name!" Replied the man.

"How about yours"? Asked Kirito.

"Oh, mine is Klein".

It was simple and ordinary, and Kirito liked it compared to some of the other names he had heard in games over the years.

"Is this your first full dive experience?" Kirito asked.

"Yes it is. I had thought about picking up a NerveGear when it first released, but I figured it wasn't worth the money. But then I heard about SAO and the hype surrounding the game, so I bought one as soon as I could. This is so cool man! We're actually in a game! I've never really even played a game before!" Klein excitedly explained.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. Nothing beats the first full dive". Kirito replied.

Klein yawned. "Well, I had better get going." Said Klein. "I have a pizza coming at six thirty." Added Klein. Kirito looked at the menu's time, it was six twenty in the evening.

"Yeah, I had probably get going also." Added Kirito. "My mom probably has dinner ready for my sister and myself". He said.

"WHOA! You have a sister!?" Klein asked excitedly. "Is she cute!? Is she in the game!?" Klein continued.

"What? No, she hates video games and loves sports and she's probably too young for you." Kirito replied.

"Sorry man, you can't fault a guy for trying. I forgot we're probably not all the same age playing this game".

This interaction alone proved Klein's past statement of being new in the gaming world. "

Well, I'll see you later man." Klein told Kirito. Klein opened the main menu and navigated to the logout button, but to his shock, was blank. Nonetheless, Klein kept pressing the button, but nothing would happen. "Uhh Kirito, I can't find the log out button." Klein told him.

"Were you looking in the right place? Let me check." Kirito opened the menu, and could not find the log out button either. "Yeah, I don't see it either."

The pair stood, navigating through all possibilities of their menu, and still could not see a logout button.

"Whatever" Kirito began. "It's probably just a glitch. It's launch day, I'm sure the developers are running crazy right now trying to fix everything".

"This isn't cool man! I'm not going to get my pizza I ordered!" Klein went on.

The pair exited their menus, facing each other. Just then they were both engulfed in blue light. They appeared next to each other, and found themselves back in the starting area they were in when first launching the game. The circular area had appeared to be smaller, with less people around then before. The crowd could be seen looking puzzled, and trying to find a way out. Not a minute later, the sky filled with purple holographic hexagons, forming a dome around the area and creating an artificial ceiling. Blood began pouring from the ceiling, but stopped mid fall and began pooling and forming. Everyone's gaze was fixed to the blood, which was now forming from the shapeless blob in the sky. A giant hooded figure was formed from the blood. This figure had no face, only darkness. This figure had no limbs, only darkness. The only thing giving this figure shape was a crimson and gold robe, filled out as if a normal man had been wearing it.

"Welcome, to my world." Boomed the figure to the crowd. "I, am Akihiko Kayaba. And as I'm sure many of you are aware, the logout button has been removed. This is not a glitch or an error. This is intentional."

People in the crowd adorned looks of shock and disbelief. What did this mean for them?

"Furthermore," The figure continued "Upon transportation to this area, all players not on Japanese servers have been logged out, and are safe. The ten thousand of you that remain, are now in the game, until it is cleared. If you want to return to the real world, you must clear all 100 floors and their accompanying bosses. Only then will you be logged out."

Screams and shouts began emanating from the crowd, but the figure's voice overpowered them all.

"More so, if you die in the game, the NerveGear is programmed to overheat its battery, causing it to explode. This action will kill you. Any attempts from external forces to remove the NerveGear from your person, will result in the battery exploding as well. Any attempts to sever the connection to the game, will also result in your death. Due to this, approximately 206 players have perished. This news has reached all major sources, and has triggered the emergency alert system warning against disruption. I would calculate the chances of deaths occurring like this to be close to zero now. Most of you are being transported to hospitals, where Argus corporation has donated enough money to keep all the players sustained for an indefinite amount of time."

The people of the crowd entered panicked states. How could this be happening? So many of them wondered.

"Lastly," echoed the voice "I have placed a gift in every one's inventory. Please open it and use it."

Kirito found the item. It was a mirror. He pressed the command to take it out and the mirror materialized in his hand. He was staring at his character, before being engulfed in white light. When the light vanished, he was staring at himself. His in-game persona's appearance had been perfectly replicated to his real-life self's appearance. His longish black hair, thin stature, and soft facial structure. Everything had been recreated perfectly. Everyone could see the 15-year-old who was Kazuto. He observed the process happening to everyone else in the crowd. Some males became females, and females became males. Standing next to him, Klein looked the same, but slightly older. Klein turned to face Kirito.

"Is…that you, Kirito?" He asked. Kirito nodded.

"I bid you all farewell." Boomed the figure, and it quickly evaporated.

The crowd was motionless and shocked, until Kirito grabbed Klein and shouted at him to follow. The two ran out of the circular area, and into a side street of the town.

"We need to make it to the next town over. The fields with enemies will be over saturated here, with everyone trying to level up and get stronger. If we make it to the next town, then we can have the area practically to ourselves, and level up quicker." Kirito explained to Klein.

"Oh…..well I uhh….I came to this game with a couple friends of mine, and I was going to try and find them and group up with them." Klein said.

This troubled Kirito, leveling would be slow enough with the experience split for two people, but he was willing to take the hit to help Klein. But more people? They wouldn't get anything done quickly.

"Ok, I understand." Replied Kirito.

"Don't worry about it, I can take care of myself." Said Klein. "You be careful, and come back alive, ok?" Asked Klein.

"Same to you as well." Said Kirito. "Maybe I'll see you again someday, Klein." Klein smiled.

"Same to you, Kirito."

Klein sprinted away, back towards the starting area. Kirito began running towards the next town, following his map. He had to reach his destination by night fall ideally, not wanting to contend with any unknown creatures that may come at night. Kirito's resolve strengthened. He was determined to survive. He was determined to clear all one hundred daunting floors. He would beat Kayaba at this death game.

"Kazuto, come get your dinner!" Shouted Kazuto's mother from the kitchen to the upstairs bedroom.

"There's no point, mom." Replied Suguha, Kazuto's younger sister. "He's using the NerveGear. A new game released for it today, and he hasn't stopped talking about it for the past few months." Continued Suguha.

"Oh, well could you remove the headset from him? His meal will get cold. I know it may seem rude, but it won't hurt him, right?" Asked Kazuto's mother.

"Right, I got it."

Just as Suguha began to walk up the stairs, the TV jolted on, and the emergency alert tone could be heard. Suguha and her mother both turned their attention to the warning message to follow.

"Attention, families of those playing Sword Art Online. Due to the nature of the game, do not attempt to separate loved ones from their NerveGear devices. Doing so will result in their death. I repeat, removing the NerveGear helmets will cause their death. Do not remove the NerveGear devices. Medical personnel have been dispatched to homes to facilitate the safe transportation of players. Please stay calm."

Suguha and her mother rushed up the stairs to Kazuto's room.

"Kazuto, wake up!" Shouted Suguha.

She began shaking her brother's body, as if she was trying to wake him up from a nap. Her shaking got more violent.

"Stop!" commanded her mother. "You may accidentally damage the connection between him and the device." Suguha burst into tears.

"How could this happen?" She cried. Her mother was also struggling to hold back tears.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the front door. Suguha answered, and was greeted by a team of paramedics.

"Hello miss, we're aware that there is a victim of Argus corporation here, we've come to transport him safely. May I speak to your mother or father?"

Suguha's mom came up to them.

"Ma'am, is it alright if we transport your son? It will probably be the best thing for him, given the current situation."

"Yes, go ahead." Kirito's mother consented.

The team of paramedics found Kirito laying on his bed. The mattress he was laying on was narrow enough to fit in the ambulance. The paramedics lifted the mattress as well as the necessary equipment for the NerveGear and loaded it into the back of the ambulance. Suguha and her mother followed the ambulance to the hospital. Kazuto was placed on a hospital bed, with various nutritional support devices hooked up to him. This is how he would exist in the real world, while adventuring in SAO.