Death Game
In the year 2022, a major electronics manufacturer developed a device called the NerveGear, capable of connecting to virtual space, finally realizing full-dive virtual reality.
"This may be a game, but it is not a game." – Akihiko Kayaba
On November 6, 2022, the official launch of Sword Art Online (SAO) began, the very first VRMMORPG to use the NerveGear.
— Big brother, I'm heading to Komachi Juku. No games during dinner, okay?
— Careful. If I get too absorbed, don't turn it off. My brain will fry, and I'll die.
— Yeah, yeah. Just a save data issue. I'm off.
Having participated in the beta test, I put on the NerveGear with excitement, relying on the information I had gathered, and said:
— Link Start!
After quickly creating my character, naming it, and finishing all settings, I arrived at the Town of Beginnings. Nostalgia welled up inside me.
— I'm back. In this world.
It was the city where every player first appeared after logging in. Only 10,000 players had managed to secure a spot in the game. The beta test had given advantages at the start, but now everyone began on equal footing.
This world had no magic and no reliable ranged weapons — only swords and melee combat. Carrying my starter one-handed sword, I left through the northwestern gate, heading toward a farming village past the forest.
I had to be careful: if I looked too confident, beginners would assume I was a beta tester and start pestering me for help. It was better to avoid attention and slip by unnoticed.
In the village, there was an inn, a weapon shop, and a tool shop. But my destination was a farmhouse, where I received a quest: the farmer's daughter, Agatha, was bedridden and needed a Little Nepenta Egg to recover. I accepted the quest "Secret Medicine of the Forest" and set out for the Hornka Forest, also known as the Nepenthe Forest.
The Nepentas were carnivorous plant monsters with tentacles. Only the flowering ones dropped the quest item, and the rate was extremely low — about one in a hundred, if that. I remembered this from the beta.
— ...Finally, it spawned.
After hours of hunting, I had already reached level 3. I stopped counting after defeating 200 monsters. At last, when I obtained the Nepenta Egg, it was already 5:25 PM. If I had started at 1 PM, I had been grinding for over four and a half hours.
I returned, completed the quest, and received the Annealed Blade, useful up to the 3rd floor.
Everything seemed normal… until I was suddenly teleported back to the Town of Beginnings, along with all 10,000 players.
Then, a gigantic, faceless figure in a dark robe appeared before us.
— Welcome, dear players, to my world. My name is Akihiko Kayaba. I am the only one who can now control this world.
It was the creator of the NerveGear and SAO.
He explained that the logout button was gone — and it wasn't a bug. Nobody could leave the game until they reached the 100th floor of Aincrad and defeated the final boss.
Even worse: the NerveGear was programmed to emit lethal microwaves if anyone attempted to remove it, if external power was cut for 10 minutes, or if the network was disconnected for two hours. It had already happened: 213 players had died in the real world.
— Sword Art Online is no longer a game. This is now your reality.
If a player's HP reached zero, their avatar would vanish, and their brain would be destroyed at the same time.
There was only one condition for release: complete the game.
To prove this world was real, Kayaba gave each player a mirror. When used, all avatars reverted to their real-life appearance. In my case, nothing changed — I was still Hachiman, just as in reality.
— My objective has already been fulfilled: to create and live within this world.
The game master vanished, and the crimson sky slowly returned to the glow of sunset.
The weight of reality hit hard. All I could think about was my little sister and my parents. I had to survive, no matter what.
— Damn it…!
In the middle of the crowd, I bumped into a girl.
— Are you okay?
— I… I think so… but what's going on…?!
— It's better to believe what the game master said. We have no choice but to fight and get stronger.
The girl hesitated but nodded. Her name was Asuna. I sent her a friend request, and she accepted.
Not long after, I met another player — a skilled swordsman who was also a beta tester.
— My name's Kirito. And you?
— Hachiman.
— That's unusual. Your real name?
— Yeah, my parents gave it to me because I was born on August 8th.
We laughed bitterly at the irony. Kirito sent me a friend request too, and I accepted.
In a single day, I had gained two allies.
And so began the struggle for survival in this death game.