Long ago, the earth was blessed by two sacred trees—one black and one white—that maintained balance in all things.
The dark elves, who worshipped the "Black Sacred Tree," founded the Kingdom of Lyusla. The forest elves, who worshipped the "White Sacred Tree," established the Kingdom of Kareso.
With the sacred trees' blessings and their powerful magic, both kingdoms thrived. Alongside them, humans also built the Nine United Kingdoms.
But one day, the elves sought uninjured, invincible bodies. To achieve this, they tried to cut into the sacred trees and take their sap.
Thus, war broke out. And just as the magi of both kingdoms prepared to unleash their ultimate spells, an anomaly occurred.
A massive halo, ten kilometers in diameter, encircled the battlefield and cut it away from the earth, lifting it into the sky.
The capitals and major cities of both kingdoms were severed from the land. Countless elves, humans, and dwarves were sent skyward, and the floating discs stacked vertically.
This event later became known as the Severing of the Land, and from it, Aincrad was born.
Such was the lore of Sword Art Online.
After logging in, Seiya—dressed in plain starter rags—appeared in Starting City on Aincrad's first floor.
Blue lights shimmered all around as more and more players in the same novice outfits materialized nearby.
The game had face customization and even allowed gender-swapping. Many had spent ages adjusting their avatars.
But Seiya, knowing full well that everyone's real faces would soon be revealed, didn't bother. He even used his real name as his character name. As a result, he was among the very first to enter.
Starting City was vast, but with ten thousand players crowded in, finding someone specific wasn't easy.
Seiya immediately opened the friend search function, typed "Kirito," and sent a friend request as soon as he found him.
Not long after, a notification popped up—friend request accepted. A message followed right after.
"Seiya, did you seriously use your real name in the game?"
Kazuto had already told Seiya his character name would be Kirito, his long-standing in-game ID. He had used it for years without ever changing it.
"It felt troublesome to think of a fake one. What's wrong with using my real name?"
Kirito was speechless for a moment, then typed back:
"Well, it's not wrong per se, but… wait, you logged in that fast? Don't tell me—you didn't even customize your face?"
"Customize? What's that?"
"Face model editing. You know, making yourself look cooler…"
"Oh, I did see that part, but honestly, I think my face is already cool enough. I'm satisfied, so I just skipped it."
Kirito stared at the message. He had meant to tease Seiya as a clueless newbie, but instead, he felt like he'd been stabbed in the heart.
Because after all the time he had spent sculpting his avatar to perfection… it still wasn't as good-looking as Seiya's actual face!
Technology and effort—outclassed by raw natural advantage.
"You really are a noob, huh? In full-dive games, it's common sense to tweak your name and face a little. Using your real name and real face—what if you tick someone off, or act like a keyboard warrior? You'll get doxxed instantly!"
Like a veteran teaching a fledgling, Kirito earnestly explained the basics to Seiya.
And while doing so, he secretly felt elated.
From Seiya's clueless behavior, it was obvious—his buddy was a true newbie, not a disguised high-level smurf.
Kirito had worried whether he could outperform Seiya in a full-dive game with sword combat. But now, all his worries vanished.
If Seiya couldn't even handle the basics, he was pure noob material. If Kirito couldn't beat someone like that, he might as well quit gaming altogether.
Besides, the joy of "veteran carrying newbie"? Incomparable.
In the real world, Seiya was always the top dog. But here, in this world, Kirito was the true master.
Since Starting City's plaza was packed and getting busier by the second, Kirito instructed Seiya to stay put while he used the tracking function to find him.
Seiya, seeing how reliable Kirito sounded, closed his map and obediently waited like a good newbie.
The waiting was boring. Many players were still stuck at character creation—agonizing over names and faces—so the "final boss" Kayaba Akihiko had yet to make his grand appearance.
Bored, Seiya opened the menus and began exploring the game systems.
SAO was, at its core, a sword-based RPG adventure. Skills abounded, but sword skills alone accounted for nearly half the entire system.
Even more impressive, players could invent their own moves. As long as the system recognized a unique action as valid, it could become a custom skill, complete with the right to name it.
"…Wait, is this… a top-up screen?"
While browsing through the menus, Seiya stumbled across the in-game recharge page.
Yes, SAO had microtransactions. After all, no game company created a game without intending to make money.
Even the so-called "free-to-play, no pay-to-win" games inevitably fell under the "cash rules everything" principle. Without money, how could the company create joy—or even maintain the servers?
And since Kayaba hadn't yet intervened, the code hadn't been altered. At this stage, SAO was still just an ordinary game—with full cash-shop functionality.
Staring at the recharge screen, Seiya hesitated for less than thirty seconds before entering his account and password.
(End of Chapter)