"I'm glad to meet you too, Seiya. Looks like we'll get along just fine," Klein said, grinning as he threw an arm around Seiya's shoulders. "And by the way, your avatar's face looks amazing! Mind sharing your settings file? I feel like mine doesn't quite capture my real-life charm."
As Klein caught several female players glancing in their direction, he couldn't help but feel his own character's looks fell just a bit short compared to his ideal self.
"Haha, not at all," Seiya replied with a smirk. "I think your face fits you perfectly — looks trustworthy. But hey, since we just met, I don't have a proper gift for you yet. How about I go buy two oranges for us to celebrate our friendship?"
Watching Seiya and Klein — who had known each other for barely five minutes — already joking around,and acting like old friends, Kirito could only sigh in disbelief.
He'd played plenty of games over the years, but thanks to his social awkwardness, he was always a solo player.
Seiya, on the other hand, was his exact opposite — charismatic, talkative, and effortlessly likable. If socializing were a game mechanic, Seiya would be an S-rank player.
Soon, as more and more players poured into the Starting City, the area grew crowded and lively.
Luckily, under Kirito's guidance as an experienced beta tester, the trio quickly left the main plaza and headed for a quieter grinding spot.
The first floor of Aincrad had two main cities — the Starting City and Tolbana, along with a massive dungeon tower located at the northernmost part of the map, standing over 100 meters tall and 300 meters wide.
Surrounding these were open grasslands where low-level monsters like Frenzied Boars, Hornets, and Giant Bees roamed.
Considering that both Seiya and Klein were complete beginners, Kirito chose the Frenzied Boars as their first practice targets.
Compared to the smaller, flying insects, the boars were slower and easier to predict — perfect for teaching basic combat.
Despite being called a "game," the full-dive experience of SAO was almost indistinguishable from reality.
The wind brushed across their faces, the scent of grass and soil filled the air, and the roar of the charging boar was so vivid it sent chills down the spine.
That — was the true allure of Sword Art Online.
After demonstrating a flashy sword skill that cleanly dispatched a Frenzied Boar, Kirito turned back to his two companions with a confident smile.
"See? That's how it's done," he said, twirling his sword with ease.
Klein, pumped with enthusiasm, stepped forward with his katana. "Alright, my turn!"
Unfortunately, what looked simple in Kirito's hands turned out to be much harder in practice.
As the boar charged at him, the sight was so realistic that Klein froze. The next thing he knew, he was launched several meters into the air and landed flat on his back.
Good thing he'd set his pain reception to minimum — otherwise, that hit to the groin might've scarred him for life.
Watching Klein fly through the air, Kirito sighed and picked up a nearby rock.
A faint blue light shimmered in his hand as he threw it with deadly precision, hitting the boar squarely on the backside.
"There's no magic system in SAO," Kirito explained. "But skills can activate automatically once you perform the right motion — like that throw just now. Even though I used a rock, the system still recognized it as a sword skill trigger."
He glanced at Seiya. "That means real-world swordsmanship can actually give players an advantage here."
Seiya's fingers tightened around his rusty longsword. His blood was already boiling.
So this world rewarded technique and precision? Perfect.
He stepped forward calmly, his eyes locked on the oncoming Frenzied Boar.
"The stance to trigger sword skills, huh? Then let's try this…"
As the boar charged, dust flying beneath its hooves, Seiya didn't move an inch. Ten meters… five meters… three… two—
Klein's eyes widened in panic. "Hey! Seiya! Move already!"
After experiencing the agony of getting rammed earlier, he knew exactly how much that attack hurt — and judging by how furious the boar looked after Kirito's rock throw, this one was definitely out for revenge.
He could only hope Seiya's pain settings were turned low enough to survive the incoming critical nut shot.
But before the boar could collide, Seiya suddenly moved.
"Minamoto Kenjutsu Style — First Form: Storm Fang!"
In a blur, Seiya sidestepped the charge with fluid precision, his body flowing like wind. His sword gleamed with pale blue light as it traced a perfect arc across the boar's neck.
A flash split the air.
The beast's momentum halted instantly — then its body shattered into thousands of glowing fragments.
Kirito raised an eyebrow, impressed but not surprised. After all, he'd seen Seiya pull off impossible feats since childhood.
Klein, however, stood frozen, mouth hanging open.
If he remembered correctly, Seiya was supposed to be a total newbie — not a secret pro, and definitely not better than Kirito!
And yet… he'd just one-shot the monster in a move that looked smoother, faster, and far more stylish than Kirito's demonstration.
Klein gulped. "Wait a second… you call that a newbie?!"