[SAO:Tales of Aincrad]The Town Of Beginnings

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The year is 2022, Sunday, the day of SAO’s launch. An unprecedented amount of players have been logged for it’s launch day compared to any other MMORPG in existence. SAO’s first day has surely been a success. That is, until multiple players discover the inability to log out. The news slowly but surely cycles through the players as more and more discover this fact in a short time. Shortly before the players can panic the bells of the black palace toll.


All across the first floor of SAO players are forced into a teleport, soon arriving in the town center. Soon after the sky begins to crackle with electricity and ooze what appears to be blood, which soon coalesces into a large hooded figure...

The Mirrors...

The figure looked out across the center, the mass of players enraptured by his sudden presence, silence following before he finally spoke.


“Attention, players. Welcome to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world.” The figure remained quiet after this for a short moment, letting the murmuring in the crowd pick up before speaking again, “I’m sure you’ve already noticed, that the log out button is missing from the main menu. But this is not a defect in the game...I repeat...this is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online.”


The figure once again paused as the crowds murmuring grew into surprised astonishment. After a moment of this he began again, silencing the crowd, “You cannot log out of SAO yourselves. And no one on the outside can shutdown or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted te transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life.”


The figure once again let the silence stretch as those in the crowd panicked. He watched as the crowd panicked and many tried to log out, only to find that the button was still missing, while others ran to the edges only to find invisible walls hemming them in. After a few moments of this he finally spoke again, “Unfortunately, several players’ friends and family have ignored this warning and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world.”


The figure let that news sink in as the crowd slowly came to a fearful silence, “As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths. Thus, you can assume the danger of a NerveGear being removed is now minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game. But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no linger any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost. And simultaneously the NerveGear will destroy your brain. There is only one means of escape. To complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, Floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the floor boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game.”


The figure remains silent at this point as the crowd devolves into anger, confusion, sorrow, and many other emotions, before finally speaking again, “Right now you’re probably wondering, “Why”. Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do all this? My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason. To create this world and intervene in it. And now, it is complete. This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch.” The figure states, “Oh, and one last thing. I’ve added a present from myself to your storage. Please see for yourself.” He adds before finally fading away.

Spoiler

Your first post should be your character pulling out a mirror from it’s inventory. Instantly they will glow too bright to see for a short moment before the glow fades, at which point your character will be exactly like your characters real life appearance. No this is non negotiable. Consider this a test that ensures you’re willing to follow rules. Now......BEGIN!

 

[Fujiwara Tadayoshi]

Watching the crowd panic Fuji would b e unsure of what to make of the situation. "So Im trapped here, in this world. and I will die for real, if I die in game.. what the hell." As the GM spoke Fuji would fill with panic, but come to realise it would be useless to panic, The final words of the GM would echo in his mind. "What does he mean present.. Do I trust this mad man?" Opening up the interface, and opening his inventory. He would spy a object "A mirror?" using the item, he would look into it, before a bright glow, blinding him for a few moments. "Huh what the hell?" looking into the mirror, he would see his character would have his face and likeness. "wait this is me.. how did... wait what.." thinking back to the first time usage of the nerve gear, and how the set up went. "I get it now.. but does that mean.." He would look to where a girl had been standing beside him, but now this girl would be replaced with a slightly obese man.


"Sicko.." He would mumble as he looked away in disgust from the guy beside him. "What to do now. where to go. maybe I should farm some levels?" He would look around and see a few people scattering and others sitting on the ground suffering a mental breakdown. "Cant call in sick.. boss is gonna kill me, thats if the game doesnt first." He would let out a sigh and stash the Mirror back into his inventory. He would turn from the mess of people, and slowly wander into the city, passing by those in tears and those in rage. "No use losing my head.. It cant be helped. the GM may aswell be god here." as he wandered through the town he would take a seat on the bench near the main gates. collecting his thoughts Fuji would try to decide what to do. "Wait I am the Protagonist, I should have some sort of plot device or Armor, or skill.." laughing at his terrible joke, he would look over his stats and decide on his next move

 

[DemonKitten]

Ashlyn froze, her orange gaze shocked by the sudden development. I'm trapped in here, she thought, at first calm, but as it set in the fear sunk deep. I'm stuck in here! She screamed internally as she tried to shuffle through her thoughts. All the planning, all the school work, the life and future she had dreamed of, put on pause. I can't pause! Her mind went into overdrive as she thought of her mother's sobbing and the fact that she was letting her down. She had to return. She opened the menu, but as before, there was no log out button. Ashlyn had wanted to escape and now she had, she was in the virtual world she had always dreamed of, but she wasn't happy.


The worry went over and over in her mind of the people that needed her. She was their last hope! She remembered the mirror and pulled it out of her inventory. Her face soon changed into a familiar gaze that she knew all to well. she fumbled with the white bang as her emotions crossed her face. All of sudden, they stopped and she smiled. "I feel like something has lifted," Ashlyn sighed in relief as she put her hands on her hips. "A new beginning, just like this town, I shall start one!" Luckily, people were too into screaming to notice her weirdly talk to herself. Tapping her chin, Ashlyn thought of her future steps that she would take.

 

[Ericnox]

Ericnox had been getting ready to do a bit of base creature grinding to start his leveling. He had his basic gear and was ready to roll... Then the forced teleportation had hit him. He was back in town and looking up at the sky, a blinking red bar across it. After a moment it spread like wildfire, covering the sky in only a few moments. Blood dripped from the sky and started to condense into something odd.


"Ohhh... This isn't going to be good... Not at all." He said to himself. He had planned on leveling alone, then bringing in friends to join him. "Oh... That is going to be fun..."


When the massive avatar of the GM finished the speach about not being able to log out, he checked on that almost right away. It was true, the button was gone. He had to live his life here... He couldn't go back unless he beat the game.


"Well... Shit." He said, pulling out that object in his invintory.


Consumed by a white light, he blinked it away, his vision was closer to how it was back in the real world. His body felt more... Like how it should be. He watched women change to men and visa versa. Several people looked horrified, and one even yelled that it was how he was. Narrowing his eyes, he realized just how bad things might be. He saw that it wasn't going to be easy by any form of imagination. He was going to need a plan... And he once he had that figured out, he was going to help people reach the goal and escape this self-inflicted hell. Placing his sword on his shoulder, he looked to the sky as it returned to normal.


"Challenge accepted..." He said, narrowing his eyes and drawing in a deep breath. But how the hell was he going to meet it alone?

 

[Vengeance Spirit]

Benjamin seemed pretty calm externally...His face was stern and clearly a bit displeased, but internally he was fighting an inner conflict. One part of his mind saying "A restart like you've always wanted." The other saying "You're leaving behind a lot." The two sides battling a never ending fight. There was no clear answer because everything had its negatives...And oh wait...there was the chance of dieing...Could he die? Nah...He easily dismissed these thoughts, he was friggen Big_Blue after all. A great gamer, there was no way he'd be dead. After all, this was probably just some big lie. What proof did they have in the game?


He opened his gaming menu to search for the log out button...There was of course none. He thought it was a glitch so he reopened it...Realizing now there was no button he knew it was serious. It would be against common gaming etiquette to remove the log out button for an event. This was serious, very serious.


He was nervous about what would happen now. He looked around and realized there was a large number of them...Simple rules, don't separate...Separate and you can die. No solo questing in hard areas...Stick together, avoid traps. Easier said than done. Then he looked up at the title above him. Big_Blue. That would be him now, he was no longer Benjamin. He was fully Big_Blue, the great alchemist...Now thinking of it, he wished he would've chosen beast tamer. That way he'd get some protection in battle...Actually...Alchemist was pretty crappy. His mind began to go on a rant on how he chose the wrong class.


Big_Blue then laughed it all off, looking at the faces around him which were clenching in pain. Young children as well who were trapped, they made his heart sink a bit in anxiety. He opened his mouth and said "Alright then...How about we don't split up. No solo questing for a while since we're all square one here. Anyone want to group up with me for a bit?" He asked the crowd of people to see if any takers would come along. He didn't want to waste time continuing by saying "Hey...You never know what he might send at us. We should get levels as early as possible. Finish the floors and then head home."

 

[Reinhardt]

Whatever that Akihiko guy had said was indeed true. Artur could not see any logout option in the menu. "So we're trapped in this game, and no outside force can help us. And if we die here, we die in reality as well.", he said calmly. I guess there only one way out then., he though to himself as he stared at the sky. And it would be to reach the top without dying. Artur then smirked, saying, "Easy."





Looking around, he noticed that the panicking players had turned their attention into something else - a mirror. "Really? You're trapped in a game and the first thing you do is look at a mirror? No wonder yo-", he said, only to be cut off by a player beside him who had just drawn the mirror out from his inventory. As the male player looked at the mirror, it glowed and soon the masculine face turned into the looks of a young fair lady. "Oh, so that's why.", he said. Also, what a great view. Opportunities like this shouldn't be left alone., he though to himself, But before that, I'll do the same.


He then, took out the mirror from his inventory, and looked into it. The mirror glowed brightly for a moment, then reflected his true face. He smiled, then returned it back to his inventory. "Now, back to business.", he said. He then turned to face the lady from before, who apparently, was now gone. "Darn it.", he spoke to himself. After missing an opportunity to meet such a fair lady, he had returned to the sight of his goal - reaching the top. But in order to do so, one must prepare for whatever dangers and obstacles he will face along the way. And so, he headed to the main gates, as he said to himself, "First, I'll grind my levels, and possible currency as well. Then, I'll adjust my skills based on the meta. That'll do as a plan for now." Artur walked until he finally was before the gates.

 

[simj26]

XxDREADFIGHTAxX / Hanazawa Yukikaze

The first order of things in games like these was to explore and check what stats, skills and other gameplay options were open to the player. It was a clumsy attempt by Yukikaze to open the various menus, seeing as she had never played anything with regards to VR ever, and her avatar, a 5'10" redheaded woman who looked much more mature than her player, flailed around uselessly for a moment before the menus popped open.

Endurance	Strength	Durability	Accuracy	Speed
6	1	0	0	0

These were dismal stats. 6 End and 1 Str, with 0s across the rest of the board? Usually MMOs had starting End at about 10 or 20 or so: low, but not so low to the point of looking pitiful. Perhaps SAO was the type of game that equipment stats mattered more than natural stats. In that case, it would only be wise to grind quests that provided equipment rewards. Meanwhile, though, she had to make do with what she had, the starting equipment: a worn halberd, and what looked like a training bra over her chest. Was this really armor?


"How embarrassing..." she muttered as she tugged at the brown leather strap across her avatar's chest, which was notably larger than hers. At least she was wearing starter clothing, a long-sleeved jerkin and a pair leather pants, so it didn't all suck. As for the skills, she cast a furtive glance over them, reading the info tacked on to them. Stealth skills were right out. She didn't need those. 'Dedicated tank FTW.' as she often said. She spotted some of the skills that drew aggro from enemies, or namely "Hate", as it read, and was tempted to save her skill points for them. However, a starting bonus to Strength seemed much more enticing. More damage usually meant easier mobs, which translated into easier EXP, at least for early-game. As she finally invested in her one point on her weapon skill, her attention finally arrived on the fact that there was no Log Out selection on both the main menu or anywhere at all. Her avatar flailed around again, putting her attempts to force close the program into rather hilarious movements. It was getting too uncomfortable. The low stats, the inability to log out, and the fact that the sky was red.


Wait a second, the sky was red? Was it a wave? An event? No way, the game was only just released, these were all Level 1 noobs. There was simply no way the devs would program in a wave or event this ominous looking so early. So she waited and watched.


-----


A feature? A permadeath feature in a game, that extended to the real world as well? This was certainly intriguing to say the least. No doubt the news had spread through the world already, and her father would have caught wind of it. However, he would be far away, overseas, by the time the news reached his ears. The thing that worried her most right now wasn’t the fact that he would be extremely anxious with regards to her performance in the game. It was the fact that Maeda Hanazawa was a man of unpredictable behaviour. Would he race back home in an attempt to try and disconnect the Nervegear from her? Would he listen instead to the warnings, and leave the game to her capable hands? He knew how skilled she was when it came to MMORPGs, and her influence in gaming circles. Snowtail was not a name without weight. Whichever would be her fate: death by her father’s hand, or victory by triumphing over 100 levels, she shouldn’t be standing around here. Her avatar smirked confidently, brushing her hair aside. There would be no problem for XxDREADFIGHTAxX.


That was what she thought, until she rummaged around in her inventory to locate what the mod mentioned as a ‘gift’. Next to three potions, there was something that looked like a handheld mirror. She made a mental note to increase her potion numbers once she got the recipes for it. Selecting Alchemist was a pretty good move, it seems. Three was just too little. She extracted the mirror from her inventory and turned it around in her hands. There was no flavor text, no description to it. It all changed when her features were reflected off the glass, and into her eyes. Her body shrunk and her features molded into something uncomfortably familiar. Fearing the worst, she dropped the mirror, sending it clattering on the ground. This can’t be true. This was an RPG. RolePlaying Game. Not Real World Game. Her mind still racing, she bent down and picked up the mirror. She slowly turned it around.


It was a huge shock to others around her when the redheaded mouse raised her arm and pitched the mirror downwards onto the ground, causing it to bounce off the floor comically without shattering and slid across the town square, lost in the throng of people. The face that looked back at her in the mirror was not her avatar. It was the one person she hated the most. The one face she didn’t want to wear. Yukikaze Hanazawa’s pale and panicked expression was what stared back at her. Her small frame's shoulders rose and fell as she breathed heavily. She could still fix this. She could still play the game. She checked her stats once more.

Endurance	Strength	Durability	Accuracy	Speed
6	2	0	0	0

Her stats were still the same, and her armor didn't feel any heavier. She equipped her Beginner Halberd and swung it around experimentally. She hadn't tried it while still in the form of her avatar, but it didn't seem as heavy as she thought it was. Her situation was still salvageable. As long as she didn't talk too much, and as long as she proved herself as a proper player, and not some worthless noob who just figured out what AEs were, she should be fine. She glanced about the town, catching sight of some players already taking hold of the situation, attempting to recruit others into their parties. None of them were big name players she recognised though. If there was anything her experience taught her, it was that party captains without any idea of what they were doing were immediate dangers to their party members. That and with the dev's ominous message and delivery, she couldn't discount the existence of BAMs. Without knowledge of what they were going up against, the players would be crushed. Unequipping her halberd, she folded her arms, began to chew on her nails and started thinking about how could she rectify this problem, especially since she was now Yukikaze, not XxDREADFIGHTAxX.

 

[Penelope Burns]

Yvonne was probably one of the first people to attempt logging out, if not the first. She had spent an ungodly amount of money on a piece of garbage, something she had fallen prey to like a complete moron. The most fun part of the game was the avatar creator where Vareen, her avatar, was created as almost an exact copy of Yvonne. She was proud of her attention to detail, even managing to add the minor grease burn an inch from her elbow.


But when she was aware that the game was nothing like she was told, Yvonne wanted out. She wasn't wasting her very limited free time on some useless escapism. That's what victims of bullying and social pariahs did, not people with jobs and lives. Wasting time on pointless crap like SAO was not in her budget - Oh god, what about the electricity cost?


And then he made the announcement. Yvonne was still in the main square, trying to figure out why nobody could log out, when everyone was teleported. Kayaba Akihiko, the bastard, basically announced the death sentence of every player. Yvonne wasn't going home. She wasn't going to work, or paying bills, or anything - She was trapped, they all were.


To make matters even more weird, people were starting to transform, going from these virtualized demigod types to normal, everyday people. One girl in particular stood out - Her form changed completely, from a giant, imposing goddess to someone barely bigger than a mouse. What made the situation more funny than terrifying was watching her swing a giant sword around like it was nothing.


Yvonne noticed the mirror in her inventory, and common sense told her that it was what was transforming everyone. The mirror and the potions were the only constants, and nobody was low on health. From what Yvonne noticed, it seemed like they were making everyone look like who they were in the real world. Well I have nothing to hide. Yvonne pulled out the mirror without hesitation, and barely noticed the difference.


When people, those who seemed experienced, began moving away from the plaza, Yvonne followed. She had no money, no experience, and it was the only game she'd played. Survival instinct told her to find someone experienced - possibly the mouse girl - and join up with them. So she would.

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

Eirian and Azam

The hell is going on here. She went to her settings one more time. It's still gone. Dammit. She had to assume that the other things the figure said were true. She was trapped here and if she or anyone tried to get the NerveGear off her she'll die too. "This sucks." Eirian crossed her ars and glared. She looked in her inventory and found the mirror, she looked at herself and noticed that she looked the same as she did in real life. She sighed, "well that's the end of my fun time as guy." She tossed the mirror away and looked over to the girl she had been talking too. She had suddenly turned into a lanky boy with glasses, who was freaking out about his new appearance. Eirian glanced at him "hey are you alright?" She genuinely didn't care about him anymore his appeal to her was gone. She was just trying to be nice.


"Huh? You're a girl? For real?! And you're hot! Why were you a male avatar?" The confused boy asked her.


Wrong question. That pissed her off big time, she hated being asked stupid questions. "Really? That's all you ask about? We all just found out we're trapped here and you ask me why a girl would have a male avatar. Ugh what the hell is wrong with men, seriously?" She scoffed at him and shook her head, "whatever." She turned away and began to walk off. Not looking back she gave a bored wave to him "bye." She was pissed off and stuck in a crowd of scared people. She needed to find her cousin. She scratched at her eyepatch in annoyance, jesus this is so freaking itchy. Where the hell is that guy? She groaned looking around at the scared people. "Last time I saw him he was surrounded by girls near the cafe. He couldn't have gone that far, right?" She made her way over to one of the taverns and heard the cooing of women and laughter. Eirian groaned and followed the sound of laughter.


While Eirian was out in the pavilion spending time with the freaked out members of the game, Azam was distracted. He only partially paid attention to the dark figure, the rest of his attention was on a group of lovely maidens who looked very vulnerable. He flipped his hair, put on a dashing smile and made his way over to them. He was pleased when his avatar fell and showed his true appearance,it made the girls even more interested. He didn't know what was going on but he knew that whatever it was it wasn't his problem. The creators will probably fix whatever is going on "well lovely ladies how about we take this inside?"


Eirian made her way towards them when she spotted who she was looking for. There in the middle Azam had his arms wrapped around three girls and pulled them close to him. "Don't you worry pretty ladies I will protect you." There were four other girls coming closer and others glancing at them. Azam just stood there and smirked, he was enjoying the attention. He pulled the girls closer, sure they don't look a thing like their avatars, but women are women and some have some... admirable features. He grinned pulling the two girls with the largest chests closer to him. "Now, now ladies, there's no ned to be so afraid. I'm here and everything is fine now, just hold close to me." He smiled devilishly making any girl's heart melt. Well, any strait girl.


Erian walked up to the group and glared at Azam. "We are trapped here, my avatar looks like me and the log out button is gone. Stop flirting with these girls and let's go." Azam looked at her and gave a heart throbbing smolder. "Awwww, come on Eirian, don't be like that. I'm sure some of these lovely girls would enjoy your company? Right girls?" They giggled and two came closer to Eirian. She brushed them off, her cheeks a little red. "Enough! We need to get stronger or do I have to remind you our lives depend on it." Azam looked at her seriously for a moment, but it quickly vanished with a smile. He looked at all the women, "Hey beauties I have to help my cousin, but make sure to friend me alright?" He winked at them and near hearts flew out of the girls eyes. He let them go and walked over to his cousin. "Alright lets go. We can collect some materials to enhance our professions and make some money."


Eirian smiled at him "well at least you're calm about this." Azam smiled at his cousin and put a arm over her shoulder, "of course I am. I'm awesome, nothing bad is going to happen to me." Eirian peeled his arm off her and tossed it back to him, "really? You're not worried about the dying part?" She glared back at him she loved her cousin, but sometimes his stupid narcissism drove her insane. He put his hands in his pocket and laughed loudly, "please Eirian I've been a pro player for years, I've never died in any game, not once. Not even in Dark Souls. You can't be in any better hands babyiiiii!"


Eirian elbowed him in the gut, her voice dark and aggravated, she spoke"what did I say about calling me by one of your stupid pet names." Azam coughed and took a step away from her, holding his gut. "Yeah, don't. I remember now, but was there really a need to do that? Ha, ha, Ow...." He rubbed his side and looked at her as they were making their way out of the town. Ow... man she is in a bad mood. Well I guess she would, just getting out of surgery a few days ago only to be trapped in a game. It must be like moving from one prison to another. He caught up to Eirian and spoke softly "hey, don't worry. I will get you to the 100th floor and back to reality. I promise. So don't worry so much." Eiriran looked at him oddly and turned her head away hiding a blush. "Whatever, I don't need your promises." Azam looked at her and smiled, he placed his hand over her shoulder again. "You're welcome."

 

[The Drift]

Kei had played these kinds of games before. He was alright at them, but most of the times his particular skill set didn't help much. Kei always thought that it was more about mashing buttons as fast as you could compared to use of wit and charisma. He spent most of his time roaming around Aincraid, getting the lay of the land, though it didn't help that the First Floor was massively huge with amazing biodiversity of flora and fauna and completely different biomes, depending on the location. Then, the forced teleport hit.


Bright light engulfed him from all sides as he squinted his eyes shut to keep the bright rays out. As soon as the light died down, he opened his eyes to see that he had been teleported to the Town of Beginnings... "Okay then..." He briefly glanced around and most of the people seemed to be in a similar state as him, a bit confused, but not yet worried. In the back of Kei's mind, he did notice that most of the people looked quite charismatic and good looking. Fat chance, he thought, "I wouldn't be surprised if half of them are from the opposite gender, knowing gamers." And after the speech from the weird looking Kabaya-guy, Kei felt a dread ball up in his stomach as he thought of the consequences this "god" had enforced upon them; like Jesus, he was only sixteen. Partly, he was glad that his life would never be boring again, but at the same time he knew that he had stumbled upon something bigger than himself. This was supposed to be a virtual reality, and that meant that his charisma and quick wit would be more useful, but he was feeling way too cantankerous and crabby to appreciate that fact. After what felt like ages, but in fact had only been a few seconds, Kei did what everyone else was also doing. He opened his inventory with a graceful swipe through the empty air in front of him and selected the gift that had been delivered to his account. A mirror; strange. He proceeded to open it, which resulted again in Kei's eyes getting overloaded by bright light again. He opened his eyes, expecting to be in a different place, but saw that he was still in the exact same position, except everyone around him looked different. No one was as... good looking, putting it bluntly. He realized- the mirror had made everyone look like how they did in real life, which resulted in a lot of men with women's clothes and a lot of... ugly people. Oh god.

 

[Atom]

Jacob had stood silent for the entire speech, simply shocked more than anything. As the final words were spoken Jacob pulled out the mirror, not really paying much attention as his body was on autopilot. Meanwhile in his head Jacob was at a loss for reaction, torn between two sides of this. On one side Jacob was realizing the repurcussions of this, the danger, never seeing his family again, and even possibly dying. Another side if Jacob loved it, his life had been spent gaming, and more than a few times he’d dreamed about getting lost in his favorite game, becoming the character of it and living in it. Well, it’d happened...


Finally Jacob pulled back from his thoughts, looking around in confusion at the people who all appeared...different now. And then his eyes found the mirror, and more importantly, his face. Not the face of Arlen Mace. Jacob frowned slightly, rubbing his jaw line as he checked the mirror. It wasn’t that bad of a thing, he just wished he’d also had his hat.


Jacob’s face took on that of grim determination as he spun on his heel and began to push his way through the crowd. He wasn’t nearly as big but in his heavy armor and with his large battle axe mounted on his back he still appeared as an imposing figure as he simply pushed his way through the crowd. His goal was to get to the town gates. He’d seen a quest starter there earlier that he intended to revisit. What better time than now?


@simj22

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

Eirian and Azam: The Contest of Pushiness

Eirian glared at her cousin and stepped out from under his arm. "We need a party. It doesn't have to be permanent, but something quick with people we can easily dispose of." If you haven't noticed, Eirian wasn't the type of person who gave a rats ass about other people. She had spent almost all her life in a hospital and learned one thing, everyone you ever care about will die. She's played grim reaper to people she's cared about, getting rid of people she didn't even like was a piece of cake. She tossed her head and looked around. She wanted a group of diverse people who would likely do well in a group of two swords people. Some variation and strength, with intelligence and skill.


"Already a head of you cuz," Azam had made his way over to two girls and began chatting them up. Eirian turned as he nearly instantly teleported to the two hot girls. "Hey! Don't just go picking people based on their looks!!" She shouted to him, but he was already out of ear shot. She put a hand on her hip and sighed "seriously what is with that guy and flirting. It's like his second nature." She scanned the crowds for others, she noticed many fighters that looked very skilled. She would like to join with them, but if they ever betrayed her she'd be out of luck. She sighed, looking at all the noobs. "I swear if I have to hold someone's hand I will cut it off first." She looked over to Azam "I just hope that Azam picks useful people."


"Hey there lovely ladies, I noticed both of you were without partners. Would you like to join our group?" He gave his most handsome smile at the both of them and looked them up and down. They certainly weren't one to miss in a crowd that was for sure. He could care about their weapons he cared more about their...athletic...figure. "It's safer to be in a group at this time and you two seem to have lots of potential." He glanced at their chests for a moment, yes lots of potential...He looked back at their faces and smiled kindly "My cousin and I would love it if you would join." He put a hand to his head, "what am I thinking? It's impolite not to introduce others." He grabbed each girl's hand and gently lead them to Eirian. "Eirian, these two are going to join or team alright?" Azam who looked over at the two girls, "so what are your names, my name is Azam, well my username. I think its best to go with those instead of our real names for now, privacy and all. Besides it's all about the fantasy of it is it not." He looked both of them with his mesmerizing eyes.


Eirian glanced them up and down, she blushed a little they certainly were appealing . However she could smell it on them, ugh noobs, I better sharpen my sword. She looked at Azam and then to the girls again. So if they join we will look like a mini harem, like hell I am letting that fantasy of Azam come to light. She looked over at the one of the boys in the crowd and glared at him. "Hey you!" She pointed to Kei and put a hand on her hip "Get over here and join us."

 

[The Drift]

Eirian's hand came to rest on Kei's shoulder while he was contemplating what to do in this hellhole. The firm hand was accompanied by a barrage of words which sounded like they came from a snob; there voice struck Kei as my-ancestors-trampled-over-you rather than the my-ancestors-were-trampled-upon that most of his friends from school had. He turned around finally, and his eyes were greeted by a strikingly pretty girl who seemed to be around his age. She has an eyepatch? He exclaimed, followed by I didn't expect to see anyone my age, as Kei's eyes scrutinized Eirian from her bare legs to a satisfying bleached-white hair that would have looked unnatural and weird on anyone else.


He brushed off his hand indignantly and followed her back to a handsome man, Azam. This person was straight off the bat a flirt, and really good at it. Kudos to him though, Kei thought, as he noticed a glint in the young man,s eye which perhaps suggested something more than playfulness. "What", he finally said to Eirian, though his mind was already churning and shifting cogs; he had got himself into a temporary party, it seemed. Sensibly, Kei knew that for a team to be successful they would need a diverse group of people with different points of views. I'm in, thought Kei.

 

[Penelope Burns]

"Hey there lovely ladies, blah blah blah blah blah." It took Yvonne less than three seconds to tune the stranger out, a spped she was actually proud of. She had hoped that the idiot would get the picture, that she wouldn't have dated him even if she was attracted to guys, but no. That would have made her life too easy.


After only a minute he had grabbed Yvonne's hand and pulled her towards a strange girl. She hadn't said a single word to the fucker and he was already acting like he owned her. The only interesting thing about him was his sister or whatever, and she barely seemed to tolerate him. Whatever, he was right that it would be smart to join a group. "Sorry, I'm kinda new to SAO, but I'm a fast learner!" Why did you say that Yvonne, you fucking moron. Everyone is new to SAO. "I'm Yvonne."


Her voice didn't really show interest or emotion. She didn't care much about either of her new companions, and they would only be useful up until Yvonne figured out the game.


@The Suspicious Eye

 

[Ericnox]

Alexander, well... Ericnox now, sighed deeply. He had seen several quest giving NPCs on the way out here, he wanted to ignore them, but it seemed like that wasn't going to be an option. He checked over his equipment as he walked, his vanity gear was there at least, so that was something. Moving his sword from his hip to across his back, he kept walking towards what would be the main gates. When he looked around, it seemed like dozens of others had gotten the same idea.


"Good... So I won't be alone in this aspect at least... I don't want to die here, but damn it, I don't want to sit around and do nothing." He said, looking at the quest giver and approaching them. "May as well..."


Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eye. "One handed sword Tank, El Eff Gee. By quest givers." He called out, opening his eye and looking at the people that had already started his way.


Opening up the main menu, he pulled up the Party Invites sections. He was going to be picky about this. He didn't want to get members that would drag him down, but in the back of his mind, he knew he was going to seek to help nearly everyone who asked him.


@Atom

 

[ZaiKai]

Pandora frowns as the GM is talking. He personally hadn't witnessed this "feature" yet. He swipes his hand down, navigating to the system menu and pressing the button experimentally. Yeah ... no logging out here. Pandora frowns as he continues listening to Kayaba, doing so until he hears there is a ... "present" in his inventory. How thoughtful of the twisted man playing god to do such a thing! He navigates to his inventory, seeing the item. "Mirror." He clicks on it, the mirror dropping into his hands.


Cursing under his breath, Pandora looks around wildly as the light glows and obscures his vision. As the light fades, he hears lots of surprised murmuring and wonders what it's all about. He realizes the mirror is still in his hands and looks into it ... to see his real face staring back at him. "Ah!" he cries, dropping the mirror and seeing it fall to the ground, shattering into shining particles. "What ... What is this?" Pandora shakes his head. "The mirror must be just showing me my real life face. I don't think it actually change--" He groans as he sees a lock of black hair fall into his eyes. That wasn't the color of his avatar's hair ... but his own. This death game was for real.


He looks around at the frightened, angry, and shocked people. He immediately begins walking through the crowd, asking other players if they would like to team up, repeating to many of them, "Are you a fighter? Do you want to team up? We could help each other out!"

 

[Sage Leaf]

Zaiko listened to the whole speak with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. he didn't care if the whole world was just a big death game now. he wouldn't care what happened to him now. he'd just try his best, and wait until things checked out.


he heard Kayaba speak about the present, and he opened his inventory.


"huh? a mirror? that's odd... what would it do to m-" his thought was cut off by the person beside him glowing birhgt, and even though Zaiko didn't take his item out, he began to suddenly change.


"what the? what the HELL!?!?" he shouted as he went from being an awesome 6 foot tall knight to a 4 floor eleven inch blue haired boy with yellow eyes.


"perfect good going god. you've just turned me into the nightmare of a man i am..." he said. he didn't like how he was short for his age, and he thought everyone looked down on him no matter what.


"whatever. i'm leaving. no sense in sticking around this madhouse..." he said as he turned around and began to move through the crowd of mentally disturbed people.


(Tell me if i get something wrong okay? I'm sure i'm terrible at this and i don't want all your work to be wasted by my blunders. so feel free to kill me quickly if i'm doing it all wrong, which i'm sure i am...)

 

[Daimao]

Zix had silently watched as Kayaba Akihiko made his speech. Everyone was trapped in the game. And, thanks to Kayaba's "present", there was no longer anyone hiding behind the false guises of their in game avatar. Looking around at the other players around him, Zix sighed. He had heard that SAO would be immersive, but this was ridiculous.


Now came the question of how he should act in his new world. To act like he did in the real world, and be timid and unmemorable, or to once again take up the twisted personality of Zix? A sinister grin crept across his face. Zix it was. Combing his fingers through his raven black hair, Zix turned away from where Kayaba had disappeared and walked through the crowds of other people. 'This is the world now. Time to have fun,' he thought to himself, smiling.

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

Eirian and Azam: The Good? The Bitchy and The Awkward

Eirian glared at the guy and tilted her head putting her hand on her hip. She ignored his annoying glances at her appearance, she was used to them by now. Jesus does everyone do that the first second they see someone. Yes I'm a girl, yes I have one eye, yes I have white hair is that all that matters? Whatever, these people are just cannon fodder to me. "Are you deaf? I said come over and join our group. Come on you don't want to keep the other's waiting." She turned around and walked back to the group making a path for Kei to follow. She made her way back to the group and crossed her arms. "So you're Yvonne and a noob huh?" She sized her up, Eirian may be shorter but she wanted to make damn sure they knew she wasn't a pushover. "Latch on to a group of nerds to learn all you can, am I right?" She smiled, she didn't discourage it. She was like that when she first started gaming and the reason why she's still hanging around with her cousin.


She waved a dismissive hand and smiled "Oh please don't worry I could care less. Learn as much as you want. I'm Eirian and this is..." She was rudely cut off as Azam took Yvonne's hand and kissed it. "I'm Azam, It's a honor for you to make my acquaintance." He smiled and winked at the woman. He had been waiting for his introduction ever since Eirian rudely walked off. I swear sometimes that girl is incorrigible. He inwardly sighed and shook his head, while on the outside holding up a handsome persona. He let go of the girl's hand and bowed, "as a experienced gamer myself I am happy to take you under my wing." He glanced at the quiet girl and smiled. "Both of you." He had plans for both of them, the generic rescue and falling in love plot. Simple, yet effective. My good looks already put me in the front runner for a romantic hero. He flipped his hair back and laughed. The adventures, the romance, the occasional sneak peak, leading to the eventual confession, preferably with some flattering lighting. Oh yes I am excited and my group is all girls I'll have my choosing of whom I want. Plus It'll attack other girls to join. He smirked, "everything is going as planned."


He then noticed the boy following Eirian and glared at him. He pointed to him and glared "Eiri-chan who is that?" Eirian looked back at Kei "Oh, that guy? He's joining." She looked at Azam with a smirk on her faced. "You didn't think I didn't know what you were planning. Don't you dare think I'm going to let you take advantage of the situation. I am going to keep your bloated ego as low as possible." She winked at him and smiled, "Bet on it."


Azam looked at her and pouted, man she is now fun.... "You just want to ruin all my fun don't you?"


"Yes." Eirian said bluntly.


@Homage @The Drift @The One Eyed Bandit


 
(As of now my posts will be shorter)

 

[Entity.Eclypse]

Aes and Sora

​

"So we get into a new game and a mad-man already overruns it, absolutely great" Aes yells out as he drops to his knees withe the shout of anger and at the same time terror welling up inside of him and breaking into his mind. Images of what could happen to him... or his sister. "Don't worry brother we will get through this we always go into challenges head on remember?" Sora said her voice sounding determined and brave while she was hoping for nothing more than her brothers safety. I will show this man his own wrong-doing... I will do it and keep Sada safe Achiro thought to himself as he looked up to his sister resting his hand on his sword with a sort of relief behind the blade at his side.





"Promise me you will stay by me and stay safe from the monsters and danger of this world, Please promise me that Sada" Aes/Achiro said looking deeply in to Sora/Sada's eyes with his mind stubborn and riveted to its opinion without the want/need to budge from his mind-set. " Only if you promise to give me some good things, Let me fight some and... Don't die on me... ok?" Sora asked hugging her brother as they stood up and caught a few wandering eyes from some guys and girls who had weird looks on their faces and one with a scruffy looking face. "Deal, And Sora I don't plan on dying I have to live for you" Aes said remembering he didn't have any other reason to live for because his folks except Sada didn't care for him.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Kuihana Misae

​

On that day, for the first time in her seventeen years of living, Kuihana Misae had no idea what was going on.


Get the game. Play the game. Win the game. That was how today was supposed to go. But, instead she'd spent a good hour wrestling with the character creation, and the rest of her time had been spent figuring out how the hell this game worked. Seriously. She could figure out exactly how many fence-posts that Bob needed to surround his yard in five seconds flat, and then finish the rest of the test in time to head out and catch whatever it was that was playing in the movies that day without breaking a sweat. But this was something else. The basics of the game were simple enough, after all, it was virtual reality, she just needed to walk around and jab at anything the moves with her spear, right? But then there was the jargon. Most of the terms in the menus were written in some sort of top secret government code, and half of what the other players spouted followed suit.


Tapping through the menu, in an attempt to decipher the great puzzle that was video game terminology, Kuihana would be caught completely off-guard as she was engulfed in the blue swathe of flame that was the game's teleportation system, half expecting a GAME OVER message to appear on her screen before it faded. Instead though, she was greeted with the lovely sight of a reddened sky, and a swathe of other players, who looked like they knew just as much about what was going as she did. That is to say, absolutely nothing. Luckily enough though, an answer would present itself post haste, the sky giving way to an enormous figure clad in red. Not being particularly well versed in this type of thing, Kuihana was a tad stolen for words, and by some miracle, stayed quiet as it began to speak.

*

​

What.

If they died in the game, they died in real life? There was no way that could be true, the NerveGear delivering a shock strong enough to fry their brains? There was no way a piece of gear like that would make it past regulations and into public consumption, right? No no. Even if that was the case, there was no way that the entire company that made this bloody game would be without a way to intervene in this. But... There was something about that fucker Kayaba's words that seemed to ring true. And if they did.... It would only be a matter of time before her parents found out about this. What if they tried to yank her NerveGear off by force? Then she'd be done for, and there wasn't a single thing she could do to stop them. Hell, even ignoring that, she had absolutely no idea how in the name of god this game worked, and as far as she knew one mistake was all it would take for her to end up five feet under. And then there was that gift of his. Looking into it, seeing her face, she kind of wished that she hadn't spent so long trying to figure out how to open her menu.

Looking at her reflection, everything just kind of hit her at once. Sure, she was frustrated before, I mean, who wouldn't be? But now she felt something different, something unfamiliar.

She was afraid.

This was the first time, the first time in her life, that she'd been in a situation like this. A situation where she was completely and utterly helpless.

Shit, so this is what it feels like?

She wasn't sure if it was because she was so unused to this feeling, or if it was like this for everyone else, but Kuihana was practically frozen to the spot. It was paralyzing, even as bulk of players made their way out of the square in a panicked rush, she stayed rooted where she stood. But maybe that was for the better. After a few moments something unexpected appeared in her vision, a small, white text box.​

XxDREADFIGHTAxX has invited you to a party


Y / N



​

"Aha..." She let out a small laugh. It wasn't much, but it was at least enough to get her to look around her surroundings. Most of the players had cleared out of the square, and the few that remained seemed significantly more composed than... Well, her. Right. What was she thinking? She was Kuihana fucking Misae, how could she let a bunch of schmucks like these outdo her like this? Despite those thoughts, she was still more than a little shaky. She turned her attention back to the white box in the middle of her vision. XxDREADFIGHTAxX has invited you to a party. Shit, if it wasn't for this tiny little thing she'd still be quaking in her boots, wouldn't she? She wasn't even sure if it was the sudden appearance of the message, or just the ridiculous name the preceded it that had snapped her out of it. Though, despite how much it had helped her, it did raise one question.

"What the hell is a party?" She said in classic Kuihana levels of volume, as she stared at her savior of a message box.
​

 

[DemonKitten]

Ashlyn looked around for people. She didn't want to act too much like a trapped noob. Gazing about for others, Ashlyn found a place to stand where she was sort of in the clearing. She saw a black haired boy going through the crowds calling for people to join a party. I guess he is a place to start, she thought as she let out a sign. Putting on her best smile, the red head started waving her right hand at the boy. "Hey! Over here. I'll join ya," She said cheerfully as she tried to get his attention by jumping up and down. She noticed that no one really seemed to care that she was making a fool of herself. Most where still in a state of shock and wanted nothing to do with this world. She was probably a freak among them, not caring if she returned to the world.


@.::ZaiKai::. @ScaraByte

 

[Entity.Eclypse]

"Brother is that girl going insane?" Sora asked as she watched a girl jump around screaming about where she was, "Maybe, not everyone is used to not leaving games" Aes said still worried about what would happen to their IRL (Real Life) bodies while they where in the game. "Come one lets go introduce ourselves" Aes said as he grabbed Soras hand noticing they were the same looking as the real world, "Hey, Jumping girl" Sora screamed out to the girl to which Aes hit her on the head with a light clunk. They approached her "Hey, I'm guessing your frightened and looking for someone you can trust" Aes said with a smile, "And that would be us, I'm Sora" Sora stated "And I am Aes" He said reaching out his hand while simultaneously sending her a friend request.

 

[Dice]

And so it begun

​

Lucas was a bit struck, I mean what else are you meant to do when you see hundreds of actual realize new sources flash before your eyes showing that if you die or tried to be free you will die for real. As the silence slowly drifted away and many we're shocked at the change of appearance, the news the absolute horror of being stuck for possibly....forever. A quote came to Lucas's head as many broke away and run around him starting to kick and shove the quote started to come from his lips "We knew the world would not be the same." He was quickly caught off by a kick shove that sent him on the floor and he struggled to pull himself back up as some people stepped on him, but he eventually did. A few people laughed, a few cried, most people we're silent.... He thought starting to run with the crowd now trying to at least find a place where he wouldn't be trampled.


Lucas a bit later did find somewhere quite by the exit of the town, he sat himself down on a bench with a groan letting the poncho of his vanity clothing form around him.....was he feeling warmth from it? He pondered this seemingly lost in thought of reality and what it had become, his attention shifted seeing many players starting to leave the town to start the game....to carve away out of the nightmare. "100 Floors....my god.." he found himself saying aloud their only escape beating the game, Lucas thought over what he could do to reach this goal, but soon came to the conclusion that is that a even possible goal to think right now? He started going over what he could do to 'Live' in this world now, he had the skills to be a tailor so maybe that would work, Yeah...yeah...it's not just about winning the game and leveling up...there's houses, places to stay, money to make and....life to live... he said in his head a bit gloomily. Maybe others right at that moment didn't see it but this was life now, you'd have to eat, sleep and work to even think about fighting a boss to the next level. His attention turned to a jumping girl screaming out something to do with parties to maybe get the hell out of this town, he was quite shocked to actually see it work as two people went up to her and started exchanging names he guessed.


But why wouldn't they? This was real life now wasn't it? You would make friends and companions to get by in this world wouldn't you? He decided to watch from afar and see what happened, maybe if the possible party came by he would stop them and try to join up himself. But for a short moment he turned his head up and looked at the game master dispersal and the last part of the quote came from his lips "Now I have become death, destroyer of worlds..." came out so naturally at the figure that it seemed to be the only words to suit such a man. He put his head back down letting his chin rest on his poncho as the possible party, Lucas put his arms around himself feeling....warmth.


@DemonKitten @ScaraByte

 

[Entity.Eclypse]

Sora turned around and saw a guy hugging himself!?! "I have to go see something real quick" Sora said hugging Aes "Be careful ok" Aes said as Sora ran up to the guy. "Hey, Are you ok?" Sora asked the guy worried for him "My name is Sora, Do you want to be friends?" She asked him sending a Friend request with a smile on her face. Then she went through her inventory and saw it was relatively empty then she frowned a little.