Sword Art Online: Aincrad's Hollow Fragment

Multiple flashes of colors rushed around my head, getting narrow and faster while multiplying into a weird forming funnel until I was faced with a blank white surrounding. Holographic bubbles started to float in front of me running a test on my senses. Touch, sight, hearing, taste and smell all checked out as the bubbles shrunk and moved aside to the right side of my vision. Two small text boxes popped up on my left asking me what language I preferred to play the game in. If I had it my way, I wouldn't be playing this game at all. But knowing about the mission at hand, I picked Japanese and was directed to a login page. I was prepared to put my account information in, but I hesitated. If my father was serious with his threat, being on this account would put me in serious danger. He would know who I am, where I am and what I was doing in the game. Shirking off my hesitation, I entered my account information. A second later, a welcome screen introduced me to the game as I was digitally constructed into the video game world.

I opened my eyes and looked around. It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the world around me, but I soon see the safe zone for the first floor: The Town of Beginnings. I quickly open my menu and look for the Log Out button. To my misfortune, it was missing. This confirmed my fears, I was stuck in this game along with any player that decided to put the NerveGear on. Soon I'm not the only person to spawn into this town as other players surround me, teleporting in from the real world. I look at them scared and worried. They do not know that they are forever containing themselves in this virtual trap. I couldn't stay here; I had to get stronger. I had to find some monsters and level up so I can stop this game as fast as I can. I dropped down my inventory storage and looked at how much Col I had: ten thousand. Closing the menu and rushing into town, I looked for the nearest blacksmith to buy starter equipment so I could look for monsters to kill. Finding one right near the entrance of town, I bought an assortment of weapons, armor and a shield to protect myself. A shield would slow me down, but I would rather risk my own speed in order to protect myself. I motioned my hand downward and opened the game menu. Pressing on inventory, I equipped my shield, armor and a one-handed sword. Backing out of the inventory, I looked at my skills list. I only knew two skills at the moment: "Sonic Leap" & "Vorpal Strike". These two will serve me well on this floor. Before I left, I noticed a girl with chocolate brown hair and maroon eyes. She had a red long knitted shirt with a pink skirt. She was examining the weapons in front of her, looking like she was struggling to make a decision.

Female Shopper- Decisions, decisions. What should I take with me?

I know I shouldn't waste my time with this but if I wanted to save as many people as possible, perhaps helping people with their equipment loadout would boost their survival rate exponentially. I turned to face her and smiled.

"Well, it depends on what style you plan on playing as. I could help you if you want?"

She turned around, smiled and bowed her head towards me. After her bow, she clasped her hands together as to politely beg me.

Female Shopper- Could you please? Deciding on a weapon is hard enough, let alone raising a skill in it.

"It's no problem at all. Now what play style are you leaning towards?"

Female Shopper- Well, I want to deal as much damage as possible while not taking as much when enemies attack. I want to focus more on damage and defense.

"Well in that case, that eliminates daggers and one-handed swords. Holding a two-handed weapon like katanas, great swords and axes would definitely give you that needed damage but leave you completely open for enemy attacks. If you wanted to do decent damage and be defended, your best bet would be to buy a mace and a shield. Maces have a chance to break through most enemy armor so they will go down easier."

Female Shopper- Wow. You know a lot about this game. Were you a beta tester?

Not wanting to tell a stranger the whole truth, I gave her half of it.

"Yes. I actually made it pretty high in the beta, so I know a lot of the mechanics."

Female Shopper- Well thanks for the tip! Its decided. Mace and shield combo please?

The blacksmith entered a transaction with this girl, but I went ahead and paid for her bill. She looked at me shocked as her items were constructed in her hands.

Female Shopper- Why did you pay the bill?

"I had some leftover money after my purchase. I figured you could use your money for something useful. My suggestion would be a lot of healing crystals."

Female Shopper- Well, again thanks! You're a pretty cool guy! What's your name?

"Kazzu. How about yours?"

Female Shopper- Lisbeth. But most people call me Liz.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Liz. Hopefully I see you around."

I left without another word. I exited the Town of Beginnings and made my way towards a grassland area filled with multiple giant boars. This was as good a place as any to level me up for the task at hand. Before I could jump in and attack, I noticed two players further off to my right. One was wearing basic starter armor with black hair long enough to cover his right eye while the other was wearing the same armor with long maroon hair that sits behind his neck. The maroon player was being bullied by a boar and I saw his pained expression. Panicking, I rushed over and activated one of my sword skills: Vorpal Strike. My blade started glowing a bright yellow as I pulled it back and lunged it forward towards the assaulting boar named "Frenzy Boar". My blade pierced through the giant pig, with me phasing through its body, and exiting from the other side. The screeches of the pained animal and the sudden shattering of its figure confirmed its death. A breath of relief escaped my lips as I holster my weapon and turned my attention towards the marron player who was on the ground groaning in pain and holding his crotch.

"Are you ok there? You looked like you were in trouble."

I reached my hand out towards him. He looked at me with a pained expression as he took my hand. A gentle pull of his arm quickly stood him back up, looking exhausted.

Maroon- Thanks. That boar did a number on me. Hit me right where the sun doesn't shine.

The player with long black hair walked up and placed a hand on his hip.

Long Hair- As much as I agree with you that it would hurt to get hit by a boar in that area, you know that you don't feel pain in this game, right?

Maroon- Oh yea, that's right.

The player with maroon hair perked up really quick when that fact was explained to him. 

At least one of them knows how the NerveGear works but they could be beginners. Hopefully they don't get killed early. 

Being lost in thought, the player with long black hair stared at me.

Long Hair- So what brings you here? Hoping to get a few kills in?

"Yea. I just wanted to get ahead of the game. Never know what waits for us after the first floor right?"

Long Hair- Makes sense. I was part of the beta test, so I have a good idea, but it never hurts to be over prepared.

Maroon- Easy for you two to say! You two have the mechanics down while this is my first VR game. I'm not sure how this damn thing is supposed to work.

Thinking to myself, I figured that if I could teach this person how to use sword skills then he would have a better chance of survival. 

The player with long black hair seems to know what he is doing so I will leave him alone, but the other player was about to be taught sword skills 101.

"Well, I have some time to spare. I could teach you how to use sword skills if you want?"

Maroon- Could you? I was hoping this guy here could teach me, but he's just been standing around watching me.

Long Hair- Sorry! I thought you knew the mechanics and just wanted a party member.

"It's no problem. Here, let's go find another boar."

It didn't take us long to find a whole plain full of Frenzy Boar for us to practice on.

"Alright, I'll keep its attention and walk you through the process while you ready a sword skill and kill it."

Maroon- Got it!

Drawing my sword and shield, I slowly walked up towards the boar. Its glowing red eyes pierced over towards me and readied itself for battle. Charging at me, it was ready to run me down with its tusks. 

Dropping down to its level, I used my shield to block its attack and kept it stationed in front of me. It struggled to push itself forward towards me with no success. I used this opportunity to explain sword skills to the maroon hair player.

"If you do your initial motion correctly and activate a sword skill at the right time, the system guarantees that you will always hit your target."

Maroon- Initial motion?

"An easier way to look at it. Right after you start your move, wait for a little bit. When you feel the skill start to activate, drive it home!"

Maroon- Drive it home?

His eyes widened in realization. He widened his stance and held his blade, a scimitar by the looks of it, behind his back. His blade started to glow yellow just like mine. Smirking, I pushed the boar back, bashing it with my shield and sending it towards the maroon player. He let out a battle cry and lunged towards the boar, using a Vorpal Strike of his own. It was, once again, enough to shatter the boar. A screen appeared in front of the marron player showing him how much experience points he had earned, how much money he had earned and how many items the boar had dropped. He had the biggest smirk on his face as he cheered for joy.

Long Hair- Congratulations. That was nice but that boar was about as strong as slimes in other role-playing games.

Maroon- Holy crap you've gotta be kidding! I thought that thing was a mid-level boss!

"Well, mid-level boss or not, it's good to know that you know how to use sword skills now. Don't want a low-level monster getting the better of you now, right?"

Maroon- No way in hell man!

I chuckle as I put my own equipment away. I decided that these two were here before me, so this area is theirs to farm monsters. As I turned to leave, the maroon player grabbed my arm.

Maroon- Wait!

"Hm? What's up?"

Maroon- Thank you for the help, man. If you ever need anything from me just shoot me a message and let me know, ok?

Suddenly, a message appeared in front of me. Looking at it, I figured out the player's name: "Klein has sent you a friend request. Do you accept it?".

"Klein huh? Well, it's nice to meet you Klein."

He smiled as I hit the accept button. A new option appeared in my menu: "Friends List". Opening it, it was confirmed that Klein was indeed my friend. I smiled back at him as I closed my menu.

Klein- Well me and him are going to keep practicing, see you around Kazzu.

"See you around Klein."

He returned to the player with long black hair, and I walked away to find another spot. I used this opportunity to check the time: 15:30. Only two more hours until the game officially launched. Knowing there was nothing I could do; I continued my search for other areas to fight monsters. After a while, my travels brought me back to the Town of Beginnings, where I saw another girl. This one smaller than Liz, wearing the same starting gear and red long shirt but a red skirt instead of pink. She was surrounded by other players who looked like they were talking down to her. I shouldn't waste my time with their petty squabbles, but her face looked sad. Impulsively, I walked over to them and heard their conversation.

Random Player #1- Are you stupid or something kid?

Random Player #2- Stuff like that doesn't exist in this game.

Random Player #3- I can confirm that. I was a Beta Tester.

Small Girl- But there has to be something that could be used like that

Random Player #3- Man, you really are dumb. A beta tester tells you that it doesn't exist, and you still insist that it does.

"What is going on here?"

The four players turned to me, the small girl looking like she's on the verge of tears. The other three smirk at me and motion towards the small girl.

Random Player #1- This little kid says that there is an item that clearly does not exist in this game.

Random Player #2- She simply refuses to understand us even though we have a Beta Tester with us.

Random Player #3- That's me.

"So, what is the item in question? I was a Beta Tester myself so I can either confirm or deny if the item exists."

Random Player #1- She says it's a dragon egg that can hatch a baby dragon to keep as a pet.

Random Player #3- I made it all the way to the twentieth floor and haven't seen anything like that.

"That's strange..."

Random Player #2- See! We tried telling her that...

I put my hand up to stop his statement. I then looked at the small girl looking at me with tears in her eyes but a small glimmer of hope behind them. I looked back at the three other players.

"It's strange that you say you made it to the 20th floor. The beta test confirmed that only one player made it that far and it sure wasn't you."

Random Player #3- How would you know?

"Because I was that one player that made it that far."

Their faces froze. The proclaimed Beta Tester was the most shocked out of the group. I walked towards him and stood right in front of his face.

"I know that such an item does exist because during the beta I collected one of those eggs from a rare monster drop. Granted it never hatched, but that's because the beta test ended before I had the chance to hatch it."

The small girls face lit up in an instant upon hearing that. She looked at the other players with a small hopeful smile. They looked at her for a second before turning their attention back to me.

"So next time you decide to bully a player on an item they want to know about, make sure you know that the item exists before talking down on them like they're trash. Now get out of here before I show you what I do to bullies."

I slowly reached for my sword but before my fingers could touch the hilt, they were miles away from me and the small girl. I chuckled and moved my hand away from my blade.

"That was too easy."

Small Girl- Um excuse me?

I turned around as she tugged on my shirt. Getting a better look at her, she had light chestnut pigtails and crimson eyes. She had a smile on her face as she nervously placed her hands behind her back.

Small Girl- T-thank you for helping me with those bullies. They wouldn't leave me alone about that topic.

"It was no problem at all. It's their fault for getting on your case about an item they never found."

Small Girl- If you don't mind me asking, does the item really exist?

"Yes. Like I said, it's a very rare drop but it exists. When the egg hatches, you'll have your own baby dragon that has various different abilities that can help you in battle such as healing, attacking and defending. It's advised not to use them for defense as they can be killed easily but their healing and attack power is a nice boost."

Small Girl- Wow you have a lot of knowledge! That gives me so much hope! I'm making it my personal goal to become Sword Art Online's one and only Dragon Tamer!

I didn't want to crush her hopes by saying that she was trapped in here until the game was cleared and that she should focus her attention towards clearing the game, so I simply just smiled.

"It's a worthy goal. I can't wait to hear the tales of the infamous Dragon Tamer of Sword Art Online."

That got a small giggle out of her. She looked up at me with her tears dried up and a wide grin. She stuck her hand out towards me.

Small Girl- Well then, I'm Silica. Nice to meet you!

I accepted her hand and gently squeezed it, giving her a soft handshake.

"Kazzu. The pleasure is mine, Dragon Tamer Silica."

Another giggle escaped her lips. As we were about to continue our conversation, a blue light started to surround me, and I was teleported to the center of the Town of Beginnings. Soon, multiples of other people were spawned in the same location. Worried, I opened my menu again and checked the time: 17:30. This was it. This was the official launch of the game. It wasn't long before the entire town center was filled with players. Some of them looked confused, some of them looked angry, others just assumed that this was part of the tutorial. If only they knew the hell they were about to experience. There was a small ping right above us. Looking up at the sky, right in the center was a small WARNING sign. The sky was then surrounded by the WARNING signs that it turned the sky red. I was looking around, knowing that my father was behind this. My search was ended quickly when red blood like liquid poured from the cracks of the WARNINGs and manifested into a ginormous cloaked figure. It raised its hands up slightly and let out a deep booming voice.

Cloaked Figure- Attention players, I welcome you to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko and as of this moment, I am in control of this world.

Damn it father please! There's no need to do this! These people have done nothing to you! Please stop this!

Cloaked Figure- I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menu: the Log Out button. Let me assure you that this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect.

Players around me started to get nervous and jittery. My spine chilled and my body infested with goosebumps, I mentally pleaded with my father to stop what he was doing. My efforts went unnoticed.

Cloaked Figure- This was how Sword Art Online was designed to be.

No, it wasn't! This project was to bring joy to the people, not bring them to their graves!

Cloaked Figure- You cannot log yourselves out of SAO and no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the NerveGear will discharge a microwave emitter signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life.

Random Female Player- What is he talking about?

Random Male Player #1- That is such B.S.!

Random Male Player #2- Get out of here!

A player couple walked past me and tried to leave the center only to be blocked by an invisible wall.

Player Male- Hey! I can't get out!

You don't want to leave you idiot. You need to listen to this madness to avoid death. Please just be quiet and listen.

Cloaked Figure- Despite my warning, the families and friends of some of the players have attempted to remove the NerveGear. An unfortunate decision to say the least. As a result, the game now has two hundred and thirteen less players than when it began. They have been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world.

No... two hundred and thirteen deaths already? How could this be? Why did he let this happen?

My thoughts were interrupted as the cloaked figure pulled up multiple tabs of online newsletters discussing the newfound tragedy.

Cloaked Figure- As you can see, international media outlets have around the clock coverage on everything, including the deaths. At this point, it's safe to assume the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimum at best. I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game.

Comfort!? There is no comfort in knowing death now lingers over you with every trap, monster and possible sabotage from other players. Where are we to find comfort in this!?

Cloaked Figure- It's important to remember the following: There is no longer any way to revive someone in the game. If your HP depletes to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system forever and the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain.

And there it was. The one piece of news I was afraid of. My efforts to stop my father were destroyed with that one statement. If I die in this game, I die in the real world.

Cloaked Figure- There is only one way a player can escape now: You must clear the game. Right now, you're gathered on floor one, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on Floor One Hundred and you will clear the game.

Player Male- Why should we believe any of the crap you're saying!?

Because it's true. My father is many things, but a liar is not one of them. If we have to clear all one hundred floors to escape, then that's what we have to do. As impossible as it may sound, it is our only way.

Cloaked Figure- Last but not least, I've placed a little present in the Item Storage of every player. Please, have a look.

I opened my inventory and saw a new item: Mirror. Taking the mirror out of my inventory and looking at it, a white light started to surround me as well as the other players around me. When the light faded, I looked back at the mirror and saw I was exactly the same. However, the players around me looked completely different.

Player Male- What the!? You're a guy?

Player Girl- You're not seventeen!

Of course! The high-density scanner inside the NerveGear rig. It can see what a player's face looks like. Plus, the tests that it makes you go through to determine a player's height and weight. The mirror forced players to look like they do in real life.

Cloaked Figure- Right now, you're probably wondering why? Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online and NerveGear do this? Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design. As you can see, I have achieved that goal.

"Father..."

Cloaked Figure- This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck.

The figure then started to glitch and turn into red mist as it floated back up to the sky, the WARNING signs disappearing immediately afterwards. As soon as the red sky faded, the crowd went into a mass panic. They trampled over each other, screaming and cursing out Kayaba's name. The invisible barrier dropped allowing players to leave. Seeing this, I took my chance and escaped the chaos. In an abandoned alleyway, I opened my map and familiarized myself with the surrounding areas. I knew this map like the back of my hand, so I knew the best hunting spots. I also knew where the better quests were but instead of going for those first, I wanted to hit every quest so I could reap more benefits and rewards. Closing the map and making sure my equipment was top notch; I made my way towards the exit. Before I could reach it though I was blocked by more WARNING signs at the end of the alley. A familiar voice rang out in my ears.

Kayaba- It isn't too late you know.

I immediately took out my sword and shield and faced my father, ready to fight. He was wearing his normal clothes from the real world, his hands deep in his lab coat pockets.

Kayaba- I'm giving you one last chance to join me Kazzu. I don't want to kill you, but I will keep my world intact. Now make your choice.

"My choice was decided when you activated this deathtrap. I will climb up to the top floor and have the pleasure of stopping you myself."

A deep sigh escaped his breath as he took his hand out of his pockets. His expression turned deadpan and serious as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

Kayaba- So be it.

Just like that he was gone without a trace. The alleyway opened back up with no WARNING signs surrounding it. I let out a breath of relief and made my way towards the exit. Once I walked out of town, I started walking down the road only to be met with a wolf-like creature: "Dire Wolf". It snarled its teeth at me and started rushing towards me. 

Preparing another Vorpal Strike, I pulled my sword back. It started to glow yellow once again and once the wolf got close, I unleashed the skill. One quick zip from the front to the flank of the wolf, his shattering program was heard behind me. My rage and determination building up inside of me, I let out a scream that could be heard from the Town of Beginnings. They only heard me scream one name:

"KAYABA!"