Sword Art Online - Volume 1 - Aincrad

by Reki Kawahara

I was surprised for a moment but then thought Oh, the operator’s going to begin informing us now, and loosened my shoulders a little bit. The chatter died down in the plaza and you could feel everyone waiting to hear what was going to be said.

  However, what happened next wasn’t what I had expected.

  From the middle of the pattern a liquid similar to blood started oozing down slowly. It came down at a rate that almost emphasized how viscid it was; but it didn’t fall down, instead it started morphing into another shape.

  What appeared was a twenty meter tall man with a hooded robe draped around him.

  No, that wasn’t exactly right. From where we were looking, we could easily see into the hood—there was no face. It was absolutely empty. We could clearly see the inner cloth and the green embroidery inside of the hood. It was the same inside the robe, all we could see inside the rim were shadows.

  I’ve seen the actual robe before. It was the clothes that the Agas employees who had been working as GMs during the beta test had always worn. But then the male GMs had had a face like an old sorcerer with a long beard and the females had had an avatar of a bespectacled girl. They might have used the robe due to lack of time to prepare a proper avatar, but the empty space beneath the hood gave me an unexplainable feeling of anxiety.

  The countless players around me must have felt the same.

  “Is that a GM?”

  “Why doesn’t it have a face?”

  Numerous whispers like these could be heard.

  Then the right hand of the huge robe moved as if to silence them.

  A pure white glove appeared from the folds of the long sleeve. But this sleeve, like the rest of the robe, wasn’t connected to any sort of body.

  Then the left arm slowly lifted upwards, too. Then with its two empty gloves spread out in front of ten thousand players, the faceless person opened his mouth—no, it felt like it did. Then a low and calm voice of a male resonated from high up in the air.

  ‘Players, I welcome you all to my world.’

  I couldn’t understand it right away.

  «My world»? If that red robe was a GM, it certainly had godlike powers in this world, enabling him to change the world at will, but why was he pointing that out now?

  Cline and I looked at each other dumbfounded. The anonymous red robe lowered its two arms and continued talking.

  ‘My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world.’

  “What…!?”

  My avatar became rigid with shock, and its throat, and perhaps my neck back in the real world as well, stopped working for a second.

  Kayaba—Akihiko!!

  I knew that name. There was no way I couldn’t.

  This person, who was both a game designer and a genius in the field of quantum physics, was the one responsible for raising Agas, which even a few years ago was just one of many small companies, into one of the leading companies in the field.

  He was also the development director of SAO and at the same time, the designer of the NERvGear.

  As a hardcore gamer, I respected Kayaba deeply. I bought all the mags that featured him and had read his few interviews until I almost knew them all by heart. I could almost see him in the white overalls he always wore by just hearing his voice.

  But he had always stood behind the scenes, refusing to be exposed to the media; he had never even been a GM—so why was he doing something like this?

  I forced my mind to start moving again in order to make sense of the situation. But the words that came out of the empty hood almost seemed to mock my efforts to understand.

  ‘I think that most of you have discovered the fact that the log out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug, it is all part of «Sword Art Online»’s system.’

  “Part of…the system?”

  Cline muttered, his voice breaking up. The announcement continued in its low voice as if to cover the sound.

  ‘Until you get to the top of this castle, you cannot log out of your own free will.’

  This castle? I couldn’t understand this phrase at first. There’s no castle in the «Starting City».

  Then the next thing that Kayaba said blew my confusion away.

  ‘…also, the discontinuation or dismantling of the NERvGear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted…’

  A moment of silence.

  The silence of ten thousand people was overwhelming. The next words came slowly.

  ‘The signal sensors in your NERvGear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions.’

  Cline and I stared at each other for seconds in shock.

  It was as if my mind was refusing to believe what had just been said. But Kayaba’s short statement pierced through my body with a ferocity that was both hard and dense.

  Destroy our brains.

  In other words, kill us.

  Any user that turned the NERvGear off or unlocked the clasp and took it off would be killed. That is what Kayaba had just stated.

  People in the crowd started muttering, but there was no one shouting or panicking. It was either that everyone, like me, couldn’t understand it yet, or refused to.

  Cline raised his right hand slowly and tried to grasp the headgear that would be situated there in the real world. As he did this, he let out a dry laugh and started talking.

  “Haha…what’s he saying? That man, has he gone nuts? He’s not making any sense. The NERvGear… It’s just a game. Destroy our brain… How is he going to do that? Right Kirito?”

  His voice broke at the last shout. Cline stared at me hard, but I couldn’t nod in agreement.

  The infinite signal sensors in the NERvGear’s helmet emitted small electronic pulses to send virtual signals to the brain.

  They might call this the newest ultra technology but the basic theory was the same as a certain household appliance that’s been used for over 40 years in Japan, the microwave.

  If there was sufficient output, it was possible that the NERvGear would vibrate the water particles in our brains and fry it with the heat from the friction. But…

  “…theoretically it’s possible, but…he must be bluffing. Because if we pull the plug on the NERvGear there’s no way it can emit that sort of a strong pulse. Unless there’s some form of battery with a huge storage capability…inside…”

  Cline would have already guessed the reason why I had stopped talking.

  “There…is one,” he said, his words almost a scream with a hollow expression on his face. “Thirty percent of the gear’s weight is in the battery. But…that’s totally crazy! What if there was a sudden power outage or something!?”

  Kayaba started explaining, as if he had heard what Cline had shouted.

  ‘To be a little more specific, dislocation from an outside source of electricity for ten minutes, being cut off from the system for more than two hours, or any attempt to unlock, dismantle, or destroy the NERvGear. If any of these conditions are met, the brain destruction sequence will start. These conditions have been made known to the government and the public through mass-media in the outside world. On that note, there have been several cases where the relatives or friends have ignored the warnings and tried to forcefully get rid of the NERvGear. The result—’

  The metallic voice took a short breath here.

  ‘—regretfully 213 players have already exited this game, and the real world forever.’

  A long, thin scream was heard. But most of the players couldn’t believe it, or refused to believe what they had been told and just stood there slack-jawed, or with a wry smile on their faces.

  My head tried to reject what Kayaba had just said. But my body betrayed it and my knees started shaking violently.

  I stumbled back a few paces on my weak knees and managed to keep myself from falling. Cline fell on his backside, his expression lifeless.

  213 players have already.

  This phrase rep
layed over and over again in my head.

  If what Kayaba said was true-over 200 people have already died up to now?

  Among them there would have been beta testers such as me. I might have even known some of their character names and avatars. These people had had their brains burnt and…died, is this what Kayaba was saying?

  “…don’t believe it… I don’t believe it.”

  Cline, who was still sitting on the floor, started talking in a strained voice.

  “He’s just trying to scare us. How would he do such a thing? Stop kidding around and let us out. We don’t have time to play along to your sick opening ceremony. Yeah…this is all just an event. An opening show, right?”

  Inside my head, I was screaming the same thing.

  But as if to dismiss our hopes, Kayaba’s businesslike voice restarted its explanation.

  ‘Players, there is no need to worry about the bodies that you have left on the other side. As of this moment, all TV, radio, and internet media are all repeatedly reporting this situation, including the fact that there have been numerous deaths. The danger of having your NERvGear taken off has already all but disappeared. In a moment, using the two hours I have given, all of you will be transported to hospitals or similar institutes and be given the best treatment. So you can relax…and concentrate on beating the game.’

  “What…?”

  Then, at last my mouth started shouting violently.

  “What are you saying!? Beat the game!? You want us to play around in a situation like this!?”

  I kept shouting, glaring at the red robe that had seeped out of the surface of the upper floor.

  “This isn’t a game anymore!!”

  Then Kayaba Akihiko started announcing silently with his monotonous voice.

  ‘But I ask of you all to understand that «Sword Art Online» is no longer a simple game. It is a second reality….from now on, any form of revival in the game will no longer work. The moment that your HP reaches 0, your avatar will be gone forever, and at the same time—’

  I could guess what he was going to say all too clearly.

  ‘Your brain will be destroyed by the NERvGear.’

  Suddenly, an urge to laugh out loud bubbled up from the bottom of my stomach. I drove it down.

  A long horizontal line was shining at the top left corner of my vision. As I focused on it, the numbers 342/342 overlaid it.

  Hit points. My life-force.

  The moment it reaches zero, I will die—the electromagnetic waves will fry my brain, killing me instantaneously. This is what Kayaba had said.

  This is without a doubt a game, a game with your life at stake. In other words, a death game.

  I must have died at least 100 times during the two months of beta testing. I had respawned with a slightly embarrassed smile on my face in the palace at the north of the main plaza, the «Black Iron Palace», and ran off into the hunting grounds again.

  That was what an RPG was, a sort of game where you keep dying and learning and leveling up. But now you can’t? Once you die, you’ll lose your life? And in addition—you can’t even stop playing?

  “…no freaking way,” I muttered softly.

  Who in their right mind would go out onto the field with those conditions? Of course everyone would just stay inside the city where it was safe.

  Then as if reading my, and maybe all the other players’, mind, the next message was given.

  ‘Players there is only one way to be freed from this game, as I have said before you must get to the top of Aincrad, the one hundredth floor and defeat the final boss that resides there. All players still alive at that time will be immediately logged out of the game. I give you all my word.’

  Ten thousand players stood in silence.

  It was then that I realized what Kayaba had meant when he had said «get to the top of this castle».

  This castle—meant the huge monstrosity that had imprisoned all of the players on the first floor with ninety nine more floors stacked on top of the others, towering into the sky while floating in it. He was talking about Aincrad itself.

  “Clear…all 100 floors!?” Cline suddenly shouted. He got up quickly and raised a fist up to the sky.

  “And how do you want us to do that? I heard that getting up was crazy hard even during the beta testing!”

  This was true. During the two months of beta testing, the one thousand players that had taken part had only managed to get to the sixth floor. Even if ten thousand people had dived right now, how long would it take to get through all 100 floors?

  Most players who had been forced here would have been asking this answer-less question.

  The strained silence eventually gave way to low murmuring. But there was no sign of fear or despair.

  Most people here would still be confused about whether this was a «real danger» or a «seriously warped opening event». Everything Kayaba had said was so horrifying that it felt unreal.

  I craned my head back to look at the empty robe and tried to force my mind to accept this situation.

  I can no longer log out, ever. I can’t go back to my room, my life. The only way that I would get them back was when somebody defeated the boss on the highest floor of this floating castle. If my HP reached zero even once during that time—I would die. I would die a real death and I would be gone forever.

  But.

  However much I tried to accept these as facts, it was impossible. Just five or six hours ago I had eaten the dinner that my mom had made, shared a short conversation with my sister, then walked up the floors of my house.

  Now I can’t go back to all that? And this is now the real reality?

  Then, the red robe that had always been one step ahead of us swept its right glove and started speaking with a voice void of all emotion.

  ‘Then I will show you evidence that this is the only reality. In your inventories there will be a gift from me. Please confirm this.’

  As soon as I heard this, I pressed my finger and thumb together and pulled downwards. All the players did likewise and the plaza was filled with the ringing sound of bells.

  I pressed the item button on the menu that had just appeared and the item was there, at the top of my belongings list.

  The name of the item—«hand mirror»

  Why did he give us this? Even as I wondered I tapped on the name and pressed the “make into object” button. Immediately afterward there was a twinkling sound effect and a small rectangular mirror appeared.

  I grabbed it hesitantly but nothing happened. All that it showed was the face of the avatar that I had gone through a lot of trouble to make.

  I cocked my head and looked at Cline. The samurai was also looking at the mirror in his hand with a blank expression on his face.

  —Then.

  Suddenly Cline and the avatars around us were engulfed in white light. As soon as I took this in, I was surrounded too and all I could see was white.

  Almost 2, 3 seconds later, the surroundings reappeared just as they had been…

  No.

  The face in front of me wasn’t the one I’d gotten used to.

  The armor made of metal plates sewn together, the bandanna, and the spiky red hair were all the same. But the face had changed into another shape altogether. His long, sharp eyes had become sunken and shone brighter. His delicate and high nose had become hooked, and a slight beard now appeared on his cheeks and chin. If the avatar had been a young and carefree samurai this one was a fallen warrior—or maybe a bandit.

  I forgot about the situation for a moment and muttered.

  “Who…are you?”

  The same words came out of the mouth of the man in front of me.

  “Hey…who’re you?”

  Then I was gripped by a sudden foreboding and realized what Kayaba’s present, the «hand mirror», meant.

  I raised the mirror in a rush, and the face staring back at me.

  Black hair that lay neatly over the head, two weak looking eyes that could be seen beneath th
e slightly long hair, and a delicate face that made people mistake me for a girl even now when I go out in casual clothes with my sister.

  The calm face of a warrior that «Kirito» had had even a few seconds ago was no longer there. The face that was in the mirror—

  Was my actual face that I had tried so hard to escape from.

  “Ah…it’s me…”

  Cline, who had been also staring at his mirror, fell backwards. We both looked at each other and shouted at the same time.

  “You’re Cline!?” “You’re Kirito!?”

  Both of our voices had changed too, perhaps the voice effectors had stopped working. But we didn’t have time to spare on things like that.

  The mirrors fell from our hands and hit the ground, then were destroyed with a quiet smashing sound.

  When I looked around again, the crowd was no longer filled with people who looked like characters from a fantasy game. A bunch of normal looking young people had now taken their place. It was like something you’d see if you gathered a bunch of people in real life at a game show venue and dressed them up in armor. Distressingly, even the sex ratio had changed greatly.

  How on earth was this possible? Cline and I, and most probably all the players around us, had changed from the avatars that we’d made from nothing, to our real selves. Of course, the texture itself still seemed like a polygon model and it still felt slightly strange, but it was almost frighteningly accurate. It was as if the gear had a full body scanner on it.

  —Scan.

  “…ah, right!” I looked at Cline and forced my voice out.

  “There are high density signal sensors in the NERvGear covering our whole head. So it can tell not only how our brains look, but our faces too…”

  “B-But, how can it know how our bodies look like… Like how tall we are?”

  Cline said more silently glancing from side to side at our surroundings.

  The average height of the players, who were now looking at their own and others’ faces with various expressions on their faces, had been noticeably reduced after the «change». I—and most probably Cline too—had set the height to equal that of my height in the real world to prevent my extra height from hindering my movements, but most players had seemed to made themselves taller by about ten to twenty centimeters.