63 SAO Fan-fiction 2 - Sword Art Online: The Dark Swordsman

Plot: The world's first VRMMORPG has been released, Sword Art Online. 10,000 people were able to get a copy of the game. But there is a terrible price for playing it. Once you log onto the game, you can't leave. The only way to escape is to clear the game by defeating the final boss on Floor 100. Join Kirito and Marth as they make new friends and clear the game.

Pairing: OCxYuuki

NOTE: This novel only covers up to the end of season one of SAO and follows the story VERY closely, if you don't like novels that just plop a OC character with the original MC this isn't the cup to tea for you... :)

Chapter 1- The World of Swords

November 6th, 2022

A teenager with short brown hair and gray eyes that looked about fourteen was sitting at his desk watching the live broadcast on the first VRMMO, Sword Art Online. The reporter was talking about how the beta testers all gave positive reviews on the game and that the 10,000 hard copies of it sold out in seconds.

"Hey, Frank!" a female voice called out. "I'm going to soccer practice. I'll see you this evening."

"Okay Meg!" Frank answered back. "Be careful out there!"

Frank turned his computer off and plugged in his NerveGear. He inserted the Sword Art Online cartridge into the helmet and put it on. He then laid onto his bed and closed his eyes.

"Link Start!" Frank said while smiling. And with that, he entered the online virtual world.

Frank logged in using his beta tester data as "Marth". He then found himself at the plaza in the Town of Beginnings on Floor 1 of Sword Art Online. His outfit was a light blue long-sleeved shirt with grey metal elbow pads, long black pants, black fingerless gloves, brown boots, and a brown sword sheath strapped to his back. Marth made a fist with his hand.

"I'm back. Finally," the brown-haired swordsman said as all the other players started to log on.

"Hey, Marth!" a male voice called out, prompting the swordsman to turn and face a guy with black hair and had the exact same outfit as Marth except he had brown leather armor on his chest. The player had his hand extended out.

"Hi Kirito," Marth greeted his childhood friend as he shook his hand. "It's been a while. How've you been?"

"I've been good," Kirito replied as they let go. "You excited about playing SAO again?"

Marth nodded. "You bet!" he said cheerfully. "I've been waiting for this day ever since the beta test ended."

Kirito smiled in excitement. "How about we go do some hunting outside of town?" Marth nodded, and the duo took off, catching the attention of a red-haired swordsman with a red bandana, causing the latter to follow them.

"Hey, you two!" the man called out. "Wait up!" The duo stopped and turned to see the red head running towards them.

"Is there something you need?" Marth asked the new arrival.

The man nodded as he stopped running to catch his breath. "You two look like you know where you're going," the man said. "You guys were in the beta test, weren't you?"

Kirito nodded. "Yeah, why?" the black-haired swordsman asked curiously.

"Cool," the man said while putting his hand on Kirito's shoulder. "Can you two give me a few tips on the lower floors and about the gameplay?"

Marth's eyes widened in surprise. "I don't know," he replied hesitantly.

The man then put his hands together. "Please, guys. I'm begging you," he pleaded before pointing at himself. "Look my name's Klein."

Kirito then put his hand on his waist and said, "Alright. I'm Kirito."

"And my name's Marth," the brown-haired swordsman said.

Later

"Gah!" Klein exclaimed as he was knocked on his back by a Frenzy Boar. He trembled in pain due to him being hit in the groin. "Right in the nuts!"

Kirito sighed in disappointment. "Come on. Stop messing around," he told the beginner. "You can't feel any pain here."

Klein's eyes widened in shock. "Oh yeah, you're right," Klein said as he got up and faced the boar again. "How the heck am I suppose beat the dang thing if it keeps moving?"

Kirito picked up a pebble and moved his hand back. "If you do your initial motion right and activate a Sword Skill at the right moment," Kirito explained as the pepple started to glow red, indicating that he was activating a Sword Skill, "the system will pretty much guarantee that you'll always be able to hit your target." He threw the rock at the boar causing it to charge at him after the rock hit.

"Initial… motion?" Klein asked, completely confused.

Kirito drew his sword and stopped the boar in its tracks with the flat of the blade. He then looked at his best friend. "Think you can help him understand it better?"

The brown-haired swordsman chuckled. "Here's an easier way look at it," Marth explained. "Right before you attack, wait for a bit. When you feel the skill start to activate, drive it home."

"Drive it home?" Klein asked. The red-head then smirked and got into a stance with the blade of his curved single-edged sword resting on his shoulder. The sword then glowed red as he activated the «Reaver» Sword Skill. Kirito smirked at the sight before he kicked the boar in Klein's direction, prompting the latter to charge at the monster. He slashed at the boar's side, which reduced its HP to zero, causing the monster to shatter into blue polygons.

"Yeah!" Klein cheered as he held his arms up in victory.

"Good job," Kirito said as he sheathed his sword, "but those boars are about as weak as slimes in other games."

Klein faced the swordsman with a shocked expression. "Holy crap, you've got to be kidding me!" Klein said in disbelief. "I thought that thing was a midlevel boss!"

Marth laughed at the beginner's ignorance. "Yeah, as if," he said as more boars spawned in the distance.

Klein then activated another Sword Skill, which had him thrust his sword.

"Addictive, isn't it? Kirito asked the rookie.

"Yeah," Klein replied as he thrusted his sword again. "So these Sword Skills… There's a ton of them like blacksmithing and stuff, right?"

"Yeah," Kirito explained. "I heard the game has an unlimited variety of skills. All except for magic though."

"An RPG without magic, huh," Klein said. "That's a pretty bold decision man!" He activated «Reaver» skill once more and cheered in excitement when the Sword Skill finished.

"What do you think?" Marth asked the red-head. "It's kind of fun to move your body around as you fight, right?"

Klein faced brown-haired ex-beta tester. "Aw heck yeah," he said in excitement.

"So, you ready to keep going?" Kirito asked the red-head.

"You bet, man," Klein replied. "Let's keep going." The trio continued to hunt until the sun started to set. They were at a hill where Klein sat down to rest after all the monsters they killed.

"Man, when I look around, I can't believe that we're inside a game guys," Klein said in disbelief. "Man, whoever created this is a genius. It makes me glad I was born when I was."

"It's not that big a deal," Kirito said.

"Cut me some slack," Klein replied. "It's my first Full Dive."

"You've never used a NerveGear before today?" Marth asked curiously.

Klein nodded. "Yup. As soon as I got the money altogether, I went and bought all the hardware needed to play SAO," Klein explained. "I stood in line and scored one of the 10,000 hardcopies. Guess you could say that I was pretty lucky." He looked up at the two ex-beta testers. "But you guys were ten times as lucky for being able to beta test it. Only a 1,000 people got the chance to do that."

Kirito scratched his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess we were lucky," he said.

"Hey, do you guys mind if I ask how far you both got in the beta?" Klein questioned.

"Eh, two months and I couldn't get past Floor 10," Kirito answered.

"Same," Marth added.

"But now I think I can get there within a month, easy," Kirito continued.

Marth chuckled at his friend's comment. "You would say something like that," the brown-haired swordsman said, causing Kirito to scratch his head in embarrassment again.

"Sounds to me like you're really into this, Kirito," Klein said.

The black-haired swordsman drew his weapon. "Yeah, I guess you could say that," Kirito replied as he stared at his sword. "During the beta, SAO was the only thing on my mind, day and night. In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go. And even though it's a virtual world, I feel more alive here than I ever did in the real one."

He smiled lightly. "Anyway," Kirito said as he sheathed his sword and faced Klein, "You want to go do some more hunting?"

Klein eagerly faced the black-haired swordsman. "Yeah! Well I would, except," Klein said as his stomach growled. "I'm really hungry. I have to log out."

"Too bad the food here only satisfies your hunger virtually," Kirito said to the red head.

Klein smiled. "Yeah, that's why I ordered a pizza for 5:30," he replied.

"Wow!" Marth praised. "Talk about prepared."

"You bet," Klein said. "Besides the game can wait until I can get my pizza on."

Kirito then looked away from the rookie and whispered, "I guess."

Klein then stood back up. "Hey, I was just about to meet up with some people I know from another game," the rookie said as Kirito turned to face him, "I don't know what you two are up to after this, so if you guys want, you can friend them and hang with us."

Both Marth and Kirito looked down. "No, it's alright if you don't want to, no pressure," Klein said quickly. "I could always introduce you guys to them another time."

Marth faced the red-head. "Yeah sorry," he said apologetically. "But thanks anyway."

"No worries," Klein said while putting his left hand on Kirito's shoulder. "I should be doing all the thanking. One of these days I promise I'll pay you both back for your help. Virtually, that is." He gave them a thumbs up when he said the last part.

"Yeah, right," Kirito replied.

"Seriously, thanks for everything you two," Klein said as removed his hand from Kirito's shoulder. "Guess I'll see you both around then."

"If there's anything else you want to know, message us," Kirito said as he extended his hand towards the rookie.

"Sweet," Klein replied as he shook the beta tester's hand. "I'll do that." The trio then added each other to their friends list.

He then walked away waving and opened his menu. Marth and Kirito turned to leave when suddenly. "Okay, I've got a stupid question for you two. Where's the log-out button?" Klein asked out loud.

"It should be at the bottom of the main menu," Kirito said.

Klein paused before answering, "Nope, it's not there."

Both Marth and Kirito then opened their menus and saw that Klein was right. There was no log-out button. The red-head then turned to face the duo.

"See, not there," Klein said.

"You're right," Kirito replied. "This is strange."

"You can say that again," Marth agreed.

"Oh well. It's the first day out of the beta," Klein said jokingly. "There's bound to be some bugs. I bet the server people are freaking out right now."

"You will too," Marth said as he pointed at the in-game clock on his menu. "Look, its 5:25."

Klein then formed a shocked look on his face. "Oh, my God!" Klein exclaimed as he held his head. "My teriyaki mayo pizza and ginger ale!"

"Why don't you just contact the Game Masters," Kirito told the rookie.

Klein quickly calmed down and said, "I've tried that, but neither of them are answering. Is there another way to log out?"

Kirito thought for a few moments before saying, "No. Whenever a player wants to log out from SAO, the only way they can do that is by going through the main menu."

"That can't be," Klein said in disbelief. "Return! Log out! Escape!"

The group waited for a few moments, but nothing happened.

"Told you so," Kirito said. "And there was no emergency log out in the manual either."

"No way, you're kidding. I know," Klein said before putting his hands on his head like he was taking something off it, "I'll just rip the NerveGear off my head."

"Don't bother," Marth replied, causing Klein to stop. "Once the Full-Dive is active, you can't move your body in the real world anymore. The NerveGear intercepts all commands from inside the game using an interface built into the rig."

Klein then faced the brown-haired swordsman. "Seriously?" Klein asked. "So now we have to sit around and wait until someone fixes the bug?"

"That, or until someone in the real world comes and takes the NerveGear off us. That's it," Kirito answered.

"But I live alone," Klein said. "What about you two?"

"I've got a mom and a sister," Kirito replied. "And I'm pretty sure they'll notice by dinnertime and…" Klein then quickly grabbed Kirito's shoulders.

"You-you've got a sister," Klein asked excitedly. "How old is she? What's she like?"

"Sh-she's into sports and hates games," Kirito said quickly. "She is totally not your type, man. She wouldn't date a gamer even if he was the last guy on the…"

"Who cares," Klein interrupted, "I want to…" Kirito kneed him in the groin, causing Klein to fall in pain. "Ow," Klein said before realizing. "Oh, yeah. We can't feel any pain here." He turned to the brown-haired swordsman. "What about you, Marth?"

"I've got parents and a sister," Marth said, Klein then perked up when he mentioned his sister. "Don't bother trying to ask about her, Klein. She's already dating someone else. Not to mention that she's probably too young for you."

"Get serious. Do either of you think this whole thing is weird?" Kirito asked suddenly.

"Yeah, totally," Klein replied. "But it's just a bug."

Kirito shook his head. "This isn't just a bug," Kirito explained. "If we can't log out, it's going to cause some serious problems for the game."

"You're right Kirito," Marth replied as he looked into the distance. "This'll definitely damage SAO's future."

"I wonder if the developers even know what's happening," Kirito wondered aloud. "Because they could just shut down the server and log everyone out. But why haven't they made an announcement?" Marth then helped Klein get back up.

The group was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a bell ringing. The trio then found themselves back at the plaza in the Town of Beginnings. They saw that all the other players were being teleported there too. Everyone looked confused about what's happening.

"Someone forced a teleport," Kirito realized. The bell stopped ringing.

"Look!" someone exclaimed. "Up there!"

Everyone looked up at the sky. There was a blood-red warning sign saying "System Alert" flashing there.

"Now what?" Marth asked himself.

The sign then expanded and blood started to drip down and then rose to form two giant blobs.

"What the heck are those?" Klein asked in a disgusted tone.

The blobs then changed into two huge men wearing red ponchos. What was very prominent was that neither of them had face due to them being concealed underneath a hood.

"Attention, players," the first man said with his arms raised. "I welcome you, to our world."

"What's he mean by that?" Kirito asked aloud.

"My name is Akihiko Kayaba," the man announced, "and the man beside me is my partner, Brandon Lowell. As of this moment, we are the sole people in control of this world."

This shocked everyone, especially Marth and Kirito. The men in the hoods were none other than the co-creators of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, as well as the CEOs of Argus Industries.

Brandon extended his hand towards the players. "I'm sure that most of you have noticed an item missing from your main menus, the log-out button," Brandon explained as he opened the menu to show it. "Let me assure you; this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be."

Marth and Kirito gritted their teeth when Brandon said the last statement.

"He's kidding, right?" Klein asked in a doubtful tone.

"You cannot log yourselves out of SAO. And no one from the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear from your head," Kayaba said. "If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life."

Many of the players protested in disbelief. Two people even tried to leave the plaza but were blocked by a force field.

Klein faced Marth and Kirito. "Are you guys listening to this crap?" Klein asked the two ex-beta testers. "They've got to be nuts, right?"

Marth shook his head. "They're not. The transmitter signals inside the NerveGear work just like microwaves. If the safety's disabled, it could fry your brain."

"Couldn't someone cut the power or…" Klein started to ask.

"That won't work," Kirito said. "The NerveGear has an internal battery."

Klein gritted his teeth in anger and shook his head. "This is totally crazy!" Klein exclaimed.

"Despite my warning, the families and friends of some of the players have attempted to remove the NerveGears," Kayaba explained. "An unfortunate decision to say the least. As a result, the game now has 213 less players than it did before. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world."

"213?!" Kirito said in shock.

"No way," Klein said before shaking his head. "I don't believe it."

"As you can see," Brandon continued as videos started to appear around him and his partner. "International media outlets have round-about coverage of everything, including the deaths. At this point, it is safe to assume that the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimal at best. We have also allowed the government to move all of your real bodies into hospitals to prevent an accidental death from famine. I hope that this gives you all some comfort as you try to clear the game."

Both Marth and Kirito were shocked when they saw their own families on the videos before the videos disappeared.

"It's important that you all remember the following," Kayaba explained. "There is no longer any way to revive anyone from within the game. If your HP hits zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system, forever. And the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain."

Marth's eyes widen in shock as he imagined himself being killed by a monster and clenched his fist in anger. Everyone was quiet for a few moments.

"There is only one way to escape now. You must clear the game," Kayaba continued as he opened a 3D map of Aincrad. "Right now, you're gathered on Floor 1, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you get through the labyrinth and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game."

Everyone protested in disbelief.

"We can't clear all 100 floors. It's freaking impossible," Klein said in shock before exclaiming, "Even the beta testers never made it that high!"

Brandon then lowered his hand. "Lastly," he told the players. "Kayaba and I have placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look."

Both Marth and Kirito opened their storage and saw that it was a mirror. They subsequently selected them, causing the items to materialize. Klein yelped in shock as blue light enveloped him.

"Klein!" Marth and Kirito exclaimed before they and everyone else were enveloped in the same light. When the light finally died down, everyone looked different.

"Marth. Kirito. You guys alright?" Klein asked the duo.

"Yeah, we're fine," Marth said before facing Klein and saw that the red head looked different. "Wait. Who are you?"

Both Klein and Kirito's hair were shorter than their avatars' hair were, causing some confusion. It took a few seconds for the trio to realize that all their avatars now looked like their real-life appearance. There was confusion everywhere.

"But, how…" Klein said in disbelief.

"The scan," Kirito explained. "There's a high-density signal device inside the NerveGear rig. It can see what my face looks like. But how does it know my height and body type?"

"When you first put the NerveGear on, it had to do this calibration thing. It asked you to touch your body all over," Klein said before making an example of it, "like this, remember."

"You're right," Marth agreed. "That's how it got our physical data."

Klein held his forehead with one hand. "But what's the point?" he asked. "Why would anyone do this to us?"

Kirito pointed at Kayaba and Brandon. "I think they're about to tell us," Kirito predicted. Both Marth and Klein turned to face the Game Master.

"Right now, you're probably wondering why," Brandon said. "'Why would Akihiko Kayaba and Brandon Lowell, the developers of both Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do this?' Ultimately our goal was a simple one. The reason why we created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of our design."

"Kayaba," Kirito said angrily, gritting his teeth.

"Brandon," Marth muttered in the same tone.

"As you can see," Kayaba continued. "We have achieved our goal."

Both Marth and Kirito clenched their hands in anger.

"This marks the end of the tutorial, and the official launch of Sword Art Online," Brandon concluded. "Players, I wish you the best of luck."

Kayaba and Brandon then disappeared and there was silence for a while. Marth examined his right palm and imagined it bleeding for a few seconds. "It's not a game," Marth thought as he clenched his fist. "It's real. Akihiko Kayaba and Brandon Lowell created a virtual world. They designed the NerveGear rig. I've read about them a lot, so I know that everything they just said is the truth. If I die in the game, I'll die in real life."

A few more seconds passed before most of players shouted in disbelief. Some people begged to be let out of the game, but to no avail. Marth and Kirito then noticed that the force field was gone.

"C'mon Klein," Kirito said as grabbed Klein's hand and dragged him away with Marth close behind. They eventually stopped in an alleyway.

"Alright, listen," Kirito explained to the rookie. "Marth and I are heading out right now for the next village. I want you to come."

"Huh?" Klein asked confused.

Marth opened a map that showed most of Floor 1. "If what Kayaba and Brandon said is true, and we think it is," he explained. "The only way we can survive is by making ourselves as strong as possible. In an MMORPG, the money and XP you earn, once the game starts up there's only so much to go around."

Kirito nodded in agreement and pointed towards the field around the Town of Beginnings on the map. "Marth's right," Kirito took over. "It won't be long before the fields around the Town of Beginnings will be hunted clean. If we head for the next village now, we'll have an easier time collecting cash and points. Don't worry Marth and I both know all the paths and places we should avoid. Even at Level 1, the two of us can get there easy." Marth then closed his menu.

Klein lowered his head. "Thanks, but you know those friends I mentioned earlier," he said. "We stood in line for a whole night to buy this game." Klein's eyes widened in shock as he realized. "They must be back at the plaza, somewhere. And I can't leave them behind."

Both Marth and Kirito examined their own levels which were both 1. "If it was just the three of us," Kirito thought in doubt. "But two more. Or even one more…"

"Sorry," Klein said suddenly, interrupting the black-haired swordsman's thoughts. "I can't just ask two guys I just met to help a bunch of strangers now, can I. So don't worry about me. Get your arses to the next village." He gave the ex-beta testers a thumbs up.

"I'll be fine," the red head continued, giving the duo a thumbs-up. "Last game I played, I ran a guild, so I'm more than prepared. And with all the stuff you two taught me, I'll be fine. No sweat."

Marth and Kirito turned to leave, but they didn't stop looking at the rookie. "Okay," Marth said reluctantly. "If that's what you want, Kirito and I will get going. But if you're in a jam, message us. Alright?"

Klein nodded. "Sure thing," he replied.

"We'll see you later, Klein," Kirito said, "Take care of yourself."

The ex-beta testers turned their backs to the red head and prepared to leave. "Kirito. Marth," Klein called out, causing the two to stop. "You guys look better as this." The duo then turned to face the rookie. "Way cooler than your avatars."

Kirito smiled and said, "And that scruffy face of yours fits you ten times better too." The ex-beta testers then took off running. After going a few feet, they stopped and saw that Klein was gone.

"There's nothing we can do now," Marth said, causing Kirito to face him. "Klein's the type of guy who won't abandon his friends no matter what. We just have to hope that we'll see him again."

Kirito nodded, but he still had a tinge of sadness in his eyes, like his friend had in his. The duo proceeded to run out of the village and into the plains. They both thought about their families and wondered if they'll ever see them again.

Two wolves then spawned in front of the two players. The players quickly drew their swords and charged at the monsters. "We've got this," Marth thought. "We can do this. This world can't beat either of us." All four of them jumped into the air. Both Marth and Kirito activated «Rage Spike» which killed the two monsters.

"We will survive," Kirito thought before he and Marth screamed out in rage.

Chapter End