Chapter 2: Customization, A New Sister, and a Tutorial?

(Haruto POV:)

After talking to God, I disappeared from Limbo, and now I feel like throwing up.

???: Are you okay, Haruto?

Haruto: Y-yeah, I'll be fine.

After some time passed, I stood back up, ignoring the screen while looking at the floating ball of light.

Haruto: So... You're my older sister now?

???: (excitedly) Yeah! I have a younger brother now!

The ball of light began to float around like she was excited.

Haruto: (sigh) I don't want an older sister though...

???: (threateningly) Hmm? Did you say something Ha~ru~to?

Haruto: (shuddering) N-no, I d-didn't say anything! N-nice to meet you s-sis.

???: (happily) Nice to meet you too!

Getting back up, I walked back over to the floating screen, then read it out loud.

[Welcome to The SAO System]

[Name:]

Haruto: (thinking) Name, huh? In that case...

[Name: Kazuto Kirigaya]

Haruto: (thinking) I have to do it in honor of one of the best gamers in anime. Plus, this is a SAO system. Who better than the guy who beat the game himself?

[Character Creation:]

[Keep/Create New]

Haruto: (thinking) I'm going to create a new character. New life, new look.

[Character Customization: Kazuto]

[Edit/Copy]

Haruto: (thinking) Copy? What does that mean?

[Copy means to take the looks of any person you want, as long as they existed at one point]

Haruto: (thinking) In that case, [Copy].

[Character Customization]

[Who Would You Like To Copy?]

[_]

Haruto: (thinking) Kirito's looks.

[Confirmed]

[Add Another Player?]

[Y/N]

Haruto thought for a little bit before he turned around.

Haruto: I know I'm going to end up going, but are you sure you want to come with me?

???: Yup, I want to follow my little bro, so make a character for me! It doesn't matter until you get to the customization part! I want to do that!

Haruto: Got it.

[Name:]

Haruto thought for a bit before he answered.

[Name: Alice Kirigaya]

Haruto: (thinking) I do like Asuna, but I feel like it's Alice's time to shine.

[Character Creation:]

[Keep/Create New]

Haruto: (thinking) [Create New]

[Character Customization: Alice]

[Edit/Copy]

Haruto: It's your turn.

??? flew over to Haruto before floating near his shoulder.

???: What kind of system is this?

Haruto: It looks like your dad made it based off of SAO.

???: Eh? That's actually original! Did you keep your name?

Haruto: No, I changed it, along with my looks.

???: What did you change it to?

Haruto: (faltering) Uh... Kazuto Kirigaya?

???: ...Really bro?

Haruto: (scratching the back of his head) I know, it's not original, but...

???: Let me guess, you made yourself look like him too?

Haruto blushed and looked away from ???.

???: (sigh) What did you put as my name then? Asuna?

Haruto: No, I named you Alice.

???: Actually, I kinda like that!

Haruto: (turning back around) Really?

???: Yeah! From now on, call me big sis Alice.

(AN: Hey, that kinda rhymes?)

Haruto: Alright Alice.

Alice: (glaring) You better fix it!

Haruto: (sweating) A-alright, sis.

Alice: Hmm. Good!

Haruto: Now you just have to pick a look.

I gestured towards the screen.

Alice: If we are going to follow the theme of SAO, then...

[Character Customization]

[Who Would You Like To Copy?]

[_]

Alice: Alice Zuberg!

[Confirmed]

[Add Another Player?]

[Y/N]

Haruto: No, this is enough.

[Confirmation]

[Name: Kazuto Kirigaya (Formerly Haruto)]

[Looks: Kazuto Kirigaya]

[Name: Alice Kirigaya (Formerly ???)]

[Looks: Alice Zuberg]

[Is This Correct?]

[WARNING: YOU CAN NOT EDIT YOUR LOOKS AFTER THIS CONFIRMATION]

[Y/N]

Haruto: Are you sure about this?

Alice: Yup!

Haruto: (shrugging) If you say so...

[Installing New Information...]

There was a flash of light, then both two bodies replaced where Haruto and Alice were.

Kazuto: (clenching his hands) I-is this me?

Alice: (Looking over her shoulder) So this is how a body feels like...

[Now Transporting to Tutoriel]

Alice/Kazuto: Wha-

Then both of us disappeared, only to reappear into a forest.

[3rd Person POV]

[Welcome to the Tutorial! Let's get started, shall we? You may ask me any questions along the way!]

Kazuto: Okay, let's finish this, shall we?

Alice: Sure Kazuto!

Kazuto: Call me Kirito, it's much easier for both of us.

Alice: (snickering) You just want to sound cool.

Kirito: Stop teasing me!

Alice: Fine, let's continue.

Both of them walked down the path in front of them and found themselves in front of a blacksmith.

[Before we get into the fun stuff, like weapons and items, let me explain the system first!]

SAO's main menu appeared in front of them.

[Stats]

[Inventory/Equipment]

[Friends/Guild]

[Communications]

[Maps/Quest]

[Settings/Menu]

[Let's go into [Inventory/Equipment] first shall we?]

[Inventory/Equipment]

[Equipment]

[Item]

[Skills]

[Equipment has three options is it, and they are [Weapons], [Armor], and [Accesories]. [Weapons] allows you to equip one weapon while giving you an opportunity to have a sub-weapon, though you can only switch weapons by pressing this button]

A button appears on the top right of both Kirito and Alice's POV.

[Weapons also gives you a list of all the Weapons you have]

[Armor] allows you to equip different pieces of armor, where you can equip them for your head, chest, legs, or feet. It also gives you a list of all the armor you own.]

[Accesories] allows you to wear different types of accessories, and while some of them don't have any effects, some do! It also gives you a list of all the accessories you own.]

[Items] will bring up a list of all the items the player owns! If there are too many items though, it'll turn red.]

As if on cue, an example pops up and shows us how it looks like.

[Skills] will bring up a list of skills that the player has, and how efficient he/she is good at it! There are thousands of skills, both passive and active! The highest level you can bring a skill is out of 100!]

[The next one is [Friends/Guild] When you press this, three options will pop up! [Party], [Friend], and [Guild].

[Party] will give you another three options, [Create], [Invite], and [Dissolve]. I think you already know what those mean!]

Both Kirito and Alice nodded their heads.

[Friends] will give you a list of all your friends, and at the bottom there is is an option to [Friend], which if it is accepted, will pop up on the list. By pressing on one of your friend's name, you can [Message], [Position Check], and [Profile]. What those do should be obvious as well, right?]

Both of them nodded their heads again.

[Guild] will allow you to either [Create] or [Join] a guild. You can figure out those setting later though since you need to be at least level 20 to create one]

[Next is [Communications]! When you press this, you receive three choices! [Trade], [Duel], and [Marriage]! Pretty obvious huh?]

Alice stared at her screen for a while before nodding her head with a grin on her face. Kirito, who was standing right next to her, felt cold all of a sudden.

[Then there is [Maps/Quest], which gives you [Mini-Map], [Quests], and [All Maps]. [Mini-Maps] is passive, so you will see it at the top right, above the [Weapon Switch Button]. [Quest] gives you a list of your current quest, your progress, and your completed quests. [All Maps] gives you a map of all the different places you have been. For example, let's say you were in [Vale]. If you go to [Mistral], your [Mini-Map] will change, depending on your previous map data.]

[Settings/Main Menu] is also self-explanatory, so you can figure it out later. Let's move on to [Stats], which will be a bit confusing, so please try to keep up.]

[Try pressing [Stats]!]

Both Kirito and Alice pressed their [Stats] button, and a screen popped up.

[Name: Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya]

[Title:]

[Head:]

[Chest: Blue Shirt]

[Legs: Black Pants]

[Feet: Black Boots]

[Weapon:]

[Sub Weapon:]

[Health: LOCKED]

[Aura/Sacred Power: LOCKED]

[Semblence: LOCKED]

[Level: 0]

[Strength: 0]

[Agility: 0]

[Intelligence: 0]

[Endurance: 0]

[Dexterity: 0]

[Luck: 0]

[Free Points: 20]

[This is your [Stats]. Normally I would explain it, but you two look like you understand what this all means.]

Kirito: One question.

[Yes?]

Kirito: Why is [Health] locked? And what is [Sacred Power]?

[Health] is locked because you are [Level: 0]. [Sacred Power] is what is used for [Sacred Arts], [Enhance Armament], and [Magic]. However, [Magic] can only be used by 6 individuals, so it will merge with your aura instead.

Alice: W-wait. [Magic]? SAO didn't have any magic?

[This is the SAO system. However, it still has aspects from all of it as well. Some examples are SAO, ALO, GGO, Underworld.]

Kirito: (thinking) So this system is a mix of all aspects of SAO? Interesting.

[I recommend you use those status points to boost your [Stats] before we continue.]

Kirito: (thoughts) I'm gonna be a swordsman, so...

[Name: Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya]

[Title:]

[Head:]

[Chest: Blue Shirt]

[Legs: Black Pants]

[Feet: Black Boots]

[Weapon:]

[Sub Weapon:]

[Health: LOCKED]

[Aura/Sacred Power: LOCKED]

[Semblence: LOCKED]

[Level: 0]

[Strength: 12]

[Agility: 4]

[Intelligence: 4]

[Endurance: 0]

[Dexterity: 0]

[Luck: 0]

[Free Points: 0]

Kirito: Alice, what did you do for your [Stats]?

Alice: Me? Here, take a look.

Alice opened her menu, pressed [Stats], then pushed the screen towards me.

[Name: Alice Kirigaya]

[Title:]

[Head:]

[Chest: Yellow Shirt]

[Legs: Yellow Pants]

[Feet: Black Boots]

[Weapon:]

[Sub Weapon:]

[Health: LOCKED]

[Aura/Sacred Power: LOCKED]

[Semblence: LOCKED]

[Level: 0]

[Strength: 10]

[Agility: 5]

[Intelligence: 0]

[Endurance: 5]

[Dexterity: 0]

[Luck: 0]

[Free Points: 0]

Kirito: What are you trying to be?

Alice: I'm going to be more of a tank/damage dealer. What about you?

Kirito pulled open his own [Stats] and showed it to Alice.

Alice: Are you trying to be a magic swordsman or something?

Kirito: Yup. [Sacred Arts] are pretty useful, though that leads me to the question...

Kirito turned to their guide.

Kirito: [Elemental Attacks].

Alice: Huh?

Kirito: [Elemental Attacks] were whenever they used a skill, they can imbue the attack with a certain element, like fire, water.

[Correct! Since you managed to guess correctly, I'll give you a gift! But you can open it later. Moving on!]

Our screens disappeared as a new one took their place.

[It's time for the fun part! Pick your primary weapon!]

There were many types of weapons on the list. Swords, Spears, Axes, Bows, Guns, Hammers, Maces, Daggers, Knives, Rapiers, Sheilds, etc.

Kirito: Sword

[Please Pick a Sword Type]

[Shortsword]

[Broadsword]

[Claymore]

[Rapier]

Kirito: [Broadsword]

[One Handed or Two?]

Kirito: One

Then a sword materialized in front of Kirito and landed on the ground, with the blade embedded into the dirt.

Kirito picked it up and swung it around.

Kirito: (thinking) It's kinda heavy, but the weight feels right.

Alice on the other hand...

Alice: (thinking) Gah! It's kinda heavy! I should have put more points into strength.

[You guys have your weapons? You should equip it!]

Kirito and Alice opened their menus and equipped the weapons on their backs. A sheath appeared for the two weapons as they automatically attached themselves onto their backs.

[Spawning 2x Frenzy Boars]

There was another flash of light, as two boars appeared, each of them a dark blue color, with eyes that were bright red. They had two tusks, each of them ready to pierce something. That something was us. They had health bars, and they were both [Level 3].

Kirito drew his sword with his right hand and ran towards them, Alice following me from behind.

Kirito: Hiyah!

I slash downwards with my sword, tearing through half of the [Frenzy Boar]'s health.

Alice: Ha!

Alice drove her sword down into the [Frenzy Boar]'s head, only taking 1/4th of its health.

Kirito: Grah!

Kirito somersaulted over his [Frenzy Boar] and stabbed it from the back, killing it. The [Frenzy Boar] disappeared into shards, that slowly flew away.

Alice: Tsk. I didn't finish first.

Alice was still fighting her [Frenzy Boar], but I didn't go to help her. She needed the experience, and I can't be there for her all the time. It wasn't too long though before she also killed her [Frenzy Boar].

Kirito: Good job sis.

Alice: Cheh, even though I'm older, you finished first.

[Congratulations!]

[You have received 0 XP]

[You have received 3 [Boar Hide]

[You have received 2 [Frenzy Boar's Meat]

[You have received 3 White Lien Card]

(AN: For those of you who don't know how much this is, neither do I, but for this story, I'm going to be using Lien differently. Here is a table to help you keep track:

White Lien Card=$1

Pink Lien Card=$5

Blue Lien Card=$10

Red Lien Card=$20

Yellow Lien Card=$50

Green Lien Card=$100

Black Lien Card=$500

I really hope this helps, and remember, this is not canon. Some stories could use Lien differently.)

[Spawning Final Boss]

A roar was heard across the forest as a giant praying mantis appeared.

Kirito: Oh... Sh*t.

[Killer Mantis]

[Level 15]