Makoto Hasegawa sat at his desk, the NerveGear helmet perched neatly beside him like a crown waiting for its king. The faint hum of his PC filled the small bedroom. Outside, he could hear the faint chatter of his mom in the kitchen and his younger sister's laughter over the television. His family thought Sword Art Online was just another game—an expensive toy, a passing distraction. For Makoto, though, it was more than that.
The beta test had been the best two months of his life. He'd fought alongside a handful of other testers, climbed ten grueling floors, and touched a world that felt alive in a way no other game had before. When the test ended and that final "Thank you for playing the Closed Beta" screen appeared, something inside him had felt hollow.
But today… today was the full release.
"Finally," Makoto whispered to himself, sliding the helmet into place. "Time to go back."
The system booted up, his heart pounding with excitement.
"Link… START!"
Light swallowed his vision, and the familiar system menu unfolded in front of him. Unlike the beta, the full release required character creation. Makoto's fingers hovered briefly—he could make himself look like anyone. Taller, cooler, sharper. But in the end, he simply adjusted a few features, keeping close to his real-world self.
For the name, his hands flew over the keys immediately:
[Mikoto.]
Locked in before anyone else could steal it.
With a flash, his avatar materialized inside the Town of Beginnings. The sheer number of players stunned him. Not a thousand like the beta—ten thousand avatars swarmed the cobblestone streets, shouting, laughing, forming parties, running off in every direction.
Mikoto grinned faintly. "Feels like a festival…" he murmured. But festivals were distractions. He wasn't here to sightsee. While others marveled, Mikoto slipped into motion, heading for the city gates. Every second wasted was a level he wasn't gaining.
He knew a route most wouldn't—a grind spot only beta testers had uncovered. If he could get there early, he'd gain a massive advantage.
But the alleys were crowded, and that's when he nearly collided with two players. One was a lanky redhead, grinning like a fool, introducing himself loudly as "Klein." The other… a quiet, sharp-eyed boy who said little but whose posture screamed familiarity.
Mikoto recognized the way the kid carried himself. Just like him.
The three traveled together to the grind fields. Boars prowled the grassy plains, exactly as Mikoto remembered. Kirito—the black-haired boy—demonstrated sword skills for Klein, explaining the timing of the trigger, the slight pause needed for the system to take over. Klein fumbled, laughed, tried again.
Mikoto knelt, picking up a small pebble. He held it up between his fingers, smiling faintly.
"Think of it like throwing this," he said. "You line up the skill, but if you let go too early or too late, it doesn't fly the way you want. Sword skills are the same—the system assists, but only if you let it."
He tossed the pebble, and it struck a boar's nose with a soft plink. The beast snarled, charging at him. Mikoto's sword lit up with a simple skill, and he cut it down cleanly.
Kirito blinked, surprised, then smirked. "Huh. Not bad."
—-
They spent hours like that—teaching Klein, fighting, laughing. For a moment, it almost felt like a game again.
As the sun began to sink, Klein stretched, wiping sweat from his brow. "Alright, guys, this was fun, but I should probably log out. Got pizza coming with the boys tonight."
"Then go," Kirito said lightly.
"Yeah," Mikoto added. "Better log before you miss it."
But Klein's brow furrowed. "Uh, hey guys. Is your log out buttons missing?"
Both Mikoto and Kirito paused and both open up their menus.
"Yeah it should be.." Kirito paused.
"…Wait, it really isn't—," Mikoto muttered.
Kirito's expression hardened as he opened his own menu. "Same here."
Klein blinked. "What do you mean? Is it like a glitch or something?"
The three stood in silence, unease creeping in. And then—
A bell tolled.
Light engulfed them, their bodies dissolving as the system force-transported every player back to the Town of Beginnings. Confusion rippled through the crowd as ten thousand avatars filled the plaza.
Mikoto's stomach sank. He could feel it in the air—the crowd's energy shifting, fear blooming.
And then the sky itself split open.
A hooded, faceless figure materialized above them. A voice—calm, commanding, utterly devoid of warmth—rang out.
Kayaba Akihiko.
The nightmare had begun.