It was a little past nine in the morning. In front of the gate of a luxurious villa located in Tokyo. The magnificent nameplate clearly read 'Yuuki'. At the entrance stood a courier, holding a well-packaged express box, waiting for the owner of the house to come out and sign for the delivery.
Soon, a figure in a skirt ran towards the gate; it was a girl with flaxen long hair.
"Hello, may I know if this is for Mr. Koichiro Yuuki?" the courier asked politely, though he had already concluded it wasn't; the woman in front of him was probably the recipient's family member.
"Hello, I am his younger sister."
The courier marked 'signed by family member' on the express sheet, then handed the express box to the girl, Asuna Yuuki.
"Please sign here," the courier said, pointing with his pen.
Asuna Yuuki, who was Asuna.
After signing her name above the express box, Asuna thanked him, and then the courier tore off the express sheet.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Asuna, holding the package, returned to the house.
Looking at 'NERv Gear' written on the box, she felt a bit curious, and then she saw the SAO slogan.
Let's go on an adventure together in Aincrad.
"Is it some advanced equipment?"
"Is this... a game?"
Curiosity constantly drove Asuna to open the box; Asuna's mother, Kyoko Yuuki, was not home today, giving Asuna some rare free time.
Asuna also recalled what her school friends often told her, "You should relax occasionally!"
"Anyway, Mom isn't here, I'll try it, just for a moment... Brother won't mind either..."
Asuna's inner self was in a struggle, but ultimately, curiosity about the game won.
After carefully unpacking the express box.
Asuna first saw the invoice for 98,800 Japanese Yen inside.
"Ah... so expensive."
"It's nearly 100,000 Japanese Yen."
Even though Asuna's family was from a prestigious background, with her father and brother running a large company.
However, Asuna had always been frugal and never revealed her family's financial situation to her classmates at school.
So the price of 98,800 seemed quite expensive in Asuna's eyes.
Afterward, Asuna discovered it was just a small helmet, yet it was protected by layers of packaging.
"Eh? Such a small thing, packaged so well."
"How do I use it?"
Asuna, who had never played games before, let alone such an advanced gaming product, was quite confused.
Asuna picked up the instruction manual nearby and read it carefully; the manual was only a few pages long.
...
"Is it like this?"
In the blink of an eye, Asuna was lying on the chair in her room, with the helmet already on her head.
The time on the alarm clock on the table had also just struck ten o'clock exactly.
"Link... start."
After a few seconds of blurred consciousness, Asuna found herself in a strange space.
Asuna entering the game interface.
"Please enter your name."
Asuna looked at the game window in front of her, lowered her head and thought for a moment, then immediately answered.
"Name, huh... hmm..."
"Asuna."
...
Meanwhile, Mochizuki also entered the game immediately.
"Link start!!!"
Accompanied by this shout, time seemed to stand still.
Mochizuki himself entered a state of unconsciousness, unable to perceive anything, but it was very brief, only a few seconds.
By the time Mochizuki's consciousness became clear again, he found himself in a strange space.
"Mochizuki."
After entering his name, Mochizuki disappeared from this space.
By the time Mochizuki came to his senses, he heard the noisy voices of the surrounding players constantly entering his ears.
"Oh, is that you...?"
"Oh, I'm here, the new game!"
"This game is amazing!"
...
A gentle breeze blew, feeling somewhat cool, which made Mochizuki feel very comfortable.
Mochizuki also opened his eyes wide and began to observe and feel this brand new world.
"Is this the world of Sword Art Online?"
"It's just like another world!"
"Everything around is too realistic!"
Mochizuki couldn't help but pinch his hands, feet, stomach, and other body parts, and also rubbed his hair.
Everything felt real, without the slightest hint of illusion.
Touch, smell, sight, all senses were very sharp.
Since there was nothing to eat right now, he couldn't experience taste.
As for pain, players could adjust the pain sensitivity level.
Even if they took damage, it wouldn't be that painful.
Of course, it's not impossible that some players actually enjoy the feeling of pain, right?
No wonder they said that even disabled people could experience the physical level of a normal person upon entering; it was truly astonishing, indeed a technological product of epoch-making significance.
As for character appearance.
Each person's character appearance was adjusted by the game system based on their real-life personal appearance; of course, players could make minor adjustments to their character's appearance within a certain proportion, such as adjusting the color of various parts, or having single or double eyelids, or even being left-handed or right-handed...
To make the character more satisfying and more in line with their ideal image.
The reason for basing it on real-life appearance was also to prevent some players from having malicious intentions in the game, or even harboring ulterior motives and engaging in inappropriate behavior.
Building character models based on real-life appearance could serve as a deterrent to those with malicious intentions, preventing them from acting recklessly.
Of course, the game's various protection mechanisms were also very comprehensive, fully considering the life, property, personal freedom, dignity, and a series of safety aspects for the vast number of players.
...
Alright, Mochizuki felt he had experienced enough; it was time to properly enjoy this game!
Let's head out to the wilderness!
You know, in a new server, every second counts!
One step behind means every step behind.
Oh, there's one very important thing.
Mochizuki almost forgot; Mochizuki checked the system settings.
Hmm, a very conspicuous logout button appeared.
Right, Mochizuki suddenly thought.
He wondered if the system within this game world had any function?
Mochizuki decided to try it, but how should he try it?
...
Meanwhile, in the villa area where Yamada Elf was located.
Yamada Elf wasn't so lucky; the time was gradually approaching ten o'clock, nearing the public beta time for Sword Art Online.
Some people were even live-streaming countdowns...
While others were excitedly preparing to enter the game, Yamada Elf could only stare at the computer screen in front of her, playing traditional games...
Although she was staring at the computer, Yamada Elf's mind wasn't on the computer game at all.
Why was this happening?
Because the shipping address for her gaming device was the villa in Tokyo.
After discovering this problem last night, Yamada Elf urgently planned to purchase another one.
She found that there were only 10,000 units available for pre-order, and they had already been snatched up.
So Yamada Elf had no choice but to immediately arrange for someone to go to her villa in Tokyo, receive the goods, and air freight them to her as soon as possible, but she hadn't received them yet.
"Damn it! Stupid Wangyue..." Yamada Elf shouted, venting her dissatisfaction at the air, then collapsed onto the bed.
"What does it matter if you play for one more day!"
"At worst, I'll just spend more money when I get in!"
-----------------------------
If you enjoy the story, feel free to visit my Patreon to read 30–40 chapters ahead.
Thank you so much for your kind support! 💫
👉 [pat*eon*com/Greyhounds]