"Welcome to the tutorial!"
A synthetic female voice blares as I take my first step into the virtual world. A hemispherical space, about ten meters wide, with a single rusted red door as the exit. A white light glows from the ceiling.
The biggest difference from SAO hits me hard. This. A tutorial. Games without one are the minority, aren't they?
"So, what do I do?"
A full-length mirror stands nearby, its frame a gaudy tangle of gold and silver snakes. Even in a virtual world, it screams expense—my cheap taste showing, I guess. Reflected is my chosen avatar: a rough-looking mercenary or thief, early 20s, red hair, sharp eyes. Like other VR games, cross-gender selection's locked—likely a lesson from SAO. That's all I've got on that.
I'm in starter gear: inner armor, defense stat a pathetic 1. No weapon, naturally.
"So, what now? Just walk through that door?"
"First, set your weapons, armor, items, and skills."
"Got it. And?"
"Weapon selection begins."
Gruff AI. For a dark fantasy game, a chipper guide would ruin the vibe, so this works. Wait—doesn't a tutorial itself kill the atmosphere? Nah, overthinking it.
A blue light flashes, and pedestals appear, each holding a weapon: classic one-handed sword, standard two-handed sword, speedy dagger, quirky curved blade, thrusting rapier, long-reach spear, limited-shot but ranged bow, assassin's claws, powerful war axe, iconic warhammer, and a whip for… niche tastes.
"Two-handed sword… but a bow's tempting."
I'll meet her soon anyway, so this might not matter. Still, weapon choice is always a headache. In SAO, I started with a two-handed sword—hit hard, run fast, grinding solo through desperate battles. Later, I joined parties and guilds, only to get kicked out for being "too much trouble" and went back to solo.
Back to the point: a bow's appealing. Fighting from range feels fresh after SAO's melee grind. But how many arrows do I get? Games often nerf bows' damage, making them tricky for newbies. Maybe too advanced.
…Got it.
"Hell yeah! Badass!"
A blue flash equips wicked claws to my right hand. They retract with a wrist flick—pure assassin vibes. Only two blades, damage between a dagger and one-handed sword, but bonus damage from behind? Perfect.
Evil playstyle? Heh, not bad. In SAO's death game, "villain" status meant nothing, but here? I could lean into it. Armor's next: a tattered sand-colored coat, navy pants, thin chestplate, and a face scarf—mercenary chic. I pull up the hood, strike a pose in the mirror, and flick my wrist, flashing the claws' dull gleam.
Claws can be coated with poison, paralysis, or fatigue debuffs. Downside? Low durability and halved arm armor stats. Not defense-friendly.
"Poison claws, huh? SAO's lizards wrecked me with those."
Floor 61's volcano zone: toxic lizard mobs. Surrounded by ten, I barely survived thanks to Fuurinkazan's help. Fond memory… until I recall Klein's "love punch" to my face for my reckless soloing. Knocked him orange, too. Idiot.
"Skills next?"
Weapon-based skills, like SAO's sword skills, I assume. Claws fall under [Hidden Weapons], but…
"No need to pick [Hidden Weapons] blindly."
Three skill slots, 100 options. Gotta choose wisely. I settle on [Warhammer], [Alchemy], and [Stealth]. Cheap clubs for main attacks—make PKers think that's my weapon. Then, surprise them with debuff claws. My status screen shows I can dual-wield two weapons, likely expandable with levels or skills. Shields count as one, but knights stick to one weapon anyway.
Point is, I'm not using a shield. Speed builds don't need that nonsense.
"Though, I've never stuck to a plan."
In SAO, I flipped from speed to power to defense, finally settling on balance. My indecision burned skill slots, making me look like a suicidal maniac in that death game.
My avatar, [Kuri], is done—same name as SAO, too lazy to change it. Now, stat allocation: VIT (vitality), CON (stamina), STR (strength), TEC (technique), DEX (dexterity), INT (intelligence), POW (spirit), MYS (mystery)… and SAN (sanity).
"Huh?"
No way.
"Huh?!"
This can't be right.
"What the hell?!"
Why is sanity a stat?! Something's wrong! Is this game hiding some Lovecraftian SAN-draining horror?
"Initial stats are 3 each. Ten points to distribute…"
Calming down, I eye the nine stats. SAN's tempting, but I ignore it. Ignore it. MYS catches my eye. What's "mystery"?
"What's MYS?"
"Stats for magic and curses."
Barebones AI. SAO had no magic or curses, so I'm curious. I spread one point to each stat, dumping the last into SAN. Not for Nyarlathotep prep—definitely not. SAN's just paper against that thing. But… insurance, maybe. Probably not that SAN anyway; single-digit starting stats are too low.
"Now what?"
"Combat tutorial begins."
A red light flares, unlike the blue before. A mud humanoid appears, hollow eyes and mouth, a grotesque mockery of life. No female players will stick around for this. I smirk, activating my claws.
"Hey, AI! What's the sword skill equivalent—oh, never mind, I didn't take [Hidden Weapons]."
Fine. I'll chip away. The mud thing's slow, swinging or slamming its arms—child's play for an SAO survivor or any VR gamer. I circle behind, exploiting the claw's bonus, and whittle its HP. When it hits zero, it bursts into a grim, bloodlike red-black light.
Gruesome. The devs are unhinged. The slashing feels too real, mud splattering with each hit.
"Good work. Choose one gift."
The rusted door opens, revealing stairs. Five bubbles block the way, each holding an item—AI's "gift."
"Map, key, coin, candle, ring. Hmm."
Map's likely a newbie-friendly area guide. Key smells like trouble—unlocks forbidden places, masochist bait. Pass. Coin's obvious: extra cash, probably not much. Candle's black, cursed vibes, but those can be useful. Ring? Plain silver, likely magic-boosting. Useless for me.
"Coin! Only choice!"
More money means a strong [Warhammer] weapon. My logic's flawless.
"…"
Look, it's been a while since SAO. I'm no hardcore gamer like that guy. I pocket the coin and head for the door. My eyes sting. Yeah, I must love virtual worlds deep down. Not because I misread the coin and embarrassed myself in front of no one. Definitely not.
Through the door, up the dark stairs, a white light engulfs me. That SAO-honed transfer sensation hits—unmistakable.
I'm in a radiant place. But the sight chokes me, nearly forcing a scream.
A town on the brink of ruin. Half-collapsed buildings, gloomy NPCs, cracked cobblestones, a shattered fountain now a puddle. That's not the issue.
"This… is the Starting City?"
Aincrad's first floor, where it all began. Where Kayaba declared the death game. This is the Starting City—aged, battle-worn, decayed.
"Calm down. Find the sicko behind this and punch them. That's it."
I'd be hyperventilating in reality. Other players spawn in white light, eyeing me warily before rushing off. I explore the ruined Starting City. Unlike SAO's upward climb, this game has a sky—open-world, not layered.
Regaining composure, I search for her meeting spot: the Headless Ox tavern. Grim name, grim sign—a decapitated cow. I smirk bitterly.
The wooden door creaks open, alcohol's sharp sting hitting my virtual nose. Devs, nobody asked for this much realism.
"Get it together, seriously."
No time to linger. The tutorial's heat is gone. Finish this, log out.