Sword Art Online
There wasn't a single person in the entire gaming community who hadn't heard that name. The hype around it was massive; forums, news sites, livestreams, everyone was talking about it, waiting for the day they could finally dive into a true virtual world.
The name itself sounded simple, almost generic, but what it represented was anything but ordinary.
Sword Art Online was the first full-dive VRMMORPG ever created in human history, and it had been successfully launched in Japan after years of research and testing
Ten thousand players logged in on the first day, full of excitement and anticipation. Each of them wanted to feel what it meant to truly exist inside a fantasy world, to swing swords, explore dungeons, fight monsters, and live in a medieval world that was more vivid than anything on a screen.
For many, it was once-in-a-lifetime event, the beginning of a new era of gaming.
It should have been a celebration. Developers and players all over the world had every reason to be proud. Sword Art Online wasn't just a game; it was a symbol of human potential, a proof that imagination could take solid form.
The kind of creation that would inspire generations of dreamers, inventors, and storytellers.
But instead of cheers and laughter, it became a cage.
What was supposed to be humanity's celebration turned into a living nightmare.
The moment they realized they couldn't log out, joy turned into panic, and awe into terror.
The man behind it all; Kayaba Akihiko, the genius developer and the mind who built Sword Art Online revealed himself not as a hero, but as the warden.
His brilliance was undeniable. He had achieved something no one else could. But that same brilliance drove him past the line of reason. He trapped ten thousand people inside his creation, his "perfect world."
And in doing so, he erased any future his genius could have given him.
From that moment on, death became real. If a player died in the game, their real body would die as well.
If anyone outside tries to remove your NerveGear or forcibly log you out, the helmet's safety system will activate and fry your brain with a lethal electric pulse.
The only way out was to climb the floating castle of Aincrad, floor by floor, defeating every boss until reaching the top, the 100th floor, where the final challenge awaited.
It was the only path toward freedom.
Would they survive? Would they manage to clear the game and return to the real world?
Or would they fall, one by one, in this steel and stone labyrinth built by a mad genius?
No one knew.
And so began the story of Sword Art Online, a place where you don't just play to win.
You fight to live.
The chaos that followed Kayaba's announcement spread like wildfire across Aincrad.
Panic turned to exhaustion, and exhaustion into numb silence.
Hours later, as the blood-red evening sky dimmed into night, the survivors of that first horrifying day gathered in one place, the inn of the Novice Town on Floor 1.
Inside its walls, countless players huddled together. It was supposed to be a simple beginner's rest stop, yet its size was unexpectedly grand; spacious halls, plenty of rooms, cheap beds affordable even for new players.
But on this night, the inn was suffocating. Its walls did not protect from fear. No one could truly sleep peacefully, not after hearing Kayaba's words.
In the wide dining hall, players gathered like lost children. Some broke down, crying, trembling with despair. Others cursed the developer, shouting their frustration into the air.
There were those who tried to laugh it off, clinging desperately to the belief that this was all some elaborate prank by the game company.
A handful, filled with stubborn confidence, boldly declared that they would clear all the floors, defeat Kayaba, and break free.
Hope, anger, disbelief, despair, the reactions mixed together, creating an atmosphere so heavy it pressed down on everyone.
And yet, among the restless crowd, one figure stood apart.
A young man with black hair, a strikingly handsome face, and eyes that reflected neither panic nor despair. His expression was calm, unnervingly composed, like someone who had already accepted this new reality and decided to dominate it.
His name was Kirigaya Kazuto.
In short, people called him Kirito.
But the truth was different. He wasn't the Kirito that belonged to this world.
A transmigrated soul now occupied his body, pulled into this game by the cruel joke of the universe itself, as if some higher force wanted to see how he would endure, how he would adapt, how he would rewrite this story compared to the original Kirito.
The moment he realized where he was, he didn't waste a second.
While most players were still stunned, he rushed to level up like a crazy. He hunted monsters relentlessly before the majority of players flooded the fields and snatched the good farming spots.
He also made sure to befriend Klein, the same trustworthy man who had been Kirito's loyal friend in the original timeline.
To Klein, he offered guidance, teaching him the mechanics of the game, strategies, and tricks only an experienced player could know.
In return, Klein supported him in battle, and together they slaughtered monster after monster, racing to build strength.
But this Kirito was not just a gamer. Before his transmigration, he had been a hacker, and he now possessed a hacker system that made manipulating SAO's code almost effortless.
Occasionally, when no one was watching, he slipped subtle hacks into the cardinal system, tweaking data here and there, boosting his own stats in ways that blended seamlessly with his hard-earned progress.
He was careful, very careful. His growth looked like the result of relentless grinding, and no one would suspect otherwise.
To him, hard work alone would never be enough to defeat Kayaba Akihiko. To truly clear this nightmare, he needed overwhelming strength, the unity of players, and allies he could trust.
Unlike the awkward, socially inept original Kirito, this version refused to isolate himself. He took the initiative to befriend others, starting with Klein's circle.
He understood their potential, recognized them as assets, allies who could become the backbone of a real strategy to conquer the game.
Klein, trusting him deeply, had already invited his friends to meet him at the inn.
Before facing them, however, he prepared himself. He stretched his stiff body, stood up from the creaking bed, and headed toward the bath.
The warm water would cooling his mind for what came next.
He knew that today wasn't just another sleepless gathering of scared players. It would be the beginning of his path, not just to survive Sword Art Online, but to bend it to his will.
After scrubbing himself fresh, he walked over to the mirror.
His face looked sharper, more mature than the version people knew from canon. His body carried a taller, stronger frame as well. In this world, Kirito's age wasn't teenager; here, he was 18.
By law and design, every single VR user, every single SAO player, had to be at least eighteen years old before they could even touch the NerveGear. It meant all the canon characters; Asuna, Silica, even the younger-looking ones were now officially adults, their ages rewritten to fit this stricter reality.
And because of that, the setting itself shifted away from the sterilized, PG-13 cage the original story forced it into. Aincrad wasn't bound by those invisible restrictions anymore.
Gore wasn't blurred out or censored, when someone died, you saw it. Limbs severed, flesh torn, blood painting the stone.
And just as violence was shown without restraint, the same rule applied to intimacy. Sex, desire, NSFW content, all of it was permitted in this version of SAO. It was a game that embraced adulthood fully, where both brutality and pleasure could exist side by side.
When Kirito stood before the mirror, he didn't see his face.
He saw code.
The bathroom wall flickered, showing him what lay beneath the game's skin:
AINCRAD_SERVER_STATUS: ACTIVE
PLAYERS_TRAPPED: 9,883
CARDINAL_PROTOCOL: ENFORCED
Then his own private interface overlaid reality in glowing blue text:
BACKDOOR_ACCESS: ESTABLISHED
ADMIN_PRIVILEGES: [PARTIAL]
CURRENT_EXPLOITS:
STATIC_CLOAK (undetectable by Cardinal)
MEMORY_SCRUBBER (erases audit trails)
PROTOCOL_WHISPERER (reads system alerts)
[Welcome, Hacker. You have been selected for the trial world: Sword Art Online. Follow the directives to earn your salvation.]
>> Objective: Clear Sword Art Online. Unify 70% of Player Population. Defeat Kayaba Akihiko.
>> REWARD: ROOT_ACCESS (Full System Control)
>> REWARD: THE_SEED (Creation Protocol)
Kirito stared at the mission text, reading it line by line, his expression tightening the longer he looked. The quest wasn't just insane, it was borderline dark.
Clearing Sword Art Online was already a nightmare on its own. But unifying seventy percent of the entire player base? That was asking for the impossible.
The darker part of the directive whispered to him: if enough players died, if their numbers dwindled, then unifying the survivors into one majority would still technically fulfill the condition.
The system didn't care how it was done by alliance or by massacre. The numbers were all that mattered.
But Kazuto clenched his jaw. That path wasn't for him. If he wanted to not only survive but thrive in this death game, he needed something stronger than terror. He needed to build something lasting, something that could outlive the fear and chaos.
A kingdom.
A kingdom of players, united under one banner, not because they were forced, but because they chose to follow.
That was the path he would take.
After dismissing the quest screen, he dressed and made his way downstairs, where he spotted Klein and his five friends sitting around one of the long tables, plates piled with food.
Kazuto's eyes lingered on them.
Allies. Potential pieces in the larger board.
This was where it started.
"Yo, Kirito!" Klein called out, waving him over.
"Yo, Klein," Kirito replied with a small grin as he took the empty seat beside them.
He nodded in greeting to Klein's friends as well, and soon they all settled into eating their breakfast in comfortable silence, chewing and swallowing while bracing themselves for the serious conversation that was bound to come next.
When they had already finished their breakfast, Klein suddenly suggested, "Should we create a guild, Kirito? After all, the more people trying to beat the game, the better."
Kirito didn't rush to answer Klein.
Instead, he took a gulp from the mug of ale in his hand, then said, "Maybe. But how about we build a grand alliance instead, one composed of many guilds working together under the same banner?"
"That's a great idea." Klein clapped his hands, feeling the idea was fucking genius.
Then he asked eagerly, "So how do we make sure everyone actually wants to join? I mean, every person's got different goals and reasons for fighting. It's impossible they'd all just join because we tell them to."
"They will join." Kirito grinned as he stood up, then clapped his hands to get the attention of everyone in the inn.
A new command line appeared in his vision.
>> BROADCAST_PACKET: [AURA_OF_AUTHORITY]
>> AMPLIFY_RESPONSE: [TRUST]
"Hello, everyone! Please, your attention!"
The listless players who were slumped at their tables shifted their eyes toward him, brows furrowed, unsure what this weirdo was suddenly up to.
Seeing how the players react made Kirito even more confident.
They were listening instead of outright ignoring him, and that was already a good sign.
"Like you can all see," Kirito continued, his voice growing stronger, "I'm just like every one of you. We are all victims of a maniac who thought it would be funny to imprison us in his death game. Don't you feel angry about this situation?"
It wasn't a question. It was a command.
The [ANGER] he broadcast slammed into them, and a chorus of furious voices rose up, players slamming their fists on tables with a fervor that surprised even themselves.
"We're angry, yeah! But what can we do? We can't clear all the floors overnight. It's impossible!"
"Yeah, we can't," Kirito admitted bluntly.
The crowd sighed, thinking maybe he was just complaining like the rest of them.
Some of them looked ready to tune him out.
But before they could, Kirito's voice thundered through the inn.
"But so what?!"
>> INJECT: HOPE_PROTOCOL
He raised his voice even higher, eyes blazing.
"We can't beat Kayaba right now, but we can beat him in the future!"
"All of you have the potential to become stars, to rise up and become something so much more in this world. Akihiko Kayaba might have trapped us here, but in a twisted way, he gave us the stage to become heroes. Do any of you want to be the ones who save every player trapped in this game? Think about the glory, the respect and admiration waiting for you in the real world once this nightmare is over."
"Our world outside still runs on laws, on how people see us. They'll reward us for defeating evil, for being heroes."
"The people we save will never forget that we stood up for them when they were at their most desperate, most hopeless moment."
"Will you just sit here wallowing in pity and anger, everyone?! Will you throw away the chance standing right in front of you?"
"No, never!" they shouted in unison, adrenaline surging, blood pumping from the fire in Kirito's words.
Kirito clenched his fist and raised his sword high above his head.
"Everyone, my name is Kirito. I have a dream in my heart. I want to become a Hero of Justice. This dream might sound childish or naive to you, but I sincerely want to help build a world where no children ever have to cry, and men and women can smile under the stars again. I won't pretend I can save all of you alone, but I swear I'll do everything in my power."
"For that reason, I'm going to create a safe haven for all of us. Any player is free to join. You don't need to join a guild, and you don't have to bow your heads to me as a leader. The only thing we share in common is a single, unbreakable goal: a blood alliance to lead every player out of this game, to freedom!"
"Remember, we're not a guild. We're an alliance, a shield for the weak, an enemy of evil, the saviors of every trapped player, and the only light this cruel world has to offer."
"We are the Wing of Freedom!"
"Everyone is equal before us, even me."
>> INJECTING_NEW_DIRECTIVE: [HOPE]
>> OVERWRITING: [DESPAIR]
"Kirito!"
"Kirito!"
"Kirito!"
The players couldn't help but scream his name, swept up by the passion in his speech.
Most of them feeling like the idea finally gave them something real to believe in, and raised their hands high.
"We're willing to join, Kirito-san!"
"Count me in!"
"Yeah, me too!"
Afterward, Kirito's table became crowded with players, eager and excited.
He smiled at them one by one, explaining that anyone who wanted to join should first create a guild of their own.
They were an alliance, not a single guild.
They were unity without chains, driven by a single shared goal, to break free.
From that day on, Kirito's reputation spread like wildfire.
Many players with strong morals and hopeful hearts eagerly joined the alliance, forming guilds and gathering members.
Together, they proudly declared themselves as part of the Wing of Freedom.
The flags of the alliance soon stood tall and defiant on the first floor of Aincrad and it was only the beginning.