LINK START.
November 6, 2022, Sunday.
Today is just your everyday day. Sun was shining down bringing warmth to the world while the blue sky was clear with some clouds drifting.
Everyone was having their usual day, except anyone that involved in the gaming industry.
Today is the day that millions of gamers and MMORPG fans waited for their whole life... The first VRMMORPG.
But is it just a VR game that can attract all the gamers attention? Of course not. However, this game comes with the latest invention that changed the gaming world completely... The Nerve Gear.
The Nerve Gear is the hardware that gave the whole gaming world a new horizon with its ability to allow the player to literally log into the game.
This Hardware is just a helmet that covers the entire head and face while using the numerous electronic signals inside. The gear accessed the user's brain itself. The users then don't need their eyes or ears to see or listen, but they take direct signals from the gear to their brain, even the smell, touch, and taste are being sent by the gear to the user brain, giving the player the ultimate experience of gaming which called... Full Dive.
The gear also doesn't allow signals to reach the player's body to avoid accidents like running into a wall, which means the players are completely away from reality, and they completely leaped into the game.
And with the first VRMMORPG, the whole gaming world now is boiling with excitement, especially that there still 10 minutes to log into the game.
The 9,900 lucky players that got their hands on the Nerve Gear now are waiting from the moment that will be their biggest mistake.
But at this moment, the whole world being swept by a gray color while stopping completely in its place.
In different places in Japan, a light flashed, and 100 people started to appear in houses or apartments
After all those people appeared, the colors returned to the world, and time resumed his work with the players waiting for the game.
Akashi that landed inside a simple apartment, shook his head from the scene changing before looking around in vigilance.
Checking his surroundings while D4C also appeared above Akashi checking the surroundings and Metallica used his magnetism field to check any iron in the surrounding.
Even if he can't control it, Metallica can still feel the iron around 10 meters from Akashi.
After a few seconds, D4C and Metallica returned into Akashi while he relaxed slightly because he didn't find anything suspicious.
"The time is working? This's new" Akashi said while looking at the normal world and hearing the sounds from outside the department.
Suddenly, Akashi noticed a helmet on the bed being attached with a cable to a computer next to it.
Before Akashi checked the helmet, a light screen appeared in front of him with some memories appear in his head.
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Dear player, this mission is inside a game that is being developed by this world technology. Please put the helmet according to the information that is sent to you to start the mission.
You have until the sunset to log inside the game or your mission will consider a failure and you lose a chance or your life.
Note 1: the time ratio between this world and the central is 1 year to 1 month.
Note 2: Your body will be taken care of by the game and the game put a simple illusion on this apartment, so no aborigines can bother you.
Note 2: Detect the player has a dimensional traveling skill, Keep in mind that all that you do in those parallel world won't be counted in the mission and if you log into the game in any other parallel world, your mission will fail immediately.
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"...*Sigh*..." Akashi that organized the information inside his brain sighed after reading the note.
"It seems I can't do this mission without the other players. Also... I wanted to go to the abridged version. What a disappointment" Akashi felt disappointed from the game after these limits on his D4C.
"...Well, I was expecting something similar" Akashi said after some disappointment for not being able to abuse D4C ability.
Akashi moved from his place towards the bed and picked up the helmet.
The helmet was gray, and it seemed to be designed to cover the whole head, and an NVG word was written on its front.
"So... This is the brain-frying microwave... Hm?" Akashi checked the Nerve Gear before he felt something weird coming from it.
"What is this..." Akashi started to see some faint images about a floating castle when he focused on the Nerve Gear.
Akashi shook his head and put the Nerve Gear down before the images disappeared from his vision.
"That was... Aincrad?" Akashi recognized the image he saw after clearing his head.
'You felt it?' Suddenly Akashi received a message from the arrow.
"The castle or this weird feeling or maybe both?" Akashi said while looking at the Nerve Gear.
'Both... Thas because of D4C... Well, mostly the Heaven in him' the arrow sent a message to Akashi.
"How is this possible SAO isn't a real worl-... Don't tell me" Akashi said before he understood the meaning of the arrow.
'Who told you that artificial world isn't real? Or did you think humans will be able to create something like that with their current technology?' the arrow sent a message with a sarcastic tone.
'That world is meant to be created by the whole world himself, but it just sent the key and left the design to that human you call Kayaba' Akashi heard the arrow message before thinking deeply.
"... The rules and laws, right?" Akashi said while the arrow flashed in his hand.
'Yes, the world gave that man the rules and laws on a from he can understand, and that form is what you call data. Also, the world still doing the heavy lifting because this device you use can never actually send your consciousness to that world. After all, it takes more than just putting a microwave on your head to do that' the arrow send a message while Akashi understood his meaning.
"So if you said that... My Heaven still very weak to go there?" Akashi asked the arrow.
'Of course, it's not enough. Heaven isn't something simple as you think, it's something that changes the way this world works completely even I can't understand it completely' the arrow flashed while sending another message.
'That world works completely different from the normal one with those data, D4C Heaven still weak to change your body or that world. And you took just a single step forward, you still have a long way to go' Akashi nodded when he heard the arrow.
"Yeah, I still have a long way to go, but when you said to change the world you didn't mean what I'm thinking about now?" Akashi said.
'This only my speculation, but Imagine D4C pick that world and paste it on this one, what do you think will happen?' the arrow sent a message while Akashi covered his face.
"The people in the normal world will level up and have skills like SAO, even monsters and dungeons will appear... This world will become an urban dungeons world" Akashi said while refreshing his knowledge of how much stands can be broken.
"And the only way to reach Heaven and Requiem is by a strong emotional change or your way, right?" Akashi said while looking at the arrow.
'The stand user emotions especially someone with that DICE like you generate a massive amount of energy for the stands, but the other way is the most secure and guaranteed one' the arrow flashed while Akashi nodded.
'However... There is another way to ascend to Heaven or at least prepare for it' the arrow sent a message that drawn Akashi attention completely.
"Which is?" Akashi said.
'You need to train your body and mind to the degree you can summon the holy ancient runes (ゴゴゴゴ) from the void and you need to train to use the ancient forms(Poses)' the arrow said while Akashi face turned expressionless.
"... You didn't give up" Akashi said without expression.
'NEVER!!!' the arrow screamed before he went back to Akashi hand.
In the period of the training this arrow as long Akashi was resting he will jump and try to make Akashi pose without giving up even if Akashi throws it a few times, but it always comes back instantly.
Akashi didn't care about the arrow now and looked at the clock to see it only 3 minutes before SAO start.
"Well... Let's start" Akashi said before searching the whole room.
Akashi searched all the lockers and drawers in the room with D4C before he found some papers and useless things.
"..." Akashi read the whole papers a few times before he put it down on the desk.
The time of SAO already passed by 5 minutes, but Akashi didn't care.
Moving towards the bed, Akashi removed his hat and put it on the desk before lying down while putting the Nerve Gear on his head.
"The mission always has a quick, easy task and a long easy task... So, I need to prepare" Akashi said while activating Nerve Gear.
"Metallica the moment I die in that game, destroy this helmet battery by iron and D4C you also teleport this helmet the fastest you could" Akashi instructed his two stands because he doesn't know what will happen inside that mission world, so Akashi is prepared to complete the first task quickly and have a guarantee.
"My body will be in your care... You know the plan" Akashi said before he closed his eyes.
"Now... Link start" Akashi said before all his senses faded away and swathed in darkness. But that was only for a moment before a lot of rainbow color lines flashed.
Few circles appeared about tasting the game before they went green with everything is okay.
One single option of the language appeared, but that doesn't matter to the players because the game space always translates language for them.
Akashi thought of picking yes, before his entire vision flashed until he found himself in a dark room with glowing lines all over it.
[Welcome to Sword Art Online!] Akashi heard a voice before he raised his head and saw the words written in the sky, while a light screen appeared in front of him.
[The player doesn't have character data].
[Please enter the name you want to identify as and the character look].
The female voice said before a lot of screens appeared in front of Akashi about his name, gender, shape, etc...
"I need a different name... Like who the idiot that will pick his real name in a death game" Akashi said before looking at the character screen.
"Character isn't important either, Just pick my original loo-..." Akashi said before he widens his eyes because he saw something weird.
A few purple letters started to appear next to the screen.
Akashi wiped his eyes a few times before he made sure that those characters disappeared.
"Is it the arrow again?... But" Akashi started to look at the character screen while he had an internal struggle before reaching over.
*Timeskip 30 minutes*
It's been 35 minutes from SAO start and all the players already logged inside except a few, and Akashi was one of them.
Akashi was in that dark room moving his fingers and making after images while clicking on the screen while using the zone and his eyes. But because it inside SAO, Akashi zone and eyes don't have their special effects.
Akashi was operating everything was given by the SAO system from the look to the voice just to make the perfect masterpiece.
"Was this really worth it?... Absolutely worth it" Akashi said while looking at his masterpiece.
"I understood something in this short life of mine..." Akashi closed his eyes and said.
"Humans will always have limits. No matter what plan or scheme you do, it always isn't enough" Akashi moved his fingers and entered the character name at this moment.
"Because humans are made to have limits..." Akashi opened his eyes at this moment.
"I REJECT MY HUMANITY, KAYABA!!!" Akashi screamed before he hit the enter button and everything went flashing before him.
Inside the starting town on the first floors, a lot of players were checking their surroundings and were completely fascinated by the SAO.
Suddenly, a blue pillar of light flashed before a person appeared inside the crowd.
The people next to the man felt something wrong before they started to shiver the moment they looked at his golden-colored eyes.
The man was tall, and his build was very strong while his hair is blond.
"What an interesting game... I, DIO, shall see what can you offer me." Akashi(DIO) said with a grin while a player next to him started to shack from his menacing aura.