Chapter 52: The Beginning of Swords

On the way home, Ryo Asakura stopped by a courier locker. His gaming partner Asuna had told him she'd sent him a gaming helmet.

It was said to be a fully immersive virtual reality game, a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game in VR.

This game, called Sword Art Online, was developed by the renowned quantum physicist and gifted game designer Akihiko Kayaba. Following that, a new generation of consumer terminal called "NerveGear" was produced by ARGUS, a major electronics manufacturer.

Ryo Asakura had heard of this game, and his peers were also eagerly anticipating SAO, the first game to utilize full dive technology.

Just earlier, while wandering around Shibuya's shopping district, he'd caught a glimpse of an advertisement video for SAO's official launch on a large screen. He'd heard that 1,000 players were invited to participate in a closed beta test that spanned three months, and now the official version was finally being released.

After unboxing the package, Ryo Asakura examined the NerveGear in his hands. It didn't look as high-tech as he'd imagined, but its weight suggested solid construction.

After setting up the power supply and network cable, Ryo Asakura decided to log in and check out SAO for himself. He lay down on his bed and pressed the start button. An electronic voice announced, "Link Start."

The world before his eyes instantly dissolved into a kaleidoscope of colorful lines, swirling and shifting rapidly, until his vision blurred momentarily and then snapped into sharp focus, revealing a majestic floating city constructed from a blend of rock and steel.

Aincrad. That was its name. According to the game prompts, this towering city had a hundred floors in total, with a powerful boss monster guarding each level.

Exhaling softly, Ryo Asakura was awestruck by the magnificent virtual world before him. The fresh scent of grass in the air, combined with the vivid visual, tactile, and olfactory sensations, made him feel as if he were truly in another reality.

After a quick character creation, simply using his own surname as his in-game name, Ryo Asakura stepped into the Town of Beginnings.

Lively houses lined the streets, and a massive fountain stood in the town's center, its water shimmering with vibrant colors under the sunlight.

The blacksmith in the weapon shop hammered away at his craft, food stalls and restaurants warmly greeted passing players, inviting them in for a meal, and the alchemist in the pharmacy meticulously prepared potions.

After exploring the town, Ryo Asakura decided to venture into the wilderness and try his hand at monster hunting. He arrived at an expansive green grassland where scattered blue wild boars roamed.

Activating his [Search] skill to scan one, he found its level was only 1, roughly equivalent to the slimes in typical RPGs.

Ryo Asakura checked his inventory, equipped the long sword and basic armor provided as a newbie gift, and casually swung the sword in a practice flourish.

Feeling that his real-world martial arts prowess could also be applied within SAO, Ryo Asakura couldn't help but be a little surprised. This full dive technology was truly remarkable. Today's advancements were not to be underestimated.

His ingrained martial arts skill was a potent combination of experience, technique, and physical conditioning. A significant portion of it resided in his own mind. With that in mind, it wasn't entirely unexpected that it would translate into SAO.

But does this make me an overpowered player? Why do I feel like I'm even worse than the beta testers?

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and continued to examine the game's interface. The skill menu didn't display a list of learnable skills or their requirements. It seemed skill acquisition in SAO differed from standard MMORPGs.

After a moment's thought, Ryo Asakura adopted a sword-ready stance, focused on a blue wild boar in the distance, held his breath, concentrated his entire being, and a rush of air seemed to crackle around him.

Ryo Asakura instantly closed the distance to the boar and executed a swift slash. The wild boar offered no resistance and shattered into polygonal data fragments, dissipating into the digital wind.

The game system displayed several notifications:

[You have defeated a Blue Boar and gained 100 EXP. Congratulations on leveling up to Level 2!]

[You have obtained an excellent weapon - a Sharp Long Sword.]

[You have mastered the skill - Instant Slash.]

This series of information prompts and feedback allowed Ryo Asakura to grasp the basic principles of SAO's skill system.

Sword Skills, the game's unique combat system, allowed players to activate powerful techniques with system assistance by performing specific movements. There were general Sword Skills as well as "Unique Skills" exclusive to individual players.

The Instant Slash skill Ryo Asakura had just acquired was his own Unique Skill. Normal players typically learned and mimicked designated actions, then learned and executed Sword Skills after the system recognized and corrected their movements. Players like Ryo Asakura, who possessed inherent skill, were a rare exception.

Logically, it was virtually impossible for similarly leveled characters and monsters to instantly kill each other without powerful equipment, yet Ryo Asakura had felled a wild boar with a single strike, an absurdly powerful feat.

This Sword Skill system seemed to have a hidden mechanic. The more precise and refined a player's movements were, the less system assistance and correction would be provided. In other words, higher proficiency and execution quality resulted in greater Sword Skill damage.

Drawing upon his ingrained martial arts expertise, Ryo Asakura could perfectly synchronize his sword, body, and mind. When his blade moved, it was a flawless strike.

Enhanced by perfect execution, the damage output reached an incomprehensible level. It was likely that even Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of the Sword Skill system, hadn't anticipated such a martial arts prodigy playing his game.

Even so, Ryo Asakura still felt a slight hesitation when drawing his virtual sword. His real-world experience and technique translated seamlessly. The only potential limitation was his in-game 'body'—his stats.

Didn't the 'body' in SAO represent level and equipment? Such trivial matters were insignificant compared to the dedication of hardworking players.

Having figured out the basics, Ryo Asakura began to hunt boars, relentlessly cutting down the blue wild pigs on the grassland.

With the aid of Instant Slash, Ryo Asakura's level skyrocketed. While dispatching monsters, he also experimented with other sword techniques from his memory, adding a repertoire of powerful skills to his arsenal. In just one hour, thanks to his terrifying monster-slaying efficiency, Ryo Asakura's level had reached 10, and he had also acquired a decent set of equipment.

Realizing how late it had become, he couldn't help but marvel at how immersive the SAO experience was, completely drawing him in.

However, once his character reached level 10, he stopped gaining experience, and a protective barrier blocked further passage at the edge of the plains.

Since there was no way to progress further for now, Ryo Asakura decided to call it a night. After all, he had plans to visit Mrs. Katsura and Kotonoha Katsura tomorrow, and he needed to select two of the souvenirs he'd brought back from Chiba to give them.

Before logging out, Ryo Asakura glanced at the countdown hourglass in the sky. It looked like there was still a day or two left before it reached zero, so he didn't pay it much mind, assuming it was a countdown for the official version's full launch.

After a quick preparation, Ryo Asakura sent Asuna a message detailing his initial SAO experience and strongly recommending it.

Asuna responded quickly, "Yeah, I secretly played it a bit today too, and it totally blew my expectations! Ryo Asakura-kun, are you free to play the day after tomorrow? Let's level up together!"

"Okay, okay, my in-game name is still Ryo Asakura, remember to add me as a friend when you log in the day after tomorrow."

"Yeah, my ID is still Asuna. See you the day after tomorrow!"

"(＾?＾)"

Ryo Asakura calculated that there were only two days left of the Golden Week holiday. Tomorrow he would visit Mrs. Katsura, and the day after that he would join Asuna in SAO. It promised to be a very fulfilling end to his break.

Asuna, eagerly anticipating their meeting in SAO, occasionally smiled to herself in front of her mother, Yuuki Kyouko, her gaze fixed on the message from Ryo Asakura on her phone.

But she didn't notice that her mother, usually serious and strict, seemed to be in an unusually good mood today, her complexion exceptionally rosy.