Prologue

Heaven's Feel: a true magic, which granted its user immortality and unlimited magical energy by preventing the dispersion of the soul and its consequent return to Akasha. Lost for one thousand years, it was a miracle sought by countless magi over the centuries. Now, for most magi, that search was over.

Due to the scientific research of Kayaba Akihiko, what had been the Third True Magic had degraded to mere magecraft: while Kayaba himself had not yet reproduced the Heaven's Feel, according to some of the Magic Association's most esteemed researchers, its reproduction was now merely a matter of time and resources.

One more path to the Root had closed, and, with it, countless research projects were shelved. The Clock Tower was in chaos, as prominent magi in the faculties of necromancy, creation and curse, who had dedicated their lives to studying the Heaven's Feel, scrambled for more impressive projects. After all, the goal of any true magus was to reach the Root. Now that this was no longer possible through the use of the Heaven's Feel, it was only natural that magi would abandon research in that direction.

Indeed, only in one of the Clock Tower's twelve faculties was any magus at all pleased with this development. Of course, Lord El-Melloi II, a fourth tier magus in the Department of Modern Magecraft Theories, was hardly your average magus. For one thing, most of the time, when he was not attending to his duties as new Lord El-Melloi, he preferred to be called Waver, or Professor Velvet, if he was speaking with students. For another thing, he was inordinately fond of video games (and not merely for a magus, for whom even having heard of such things might be enough to be considered inordinately fond of them, but even when compared to the population of his home country, England, as a whole).

Occasionally, in the personal opinion of Professor Velvet's secretary, this predilection resulted in behaviour which did not befit the Lord El-Melloi. As the blonde-haired woman opened the door to his bedroom, after having been told that she could come in, she reflected that today was likely to be one of those days.

Lord El-Melloi II (although, at times like this, it was hard for her to think of him like that) was sprawled out on his bed, wearing nothing but a pair of blue boxer shorts and a white muscle shirt. Propping his upper body up with his elbows, the young man was furiously pressing various buttons and pushing assorted knobs on the controller for his Playstation 7. On the television screen, perhaps a metre in front of Lord El-Melloi II, a teenaged girl drawn in the style of an anime character was pressing a gun to her forehead and then firing it, shouting, "Persona," as she did so. Then something which looked a bit like a grim reaper appeared out of the character's body, slicing her scythe towards a giant, seven-headed hydra.

"Lord El-Melloi," she began, ignoring the familiar spectacle. "A letter has arrived for you from the Dean. I believe it concerns your research proposal."

"Mm," he replied, clearly having tuned her out. "Just a moment, Samantha. I'll be with you as soon as I reach the next save point in this labyrinth. If it follows the pattern established on the previous floors, it should be somewhere around here."

Drawing on the large reserves of patience she had acquired from two years serving this child trapped in a man's body, Samantha stood in place, holding the Dean's letter in her right hand. It was open, naturally, as Professor Velvet preferred for her to answer any correspondence from the Dean which did not directly concern his research.

"There!" the video game enthusiast cried out, apparently having spotted what he had been looking for, just as a large, black-winged bird flew onto the screen towards his avatar. Half a minute later, having soundly defeated the four bird-shaped monsters which had assailed his party, Lord El-Melloi II reached the save point he had been seeking and saved his game. Then, turning off his Playstation 7 with the push of a button, the esteemed lecturer sat up in his bed and turned towards her.

"Alright, Samantha. You said the letter was from the Dean. So, what does that old blowhard want now?"

Huh. So, apparently, he had been listening to at least some of what she had said.

"It's about your NerveGear research proposal, Lord El-Melloi. Apparently, the Dean does not feel that the benefits which would accrue to the Faculty from having you travel to Japan in order to play Sword Art Online for a year would justify losing a lecturer of your skill and experience for so long."

"Huh," he replied, apparently unconcerned. "Here, give me that," the professor continued, walking towards his secretary and then taking the letter out of her hands. "And haven't I told you to call me Waver, or at least Professor Velvet?"

The professor's eyes scanned over the letter swiftly, as he mumbled to himself.

"Hm... Yes, yes, great regret, yes, yes... Ah, there we go. Excellent. That's just what I was hoping for."

Samantha blinked, feeling puzzled.

"You're pleased that he rejected your proposal, Professor Velvet?"

"Hm? Oh, no. I'd much rather go myself, of course, but I knew that old fossil would never go for that. I only asked for so much in hopes that he'd give me what I wanted as a sort of consolation prize, and he did."

"Oh. You mean the research assistant."

"Right." He nodded. "In order to investigate the magecraft formerly known as the Third True Magic using the NerveGear, I will need someone playing Sword Art Online to conduct tests for me and collect experimental results. Of course, I'd rather do it myself, but, as I can't get away from here for that long, a research assistant will have to do. It will mean that I'll have to sponsor another student in a few years, but needs must, I suppose."

"I see. You'll want me to send out a call for applications then."

"Yes. Considering that we'll be offering sponsorship and a full scholarship to study here once the research is complete, we're likely to get at least a few talented, young, Japanese magi applying. Hopefully, by the time my decision is made, I'll have some preliminary research materials to send over to my new assistant."

"Alright. I'll get on that right away then, sir. Oh, one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Ah. It's a complaint from Mistress Reines, sir. Apparently, your maid golem has gone berserk again, and tried to strangle a Finnish friend of hers to death."

"Again?"

Professor Velvet sighed.

"Okay. Well, inform Reines that I'll take care of that right away. I assume Volumen Hydrargyrum has been restrained."

"Um, yes sir. Apparently, Lady Reines tore off its arms and legs."

The professor dismissed that with a wave of his hand.

"That's fine. It'll keep it in one place, and, once Volumen Hydrargyrum's back under control, it'll be easy enough to fix."

"Very good, sir," she replied, sweeping out of the room. "I'll take care of sending out the call for applications right away then."

Waver simply nodded.

In his mind's eye, he could see the promotional images of Castle Aincrad floating in the sky, as thousands of intrepid gamers braved its deadly labyrinths. He wished that he could be a part of that as well – a part of the game which would be the first step in replicating a miracle which, even a year ago, was beyond the grasp of human wisdom and the world – but studying Sword Art Online from afar would have to do. He'd just have to wait for the European release, if he wanted a chance to play himself.