A/N: Hey everybody! This is a rewrite of my first fanfic, I Will Not Bow. This new version will include a third person perspective and new chapters to give readers a new look at the story. I hope you all enjoy the new I Will Not Bow. If this is your first time reading one of my fics, feel free to look up the original version of this story as well as it's sequel, Blazing Revolution.

"Link start!"

The brown haired teen said those words and his vision went completely white. He entered his username and password and dived into a world that words could never describe. Today was the release of Sword Art Online, a revolution in gaming as it was the first VRMMO ever created. He had waited in line for what seemed like forever to get the popular game. He entered his avatar's appearance and entered his name as Ren. Without him knowing yet, entering this game would change his life more than he could ever imagine.

When Ren regained his vision, he found himself in a large town, with a brand new appearance. He had a red shirt under some leather armor, along with black pants. His hair was a crimson red color and was slightly longer than his real world hair. All over the streets, players were spawning into the town.

'This is amazing' Ren thought as he looked around the town. Shops with various weapons and shields populated the streets. He had friends that had also gotten the game, but they weren't supposed to log on for another hour. He decided to exit the town and see what the fields were like.

The fields outside of the Town of Beginnings were just as incredible. Lush green hills populated the outside. Wild boar monsters grazed along the grassy plains. As he scanned the fields, he noticed two other players walking around. Ren hid behind a bush as he watched the pair battle against a boar. The first of the duo was a black haired guy with a blue shirt. The second was another male that had long red hair and a bandana wrapped around his head. The bandana guy was currently engaged in battle against one of the wild boars, and seemed to be losing.

'Geez, how can you lose against something that weak?' Ren wondered. As he watched the battle, the bandana guy's sword suddenly became veiled in a bright light. He charged forward and slashed the boar with a powerful strike. The miniscule monster's health bar hit zero and it shattered into polygon fragments. As Ren gasped in shock of the sudden turn around, he lost his balance and fell out of the bush. The two players noticed him and walked over to Ren. "Who the heck are you?" the bandana player asked. "Were you spying on us?"

"Well… sort of." Ren admitted. "I wanted to learn some tricks on fighting in game."

Ren was worried the two players would get pissed and kill him, but surprisingly the black haired player reached out his hand towards Ren. "You know you could have just asked" he told Ren. "You wanna join us?"

"Yeah." Ren nodded as he accepted the player's hand and got to his feet. "Thanks." The two players introduced themselves. The black haired guy was one of the beta testers for SAO named Kirito and the one with the bandana was called Klein. "So what was that move just then?"

"It's a sword skill." Kirito explained.

"Sword skill." Ren reiterated. "Mind showing me how to do it?"

"Sure." Kirito nodded. He moved his body position and put the sword over his shoulder, pointing the blade behind him. "First, position your body like this."

Ren followed Kirito's lead, copying the pose the black haired player showed. As he stood there in the position, Ren's sword gave off an azure blue glow. He swung his sword forward along with his body and the feeling was incredible. The force of the slash could be felt even though it didn't hit anything.

"Woah." Ren said in awe of the move's power.

"I know right!" Klein agreed. "Isn't it so awesome?"

The trio of players continued to battle against boars and wolves while they practiced the sword skills available to them. Before they knew it, a few hours had passed and it was already late afternoon. The three players took a break and took in the sight.

"This is amazing." Ren said as they looked at the sun setting sky. "I never would have imagined something like this would be possible.

"Yeah." Klein nodded in agreement. "The guy who designed it is a genius."

"You don't need to be so overdramatic." Kirito chuckled.

"Cut us some slack man. It's our first dive." Klein argued.

"Yeah. You've dived plenty of times, so it doesn't seem as cool to you." Ren added.

"I guess you're right." Kirito admitted. "So you wanna move on?"

Ren was all set to keep going, but Klein's stomach answered for him. "Sorry guys, I gotta log out and get some food." Klein said.

"Alright then. See you later man." Ren said. He and Kirito were about to head out until something Klein said caught their attention.

"Huh? Where's the log out button?"

Ren laughed as he turned his head back towards Klein. "Are you serious man?"

"Seriously, the buttons not there!" Klein said.

Ren opened his menu to confirm what Klein had said. To his surprise, it was true. The log out button was missing. Looking over at Kirito, it seemed the same was also true for him.

"What the heck is going on?" Ren wondered aloud. Suddenly the echoing sound of a bell tolling was heard across the field. As the trio of players stood there confused, a blue light enveloped them and they were teleported. When they reappeared, they found themselves standing in the center of the Town of Beginnings they had left not long ago. Hundreds of other players were there as well, with dozens more teleporting in by the second. When the flashes of light around the square stopped, there must have been thousands of players there. Looking up into the sky, Ren saw a small notice floating.

System Announcement

Before Ren could even ask what was happening, the sky became coated with the messages, painting it the color of blood. A red ooze leaked from above, taking the form of a cloaked figure.

"Players, I welcome you to my world" the cloaked figure told the large mass of gamers. "My name is Akihiko Kayaba, head programmer and developer of Sword Art Online." Several players gasped in shock at what the cloaked figure had just said. What came next however, would shock them a thousand times more. "I'm sure most of you have noticed an item missing from your main menus, the log out button. I assure you this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was originally designed.

"What?" Ren exclaimed. "What's he talking about?"

"As of this moment, you will not be able to log out of Sword Art Online. In addition, if anyone attempts to shut down or remove your Nerve Gear, the device will send an electric signal that will fry your brain, ending your life."

"No way?!" Klein gasped. "This has to be a joke, right?" Both Klein and Ren turned towards Kirito.

"It's true." The black haired player confirmed. "The inside of the Nerve Gear is built just like a microwave. Without the safety, it can easily kill you."

Kayaba continued his speech to the players. "Despite my warning, several people have already tried to remove the Nerve Gear. As a result, SAO now has two hundred and thirteen less players than before. I ask that you remember this next piece of info very well. There is no longer any way to revive someone, and if your HP hits zero, you will die in both the virtual and the real world."

At that moment, any sign of calmness remaining in Ren's face instantly vanished. 'Die? If my health hits zero, I'll actually die?!"

"There is only one way to escape from Sword Art Online. You must clear the game. Currently you are all on floor one of Aincrad. Defeat the boss of this floor and you may advance onto floor two. If you defeat the boss on floor one hundred, you will beat Sword Art Online and be able to escape. Lastly, I've placed a little present in the item storage of all players. Please take a look."

Ren opened his menu and took a look at his items. Only one thing was present in it, a mirror. As Ren materialized the object and grasped it in his hand, a blinding light enveloped him and all the players there. When it dimmed down, Ren took a look at the mirror and couldn't believe his eyes. His avatar was gone, and his body from the real world had taken its place. Looking over at Klein, Kirito, and all the other players, Ren could guess the same had happened to them.

"You may be wondering right now, why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online, do all this? Simply put, my goal was to achieve full control of a world of my design. As of right now, the tutorial has ended. Players, I wish you the best of luck." After saying those last few words, Kayaba disappeared into mist, leaving the ten thousand players there to have their new reality sink in.

As Ren stood there in the square, Kirito tapped him on the shoulder and signaled for him and Klein to follow him. He led them to the alleyways of the town. "Listen guys" Kirito said. "I'm heading to the next town. I want you to come with me. "

Klein and Ren stood there. It was true that they would be safer in a group. However, there was one problem.

"Sorry" Ren said. "I can't, I've got friends still there in the square. I can't just leave them."

"Yeah. I'm in the same boat." Klein added.

Kirito stood there, contemplating on what to do. Ren could tell what he was thinking. He couldn't help that many people. As it was, keeping the three of them alive would be a challenge while power leveling. Ren decided to speak up, to save Kirito from having to say it himself.

"Don't worry man." Ren assured the black haired player. "You get going. We'll be fine. With all the stuff you showed us, we can make it."

Kirito had a look of guilt on his face, but nodded. He ran off through the alleyway and headed towards the main gate.

"Well Klein, I'll be seeing you." Ren told the bandana wearing player.

"Yeah." Klein nodded. "You be careful."

Ren ran off towards the main gate, messaging his friends from the real world to meet him there. The two people Ren knew arrived quickly, both around the same age as the brown haired player. The first was a guy who's in game name was Helios. He had messy black hair and an axe strapped along his back. The second was a blonde guy named Riku. The two of them went to the same school as Ren and they had all been really excited for the release of the new game. Now however, that excitement was gone.

"Alright, let's get going." Ren told his two friends.

"You sure?" Riku asked. "It's pretty risky to go out there when we could die."

"It doesn't matter." Ren said. "We need to get stronger if we're gonna survive."

"He's right." Helios said. "Our only choice is to get stronger so we can beat this game."

With that, the trio left the gates of the Town of Beginnings, and stepped right into an adventure that would change not only their lives, but the lives of ten thousand people.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of this story, though it was basically the same thing as the original's first chapter. I hope to get chapter 2 up as soon as possible. Please review and tell me what you think.