DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sword Art Online or any works referenced in this fanfiction

CH 1 – The End of Beginnings

November 6, 2022
1st Floor

Lush green grass covered the ground that I walked on, and trees dotted my surroundings. I climbed a short hill and let out a smile. On the horizon, I saw a sweeping flat landscape, filled with the same vibrant green grass. Verdant forests and large mountains resided in the distance, as well as a large rectangular tower that stretched so high up that it almost pierced the heavens. Bustling settlements of different sizes were distributed throughout the floor, but by the far the biggest one was the Town of Beginnings, the city that I just came out of. And last but not the least, a breathtaking cloudless afternoon sky completed the scene.

This was the sight that greeted me as I first set out into the fields found inside the floating castle of Aincrad.

And while I've got a soft spot for sci-fi settings, I couldn't deny that this was gorgeous. I know that the added immersion created by the NerveGear helped, but kudos to the game designers.

Sword Art Online…I get the feeling that this game's gonna be awesome.

I spotted movement on the corner of my vision. I turned to it and was greeted to my very first monster in the game – a Dire Wolf. It was in a relaxed state, slowly walking around and smelling the ground in front of it. Damn. He looks big, even from where I'm standing.

While it looked intimidating, I should start familiarizing myself with the combat. No doubt that I'm gonna face even more dangerous monsters as I play further into this came.

I took a deep breath and nodded. I crouched and traversed down the hill. I drew out my weapons of choice – a one-handed spear on my left hand. I also bought and equipped the very basic medium armor set that consisted of a metal breastplate, and leather gauntlets and greaves.

I stalked the wolf for a short distance. After a few minutes, it stopped and sniffed something on the ground.

I was about to come closer when I heard something behind me. I hurriedly turned around and readied my weapons. Fortunately, it wasn't another monster, but another player.

"H-hey." He greeted nervously. He had a standard shortsword and shield combo. His armor was the basic heavy armor set that was thicker and covered more of his body at the cost of movement speed. He looked determined, but very anxious.

"Hey." I replied.

"Do you want team up with this one? I'm kinda new, so…"

"Sure. This is also my first fight, so yeah, let's do this." I turned and nodded to the monster." There's no way we can sneak up on it for too close, so once it rears up or something, we rush it."

"Sounds good."

The two of us silently approached the wolf. When we were about 5 meters away, the wolf suddenly looked up and round.

That was our cue.

We rushed forward. He swung his sword while I stabbed at it. With a high-pitched whine, the Dire Wolf rolled to the side. But we couldn't finish it off. It recovered and barked at us before it lunged toward me.

Out of reflex, I closed my eyes and raised my spear in front of me to block the attack. I felt something slam on my spear and I almost fell back. I forced my eyes open and was greeted to the monster barreling its way towards me, its enormous claws bared into a forward lunge. "…!" I let out a sharp breath and just swung wildly with my spear. I knocked it away, and it stayed still long enough for my buddy to finish it off.

"Haah…haah…we got it…we got it!" My buddy shouted before he slumped down and panted.

I slowly picked myself up. "It was a bit too close for comfort there, but I'm glad I got out of it in one piece."

"Yeah, you're telling me. Good thing that it was alone."

I was about to agree, but then I heard something on the side. I turned to the source, and my eyes widened. The grass near us was rustling, and it was not because of the wind. "Oh, no…" I muttered.

"What…is it?" He asked.

"…wolves…hunt in packs…"

Sure enough, the rustling came closer and closer before two Dire Wolves jumped out of the grass. Their enormous claws were bared, and one of them glared at me so intensely that it sent chills down my spine.

We're screwed.

"Oh, no. No no no." He turned towards me. "S-screw this! Let's just run. Run away now." He said anxiously as he gripped his sword tighter.

"W-we can't outrun them. The moment we turn our backs is the moment they run like hell and tear us to bits."

"W-what should we do, then?"

Before I could respond, the wolves leaped at us claws-first. The bigger one went for me like a speeding car, while the smaller one targeted my buddy, moving even faster.

Cue Music: Breath of Fire IV Soundtrack – Bastard Sword

"Holy shit!" My buddy jumped sideward to dodge, falling over.

"Gh…!" Cursing under my breath as I dove to my left, I was barely able to dodge the brunt of the wolf's attack, its claws slicing my right shoulder as it lunged past me and turned around, facing me. Three red gashes spread onto my shoulder. The wound was emitting eerie red particles.

I felt a burning sensation in my wounded arm, but the pain inflicted is only simulated and severely muffled. I doubt any sane person would try this game if the pain sensation is fully emulated. Grimacing, I quickly checked how much HP I lost. Displayed on my HUD, my HP dropped by about a quarter. Wow, that is a lot of damage!

I quickly got up and faced the wolf, which was strangely silent but tense, as if anticipating something. I darted forward for a stab, but it quickly jumped back and started barking again. Interesting. Am I seeing things, or is that a pattern?

Years of playing video games told me that mobs, especially mobs found in the starting area, tend to be easy to beat, because they're either pathetically weak, or have very exploitable weaknesses. Testing my hunch as the wolf lunged, I dodged to my side again, this time completely evading its attack completely. Again, it landed past me and quickly turned towards me, silent and alert.

I rushed towards it, my spear poised. Come on. Take the bait. Reacting to my action, the wolf jumped back.

That signaled my attack.

I leaped again, closing the distance. I knew it. Bait its dodge and it won't be able to move for a short while. It's now or never!

"Die!" With all the strength I can muster, I delivered a hefty stab. Yes! My attack connected! After a small but noticeable spark of red particles, the wolf was sent flying a short distance. Thankfully, there was no blood. While it was in mid-air, I noticed that all its HP was depleted. It exploded into bluish particles and disappeared.

Victorious, I smiled and let out a shaky sigh of relief.

"Look out!"

My buddy's scream snapped me back to reality. I turned to where he is. A wolf was bearing down on me as it ran full tilt. I froze up, unable to move.

My buddy tackled the wolf to the ground. The wolf managed to knock him to his back, trying to bite his face off. My buddy was holding it back, blocking its fangs with his own sword. I saw his HP take a serious hit. "Aaah!"

I quickly made my way towards him. With both hands on my spear, I prepared to strike at the wolf. In my rush, I failed to realize that the wolf disengaged from My buddy and tensed itself, ready to react to my charge.

The wolf dodged to the side, evading my attack. It then tackled me on my side. I staggered backward, reeling but able to maintain my footing. My HP again dropped about a fifth. The wolf then bared its fangs and leaped for a bite. Shielding myself, I raised my right arm. It promptly lodged its fangs into my arm.

I grit my teeth, a pained grunt escaping from my mouth as I dropped my spear in panic and used my other hand in trying to pry the damn thing's jaw open. I can see from the corner of my eye that the rest of my HP was dropping at an alarming rate.

Fortunately, My buddy quickly got up to his feet. He swung his sword and was able to slash at the wolf, hacking its HP to about a tenth. I felt its fangs loosen on my arm.

"Raaaaagh!" Following My buddy's attack, I let out a loud cry and, overwhelmed by adrenaline, raised my left arm and punched the wolf in the face, finishing it off.

A message appeared with a small fanfare:

*Ding!* Level up!

*Ding!* Spear Proficiency Up! New Skill: Linear!

Exasperated, I collapsed face first into the grassy field. My buddy planted his sword on the ground, leaning towards it with a relieved smile on his face. I glanced at my HUD. His HP was a bit more than half. Mine was slightly over thirty percent.

Grinning uncontrollably, I exclaimed out. "YEAH! TAKE THAT! WE FREAKING DID IT!"

End Music

"…that was…really intense..." My buddy panted.

I grunted and turned so that was lying on my back. "Yeah…whew. I know that we don't…really 'die' if our HP reaches zero, but man…" replied as I tried to catch my breath.

"I think…that's enough excitement for me today…I'm gonna head back to the starting city." He approached me and held an arm out.

I looked at him and shook my head. "I wanna rest and reflect for a minute before I wander for a bit more."

He held his hand back. "Sure…well, I guess I'll see you around." He turned around and started to walk away.

I just realized something. I sat up and turned to him. "Hey!" I called out.

He turned around. "Yes?"

"I never really caught your name."

"Oh, that's right." He agreed. "I also forgot to ask your name as well."

"Right…" I let out a smile. "My name's Riwet. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Riwet." He said before he bowed. "My name is Sefton."

"So…I guess I'll see you around?"

"Yup. I'll leave you to it."

"Alright. See ya."

With that, Sefton walked away, and I laid back down on the grassy ground. I thought about everything that happened, from looking at the Aincrad's gorgeous scenery to fighting the monsters that call this place home…

This is just the best.

Man, this game's pretty awesome! And I can't get enough of it!

Loading…Complete

After about half an hour of wandering the fields outside, I walked back to the Town of Beginnings and wandered around the city for a bit.

Dire Wolf - An imposing monster that hits hard, but has a predictable attack pattern and very low HP. They're also too sensitive to sudden movements, and so they're vulnerable to feints. It must be designed that way to teach people who rush recklessly and scare the shit out of new players. Right, better make a memo of that.

I headed for a weapons shop near the inn I was renting. After selling the loot I earned from killing those two wolves, I bought a Wooden Shield and an Iron Spear, which is about the same size as my starting spear.

As I found out, the reason why my spear was a bit short was that there were two sizes of polearms. The one I got is classified as a Short Polearm – ranging from 120 cm to 150cm. Anything longer than that fits the standard Polearm classification – large and in charge and designed strictly for two-handed use. I'm sticking with short polearms for now. I like how it felt and I'm able to comfortably use it one-handed, leaving my right hand free to equip a shield or something.

I strolled back to the inn, went up to the roof of the building, and stood near the edge, and once again, enjoyed the view, now safe against danger.

"Fuu…goodbye, my social life. Well…didn't have much, anyway." I muttered to myself, grinning.

With the success of virtual reality devices, a Japanese video game company called Argus took things to the next level. I don't exactly know what kind of magic they did, but they created the NerveGear, a device that literally drew people away from the waking world, and into the land of virtual reality. The lead designer of the NerveGear, Kayaba Akihiko, also spearheaded the development of a game to come with it.

Sword Art Online. The very first Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, set in the floating castle of Aincrad and filled with powerful monsters and equally powerful loot. Taking advantage of the unparalleled immersion provided by the NerveGear's FullDive system, it offered the most immersive experience yet. Everything was ridiculously detailed, from the individually swaying blades of grass to the small threads of my clothes.

Honestly, the FullDive technology was one of the most important things I considered when I was contemplating on buying a NerveGear at launch. Pretty much anything hyped up to a ridiculous degree had a very high risk of under-delivering. I was also contented in playing conventional video games. After experiencing it first-hand, though, I have no regrets.

I'm pretty thankful that I enjoy playing video games so much. 5 years ago, the nine-year-old me thought that I'd be overwhelmed when I moved from my hometown in Canada to here in Japan. Fortunately, I was able to quickly adapt to the culture, the people I have met accepted me, and I was able to transfer my Steam account. Hey, I spent a lot of money on my games, and games kept me company when I was still new and didn't know anybody. And then this game happened, and it was like a dream come true.

When I was done musing and feeling sentimental, I remembered that I have something to do IRL. The sun was setting, and the sky was tinted orange. It's probably linked to Japan's time zone, so I guess it was time to go.

"Haahh…it was fun while it lasted. Homework's not gonna finish itself…" I sighed and opened my Player Menu and looked for the Log Out button.

"After I'm done with homework, I'll probably have some late-night gaming sessions… pretty sure there's gonna be some negative effects on my body if I play too much…meh, whatever…"

"…huh?"

My fingers stopped.

The Log Out button's grayed out. No matter how hard I tried to press it, it won't respond. That's weird. I should probably ask someone about this.

Suddenly, a blue light engulfed me.

Next thing I knew, I was at the center of the city, along with a lot of players. I asked around, and nobody knew what was going on.

And then, he appeared. Kayaba Akihiko. In his giant GM avatar and clothed in a flowing garb and a hood that concealed his face.

He spoke about how we can't log out unless we beat all one hundred floors. How if we die in the game the NerveGear's gonna fuck our brains up. And to make it even more perverse, he made our avatars look like us in real life. He's really hammering down the fact that this was now our reality.

As he disappeared, I stood there, stunned, understanding but denying every word he said. My mind was reeling. My hands and knees were shaking. My head hung low and it took everything out of me to not fall on my knees and break down into tears. I noticed a lot of players around me doing just that.

I saw Sefton amongst the crowd. He was on his knees, and his arms were limp on his sides. His face was frozen, and his mouth agape. His eyes were opened wide, blankly staring at the sunset sky where he was before he disappeared. I tried to call out for him, but my voice came out as a rasped, inaudible whisper.

This was just too much. Something that existed as a means of entertainment was twisted into something that was too cruel to even exist. We were trapped in here, without any choice but to conform to his rules.

Not able to take it anymore, I absently went back to my room in the inn. I laid on my bed, looking at the ceiling. I noticed that my vision was blurry, and my eyes felt hot and watery.

I wept in the silence of my room, defeated and in denial. I couldn't believe what happened.

…I think I've had enough of this fucking game.

Chapter End

A/N: Hello! Welcome to my very first fanfic, "A Worthwhile Endeavor". AWE for short. The acronym is a happy coincidence.

First and foremost, I want to thank Gabriel Blessing. His fanfic "The Hill of Swords" was the very first fanfiction I read to completion. I was so engrossed in reading it that I finished it in less than a week, despite me having a busy school life. I also want to thank every single person who has made a fic. Your amazing fanfictions are the ones that inspired me to make my own content.

Now, onto the notes. This story is probably classified as a "self-insert fic". While I'll mostly base his personality and morality to my own, I'll give him some, if not all of my disgusting weaknesses, and I'll also do my best to develop him into a worthwhile character. I am pretty one dimensional after all *lol*.

I get my information primarily from the SAO wiki. I find it weird that all skills are labeled as Sword Skills even if it's a skill for daggers, axes, etc. So, for the purpose of this story, I'm renaming Sword Skills to Weapon Skills. In addition, I feel that some Skills are ubiquitous enough to be used by multiple types of weapons.

While it might not make sense to the setting, I will make shout-outs and references to video games released in the 2000s and early 2010s. I just can't help myself. Also, I think that comparing the things Riwet sees on SAO to things that already exist will make my job at writing descriptions easier.

Riwet will have a little adventure of his own, but he'll meet a lot, if not most of the cast, and then some. I also plan on making him present on many of the canon stuff, possibly even changing the outcome.

However, I will not, in any way, shape, or form, make him an overpowered Marty Stu. While I see Riwet as my reflection who's gonna have a noticeable influence on the world of SAO, it's not my intention to make him the op hax, harem master, most important character in all of AWE. If I feel that he's stuck that way and I can't do anything to salvage him, I will kill him and move on with the story.

Speaking of the story, aside from giving Riwet his own adventures, I'm planning on following the canon as much as I can, except for the times I won't. As I said, some events might play a little bit different.

I'll try to post updates within 35-40 days of the last update, but I might take longer, so no promises.

That's all for now. Thank you very much, and have a good one.