FATAL ERROR: SYSTEM REBOOT

Chapter One: Fatal Error

Beginning A/N:

Well, I decided to be spontaneous and random. Here's chapter one of what's going to be the rewrite of the rewrite of ESR. (For those of you who weren't reading back then, I rewrote the original ESR back in February.)

I couldn't get any more inspiration, so I decided to go back to the drawing board before giving up completely. This time, I'm giving a little more backstory, as well as including some more things in the beginning and cutting out other parts.

See you at the bottom A/N!

"Kirito-kun, I must reward you for deducing my identity. I shall give you a chance."

"A chance?" I repeated.

"The chance to fight me one-on-one. Naturally, I'll deactivate my immortal status," the devil of the game explained. He continued, "Defeat me, and you beat the game, and all the players will be able to log out. How about it?"

"No, Kirito-kun!" Asuna whispered. "For now… for now, we should fall back."

Memories from the past flashed before my eyes.

One by one, I saw all the people who had died in front of me.

Diabel, shattering in my arms.

Ducker, dying to dozens of pickaxes swung by miner-like mobs.

Sasamaru and Tetsuo, dying to mannequin-like golems.

Sachi, my first love, dying to the same golems.

Keita, committing suicide after learning of my «Beater» status.

Corvats, perishing due to a strike from «The Gleam Eyes».

Godfrie, dying to Kuradeel, who, incidentally, was the next person to die, by my hands, no less.

Yui, my beloved child, perishing to the «Cardinal System».

I clenched my teeth in utter rage.

I saw Asuna crying in my arms at the guild headquarters.

"Don't insult me," I whispered tonelessly.

Continuing, I said, "That's fine. Let's finish this."

"Kirito-kun!"

"Sorry, but I can't run away here" I said softly to my beloved.

"You're not going to die here, right?" Asuna fretted.

"No, I'm going to win. I'm going to win and end this game," I reassured her.

"All right. I believe in you, Kirito-kun."

I laid her hand on her stomach and got up, drawing my swords and walking towards the demon who created this world.

"Kirito! DON'T!" Agil…

"KIRITO!" Klein…

"Agil."

Agil gasped, desperately trying to figure out what I was going to say.

"Thanks for helping support the swordsman class. I know you spent nearly all the money you made on helping the players level during the middle zones."

The dark-skinned giant responded with another gasp.

"Klein."

Klein looked at me with wide eyes.

"I… really am sorry for leaving you behind that day."

"D-DAMN IT, Kirito! Don't you dare apologize! Don't you dare apologize to me right now! I won't forgive you… I won't forgive you until you buy me a meal on the other side!" Klein rambled desperately.

"You got it. In the real world."

I looked at my beloved Asuna, smiling softly, before turning around to face Kayaba Akihiko.

"Sorry, but I have a request," I told the demon standing before me.

"What is it?"

"I don't plan on losing, but if I die here… I want you to make sure that Asuna can't kill herself, just for a little while."

"Oh? Very well."

"Kirito-kun, no! You can't…" Asuna shouted frantically. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

Heathcliff, no, Kayaba Akihiko opened up his menu, deactivating his immortal status and lowering his HP to the same level as mine.

He drew his sword.

"KIRITO-KUN!"

I zoned out, focusing all of my attention on the demon in front of me.

This isn't a duel. We're fighting to kill. That's right. I'm going to… KILL HIM!

I charged.

"RAAA!"

Clash!

"RUEEH!" Clash! "RUUREAAGH!"

He swung his sword right at my head, and I dodged just in time, allowing him to cut only a single piece of hair.

Charge, diagonal down, down, block-

He was the one who designed the «Dual-Wielding» skill. He'll be able to block all the pre-programmed combos! I have to beat him with my own power, without using the Sword Skills! Faster! I HAVE TO BE FASTER!

My swords started to give off a near-invisible glow, responding to my need and startling me.

Diagonal up, diagonal down, diagonal down, left, slash, slash, slash slashslashslashslashslash-

Dust swirled all around us, making it harder for each of us to see the other. Still, I kept on striking. As soon as I left a tiny opening, he took it, swinging his sword and scratching my cheek.

Rage flaring, I started to activate «The Eclipse», my strongest skill.

"RAAAAAGH!"

SLASH, SLASH, SLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASH-

All blocked.

DIAGONAL UP, SPIN, LEFT, DOWN, DOWN, DIAGONAL SPIN, LEFT-

Blocked again.

RIGHT, RIGHT, LEFT, JAB-

Blocked.

JAB, JAB-

He was toying with me, swaying his shield to deflect my strikes with ease.

DIAGONAL DOWN, RIGHT, RIGHT DIAGONAL DOWN, DIAGONAL DOWN, UP, SPIN-

I'm sorry, Asuna… you have to live on!

"UAAAAGH!" I screamed, thrusting Dark Repulser toward his shield.

The same blue energy spear shot out of it, hitting Heathcliff's shield, and…

A loud ringing could be heard throughout the entire room. My sword, my Dark Repulser, had broken at the hands of the Liberator.

My vision came back into focus just as Heathcliff raised his sword into the air, saying, "Farewell… Kirito-kun."

His sword started glowing red, signaling the activation of the «Holy Sword».

This is it. Goodbye, everyone… goodbye, Asuna…

Something large moved in front of me, casting a shadow over my eyes.

I looked up, and was shocked speechless by what I saw.

Asuna had overridden the paralysis, but that wasn't what I was truly shocked about.

Asuna had jumped in front of me… to take the blow that surely would have ended my life.

Asuna… NO!

And she did. A sickening slash was heard throughout the room, and the sound was deafening.

I gasped in horror as her health bar depleted past the yellow, past the red, and finally, disappeared altogether.

As her body started to glow and flicker, I said, "No, Asuna… this can't… this can't be…"

As she shed a small pool of tears, her body continued to flicker. "Gomen ne…" she whispered.

I gasped in utter shock. I felt as if my blood had turned to ice.

"… Sayonara."

And with that, my true love shattered into hundreds of thousands of polygons, leaving behind all our happy memories together to haunt my dreams for the rest of my life.

I hopelessly chased after the polygons, feeling that if I grabbed them all and put them back together, she would come back to life.

"Kirito! Catch!" I heard Klein shout as he threw an item at me.

When I caught the item, I found it to be the revival item, the «Divine Stone of Returning Soul».

Klein kept it all this time…? Wait! With this, I can revive her!

"Player revive: Asuna!" I shouted.

The polygons slowly started to form back together, and soon her body had completely reformed, laying on the ground.

"K-Kirito-kun…?"

"You're alive… right?"

"Yeah… I'm alive."

She got up, grabbing her «Lambent Light».

"Let's beat him… together!"

It was then that I noticed the pain coming from my chest.

I opened my eyes, finding Heathcliff's sword lodged in me, slowly draining my HP.

Was it… just a hallucination? Is Asuna… still dead?

I looked around, finding that the boss room was devoid of her presence.

It really was… nothing but a dream…

Then, I when I looked up at my HP bar, I noticed something very strange.

My HP… it's going up! But why…?

Then it clicked.

My «Battle Healing» skill! It's regenerating my HP faster than being stabbed is draining it!

I slowly grabbed Heathcliff's sword, pulling it out of me. In his shocked state, he didn't even notice.

I walked back to where my sword had fallen, grabbing it as well as Asuna's «Lambent Light».

As Heathcliff started to recover from the shock, I charged at him and stabbed him with Asuna's «Lambent Light», then with the «Elucidator».

"AAAAAGH!"

I saw his HP drop, and, just as it hit zero, he smirked. "I'll be seeing you again very soon, Kirito-kun. I hope you can wait for me."

"Wha—"

Three seconds later, I realized exactly what he meant. Too late, I saw everything go white. Then everything, all of my memories, started to play in reverse. I felt myself slowly losing consciousness, succumbing to the black void that appeared just as the rewinding stopped.

When I awoke, I found myself still in the void…and realized that everything had not been a dream.

"What… happened? Did the system… shut down?"

"Yes, and it's slowly resetting, along with time itself." A female voice said from behind me. "In a few moments, you will find yourself near the start of the game, with no memories of what is transpiring here."

My eyes widened, and I said, "So let me get this straight. A mere system meltdown caused time itself to rewind?!"

"Yes. That is how powerful the «Cardinal System» is."

"Wait… if time is rewinding, will everyone that died come back as if they had never died?"

"Yes."

Then that means that Asuna will still be alive!

"Would you like to ensure your friends and loved ones' survival?"

"Of course! But… what's the catch?"

"You will be given a task. The task of destroying Kayaba Akihiko on the one-hundredth floor and ending this world. You and four others will share this task," the mysterious woman announced.

"All right… if it means I can save Asuna, then I'll do anything!"

"Good. Then I have a few… gifts… for you."

"Such as?"

"The first… you will be able to start out with the «Dual-Wielding» skill, though I recommend keeping it a secret, even from your closest friends. The second gift is two copies of a sword from a mini-boss on the ninetieth floor. You won't be able to use them until the fiftieth floor, and even then I suggest you be discreet.

"The third and final gift is the ability to use «Dual-Wielding» skills without the system assist, but only when you master it," she finished.

"So every single gift you're giving me has a catch."

"Yes. Now, it's about time for time to resume. Good luck, «First Champion»."

And with that, the woman faded into the blackness of the void.

Everything went white.

"Take care… I'll be seeing you, Klein." I said, feeling terrible for not being able to help more. I started to walk away further into the dark alleyway.

"… Kirito! You look way cooler than your avatar ever did!" he said playfully.

Obviously, he was trying to lighten my spirit, with successful results. I smiled.

"And that rugged look suits you ten times better!" I replied lightly, wondering if I would ever see him again.

I ran down the alleyway, getting halfway to the corner before turning around. Tears started to build up in my eyes when I noticed that he had disappeared, possibly forever. I ran further into the alleyway, not stopping as I reached the outside of the city and the field beyond. I noticed a «Dead Wolf Cub» in my way, so I charged up a sword skill while running towards it, determined not to let the pitiful mob get in my way.

I unleashed the sword skill, destroying the mob in one hit, not even noticing the level-up window left in my wake.

I'm going to survive. I'm gonna win!

Three weeks later

The «Dead Wolf» proved itself to be the most dangerous mob on floor one. When hit, it lets out a howl that spawns even more «Dead Wolves». Not to mention that they were level ten, one level lower than the boss of floor one.

Well, let's see how well my new skill works!

«End Revolver»

I spun around, hitting all the mobs at once with a shockwave that sent them flying back, as well as stunning them.

Yes!

I jumped to the one closest to me, beginning to hack it to pieces.

Left, right, right, up—

It exploded into hundreds of polygons, going back to the recesses of the «Cardinal System» to await its inevitable respawn.

I moved to the next, repeating the action. Then the next, and the next, and the next, until I finally reached the last «Dead Wolf».

By this point, it had recovered from the stun, so I used another sword skill to finish it off: «Locus Hexedra».

Left, diagonal up, diagonal up, right, diagonal down, diagonal down, left—

The skill finished off with a mini-explosion, depleting the last of the wolf's HP and shattering it into countless polygons.

I unequipped my second sword, just in case someone walked by while I inspected my winnings.

"Whew… let's see… two levels, eh? Looks like I'm level eleven now. Let's check what drops I got."

I found the drop I had been searching for in the last window I opened up, which happened to be from the first mob I defeated.

"Yes! I got the «Werewolf's Blade»! Wow… it's (Crimson) class… better watch out when I use it."

"Hey, Ki-bou!"

I'd recognize that annoying nasal inflection anywhere.

"What do you want, Argo?"

"Well, I thought I'd check on you to see yow your hunt is coming along."

"So you just wanted to know if I had found your payment, huh? It just so happens that I found a «Dead Wolf Claw» (Epic) Class. Here, take it."

I opened up a trade menu, putting my claw into it. She quickly put the items I had been trying to get in the other side of the menu, and we both accepted the trade.

Now I can upgrade my new sword without a hitch.

"My one question, Argo, is how the heck you got those items."

"That info is going to charge you!"

"Fine, whatever. I'm going to do some more leveling."

"Wait!"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"I have some info that I think you might find intriguing. I'll tell you, free of charge!"

Sighing, I said, "Let's hear it," not even trying to hide my disinterest.

"Well, on my way to check on you, I found another solo player. She seemed almost as strong as you, and she used a rapier. She was incredibly skilled, but she overkilled every mob I saw her face. I think it might be in your best interest to go meet her."

"I might as well. Thanks for the info, Argo."

"Don't mention it! See you around!"

With that, we parted ways.

As I walked through the field from which Argo came, I began to notice sounds of fighting coming from a little further ahead.

I began to run, and when I found the source of the noise, I stopped in my tracks.

I saw a cloaked girl, fighting a «Dead Wolf Cub» with ease.

She's leveled her «One-handed Sword» skill enough to use a rapier, and she's using it incredibly well, so she must be the girl Argo was talking about.

Near the end, I could tell she was getting exhausted. She started spamming «Linear», hitting the cub over and over. When it shattered, I walked over to her, saying, "Nice work! You showed amazing skill!"

"Thank you."

"I saw a problem near the end of the fight, though. You started spamming «Linear», and you were so fast that you didn't give the system time to react. The cub's HP dropped to zero on the second «Linear». Spamming skills like that is exhausting, and it only serves to get you killed if you're facing multiple enemies."

"So what? I killed it. Isn't that what matters?" the cloaked female said, voice devoid of emotion.

I sighed. "I disagree, but we'll save that topic for later. I know this is random, but if you don't mind my asking, what level are you?"

"Level ten."

What the?!

"Then you should have been able to kill that thing in a single «Linear»! Wait, I think I get it."

"Get what?"

"Do you know how to distribute your «Stat Points» correctly?"

I never expected what I heard next.

"What are «Stat Points»?"

I slouched over agitatedly.

"Okay, we need to talk. Come with me."

I grabbed her by the hand, leading her away from the field.

"What?" she squeaked.

When we got to my house, I told her, "This is a house I got as a quest reward for the hardest quest on this floor. Come in."

I opened the door and held it open for her. She walked inside, and I could tell she felt amazed by its beauty, just as I had when I got it in the beta.

The house's exterior was white, with silver trim and pillars around all sides. The inside of the house was crimson and had two spiral staircases in the middle of the room. One led to the kitchen, dining room and restroom, and the other led to a single bedroom with one bed.

"So, let's get something to eat first. I can tell you're pretty hungry," I said, a gentle smile on my face.

"Thanks."

A few minutes later, we were in the kitchen, and I began to cook a meal.

It's a good thing I've been leveling my «Cooking Skill».

When I finished cooking, I sat down at the table and passed her a plate.

"Eat up! It might not be that good, but it's all I could do. I haven't had much time to level my «Cooking Skill», so I…"

"It's good. Thank you."

I watched as she devoured the food I set out for her with an amused smile.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?"

"Oh, that's right! I'm starving!" I heard my stomach growl in agreement.

She giggled, eliciting a scowl from me as I ate my food.

After I finished eating, I told her to bring up her menu.

"You see the numbers to the right of your four stats? Just to make sure you know, the four stats are STR, VIT, AGI and DEX."

"Yeah."

"Well, you see the number below them that has a plus sign to the right of it? You're level ten, so you should have thirty-six «Stat Points». You gain four every time you level up. Anyway, push the plus sign," I instructed.

"Got it."

"Okay, you should see plus signs next to the four stats. Since you're going with a rapier, which is built for speed, every time you level up, you should put two points into VIT, which increases your life and defense, one point into AGI, which increases your evasion rate and overall movement speed, and one point into DEX, which increases your accuracy. So for now, put eighteen points into VIT, nine points into AGI, and nine points into DEX."

After a few seconds of tapping on her menu, she said, "Got it."

"Okay, now hit the confirm button where the first plus button was."

She tapped her menu one more time before closing it and saying, "Thank you for your help. I have one more favor to ask of you, though."

"What is it?"

"C-could I… maybe spend the night here? I don't have enough money to rent a room at an inn for another night…"

"S-sure, but there's just one thing."

"What's that?"

"I only have one bed."

"T-that's all right… just don't do anything, okay?"

I almost choked, but thankfully, I kept my composure. "You have my word."

I was going to sleep on the floor, but if she's okay with it, then…

With that, we headed off to bed.

When I lay down next to the cloaked girl, I fell deep in thought.

Wow, today was one hell of a day… I found the sword I had been looking for, I met a skillful rapier-using cloaked girl who refuses to take off her cloak even when she goes to bed, I taught her how to distribute stat points, and now she's sleeping in the same bed with me. I'm not sure what to make of all this, but… I know one thing.

Life is gonna be real interesting from now on.

And with that, I fell into a deep sleep.

A/N:

Well, I think I just combined a backstory, chapter one and chapter two of the original story all into one super-chapter!

You may have noticed that I left some stuff out, like the fight with the Alpha Dire Wolf, but fear not! Kamiko will still appear! It'll just take a little longer, partly because the Dire Wolves don't exist anymore.

The next chapter is all about the boss fight! It'll be very similar to the one in the original ESR, but it won't have Crimson Momentum in it.

Anyway, did you guys like this one more, or less, than the original? If you like this one more, I'll continue it, but if you like the original more, then you're basically SOL for a while. I can't get any inspiration for it, so hopefully this will suffice for now.

Now, it's time for the disclaimer… blah…

I don't own Sword Art Online or any of its characters!

EDIT: I changed the double brackets to the symbols that are used in the light novels, for accuracy's sake. Also, I'm going to tell you something right now.

THE ORIGINAL ERROR: SYSTEM REBOOT HAS BEEN COMPLETELY ABANDONED. I've took off with this story so well, and I still haven't come up with a way to continue with the original, so I have to tell anyone here not to read that one unless you want to be let down by the fact that it won't ever be updated again.

With that out of the way, I guess I'll see you later.