The Swordsman Chronicles

Book 1: Confrontation

A/N: Sword Art Online is the property of Reki Kawahara, A-1 Pictures, Yen Press and Aniplex USA. Please support the official release.

Floor 4 - Road to Usco Village

The sun shone down on us through the leaves of the forest as our group of five made its way towards Usco Village. The mood in the group was somber to say the least, everyone's thoughts wholly preoccupied with what awaited us once we got there. We all knew we would most likely have to fight. And unlike the system-controlled monsters we normally faced, this time, we would be up against actual humans. Real people, with real feelings and relationships of their own.

If Kayaba's declaration of death in the game meaning death in real life was real, then someone here would perhaps turn into a murderer today. And the thought of that was downright terrifying.

It wouldn't be me, of course, because I was already a murderer. I had already killed another human being, deep in that dungeon on the Second Floor. And whilst the EXP boost it had given me had likely saved my life, I couldn't help but detest everything about it. It wasn't right, to give people advantages for committing murders. It was just too cruel.

"Kirito-kun?" Asuna suddenly asked, her voice dragging me out of my daydreams. I turned around to face her, only to notice that the two of us were seemingly walking on our own, the others nowhere in sight.

"Asuna? Where did the others go?"

"You were lost in thought and started walking really fast... and I didn't feel like disturbing you. I've been following you in silence since then, but we've walked so far ahead now that I figured we should wait for the others to catch up."

"Oh..." Using a hand to scratch the back of my head, I put on an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I... do that sometimes. When I'm thinking about something really hard, I tend to just zone out and forget about my surroundings."

"No no, it's perfectly okay. I think we all have a lot to think about right now."

"Yeah..."

Letting the conversation fade, the two of us stood in silence as we waited for the others to catch up. The forest around us looked positively breathtaking, as emerald green and picturesque as it was, brimming with color and life. It was hard to believe this was all running on some game engine, and not taking place in a real forest in Northern Europe.

"Hey, Kirito-kun..." Asuna finally said after a long pause.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you think... Kayaba Akihiko trapped us here?"

The question caught me off-guard, and I had to take a moment to ponder before answering her.

"I honestly don't know. I think his original vision was to create a realistic fantasy world for people to get immersed in, at least judging by the interviews he gave during the development of SAO. He wanted to push the boundaries of video games by creating something completely unique, a fully realized world that players could live and breathe. But why he would then go on to make it a death game... I can't even begin to imagine."

"... Do you think it could've been for some monetary reason? Like the government or some shadowy corporation paying him a large amount of money to conduct an illegal experiment for them and take the blame for it afterwards?"

"Hmm... nah, not really. He doesn't strike me as the "soldier of fortune" type. He must've had some other reason, something deeply personal driving him forwards. I just can't figure out what that reason would be. I mean, the game obviously would've been an international success if it wasn't for the whole "death game" business. Say what you want about SAO, but it truly is a remarkable achievement of technology."