Chronicles of Time and Space

Chapter 2: Sword Art Online

"Link start"

As soon as those words left his lips, Izuku felt a surge through his entire body, starting from his toes all the way to the tip of his head. As he looked down at his body to see what was happening, he noticed that his body was rapidly disintegrating into small holographic blue triangles.

"Ah, Kaachan, what's happ..." But before he could finish, his body was already fully gone.

             ______________________

After a few seconds, the young boy found himself floating in an endless white void devoid of any color. "Ugh, what the hell happened? Where is this place? Kaachan?" he questioned the nothingness; however, there was no answer. "Mom," again, no reaction. "Auntie Mitsuki," no reaction as well.

[ Touch ok ]
[ Smell ok ]
[ Sight ok ]
[ Taste ok ]
[ Hearing ok ]

'Huh, what's all that about?' he thought to himself before he heard a robotic-sounding female voice echoing in the nothingness.

"Hello, adventurer. You have now entered the world of Sword Art Online, a world of sword and sorcery where your wildest dreams will come true and desires become reality. Now, please enter your avatar's name."

After the voice finished explaining, a new screen appeared in front of Izuku. This time, it came with a blank space and a keyboard.

"A name... I guess Izuku will suffice," he stated while typing his name into the blank space. After he was finished, the screen disappeared, and in its place was a three-dimensional image of what appeared to be a teenage version of himself in a set of simple leather armor.

"Dear adventurer, due to insufficient bodily development, your avatar has been aged to better complement your adventure. Please make any changes you deem necessary."

"Wait, is this an older me? I kind of look exactly the same, just taller and more muscular," he exclaimed, slightly annoyed at the fact he didn't change much. "But wait, didn't she say I could change everything I want about this avatar? Let's see: height, physique, hair color, eye color, face shape... yeah, let's make him look a bit sharper." After saying that, he tapped the regulator and adjusted it to his liking, making his face less chubby with a more noticeable jawline.

"Alright, I kind of like this look. So, how do I lock it in?" After he looked around a bit, he noticed the big yellow "Confirm Avatar" button below the 3D replica of his body. He then looked around the void one last time before pressing the big yellow button.

"Player has confirmed all necessary changes and settings. Transfer to Aincrad will commence now."

After finishing that sentence, Izuku suddenly noticed the blue light building up at his feet and thought to himself, 'Aw shit, not that again, please.'

            ____________________

After a bit of time passed, Izuku opened his eyes to find himself in what looked like a medieval town square with a big stone pillar in the middle that had a small statue of an angel at the top. As he looked down, no longer was he a little kid who was just playing pretend with his best friend; he now more accurately resembled the avatar he had just created.

"Wow, I really do look like a teenager." After looking at his body a bit more, he noticed two more things. The first was the forearm-length short sword on his back, and the second was his new clothes. The attire he wore consisted of simple black leather boots, brown leather pants, a simple black shirt with dark green accents, and a dark green shoulder guard on the opposite side of where he could draw the sword.

But before he could further examine everything around him, a message appeared in front of him.

[ Dear adventurer, welcome to Aincrad, the floating castle in the sky. In order to complete this adventure, you must reach the 100th floor. You can advance by clearing the dungeon and beating the floor boss on each floor. Note: to enter the menu, swipe your right hand downwards. If you wish to leave Aincrad, press the logout button. You will retain all of your stats, as well as your inventory. To re-enter, say the phrase "Link Start." Note: if your HP drops to 0, you will automatically be logged out of SAO and receive a penalty of 6 months without access to Aincrad, the menu, or your inventory. Have fun, brave adventurer.]