Sword Art Online - The Knight's Requiem

1~The Virtual World~

It was now 6:19 pm and the sun was beginning to set through the window, sending an orange-yellow beam of light into his room. Atsuto was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking at the sleek Nervegear one last time. It was almost hard to believe, as he held the light helmet in his hands, that this was the gateway to a whole different world. In this small device he could be anything he wanted, the hero of his own story. Aika and Daisuke were already in and told him to meet at the nearest tavern. He slid on the helmet, feeling it comfortably fit his head, almost as if it were made for him. He plugged various cables into the hard drive and attatched them to the NerveGear. He lay down comfortably on his bed. This was it. He closed his eyes as he turned on the hard drive, power lights flashed to life and he said

"Link, START!"

A hurricane of colours rushed around him as the device booted, a surreal sensation of weightlessness taking him over. The device did many checks such as logging in and calibrating senses until it came to character creation. He decided to make his character as similar to his real body as he could, going through various options until he was satisfied, spare the more angular jaw and longer hair. As he finished his character, a brilliant flash of blue light engulfed his vision, blocking out all else. After a few seconds it disappeared and he found himself staring at a bustling marketplace, with people in tunics selling fish, apples, salt and other food items in wooden stalls, the pleasant smell wafting towards him. He tapped his foot against the floor and heard the smacking of a foot against rock and he saw the floor was lined with cobblestones with carriages and people moving around on them. Atsuto placed his hands on his head, grinning widely at how realistic it all was. In fact, he couldn't tell any difference. It was as if he had gone back in time! Every detail was perfect, each feature unique in it's own way. NPC's walked past, having idle conversation about their lives. It was wonderful! After taking a few minutes to drink in the scenery, he decided to walk to the tavern to wait for Aika and Daisuke. On the outside it was a dainty building, with wooden walls and doors and a roof thatched with straw. Through an open window he could hear a bustle of chairs screetching against floorboards and hearty laughter, along with the smell of cooked meat and liquor. He opened the door with a creak slowly to the inside. It was similar to the outside, with much of the furniture made of wood and crowds of men and women crowded around tables which dotted the space and a bar to the left, occupied by a lone bartender. The clothes he saw were varied, he saw simple dressses and tunics, small patches of chainmail and a group of five warriors in iron plate armour sitting alone in the corner. Atsuto made his way through the maze of tables to the bar and he sat at one of the nearby stools. The bartender, a tall, handsome figure with a bright smile said "Hey what can I do you for? We've got mead and hot food for travellers, first one's free" Atsuto agreed with a thanks and the bartender left behind the door to the right, after a while producing a flagon of mead and a seared fish, steam rising into the air. He took a bite and to his surprise it tasted wonderful. He began to savour every bite, thinking to himself yet again how realistic it all was. Upon finishing his meal, a tall girl with blonde flowing hair and a boy with black hair and sharp, defined features sat beside him. As the girl sat beside him he immediately knew who it was. "Aika" he said with a grin on his face "were you REALLY that desperate to feel tall?" She turned to him and shouted "Ha! I'm taller than you now! How does it feel, short stuff?" The other boy, who he assumed was Daisuke added "Aika stop teasing him. This isn't even your real body, so that insult just makes you seem worse. No offense." She grunted and muttered "Well you're no fun..."
"So" Atsuto interjected, desperate to move on to another topic "How's the rest of the city? I haven't seen much of it."
"Oh it's great!" Said Aika gleefully "There's a castle nearby, and a forest! There are a few cottages and stuff nearby too, I wanna buy one someday!"
"Woah ok, baby steps here. Got any plans for what to do for the few hours we have?" Daisuke proposed "I say we go out mob hunting, make some gold and xp, optimise our gear and then call it a day" Atsuto nodded in agreement "Sounds like a plan to me. Wanna go now?" Aika jumped up off her seat and said "I'll race you guys! Last one to the forest has to cook dinner next!" She bolted to the door, Daisuke and Atsuto hopping up, chasing after her.