Chronicles of a Novice: Sword Art Online

II: Aston & Hard Bargaining (Hana)

II : Aston & Hard Bargaining

It was quite sudden, Hanako's body had gone from feeling almost weightless as it was tugged through the tunnel to solidly placed on some surface she couldn't see. It was like gravity had let go for a minute but decided that it wanted her back. Then, as the secure feeling grew, the screen flashed her a greeting.

"Welcome to Sword Art Online." The plain text within the banner read.

At first she thought the game wasn't working. She had been set down in darkness and she would started fumbling around for an emergency log out button if it wasn't for the mutter of voices in her ears. It seemed that people were near even if she couldn't see them. Her ears, they worked, so with slow concentration she began checking off everything that was functioning. Sound wasn't a problem, neither was her fingers, toes, or mouth. When she finally got around to her eyes, she felt a warmth rise to her cheeks with the sudden realization that it wasn't the game that had glitches. It was simple, she hadn't opened her eyes yet.

Embarrassed, she peeled open one of her eyes and looked around to see if anyone was watching her. The brightness was enough to blind her at first, but when her eyes had adjusted she found herself blinking around in amazement. Hana had been transported to a large circular plaza, tall buildings of off-white framed it on all sides except for the one or two breaks in the structures. Theses archways led back to what looked like the rest of the city. Tan in color, the brick beneath her feet was just a shade off of the cream colored pillars and served as a stage for the towering clock situated in the center of the courtyard.

Where she stood was closer to the side, tucked off to the left of a large building connected to the yard. She wasn't the only one there, but luckily she didn't seem to have much of an audience looking at her. Despite the plaza already being filled with people, more were still arriving in scattered flashes of blue light as the slower players trickled in after the main bunch. It was loud, everyone cheering and calling greetings to those they probably had never met before.  It was strange, and yet, the light mood made Hana feel excited. Somehow she was beginning to understand why Daichi enjoyed the company of gamers more than his classmates.

"First Fulldive?" The voice in her ear caused Hans to whirl around, bumping into the tall, pale women who stood just behind her. She was gorgeous, deep set blue eyes framed by white eyebrows and wisps of white bangs. A thin angular face that had prominent cheekbones and a full set of lips that curved into a confident smile at Hana's startled look made the women feel exotically beautiful.

Not to mention her height, ranging close to 6 feet with hair almost as long. Hana envied that height, even if her avatar was nothing close to the short stance that Hana was in real life. She had picked a preset form from among the bunch that Daichi had suggested for her. The form was 5'7 according to the stats, a good six inches taller than Hana, and had a healthy curved figure that made Hana's normal one look like that of a child. Short black hair, violet eyes, and a average face completed her avatar. Nothing that stood out like this women's avatar, clearly she had designed it herself instead of picking a preset form.

Hana stepped away from the speaker, "How did you know?" She asked, taking the times to test out her arms by swinging them in small circles. "Is it that obvious?"

The woman gave a good natured laugh, "A bit." She replied, placing a hand on her hip with a studious glance over Hana, "I thought your Nervegear had a glitch, but it seems you just didn't realize your eyes were closed." Hana's face burned in embarrassment. She had hoped no one noticed that, but she had been spotted.

It wasn't like it really matter, but she felt as though more experienced players wouldn't take her seriously if they knew she was a beginner. She had wanted to make a good impression on people for when Daichi joined in. Hana didn't want him introducing a pathetic girl as his sister to his Beta Tester friends. "Don't worry about it, though." The woman continued, "Name's Ashton. How about the two of us check out the Town of Beginning together?"