Stuck IC

[Darkwolfsoul010]

Ikumi was sitting in the market place of Sword Art Online. She was leaning against a wall, checking her inventory. Most, if not all, of the games members were in the main market place on the first level right now. They were called down by the creator himself. Ikumi was on the 10th level of the tower when she got the message.

She looked around aimlessly. A small crowd had formed around the famous member of SAO, giving her enough space to not get irritated. The people whispered and stared. They pointed and tried to reach out to her, but she just shook her head and kept her eyes trained elsewhere.

She already knew why the creator was calling them here. There was a glitch in the game. The Log Out button had vanished and no one could leave.

Suddenly the sky went black Thats new thought Ikumi. A figure appeared, floating in the air. He was dressed in robes fit for an Egyptian king and had no face. The Creator. Ikumi already knew all about him. Like always she knew just about everything. He was going to explain that the problem would be fixed shortly. Thats right. He started to speak soon after.

"No one will leave Aincrad until all 100 floors have been cleared. This may be a game but this is no joke. I welcome you players to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko."

Ikumi was right as always, it was the creator. Kayaka Akihiko- A young game designer and genius in the field of quantum physics. Responcible for raising Argus, which even a few years ago was just one of the many small companies, into one of the leading companies in the field. He was also the developmental director of Sword Art Online and the designer of Nerve gear.

"Right now I am the only person that can control this world. I think that most of you have discovered the fact that the log out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug. It's all part of SAO's system. I repeat. This is not a bug. Everything is all a part of SAO's design."

Someone not far off from Ikumi screamed. "What fucking design is that?!" but other than that there was dead silence.

"Until the top of this castle is reached, you cannot log out of your own free will.
Also... Dismantling the NervGear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted, the signal sensors in your nerve gears will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse. It will destroy your brain and stop your basic bodily functions. That means Instant Death."

Some people started to talk, one person asked "NervGear is just a game device. Destroying our brain.. how would he do that? That's impossible! IKUMI!" This caused Ikumi to jump before answering the question.

"The sensors that send signals to out brain to simulate senses emit electromagnetic waves. Microwaves do the same thing. Theoretically speaking it's possible but I think he's bluffing. To destroy a human brain would require a huge... battery..." Ikumi swallowed as almost everyone within hearing range turned to her. "A battery just like the one in the helmet that takes up a third of the weight."

Thats when she was cut off and the creator started to speak once more.
"To be a little more specific, dislocation from an outside source of electricity for ten minutes, being cut off from the system for more than two hours, or any attempt to unlock, dismantle or destroy the NervGear/ If any of these conditions are met, the brain destruction sequence will start. These conditions have been made known to the government and the public through mass media in the outside world. On that note, there have been several cases where the relatives or friends have ignored the warnings and tried to forcefully remove the NervGear. The result has been 213 players have already exited the game. And hence the real world forever..."

"Players, there is no need to worry about the bodies that you have left on the other side.... as of this moment, all TV, radio and internet media are repeatedly reporting this situation. Within 2 hours all of you will be transported to hospitals along with your NervGear and be given the best treatment. So relax... and concentrate on beating the game."

With that he disappeared. People started to panic, running frantically in a stampede of thoughtless out movements. Ikumi walked on shaking legs to the building she was leaning on earlier and sat down. For once in her life, she had been wrong. Oh so very much wrong.

[jumjummju]

Rubbish. Rubbish. Rubbish. Hmmm, let me compare- nope, rubbish. Feather was idly browsing through his inventory looking at some drops from a recent battle he was in. Most of the drops were rubbish, seeing as most of the enemies were below his level, but it was free money. He figured that if the "log out" option has disappeared momentarily, he might as well make the best of it, seeing as he didn't have any plans for the rest of the night. Then the admin of the game or whatever came down and explained something rather grim. He explained about how the log out button was taken away intentionally, and that it was all part of SAO's design. Outraged, Feather yelled "What fucking design is that!?" He's seen crappy game design in his days, but this was either trolling taken too far or something out of a Resident Evil movie! Afterwards, he continued talking about how if you were to remove the device or quit the game, it would essentially fry your brain. "Dammit! I won't stand for this! You'll have lawyers coming in like the pied piper summoned his rats for something as blatantly illegal as this!" Feather's outcry was unheard, however, by the admin.

Where the admin's words ended, the mass hysteria began. People were running around like a bunch of bees when their nest has been shaken; understandably, really, seeing as this was more or less a hostage situation. A hostage situation inside of a videogame, oddly enough, so he figured it could've been worse, but still! No one's made it to the top level yet! Friggin' hell. We're gonna need some kind of Leeroy Jenkins to get us out, thought Feather, recalling the first World of Warcraft player to reach the max level in his respective game.

Feather was, however, able to maintain his cool, despite the mass hysteria. Mostly, this is because of his age, and the fact that running around in a stampede would probably throw out his back, even if his virtual character was younger than him. However, Alan, nor his SAO persona Feather, were about to stand for this. Seeing as he doubted any lawyers would hack the game and save them any time soon, he was going to need to fight his way to the top. He didn't care if he wasn't the highest level here; he most certainly has been playing for longer than almost everyone here.

He decided to start out by searching for a popular name around, Ikumi. She's infamous in the game for being able to solo areas most people have a hard time in with parties, and she does it not by being 20 levels above the dungeon, but rather by skill. Also, the fact that she was almost twice his level certainly helped. It wasn't hard to find her; her distinctive sword that looked like the Gears of War weapon minus the assault rifle sticking out worse than a live cat in a chinese diner. He quickly approached her.

Curtly, Feather said: "I know this may not be an optimal time for making new acquaintances, but we need to beat this game. I'm a decent-leveled healer, and I've been playing games and reading books for the past 35 years; I know my way around a game. You with me?"

[KrypticKat]

When Adelyn had logged into SAO today, she hadn’t expected what was to come. Everything in the Beta had been perfect, but now there was a change in the plan it seemed. The log-off button was no longer there, and everyone was freaking out in the market place as they realized they tried to figure out if what the creator had just told them was true. While everyone freaked out, Adelyn was looking at the menu screen. She could remember the button being there during Beta, and it worked too during that time. Sighing she closed out the screen before listening in to the people nearby.

A female close by was speaking of the capability of the headset, how it was actually probable that it could kill someone. This was surreal, and probably was to everyone in the game currently. ‘Already 213 people dead just from people not taking this seriously…..wonder how many more from this hysteria.’ She shook her head before hearing her name from one of her friends, who had also been in the Beta.

“We should probably leave here before people really start to go crazy.” The one talking to her was a male, tall and big, one of the few people that tended to watch out for her. Due to her height he towered over her, but it kept her well hidden when she wished to be. Unlike other players Adelyn enjoyed using her real name as the one she used in game, it wasn’t very creative but it kept her from being confused when she went back to the real world.

Shaking her head Adelyn wished to stick around the market a little longer, wondering what others would say about this. Of course the creator had said their bodies were to be taken care of; she wondered if anyone would think of her body. It wasn’t as if she lived with anyone on the outside and the dorm she stayed on campus was a single, so a roommate wouldn’t be around to help.

The though made her worry, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. Sending a message to the real world wouldn’t be possible; the most she could hope for was that her father would remember her playing this game if he wasn’t too busy at work.

Checking through her gear quickly she decided the market was becoming too chaotic now, most of the people still here were just freaking out. The rest had already started to make their way to level 100, thinking that they could get there in just a day. Of course this wouldn’t be possible; she hadn’t even got halfway there during Beta. She would know most of the dungeons up to that point though, and this could be information people would be killing for. She decided it would be best to keep that to herself, being a Beta tester in this scenario might not be the best.

As she left the market place, her friend followed being as protective as ever. She wondered what would happen from here, she would have to look through her friends list and see who was still around hoping that none of them were the ones to of died yet.

[Echoes of Old]

Glare looked up at the floating figure of the creator. His debug amulet was having a seizure, with all the admin code that the creator was spitting out. Glare took a minute to ask himself why he had gotten this game in the first place? Oh, right. To study it. Learn from it. So that his company could make a game to rival it. Glare wished the game were a bit more Western, but beggars can't be choosers.

Glare noticed that a lot of the crowd was ever reliant on The Legend, as always. It was sickening to him, in a way. He dropped down from his perch on a nearby building, and checked his debug window. It registered that there was an anomaly in the town somewhere. Let these people panic. Glare was going to find some prize equipment, and fight his way to the top floor. He managed to clear levels 1-9 with no problem. As he passed by Ikumi, he murmured, "Good luck, chump. You'll need it."

Glare continued on without waiting for a answer, searching for this new...sword, best he could tell. The debug window went nuts on the first floor near the woods, but he had yet to find anything. He wanted to find whatever it was, because it was valuable. Glare sighed, and rolled his neck. It was going to be a good day...

[Sir Beowulf]

Cheers echoed throughout a warm little tavern named The Watering Hole as another round of drinks were served, thanks to the good Grognak, Hero of the Barren Rift, Conqueror of the Sunken Mines, good old Grognak. He sat at a big table, surrounded by many of his friends. Two lovely barmaids served the finest ale around to all the good proprietors. Spirits were high after another good dungeon party had come back. Eddy smiled boisterously. In this game he was a true hero. And he loved all of it. Especially the praising of the peoples.

Though, all of that disappeared as soon as the LOG OUT button vanished. Eddy was a bit confused, but he didn't pay it much mind. Not until a message appeared in his vision, telling him to immediately go to the town square. Alarmed, most of the people got up and left, much to the discomfort of Eddy. He sighed as he got up and walked after the others.

No one will leave Aincrad until all 100 floors have been cleared. This may be a game but this is no joke. It had to be a joke. Alarm spread throughout Eddy, and through him, Grognak. Tendrils of panic sparked as he learned that if he tried to leave, he would be killed. Eddy forced himself to calm down. It had to be a joke, nobody would really die from a game, right? Eddy was wrong when he heard from a nearby woman who spoke of the news, 213 people dead just from people not taking this seriously… It was frightening.

But no matter, Grognak was here! The Grognak side of Eddy quickly took over and he strolled over to another friendly face he knew. Ikumi, and near her was some young fellow who almost looked like a bird. "Forming a party, eh? Never fear, Grognak will join your noble party! Together we shall free the people once we defeat the 100th level of the tower," Grognak said boldly as he held his head high. Grognak's voice was loud and noble as he spoke again. "Any fellow heroes, hear me, join us on a great quest! We shall conquer the tower!"

[KB97]

As the words of the Creator ringed through the Town Square, Alexis who hadn't even noticed the Log Out button disappear was unsure how exactly to react. Her first emotion was pure panic, what was going to happen to her body? Nothing could possible kill me? What about my job, she was supposed to review this game but now she was stuck here with an impossible task. But then suddenly she felt pure joy and amongst the panicked crowds she smiled wryly, her avatar was designed to be her idealised self and now she can live in that body until death. Was this the worst fate, no work, no troubles, no weird looks, perfection eternal. ''besides, even if I leave I shall certainly have one of the best reviews out there,'' she thought.

Already masses were moving towards the Tower and she realised what they planned, they hopped through number alone that they would get to the top and 'save' the others. She knew the Creator was smart, smarter than her certainly and she ran in front of the crowd pleading with them to accept their fates but they simply walked on past her. She was crushed knowing that they would be massacred, she sighed and realise to survive she was going to have to do something she hated. Think about herself over others. For a moment she simply stood there, fantasising about what she could do in this expansive environment. About how she could lead her new life.

However when a hero's voice shot through the crowd she panicked, she didn't want this to end, she had to do something. To stop them. Without thinking it through She began to push her way through the crowd towards the gathering party, most people were still afraid and running around crazily with a few grabbing her frightened with panic hoping, begging her for some sort of solace. It hurt her to watch but she knew that there was nothing she could do, she eventually reached them and recognised Ikumi, she knew right away this group would probably be the best out there. She immediately spoke with a serious expression, ''You are actually thinking of going up there aren't you?''. Her kind nature suddenly lead to a thought, what gives her the right to stop them leaving. She knew within her heart she could not deceive them, she thought of those on her friends list, she thought of the real world where her friends were. Where her boyfriend was. She knew she would never forgive herself for the damage she could cause due to her selfish thought. She knew there was only one way to fix this, she smiled and said, ''I am coming with you, where would you be without me,''

[Darkwolfsoul010]

Ikumi blinked. She gazed about her, looking at the group that had gathered. What was this 'I am.' 'I will' and 'you need me?'. Ikumi didn't need anyone, she was strong enough to survive on her own. The fact that they blatantly came up to her and told her that they were going her, made her angry. And the big guy? The big guy made her nose scrunch up in disgust. "Excuse me? Who said anything about forming a party. I can clear 15 levels of this tower on my own no problem, I don't need people slowing me down. Have fun, try not to die." With that she quickly yanked her sword off the ground and rest it up on her shoulder, the brown chainsaw like object glinting in the artificial sun.

On the inside Ikumi was freaking out, her heart beat fast, her brain wasn't functioning. She probably did need a healer, or would need one eventually. Her pride and arrogance stood in her way of accepting a party so instead of agreeing she snapped at the group and pushed her way passed them. As she walked, a quick swipe of her fingers opened her main menu, which was slightly transparent allowing her to keep walking without bumping into anything else. She opened the map and noted that the first level had yet to be cleared by over 90% of the game's population. But why? The first level monster was just a level 5 ogre like creature with low stats and skills. She could kill it in one hit, and she knew for a fact that most if not all of SAO was higher than a level 3. Shrugging she continued her walk through Beginners Town.

As the markets, hotels, bars, parks, houses and farms started diminishing, only one path led out of the city. This was the path that led from the town, level 0, to the gate and monster that guarded level 1. She saw the huge gate first, her gaze up towards the top of the doors, but as she looked down she saw crowds and crowds of people, why weren't they passing to the first level?

When she pushed through the crowds, she understood. The monster that used to stand in front of the first gate was the creators way of mocking the stereotypical view of an ogre, green, big, and clumsy, the creators basically put Shrek into the game. Besides the NPC farm animals, it was one of the easiest monsters to kill. That is no longer what stood in front of the gates to level one. Instead a huge monster stood, waiting for someone to wander into his range so that he could attack.

It stood twenty feet tall, a crude skull of an animal crammed on its thick head as a helmet. Armor covered little of it's body, but it's skin looked too thick to be broken easily anyway. Ikumi scrunched her nose as a vile smell hit her, coming from the great beast. It stood, moving or changing positions every once in a while, and held it's huge ax in one hand. The blade gleamed and reflected the sun into Ikumi's face as she thought of a way to beat the beast.

[jumjummju]

"Alone? Why would you turn dow- oh fuck off," Alan said, realising Ikumi wasn't listening. He didn't understand why she wouldn't at least have a party; certainly it didn't matter how fast you went through a dungeon now as much as it did before, seeing as death brought about more than just a waiting time to be revived. Speedruns should be everyone's last concern now. Well, whatever the case, Alan still followed her, figuring he'd probably just follow her into whatever instance of the dungeon she entered by repeatedly pestering her with party invites, until he saw the new thing that was guarding the gate. Gone was the original goblin (that, ironically, wasn't very original) that guarded the gate, and in came a minotaur. A bloody minotaur, standing about as tall as... something that was very tall; Alan was too distressed to come up with good metaphors at the time. It's axe was big, it's shield bigger, and it looked as if it had more than a chip on it's shoulder. Feather mumbled to himself something about "unbalanced monsters" and "World of Warcraft ripoff."

Nevertheless, he knew he wouldn't be able to continue without putting this giant brown brick of a monster back into the ground. And he wouldn't be able to do that alone, either. Level, while affecting stats and damage and skills and whatnot, in this game didn't mean as much in most MMO's that Alan played, as this was more skill based. Due to this, Alan, and by extent Feather, figured that he at the very least could help in a fight against it. He'd need help though. The other people that came to Ikumi for help, especially that Gragnorak guy who was obviously played by someone that wasn't very original to jack a name from Fallout 3, seeing as Feather had heard of him before for being quite good and running his own tavern. Honestly, Feather didn't see why he'd build a tavern in a VR game like this; if he wanted to, he'd just play Ultima or Minecraft or something.

Feather realised he was acting rather ADD at this point and shook his head to clear his thoughts. The wandering mind was a gift to writers like himself, usually, but he'd sometimes let it wander too far. Regardless, he realized Ikumi would still be a valuable asset, and decided to try and persuade her to help fight off the minotaur chieftan... thing by applying to whatever moral code she had. If it didn't work, he'd probably die, but it was worth a shot.

"Hey, Ikumi!" Feather yelled, as he started approaching the monster. "Still thinking about fighting alone? I'm going up to fight it, and if you want to just sit back and let me, a middle-aged man with friends and family, die, then that's your business. Or you could come join me, but you'd better decide fast, because I'm going in now!" And with that, Feather sent her a quick party invite and charged towards the monster, hoping against hope that Ikumi would follow simply out of simple human morality. Being the first one to run up, rather suicidally, the monster quickly noticed the lone man charging like an idiot directly at it. Almost as soon as the giant lifted his axe to bring it down on his head, he knew this was a bad idea.

He quickly dove to the left, narrowly missing the axe, and jumped at his legs. He jammed his sword into it's shin, and hanging on for dear life as the monster tried to kick him off.

[KrypticKat]

Thinking that she had left at the opportune time was a mistake as she almost collided with the crowds trying to buy up everything in sight. ‘Of course this would happen, people are going to take everything they can before other can.’ Adelyn’s hand went to her sword, protecting it, as she squeezed through to the alley way that she knew was a shortcut. Her friend was inevitably left behind, but she knew he would find her again eventually it wasn’t as if she needed the protection anyways.

The alley had a few people moving through it, but most didn’t even notice it or didn’t know where it led so they went the busy route. Her feet took her quickly through the alley and to the other side, which seemed to be just as busy as the first. Shaking her head before quickly squeezing her way into the crowd, she didn’t pause and flow with the crowd but continued to squeeze her way through. She didn’t wish to be part of the heard. She knew this was only the first of the crowds she would meet, since the people that wished to get over these 100 levels quickly were probably already gathering at the first gate.

Soon Adelyn was through the mess, and leaving this town behind. She could walk this route without looking if she needed to, the first area was plenty familiar to her and there wasn’t much there here anyway. It was all very peaceful like.

Coming into view of the gate, she saw the crowd which she thought would have already gone through but they all just stood there. ‘This is getting ridiculous.’ Again her small figure came in handy as she pushed through, trying to see what could possibly be happening that they couldn’t just deal with the easy level ogre. But as she came out the front of the crowd, it wasn’t the same, instead a minotaur stood at the gate.

“This is just great….” She notes, talking to no one in particular as she stares at the beast. One of the players starts go towards the monster alone, talking to another while he does this. Adelyn opens her mouth to try and stop him, but it is already too late. “What does he think he is doing…” Without even thinking much about it, she already pulled out her sword and was ready to jump in there with the man. ‘Think before you act Adelyn…’ Looking around she didn’t see anyone else going in to help him, were they really just going to watch him die?

Looking at the female he had been talking to, Adelyn was talking before she really thought about it. “Do something….he is your friend.” Stepping close to the monster, her sword out, Adelyn wasn’t exactly ready to fight this thing but stepping out and showing the crowd that someone like her could help might get the rest of the crowd to help too. People liked to protect her; she was hoping that could help in this situation.

[Sir Beowulf]

Grognak grumbled as his offer to join the party was declined. How dare they! Working alone is for mercenaries. Besides, she really couldn't believe she could conquer all hundred levels of the tower by herself, right? It's not like this ain't a life or death situation, Eddy thought as he frowned. Maybe they just didn't like Grognak. He was a bit cheezy, but Eddy had put all he had into the character. Grognak proceded to grumble, watching her walk away smugly by herself. It was rude of her to do that. Well, Grognak still needed a party, the least he could do was the young boy who he noted was called Feather by the transparent name above his head.

Grognak reluctantly followed along as the Feather fellow did. Maybe he would find others preparing to venture in. The monsters at the beginning would be fairly easy to take down, so it wouldn't take too long to clear the first few levels. Too bad the thought was replaced by a giant beast of a creature the size of a two story house. An Ogre Chieftan. A level 20 creature, Eddy remembered. Grognak stopped in a wide stance as he examined the creature. The face, armpits, and groin would be obvious weak points. The eyes especially. It was a huge beast, smelly and bovine like. It was also really ugly. It wielded a huge axe and looked pissed at even the birds.

All of his planning, however was ruined by Feather being a suicidal idiot and rushing in as fast as he could. Pretty fast actually. The great axe was lifted, but Feather dodged out of the way. Grognak raised an eyebrow as Feather hopped onto the beast's leg, hanging on for dear life as the Ogre howled and shook its leg back and forth quickly.

"Never fear, Feather," Grognak cried as he ran forwards, unsheathing his own huge sword. He barely even noticed another woman talking to Ikumi as he charged. "Hyaah! I've faced monsters stronger than you, Ogre, but they definitely weren't as smelly as you, fowl beast!" As Grognak taunted the beast, the Ogre's aggro quickly changed as Eddy used one of his taunt skills. He was a tank after all. "My grandmother is scarier than you!"

The Ogre let out a roar and its full aggro was on Grognak. The huge axe was lifted and swung towards him, but Grognak dodged with a guffaw. He swung his own sword, slicing chunks out of the beast's knees. It let out another roar of pain and stomped quickly, causing mini-earthquakes to tremble the ground. Grognak grinned as he swung again, damaging the beast further as he bought time for Feather to attack one of its weak points.