The World of Swords (剣の世界)

Lyrics

Title: World of Swords Arc: Aincrad [The episode begins with transition anime sketch and black screens, taking the viewer through the fog, then a damped fog forest, and then and open field to see a man on a horse on the top of a cliff, looking in the distance at a massively constructed building. The black screens provide the intro to the anime: "In 2022, mankind finally built a full virtual environment."] REPORTER: [Panning different parts of the city as the reporter speaks.] All right, we're finally under way! It's time for this week's MMO stream. First we had you watch a promotional video…Are we looking at the day of last week's launch? End of line. What could all these people waiting in line be after? Sword Art Online! [Switches to a computer screen]. The one at the front of the line waited for three days prior to launch. Amazing! [The screen displays a video of people holding the game in their hands with some wearing virtual helmet. Screen switches to a dark-haired boy, with a hooded gray sweater listening through his headphones as he flips through pages of a magazine. He has three computer monitors on his desk and his listening to the one in the center. One page has the picture of the man on the horse staring at the massive building in the intro of the anime on one of the pages.] Or is it just what any real gamer would do? Sword Are Online Development Director, Akihiko Kayaba. On today's MMO Stream, we'll be covering the internationally famous Sword Art Online, AKA SAO! To be honest, none of the NerveGear software released so far [The boy gets a paper cut] has really taken advantage of the hardware. [Display switches to the underside looking from the perspective of the desk. The boy is reading NerveGear magazine] GIRL: Big Brother…I'm off to practice REPORTER: But SAO was made by the NerveGear inventor, Akihiko Kayaba, [the little sister running from the household and the boy is now standing up, holding the mouse as he looks out the window] and it's a long-awaited VR MMORPG. I can't wait! The beta testers all said it was incredible. I wish I could've gotten a copy too… [pans the environment]. Only 10,000 copies were sold in its first printing. It sold out online in seconds. And as you saw, hard-core fans bought all the store copies. [A clock showing the date "2022//11/06 sun" and the time, "12:55:57," is displayed] [The boy puts on a dark-grey virtual helmet and inserts a connection wire to his computer while shutting his laptop. Three start-up lights begin to go green on the side of the helmet; each have with their own label: POW, WAN, and BLK. The boy then lies down, fully clothe in his bed with his helmet on. The view is show from the inside of the helmet. He stares at the ceiling through the black visor and the time "12:59" can be seen in the top left corner and a charging battery icon in the top right. A beeping sound is heard and booting sound begins. He smirks as it turns to 13:00 and his bright blues eyes are finally shown as he closes them.] BOY: Link Start! [White screen appears and takes him through shooting rods of colors. He is now being downloaded into the game system. Bright color circles displaying the word "Okay" pop up for a system check. His language settings are Japanese and his login is displayed. His account name and password for his log in are shown in asterisks and then his username is pops up to check if he is who he says he is. Kirito (M): YES/NO. He chooses yes and a gray screen appears with black lettering: "Welcome to Sword Art Online !" He is then downloaded into the game environment. He witnesses mountains of snow, a brick walkway with beautiful greens around it and a tree piece in the center. Shows he is looking through his eyelids as he blinks and Looks down at his own or rather his avatar's body.] BOY: I've come back! To this world! [Camera pans away outward, behind him, any man other avatars begin to pop up. It shows a gorgeous city with a big wall surrounding it. They are in the center somewhere, yelling and shouting in amazement. The camera continues to pan, showing that the whole city is incased the huge structure from the beginning which floats in the sky. Fireworks go off outside of it in celebration.] [People in markets are shown along with the level of the game: "Floor 1: Town of Beginnings.] RED HAIRED-BOY: So like I told him.. GOLDEN BROWN-HAIRED BOY: Hey, let's team up as a party. DARK BROWN-HAIRED GIRL: Hmm, what should I do? [She acts all cutesy while saying it.] [Kirito runs through the town] GOLDEN BROWN-HAIRED BOY: Oh, come on! [He's witnessed running through the alley by a pinked-haired boy who was looking at swords] PINK-HAIRED BOY: Hey, you there! Bro! [Kirito stops for him to catch up.] KIRITO: Me? PINKED-HAIR BOY: [Panting as he finally gets to Kirito.] You move without hesititation…Were you in the beta test? KIRITO: Y-YEAH PINK-HAIRED BOY: Today is my first day, see. Give me a tip to get through the early levels, huh? KIRITO: U-Uh PINK-HAIRED BOY: Come on, I'm begging you! My name's Klein. Nice to meet you. KIRITO: I'm Kirito. [Klein is forced back in the field by wild, purpled furred boar type of animal with red eyes.] KLEIN: Right in the crotch… KIRITO: You're so over the top. You don't feel any pain, right? KLEIN: Oh yeah. That's right. That's right, couldn't help myself! KIRITO: I told you. [A green 3D kite prism arrow is displayed over Klein's head, with an orange life bar directly to his left.] What's important is your emotional input. KLEIN: That's easy for you to say! But he keeps moving around [Kirito picks up a rock.] KIRITO: If you do the emotional input right, and activate a sword skill, [Brings his arm back and his hand begins to glow red as he focuses on the boar, he throws the rock at the its bottom and hits.] the system will ensure that you hit your target. [The boar turns toward him getting ready to attack.] KLEIN: Motion input…Motion input… [lifts up his sword] KIRITO: [Ready with his sword] How should I put it? [Dodges the charging boar and then defends its tusks with his sword] Add a slight pause, and when you feel the skill begin to activate, drive it home lie "bam!" KLEIN: Like…"bam." [Gets in a stance, lifts his sword back, and it begins to blow yellow] [Kirito lifts the boar up with his sword and kicks it away. It hollers, get's up and runs towards Klein. Klein roars and attacks with a horizontal thrust. A red slash in the boar's data can be seen where he hit. The remaining life bar, shown in red, dissipates, and the boar explodes into pieces. A *Result* window appears and Klein's *Exp* and *Col* go up, while displaying his items at the bottom.] KLEIN: All right! [Gives a little victory celebration.] KIRITO: Congrats. [They high-five each other] KIRITO: However…[sheaths his sword] that's as weak as slimes in other games. KLEIN: Huh? Seriously? I thought it was a mid-level boss or something. [More boars randomly appear in the field.] KIRITO: Of course not. [Klein moves his sword in attack motions] KIRITO: Addictive, isn't it? KLEIN: Well, yeah! These skills…there are lots of them like forging weapons and stuff, right? KIRITO: I guess so. I've heard there's an infinite variety of a skills. On the other hand, there's no magic. KLEIN: [Charges up his sword for a practice attack] An RPG without magic. That's a pretty bold decision. [Slashes and then gets really happy]. KIRITO: Isn't it fun to move your body more as you fight? KLEIN: True that. KIRITO: Okay let's move on. KLEIN: Yeah, let's keep going! [The amazing environment of SAO is displayed in different screen shots as it begins to getter darker.] KLEIN: I still can't believe it, no matter how many times I see it…That we're in a game. [Klein sits; Kirito stands; the both look at the place in amazement.] Whoever made it, is a genius. It really is amazing…Seriously, I'm glad I was born in this game. KIRITO: You make a big deal out of everything. KLEIN: Well, hey, it's my first drive. KIRITO: Then this is your first time playing a game with NerveGear? KLEIN: Well, it's more like I rushed out to buy the hardware so that I could play SAO. I was really lucky to get one of the 10,000 copies. Well, you were 10 times as lucky, getting into the beta test. I mean, only 1,000 people got to do it. KIRITO: Well, yeah, I guess so. KLEIN: How far did you get in the beta? KIRITO: In a couple of months, only to floor eight. This time, one month should be more than enough. KLEIN: You're really into this huh? KIRITO: [Unsheathes his sword.] To be honest, during the beta test, SAO was all I thought about, day and night. In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go. It's a virtual world, but I still feel more alive here than I do in the real one. Now then, want to hunt some more? KLEIN: Of course! I mean I'd love to, but I'm really hungry…I'm logging out. [Stomach grumbles.] KIRITO: Right, eating here only makes you feel full. KLEIN: I already ordered a steaming hot pizza for 5:30 PM. KIRITO: You're totally prepared, aren't you? KLEIN: Yup! Well once I've eaten. I'll log back in. KIRITO: I see. KLEIN: Hey, after this, I'm meeting up with some people I know from another game. What do you say? Want to friend them too. [Kirito gives a surprised look and then looks at the ground.] Of course, I'm not forcing you to or anything. I'm sure there'll be other chances to introduce you. KIRITO: Yeah, sorry. Thanks. KLEIN: Hey, hey, that's my line. [Puts his left hand on Kirito's right shoulder.] I'll be sure to pay you back for this sometime…Mentally. Thanks so much, man. [Puts his hand out for a shake. Kirito is surprised.] I'll see you around. KIRITO: If you have any other questions, call me anytime. KLEIN: [Grabs Kirito's hand.] Sure! I'm counting on you! [Waves bye and opens up the menu to log out. Kirito looks back smiling and begins to walk away.] Huh? There's no log out button. KIRITO: Look closer. KLEIN: No, I don't see it anywhere. KIRITO: [Walks over.] At the bottom of the main menu…[Open's his menu and clicks the setting gear. He's surprised to only see an *Option* and *Help* sub menu.] Not there, right? KIRITO: No, it isn't? KLEIN: Well, it's the first day out of beta. There must be some bugs. I'm sure the server people are freaking out. KIRITO: You will be, too. It's 5:25 PM. KLEIN: MY teriyaki-mayo pizza and ginger ale! KIRITO: Just hurry and call the game master. KLEIN: I already tried, but nothing's happening. [Shows him calling the GM.] Was there any other way to log out? KIRITO: No, if a player wants to log themselves out, they have to go through the menu. KLEIN: That's nuts. There's gotta be some way. Return! Log out! Escape! [It's starting to get darker] KIRITO: Didn't I tell you? There wasn't an emergency logout in the manual either. KLEIN: Hey, you're kidding right? I know. I'll rip the NerveGear off my head… [Tries ripping off the helmet.] KIRITO: You can't. We can't move our real bodies right now. The NerveGear intercepts any command issued from our brains right here. KLEIN: Seriously? So we have to wait for them to fix the bug? KIRITO: Or for someone in the real world to remove the NerveGear from us. [A boar walks past] KLEIN: But I live alone. What about you? KIRITO: I have my mom and a little sister. So I think they'll notice by dinner time… KLEIN: [Fiercely grabs Kirito] How old's your little sister, Kirito? KIRITO: She's on a sports team and she hates games. She has nothing to do with people like us. KLEIN: [Gets too aggressive and Kirito knees him in the groin. Klein falls back to the ground in pain] Oh wait, it doesn't hurt, right? KIRITO: Forget that. Don't you find this weird? KLEIN: Sure, I do. KIRITO: It isn't just a bug. If we can't log out, that is a serious problem for the games future operation. KLEIN: Come to think of it you're right KIRITO: If needed, they could shut down the server and log everyone out forcibly. But there hasn't even been an announcement… [A large bell rings. The boys stare towards the sound in fear. They port back to the center of the city where they began their journey along with everyone else. People are in somewhat of a panic.] DARK BROWN-HAIRED GIRL: What's going on? GOLDEN BROWN-HAIRED BOY: I don't know. KIRITO: A forced teleoport? [The bell stops ringing. Someone says "up there" and everyone looks up to the sky. A red line is blinking high over the bell.] KIRITO: That's… [The red bar multiplies and covers the whole sky and displays *System Announcement: WARNING* and red liquid comes through the borders forming somethng] KLEIN: What is that? [The game master appears in his red and golden cloak.] PEOPLE: "A game master?" "Why doesn't he have a face?" "Is this an event?" DARK BROWN-HAIRED GIRL: I'm scared… [She grabs the golden brown-haired boy tight and he holds her close.] GOLDEN BROWN-HAIRED BOY: It's fine. It's just another part of the opening ceremony. GAME MASTER: [Lifts his arms up as he towers over them.] Attention, players. Welcome to my world. KIRITIO: "My World" GAME MASTER: My name is Akihiko Kayaba. As of this moment, I am the only person able to control this world. PEOPLE: Is that really him? This is really elaborate! GAME MASTER: I'm sure you've already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu. But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat…This is not a defect in the game, but a key feature of Sword Art Online KLEIN: A-A feature? GAME MASTER: You cannot log out of SAO of your own will. And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit powerful microwaves, destroying the brain and thus ending your life. PEOPLE: "What?" "This must be a performance to make the opening more exciting." "Come on, enough already." "Let's go." [The golden brown-haired boy tries to walk out with the dark brown-haired girl and slaps a barrier that wasn't there before.] GOLDEN BROWN-HAIRED BOY: Hey, I can't get out! KLEIN: What's he talking about? He's gotta be nuts. Right, Kirito? KIRITO: He's right that the transmitter's signals work just like microwaves. If they safety were disabled, it could fry your brain. KLEIN: Then if we cut the power… KIRITO: No the NerveGear has an internal battery. KLEIN: But this is crazy. What's going on? GAME MASTER: Unfortunately, there have been several instances where players' friends and families have ignored this warning, and attempted to forcibly remove the NerveGear. As a result, 213 players have exited permanently , from both Aincrad and the real world. KIRITO: Two-hundred-and-thirteen KLEIN: I don't believe it…I don't believe it! [Screens pop up around the GM.] GAME MASTER: As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting on this situation, including the multiple deaths. Thus, you can assume that the danger of a NerveGear being removed has been reduced. [On one screen it is written "Death Count Rises in Online-Game Incident."] So I would like you all to focus on clearing the game. But be sure to keep this in mind. There is no longer any function to revive someone within the game. The instant your HP drops to zero, your avatars will vanish forever. And simultaneously, your brains will be destroyed by the NerveGear. [Right then and there, Kirito pictures a boar hitting him, his life bar going all the way down and disappearing. He grips his fist tight and is breathing in anxiety.] GAME MASTER: The one condition for your escape is to complete this game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, floor one. [He displays a map for everyone to see.] If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on floor 100 and you will clear the game. GIRLS: What's he talking about? GOLDEN BROWN-HAIRED BOY: D-Don't just make stuff up! KLEIN: Clear all 100 floors? That's impossible! Even beta testers, never made it that high, right? GAME MASTER: Now then, finally, I've provided you all with a present in your item storage. Please see for yourselves. [They all check their item storage.] KIRITO: A mirror? [He looks at his reflection. Klein and everyone's body get surrounded by blue aura.] Klein! KLEIN: You okay, Kirito? KIRITO: Y-Yeah. Who are you? KLEIN: And who are you? [Kirito He looks in the mirror, once again, and realizes his real face is showing.] PEOPLE: "Who are you?" "Why did my face change?" [The handsome golden brown-haired boy has turned into a short chubby boy, while the dark-haired brown girl is revealed to be a really skinny, yet taller, guy] GOLDEN BROWN-HAIRED BOY: You're a guy? DARK BROWN-HAIRED BOY: You were lying about being 17? KIRITO: That means… [They shout at the same time] KIRITO: You're Klein? KLEIN: You're Kirito? How? KIRITO: The NerveGear covers your entire head with a high-density signaling device. So it can see what your face looks like. But our height and body shape. KLEIN: When we first put on the NerveGear, there was something called calibration…You had to touch your body all over like this, remember? KIRITO: O-Oh, right…It must be basing this on that data… KLEIN: But…But listen...Why? Why do all this, anyways? KIRITO: [He points towards the GM] I'm sure he'll tell us. GAME MASTER: Right now, you must all be wondering, "Why?" "Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do such a thing? My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason…To create this world and meddle in it. KIRITO: [Aggravated] Kayaba… GAME MASTER: And now, all is complete. [Kirito clenches fist.] This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. I wish you luck, players. [Digital sounds are made as he disintegrates into red smoke back into the red sky. Both the GM and the red sky disappear and everything in the environment is as it was before. Everyone has traumatized looks on their faces. The camera spins around the crowd and then focuses on Kirito, who's eyes are covered by his short black hair. A spotlight shines on him. Blood is dropping from the paper cut he made on his thumb earlier in the real world, from clenching his fist so hard in the game word.] KIRITO: This is real… [Everything switches from color to black-and-white for a bit.] The genius who created the NerveGear and created a completely virtual space, Akihiko Kayaba. I admired this man, so I can tell… [Kirito shows in color and then thinks back on the picture in the magazine of Akihiko Kayaba.] Everything he just proclaimed is true. [Remembering, he repeats a quote he read.] This is a game, but it isn't something you play. –Sword Art Online Programmer Akihiko Kayaba. If I die in this game, I will die in real life. [A mirror drops, shatters, and dissipates as a small girl screams in trauma: "No…No!" She then slams into someone from the hysteria] PEOPLE: "Screw you!" "Let me out! Let me out of here" "I can't stay here…I have to meet someone after this!" "What are you thinking?" GOLDEN BROWN-HAIRED BOY: Let us go! DARK BROWN-HAIRED BOY: Tell us you're lying! [The barrier disappears] GOLDEN BROWN-HAIRED BOY: Someone! Can't anyone do something? [Kirito notices the barrier has disappeared] KIRITO: Come with me, Klein. [Grabs Klein and they run off somewhere, incognito, while everyone else panics.] I'm heading to the next village right now. Come with me. If everything he said is true, [brings up a map] the only way to survive in this world is by making yourself as strong as possible. The resources within a virtual MMORPG, in other words, the money and EXP we can earn, are limited. The fields surrounding the Town of Beginnings will soon be hunted clean. To be efficient, we should set up base in the next village right now. I know all the paths and dangerous areas. So even at level one, I can get there safely. KLEIN: But…But you know…I…stayed in line all night with friends from another game to buy this software. They must be out there in the plaza. [Shows three terrified boys.] I can't leave them behind. [Kirito looks as his HP bar and it displays *250/250* and that he's level 1] KIRITO: [Thinking to himself] If it were just Klein…but two more…Or even one more…Sorry. KLEIN: Sorry. I can hardly ask you for anything else, can I? So don't worry about it. Go on to the next village. I used to run a guild in my last game, you know. I can use the techniques you taught me to get by! KIRITO: I see. [He turns around and starts walking away from Klein] Then let's say goodbye here. If something happens, send me a message. KLEIN: Sure! KIRITO: Okay. See you around, Klein. KLEIN: Kirito! [Kirito starts to walk again.] Hey…Kirito. The real you is actually kinda cute, huh? I like you better this way. KIRITO: And that unkempt face of yours suits you 10 times better. [He then runs into the shadows of the city. Stops, turns around and realizes Klein is gone. He contemplates and sheds a few tears as he turns to run once again. As he runs through the fields, he thinks about the last moments before he entered the game and the twisted turn of events inside the game. Along with his first and only friend in the game, Klein. A wolf ports in his path. He unsheathes his sword and screams "Ah…!"] I'm… I'm… I'm going to survive… [Makes a perfect thrust through the wolf] In this world! [He shouts.]