Sao x reader: The shield they needed

The Day The Sky Turned Red

On November 6, 2022, at 13:00. Sword art online was launched to the General Public.

Only 10,000 copies of the game were sold. Dedicated fans waited in lines outside of stores to get the limited hard copies. Online sales sold out in seconds. It was a very special moment for those who managed to get a copy. The release and hype for the game were all over every news station, radio, and magazine. Luckily, I managed to get a copy just in time before they sold out. Today was shaping up to be an "okay" day. Nothing could ever change that...

The blood-red sky faded, signaling the end of Kayaba Akihiko's speech. His hooded avatar vanished, leaving the masses in disbelief as to what they just heard...They were all trapped in the game. It took only seconds before mass hysteria broke out. Panicked cries from the woman and children. Anger and denial from the men. And you?...frozen, unmoving..........
fearful? Kayaba's "speech" hadn't set in yet apparently.

Crowds began pushing their way out of the town of beginnings center hub. It took several shoves from the passing crowd to knock you out of your trance. As you regained your senses, you began to panic. Joining the crowd, you followed them until you reached the market. Breaking off, you slowly "limped" over to a nearby house.

Looking at the window of the house. You caught a glimpse of your face. Yep......that was "your" face. Your hand trembled as you reached up and placed it on your cheek.

(Y/n): "w-why?"

You said with a shaky breath. Leaning against the wall you slid down onto the floor.

A sense of dread washed over you as you thought about what kayaba said. 100 floors...
That's how many we needed to complete to get out....but dying in here....meant dying in the real world too. Thoughts began to emerge.....

The servers have already been live for a few hours now. Players who probably didn't take the game seriously have been playing like normal...does that mean some players have already.....

(Y/n): "NO! Don't think about if (Y/n), steady yourself! What would dad do?"

Your father was always there for you. A single father who made sure you were safe, fed, and had a roof over your head. A model father. Dad was a calm and collected man but he did have his bad moments. During his time in a black company, he taught himself how to calm his nerves. For when times got tuff with his boss.
He later taught me that skill, just in case. Now about that time.

(Y/n): "Hold it together (Y/n)" take deep breaths for two minutes and think about happy memories."

Taking a deep, shaky breath. You thought of all the times you've hung out with your old man. Your not-so-recent recent 15th birthday
.....Mom. That last one hurt a bit for you but you kept thinking on. That new computer you got a while back.

(Y/n): "It's probably gonna collect dust for the time being"

You let out a light chuckle as that thought crossed your mind.

You felt a little better now, you sat up straight as you continued to think about your current situation. It was obvious that it won't be over anytime soon. From what you heard online, the beta testers only reached the 10th floor.

Shift to 1st person

How long was I gonna be stuck here?

Days? Months? Years? Centuries?

My thoughts clouded my judgment as I began to lose myself. Fear rolled over me as I began to cry but I could tell there were no tears.

The sounds of the panicked players snapped me back to reality. Players of all ages yell and scream at each other. The children.....crying.
Something seemed to snap back into place within my head.

Why am I getting like this? I'm not like this IRL.
Maybe it was the fear of death that drove me to this, maybe it's because I can't ask my family for advice.

I know one thing now at least. I can't just stay like this.

I had always had a knack for helping out people in need when I was younger. I wasn't going to stop now.

I began sprinting my way over to the main gate of the town. Eyeing the crowd while on my way, I notice the sheer number of kids around. Several players were trying to calm them down and reassure them that everything was ok.

Watching that broke me.....but now was not the time for that. Picking up the pace, I finally reached the main gate. I stopped on the outside as I looked out at the vast fields and the monster that roamed them.

I looked back...

The safe town where nothing would hurt me

Or out there where I could die at any moment

I stand still, but only for a moment. With a determined look, I swiped down To open
up my inventory. Scrolling through the several screens, I equip my starter gear and my main weapon of choice.

With a bright blue flash, a sword appeared on my back, and a small round shield on my arm.
Drawing out the sword, you inspect the blade.
To be completely honest. It was a starter sword at its best. It looked dull and didn't look like it would cut butter. The shield didn't look much better either. It was only small enough to protect my hand. It was all I had for now though.

Taking off to the fields, I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. Fear was still on my mind but I pushed it back to the depths of my mind.

I.....was scared, but I couldn't let it stop me and my mission.

As I went on, a dire wolf blocked my path. It took notice and bolted to me immediately.
I felt myself stop but only for a moment, I pushed on running towards the wolf.

As I got closer, I let out a fearful cry.

(Y/n): "I WILL PROTECT THOSE WHO CAN'T PROTECT THEMSELVES!"

The dire wolf launched into the air and made his descent toward me. Lifting my sword, I held it straight out toward him. Not being able to change his direction, the wolf flew face-first into the tip of my blade. The momentum of his fall carried him from his face to his tail.

Standing back up straight I turned around to see the wolf split perfectly in two. It wasn't long before the halves burst into a cloud of light.

I planted my blade into the earth as I held my chest and took a breath in. It lasted only seconds before I re-equipped my blade and started back on my journey.

From what I heard from the beta tester guide. There's another town here on the first floor.
That's where I go while I level. Maybe pick up some quests along the way if I can.

I got this.....be brave.......for everyone who can't

(Y/n): "I'll live....for dad's sake...and mine"

Acorn: Hello everyone, it's me, the author.
I wish this chapter was longer but I figured "we've seen the start of Sao a lot of times, why would anyone want to experience it fully again"
So I shortened it a bit. You'll find out more about your character in the next chapter. This was an introduction to your character's emotional state. Don't worry, his state of mind will only improve in the later chapters. Thank you for reading! See you soon!

P.s I procrastinate like a Mf, so sorry if chapters take a while for anyone who reads this