SAO: Strawberry Bunny

As Strawberry stepped out of the house, a familiar ding echoed in her ears, signaling the completion of her quest. A transparent blue notification screen materialized in front of her, hovering just above eye level, displaying her achievements.

Quest Complete: The Secret Medicine of the Forest

Reward: Anneal Blade

Bonus XP: 500

Item Acquired: Anneal Blade

Attack: +12Durability: 45/45

Skill: Critical Hit Boost

Another ding followed closely behind.

Level Up!

Current Level: 3Stat Points Available: 5

Strawberry grinned at the sight of the notifications, her silver-blue eyes scanning the information as she mentally filed it away. She quickly distributed the stat points, opting to boost her agility and dexterity to improve her reaction speed and accuracy in battle. As the stat screen disappeared, she felt the subtle yet satisfying increase in her reflexes and mobility—small, but enough to make a difference.

A few more system messages popped up, keeping her informed of her progress:

Inventory Updated:

Health Potions x5

Stamina Potions x3

Little Nepenthes's Ovule (Quest Item) - Used

With a flick of her wrist, Strawberry dismissed the notifications, her attention shifting back to the world around

The real journey was just beginning, and Strawberry was already ahead of the game.

Just when she was about to take a break, a booming bong echoed through the air, sending an ominous vibration across the first floor, which resonated through the forest.

Bong!

Her head snapped up, alert.

Bong!

Again, the sound reverberated, growing louder and more intense.

By the seventh bong, something strange happened. A pull, like invisible hands reaching from the ether, tugged at her consciousness. It wasn't painful, but it was overwhelming, and before she could react, her surroundings blurred into a whirl of color. The lush greenery of Harunka village melted away, and the ground beneath her feet vanished.

When her vision cleared, Strawberry found herself standing in a massive open square, her heart pounding in her chest. Surrounding her were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of players—avatars of all shapes, sizes, and colors—each of them looking just as bewildered as she felt. Some were shouting in confusion, others had their weapons drawn, and a few huddled close together in small groups, casting nervous glances at their surroundings.

Someone had forced a portal, Strawberry realized, scanning the scene with narrowed eyes. This wasn't something players could do. Portals were system-controlled, meant for safe travel between major zones, and couldn't be manipulated by anyone other than the game's developers.

"What the hell's going on?" a player near her muttered, eyes wide with fear.

"Is this part of the launch event?" another asked, their voice shaky.

Strawberry didn't answer them. Her mind was racing as she tried to assess the situation. This wasn't an ordinary event—there was too much confusion, too much panic. As she looked around, she noticed that no one seemed to know what was happening. Players were shifting uneasily, many frantically pulling at their menu screens or attempting to log out.

But nothing was working.

Instinctively, Strawberry reached up and tried to access her own Menu. Her finger hovered in mid-air, tracing the familiar gesture she'd practiced hundreds of times. The menu should have appeared instantly, but instead, there was nothing. She swiped again—still nothing.

Her heart skipped a beat. No menu. No log-out button.

She wasn't alone in this discovery. All around her, players were realizing the same thing, their voices growing louder and more frantic. Some were furiously jabbing at invisible screens, while others began yelling in desperation.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Why can't I log out?"

"Is this a bug?"

Panic spread like wildfire through the crowd. The initial confusion was rapidly escalating into full-blown chaos as players started demanding answers. The square was filled with noise—shouts of anger, fear, confusion—but still, no one seemed to have any information. Strawberry's pulse quickened. She was used to the intensity of high-stakes gaming, but this was different. This felt real in a way she hadn't anticipated.

A ripple of energy washed over the square, silencing the crowd for a moment. The atmosphere grew thick, charged with an invisible tension. Then, without warning, the sky above them flickered and warped, as if the very fabric of the game world was bending to a higher power.

From the swirling sky descended a massive figure—an ominous, cloaked being, towering over them all. Its face was hidden beneath a deep, crimson hood, but its presence was enough to silence even the most frantic of players. Everyone stopped, frozen in place as the figure floated down from the sky, suspended above them like some divine force.

"Welcome, players of Sword Art Online," the figure's voice boomed, rich and commanding, echoing throughout the square. It was a voice that carried authority, one that seemed to resonate with every fiber of the virtual world.

Strawberry felt her breath catch in her throat. This was no ordinary NPC. The power emanating from the figure was palpable, and it sent a chill down her spine.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko," the figure continued, "and I am the creator of Sword Art Online."

Murmurs of recognition rippled through the crowd. Of course, everyone knew Kayaba Akihiko—the genius behind the groundbreaking FullDive technology and the creator of SAO. He was a legend, a revered figure in the world of gaming. But something about the way he spoke, the cold, detached tone, made Strawberry's skin crawl.

"You must be wondering why you cannot log out," Kayaba continued, his voice cold and measured. "The answer is simple: this is not a bug. This is how Sword Art Online was designed."

A heavy silence followed his words. Strawberry's mind raced, trying to comprehend what he was saying. Not a bug? That would mean…

"In Sword Art Online," Kayaba continued, "there is no log-out function. The only way to leave this game is to clear all one hundred floors of Aincrad."

His words hung in the air like a death sentence. The crowd erupted into a cacophony of noise—shouts of disbelief, curses, demands for explanations. Players scrambled to make sense of what was happening, but Kayaba's voice cut through the chaos, silencing them once again.

"I should also warn you," he said, his tone unwavering, "that if your HP drops to zero, you will die—not just in the game, but in the real world. The NerveGear you are all wearing is equipped with a powerful microwave emitter that will fry your brain the moment you perish in this world."

A collective gasp swept through the crowd. Panic was setting in, and Strawberry could feel her heart racing as fear began to settle deep in her chest. Die in the game, die in real life? This couldn't be happening. This was supposed to be a game, a place for adventure and excitement. Not a death trap.

Kayaba continued, merciless in his explanation. "There is no way to remove the NerveGear from your head without triggering the same fatal consequences. Attempts to forcefully disconnect or remove the device have already resulted in several deaths."

He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in.

"As of now, more than two hundred players have already died."

The air seemed to leave the square. Strawberry felt a cold sweat break out across her skin as she stood rooted in place, her mind reeling. Two hundred players… dead? This was no longer a game. This was a nightmare.

Kayaba raised his arms, and with a flick of his fingers, an enormous mirror appeared above the crowd. It reflected the faces of every player in the square, but as the players looked up, their avatars began to shimmer, changing form. The artificial appearances they had crafted—the idealized, fantasy versions of themselves—were stripped away. In their place were the true reflections of their real-world selves.

Strawberry looked at her own reflection in the mirror, her breath catching in her throat. Her long, flowing pink hair was gone, replaced by her natural hair—a shorter, messier style, just like in real life. Her sharp features and androgynous appearance, though close to what she had designed for her avatar, were now unmistakably her true face.

All around her, players were reacting to the sudden change—some shocked, others horrified. The illusion was gone. They were no longer hiding behind their avatars. They were themselves.

"This is your true appearance," Kayaba said, his voice softening just slightly. "I have given you back your real identities, so you may face this challenge as you are."

Strawberry clenched her fists, feeling the weight of the situation press down on her like a suffocating blanket. This was real. Too real. And there was no escaping it.

"As I said before," Kayaba continued, his voice echoing across the square, "the only way to leave this world is to clear all one hundred floors of Aincrad. Each floor grows progressively more difficult, and there are powerful bosses waiting at the end of each one. Only when the final boss is defeated will the game be cleared, and you will be free to return to your lives."

He paused, the gravity of his words sinking into the crowd.

"Good luck, players."

With that, the cloaked figure began to fade, his body dissipating into the air like mist. The sky, once swirling with digital magic, returned to its normal state, clear and blue. But the weight of his words lingered, heavy and oppressive.

For a moment, the square was silent. Then, chaos erupted.

Panic surged through the crowd as players began shouting, screaming, and scrambling in all directions. Some tried to fight their way out, others collapsed in tears, and a few stood frozen, unable to process the horror of the situation.

But Strawberry remained still, her mind whirling as she tried to come to terms with what had just happened. This isn't a game anymore.

Her focus sharpened, cutting through the noise of the panicked players around her. If this was her new reality, then she would approach it the way she always did—with precision, focus, and determination. She had already gotten ahead by completing the quest for the Anneal Blade, and now, she was going to use every advantage she could get to survive.

But first, she needed to find the dungeon. As powerful as she was, she couldn't relax. Monsters weren't her concern. Not really. It was the players that had her worrying. 

Her eyes scanned the crowd. Somewhere in this sea of panic, there had to be players who were plotting to kill, and she didn't want to be a part of any of that. She turned away from the throngs of panicking players and made her way to the 1st-floor labyrinth.

"Things are about to get interesting," she murmured to the wind as she smirked.

Strawberry did enjoy a new challenge.