Like A Shooting Star

On November 19, 2022, Yuuki Asuna, a hardworking high school student with high expectations from her family, had a nightmare about how she failed her high school entrance mock exam due to being stuck in a game, even after saying that games are a waste of one's life. In reality, it had been 13 days since the launch of the new generation VRMMO game, Sword Art Online, during the official release of which, about 10,000 players were trapped in the game, until they could manage to complete it by defeating the final boss on the 100th Floor of Aincrad.

As Asuna, now awoken from her nightmare, checked the date and noticed that the uniform mock exam was supposed to be held that day. After getting up, Asuna left her inn room and went to the market to buy her daily black bread. While eating, she overheard a rumor about a hidden log-out point within a cave in the West Forest. After finding out where the cave was located, Asuna left the Town of Beginnings to search for the hidden log out point in a hurry to make it to her mock exam on time.

After avoiding the monsters, she finally reached the cave. However, while navigating the cave, she ran into a monster and got hit by hit, with her HP bar decreasing immediately to the red zone with barely any HP left. But, just as the creature was about to deal the last blow to her, it was killed by a mysterious swordsman. After the swordsman left, his friend, Argo the Rat, took care of healing the wounded Asuna.

After recovering her lost HP, Asuna asked Argo whether the log out point was just a rumor and Argo confirmed that it indeed does not exist. Asuna then asked Argo to sell her information on how she could become strong. Argo then gave Asuna a first tier reference book for free, as she only charged more experienced players. Asuna immediately started reading the reference book and learnt about the weakest creatures who roam Aincrad, the Frenzy Boars as well as how to activate the beginner Rapier Sword Skill Linear.

Asuna soon put her new knowledge to the test by using «Linear» at a god-like speed to defeat a Frenzy Boar in one strike, greatly surprising Argo. Changing her mind about giving the reference book to Asuna for free, Argo asked the rapier user for her name. As Asuna was inexperienced with games, she gave Argo her real name, instead of just her username, but Argo then found out that Asuna was using her real name for her username. After practicing her newly learnt Sword Skill, Asuna asked whether she could defeat the monster that almost killed her as well.

A couple of weeks later, on December 2, 2022, Asuna had spent several days within the 1st Floor Labyrinth with barely any rest. Suffering great mental fatigue, she ran into a large group of Ruin Kobold Troopers. Even though she attempted to fight the monsters, she was soon paralyzed, which was the most deadly status to a solo player. As Asuna was prepared to meet her demise, she was again saved by the mysterious swordsman, who claimed that he saved her for her map data. With her last drops of strength, Asuna got up, and the two swordsmen attacked the monsters surrounding them.

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