«1st Floor»

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THE 1ST FLOOR

Information » Towns » Quests/Event »
Monsters » Kayaba's Announcement » Notes
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INFORMATION » The first floor is the largest floor on Aincrad. It's spacious and looks like something you would expect out of a beginning area in an MMORPG. However, the largest town, «Starting City», takes up a good amount of space on the floor. This is the starting place for the now trapped players of Aincrad. Whether they are able to procure the necessary resources they need in order to survive all depends on the choices they make here...

TOWNS » «Starting City» The town of beginnings. It's possible for over 6000 players to live in this city alone. It is home to the «Monument of Life» which records the deaths of players in the game. «Horunka» A town that can be found if one were to follow a small river trail. It's a small town and there really isn't a lot going for it. But it has a pleasant atmosphere and there's quite a few shops one can find here that sell things that other towns don't have. «Tolbana» The second largest town on the 1st floor. There isn't anything particularly outstanding about it aside from that fact. However, it is the village that's closest to the ruins. «Medai» An extremely small village. However, it's a valuable place to go to for its items and information. You get a copy of a small guidebook for free here which offers information on the game. The guidebook can also be found in «Horunka». «Farm» A large farm. The NPC farm owner isn't really good for chat, but if you actually have the time for sightseeing, then it's a relatively calm and nice place. «Ruins» A place overrun with a few low level monsters. However, when cleared out it becomes a nice place to rest especially since there's a large wide staircase of steps which can work as seating. There's a dungeon further in, but it can be dangerous to venture in alone.

QUESTS/EVENTS » «Cow's Counterattack» For those visiting Horunka you may find an elderly NPC man grumbling. He will inform you about a «Trembling Cow» that's been wrecking havoc on his fields. He'll notice that you seem to be a fighter and ask that you return it to the «Farm». This quest is extremely time consuming as it requires that you don't kill «Trembling Cow» so that you can safely return it to the farm owner. If completed successfully, though, you will be rewarded with a «Bottle of Cream» which can be used for foods. «Lost Item» A quest that can be randomly triggered by entering «Tolbana». A young boy will bump into you before simply running off without a word. Shortly after a notice will appear informing you that one of your (randomly chosen) items has been stolen! A man will approach and inform you about the boy and the fact that he's a troublemaker around these parts. He will ask that if you chase after the boy, then apprehend him and bring back the items that he has stolen as well. He will reward you for your efforts if you do. He then informs you of the boy's hideout which is in a nearby forest. However, upon finding the boy, you will see him and a few other children surrounded by «Guzzling Wolves». After the wolves are defeated, the boy will tell you about himself and the children. He says that he's been taking care of himself and the children here as they are all orphans. You are left with two choices: apprehend the boy and return the items to the man or act as if you didn't see anything. Either option will reward you. Returning the items along with the apprehended boy will give you 300 Col and 1 healing potion. Acting that you did not see anything will give you 500 Col. «Sunny Side-Up» In «Starting City» there's a small restaurant that often escapes the eyes of passerby. The trigger for this event occurs when you pass by this restaurant and are stopped by the manager. The manager quickly drags you inside and starts going on about how late you are and that the store has been open for a while already. Apparently she has mistaken you for someone, but there's no time for correction as customers are starting to come in. You must now successfully fulfill the orders or fail trying. If you succeed, then you will receive a «Starter's Cooking Set» and if you fail, then you get 150 Col. «Road Block» Down the road there's something there... Something-- Oh, it isn't a something. That's a person! In the middle of the road there's a young man passed out. He weakly mumbles: "Food..." And thus triggers the start of the quest. If you try to ignore him or walk by him he will simply grab onto your leg and force you to drag him along. Nope, he isn't going anywhere. After you've given him food he will thank you. For some reason, though, the quest hasn't ended even though you've given him a meal. He then asks if he can accompany you on the rest of your journey as he's attempting to reach the next town. But, don't know worry, he knows how to fight too. Once you've safely reached the next town he will once again thank you and you'll part ways here. The reward for this quest is 800 Col. «Monster Overrun» A quest triggered in the town of «Medai». The mayor will inform you that for some reason there's been more monsters wrecking havoc outside town as of late. The mayor worried for the safety of his town will ask you to help clear out a few of them. Your job is to kill 5 monsters and report back to him. The reward for this quest is «New Boots» and 500 Col. «Trick or Treat?» A Halloween special event that will be held between October 27th-31st! The towns will have Halloween decorations adorned in celebrations. On the 31st there will be festivals held which offer out free food and drink for a day. On the night of the 31st NPC houses will give out treats to those who have the «Halloween Bag» which was passed out during the festival. Costumes of the character's choice will also have been offered for free. Although the costumes will not have stats that would make them useful in battles. The "treats" will range from actual candy, random items, and 2 Col.

MONSTERS » «Trembling Cow» Found near the farm mostly. Levels can be between 3 to 5. «Trembling Ox» The «Trembling Cow's» far more aggressive cousin. They show no mercy upon sighting. Levels can be between 5 and 7. «Guzzling Wolf» Appear mostly at night or near sunset at most. They can be found during the day in the forest areas. Levels can be between 5 and 8. «Frenzy Boar» Extremely low level monster. They can be mostly found outside the Starting City. A level 1 monster. «Bright Butterfly» An unusually colorful monster that takes on the shape of a butterfly. It can be found near bushes, forests, or anywhere with plenty of plants. Its spore can inflict poison status onto those it touches. Levels are between 5 and 9. «Trickster Rabbit» A rabbit that likes to play pranks. They aren't extremely dangerous, but they do prefer using surprise attack tactics to get the upper hand in battles. Levels are between 2 to 6. «Raging Bear» Arguably one of the most dangerous normal monsters on the 1st floor. They are all about brute force. As such an attack from them can really knock your HP down low. Taking direct attacks from these monsters is not recommended if you're a low level player. Their usual hideouts are in the forests, but they sometimes come out at night and hang near the rivers. Levels are in between 7 and 9. «Foul Ghost» An October 27th-31st only monster. They prowl the fields in night and appear without warning... Surprisingly, their levels are pretty low. But there's just something really disturbing about them nonetheless. Levels are 1 to 5. You can also create you own monster if you want to as well!

KAYABA'S ANNOUCEMENT » Note: Sorry for how tl;dr this section is. It's essentially only a snipped version of Chapter 3 in Volume 1 of SAO to show how Kayaba presented his announcement. We were originally planning to have Kayaba's whole announcement be done in the intro log, but it ended up being too long for one comment. So, instead this will be linked in Kayaba's announcement section of the intro log, and will become a reference for those who want to see what he said exactly. *Ding, ding*... A chiming noise like a bell —or perhaps a warning chime— sounded loudly. Players are suddenly immersed in a clear blue pillar of light. Their vision becomes blurred and once they've regain their senses they find themselves back in the central plaza of the «Starting City». For a few seconds, everyone just looked around without speaking. Then a few mumbles and mutters could be heard here and there; it started to get louder. “What's happening?” “Can we log out now?” “Can't they take care of it quickly?” Comments like these could be heard from time to time. As the players started to get more annoyed, shouts like “Is this a joke?” and “Get the hell out here, GMs!” could be heard. Then suddenly... Somebody raised his voice above all these comments and shouted. “Ah... look up!” Above what is seen is the bottom of the second floor, one hundred meters above, checkered in red. The pattern is made up of two phrases crisscrossing each other: the words [ Warning ] and [ System Announcement ] written in red. The chatter died down in the plaza. From the middle of the pattern, a liquid that looked like blood started oozing down slowly. It came down at a rate that almost emphasized how viscous it was, but it didn't fall all the way down; instead, it started congealing into a shape. What appeared was a twenty-meter tall figure with a hooded robe draped around it. No, that wasn't exactly right. From where you were looking, you could easily see into the hood—there was no face. It was absolutely empty. You could clearly see the inner cloth and the green embroidery inside of the hood. It was the same inside the robe, all you could see inside the edges were shadows. “Is that a GM?” “Why doesn't it have a face?” There were a lot of whispers like these. Then the right sleeve of the huge robe moved as if to silence them. A pure white glove appeared from the folds of the long sleeve. But this sleeve, like the rest of the robe, didn't cover any sort of body. Then the left sleeve slowly lifted upwards, too. Then with its two empty gloves spread out in front of ten thousand players, the faceless person opened his mouth—no, it felt like it did. Then a low, calm, male voice resonated from high in the air. 『Players, I welcome you all to my world.』 The anonymous red robe lowered its arms and continued talking. 『My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who 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 is all part of «Sword Art Online»'s system.』 『Until you get to the top of this castle, you cannot log out of your own free will. ...also, the disruption or dismantling of the Nerve Gear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted...』 A moment of silence. 『The signal sensors in your Nerve Gear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions.』 People in the crowd started muttering, but there was no one shouting or panicking. It was either that everyone couldn't understand it yet, or refused to. Kayaba started explaining. 『To be a little more specific, disconnection 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 Nerve Gear. 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 Nerve Gear. The result...』 The metallic voice took a short breath here. 『...regretfully 213 players have already exited this game, and the real world, forever.』 A long, thin scream was heard. But most of the players couldn't or refused to believe what they had been told, and just stood there slack-jawed or with a wry smile on their faces. But as if to dispel any hope, Kayaba's businesslike voice resumed its explanation. 『Players, there is no need to worry about the bodies you left on the other side. As of this moment, all TV, radio, and Internet media are repeatedly reporting this situation; including the fact that there have been numerous deaths. The danger of having your Nerve Gear taken off has already all but disappeared. In a moment, using the two hours I have provided, all of you will be transported to hospitals or similar institutes and be given the best treatment. So you can relax... and concentrate on beating the game.』 Kayaba Akihiko started announcing quietly with his monotonous voice. 『But I ask of you all to understand that «Sword Art Online» is no longer a simple game. It is a second reality.... From now on, any form of revival in the game will no longer work. The moment your HP reaches 0, your avatar will be gone forever. And at the same time... ...your brain will be destroyed by the Nerve Gear. Players, there is only one way to be freed from this game. As I have said before, you must get to the top of Aincrad, the one hundredth floor, and defeat the final boss that resides there. All players still alive at that time will be immediately logged out of the game. I give you all my word.』 Then, the red robe swept its right glove and started speaking with a voice void of all emotion. 『Then I will show you evidence that this is the only reality. In your inventories, there will be a gift from me. Please confirm this.』 In the inventory what would be found is the «Hand Mirror». When the “Make Into Object” button was pressed a tinkling sound effect and a small, rectangular mirror appeared. Eventually, the mirror and the players would find themselves engulfed in a white light. When the light subsided what they would find was their own real appearances. Their avatar completely gone from this world. 『You will all most probably be wondering, “Why.” Why am I —the creator of both the Nerve Gear and SAO, Kayaba Akihiko— doing something like this? Is this a sort of terrorist attack? Is he doing this to ransom us? 』 It was then that Kayaba's voice, which had been emotionless up to now, seemed to show some signs of emotion. 『None of these is the reason I am doing this. Not only that, but now for me, there is no longer a reason or a purpose in doing this. The reason is because... this situation itself was my purpose in doing this. To create and watch this world is the only reason I have created the Nerve Gear and SAO. And now, everything has been realized.』 Then after a short break, Kayaba's voice, now emotionless again, spoke. 『...Now, I have finished the official tutorial for «Sword Art Online». Players—I wish you luck.』 This last sentence trailed off with a faint echo. The huge robe rose soundlessly and started sinking, hood first, into the system message that covered the sky, as if melting. Its shoulders, then its chest, then its two arms and legs merged into the red surface, and then a final red stain spread briefly. Right afterward, the system message that had covered the sky disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. The sound of the wind blowing above the plaza and the BGM that the NPC orchestra was playing came softly back. Originally from Chapter 3, Volume 1 of Sword Art Online.

NOTES » • Full version of the map. • The level cap for this floor is 10. • This floor was already designed by the novel. We took some creativity rights with the locations of certain things, though. • Just a note, but the map is not an exact detail of what the terrain and field look like. It's very likely your character will find many more things than what's shown on the map drawn here. The map was primarily drawn to provide an idea where important locations are. • The floor boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord, will be the same as the one in the original light novel/anime. Players with Beta Tester characters your character is free to know and have information on the Kobold Lord from the Beta Test. However, if they attempt to go find his room on the first floor, they will find that his room is no longer there and that it has moved locations. • There'll be a sort of mini-event after an IC week of SAO's official service on the 27th. On this day, the players real bodies will be in the process of being transported to facilities and hospitals for proper treatment. In the game what this will result in some players randomly passing out for approximately 2 hours.