IC: Aaron jammed the loose wires back into his nerve gear hurriedly, running a last check to make sure nothing would fry his brain.

Why he waited to do the new hardware install the day before launch, he didn't exactly know.

Aaron slammed the Nervegear onto his head, the boot taking agonizingly long. Finally, the logo for SAO appeared, fuzzily at first, before sharpening, the last connection remade. A few quick selections and he had determined his skills, appearing in the town with plain leather armor and other assorted starter items. He summoned his preferred weapon from storage and headed for the end of town.

A flicker in his peripheral vision as his Detection activated, alerting him to an incoming spear swing from an extremely close player, which he barely dodged. Another player wasn't as lucky.

"Woah, woah, woah!"