[Though this is a game,
But it's not a joke."
--Designer of the " SAO Sword God Domain ", Hayaba Akihiko
A huge rock and steel castle floating in the infinite sky.
This was all that could be seen in this world.
After a group of curious experts spent a whole month measuring, they found that the diameter of the bottommost area was about ten kilometers, which was enough to easily accommodate the entire Setagaya area. In addition to the hundreds of floors piled up above, the extent of its width could be said to be unimaginable. The total number of files was so large that it was impossible to measure.
There were several cities, many small streets and villages, forests and grasslands, and even lakes in this space. There was only one staircase connecting each floor, and the stairs were all located in the dangerous maze area filled with monsters, so it was quite difficult to find and pass through the stairs. However, as long as someone could break through the obstacles and reach the upper floor, the " transfer gates " of the cities on the upper and lower floors would be connected, and people could freely come and go between the two floors.
After two years, this huge castle was gradually conquered, and it had reached the 74th floor.
The name of the castle was 'Ain Grant'. This world that was constantly floating in the air, swallowing nearly 6,000 people, filled with swords and battles. Its other name was-
[SwordArtOnline Sword God Domain]. The tip of the sword, which was shining with a dark gray light, lightly grazed my shoulder.
The long and thin horizontal line that was fixed in the upper left corner of his vision had finally shortened. At the same time, I felt as if a cold palm had touched the depths of my chest.
The horizontal line, the blue bar called the HP bar, shows my remaining HP. Although it still had about 80% residual value, he couldn't be too optimistic. Because relatively speaking, I had already taken two steps towards the Abyss of Death.
Before the enemy's sword could attack again, I would take a big step back to maintain the distance between me and the enemy.
[Phew...]
He forcefully exhaled a large breath to adjust his breathing. Although the " body " in this world did not need oxygen, on the other side, which was the real body lying in the real world, the breathing should be very intense now. Her hands that were casually placed should be dripping with cold sweat, and her heartbeat should be racing.
This was only natural.
Even if everything I saw was a virtual 3D image, and the only damage I received was a numerical value of my HP, I was indeed betting my life on this battle.
From the point of betting their lives, this battle was truly unfair. This was because the " enemy " in front of him, apart from having glowing dark green scaly skin and long arms, there was also a half-human half-beast monster with a lizard head and tail. Not only did it not look human, but it also did not have a real life. It was just a collection of digital files that could be regenerated by the system indefinitely no matter how many times it was killed.
---No, that's not right.
Currently, the AI program controlling this lizardman was observing and learning my combat style to continuously improve its response ability. However, these learning files would be reset after the individual was destroyed, and it would not be reflected to the same individual that appeared in the area the next time.
Therefore, in a sense, the Lizardman in front of him was still alive. It could be said to be a unique existence in this world.
[... That's true.]
Even though he couldn't understand what I was talking about, the lizard man, the level step-monster " Lizardman Lord ", actually revealed his sharp teeth on his slender jaw and laughed.
It was true. Everything in this world was real. Nothing was a virtual monster like what he had imagined.
I placed the double-edged sword in my right hand in the middle of my body and positioned myself.
The Lizardman also raised the round shield in his left hand and retracted the single-edged scimitar in his right hand.
In the dim maze passage, a gust of wind that came from nowhere shook the torches on the wall. The flames flickered and reflected on the damp stone slabs.
[Wahhh!]
The Lizardman Lord stomped its foot down and rushed over with a shrill roar. The scimitar drew a sharp arc in the distance, leaving a dazzling and bright orange trail in the air as it approached my arms. This was a high-level sword skill in the machete department, the single-headed heavy attack skill, Crescent Moon Slash. This was an excellent assault sword skill that could cross a four-meter range in 0.4 seconds.
Unfortunately, I had already predicted its attack pattern.
Actually, I was deliberately widening the distance between us so as to induce the enemy's AI learning system to make such an attack. I dodged the blade that was only a few centimeters away from my nose and smelled the burnt smell. I lowered my posture and rushed into the Lizardman's arms.
[Hey...]
The sword in his right hand slashed out with a roar. The blade was accompanied by a blue light effect, and it pierced deeply into the abdomen of the thin scales. Bright red light replaced the blood and splattered out. Then, there was a heavy, sorrowful cry.
But the sword did not stop there. As I slashed, the system automatically assisted me in my movements and launched the next wave of attacks at an unbelievable speed.
This was the biggest factor that determined the outcome of a battle in this world, the " Sword Skill ".
The sword that slashed from the left to the right once again tore through the Lizardman's chest. I then turned my body around and stabbed the third attack deeply into the enemy's body.
[Woo!]
The Lizardman recovered from the shock of missing his skill. The scimitar in his right hand slashed down with a roar that was either angry or afraid.
However, my combo wasn't over yet. The sword that had been cut to the right bounced back to the upper left corner like a spring, striking the enemy's heart, which was the enemy's greatest weakness.
After four consecutive attacks, a square of blue light was drawn around me and spread out in a dazzling manner. This was the four-hit sword skill, the Horizontal Square Slash.
The bright light effect illuminated the walls of the maze, then faded away. At the same time, the HP bar on Lizard's head disappeared without a trace.
The giant green body struggled as it fell backward. It suddenly stopped at an unnatural angle.
Following that, a loud sound like glass shattering rang out, and it turned into tiny multi-angled fragments that exploded.
This was the " death " of this world. Short, concise, a complete annihilation that left no trace behind.
I glanced at the purple words and item list that appeared in the center of my vision. I waved my sword left and right and put it back into the scabbard on my back. Then I took a few steps back until my back touched the maze wall before I slowly slid to the ground.
He exhaled the air in his chest and closed his eyes tightly. Perhaps it was the fatigue from fighting alone for a long time, but a heavy pain came from the depths of his temple. I shook my head a few times to get rid of the stinging pain before I opened my eyes again.
The small, glowing schedule in the lower right corner of his vision showed that it was already past three in the afternoon. If they did not leave the maze now, they would not be able to make it back to the town before dark.
[It's time to go back…]
Although no one could hear me, I still muttered to myself and slowly stood up.
The whole day's "strategy" was finally over. It seemed that he was lucky enough to escape from the hands of the Grim Reaper today. However, after returning home and taking a short break, he immediately had to face tomorrow's battle. Even if they were fully prepared, as long as they continued to engage in battles where their chances of winning were not 100%, they would one day be betrayed by the Goddess of Fate.
The most important thing was whether I could " completely conquer " this world before I drew the trump card.
If survival was the top priority, the smartest way was to not leave the safe towns and patiently wait for the day when someone completely conquered them. However, I didn't use such a method. Every day, I would sneak into the frontlines alone, constantly risking my life in exchange for leveling up. Had I been poisoned by this large-scale virtual reality online game, or…
I, who wanted to rely on my own sword to save the entire world, was simply a super idiot, although saying this might be a little too arrogant.
Thinking of this, he could not help but smile self-deprecatingly. As I walked towards the exit of the maze area, I suddenly recalled what happened that day.
Two years ago.
He recalled the moment when everything ended and started again.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。