[Woo... Wah... Woo!]」
Accompanied by a strange roar, the sword tip that was waving randomly kept cutting through the air.
Immediately after, the Blue Boar, which had a huge body but was able to dodge the sword and blade with agile movements, launched a fierce charge at the attacker. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the attacker being sent flying by the wild boar's flat nose and rolling on the grassland.
[Hahaha…it's not like that. What's important is the beginning, Klein.」
" Ouch, ouch, ouch... This guy..."
The attacker, Klein, who was cursing as he stood up, glanced at me and replied me.
"I know what you're saying, Kirito... but that guy can move around.」
A few hours ago, I just got to know this man who had his red hair standing up with a headscarf on his forehead and a thin body wrapped in simple leather armor. If we were to use our real names, we wouldn't even be close enough to call each other by their names. However, his name Klein and my name Kirito were just the names of the characters who participated in this game. Therefore, it would be rather comical to add the titles of 'sir' or 'schoolmate'.
Seeing Klein's staggering footsteps, I thought to myself that he must be dizzy, so I used my left hand to pick up a small stone from the grass beside my feet, and my shoulders were indeed in position. After the system detected the initial movement of the sword skill, the small stone began to emit a faint green light.
Following that, the small stone in his left hand flashed and drew a bright line of light in the air, directly hitting Shanz, who was about to attack again, between his eyebrows. Shanz let out a [Puji!] With a furious roar, he turned his target in my direction.
"Of course it can move. This isn't a scarecrow for training. However, as long as he made a move to activate the sword skill, the system would let the skill hit the enemy.」
[Action…action…]
Klein repeated the words as if he was reciting a spell while he waved the pirate knife in his right hand.
The Blue Boar was officially known as the " Manic Boar." Although it was only a Level 1 minion, Klein's HP had been reduced by half after being hit by countless attacks and counterattacks. Even if he died, he could immediately revive in the nearby " Town of Beginnings ", but it would still take some time to walk from there to this training area. Moreover, if this battle continued, there would probably only be one attack and defense left.
I used the sword in my right hand to block Shanz's attack while thinking.
" How should I put it…It's not about one, two, three, and then following the sequence of movements and then chopping down. It's about pausing slightly at the beginning of the movement and feeling that the technique is ready before you pound! Chop it down with a thud…"
"Is that so?"
The resolute face under the turban printed with vulgar patterns revealed an embarrassed expression as he raised the curved knife in the middle.
After inhaling and exhaling deeply, he lowered his center of gravity and raised it as if he was carrying a knife on his right shoulder. This time, the system finally sensed the prescribed action. The blade slowly drew an arc and emitted an orange glow.
[Drink!]
Klein let out a deep roar and kicked the ground with his left foot in a completely different and smooth motion. "Whoosh!" After a rather comfortable sound, the blade drew a flame-like mark in the air. With one hand, he used the basic skill of the curved sword," Marauder ", to hit the neck of the wild boar that had entered a state of advancement, and destroyed its remaining HP.
After letting out a pitiful wail before death, the huge body shattered like glass. A purple text appeared in front of me.
[Awesome!]
Klein made an exaggerated victory pose, turned to me with a smile, and raised his left hand high. I couldn't help but laugh after giving him a high-five.
[Congratulations on your first victory. But…Shanz was like a slime in other games.」
[Eh, really?!] I thought he was the leader."
[How is that possible?]
After my smile gradually turned into a bitter one, I sheathed my sword.
Although I was joking, I could actually understand Klein's joy and gratitude. Before this battle, I had been the one to defeat the monsters, as I had two months more experience and knowledge than Klein. That was why he had finally tasted the pleasure of using his own sword to crush his enemies.
Perhaps he wanted to revise, Klein let out a strange sound of joy as he repeated the same sword technique. I temporarily left him alone and looked around.
The vast grassland that spread in all directions glistened under the slightly red sunlight. The outline of a forest appeared in the far north, and the lake was shining in the south. To the east, he could see the walls of the town, while to the west, he could see the sky and clouds that were dyed golden.
At present, we are at the starting point of the southern end of the first floor of the giant floating castle 'Aingrunt', a wide area west of the' Town of Beginning'. There should be quite a number of players fighting monsters around us, but because this space is too wide, we can't see anyone else.
Klein, who was finally satisfied, put his sword back into the sheath at his waist. Then, he approached me and looked around like I did.
"Speaking of which... no matter how many times I see it, it's still hard to believe. This place was actually 'in-game'.」
" Although it's in the game, it's not like the soul is sucked into the game world. "It's just that our brains replace our eyes and ears. We can directly see and hear the information transmitted by 'NERvGear' using electromagnetic waves..."
I shrugged and pouted like a child.
[You might be used to it. But this is the first time I've experienced 'Complete Stealth!' This was really amazing…It was really great to be born in this era!」
[You're exaggerating.]
Although I was smiling, I had the exact same feeling in my heart.
「NERvGear。」
It was the name of the game console that operated the VR MMORPG, Sword Art Online.
Its structure was completely different from the fixed-point game console of the previous generation.
Unlike the old-fashioned game console, which required two human-machine interface, a flat-screen device and a hand-held controller, the NERvGear only had one interface. It was a streamlined helmet that completely covered the head and face.
Countless signal components were buried inside the helmet, and the helmet was directly connected to the user's brain through the multiple electric fields generated by these components. The user didn't need to use his eyes and ears. The machine could directly feed the visual and auditory cortices of the brain, allowing the user to see and hear. In fact, other than hearing and sight, touch, taste, and smell, the so-called five senses, could all be read by NERvGear.
After putting on the helmet and locking the fixed rod under his chin, as long as he said the start command " connect," all the noise would be gone, and his vision would be surrounded by darkness. Then, as long as he passed through the colorful halo that appeared from the center, he would be in a world completely constructed by digital files.
All in all.
Half a year ago, in May 2022, this machine was released and finally realized " virtual reality." The large electronic machine manufacturer that developed the NERvGear called the virtual space it created " complete stealth."
This was a name that was quite in line with the actual situation. Because once they were connected, they would be completely isolated from the real world.
This was because the user would not only receive information from the five imaginary senses, but even the commands issued by the brain to the body would also be blocked and retrieved.
This could be said to be a necessary function to move freely in the virtual space. If the command given by the brain to the body in the real world was still valid, for example, if the user in full stealth had the idea of running in the imaginary space, the body in the real world would also run and hit the wall of the room.
It was because NERvGear would retrieve the commands sent by the marrow of the brain to the body and then turn the commands into digital signals of the active game characters that Klein and I could freely run around and wave the swords in our hands on the imaginary battlefield.
He entered the game completely.
The impact of this experience made many gamers, including me, deeply fascinated. It was almost enough to make sure that he would not return to the interface of touching the screen or the sensor bar.
I looked at Klein, who was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes as he gazed at the swaying grassland and the distant city wall.
[Is this the first NERvGear game you played?]」
Klein's imposing face, which resembled a young warrior from the Warring States Period, turned to me and nodded.
When he had a serious expression on his face, he was indeed so handsome that he could play the lead role in a period drama. However, this appearance was not his appearance in real life. This was a game character created from scratch after adjusting many different parameters.
Of course, my character was also so handsome that it made people feel a little embarrassed. He had the appearance of the main character in a fantasy adventure animation.
Klein continued in his strong and powerful bel canto, which was probably different from the real world,"
"Speaking of which, he probably bought a game console after he bought 'SAO.' Because the first batch only has 10,000 sets, I can be considered very lucky. Hmm…but speaking of luck, you're 10 times luckier than I am. That should only be limited to 1,000 people!」
[Yes, yes, it should be.]
I couldn't help but scratch my head as I was being stared at.
Until now, I still can't forget the excitement and fanaticism I felt when I saw the major media outlets strongly report the name of the game " SwordArtOnline Sword God's Domain."
Although NERvGear had achieved a new generation of game environments that were completely stealthy, the game software that corresponded to this new mechanical structure was not very interesting. Each of them was a small but exquisite puzzle, educational, and environmental game. A game addict like me had accumulated quite a bit of dissatisfaction with this situation.
NERvGear could create real imaginary worlds.
However, creating a small world where one would only hit a wall after walking for a hundred meters was simply putting the cart before the horse. Ever since the launch of the Mech, I and the other gaming fanatics had dreamed of entering the gaming world. It was only natural that they would start looking forward to a certain type of game.
What we're looking forward to, of course, is a game that matches the connection to the Internet-an online role-playing game where thousands or tens of thousands of players are online at the same time, cultivating their own avatars to fight and live.
When the anticipation and desire had reached a critical point, the game company was full of confidence to release the first game in the world, the virtual reality online game " Sword Art Online Sword God Domain."
The stage of the game was a huge floating castle with a hundred floors.
There were grasslands, forests, streets, and even towns on each floor. The players could only rely on their weapons to explore these floors, find the stairs to the upper floor, and defeat the powerful guardian beasts. They worked hard to reach the top floor of the castle.
This game boldly eliminated the " magic " that had always been considered a necessary element in fantasy adventure online games and replaced it with " sword skills ", which was set to be nearly infinite. The reason for this was to allow players to use their own bodies and swords to fight. This would allow players to experience the greatest charm of a Stealth environment.
Other than combat skills, there were also manufacturing skills such as smelting, leather crafting, and sewing. There were also daily skills such as fishing, cooking, and music. Players could not only adventure in the vast area, but also live in it as described in the text. According to one's wishes and hard work, one could also buy their own house and live a life of farming and herding sheep.
As this information was published, the fanaticism of the players also rose.
The closed beta test that was limited to 1,000 players, which was the recruitment of participants for the operational test before the official launch of the service, had nearly half of the 100,000 NERvGear units sold at that time. I could only say that I was lucky to be able to pass through that narrow door and be successfully drawn. What was even better was that the closed beta players could also get the priority to purchase the official version.
During the two months of testing, every day was like a dream to me. When he was in school, he kept thinking about the composition of skills and equipment. He would rush home immediately after school and go into Stealth until dawn. In the blink of an eye, the closed testing period ended. When the character I was training was reset, I felt as if half of myself had been taken away.
Then, it finally came to today-November 6th, 2022, Sunday.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, the " SwordArtOnline Sword God Domain " officially began operations.
Of course, I had already prepared myself 30 minutes ago. Once the time was up, I logged into the game without missing a second. Judging from the server's status, the number of online users had instantly exceeded 9,500. In other words, the other lucky people who could buy the game should be in the same situation as me. From the first batch of sales on every large shopping website, all of them were sold out within a few seconds. Some people even stayed up late to queue up for the previous day's shop and even caused a commotion in the news three days ago. It could be seen that almost 100% of the people who bought the game were severely addicted to online games.
This online gaming fanatic was also faithfully displayed by this man named Klein.
As soon as I logged into SAO and stepped onto the nostalgic stone road of the "Town of Beginnings", I immediately ran towards the cheap weapons shop located in the complicated path. Klein probably guessed that I was a closed beta tester from my straightforward sprinting. After he stopped me, he immediately said to me,"Bring me along for a while!"」Such a request.
I couldn't help but admire his shamelessness of asking someone to bring him along for the first time. I could only answer,"Oh, oh." Then…do you want to go to the weapons store?" This was something that only a guide NPC would say. After that, he directly teamed up with him and taught him the initial methods of fighting in the training area until now. This was how the two of us met.
To be honest, I'm not as good at making friends in the game world as I am in the real world. Although he had gotten to know many people during the closed beta test, he did not have a single friend.
However, this man named Klein was incredibly able to immediately enter the inner world of others without making them feel unhappy. I thought that I might be able to have a long-term relationship with this guy as I spoke again,
[So…what should we do next?] Continue to fight monsters until you feel the hand?」
[Of course!...] Although I really want to answer you like this…"
Klein glanced to his right to confirm the time on the screen.
[…But it's time to go offline and have a meal. I've already asked the pizza shop to deliver pizza to my house at 5:30.」
[You're so well prepared.]
Klein puffed out his chest and replied to me with a "of course". Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he continued,
[Ah, right, I'm going to meet a group of guys I met in another game in the Town of Beginnings. How about I introduce you guys to each other? Do you want to add them as friends? This way, he could send messages at any time, which was more convenient.」
" Eh... hmm-" I suddenly didn't know what to say.
Although she got along well with Klein, there was no guarantee that she would get along with his friends. On the contrary, he might not be able to get along well with them, and he might even become a little awkward with Klein.
[That's true...]
Hearing my hesitant answer, Klein probably sensed my intentions. He immediately shook his head and said,
"It's okay. Of course, I won't force you. There should be a chance to introduce you guys later.」
[... Mm.] Sorry, thank you."
After apologizing, Klein shook his head again.
[Hey, hey, I should be the one thanking you! You've really helped me a lot. I must find a chance to thank you properly. But of course, it was just a spiritual gratitude.」
After saying that, he grinned and looked at the time again.
[…Then, I'll go offline first.] Kirito, thank you so much. Please take care of me in the future."」
Facing his right hand, I thought to myself that this man must be a good leader in " other games " as I reached out to shake his hand.
"I'm the one who needs your guidance. If you have anything else you want to ask, you can look for me anytime.」
[Yes.] It's all up to you."
After saying that, we let go of each other.
To me, Ain Grand, or rather, SwordArtOnline, was no longer just a game for entertainment.
Klein took a step back, raised his right index and middle fingers, and waved them downward. This was the action of calling out the game's " main screen window." A rectangular shape with a purple glow immediately appeared along with a bell-like sound effect.
I took a few steps back, sat down on a suitable rock nearby, and opened the window. Then, he began to move his fingers, preparing to organize the spoils of war he had picked up in the battle with Shanz as his opponent.
At this moment…
[Eh…]
Klein suddenly shouted like a madman.
[What's going on…there's no logout button?]」
Hearing this, I stopped what I was doing and raised my head.
[No buttons…How is that possible?] Look carefully."
Hearing my surprised voice, the tall curved knife operator widened his eyes under the vulgar pattern headscarf and leaned his face closer to his hand.
In the initial state, there were several menu labels on the left side of the slender rectangular window, and a human outline showing the status of his equipment on the right side. At the bottom of the menu, there should be a 'LOGOUT' button, which was the button to leave this world.
Just as I was about to shift my gaze back to the list of items I had obtained during the few hours of battle, Klein raised his voice slightly and said to me,
[I really can't find it. You should also look for it, Kirito."
[Didn't I tell you, how could that happen…]
I sighed as I muttered. Then, he tapped on the top left corner of his window, the button that returned to the start menu.
The item bar on the right closed smoothly, and the window returned to its original state. There were also many equipment figures that appeared in the blank space, and on the left side were neatly arranged menu labels.
I moved my finger to the bottom with a rather familiar gesture.
At this moment, my entire body stopped moving.
No, he didn't.
Just as Klein had said, the logout button that had been there during the closed test-no, when he had logged in at one o'clock this afternoon-was now completely gone.
I stared at the blank space for a few seconds, then slowly looked at the menu tab again. After confirming that the position of the button had not changed, I looked up. Klein tilted his face and said,"Right?"」Such an expression.
[... No, right?]
[Yes, no.]
Although I was a little unhappy, I still nodded honestly. The curved sword operator smiled and stroked his strong chin.
"Because today is the first day of the game's official launch, there is indeed a possibility of such bugs appearing. The GM channel should have been flooded by now, and the operating company should be crying.」
Klein said casually, but I ridiculed him a little mischievously.
"Are you still so relaxed? Didn't he just ask the pizza shop to deliver pizza at 5:30?」
[Ah ah, right!]
Seeing him jump up with his eyes wide open, I couldn't help but smile.
After deleting the unused items from the item bar that had turned red due to the overload, I stood up after sorting out the items and walked to my mouth to shout,"Oh no! What about my eel pizza and ginger ale!」Klein.
[Anyway, you should go to the GM channel to complain. Maybe I can ask the system to let you go offline.」
[I've already tried. There was no reaction at all. Ahh, it's already 5:25! Kirito, is there no other way to log off?」
Klein said as he spread his arms with a pained expression. When I heard what he said-
The smile on my face froze. Because there was an inexplicable feeling that did not comfort my back, making me feel a chill.
[Well... if you want to log out...]
I muttered as I thought.
To leave this imaginary world and return to his room in the real world, he just needed to open the main window and press the logout button. Then, he would press the OK button that appeared on the right. It was really simple. However, I don't know any other way.
Looking up at Klein's arrogant face, I slowly shook my head.
"Sorry... no. Apart from controlling the menu, there was no other way to log out.」
[How is that possible…There must be another way!]」
Klein suddenly roared after he loudly denied my answer.
"Go back! Logout! Leave!"
Of course, nothing happened. The SAO didn't have such a voice command function.
Klein continued to shout and even started to jump up. I whispered to him,
Klein, it's useless. The instruction manual did not record any method to cut the line in an emergency.」
[But…this is really too exaggerated!] Even if it was a bug, it could not follow his will and return to his room and body. This was too much!」
Klein looked dejected as he turned to me. I actually feel the same way about what he said.
It was really exaggerated and unreasonable. However, it was an ironclad fact.
"Hey, hey... you must be lying. I can't believe it. We can't leave the game world now!」
After laughing a few times in a somewhat urgent voice, Klein continued,"
[Right, just cut off the power of the body. Otherwise, he would pull the helmet off his head.」
Klein placed his hand on his forehead as if he was about to take off his transparent hat. I felt a little uneasy again and calmly said to him,
[Neither of the two methods you mentioned can do it. Right now…we can't control our real body's movements. All the commands that we send from our brains to our bodies are all here by 'NERvGear...'"
I tapped my finger on the back of my head, where the marrow was located.
"... It was blocked and then transformed into the signal of the character 'Activity'.」
Klein fell silent after hearing what I said and slowly put his hand down.
The two of us just silently thought about our own things.
In order to achieve a complete stealth environment, NERvGear completely canceled the command signal transmitted from the brain to the spinal cord and turned it into a signal to move the body in this world. No matter how hard I waved my hand here, my arm wouldn't even move as I was lying on the bed in my room in the real world. This way, I wouldn't bruise the corner of the table.
However, it is precisely because of this function that we are unable to remove the Stealth state at will.
"... Now I can only wait for them to get rid of the bugs, or for someone in the real world to help me remove my helmet.」
Klein muttered to himself in a dazed tone.
I just nodded in agreement.
"But I live alone, what about you?」
After a slight hesitation, I answered honestly,"
"... with my mother and sister, a total of three people. So, if I don't go down during mealtime, I should be forced to remove my Stealth…"
"Oh? How old is Kirito's sister?"
I pushed Klein, whose eyes suddenly lit up and body stuck out, back forcefully.
[You're still so relaxed in this situation. My sister is in a sports club, and she hates games the most. People like us don't have anything to do with her. Compared to that kind of thing…"
In order to quickly change the topic, I extended my right hand and said,
"Don't you think... something's wrong?」
"There's something wrong with bugs.」
"This isn't as simple as a bug. If something like "unable to log out" happened, it would be a big problem for the future operation of the game. In fact, while we've been here, your pizza has been getting cold. This is also a financial loss in the real world, right?」
"…Cold pizza tastes worse than non-sticky natto…"
Ignoring Klein's inexplicable moans, I continued,"
"In this situation, the operating company should stop the server first and then forcefully cut off all the players. But…it has been fifteen minutes since we noticed this bug, and the operating company hasn't even made a relevant announcement, let alone disconnected. This is really too strange.」
"Oh, now that you mention it, that's indeed the case.」
Klein finally put on a serious expression and began to rub his chin. His long, narrow eyes were shining sharply in the shadows of his face, as his turban was pushed up by the high bridge of his nose.
If I cut off my account in this game, we won't meet again! However, the two of us were currently in the illusory world, discussing matters related to the real world. This really made me feel a little uncomfortable. Klein continued,"
"…The development and operation company of SAO,'ARGUS,' is a game manufacturer that is famous for its emphasis on the rights of players, right? Because they were trustworthy, even though it was the first time they released an online game, it still caused a rush to buy. However, such a big problem had occurred on the first day. This was simply ruining his reputation!」
"You're right. Moreover, SAO was the pioneer of this type of virtual reality online game. If there was a problem now, this type of game might be banned.」
Klein and I looked at each other and sighed.
The four seasons of Ain Grand evolved according to the real world. Therefore, it was just like the real world, where winter had just arrived.
I took a deep breath of the imaginary cold air, feeling the imaginary air in my lungs as I looked up.
A few hundred meters above, the bottom of the second layer was shrouded in purple clouds. If one looked along its concave and concave surface, one could see a huge tower in the distance. It was the passage to the upper level, the " Labyrinth Zone ". At the same time, one could also see the opening that connected it to the outermost ring.
It was already past 5:30. I peered up at the sky that was dyed red by the setting sun. The slanted sunlight made the vast grassland shine with golden light. Even though I was in an abnormal situation, I was still moved speechless by this beautiful imaginary world.
But after that.
This world had lost its original appearance forever.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。