Sword Art Online Open Beta, Connection Initiated!

"All right, all right, I was just joking. Don't take it so seriously.

We're Childhood Friends who grew up together. Do you really think I wouldn't know what kind of person you are?

Did Auntie make little cakes again? Perfect. I went to the department store today and haven't eaten anything yet."

Since it had only just been released, NERvGear terminals were in high demand. In order to play a Death Game with Lord Kirito, Seiya had gotten up early in the morning to line up.

When he opened the Kendo Dojo's doors, Nao, who was behind Seiya, naturally followed him inside and changed into her own slippers at the entrance.

Seiya's home was a two-story building. The spacious ground floor was the Kendo Dojo, while the Second Floor was where Seiya lived and slept.

The Kendo Dojo downstairs was simply arranged. Rows of Bamboo Swords rested on wooden racks, while two enormous calligraphy pieces hung in the center of the hall: "Wenren" and "Perseverance."

At this time in the past, quite a few people should have come to practice swordsmanship at the dojo. However, ever since Seiya's grandfather passed away, the dojo had been temporarily closed.

Now, the only people who still regularly practiced swordsmanship here were Seiya and Nao at his side.

"Brother Seiya, have you never considered reopening the dojo? That should have been Grandpa Wenren's wish too, right?"

Looking at the empty, quiet dojo, Nao's face was filled with loneliness.

She truly loved kendo, and she also loved this place that had carried more than half of her childhood. She did not want the Wenren Family's dojo to decline like this.

"To reopen the dojo, I'd at least have to wait until I'm an adult before I'd be qualified to run it.

Besides, I have a lot of things to deal with right now. Even if I wanted to reopen it, I probably wouldn't have the energy for it."

Reopening his family's Kendo Dojo had indeed been one of Seiya's original plans.

After all, running a dojo was quite profitable these days, especially here in Japan, where bushido was highly revered and kendo was especially popular.

But the past was the past, and the present was the present. Originally, Seiya had thought he was just an ordinary Transmigrator.

But now that his cheat had arrived, being content with merely opening a dojo would be too embarrassing for the ranks of Transmigrators.

"Hmph. So these are the many things Brother Seiya is busy with?"

Nao Kirigaya had naturally noticed the NERvGear box Seiya was holding.

Although Nao rarely paid attention to games and such, NERvGear's Full Dive technology was a groundbreaking product of the era. Naturally, she had seen it on the news.

"Brother Kazuto must have made you buy it again, right? It's bad enough that he wastes his time playing around, but I never expected him to drag you down with him too.

When I get home, I'm definitely going to give him a good talking-to!

Brother Seiya, you're a kendo genius. Grandpa Wenren had such high hopes for you. You can't just give up on yourself."

Hearing the girl's words, Seiya could not help breaking into a cold sweat.

She was clearly a year younger than both Kazuto Kirigaya and him, yet they were the ones being lectured most of the time.

And after arriving at Seiya's home, Nao acted as naturally as if she had returned to her own house. Not only did she put the little cakes she brought onto plates, she even brewed the Buckwheat Tea to go with them.

To put it bluntly, Nao probably knew where Seiya kept all the household items better than he did as the owner of the house.

As she watched Seiya wolf down the little cakes, Nao Kirigaya rested her chin on both hands and looked at him with a blissful expression.

"So Brother Seiya hadn't eaten anything all day, and got up so early just to buy this thing?

Brother Seiya is like this, and my older brother is like this too. I really don't understand. Is this kind of game really that fun?"

Looking at the NERvGear on the table, Nao Kirigaya was honestly not very happy.

Ever since the dojo had closed, Seiya had spent far less time practicing swordsmanship with her every day. If he started playing this NERvGear in the future, he would have even less time to spend with her.

It was all Brother Kazuto's fault. It was bad enough that he wasted his own time, but he even wanted to make the outstanding Brother Seiya fall with him.

"Actually, it's not just for playing games. According to Kazuto, the SAO being released this time is a Full Dive game.

That means the character in the game can be completely synchronized with our consciousness.

And according to Kazuto, this is a game where swords are the mainstream. Kendo experts in real life can perform exceptionally well in the game too.

I thought that since I don't have any suitable opponents in reality anyway, I might as well look for strong enemies in the game.

In the game, no one would care whether I'm a middle school student or not. Plus, it can train my awareness and reflexes, so I accepted Kazuto's invitation."

Hearing Seiya's words, Nao immediately wore an enlightened expression.

Just as she thought, Brother Seiya was different from her useless older brother. They were both playing games, but her older brother only did it for fun, while Brother Seiya was doing it to take his kendo further. The two were fundamentally different!

"In that case, I won't say anything more. By the way, are there still any civilian NERvGear units left at the department store?"

The girl, who had originally been quite resistant to NERvGear, immediately became interested in the so-called SAO after hearing Seiya's explanation.

And when she thought about it carefully, if she played SAO too, then the time she spent with Brother Seiya every day would not decrease. It might even increase instead!

The moment she thought of that, Nao's heart could not help heating up.

"At this point, they should be hard to buy. And SAO's open beta starts tonight. Nao, you..."

Before Seiya could finish speaking, the girl in front of him had already rushed away in a flurry.

Watching Nao's departing back, Seiya let out a deep sigh.

Seiya naturally knew what Nao wanted to do, but honestly, he did not want her entering SAO with them. After all, this was a matter of life and death.

However, when he thought of how sought-after NERvGear was right now, and how today was SAO's open beta launch, Seiya could not help letting out a sigh of relief. Nao probably would not be able to get a Full Dive device at this time.

That evening, Kazuto Kirigaya even specifically called him, worried that Seiya would stand him up or not know how to use the Full Dive device.

After hanging up on Lord Kirito, Nao's call came right after. She regretfully told Seiya that she had failed to buy a NERvGear device.

But she had already asked a friend for help and promised that, two days later, she would definitely be able to enter the game with Seiya and the others.

"Full Dive!"

After connecting the device, an electronic voice rang out, and Seiya's consciousness instantly entered the virtual game!