SAO

Once the beef had thawed, he poured in a spoonful of oil. When it started to steam, he added the ginger slices and hot peppers, and a sharp, pungent smell immediately filled the air.

The boy added the beef, turned the heat low, and let it simmer. Soon, the rich aroma of meat filled the room.

Then he added oyster sauce, a little soy sauce, and finally a handful of celery.

The meat gradually grew tender, and Kazuto Kirigaya watched from the side, drooling.

Sugong Zhiye struggled a little to plug in the rice cooker.

Kazuto Kirigaya glanced at his idle older brother and asked, "Aren't you going to help your sister?"

Kazuto Kirigaya chuckled. "She's the one who insisted on taking over. She even said I should be considerate of my big brother—" Before he could finish, Sugong Zhiye walked up to him, expressionless, and gave his foot a vicious stomp.

Kazuto Kirigaya immediately grabbed his foot and cried out in pain.

Kazuto Kirigaya finally understood. So that was what had happened. No wonder Zhiye had been acting so strangely today.

After the meal, everyone lounged back in their chairs, completely satisfied.

"It's great having Big Brother around."

"It's great having Big Brother around."

The words came from two people at once. Kazuto Kirigaya and Sugong Zhiye exchanged a glance. Kazuto Kirigaya grinned and pretended to be bashful. "Oh, you're making me blush."

Kazuto Kirigaya suddenly sat up and exchanged a serious look with his older brother. "Then, shall we start?"

"Let's start!" Kazuto Kirigaya replied just as seriously.

The two of them opened their computers in perfect sync, leaving Sugong Zhiye staring at them longingly.

"Zhiye, it's not that your second brother won't let you join. You're just too bad at it," Kazuto Kirigaya said cheerfully when he saw the girl gazing at them.

That might have been fine if he'd kept his mouth shut, but the moment he spoke, Sugong Zhiye's anger shot through the roof. She snorted and turned away.

"Fine, I won't play. Like I care."

That was what she called back as she walked away.

Kazuto Kirigaya and Kazuto Kirigaya looked at each other and smiled.

Kazuto Kirigaya teased, "You really need to quit messing with your little sister like that. One of these days, I'll start worrying she'll charge into your room with a knife."

"It won't come to that, it won't," Kazuto Kirigaya said, waving a hand.

Then they spent the whole afternoon gaming.

Time flowed like water, and the days flew by. Before long, the days when he couldn't show off had passed.

The little blond had grown into a big blond.

As Kazuto Kirigaya matured, he became even more handsome. His features were sharply defined, his nose bridge was high, and his golden-red eyes had grown brighter. He could stand on any street corner and attract a whole crowd of young women. Thanks to working out for a long time and having spent a year practicing swordsmanship, his muscles were well-proportioned and his build was lean and tall—the sort that looked slim in clothes but muscular without them.

Today, he was fifteen. It was also the day the Sword Art Online closed beta client was released.

They had both secured beta-test access, though in different ways. Kazuto Kirigaya had gotten in purely through luck, while he had quietly hacked into the official website and altered the data to claim a spot.

Honestly, he admired Kazuto Kirigaya's luck. Only a thousand slots were being offered across all of Japan, and with Sword Art Online's popularity, demand far outstripped supply. The odds might not even have been 0.01%, yet Kazuto Kirigaya had still made it in.

"Lucky" didn't begin to describe it.

Today was the first day the Sword Art Online closed beta was available to testers.

In 2022, humanity's technological prowess had finally made it possible to create a fully realized virtual network space.

The major electronics manufacturer ARGUS had developed a new-generation consumer device called the NerveGear, making it possible to use full-dive technology in ordinary online games. Sword Art Online was the first large-scale VRMMO to make use of this advanced technology.

Unlike old-fashioned game consoles, which required a flat screen and a handheld controller as their two user interfaces, the NerveGear had only one interface: a streamlined helmet that covered the entire head and face.

Countless signal components were embedded inside it. The helmet used the multiple electric fields they generated to connect directly to the user's brain. Users didn't need to rely on their actual eyes and ears; the machine sent information straight to the brain's visual and auditory cortices, allowing them to see and hear. In fact, the NerveGear could read all five senses—not just sight and hearing, but touch, taste, and smell as well.

Full-dive gaming: a revolutionary technological invention. Its creator was Akihiko Kayaba, a genius of his age.

Even Kazuto Kirigaya had to admit how clever he was. The game had remarkably few loopholes; it was almost impossible to install bugs in it.

You could say this world was made up of strings of code, but it was so lifelike that it felt like another world.

At any rate, once he entered the game, he successfully hacked a set of data.

By sifting through the masses of data, he managed to infiltrate the code for his HP.

He hadn't set anything too outrageous, like dealing 999 damage with one attack or flying through the air.

He'd only given himself a health lock, and even that only kept his last hit point from dropping.

As a Fool, it wasn't unreasonable for him not to die, was it?

As a Fool, it wasn't unreasonable to raise his attack speed a little, was it?

As a Fool, it wasn't unreasonable to add a little attack power, was it?

As a Fool, it wasn't unreasonable for him to know Star Explosion Air Slash, was it?

Ahem, just kidding.

If he actually dared to do that, his main body would kill him.

So, he'd only given himself a health lock.

If he really got killed, his main body would kill him anyway.

So, he'd only given himself a health lock. Besides, if he added too many abnormal lines of code himself, the GM might notice and start purging the abnormal accounts.

As long as you didn't make cheating too obvious, you were basically cheating.

Was he cheating?

Basically.

He entered the character creation screen and thought about it. There wasn't much he wanted to change, so he decided to keep his appearance as it was. What face could be more handsome than his own?

It wasn't that Kazuto Kirigaya was bragging—he really hadn't seen any young man in the real world as handsome as himself.

Blond hair and golden eyes—a born protagonist's face.

After entering the game, he entered his account and password as usual. He thought for a moment, then slowly typed four characters into the nickname field: "Roa." Then he began the mental connection.

When he opened his eyes again, the scene before him had changed.

A vast plaza surrounded him. A potted plant stood in front of Kazuto Kirigaya, growing some plant he couldn't identify.

He tried opening the main menu, then checked his character's attributes.

[Character: Roa]

[Strength: 10 (10)]

[Agility: 10 (10)]

[Stamina: 10 (10)]

[Luck: 5 (10)]

Kazuto Kirigaya was a little surprised. He looked around, grabbed a guy called Kirito, and said, "Hey, Kirito, why'd you make yourself look like that?" Kazuto Kirigaya teased him.

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