Reality

Then came a fierce battle, and the BOSS was naturally defeated by the four of them.

Time flowed like water, and the sun and moon raced by.

The days when he couldn't show off passed in a flash. In the blink of an eye, two months had slipped away.

Three months had been enough for everyone to thoroughly understand the game mechanics.

Some time ago, the closed beta ended, bringing SAO's closed-beta access to an end.

SAO was highly playable. Even Yuuki Asuna would sneak online whenever her mother wasn't around.

Thanks to everyone's teamwork, they had managed to climb to an astonishingly high floor.

The twenty-fifth floor.

Reaching that floor in only three months had been no easy feat.

But for some reason, perhaps because the story hadn't begun yet, he still hadn't obtained the Power of Time and Space. These three months had only served to hone his swordsmanship and master the skills of the monsters.

Today was Friday, the day SAO officially launched and made its debut before the public.

Copies of SAO were snapped up everywhere, from the main streets to the side alleys.

As soon as Kazuto Naoki logged into his account and began the neural connection, a familiar sensation washed over him.

It was still the familiar Starting City.

He tested his limbs, which moved with ease, and took in the overwhelmingly realistic sensations.

Kazuto Naoki found that familiar feeling again.

Honestly, ever since he'd played SAO, no other game had felt the same.

But soon, he sensed that something was wrong.

He took the new-player weapon from his inventory, swung it, and tested the system's assist functions.

Before long, his brow furrowed.

The assistance seemed much weaker.

The system's default calibration had been reduced quite a bit, but that was no big deal. He hadn't planned to leave his system slot empty anyway.

He instinctively looked at his HP bar.

The code he'd spent three years preparing was about to come in handy.

He'd tested it himself during the closed beta and confirmed that it worked. He'd even secretly installed it for Kazuto Kirigaya, Usakawa Sumi, and Yuuki Asuna.

After all, one was his younger brother, one was his younger brother's wife, and one was his disciple. If any of them died in the game, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

When the bug took effect, a tiny mark appeared at the end of the HP bar, overlapping its outline. It was practically impossible to notice unless you looked closely.

He glanced at the HP bar. Yep, it was still there.

But the next moment, a string of system announcements appeared.

And this system was not the same system as before.

[Plot activation detected]

[Participants: Yuuki Asuna, Kazuto Kirigaya, Sachi, Usakawa Sumi.]

[Scanning this world]

[Scan successful]

[Beginning to steal the Power of Time and Space]

[Note: You will obtain a certain amount of the Power of Time and Space whenever you significantly change the world or advance the plot.]

[System recommendation: Clear more floors]

Kazuto Naoki kept his expression fairly composed as he read this.

But the farther he read, the harder it became to keep his cool.

[Beginning world synchronization]

[Virtual world conversion complete]

[Warning: Your current location is the real world!!!]

[Abnormal code detected. Code has been removed.]

[Loading system data]

[Loading complete]

Kazuto Naoki's expression stiffened. He couldn't believe it.

He drew a deep breath as he stared at the message before him, then glanced at his HP bar.

Just as he'd expected, the nearly imperceptible line at the very bottom of the bar had disappeared.

Holy shit, what the hell, system?

Kazuto Naoki was devastated. He might never need to use it, but he'd made that cheat himself. What gave the system the right to erase it?

Three years of effort had just gone down the drain.

Kazuto Naoki clutched his chest, heartbroken.

But he clearly hadn't realized how serious the situation was.

With Akihiko Kayaba yet to use GM Authority to force players into the instance, he'd better hurry up and level.

He wasn't worried about Kazuto Kirigaya and Asuna. They had cheats of their own, after all. Why would they need an HP-lock cheat?

He'd only ended up like this because the system had stabbed him in the back.

There was no need to tell them yet. What if the GM discovered the cheats for some other reason and removed them as abnormalities?

Akihiko Kayaba was undoubtedly a genius. This ability should only be used to save lives, not to abuse his power.

He sighed and looked around. Kazuto Kirigaya was nowhere to be seen. He had no idea which way that guy had gone.

Earlier, Asuna had insisted on returning the VR headset he'd given her, saying her older brother already had the game and she didn't need his.

Kazuto Naoki had looked at her with a complicated expression. He hadn't expected her older brother to end up taking the blame for this.

But given her mother's temperament, if she found out her daughter had entered a death game because of Kazuto Naoki, she'd surely come after him.

He still wanted to become her future son-in-law, so for his own sake, he'd have to let her older brother take the blame.

He took a deep breath, ignored the astonished looks from the people in the plaza, and sprinted straight south.

While the players were still getting used to the skill mechanics, he had to hurry and level up.

His goal was the hundredth floor.

He'd defeat the Demon King and save everyone from their peril.

Kazuto Naoki opened his status panel again. The information displayed had completely changed.

[Character: Roa]

[Level: 1]

[Strength: F]

[Agility: F]

[Stamina: F]

[Intelligence: E- (Stamina consumed when triggering sword skills; converted into magic power here)]

[Luck: F-]

[Sword Skill: Basic Sword Skill—Slanting Slash: Single Slanting Slash]

"Has it turned into a system panel?" Kazuto Naoki mused.

Still, this was convenient. It was easier to understand.

He raced toward the grassland in the distance, where he spotted several level-one wolves.

He took a light breath, gripped the new-player iron sword, and felt its weight in his hand as his heart pounded fiercely.

The wolves hadn't attacked him yet, so he hadn't drawn their aggro.

Relying on instinct, he began to position the sword at his waist.

He stepped forward with his right foot and bent his knees slightly, his right arm muscles tensing.

He exhaled, recalling the essence of the Sword God Style's Sword Draw Style.

The movement had to be fast; the strike had to be swift.

The not particularly sharp blade began to shimmer with a deep blue light.

Sword skill.

As his movements corrected themselves, Kazuto Naoki felt a clarity unlike anything he'd ever experienced fill his mind.

Suddenly, the iron sword swept through the air in a mighty slash, accompanied by a rushing wind.

A flash of cold steel passed by. The indifferent iron sword cut through the neck of the level-one wolf, and its body dissolved into blue light.

[System notification]

[You have mastered a new sword skill]

[???]

[Charge, then draw your sword]

[Effect: Increases with charging time. Maximum damage is 500% of the basic sword technique.]

[Cooldown: 10s]

Kazuto Naoki let out a breath and named the sword skill Sword God Style—Sword Draw Style. Then he frowned.

Because he felt a little tired.

The discovery surprised Kazuto Naoki.

Then, as if he'd thought of something, his expression darkened.

There was only one explanation: he now understood what the system had meant by reality changing.

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