Kazuto Kirigaya paid no attention to the juice splattering over him. He simply drove his sword straight down.
A cold glint flashed as the blade pierced straight through its opponent.
Even so, it continued to struggle. The Man-eating Flower had a surprisingly thick HP bar. Kazuto Kirigaya applied a little pressure with his foot, and its struggles weakened.
He stabbed it three times without changing expression, finally finishing it off.
At the same time, a powerful wave of dizziness washed over him.
Kazuto Kirigaya frowned and rubbed his aching brow. His mental strength was formidable, so he wasn't about to pass out.
He glanced at his MP bar. It had been completely drained, and that violent power receded like the tide.
[Your level has increased to Level 7]
[System Announcement: You have comprehended ???]
[???]
[Active Skill: Increases all of your attributes according to the magic power infused. The degree of improvement depends on the total amount of magic power infused.]
Kazuto Kirigaya thought it over and named the skill Berserk.
After resting for five minutes, a blue light suddenly enveloped Kazuto Kirigaya.
Forced teleportation.
A faint smile touched Kazuto Kirigaya's lips. He murmured, "So it's finally beginning?"
It was the same familiar plaza, where players appeared one after another across the wide-open space.
This was the Starting Town.
Before the crowd grew too dense, Kazuto Kirigaya hurriedly searched the area for Asuna and Kazuto Kirigaya.
As the blue lights multiplied, large numbers of players appeared in the plaza.
The game's melodious BGM drifted into the players' ears on a gentle breeze.
It turned out that if real life had background music too, people's moods would improve by several levels.
Kazuto Kirigaya searched the plaza and finally spotted a black-haired man in a corner.
He stepped forward and grabbed the man. After glancing at his ID, Kazuto Kirigaya smiled. "You haven't changed. You're still using that name."
Kazuto Kirigaya had been wondering who had grabbed him. When he turned around, he saw his older brother.
He ignored the teasing in his brother's voice and went straight to the point. "Big brother, haven't you noticed anything strange?"
Kazuto Kirigaya's smile faded. He thought to himself that he had already gone from being a pile of data to a flesh-and-blood body.
Seeing Kazuto Kirigaya's expression, Kazuto Kirigaya said, "I suppose you've noticed the logout button is gone, too."
Kazuto Kirigaya tried to reassure him. "It's probably a bug."
Kazuto Kirigaya sighed. "If it's a bug, this game's going to get some bad publicity. I had such high expectations for it, too."
Kazuto Kirigaya looked at the boy before him. It seemed Kazuto Kirigaya still hadn't realized how serious things were.
After chatting with the boy for a few moments, he glanced at Mito, the enormous skeleton holding a scythe who stood silently nearby. Kazuto Kirigaya gave a meaningful smile, patted Kazuto Kirigaya on the shoulder, and said, "I'm going to find Asuna. You two talk."
As the plaza grew crowded, finding people became more difficult for Kazuto Kirigaya.
But wherever he went, plenty of players turned to look at him.
His handsome face had nearly perfect features: a tall nose, a pair of sharp brows that lent him an air of heroism, and bright, vivid red-gold eyes. Since he had practiced swordsmanship for years, he always carried a sharp, imposing aura.
He wore a coarse hemp outfit, just the beginner gear everyone received. It looked completely different on him, though. His short hair gleamed brilliantly, and the part in his bangs revealed his handsome features. He was an exceptionally good-looking young man.
In Japanese society, people's opinions were practically dictated by appearances. Faced with a boy like him, even the girls who knew it was only a game couldn't help feeling their hearts flutter. His aura was an irresistible draw to girls who had little experience with the world.
Quite a few male players approached him as well, asking him to reveal his character-creation secrets.
Kazuto Kirigaya's expression was cold as he glanced around and said flatly, "I'm looking for someone. Please move."
The girls blushed, captivated by his cool demeanor. The male players whispered among themselves. Kazuto Kirigaya had sharp ears and could make out most of what they were saying.
"What's the point of looking good in a game? For all we know, he's a fat shut-in in real life."
"Exactly."
Kazuto Kirigaya shook his head at the sour players and paid them no mind. At last, he found Asuna in a corner, looking utterly confused.
She was just standing there, stunned.
When she saw Kazuto Kirigaya, she grabbed him as if he were her savior.
Asuna wore a serious expression. "Kazuto, I found something strange. The logout button is gone."
Kazuto Kirigaya nodded.
Seeing how calm he was, Asuna grew anxious. She lowered her voice. "It's almost seven. My mother will be home soon, and she'll definitely scold me."
Kazuto Kirigaya shook his head, marveling that even as an adult, Asuna still feared her mother.
Although Asuna still hadn't realized how serious the situation was, Kazuto Kirigaya didn't want to alarm her. He reassured her, "It's fine. It's probably a bug."
But Asuna still wore a worried expression.
He led her over to Kazuto Kirigaya. As the number of players increased, the plaza gradually grew noisy.
Quite a few players had noticed something was wrong. Many had realized the logout button was missing.
Noise rose from every corner, growing louder and louder. He kept hearing things like, "What's going on?" "So there's no way to log out?" and "Let me log out already!"
After a while, the crowd's noise took on an anxious edge. People began shouting things like, "This isn't funny!" and "GM, get out here!"
Suddenly, someone's cry drowned out the noise.
"Ah... Look up there!"
Kazuto Kirigaya instinctively raised his head and saw a strange sight.
A hundred meters overhead, on the underside of the second floor, the sky was covered in a scarlet, checkerboard pattern.
Looking closely, he could see the pattern was formed by two English words repeating in alternating order. The two words, written in bright red letters, were [warning] and [System Announcement].
"So this is a GM?" Kazuto Kirigaya fell into thought. It was his first time seeing a GM in real life.
The red pattern covered the entire sky. At its center, a huge drop of thick blood slowly began to fall. But it never reached the ground; instead, it suddenly changed shape in midair.
A giant nearly twenty meters tall appeared there, clad in a deep red cloak.
He revealed his face beneath the low-brimmed hat—but there was no face there. The space was completely empty, and Kazuto Kirigaya could even make out the stitching inside the hat and along its edges. Beneath the long, drooping hem, there was nothing but a faint darkness.