Game (Part 2)

Asuna followed his instructions, her finger automatically swiping downwards. The players around her mirrored Asuna's action, and a series of electronic bell sounds echoed across the plaza.

After tapping the item inventory tab on the main menu that appeared, the list of held items displayed at the very top showed the gift Akihiko Kayaba had mentioned.

The item name was—"Handheld Mirror."

Listening to Asuna mutter about why she was being given such a thing, he clicked on the name and selected the "materialize" button from the window that popped up. Accompanied by a shining sound effect, a small, square mirror immediately appeared.

The mirror reflected a face with sharp features, yet remarkably young.

The next moment, all the Players, including Asuna, were successively bathed in blue light. The light lasted only two to three seconds, but when their vision cleared again, they saw a crowd of unfamiliar people.

Those handsome and refined Players vanished. Many Players wore expressions of shock and disbelief, their companions scrutinizing each other. A single voice echoed across almost the entire plaza:

"Who are you?"

Then, they seemed to realize, frantically touching their faces and then looking at their reflections in the mirrors.

This was, astonishingly, their real-world selves.

Asuna's hairstyle had changed slightly, and her face appeared a bit younger and more innocent, but it was largely the same.

Kazuto Kirigaya casually surveyed the surroundings. He could spot several Players who had gone from female to male—a significant number, he surmised. He understood the feeling, as he himself preferred playing female characters when he played games.

It wasn't that male characters were un-fun, it was just that female characters offered better value.

However, the Players were all groaning.

After all, everyone had at least some minor secrets they used to adjust their appearance, trying to slightly enhance their looks. Was that too much to ask?

But now, everyone was showing their true faces.

Before Kazuto Kirigaya could react, a Player next to him exclaimed in surprise, "Why haven't you changed at all?"

It was an unremarkable, average-looking middle-aged fat man. His physique was noticeably stout, with a prominent belly, giving him a comical appearance.

Kazuto Kirigaya shrugged. "This is what I look like in real life."

The fatty fell silent. Not just him; all the male Players who overheard fell silent.

For a moment, an eerie silence descended upon Kazuto Kirigaya's side.

What to do when there's a fellow with incredibly high looks nearby?

While good-looking guys are popular with the opposite sex, it's also true that most good-looking guys face ostracization from their own gender.

And when one person's looks stand at the pinnacle of their gender, most people, even if they can't bring themselves to ostracize them, will subconsciously distance themselves.

After all, no one wants to admit they're inferior to someone else.

Once they feel inferior, if it's within their acceptable range, they'll find ways to make things difficult for the other person.

The methods don't need to be deliberate; it could be ignoring them when they meet, or egging others on at crucial moments to see them embarrassed. As the numbers grow, this situation escalates, eventually forming bullying.

Japan is like this; targets of school bullying typically fall into three categories: those who are handsome but difficult to talk to, those who are academically gifted but difficult to talk to, and those who are both handsome and academically gifted but difficult to talk to.

In short, school bullying usually targets those who are difficult to talk to, those with lower self-confidence.

Akihiko Kayaba's words continued, without the slightest pause.

"You must all be wondering why. Why would Akihiko Kayaba, the developer of SAO and NERvGear, do this? Is this a large-scale act of terror? Or perhaps a kidnapping for ransom?"

Kayaba, whose tone had been completely devoid of emotion earlier, now spoke with a certain inflection. Even Kazuto Kirigaya had to admit that Akihiko Kayaba was a person of great charisma.

Kazuto Kirigaya had learned about this young genius.

Akihiko Kayaba was known worldwide as a quantum physicist and a genius game designer, the creator of the foundation for NERvGear and the design for the SAO game. He created The Seed, the seed of worlds.

A man of ordinary appearance possessed the ability to change an era.

It was a pity he chose this path.

"None of these are my objectives. In fact, I no longer have any objectives or reasons. If you ask why... it's because, for me, this situation is the ultimate objective. To create this world and observe it—that's why I invented NERvGear and created SAO. And now, all my objectives have been achieved."

After a brief pause, Kayaba's cold voice echoed in the hall.

"...This concludes the game explanation for the official launch of 'Sword Art Online.' All Players—good luck."

The final sentence lingered with some echo before disappearing.

The giant crimson cloak rose silently. Starting from the tip of the hood, it seemed to melt away, gradually merging with the System message that covered the entire sky.

Its shoulders, chest, and limbs slowly sank into the blood-red surface, leaving only a ripple that spread outwards. Then, the message covering the sky vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

The sound of the wind blowing across the plaza and the BGM played by the NPC band on the town streets gradually approached from afar, gently touching everyone's hearing.

The game had returned to its original state. The only change was that some of the game's rules had been altered.

The group of ten thousand Players finally reacted as they should.

In short, deafening shouts erupted from many places, shaking the entire plaza.

The moment the red barrier surrounding them disappeared, Kazuto Kirigaya, without a second thought, grabbed Asuna and ran.

Asuna was pulled away by the boy before she could react, and he simultaneously sent a private message to Kirito.

Roa: Let's go, let's farm monsters. Do you want Suguha to cry over your corpse? We'll split up to farm, it's more efficient. PM me if anything comes up.

Kazuto Kirigaya: .

Before Kazuto Kirigaya could even react, he saw this message. His pupils suddenly contracted, and he swallowed hard. He grabbed Mito and urgently said, "Let's go, let's farm monsters."

He turned his head and saw a cute, delicate-looking girl with short purple hair.

The maiden was beautiful, her purple eyes like purple gemstones.

However, the maiden's body had shrunk from nearly two meters tall to about 1.65 meters, which left Kazuto Kirigaya momentarily stunned.

Feeling the warm touch in his hand, Kazuto Kirigaya subconsciously swallowed.

It wasn't his fault. Ever since he was little, besides holding his sister's hand, he had never been in such close contact with another girl.

It was all his shut-in older brother's fault for constantly dragging him into games, turning him into an otaku.

After I finish writing about the first floor's BOSS, I'll continue with Jobless Reincarnation. It'll be the Eris arc then.