Follow Me

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Tens of thousands of Players stood in the vast plaza, yet not a single one spoke. Everyone held their breath, struggling to process the news. Anxiety, fear, and disbelief mingled, leaving most with a blank mind.

"No!" Suddenly, a tearful shriek rang out. Like a small pebble dropped into a pond, it sent ripples spreading, instantly engulfing all the Players.

Panic was a contagious negative emotion. However, because the Players found it difficult to accept what was happening, its spread was relatively slow. This single shriek, however, completely ignited their fear.

The crowd surged violently. Over half the Players, cursing or shouting, rushed towards the edge of the plaza. This was a futile act, as even if they broke out of the plaza, they would still be living in the world of Sword Art Online. Moreover, the plaza was temporarily sealed, blocked by an invisible barrier all around.

When the timid Players reached the edge, they discovered they couldn't leave at all. They could only pound powerlessly against the invisible barrier, despair faithfully reflected on their faces.

Only about thirty percent of the Players remained calm. They didn't react as intensely as the others, standing in place, waiting for Kayaba Akihiko's next words, or for this to end and the game to officially begin, lifting the plaza's seal.

Wang Yang was among them. He glanced at the over three thousand people, thinking that this group of Players would be the main force for clearing the game. Similarly, among this group, there were also lawbreakers.

While the Players below were hysterical, Kayaba Akihiko remained high above. Beneath the red brim of his hat, his voice, resonant yet tinged with electronic distortion, sounded out.

"Before the game officially begins, all Players will find a small gift from me in their inventory."

Wang Yang knew that the small gift was a mirror that reflected one's real appearance. After hesitating, he opened his inventory like everyone else.

The Players in the plaza thought it was a newbie gift package, so they opened it without hesitation. Wang Yang, however, knew that the small gift wasn't a gift package but a key connecting to the real world. This key would open a door, linking virtual reality and revealing the real appearance of all Players.

After silently looking at the small mirror in his inventory for a moment, Wang Yang exited the menu. The item list floating before him disappeared. He had woken up in the game world, but in the real world, a body that didn't belong to him lay there, with a face that wasn't his. Therefore, he dared not open the mirror.

As he closed the item list, ten thousand beams of white light suddenly rose from the plaza. Immediately after, a surge of white light also rose before his eyes, blinding him in a white haze.

Seeing this, Wang Yang sighed helplessly. Even if he didn't take out the mirror, Kayaba Akihiko would forcibly restore his real-world physique and face. Suddenly, he somewhat understood why Kayaba Akihiko had orchestrated this. It was only by revealing their real bodies and faces that each person's truest self would be shown.

Even though Wang Yang feared that the face in the mirror would be a complete stranger, he had to look. This face would accompany him for an unknown number of years.

After about three seconds, the white light dissipated. The handsome men and beautiful women who had been in the plaza had all changed.

Wang Yang brought up the menu and clicked on the item list. A rectangular list window floated before his eyes, with a single name at the very top.

The mirror's name was: Handheld Mirror.

He extended his index finger and clicked on the item name. From the emerging window, he selected "materialize." Accompanied by a flash of light, a square little mirror immediately appeared.

Holding the small mirror, Wang Yang gritted his teeth and slowly brought it before his eyes. Even at the last moment, he desperately wished that the face in the mirror would be his original one. But he was destined to be disappointed.

The mirror showed a handsome face. Straight, heroic sword-like eyebrows, piercing eyes, a straight nose, and thin lips. Every feature was flawless. It was a face that, upon first glance, would instinctively make one think, "So handsome." If there was any flaw, it was the pallor of his complexion—a sickly, pale white.

Wang Yang stared blankly at the face in the mirror that didn't belong to him, his mouth slightly agape, devoid of any joy.

Even though the face was stunningly handsome, it wasn't him!

He sighed habitually and resignedly put away the mirror. The square was now displaying everyone's real appearance, causing many people who had leveled up together that afternoon to start arguing.

The benefit of revealing real appearances became apparent now. At least it eliminated the existence of "traps" [lit. "fey people"] and rendered the game's only disguise useless. This would make fostering trust in the future twice as effective.

"Ah." Just as Wang Yang was feeling rather dejected, a soft gasp came from beside him. He followed the sound and saw a girl about 1.6 meters tall, with fair skin and a delicate face.

The girl was covering her mouth, staring at him with a strange look.

"What's with that look?" Wang Yang glanced at her attire and naturally knew this was Arthurslin. She must have recognized him too, but her bizarre, disbelieving gaze made him feel like needles were pricking his back.

"You're so good-looking, how can you be so perverted?" Arthurslin couldn't hide her surprise.

Wang Yang's expression immediately darkened. After his habitual sigh, he looked up at the red giant in the sky. After the mirror finished its broadcast, it was time to announce the only condition for logging out of the game.

As expected, Kayaba Akihiko continued, "This is the only proof of reality you will have. From now on, you will clear this game with your real appearances. Only by reaching the hundredth floor and defeating the final boss can all Players log out of the game. Please rest assured, this is not a joke!"

"One hundred floors!"

As soon as Kayaba Akihiko finished speaking, someone exclaimed in shock. This person had clearly participated in the Beta Test and knew how incredibly difficult this was, especially since the game didn't have infinite resurrection yet.

Including Kirito in a corner of the crowd, all Players who had participated in the Beta Test felt a heavy weight in their hearts, suffocating them.

With resurrection, they had only managed to clear up to the eighth floor in two months. Now, without resurrection, was it truly possible to clear a hundred floors?

Wang Yang even saw the delicate and cute Arthurslin tremble. However, to his surprise, he didn't see any trace of fear on her pretty face.

Why isn't this girl afraid? A question arose in Wang Yang's mind.

Initially, Wang Yang had been terrified. But as soon as he thought about how Kirito would successfully clear the game in two years, the soul-deep fear slowly faded with the passage of time. Now, he was calmer than anyone present. Yet, this seemingly fragile little girl showed no fear at all.

"You must all be wondering why. Why would Kayaba Akihiko, the developer of SAO and NerveGear, do this? Is it a large-scale terrorist act? Or a kidnapping for money? Neither. The reason is that my ultimate goal is to create a world, and then to watch it. And now, my goal has been achieved."

The square was eerily silent. After a pause, Kayaba Akihiko's emotionless voice spoke again, "This concludes the explanation for SAO's official launch. Good luck, Players."

A faint echo lingered as the vibrant red cloak began to rise silently. The hood first merged into the row of red patterns emblazoned with the word "Announcement," followed by the shoulders, chest, and limbs, slowly disappearing upwards as if assimilating with the system.

When the red giant had completely merged into the bottom of the second floor, the red message that had covered the entire sky vanished without a trace. In less than a second, the world returned to its original state, but it had lost its original color.

Kayaba Akihiko, having finished his explanation, left decisively, leaving behind a group of struggling Players.

After the red world disappeared, Wang Yang felt the wind brush against his face. He could even hear the voices of NPCs in the distance. Simultaneously, the barrier enclosing the plaza vanished. At this point, the Players, who had been silent for a long time, reacted like a compressed spring being released, creating a massive rebound.

The plaza suddenly vibrated intensely, a tremor caused by the convergence of countless voices.

"No! Let me out of here!"

"This must be a lie, yes, it must be a lie!"

"Bastard, let me out of here!"

Screams, bellows, shrieks, and roars – in a short time, the players who fell from enjoying the game to being prisoners were hysterically acting out in various ways. Then, the timid players at the edge of the plaza were the first to discover that the invisible barrier preventing their escape had disappeared. They then ran fearfully towards a certain street, as if doing so could help them escape this terrifying world.

Undeniably, at that moment, they truly wished it was all just a dream.

Not just these timid players, but even those with a bit more courage could only leave the plaza immediately. Because as long as they stood in the plaza, the scenes that had just unfolded would continuously flash before their eyes, and the fear in their hearts would naturally persist.

The players who had participated in the beta test all had the same first reaction: to quickly head to the next grinding spot. At least, they wouldn't stay in the areas around the Town of Beginnings. This was because the areas around the Town of Beginnings had already been cleared by tens of thousands of players multiple times. Although they could still obtain some materials, the item drop rate had already become very low.

The monsters in SAO were not like those in other RPG games. The item drop rate of monsters in SAO did not fluctuate. In SAO, the drop rate of monsters in an area would gradually decrease as the number hunted increased. However, this situation only occurred after a massive number of monsters had been hunted.

This meant that the profit was highest during the first clear of each monster zone. Therefore, the beta test players decisively abandoned the areas around the Town of Beginnings, which had been refreshed many times, and headed to new untouched monster zones.

This group of people had generally accepted their fate, and coupled with their beta test experience, they possessed a higher starting point than other players. Moreover, in order to exclusively enjoy the maximum profit, most of them chose not to share information. It was precisely because of this that ordinary players who came later came to resent and envy them, giving them a sarcastic title – Cheaters.

The plaza, originally crowded, was now empty in less than ten minutes, leaving fewer than ten people.

Arthurslin glanced at the dimming sky, then at the dazed Wang Yang. A hint of hesitation flickered across her delicate face. She had made a few friends during the beta test and formed a regular party. They were the first team to clear the boss on the fifth floor and leave their mark on the Swordsman Monument. They were quite a well-known team, so she hesitated whether to bring Wang Yang along.

Admittedly, her interaction with Wang Yang had only lasted half an hour. However, her kind nature couldn't bear to abandon Wang Yang, who was clearly a newbie, in this situation where SAO had turned into this.

"Ding." A pleasant sound rang out. This was the notification sound of a message arriving.

Arthurslin knew this was a message from her teammates. Due to the game's drastic change, their meeting time naturally had to be moved up. Without checking the mail, as if she had made a decision, she walked up to the dazed Wang Yang and said in a tone that did not allow him to refuse, "Follow me."

This was the most touching sentence Wang Yang had heard since interacting with Arthurslin. Later, this sentence was deeply etched in his heart.

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