บท 177: Death Game, First day
...ding...dong...ding...dong...ding...dong...
The sound of the bell that echoed throughout Aincard momentarily silenced the players' discussions about the missing log out button. Along with the sound of the bell, white light enveloped the players' bodies before they were forcibly teleported.
"Forced teleportation?" Kirito muttered as he saw himself surrounded by white light and reappeared in the starting town square.
"It's started..." Noah said while looking at the starting town in the distance, without resisting, Noah allowed himself to be teleported like the other players.
....Swosh.... swosh....
Players continued to appear one by one in the large starting town square, in just a few moments the square was filled with tens of thousands of Sword Art Online players. Various races gathered together in one place creating a spectacular sight, Elves carrying staffs and bows, Dwarves carrying war hammers and shields, Cat people carrying daggers on their waists, and many more races with various weapons and professions.
"What happened?" Asked a player to his friend.
"I don't know" another player replied as he saw many people gathered in the square.
"Look up!" no one knew who shouted, but the voice managed to attract the surrounding players. Not only that player, but many people noticed the strangeness in the sky above the city.
The players immediately looked up at the sky, the twilight sky above their heads immediately turned red with the warning words "system announce!" spread throughout the sky.
The sky above the city immediately cracked before a thick red liquid like blood flowed out. The liquid flowed down and merged into a giant figure wearing a red robe like a shinigamai.
"What is that?"
"Game master?"
"Is this an event?"
"I'm scared"
"..."
The square immediately became noisy as the players discussed in confusion, some of them feeling anxious and afraid.
"Players. Welcome to my world." The figure's words immediately silenced the players' discussions.
"My world?" Kirito muttered as he listened to the introduction of the giant robed figure.
"Magic power?" Noah was shocked when he felt the magic power flowing inside the figure's body. Logically speaking, if this was just a Virtual Reality game, there was no way magic power would flow inside the figure's body that was made of data. No matter how SAO looked no different from the real world, it was still a fantasy world at its core. Furthermore, if the figure was Kayaba Akihiko, there was no way he would have magic power, because when he first came to this world, he had confirmed that this was a normal world without any supernatural powers. Noah continued to watch the figure as he continued to speak.
"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only one capable of controlling this world." Kayaba's voice echoed, stopping the chatter of the players. They stared at him with a mixture of fear and disbelief.
"Is that really him?" whispered one of the players, while the others could only remain silent, feeling the tension in the air.
"You must have noticed that the log out button has disappeared from the main menu," Kayaba continued, his voice calm and emotionless. His words made the atmosphere even more tense.
"This is not a glitch. I repeat, this is not a flaw in the game. This is a feature of Sword Art Online." The statement shook the players. They looked at each other, panic beginning to creep into them.
"But how is that possible? We can't log out?" a player's voice sounded desperate.
Kayaba continued, "Players can't log out of their own accord. The NerveGear cannot be disconnected from the outside world." The plaza fell silent for a moment, before erupting with shouts and anxiety.
"Hey, don't joke around! You're lying, right?" a player shouted, but Kayaba paid no attention and continued to announce.
"If someone forcibly removes the NerveGear, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a strong wave signal, then destroy your brain and end your life. Unfortunately, some friends and family of the players ignored this warning, and removed the NerveGear intentionally. So one thousand twenty-eight players are out of this Aincard, and also the world forever" said Kayaba while opening the screen showing news about the death of Sword Art Online players and news about the one hundred thousand Sword Art Online players who are trapped in the game.
"And also one more thing, there is no way to revive in this game, if your HP reaches 0, then they have disappeared from this game forever, and at the same time the NerveGear will destroy their brains so that they will also die in the real world. The only way to get out of this game is to reach the 100th floor and defeat the final boss"
The atmosphere in the square became silent even though there were almost a hundred thousand people gathered, but it was only a few moments before the players regained their senses and there was a commotion. Many screamed in panic and cursed, some cried and cowered in the corner of the square. Before leaving Kayaba Akihiko gave a mirror that restored the players' original appearance, only that even though they returned to their original appearance, the characteristics of the race they chose remained on their bodies.
While the players were still confused and panicked, some people left the square quickly and ran towards the outside of the city. Those people were Beta testers who were aware of the dangers of this death game and the scarcity of resources. So before all the players regained their senses, the beta testers tried to get as many resources as possible so that their survival guarantee increased. Among those people were also Kirito and Noah.
While the beta testers planned to exploit the resources, Noah was in no hurry, because for him it didn't matter whether he got the resources or not, anyway with the strength and skills he had, he could even challenge level jumping without having to increase his level.
Noah walked around the starting town curiously, he noticed every detail of the buildings that looked like a European medieval town and interacted with the NPCs he met to determine how far the NPC's intelligence had grown.
The sky of Aincard soon ushered in night, Noah wandered around the city all afternoon before deciding to go to a bar for dinner.
Noah stepped into the warm bar, the smell of burning wood greeted him. The room was filled with soft light from oil lamps hanging on the walls, creating a cozy atmosphere. He saw several NPCs sitting in the corner of the room, engaged in what seemed to be quite an interesting conversation. Noah felt a little curious about their stories and decided to approach.
"Welcome, guest!" greeted a waiter, smiling politely. "How can I help you?"
Noah nodded and ordered a glass of warm drink. While waiting, he took a seat near the fireplace. From his seat, he could hear the conversation between two NPCs sitting not far from him.
"I heard that there are mysterious creatures roaming the western forest," said one of the NPCs, a thick-bearded man with an adventurous appearance. "Many have gone missing and never returned."
"Is that true?" replied another NPC, a woman in simple clothes. "Do you know what they say about that creature?"
"No, but rumor has it that it's the restless spirit of a knight who died in battle." The man stared at Noah for a moment before continuing, "Maybe we should form a group to investigate."
The warm drink arrived, and Noah took the glass, feeling the warmth spreading throughout his body. Noah didn't expect a game to feel so real, he didn't know if the original SAO was like this, but he had to admit that if it weren't for the lack of divine power in his body and his strong perception, he wouldn't be able to tell if this world was a fantasy.
With a single sip, he tasted the rich and sweet flavor of spices. He enjoyed the quiet moment, watching the dancing flames in the fireplace. The drink he drank was the most expensive drink in the bar, if it were any other player, it would have been impossible to buy it on the first day.
After a while, Noah stood up and left the bar. Night had truly fallen, and the moonlight reflected off the gleaming stone path. He decided to explore the quieter areas around, away from the crowds. The quiet streets provided a peaceful atmosphere, and the sound of his footsteps could be heard clearly in the silence of the night.
He continued his journey, enjoying every corner of this magnificent city. The old buildings with charming architecture made him feel as if he had returned to the world of Akame ga Kill which had a similar civilization. Noah stopped for a moment at a small bridge that connected the two sides of a small river. He stood looking at the flowing water, feeling the cool night breeze. In the quiet atmosphere Noah thought again about the changes in this world and what attracted the attention of the figure behind the screen, but no matter how Noah thought, he couldn't find the answer so he just sighed and decided to go with the flow, one day that person would definitely appear by himself.
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