Chapter 6

Selmburg was a beautiful castle town on the sixty-first floor.

The city itself wasn't particularly large. An old castle with fragile minarets loomed over the center of town, but the buildings

were painstakingly built of chalk-white granite with copious

greenery placed to great effect. The selection of shops was rich as

well. Many players coveted the chance to live in Selmburg, but

the cost was exorbitant—at least three times that of Algade. Residence was a pipe dream for all but the highest-level players.

It was well past sunset when we arrived through the teleport

gate, the last remaining traces of sunlight reflecting purple on the

town.

Most of the sixty-first floor consisted of lakes, and Selmburg

itself sat on a small island surrounded by water. The view of the

sun shining through the outer aperture of Aincrad and reflecting

off the lake was worthy of a painting, at least. The sparkling

scenery of dark blue and red set atop that massive lake was so

breathtaking, I couldn't help but be bewitched. The only thing

that could take away from the sight was the knowledge that it was

just child's play to the NerveGear's diamond-semiconductor CPU.

Selmburg's teleport gate was located in the square before the

old castle. The town's main street stretched south, lined with

leafy trees. Shops and homes both quaint and elegant stood along

the boulevard, and the NPCs and players who walked the city

seemed to carry themselves with more class than elsewhere. Even

the air seemed to taste different than in Algade; I couldn't help

but stretch my arms and inhale deeply.

"It's so big and spacious here. Feels liberating."

"You should move, then."

"Don't have nearly enough money," I mumbled, shoulders

slumped. I gathered myself and cast her a concerned look. "Seriously, are you sure this won't cause trouble with your folks?"

"…"

Asuna seemed to catch my meaning and turned around, hanging her head and kicking the heel of her boot on the ground.

"It's true that I've had some unpleasant encounters while

alone, but my own personal guard? It's too much. I keep telling

them I don't want this, but it's guild protocol, the chief of staff

tells me…"

She continued in a downcast mutter.

"In the past, we were just a small guild. The commander

picked every member himself. But we just keep taking on more

members, and people come and go…Things started to get crazy

when they began calling us the most powerful guild here."

She stopped talking and twisted her torso around. Something

in her eyes seemed to plead for help, and the breath caught in my

throat. I have to say something, I thought, but as a solo who did

everything out of self-interest, what could I say? Several seconds

of silence passed.

Asuna broke the eye contact first. She looked at the deep blue

of the lake and piped up in a much higher pitch, sounding eager

to change the mood.

"But it's not that big a deal! Better hurry before it gets dark."

I started walking after her through the town. We passed no

small number of players, but none of them stopped to stare at

Asuna's face.

I spent a few days in Selmburg about a half year back, when it

represented the frontier of our advancement through the game,

but I couldn't remember ever stopping to take in the sights. Gazing at the exquisite sculptures on display, I felt a momentary desire to live here permanently, but then thought better of it, deciding it was better suited to the occasional holiday trip.

Asuna's residence was on the third floor of an attractive little

maisonette, immediately to the east of the main street. It was my

first visit, of course. Thinking back on it, the most I'd ever interacted with Asuna before was at boss strategy meetings. I'd never

even stopped at an NPC-run restaurant with her. I couldn't help

but hesitate at the entrance of the building.

"So, uh…are you sure this is okay with you?"

"It was your idea, wasn't it? Besides, there's nowhere else to do

the cooking."

She turned her head with a huff and trotted up the stairs. I

steeled my willpower and followed her.

"W-well, pardon the intrusion."

I stopped stock-still when I passed through the door, my

mouth agape.

I'd never seen such a neat and orderly player home. The spacious living room and adjacent kitchen were filled with lightly

colored wooden furniture, and accents of moss-green cloth tied

together the visual style. It was all likely custom-made of the

highest quality by other players.

Despite the emphasis on looks, there was no ostentatious decoration, which made the whole place seem inviting and comfortable. It was a stark contrast to the lair I called a home. I was glad

I'd chosen not to invite her there.

"H-how much did all of this cost?" I asked bluntly.

"Hmm, about four M for the room and furnishings together, I

think? Sit wherever you like; I'm just going to change." She disappeared through the door on the other side of the living room. The

letter M was shorthand for million, just like K for thousand. I

spent my days adventuring on the front line, so I'd probably

earned that much in total during my time in SAO, but with my

penchant for spending money on whatever swords and equipment caught my eye, there was no way I'd save up a lump sum

like that. Indulging in a rare moment of self-reflection, I sank into

a soft couch.

Eventually, Asuna emerged from the back room wearing a

simple white tunic and skirt that stopped above the knee. Changing clothes in the game didn't involve actually removing or

putting on anything—it was as simple as dragging items onto the

character mannequin in the equipment screen. But because there

were a few seconds during the shift in which a player was temporarily reduced to his or her underwear, female players made

certain not to change in public, though the men didn't seem to

mind doing it. Our bodies were just 3-D models made of ones and

zeros, but when you'd lived in this world for two years, you

tended to take things at face value. My eyes naturally traveled to

the newly exposed skin on Asuna's limbs.

Unaware of my inner conflict, she shot back a look at me.

"How long are you going to wear that gear?"

I hastily brought up the menu and removed my leather coat

and scabbard. I switched to my item window and materialized the

Ragout Rabbit meat into a ceramic pot, placing it on the table.

Asuna picked up the container and peered into it with a reverent expression.

"So this is what an S-rank ingredient looks like! What dish are

we having, then?"

"Um, I'll have the chef's choice."

"Okay…how about a stew? They don't call it a 'Ragout' Rabbit

for nothing."

I followed Asuna into the other room. The kitchen was spacious, with pricey-looking cooking tools hanging next to a large,

wood-fired oven. Asuna tapped the front of the oven twice as

though double-clicking, and a menu popped open. She set a cooking time and pulled a metal pot out of the cupboard, transferred

the meat from its container, added some herbs and water, then

placed a lid on top.

"Normally there'd be many more steps in the process, but

SAO's cooking system is really simplified and boring," she complained.

Asuna placed the pot in the oven and hit the start button on

the menu. The timer was set to three hundred seconds, during

which she hummed about quickly, pulling ingredients out of a

seemingly unlimited larder and arranging dishes with the efficiency of familiarity. I couldn't help but admire her flawless speed

without a single mistake.

Five minutes later, there was a gourmet feast on the table, and

Asuna and I sat facing each other. The plate in front was piled

high with a piping-hot brown stew that stimulated my nose with

every waft of steam. Rich chunks of meat wallowed in a thick,

shining sauce marbled with white streaks of cream. It was bewitching.

Barely stopping to say thanks before the meal, I grabbed my

spoon and shoveled up a mouthful of the most delicious food in

the entirety of Sword Art Online. The savory heat and flavor filled

my mouth as I sank my teeth into the soft meat, letting the juice

spill out.

Eating in SAO isn't a realistic simulation of every single sensation that should occur from chewing in-game objects. Argus utilized a "Taste Re-creation Engine" contracted from an environmental software developer.

The engine is designed to send "eating" sensory input to the

brain of the user based on certain pre-set variables, originally for

the sake of those on a diet or who would otherwise need to observe a period of limited food intake. It sends false signals of flavor, scent, and heat to the sensory areas of the brain to fool the

user. Our real bodies aren't receiving any nutrition from this act

of eating—the system is simply stimulating our brains.

But there was no use dwelling on this fact. What I felt in that

moment, all that mattered, was that I was eating the greatest

meal I'd had in the two years since I first logged in to the game.

We didn't share a word, silently shoveling spoonfuls of the stew

into our mouths.

Finally, after we had literally cleaned every last trace of stew

from our plates and the cooking pot, Asuna let out a contented

sigh.

"Ahhh…I'm glad to still be alive…"

I had to agree. I sat back, sipping a strangely scented tea, reveling in the fulfillment of a primal urge satisfied to completion.

Were the meat and tea programmed to resemble some real-life

ingredients, or were those flavors just the fictional product of a

number of finely tuned parameters?

After several minutes of silent contentment, Asuna began to

speak, a mug of tea cupped in her hands.

"It's so strange…It feels like I was born here. Like I've always

lived in this world."

"There are days that I don't even remember about my life over

there. And I'm not the only one. You don't see as many players

desperate to beat the game and escape these days."

"The rate of our conquest is slowing down. There aren't even

five hundred players fighting at the front line at this point. It's

not just the danger…we're all getting used to this life…"

I gazed at her beautiful, pensive face, lit by the warm orange

light of the lamp. It wasn't the face of a living, breathing human

being. The skin was too smooth, the hair too lustrous to be real.

But it didn't even look like a polygonal model to me at this point.

It was easy to accept her as a living being inhabiting this space. In

fact, if I went back to the real world now, I would probably find

true reality off-putting.

Do I even really want to go back?

I was startled by the thought. Were all the early mornings,

dungeon adventures, mapping expeditions, and level-ups really

for the purpose of escaping the game? It must have been that way

once. The game was deadly, and I wanted out. But now that I'd

gotten used to life within SAO…

"I still want to go back," Asuna said clearly, as though to

drown out my indecision. I raised my head with a start. She

flashed me a rare grin and continued. "There are so many things

left to do back there."

I had to nod in agreement.

"Good point. And it's not fair to the crafters working for our

benefit if we don't give it our best…"

I tilted my cup and took a deep swig, trying to swallow my hesitation. The top floor was a long ways off. I could think about this

when the time came.

Feeling bold, I gazed at Asuna as I tried to formulate the right

words to properly thank her. Instead, she grimaced and started

waving a hand in front of her face.

"Wh-whoa…stop."

"Huh? What?"

"I've gotten too many marriage proposals from players giving

me that look."

"Wha…"

Despite my mastery of battle skills, I had far less experience

when it came to delicate matters like this. My mouth opened and

closed repeatedly with no sound. I must have looked like an idiot.

Asuna smiled.

"Let me guess—you're not that close to anyone else, either."

"Well, sorry for being a solo player."

"You're in an MMORPG—making friends is the point."

Her smile disappeared, and she asked me a question in the

tone of an older sister or teacher. "Have you ever thought about

joining a guild?"

"Huh…?"

"I know you beta testers don't like to work in groups." Her expression grew even more serious. "But it feels like the monster activity patterns have been increasingly irregular since we hit the

seventieth floor."

I'd noticed that, too. It wasn't clear if the drop in CPU predictability was planned from the start or the result of the system

itself learning. If it was the latter, we'd have our work cut out for

us.

"And playing solo leaves you much less capable of handling

unexpected situations. You can't always make an emergency escape. You're much, much safer forming a party."

"I'm always cautious enough to leave myself a safety margin.

Thanks for the warning…but guilds just aren't my thing. Besides…"

My mind screamed at me to stop, but my mouth barreled onward.

"Party members usually end up being more of a hindrance

than a help for me."

"Oh?"

A silver flash of light passed before my eyes.

It was Asuna's knife, held motionless at the end of my nose.

This was a basic rapier skill called Linear. Basic, but scaled in

effectiveness based on one's agility stat. She'd moved so fast, I

hadn't even seen the skill's telltale movement trail. With a grin

frozen on my face, I assumed the hands-up position of surrender.

"Fine, fine…you're an exception."

"Good."

She pulled back the knife, unamused. As she twirled the blade

around her fingers, her next words were completely unexpected.

"In that case, I want you to partner up with me. Being in

charge of arranging boss raid parties, I've always wanted to see if

you're as good as they say. Plus, I want to show you just how

tough I really am. And lastly, black is my lucky color this week."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Shocked by the absurdity of

her demand, I weakly grasped for some kind of counterargument.

"B-besides, what about your guild?"

"We don't have a leveling quota to meet."

"Y-your personal guards, then?"

"I'll leave them behind."

I raised the teacup to my lips in a bid to buy time, then realized that it was empty. Gloating, Asuna snatched it from my

hands and served more of the steaming liquid.

To be honest, the invitation was tempting. Who wouldn't want

to team up with the most beautiful woman in Aincrad? But the

more enticing the offer, the more my hesitation and suspicion

grew. Why would she want to be with me?

Perhaps she felt pity for a gloomy, introverted solo player.

Stuck in a negative thought process, I uttered the words that

sealed my fate.

"The frontier's dangerous, you know."

The knife in her hand rose again, and when I saw an even

stronger glow envelop the blade, I hurriedly nodded. Even among

the "clearers," as those who fought on the front line to advance

the game's progress were known, I was hardly notable. Hesitantly, I pushed on.

"F-fine, fine…I'll see you at the seventy-fourth-floor gate tomorrow at nine o'clock."

Asuna lowered her hand and chuckled confidently.

I wasn't sure how long etiquette dictated it was acceptable to stay

in a single woman's apartment, so I hastily pardoned myself once

we finished eating. Asuna escorted me down the stairs of the

building and inclined her head slightly.

"Anyway…I should thank you for the food."

"Me, too. We should do this again sometime…though I doubt

I'll ever get that particular ingredient again."

"Oh, even normal ingredients will work. You just need the skill

to do it."

She turned her head to look upward. The sky was dark with

night, but there were no stars to be seen. The only object overhead was the giant gloomy lid of rock and metal, several hundred

feet above.

"I wonder if what we're in right now really is the world Kayaba

wanted to create," I muttered, looking up as well.

There was no answer to this query, of course.

Kayaba must be taking refuge somewhere, observing his creation. What was he feeling now? We had passed through the initial period of blood and chaos, reaching the current stasis of relative peace and order. Did this satisfy or disappoint Kayaba? I had

no idea.

Asuna silently took a step closer. I felt a faint glow of warmth

on my arm. Was that an illusion or a subtle temperature simulation?

The game of death began on November 6, 2022. It was now

late October 2024. Almost two years later, there was still no sign

of rescue, no messages from outside. All we could do was survive

day by day, getting closer to the top, one step at a time.

It was the end of another day in Aincrad. Where we were going

and what waited for us at the end of the game were still a mystery. The road ahead was long and arduous, and the light at the

end was faint. But even then, it wasn't worth giving up.

I stared up at the metal lid, letting my mind wander through

the unknown worlds left to conquer.