-234- Remain here forever?

"Gu?"

The Rainbow Flower Butterfly flying by Rozen's side emitted a worried-sounding cry.

However, Rozen seemed completely oblivious, staring intently at the location where the logout command should have been.

Just then, a window appeared in front of Rozen.

It was a notification indicating a message from a logged-in friend.

"Kirito?"

Rozen immediately opened the message.

The message displayed was short and simple.

"Can you log out?"

These few words conveyed to Rozen just how anxious Kirito's mood was.

And this also revealed a piece of information to Rozen.

"Are others unable to log out as well?"

Rozen's sense of unease grew stronger and stronger.

Driven by this unease, Rozen was no longer in the mood to seriously respond to Kirito's message. He simply closed the window with a dismissive click.

However, a new message immediately arrived.

"Could this be a bug?"

Asking that question was like asking in vain.

If Rozen knew, he wouldn't be a player; he'd be a GM.

Rozen could only confirm one thing.

"If this is a bug, then it could be a big problem."

This wasn't a joking matter.

The development and operation company of this game, Argus, was known for valuing player rights. Even though this was their first online game, players were flocking to it in large numbers, quickly filling up all the available slots. This spoke volumes about Argus's reputation.

However, if on the first day of the game's launch, a problem arose where players couldn't log out and return to the real world, it wouldn't be a simple matter of tarnishing their reputation. Worse, they could be accused of imprisoning ten thousand citizens and end up facing legal charges.

In that case, not only would the game company go bankrupt, even games of the SAO genre could be banned due to the risks to personal safety.

"If I'm planning to significantly boost my strength using this game, how could I let it go under?"

Rozen's brow furrowed deeper, and his mind raced.

Suddenly,

"Dong, Dong, Dong."

An alarm-like chime resounded abruptly in Rozen's ears.

"What's happening?"

Rozen was slightly startled. He was about to scan his surroundings when something unusual happened to his body.

"Chang!"

A sky-blue light shimmered around Rozen, enveloping him.

Beyond the blue light, the surroundings gradually faded away, and the entire space began to sway.

Seeing this situation, Rozen immediately realized.

"Is this a transfer?"

It was similar to the transportation method mentioned earlier, akin to spatial transfer.

During the closed beta, Rozen had experienced similar scenes many times—using town transfer gates to travel to different places, even using rare transfer items to move within the wilderness or mazes.

However, now, this transfer phenomenon clearly wasn't triggered by Rozen himself.

In this situation, the light surrounding Rozen's body grew more intense.

By the time the blue light vanished, Rozen had been transferred to a different place.

This was the central square of the Town of beginnings, where Rozen had been a few hours ago.

"Chang!"

"Chang!"

The blue transfer light kept appearing around, just like at the beginning of the game, transferring player after player to the square.

"Is this the Town of beginnings?"

"Weren't we in the wilderness?"

"Could this be the transfer mentioned on the official website?"

"What's going on?"

The crowd around started to make a racket, and the noise and clamor grew louder. Eventually, it even escalated into panic, filling the air with a tense atmosphere.

"Gu!"

The Rainbow Flower Butterfly, which had been transferred alongside Rozen, seemed to be greatly startled and darted straight into Rozen's arms.

If it were under normal circumstances, surely someone would have noticed the presence of this adorable Butterfly, causing a different kind of panic, right?

Unfortunately, at this moment, the players had no such luxury.

"Why can't we log out!?"

"Someone explain this now!"

"What kind of garbage game is this!?"

Players were shouting in frustration, causing the Rainbow Flower Butterfly to seek refuge in Rozen's arms.

Rozen could only let it happen.

Because...

"What is that?"

Rozen exclaimed as he gazed at the sky.

Not just Rozen, but other players also started to notice the situation.

High above the square, on the bottom side of the second layer, a crimson chessboard-like pattern suddenly appeared without any warning.

Its center resembled a viscous giant blood drop, starting to drip from it.

However, the blood didn't fall to the ground but instead changed shape mid-air.

Before long, a figure cloaked in deep red, almost twenty meters tall, emerged.

Yes, a cloak.

There was no body inside, and the head area lacked a face. It presented a hollow appearance, devoid of flesh, even lacking arms protruding from the sleeve cuffs. Instead, there was a pair of pure white gloves, as if an invisible person had put them on, giving an eerie and uncomfortable feeling.

In the next second, a magnetic voice emanated from within the cloak.

"Welcome to my world."

The red-cloaked figure introduced itself in an emotionless tone.

"I am Kayaba Akihiko. I believe everyone here knows me."

Upon hearing this, all the players on the square were left dumbfounded.

"Kayaba Akihiko?"

Rozen was equally surprised.

Because, Rozen did know this name.

Or, more accurately, everyone who played this game would know.

Because...

"I am the developer and creator of this game, Sword Art Online, and also the designer of the NerveGear gaming device."

"Game designer and quantum physicist, Kayaba Akihiko."

"Now, the virtual entity that stands before you is me."

The man named Kayaba Akihiko introduced himself in a calm voice, leaving everyone speechless.

"Is that really Kayaba Akihiko?"

Rozen stared fixedly at the red cloak in the sky.

As if to break the unusual silence of the scene, Kayaba Akihiko spoke again.

"I assume you all have noticed that the logout button has disappeared from the main menu?"

Kayaba Akihiko said this.

"Please don't worry. This is not a problem with the game; it was designed to be this way from the beginning."

Kayaba Akihiko's words left all the players unable to wrap their minds around it.

There was only one thing they could understand.

That was the explanation that Kayaba Akihiko would provide next.

"In simple terms, starting today, all of you will become residents of this world and won't be able to leave."

Kayaba Akihiko dropped a bombshell.

"Unless you can completely clear this game, reaching the top of Aincrad, you will remain here forever."