Sword Art Online

"Wow, so this is another universe?"

When Eriri brought Lala and her sisters to the apartment she had rented the day before, they found Gabriel still lying on the sofa, sound asleep. It was clear that she had stayed up late playing games last night.

As for Lala and her sisters, they were curiously inspecting their surroundings. This was their first time leaving Planet Deviluke, and they were filled with wonder at everything they saw.

"Gabriel, wake up. Don't sleep anymore. Let's have some fun." Eriri squatted by the sofa, reaching out to pinch Gabriel's smooth cheek.

"Don't bother me, let me sleep!" Gabriel, without even opening her eyes, weakly pushed Eriri's mischievous hand away and turned over to continue sleeping.

At this moment, Lala also came over to Eriri's side, squatting down to observe Gabriel. She reached out with her slender, white finger and poked Gabriel's cheek. "Is this Gabriel? She's so cute!"

Sensing an unfamiliar presence, Gabriel slowly opened her eyes and sat up on the sofa.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes with her fists, and when she saw Eriri, a look of happiness flashed in her eyes. Then, she curiously glanced at Lala and her sisters beside her.

Having seen the memory images Eriri had uploaded about Lala, Gabriel was not unfamiliar with the three of them. Although there were slight differences between reality and the anime, the iconic pink hair and black demon tails made it easy to identify them.

"Eriri, Lala, you're here." Gabriel greeted them weakly, yawning as she did so.

Perhaps due to staying up late, Gabriel's usually well-maintained golden hair had become fluffy, and a small tuft stood up on her head. However, her bare face was still stunningly beautiful.

"Good morning, Gabriel," Lala greeted cheerfully, waving at Gabriel. Despite it being their first meeting and having never spoken in the chat group, Lala showed no signs of unfamiliarity. To an outsider, it might seem like they had been best friends for years.

Gabriel, infected by Lala's innocent smile, smiled back. "Good morning, Lala. And these two are your sisters?"

"Yes, hello, my name is Momo. Thank you for taking care of my sister in the chat group." Momo stepped forward to introduce herself before Lala could.

"Hello, I'm Nana," said Nana, who was standing next to Momo, also greeting them. However, her gaze subtly swept over Eriri and Gabriel, as if trying to discern something unusual in their relationship.

Everyone present was not weak, so Nana's little gesture did not escape their notice. Eriri didn't mind her gaze at all, but Gabriel gave Nana a meaningful look before coquettishly rolling her eyes at Eriri.

As a Third Level, Gabriel was not truly affected by drowsiness. She was just used to being lazy. It didn't take long for Gabriel to become fully alert and energized.

While she went to freshen up, Asuna arrived from the Yuuki family's villa nearby.

After a brief introduction and exchange of pleasantries with Lala and the others, Asuna led the group to a nearby breakfast shop, where they had a quick meal before returning to the apartment.

Today was Saturday in the Sword Art Online world, so there were few people rushing to work at eight in the morning. However, the housewives out shopping were very curious about Eriri and the others who suddenly appeared in this neighborhood. The stunning beauty of each of them surely provided much to talk about when they returned home. But none of them seemed to find the tails on Lala and her sisters strange, simply assuming they were cosplaying.

By the time they returned to the apartment, it was already 9:30 AM, leaving just over three hours until Sword Art Online officially launched.

Since there were only four helmets, Eriri had Nana and Momo stay in the living room to watch TV, while she prepared to enter SAO with Gabriel, Asuna, and Lala.

Nana and Momo had no objections to this arrangement. They had already heard from their sister about the purpose of this trip, and they knew that once the game was recreated in Eriri's world, they could play as much as they wanted. There was no need to rush. Besides, they believed that with their sister's intelligence, recreating this game would be a piece of cake.

Time ticked by, and when the clock on Eriri's phone showed 12:40, she turned to the eager three beside her and said, "I'll set up some brain defense measures for you."

The four of them sat in a row on futons laid out on the living room floor, each holding a gray helmet. Lala, in particular, couldn't resist inspecting the internal structure, fighting the urge to dismantle it immediately.

"No need for that; just set it up for Asuna. This thing can't break through my brain's defenses." Noticing Eriri's gaze, Gabriel refused outright, confident in her own physical abilities. If simple microwaves could kill her, then national-level powerhouses would be nothing but weaklings.

Lala, too, declined Eriri's offer, just like Gabriel. Only Asuna, feeling somewhat helpless, glanced at Gabriel and Lala. After all, she was just an ordinary person, which only deepened her longing for extraordinary powers.

"It's not just about defense. You should know that once the game starts, there's no logout button. The only way to exit the game is to have someone outside remove the helmet, and there's no way to log back in afterward."

Pausing to gauge their reactions, Eriri continued, "I plan to set up a simulated consciousness that will stay connected to the game through the helmet. This way, if you want to log out, you just need to mentally say 'disconnect,' and your consciousness will separate from the simulated one, waking you up in the real world. When you want to log back in, simply merge your consciousness with the simulated one, and you'll re-enter the game directly."

"That sounds good, set it up for me," Gabriel said, understanding the reasoning and not bothering to be polite.

After preparing the necessary measures for everyone, the time had come—it was now 1 PM, and Sword Art Online was officially live!

The four of them exchanged glances, agreed on a meeting spot, and each put on their helmets, lying down on their futons.

"Link-Start!" With a soft command, a colorful array of lights flashed before Eriri's eyes. After going through the login process, Eriri finally entered the game, arriving at the starting location, the Town of Beginnings.

Opening her eyes, Eriri was met with a dense crowd of people. As beams of light continued to flash, more players appeared, presumably those logging in right at the start. Within minutes, the entire player base of 10,000 had entered the game.

Arriving at the agreed-upon meeting place, Eriri soon spotted Gabriel, Asuna, and Lala approaching. Like Eriri, they had entered the game using their real-life appearances. Even though they were all wearing beginner's armor, it did nothing to diminish their overwhelming attractiveness, drawing the gaze of many around them.

It didn't take long for players to start approaching them.

"You all look amazing, especially you, miss. You managed to create such a perfect appearance—unbelievable! Could you teach me how? I'm willing to pay!" A petite girl player, who looked rather cute, asked sweetly, her eyes full of admiration as she gazed at Eriri.

"Coach, I want to learn how to create characters too!"

"Me too, me too."

"My mom asked why I'm playing games on my knees."

"…"

Among the players eager to learn how to customize their characters, there were also many inviting them to form a party. While enthusiastic, the atmosphere wasn't overly intense. In a game where gender was indistinguishable, the beautiful girl you were talking to might just be a middle-aged man in real life, or that adorable little girl could actually be a rich, young heiress.

Ignoring the attempts to start conversations, Eriri led Gabriel, Asuna, and Lala to explore the commercial district of the Town of Beginnings.

Except for Asuna, the other three used their real names as their in-game names. Asuna stuck with her usual in-game name, perhaps because it was so ingrained in her identity. In the chat group, no one ever called her by her real name, Yuuki Asuna.

"No wonder this game feels so real. It's like controlling your own body—definitely more fun than traditional games." As she walked down the cobblestone streets, stretching her limbs and testing her body's movements, Gabriel's face lit up with satisfaction. The experience perfectly matched her expectations.

"Indeed, it's pretty impressive," Eriri agreed, nodding. She then focused her mind and found that the chat group was still functioning normally. After spending half a day in the game, she noticed that there were already hundreds of unread messages in the group.

[Kashiwagi Eri: Thanks for the invite, currently in SAO, just entered the newbie town. Town of Beginnings scenery.gif]

[Asuna: Also in SAO, taking a stroll. Group photo.jpg]

[Archangel Gabriel: This is the best game I've ever played, no arguments.]

[Chika Fujiwara: So jealous!]

[Arifureta (Group Leader): Jealous!]

[Flower Hashira: Jealous!]

[Ashen Witch: Jealous!]

[Fallen Angel Black Cat: Jealous!]

[…]

[Lala: This game's structure is pretty simple. I've almost fully analyzed it. It won't take long to crack it completely.]

At this moment, a transparent white screen full of rapidly scrolling code appeared in front of Lala. However, to Asuna, who was just an ordinary person, it was just a blur of light and shadow, impossible to decipher.

[Arifureta (Group Leader): Already? Lala, you're amazing!]

[Kashiwagi Eri: Lala, you're the best!]

[Lala: Ehehe, it's nothing really. Blushing.jpg]

[Fallen Angel Black Cat: So that means we'll get to play this game soon too? Excited.jpg]

[Kashiwagi Eri: Only if you have enough free time.]

[Iron-Blooded Hot-Blooded Cold-Blooded Vampire: I've got plenty of time. Eriri, let me know when the game is ready. I'm always ready to join.]

[Kashiwagi Eri: No problem.]

[Fallen Angel Black Cat: What else can I say besides 'jealous'…]

[Chika Fujiwara: What else can I say besides 'jealous'…]

[Flower Hashira: What else can I say besides 'jealous'…]

[Kashiwagi Eri: Okay, you guys keep chatting. I'm going back to the game.]

…

The four of them headed to a cheap weapons shop located in a small alleyway. After logging in, every player received a small amount of starter money, not much, but enough to buy a beginner's weapon.

After purchasing a beginner's sword at the weapons shop, they went outside to test it out.

Swinging her sword a few times and easily killing a wild boar, Eriri came to a conclusion.

As long as one's reflexes were fast enough, one could become even stronger in a fully immersive game.

As the sky gradually darkened, turning to dusk, Asuna suddenly let out a startled cry.

"Look, the logout button really is gone."

A purple, rectangular window hovered in front of her, and the logout option that should have been there had disappeared.

But Asuna didn't seem worried. Although the logout button was missing, she could clearly sense that she could leave the game anytime she wanted.

"It looks like Kayaba Akihiko is about to make his appearance," Eriri said, nodding. She then turned her gaze to the central square of the Town of Beginnings, where the game had started.

As if in response to Eriri's gaze, a bell-like tolling echoed throughout the floor, "Dong... Dong... Dong…"

As the sound ceased, Eriri and the others were suddenly enveloped in a blue light, instantly transported to a massive square.

The square was paved with stone slabs, surrounded by trees, giving the entire street a medieval feel. In the distance, a massive, black-glowing palace stood.

The 10,000 players who were trapped in the game and unable to log out were all brought to this central square by the same blue light.