Chapter 33: Reality

After an intense battle, the four of them naturally defeated the BOSS.

Time flies like water, and the days pass like arrows.

The days of not being able to show off passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, two months had flown by.

Three months had allowed everyone to thoroughly understand the game mechanics.

Some time ago, with the end of the closed beta, all SAO closed beta qualifications were declared over.

SAO's playability was very high, and even Asuna Yuuki would secretly log in when her mother wasn't around.

Because of everyone's cooperation, they had managed to climb to an extremely terrifying floor number.

Floor 25.

Reaching this floor in just three months was truly not easy.

However, for some reason, possibly because the plot hadn't started yet, he still hadn't obtained the power of time and space. These three months could only be considered as honing his swordsmanship and mastering monster skills.

And today, Friday, was the day that SAO, as a launch game, would completely appear in everyone's sight.

SAO's after-sales service in the streets and alleys was immediately snapped up.

When Naoki Kirigaya skillfully logged into his account and started spiritual linking,

The familiar feeling came.

It was still the familiar Town of Beginnings.

Feeling his limbs moving flexibly and the incredibly realistic sensation,

Naoki Kirigaya regained that familiar feeling.

Honestly, since playing SAO, he hadn't felt anything for other games.

However, he soon felt that something was wrong.

He took out the new beginner weapon from his backpack, swung it, and felt the system's assistance mechanism.

He quickly frowned.

This assistance seemed to have become much weaker.

The system's default calibration had weakened a lot, but these were insignificant, and he didn't intend to rely on the system anyway.

He subconsciously looked at his HP interface.

The code he had spent three years preparing was about to come into play at this moment.

He had personally tested it during the closed beta and confirmed its effectiveness. For this reason, he had secretly installed it for Kazuto Kirigaya, Misumi Tozawa, and Asuna Yuuki.

After all, one was his younger brother, one was his future sister-in-law, and one was his disciple. If they really died in the game, he wouldn't be able to give himself an explanation.

When the bug took effect, there would be a trace at the end of the health bar that overlapped with the outline of the health bar, which was basically impossible to notice without careful observation.

He glanced at the health bar interface. Yes, good, it was still there.

However, the next moment, a series of system announcements appeared.

And this system was not the same as that system.

[Detecting plot activation]

[Participating characters: Asuna Yuuki, Kazuto Kirigaya, Sachi, Misumi Tozawa.]

[Scanning this world]

[Scanning successful]

[Starting to steal the power of time and space]

[Note: When you significantly change the world or promote the development of the plot, you will obtain a certain amount of time and space power.]

[System suggestion: Clear higher floors]

Seeing these, Naoki Kirigaya's expression was still stable.

However, the more he read, the more his expression began to become uneasy.

[Starting to synchronize the world]

[Virtual world has been transformed]

[Warning: You are currently in the real world!!!]

[Abnormal code detected, code has been cleared]

[System data loading]

[Loading successful]

Naoki Kirigaya's expression froze, and he was incredulous.

Looking at the prompt in front of him, he took a deep breath and glanced at the health bar.

Sure enough, the faint line at the bottom of the health bar had disappeared.

Damn it, system, you bastard.

Naoki Kirigaya broke down. Although he might not use it, it was a cheat he had opened with his own ability. Why did you erase it?

Three years of effort had turned to nothing at this moment.

Naoki Kirigaya clutched his chest, heartbroken.

But he obviously hadn't realized the seriousness of the problem yet.

While Kayaba Akihiko hadn't used GM authority to force players into the dungeon, he had to quickly level up.

He wasn't worried about Kazuto Kirigaya and Asuna, after all, they had cheats, so what was there to fear with a health lock?

He was only backstabbed by the system, that's why it was like this.

There was no need to tell them now, lest they be discovered by the GM for some other reason and cleaned up as anomalies.

Kayaba Akihiko was definitely a genius, and this ability could only be used to save lives, not to do evil.

He sighed, looked around, and didn't see Kazuto Kirigaya. He didn't know where that guy had gone.

Before, he and Asuna had insisted on returning the game helmet he had given her, saying that her brother had this game and didn't need his game helmet.

Naoki Kirigaya looked at her with a complicated gaze, not expecting that in the end, his older brother would have to take the blame.

However, with her mother's personality, if she knew that her daughter had entered the death game because of Naoki Kirigaya, she would definitely fight him to the death.

He still wanted to become her future son-in-law, so, for his own sake, he could only wrong her older brother to take the blame.

He took a deep breath, ignored the surprised and astonished gazes in the square, and ran straight south.

He had to take advantage of the fact that the players were still familiarizing themselves with the skill mechanics and quickly level up.

His goal was floor 100.

To defeat the Demon King and save everyone from the fire and water.

Naoki Kirigaya reopened the panel, and the information on it had completely changed.

[Character: Naoki]

[Level: 1]

[Strength: F]

[Agility: F]

[Stamina: F]

[Intelligence: E- (The stamina value released by triggering sword skills is converted into magic power here)]

[Luck: F-]

[Sword Skill: Basic Sword Skill Slant - Single Slant]

"Has it become a system panel?" Naoki Kirigaya thought thoughtfully.

But this was also good, making it easier to understand.

He sped towards the distant grassland, seeing level 1 wolves.

He took a slight breath, gripped the beginner iron sword, feeling the heavy weight of the iron sword and the violently beating heart.

While he hadn't attacked them yet, and hadn't drawn their aggro,

He began to place the sword at his waist based on feeling.

His right foot stepped forward, slightly bent, and his right arm muscles tensed.

He exhaled a breath of air and began to recall the essence of the Sword God Style - Drawing Sword Style.

The movement had to be fast, and the attack had to be swift.

The not-so-sharp sword began to flash with a blue luster.

Sword skill.

The movement was being corrected, and Naoki Kirigaya only felt an unprecedented clarity in his mind.

Suddenly, the iron sword drew a huge slash in the air. The iron sword swept in with a whistling wind.

A cold light flashed, and the level 1 wolf was instantly slashed across the neck by the indifferent iron sword, its body turning into blue light and dissipating.

[System Notification]

[You have learned a new sword skill]

[???]

[Charge, Draw Sword]

[Effect: Increases with the increase of charging time, up to 500% of the basic sword skill attack]

[Cooldown time: 10s]

Naoki Kirigaya exhaled a breath, named the sword skill Sword God Style - Drawing Sword Style, and then frowned.

Because he felt a trace of fatigue.

This discovery surprised Naoki Kirigaya quite a bit.

Then, as if thinking of something, his face sank.

No other reason, he had already understood what the system meant by transforming reality.