I'm a Sword Master in Sword Art Online

Mito put down her purple scythe and looked at Asuna and Mochizuki Kaede with satisfaction. She had spent the entire afternoon guiding the two in repeated practice and familiarization with their sword techniques.

Although Asuna has excellent athletic ability, she lacks technique. When she first started fighting, her movements were always a bit clumsy. Fortunately, as she gained more experience in actual combat, her movements became more and more fluid.

Meanwhile, Mochizuki Kaede had quickly mastered basic sword skills and began learning and exploring other skills, surprising even Mito, who was giving her instruction, with her talent.

“It’s already 17:25 PM…” Asuna breathed softly, the tip of her rapier pointing towards the ground, the afterglow of the setting sun reflecting on her delicate face. “I should probably log off now.”

Mitt shrugged with a hint of regret: "I was thinking of taking you to try a good restaurant in town."

"I'll definitely do it next time," Asuna said with a smile that brightened her eyes. "Thank you so much for today."

Mochizuki Kaede also bowed slightly to Mitsu: "Thank you for your guidance."

Mitt leaned forward, his thick arm slamming heavily onto Mochizuki Kaede's shoulder with such force that it made him stagger: "Well, even though you only beat up some small fry today, I can see that you have potential."

This can be considered an initial acceptance of Mochizuki Kaede.

Mito turned to look at Asuna, brandishing the giant purple scythe in her hand: "Asuna, see you at school tomorrow. I'm going to continue hunting today."

Asuna smiled as she watched Mito's obsessive focus on the battle; her friend was still just as passionate about games as ever.

She opened the main menu, her slender fingers swiping up and down, and asked in confusion, "Hey, how do I exit this game?"

“There should be a logout button at the bottom of the menu,” Mitt replied without hesitation.

"Log out...log out..." Asuna searched repeatedly, her voice filled with confusion, "I can't find the log out button."

"No logout button? How is that possible?" Mitt brought up his main menu: "Look, go down from here..."

Her voice stopped abruptly.

Mitt's finger froze in mid-air. The logout button, which should have been at the bottom of the screen—a button she clearly remembered being clearly visible during the closed beta test, no, when she logged in at 1 p.m. this afternoon—had vanished into thin air.

She scrolled through the menu repeatedly, carefully examining each tab from the inventory to the skill tree. Finally, she slowly raised her head and met Asuna's gaze.

“…No, right?” Asuna said.

Mitt nodded mechanically, his right hand unconsciously stroking his chin: "Yeah, it's definitely... gone."

Mochizuki Kaede also pulled up the menu and checked it carefully several times, her brows furrowing slightly: "It might be an operational malfunction."

“Hmm…” Asuna and Mito nodded in unison, an uneasy silence filling the air.

"Clang—clang—"

The distant clock tower chimes suddenly rang out, their deep sound waves rippling through the twilight. Just as the echoes of the chimes faded, three dazzling blue beams of light descended from the sky, completely enveloping them.

Through the semi-transparent light curtain, Mochizuki Kaede saw the grassland scenery fading away. She heard Mito's uncertain whisper: "This is... [Forced Transfer]?"

The beam of light suddenly intensified, its blinding blue light engulfing everything in sight. As the light gradually dimmed, what met the eye was no longer a grassland bathed in the setting sun—

Beneath my feet lay a bluestone floor, and the neatly arranged trees rustled in the wind as they lined the square. The water droplets from the central fountain shimmered golden in the setting sun. In the distance, a palace, radiating an ominous black light, stood majestically.

This is the starting point of the game, the central square of the [Starting Town].

Asuna and Mito exchanged glances, then looked towards the plaza, which was now completely engulfed by a sea of ​​people. Countless players, also teleported there, were filled with astonishment and confusion, anxiously looking around at the suddenly crowded space.

The murmurs of discussion spread through the crowd, rippling outwards like waves.

"What's going on? The logout button isn't working!"

"Let me quit the game! I haven't eaten my pizza yet!"

I have to catch a flight for a business trip tomorrow!

"What on earth is the game operator doing?! Get out here and explain!"

Suddenly, someone's shout drowned out the noise.

"Ah! Look up there!"

Mochizuki Kaede reflexively looked up and saw that the sky had been stained with a blood-red color, and strange, checkerboard-like patterns were spreading rapidly.

In the center of the sky, a thick, enormous droplet of blood slowly condensed, transforming into a giant floating in the air, wearing a red cloak.

Its appearance cannot be seen from the bottom up; the inside is a hollow.

The giant's deep voice came:

"Welcome to Minecraft, players."

The crowd was uneasy about this sudden change.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko, and I am the only person who can control this world right now."

“…Kayaba Akihiko.” Mito stared at the sky.

Asuna looked at her in confusion: "Who is it?"

"The game's producer," Mitt explained.

Mochizuki Kaede was also familiar with the name Kayaba Akihiko, as he was very famous—the developer of the game "SAO" and the basic designer of the NERvGear device. It can be said that without him, full-dive technology would not have been developed so quickly.

"I think many players have noticed that the logout button has disappeared, making it impossible to exit the game. But this is not a problem with the game itself, but rather the original version of SAO."

Kayaba Akihiko continued in a low voice:

"From now on, players will not be able to log out of the game on their own until they successfully complete the game..."

A cold, undeniable voice boomed in every player's ears: "Please take note, players. SAO is no longer just a game; it's another reality. The moment your health reaches zero, your character will vanish forever, and—"

He issued a terrifying death rule for the players:

"Your brains will be destroyed by NERvGear."

From this moment on, SAO will no longer be an entertainment game, but a death game; dying in the game will also mean dying in reality.

Asuna staggered back half a step, her fingers unconsciously clenching the fabric at her chest.

Akihiko Kayaba continues to issue new announcements:

"There is only one condition to be freed from the game: reach the highest floor of Aincrad, the hundredth floor, and defeat the Demon King waiting there. I guarantee that at that moment, all surviving players will log out of the game."

"To clear the level... you need to reach the hundredth floor?" A shout came from the crowd. "How is that even possible! I heard that during the closed beta, no one even made it to the hundredth floor!"

Kayaba Akihiko ignored him and continued to announce in a completely emotionless voice:

"Finally, there are gifts I've prepared in everyone's inventory. Please take a look."

Upon hearing this, the players almost simultaneously opened their respective game menus, and Mochizuki Kaede followed suit, seeing an item in her inventory: [Handheld Small Mirror].

Mochizuki Kaede clicked on the prop, and accompanied by a glowing sound effect, a small square mirror immediately appeared in her hand.

The white light instantly enveloped Wang Yuefeng and the surrounding players, and disappeared in just two or three seconds.

As the paleness in his vision gradually faded, Mochizuki Kaede looked around in confusion and suddenly realized that the tall, purple-haired man beside Asuna had disappeared, replaced by a slender, purple-haired girl.

Asuna first looked blankly at Mochizuki Kaede, then noticed the strangeness around her and stared at the purple-haired girl in shock.

"Deep, deep clarity?"

The purple-haired girl frowned unhappily: "Didn't we agree not to use your real name?"

“But, however…” Asuna turned the mirror in her hand toward the purple-haired girl.

Mitt was stunned. The reflection in the mirror wasn't the tall male character she had created in the game, but her own beautiful face, which she knew all too well in real life.

Mochizuki Kaede was also surprised. Although she knew that Mito was Asuna's friend in real life, the contrast between the burly man and the beautiful schoolgirl was still too great.

Chapter Six: Survival

"That concludes the game announcement for the official launch of SAO. Good luck, players." With these last words from Kayaba Akihiko, the giant seemed to dissolve and vanish into the sky.

The sky returned to its usual state, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

The world seems to have returned to its original state.

The only change is that some rules have been altered.

Ten thousand players fell into a deathly silence.

Then, as if some ominous sign had appeared.

The crowd began to roar violently:

"What's going on? Let us out!"

"I have important projects to work on, how can I waste my time here!"

"No, let's go back!"

Screams, roars, and curses mingled together, and within a few dozen minutes, ten thousand gamers became prisoners of this game world.

Caught in the chaotic crowd, Mochizuki Kaede was surrounded by screams and cries that assaulted his eardrums like a tidal wave. Only now did he realize what was happening—

I can't get out...

The silver-haired boy instinctively gripped the longsword at his waist, but the cold metallic touch offered no sense of security.

He stared at his slightly trembling palms, his mind flashing back to the math notes he'd been reviewing that morning, his brother, his father, the kendo club, and the expectant glint in Kirigaya Suguha's dark blue eyes—the junior he'd promised to mentor. All those ordinary yet precious moments of daily life were cruelly severed at that moment.

A bead of cold sweat slid down his forehead.

Even during the decisive moment of the national kendo tournament, his breathing remained steady, but now it became uncontrollably rapid.

"Is this... really just a game?" Asuna's trembling murmur came from beside her, the last rays of the setting sun shining through her slender shoulders.

"Asuna..." Mochizuki Kaede's Adam's apple bobbed. Even he, who had practiced swordsmanship for many years and had long since learned to control his emotions, was shaken to his core. How much more so for this young lady from the Yuuki family.

Mito suddenly stepped forward and gripped Asuna's cold wrist tightly. Her long violet hair, tied in a ponytail, was ruffled by the wind, a strand of hair clinging to her cheek, but it couldn't conceal the burning determination in her eyes.

"listen."

Mitt's voice cut through the surrounding noise like a drawn sword: "We must leave the city immediately."

Her gaze swept between Asuna and Mochizuki Kaede: "If we want to clear this game alive, we need to get stronger as soon as possible."

"Even if you say that, I still don't understand." Asuna's voice trembled.

"It's okay if you don't understand now, just get out of here first." Mitt's fingers unconsciously tightened, as if he wanted to pass on his courage directly to the trembling chestnut-haired girl.

"The monsters in this area will soon be hunted down by the players here, and then even leveling up will become a problem. We must leave the city immediately and seize the leveling resources while the other players are still in a panic."

Mitt turned to look directly at Mochizuki Kaede, whose shadow was long in the setting sun, overlapping with the two figures on the ground: "Silver-haired one, you want to come too."

This was not an invitation, but a declaration of survival. Mitra took Asuna's hand and took the lead in walking out of the city, her purple and chestnut hair intertwined, her boots making a crisp sound on the bluestone slabs.

The three stepped out of the city gate, with Mochizuki Kaede and Asuna following Mito. A desolate field path came into view, withered yellow weeds rustling in the wind, and three wolves appeared on the road in the distance.

The wolf's fur gleamed red, saliva dripped from between its fangs, and it emitted a threatening growl from its throat.

The next second, the lead wolf used its hind legs to pounce!

"Go away!"

With a sharp shout, Mitt swung her enormous scythe, taller than herself. The moment the cold metal gleamed as it sliced ​​through the air, the wolf lunged and bit into the scythe's handle, its sharp teeth scraping against the metal with a piercing sound.

The girl's slender arms unleashed astonishing power; with a flick of her wrist, the scythe drew a deadly arc in the air.

"Hooo!"

The wolf howled and released its grip, but Mitt's attack did not diminish. She used the momentum to spin around, her scythe whistling through the air, forcing another wolf that was attacking her to retreat several steps.

The purple ponytail fluttered in the sunset, like a banner on a battlefield.

"Don't be dazed!"

Without turning her head, she shouted, her voice exceptionally clear amidst the clashing of weapons: "Protect Asuna!"

Another wolf pounced on Mochizuki Kaede and Asuna.

Mochizuki Kaede's fingers tightened on the sword hilt, her knuckles turning white from the excessive force.

"boom--!"

The vibration from the collision of the sword blade and the wolf's claws crept up my arm bone, like the earthquake I experienced in Hokkaido when I was a child.

The earthquake shook the earth violently, and the whole world seemed to tremble beneath our feet, leading the young boy to believe it must be the end of the world.

The tremor he felt now was exactly the same as the fear he felt then! For the first time, Mochizuki Kaede realized how heavy his sword was, so heavy he could barely hold it. The wolf's eyes were red like alarm lights, causing him to instinctively step back.

Will he die?

Will I really die?