Episode 9

game. It makes no sense.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point.” Klein rubbed his chin, finally looking suitably serious. His slender eyes glinted beneath the bandanna stretched over the high bridge of his nose.

I listened to Klein continue, struck by how odd it was that I was discussing such real-world affairs with a person I’d only met by sheer chance and would likely never see again if I simply deleted my game account.

“Argus, the developers of SAO, made a name for themselves based on their customer outreach. The fact that their first online game was so highly anticipated is a sign of how much trust the community has in them. How could they ruin that reputation with such a stunning screwup on their very first day?”

“Exactly. Not only that, SAO is the very first example of a VRMMO. If this turns into a huge controversy, the entire genre could get regulated out of existence.”

Klein and I sighed slowly at the same time, our virtual faces turned to each other.

Aincrad’s climate was attuned to the real-life season, meaning that it was early winter in the game, just as it was outside.

I breathed in the chilly air deeply, filling my lungs with virtual oxygen, and looked skyward.

More than a hundred yards above, the bottom of the second floor glowed a faint purple. As I followed the flat, rocky surface toward the horizon, my eyes finally rested on a vast tower far in the distance—the labyrinth that would lead to the next level of the castle. Beyond that, I could even see the aperture on the far side of the floor.

It was now past 5:30, and the sliver of sky to be seen over the vast distance was glowing crimson. The setting sun shone through, lighting the rippling fields in a dazzling gold, and I found myself at a loss for words despite the gravity of our situation.

In the next instant…

The world changed forever.

Klein and I jumped to our feet, startled by a sudden ringing sound, blaring like an alarm at full volume.

“Wha…?”

“What’s that?”

We shouted simultaneously, then noticed each other’s bodies, our eyes wide.

Both Klein and I were enveloped in pillars of brilliant blue light. The scenery of the fields faded out behind the colored film.

I’d experienced this phenomenon multiple times during the beta test. It was the teleport effect that took place when you used an item to travel instantaneously across the game. But I didn’t have the right item, nor had I given the system any such command. If it was a system-side forced teleportation, why was it happening without any announcement?

As my mind raced, the light surrounding me pulsed stronger, blocking my vision.

The blue light faded, and the environment returned but was no longer the evening field in which we had been standing. I was greeted by wide paving stones, trees lining the street, and a cleanly elegant medieval town. In the far distance straight ahead, a massive palace gleamed darkly.