Episode 11

I didn’t immediately register his meaning.

My world? The red GM robe meant that he possessed the ability to manipulate the world as he saw fit. If he was already a god, why the need to announce it to everyone?

As Klein and I stared at each other in disbelief, the robed figure lowered its arms and continued speaking.

“My name is Akihiko Kayaba. As of this moment, I am the only human being alive with control over this world.”

“Wha…?” I was so shocked that not only did my avatar’s breath catch in its throat, the same likely happened to my real body.

Akihiko Kayaba!!

I knew that name. I couldn’t not know it.

He was the brilliant young game designer and quantum physicist who transformed niche game studio Argus into one of the foremost developers in the business. Not only was he the executive director of SAO, he also designed the basic foundation of the NerveGear unit itself.

Like most other hardcore gamers, I held a deep reverence for Kayaba. I bought every magazine profile and reread his precious few interviews until I could practically quote them from memory. Just the brief sound of that voice conjured my mental image of Kayaba, looking smart in his ever-present white lab coat.But he’d always preferred to stay out of the spotlight, avoiding media attention wherever possible, and he’d certainly never stepped into an active GM role within a game like this—so why now?

I stood stock-still, urging my mind back into motion, trying to grasp the situation. But try as I might, the words that followed from the empty hood mocked my feeble attempts at comprehension.

“You have likely noticed by now that the log-out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug. I repeat, this is not a bug—it is a feature of Sword Art Online.”

“F-feature…?” Klein muttered, his voice cracking.

The smooth baritone continued, overlapping the end of his question.

“From this point onward, you will be unable to freely log out of the game until the summit of this castle is conquered.”

The word castle snagged on the inside of my brain. Where was there a castle in the Town of Beginnings? But my momentary confusion was instantly wiped away by his next statement.

“Furthermore, the NerveGear cannot be removed or shut down via external means. If forceful means of exit are attempted…”

A pause.

A palpably heavy silence filled the air, ten thousand breaths held in apprehension. The next words came with a slow, awful finality.

“…the high-powered microwaves emitted by the NerveGear will scramble your brain and shut down your vital processes.”

Klein and I stared at each other for several seconds, our faces blank masks. It was as though our brains themselves refused to process the words. But Kayaba’s simple ultimatum shot through my body from head to toe with a palpable impact.

Scramble our brains.

In other words, it would kill us. Turning off the NerveGear’s power or attempting to remove it from the user’s head would prove fatal, according to Kayaba.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, but no one screamed or raged. Everyone present, including me, either couldn’t or wouldn’t process the implications of his declaration.

Klein’s hand slowly rose to his head, attempting to grasp the NerveGear that existed only in the outside world. He let out a dry, quick laugh.

“Ha-ha…what’s he talking about? Is he crazy? That’s not possible. The NerveGear’s just a game system. It can’t possibly, like…destroy our brains or whatever. Right, Kirito?” he finished in a rasping shout. Despite his pleading glare, I couldn’t bring myself to nod in agreement.

The underside of the NerveGear helmet is embedded with countless transmitters

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