Chapter 13: The Death Game Begins

  "A wild boar is just this small..."

  By comparing the experience points of a wild boar with his own and the experience points he needed to level up, Yayoi Sumi frowned in dissatisfaction, only to relax again immediately.

  This is also normal, if it's easy to upgrade, then this game won't kill so many people.

  Out of the 10,000 people who entered the game, only about 6,000 were left when they finally cleared it. Almost half of the players died during the conquest and could never leave the game.

  Looking around at the gradually increasing number of players, Yagumo Taku first observed their battle with the wild boar before swiftly entering a nearby thicket.

  Just now when observing, Bachiru Mokuto deliberately paid attention to two people not far away.

  Two men, one with short black hair and the other with a fiery red head of hair, with a red ribbon tied around his head.

  From the conversation between two men, Yaiba Mukuro learned that one was called Kirito and the other was Klein.

  The original protagonist and an important character.

  Klein was still a newbie and didn't have much to look at, but Kirito and Boar's battle situation during the closed beta test, Yui watched from start to finish carefully.

  After observing, Bachiroku Sumi was enlightened in his heart.

  It seems that I can kill a wild boar with just one punch and kick without using any weapons, while Kirito uses his weapon and normal attack skills to kill the boar after several hits. It looks like I'm going to surpass ordinary players by a lot.

  After flashing into the jungle, Bayun Mo took out the Iron Bone Fan equipment from his backpack.

  A flash of light passed by, and a folding fan was already tucked into Yiyun Mo's waist.

  He took down the folding fan and opened it with a "pop", Ba Yunmo looked at the folding fan in his hand, silent.

  The fan bone is made of metal and has a sharp tip like a small knife.

  Baiyun Mo deliberately took note that Tiegu's fan itself had an attack power bonus that was still inferior to his own character's attack power when he was unarmed.

  But with weapons available, why use fists?

  Baiyun Mo played with the folding fan in his hand for a while, then began to search for monsters in the forest and started fighting.

  Time flies unconsciously.

  "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

  When dusk falls in the game, a loud bell rings throughout the first floor of Novice Town.

  Yayun Mo was forcibly teleported back to the novice square in a flash of light.

  He put away the folding fan and stood in the crowd, listening to the uneasy and puzzled discussions of other players who were forced to be transported back, with his hands clasped together and eyes closed.

  "What happened?"

  "I don't know..."

  "Is it active?"

  "What is this supposed to be doing?!"

  When all players were forced to be teleported back, the bell stopped ringing.

  In the noisy square, a sense of unease began to spread.

  "What's that?!"

  Some players suddenly stretched out their hands and pointed at the sky, shouting loudly.

  Everyone heard this and looked up at the sky one after another.

  At dusk, in the originally beautiful sunset, a blood-red hexagonal window flickered in the sky.

  In the window, a big "warning" made everyone's heart skip a beat.

  Shocking at first sight.

  Instantly, with that hexagonal crimson border as the center, countless crimson windows began to emerge, and in the blink of an eye, they enveloped the entire sky!

  The entire novice town was shrouded in a blood-red veil.

  "Warning! System Announcement!"

  In the crimson hood, something like blood began to flow out. These flowed out of the light hood and floated in mid-air, finally gathering above everyone's heads, forming a giant figure draped in a blood-colored cloak, with an indistinct face.

  "What is it?"

  "Are you a game administrator?"

  "Why no face?"

  "What is this activity?"

  "I'm so scared..."

  "Don't be afraid, I'm here!"

  Looking around at the various reactions of the players, Yagumo Mukuro suddenly felt a great distance between himself and them.

  After all, I'm already a demon and no longer human...

  Looking at the giant figure in a cloak in the sky, Yakumo Mokuto said in a low voice: "Makaba Akihiko...?"

  "Hello everyone!"

  The figure spoke up amidst everyone's uneasy expressions.

  "Welcome to... the world I created!"

  "My name is Kayano Akatsuki, and I am currently the only person who can control this world."

  The square was suddenly filled with cries of surprise.

  Undoubtedly, the developer of this game headset SAO's Kawahara Reki is a world-renowned superstar.

  Players never thought they would one day meet him in person, even in a game.

  However, the figure didn't respond to the players' exclamations and continued on his own: "By now, I believe everyone has discovered that this game doesn't have a logout option."

  "But this is not a program error."

  "Let me repeat this, it's not a programming error! This design is what Sword Art Online's game design truly is!"

  "From now on, all of you players will not be able to log out of the game by yourselves, nor can you ask a third party from outside to help you shut down or remove your NerveGear. If anyone tries to do so, the signal device in the NerveGear will emit a high-powered destructive pulse that will destroy your brain, stop your bodily functions and kill all of you!"

  "Because NerveGear has a built-in high-capacity battery, it won't stop working even if the power is cut off! And once the battery runs out in battery mode, NerveGear will still kill you!"

  "Unfortunately, so far, many players' family members or friends have ignored our warnings and attempted to forcibly shut down the NerveGear, resulting in the death of the player. Currently, 213 players have died."

  A figure in the sky waves its right hand, and web pages appear in the sky, displaying news of players' deaths due to attempting to remove NerveGear!

  "As you can see, this matter has shocked the whole world!"

  "Also, there's something else to remind you all: from now on, all revival functions in the game, whether it's items or anything else, will be completely ineffective! Once your HP gauge hits zero and you die in the game, NerveGear will destroy your brain and kill you!"

  "There is only one way to let all of you players leave the game, and that is to clear all 100 floors of Eyngrad! Defeat the final boss on the top floor, and then all of you players will be able to normally leave this world!"

  "Finally, I gave each player a small gift, wishing you a happy raid!"

  After saying that, the giant figure in the sky who called himself Mōba no Akihiko disappeared, and at the same time, the blood-colored light that covered the entire sky also disappeared, revealing the beautiful sunset once again.

  But in the eyes of all players, the originally beautiful sunset looks so breathtaking.

  Despair is spreading in every person's heart like a plague.

  Baiyun Mo looked at the disappearing figure and lowered his head to open the zipper of his backpack.

  Inside, a small mirror appeared at some unknown time.

  This mirror can restore a player's character appearance in the game to their real-life appearance.

  Soon, each player's body emitted a blue glow, and after the glow, the appearance of the players' bodies all changed.

  Some people are fine, with very subtle changes, but some players have changed so much that it's astonishing.

  Some players who chose a different sex when creating their character even regained their true sex, leaving those around them staring in amazement.

  After the initial shock, screams began to echo throughout the Novice Square.

  Countless people are like headless flies, frantically searching for a way to leave the game.

  Some people were even pushed to the ground by the chaotic crowd and trampled over by others, unable to get up again.

  Without causing a commotion in the crowd, Yayoi Moku left Shinshu Town with her hands clasped together.