-229- An unexpected path

When Rozen defeated his first game monster in the SAO closed beta, a change like this occurred.

As mentioned before, Rozen's familiars were imprinted as a form of record within his soul, much like the "Throne of Heroes" situated outside the world.

If Rozen's existence itself were a world, then his soul would be the interior of this world, containing a "Throne" to record the familiars he summoned, crystallizing them as pure records within this "Throne."

Thanks to this, any familiar recorded in the "Throne" withen his soul could be summoned and engaged in battle by consuming a certain amount of magical energy. They were immortal; even if defeated, they could be resummoned by expending magical energy.

What exactly was this "record"?

Information.

Intelligence.

Dossier.

These could all be regarded as external records.

This was the reason Rozen's interaction with SAO's world caused changes. In this game's world, all monsters were forms of information, intelligence, and records, merely electronic data. Their appearances were designed, their abilities were granted by the system, and even their souls were artificial intelligences, far from being real.

Therefore, when Rozen came into contact with these monsters, specifically when he defeated them, their data bodies turned into pure records. Thus, with the power of the "Miracle," Rozen could imprint them into his "Throne" within his soul.

After all, the "Miracle" he wore on his hand possessed the power to open doors between worlds. Even in this fictional world of SAO, it operated under the influence of the "Miracle."

So, when Rozen's virtual self killed monsters in this world, gaining access to their data files, the "Miracle" he wore would activate, imprinting them directly into his "Throne" as records.

In other words, Rozen could form an "Absolute Contract" with the monsters of the game world, making them his familiars.

Normally, to form an "Absolute Contract" with an external entity, the gates between souls had to be opened. This required the external entity to completely open up its heart to Rozen and express absolute loyalty, only then could it happen.

Unfortunately, monsters in this world lacked their own souls. Such entities should have been unable to form an "Absolute Contract" with Rozen.

However, their form of existence was strikingly similar to that of Rozen's familiars in his "Throne."

Under these circumstances, even without a soul, with the power of the "Miracle" opening the gate between the game world and the "Throne" in his soul, the data files of monsters would be directly recorded as a form of imprint.

This was the method Rozen discovered to greatly increase his strength.

"If I can defeat monsters of the highest level similar to that of an Upper-tier familiars and imprint them into the 'Throne,' then even if I face a Servant, I'll have a fighting chance."

Rozen was playing his cards this way.

But, saying it was one thing, accomplishing it required solving three major challenges.

One challenge was that he needed to personally defeat monsters; relying on others' hands was out of the question.

Another challenge was the scale of the world.

And a third challenge was purely a matter of magic.

The first challenge was easy. Achieving his goal required Rozen to possess the combat ability to overcome monsters of the highest level.

The second challenge was straight forward. The game world must include monsters that is close to the level of Upper-tier familiar; without them, his goal would be unattainable.

The third challenge was more practical. Even if Rozen could possess the Upper-tier familiars, the amount of magical energy required to summon them would be immense.

Among these challenges, the first two were relatively solvable.

This is the game world, where Rozen's character can battle monsters, level up, and eventually reach the strength to defeat the highest level monsters. It's not an impossible feat.

SAO's scale is vast as well. During the closed beta, the thousand players only managed to clear up to the 10th floor.

While disregarding the common monsters, the Boss-level monsters possess strength akin to Upper-tier familiars. The guardian Bosses on the stairs to the higher floors have even greater power. Even if monsters that are close to the level of Upper-tier familiars doesn't appear before the 10th floor, given Rozen's current strength, he believes such monsters will eventually show up.

In other words, as long as he continues playing in this world, the first two challenges will eventually be overcome.

As for the third challenge...

"It will be resolved as well."

Rozen muttered to himself.

Whether it's possible to resolve it or not, it's better to have a target in sight than to just sit and do nothing.

As long as he can obtain various types of monsters as familiars, even if his "Summoning" skill level hasn't reached that point, he can still summon Upper-tier familiars recorded in his "Throne" by consuming magical energy.

Even if magical energy is insufficient, Rozen can find other ways to compensate.

"After all, sooner or later, I'll acquire the ability to summon the top-tier familiars. Sooner or later, I'll have to confront this issue."

With this in mind, there were times Rozen even postponed his magical training for the sake of this goal.

Furthermore, after ten years of training, Rozen's magical abilities had transformed significantly.

But that's a story for another time.

"Who said this world's body is merely an imaginary virtual form, not a physical one from the real world?"

Indeed, this granted Rozen physical conditions that the real world lacked, but it also meant one thing.

Rozen's body in this world lacked magical energy.

"Forget about 'Summoning,' even skills like 'Telekinesis,' 'Spirit Vision,' 'Rigid Body,' 'Magic Defense,' 'Heaven's Eye,' 'Magic Resilience,' and more can't be used."

However...

"It's actually quite perfect."

Rozen pondered this.

"Using this opportunity, I can also practice that technique."

That was a skill Rozen hadn't fully mastered even after a whole decade.

If it was that technique, he could use it even without magical energy in this world, and it would still be an essential ability in the real world.

However, that technique wasn't something attainable solely through magical prowess.

Otherwise, Rozen wouldn't have spent a full ten years without mastering it.

In this world, he would hone that technique and gather familiars.

This is the benefit SAO could bring Rozen.

A benefit that other world don't possess.

To swiftly progress to higher floors, defeat higher-level monsters, Rozen needed to rapidly increase his character's strength.

Now, the place Rozen was heading to held a crucial factor in his character's strength.

"There's no one more suited to walk this path than me."

Leaving behind those words, Rozen began running once again.

Toward that distant forest, across the expansive grasslands.