-226- [ Aincrad ]

"Whoosh!"

The sound of wind rushing past echoed in his ears, brushing against his skin and providing a refreshing sensation.

Amidst this refreshing breeze, Rozen keenly detected a subtle discordance, a natural reaction given the circumstances.

For now, the rushing wind that felt so real was simply transmitted directly to his brain by the NerveGear, creating a slight dissonance that was only natural.

Yet, this slight dissonance served as a reminder for Rozen.

— Sword Art Online.

Abbreviated as "SAO."

"I'm back again!"

Rozen opened his eyes.

Before him stood a grand white limestone town. Rozen found himself at the center of a vast square within this town. The ground was paved with extensive stone slabs, and surrounding the area were rows of trees. The streets exuded a medieval charm, and in the distance ahead, a colossal palace radiated a black luminescence.

Having participated in the closed beta test, Rozen recognized it as the "Black Iron Palace."

In this world, when a player died, they would be resurrected in that palace, granting them another chance to challenge the world.

The square where Rozen stood was known as the starting point—the "Town of Beginnings."

And at this moment...

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

Accompanied by bursts of light, figures materialized in the center of the Town of Beginnings' square.

These were the players, each one with a distinctive appearance, clad in various types of equipment. The only commonality was that none of them resembled their real-world selves. All the males looked handsome, while the females were all beautiful, with appearances that scored above 90.

This was due to these virtual avatars not reflecting the players' actual appearances, but being shaped by the character creation settings. Even Rozen's appearance had changed to that of a wise strategist with a somewhat mixed-race-like look, dressed in practical clothing for mobility.

Amidst the cheers and excitement of the players, Rozen welcomed the scene before him.

"Is this the world of SAO?"

"So, this is the 1st floor of the floating castle Aincrad mentioned in the advertisements?"

"I'm so excited!!"

The excited voices of the players filled the square.

Of course, there were also players who contained their excitement and dispersed in different directions throughout the town. Among them were surely those like Rozen, who had been fortunate enough to be selected among the initial thousand testers. They knew what their next steps should be—rushing to weapon shops, armor stores, item shops, and even general stores to purchase items necessary for adventuring. They hurriedly went to various locations from their memories, some to undertake high-reward quests, others to search for hidden chests in the closed beta.

Truth be told, Rozen also wanted to rush off to his desired destinations.

However, before that, he had to meet up with Kazuto.

Thus...

"Thud!"

With a powerful step, Rozen propelled himself forward.

It was a pace he wouldn't dare to believe in the real world. Because his outstanding magic circuits used up immense life force, resulting in a somewhat weak constitution, Rozen was cautious about running casually in reality. Even with the "Rigid Body" skill that enhanced physical abilities, Rozen's running pace in reality likely couldn't compare to this.

"Virtual bodies really have their advantages!"

Rozen enjoyed his unreserved sprint, humming contentedly.

The current body was merely a virtual construct based on the game's character settings, not his physical form in reality. This allowed Rozen to dash freely through the streets of the Starting Town without any reservations, one of the reasons he became enamored with this world.

With this exhilarating sprint, Rozen entered the streets of the Starting Town. The surroundings were filled with shops and buildings. The shouts of vendors, the laughter of children, the sounds of hammering, sword strikes, and collisions all created an atmosphere akin to an adventurer's town in an RPG game.

Meanwhile, people in medieval clothing and equipment passed by Rozen, laughing and chatting as they did. However, whether it was the shopkeepers, the children in the buildings, or the passersby, they were all NPCs of this world.

They appeared highly realistic, but their behavior and conversation patterns were fixed. Unless prompted by a quest or a predetermined question, they would reply with "I cannot answer that question" or similar phrases. Their actions and behavior wouldn't change either.

Ignoring the vendors' shouts and the pedestrians' chatter around him, Rozen moved like a gust of wind into an alleyway. Then, he finally came to a stop.

Because here, someone was already waiting for him.

"You're too slow."

This statement came from a youth dressed in simple clothing similar to Rozen's, but with an added leather piece as external armor.

Unlike Rozen's sage-like appearance, this youth had the appearance of a brave warrior. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, he exuded an inexplicably cool aura. A sideways glance revealed a smirk on his face.

Facing this handsome warrior...

"Kazuto, what are you showing off for?"

Rozen mercilessly exposed his act.

"Cough...!"

Kazuto stumbled for a moment.

The dashing youth before Rozen was none other than Kirigaya Kazuto.

Rozen gazed at him.

Hovering above Kazuto's character was a green marker.

This was a color-coded marker that indicated the presence of an entity.

Green was for player markers, yellow for NPC markers, red for monster markers, and orange for markers of those violating criminal commands, such as characters engaging in player-killing (PK).

At the moment, the marker above Kazuto's head was naturally green, representing a fellow player. Beside it was a green bar.

This was the HP gauge of the entity.

These markers displayed the status of individual characters and their HP. This was the basic information visible to players.

For more detailed information, such as name, level, location, etc., players needed to become friends in the game or join the same party.

Rozen had come here to meet Kazuto for this purpose.

"Alright, let's quickly add each other as friends, then we can go about our separate activities. When we need to train in the training area or the dungeon for leveling, we can contact each other."

Rozen succinctly explained, then stepped back, extending the index and middle fingers of his right hand, holding them straight up before lowering them.

This gesture summoned the main menu.

With a bell-like sound effect, a window bathed in purple light appeared.