Ding!
[Do you wish to immediately enter the Level 10 Dungeon?]
"Yes!"
After the familiar transition screen, Aomori opened his eyes and found himself standing in a spacious plaza.
In the center of the plaza stood a stele-like structure with an ancient copper bell hanging from its top. The surroundings were enclosed by stone walls.
Since the Demon Slayer world had not been set as a permanent dungeon by Aomori, he had entered a new one this time.
Looking at the surrounding scenery, Aomori had a sense of familiarity, but before he could search his deeper memories, the copper bell suddenly began to swing without wind, ringing out.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Accompanying the loud, clear chimes, human figures appeared in Aomori's field of vision, densely packed, nearly filling the entire plaza.
The silence was replaced by noise. The clamor of voices was incessant, and Aomori managed to catch keywords like "Launch Celebration," "New Event," "The logout button is gone," and "Something isn't right."
"Hey, bro. You stand out the most in this crowd. Where did you get that outfit?" Quite a few people tried to strike up conversations with Aomori, only to be rebuffed.
A familiar feeling.
'If I'm not mistaken, next up is...' Aomori looked up at the sky.
The sky was covered by strange red square grids, presenting an ominous red color. Then, a viscous liquid flowed down from the cracks in the sky, transforming into an immense, faceless figure wearing a cloak.
The faceless figure opened its arms and greeted everyone in the plaza: "Welcome, players, to my world."
"As expected, it's Sword Art Online," Aomori's expression darkened.
Aomori had been worrying about the artificial intelligence issue, and now he had entered the Sword Art Online dungeon. Furthermore, thinking back now, all three dungeon worlds Aomori had experienced were ones he was familiar with.
Was all this mere coincidence or a deliberate arrangement? Who created the System, and what was its purpose?
He recalled a quote he had seen in his past life: "She was still too young to know that the gifts of fate are always marked with a price."
The no-longer-young Aomori now knew the gifts the System provided would come with a price, but would that price be one he could afford?
Aomori was unsure of any of this, but it was impossible for him to abandon the System, his greatest aid. To realize his ambitions, Aomori had no choice but to continue down this path.
Shaking his head to clear these worries, Aomori focused his attention on the dungeon.
"Unfortunately, many players' friends and family ignored the warnings and continued to forcibly remove the NerveGear headsets. Two hundred and thirteen people have already permanently departed from Aincrad and the real world," the faceless figure continued its speech.
The dungeon mission list had already popped up on the System interface.
Ding!
[Dungeon Missions Activated!]
[Main Quest 1/3. Dungeon Conqueror]
[Mission Summary: Aincrad has 100 floors. Dedicated to winning the title of "Dungeon Conqueror," how many floors can you clear?]
Clear 30 floors within 30 days ☆ Clear 60 floors within 60 days ☆☆ Clear 100 floors within 90 days ☆☆☆
[Main Quest 2/3. King of Lightning Therapy]
[Mission Summary: Many young men and women addicted to online games have blurred the lines between game and reality, losing their sense of self. You shall transform into the King of Lightning Therapy and help them overcome their internet addiction.]
[1. Use Lightning Energy to help 5 players find their true selves ☆]
[2. Use Lightning Energy to help 10 players find their true selves ☆☆]
[3. Use Lightning Energy to help 20 players find their true selves ☆☆☆]
[Main Quest 3/3. Hero's Mandate]
[Mission Summary: Numerous innocent people are trapped in Aincrad. A Hero's duty is to do your best to save them.]
[1. Keep the death toll below 3,000 before the dungeon ends ☆]
[2. Keep the death toll below 2,000 before the dungeon ends ☆☆]
[3. Keep the death toll below 1,000 before the dungeon ends ☆☆☆]
'It seems the dungeon is set during the first arc of Sword Art Online. It primarily tells the story of Kayaba Akihiko, a genius scientist who developed the world's first fully immersive virtual reality game, but secretly removed the logout button on the first day of the public launch. This trapped 10,000 players in the game, with no way to force an exit. Death in the game means death in reality, turning it into a true death game. According to the final boss, Kayaba Akihiko, the only way out is to clear all 100 floors of the floating castle, Aincrad.'
Aomori recalled the plot of Sword Art Online. Comparing it to the dungeon missions, he realized the difficulty was not low.
Firstly, for the first main quest, clearing 100 floors of Aincrad was not the hard part; the difficulty lay in the time limit. Even with the protagonist Kirito's overpowered abilities in the original work, it took two years to reach the 75th floor. Finding the boss on each floor alone consumes a lot of time.
The second main quest, "overcoming internet addiction and finding their true selves"? The meaning is unclear. Is it meant to make the members of "Laughing Coffin" repent?
As for the third main quest, it mainly depends on whether the players seek out trouble. Aomori's best option is to clear Aincrad as quickly as possible to minimize losses caused by boss raids. It would be too great a loss to waste time managing a scattered group of ten thousand people.
However, the main quests don't necessarily have to be completed; he already has a higher priority objective.
Aomori quickly formulated a battle plan, just as the plot on the other side was drawing to a close.
Kayaba Akihiko, disguised as the cloaked faceless figure, gave every player a mirror. Then, the ten thousand players suffered a tragic "face reveal." After a flash of white light, all players were restored to their real-life appearances. Thus, the male-to-female ratio underwent a massive change.
"...That concludes the official launch explanation for Sword Art Online. Good luck, players."
After saying this, the faceless figure seemed to glance down in Aomori's direction, then the giant scarlet cloak rose silently, gradually merging with the sky before vanishing without a trace. The sky returned to the orange-red twilight scene.
But the players' mindsets could never return to what they were. After a brief silence, a fresh clamor of discussion erupted in the plaza.
"This must be a joke! This has to be an official prank!"
"Let me out! I don't want to stay here! I have a beautiful wife and a lovely child at home!"
"Hey, hey, my food delivery is almost here! How are you going to compensate me for missing my hot meal!"
"No! All I wanted was to play a game! I don't want to put my life on the line."
Furious curses, pleas, roars, and tragic outbursts—the players, who had not yet adapted to their status as prisoners, vented their emotions.
Aomori knew it was time for his entrance. He had quietly tested it: even in this safe zone, all of his abilities could be activated. The System had simply swapped to the SAO version.
The pillar-shaped chain hanging from his waist glowed. In the central plaza of the Town of Beginnings, a towering totem pole shot out of the ground, drawing the attention of everyone present.
"Wha-what's happening now?"
"Look, there's a person on the pillar!"
"A player? Or an NPC?"
"Huh, it's that eccentric looking guy. He looks like some important figure."
On the edge of the plaza, a handsome young man with black hair and black eyes stopped, gazing up at the figure on the pillar along with a disheveled-looking samurai-like player beside him.
"This is..."
————
You can read the ahead chapter on Patr if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]